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nightfurylover31 · 2 years ago

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With stories of Tails and Knuckles, time to finally write something with Amy for @starrjoy's Pandora AU. This was the trickiest to figure out, but thanks to some theories about her around here, I finally got something. I hope you enjoy!

After the events of Sonic Frontiers, the gang is getting ready to set off on their own separate adventures. Before leaving, Amy decides to do some fortune readings. However, Sonic soon learns his most cheerful, optimistic friend didn’t always have such a happy life.

Amy had just finished shuffling her cards. She drew three and looked them over. She seemed quite pleased with what she had. Just then, she heard a knock at her door. She went to answer, but she already knew who it was.

“SONIC!” She happily greeted the blue hedgehog as she opened the front door, even before she got a look at him. “I knew it was you!”

“Well, you were expecting me, right?” Sonic placed a bag on the table next to the couch. “Here's the supplies you wanted from Tails.”

Amy went to check the contents of the bag. “Thanks. I’m not sure what I’ll face out there, so I want to be prepared. You can never be too careful.”

“I guess, but-"

“Where’s the fun in that?”

The two laughed as Amy joined in on Sonic’s line.

“You want some tea and cookies? I made a fresh batch.” There was not a soul out there who could resist Amy’s baked goods.

“Sure. I could go for a snack.” Sonic sat down on the couch, and just as he was about to put his feet up, he saw Amy’s cards on the table. He picked up one with a large emerald on it. “Trying to guess the future again?”

Amy placed the tray of drinks and cookies in front of them. “Fortune reading is not guessing, Sonic. It’s a mystic art to gain insight into the past, present, and future. I wish you would take it more seriously. We did meet because of my fortune cards, remember?”

Sonic shrugged. “I still question how those cards told you Little Planet at that specific time.”

“It’s about interpretation!”

“Right... anyway, it’s not my thing. I don’t like being told what to do. Prophecies are not for me.” Sonic said that with his typical ‘too cool to care’ attitude, but there was a deeper meaning behind it. He tried to fulfill a prophecy once, and it cost him everything.

“Fortune reading is not the same as a prophecy, Sonic,” Amy corrected as she sat down beside him. “They’re meant to help guide you on the journey through life. For example, the cards may have led me to meet you, but I was the one who chose to follow you. I decided my own path.”

This made Sonic pause for a moment. The choices we make... how we interpret them… it wasn’t as set in stone as he had initially thought. Though he had made it a habit to break through everything that was. How many could fight giant gods and win? And on more than one occasion at that?

“These cards may seem silly to you,” Amy continued, “but they have helped me through a lot of hard times.” She picked up her tea and took a sip. “Especially when I couldn’t count on anyone else before…”

“What was that?” Sonic caught something Amy said under her breath. She blinked and quickly turned her head.

“Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing at all!” She tried to make it sound casual, but it came out quick and panicky.

“Ames…” He bent over, leaning his elbows on his thighs. He raised his eyebrow and gave her the look she would give him whenever she was annoyed.

Amy just stared at her drink. There was a long silence. The only sound was the wind chimes outside. After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke.

“Let’s just say I don’t have the best relationship with my parents.”

“Your parents?” All the time he knew her, Sonic never heard Amy mention anything about her family. He assumed she visited them whenever he hadn’t seen her for a while. Actually, he never even thought that. He never considered anything about her past. Boy, did that make him feel like a jerk.

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay.” Amy put her cup down and crossed her arms. Not like she was mad, more like she felt vulnerable. This was not Sonic’s strong suit, but even he couldn’t ignore this matter.

“Amy, you’re always trying to convince us to open up and talk about our feelings,” he reached out and placed a hand her shoulder. “You should be able to talk about yours.”

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes, letting out a small sad chuckle. “You’re really using my advice against me?”

“If I have to.”

There was no getting out of this. As much as Sonic disliked talking so opening about his deeper emotions, and would prefer not to dig too deep into others’, it felt like it needed to be done.

Amy took a deep breath. “My parents were… are basically always busy. Not just focusing on their jobs, but every aspect of their lives. They put so much time and effort into everything they do… except me.” Her ears began to fall back a bit. “They weren’t even always home. Sometimes one was gone, sometimes both. There were times when I would days, or even weeks, without seeing them. And even then, they hardly spent any time with me.”

This story was already starting to put a knot in Sonic’s stomach. You’d think parents would put their kids first. Amy picked up one card. It looked like it had some sort of knight on it.

“These cards were one of the few things they gave me. I had to ask though, they thought card readings were stupid and unrealistic. But they’re how I got by. Something to do, and to look forward to. Back then, when I got this card… I had always wanted to see Little Planet. A rare phenomenon that only happens one month out of the year. Even though my parents weren’t home at the time, I ran off. To see my supposed ‘destined encounter.’ And sure enough…”

“You ran into me,” Sonic finished the thought. “Though it was actually more like I ran into you.” He tried adding a little joke to lighten the mood. It seemed to work; Amy giggled a bit.

“By the time all that was over, I knew my parents had returned. I had to tell them everything.” Amy went quiet again. She lowered her head, balled her fists up. “But when I got back… they didn’t even notice I was gone!”

Sonic’s mouth fell agape. Didn’t notice?! He tried to think of a logical reason. “Well, there was the whole mess with the Time Stones. Maybe--"

“It took me two days to get to Never Lake from my old house! Even with the stones, I was gone for almost a week! And they had been home for days! Even when I told them I was captured and threatened, they brushed it off! ‘You got back. That’s what counts.’ How could they not have been worried?!”

At this point, Amy was crying. She hid her face in her hands, trying to control her sobs. “Parents are supposed to yell at you when you do something wrong! They’re supposed to shout and punish you! Tell you not to do stuff like that! That’s how they show they care, isn’t it?!”

The more she cried, the more Sonic’s heart ached. Not just for her, but looking back. How often his own mother would scold him for doing things. How she spoke of acting out herself when she was young to get attention. Sonic had thought she was just trying to control everything at the time, but she wasn’t. She was just trying to protect him. If he had listened, if he had understood, then she, his siblings, everyone on Christmas Island. They’d still be here.

Still, all this time, Sonic had no idea of the weight on Amy’s heart. Since she was so cheerful and outgoing, he figured she had a happy upbringing.

