▲
2
▼
Near the end of the game, Spoiler:after the Egg Dragoon is defeated, Dark Gaia will emerge. When it goes back to Eggman (before he is hit by Dark Gaia), to the left of Eggman (his right) is a SEGA Dreamcast.
▲
2
▼
During the opening cutscene, just as Eggman is about to fire the laser, you can see a Sega Dreamcast behind him.
▲
2
▼
In Eggmanland, there are three robots whose names represent a console and a year that a Sonic game came out. These are EF-MD1991 (Mega Drive/Genesis and Sonic the Hedgehog), EF-DC1998 (Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure), and EF-XB2006 (Xbox and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006). To further cement this idea, MD1991 was made first while XB2006 is the youngest and is apparently clumsy, glitchy, and can't do anything right.
▲
2
▼
The term "Werehog" is derived from the words werewolf and hedgehog. However, this is a misnomer, considering that the "were" in werewolf derives from the Old English "wer", meaning "man", which means he is incorrectly referred to as a "Manhog". A "Manhog" would be a man who can morph into a pig, or someone who is half man, half pig.
▲
2
▼
In the Werehog side missions, there is a place called 'Soleana Hotel'. This is likely a reference to Sonic The Hedgehog (2006), which was set in the similarly spelled 'Soleanna'.
▲
2
▼
Many of the Street Locations are named after other Sonic characters that don't appear in the game; more specifically the members of Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge and E-123 Omega), Silver, Blaze, Pachacamac, and the Chao. Exceptions to this include Knuckles and Cream.
▲
2
▼
In the original concept work of the character "Chip", his name was "Whip", referring to whipped cream, as whipped cream was an early design motif. However, this was changed as some felt the name whip carried too many negative connotations in English (such as whipping as an act of punishment, or the injury known as whiplash).
▲
2
▼
The lead composer of the game, Tomoya Ohtani, uses musical samples in some of his tracks for the game, similar to how Hideki Naganuma and Ohtani himself used samples in Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, respectively. One amusing coincidence is that the intro of Windmill Isle is based directly from a remix of a track from the arcade-only game Ollie King, which Naganuma composed the entirety of.
▲
2
▼
An early concept design of Sonic's Werehog form depicts Sonic with the appearance of a Yeti.
▲
2
▼
Knuckles and Shadow were planned to be in the game but the idea was scrapped for unknown reasons.
▲
2
▼
In the ending cutscene, Spoiler:Chip says "Sonic you must live", but the subtitles mistakenly say "Sonic you have to live"
subdirectory_arrow_right Sonic Unleashed (Game)
▲
2
▼
The music track "Rooftop Run (Night)" in Sonic Unleashed contains a well-known and common jazz lick (1–2–♭3–4–2–♭7–1) which would go viral and become known as "The Lick" in 2011, three years after Sonic Unleashed's release.
The Lick in Sonic Unleashed:
https://youtu.be/CFlW5WwlxGE?si=KUEmae8FM3rQjnKJ&;t=30
Other examples of The Lick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDxhnaKD7Q&;ab_channel=AlexHeitlinger
Source for "The Lick" name originating in 2011:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twentieth-century-music/article/abs/virals-memes-and-the-licks-circulation-through-online-jazz-communities/143D4DD73A586587D5EC9E7EF0CEDF7F
https://youtu.be/CFlW5WwlxGE?si=KUEmae8FM3rQjnKJ&;t=30
Other examples of The Lick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDxhnaKD7Q&;ab_channel=AlexHeitlinger
Source for "The Lick" name originating in 2011:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twentieth-century-music/article/abs/virals-memes-and-the-licks-circulation-through-online-jazz-communities/143D4DD73A586587D5EC9E7EF0CEDF7F
Related Games
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Sonic the Hedgehog: Spinball
Sonic Forces
Sonic Riders
Sonic the Hedgehog
Team Sonic Racing
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic Rush Adventure
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Generations
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Battle
Sonic Rivals
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic Advance 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
Sonic Pinball Party
Sonic Runners
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic R
Sonic Labyrinth
Sonic Advance
Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Sonic Rivals 2
Sonic Generations
Sonic Shuffle
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Sonic Mania
Sonic Heroes
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic DS
Sonic Origins
Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld
Knuckles' Chaotix
Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos