Oh yes, we are back! And we’re going to get some story flowing, so grab your popcorn!

 One thing that never quite made sense to me is the fact that- ok, Sonic just “died”. Cool, that’s pretty tense, that’s a sombre way to start your story, I love it. But then, immediately after, you tell us Sonic is alive? Like it’s a big surprise? I mean, we knew he wasn’t actually dead; he is the main character, after all! If we didn’t believe he was really dead when we saw Mephiles kill him right in front of our very eyes, why would we believe Infinite did it? We wouldn’t. And that’s ok. Playing some sort of suspense with how our main hero will come back is nice, but… if you’re going to reveal it was all a lie literally three minutes later, then what was the point? If you had just turned around and yelled “syke!” it would have about the same effect.

 To sort that out, we’ll have to shift a few things around. So yeah, forget the original order of levels and cutscenes in this game for a moment, we’re twisting the story!

 On Part 3, your character joined the Resistance. Now, there is a screen dialogue thing, but instead of entering the “Sonic is alive!” point immediately, the lines we actually get are:

 ‘This is not good…’ Amy says in a worried voice. ‘Blaze! The evacuating troops from Green Hill sent a report!’

 ‘What does it say?’ Blaze asks.

 ‘They say Eggman has settled an arsenal facility in the middle of the desertified area. He’s got a whole weapon factory pumping out munitions for his war effort!’

 ‘A factory?’ Silver cuts into the conversation. ‘We can’t take out Eggman’s home base in Metropolis if he’s got a factory supplying him!’

 ‘No kidding,’ Knuckles comments. ‘That’s just cheating. Though, when has Eggman ever played fair?’

 ‘Alright, everyone,’ Blaze announces. ‘I know this seems dire, but if we reach the facility’s control room, I’m sure we can get useful information. Amy, call Rouge. We could use her help. Knuckles, Vector, as soon as we get what we want, we need that factory in Green Hill destroyed.’

 ‘You got it, commander!’ Says Vector.

 The cat stops for a moment, thinking. ‘And take the rookie with you.’

 ‘Are you sure about this?’ The crocodile sounds uncertain. ‘Isn’t this too dangerous for the kid’s first mission?’

 ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine,’ Knuckles says, almost retorting. ‘Just make sure you take good notes, rookie!’

 Thenceforth, our first level with the Custom Hero is none other than Arsenal Pyramid!

 Of course, as this is no longer a Sonic/Avatar stage, it would be quite different from the original, for we cannot boost. Therefore, to get to the entrance at the top of the pyramid, I think some sort of platforming on its sides would be interesting; wisp capsules and spots to use your grappling hook would also be appreciated, as would a longer section on the outside of the arsenal. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be our tutorial level with the Custom Hero, so most of the avatar mechanics should be presented to us here, given the proper situations.

 Anyhow, in-game dialogue should be kept at a minimum to avoid distraction. We could begin with Knuckles mentioning how the three of you – the avatar, Vector and himself – will be entering the factory separately through the top entrance, to make things quicker. This gives us a reason as to why this is not a tag-team level; after all, it would make no sense to introduce that type of gameplay before introducing the normal Custom Hero gameplay, would it?

 Once you’re inside the pyramid, Knuckles should communicate with you again, mentioning how there should be a few switches around the factory for you to activate and initialize the destruction of the place (or something similar; in anyway, things will explode). Simple “destroy robots, press the switch and the doors open, get to the end of the level”, we’ve been through this before.

 Oh, you want some moral support? Once you press the second switch, Vector just goes “alright! Keep up the good work, kid!” and it feels deserved. You go, you little Resistance member, you!

 As we reach the end of the level, a new cutscene begins to play:

 The team arrives at the factory’s control room, which apparently also serves as an observatory, for there is a huge telescope on one side. There are various screens in the room, as well as large windows have a full view of the corridors around it. The chair in front of the mother computer isn’t facing the group as they start to look around, yet a familiar voice soon comes from its direction.

 ‘My, you certainly took your time.’ Rouge the Bat theatrically turns around on the chair to greet them.

 ‘We had to take care of some things first,’ Vector explains.

 ‘How did you get here so quick?’ Knuckles questions irritably.

