Emerald Power

Emerald Power
First seen: Sonic Superstars (2023)
Users: Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Trip the Sungazer
Type: Movement, attack

Emerald Powers (エメラルドパワー) are special abilities that are introduced in Sonic Superstars. They are powers bestowed upon the playable characters by tapping into the Chaos Emeralds.

Conception

In a preview article by Game Informer, Takashi Iizuka stated that the concept of Emerald Powers came from the idea of rewarding the player for collecting the Chaos Emeralds. Traditionally, collecting all of the Emeralds would reward the player with a Super transformation and/or a hidden final boss; the Emerald Powers would be smaller rewards for collecting just one of the Emeralds, and players would be motivated to collect each one and see what all of their powers are.

Iizuka has also stated that the overarching idea draws inspiration from the Wisps that were introduced in Sonic Colours and featured in subsequent Modern games. Unlike the Wisps however, the development team wanted to stay true to the Classic Sonic gameplay and focus on making sure the game can be played and beaten without having to use any of the powers, which the team needed to balance during game design.

Many different ideas for Emerald Powers were conceived, but as there are only seven Chaos Emeralds altogether and each power had to be tied to a specific colour, the development team had to limit the number of powers to just seven.

Overview

After collecting each Chaos Emerald from the Special Stages, all four of the playable characters can tap into the Emeralds they have acquired to use their respective powers. During gameplay, a selection wheel can be brought up with the Right Stick to choose an Emerald Power, then it can be activated at any time at the press of a button. The game may automatically select certain Emerald Powers when at a location where they can be useful, such as Vision when in an area with hidden objects.

The Emerald Powers operate on a cooldown - once a power has been activated, it will be active for a short while until it is depleted, rendering it unusable afterwards. If a player takes damage while an Emerald Power is active, it will be cancelled immediately. Passing a Star Post will replenish all depleted Emerald Powers, making them usable again.

In a co-op game, Emerald Powers primarily affect only the user, but some such as Vision can affect all active players. In addition, all players share the same pool of Emerald Powers, and a player cannot select a power that is already equipped by another player.

List of Emerald Powers

	Avatar
	Chaos Emerald: Blue
	This Emerald Power creates copies of the user. These copies have a blue aura to make them distingushable from the user and will run across the screen, defeating nearly any enemy and collecting any Rings in their path. This power is best used when there are a large swarm of Badniks or when fighting bosses that are difficult to reach.
	Bullet
	Chaos Emerald: Red
	This Emerald Power turns the user into a fireball that can be launched in a specified direction, similar to the Fire Shield's ability and Red Burst. It is also possible to stop in mid-air and change direction while the power is in effect.
	Vision
	Chaos Emerald: Purple
	This Emerald Power will reveal hidden platforms and Rings when activated, revealing new routes and collectibles for all players. This power is similar to the Sunglasses and Treasure Scope from Sonic Adventure 2.
	Water
	Chaos Emerald: Cyan
	This Emerald Power allows the user to swim up waterfalls in levels such as Bridge Island Zone, or to freely swim through underwater areas in Lagoon City Zone. Pressing the Emerald Power button while underwater will make the user perform a dash attack to take out enemies. Using this Emerald Power outside of water will also prevent the user from being killed by crush hazards such as in Press Factory Zone.
	Ivy
	Chaos Emerald: Green
	This Emerald Power plants a vine where the user is standing that grows upwards, allowing them to reach high places. The user can also direct where the vines will grow, and can jump off when necessary. In a co-op game, other players can use the leaves to climb the vines.
	Slow
	Chaos Emerald: Yellow
	This Emerald Power will slow down everything on the screen except for the player characters. This can be used to react more easily to fast-moving traps or to strategically avoid boss attacks, similar to Time Break.
	Extra
	Chaos Emerald: Grey
	This Emerald Power grants each character an extra ability for its duration. Unlike other Emerald Powers, the abilities provided vary by character: Sonic can use the Homing Attack to defeat enemies, much like his modern counterpart. Tails can use the Tornado Spin, which is a projectile attack. Knuckles can use Punch attacks to defeat enemies. Amy can use the Hammer Throw previously used by Hyper Amy. Trip can spit fireballs as a projectile attack.
	Super
	Chaos Emerald: All
	As with most games that include the Chaos Emeralds, collecting all seven will allow the player characters to transform into their Super forms. Super forms can be cancelled at any time by pressing + (PS4/PS5)/+ (XB1)/+ (Switch).