Chao Research 2024: What You Never Knew

"What are the highest Luck and Intelligence Grades legitimately possible for my Chao in the 'HD' version of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle?"
In March of 2024, I asked this simple question upon revisiting one of my childhood GameCube games, having been rereleased on Steam in 2012. I had decided to try my hand at Chao breeding all these years later, only for that single question to drop me into a rabbit hole of information deeper than I ever expected.
... But I would soon find out that there was still plenty of information about this game's Chao mechanics that wasn't readily available, wasn't clearly compiled, or perhaps wasn't ever even documented before.
Two months later, I intend for this video to fix that.
📝 My Original Research Document:
• docs.google.com/document/d/1C...
💾 Sources:
• Chao Island - chao-island.com/
• Weeks of my own efforts
• Sonic Wiki - sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_W...
• Sega Retro - segaretro.org/Dai%2018-kai%20...
• Game Watch - game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs...
• Chaoler - chaoler.net/data/dictionary.ph...
• SegaKore - backup.segakore.fr/sonicteam/w...
🎶 Soundtrack:
• Brain Power | • Brain Power
• A Moment's Peace - Yuji Takenouchi | • A Moment's peace (Dark...
• Town Hall - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Soundtrack | • Town Hall - Animal Cro...
• Sonic Adventure 2 OST - Chao Transporter | • Sonic Adventure 2 OST ...
• Mitsuhiro Tada - South Island (Full Track Remaster) | • Mitsuhiro Tada - South...
• Unknown from M.E. ver.1 (Instrumental) | • Unknown from M.E. ver....
• Join Us 4 Happy Time ... for CHAO Race | • Join Us 4 Happy Time ....
• Team Chaotix - Theme of Team Chaotix (Instrumental) | • Team Chaotix: Theme of...
• CHEMICAL PLANT : ACT1 | • CHEMICAL PLANT : ACT1
• SPECIALZ | • SPECIALZ
• Twinkle Cart ... for Twinkle Park | • Twinkle Cart ... for T...
• Bomberman 64: The Second Attack - Planet Select | • Bomberman 64: The Seco...
• CHALLENGE / MISSION 5 | • CHALLENGE / MISSION 5
• Save Theme - Resident Evil 4 | • Save Theme - Resident ...
• Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1 | • Stardust Speedway Zone...
• Staff Roll - Masaru Setsumaru | • Staff Roll
• Dive Into the Mellow - Aquatic Mine (Instrumental) | • Video
• Theme of "E-102γ" | • Theme of "E-102γ"
• Live & Learn | • Live & Learn
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - KZbin-Exclusive Intro (Part 1)
0:40 - An Honest Fireside Chat
1:50 - Wait, Animal Crossing?! (YT Intro Part 2)
5:26 - Things To Know (Actual Start of Research Doc)
7:15 - What Kicked This Research Off?
9:22 - Starting a Fresh Chao Save
11:07 - A Rarely Mentioned Secret
14:57 - Character Egg Groups
16:35 - The Search for High Luck & Intelligence
19:03 - ABCDE Chao, the Limit Breakers
25:10 - Testing the Tiny Chao Garden
28:31 - Achieving Inheritable Grade 255 Luck & Intelligence
31:36 - Ultimately Irrelevant Loose Ends (Part 1)
33:22 - Brief Intermission
34:08 - Ultimately Irrelevant Loose Ends (Part 2)
38:33 - Closing Remarks (End of Research Document)
42:56 - KZbin-Exclusive Closing Remarks
43:46 - Video Game Preservation
44:40 - What and How, Not Why
45:18 - HAVE YOU SEEN THESE LOST CHAO?!
48:19 - Typical KZbin Outro
#chaogarden #sonicadventure #sonic

[@Calmer_GM]

Hello comment section! I come bearing information for *_Xbox 360 players_* ! - I know you (and the PS3 players) might be feeling a little left out by this research, but we've received word from the good folks at none other than CHAO ISLAND that there's an extremely high chance that the *_Xbox 360 version of SA2B_* is the ONLY version of SA2B that has truly random Initial Garden Eggs! Whether this also affects Failsafe Eggs and Black Market ABCDE Eggs for Luck & Intelligence Grades is currently unknown, as I lack the means to test that version. Regardless, I want you to know that there is TALK of other people considering looking into the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. If that data is acquired, vetted, and makes its way to me, you have my word that I will add it to the Research Document, and potentially put out a (much shorter) video sequel covering it.

[@Xalusc]

No Dreamcast? :/

[@Calmer_GM]

@Xalusc - Dreamcast's Sonic Adventure 2 has an *_almost entirely different_* Chao system from the one created for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, so much so that it often has its own info sections over at Chao Island. There ARE plenty of folks who've looked into the Dreamcast games, however since they're so different from SA2B (and SADX), and I don't personally have access to that system or those versions, I would feel way too underqualified to cover them.

[@gatekeeper7211]

It's a shame my 360 finally died a few weeks back, I would of happily uploaded my chao garden saves for them to look at

[@richardbrooksshnee]

Considering the steam releases include roms, have you verified that this research holds true for the roms as they may be different release versions. It wouldn't surprise me to see different versions between early and late release having either a different table, different formula, or different seeds for any randomizer in place.