“I couldn’t take it anymore. Eventually, I left that place. I had money, so I could rent out places, like my apartment in Station Square. If they weren’t going to be there for me, I would find my own way. My own adventures. I chose the path of the one who didn’t let me down.”

“You mean me?” Sonic asked in a depressed tone.

Amy nodded. “Sonic, you were the first person I met who was there for me. Even when you ran off, whenever I was in trouble, you always came to help me. You didn’t… you didn't abandon me.”

Her voice was still shaky, but her crying was more controlled. Steeling herself from vulnerability.

“Have you… spoken to them since?” Sonic was sure he knew the answer, but asked anyway.

“I’ve… made attempts reach out. They haven’t. Honestly, it was probably a huge relief. I don’t think they wanted a child in the first place. I wasn’t worth their time.”

“Don’t say that!” Sonic’s voice came out louder than expected. He almost slammed his fists on the couch, but he was mad. Amy looked quite surprised by this. The blue hedgehog lowered his tone as he continued. “Amy, you’re an amazing person. You’re kind, brave, thoughtful, and do what you can to help anyone who needs it. They should have realized they had the best daughter they could ever hope for. If they couldn’t see that, then they aren't worth your time.”

Amy’s cheeks turned bright red. She tried to cover it while also wiping away any remaining tears. She looked up smiling. “Thanks, Sonic. That really means a lot.”

Once again, Sonic put his hand on her shoulder. “I mean it. You’re one of my best friends, Amy, and my life is always exciting and unexpected when you’re around. Meeting you was one of the best things that ever happened to me. You, Tails, and even Knuckles.”

Amy couldn't help but hug him. To finally unload all that baggage and to have some comfort. Sonic wrapped his free arm around her and patted her back. With that reassurance, the room became quiet again as they finished their snacks. The tension in the air began to settle and ease. It was now Sonic's turn to speak.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that. I can understand now why you always go out of your way to help people. You don’t want them to feel hurt like you were. If I had known… I would have given your 'so called parents' a piece of my mind.”

Amy let out a small laugh. “It’s alright. I’ve put that behind me. Besides, if that didn’t happen, if I hadn’t taken that step, I probably wouldn’t have met so many wonderful friends.”

Amy’s words suddenly hit Sonic harder than any of Eggman’s robots ever did. If that didn’t happen, I never would have met you guys. He thought hard. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Shadow, and so many more. All these amazing friends, they wouldn’t be in his life if he hadn’t gone through with Pandora’s scheme. It was a bittersweet truth he never realized. On one hand, he would still have his family. On the other, he wouldn’t have the family he has now.

Tails was mechanically gifted, like Manic. Knuckles was super strong and hardheaded, just like Sonia. And Amy, she had the same loving and overbearing heart that his mother had. In a way, it was like his previous family’s spirit found their way into his new one. A strange sensation filled Sonic’s heart. He could feel his eyes burning. He wasn’t sure if it was sadness or joy, or something in between. Just an emotion that took over his whole being.

“Thank you, Amy.”

“For what?” She became confused by the look on Sonic’s face. She could sense something strange going on in his mind.

“I’ll tell you about it another time.” Sonic pushed aside any form of confession. If he told her now, a flood of feelings he spent years burying would come pouring out. Instead, he changed the topic by picking up another card. “Why don’t you do one of your readings for me?”

Amy gave him the side eye. “I thought these weren’t your thing.” She was sporting a smug grin of satisfaction.

“You’ve convinced me. Maybe I’ll at least get a good laugh out of it.” Sonic was starting to feel more like his in control self.

With that, Amy took the card he had, gather the others, and shuffled them together. She did so carefully, but also with a great deal of showmanship. Once she was done, she spread out the cards and gestured to Sonic. He picked three cards and gave them back. Amy flipped them over, inspecting them. Her expression started simple, then a little more serious, followed by wide eyed concern.

“So… is it bad?” Something about the look on her face made Sonic a bit nervous.

“It seems like you’ll be facing a great trial soon.” Her voice low and almost stoic.

“Not like I haven’t done any of those recently.” The blue blur eased. This didn’t seem new. He loved challenges.

“This is different,” Amy pressed. “It may be something about your past. Some sort of tragedy coming back with vengeance. Pushing you in a way you never have.”

“Again, how did you get all that?” Even though Sonic played it cool, there was a small chill that ran down his spine. It seemed as of late he had been thinking about his past more often than he had in years. Was Amy somehow picking up on that? She did seem to have way of sensing things like that. But even so, that was all water under the bridge… poor choice of words.

“Aren’t you even the least bit worried as to what this means?” Now it was Amy’s turn to give that look Sonic gave her earlier. Despite the twinge in his heart, he showed no signs of it affecting him.

“Whether it’s true or not, I’ll face it like I do with everything. Head on.”

“What if it’s not something you can face head on?” The concern in her voice was clear. With all the dangers Sonic had been in lately, how close she had been to losing him, it’s no wonder.

Sonic gave her his trademark wink. “Then I at least know I've got a team to back me up. It’s nothing we can’t handle together.”

—————

Boy, how those words came back to bite him. He didn’t give too much thought into that reading. Now he was heading right into it. As Sonic stood between the wings of the Tornado for shelter against the pouring rain, so many thoughts raced through his head. His past truly was coming back to haunt him.

The only thing that gave Sonic any comfort in the moment was that Tails, Knuckles and Amy were with him. Tails had just gotten the full story, but he hadn’t said anything to Knuckles and Amy. He knew he would have to tell them as well, but for now he just wanted to focus on the task at hand. Get the Chaos Emeralds and stop these… water wraiths. And prevent Eggman from making the same mistake Sonic did years ago. And hopefully, no definitely, not lose his new family doing so.

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #pandora au #fanfic #sonic and amy #p!au

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sekothetree · 10 days ago

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💫 Comet ☄️ AU Masterpost⭐️✨

Table of contents:

About the Artist

About the AU

About the OC

Lore Update

1. About The Artist

« hi! I’m Sekothetree! Or … simply Seko- I’m a small artist from 🇨🇦Canada🇨🇦! I’ve spend 2 years in College studying arts but sadly had to leave for financial issues- so no- I’m not one of em artist with full on art degree or any experiences in the entertainment world- all of my arts are purely for fun-»

My Favorite game from the Sonic franchise gotta be : Frontier.