 ‘I’d like say it’s another treasure hunting skill you don’t have,’ she teases. She turns back around to face the computer and starts working. ‘But it’s just one of my natural talents.’

 Knuckles crosses his arms, unamused. While the bat is hacking the main computer, Vector checks the telescope. A few moments later, he lets out a gasp.

 ‘Guys, come look at this!’ He exclaims.

 The echidna and the avatar come closer. When Knuckles looks through the instrument, our perspective changes to see what he sees. What’s that? What is the telescope focused on? Oh dear, that looks like…

 ‘Is that… the Death Egg?!’ The guardian cries, eyes widening. He steps away so that the rookie can have a look too. ‘No way it’s up and running again!’

 ‘Seemed pretty functional to me,’ Vector points out.

 Just as the crocodile says that, there is a rumble in the distance, and the floor quakes.

 ‘That must be the first explosives going off,’ Knuckles says. ‘Rouge, are you finished?’

 ‘All done,’ she affirms, pulling a pen drive from the computer.

 Knuckles nods at that, and he and Vector head off. The avatar, however, is still gazing through the telescope, mesmerized by the sight of the Death Egg. Rouge approaches.

 ‘You’re the new recruit, right?’ She asks, to which they nod, finally looking at her. ‘Well, newbie, the place is blowing up any minute now. You don’t want to fall behind. Come on.’

 The Custom Hero follows the agent out of the room.

 The scene lingers a moment longer… And something bursts in through one of the windows! A small, blue, spiky ball touches the floor and we see it’s none other than Classic Sonic!

 Don’t worry: he didn’t just come out of thin air; the reason for his appearance will be played as a mystery, to which I will give the solution in due time.

 The little blue blur looks around for a second, gathering his surroundings until he sees the main computer, which is now showing an alert signal. The floor shakes more as we hear new explosions in the distance. Classic sets out to leave the pyramid.

 Aaand we now play a Classic Sonic stage! Inside Arsenal Pyramid! Of course, it looks quite different from the stage you just played with the avatar, not only because now you’re exiting the place, but also because it is blowing up, so more things are on fire and the factory is falling apart and creating new obstacles. And let’s not forget how Classic has his own special gameplay style.

 The level ends with the hedgehog running off into the distance after leaving the pyramid. We’ll see him again soon enough, but now is time for a small Intermission!

 Let’s get to that dialogue: what’s this with “evacuating troops from Green Hill”? If you remember, Blaze mentioned in the previous part that she ordered a retreat in Green Hill after “Eggman’s forces chewed through our last defences” there. Well, said retreating troops now sent a report, which is to be expected; and since they were sentries in Green Hill, it would also make sense that they, of all people, would find out about Eggman’s factory there! The point of that little line is to make it sound more like “we keep in contact with all members and bases so that this resistance movement can be as organized as possible” and less like “so, a little birdie told me…”

 Next we have our new plot point: Arsenal Pyramid has information. And as we’ll later find out thanks to Rouge’s hacking abilities, it is precious information. Not only that, but the place also reveals to us that the Death Egg is functioning again. This is stuff we actually see the characters discovering, which makes it easier to assimilate. I’m trying my best to incorporate show-not-tell.

 Notice they have to call Rouge to ask for help. She’s not here with them, she isn’t a member of the Resistance. I thought that Rouge would be out there doing her own thing, spying around, maybe working with G.U.N., but still willing to lend a hand to these guys whenever they need it.

 (Plus, the avatar gets to interact with Rouge, that’s all I needed to feel accomplished today.)

 Why is Blaze sending Knuckles and Vector? As I said, Knuckles is one of the most active members of the Resistance – so heads up: he will be in almost every mission –, and as for Vector, I just wanted to give him some attention. Poor crocodile might as well have been a cutout in the corner of the room.

 Why the rookie, though? It just made sense to me that the commander would want to send them to a first mission where, most likely, there will be no heavy combat, and in the company of strong people who can keep an eye on them; you know, instead of immediately sending them off to freaking space.

(Do you have any idea how convenient it is that I found this image in particular? Is there any other moment in history where we get to see these three specific characters in such proximity to each other?)