[@mario4356]

I spent the better few years with gscentral which was dedicated to Sonic Adventure 2 Battles Action Replay code discovery. The chao garden was always something of a mind game. As soon as you found something new, a whole new world opens up. Tiny Chao Garden was a huge interest to me as back then I recall used TCG to make chao stats all messed up. It's possible to make your chao display letters and impossible characters as their stat numbers and the display would break. Eventually your chao would sometimes grow beyond the normal size and sometimes into a complete polygonic mess. Not many people know this, but you can bring back fruit from the TCG INTO SA2B. Those fruits are special in that you can only get them from the TCG. Additionally, A small group with myself and a few others discovering most of the codes on gscentral, we theorized its possible to spawn in emblems from the gameboy transfer machine the same way via manipulating chao data since other chao textures use level textures later on which aren't obtainable via normal means. The shiny versions of those 3 special shiny chao do exist in code. I have them on my gamecube memory card. You can even have an egg chao and omochao. If you REALLY wanna delve into finding this stuff, Get a gamecube action replay and be prepared to spends days digging. I recall we image documented every "textured chao" which were really cool chao that used level textures for their skin. This info isn't on TCRF or Chao World. I just remember it back from when I helped out with gscentral.

[@james-dm3ys]

I dont understand why sega doesnt push Chao more as there own

[@josesosa1017]

this

[@BorderFreak]

I'd buy a standalone chao garden in a heartbeat then wait for smart people to tell me how it works

[@ramenmcdad]

my only guess is its too much work for how much time Sega gives developers :')

[@Jes9119]

For the same reason HAL Labratory hasn't made another Kirby Air Ride. Too few people actually cared about it and it wouldn't make money.

[@heart3460]

One of the two involved in this is no longer at SEGA and they don't give Sonic games enough dev time to even begin to sort out implementation. You need to be in the depths of Math and Madness to concoct this system and code it. Said system has also been refined over 3 games, not including remakes of SA1 and SA2.

[@GogotteandSig]

Chao hatched in the TCG often having max intel kinda makes sense when you consider they can talk to you in complete sentences there…somehow

[@seancutt793]

Wow I had NO idea the chao system was this in-depth

[@Calmer_GM]

Trust me, neither did I when I said, "I'm gonna play SA2B again!"

[@DeathByDunsparce]

This is a super deep dive into just the luck and int stats, every other mechanic is also very complicated! Very fun to dig your teeth into!

[@seancutt793]

@@DeathByDunsparce It's honestly so hard to believe that this is just PART of the picture LOL

[@a.r.greene]

@seancutt793, I echo your comment. @calmer_GM, thank you, and all those who you've relied on to make this video explanation of your findings.

[@Calmer_GM]

@@a.r.greene We're happy to see people benefitting from the information!

[@F1areon]

So you might know this already, but did you know the Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Chao actually all have different alignments? Tails Chao is Neutral, Knuckles Chao is Hero, and Amy Chao is Dark.

[@Calmer_GM]

Yup, all true.

[@TheeValhallan]

It's 2024 and TIL there are still mechanics that I didn't know about Chao. This video was great and informative!

[@Calmer_GM]

Relatable! Thanks for being here!

[@NightmareRex6]

and i think the sonic 2 adventure the only diffrences between retail and the revision beta is some diffrences in the choa gardon so seeing whats diffrent compared would be intresting.

[@HesGotaGun505]

Dark souls music is surprisingly resonant with the arcane complexity of the chao system.

[@TheYellowTuxedo]

Here I was high-fiving friends when my chao could draw pizzas. Once all of them could draw pizzas the garden was covered

[@dollphinwing]

As a kid I always thought it was a plate of spaghetti but apparently it's a strawberry shortcake lol

[@gigithehedgehog8469]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were pizza. 😅 I was shocked when I found out it was supposed to be cake!

[@TheYellowTuxedo]

@@gigithehedgehog8469 what 😂

[@Hexagonaldonut]

0:57 As someone with an auditory processing disorder: THANK YOU. I've barely gotten into the video as yet, but as soon as I saw this text I immediately felt the need to comment on it; thank you for thinking of us! Many creators don't, and it's infuriating.

[@MizumiGCMods]

Awesome video, just finished it & subbed. I’m glad I stuck around until the end, I am actually the guy who found & dumped the Japanese demo disks to get the character chao many years ago, I’m glad you found it interesting & useful from a preservation standpoint. I never did any deep dive researching into the lost event chao as I don’t speak Japanese so they very well could be just a few online connections away from finally being discovered! Here’s to hoping they are found at some point. With as simple as it was for me buying & transferring the chao from the demo disk, I’m optimistic it may something just as simple for the other lost chao.

[@Calmer_GM]

Here's hoping! - I've done plenty of online searching myself since I recently taught myself to read Hiragana and Katakana, but the sources I used/listed in the description are all that I've found so far. The closest thing to the Chao themselves that I found were some (very obviously hacked) Chao on a French site, easily spotted by looking at stats, alleles, and the fact that the Shiny Tails Chao was missing the correct mouth... If we could just find someone who has the distribution material they used at those events, either a former employee or a collector, that'd be another piece of Game History to dump online and preserve, along with sharing the Chao with everyone!

[@SnapKrakenPop]

This video could not have come at a better time, I’ve just gotten back into chao gardening on my GameCube

[@Calmer_GM]

You're EXACTLY who this was all for! Good luck with your Chao Gardens!

[@superiormeh]

You still have "the artifact?" Impressive. Wish we could post pics on YT

[@xonact8855]

This is a video(type) I've been looking for. Not specifically for Chao, but someone who takes accuracy seriously, and is incredibly in depth with the content. Great job!

[@Calmer_GM]

Happy to have provided on those fronts! Thanks for watching.

