Soleanna, also known as the City of Water, is a beautiful coastal city-state, kingdom and country within Sonic's world, and the main setting of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
The city is a constitutional monarchy, with an economy dominated by tourism and precision machinery[1]. Politically, it does not appear to be part of the United Federation, or under the protection of the Guardian Units of Nations[2].
Reigning male monarchs apparently eschew the title "King"[3], and Soleanna's sovereign is generally known as 'Duke' if male or either 'Queen' or 'Princess' if female. The small nation is apparently wealthy and prosperous; with its urban environments bearing resemblance to modern Mediterranean cities. However, Soleanna is shown to possess highly advanced technology 'behind the scenes', as is evident in the Aquatic Base level, a research lab underneath the ancient Royal Palace(located in Kingdom Valley).
The city worships a deity known as Solaris, "The Eternal Sun God", who is honored during the Festival of the Sun. Soleanna's sovereign during the events of Sonic '06 is the young Princess Elise, introduced while presiding over this ceremony. In the game's timeline, the ancient castle that used to house the royal family in Kingdom Valley is revealed to have been abandoned after the Solaris Project accident. The new castle is on an island off of Castle Town near New City – although it is unclear if this remains true in the new timeline after the game.
Soleanna New City
Soleanna New City is an Adventure Field in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). One of three overworld area in the game, this area is an important hub for Action Stage access, Town Missions, and hidden medals.
The commercial and industrial center of Soleanna, the New City is decidedly more modern-looking than its counterpart Castle Town. Tall buildings and wide roads have taken over from rustic boutiques and cobbled footpaths; there's even a modern port area with warehouses and ship-loading cranes, and the headquarters of the Rimlight Corporation can be found here. There are a couple of GUN agents quietly operating here, as Shadow the Hedgehog can discover. The New City isn't all business, however, as it also hosts Soleanna's marina, where colorful yachts crowd the jetties.
Crisis City and Paradox
There are some hints that the Crisis City level of Sonic '06 is, in fact, Soleanna in Silver's future. The ruined buildings bear physical resemblance to those seen in downtown Soleanna during the main timeline. Further indications come in the form of Eggman's still-active base, and Elise's apparent hallucination of Soleanna in flames, with Iblis in the center, during the opening cutscene of Sonic's story.
Following the Solaris paradox at the end of the game, Soleanna's monarch is unknown; it may be the Duke or Elise.[4]
Maps
1) Soleanna City- 2) Soleanna Forest- 3) Soleanna NC
Trivia
- The eagle seems to represent Soleana due to the fact that the medals are marked by an eagle, the birds appear in the levels, and Solaris's mask is shaped like an eagle.
- During the scene in Sonic's story after they come back from the future, Sonic picks up a newspaper. If you look closely at it, it's called the Daily 'Soreana'.
- Soleanna is based off the water city of Italy, Venice which may be the reason of how Silver got his original name.
- Soleanna is mentioned in Archie Sonic Universe Issue 4 when Shadow and Hope are on the cliff, Hope says "You can see all the way to Soleanna!".
- Soleanna is well known for it's delicious food like their juicy apples and the Freight Sandwich.
- The people of Soleanna celebrate many festivals including The Soleanna Apple Festival, The Water Target Tournament, The Ring Race, and the most important the Festival of the Sun where they pay honor and tribute to their God Solaris.
- There are actually no roofs on the skyscrapers in New City. If one were to go in as Sonic and use the Sky Gem Custom Action, they could see for themselves. For this to work, one would have to throw a Gem at an angle at a building, causing Sonic to fly upward at high speeds. If the player tries to fall down on the nonexistent roof, they will fall through the building, and eventually out of the bottom of the area.
Notes
- ↑ Most of the general socioeconomic information about Soleanna comes from Rouge's explanation to Shadow after they escape from White Acropolis.
- ↑ We see no GUN mechs in Soleanna at any point during the game, and the citizens rely on Sonic & co. to repel the invasions of Eggman's forces. However, GUN agents are shown operating (without much discretion) in downtown Soleanna during Shadow's story, so it seems likely that Soleanna is at least an ally or client state of the United Federation.
- ↑ Although the deceased Duke of Soleanna is referred to almost exclusively as a "Duke" throughout Sonic '06, Rouge does refer to him as "the former king" during a conversation in Kingdom Valley. The title "Queen", however, is used in reference to Elise by her father; become a strong queen who won't cry no matter what happens.
- ↑ The monarch may still be the Duke of Soleanna instead of his daughter Elise, since the Solaris Project never exploded and the Duke was accordingly never killed. However, Elise is still seen presiding over the Festival of the Sun in the revised timeline; as such, the ruler of Soleanna in the canonical history is unknown.