Sonic did comment about it, he said he just sleeps anywhere but if he needs a place he sleeps on Tails' sofa! So there you go, he pretty much lives with Tails.
"I am not familiar with Sonic Lore, but I appreciate that it has one as a Nintendo fan." Sonic Lore is like the "Monkey's Paw" wish for lore. Once you get familiar you know.
@@Some-guy-that-exist-p2j What it is is a series of stories that were clearly never meant to be part of an ongoing narrative, but since LORE is in right now, Sega is following the money.
Yknow ive seen this sentiment around and so far i just dont get it, maybe im just not deep enough into it, but sonic lore seems fine to me, theres some stuff like blaze being from another dimension and then from the future and then from another dimension again as a result of 06, or Classic Sonic being from the past and then from another dimension and then from the past again as a result of forces, but that all seems like pretty tame retcons for a series thats gone on this long and should be pretty easy to hammer out, maybe im just missing something
Hello I’m a Sonic fan. Been one since the 2000’s and I would to help answer some questions Arlo brings up. This is just to educate and to help anyone who’s in Arlo’s shoes here and are just confused by the circumstance. I’ll timestamp the segments I’m responding to. ------------------ 0:12 Yeah. The Sonic “Lore” isn’t well thought out or constructed. You will find many inconsistencies and contradictions (both subtle and obvious) from title to title. The Lore Team is something that recently became a thing. They’re there for “damage control.” For lack of a better word. ------------------ 5:16 Sonic doesn’t stay in the same area for any longer that he wants to. He’s always on the move and is constantly traveling. Sonic doesn’t have any strong attachments to any location. The whole world is his backyard. ------------------ 6:31 Sonic doesn’t live in Green Hill, he hasn’t spent a lot time there, also none of his friends live at Green Hill. A recent Sonic Cartoon “Sonic Prime” conveyed that they do and fans weren’t happy about that either because it’s not true. ------------------ 6:44 The only times a Sonic Game starts in Green Hill is Sonic 1, Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania, Sonic Forces and Sonic Frontiers. 5 times. Every other first stage in Sonic games are usually just a location that’s Green Hill inspired or a new location that has nothing to do with Green Hill. The games make it clear if you’re at Green Hill or not. More often than not he’s not there. ------------------ 7:34 Actually if you call Sonic you won’t get an answer, cause Sonic doesn’t own a phone. ------------------ 8:54 Just to try to help you understand, the reason fans are relieved of Sonic is STILL “Homeless” is because it’s something that’s always been a detail about Sonic. It’s like if Nintendo randomly stated, “Mario isn’t a plumber” out of the blue. It’s a detail that’s been there since the beginning, but not a common knowledge. Fans know it, but your average joe does not. ------------------ And I guess to finish this off, I would imagine most would think Sonic lives in Green Hill is because it’s the first Level of his first game. “Oh Mario lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, so Sonic must live in Green Hill.” Which is a fair comparison to make. A lot of platform games normally start at a location that’s familiar to the main character . That and you have a lot of the branding (like Toys and Merchandise) with Green Hill imagery on the packaging because it’s iconic. Doesn’t help that Sega has been forcing Green Hill in recent Titles in some way. So I don’t blame anyone out the loop to think Sonic lives in Green Hill. Clearly whoever made that Sonic Comic thought the same thing. If you read my whole silly ramble, I thank you and I hope you have a great day or night or whatever time you’ve read this.
I mean he's homeless by choice. He's the kind of guy who can't stay in a single place for too long. He likes to be on the move, to run around and explore. That's just how he is. He doesn't vibe with the idea of actually settling down anywhere. He hangs around Green Hill pretty frequently, but if he wants to leave, he can. Nothing holds him there. Like, in Sonic Adventure 1 he was in Station Square and in Sonic '06 he was in Soleanna, and it was seemingly unrelated to Eggman attacking. He was just there at the right time at the right place.
@@HeilRay in sonic X, Knuckles mentions that unlike the human world, nobody owns land in the islands. Always thought that was interesting not that it's canon but it was handled by sonic team.
@@Xalerdane Which makes a lot of sense looking at the games constantly taking place somewhere else. He has his house in emerald city and his main lab in Mystic Ruins, but he does not always have access to those areas.
I think Sonic is supposed to be constantly travelling the world which is why it’s inaccurate to say he ‘lives’ in a specific place. Also a few games just start with Sonic friend’s finding him in random locations and remarking that they haven’t seen in him ages lol (Long time no see!)
@@JacksonJinn And dear lord he's doing an incredible job at it! Then again, this is the same man who somehow wrapped up 60-something plot threads in the span of a few issues in the Archie comics, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Green Hill surprisingly doesn't appear in as many games as you would expect. Sonic has only canonically been to Green Hill (physically) like 3 times. He's usually just in Green Hill in marketing material. Sonic never likes to stay in one place which is why he's homeless, it's out of choice, he's always on the run, never stopping, just like the wind, always seeking out new places, cultures, and adventures. I can't even name any of Sonic's friends that live in Green Hill.
@@_rando_d Agreed. In the Genesis era, Green Hill only appears Sonic 1. While the other games have completely new locations. Some GameGear Sonic games do occasionally bring back Green Hill. The 2000s 3D Era Sonic games only bring back Greenhill once and it’s in Sonic Adventure 2 as a secret level. It wasn’t up until Sonic Generations and onwards where they started to reusing Green hill multiple times.
Being "homeless" is kinda important because Sonic loves adventure and the earth, which is a core part of his character. And I don't think most games start in Green Hill? Most Sonic games I can think of actually start in very different locations, and the examples of Green Hill you're probably thinking of either aren't actually the first location in the game, or are different places that only resemble Green Hill.
Yeah. Other than Sonic 1 I can't think of any games that start in Green Hill Zone. I think Arlo might be conflating some similar-ish places with Green Hill and then either forgetting about or just not having played games like Colors starting in an amusement park or Unleashed in orbit etc. Green Hill Zone pops up in a lot of games for the fan service aspect of it but it's very rarely where he is at the start of an adventure.
@kirbythekirb59 Generations and Mania brought him there by circumstance, he wasn't hanging out there when Eggman started plotting. The Green Hill in Frontiers isn't literally Green Hill, but areas in Cyberspace which Sonic's memories "impress" Green Hill onto. You could say that means he spends a lot of time there and therefore makes it his home, but by that logic Sky Sanctuary is also Sonic's home. Really the only games where Sonic is hanging out there when the inciting incident happens are Sonic 1 and Forces
Arlo, you totally understand the concept of “Homelessness vs Houselessness”. Most people are actually just houseless, and the place they’re from is their home. Props to you 😌👏❤️
@ You could interpret what I said as that, but if I was to be more clear, when I said “most people” I really meant “most homeless people”. Most people living on the street are actually still in the same town or county they used to be in before becoming houseless. That makes the town/county/community their home, they just happen to be lacking a house, making them houseless.
Sonic is from Christmas Island. Spends a good amount of time in Green Hill Zone, but this is because he visits his friends, who are more stationary. Always has itchy feet and will head off at a moment's notice, sometimes for years at a time. It's actually why the iconic line "Long time no see!" came to be.
