the master emerald in SA2

[Diogenes]

It was a screw up in the sense that the writers didn't think that far ahead. You want another screw up? In Sonic Adventure 1, the Master emerald is shown as being outside. I've seen this explained as the result of Sonic 3's ending, because Sonic left it on the surface of the island, but Sonic Adventure also shows it as being there in the past.

Well, yeah. They were originally at the outdoor shrine, then they were moved to the Hidden Palace after Chaos' rampage and the area becoming the Floating Island, then Knuckles moved it back to the old shrine after S3&K. Kind of clumsy, maybe, but no big deal.

Knuckles also highlights it's emerald controlling power over it's own output.

Makes sense, considering that's the part that was important to the story.

[Badnik Zero]

Well, yeah. They were originally at the outdoor shrine, then they were moved to the Hidden Palace after Chaos' rampage and the area becoming the Floating Island, then Knuckles moved it back to the old shrine after S3&K. Kind of clumsy, maybe, but no big deal.

Or even - the Master Emerald's proper place is on the lookout in the shrine ruins, and Knuckles moves it to the Hidden Palace while he believes Sonic is trying to rob him. Then at the end of S3&K it's returned to the top of the island. That makes the most sense in the continuity without too much explanation. As for SA2... where is the Emerald at the beginning of SA2 anyways?

[Blue Blood]

But nothing actually says that's what happens. It was a design change until otherwise stated.

At the start of SA2 it's in a "desert area", as the cutscene says. It indicated that Rouge had got the Emerald away from the Altar, but had since been caught by Knuckles. Of course, it still looks like they're airborne/high up.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Blue Blood

[Octarine]

I'd like to call the switch from the Hidden Palace to the outdoor shrine an acknowledgement of Chaos' defeat and purification or somesuch, but since it's so unclear how much Knuckles actually knows about his past... yeah, I guess it makes sense that he just moved the Emerald to the Hidden Palace because he had forewarning of Sonic's coming. Maybe he can't actually live in the Hidden Palace for spiritual/needing to eat reasons, so it's inconvenient to have it there all the time.

As for SA2... where is the Emerald at the beginning of SA2 anyways?

If song lyrics count as evidence:

I gotta protect this place I do it for my race

...would seem to suggest that it's on Angel Island somewhere, along with how odd it would be for Knuckles to just be walking around with it somewhere else. Desert + Angel Island = Sandopolis to me, so I'll call it that until something contradicts me. Pfui to Adventure 2's world map.

[Diogenes]

Or even - the Master Emerald's proper place is on the lookout in the shrine ruins, and Knuckles moves it to the Hidden Palace while he believes Sonic is trying to rob him. Then at the end of S3&K it's returned to the top of the island. That makes the most sense in the continuity without too much explanation.

The Japanese Sonic 3 manual has the emeralds (Master included) already in the Hidden Palace before even Eggman gets there. Aaactually, it's surprisingly ambiguous about where the events take place...anyway.

If this were true, what, exactly, were they using those seven-plus-one pillars in the Hidden Palace for before that?

As for SA2... where is the Emerald at the beginning of SA2 anyways?

It's the desert around Eggman's pyramid base. It's using all the same textures as Tails' desert level (for a while I thought it was actually in his level...but it doesn't quite match. A beta version, maybe...). Plus it explains why Eggman randomly shows up; they're basically arguing on his front lawn.

I'd like to call the switch from the Hidden Palace to the outdoor shrine an acknowledgement of Chaos' defeat and purification or somesuch,

But it was already at the old shrine at the start of SA, before Chaos was even released. Edited December 12, 2009 by Diogenes

[Octarine]

But it was already at the old shrine at the start of SA, before Chaos was even released.

Ughh, dammit. Of course. This is why we think before we post, children.

It's the desert around Eggman's pyramid base. It's using all the same textures as Tails' desert level (for a while I thought it was actually in his level...but it doesn't quite match. A beta version, maybe...). Plus it explains why Eggman randomly shows up; they're basically arguing on his front lawn.

This I don't agree with, though. Why would Knuckles and Rouge be there in the first place? I can understand Rouge keeping it away from Knuckles and getting as far as a different part of Angel Island, but if she got far enough that she'd left the island entirely, why would she retreat to a ruin in the middle of a random desert? I guess it would kind of be her style to have a hidey-hole in an ancient pyramid, but the same one Eggman's using? That's a mighty big coincidence.

Eggman also claims to have been following "the signal from the emerald" when he comes across the two of them; he doesn't just stumble on to them by accident. Er, probably.

[Diogenes]

This I don't agree with, though. Why would Knuckles and Rouge be there in the first place?

I always figured it was coincidence; Knuckles chased her and they wound up near Eggman's base. Though, considering she's a spy, perhaps she was there to spy on Eggman...

Eggman also claims to have been following "the signal from the emerald" when he comes across the two of them; he doesn't just stumble on to them by accident. Er, probably.

Well, yeah, but why would it be worth his time to investigate a signal that tells him the Master Emerald is on Angel Island? He knew that already, and if he was interested in stealing the emerald again he could've done it any time. But when you get a huge energy reading 20 feet from your front door, well, that's probably something you should check out.

[Badnik Zero]

If this were true, what, exactly, were they using those seven-plus-one pillars in the Hidden Palace for before that?

Hm... well they don't have to be used at all, if it's a spare shrine. Knuckles and his tribe (whoever came before Knuckles I guess) aren't in possession of all the Emeralds like they were in in SA1's past sequences, so the Emerald spots even above ground would be empty too, save for the Master Emerald. It also raises the old question of what the Super Emeralds are anyways. I always thought they were "empty" emeralds that only get powered when the actual Chaos Emeralds are around. They might be placeholders for the original Emeralds, since the Master Emerald has some kind of power equilibrium to maintain... or something.

[Octarine]

Well, yeah, but why would it be worth his time to investigate a signal that tells him the Master Emerald is on Angel Island? He knew that already, and if he was interested in stealing the emerald again he could've done it any time. But when you get a huge energy reading 20 feet from your front door, well, that's probably something you should check out.

The only thing I can think of is that Angel Island might move... maybe he didn't realize that's where he was until he got there, and he decided to check things out just in case...?

...

Of course, there's also the location subtitle that just calls the place "desert area". If it really was Angel Island, it probably would've been marked as such. And, y'know, everything probably would've happened near the shrine. Uh... never mind, then.

It's quite strange that we never got to see the actual theft of the ME, really. Rouge could've been introduced as mysterious and threatening, but instead it cut straight to the squabbling in the middle of an unidentifiable desert. Oh, for what could have been...

Edited December 13, 2009 by Octarine

[Icecoldfrieza]

There is a scene in Sonic X where Knuckles makes the Master Emerald appear out of thin air right on screen. It might have been in season 3.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Icecoldfrieza