Chaos Emerald


 * For other uses of the term, see Chaos Emerald (disambiguation). For other subjects named "Emerald", see Emerald.

The Chaos Emeralds (カオスエメラルド) are objects in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are seven ancient emeralds and mystical relics tied to the Master Emerald that possess powerful properties and abilities. Those that hold the Chaos Emeralds can use their powers for a variety of things, such as initiating a super transformation, powering machines, and warping time and space. Anyone who combines all seven Chaos Emeralds can control ultimate power. Even when not including their mystical powers, the Chaos Emeralds' monetary value and purity make them prime targets of treasure hunters who seek to make a mint.

Throughout history, the Chaos Emeralds have been the center of countless world-threatening conflicts and have been targeted by multiple factions on both Earth and beyond, who seek them for their near-limitless powers. In the hands of villains they have been used for doomsday weapons and schemes for world domination, and in the hands of heroes they have been used to save the world. Over time, the Emeralds have been gathered multiple times, though they tend to scatter themselves after each usage and reset the hunt for them.

In the early games of the series, the Chaos Emeralds were more like "bonus" items, but since Sonic Adventure, they have become necessary plot devices, and that trend has continued throughout the later games.

Powers and traits
Described as holding enough power to let their possessor control the whole world, each Chaos Emerald is said to possess mystical properties and contain unlimited amounts of highly potent and powerful chaos energy that is said to give life to all things. Even alone, their power is unmatched by pretty much anything else in the universe, except by the Power of the Stars and the Master Emerald; just one Emerald can grant access to unlimited power and radiates enough chaos energy to repel the incomplete Time Eater, power an entire Gaia Temple, and destabilize the crust of a planet. It is often said that those whom combine all seven Chaos Emeralds will gain ultimate power and unlimited energy.

The power of each Chaos Emerald is described as being able to “transform thoughts into power”; by "sensing" people's thoughts, the Chaos Emeralds can generate the chaos energy they contain which make them an everlasting source of energy. Oppositely, the Emeralds can absorb chaos energy exposed to them. By focusing one's thoughts, the Emeralds can even bend reality to achieve certain feats, such as showing visions, performing rituals, reviving the recently deceased and even make them react and move on their own. Additionally, each Emerald can float in midair on its own power.

The Chaos Emeralds' power can be harnessed with or without physical contact, and can be done so over great distances. When harnessed by living beings, they allow different Chaos Powers, such as Chaos Control, and occasionally enhance the wielder's abilities. Harnessing all seven Chaos Emeralds will bestow a person with a Super State, a form that grants flight, invulnerability, different Chaos Powers, and increased innate talents. Additionally, a Super State user can transfer their power to others bestow them with a Super State. However, Super States generally do not last long, as they consume tremendous amounts of energy. The Emeralds can also be harnessed to power machinery, such as the Eclipse Cannon. Potentially, their power can as well be used for nuclear or laser based weaponry.

The type of chaos energy the Emeralds produce is based on thoughts. Positive thoughts, such as friendship and caring, generate positive energies and negative thoughts, such as anger and hatred, generate negative energies. If the Chaos Emeralds are either absent of their negative energies or all of it, they become inert and lose their lustre. The only known ways to restore them from this state is through peoples' thoughts, the Gaia Temples, or by returning their energy. The Chaos Emeralds can as well take on other powers, like when the Overmind psychically treated them into Great Emeralds which boosted their psychic powers, or potentially be enhanced.

The Chaos Emeralds amplify their own power the more of them there are used in the process. This is mainly demonstrated with the Eclipse Cannon: with five Emeralds it could destroy a large city, with six Emeralds it could blow up half of the moon and with all seven it could destroy planets and pierce stars. Like the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds appear to possess some form of sentience, as they can seemingly act on their own and remain stable despite the current conditions. Supposedly, this also explains for their tendency to show up where they are most needed.

Each Chaos Emerald is linked to each other and act like magnets that can attract or repel each other. This for example allowed Tails to pinpoint Dr. Eggman's location on Space Colony ARK because he had the rest of the Chaos Emeralds in his possession. After using all seven Emeralds though, they will usually scatter themselves, meaning that they can only be used for one purpose together before disappearing again. While they can end up anywhere in the world, they quite often end up in Special Stages, which are strange alternate dimensions.

Background
The Chaos Emeralds' background are shrouded in mystery and no one knows where they come from. They have been around for several millennia, even predating the Master Emerald which has existed since before recorded time, and have played a large role in numerous events. The Chaos Emeralds' power has been passed down into legend, and the power of all seven brought together has been described from the emergence of a mysterious power to no less than a miracle.

Throughout history, civilizations have sought to harness the Chaos Emeralds' power: according to legend, the ancient civilization on West Side Island used the Chaos Emeralds for the advancement of their society and achieved great prosperity. Other civilizations that knew about the Emeralds included the Babylonians and the Black Arms, the latter who have visited Earth for at least 2,000 years. The Emeralds also have a connection to the Gaia Temples which are more or less than ten thousands of years old. There are as well numerous locations that are said to have held the Chaos Emeralds at one point (some of which claim to have done so since ancient times), including Cocoa Island, Angel Island, Flicky Island, West Side Island, and South Island. It is unknown how valid these legends are, given how some contradict others regarding the Emeralds' resting place, although this might be due to the Emeralds' tendency to appear wherever they are needed.

It is said that in the far ancient past, the Chaos Emeralds would be used for evil purposes. One such instance was when West Side Island's prosperity lead to avarice over the course of a single night when some people wanted the Emeralds for evil, sparking a conflict so great that the gods had to intervene and seal the Chaos Emeralds on the island. Witnessing this misuse, the gods created the Master Emerald to balance out the Chaos Emeralds' power and equipped the gem with the ability to nullify and control them. An ancient mantra associated with the Emeralds would eventually arise, explaining their connection and abilities.

Over 4,000 years ago, the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald resided in the Altar of the Emeralds, a shrine in the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins. Back then, the Emeralds were known only as "the Seven Emeralds" that could grant wishes. In that shrine resided a colony of Chao. These peaceful creatures and their shrine were protected by the mystical water beast Chaos, the guardian god of the Chao. Around 4,000 years ago, ancient echidna civilizations knew of the Chaos Emeralds and sought their secrets. The Nocturnus Clan were known to have been experimenting with the Chaos Emeralds as a part of the creation of the Gizoid, while the Knuckles Clan revered the Chaos Emeralds as sacred objects. Around this time, Tikal, the daughter of chief Pachacamac of the Knuckles Clan and a friend to the Chao and Chaos, was allowed into the shrine where she could behold the Chaos Emeralds.

