(Spoilers!) The Ring of Truth at the Final Horizon: Sonic the Hedgehog

[ShakeResounding]

We all knew it was coming. Ladies, gentlemen, I'm coming atcha with a CRT for Sonic Frontiers' third and final major update. Because I'm on mobile, I'm going to be linking a blog with the planned additions.

Note: Many ability additions don't have clips, and I plan to fix that over the course of tomorrow due to the 48 hour period required for CRTs. This is for all of you lovely people who knew I'd strike the wiki with something for this.

Here's the sandbox, but I'll tl;dr the stuff I know will get some attention:

• Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all get their own Boosts, Power Boosts, and exclusive Parry variants.
• Sage gets 2-B/A forcefields
• Super Sonic goes even further beyond
• Rings become canon, with 2-B/A Damage Transferal for those who have them. (This I will show, as it's an extraordinary claim)

Got your attention? Good, read the sandbox. Let's go!

Staff Agree: 2 (Maverick Zero X, Elizhaa)

Staff Neutral: 0

Staff Disagree: 0

 

[LaserPrecision]

Looks good.

 

[Eseseso]

We all knew it was coming. Ladies, gentlemen, I'm coming atcha with a CRT for Sonic Frontiers' third and final major update. Because I'm on mobile, I'm going to be linking a blog with the planned additions.

Note: Many ability additions don't have clips, and I plan to fix that over the course of tomorrow due to the 48 hour period required for CRTs. This is for all of you lovely people who knew I'd strike the wiki with something for this.

Here's the sandbox, but I'll tl;dr the stuff I know will get some attention:

• Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all get their own Boosts, Power Boosts, and exclusive Parry variants.
• Sage gets 2-B/A forcefields
• Super Sonic goes even further beyond
• Rings become canon, with 2-A Damage Transferal for those who have them.

Got your attention? Good, read the sandbox. Let's go!

Holy crap I knew you were working on this but this came out fast.

Put me down as agreeing!

And the 2-B/A Power Rings thing isn't that extreme since we allow Archie Sonic with enough rings to also have Low 1-C durability with rings.

One thing: Shouldn't Super Sonic have higher durability with Cyber Corruption?

Also, the End should probably get an AP justification addition for being far superior to Tethered Supreme considering that it could casually refuel it with its own energy multiple times without any issue during the fight.

 

[omegabronic]

agree with this

 

[HenshinIntervention]

why did it take this long for rings to become canon

 

[LaserPrecision]

why did it take this long for rings to become canon

Because this is vs wiki

 

[CloverDragon03]

Looks good to me

Final Horizon was peak I stg

 

[MysticMania]

How are you wanting Rings to work?

 

[omegabronic]

it is very well explained in the linked blog

 

[CloverDragon03]

Hang on though, you said Supreme's new key would be "Tethered to Supreme." Do you mean "Tethered to The End"? Or is this key for The End since the boss fight labels the boss as The End instead of Supreme

 

[Starsprite53]

I agree

 

[MysticMania]

I disagree with Rings, personally. I don't feel that there's enough to support this being an element of in-universe function, with it also contradicting in-world functionality. Additionally, characters have been harmed while also losing Rings, such as in Sonic Riders, when characters attack one another. The Titans can harm Super Sonic, but Sonic doesn't drop Rings when hurt, either, even though it's likely he's holding some. These point to Rings not guarding against damage, as proposed in this post.
So, I disagree with Rings, here, but I do agree with everything else on here. Thank you for putting this together.

 

[Ottavio_Merluzzo]

Looks good. Great job as always.

 

[ShakeResounding]

I disagree with Rings, personally. I don't feel that there's enough to support this being an element of in-universe function, with it also contradicting in-world functionality.

There's no contradiction. Rings are both a collectible in the world and a means of protection, both aren't mutually exclusive.

Additionally, characters have been harmed while also losing Rings, such as in Sonic Riders, when characters attack one another.

That's a subdivision of the franchise focused primarily on racing. We also don't see it in IDW, nor do we see it in Prime past a few specific instances even when they're acknowledged.