 And why, yes: the chief detective will keep calling you “kid” throughout the entire game. Rouge will be calling you “newbie” every now and then too, just as Sonic calls you “buddy” and Infinite will call you “trash”, “weakling”, “runt” or whatever he feels like. The rest of the gang probably just calls you “rookie”. I feel like this slight variety in nicknames gives some more personality to everyone and helps us feel more included in the game. Each of these people has a different speech pattern and a different opinion on your character, so it makes sense that they would call you different things (even if “Rookie” basically becoming your name in the original game is very endearing, yes).

 What to say about Classic Sonic? That’s something I’ll have to explain later; as I told you, his presence has to be a mystery for now.

Ok, done with this, let’s get back to the story!

 Arsenal Pyramid has been destroyed and we’re back with the Resistance, so let’s get a new screen dialogue… Although I think it would also work as a cutscene. Either way, the characters are talking:

 ‘The Death Egg?’ Blaze asks after the team gives her a report on the situation off-screen.

 ‘It has been Eggman’s main source of power many times before,’ Knuckles explains.

 ‘It held a lot of military importance, and who knows what they’re doing up there right now!’ Amy adds, thoughtful. ‘If it’s functioning again, that’s definitely a problem to us.’

 ‘According to the data I got, Eggman is holding prisoners there now,’ Rouge comments. ‘The rest of the useful information is encrypted, though. I can try and decode it for you, but it might take a while.’

 ‘Please do,’ says Blaze. She thinks for a second before continuing. ‘If the Death Egg is holding prisoners, perhaps a full takeover now would be unwise. But we can’t leave it unchecked…’

 ‘So how are we going to get there?’ Charmy asks.

 ‘Eggman has a spaceport not too far away from his Chemical Plant,’ Espio comments in a resolute tone. ‘I propose we steal a shuttle from him.’

 ‘That’s a good-’ the commander is suddenly cut by an alarm blaring. ‘What is happening?’

 ‘A distress signal from Seaside Hill! The masked guy has been spotted, and he’s got a whole army of badniks with him!’ Amy exclaims.

 ‘Silver, contact the third troop! You come with me!’ Blaze commands hurriedly, but firmly. ‘Amy, Knuckles, get yourselves a team. I will leave the Death Egg to you!’

 The mentioned characters acknowledge the orders and the scene ends.

 Our next level: Spaceport! And since we’re closely accompanying a team, this is a tag-team level, so grab a partner and let’s bounce!

 Woohoo, let’s go!

 Right, so this stage is originally set in our good old Chemical Plant. However, a part of me just really wants to get rid of Chemical Plant due to its repetitiveness and due to the fact that it makes no bloody sense for there to be a shuttle on a chemical research facility. So for now, I’ll just imagine the Spaceport as a place of its own, a stage that is close to the Chemical Plant, but it’s… a rocket base of sorts…

 The level should work about the same though, and I really like the look of it (if there’s anything I must highly praise this game for, it’s the visuals). What we are really changing here is the background dialogue: I’ll beg all the characters to shut up for one second. Ok, cool, there is a starting line of “be careful, everybody! We must cover the area quickly, no losses!” or something similar, and we proceed in silence until we reach the freight train section.

 So, let’s say this section takes place about halfway through the stage, after you already did a puzzle, had the opportunity to use your partner’s special abilities… and now you’re faced with quick time events (notice the S in “events”; we’re talking more than pressing one single button. I know, crazy)! That’s right: you’re actually playing an active part in your character not being killed by a train, how cool is that?

 After this, we hear Blaze shout through our communicator:

 ‘It was a trap! We’re engaged in combat in Seaside Hill, but the masked one is nowhere to be seen!’

 ‘We’re getting strange signals! It’s him!’ Amy shouts back through the communicator. We hear the Phantom Ruby sound, louder than the background music, and the screen glitches out a little.

 ‘He must be headed for you! D-’ Blaze’s connection is cut off.

 New obstacles show in our way. The red cubes of doom! Oh no! But… wait, it’s worse than that… There are lots of reddish, glitching Infinites spread throughout the rest of the stage! Dear friends, I call those Phantom Infinites and I hope the fear they induce you encourages you to fight and run. If it doesn’t, here’s an in-game line from Espio:

 ‘The masked one is here! Eggman must have predicted our move! We can’t turn back now, we need to secure the shuttle as fast as possible!’