As the Knuckles Clan faced extermination at the hands of the Nocturnus Clan, chief Pachacamac and his followers launched a raid on the altar to take the Emeralds and gain undisputed power. Tikal stood between them however, begging her people to leave the creatures and the Emeralds. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears, and the men trampled over Tikal and the Chao alike in the process, prompting Chaos to appear. In a fit of rage over the harm brought to its kin, it used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and wiped out the clan's civilization in vengeance, before it was sealed in the Master Emerald by Tikal. After this event, the Emeralds went missing and were dubbed the "Chaos Emeralds" due to their association with Chaos.

Over fifty years prior to Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds were researched by Prof. Gerald Robotnik onboard Space Colony ARK as a part of Project Shadow. These research results led to the creation of the Chaos Drives, small capsules containing chaos energy. During the experimentations on the Chaos Emeralds, Prof. Gerald also discovered that the Gizoid he had recently discovered reacted to the Emeralds. After a Chaos Emerald got installed into the Gizoid however, the robot went on a rampage that destroyed most of the ARK before it was subdued.

Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)


In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds were lying dormant within distortions created on South Island, an island that moves around on the sea. However, no one knew how to obtain them. Seeking the Emeralds, presumably for research into nuclear power and various laser-based weaponry for conquering the world, Dr. Robotnik came to South Island with his gang, determined to dig up the entire island in his search for the Chaos Emeralds. However, Robotnik's nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog, ended up obtaining the Emeralds first. After foiling Robotnik's operations, Sonic brought the Chaos Emeralds to Green Hill Zone. There, the Emeralds started to hover and rotate in the mid-air. After that, the Emeralds disappeared in a flash, with new kinds of flowers having appeared around the Green Hill Zone, although Sonic was initially baffled by this event.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds, each one in a different color: yellow, pink, blue, green, red and white. In terms of design, they are shaped like octagons (from the 2D viewpoint of the player) with a flat octagon-shaped top facet.

In gameplay, the player will obtain a Chaos Emerald whenever they clear one of the game's six Special Zones. After getting the six Chaos Emeralds and beating the final boss, the player gets the good ending of the game. In the bad ending (which the player receives if they do not get all six Chaos Emeralds) after the credits sequence, Robotnik is seen throwing Chaos Emeralds around in his hands with the words "Try Again" written below. The Emeralds Robotnik is seen throwing around in that scene depends on which Chaos Emeralds the player was not able to get before the ending.

Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)


In the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds lay dormant on South Island. Seeking the Emeralds, presumably for research into nuclear power and various laser-based weaponry for conquering the world, Dr. Robotnik came to South Island to find them. However, Robotnik's nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog, ended up obtaining the Emeralds first. After defeating Robotnik when he tried to escape, Sonic was trekking through Green Hill when the Chaos Emeralds started to glow in his hands before flying into the sky. There, they circled around South island and disposed of the pollutant above the island caused by the Scrap Brain Zone before vanishing.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds. Also, instead of each Emerald being a different color, they are all light blue due to hardware limitations. In terms of design, they are shaped like octagons (from the 2D viewpoint of the player) with a flat octagon-shaped top facet.

In gameplay, the Chaos Emeralds are not found inside the game's different Bonus Stages, but are instead scattered in certain Acts of each zone. Each zone holds one Emerald. Each Emerald is also worth 20,000 points at the end of the game score tally. If the player collects all six Chaos Emeralds, they will receive the game's real ending after defeating the final boss of the game.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
In the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Chaos Emeralds resided on West Side Island, an island whose civilization had used the Chaos Emeralds in ancient times to achieve great prosperity, only for the Emeralds to cause the civilization's downfall over a single night when they were used for evil, forcing the gods to seal the Emeralds on the island. After following Sonic to West Side Island, Dr. Robotnik had his Badniks dig all over the island for the Chaos Emeralds, which he planed to use to complete his ultimate weapon: the Death Egg. However, Sonic (and his new sidekick Tails) managed to get the Chaos Emeralds first. Later, after making it onboard the Death Egg and causing it to self-destruct, Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and fly to safety as the Death Egg exploded.

In this game, there are seven Chaos Emeralds in total, a number of which would be used by the majority of the subsequent Sonic games. However, the Emeralds appear slightly different in this game: they are now hexagon-shaped rather than octagon-shaped (from the 2D viewpoint of the player), with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet. The Emeralds also each have a different color: yellow, pink, light blue, green, red, white and purple.

In gameplay, the playable character will obtain a Chaos Emerald whenever the player clears one of the game's seven Special Stages. However, the Emeralds are not shared between the characters, meaning each character will possess their own set of Emeralds to collect for their playthrough. After collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds as Sonic, Sonic will be able to turn into Super Sonic (who has been featured in many games since then) in regular Zones. Collecting all of the Emeralds will unlock the good ending(s) of the game as well.

If the game is locked on to Sonic & Knuckles, Knuckles can turn into Super Knuckles in regular Zones in Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 after getting all the Chaos Emeralds as well.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
In the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Chaos Emeralds were located on South Island. After learning that Tails had been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik and brought to a place called Crystal Egg, which could only be entered using the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic set out to find the Chaos Emeralds and rescue Tails. Eventually, Sonic retrieved the Chaos Emeralds, the last of which was in the possession of Silver Sonic, thus allowing him to enter the Crystal Egg Zone and rescue Tails after defeating Robotnik.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds, each one in a different color: blue, yellow, purple, white, red and green. In terms of design, they are shaped like octagons (from the 2D viewpoint of the player) with a flat octagon-shaped top facet.

In gameplay, the Chaos Emeralds are not found in some kind of extra Zone. Instead, they are hidden in the regular Zones, like in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Finding them can be tricky, however, as they are usually lying around on some remote, isolated platform that requires careful maneuvering to reach. There is one Chaos Emerald in each of the first five Zones, and the sixth is won after defeating Silver Sonic. For each Emerald collected, the player is rewarded with a Continue. Collecting all six Emeralds allows the player access to Crystal Egg Zone; clearing it will reward the player with the real ending of the game. If the player does not have all the Emeralds after defeating Silver Sonic, however, the game ends here, and the player receives the game's bad ending.

Sonic Chaos
In Sonic Chaos, the Chaos Emeralds rested on South Island, which was able to stay afloat on the sea thanks to the Emeralds' power. Setting his sights on the Chaos Emeralds once more, Dr. Robotnik managed to steal one of them. As a result of Robotnik's tampering, the remaining Chaos Emeralds got scattered, causing South Island to slowly sink into the sea. To save the island, Sonic and Tails set out to recover the Chaos Emeralds. After many troubles, the heroic duo managed to recover all the scattered Chaos Emeralds. Then, after defeating Robotnik, Sonic managed to collect the Emerald Robotnik had stolen when the mad scientist dropped it during his escape.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds, each one in a different color: red, yellow, blue, green, white and gray. In terms of design, they are shaped like octagons (from the 2D viewpoint of the player) with a flat square-shaped top facet.