@@tjlnintendo Japan left it up to the US to come up with the canon. There's elements of it in manuals, even some later games. Take chilidogs for example. Sonic eating chilidogs was part of the US canon so frequently that it eventually ended up in the games. It became known just as the phrase "gotta go fast" did even though Sonic never spoke that phrase himself but because it was in the US 4Kids intro to Sonic X as part of the opening, people quoted it enough that it became part of Sonic permanently in the games and movies, tv shows, ect. Sega of Japan tries to sweep it all under the rug. It's not just Penders. Penders isn't responsible for creating the setting and main cast in SatAM or Archie, and many of those elements were made up in the Sonic bible that existed before both of those. It's canon. It was always canon.
@@MacUser2-il2cx Ken Penders is irrelevant as he only impacts his own OCs in archie. But SATAm still isn’t canon. That is a separate continuity from the games. There is a reason why Sally and the freedom fighters don’t appear in IDW or the games. They also didn’t leave it up to America to come up with the lore. The American branch changed it out of their own behalf because they didn’t like the Japanese origin story and believed their version of the story would be more fitting for the western audience.
@@MacUser2-il2cxit's not canon, they can take inspiration but most of the elements in Archie and satam don't match up with the creators' visions. That's why they only take specific things that can fit into the lore.
6:30 no Sonic doesn’t spend most of his time there. ALSO no, not every game starts with Green Hill. During the first 19 years of the franchise, Sonic revisited Green Hill Zone ONCE in a mainline game. And it was an extra unlockable stage in Sonic Adventure 2. Only since Sonic Generations, bringing back older locations, have the games started with Green Hill Zone again. There have been way more games without Green Hill Zone than with it
Yeah. It pops up a lot for fanservice/nostaliga but he's typically not there at the start of an adventure. Even in games like Mania where it's the first level, he ends up there because of plot shenanigans. It's not like Mushroom Kingdom to Mario where he just chills out there until an adventure happens.
Sonic may be personally homeless, but he is a world-renowned hero with a ton of friends spanning his whole planet (and other dimensions). I'm fairly certain he can find a roof over his head for a night, but for the most part he just travels, much like Ryu from Street Fighter. He spends his days just finding random adventures to get up to.
I remember that anime OVA that showed him having a beach house of some sort, or Adventure 1 with Tails' workshop serving as a house. I get his free-roaming spirit, but the dude should have a home somewhere to crash.
Kinda telling that he uses an abandoned plane to sleep in. Shows that he's comfortable anywhere. Which is why characters like Amy and tails look up to him. Despite having their own homes they yearn for adventure
i appreciate sega* trying to duct tape the lore into something more coherent in the last few years, and i highly recommend the Tails Tube series on youtube which gives a fairly "good enough" surmation of sonic lore. including sonic being homeless. which he freely admits he doesn't have the need for a proper house, since he's always on the move. *ian flynn
@@whentheyD when they redo sonic adventure 1 they should make only sonic and knuckles stories required to beat the game and make the other ones side stories that are optional for 100%. It will make the story flow better since you can give sonic some side missions where he helps the different characters at points where their stories would interject then once you help them you unlock their "side story" as "extra content" while moving all the echidna lore to knuckles story since it's only important to him.
@@trashboat5388 They should also add Big vs Gamma and Big vs Tails sub-boss events at the obvious points in the story where it just feels like those events were supposed to have been placed anyway.
While Green Hill Zone is iconic, it hasn't really been a huge part of the Sonic franchise in terms of apperances in games until Sonic Generations, in which it's been reused constantly. Sonic does frequently start in a green area, but they are always different locations that feature heavy greenery (Emerald Hill, Seaside Hill, heck in Sonic Adventure he doesn't even start in a green area, he starts in a city).
and even with games since generations, its still not really said to be his home. he's only there in generations and mania cuz of time travel, and in forces sonic kinda just refers to it as a place he likes to hang around often. and ofc the frontiers green hill isnt the real location
Sonic was actually born on Christmas Island, according to the lore. However, he left it to travel the world. Sonic is supposed to represent freedom and the wind. He’s not supposed to hunker down in one place. Sonic’s adventures are just him travelling the world seeking new and exciting things in different places. Sega for a decade now has used nostalgia to get the attention of gamers on their new Sonic games. That’s why Sonic has been starting his games in Green Hill Zone in the most recent Sonic games.
And even in a lot of games where Green hill is the first 'level' like Mania he doesn't actually chill out there waiting for adventure, he is sent there by the plot after the opening cutscene. While many sonic games start with a green, nature heavy area (Green Hill, Emerald Hill, Angel Island etc) this is more for the series' nature vs civilization/technology theme, different places with a similar vibe.
He's also a cryptid manifested from a ww2 fighter pilot's jacket owned by a widowed children's book author who created him based on the stylized iconagraphy on her late husband's plane
Green Hill Zone is the first level _of the first game,_ not of all of the games. The first game takes place on South Island. Sonic 2, which starts in Emerald Hill Zone, takes place on West Side Island. Sonic 3 takes place on Angel Island, which is usually flying in the sky... Etc... I think "homeless" isn't quite the right word for Sonic... He doesn't have a house, but that's by choice because he doesn't stay in one place. He's always traveling. I don't think he's hurting for money or anything, he just kinda treats life like a big vacation & follows his whims.
he isnt homeless in the traditional sense lol hes without home by choice as no area grounds him, he goes where he wants whenever he wants, constantly chasing new sights and going to the next thing its a thematic choice thats important to his character which is why the clarification is important to so many, and its implied that him and his friends typically go their separate ways between each game
Green hill zone did not become a mainstay until Sonic generations. None of his friends are typically or ever seen in green hill zone (except for in Sonic prime). The movie and Prime, plus the amount of games using green hill has increased a lot since 2011, makes it an easy mistake for a newer writer to miss. But not only his he homeless, he’s really fast, so it’s just expected he’s going all over the place.
I'm pretty sure that Sonic was originally marketed as a sort of counter-culture/eco-warrior hippie (he literally fights the machine), so "homeless" isn't the correct way to view it. I think it would be more like someone who backpacks around Europe staying with friends or in hostels.
@TheSultan1470 While technically correct, the term homeless is usually interpreted as an inability to get a home, i.e., a lack of money or other resources. Sonic could have a home, but he doesn't want one as it would interfere with his lifestyle.
“Where does he sleep then” on Twitter a couple days ago he said he sleeps wherevers comfortable He mentioned it because someone asked him about his homelessness during the annual qna sesh
In a way, Sonic being homeless can mean many things. One interpretation that I subscribe to is that because Sonic believes in individual free pursuits, he wouldn't have to worry about owning property - he wouldn't even consider it. For him, the ability to move and have faith that wherever he goes, he will find a "home" with his friends. Really speaks about a radical hedgehog who doesn't become enslaved to material & generational wealth.
Also the fact that Sonic characters are anthropomorphized animals. I think we hardly see modern infrastructure in the Sonic world and when we do it’s in small pockets around the world that never span too far to be inescapable. Like, being homeless in America is tuff because everything is private or public property but nothing is there for you to actually live. But being homeless in the Sonic world? Thats like thinking a squirrel is homeless in the forest because they don’t have a modern house. Like, most of his planet is forest, which isn’t private or public property. Dude could probably cut down some trees or burrow into some ground and make a temporary home whenever he needs. I’d imagine in the Sonic world that is the norm and the modern houses and cities are the exceptions. Especially with Sonic games reoccurring thematic message about technology, that being when it is used for good and not at the expense of the planet then it is a good use of technology, but when it is used for selfish purposes and/or harms the planet then it is a bad use of technology.