[@pikmints]

Dear God, the sheer amount of effort and detail that went into this little side-mode is nuts. Discovering new details all these years later, effort that went unnoticed, it seems like Sonic Team has the chops to make a seriously fun pet-raising simulation game (or at least they did 20 years ago), so the fact that they left all of that effort behind to deliver us games like '06, Forces, and Sonic Boom is very confusing. I understand not bringing back the Chao Garden for some of their games since the core Sonic gameplay needs to feed into the Chao Garden in a certain way, but with modern tech, a modern Chao Garden could be so much more. Karate/Racing online with friends, more ways to customize your Chao, seasonal events/items, events/tournaments with various rewards, more ways for your Chao to use its stats, and so much more. The Chao Garden (and various aspects of the main game) had so much love put into it, it's not just luck that led to it resonating with players as much as it did.

[@Calmer_GM]

Exactly; the devs who worked on these mechanics and those of similar aspects in other games, like Flower breeding in Animal Crossing? Chef's kiss. I really hope the devs of future Sonic-works manage to tap into the goldmine that's been sitting around for over 20 years.

[@vickihopsin128]

Imagine how good a Chao garden would’ve been in Frontiers 😢

[@Calmer_GM]

@@vickihopsin128 I haven't tried Frontiers yet, but I was indeed a bit sad to hear that they didn't see fit to bring the Chao Garden back for it.

[@fumetsusozo]

@@Calmer_GM Open World Sonic games in concept would be legit the best moments for Chao Gardens. The whole idea of going out on adventures while exploring around weird locations, and finding special Chao eggs hidden away or other items you can bring back into the gardens is a lovely gameplay loop idea that feels bit underrated. I seen many folk argue Chao Gardens would be improved by making it a stand alone game without the exploration adventure elements, and I simply can't agree with it! I even recently been noticing some indie devs making Chao Garden knockoff/inspired pet games... but without the adventuring & anthro character playable cast it just feels hollow, and far less fun IMO.

[@Calmer_GM]

@@fumetsusozo I think I would agree, as part of the original charm was the loop of essentially going out to find resources to bring back for your Chao, along with finding some Eggs in SADX. 20+ years ago, none of us who liked the Chao Garden cared that the "main game" action and exploration was broken up by the pet sim aspect. I could really get behind the idea of finding random things in the normal game maps that end up being trinkets, decorations, toys, etc... all for the Chao Garden zones.

[@chinesemassproduction]

This is mega badass. Someone tell Cybershell immediately.

[@pinkpools]

This topic is indeed mega awesome

[@Vicstruction]

It's tragic that the shiny event Chao are missing. Hopefully someone finds them before they're lost for good. Maybe there could be a bounty for it?

[@Calmer_GM]

There's been talk of a bounty, though I personally don't know much on who/which community would spearhead such a thing. A few people already believe that a selfish collector out there has them and simply isn't willing to help preserve them... But regardless, I personally think the best course is to reach a former SEGA/Nintendo employee who saw fit to keep the distribution software, ask them to anonymously dump the disc/file to someone in the gaming preservation community, and let gamers do the rest.

[@saxor96]

My throwaway theory is that they wanted to reward GBA players with extremely good Chao in the hidden stats, but they thought having those traits inheritable would just be too busted so subsequent versions of Mini-Chao-Garden just artificially set those values to 0.

[@fengengao]

Calm voiced informative 50 minutes of chao garden information? Thank you for this video. (Thank you for the nice subtitles as well, I really need those and having these subtitles with bonus content adds to the high quality of this video)

[@JustSomePasserby]

Nice video. Good data. Chill vibe. Very informative/relaxing. Having 4 functional intros was a bit rough, though.

[@Calmer_GM]

However many there were, I'm glad they functioned. Had to make sure the people thinkin' this was *only* a Sea of Thieves channel knew what they were in for! 😆

[@Skelter48]

I spent most of my childhood raising chao on the GC and had no idea the system was this in depth

[@e102y7]

Sonic Adventure 2 came out 23 years ago, I still remember getting it as a birthday gift from my parents. I love that people are still diving into its guts (or at least its port) with some proper experimental sampling!

[@tomrose2914]

That bit at the end about video game preservation is amazing. It would be amazing to see an authentic shiney Sonic, Shadow, and Tails choa!

[@KingTaltia]

It's lovely to see people learning just how in depth and wild the Chao Garden was. Even back in NGC days the Chao Island was BOOKMARKED on EVERY childhood computer I had... (yes, I had many.)

[@megatrace]

"Babe come to bed!" "No I have to systematically breed another 1834 Chaos with different Characters in different Chao Gardens based on where I got the eggs from and document everything in detail."

[@tziirkq]

Thanks for being chilled out. I just wanted something relaxing whilst I did my chores, and this was great.

[@KNGDDDE]

Supporting for the sustainment of chao content 💯

[@Falldawn73]

I listened to the whole video while compounding drugs at work. Very well done. Makes me want to revist my decade old chaos chao

[@shadowzekromXD]

This was so fascinating! I remember as a child, I played as Shadow and raised a Shadow chao that I named Zero. I had no idea chao breeding and stats had this much depth. This video was great background noise for my weight-lifting! Keep up the good work.