In gameplay, five of the Chaos Emeralds can be found in the Special Stages, a first for a Sonic handheld title. However, only Sonic can enter the Special Stages and get the Emeralds. Once inside a Special Stage, the player must find and collect the Chaos Emerald that is hidden within the stage. The sixth and final Chaos Emerald is obtained after defeating the Laser Walker in Electric Egg Zone, but only if the player has obtained the other five Chaos Emeralds. Collecting all six Emeralds will lead to the game's good ending. Fail to collect all the Emeralds, and the player receives the bad ending of the game.

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball


In both the 16-bit and 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, Dr. Robotnik used several Chaos Emeralds to stabilize the Mt. Mobius volcano on which his Veg-O-Fortress stood; without the Emeralds, the volcano would erupt and destroy the Veg-O-Fortress. Seeking to bring down the Veg-O-Fortress and end its robotizating operations, Sonic ventured through Mt. Mobius and collected all the Emeralds, thus ensuring the Veg-O-Fortress's demise.

In both the 16-bit and 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, the Chaos Emeralds are all blue. Like in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Emeralds are also hexagon-shaped (from the 2D viewpoint of the player), with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet. Both versions of the game also feature a total of sixteen Chaos Emeralds. The reason for the large number of Emeralds that appear and their uniform blue coloration are not explained. However, because both Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball titles use elements from Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, it might be possible that the games' Chaos Emeralds were inspired by the comic's interpretation of the Chaos Emeralds, which were incredibly numerous and all green-colored back in the old days.

In gameplay om both versions of the game, the Chaos Emeralds are scattered around each level: three Emeralds are hidden in Level 1 and 2, and five Emeralds are hidden in Level 3 and 4. It is the player's objective to find every Chaos Emerald in each level, which requires doing certain precision pinball tricks. Obtaining a Chaos Emerald will award the player with 500.000 points. Once all Emeralds in a level have been found, the player can enter the arena where the level's boss can be fought.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it is stated that the Chaos Emeralds were residing on Angel Island prior to the ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. There, they were guarded by Knuckles the Echidna, the guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald. The Emeralds were also said to control the power of the "pillar" in the depths of Angel Island. On the day the Death Egg crashed into Angel Island (due to Sonic's actions) however, the Chaos Emeralds suddenly flashed and began vibrating more and more abnormally. As the vibrations reached their climax, the Chaos Emeralds gave off a loud flash and disappeared, just as the Death Egg hit Angel Island. Days later, Sonic and Tails arrived at Angel Island with the seven Chaos Emeralds in their possession. As they approached Angel Island, Sonic used the Emeralds to enter his Super State and stormed the island. However, on the island, Knuckles, who had been tricked by Robotnik into believing that Sonic was a thief out to steal the Master Emerald, ambushed Super Sonic and made him lose all seven Chaos Emeralds, which Knuckles then stole and hid away around the island. Retrieving the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic eventually used them to turn into Super Sonic after making the Death Egg crash again when it tried to take off.

In this game, the Chaos Emeralds were "finalized" as seven brilliant cut gemstones in the following colors: red, green, blue, turquoise, purple, yellow, and white. This design would be use consistently in later games.

In gameplay, the playable character will obtain a Chaos Emerald whenever the player clears one of the game's seven Special Stages. However, the Emeralds are not shared between the characters, meaning each character will possess their own set of Emeralds to collect for their playthrough. After collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds as Sonic, Sonic can turn into Super Sonic in regular Zones. Collecting all of the Emeralds will also unlock the good ending(s) of the game. If the player fails to get all the Emeralds, they get the game's bad ending. Also, after the credits sequence in the bad ending, Knuckles is seen throwing Chaos Emeralds up and down in his hand with the words "Try Again" written below. The Emeralds Knuckles is seen throwing around in that scene depends on which Chaos Emeralds the player was not able to get before the ending.

By locking Sonic the Hedgehog 3 onto Sonic & Knuckles, the player can play Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. In this game, the player can upgrade the Chaos Emeralds to Super Emeralds. To do this, the player has to enter any Sonic & Knuckles Zone with all seven Chaos Emeralds, and jump into a flashing Super Ring. These transport the character to the Hidden Palace Zone, where the Chaos Emeralds are turned into gray Super Emeralds. The player can then jump onto one of these Super Emeralds to enter a Special Stage where they can earn Super Emeralds. After this sequence, the player is unable to use their Super State again, but is able to still complete The Doomsday Zone and finish the game with just the Chaos Emeralds. Earning all Super Emeralds lets Sonic turn into Hyper Sonic, Tails into Super Tails, and Knuckles into Hyper Knuckles.

Sonic & Knuckles
In Sonic & Knuckles, both Sonic and Knuckles would hunt the Chaos Emeralds yet again. When Dr. Robotnik tried making his escape with the Master Emerald after his Great Eggman Robo was defeated by Sonic and Tails, Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds he had collected before-handed to turn into Super Sonic and pursue Robotnik into space where he defeated the doctor and retrieved the Master Emerald. Knuckles would later collect the Chaos Emeralds during his hunt for the Eggrobo that stole the Master Emerald. When the Master Emerald stood to be lost when Sky Sanctuary Zone collapsed, Knuckles used the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Knuckles, which allowed him to retrieve the Master Emerald while Sonic swooped in in the Tornado and rescued Knuckles.

In gameplay, the playable character will obtain a Chaos Emerald whenever the player clears one of the game's seven Special Stages. However, the Emeralds are not shared between the characters, meaning each character will possess their own set of Emeralds to collect for their playthrough. After collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds as Sonic or Knuckles, the player can turn into Super Sonic or Super Knuckles in regular Zones. By collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, the player will also unlock the good ending(s) of the game. In Sonic's case, collecting all seven Emeralds also allows the player to enter The Doomsday Zone after defeating the Great Eggman Robo in Death Egg Zone. If the player fails to get all the Emeralds however, they will receive the game's bad ending(s).

By locking Sonic the Hedgehog 3 onto Sonic & Knuckles, the player can play Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. In this game, the player can upgrade the Chaos Emeralds to Super Emeralds. To do this, the player has to enter any Sonic & Knuckles Zone with all seven Chaos Emeralds, and jump into a flashing Super Ring. These transport the character to the Hidden Palace Zone, where the Chaos Emeralds are turned into gray Super Emeralds. The player can then jump onto one of these Super Emeralds to enter a Special Stage where they can earn Super Emeralds. After this sequence, the player is unable to use their Super State again, but is able to still complete The Doomsday Zone and finish the game with just the Chaos Emeralds. Earning all Super Emeralds lets Sonic turn into Hyper Sonic, Tails into Super Tails, and Knuckles into Hyper Knuckles.