@@Slimeonian Well yes and I had thought about that game but Sega is doing a weird thing with it's world. I think they canonized that there were two earth dimensions, one that is essentially Mobious and is made up of primarily the anthropomorphized sonic characters, and the other is the "human world." The human world has more wide spread modern infrastructure and we see that in games like Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 and in Sonic Unleashed like you said. But in those games with a lot of wide spread modern infrastructure we can gleam that those are in the human world and not Sonic's world because of the plentiful humand there are and the human governance. But in Sonic's world we rarely see humans and we rarely see any governance.
It honestly makes sense. Sonic hates being in the same place for too long and feeling confined, and he's so fast can easily just dash to literally anywhere that may fulfill his needs. I personally really liked Sonic's house in Sonic Boom. It being an alternate continuity, it gave Sonic an explicit home, but I liked it. Kind of more interested in Sonic's family, the entire cast's family tbh. Most of them are teens, some even younger, yet none of them have any sort of family or parents, with Cream The Rabbit being a random exception.
I assume Sonic just finds a nice tree to sleep under between whatevers and whatnots. Does some star gazing, gives a thumbs up to no one, and rests in the most relaxed yet also dynamic pose possible.
The fun part about Sonic lore is that there will be a lore guy who tries to advise a TV adaptation when things don't square with the "intended" canon, the show mostly just ignores that guy, and then everyone officially says the show is just somehow canon to the games anyway. Sonic lore is one of those things where so much has happened and it feels like every game, show, comic, or movie just throws a dart to decide which parts they want to have count this time. Sometimes based on mandates and sometimes they just want to do their own form of cartoon instead. Frontiers and Shadow Gens are at least a lot more consistent about it. Even if the former was overdosing on some pretty clumsy references just to get people back up to speed on "yeah all the old stuff still exists and counts. Most of it doesn't really matter much here but it counts." Shadow Gens though just went "Yeah this is a Shadow '05 sequel, straight up." And for Green Hill I think the only time in the last 20 years mainline Sonic has gone to Green Hill Zone outside of Generations time-traveling was in Forces. Just straightforwardly going to Green Hill with no real asterisks besides "Eggman made it sandy and I gotta stop him." Mania went there too but I don't know if that counts as "mainline" and I remember something about the devs *wanting* to only make original stages, but something during development meant they had to include some nostalgia stages like Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Frontiers used the Green Hill tileset *a lot* in Cyberspace but I think that was also mostly time constraints and trying to show the player Sonic-like stuff in a game whose primary playspace was nondescript landscapes. I think from the perspective of Sonic the character it's just a place he went to one time during one of his attempts to stop Eggman, and Sega for the life of them just can't let go of that nostalgia mine.
The reason Sonic is "homeless" as you say is because he's not the kind of person to settle down. He values freedom above all else, and he's too impatient to stay in one place too long. He likes to see the world, and keep on running. And I would like to clarify that just because he doesn't have a dedicated "home" doesn't mean he has nowhere to stay... In Sonic and the Secret Rings we see him chilling on a couch reading, so evidently he does stay inside houses from time to time. (Its also not uncommon to see him chilling in a tree or a grassy field... He is a hedgehog after all).
Sonic doesn't begin in Green Hill a lot, most of the time he's just wandering the earth when Eggman strikes. The only times I can think of when he begins in Green Hill are Sonic 1, Sonic Generations (Doesn't really count cause time travel), Mania, and Forces. Every other time it's just a green area. As for Sonic being homeless, it's more like he's a drifter, wandering the earth. He crashes with friends, stays at hotels and otherwise just hangs around in various places. The beauty of the world is a big theme in Sonic, so having a character that's constantly out and moving is important.
I’d always assumed Sonic grew up in Green Hill Zone, and that’s why he always seems to come back there and hang out. We’ve seen tails’ workshop before but I don’t think they’ve ever specified where it is, but Sonic shows up there often to hang out and rest.
Half the time Sonic starts the game in Green Hill is because of something messing with the timeline/Sonic’s memories. Also, Sonic refers to traveling all the way around the world as a “light jog” in Unleashed. Dude can clearly go wherever he wants anytime.
as a survivor of the 2009-2022 era of sonic, watching them reimplement the lore they so desperately tried to ignore for almost 20 years makes me so happy
I like the idea of couch surfing sonic. Like Mario always ends up in a castle at the end of a level, or a (Poplins house in wonder), Sonic always finds another persons couch to sleep on!
Rather than Sonic being "homeless" this is moreso about sonic being a character that drifts across the globe constantly. He goes wherever the wind blows and wherever people need him. It's more of a nomadic fairy tale character type thing.
Sonic has only physically been to green hill once if you don’t count time travel, illusions or him exploring his memories. Non of his friends have even been to green hill.
It's Sonic Prime's version of Sonic which chills out in Green Hill Zone with his friends, outside of Mania, the classic games only have Green Hill Zone in the first game. Most 3D games also don't have it
I mean he could have “bases” around the globe here & there. Homes or places with people that he trusts to crash with instead of sleeping outside if he don’t want to or a hotel. Say if he’s in France then he’ll go to someone’s house he made friends with their & he’s welcome any time etc. but yeah I get how he’s free & very explorative. It may also be cuz in Japan they have fetishes ESPECIALLY about idols & they hate when idols have a set home or a bf/gf. People believe that if they don’t have a true place or true love to call their own like they have a chance in hell still. Even if they can’t have em,they don’t want no one else to
Thing is Sonic is fast, any area isn’t far from him. And generally Green Hill Zone isn’t really where a lot of characters live, there’s a bunch of different cities towns and zones, it’s honestly a pet peeve of many people how the games keep going back to Green hill
Think about it like this: MORE Green Hill=LESS Creativity We’ve seen Green Hill used over and over again for the past decade of Sonic, and most Sonic fans are tired of seeing it in basically EVERY game. One of the reasons why Sonic stood out so much was because of its creative and unique zones. So when we hear “Sonic lives in Green Hill!” We hear “GREEN HILL FROM SONIC 1! REMEMBER GUYS? GET READY FOR MORE GREEN HILL YAYYYY!!!”
Yep. Sonic was a franchise that was always moving forward. It didn't look back. That's the character's ethos, and it used to be the franchise's ethos. Then 06 bombed and Sega freaked out, and it's been a slow descent into "remember the good old days?" ever since. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than the words "return to form." A return to form for Sonic isn't solo Sonic as the only character, or simplistic zones, or even "gotta go fast!," it's "what haven't we done yet?"
virtually no game actually starts in green hill zone, in sonic mania he's actually at angel island first then gets teleported to green hill zone, generations he's having a birthday party and then gets spat there by the time eater, classic one does actually start there i guess he's just having a jog
Sonic being homeless is a core part of his character in the same way with Ryu from Street Fighter. Sonic doesn't really settle down; no home, no phone, no bills to hold him in one place, no parents, no lovers, no kids, just the clothing on his body and friends around the world.
To my knowledge Sonic has slept on a number of beaches, a GUN jail cell, Tails's house, Tails's Tails shaped house, some house with a couch and a book of fables, the sky between the egg fleet and earth, Eggman's jail cell and any where he finds himself impatient.
Most Sonic games actually don’t start in Green Hill Zone, it’s either a totally different region that happens to look similar, or something else entirely. It usually just pops up again and again as a shallow little “hey! Remember this?”, which they usually explain with time-space distortion stuff, especially since Generations (which the community has gotten pretty fatigued of by now haha) Sonic is an explorer of anything. He travels the world constantly and sleeps anywhere, almost like a literal wild animal, and it’s no secret that he can endure pretty intense conditions lmao
So are we all just going to ignore how at the beginning of Sonic and the Secret Rings, he's sleeping on a couch in front of a fireplace, and has a globe and a clock in the room he's in. Sure does look like a place he lives in, but whatever.