This is my first time developing on the Sonic ”art style ". I’ve first started digital art with anthropomorphic characters and when I’ve started receiving commissions orders from the furry community, I knew I could keep growing my own art style and eventually, creat something not too bad on my own!

2. About the AU

This is my very first AU- I have no idea how far I’m willing to make this but I’ve received many enthusiastic responses to my Fankid Oc : Comets!

My interest in the Sonic franchise is quite recent. Growing up, none of my family members had or- even knew anything related to sonic- its only once I saved enough to have my very own gaming setup that I’ve joined in! My knowledge of the canon lore is low but I’ll try my best to apply as much of it in this AU to keep it as natural as I can to the common fan-

This story was born while I was in difficulty with family and car problems. And a random idea pop up in my mind- what about a fanfic with my favourite ship have a child going trough family difficulty and car theme problem✨-! I think there’s a lot of myself in this oc then any other ones I’ve ever created!

3.About The OC

I believe some of you have experienced something similar to me- one random day in high school, you get asked: what do you want to be when you grow up? You have to know before college!

Well- I didn’t have an answer then- and I still don’t. I see my cousins and friends my age all going far in life-! Getting praises and encouragement, and I just, stay there. Working a boring 9-5 to pay student loans for a school I didn’t even enjoy. Living a boring life of always seeing the same people, always doing to same things everyday-

I wanted to create an OC with that : boring normal life. In this case: a Sonadow Fankid with none of his parents or families member exciting lifestyles or power. A completely normal mobian trying to survive in the world like any of us.

My 9-5 job have me working with teenagers so- I get a lot of inspiration for them to give Comet the sensitivity of a young teenager. As for what it come to his parents way of parenting-? A lot of it is purely fictional but also greatly influenced by the people around me-!

4. Lore drop

First Lore idea for this AU:

First visual concept:

Sketchs collection p.1

•

Lore Drop N.1: Auntie Stick The Badger

Lore Drop N.2: Tails and Cream Life

Lore Drop N.3: Comets Caretaker

Lore Drop N.4: Rouge and Knucles

Lore Drop N.5. …

Coming soon~

#sonic au #sonic fankid #sonadow fankid #fankid lore #fankid oc #fankid au #au lore #futur au #AU

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welcome-to-green-hills · 1 year ago

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Okay so I know that sometimes you get leaks right? Sometimes you have people give you leaks and stuff? Like how you were given the leak for frontiers dlc a few months before the game came out. And how you have movies leaks?

Have you ever received a leak that you knew was fake?

Hahaha! Oh, boy! I have!😅

There’s one that has always stuck with me. I use this one as an example every once in a while when teaching others to trust sources.

Back in 2022, my friends and I were met with this “tipper” that claimed that he had Sonic 3 leaks. The funny thing about this one was that any time he talked to my friends and myself, the information changed. The “tipper” didn’t know that my friends and I were sharing screenshots of the leak to confirm authenticity. That’s how we knew that this guy was a fraud. Any time the conservation came to an end, we’ve made it a point for the “tipper” to talk to each of us by ourselves.

By the time he came to talk to me, the supposed leak change four times. I was told the most chaotic and unbelievable things. Stuff like Knuckles’ age, Sonic’s sexuality, how many movies Paramount wanted, and creating a character to replace Tails entirely. All really weird things. The “tipper” even tried to make it a point in saying that he was Pat Casey’s best friend. That was his selling point—I had to believe this guy because he claimed to be Pat Casey’s best friend. Let me just say the first lie that he told my friends was that he was an inside reporter for a known Hollywood magazine.

If you know me, you know that I have an unhealthy obsession with SCU. Any time I asked a question, he would say to check the interviews that the writers made to prove his point. Which, mind you, were all wrong from this “tipper.” His information contradicted info from the SCU Crew. And then he made the final claim that a fandom ship would be canon to the films, but with drastic changes. These changes were supposed to be Amy would be in the fourth film, she was supposed to be relatively older with a slow burning romance that extended into five films and her dating a really young Sonic.

When I showed the “tipper” that his story changed four times via screenshots, questioned the VA for Shadow (he claimed it was Tom Cruise once, Matt Daemon the second time), showed information regarding ships from SEGA, and public interviews that the SCU Crew did for the films, the conversation quickly turned into how I wasn’t a true fan because I didn’t ship sonamy. Apparently, I had to accept that sonamy was canon and that it was the equivalent of a sin to not ship it. (He claimed it was practically canon because of their color schemes, as well as the plot point in SatBK). I also got a comment of how it was wrong to headcanon someone’s sexuality and that Sonic would be a hard straight male. It was both hysterical and awful.

Hysterical being that someone went out of the way to fabricate an entire lie. Awful being that someone was so uncomfortable with the idea of LGBTQAI+ headcanons—and not shipping specific characters together—that they had to make someone feel horrible.

And you know what’s worse than that? It creates a stereotype for those that like a particular ship. It really ruins it for those that love a ship and want to share their love for it, but are afraid to. I’m not a sonamy fan. I do, however, feel bad for those that ship it. Because there’s jackasses like what my friends and I have encountered that ruin it for those that enjoy it. That’s not fair. And I’m so sorry that this is still a problem. People like that ruin it for the good ones. Not everyone that you encounter in the fandom—or in any fandom—will act like this. Please know that I don’t care about what you do and don’t ship. What I care about is if you’re happy. As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy.

But yeah, when it comes to leaks, always question its authenticity. And know if you’re not sure about something you’re more than welcome to ask me. I don’t mind looking into leaks and asking the tough questions.

#mystery anon #off topic

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samobservessonic · 10 months ago

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Here he is! I apologise if a lot of this post is some degree of me going “Wow, it’s Knuckles!” I’m just very excited that one of the main characters has joined the roster

Okay, so I did read up about this beforehand and it looks as if StC did this thing where the Floating Island had a separate set of Chaos Emeralds - I can only assume that at the time the creators didn’t realise they were all supposed to be the same set. I mean, even the games themselves could be quite inconsistent about the emeralds at the time It does eventually get retconned, so for now we’ll just smile and nod as the story tells us that Knuckles has his own Chaos Emeralds and that Robotnik has tricked him into thinking that Sonic wants to steal them

I love this. I love that Sonic is like “You’re probably nice when you’re not being tricked, but you’re still going to be my rival for life now”

I usually do skip over the fight scenes in these posts, even if Elson always makes them look so cool. But come on, this is Sonic vs Knuckles! The beginnings of this epic battle that we’ll still be watching a movie about almost three decades after this comic comes out! It’s just too cool to skip!