Sonic Drift
In Sonic Drift, the Chaos Emeralds makes a small appearance. In this game, they denote the difficulty of the racing competitions in the game's Chaos GP. The easy races are denoted as Green, the medium-difficult as Yellow, and the hardest as Red.

In this game, the Chaos Emeralds are depicted as hexagon-shaped (from the 2D viewpoint of the player), with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet, like in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball.

Sonic Drift 2
In Sonic Drift 2, the Chaos Emeralds, like in Sonic Drift, are used to denote the difficulty of the racing competitions in the game's Chaos GP. The easy races are denoted as Purple, the medium-difficult as White, and the hardest as Blue. They are also shaped like the Chaos Emeralds depicted in Sonic Drift, making them hexagon-shaped (from the 2D viewpoint of the player), with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet.

Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld
In Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld, a Chaos Emerald was hidden on each floor of Dr. Robotnik's five-story Gameworld, an amusement park-like tower built in Robotnik's own image. Seeking the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic, Tails and Amy had to clear all the minigames on each floor to retrieve them. Making it to the roof of Gameworld, Sonic and co. got away with the Chaos Emeralds after beating Robotnik's final challenge.

In this game, only five Chaos Emeralds are seen. In terms of design, the Emeralds are hexagon-shaped (from the 2D viewpoint of the player), with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet. They also come in the following colors: white, yellow, green, red and orange.

In gameplay, the Chaos Emeralds appear in the last minigame: Diamond Race. Here, the player starts out on the rooftop and must retreat through Gameworld's four levels in a race against Robotnik to find the Chaos Emeralds hidden on each floor. Once all five Emeralds have been located, the character holding the most wins the game.

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
In Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Dr. Robotnik managed to collect all the Chaos Emeralds without Sonic knowing. However, when Robotnik made a mistake during the testing of his ultimate weapon, an accident occurred that blew all the Chaos Emeralds away. While Robotnik managed to find one of the Emerald, he had no clue where to find the rest. Still, he was determined to find them. Meanwhile, having learned of Robotnik's incident, Sonic and Tails set out to collect the Chaos Emeralds before the doctor. At the same time, Knuckles, who had been convinced by Robotnik that Sonic wanted the Chaos Emeralds for world domination, found the Chaos Emeralds and hid them away in subspace. Also seeking the Chaos Emeralds this time was Nack the Weasel, a rogue treasure hunter. Ultimately, Sonic and Tails managed to retrieve all the scattered Chaos Emeralds. Then, when Robotnik tried to make his escape after his defeat in Atomic Destroyer Zone, Sonic and Tails managed to rob the doctor of the final Chaos Emerald.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds, each one in a different color: blue, red, yellow, white orange and light yellow. In terms of design, they are shaped like hexagons (from the 2D viewpoint of the player) with a flat hexagon-shaped top facet.

In gameplay, like in Sonic Chaos, five of the Chaos Emeralds can be found in the Special Stages. This time however, both Sonic and Tails can collect them. Once inside a Special Stage, the player must clear the Special Stage and then defeat Nack in a boss battle before they can obtain the Emerald. The sixth and final Chaos Emerald is obtained after defeating the final boss in Atomic Destroyer Zone. Collecting all six Emeralds will lead to the game's good ending. In the bad ending (which the player receives if they do not get all six Chaos Emeralds), Nack can be seen, laughing, before tripping and dropping the Chaos Emeralds when he tries to run away, with the words "Try Again" appearing on the screen afterward. The Emeralds Nack drops in that scene depends on which Chaos Emeralds the player was not able to get before the ending.

Tails Adventure
In Tails Adventure (which take place before the Tails met Sonic), the Chaos Emeralds were located on Cocoa Island, an island on which the Chaos Emeralds were said to have laid dormant on since ancient times. Seeking the Chaos Emeralds for world domination, the Battle Kukku Empire, led by the Great Battle Kukku, came to Cocoa Island. Living on the island, however, was Tails, who decided to stop the Great Battle Kukku's ambitions. Over the course of his adventure, Tails found the Chaos Emeralds and benefited from their powers.

In this game, there are only six Chaos Emeralds, which are colored (in order of appearance) red, green, purple, white, blue, and yellow. Also, rather than appearing as gems, the Emeralds are depicted as blue and orange boxes.

In gameplay, the Chaos Emeralds are scattered across the levels. Obtaining a Chaos Emerald will increase Tails' maximum Ring count by ten Rings and his Flight Gauge by a few seconds. If the player have five Emeralds and procure the sixth, Tails' maximum Ring count shoots up to its maximum of ninety-nine (note that Emeralds cannot be equipped but are always active).

Sonic Labyrinth
In Sonic Labyrinth, Dr. Robotnik stole the Chaos Emeralds from South Island and used their power to craft the irremovable Slow-Down Boots which he tricked Sonic into wearing, thus stripping the hedgehog of his speed and agility. With the Chaos Emeralds in hand, Robotnik boasted across South Island that the only thing that could get the Slow-Down Boots off Sonic were the Chaos Emeralds' power. In response, Sonic headed into Robotnik's newly constructed super labyrinth to get the Chaos Emeralds. After many trials, Sonic recovered the Chaos Emeralds, the last of which he got from Robotnik himself when the mad doctor dropped it during his escape from Sonic, and regained his speed.

In this game, there are six Chaos Emeralds in total, although only five of them are seen. These five Emeralds are colored (in order of appearance) blue, red, orange, dark blue and green. Also, the first three Emeralds are depicted as semi-table cut gemstones while the last two are depicted as point cut gemstones.

In gameplay, the player will obtain a Chaos Emerald from each of the game's four bosses after defeating them. The fifth Chaos Emerald on the other hand is only obtained after the player clears the hidden Bonus Stage (although no indication of Chaos Emerald being obtained is given). The sixth and final Chaos Emerald is obtained from Robotnik after defeating the game's final boss. Collecting all six Chaos Emeralds will award the player with the game's good ending. Collect any less than that and the game's bad ending will appear.

Sonic Adventure
In Sonic Adventure, the Chaos Emeralds were collected by Eggman in order to feed Chaos, the guardian of the Chao and Emeralds, and it changed form every time it received one of the gems. With all seven, it became Perfect Chaos, and used up all of the negative energy in the Emeralds before dropping the dull-colored emeralds (which are left with positive energy) onto the ground. Sonic then picked all seven up and used the positive energy to become Super Sonic and destroy Perfect Chaos. Also in the game, Tikal states that "The 7 Emeralds can change our thoughts into power", and that the Master Emerald controls that power.

