Sunday, March 25, 2012

In Sonic, why aren't the Chaos *Emeralds* all green?

Question

I'm just curious because I always thought an "emerald" was green...

Asked by Aerodynamo

Answer

In real life, Emeralds run the gamut from the standard green (the color "emerald", even) to a bluer / yellowish in the extremes, but even then they don't reach the full spectrum of the chaos emeralds.

Putting aside the very nature of them being video game constructs, the fact that the number of emeralds have changed (from 6 to 7), and that their colors have varied, it's otherwise likely that the chaos emeralds aren't really "emeralds" at all, but rather take their name for their association with the Master Emerald, which has always been a large, green gem (and thus, a "real" emerald).

This theory of course falls flat when you consider that the Master Emerald debuted in Sonic & Knuckles, while the Chaos Emeralds have existed since Sonic the Hedgehog (the 1991 game).

Bottom line? Someone in marketing thought "Chaos Emeralds" sounded better than "Chaos Beryls" or "Chaos Diamonds" (which are known for their varied colors) and that choice has propagated ever since, geology be damned.

Answered by Raven Dreamer

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