Chaos Emerald (Extreme Gear)

"Behold the power of the Chaos Emeralds!"

- Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

The Chaos Emerald (カオスエメラルド), also known as the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Free Riders, is a recurring Board type Extreme Gear that appears in the Sonic Riders series. It is an exclusive Extreme Gear solely for Sonic the Hedgehog, meaning only he can use it, with the unique ability amongst the Extreme Gears that allows him to transform into Super Sonic once he has collected a set amount of rings.

Sonic Riders
"Emerald holds an ancient power"

- Description, Sonic Riders

Description
The Chaos Emerald first appeared in Sonic Riders. According to its profile, this Extreme Gear holds the ancient power of the Chaos Emeralds. It is obtained in the game by completing all of Jet, Wave and Storm's missions in Mission Mode with a gold Rank.

On the menu and in the Gear Gallery, the Chaos Emerald appears as the yellow Chaos Emerald, but when selecting the Chaos Emerald or using it in gameplay, it appears as Sonic's Blue Star.

Abilities and Traits
As a Board type Extreme Gear in Sonic Riders, the Chaos Emerald is suited for general riding.

When Sonic starts a race with the Chaos Emerald, he will instantly obtain 30 Rings and transform into Super Sonic. As Super Sonic, Sonic has unlimited Air in the Chaos Emerald's Air Tank, becomes invulnerable to all harm (meaning he does not lose speed or Rings when he is attacked) and he can ram through opponents with his Air Boost without interruption, leaving the opponents dazed and confused. Additionally, Super Sonic possesses maximum acceleration, top speed, performs well off-road and he can as well perform the Super Sonic Boost, where he jumps off his Extreme Gear and starts plowing through obstacles without slowing down. When becoming Super Sonic, Sonic becomes as well a Speed Type, Flight Type and Power Type, allowing him to grind, smash obstacles and glide through midair and through Accelerators.

For all its advantages, the Chaos Emerald has a unique few drawbacks when inducing Sonic's transformation into Super Sonic. After becoming Super Sonic, the player begins to lose one Ring per second. Should the players completely run out of Rings, Super Sonic will revert back to normal and Sonic will forced to run down the track instead of riding on his Extreme Gear. Collecting any amount of Rings at this point, however, will cause Sonic to transform back into Super Sonic.

While as Super Sonic, performing regular moves and gameplay mechanics will either be have drawbacks or will be changed: performing the Air Slide will consume Rings at a much faster rate when being used, performing the Air Boost will cost 20 Rings for each usage, and attacking opponents with the Air Boost cost 10 additional Rings for each hit. Additionally, Super Sonic cannot set up Tornadoes or level up.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
"Chaos Emerald, bringer of disruption... Said to hold great power, it shines in Sonic's grasp."

- Description, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Description
The Chaos Emerald returned later in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. According to its profile, it is described as a bringer of disruption and that it holds great power. It is obtained in the game by completing all of the missions in Mission Mode with an Extreme Rank in both the Heroes story and the Babylon story.

Like in Sonic Riders, the Chaos Emerald resembles the yellow Chaos Emerald on the menu and in the Gear Gallery. However, when selecting the Chaos Emerald or using it in gameplay, it appears as Sonic's Blue Star.

Abilities and Traits
As a Board type Extreme Gear in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, the Chaos Emerald is suited for general riding.

When Sonic starts a race with the Chaos Emerald, he starts out running in his normal form instead of getting on his Extreme Gear, and runs noticeably slower than the other racers. In this state though, he is able to use Springs and other shortcuts which required the racer to be on 'Attack' mode. Once Sonic manages to collect any amount of Rings, however, he will transform into Super Sonic and starts to ride on his Blue Star.

Like in Sonic Riders, once Sonic transforms into Super Sonic, the players begins to lose one Ring per second and should the player completely run out Rings, Super Sonic will revert back to normal and Sonic will forced to run down the track on foot again instead of riding on his Extreme Gear. However, by collecting any amount of Rings at this point will cause Sonic to transform back into Super Sonic. While using the 'Attack' item from an Item Box, whether on foot or on board, Super Sonic hops of his board and constantly moves at 180 mph and any opponent Super Sonic crashes into will be attacked by a tornado. This action doesn't burn through Sonic's ring count but he cannot access Springs or other shortcuts requiring the Attack item.