This is the first game in which the acquisition of the Chaos Emeralds are integrated the mainstream story line, instead of requiring to enter Special Stages.

Sonic Adventure 2
In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic and Shadow had the ability to use the Chaos Emeralds to utilize "Chaos Control", an ability that alters time and space to teleport or freeze time. Interestingly, Sonic, at one point, uses the Chaos Control ability with a fake Emerald that had the same wavelengths and properties as a real one. Shadow told Eggman to collect a few Chaos Emeralds in order to get enough power for the Eclipse Cannon. In the end side Eggman had six Chaos Emeralds and he was able to destroy half the moon.

Tails soon managed to produce a "fake Emerald" that Sonic used in order to teleport back to the Space Colony ARK when Eggman sent him to space in an explosive capsule. Eggman stole the real emerald from Tails and put into to the Eclipse Cannon; however, when all seven were collected, the ARK started to fall toward Earth in order to kill millions of innocents for vengeance of Gerald Robotnik. The Chaos Emeralds were disabled by Knuckles, who used the Master Emerald, but when it appeared to be useless, as Biolizard was controlling the ARK, Sonic and Shadow used the emeralds to transform into their Super States for the last battle.

Sonic Advance
In Sonic Advance, the Chaos Emeralds are attainable from Special Stages. When all seven are collected, the player can access The Moon Zone during Sonic's gameplay or start his game from the said zone, allowing the player to see the true ending of the game. The Chaos Emeralds are shared among the cast of the playable characters so any character can collect any of the Chaos Emeralds for Sonic to access The Moon Zone.

Sonic Advance 2
In Sonic Advance 2 the Chaos Emeralds are once again attainable from Special Stages. Unlike Sonic Advance, the Chaos Emeralds are not shared between the characters, meaning that each character will have to attain their own set of seven Chaos Emeralds in their gameplay. If the player collects all seven Chaos Emeralds with any character, the Tiny Chao Garden feature and Boss mode of Time Attack are unlocked. If Sonic collects all seven Chaos Emeralds, the player can access True Area 53 from the Zone Select and progress to the true ending of the game. If all four characters each have collected the seven Chaos Emeralds, Amy becomes a playable character.

Sonic Advance 3
Much like its previous installments in the series, the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Advance 3 are attained from Special Stages. After all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the player can access Nonaggression after defeating the final boss with Sonic as the team leader.

Sonic Heroes
In Sonic Heroes, the gameplay pays homage to classic elements, so it goes back to a way of collecting the Chaos Emeralds from Special Stages to unlock the Last Story. Just before the battle against Metal Overlord, Sonic became Super Sonic and he gave some of his energy to Tails and Knuckles, turning them into Super Tails and Super Knuckles. Each Chaos Emerald is collected in the following color order: green, blue, yellow, gray, turquoise, purple, and red.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Emeralds were found throughout the stages (again, Special Stages weren't used), and Shadow collected all seven by the end of the game, only to let them be stolen by the evil alien Black Doom, who used a superpowered Chaos Control to bring the Black Comet to Earth's surface. Shadow then got the Chaos Emeralds back and transformed into Super Shadow in order to destroy Black Doom and teleport the Black Comet into space to be destroyed by the Space Colony ARK's Eclipse Cannon, the cannon itself using the Chaos Emeralds as its power source.

Sonic Rush
In Sonic Rush the Chaos Emeralds are necessary to access the final stage of the game. Special Stages make a return as a way to obtain the Emeralds. The Emeralds are shown to have an inter-dimensional counterpart, the Sol Emeralds, with similar powers. The Chaos and Sol Emeralds' powers are shown to come from the positive emotions of their wielders in this game and they are used by both Sonic and Blaze to transform into their Super States.

Sonic Rush Adventure
In Sonic Rush Adventure it is suggested by Blaze that the Chaos Emeralds have a mind of their own. They appear in her dimension for no indicated reason and one must race against Johnny for the Chaos Emeralds, although it is possible that Sonic had them with him before he arrived in the Sol Dimension and they scattered during the transition.

Sonic Jump
In Sonic Jump, the Chaos Emeralds can be obtained by completing an act with at least fifty Rings to obtain a fragment of it. In the game's plot, Eggman schemes to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to power his Brainwash Beam but Sonic stops him, causing the Emeralds to scatter themselves. Sonic then eventually retrieved all of them (after getting the last one from Eggman).

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the Emeralds fully take on the power to "transform thoughts into power", just as the Master Emerald was said to be capable of doing in Sonic Adventure. These emeralds appear slightly smaller in size, and give off gleaming sparks of light of their respective colors, and are given the additional title of "miracle gems".

In this game, the Duke of Soleanna proved that humans can access the power of the Chaos Emeralds by using a single emerald to chant and seal the newly born Iblis into his daughter's soul, so long as she abstain from crying, with the only other stipulation being that the vessel must be of royalty. Mephiles succeeds in mass-producing duplicates of himself using two Emeralds, and showing Silver a fabricated vision of a smug-looking Sonic surrounded in flames, through the Emerald itself.

Only six of the Chaos Emeralds appeared in this game: the green emerald (which Shadow and Rouge found whilst exploring Crisis City in the future. They then used it along with the dark blue emerald to go back to the present while Shadow stayed in the future to battle Mephiles. Rouge then gave the Chaos Emerald to E123-Omega to give to Shadow in the future so as to escape Mephiles. Mephiles later used its power along with the yellow emerald to battle Shadow), the blue emerald (which was owned by Elise who then gave it to Sonic when she was captured. Sonic then gave it to Eggman so as to ensure Elise's release. Eggman then put the emerald into his Egg Genesis which Silver and Blaze defeated and obtained the emerald themselves. Silver then gave it to younger Elise in the past as a good luck charm, which showed how Elise came to possess it in the present), the yellow emerald (which Mephiles went after at the end of Shadow's storyline and used to battle Shadow in conjunction with the green emerald), the white emerald (which the Duke of Soleanna sealed Iblis inside Elise's body with. The duke then gave the Emerald to Silver right before he died which Silver used to go back to the future so as to seal Iblis. Blaze then used it and the turquoise Emerald to seal Iblis away into a different dimension), the turquoise emerald (which Sonic and Shadow obtained from defeating Iblis so as to go back to the future. Sonic then gave the Emerald to Silver, which Blaze used in the future along with the white emerald to seal Iblis away) and the purple emerald (which Mephiles was shown to have the entire way through the series). The red emerald meanwhile was never seen in the main storylines until the Last Story, although it is possible that it is the one Dr. Eggman located when he searched for the Chaos Emeralds on his ship.