The Titans can harm Super Sonic, but Sonic doesn't drop Rings when hurt, either, even though it's likely he's holding some.

They can't hurt Super Sonic whatsoever, they can only KILL him outright. The only boss to have anything to do with Rings is the new The End fight, and even then Sonic doesn't drop them.

These point to Rings not guarding against damage, as proposed in this post.

Nearly every Sonic manual, game entry, and even the newest DLC disagrees with this, with far more instances backing up Rings providing protection rather than not and it's a fact. The most inconsistent thing about Rings is whether they existed at all.

Thank you for putting this together.

By the people, for the people!

 

[omegabronic]

I disagree with Rings, personally. I don't feel that there's enough to support this being an element of in-universe function, with it also contradicting in-world functionality.

Well, they are literally show and stated to exist, so the rings at least exist, with it being the reason sonic survived the death ball of The End in the climax of frontiers:the final horizon

Additionally, characters have been harmed while also losing Rings, such as in Sonic Riders, when characters attack one another.

can you show a clip of what you mean? Because is every game they lose rings instead of taking damage

The Titans can harm Super Sonic, but Sonic doesn't drop Rings when hurt, either, even though it's likely he's holding some.

none of the titans harm super sonic outside of some few attacks, which can very well have damage transferal negation, seen as how many other examples of the ability exist in universe, specially when it is the reasom sonic even defeated tge final boss of frontiers at all

 

[MysticMania]

Well, they are literally show and stated to exist, so the rings at least exist, with it being the reason sonic survived the death ball of The End in the climax of frontiers:the final horizon

can you show a clip of what you mean? Because is every game they lose rings instead of taking damage

The energy sphere should be far beyond base-levels of power, I feel. If Rings can guard damage against that, why does it not guard at all, or as well against base-level attacks?
I was wrong about them not losing Rings in Riders, but, they react the same in every regard, regardless of taking damage with or without Rings. In SA2, Shadow also takes damage, and is knocked back as such, but still loses Rings. If he's still taking damage, while also holding onto Rings at the same time, then they don't seem to be absorbing any damage dealt to him. Sonic also takes damage while still holding Rings, when fought against, but the amount of health he loses doesn't change depending on his or Shadow's Ring count. Characters in Sonic Championship/Sonic The Fighters lose Rings when taking damage, and it's worth noting that Metal Sonic doesn't seem to carry any Rings, due to never dropping any, but you deal the same amount of damage to him as you do other fighters (but he can take half health from you by one throw, since this was developed by AM2). ((Also, worth mentioning that every character in Championship/Fighters is mandatory to fight, minus Honey.))

 

[MysticMania]

(Frontiers also has base Sonic holding onto Rings, whilst being attacked by a Super-level being. He still takes damage, and falls unconscious, despite having Rings.
The cutscene mentioned in the sandbox does show Sonic losing Rings while surviving an attack, but, Frontiers also has a cutscene for Sonic dropping out of Super due to the lack of Rings, and, I feel that itself isn't consistent with in-universe functions.)

 

[omegabronic]

The energy sphere should be far beyond base-levels of power, I feel. If Rings can guard damage against that, why does it not guard at all, or as well against base-level attacks?

They do guard against base level oponents, this is shown in almost every boss battle in the franchise as well as in Sonic Prime

I was wrong about them not losing Rings in Riders, but, they react the same in every regard, regardless of taking damage with or without Rings.

They are still pushed back yes, but as stated and shown in almost every manual and entry, they don't take damage if they have rings

In SA2, Shadow also takes damage, and is knocked back as such, but still loses Rings. If he's still taking damage, while also holding onto Rings at the same time, then they don't seem to be absorbing any damage dealt to him.

