Paramount Pictures recently dropped the first official trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, giving fans a brief look into the film’s narrative. It also offered a full look at Keanu Reeves’ Shadow the Hedgehog and teased his role as a tough antagonist for Sonic and company, so much so that Sonic is forced to make an alliance with his nemesis Dr. Robotnik to help stop him. However, the Sonic 3 trailer contained some easter eggs and game references fans may have missed.
Here is a list of all the major easter eggs and game references from the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer.
List of major easter eggs spotted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer
Following are some major easter eggs and game references spotted in the trailer that fans may have missed.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 adapting Sonic Adventure 2
The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer contains a few flashback scenes depicting Shadow’s backstory. This includes Shadow and Dr. Gerald Robotnik — Eggman’s grandfather — mourning the presumed loss of Maria, Dr. Robotnik’s granddaughter, whom they were both close to.
This indicates that the upcoming Sonic threequel is adapting the story of the Sonic Adventure 2 video game, which featured Gerald in a prominent storyline in flashbacks. He was imprisoned and executed for his crimes in the game. Sonic Adventure 2 also includes flashbacks of Maria’s death at the hands of a G.U.N. raid and her bond with Shadow prior to her demise.
However, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 appears to be changing this slightly by keeping Gerald Robotnik alive and out of the prison in the present day. This allows Gerald to meet his grandson Eggman. It would be interesting to see how this plays out in the movie as Jim Carrey is pulling double duty for both Gerald and Eggman.
Chaos from Sonic Adventures 1
At the 2-minute and 28-second mark, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles land in a restaurant featuring a Chao Garden showcase. This showcase includes Chao animatronics and their eggs. For the unversed, the Chaos and their eggs made their first appearance in the Sonic Adventures video game.
109 Shibuya building
At around the 1:10 minute mark in the trailer, eagle-eyed viewers can spot a logo for 109 Shibuya. This is a department store based in Tokyo, owned by SHIBUYA109 Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Tokyo Group.
A reference to the Shadow the Hedgehog game intro
In the Shadow the Hedgehog 3 trailer, fans get glimpses of Shadow taking down G.U.N. soldiers. The manner in which these clips were framed seems similar to a brief bit in the Shadow the Hedgehog game intro, where Shadow is seen taking down several monsters in a similar fashion.
Crab machine from the Sonic video games
At the 1:41 mark of the Sonic 3 trailer, fans get a glimpse of a silver metallic machine. Upon closer inspection, its design closely resembles Eggman’s crab machine from the Sonic video games.
Akira slide
At the 2:32 mark of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer, Shadows performs a bike slide. The slide strongly resembles the iconic bike slide moment from Katsuhiro Otomo’s iconic 1988 anime movie Akira.
A Vegeta Dragon Ball Z move
At around the trailer’s 1:17 mark, Shadow grabs Knuckles’ fist and performs an upper kick move that propels him upward. Dragon Ball Z fans will instantly recognize this move as the same one Super Saiyan Vegeta used on Cell during one of their fights. (via ComicBook)