Mephiles also somehow uses some sort of ability when he uses the purple Emerald in his possession to warp all six of the other Emeralds to his location, possibly using the magnetic properties of the Emeralds, and uses their full power to begin his and Iblis' transformation into Solaris. Sonic's friends then have to search through the world's end for each of the Chaos Emeralds: Tails: yellow, Omega: green, Knuckles: turquoise, Silver: white, Rouge: purple, Amy: blue, Shadow: red. Lastly, Elise, sharing the hopes and desires of the remaining cast (possibly even including Eggman) to bring Sonic back to the land of the living, uses all seven Chaos Emeralds to bring Sonic back to life, in the form of Super Sonic, who thanks Elise and shares his power with fellow hedgehogs Shadow and Silver.

Sonic Riders
In Sonic Riders, the first one to be seen was stolen by the Babylon Rogues but it is unknown which one it was. After that, the only time they are featured was as the entry fee for the World Grand Prix. When Jet "won" the final race against Sonic, he claimed the seven Chaos Emeralds as his prize and used them to power the Key to Babylon Garden as Dr. Eggman had instructed to raise Babylon Garden from Sand Ruins.

Sega Superstars Tennis
In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of Sega Superstars Tennis, the Chaos Emeralds are used in the mission, "Chaos Emerald Dash" of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In the said mission, the player has to collect five of the Chaos Emeralds in forty-five seconds, though the player can also collect all the seven Chaos Emeralds for a higher Rank in the mission.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the emeralds are stolen one-by-one by the lost clan of echidnas known as the Nocturnus Clan (who are often referred to as the "Marauders") in order to use their magnetic relationship with the Master Emerald to attract the Master Emerald and Angel Island itself to their base of operations. The Chaos Emeralds later are taken by Ix into the Twilight Cage, and distributed amongst the Kron (to power their factory), the Zoah (as a power source for a secret weapon to use against the N'rrgal), the N'rrgal (as a weapon against the Zoah), the Voxai Overmind, and Ix's two Gizoid prefects, Scylla and Charyb. At the end of the game, the emeralds are all brought back together and Sonic uses them to become Super Sonic and fought Ix in his Super State. This also includes the Great Emeralds, which are emeralds that have been charged up with Voxai power.

Sonic Unleashed
In Sonic Unleashed, after being caught by an early design of Eggman's "Egg Dragoon", Sonic summons the power of the Chaos Emeralds and becomes Super Sonic to destroy Eggman's fortress. However, Eggman traps Super Sonic in his Chaos Energy Cannon which removes the emeralds from him, reversing his super transformation and drains the emeralds of all of their power in order to power his laser, designed to awaken and release Dark Gaia from the planet. From there, the emeralds are left completely black and powerless, and are taken by Sonic and Light Gaia to the seven sacred shrines on different parts of the planet.

The Emeralds' powers are restored one-by-one, and the seven continents are put back into place as each emerald is restored. At the end of the game, while inside each of the shrines, Light Gaia asks the Chaos Emeralds to bring the shrines to him, and the emeralds, as well as the shrines, appear inside the core of the planet, with the shrines combining together to build the Gaia Colossus, which Light Gaia controls via his own power. The Chaos Emeralds are lastly used by Sonic to become Super Sonic again.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, all seven Chaos Emeralds are shown when Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and when he turns back to normal. The Chaos Emeralds can also be seen on Super Sonic's trophy. In one of Sonic's victory poses Sonic holds the blue Chaos Emerald. Shadow, who appears as an Assist Trophy, also uses a blue Chaos Emerald to perform Chaos Control. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Shadow uses a green Chaos Emerald.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, the Chaos Emeralds appear in the Dream Figure Skating (Sonic) event. The player's team must recover the Emeralds from Flappers and then use them to defeat a frozen version of Perfect Chaos.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Chaos Emeralds appear as an item in the duel Rugby event. When the Emerald is activated, it creates an impact which will push opponents away. This breaks the trend of the Emerald's effect to paralyze all opponents for while.

In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, the Chaos Emeralds raise special attack during the Boxing plus event.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, the Chaos Emeralds are seen when Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and Shadow transforms into Super Shadow as a part of their All-Star Moves. The icon for these moves also has a picture of all the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic Colors
In the Wii version of Sonic Colors, the Chaos Emeralds only appear in the Game Land. To collect the Chaos Emeralds the player must unlock and finish all the Sonic Simulator levels which requires gathering all 180 Red Star Rings in the game. Once done, the option to use Super Sonic must be activated from the options menu. Sonic cannot use Wisps in this mode (an alternate route appears in areas that absolutely need Wisps), and requires fifty rings to transform, but he gains bonus points every few seconds it is active and has infinite boost power, Super Sonic retains most of his old mannerisms in games like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 such as gliding when picking up speed (and the fact Sonic needs fifty rings to transform once more as usual). In the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, Chaos Emeralds are once again collected through Special Stages. After all of them are obtained, Super Sonic is playable only to beat a secret, optional boss called Nega-Mother Wisp.

Sonic Generations
In the Xbox 360/PS3/PC versions of Sonic Generations, both Sonics must collect the Chaos Emeralds to battle Time Eater.

For unknown reason (possibly due to the Time Eater) the Emeralds ended up in the White Space. There, the purple Emerald is found by Classic Metal Sonic, the yellow Emerald is found by Shadow, and the white Emerald is found by Silver. The remaining Emeralds end up getting drained of their color and drift through the White Space, and the Sonics have to restore them by fixing the worlds. After Modern Sonic defeats the second boss, the Time Eater appears but is repelled by the now-colorless red Chaos Emerald. After the Sonics restore the last world, the red Chaos Emerald regains its color and Modern Sonic catches it by performing a Air Boost, much to the amazement of Classic Sonic.

To gain access to the Center of Time, the player to place all the Chaos Emeralds into the broken gears at the Lair of the Time Eater. During the final confrontation when both Sonics get badly injured by the Time Eater, Sonic's friends appear and cheer on both Sonics. The Chaos Emeralds then emerge from the Sonics, reacting to their friends' encouragement and they transform both of them into Super Sonic.

