The Chaos Emerald Vault,[1][2] also known as simply the Vault[3] (エメラルドデバイス[4] Emerarudo Debaisu?, lit. "Emerald Device"), is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are large devices built by Ancients and are placed around the Starfall Islands to harness the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds.
Description[]
Chaos Emerald Vaults are ancient structures with three stylized, horn-like spires made of an unknown black material surrounded by a altar made of rocks. When the Vault is active, these stylized spires are seen spinning in a slow circle around a black pedestal; a Chaos Emerald hovers above the pedestal, sealed within a bubble of transparent energy. Much like Cyber Space Portals, Vaults are powered by magenta digital energy seen moving on the black material between the rock gaps and spires. Once the Vault becomes unsealed, the digital energy's color changes to cyan and the spires cease spinning.[1]
Overview[]
Sonic in front of unsealed Chaos Emerald Vault, from Sonic Frontiers.
In Sonic Frontiers, Chaos Emerald Vaults are present in four of the five Starfall Islands: Kronos Island, Ares Island, Chaos Island and Ouranos Island. The player can unlock one of six Chaos Emeralds in each Vault by collecting certain amount of Vault Keys from Cyber Space stages, which can be checked on the Map menu.[3] The seventh, purple Chaos Emerald has to be obtained separately in first three Starfall Islands by reaching to the top of each Titan head, where they are being placed in smaller devices called Chaos Engines. In Ouranos Island though, Dr. Eggman will share the purple Chaos Emerald with Sonic prior the Supreme fight. When the player has enough Vault Keys, a cutscene shows the nearest Vault becoming unsealed; the Chaos Emerald within it releases a beam of light that can be seen from a great distance.[5] The color of the beam corresponds to the emerald's color. As this happens, the Vault can also gain connections to green crystals seen in ancient structures, generating new pathways leading to the Vault, such as rock bridges.
When the player reaches an unsealed Vault, they have to hop onto the altar and press 
/
/
to transition to the cutscene of Sonic using the Vault Keys. Sonic opens the Vault, receives the Chaos Emerald, and the player can continue progressing further in the game.[6] It should be noted that not all of the Chaos Emeralds on the first three islands are sealed in a Vault; some have to be acquired by completing parts of the Main Story quests for the respective character.
Vault Locations[]
Kronos Island[]
- Blue Chaos Emerald: This Chaos Emerald Vault is located at the end of the tutorial area, in the south of Kronos Island. Requires a total of 2 Vault Keys to access.
- Red Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on a small island in the river, in the south of Kronos Island. Requires a total of 5 Vault Keys to access.
- Yellow Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on a hill in the center of the island. Requires a total of 12 Vault Keys to access.
- White Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located in the west of the island on top of a floating tower. In order to access it, the player needs to defeat a Tower boss underneath the structure, which will unlock a Spring that leads to the parkour section that guides Sonic to the Chaos Emerald Vault. Requires a total of 20 Vault Keys to access.
Ares Island[]
- Blue Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located at the end of a tunnel in Ares Island, near M-044. Requires a total of 7 Vault Keys to access.
- Red Chaos Emerald: This Vault is also located at the end of a tunnel in the northeastern parts of the island. Requires a total of 14 Vault Keys to access.
- Yellow Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located in the north parts of the island. In order to access the Vault, the player needs to complete a parkour section, which starts all across in the north west regions, near one of Dr. Eggman's abandoned bases. Requires a total of 17 Vault Keys to access.
- White Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on the top of a hill in the north regions of the island. Similarly to the White Chaos Emerald Vault on Kronos Island, this Vault is also only accessible by completing a parkour section. Requires a total of 24 Vault Keys to access.
Chaos Island[]
- Blue Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on the top of a hill on a small island in the west region. To reach it, the player must grind the northern-pointing rails from the island directly south; from there, the player must grind the rails on the southeastern corner of the island directly north. Requires a total of 7 Vault Keys to access.