 And then you keep going until you reach the launch pad. Knuckles delivers a final line of “step right in, guys!” just as the Phantom Infinites disappear and the level is over, phew!

 Alright, you got your points, got your clothes, time to take a breather. You pressed switches, fought enemies, exerted team work, you deserve a small pause, rookie!

*”Almost Dead” plays in the background*

 In the meantime, why don’t we go check on Tails? It has been a while, huh?

 So we introduce this new cutscene with SA2’s weird typing thing on the screen, Japanese and all, and it all means “meanwhile, in the City …”

(Whether or not I’m being completely serious is totally up to you.)

Alright, so this should be a familiar scene for you all:

 Throw this out the window. Yep, throw this right out the window. Our Tails has lost his self-esteem, but he still has his dignity, damnit! So here’s what happened:

 The scene begins with Tails tinkering with something we can’t see. We’re face to face with the fox, as if we’re seeing him through the eyes of the very thing he’s fixing. He looks around and his eyes widen as he sees something. He then hurries to cover his work with a large, tattered mantle.

 Change of perspective: now we’re looking at the floor as water covers it, forming a puddle, which then transforms into Chaos. The illusion looks around and spots something big hidden by a cloth. Tails is nowhere to be seen.

 Chaos starts approaching when suddenly our fox boy comes crashing down on him with a flying attack, turning him back into a puddle.

 ‘Sorry, Chaos. No water near the machinery,’ Tails comments. ‘It’s been hard enough trying to fix him without a short circuit…’

 He pulls the covering and reveals a deactivated Omega under it.

 Tails pets the robot lightly on the head. ‘Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll figure it out eventually, I’ll bring you back. It’s like Sonic says: I-I just have to keep trying!’ He gives a dry laugh and continues to distractedly tinker with Omega.

 There’s a short moment of silence before the kid sighs. He looks defeated and so, so tired. ‘Who am I kidding…’ he murmurs. He looks Omega in the eyes again, now more exasperated, ‘I’m not smart enough for this! This is the craziest malware I’ve ever seen! What am I missing? Am I just going to keep failing again and again and…?’

 While Tails talks to himself, a tall figure of water starts to rise behind him.

 We again change perspective to see none other than Classic Sonic, who is walking down a street nearby, trying to orient himself in this foreign place. The small hedgehog catches sight of Tails, who is distracted. Chaos prepares to attack him from behind.

 Classic comes in and pushes Tails away from the strike! Chaos’ blow cracks the floor where the fox had been just a moment ago. Water being and hedgehog lock eyes for a moment, while Tails is shocked upon seeing who his saviour is.

‘S-Sonic?!’ He cries in confusion. Classic Sonic shoots him a short smile, and the boy just beams, hugging the blue hedgehog like he is a lifeline. ‘Sonic! You’re alive!’

Classic looks at his friend, puzzled, but soon forces them to duck Chaos’ next attack. He and Tails exchange a look, and the two-tailed fox shakes his head as if he’s coming out of a trance. ‘R-right,’ he says. ‘Let’s deal with Chaos first.’

Close scene aaand *blows trumpets of victory* we get a boss battle against Chaos!

(Remember this baby? Hell yeah!)

 This boss battle would count as a Classic Sonic level, but there is nothing stopping us from bringing Tails into the picture as well. Because Tails fought Chaos in the past and I see no reason why he would be scared of doing it again.

 I’ll say this goes similarly to the Chaos 0 fight in Sonic Adventure, but with more attacks. And instead of homing attacking the enemy – because Classic Sonic doesn’t have that ability –, perhaps we could press the jump button twice to be held in the air by Tails; the homing attack target would appear, then we press the jump button again to be thrown at the enemy, harming him. Then you go with your spin dash, your stomping, whatever your technic is to attack Chaos when he’s vulnerable; you know the drill.

 It shouldn’t be so hard, since it’s the first boss battle of the game. But just having Chaos do something is great already! Because why is he here if he does nothing? If you must use a character as nostalgia fodder, do it with passion!