Just gonna throw this whole page in. Enjoy!

That third panel? Just kiss already!

But sadly, playing with Knuckles was just the distraction, as Sonic had sent Tails to catch Robotnik while he kept them busy

As much as the Sonic & Tails dynamic is different in StC to a lot of other versions, we’re still seeing here that Sonic trusts Tails enough to say to him “You know what to do” in a situation neither of them had prepared for and Tails just does it. We’ll be seeing Tails become a more competent hero during the comic, but I feel like this is one of the first times Sonic has acknowledged that, even if it is subtly

Robotnik is in the net and Sonic is outta here!

As we wrap up this story, another detail I like is the direct call out of Sonic bluffing. He says to Knuckles that he doesn’t expect to see him again and to Tails that the match wasn’t even close, but he’s thinking the exact opposite on both fronts. This is a Sonic who puts on a cocky persona, but knows that there’s stuff he can’t handle and it'll be worse for him if people know he can't handle stuff, whether those people are friend or foe. That makes him interesting to me. And actually, Sonic Frontiers kinda did that as well? I'm glad that concepts that existed in StC are still being handled by the franchise years later, even when people often write-off StC Sonic as being "too different" to the regular Sonic

It surprises me a little to see this story wrap up in just two issues when the Sonic CD arc lasted much longer, but since the next issue will follow on from this story of having Robotnik captured, it feels more like this is a larger arc broken down into different stories than just a two-parter

Also, I must confess that I have read this particular story before. Many times. I can’t remember if it gets reprinted or if it was in a friend’s comic that I borrowed, but this art is all so familiar to me and it manages to be awesome every time I read it

#sam observes sonic #sonic the comic #stc issue 34 #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #dr. robotnik

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spruzu · 1 year ago

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Sonic frontiers chat

Before i start i don’t have the game and as much as i want it i definitely have to wait because it’s expensive as heck.

Over the past couple days i’ve been watching the vods on Snapcubes second channel from about a year back and oh my GOD i’m enjoying it so much. What does make it so much better is the way Penny plays the game, she makes the game seem so fun and i hope that when i do play it, it’s as fun as she’s made it seem. I’m on the last part now and if i’m honest this seems like an incredible game. It’s made me really really want to buy it and of course there probably some negative parts with the controls that i obviously can’t say anything about because i literally haven’t played it myself but the story line is amazing and the game play looks so fun.

An open world sonic game is so fun to watch, there are some parts where i can just have it on in the background while i’m drawing or doing drum practise but there’s also some parts where it’s like a movie and i’m hyperfixes on watching it. Yesterday all i did. was watch the third part because it was so good and the story just made me want to keep watching. It hurt to see sonic in his whole glitching thingy form and tails worry about him made me want to curl up in a ball and cry it was so sweet. Also the chat that sonic and tails have about tails feeling as though he’s not as good as sonic and he just “stands on the sidelines” honestly made me feel so bad for tails. He deserves so much better and i kind of want a tails game now where you just play as him, that would be amazing.

I would say though, i haven’t finished that last part so i can’t say too much but it does feel like sega skipped the edges with some parts of the game and story line especially with the islands. The last two islands look like Kronos island which is slightly disappointing. Don’t get me wrong i adore the vibe of the islands but it would be so much cooler if we had a new island with a different style specifically with the last island.

I want to say that these ‘memory tokens’ could have been so much more relevant if they fully kept in the “My name… My name is?” lines that sonic does. There was an open socket for sega to do the shadow the hedgehog move and pull out the amnesia on sonic but i get they probably didn’t have enough time and had to focus more one other part of the game but i would love to see it i a different game at some point… maybe sonic x shadow generations :^

Over all though this game seems amazing and the only parts that i can SEE are bad are some cyberspace levels and parts of the controls that Penny has pointed out. Until i manage to play the game i will be able to say my full opinion on what’s good and what’s bad about the game.

Also i really like the flower fields, i want to be in one.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #sth #sonic fandom #sonic game #sonic analysis #analysis #Snapcube #sonic gameplay #knuckles the echidna #tails the fox #amy rose

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regulatedstrawberry · 1 year ago

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Wanted to share this little SonAmy excerpt from the Prologue of my Tails fic, which takes place after Sonic Frontiers. Enjoy!

Under the midday sun, Amy and Sonic stood together silently as they waited for Tails to come out from the hangar. Amy was ready for her trip in fashionable style, wearing a straw hat and neck scarf, accompanied by her hammer and a singular large briefcase.

Although she could set them down, Amy kept both items in her hands to keep them occupied, as she and Sonic waited with a slightly awkward silence. Besides the fact that Tails was taking forever, there was this slight tension in the air surrounding her goodbye, at least to her.

Amy and Sonic were comfortable with each other. And really, she had no doubt that Sonic cared for her - his concern for her digitized state in the Starfall Islands, and willingness to help the Koco at her insistence, was proof of that. While she still cringed at her boisterous personality from the early days of fighting Chaos in Station Square, she and Sonic have grown to be good friends and battle partners.

At least, that’s what she’s trying to convince herself, anyways.

Amy snuck a glance over at Sonic, who she caught with an uncharacteristically distant expression on his face. His short temperament and attention span meant that he typically wore his heart on his sleeve, so it was generally easy to tell how he was feeling. This was one of those rare moments where she couldn’t quite figure out how he was taking all of this.

Maybe it’s because, deep down, she felt some sort of spark, or shift in their dynamic, while they were on Kronos Island, but was finding every reason to be in denial of it. Sonic wasn’t the type to be overly sentimental, or vulnerable with his inner monologue, but Amy knew he cared for his friends and always stepped up when it counted. Because of that, she didn’t want to open the box of feelings she sealed a long time ago, and knew better than to get her hopes up just because of a few fleeting moments she could read into.

She quickly glanced back at the ground, to hide the fact that she was staring. But the silence was getting to her. Lifting her head, she opened her mouth to speak, but Sonic went ahead and beat her to it.