6:46 I should explain this one, in case Arlo reads this. From 2010-2024 SEGA decided to start almost every game with Green Hill for no reason other than Nostalgia pandering. It really worked with Sonic Generations, they saw the good reception and they thought "Hey, people liked that. Let's do more." And then it continued for 13 years, and fans eventually got tired. So much so that when they saw that Sonic lives in Green Hill they reacted "Excuse me, that's not true" and then they corrected it.
The man can literally just go and do whatever he wants, and his friends are down to just let him kick it at their place when need be or he needs a shower. I'm pretty sure he might have some makeshift hut somewhere around greenhill to kick it, but it is easy to forget that he doesn't own his own place. Its both funny and depressing, but a perfect way to show how FREE he is. He does everything he wants to and goes out of his way to help others, and doesn't get anything in return other than the kindness he shares. EDIT: Is it really that taking back? You're definitely over reacting a bit here, lol.
The thing about him is that he actually doesn't want a home, he wants to be free to roam the world with nothing to tie him down, its not because of poverty or other circumstances, he just wants to be truly free, it's his choice, he truly explores the world free as the wind and has no need to live in one place for long. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk
Yeah it is pretty neat for characters over the span of the games for lore to be introduced and remain consistent for videogame characters, makes them feel like a more established fictional individual
Sonic NEEDS to be Homeless. More specifically tho, we just want Sonic to be a nomadic individual. Homeless often has a negative conotation and is often paired with migratory peoples. Being nomadic is a way of life for many and Sonic takes large inspiration from that life style from those peoples
I know it sounds crazy but I aspire to become a nomad one day so I totally get the mindset. Housing feels like a prison cell and I can list off many things that are unhealthy about living in one. We think they're necessary but you can get your needs met without one if you put some thought into it.
@@Gravitatis Not necessarily. And even if that is usually the case, it doesn't have to be. With the right engineering, you can thrive without a stationary home, I'm sure of it.
An interesting thing to note is that the plane from Sonic 2 was originally his plane before he met Tails. So where did he keep that plane when not using it?
i don't really think homeless is the right word. he's nomadic. they share stuff in common but i would call him nomadic before calling him homeless. also, while sega likes to bring back green hill in RECENT games, he normally starts each game in a new forest like area
Sega tries to keep the world coherent but pretty poorly. Seriously theres so much they flip-flop on its comedic and makes it near impossible to place the tineline together
I mean it might be fair to assume that Sonic just runs away from bad weather to somewhere with better skies. He's fast enough. If he has friends everywhere he might just crash with them whenever he's not just comfy sleeping somewhere.
Kind of what I always figured. Sonic is always shown on the move in most media suggesting that he's a born nomad who never stays in one place for very long.
It's hilarious they are so invested in being somewhat proveably wrong. He is always chilling in secret bases, he may be too transient to pay a rent or taxes, but he definitely lives places.
Sonic and Shadow are legitimately doing a social media AMA soon, so you could ask Sonic what its like being a drifter.
He's like Ryu. The world is his home. He doesn't need some ramshackle hut to call home.
Sonic did comment about it, he said he just sleeps anywhere but if he needs a place he sleeps on Tails' sofa! So there you go, he pretty much lives with Tails.
Really tryna crank up Sonic’s future relatability huh sega?
Underrated comment 😂
You shouldn't be allowed to say things that hurt so much and yet are so true 😔😔😔
Sonic was homeless BEFORE it was cool ackshually
DUDE ; ;
In the next Zelda game, the cost of a house is greater than the maximum rupees you can carry so Link can’t buy a home anymore
"I am not familiar with Sonic Lore, but I appreciate that it has one as a Nintendo fan."
Sonic Lore is like the "Monkey's Paw" wish for lore. Once you get familiar you know.
It’s just a big mesh of stuff that seems to contradict each other
But 1/6 times it is peak
@@Some-guy-that-exist-p2j What it is is a series of stories that were clearly never meant to be part of an ongoing narrative, but since LORE is in right now, Sega is following the money.
Yknow ive seen this sentiment around and so far i just dont get it, maybe im just not deep enough into it, but sonic lore seems fine to me,
theres some stuff like blaze being from another dimension and then from the future and then from another dimension again as a result of 06, or Classic Sonic being from the past and then from another dimension and then from the past again as a result of forces, but that all seems like pretty tame retcons for a series thats gone on this long and should be pretty easy to hammer out, maybe im just missing something
@@doctorchaos4436 you’re right although some of the stories are supposed to have LORE
Hello I’m a Sonic fan. Been one since the 2000’s and I would to help answer some questions Arlo brings up. This is just to educate and to help anyone who’s in Arlo’s shoes here and are just confused by the circumstance.
I’ll timestamp the segments I’m responding to.
------------------
0:12 Yeah. The Sonic “Lore” isn’t well thought out or constructed.
You will find many inconsistencies and contradictions (both subtle and obvious) from title to title.
The Lore Team is something that recently became a thing. They’re there for “damage control.” For lack of a better word.
------------------
5:16 Sonic doesn’t stay in the same area for any longer that he wants to. He’s always on the move and is constantly traveling. Sonic doesn’t have any strong attachments to any location. The whole world is his backyard.
------------------
6:31 Sonic doesn’t live in Green Hill, he hasn’t spent a lot time there, also none of his friends live at Green Hill. A recent Sonic Cartoon “Sonic Prime” conveyed that they do and fans weren’t happy about that either because it’s not true.
------------------
6:44 The only times a Sonic Game starts in Green Hill is Sonic 1, Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania, Sonic Forces and Sonic Frontiers. 5 times.
Every other first stage in Sonic games are usually just a location that’s Green Hill inspired or a new location that has nothing to do with Green Hill.
The games make it clear if you’re at Green Hill or not. More often than not he’s not there.
------------------
7:34 Actually if you call Sonic you won’t get an answer, cause Sonic doesn’t own a phone.
------------------
8:54 Just to try to help you understand, the reason fans are relieved of Sonic is STILL “Homeless” is because it’s something that’s always been a detail about Sonic.
It’s like if Nintendo randomly stated, “Mario isn’t a plumber” out of the blue.
It’s a detail that’s been there since the beginning, but not a common knowledge. Fans know it, but your average joe does not.
------------------
And I guess to finish this off, I would imagine most would think Sonic lives in Green Hill is because it’s the first Level of his first game.
“Oh Mario lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, so Sonic must live in Green Hill.” Which is a fair comparison to make. A lot of platform games normally start at a location that’s familiar to the main character .
That and you have a lot of the branding (like Toys and Merchandise) with Green Hill imagery on the packaging because it’s iconic.
Doesn’t help that Sega has been forcing Green Hill in recent Titles in some way.
So I don’t blame anyone out the loop to think Sonic lives in Green Hill. Clearly whoever made that Sonic Comic thought the same thing.
If you read my whole silly ramble, I thank you and I hope you have a great day or night or whatever time you’ve read this.
Thanks as a fellow Sonic fan
I'm pretty sure they've literally said that Mario isn't a plumber anymore lmao
@ they did at one point. Like around the release of Mario Odyssey. But clearly they went back on that since he’s a plumber in the Mario Movie.
You were a fan since 2000?
When Sega went almost bankrupt and Dreamcast stopped?
Bad timing.
@ 2003 actually. First game was Sonic Heroes for GameCube.
