Game Theory: Sonic is Lying...AGAIN! (Sonic Mania)

Many people claim Sonic copied the Super Saiyan transformation from Dragon Ball Z due to similarities with seven Chaos Emeralds, super powers, and golden hair.

Super Saiyan debuted in Dragon Ball Z manga in August 1991, but Sonic was originally released in June 1991, several months earlier.

The Super Sonic form didn't debut until Sonic 2 in 1992, so Sonic still couldn't have copied DBZ's transformation despite the earlier release date.

The comparison ignores release timelines and the specific debut of Super Sonic form in later games.

MatPat's fondest memories include playing Sonic 2 in the basement with friends Max and his brother, taking turns as Sonic and Tails until rage quitting.

Outside of gaming, MatPat was fascinated by shiny rocks, precious gemstones, and crystals, maintaining a collection that he still has today.

As a rock nerd, MatPat was bothered by the Chaos Emeralds being called emeralds when he didn't think they actually were.

His current job involves researching details in video games that bothered him as a child, allowing him to finally investigate the Chaos Emeralds.

• Chaos Emeralds are power sources capable of powering absurd weapons like Robotnik's Eclipse cannon • They can be used by forces of good in Gaia temples for constructive purposes

When drained of energy, Chaos Emeralds can be placed on Gaia temple altars to recharge through Earth's power, functioning like rechargeable batteries.

From Sonic 3 onwards (until Sonic Mania), seven brilliant cut gemstones were finalized with colors: red, green, blue, cyan, purple, yellow, and gray.

In early games, the number, color, and shape of emeralds were inconsistent between titles before being standardized.

A gemstone is technically a crystal composed of a single mineral, just as snowflakes are specifically crystalline forms of water.

Emeralds are specifically crystalline forms of the mineral beryl, but beryl also forms other gemstones like aquamarine, making mineral composition alone insufficient.

Color is the key differentiator: emeralds must be green, getting their color from small amounts of chromium during formation.

Sonic has been lying about Chaos Emeralds for decades—only one of the seven can actually be a true emerald, making the name fundamentally incorrect.

Gemstones belong to the same species if made of the same mineral and structure, like rubies and sapphires both being crystallized corundum.

• Green: Emerald • Yellow: Heliodor • Teal: Aquamarine • Blue: Blue beryl or Maxixe • Red: Red beryl (extremely rare, worth 150,000 times more than diamond)

Purple beryl doesn't naturally exist in the deep rich shade shown in Sonic games; morganite is technically purple beryl but appears pink.

Beryl crystals don't behave like Chaos Emeralds in real life—they're never used to power weapons or have special properties matching the games.

Certain gemstones have piezoelectric properties: when squeezed or heated, they produce electrical voltage, making them potential power sources.

The Sonic comics reveal the 'Chaos Compressor' machine that uses pressure on stones to generate electricity, matching real piezoelectric behavior.

Only seven naturally-occurring crystal families have piezoelectric properties, with quartz standing out as the most common gemstone on Earth.

According to Sonic lore, Planet Mobius is Earth tens of thousands of years in the future, making Earth-based gemstones plausible candidates.

• Creates voltage through piezoelectric properties when pressed • Works in reverse: applying charge to quartz crystal produces mechanical motion useful for precise machine communication

Quartz crystal oscillators were invented in 1927 for quartz clocks, which are over ten times more accurate than traditional mechanical clocks.

Quartz crystals can store electrical charges and possess high capacitance, commonly used in circuit boards—matching Chaos Emeralds' ability to absorb and store power.

A larger quartz crystal would have naturally higher capacitance, allowing it to absorb charges from smaller stones or transfer its own charge to amplify powers.

Quartz naturally occurs in clear, yellow, red, blue, teal, pink, and purple varieties, matching all Chaos Emerald colors.

Prasiolite or green quartz is the rarest naturally occurring colored quartz because it gets its green color from radiation exposure.

Giant green quartz crystals on Angel Island suggest possible radioactivity that could explain how talking hedgehogs, foxes, and echidnas came into existence.

According to Sonic origins comics, aliens bombed Earth with genetic explosives that merged human DNA with animal DNA to create Mobians, with radioactive decay potentially creating the Chaos Emeralds.

Chaos Emeralds are most likely quartz crystals with piezoelectric properties, not actual emeralds, explaining their gameplay mechanics and color variations.

Diving into the Sonic franchise reveals a dark and complex universe with radioactive gene bombs and interdimensional origins.

MatPat recommends JTV, hosted by professional gemologist Natalie, which covers topics like lightsaber crystals from Star Wars and dragonglass from Game of Thrones.

Viewers should check out Natalie's video on Minecraft crystals, subscribe to JTV, and comment with the word 'flapjack' to create an inside joke with her audience.