“So, uh, you excited?” He asked, an awkward smile on his face. In addition to having his hand on his neck, Amy could see Sonic tapping his foot anxiously.

“Oh! Yeah, I am,” Amy replied, if not more awkwardly, keeping the exchange cordial. Her heart was beginning to race, a familiar anxiety creeping up that almost felt thrilling. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying with every ounce of her being to suppress it and appear as normal as possible.

“I bet. It’ll be fun,” Sonic nodded, keeping his tone friendly while trying to find more words to fill the air. “You’ll have a good time with Sticks and Cream.”

“Yeah, they were really excited when I told them about it,” Amy smiled, rocking a bit on her heels.

“Yeah.” Sonic looked down, then away, a bit of sweat forming on the back of his neck. God, this conversation felt painful.

#sth #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #amy rose #miles tails prower #strawberry talks #reaching new heights fic #sonamy

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franckyfox2468 · 1 year ago

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Francky's top 5 games released in 2023

So with 2023 ending soon I decided to make a little list and a top 5 of the games that I enjoyed and played that came out this year

Though i will be limiting myself to games/remakes released this year so while i greatly enjoyed Sonic Frontiers and AI the Somnium files this year, they wont make the lsit sorry.

I will start with the honorable mention of games that i still enjoyed but didn’t make it to the top 5.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Like a Dragon: Ishin

Ishin is the last Yakuza game I've played that was made by its longtime director, Toshihiro Nagoshi. And after playing Like a Dragon Gaiden, it helped me realize how much of a difference a new direction can make and how much I have taken the quality of the series for granted. Ishin wasn’t the worst nor the best Yakuza game I've played imo. Which makes sense given it was made right in between one of my least favorite games in the series (yakuza 5) and one of my most favorites (yakuza 0). Its story is perhaps not something you would be used to compared to the rest of the series but it is based on a tale that is as old as time itself that is still quite enjoyable for what it is and while it has some annoying bits (like substories always getting in your way during important event or gun fights), Ishin is still a quite enjoyable game with some fun stories, fun combat and fun minigames. And honestly the funniest version of Baka Mitai somehow.

BombRush Cyberfunk

I decided to check out bombrush cyberfunk after it was absolutely snubbed over in the same award show that decided to promote a JetSetRadio game and I figured I would finally get around checking what it was about before the year ended. I haven’t finished the game yet. I haven’t played JSR so I can't exactly make a full comparison but through some of its rather painful and counterproductive input mapping/options and some frustrating platforming here and there, BRCF is still a game with a very charming, silly and engaging presentation with its story, art and music.

Robocop: Rogue City

Rogue City is not a perfect game, and a quite short one at that. But it is a really good and enjoyable game for what it is. It's not something I would recommend to someone who hasn’t seen the two first movies as they would absolutely get lost in just what the hell is going on and potentially get spoilers from both movies. While the final battle was a bit underwhelming in contrast to what the plot was potentially leading up to with it and some fights could get absolutely tedious, the game to me is in line with the telltale back to the future game or the atari ghostbusters where it can easily serve as a new chapter for the mainline film franchise but through a really good game.

TOP 5:

#5: Baldur's Gate 3

Don’t get me wrong, Baldur’s gate is an excellent game and a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone who likes RPGs of any sorts with ease. But part of the reasons it is so low on my list are, 1, i did not finish it unlike every other game on that list, 2, all of the fun and your will to plan a future character and playthrough is absolutely drained out by the time you reach act 3. I played explorer mode as I am not exactly a tactical rpg person myself and wanted to put more focus on the story, which is absolutely great. Every party member is fantastically written and voiced characters, each with their own tastes, goals and views upon the world and situation around you that makes them very likable and fun to have. Honestly some of the more fun companions i've seen in an rpg. The game really does a great job at emulating the sense of playing through a real DnD campaign with a ton of hilarious optional dialogues and where your actions and picked skills will matter in the end, as well as how you synergize them with the rest of your party (without the dogshit power hungry dm or the potential constant in-fighting of other players), the way you are introduced to most of the main party members so early into the story really helps to that feeling of your DM making a scene to make sure all of the players are quickly gathered together and introducing each others’ characters.

For most of the game creativity with your spells, tools at hand and strategy are absolutely rewarded and if you bring in some friends for co-op it can get hella chaotic for better or worse. But by the time you reach the third arc, the story and paths you can take in combat are really narrowing down and not exactly for the better as each fight and situations you start being put through really ties your ends and forces you to be quite careful and specific with what you do even on the easier modes. It's gotten to a point where I kinda haven’t played the game in a long time because doing literally anything done by that part of the game feels like a goddamn chore. But BG3 is still a fantastic game that I do intend to get around to finishing someday as I still think quite positively of it for the most part.

#4: Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-fi rush is simply a fantastic game. A game that involves platforming and combat while mixing rhythm game mechanics could have easily been a blunder but this game manages to succeed at every aspect it does on top of its fantastic artistic presentation. The art, the animation, the music, the writing… It's all fantastic. The only thing that really left to be desired is the ending kinda falling flat on its message and just going back to the situation the world was in despite the systematic issues still being there but the good guys are on top of it now so that makes it okay i guess? But with that aside, I would say the game might not be for everyone as some of the rhythmic elements can be quite tight and unforgiving in some aspects and fights but overall it was one of the more enjoyable and absolutely hilarious games i’ve played in awhile.

#3: Trepang2

On the surface, Trepang looks like a dull military shooter game with some horror elements that are inspired by FEAR. But the problem is that going into detail about why it is so much more would spoil a fantastic experience that absolutely caught me off guard with how good it was. As someone who has never played FEAR, the combat, if anything, was a lot more reminiscent of Titanfall 2. Sure you don’t have cool giant robots but trust me it makes up for simply how absolutely bonkers and high octane it can get. It just feels absolutely amazing from start to end. This is one of the best single player fps games i have played in a long while and i am absolutely looking forward to the story dlc they have announced coming in 2024.