The fact that he is losing rings is him not taking damage, them flying back while rings go out of him is how the rings mechanics work, being pushed back =/= taking damage, similarly to how lufy from one piece works, most blunt attacks push him back, however almost none are hurting him due to him damage reduction, similar here with the rings, they are pushed back, but they don't take any damage

Sonic also takes damage while still holding Rings, when fought against, but the amount of health he loses doesn't change depending on his or Shadow's Ring count. Characters in Sonic Championship/Sonic The Fighters lose Rings when taking damage, and it's worth noting that Metal Sonic doesn't seem to carry any Rings, due to never dropping any, but you deal the same amount of damage to him as you do other fighters (but he can take half health from you by one throw, since this was developed by AM2). ((Also, worth mentioning that every character in Championship/Fighters is mandatory to fight, minus Honey.))

There are some inconsistencies here and there altho the examples you gave are stilm showing them not taking damage and instead losing rings but some very few instances of gameplay maybe contradicting it, while several others in almost every other game, and in game cutescenes that are tied to the plot, such as the cutscene in final horizon, and the showings of the rings doing that as well in a non game enviroment, such as Sonic Primr, would take priority over these few instances you showed, since them protecting a user from damage is far more consistent then the oposite

 

[Theuser789]

I agree with everythng except rings being canon. I'm neutral on, leaning on disagreeing based on Mystic's reasoning. Excellent job at the CRT, however!

 

[omegabronic]

Rings being canon is not a questionable thing given all the times characters either reference them in the plot and how much they appear in non gameplay scenarios, to say that they don't exist is like saying that shadow's inhibitor rings don't exist

 

[ShakeResounding]

Felt like just yesterday that I kept shutting down people trying to make Rings canon... How times have changed

Just say you don't like the thought of 2-B/A Damage Transferal, cowards, because there's no hiding from Rings anymore

 

[Eseseso]

If we can give Base Archie Sonic Low 1-C (aka Super Sonic level) durability with power rings, then 2-B/2-A durability for Game Power Rings is fine.

 

[omegabronic]

If we can give Base Archie Sonic Low 1-C (aka Super Sonic level) durability with power rings, then 2-B/2-A durability for Game Power Rings is fine.

it isn't durability, it is damage transferal

 

[ShakeResounding]

Yeah I think it's important to not start getting into the habit of calling it durability since it would bring more problems. Dura would imply a 2-B/A force is necessary to make somebody drop a Ring.

Archie is a different case because it IS just flat Dura (although I'll be taking a look at that after this CRT to double check).

 

[MusicRelaxing]

Man, Super Sonic Squared too me felt a little dissappointing. Not the actual end fight, but the build up to me... it just felt like we were missing something. I would've LOVED for something hinting to what it could be; from digitalized abilities n' stuff, but unfortunately we didn't get that, but a runback of the titans with no rings being gained back or infinite parry time. But regardless, the sandbox is fire; Shake, I have no issues w/ it.

 

[ShakeResounding]

Thanks, Music!

By the way, to the rest of you, I added a clip of Sonic tanking attacks from a Titan with Rings straight to the OP. I'll even repost it here. Hands-down the coolest cutscene in the entire DLC

 

[Eseseso]

it isn't durability, it is damage transferal

True, but my point is that it isn't outlierish for Game Power Rings to be at that level.

Besides, he still loses rings from even normal-level attacks, so it's not as broken as one would think. Basically it has a normal floor and very high ceiling for damage transferal.

Thanks, Music!

By the way, to the rest of you, I added a clip of Sonic tanking attacks from a Titan with Rings straight to the OP. I'll even repost it here. Hands-down the coolest cutscene in the entire DLC

Looks good, though it is worth noting that we see him lose like 40-60 rings in that sequence.

 

[Eseseso]

Also:

One thing: Shouldn't Super Sonic have higher durability with Cyber Corruption?

Also, the End should probably get an AP justification addition for being far superior to Tethered Supreme considering that it could casually refuel it with its own energy multiple times without any issue during the fight.

 

[ShakeResounding]

Besides, he still loses rings from even normal-level attacks, so it's not as broken as one would think. Basically it has a normal floor and very high ceiling for damage transferal.

Basically this, they have a high damage ceiling and anybody with AP superior to that limit should be able to bypass Ring protection directly (so no Tier 1 smurf bogus or anything like that) and chances are if people are throwing Base characters at 2-As, the result won't be good for them anyways

Looks good, though it is worth noting that we see him lose like 40-60 rings in that sequence.

