Saturday, May 2, 2009

LOST is Sonic 3.

Spoilers abound within, yarrr!A plane comes rocketing through voluminous midday clouds, it passes into blue sky for just a second, but that's all it takes for land to be seen ahead. The plane is heading straight for it - an island that seems to lie in the middle of nowhere - and within seconds, the aircraft hits a pristine white-sand beach bordered a short distance away by dense foliage. When the survivors come to their senses, they realise they may just have landed in paradise. Tropical birdcalls echo through thick temperate rainforest, and there's nobody else around; but in this story, our main character isn't Jack Shephard. It's a blue hedgehog named Sonic.


Sonic and Lost, together a magical thing.It was while googling "Sonic fan art" a couple of days ago (not a word) for my computer background at work that a thought of some significance hit me. Thinking hard about what I remembered from my key gaming years back in 1994, I began scribbling down some notes. A minute later and with a slow, dramatic camera dolly, I suddenly realised that my favourite video game shares some amazing parallels with my favourite tv show, Lost.

Let's review a couple of strangely similar details that made me feel Darlton may just have been SEGA fans back in the day as well:

Newcomers.

How dare you point at me in such a poignant way!If the entrance wasn't enough, Sonic's arrival on the island sees him running into Knuckles the Echidna (literally), an inhabitant of the island that initially seems very hostile towards the blue hedgehog. Knuckles steals the Chaos emeralds Sonic has been collecting (in the previous game) and bolts, but not before laughing derisively. So, an inhabitant of the island clashing with the hero, Ben and Jack spring to mind. You could go further though, and say that these two characters symbolise the two groups on the island, the Losties, and the Others. This is important to note for what's coming up.

Power source.

The island Sonic lands on moves - physically. It does so by using an incredible power source, buried deep within the island's core. Knuckles' job is to stop people from finding it, and to protect the power source from those that want to use it for their own purposes. Sound familiar? Sure it does, the Lost Island moves as well using an incredible 'unique' electromagnetic power source too, also buried deep within the island. Protecting the island are the mysterious Others, spearheaded by Ben and Richard Alpert. To 1-up Sonic though, the lost Island can move through space and time. Take that SEGA!

Deeper still.

Knuckles is the last remaining survivor of a long-lost ancient civilization. Remnants of this civilization can still be seen on the island, many of which Sonic makes his way through as levels. Temples, obelisks, and caverns with foreign symbols etched into the rocks are just part of the fun. Knuckles has a deep understanding of these relics and the history of the island. Deja vu? Indeed! Check out Richard Alpert! This is the man who knows the island's secrets, communicates with it, and protects it. Knuckles' job is exactly the same.

More, more!

Ok, so now things really get interesting. At one point in the game, Sonic ends up deep in the bowels of the island, in a place called the 'Hidden Palace'. Knuckles appears, and the two clash, but behind them both on the walls of the temple is a fresco. Check it out. Look familiar? Sure as heck does. Check out the one from the recent episode of Lost: Dead Is Dead.

The Fresco in Dead Is Dead, and Sonic 3


Crazy talk! You are the man!

Yes I know. But sit down, there's more.

So, we have Sonic and Knuckles (Losties and Others) who are two forces battling it out on the island. But there is yet another; a third, sinister force behind the scenes manipulating the characters and seeking the power source that is being so fiercely defended ... Eggman. After finding the island by mistake, Eggman (or 'Robotnik' back in '94) begins searching for the Master Emerald. He knows however, that the island has a defender, so he sends a mechanized army out to kill Knuckles (and Sonic of course). Eggman is a genius, a mincing, very rich and comically overweight genius. He'll stop at nothing to get the Master Emerald, and Sonic and Knuckles are expendable hinderances. So, a genius finds the island, wants the power source, and sends an army to kill everyone else in his way. Let's just call him Charles.

Time for one more?

My goodness you're demanding! Ok so to sum it up, so far we have an island (and an island), a plane crash (and a plane crash), Sonic & Knuckles (Losties & Others), an incredible power source hidden underground that makes the island special (the Master Emerald, and the Electromagnetic thingamy), an ancient, lost civilization with temples and relics (whaddya know, an ancient, lost civilization with temples and relics), a crazy-ass fresco (and a crazy-ass fresco), and a madman seeking the island's power (ditto). Let's look finally at something that isn't in Sonic 3, but in Sonic Adventure a couple of games afterward (released 1999).

The Master Emerald that powers the island has this trick it pulls. See, when someone manages to do something evil while in it's vicinity, it summons a guardian. A crazy liquid-spirit named Chaos, who's sole function is to judge and destroy. Oh my.

According to legend, the reason Knuckles' island has nobody left is that centuries ago his people warred over the emerald. Subsequently, Chaos was called forth and destroyed them all.

Well, seems the Lost Island has this crazy smoke-monster whose sole function (as far as we know yet) is to judge and - you guessed it - destroy. It's a guardian too, and one of the ways it's called forth is by emptying water from a small well. The civilization on the Lost island is gone too.

Would it be crazy to assume that we might see some kind of backstory similar to this in Lost? If we do, I hereby reserve the right to declare myself supreme master of the universe - or just a guy that picked up some strange similarities between a decade-old video game and Lost, and was dumb enough to post them online.

Cheers all,

Jimzip

7 thoughts are now mine:

Dale said...

That really is something! You've presented the world with the compelling facts and I believe you should go in the history books for this! The crazy-ass frescos just grabbed my world, turned it upside-down, and shook vigorously. On top of everything else! Perhaps SEGA would be interested in this...

Luke said...

Hehe, I can tell by the tittle I'll enjoy this - but I'm avoiding reading it and even dale's comment out of fear of LOST spoilers. Been having LOST nights with dave, but we're a couple of eps behind because we figure we'll save them up leading towards the finale so there's less time to wait between eps that end on cliffhangers. ;) Will definitely read when the seasons over!

Anonymous said...

good sleuthing!!!! i was a huge fan of this gam e too.

ethan

lissy said...

Man that sonic game was SO cool. Whatever happened to that?
Can we get another one?? ( like I mean the same one, not some new wii one that changes the graphics and has a crap remote)

Yes, I am still thoroughly up to date with your blog :) So much so that I check it way more than you post, so get on it!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxx

Luke said...

Ok, I've read it now and love it! Genius! I'll have to pass on the link to some other LOST fans. And I may need to download Sonic 3 on the wii so I can find out how LOST is going to end - or possibly develop my own tv show passed on the game Mega Man. I'll call it Astro Boy. (Although it's hard to get TV shows up these days, so I may have to travel back in time to do this...)

Spooky coincidence - the word verification is musen (Surely that's the process of being muse-d).

Dale said...

Just re-reading my comment (really busy day I'm having) and if it came across as sarcastic it wasn't my intention. I was, and still am, genuinely impressed. Although now that I've seen your work I'm expecting more excellent sleuthing from you in the future. :)

Jimzip said...

Hahah, yah, I know. :) Well thank you!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while too (to whoever is reading this), busy-modo... will do so again very soon.

Jimzip :D



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