If you’re thinking, “I don’t care about these post-credits scenes”, think again – Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ends with three huge reveals that lay the groundwork for Sonic 4, hint at what game it could be based on, and clarify the fate of one character. Spoiler warning (obviously).
My butt will remain firmly seated until the end of any Sonic movie. In the first film, Tails flew through a portal in the post-credits scene. The second entry gave fans (and especially me) what they’d been waiting for: Shadow the Hedgehog, awake and ready to wreak chaos.
Sonic Adventure 2 players probably knew how Sonic 3 would go down, but for the uninitiated, it follows Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails as they try to stop Shadow, a vengeful, superpowered hedgehog who wants revenge against humanity for what happened to his friend Maria.
By the end, Sonic is forced to confront Shadow head-on in an angry, epic fight to destroy (and save) the world – and take it from me, you don’t want to miss its post-credits scenes.
Shadow is alive in Sonic 3’s post-credits scene
In Sonic 3’s final post-credits scene, it’s revealed that Shadow survived the Eclipse Cannon’s explosion.
At the end of Sonic 3, Tails and Knuckles save Sonic as he plummets to Earth unconscious, having absorbed too much of the Eclipse Cannon’s beam. Shadow stays and helps Dr Robotnik destroy it before it crashes toward the planet, and you’d be fair to assume he was wiped out in its enormous explosion (it looks like a supernova to people looking at the sky).
However, as anyone who played Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes would have suspected, you need something stronger to kill Shadow. The post-credits scene shows a crater in a field with a set of titanium handcuffs. While we don’t see his face, Shadow’s shoes walk into frame and he picks up the cuffs.
Metal Sonic arrives
In the first post-credits scene, Sonic ends up in NY State Park after outpacing Tails and Knuckles in their race. There, he’s confronted by a new villain: Metal Sonic.
“I’m flattered by the cosplay,” Sonic quips, but Metal Sonic didn’t come alone – he has lots of robots with him, and they quickly surround Sonic.
For the uninitiated, Metal Sonic first appeared in Sonic CD (he was also a villain in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie). Unlike Shadow, who begins as a villain with a murky moral compass and eventually becomes an ally (and friendly rival) to Sonic, Metal Sonic is evil to its core.
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In the games, he’s one of Robotnik’s most advanced and dangerous creations, built specifically and solely to destroy Sonic. He resembles Sonic, and he can basically imitate all of Sonic’s powers; he can even run faster than him.
He’s not a mindless killing machine, either. While his objective is set by Dr. Robotnik, he wants to kill Sonic and prove that he’s the superior being. Don’t worry, though, because he always fails – and if we’re lucky, we’ll see them go toe-to-toe in Sonic 4.
Meet Amy Rose!
As Sonic is surrounded, a hooded figure swoops in and makes light work of Metal Sonic and his robots with a hammer. She reveals herself… and it’s Amy Rose!
Similarly to Metal Sonic, Amy Rose made her proper debut in Sonic CD (strictly speaking, she first appeared in the manga). She’s sort of like the Minnie to Sonic’s Mickey – albeit she’s always pining after Sonic, and he isn’t bothered about having a girlfriend.
Interestingly, she was a non-playable character in Sonic CD, the Japanese release often referred to her as “Rosy the Rascal”, and the US manual of the game called her Princess Sally (who appeared in the ‘90s Sonic TV series).
Her role was expanded for Sonic Adventure, but if you’re looking for a big backstory like Shadow, you’re out of luck. She lives in Central City, loves all things mystical, and believes she’d have a “destined” encounter with Sonic. She’s an active participant in several games, but beyond their events, that’s kind of it.
Here’s the thing: with Amy Rose, Metal Sonic, and Shadow in play, Sonic 4 seems like it’ll be inspired by Sonic Heroes. After all, the classic 2003 game (in between its gameplay) picks up with Shadow after he falls from the Space Colony ARK, while Metal Sonic pursues Sonic and co.
Speaking to Dexerto, Fowler kept schtum about any specific influences on Sonic 4. “ I think the way we love working is just really cherry-picking ideas that we think fans would be excited about and they go into a melting pot…. in terms of where things go from here, I think there’s a lot of inspiring elements and a lot of games that could influence it,” he said.
In the meantime, find out more about the Sonic 3 Build-A-Bear collab, and check out our list of the best movies of 2024.