While as Super Sonic in this game, once Sonic collects 60 Rings, he dismounts off his Extreme Gear and perform the Super Sonic Boost, becoming a Power Type, allowing him to crash through obstacles and barricades without slowing down, making him virtually invulnerable and will move constantly at 180 mph. Once performing the Super Sonic Boost, however, Super Sonic cannot disengage it and he burns though Rings twice as fast. Another trait the Chaos Emerald grants Super Sonic is that instead of using Gravity Points to use Gravity Control and Gravity Dive, he uses Rings to perform these actions instead, but doing so will burn through the player's Ring count at a much faster rate.

In addition to its abilities, the Chaos Emerald possesses different Gear Parts that can assist in the players' effort to collect Rings, such as increasing the amount of Rings Super Sonic can carry and granting a permanent Magnetic Barrier.

Sonic Free Riders
"The Chaos Emeralds are said to hold a mysterious power. When their power is combined with Sonic's..."

- Description, Sonic Free Riders

Description
The Chaos Emerald returned again in Sonic Free Riders, where it was called "Chaos Emeralds", as all seven Chaos Emeralds are included in it this time. Its profile describes the power of the Chaos Emeralds that are infused with it. It can be obtained in the game by getting an S Rank on all the missions in World Grand Prix Mode.

In Sonic Free Riders, since all Chaos Emeralds are involved in this Extreme Gear, it looks exactly like the Chaos Emeralds on the menu screen. However, as in the previous titles, when using the Chaos Emeralds in gameplay, it appears as Sonic's Blue Star.

Abilities and Traits
When using the Chaos Emeralds in the beginning of a race in Sonic Free Riders, the player starts out in Sonic's base form with zero rings. As this point, the Chaos Emeralds will act and behave as it was a standard Board type Extreme Gear (possibly as the Blue Star) in Sonic Free Riders, making it well-balanced in its attributes with average statistics and is suited for general riding.

Once the player collects 30 Rings, Sonic will instantly transform into Super Sonic and will have unlimited Air in the Chaos Emeralds' Air tank, though he will not lose any Rings at this point. Once Super Sonic performs a Kick Dash, however, he will jump off his Extreme Gear and will perform the Super Sonic Boost. While flying, Super Sonic reaches the speed of 200 mph instantly, is invulnerable and can perform high Rank tricks without much effort, but the player's Ring count will begin to drop. Once the Ring count reaches zero, Super Sonic transforms back to Sonic, until the player gather 30 or more Rings again. The player cannot equip any Gear Parts to the Gear, though.

Trivia

 * Super Sonic is the only Sonic character that doesn't shout "Gear Change" when he changes Gear Parts in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.
 * Even though in these games the Chaos Emerald is considered an Extreme Gear, Sonic just rides his Blue Star and transforms into Super Sonic.
 * In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Super Sonic's voice sounds deeper in contrast with other appearances of Super Sonic where his voice stays the same. Same in Sonic Free Riders, but not as much.
 * Even though Sonic needs all the Chaos Emeralds to access his super form, the Extreme Gear is called Chaos Emerald and in the picture there is only one Chaos Emerald in Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity though all seven Chaos Emeralds are present in Sonic Free Riders.
 * The Chaos Emerald does not always make Sonic invincible, as he can still take damage the same way everyone else can, however, he doesn't lose rings.
 * Sonic Riders is the only Sonic Riders title to not have Super Sonic off his board.
 * The Chaos Emerald shown for both Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity are depicted as a yellow Chaos Emerald, symbolizing Super Sonic's color scheme. However, in Sonic Free Riders, all seven of the Chaos Emeralds appear. Whether this is an error made by Sonic Team or it was on purpose is unknown.
 * When racing a ghost of Super Sonic in Sonic Free Riders, the player can hear his aura's sound effect when racing nearby him in Time Attack.