The Sonic movies are a love letter to the Blue Blur's storied history but, fittingly, some of their juiciest Easter eggs and deep cuts race into shot and disappear again in the blink of an eye. Sonic 3 is no different.
To help you wring every last drop out of the new threequel, we've collected together 30 of the biggest Sonic 3 Easter eggs. They range from nods to John Wick, a throwback to one of the best anime around, and – of course – a variety of references to Sonic's past and present.
Are you ready? Let's speed through Sonic 3's biggest Easter eggs in chronological order from when they appear in the film. Of course, some major spoilers follow so, if you haven't sprinted into cinemas just yet, make like Shadow and Chaos Control your way out of here. But check out our Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review too for our spoiler-free verdict.
And if you have seen the movie, then be sure to dive into our breakdowns of the Sonic 3 ending and Sonic 3 post-credits scene.
Sonic 3 Easter eggs
Prison Island
At the beginning of Sonic 3, Shadow is shown being held captive at 'Prison Island' in Tokyo. That's not an imaginatively bankrupt name, don't worry. It's actually where Shadow was also held in 2001's Sonic Adventure 2, and forms the basis of several levels – returning again in 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog.
Live and Learn
Crush 40's fist-pumping songs have been a mainstay for modern Sonic, most notably the Sonic Adventure 2 song 'Live and Learn.' The threequel teases the opening riff early on in the movie – played on the guitar by Maria during a flashback sequence – before the audience gets a decent chunk of the full song during Sonic and Shadow's assault on the Eclipse Cannon. It's also used as part of Shadow's leitmotif throughout.
Chaos Control
Shadow's first use of Chaos Control (essentially, the power of teleportation) in Sonic 3 mirrors the way he uses it in 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog. In both, he teleports behind a GUN soldier and kicks them. He later uses a similar move on Tails, which we're certain is a reference to the long-running meme of Shadow always besting the two-tailed fox in combat.
End goal post
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all race each other during Tom and Maddie's camping trip. Sonic, inevitably, gets the upper hand – or so he thinks. As he dashes through a 'Goal' marker, it even does the trademark spin that happens when Sonic crosses the end of the level in the 2D Sonic titles. That combines well with…
End stage music
That little jingle and fanfare that plays when Sonic celebrates winning the first race is the Sonic stage end music that has been a mainstay of the series ever since Sonic first put on a pair of sneakers.
Sonic 1's colorway
Everything is an Easter egg in Sonic 3. Even the tents. The white, yellow, blue, and red design has been seen several times throughout the trilogy in Green Hills, but it's prominent here during Tom and Maddie's camping trip. It's a reference to Sonic's trademark color scheme, which first featured in the first Sonic game's title screen.
John Wick
Sonic 3 had to go there. Keanu Reeves voices Shadow, but the Ultimate Life Form resembles John Wick in one moment as he moodily stalks through the Tokyo rain. That's a nod to Reeves (as Wick) doing something very similar in another threequel – John Wick 3.
City Escape
Sonic 3 certainly took heavy inspiration from Sonic Adventure 2 but its pulsating opening level, City Escape, is sadly absent here. Instead, we get a couple of cute references, including Shadow being surrounded by GUN agents in a similar vein to how Sonic is cornered before Sonic Adventure 2's first boss. Sonic also jumps out of a GUN helicopter to kickstart the Shadow showdown – the exact same method of arrival as his entry in Sonic Adventure 2, minus the impromptu snowboard.
Team Sonic
Early in the movie, Knuckles bristles at the idea of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles being part of 'Team Sonic'. The hard-headed echidna clearly hasn't played Sonic Heroes, where the trio are listed as one of the four playable teams – a brotherhood that would continue through most of the next two decades of Sonic stories and games.
Shadow with a gun
Surprisingly, this isn't another John Wick reference. Shadow's gun pose is a direct reference to 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog and his infamous ability to start firing bullets at a whole host of aliens, creatures, and soldiers in the divisive platformer. Fun fact: Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler also worked on Shadow the Hedgehog, which is a nice full-circle moment.
Akira slide
If you've seen literally any anime – or anime-inspired pop culture – in the past 40 years, there's a chance you will have seen the 'Akira slide'. First popularized in, you guessed it, Akira, it's a move that sees a character hit an impossible cool motorcycle drift while facing the camera. It's appeared in everything from Rick and Morty to Jordan Peele's Nope and, now, it's made its way into Sonic lore.
Chao Garden
Chao Garden is described by Tails as one of Tokyo's top 10 "must-see spots" during Team Sonic's attempts to reconvene after getting run ragged by Shadow. Real Sonic heads will know all about the Chao Garden, however. Instead of a cursed hybrid of Chuck E. Cheese and Japan's mascot culture, it's a minigame from Sonic Adventure 2 that allows players to raise their own cuddly Tamagotchi-like Chaos.
Detective Pikachu
One of the more on-the-nose Easter eggs is Knuckles and Tails interaction with some children at Chao Garden. They tell Tails he looks like Detective Pikachu, to which Knuckles replies that he does look like a Pokemon. Sonic 3 never explains why Knuckles carries around so much Poke-knowledge, but we'd like to think it's a neat example of shouting out one of the movies that, alongside Sonic, really broke the video game curse in the past decade.
