Sonic Paradise

Sonic Paradise is a platformer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was released on July 14, 2024 in North America, for Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Swap and PlayStation 5. It follows Sonic and friends as they go to tropical island isolated from the rest of Mobius, collecting Chaos Sprites, to discover the truth behind their surprise vacation and just what lurks deep under the surface of Paradise Island. 
== Plot ==
One normal day in Station Square, Sonic comes back from another battle with Eggman and lies down on his bed, feeling exhausted, when Tails enters the room and looks down at Sonic. Earlier that day, he got 3 tickets for a vacation to Paradise Island in the mail and decided to tell Sonic that he should take a break once in a while. Sonic eventually agrees and with Knuckles start getting ready to go to Paradise Island
Meanwhile, Amy is at Cream's house eating some carrot cake that Vanilla had baked. Big was peacefully fishing on the big pond by the house. Cream then rushes in the room, excited and shows the tickets to go to Paradise Isle, which makes Amy fall of her chair in surprise. Big goes in the house and his face lights up as he sees the tickets. Amy runs to her house and starts filling up her suitcase while Big daydreams about the beautiful fishing spots
The next day, Rouge breaks into the airport to stop a package from arriving to its destination as it contains millions of rings. Espio and Charmy see Rouge break into the airport, suspect she is a thief and chase after her. When finding Rouge, Rouge is at first startled and questions Espio and Charmy. They tell her that they were looking for the same package as Rouge but just after they finished talking to her, they saw the terrorist group that sent the package. Frightened, Charmy rushes into the baggage deck on Amy's, Cream's and Big's a few minutes before the plane takes off. Espio tells Rouge that they have to hitch a flight to Paradise Island so both of them fight off the terrorist group and hitch on Sonic's, Tails' and Knuckles' plane.
In the distant past, the Duke of Soleanna, was working on a time machine so that Soleanna could predict any dangers in the near future. Elanor was Elise's younger sister and was far more curious and outgoing than Elise her sister. She would normally go over to her father and wonder at the time machine. However, today was the day that the Duke would finish the time machine and a tragedy would unfold. Silver, partnering up with Marine, travelled back to the past, ran to the room with time machine in it and tried to prevent Elanor going into the time machine but to their avail, both Elanor and Silver accidentally fell into the time machine and were transported to Paradise Island. Marine, determined to fix this on her own, transported herself to Sunshine Villa.
In present day, Amy's and Sonic's plane are about to land on the runway of Ocean Airport only to see that the runway has a giant, black, misty hole in the middle of it. Amy's plane lands safely, but Sonic's doesn't: half of the plane is hanging over the edge of the hole. Having no other option, Amy breaks down the door of the plane with her Piko Piko Hammer, allowing Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge and Espio get to shore just before the plane falls headfirst into the hole. Rouge and Espio then run off to search for Charmy and Sonic's team as well as Amy's Team defeat the Black Tentacles on the runway and go to the first Adventure Field: Sunshine Villa.
A few minutes before, Espio and Rouge arrived at Sunshine Villa and started to look for Charmy in Crystal Falls, only to find Elanor instead. Elanor decided to go along with Espio and Rouge but loses them on the way to Super Waterpark and thought that they had gone to Lake Village. While Team Sonic and Team Amy go off elsewhere, Charmy bumps into Silver and Marine, who had managed to find each other, and tags along with them to look for Elanor, who they spot going to Coco Jungle. When they finally find Elanor at Lake Village, Elanor becomes startled and heads to Sunshine Villa, where she finds Espio and Rouge looking for her. Once getting to Sunshine Villa, Team Silver think that Elanor must have gone into Seaside Resort and so go look for her there.
To be continued
== Characters ==
Image 	Character 	Description
 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	A speedy blue hedgehog who can break the sound barrier and has saved people and his friends many times, you sure don't want to get on his bad side!
