Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 are beloved among Sonic fans, but not just for the fast-paced Sonic (or Shadow) stages or the cracking music. The Chao Garden, a side activity in both games, is beloved even today, and fans have been dying to see a standalone Chao Garden game where we can raise our cute little critters.
However, we should probably start tempering our expectations: in an interview with VGC, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka suggested that there are no plans for a standalone Chao game because it's a "piece" of other games.
“It’s not a standalone game," Iizuka-san tells VGC (via an interpreter) "it’s integrated into the whole Adventure series gameplay, so we can’t just break it off and make it a thing. And so it’s like, alright, well, if you’re asking for Chao Garden and Adventure 3, then that’s pretty much asking for Adventure 3."
Part of the fun of Chao Gardens in Sonic Adventure and its sequel was finding the little creatures out in the wild and bringing them back to the garden. To Sonic Team, that's integral to the experience, so it would be pretty difficult to just remove all of that.
Of course, if it were part of a Sonic Adventure 3, then that would delight fans. But that's also not on the cards right now, according to Iizuka: "It’s just one of those things that if, if the stars align and it can all happen, then yeah, we’d love to make it.” Maybe one day...
As VGC notes, there was a rumour earlier this year that a mobile game focusing on Chao raising was in development (via Game Rant). That rumour, however, was from now-disgraced Sega leaker Midori.
In the meantime, there's always Loddlenaut, an indie game inspired by the Chao Garden that focuses on cleaning the oceans. it's not exactly the same, but there aren't many titles inspired by this fun little side activity from the Sonic series. And it looks lovely.
Do you think we'll get a Chao Garden game at some point? Let us know down below.