I mean he's homeless by choice. He's the kind of guy who can't stay in a single place for too long. He likes to be on the move, to run around and explore. That's just how he is.
He doesn't vibe with the idea of actually settling down anywhere. He hangs around Green Hill pretty frequently, but if he wants to leave, he can. Nothing holds him there.
Like, in Sonic Adventure 1 he was in Station Square and in Sonic '06 he was in Soleanna, and it was seemingly unrelated to Eggman attacking. He was just there at the right time at the right place.
also doesnt want to pay property taxes or home insurance.
@@HeilRay I mean it's something that would hold him down so it makes sense that he doesn't want that.
Why pay rent when you have Tails' couch or a floating island to crash on?
@@godhimself1128 Exactly.
@@HeilRay in sonic X, Knuckles mentions that unlike the human world, nobody owns land in the islands. Always thought that was interesting
not that it's canon but it was handled by sonic team.
He probably spends a lot of time in Tails’ lab, he’s got shelter when he needs it, it’s just not his HOME
so Mystic Ruins then?
I once heard a fan-theory that Tails has multiple labs, and he moves between them depending on which area of the planet Sonic is currently in.
@@Xalerdane Which makes a lot of sense looking at the games constantly taking place somewhere else. He has his house in emerald city and his main lab in Mystic Ruins, but he does not always have access to those areas.
Anywhere is home when you can run super fast.
In Sonic Adventure he slept in a hotel so I always assumed he was a wanderer
I think Sonic is supposed to be constantly travelling the world which is why it’s inaccurate to say he ‘lives’ in a specific place.
Also a few games just start with Sonic friend’s finding him in random locations and remarking that they haven’t seen in him ages lol
(Long time no see!)
"It's nice Sega has consistent lore across the games".
Heh. Ahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ian Flynn pulling a Loki Season 2 Finale trying to tie these nonsense story strings together...
@@JacksonJinn And dear lord he's doing an incredible job at it! Then again, this is the same man who somehow wrapped up 60-something plot threads in the span of a few issues in the Archie comics, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Sonic Lore is like Fast Food.
They both give you the _runs_
@@Crazy_Gamer_OG
What fast food you be eating?
@@JacksonJinn And making an even bigger mess in the process.
Green Hill surprisingly doesn't appear in as many games as you would expect. Sonic has only canonically been to Green Hill (physically) like 3 times. He's usually just in Green Hill in marketing material.
Sonic never likes to stay in one place which is why he's homeless, it's out of choice, he's always on the run, never stopping, just like the wind, always seeking out new places, cultures, and adventures. I can't even name any of Sonic's friends that live in Green Hill.
@@_rando_d
Agreed.
In the Genesis era, Green Hill only appears Sonic 1. While the other games have completely new locations.
Some GameGear Sonic games do occasionally bring back Green Hill.
The 2000s 3D Era Sonic games only bring back Greenhill once and it’s in Sonic Adventure 2 as a secret level.
It wasn’t up until Sonic Generations and onwards where they started to reusing Green hill multiple times.
@@tjlnintendo "Green hill's looking a lot more like Hill Green right now."
@@tjlnintendoI believe it also showed up in the Sonic Advance games
@@Jerdifier
I think Advance 1 has neo green hill, but idk if its the exact same location.
Advance 3 has sunset hill that plays a remix of green hill.
Yes, Green Hills doesnt appear as much.
But...
Checkered Brown Hills Zone almost always appears.
I guess you could say he's a SEGA Nomad!
...
[ *crickets chirping, followed by awkward cough* ]
*me being that one distant voice in the background* "i got it."
I lol'd
Ayyyy!!!
I understood that reference.
His whole lifestyle is just a Sonic Drift.
in sonic x he just chills like on top of a tree thats basically how he sleeps
an exceptionally well written show
Being "homeless" is kinda important because Sonic loves adventure and the earth, which is a core part of his character.
And I don't think most games start in Green Hill? Most Sonic games I can think of actually start in very different locations, and the examples of Green Hill you're probably thinking of either aren't actually the first location in the game, or are different places that only resemble Green Hill.
Yeah. Other than Sonic 1 I can't think of any games that start in Green Hill Zone. I think Arlo might be conflating some similar-ish places with Green Hill and then either forgetting about or just not having played games like Colors starting in an amusement park or Unleashed in orbit etc.
Green Hill Zone pops up in a lot of games for the fan service aspect of it but it's very rarely where he is at the start of an adventure.
@@MalzraAirwynni mean, generation, forces, mania, even the first cyberspace level from frontiers, in the last years green hill as been the first level
@kirbythekirb59 Generations and Mania brought him there by circumstance, he wasn't hanging out there when Eggman started plotting. The Green Hill in Frontiers isn't literally Green Hill, but areas in Cyberspace which Sonic's memories "impress" Green Hill onto. You could say that means he spends a lot of time there and therefore makes it his home, but by that logic Sky Sanctuary is also Sonic's home. Really the only games where Sonic is hanging out there when the inciting incident happens are Sonic 1 and Forces
@ i was just talking about the fact that recently green hill has been the defacto first stage in the recent games.
@ also isn't sky sanctuary literally destroyed after sonic & knuckles?
Its funny hearing Arlo talk about Sonic always starting in Green Hill when the only Sonic media he's seen/played are the ONLY ones that feature it.
THIS is exactly what I love TopicArlo’s existence for, THIS is this the exact stuff this channel is needed for.
Who needs a house when you have chili dogs?
He needs a job.
Not a home, to buy chili dogs.
I’m 31 and I’ve played these games for done near my entire life.
Never once have I thought about where Sonic lives.
Arlo, you totally understand the concept of “Homelessness vs Houselessness”. Most people are actually just houseless, and the place they’re from is their home. Props to you 😌👏❤️
wouldnt that mean that _everyone_ is just houseless? everyone is from _somewhere_ otherwise they wouldnt exist
@ You could interpret what I said as that, but if I was to be more clear, when I said “most people” I really meant “most homeless people”.
Most people living on the street are actually still in the same town or county they used to be in before becoming houseless. That makes the town/county/community their home, they just happen to be lacking a house, making them houseless.
@@catdadmakesmusic
im gay
Sonic is from Christmas Island.
Spends a good amount of time in Green Hill Zone, but this is because he visits his friends, who are more stationary.
Always has itchy feet and will head off at a moment's notice, sometimes for years at a time. It's actually why the iconic line "Long time no see!" came to be.
He's from Knothole on Planet Mobius.
@@MacUser2-il2cx
This isn’t Archie/SatAm
@@tjlnintendo Japan left it up to the US to come up with the canon. There's elements of it in manuals, even some later games. Take chilidogs for example. Sonic eating chilidogs was part of the US canon so frequently that it eventually ended up in the games. It became known just as the phrase "gotta go fast" did even though Sonic never spoke that phrase himself but because it was in the US 4Kids intro to Sonic X as part of the opening, people quoted it enough that it became part of Sonic permanently in the games and movies, tv shows, ect. Sega of Japan tries to sweep it all under the rug. It's not just Penders. Penders isn't responsible for creating the setting and main cast in SatAM or Archie, and many of those elements were made up in the Sonic bible that existed before both of those. It's canon. It was always canon.
@@MacUser2-il2cx
Ken Penders is irrelevant as he only impacts his own OCs in archie. But SATAm still isn’t canon. That is a separate continuity from the games. There is a reason why Sally and the freedom fighters don’t appear in IDW or the games.