 	Tails "Miles" Prower 	A curious, young though intelligent fox who is also Sonic's sidekick. Using his two tails, he can fly and aid Sonic in most situations.
 	Knuckles the Echidna 	A hot-headed gullible echidna who grew up on Angel Island. He is the sole protector of Master Emerald and gets quite angry if someone tries to steal it!
 	Amy Rose 	Amy is crazy about Sonic and she's certain that he'll marry her. She even wields a Piko Piko Hammer and can use it whenever someone really gets on her nerves!
 	Cream the Rabbit 	
 	Big the Cat 	
 	Rouge the Bat 	
File:Charmy (IIBU).png‏‎	Charmy Bee 	
 	Espio the Chameleon 	
 	Marine the Racoon 	
 	Silver the Hedgehog 	
 	Princess Elanor the Second	
 	Dr. Eggman 	An evil genius with an IQ of 300 and builds robots after robots to try to defeat Sonic. He is one of the very few humans that Sonic really interacts with and has a flying Egg Mobile which helps him move around.
 	Fallen Mist 	
== Stages ==
Sonic's Story 	Amy's Story 	Silver's Story 	Espio's Story
Ocean Airport 	Ocean Airport 	Ocean Airport 
(Charmy only)	Ocean Airport
Seaside Resort 	Tropical Plaza 	Lake Village 	Crystal Falls
Crystal Falls 	Peace Beach 	Seaside Resort 	Lake Village
(Elanor only)
Lake Village 	Crystal Falls
(Big only)	Hidden Prison 	Super Waterpark
Hidden Prison
(Sonic only)	Super Waterpark 	Misty Remains 	Hidden Prison
Tropical Plaza 	Hidden Prison 	Tropical Plaza 	Seaside Resort
Mushroom Mineshaft 	Seashell Cliffs 	Mushroom Mineshaft 	Mushroom Mineshaft
Misty Remains
(Knuckles only)	Misty Remains 	Crystal Falls
(Marine only)	Seashell Cliffs
Seashell Cliffs 	Mushroom Mineshaft
(Amy only)	Super Waterpark 	Tropical Plaza
Peace Beach 	Frozen City 	Peace Beach 	Peace Beach
(Espio only)
Super Waterpark 	Chaos Mountain 	Chaos Mountain 	Frozen City
Frozen City 	Lake Village 	Seashell Cliffs 	Chaos Mountain
Chaos Mountain
(Tails only)	Seaside Resort
(Cream only)	Frozen City 	Seaside Resort
(Rouge only)
Grayscale Wasteland	Grayscale Wasteland	Grayscale Wasteland	Grayscale Wasteland
Timeless Ravine 	Timeless Ravine 	Timeless Ravine
(Silver only)	Timeless Ravine
== Adventure Fields ==
=== Sunshine Villa ===
Every story starts in Sunshine Villa. Sunshine Villa gives you access to Ocean Airport, Seaside Resort, Tropical Plaza, Peace Beach and Super Waterpark.
=== Coco Jungle ===
This the second Adventure Field that every story goes to. Coco Jungle gives you access to Misty Remains, Mushroom Mineshaft, Lake Village, Crystal Falls and Seashell Cliffs
=== Forgotten East ===
This is always the last Adventure Field you go visit. Forgotten East gives you access to Frozen City, Chaos Mountain, Timeless Ravine, Grayscale Wasteland and Hidden Prison.
== Chaos Sprites ==
=== Ocean Airport ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Black Tentacles on the Runway 	TBA
2. The Rip on the Plane (Tails Sprite) 	Go over to Amy's plane and go through the Mist Portal, then complete the Mist Dimension stage
3. Way to the Control Tower 	TBA
4. Chaos Shards in Security (Knuckles Sprite) 	Go to Security through the door opposite the Control Tower door and collect the 8 Sprite pieces scattered around Security
5. The Secret of the Waiting Room (Tails Sprite) 	Go to the hallway with the entrance to the Control Tower and open the last door on the left. Enter the room and break the vending machine in the far corner of the room. Go into the portal and complete the Mist Dimension stage.