 Once that is over, we get another cutscene:

 Classic stares at the puddle that was once Chaos as it runs down the street like a sentient stream of water. Tails looks at him. He seems a bit disappointed as he says:

 ‘You’re that Sonic from another dimension, aren’t you?’

 Classic looks at him and nods. Tails assumes a pensive expression, then goes back to Omega and opens a control panel on the robot’s back. ‘That’s strange… I wonder if what brought you here was the same thing that brought Blaze a few months ago…’

 The hedgehog starts looking around with a curious expression. This part of the city is in ruins.

 ‘I-I’m sorry for the mess… Usually this place looks a lot nicer,’ the two-tailed boy comments. Classic gives him a questioning look, to which he replies, ‘Eggman has this new guy working for him, and he took…’ he gulps; we can’t see his face. ‘He took down this world’s Sonic. They’ve been wreaking havoc since then.’

 Classic seems surprised. He approaches Tails as the boy takes out his scanner device and pulls a memory card from Omega’s panel. ‘That guy’s power is unparalleled,’ he says, inserting the card in the scanner. ‘And I think it has something to do with that gem he has! I’ve been watching him and-’

 We look over Tails’ shoulder to see an close up image of the Phantom Ruby on Infinite’s chest, next to some graphs. Once Classic sees it, he starts nodding enthusiastically, gaining Tails’ attention.

 ‘The gem?’ He asks. ‘You know something about it?’

 Classic Sonic starts mimicking and signing, and although it doesn’t look very comprehensible, Tails seems to understand. ‘So Eggman was researching it? That’s interesting… But what do you mean “it came with you”? How did you get here?’

 Classic shrugs.

 ‘I see… Well, I’m sure that, if we find that guy, we can learn more about this! And maybe we can get you home, too! What do you say? Want to help us save the world again?’

 The hedgehog gives him a thumbs up and a determined smile.

 Tails points down the street with a smile of his own. ‘Let’s go!’

 The two of them start running, but Tails stops in his tracks and comes back to cover Omega with the mantle again.

 ‘I’ll be back to get you, buddy. I promise,’ he says. He turns back around to leave and the scene ends.

 This gets us to the Ghost Town stage! It should go all about the same, except for the background dialogue. We begin with Tails saying “according to the data I got from Omega, we should be able to trace the masked guy… The signal is all over the place, but I think it’s somewhere up ahead.”

 Oof, that was something! Let’s explain it!

 It would make sense for Blaze to need a little bit of clarification on the importance of the Death Egg, since she’s not from around here. Just the same, it would make sense for the other characters to be wary of the space fortress.

 The reason why the rest of the data Rouge got is encrypted is because we need a bit of information now – the part about the prisoners, just so we can justify why they’re not pulling an operation to destroy the Death Egg already, as it would be dangerous to do if there are too many people on board as opposed to, say, only a small team – and a bit of information later. Why not tell everything at once, you may be wondering? Because there is still a suspense bit I want to keep for as long as I can, and you’ll see why as soon as I display that information… on the next part.

 What’s with the whole Seaside Hill situation? I use this to push a few aspects of the story: Blaze’s leadership – see how fast she is to devise a plan? –, Amy and Knuckles’ participation – they are the second in command, after all; they’ll be the ones leading any major operation when Blaze can’t –, the Resistance’s reaction to Infinite and the Eggman Empire’s capability to formulate strategies – you see, of course he knew the Resistance invaded and destroyed Arsenal Pyramid. Assuming they managed to get intel from it, especially regarding the Death Egg, Eggman would know their next move, that is to go to the space base; so they would predictably be at the Spaceport next. He sets a good diversion somewhere else and later catches the Resistance by surprise by having Infinite foil their plans at the Spaceport. Remember, Eggman’s got the smarts, guys. (Yeah, the plan has holes, but which plan doesn’t?)

 Now Infinite’s appearance in the stage is a bigger surprise, yet not something that comes out of nowhere. And it actually makes a difference that he’s there: there are new obstacles! New enemies! We’re witnessing the danger first hand instead of just being told he’s there then seeing no semblance of him whatsoever! Oh, and Phantom Infinites: I just think they’re neat. And of course the bastard has enough of an ego to use his own image to scare people off.