[@agata6337]

recently i got to restore the backups my childhood saves of emerald, platinum and white 2. and i cried when i saw my childhood pokemon on a 3ds screen, i will try my best to send them to home but i dont know how successful that endeavor will be without hacks, so wish me luck

[@Calmer_GM]

From what I experienced, you should have no issues as long as you possess the means to transfer them up through the games into Bank right now, since Bank is explicitly an exception to the 3DS shutdowns and was still working last I heard. If they're all already on your 3DS, I feel like you should be set for Home... And in the event that you do need to modify your 3DS or make use of emulation on your PC to do it, I can testify that there's some very well-written instructions on all fronts for it online. Bridging the Gen 2 - Gen 3 gap was the hardest part for me, since I didn't want the 3DS versions of the Game Boy games to randomize my 'mon's stats upon transfer! Good luck to you!

[@kittydragon7126]

AMAZING video! Seriously! More effort than I could've imagined put into this! Here's to hoping this video reaches chao trainers everywhere. Video game preservation is important!

[@Calmer_GM]

Thanks so much for the kind words; making this knowledge easily accessible was the driving force for those months spent. Encouraging people to preserve their games is a bonus!

[@BillPickle]

Watched the whole thing - when I was younger I loved seeing what I could figure out about how chao stats worked but never would have thought to go this deep into it. Great video!

[@apIthletIcc]

I knew there was a lot more to chao man damn. There needs to be a straight up just chao focused game frfr It gave the game so much replayability it deserves a whole series really

[@Nesdude42]

Poglings is being developed

[@apIthletIcc]

@@Nesdude42 cool do they have a channel?

[@JacobPayyseno]

This is some of the best documentation of the most minute, trivial thing that means so much to me and others! Mad respect

[@innenkosnarukami2450]

I just started messing with Chao again due to booting up SA 1 and 2 again to try and get all emblems (and have already spent so much time playing with my Chao), so this could not have come at a better time. For such a fantastic piece of content, it's still rather difficult to this day to get solid data on the many hidden aspects of Chao. You've done a great service for the Chao community with this one.

[@Calmer_GM]

Thank you for the kind words, and coincidentally I did the opposite; started playing again for the Chao, and now I'm chipping away at all the Emblems!

[@sergemarlon]

I might still have a tails Chao in a memory card somewhere. This game was sick.

[@james14294]

Found your channel because of this, played a lot of this game back in the day, really appreciate all the effort you put in to this, I doubt ill ever use it but found it really interesting, and would love to see more like it in the future

[@pie_craft8257]

I can only imagine how much more time I would have sunk into this game had I known about all of this information in my younger years, but there's always a part of me that year s for a modernized chao garden

[@ArticTiger]

I'm a simple man, I see a chao video, I click it.

[@Barf_FaB]

Hey babe! An hour long video about a subsection of a game from my childhood came out! But really, thank you for your hard work piecing together all this information. As a kid it was wild combing through that stuff. That period of time feels like lost media 😂

[@marcopollototote]

Dayum, i always respect this kind of research. Now i'm realizing that i didn't know anything about chaos with the very few videos that i'd watched, so i enjoyed the flow of this one. Great video!.

[@otoryuthesounddragon7089]

As someone who grew up with an older brother that got obsessive with complex game play mechanics, since I was seven, things like the Chao Garden, and later at age ten, Animal Crossing, have always had a soft spot in my heart. Although I don't put NEARLY as much effort into animal crossing as the rest of the community ( I'd like to, but recently lost my data, which just so happens to tie into game preservation). What I'm getting at is, as someone who had the idea to create the "ultimate chao" as a kid, I was very interested in seeing comprehensive and well compiled data about a 22 year old breeding mechanic that was weirdly only a small part of a full game. as much as I'd like to take the time to do this with a greater understanding of these mechanics, I too, am now a 24 year-old adult with a life and many real life problems to solve. None the less, it's good to see passion like this in the gaming community, it's always been inspiring. Maybe I not willing to put in 500-1000 hours easy to get the fabled "ultimate chao", I do feel compelled to restart Animal Crossing New Horizons. I can't let the Chi dynasty end on such a seldom note. I'll find the time someday! Thanks for the video!

[@xKitKit]

As a lifelong Chao enthusiast who has only ever held to Sonic Advance's TCG and Sonic Adventure/Sonic Adventure 2's GCN Chao gardens, I am eternally grateful to great minds like yours and other contributors who uncover the intricacies and finer details of all these hidden mechanics and data. Seriously, major thanks to you for dedicating your time, effort, and brain power toward making this information accessible to the rest of us who otherwise don't have the means or know-how to discover it for ourselves. Many years of lofty assumptions I've always felt hazily uncertain about were put to rest after digesting everything you presented here, and that brings me a sort of satisfaction that I didn't even know ever needed to be sated in me until now. Also, a side-inquiry: at 47:12, you mention the Japanese source alleging that the Shiny Sonic & Shiny Shadow Chao started with 2000 points in their Run stats. If this turns out to be true, (and anecdotally inferring from the way that the Tails Chao that can be imported from Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II starts at Lv. 1 in all its visible stats), _anddd_ and assuming the rumored stat grades of AASAA hold true for said Shiny Chao, wouldn't reincarnation actually be detrimental to the max potential cap on those Chaos' Run stats? We'd assume 2000 points in Run at Lv. 1, and a max potential point cap of 5038, where we have +31 each time the Run stat levels up all 98 times in the TCG (2000 + 3038). Reincarnation at that point would bring the Chao's Run stat back to Lv. 1, except this time with only 10% of that previous final value - 503, instead of its initial Lv. 1 value of 2000. So ideally, we would want to hope that the Shiny Sonic & Shiny Shadow Chao obtained from the event shared the same immortality that the other Character Chao from those events had if all those things were true, yeah? also also, obligatory shoutout to that one chao at 48:22 that just sanics itself into the crowd. made me almost spit my drink out because it came so out of left field