#2: Street Fighter 6

I have a love hate relationship with this game. I hate it because this game has caused some severe damage to my hands and at times I had to take a month long break from it because of how much it was starting to hurt. On the other hand, this is one of the most fun, enjoyable and accessible fighting games that I have ever played and definitely my favorite to this day. And i don’t simply mean because of its different control scheme. SF6 does an excellent job at giving all of the information the players need to better understand the game from within the game as well as official reading material like frame data and such provided by the devs themselves. And even if you aren't into fighting games or multiplayer games, I would absolutely still recommend SF6 for its world tour alone. While it does not have the most phenomenal story imaginable, it is a really goofy and enjoyable experience that perfectly blends rpg and fighting game mechanics for all to enjoy. And the best part is that every dlc release comes with free content and the ability to learn techniques from dlc characters you do not even own. Which honestly despite some of its issues with the monetizations is a huge W on the part of the devs regarding this game. Honestly despite some of its issues SF6 is the real first fighting game i started to feel like i was able to take seriously with how much resources and content you get, and it helped me get even closer to some friends as well as meeting some quite friendly people. I love SF6. But what could possibly beat it then?

#1: Pizza Tower

S rank is for Street fighter, which is pretty good. P rank is for Pizza Tower, which is perfection to me. I’ll admit I nearly gave up on this game because of some initial frustrations but pizza tower is a game you can ALWAYS get better at, even if you managed to finish the whole game. The best way to describe it is… it's the best Nintendo game not made by nintendo. Not because it tries to do something fans always wanted or replicated an aesthetic. But it's through just how polished and tightly designed the game is but it does so in a way that doesn’t punish experimentation with all of its crazy movement mechanics and it doesn't try to streamline anything for you except perhaps how player damage is handled, which feels like quite the opposite of what Nintendo does with a lot of its game nowadays. Everything feels so samey, streamlined, slowed down but the dated tired shit like extra lives and such are here to stay and you have to deal with it, while the new fancy stuff rarely brings benefits and usually are more so gimmicky annoyances (at least this is my feeling towards a lot of more recent Kirby games). While the game definitely has some of its downside and it's a quite hard game, it is honestly one of the best 2d platformers I've played and I'd easily put it aside to a game I would deem legendary like DKC2 or Super Mario World. Every level is well defined, well designed, you always get something new and fun at each of them. And that is not even mentioning its absolutely wonderful and hysterical art, animation and this absolute banger of a soundtrack.

I am ultra excited for the upcoming character dlc as it will give me a reason to replay the whole game with some new mechanics to add some spice to it all. Pizza tower is excellent.

#2023 #goty #goty2023 #pizza tower #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #trepang2 #hi fi rush #sf6 #street fighter 6 #robocop #yakuza #ishin #BRCF #bomb rush cyberfunk

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inkedkoi · 11 months ago

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Remaining Questions & Final Thoughts

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

Remaining Questions

Here are all the remaining questions I have about the show! These are more up to debate, since it's most likely it wasn't fully fleshed out in the writer's room, but I did want to add them here anyway:

Can the Shards break into smaller pieces? Is it possible to drain all the energy from the Shards? And, if so, what would happen to the Shatterspaces?

Why was there 5 Eggman “look-alikes” in a single Shatterspace?

Transcript:

Mr. Doctor Eggman: “Five makes one. One makes five.”

[S1 EP1]

Did Eggman make clones of himself but at different ages? Did they exist just because it gave more motivation for the Rebellion and Nine to stand up for themselves when Boscage and No Place didn’t need it? Is this the ray of light allegory, when light shines through a prism and it scatters? Or could the Prism has been broken before cycle theory be true? Or, just like Sonic, Eggman being close to the Prism affect his "look-alikes"?

What did this frame even mean???

no, like seriously, was it for aesthetic reasons or what? That he's gay? (the answer is yes, yes he is. GET GAY BEAMED YOU HOT TOPIC WANNABE)

Final Thoughts

I've been watching Sonic Prime being created ever since Day 1. Of course, I haven't been able to see any leaks of it, they kinda ruin the fun of it all. But I've been hyped ever since the first trailers came out. The multiverse thing has been all the craze for movies and shows, this was no different.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, Sonic got a bit of my interest years ago but I never went further into it. That was until Prime and Frontiers caught it again. I've heard about how the Sonic fandom was toxic and such, but I know it doesn't apply to all of the fans, so I decided to give Sonic a chance. Besides, I've learned to not take things too seriously, after all it's just a speedy blue hedgehog going on adventures. You should've seen me a year ago, I binged through:

Snapcube fandubs

Fadel's (GamesCage) playthrough of Frontiers

IDW comics

sonadow (the OG red and blue couple)

every playthrough I was able to find, in 2x speed, in the background while I was doing college assignments

both Sonic movies

Sonic X

Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (I even made some art of it with Ace Attorney characters, Link)

Sonic Central and live streams

and I bought my first ever piece of Sonic merch (yes, it counts)

Hey, I was (and still am) a Ace Attorney girlie. So, entering into the Sonic fandom, it was kind of familiar in some ways. The two starve for some content, at times being years of waiting. Just as in any fandom, people may have arguments here and there but when it counts, people come together and enjoy the moment.

When it comes to Prime, I had a fun time. It’s the type of show that you just want to sit down and just be silly. There were times that got me hyped (like the references, Prismatic Sonic 2nd form, Shadow every single time he comes up on screen), and times that I really got me audibly going "aww" (like the Rose sisters, Sonic being silly lil' goof). Then there are all the times I was SCREAMING like a fangirl (...because of the sonadow moments).

listen, i can't help it if i see my boys on screen, okay? just look at them

You know, when I made this, I didn't expect it to be this long. After all, I planned to post my silly little theories before I went abroad for a few months. Instead, I went into maximum overdrive, explaining why Prime had so much potential and how most of it happened was because of the fans, both the viewers and the ones working within the show. There definitely unsung heroes that deserve so much recognition. I would like to personally thank Erik Wiese, one of the people who truly cared for the show. It's not just him though, so many workers on the show also happened to be Sonic fans.

💬 "The fans know how to do it better than the creators themselves..."

I think this applies to Prime. Again, I don't have anything against SEGA or anyone working in the Sonic franchise. But I think a great show in general is one where the crew is willing to give it their all for the fans. That it isn't just another show or cash-grab, but a passion project for the franchise. Something by fans, for the fans. As the song "Live & Learn" goes:

"(Live and learn!) Hanging on the edge of tomorrow; (Live and learn!) From the works of yesterday; (Live and learn!) If you beg or if you borrow; (Live and learn!) You may never find your way!"