The bigger the gap between a Ring holder's dura and the enemy's AP, the more Rings the Ring holder will drop, so that's consistent.

 

[Fireld]

They are still pushed back yes, but as stated and shown in almost every manual and entry, they don't take damage if they have rings

Getting crushed doesn't count as damage?

 

[ShakeResounding]

Getting crushed to death is an inconsistent mechanic across games, I'm not sure if that'd be the best example to use. Iirc you drop some Rings from getting crushed in Gens 3DS.

 

[TheGuy]

agree

 

[Eseseso]

The bigger the gap between a Ring holder's dura and the enemy's AP, the more Rings the Ring holder will drop, so that's consistent.

Makes sense, though it does mean that Sonic likely can't absorb 2-A damage with a single ring.

Then again why would people make Base Sonic fight 2-A people.

 

[TheGuy]

Then again why would people make Base Sonic fight 2-A people.

cause yes

 

[JJSliderman]

Rings being canon makes a lot of sense, there are numerous times in the franchise where Sonic has taken hits from “super” level entities and survived. In the past they were all written off as outliers, but now there’s actual reasoning for it. Rings have even protected Sonic from death due to Void, meaning there’s finally a reason beyond PiS as to why Sonic could take hits from Void.

 

[Theuser789]

Rings being canon is not a questionable thing given all the times characters either reference them

The only real, plot related reference, is in Rivals 2 where Silver needs to collect rings to refill his stamina. All other cases are Easter Eggs (Generations) or gameplay mechanics.

and how much they appear in non gameplay scenarios

They don't appear that often in non-gameplay scenarios. Outside of Frontiers, they only showed up in Prime which is secondary canon. In a franchise with several games, that's not "much" evidence.

 

[ShakeResounding]

Rings being canon makes a lot of sense, there are numerous times in the franchise where Sonic has taken hits from “super” level entities and survived. In the past they were all written off as outliers, but now there’s actual reasoning for it.

Huh... This makes sense.

Rings have even protected Sonic from death due to Void, meaning there’s finally a reason beyond PiS as to why Sonic could take hits from Void.

That's actually an amazing point, I'll find a clip and add that as extra justification (hopefully they actually drop Rings cuz I can't remember). Thank you, JJ.

 

[omegabronic]

The only real, plot related reference, is in Rivals 2 where Silver needs to collect rings to refill his stamina. All other cases are Easter Eggs (Generations) or gameplay mechanics.

And in frontiers, where it is even an important plot moment, being yhe whole reason why Sonic survived the end's attack

They don't appear that often in non-gameplay scenarios. Outside of Frontiers, they only showed up in Prime which is secondary canon. In a franchise with several games, that's not "much" evidence.

Yes it is when said secondary canon is backed up by nearly every guide that exists in the games and by the games themselves acknowledge of them, such as frontiers and rivals 2, specially when nothing in the games says that they are a not canon elements in the first place

 

[Theuser789]

Yes it is when said secondary canon is backed up by nearly every guide that exists in the games and by the games themselves acknowledge of them,

Manuals and guides acknowledge all gameplay mechanics. Every single one of them. That's what they are for, in the end. So that can't be used as evidence.

It's not like I'm completely against rings being canon. I said I was neutral, after all. It's just that the evidence isn't as great as you say. It's just two games and a cartoon, versus other games like Fighters, SA1 and SA2 where rings don't defend you from damage.

 

[omegabronic]

Manuals and guides acknowledge all gameplay mechanics. Every single one of them. That's what they are for, in the end. So that can't be used as evidence.

Yes it can wheb the thing they are describing is acknownledged by the games themselves and other canon material connected to it

It's not like I'm completely against rings being canon. I said I was neutral, after all. It's just that the evidence isn't as great as you say. It's just two games and a cartoon, versus other games like Fighters, SA1 and SA2 where rings don't defend you from damage.

Rings defend you from damage in adventure 1 and 2, that is why you lose them when you get hit

But since you are neutral, i agree to disagree on this