(See the red reflection behind him? That’s a Phantom Infinite now, you’re welcome.)

 So, um… I just want to mention that, originally, this stage has so much needless background dialogue. It’s insane! They repeat information over and over again: bitch, I know we’re here to get a shuttle, stop telling me that! I know the intention was probably for it to feel more like a team mission by having the characters talk to each other, but I greatly doubt people would be blabbing so many obvious statements in a real mission, so shut up.

 There’s that smooth transition to Tails and Classic’s portion of the story, and I wanted to emphasize Omega here. Tails was truly making an effort to fix the guy, and he’s been doing it at least for a while, even going as far as trying to hide him from Chaos. We later see that the boy won’t just forget about the robot; he’ll come back for him, which lays us some ground to tackle Omega’s return in the future.

(SEGA likes to forget he’s a part of Team Dark. SEGA likes to forget he exists. But I love my murderous robo-boy and shall not let him go to waste)

 Now, when they say Tails has “lost it” (and I know that was a translation error, but as I said, things are darker and have consequences in this rewrite), I reckon he would at least be talking to himself nonstop. He reminisces Sonic’s advice as if his friend was still around and, whenever the difficult reality comes crashing down on him, he’ll start blaming himself: he’s not smart enough, it’s his fault, he failed. Although I think it’s a matter of interpretation, my idea of traumatized Tails is less “coward” and more “survivor’s guilt”.

 Of course, Chaos isn’t down from one hit, so we have an excuse for Classic Sonic to interfere.  Since we already saw him earlier, we’re aware that he’s here at this point and him coincidentally bumping into this situation isn’t all that impossible, unlikely and godly opportune anymore. Conveniences in a story must have a limit, and suddenly transcending dimensions at exactly the right moment, at the exact right location is definitely overstepping those limits.

 Back to Tails’ issue here, it takes a bit longer for him to realise what’s going on, and he immediately clings to the idea that his best friend is back. And once he sees that’s not the case, he’s disappointed, not because he doesn’t like Classic, but rather because he let himself feed hopes. Yeah, those two will develop a bond, but it doesn’t really matter that there’s a Sonic around (like he says in the game, “heck, it’s good to see any Sonic!”): it is not his brother. If Classic Sonic is no longer just a Sonic from the past, then no, he’s absolutely no substitute for Modern Sonic, especially in his friends’ eyes.

 I feel like I already talked enough about Chaos, so I’ll skip the rant I had prepared to keep this post under a million words.

 Another thing I think would have been nice in the game is Classic’s confusion. If we’re to assume he’s somehow the same Classic Sonic from Generations – seen as Tails recognizes him and doesn’t question his existence, but rather breaks the entire continuity of that game with a single sentence –, he would be pretty perplexed by how much this world has changed. It’s all destroyed, his other self is dead, what the heck is going on-

 Tails mentions Blaze – just to remind us that she, too, shouldn’t be here, and her case and Classic’s may have a similar origin – and also theorizes about Infinite, even collecting data from Omega – if you remember, he encountered the jackal back in Episode Shadow, and that’s why he’s broken in the first place – as supporting evidence. He’s actively investigating and he’s coming to the rightful conclusion that the unnatural, glowing, big gem on the enemy’s chest has something to do with his powers, although he’s yet to discover how. Tails is a smart kid, let us not forget. And now more than ever, he’s made it his duty to find out how to fix the situation.

 They keep telling us that the Classic Sonic from Forces is the same one from Mania and, by the end of Mania (spoiler!) he’s sucked into a portal along with the Phantom Ruby and that’s why he’s here. He spent the majority of that game dealing with this trippy gemstone, don’t act like he doesn’t know it! Yes, I am telling you that the reason Eggman even has the Phantom Ruby in the first place is because Classic Sonic brought it with him from Mania, and I am telling you Classic Sonic has helpful information in this scenario! I’ll give you more information about this later, but there you have it: things are connected. Classic Sonic finally belongs in this story.

That should be about it for today. We got some nice story juices flowing; the plot should tie itself nicely in the end. I’m glad with where this is going!