6. The Sprite on the Roof 	TBA
7. Chaos Sprites in the Entrance Hall (Knuckles Sprite)	TBA
==== Ocean Airport (Charmy only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Black Tentacles on the Runway 	TBA
2. The Rip on the Plane 	Go over to Amy's plane and go through the Mist Portal, then complete the Mist Dimension stage
3. Way to the Control Tower 	TBA
4. The Portal in the Luggage Area	TBA
5. The Secret of the Waiting Room	Go to the hallway with the entrance to the Control Tower and open the last door on the left. Enter the room and break the vending machine in the far corner of the room. Go into the portal and complete the Mist Dimension stage.
6. The Bathroom Sprite 	Head over to the waiting room and go to further down the hallway and go to the right instead of going into terminal 2. Go into the ventilation pipe and navigate around it until you get to another bathroom (which would be normally locked from the inside) and collect the Sprite
7. The Sprite in Parking Lot 	TBA
=== Seaside Resort ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. The Fight with the Egg Claws 	TBA
2. The Secret of the Reception (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
3. The Sprite Pieces in the Halls (Knuckles Sprite)	Enter the Resort, wonder around the rooms and hallways and collect the scattered Sprite Pieces
4. The Sprite at the Docks 	TBA
5. The Portal in the Pool (Tails Sprite) 	Go to Room A23 and grab the key to the pool room. Then go down the hall, take a right and open the door. Then, jump into the pool, swim into the portal and complete the Mist Dimension stage
6. Sprite Pieces at the Docks (Knuckles Sprite) 	TBA
7. Race against Tails in the Resort 	TBA
==== Seaside Resort (Cream only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. The Fight with the Egg Claws	TBA
2. The Secret of the Reception 	TBA
3. The Basement Underneath 	Enter the Resort, go up to the kitchen and enter the vent. Circumnavigate around the vents until you reach the manager's office and grab the key to the basement. Then go to the bottom floor and open the door right next to Room A13. Avoid the dirt and the water coming from the washing machines and get the Sprite.
4. The Sprite at the Docks 	TBA
5. The Portal in the Pool 	Go to Room A23 and grab the key to the pool room. Then go down the hall, take a right and open the door. Then, jump into the pool, swim into the portal and complet.e the Mist Dimension stage
6. The Hole in the Helipad 	TBA
7. The Missing Chaos Chao 	Look around the whole resort, eventually you'll enter the balcony, and you'll find the Chao. If you give it enough fruits, it will give you a Chaos Sprite and turn into a normal Chao.
==== Seaside Resort (Rouge only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. The Fight with the Egg Claws 	TBA
2. Scattered Sprite Pieces at the Entrance	Stay outside the Resort and hunt down the Sprite Pieces down, note that sometimes a Sprite Piece will spawn on the balcony.
3. The Sprite Pieces in the Halls 	Enter the Resort, wonder around the rooms and hallways and collect the scattered Sprite Pieces
4. The Sprite at the Docks 	TBA
5. Sprite of the Shining Waters 	First, break the door of the basement and grab the mallet. Head over to the docks and enter the boat shed on the right and break the floor of the shed, explore the water-logged cave and you'll find the Sprite.
6. Sprite Pieces at the Docks 	TBA
7. Secret Misson in the Resort 	TBA
=== Crystal Falls ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Down with Shadow Sonic! 	Go over to the middle of the lake and Shadow Sonic will appear. Lure him over to the water and hit him while wet 5 times or make hit one of the crystals 3 times.
2. The Sprite Pieces by the Lake (Knuckles Sprite) 	Wonder around the lake and collect the 8 Sprite Pieces scattered around it.