Shadow's origins
Admittedly, this one is a little more guesswork. Shadow's origins in Sonic 3 differs a little from what we see in Sonic Adventure 2, instead hewing a little closer to what is later retconned by Shadow the Hedgehog. There, villain Black Doom helped create Shadow using his blood and help from Gerald Robotnik. While Sonic 3 doesn't go that route, it does show he was brought to Earth by a meteorite. It's not too dissimilar to the Black Comet, which passes over Earth every 50 years and is commandeered by Black Doom. Can someone smell a sequel?
Crab Bot
Eggman's crustacean robot lurking in the River Thames is the subject of several crabby puns during Sonic 3. Crabs have a surprisingly rich history in the Sonic series, too. One of the first enemies Sonic will encounter in the first Sonic's Green Hill Zone is a Crabmeat Badnik. Eggman liked the design so much, he even used it in the Sonic Boom TV show.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
It's not all Sonic references, you know. While Eggman is breaking out of his stupor with a new haircut and some fresh threads, he calls his syco-friend Agent Stone 'Tinker Tailor'. That's a reference to the John le Carre novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was made into a Gary Oldman-starring film in 2011.
Knuckles is afraid of ghosts
A long-running joke in the Sonic series is that of the otherwise fearsome Knuckles and his fear of the paranormal. In Sonic 3, that's manifested by his bad reaction to a Team Sonic movie night featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost. In the game series, it's mentioned in Sonic Adventure 2 as well as in additional missable dialogue in Sonic Heroes.
Eclipse Cannon
Another pull straight from Sonic Adventure 2, the Eclipse Cannon is a deadly weapon designed to Gerald Robotnik's "exact specifications" in Sonic 3. Much of the plot revolves around getting the second key to launch the GUN weapon, including a trip to their headquarters in London.
Eggman Land
After reuniting with his pop-pop, Eggman makes up for lost time by handcrafting his dream day with grandfather Gerald using virtual reality. That includes a ride on a rollercoaster in Eggman Land, a nod to the game Eggman's constantly evolving plans for his own theme park – something that came to life in Sonic Unleashed.
Dirty Dancing
Eggman and Gerald's laser dancing sequence in London will live long in the memory, not least because of its bizarre recreation of the iconic 'lift' from Dirty Dancing. In the 1987 movie's finale, Patrick Swayze's Johnny lifts 'Baby' (Jennifer Grey) in the air and Eggman does it to his grandfather here.
The Beatles
Sonic showing up in London left ample time for him to see the sights – including recreating the famous pose of The Beatles walking across Abbey Road for their iconic 1969 album. Unfortunately, the Blue Blur can only name three of the Fab Four, namechecking Ringo as the "other one". Ouch.
New Robotnik suit
Jim Carrey's Robotnik look has transformed dramatically over the years. He finally earned the bald look in Sonic 2 and better reflects his egg-shaped game self when we first catch up with him in Sonic 3. The get-up is complete, however, when grandfather Gerald gifts him a new suit in the third act, one that faithfully recreates the character's 'modern' Sonic look from the past two decades of games.
Super Shadow
As Sonic and Shadow fight it out over the Master Emerald, the Ultimate Life Form transforms into Super Shadow. That form was first seen during the final stage of Sonic Adventure 2 and, like Super Sonic, the ability is only finite and requires players to pick up rings to stay alive.
Final Story team-up
Can you tell this movie owes a debt to Sonic Adventure 2? Much like that 2001 Dreamcast classic, the finale sees Sonic and Shadow teaming up to stop the Eclipse Cannon and Robotnik's plans. While some details deviate from the source – there is no Biolizard here, for example – it follows the same big story beats and proved a treat for long-time fans.
E-100 robots
Potentially a breadcrumb for a future Sonic movie, the Eclipse Cannon comes bundled with a fleet of Gerald Robotnik's E-100 robots. While we don't see series veteran Omega, the last of his kind, we wouldn't be surprised if this was setting up a story thread down the line.
Sonic and Shadow's pose
Never one to shy away from fan service, Sonic 3 ups the ante with a thrilling rendition of 'Live and Learn' and, yes, Sonic and Shadow's iconic Sonic Adventure 2 pose that features the two of them crossing over in the sky with the moon behind them.
The moon
Speaking of the moon, Eggman's accidental damaging of the moon in Sonic 3 is almost certainly a reference to when he wanted to destroy the moon in Sonic Adventure 2. Thankfully, he wasn't completely successful on either occasion.
Sonic the Fighters
The Sonic end-credits are always a treat and, usually, a trip down memory lane. That's no different in Sonic 3, as Sonic and company speed through the events of the movie in pixelized form. Here, though, their blocky models closely resemble those found in Sonic fighting game (and all-round odd curio) Sonic the Fighters.
Metal Sonic
The Sonic 3 post-credits scene introduces Metal Sonic and then adds a further swarm of the robotic doppelgangers. First introduced in Sonic CD, Metal Sonic has appeared as an iconic antagonist in several titles since, including Sonic Generations and Sonic Heroes.
Amy Rose
Swooping in to save the day with her trademark hammer is Amy Rose. One of Sonic's most prominent allies, Amy is brought into the mix in Sonic CD and is frequently depicted as an on-again/off-again love interest for Sonic, as well as fighting the good fight against Eggman and his legion of Badniks.
Still in a Sonic mood? Then you gotta go fast and check out our ranking of the best Sonic games. Be sure to dive into our latest coverage, too, as we speak to Jim Carrey about appearing in Sonic sequels and director Jeff Fowler about Keanu Reeves' Shadow portrayal.
