Chao (Sonic) - Conception and Characteristics

Conception and Characteristics

Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka stated in an interview with video game publication 1UP.com that Chao were incorporated into Sonic Adventure "so that new players would be forced to go out, explore the action sections, and find Flickies and things." Chao were designed as a "relative neutral entity" in this game. However, to remain consistent with the good–evil dichotomy of Sonic Adventure 2, they were designed so that the player could raise them as "hero chao" or "Dark Chao". A Chao "socialization program" was incorporated into Sonic Adventure 2 in order to make the game unique.

Chao are small creatures with a pudding-like body and behave much like human infants, with pleasant and relaxing personalities. Professor Chao, a minor character in Sonic Adventure 2, states that Chao are cute, and enjoy toys and being held or petted. However, they dislike being held while the player jumps, spun around, or thrown. Chao's diets consist of tree fruit and coconuts. Chao hatch from eggs found in Chao Gardens. When the player spends enough time with a Chao in the Chao Garden, the Chao develops a cocoon; it hatches from this as an adult. Eventually it develops another cocoon. If the Chao has been treated well, the cocoon is pink and the Chao is reincarnated as an egg; the cycle then restarts and the Chao remembers the player. If, however, the Chao has been treated poorly, the cocoon is gray and the Chao dies, removing every trace of itself from the game. Chao can breed to produce fertile eggs.