[@Calmer_GM]

Yup, gonna copy part of my reply to another commenter who noticed the exact same thing and did the exact same math, because I *_also_* noticed that error in speech after uploading. ~ "...what that off-script speech I gave at the end of the video should actually say is how 'the first Life of the Shiny Sonic & Shadow Chao could result in the highest Run Stats ever seen legitimately.'" ~ This is why going off-script and just yappin' away isn't a good idea for these kinds of videos. However, the Sonic & Shadow event Chao aren't as simple as everyone seems to think they are, and their value to the community wasn't ever their usefulness in-game to begin with; it was the sheer intrigue of knowing their Stats. - If they weren't immortal, they could reincarnate and improve their other Stat Grades at the cost of losing their edge in Run, meaning that eventually they're no better than any other Max Grade Chao; if they _were_ immortal, they're forever doomed to being *_worse_* than Max Grade Chao in everything except Run, much like the other event Chao. Either way you slice it, they're not going to be anyone's best Chao. - On top of this, no one ever thinks about the fact that in order to be a Sonic or Shadow Chao, the Chao has to have evolved into an Adult, meaning that *_there's no reason be confident that these two begin at Level 1 in every Stat._* In fact it would be mind-blowing if they did, because that could mean they're generated as Adult Chao with all of the sliders set where they need to be to result in their appearance, including Magnitude and Alignment. We want to know their initial Stats because if rumors and implications are true, those two break conventions in their first Life, and that's just fun knowledge. Also yeah, they tend yeet themselves into birthday parties if they spawn far away!

[@TilleyYT]

I never played the somic games, but i love learning about them. I fall asleep listening to videos about chao gardens-- welcome to my playlist! Love how you talk so calmly and research so thoroughly. Keep it up!

[@JomasterTheSecond]

I was legitimately expecting you to say "Grab a snack and a glass of orange juice".

[@carlosemilio5180]

gayming in the clinbin years

[@AlriikRidesAgain]

​@@carlosemilio5180 I am an ancient model. Explain the joke.

[@kingnewgameplus6483]

​@@AlriikRidesAgainThere's this video called "Top 10 hottest female sonic characters" that's become infamous and uses that line

[@AlriikRidesAgain]

@@kingnewgameplus6483 Oh dear Lord. Time to watch that. It sounds hilarious. I mean, in a Sonic Dreams Collection type of way.

[@halo3iskewlyay]

Wow, I never knew about the character-based presets and I consider myself quite knowledgeable on raising chao. I frequented the Chao Island forums years ago around the time "bright chao" were first being discovered on the HD versions. Brings back some fond memories. Thank you for your thoughtful research. Bringing chao knowledge to video form in such a concise manner has never been done before as far as I'm aware (aside from Mayo's old school guides?). This is a massive contribution to the community. Was this more of a one-off project or are there other areas of chao documentation that you feel are lacking that you could possibly pursue if time permits?

[@Calmer_GM]

First, excellent profile picture. - As for the project, it was wholly done with the intention of being a one-time thing spurred by personal interest in vague claims. I only began to compile my findings in a document once the Chao Island admins suggested that I add my findings to their Research queue, at which point I'd realized I was collecting data that none of them knew, or at least was never properly documented. *_Broadly speaking,_* I feel like the majority of practical-use knowledge about Chao in the GCN games onward has been well-covered and documented by sites like Chao Island; most casual players have all of the info they need readily available online to make whatever Chao they want and enjoy Chao World, whether it's vanilla or Modded. That being said, I've seen a lot of people in the comments claiming they never knew some (what I consider to be) basic mechanics before, or that they WANT me to rehash information that's been out for decades, so who knows. They've already voted on two more short Chao videos for me to put out in the Community Poll, and had I closed the poll any later, a video rehashing Breeding mechanics might've been one of them.

[@HeyShotgun]

I had no one else but myself. I managed to get my favorite chao to resurrect it 2 times and on the last time third time , it died . I genuinely balled my eyes out! Rip Raven . You will be missed .

[@neeks4818]

I'd like to thank you for your thorough research and dedication to making this knowledge accessible amidst all the unclear and scattered information out there! While I'm not a chao breeder in practice, I've been invested in the details for a while now, and this video is excellent for setting strict limits based on observable in-game data rather than what may have been intended in the code, but not implemented exactly as implied. Also, thank you so much for taking the time to write out captions for this video. As someone with auditory issues, auto-generated captions for videos like this one are incredibly inaccurate and hard to use to supplement what I can process. Great video!

[@TheNumber1RatedSalesman1997]

as a kid i spent years raising chao, i still have my memory cards, about a dozen of them- i really need to make a new garden on PC version; but i'm afraid i'll get just as invested as i did then- i loved how many possibilities were there- i managed to breed glitch chao all on my own, different tints & opaqueness(?) for see-through chao, invisible, " easter " which i called candy as a kid- i adore the chao & their gardens so much- can't wait to see the rest of this video but i just had to spill all this text soup- /edit : thanks for the warnings on-screen for " goodbye " moments, i still get emotional about it & have never released a chao

[@Calmer_GM]

You're very welcome; to this day, the only Chao I've ever managed to say Goodbye to are the test-batch ones recorded in this video/used to confirm this research.

[@chrizzel28]

This kind of nonsense is genuinely awesome. I'm extremely happy to see documentation of things this niche, thanks for going the extra mile on almost all of this.