In the 3DS version, Modern Sonic gets the Chaos Emeralds through Special Stages, available after completing both acts of a zone. These are modeled after the Special Stages from Sonic Heroes, as Sonic must collect orbs and boost to the Emerald before the stage runs out.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Beginning with Episode I, collecting the emeralds works the same way as it did in the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, by collecting fifty rings and entering the Special Stage at the end of an Act. Sonic would then need to navigate through a series of mazes that constantly tilt clockwise and counterclockwise, with many obstacles to reach the emerald. In Episode II, the emeralds are obtained by reaching the end of an act (with the exception of Boss Acts and the first Acts of Sky Fortress Zone and the Death Egg mk.II Zone) with fifty rings and jumping into the giant ring past the sign post, and completing Special Stages designed in a half-pipe, which pays homage to Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Sonic Lost World
In Sonic Lost World, the player can once again collect the seven Chaos Emeralds in gameplay, although they are not involved in the game's storyline.

The way of collecting them differs between the versions of the game. In the Wii U/PC version, the player automatically obtains a Chaos Emerald whenever they collect all the Red Star Rings found in one of the game's worlds. The collected Chaos Emerald can then be found on the world's map, though interacting with it will only show the Chaos Emeralds the player has collected. In the Nintendo 3DS version, the Chaos Emeralds can, like in many other games, be collected by completing each of the seven Special Stages. Collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds allows the player to transform Sonic into Super Sonic in normal gameplay.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, the Chaos Emeralds were collected by Dr. Eggman using Emerald Detectors. Hooked up to Eggman's energy collecting devices, the Emeralds had their chaos energy drained so they could power Eggman's latest brainwashing laser cannon. Though Team Sonic reclaimed the Chaos Emeralds, they were all powerless by the time they got to them. When Sonic held onto the Chaos Emeralds in his showdown with Eggman, he was hit by Eggman's brainwashing laser. However, the Chaos Emeralds saved him by reabsorbing their energy from the laser. Using the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic, Sonic destroyed Eggman's cannon before the Emeralds scattered again.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, the Chaos Emeralds do not have a role in the game's plot. However, they do appear when Sonic (Classic and Modern) turns Super Sonic after collecting fifty Rings.

Artificial Emeralds
It is possible to create synthetic Chaos Emeralds with the same wavelength and properties as the originals, but with less power as demonstrated by Tails. In addition, these fake Emeralds can be used to sabotage devices that require Chaos Emeralds to power them. In addition, because it had the same wavelength and properties as the originals, fake Emeralds also allow the user to access Chaos Powers just as a genuine Chaos Emerald would, like Chaos Control.

Number
In the first game of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog, there were six Chaos Emeralds. This was also true for the Game Gear/Master System games Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The number was extended to seven Emeralds in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive, and that number has been consistent ever since, with a few exceptions such as most other 8-bit titles.

In the arcade game Sonic the Fighters, in order to travel to the Death Egg II, the player must collect all the Chaos Emeralds. Each character held an Emerald in the "story mode", and to get another one from a different character, they must be defeated in a fight. However, instead of the traditional seven Emeralds, there are eight. The widely accepted reason for this is because there are eight fighters, and so Sega added another Chaos Emerald. Some fans believe that this eighth Emerald is fake, but it is usually treated as a gameplay device rather than a significant plot element. There is also the possibility that the eighth Emerald is in fact the Master Emerald because it was obtained by Knuckles. Though the Master Emerald is green, and Knuckles' Emerald was red, there is the possibility that the Master Emerald can influence the color of the Emeralds (including itself) in addition to the amount of power they will release. This would explain why the Emeralds occasionally appear pink or orange. Incidentally, the color of the Master Emerald can be manipulated due to a glitch in Sonic & Knuckles. Note that early Japanese manuals identified the Master Emerald as an eighth, larger Chaos Emerald. However, the term usually applies to the seven smaller Emeralds.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, after accessing the Sound Test and entering a code, the player has access to a secret, and very difficult, 8th special stage. Upon completion, this stage yields the gray Emerald. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, after accessing the Sound Test, two unused Special Stages could be accessed (one Chaos Emerald stage, with the same layout as the one in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but with different colored panels, and one Super Emerald Stage). They unlocked a "golden" Emerald (instead of the gray one as in Sonic the Hedgehog 3). After that, the player goes on to the Angel Island Zone stage. This Emerald is considered a glitch.

In Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, there appeared to be sixteen Emeralds, all of which were dark blue.

Colors
In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the six Emeralds were Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Pink, and Silver. A seventh, purple Emerald then appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the pink Emerald was replaced with a Turquoise one, and the Yellow Emerald became Orange. In Sonic the Fighters, there were eight emeralds, one for each playable character: Sonic (blue), Tails (orange), Knuckles (red), Amy (pink), Bean (green), Bark (yellow), Fang (darker purple), and Espio (violet). The orange emerald was colored yellow again in Sonic Adventure, and the colors of the Emeralds have remained constant ever since, as red, blue, yellow, green, white, turquoise and purple. The white Emerald often appears gray, and Sonic R had both a yellow and an orange Emerald instead of a blue/turquoise one (the Chaos Emerald was blue in the racing course it was found in, but the screen after the race shows it as turquoise). Strangely in Sonic Jump, the turquoise Chaos Emerald was replaced by a black-colored one.

(Early releases of the Jazwares Super Pack with the Super States of the three hedgehogs (Sonic, Shadow, and Silver) and the seven Chaos Emeralds had the orange emerald instead of the turquoise emerald. The orange emerald was replaced with the light blue/turquoise emerald in newer packs.)

Certain games have used their own unique colors for the emeralds - in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog they are light blue, dark blue in Sonic Spinball, while in Sonic Battle they are all green. In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood the Emeralds were red, light blue, turquoise, pink, yellow, orange and purple.

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Chaos Emerald is mentioned in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 1. According to Doctor Eggman, Chaos Emerald contains unfathomable energy and nobody has ever been able to find one before. With one of it, he'll be able to boil world's largest egg in the world's largest pot, which has been dreaming since as a child. One of Eggman's robots detects a Chaos Emerald from north west of South Island, in Green Hill Zone. Chaos Emerald is never mentioned in later volumes.

Sonic the Comic
In the UK's Sonic the Comic, the Chaos Emeralds were originally green Raw Emeralds from the Sacred Emerald Mine of the ancient Echidnas, but were infused with chaos energy by the Drakon Empire in the distant past. When brought together outside of certain stabilizing conditions (e.g. extreme cold), the Chaos Emeralds generate a chain reaction of chaos energy and warp to the Special Zone.

Six of the Chaos Emeralds were brought to Mobius in the distant past, and subsequently used by Doctor Ovi Kintobor in an attempt to rid Mobius of evil with his Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor (ROCC). An accident involving the Emeralds and the ROCC transformed Kintobor into Doctor Ivo Robotnik.