They also didn’t leave it up to America to come up with the lore. The American branch changed it out of their own behalf because they didn’t like the Japanese origin story and believed their version of the story would be more fitting for the western audience.
@@MacUser2-il2cxit's not canon, they can take inspiration but most of the elements in Archie and satam don't match up with the creators' visions.
That's why they only take specific things that can fit into the lore.
6:30 no Sonic doesn’t spend most of his time there. ALSO no, not every game starts with Green Hill. During the first 19 years of the franchise, Sonic revisited Green Hill Zone ONCE in a mainline game. And it was an extra unlockable stage in Sonic Adventure 2. Only since Sonic Generations, bringing back older locations, have the games started with Green Hill Zone again. There have been way more games without Green Hill Zone than with it
Yeah. It pops up a lot for fanservice/nostaliga but he's typically not there at the start of an adventure. Even in games like Mania where it's the first level, he ends up there because of plot shenanigans. It's not like Mushroom Kingdom to Mario where he just chills out there until an adventure happens.
sounds like we need another arlo video to address this
The World’s Fastest Hobo
I love Sonic and Ryu, but these types of comments always hit just the right spot.
SomecallmeJohnny fan spotted?
Sonic may be personally homeless, but he is a world-renowned hero with a ton of friends spanning his whole planet (and other dimensions). I'm fairly certain he can find a roof over his head for a night, but for the most part he just travels, much like Ryu from Street Fighter. He spends his days just finding random adventures to get up to.
I remember that anime OVA that showed him having a beach house of some sort, or Adventure 1 with Tails' workshop serving as a house. I get his free-roaming spirit, but the dude should have a home somewhere to crash.
I'm pretty sure that's the case. He has places to go, but it's not always the same.
Yeah, he can crash at his friends' places, but he's a free roamin' spirit himself so no house makes sense, the world is his playground
he canonically just goes to tails' workshop when he's hungry
Kinda telling that he uses an abandoned plane to sleep in. Shows that he's comfortable anywhere.
Which is why characters like Amy and tails look up to him. Despite having their own homes they yearn for adventure
yeah i headcanon the OVA structure as his home
Let me guess, the IDW comics have a whole volume explaining how Sonic gets mail delivered to him.
He's probably fast enough to just check in to any hotel he wants across the planet. Anyway, cities should build more housing.
Should build them in your bathroom.
i appreciate sega* trying to duct tape the lore into something more coherent in the last few years, and i highly recommend the Tails Tube series on youtube which gives a fairly "good enough" surmation of sonic lore. including sonic being homeless. which he freely admits he doesn't have the need for a proper house, since he's always on the move.
*ian flynn
i dont like the literal storytelling unfortunately... hopefully they move away from it a little more
@@whentheyD when they redo sonic adventure 1 they should make only sonic and knuckles stories required to beat the game and make the other ones side stories that are optional for 100%. It will make the story flow better since you can give sonic some side missions where he helps the different characters at points where their stories would interject then once you help them you unlock their "side story" as "extra content" while moving all the echidna lore to knuckles story since it's only important to him.
@@trashboat5388 They should also add Big vs Gamma and Big vs Tails sub-boss events at the obvious points in the story where it just feels like those events were supposed to have been placed anyway.
So he's a drifter then?
Yes.
I don’t think it’s homelessness as much as it’s just living outside like most animals lol
While Green Hill Zone is iconic, it hasn't really been a huge part of the Sonic franchise in terms of apperances in games until Sonic Generations, in which it's been reused constantly. Sonic does frequently start in a green area, but they are always different locations that feature heavy greenery (Emerald Hill, Seaside Hill, heck in Sonic Adventure he doesn't even start in a green area, he starts in a city).
Sonic starts on a lot of hills, it seems.
and even with games since generations, its still not really said to be his home. he's only there in generations and mania cuz of time travel, and in forces sonic kinda just refers to it as a place he likes to hang around often. and ofc the frontiers green hill isnt the real location
Sonic was actually born on Christmas Island, according to the lore. However, he left it to travel the world.
Sonic is supposed to represent freedom and the wind. He’s not supposed to hunker down in one place. Sonic’s adventures are just him travelling the world seeking new and exciting things in different places.
Sega for a decade now has used nostalgia to get the attention of gamers on their new Sonic games. That’s why Sonic has been starting his games in Green Hill Zone in the most recent Sonic games.
So he's jesus
And even in a lot of games where Green hill is the first 'level' like Mania he doesn't actually chill out there waiting for adventure, he is sent there by the plot after the opening cutscene.
While many sonic games start with a green, nature heavy area (Green Hill, Emerald Hill, Angel Island etc) this is more for the series' nature vs civilization/technology theme, different places with a similar vibe.
@@tastypotato9272 He did die and come back to life in Sonic 06
He's also a cryptid manifested from a ww2 fighter pilot's jacket owned by a widowed children's book author who created him based on the stylized iconagraphy on her late husband's plane
@ that’s the unofficial lore of Sonic.
Green Hill Zone is the first level _of the first game,_ not of all of the games. The first game takes place on South Island. Sonic 2, which starts in Emerald Hill Zone, takes place on West Side Island. Sonic 3 takes place on Angel Island, which is usually flying in the sky... Etc...
I think "homeless" isn't quite the right word for Sonic... He doesn't have a house, but that's by choice because he doesn't stay in one place. He's always traveling. I don't think he's hurting for money or anything, he just kinda treats life like a big vacation & follows his whims.
All if this could've been solved if they just said that Sonic is a nomad and not "homeless" or a "drifter".
he isnt homeless in the traditional sense lol
hes without home by choice as no area grounds him, he goes where he wants whenever he wants, constantly chasing new sights and going to the next thing
its a thematic choice thats important to his character which is why the clarification is important to so many, and its implied that him and his friends typically go their separate ways between each game
If that the case, WHO’S HOUSE IS HE IN AT THE BEGINNING OF SECRET RINGS?!
Tails'.
@ Oh.
Tails like has several houses and bases through the games and even the IDW comics (not sure about Archie or the British one).
he is like a stereotypical Japanese ronin, wandering the earth in search of nothing, but encountering many adventures on the way.
Green hill zone did not become a mainstay until Sonic generations. None of his friends are typically or ever seen in green hill zone (except for in Sonic prime). The movie and Prime, plus the amount of games using green hill has increased a lot since 2011, makes it an easy mistake for a newer writer to miss. But not only his he homeless, he’s really fast, so it’s just expected he’s going all over the place.
I'm pretty sure that Sonic was originally marketed as a sort of counter-culture/eco-warrior hippie (he literally fights the machine), so "homeless" isn't the correct way to view it. I think it would be more like someone who backpacks around Europe staying with friends or in hostels.
Aka homeless.
@TheSultan1470 While technically correct, the term homeless is usually interpreted as an inability to get a home, i.e., a lack of money or other resources. Sonic could have a home, but he doesn't want one as it would interfere with his lifestyle.
“Where does he sleep then” on Twitter a couple days ago he said he sleeps wherevers comfortable
He mentioned it because someone asked him about his homelessness during the annual qna sesh
6:03 Arlo just moved to Washington and doesn’t think to immediately use Seattle as his example for a place to be homeless
he sleeps on the ground, and when it rains, he just runs to where it isn;t raining.
"Sonic the Hedgehog is a homeless speed addict" is a fact that's going to be stewing in my mind for a while.
In a way, Sonic being homeless can mean many things. One interpretation that I subscribe to is that because Sonic believes in individual free pursuits, he wouldn't have to worry about owning property - he wouldn't even consider it.