[@ImmortalKoschei]

This was a really cool video! I love finding these crazy long videos about stuff I just don't know anything about. It's always so nice to see how passionate and thorough dedicated fans are to things like this. Keep up the great work! I had an awesome time watching this!

[@shapeshifterk]

This was a fun watch. Personally had it in the background while making pasta for breakfast. This was pretty informative, and while I doubt I'll ever use this knowledge personally, the information thst there is lost media chao is actually something practical. I was glad to spend a cozy hour with you, thanks a bunch. Hope you stay well.

[@themainc]

1. I'll flex that I watched the whole thing. 2. Love seeing such an in depth video on chao. I always wanted a stand alone Chao garden game. Thank you so much. 3. Though it's small, I'm an I.T. Infrastructure and Networking specialist with my home lab, and part of what I'm using it for is game preservation, so just know you're not the only one that cares about game preservation or taking actionable steps to support it. 4. Thanks again.

[@Calmer_GM]

That's fantastic, especially because Nintendo specifically is making some concerning moves as of late... On the bright side, I've heard through the grapevine that a standalone Chao title is in the works, allegedly set for sometime after Sonic X Shadow Generations (which is also bringing some focus back to Chao).

[@vestofholding]

Two minutes in, and I already appreciate the expectation setting of your vibe, and I'm so excited to enjoy the chill, educational vibe of the rest of the video.

[@Calmer_GM]

Awesome, hope you liked the rest!

[@vestofholding]

@@Calmer_GM I did!

[@sikemosa]

Phenomenal job, man. Super informative:)

[@lightsen]

Thank you for making this. I thought I knew all there was to chao but I had no idea about the sets. Really interesting!

[@Schpoodlederge]

Incredible. Brought back so many memories. Thank you for this.

[@nobodyfornow]

absolutely incredible games preservation argument at the end. an example of what can be done with preservation, and what we lose without it. we need more genuinely thoughtful videos like this, please keep it up!

[@U-Flame]

Oh nice, I didn't know Tiny Chao Garden chao came with perfect Luck and Intelligence. I had raised a Chao in Sonic Advance 1 named Advance, maxed its stats in the TCG so I could transfer it to SA2B and it could immediately crush Chao races as a baby, and then quickly evolved it into a Chaos Chao as soon as it was able. I had regretted not being able to improve its stat grades at the time, but now that I used the save converter to bring my GameCube chao to Steam, there's an item from a mod I plan to use to reincarnate Chaos chao. I can actually start raising its grades to S now, so its reassuring that its hidden stats are already perfect.

[@c.d.x34]

"Sonic Advance 2 lacks research due to the difficulty of unlocking the TCG." Me who only has Sonic Advance 2 to use for TCG Chao: Oh no. Joking aside, this is an amazing video, and all the research and data you've gathered for it is incredibly appreciated. I never would have even guessed that the starting Chao had (seemingly) predefined stats, let alone that there was a second set of stats just for the backup Chao. I'd never even heard of the Luck and Intelligence stats before this, and now I know ways to potentially max out these stats. My view of a perfect / ultimate Chao has changed a lot after watching this video.

[@Calmer_GM]

Sonic Advance 2's TCG, I'd say, isn't _difficult_ so much as it is _time consuming_ to unlock; with how much time I'd already spent while trying to get this research out in a reasonable timeframe, knowing *for certain* that Sonic Advance 1 gave Grade 255 for those hidden Stats just made it the most efficient method on all fronts. - It's worth mentioning that due to Luck being somewhat broken in SA2B's mechanics, your personal view of what makes a Chao "perfect" may still change depending on your use case. For all of the Chao improvements the GCN version has over the Dreamcast version, Dreamcast's Luck mechanic was far better.

[@user-ns2ss4qf3r]

I can't say how much I love this video and the time you put into it. Been watching content on and off for the Chao garden since it first started appearing on youtube, but nothing I've ever seen approaches this level of completeness. I'm sure the modders and community will be putting this info to good use and thank you for verifying it all.

[@Yes_lawl]

1:09 YOU SIR. Have gotten my subscription.

[@aceae4210]

aside from the fact this video is really good, something that makes it stand out is just even better subtitles. in my experience, most of the time subs (if they even have manual subs) end up being KZbin given a script and youtube doing all syncing (this is why there are sometimes just whole sections of video script in a youtube video that's missing in the video it self, in the video editor this is called "Auto-sync") this is good enough most of the time, but this video is even better as it adds extra detail, such as 30:43, or at 8:15 it's really rare to get this good subtitles for anything, so it's surprising to get good ones on a video as long as this (as a side note, you can move the subtitle position on desktop by just drag and dropping it around the screen if you don't like the bottom middle position it is at by default)

[@Calmer_GM]

I'm glad at least a few people are seeing the Captions, considering I had to delay the video's release by a day because of them; they were really fun to work with, allowing for extra details and humor.

[@Thisisperfect2020]

Sonic Adventure 2 is a game that still surprises me till today, especially the Chao system! Great work and a really informative video!

[@Calmer_GM]

Thanks for watching it!

[@gummycubez]

I love listening to this stuff in the background, so I got through the whole thing. Mostly I was sending this to my friend who loves to raise Chao, so this info isn't particularly useful for me, but I like to listen regardless so I can relay information to people who I know if they need a quick answer, so thank you for being a good source of info! Hopefully I can help my pals get the best out of their time raising Chao. Again; thanks, dude.