3. The Top of the Waterfall 	TBA
4. The Hole Behind the Waterfall (Tails Sprite) 	Go through the woods next to the biggest yellow crystal and cross the bridge to get to the first level of the waterfall. Then scale up it and go through the waterfall once you reach the third level. Fly over the water pit and complete the Mist Dimension stage.
5. Hunting Sprite Pieces at the Waterfall (Knuckles Sprite)	TBA
6. The Buried Oasis 	TBA
7. The Secret of Underwater Cave (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
==== Crystal Falls (Big only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Down with Shadow Sonic! 	Go over to the middle of the lake and Shadow Sonic will appear. Lure him over to the water and hit him while wet 5 times or make hit one of the crystals 3 times.
2. The Sprite Pieces by the Lake 	Wonder around the lake and collect the 8 Sprite Pieces scattered around it.
3. The Mystery of the Dirty Waterfall 	TBA
4. Where's Froggy? 	Head over to the first level of the waterfall and climb it until you reach the fourth level. Explore around the river and soon you'll find Froggy
5. Hunting Sprite Pieces at the Waterfall	TBA
6. The Buried Oasis 	TBA
7. Sprite Pieces Buried in the Water 	TBA
==== Crystal Falls (Marine only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Down with Shadow Sonic! 	Go over to the middle of the lake and Shadow Sonic will appear. Lure him over to the water and hit him while wet 5 times or make hit one of the crystals 3 times.
2. The Sprite Pieces by the Lake 	Wonder around the lake and collect the 8 Sprite Pieces scattered around it.
3. The Top of the Waterfall 	TBA
4. Scattered Sprite Pieces on the Bridges	TBA
5. Sprite Pieces of the Crystal Temple 	TBA
6. The Buried Oasis 	TBA
7. The Maze of the Spirit Crystals 	Jump into the lake and swim into the narrow crack into the side. Get to the other side of the buried oasis and go into the ruins. You then go into cave at the top of the cave that the ruins are in and complete the maze. Once you have done that, collect the Chaos Sprite on top of the massive crystal.
=== Lake Village ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Wind Monster on the Loose! 	TBA
2. Sprite Pieces Above the Lake (Knuckles Sprite) 	Go down to the lake and using the power characters' gliding ability, collect the 8 Sprite Pieces hovering above the water. Don't touch the water though, it's extremely dirty!
3. The Road to the Big Windmill 	Walk to the west side of the lake where the village is but instead of going into the village, go onto the broken wooden bridge. Then, hop from island to bridge until you reach the big island in the center of the big lake. Scale up the windmill using the path and use the big blades to get to the top. Ground pound on the roof and collect the Chaos Sprite.
4. The Hole in the Side of the Windmill (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
5. The Great Sprite of Windy Village 	TBA
6. Secret of the Valley (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
7. Search for the Sprite Pieces in the Village (Knuckles Sprite)	TBA
==== Lake Village (Elanor only) ====
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Wind Monster on the Loose! 	TBA
2. The Conundrum of the Lakeside School 	TBA
3. The Road to the Big Windmill 	Walk to the west side of the lake where the village is but instead of going into the village, go onto the broken wooden bridge. Then, hop from island to bridge until you reach the big island in the center of the big lake. Scale up the windmill using the path and use the big blades to get to the top. Ground pound on the roof and collect the Chaos Sprite.