So, TL;DR: I didn't think I would be more invested in writing a whole essay about Sonic Prime than in my college thesis but here we are! (holy shit-)

Thank you so much for bearing with me rambling about a silly blue hedgehog and his friends! Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are always appreciated. Again, let me know if you want me to rewrite all of Prime. As always, remember to:

drink water

get some food

stretch

take your meds

get some rest/a break

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to stare at my bedroom ceiling and think about how Shadow is giving me gender envy—

Take care, my dear fellows, and I'll see you all next time!

Previous Part || Masterpost

#🌻 hold on to what if

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owlixx · 2 years ago

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What I Played This Summer

So, I kind of forgot that I had been doing something worth jotting down, so this is going to cover the entire last month of what I’ve been doing in video games.

- I’ve been trying to even remember what I’ve been playing since I beat the whole Kirby series back in January.

[That was very fun. Has also been fun playing Forgotten Land with gf more recently]

- For sure I tried to do Wario Land next but got burnt out on Wario Land 3 being longer than expected.

[Even just a bit of WL4 has been great. Looking forward to wario world because I played it as a kid. And Shake It as well. Might do all the wariowares too when I get there]

- I got a PS3 and a GBA since then.

[Spent a lot of time just farting around and fiddling with these guys, booting up random games]

- Basically, I had just beaten Minish Cap when Tears of the Kingdom came out, and then I had kind of been between games ever since beating Tears of the Kingdom.

[I did really enjoy Minish Cap despite having to use a guide sometimes and cheating fully on the final boss. Also of course really enjoyed TOTK even if I have some nitpicks like the dungeon cutscenes, lackluster sky islands, the rupee economy, weird control scheme, etc]

- I played Bulletstorm, War For Cybertron, probably some Call of Duty, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

[always wanted to play Bulletstorm as a kid and I think the writing decently holds up aside from the odd R word here and there. WFC I loved as a kid but now seems hilariously grey and gritty. FFTA is honestly really cool but missing some QoL stuff I’m used to in modern SRPG so I had thought of starting FFTA2 and I did, but only to the second turn lol.]

- I beat Sonic Frontiers.

[Its…fine. As a massive sonic fan, I’m not keen to ever replay this one but I did really enjoy the tone of the story, the writing, and my first few hours in the open world. I really hated the cyberspace levels, the mandatory minigames, and the monotony of it all. The boss fight music is easily the best part]

- I played a bit of Redfall as a joke, for like a week.

[Its just worse borderlands, and I’m pretty critical of borderlands even as a committed fan of it.]

- I had a friend over for a week and we beat Lollipop Chainsaw.

[Brilliant game. Tried to transition to playing the similar\adjacent Bayonetta but the writing in LC is too good]

- Twice I purchased around ten (each time) Vampire Survivors-inspired games and played them each at least a little before fizzling out.

[I think my most played was Rogue Genesia until the content well ran out. I did also enjoy Halls of Torment and Brotato]

- I bought a physical copy of Watch Dogs Legion for five bucks.

[There’s nothing…wrong with it, per se, it’s just less than the sum of its parts and I had a hard time feeling motivated to keep playing. I didn’t enjoy the profession system being tied to random collectibles. I did enjoy the base gameplay and the Legion concept, but it just made me want to play…]

- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. And that’s something I want to talk about more in depth in my next post.

#sonic frontiers #Redfall #FFTA #Bulletstorm #war for cybertron #gba #ps3 #lollipop chainsaw #bayonetta #vampire survivors #watch dogs legion #Minish cap #tears of the kingdom #Kirby #wario land

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pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer · 6 months ago

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Game Night: Sonic X Shadow Generations

This being a game all about touring memory lane, I ask you indulge me a bit while I reflect. When I was a kid my sisters and I were given our older cousins’ Sega Genesis as a sort of hand-me-down, and among the included library of games were several featuring a very distinct spiky blue creature. This many years later it’s hard to remember exactly why, but I’d estimate at least 85% of the time my we spent playing the Genesis was dedicated to these games in particular—and considering they were competing with a Jurassic Park game for a dinosaur-obsessed kid’s attention, that’s certainly no small feat. Not long after that, the combination of Sonic X’s English dub and Sonic Heroes turning the games multi-plat solidified this affinity, and a Sonic fan was born! I followed the franchise quite closely throughout what’s now known as “the Dark Age”—yes, even including Shadow the Hedgehog (2005). (Especially Shadow the Hedgehog (2005).) Alas, when I picked up Colors…I guess you could say things just didn’t click? So while I was somewhat excited by the announcement of Generations, I didn’t play it. Following that, I’m ashamed to say I fell prey to the cultural mindset of “Sonic = bad”, and I tried to put the hedgehog behind me. However, seeing Mania getting rave reviews piqued my curiosity, so I slowly waded my way back in and was in the exact right spot for the announcement of Frontiers to get me psyched. I’ve already shared my thoughts on that game, but suffice to say it scratched my very specific itch. I’m hooked once again.

Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) was one of my favorite games as a kid. I haven’t played a single second of Sonic Generations before now. Sonic Frontiers felt to me like a joyous homecoming. And now, you’re telling me that this Generations remaster comes bundled with a Shadow the Hedgehog 2 that iterates on Frontiers? Sign me the fuck up.

Spoiler-free tl;dr: Shadow Generations may be brief, but it’s also unbelievably sick, proving that short games can still be great and that edge can in fact be used for good.

While I dove straight into Shadow Generations, I feel like for this post I should go over Sonic Generations first. This game was a HUGE deal when it first released, and it kinda never stopped being a huge deal: I already had a good grasp of what I was getting into, and I guess my expectations were high. Perhaps too high. Make no mistake, I am aware that I am very bad at video games, and I do want to emphasize that my expectations were working against me, not to mention playing Shadow Generations first probably skewed my muscle memory and I was kind of exhausted whenever I was able to play. All that being said. I didn’t really have a great time. There were quite a few obstacles and deaths that didn’t feel entirely fair—Boost was riskier to use than I thought it would be, and the Homing Attack lock-on felt very finicky. Even when the Homing Attack did work I still ended up taking damage from the enemies I was killing a bit too often. Part of this is down to the controls: I know they changed which button executes the Homing Attack, but while playing it seemed like both buttons worked? So I hit the wrong button twice as often, I guess. Again, I’m under no illusions there’s a huge skill issue here, and there were still things I liked about the game! Classic Sonic using R2 for a one-button Spin Dash felt really nice, and even with my spotty Sonic history I experienced a healthy dose of nostalgia. I was surprised to see just how many Challenge Acts involved Sonic’s friends—they weren’t all fantastic stages, but I was glad to see these characters had just a bit more of a presence than I previously thought. I remember liking the challenge where you had to switch between the three elemental shields, as well as the one where Vector picks up and throws Classic. (Did not enjoy either Blaze stage I played, sadly.) But I mean, by now there’s loads and loads that’s been said about this game, and if you were considering playing it you’ve probably already decided if you will or not. I don’t have anything new to say. These are just thoughts on my personal experience with it.