[@sebbykun1683]

Bro this video is insane. I cannot thank you enough for the amount of work you put into this. I hope to see more on this or maybe going in depth about breeding as a whole. Amazing video man, keep it up

[@Calmer_GM]

Honestly for Chao breeding as whole, I feel like the coverage provided by certain people who came before me (e.g. EVERYONE should know SapphireChao kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZWrmIF4etZ1r9E & kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6a6dZygnK-jesU ) is pretty much the be-all and end-all. I feel like any attempts by me to cover that material would come off as utterly redundant! In fact, I SHOULD HAVE placed a section in this video that directed traffic to some videos that I like, that cover the other aspects of Chao; dang it.

[@Hollowpitta]

Listened while doing (multiple) chores! Been a loooooooong time since playing the Chao gardens

[@8bitbongo]

Watched the whole thing! Thanks for putting in all the work to get this out there, I just started playing SA2B after probably close to 20 years and I didn’t realize how in-depth the mechanics were!

[@Calmer_GM]

There seems to be a surge of some of us returning to the game; thanks for watching!

[@williamcolt1073]

i like this because i used to play this game as a kid, and i could never understand all of the mechanics to upgrade my chao, i could never really get why. so eventually i just gave up. i never realised i needed different games to do it, because sa2b was the only sonic game i owned at the time. so its nice to see it finally explained in detail years and years later.

[@Calmer_GM]

For what it's worth, you don't need any other games to raise a great Chao! All you need is the knowledge of how to raise Stat Grades each time a Chao evolves, and how those Grades can be passed down through alleles through breeding. - For a very simple and short overview focusing purely on inheritance of visible Stat Grades, I recommend this video by Choa: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZqth2OlZ8mBlcU Combine that with the knowledge from this video of how to get high Luck & Int Chao in whatever version you _do_ have, and your Chao will crush the competition.

[@desreset]

watched this while my partner was napping, and i really appreciate the calm and up-front approach to this video. as someone who never played the sonic adventure games, with less-than-surface level knowledge of the chao mechanics, this was explained in a friendly, enjoyable, and approachable way for me. thank you! i long to see more casual and, well, "non-synthetic" content around this site. the algorithm is grating recently, im glad some are still just doing what they like, in a platform as abrasive as youtube (in terms of expectations). again, thanks for curating!! signing out with a "digital preservation rocks!!"

[@Calmer_GM]

I'm glad to hear my explanations didn't bar some who haven't played the Adventure series from enjoying the video!

[@Noguchiii]

Please make more videos! I love this one. I like your voice and I appreciate the speed you talk at because it is so much easier to listen to!! Thanks for the video

[@KouzieBaby]

What an awesome video! Thank you for all the hard work. :3

[@cutlass206]

Had a great time listening whilst cleaning my room. Always loved the chao garden, so having a good video going about the technical side of it was very fun

[@ciafrusciante4463]

Love this kind of content. hope to see more in the future

[@InvitationToHades]

I watched this video all the way through. I am impressed that even in 2024, chao enthusiasts are still kicking. I sincerely wish Sega would revisit Chao in their Sonic games. I myself spent too much time in Chao world across SA1, SA2, for both dreamcast and GCN. Thank you for this very informative video! Cheers!

[@Calmer_GM]

Thanks, props for making it to the end!

[@GamerBoyDevin]

I went through a process of trying to max a chao a couple years ago and the hidden stats certainly had me confused. Glad you did this.

[@Calmer_GM]

The hidden stats and how they are (or aren't) used in SA2B can be quite strange! Thanks for tuning in.

[@jackjokers3533]

This was incredibly interesting... Thanks for doing all that research

[@BlitzWhat]

Superb research, expertly presented. Been obsessing over TCG since as a teenager I figured out I could mess with the values of my Chao in there with my GBA cheat device then send them back into my Gamecube and witness the horror of a Chao twice my size with warped limbs.

[@Calmer_GM]

Thank you, and yes I also knew people who would use GBA devices like that!

[@Crashh965]

Love this video especially your speaking voice. I hope you keep making videos!

[@MikhailKutzow]

This brings back so many memories. Even Chao Island is nostalgic as a site I remember visiting somewhere around 20 years ago. I'm really happy to see an old fansite like that still around. I love seeing in-depth explorations like this of games I remember from my childhood. Had to watch through the whole video. The Chao Garden is still one of the best extra features like this in any game I've played. I'd love to see another game do something like this someday.

[@Calmer_GM]

Agreed 100%.

[@melom6206]

Watched the whole thing. It was a wonder to me why the chao in my gba felt like it excelled in racing against a lot of my chao with much better visible stats in the gc gardens. Was a normal unevolved regular two-tone chao that looked like any brand new chao since I wouldn't mess with it's alignment or allow it to age in sa2b and only raise it in the gba, and I generally had all my chao's levels maxed including that one. Happy to have watched this video, was very informative and took a lot into account.

[@Calmer_GM]

Thanks for tuning in, and yes! TCG-raised Chao have room for an advantage even outside of their hidden Stats as well, so for some people they really are the way to go.

[@Foolishoverlord]

Just finished watching your vid. Subbed to your channel And twitch. Will keep an eye out. This came at just the right time. I’ve had urges to start raising chao so this investigation is interesting to me. Thanks for the work and effort in this endeavour. Also totally agree on the preservation aspect. I’ve been working on it myself for personal reasons and son tk scale up a project to facilitate long term offsite storage of game data/saves for people who care and want it. These are not just saves. They’re memories to be cherished. Great video again!

[@Calmer_GM]

Cheers, to preserving memories!