4. Finding Sprite Pieces by Drepori Farm 	TBA
5. The Great Sprite of Windy Village 	TBA
6. Sprite Pieces along the Great White Wall 	Head over to the village and then find the staircase that leads to the big overhang. Once you are there, find the narrow passageway in between the two hills and use the waterwheel to climb on top of the wall. Run along the top of the wall until you get all the Sprite Pieces
7. Search for the Sprite Pieces in the Village	TBA
=== Hidden Prison ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Dr. Eggman Appears! 	TBA
2. Breakout 	TBA
3. Secret of the Cafeteria (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
4. Sprite Pieces Around the Cell Blocks (Knuckles Sprite)	TBA
5. The Warden's Office 	TBA
6. Sprite Pieces in the Courtyard (Knuckles Sprite) 	TBA
7. The Portal in the Gym (Tails Sprite) 	TBA
=== Hidden Prison (Sonic only) ===
Name of the Chaos Sprite 	How to get it
1. Dr. Eggman Appears! 	TBA
2. Breakout 	TBA
3. Sprite of the Forgotten Room 	TBA
4. The Treasure in Cell-X66 	TBA
5. The Warden's Office 	TBA
6. Spooky Business in the Showers	TBA
7. Lookout Tower Sprite 	TBA
== Gameplay ==
The gameplay is split 4 stories: Sonic's Story, Amy's Story, Silver's Story and Espio's Story. Each story has a team leader who will get 3 of the 7 Chaos Sprites in a level and is the character who unlocks new areas. Every story has the same Chaos Sprites. Each story also has a fly character who will get 2 of the 7 Chaos Sprites in a level and is the character who does the Mist Dimension levels, this character can fly. Each story also has a strength character who will get the last 2 of the 7 Chaos Sprites in a level and is the character who does the Sprite Pieces hunting levels, this character can unlock small shortcuts between the three areas. Each story has 15 levels with 7 Chaos Sprites in each level. 15 Chaos Sprites can summon a Chaos Emerald, which can be used in the final battle and an alternate ending. Team Sonic consists of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, Team Amy consists of Amy, Cream and Big, Team Silver consists of Silver, Charmy and Marine and Team Espio consists of Espio, Rouge and Elanor.
== Reception ==
Sonic Paradise got generally great reviews from critics. Metacritic gave Sonic Paradise 83/100 based on 29 reviews, praising its variety of characters, having just enough new and old characters, the immersive levels and the charming art design that Sonic Team was going for while Game Rankings gave it an 85.50%, stating on how serious yet care-free the story is and how "surprisingly fun it is to explore an open environment as Sonic, yet being kept under some restrictions". However, one of the biggest complaints about the game is its loss of interesting game mechanics and the sheer difficulty spike that can occur. Metacritic mentioned that one second, you'll be exploring a resort with barely any death planes, the next you'll be doing the second hardest level in the game (this refers to Amy's and Espio's Story in which you go from Seaside Resort to Grayscale Wasteland.)
The game sold 700,000 units globally on Playstation 5, 400,000 units globally on Xbox Series S/X and 550,000 units globally on the Nintendo Swap totaling 1.65 million units sold. This game became a Playstation Greatest Hits and an Xbox Platinum Family Hits.
== Trivia ==
* The theme song of Sonic Paradise: "Distance" is used 6 times during the whole game.
* Counting all 4 stories, to 100% the game you need to collect 420 Chaos Sprites + get the alternate ending.
* To get to the Finale (a boss battle between Sonic and Black Mist), you need 60 Chaos Sprites but to get the alternate ending, you need to get all 105 Chaos Sprites
* The ending of this game is a reference to Super Mario Galaxy's ending, in which Sonic's subconsciousness says "This universe will similar yet it'll have a difference, big or small, it will be different, and you may never go back to your own timeline ever again" which is reference to Rosalina's quote of "the universe was an endless cycle, but one that never repeats itself exactly the same way each time"
*This game was ported to PC on June 12, 2025
*Hidden Prison, was actually originally going to be in Coco Jungle instead of Forgotten East
*The world record for Sonic's Story is 1hr, 3 minutes, 34 seconds and 21 milliseconds.
*The Chaos Sprite "The Road to the Big Windmill" in Lake Village is based off of the first and second shine sprite of Bianco Hills in Super Mario Sunshine
*In the game's files, there is texture for lava and an animation for melting rock. These assets would be used for Crona Volcano in the sequel of Sonic Paradise
*There is an unused level in the game's files called "Void Crater" along with the text box for one of the Chaos Sprites: "Savior of Vacation Island". This was thought to be the prototype version of the last level.