- Red Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on an island in the northwest. In order to unlock the path to the Vault, the player needs to firstly complete the Hacking Mission on Chaos Island. Requires a total of 14 Vault Keys to access.
- Yellow Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on a small island at the north of the island. Requires a total of 21 Vault Keys to access.
- White Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on top of a floating tower near the frozen mountain. Similarly to the two previous islands, the White Chaos Emerald Vault can be reached only by completing parkour sections. Requires a total of 25 Vault Keys to access.
Ouranos Island[]
- Blue Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on top of a hill at the south east areas of Ouranos Island. Requires a total of 3 Vault Keys to access.
- Red Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located in the center of the island, in the north of the patch with roses and near a Kunoichi boss and a Hermit Koco. Requires a total of 9 Vault Keys to access.
- Green Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located on the top of a tower, located on the island in the north east regions of Ouranos Island. The island itself is unlocked only by completing one of the Hacking Missions, which, once finished, will reveal a bridge to the island. Requires a total of 16 Vault Keys to access.
- Yellow Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located in the north of the island, inside of some ruins. Requires a total of 23 Vault Keys to access.
- Cyan Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located in the south west parts of the island, near an Hermit Koco and M-097. Requires a total of 30 Vault Keys to access.
- White Chaos Emerald: This Vault is located inside a massive structure near the patch with roses. In order to gain entry to the building, the player needs to complete the second Hacking Mission, which itself becomes available only after collecting the other five Chaos Emeralds. Requires a total of 33 Vault Keys to access.
The Final Horizon[]
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In addition to the six Chaos Emerald Vaults found during the gameplay, there are several empty vaults located around Ouranos Island during The Final Horizon. Several of them seem to be in the same locations at the vaults were in the original story.
To unlock the vaults during The Final Horizon, the player must progress through Amy, Knuckles, and Tails' sections before they can collect them. Amy must seek out the Koco for advice and protection, Knuckles must destroy the Impact Forms, and Tails must hack into the Koco Devices to unseal the vaults.
- Blue Chaos Emerald:
- Red Chaos Emerald:
- Green Chaos Emerald:
- Yellow Chaos Emerald:
- Cyan Chaos Emerald:
- White Chaos Emerald:
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Screenshots[]
| Gallery |
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 Blue Chaos Emerald in a unsealed Vault preparing to create a beam of light, from Sonic Frontiers   Sonic in front of unsealed Chaos Emerald Vault, from Sonic Frontiers  Blue Chaos Emerald Vault seen on the top of the hill in far distance, from Sonic Frontiers  Red Chaos Emerald Vault on far distance (on left), from Sonic Frontiers  Red Chaos Emerald Vault seen on far distance (on right), from Sonic Frontiers |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sonic Frontiers - Overview. YouTube (1 September 2022). Retrieved on 29 September 2022.
- ↑ Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. Xbox One. Sega. Area/level: Map menu. "Configurable Map Icons: Chaos Emerald Vault"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. Xbox One. Sega. Area/level: Kronos Island. "Missions and Keys: Each Portal has its own set of missions. Completing missions will reward Chaos Emerald Vault Keys. The current amount of obtained Vault Keys is displayed in the upper left of the screen, while the number required to open the next Vault is shown on the map."
- ↑ Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Area/level: Kronos Island. "ミッションと「エメラルドキー」: ポータルのステージには、 ミッションが設定されています。クリアしたミッションの数におうじて「エメラルドキー」が貰えるので、どんどんミッションをクリアしましょう。カオスエメラルドの開放に必要なエメラルドキーの個数と今の所有数は、 画面左上もしくはマップ上の各エメラルドデバイスに近寄ると表示されます。"
- ↑ Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. Xbox Series X/S. Sega. Area/level: Kronos Island. "Notification: A Vault was unsealed and can now be opened with a Vault Key."
- ↑ Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. Xbox One. Sega. Area/level: Kronos Island. "Congratulations!: From here on, Sonic is free to explore the island and gather Chaos Emeralds. Try solving nearby Challenges to avoid getting lost. This will unlock more of the map and show more paths forward in Sonic's journey."