The Emeralds were gathered by Sonic and protected from Robotnik, but were eventually returned to the Floating Island and placed in the care of Knuckles, the appointed Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Chaos Emeralds were originally said to physical embodiments of the "Chaos Force", the all-encompassing force of the universe, and were much more numerous. A seemingly rare mineral, they could be found all across the universe, each coming in a different color depending on the celestial body. They are also connected to the "Power Rings", which are by-products of the emeralds. In addition, there exist rare 'Super Emeralds', created from unique Chao.

The central planet in the comics' storyline, Mobius, was given its supplies of green Chaos Emeralds during the mysterious event known as the Coming of the Chaos Emeralds. Their power were harnessed to revolutionize the world and gave as well rise to various villains and demi-gods, such as Mammoth Mogul and the Ancient Walkers. For ages, the Chaos Emeralds were a focus of much conflict on Mobius. All the Chaos Emeralds in the universe were eventually brought to Mobius by the villain A.D.A.M., but Super Shadow and Turbo Tails managed to sent them all into the Special Zone. There, the Zone's new ruler, Feist fused all of them into the seven differently colored jewels which he would hand out to those who could complete his challenges.

The seven emeralds were later used by Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily to reshape reality with the Super Genesis Wave, and though Sonic and Mega Man stopped them, Sonic's multiverse was left heavily altered. In this new reality, the Chaos Emeralds and their background are the exact same as those in the games.

IDW Publishing
The Chaos Emeralds are mentioned in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, the Chaos Emeralds are five (initially four) green emeralds in different shapes. They are hidden in different time periods, and each emerald focuses on a different power:
 * Invisibility: Makes the holder invisible.
 * Invincibility: Grants the holder invincibility and superhuman strength.
 * Immortality: Grants the holder immortality and invulnerability.
 * The power of life: Enables the holder to take away life or bestow it.
 * Chaos Emerald Ring: The most powerful of the Chaos Emeralds.

In a quest for the first four Chaos Emeralds, Dr. Robotnik rampaged through time to find them, but was stopped at every turn by Sonic and Tails. Regardless, Robotnik still managed to get the emeralds and used their power to become the Supreme High Robotnik, but Sonic, Tails and multiple incarnations of them from across time stopped him and returned the emeralds to their rightful places. Robotnik later discovered a fifth Chaos Emerald, but lost it to Sonic before he could use it.

Sonic Underground
In the Sonic Underground television series, the Chaos Emeralds made an appearance, but very little is known about them. Like in the games, they are a source of incredible power. Described as a green rare emerald variety, only two of them are known to exist.

Knuckles guards one Emerald on the Floating Island. Robotnik tried to steal this one and frame the Sonic Underground for the theft, but his plan failed. Robotnik later acquired another one for his Fortress of Altitude. Due to Sleet and Dingo's treachery however, the Chaos Emerald was broken, forcing the heroes and villains to work together to contain the unstable Emerald fragments before they could destroy Mobius.

Sonic X
In Sonic X, the Chaos Emeralds echoed their role in the games as objects that were sought after by all parties. In this media, the Chaos Emerald is described as a legendary stone that gives one the power to rule the world. Also, all seven being in one place results in them releasing energy that push them away from each other. This is likely this media's way of creating an explanation as to why the Chaos Emeralds end up scattering, as opposed to when in the video games they just seem to scatter for no reason.

Originating from Sonic's world, the Chaos Emeralds came to Earth during a massive Chaos Control amidst a battle between Sonic and Dr. Eggman. There, they were sought by Sonic and his friends to return home while Eggman sought them for various plots to conquer the planet. Eventually though, the Chaos Emeralds returned to the world from whence they when Sonic used them to go home. Six months later, the Chaos Emeralds were targeted by the Metarex, an alien race of cyborgs bent on universal domination, but Sonic and his allies managed to secure them and use them to stop the Metarex.

Emerald Shards
Emerald Shards are fragments of Chaos Emeralds crushed by Doctor Eggman found in Sonic Battle. They are used to operate the E-121 Phi model robots. Once an E-121 Phi is destroyed they drop their Emerald Shard and either break down or retreat. When five Emerald Shards of the same color are united, a Chaos Emerald can be created. Tails is the one who first discovered how Emerald Shards work and characters often visit him to have their Chaos Emerald reassembled which Emerl would soon absorb. Chaos Gamma is also seen with an Emerald Shard which he absorbs to injure Shadow.

Trivia

 * Emerald is the name of a specific gem of the beryl variety, a family known for its wide array of possibly colors. "Emerald" is also used in Japan as a generic term for jewels.
 * "Chaos" in the English language means disorder and an irregular, unpredictable action that was remarkably sensitive to regular changes in environment, similar to how the Chaos Emeralds in the series act. "Chaos" as used in Greek refers to a large emptiness, or space. "Space" in English came to be a general term meaning both everything outside of the Earth’s atmosphere and the placement of objects in relation to one another.
 * The current colors of the Chaos Emeralds are based on the three primary colors of light (red, blue, and green), the three secondary colors which are mixtures of the primary colors (red + blue = purple, blue + green = cyan, and green+ red = yellow), and finally gray which is a mixture of all three primary colors (red + blue + green = gray).
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, if the player gets a Game Over (or finishes the game) and starts a new game via the Options menu, the number of Chaos Emeralds he/she had in the previous game is transferred over to the new game.
 * The Chaos Emeralds are not indestructible, as shown in Sonic Battle; the Emeralds have been seen breaking but are easily repaired.
 * In the same case for Master Emerald, it is also breakable.
 * When the colors of the Chaos Emeralds are inverted, they simply swap colors, giving the appearance that the position of the Emeralds simply changed.
 * In most games, when causing a super transformation, the Emeralds surround the users in a circle and starts rotating around the users, before being absorbed.
 * In an unused Sonic Colors beta voice clip, Dr. Eggman stated that Chaos Emeralds are less powerful than Hyper-go-on.
 * However, since this line is ultimately unused, it cannot be officially guaranteed.
 * In Sonic 2, it is possible to collect all seven within Emerald Hill Zone, provided the player is careful with the order in which Star Posts are activated (and very skilled at the Special Stages).
 * The gemstone-appropriate names for colored beryls are red beryl (red), golden beryl or heliodor (yellow), purple beryl (purple), emerald (green), aquamarine (turquoise/light blue), maxixe (deep blue), morganite (peach/pink), and goshenite (white). Some call red beryl bixbite, but this name is discredited.
 * Starting with Sonic R, the Chaos Emeralds themselves took on a brilliant diamond cut which has been game canon ever since.
 * It should be noted that in Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds are brighter, while in gameplay, they are dark and resemble more how they looked in previous games, but bigger.
 * The Chaos Emeralds that appear in the Tikal visions in Sonic Adventure are much larger than the Chaos Emeralds that appear elsewhere in the game.