For him, the ability to move and have faith that wherever he goes, he will find a "home" with his friends. Really speaks about a radical hedgehog who doesn't become enslaved to material & generational wealth.
Also the fact that Sonic characters are anthropomorphized animals. I think we hardly see modern infrastructure in the Sonic world and when we do it’s in small pockets around the world that never span too far to be inescapable. Like, being homeless in America is tuff because everything is private or public property but nothing is there for you to actually live. But being homeless in the Sonic world? Thats like thinking a squirrel is homeless in the forest because they don’t have a modern house. Like, most of his planet is forest, which isn’t private or public property. Dude could probably cut down some trees or burrow into some ground and make a temporary home whenever he needs. I’d imagine in the Sonic world that is the norm and the modern houses and cities are the exceptions. Especially with Sonic games reoccurring thematic message about technology, that being when it is used for good and not at the expense of the planet then it is a good use of technology, but when it is used for selfish purposes and/or harms the planet then it is a bad use of technology.
@@BeezeeChutter”I think we hardly ever see modern infrastructure” my guy go play Sonic Unleashed. That entire game is modern infrastructure
@@Slimeonian Well yes and I had thought about that game but Sega is doing a weird thing with it's world. I think they canonized that there were two earth dimensions, one that is essentially Mobious and is made up of primarily the anthropomorphized sonic characters, and the other is the "human world." The human world has more wide spread modern infrastructure and we see that in games like Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 and in Sonic Unleashed like you said. But in those games with a lot of wide spread modern infrastructure we can gleam that those are in the human world and not Sonic's world because of the plentiful humand there are and the human governance. But in Sonic's world we rarely see humans and we rarely see any governance.
It honestly makes sense. Sonic hates being in the same place for too long and feeling confined, and he's so fast can easily just dash to literally anywhere that may fulfill his needs. I personally really liked Sonic's house in Sonic Boom. It being an alternate continuity, it gave Sonic an explicit home, but I liked it.
Kind of more interested in Sonic's family, the entire cast's family tbh. Most of them are teens, some even younger, yet none of them have any sort of family or parents, with Cream The Rabbit being a random exception.
Maybe like animals they age faster, so tails could be around 17 or so in human years
I assume Sonic just finds a nice tree to sleep under between whatevers and whatnots. Does some star gazing, gives a thumbs up to no one, and rests in the most relaxed yet also dynamic pose possible.
so he's like a normal homeless person?
@Gravitatis more like the adventurous hobo you see in cartoons.
@@TheNelman
bro, you should see the homeless people near where i live
The closest thing Sonic has to a house is whenever he decides to crash with Tails at one of his Multiple Houses
The fun part about Sonic lore is that there will be a lore guy who tries to advise a TV adaptation when things don't square with the "intended" canon, the show mostly just ignores that guy, and then everyone officially says the show is just somehow canon to the games anyway. Sonic lore is one of those things where so much has happened and it feels like every game, show, comic, or movie just throws a dart to decide which parts they want to have count this time. Sometimes based on mandates and sometimes they just want to do their own form of cartoon instead. Frontiers and Shadow Gens are at least a lot more consistent about it. Even if the former was overdosing on some pretty clumsy references just to get people back up to speed on "yeah all the old stuff still exists and counts. Most of it doesn't really matter much here but it counts." Shadow Gens though just went "Yeah this is a Shadow '05 sequel, straight up."
And for Green Hill I think the only time in the last 20 years mainline Sonic has gone to Green Hill Zone outside of Generations time-traveling was in Forces. Just straightforwardly going to Green Hill with no real asterisks besides "Eggman made it sandy and I gotta stop him." Mania went there too but I don't know if that counts as "mainline" and I remember something about the devs *wanting* to only make original stages, but something during development meant they had to include some nostalgia stages like Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Frontiers used the Green Hill tileset *a lot* in Cyberspace but I think that was also mostly time constraints and trying to show the player Sonic-like stuff in a game whose primary playspace was nondescript landscapes. I think from the perspective of Sonic the character it's just a place he went to one time during one of his attempts to stop Eggman, and Sega for the life of them just can't let go of that nostalgia mine.
Sonic literally travels around the world. By running. He only starts in Green Hill Zone in a couple of the games.
The reason Sonic is "homeless" as you say is because he's not the kind of person to settle down. He values freedom above all else, and he's too impatient to stay in one place too long. He likes to see the world, and keep on running.
And I would like to clarify that just because he doesn't have a dedicated "home" doesn't mean he has nowhere to stay... In Sonic and the Secret Rings we see him chilling on a couch reading, so evidently he does stay inside houses from time to time.
(Its also not uncommon to see him chilling in a tree or a grassy field... He is a hedgehog after all).
Sonic doesn't begin in Green Hill a lot, most of the time he's just wandering the earth when Eggman strikes. The only times I can think of when he begins in Green Hill are Sonic 1, Sonic Generations (Doesn't really count cause time travel), Mania, and Forces. Every other time it's just a green area. As for Sonic being homeless, it's more like he's a drifter, wandering the earth. He crashes with friends, stays at hotels and otherwise just hangs around in various places. The beauty of the world is a big theme in Sonic, so having a character that's constantly out and moving is important.
3:22 typically isn’t in a tree or he just sleeps at tails place
He’s got a LOT of friends he could find somewhere to crash at like half the globe.
Sonic is super fast. He's a nomad.
w
I’d always assumed Sonic grew up in Green Hill Zone, and that’s why he always seems to come back there and hang out. We’ve seen tails’ workshop before but I don’t think they’ve ever specified where it is, but Sonic shows up there often to hang out and rest.
I’m a Sonic Lore enthusiast, so I’ll explain. Sonic lives in a Toyota Rav4 outside of Boise Idaho. Hope this helps 👍
Half the time Sonic starts the game in Green Hill is because of something messing with the timeline/Sonic’s memories. Also, Sonic refers to traveling all the way around the world as a “light jog” in Unleashed. Dude can clearly go wherever he wants anytime.
pretty much, it suddenly starts to rain where he is? a light jog and he's anywhere else in the world
as a survivor of the 2009-2022 era of sonic, watching them reimplement the lore they so desperately tried to ignore for almost 20 years makes me so happy
I like the idea of couch surfing sonic. Like Mario always ends up in a castle at the end of a level, or a (Poplins house in wonder), Sonic always finds another persons couch to sleep on!
I mean, I was a big Sonic fan as a kid, and even back then, I always assumed he was a drifter. He was always in different locations in every game
Oh thank god, I almost thought Sonic bought a house for a minute there
Sonic is loving in a house in secret rings
TopicArlo truly is something else
Rather than Sonic being "homeless" this is moreso about sonic being a character that drifts across the globe constantly. He goes wherever the wind blows and wherever people need him. It's more of a nomadic fairy tale character type thing.
1:00 giggles cutely
Your discussion here is pretty emblematic of how weirdly specific Sega handles lore.
Sonic has only physically been to green hill once if you don’t count time travel, illusions or him exploring his memories.
Non of his friends have even been to green hill.
how dare you?
It's Sonic Prime's version of Sonic which chills out in Green Hill Zone with his friends, outside of Mania, the classic games only have Green Hill Zone in the first game. Most 3D games also don't have it
And even in Mania Green Hill is only the first level because the intro cutscene teleports him there.
