a reply to Sanus's comments in the Sonic 4 thread:
i think something was lost in translation with what iizuka said. i think he meant that some games we see the humans and other times we wont. Eggman is human, so how is it impossible for humans to exist in the Sonicverse? crackdude makes an excellent point. the game is in space over the same planet as seen in Unleashed. We dont see humans as they are down on Earth and Sonic is up in space. Would colors be more of a sonic game if it shoehorned in references to SA2, featured Shadow backstory and had Emerald Coast return? this is a main series game in the same series as SA through to Unleashed, plain and simple.
I am not sure how much clearer I can explain this, seriously. Iizuka only said it was the next 3D Sonic game, not that it was a sequel to Sonic Unleashed or anything...
I do not know why you are trying to argue that it is without a doubt the next major Sonic game. If it does not take place in the same universe as every other one that is considered part of the main series then... It is not part of the main series.
I don't mind what your personal series order is, I personally consider 3D Blast a part of the main series despite also agreeing that it isn't actually considered so by Sonic Team or many fans.
However, if you're arguing that it is a concrete fact that Colors exists outside of the main series and that the game is some sort of reboot or is in some alternate universe where humans do not exist (meaning the Sonic seen in Colors has never experienced the events of SA1 through to Unleashed), then I'm going to have to say that you are flat out wrong. It is a main series game and it is the follow-up to Unleashed. It exists in the same universe that has a Green Hill Zone, a Station Square, a Soleanna and a Mazuri.
Here is the Iizuka interview you're referring to and here is the quote:
http://www.game.co.uk/Games/Wii/Platfor ... ic+coloursGAME.CO.UK: Could you tell us a bit about the story behind Sonic Colours? It looks more like the old games, which were set on Moebius, than the new-style Sonics set in Station Square...
We have two different worlds for Sonic games – one is human, and one is set on the non-human side. Sonic Colours is set on the non-human side. The only human in the game is Dr Eggman, who tries to build this huge amusement park which, as you will see on the world map, ties all these planets together with a tractor beam.
Eggman is trying to use all of these planets for his own evil ends which will be revealed at a later time, and Sonic realises what he is trying to do and sets out to try and stop him. That is the main story behind Sonic Colours.
Okay, so he says two different worlds. But how does "two different worlds" suddenly mean "two different continuities"? The use of world in this sense is not to mean "two different planets in two separate universes", it is to mean that the humans have their own "world" and the talking animals exist in their own "world". Sometimes the worlds meet (Sonic Adventure, Sonic '06, Sonic Unleashed) and other times the worlds do not meet (Sonic 1-4, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Colors). I can say that I live in my own world, doing all the human things I do. I can also say that lions in the jungle live in their own world, doing all the lion things that they do. We are each in our own worlds, but that is not to mean that the lion lives on some alternate universe of only lions and when I enter the jungle and meet the lion we have suddenly created a second universe of human/lion coexistence.
Heroes especially proves my point. SA2 (filled with humans) introduced Shadow, who seemingly died, only to have returned in Sonic Heroes. Big and Rouge also return as a continuation of their characters as seen in Sonic Adventure 1&2 respectively. Despite Heroes having many links to to the mixed human/animal world of the SA series, Heroes does not feature a single human outside of Eggman. Does this mean that Heroes is a separate universe from SA1&2 and that all of it's events in the game (especially in Team Dark's story) had no impact on Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06?
Finally, here is an important sentence from the above interview:
Sonic Colours is set on the non-human side.
The use of "side" assumes that there is another "side" to the world in which the game takes place. Sonic's world has a human side, Sonic's world also has a fantastical non-human side. Per Iizuka's words, Colors is set on the non-human side. He does not say "alternate universe" or "alternate continuity". There IS a human side to the game, it's just that the game does not spend its time there. Evidence of that human side? Eggman's existence, the big blue planet as seen in Unleashed and, oh, the fact that the game is a follow-up to Unleashed. The quote below is pretty much the final word on the matter:
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/21/so ... tion-game/Takashi Iizuka, Producer, pointed this out during a presentation and said Sonic Colors is the follow up to Sonic Unleashed. Other games like last year’s Sonic and the Black Knight are branch titles.