[@ArthDragon14]

great vid, love long form content to watch while doing other stuff, i wonder when or if they'll ever release more chao content

[@ThessaTheCat]

Well this was absolutely fascinating. Thank you very much for all of your hard work and research, I sincerely appreciate it. I'll be sure to come back here next time I replay SA2B.

[@Calmer_GM]

Thank YOU for checking out the video; good luck on your Chao Gardens next playthrough!

[@IselaVargas]

Excellent work brotha! Was great listening while shootin' pixels in pubg

[@Calmer_GM]

Nice, click those heads! Thanks for watching.

[@DeathByDunsparce]

This was incredible! I just started breeding again for an all s rank chaos chao! Didnt know getting luck and int stats could be replicated so i suppose ill do that too!

[@Calmer_GM]

Nice, thanks for watchin'!

[@nothingcom2]

Fantastic work. A truly insane amount of detail for a game that was a huge part of my childhood

[@Gumshoesamurai]

Thank you for making this period I've been having joyful thoughts of my childhood with my sister. As she would play the sonic adventure games and I would do my best to keep up and enjoy them after she found other interests period she's still alive, but is not in my life. Often, so I cherish times when I can remember our younger years.

[@DuskoftheTwilight]

I watched all the way through. I'm sure the resources exist out there already but I'd absolutely listen to more longform videos from you diving into Chao Breeding mechanics and other Chao Garden content.

[@Calmer_GM]

Much appreciated! Yes they definitely do exist, and are so well-explained that I've already regretted not suggesting some of my favorites in the video, such as SapphireChao's kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZWrmIF4etZ1r9E and kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6a6dZygnK-jesU videos. - I admit that they feel very retro, but they're just as long as they need to be.

[@mitikozuki5295]

Your craziness and dedication is amazing. Im awe struck.

[@ronin_monkey]

00:03:15 I found me! congrats on this well done video! Can't wait till the next. I am hoping to start a The Long Dark playthrough soon with all the things you taught me on your streams. bzzt

[@Calmer_GM]

Thanks very much, and nice! Oh man... I've been meaning to get back to TLD... They added more than I expected!

[@DidYouKnowGamingShorts]

This is my flex saying I made it to the end of the video. Was a great watch thanks for all the work!

[@Calmer_GM]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sticking through!

[@theKeppis]

This was relaxing and interesting video to watch, had to watch in within a few days for the busyness. This might be a slight off topic but this all reminds me of the original Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast. I played a ton of both Adventure-titles with my brother and we ended up having a super fast silver coloured "sonic chao", who would outrun everything in the game. Even if you whistled in the garden to get the chao's' attention by whistling wit its favoured characters, it would run circles around you (especially if using Tails' flying ability), but the speed and radius of the circle was so great that the chao could even jump over the little river on Hero Garden! I think he was created from an egg from Sonic Adventure's adventire field, brought to Chao Garden, put on a VMU and transfered over to SA2 and had a few evolutions (grow adult and rebirths). We never could get anything similar done on SA2B, but managed to get an SSSSS-chao we transfered over from Sonic Advance to SADX and SA2B to get the chao related emblems :) I still occacionally fire up my Wii and SA2B to check the chaos, sadly I think all the Dreamcast VMU's have run out of their batteries ages ago. Cheers!

[@rmjrmj4]

I see that you've done a deep dive into this, I want to thank you for your efforts even and the amazing findings that you did find. I do also want to say that thank you for sending out a Love Letter to all and boosting the "Leave No Game Behind" community. I hope you find enjoyment on your next game that you cover, I love the amount of detail in this one, may games live on.

[@choppun9213]

This video was super awesome! I’ve been a major Chao Info fanatic ever since I was a kid, so it’s always so great to see new information come out for Chao! Speaking of Chao, have you ever thought of looking into the original Dreamcast version of the game to see those types of variables, or the chao garden variables in SADX, since the chao system in that game is built off the formatting of SA2B? I think either of those would be very interesting to see!

[@Calmer_GM]

Glad you liked it! I personally don't own the Dreamcast versions of the Adventure series so I cannot test them, however many of its mechanics as well as those of SADX's Chao have been researched for years by the good folks over at Chao Island! Take this with a grain of salt, but I THINK I recall seeing that the Eggs provided in SADX are completely random as far as Stat Grades.

[@MagiaErebea028]

I never bred my chow for stats. I always bread them for look. My favorite that I ever made was a black two tone chow where the main color was jet black and the secondary color was like a cold black, so it was black on black, but you could still see where the highlights were.

[@RSN_Charizard_Op]

End of the video. Wish it was longer. Very enjoyable.

[@OkieDokieSmokie]

I remember being 7 and telling the cute neighbor girl I was too busy to hang out because I was playing this game 😂

[@esquiro_cody]

Fuck yes. I need this video, i was OBSESSED with the Chao Garden as a kid!

[@realallblue2200]

i genuinely thought i was tweaking @20:30 the editing on this video is so fire

[@maggiethegoblin8130]

I love videos like this, it's always so cool to see how in depth these systems really are. *Especially* with Chao I spent so many hours in these gardens...

[@Calmer_GM]

Same! Having games like SA2B and Animal Crossing on my GameCube was a whole vibe.

[@maggiethegoblin8130]

@@Calmer_GM When I got SA2B I'd never really had a virtual pet before, but I fell in love with these lil things the second I saw them. I really should pick it up on Steam and play again

[@Calmer_GM]

If you have the time, go for it! The game goes on sale often.

[@captnduck]

Thank you for all your research effort. I havent even played any of the 3D sonic games, but somehow i still watched this video.