I mean he could have “bases” around the globe here & there. Homes or places with people that he trusts to crash with instead of sleeping outside if he don’t want to or a hotel. Say if he’s in France then he’ll go to someone’s house he made friends with their & he’s welcome any time etc. but yeah I get how he’s free & very explorative. It may also be cuz in Japan they have fetishes ESPECIALLY about idols & they hate when idols have a set home or a bf/gf. People believe that if they don’t have a true place or true love to call their own like they have a chance in hell still. Even if they can’t have em,they don’t want no one else to
Thing is Sonic is fast, any area isn’t far from him. And generally Green Hill Zone isn’t really where a lot of characters live, there’s a bunch of different cities towns and zones, it’s honestly a pet peeve of many people how the games keep going back to Green hill
Think about it like this:
MORE Green Hill=LESS Creativity
We’ve seen Green Hill used over and over again for the past decade of Sonic, and most Sonic fans are tired of seeing it in basically EVERY game.
One of the reasons why Sonic stood out so much was because of its creative and unique zones. So when we hear “Sonic lives in Green Hill!” We hear “GREEN HILL FROM SONIC 1! REMEMBER GUYS? GET READY FOR MORE GREEN HILL YAYYYY!!!”
Yep. Sonic was a franchise that was always moving forward. It didn't look back. That's the character's ethos, and it used to be the franchise's ethos. Then 06 bombed and Sega freaked out, and it's been a slow descent into "remember the good old days?" ever since. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than the words "return to form." A return to form for Sonic isn't solo Sonic as the only character, or simplistic zones, or even "gotta go fast!," it's "what haven't we done yet?"
of course he is, he lives like a nomad and he’s always traveling the world. is this supposed to be news?
Ikr? he lives anywhere he wants (or needs to be)
to non fans - me - it very much is, yes
The video literally starts with Arlo saying this isn't new information.
His friends don’t live in Green Hill Zone and Sonic hasn’t canonically been there as much as you say.
virtually no game actually starts in green hill zone, in sonic mania he's actually at angel island first then gets teleported to green hill zone, generations he's having a birthday party and then gets spat there by the time eater, classic one does actually start there i guess he's just having a jog
Love how he respects the fans enough to admit a mistake.
Sonic lives with Tails and they eat chili dogs for dinner
Have chili dogs while playing Sonic games
Sonic being homeless is a core part of his character in the same way with Ryu from Street Fighter.
Sonic doesn't really settle down; no home, no phone, no bills to hold him in one place, no parents, no lovers, no kids, just the clothing on his body and friends around the world.
To my knowledge Sonic has slept on a number of beaches, a GUN jail cell, Tails's house, Tails's Tails shaped house, some house with a couch and a book of fables, the sky between the egg fleet and earth, Eggman's jail cell and any where he finds himself impatient.
Most Sonic games actually don’t start in Green Hill Zone, it’s either a totally different region that happens to look similar, or something else entirely.
It usually just pops up again and again as a shallow little “hey! Remember this?”, which they usually explain with time-space distortion stuff, especially since Generations (which the community has gotten pretty fatigued of by now haha)
Sonic is an explorer of anything. He travels the world constantly and sleeps anywhere, almost like a literal wild animal, and it’s no secret that he can endure pretty intense conditions lmao
So are we all just going to ignore how at the beginning of Sonic and the Secret Rings, he's sleeping on a couch in front of a fireplace, and has a globe and a clock in the room he's in. Sure does look like a place he lives in, but whatever.
6:46 I should explain this one, in case Arlo reads this. From 2010-2024 SEGA decided to start almost every game with Green Hill for no reason other than Nostalgia pandering. It really worked with Sonic Generations, they saw the good reception and they thought "Hey, people liked that. Let's do more." And then it continued for 13 years, and fans eventually got tired. So much so that when they saw that Sonic lives in Green Hill they reacted "Excuse me, that's not true" and then they corrected it.
The man can literally just go and do whatever he wants, and his friends are down to just let him kick it at their place when need be or he needs a shower. I'm pretty sure he might have some makeshift hut somewhere around greenhill to kick it, but it is easy to forget that he doesn't own his own place. Its both funny and depressing, but a perfect way to show how FREE he is. He does everything he wants to and goes out of his way to help others, and doesn't get anything in return other than the kindness he shares.
EDIT: Is it really that taking back? You're definitely over reacting a bit here, lol.
Arlo: Homelessness is not funny!
Me: *Trying so hard not to laugh*
The thing about him is that he actually doesn't want a home, he wants to be free to roam the world with nothing to tie him down, its not because of poverty or other circumstances, he just wants to be truly free, it's his choice, he truly explores the world free as the wind and has no need to live in one place for long. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk
technically what was said is "sonic doesn't have a home, he's a drifter" I take this to mean he lives a vagabond lifestyle.
Maybe that house he was in at the start of Secret Rings belonged to Tails.
Y'know out of all of the ways I could relate to Sonic the Hedgehog I wasn't expected to have this in common with him
It makes sense when you realize Sonic lost his HOME console.
The Dreamcast deserved to have a successor
One of the tracks in Sonic 3 being based on a song called "Hard Times" suddenly makes a lot more sense...
Yeah it is pretty neat for characters over the span of the games for lore to be introduced and remain consistent for videogame characters, makes them feel like a more established fictional individual
Sonic the Hedgehog 🙂↔️
Sonic the Hobo 🙂↕️
Nice one 😎
Sonic NEEDS to be Homeless. More specifically tho, we just want Sonic to be a nomadic individual. Homeless often has a negative conotation and is often paired with migratory peoples. Being nomadic is a way of life for many and Sonic takes large inspiration from that life style from those peoples
he's a hedgehog
I know it sounds crazy but I aspire to become a nomad one day so I totally get the mindset. Housing feels like a prison cell and I can list off many things that are unhealthy about living in one. We think they're necessary but you can get your needs met without one if you put some thought into it.
@@BitterTast3
im pretty sure people with homes are usually healthier than people without homes
@@Gravitatis Not necessarily. And even if that is usually the case, it doesn't have to be. With the right engineering, you can thrive without a stationary home, I'm sure of it.
@@BitterTast3
sir have you met any homeless people before
Now you KNOW Arlo doesn't know Sonic lore if he thinks there's a consistent canon.
He is also a Hedgehog canonically so I expect he burrows in the ground or under logs and occasionally rolls on moldy apples and/or eats grubs.
An interesting thing to note is that the plane from Sonic 2 was originally his plane before he met Tails. So where did he keep that plane when not using it?
I mean yeah, Sonic is on earth, but isn't from earth, so he wouldn't have a home.
i don't really think homeless is the right word. he's nomadic. they share stuff in common but i would call him nomadic before calling him homeless. also, while sega likes to bring back green hill in RECENT games, he normally starts each game in a new forest like area
My headcanon is that Sonic has a little bed compartment in the red Tornado 1
The sonic lore I care most about starts like this
...
"Triplets born, a throne awaits-"
Sega tries to keep the world coherent but pretty poorly. Seriously theres so much they flip-flop on its comedic and makes it near impossible to place the tineline together
I mean it might be fair to assume that Sonic just runs away from bad weather to somewhere with better skies. He's fast enough. If he has friends everywhere he might just crash with them whenever he's not just comfy sleeping somewhere.
Kind of what I always figured. Sonic is always shown on the move in most media suggesting that he's a born nomad who never stays in one place for very long.
It's hilarious they are so invested in being somewhat proveably wrong. He is always chilling in secret bases, he may be too transient to pay a rent or taxes, but he definitely lives places.
Wouldn't "nomadic" probably be a better word? He does just spend his time running around exploring, after all.