In any case, let’s move on to the main event.

Shadow Generations has several unique additions to your basic Sonic gameplay, to the point where it can almost feel overwhelming. To its credit, the game carefully eases you into these mechanics, first introducing your basic Homing Attack (more akin to Chaos Snap from 06) and Boost, then the first tier of Shadow’s specific kit with his Chaos Powers. Chaos Spear is a quick and easy shot able to activate switches and stun enemies, though it doesn’t actually damage them and is thus more of a utility move than a long-range offense option. Chaos Control sort of merges both of its functions from Shadow 05: time freezes (including the in-game timer!), and while it’s in effect you can use special energy ribbons to perform a Chaos Dash and zip ahead at blistering speeds. I love that Control is far more accessible this time around; Dash can be handy, but it’s very situational, and the shortcuts it provides in the hub world kept surprising me with where they spat me out. Then there’s the heavily-advertised Doom Powers, which are unlocked in a specific order as you make your way through the game and have a nicely subtle progression to them. Doom Spears is a relatively minor upgrade to Chaos Spear (locks onto 5 targets), Doom Blast is an upgraded Homing Attack (great for movement when you can find an enemy tough enough to actually take the hits), Doom Surf sees the corruption building and Shadow forcing it all out of his body to form a manta ray thing (I found this one unwieldy, not being able to stop is irritating), Doom Morph sees the corruption completely envelop Shadow’s body (definitely tricky and a bit situational, but I actually had a lot of fun navigating goop with this), and while Doom Wings might not escalate it still gives you a big power-high, with the balanced visual design showing Shadow’s control over his new abilities. I wasn’t expecting the Doom Wings to be this game’s stand-in for Super Shadow: you need at least 50 Rings and they drain quickly, but you’re invincible, faster, and jump higher, plus you have nearly unlimited Boost that can be used in midair to glide extended distances! This being usable in the hub world is perhaps an iteration on Knuckles and Tails’ flying abilities from Frontiers, and I suspect a more targeted experiment on how to integrate on-demand Super Sonic into the Open Zone design. Big fan of this skillset.

The hub world is another big feature I was excited to see, and it does not disappoint! The Frontiers influence is on full display, turning Shadow’s side of White Space into a mini-Starfall Island that expands outward as you progress and gain new abilities, which you then utilize to gather collectibles. It’s somewhat Metroidvania-esque in that sense. You’re also constantly watched over by the Black Moon, essentially a cross between Black Doom and a biblically accurate angel. Super creepy! Everything you can do in stages, you can do in White Space, and the plethora of rings, enemies, and mini-challenges make it a lot of fun to just run around aimlessly. Primarily you’ll be searching for those collectibles: nearly 100 chests containing art and music and such (unlocked using keys you find in stages a la Red Rings), 80 machine parts used for a certain sidequest, and 13 excerpts from Gerald Robotnik’s journal. Wait—this game has secret reports?! Fuck yeah! I love that shit! They can actually be a bit tricky: they’re in pods carried by a trio of flying robots, and when you notice a set flying around you need to get high enough to shoot them down, and it seemed they were always just a bit higher than I expected. Noticing and successfully claiming one is a nice rush, though. They can be viewed in Shadow’s Collection Room (which has surprisingly nice décor), alongside artwork, movies, music, game summaries, and character profiles. What surprised me was how few profiles there are: notably, neither Rogue nor Black Doom have entries. Also Sonic Heroes is placed after Shadow 05 for some reason and that’s really bothering me. That aside, overall the Collection Room is a very satisfying little side mode for you to enjoy the fruits of your collectible hunting.

But let’s talk more about that journal! A physical version was actually included as a pre-order bonus, taking the form of a little booklet inside the game case, and I read through it right away. A little difficult with the handwriting, but in-game you have an option to display all the text in standard format. I’m told that this compiles everything from the games that has been attributed to Gerald, including the excerpts from SA2, Sonic Battle, even Sonic Rivals 2! Additionally, it gives deeper insight into his character and the Robotnik family tree, which is the really juicy stuff. What probably shocked me most was the reveal that Maria has a younger sister. In other words, Eggman has another cousin, one who could easily still be around in the present day. That’s got to be a hint or something. There’s no way they’d tease something like that and not follow up on it, right? Right?! …Well anyway. The journal also has a few “snapshot” illustrations that add a lot of charm, and, somewhat oddly, contains numerous redacted elements that have been blacked out. This is explained diegetically by a note in the inside cover: the journal was recovered from one of Eggman’s bases and delivered to G.U.N. Commander Abraham Tower, with the implication that Eggman defaced the journal to keep its secrets hidden. Or, maybe the Commander made the redactions for some reason? Come to think of it, this journal most likely passed through G.U.N.’s hands after they executed Gerald, and the note does talk about the previous Commander covering-up the incident, so maybe that’s when it happened…whoever it was, it makes sense canonically. Most of it can be inferred using context clues, though I’m amused that they used it to hide the names of Gerald’s sons. Guess they weren’t ready to commit to anything just yet! Even funnier, though, is that one of Gerald’s explanations of how he Scienced a solution to a problem is just smudged over rather than being redacted. How did he do it? We don’t know! Fact-check us now, nerds!

In a similar vein to Sonic saving a new friend each time you clear a stage, new NPCs show up each time you clear one of Shadow’s stages. You can talk to them. That’s…pretty much it, not even any character-specific Challenge Acts like on Sonic’s side. Still, the only one of these who really feels underutilized is Omega—granted, I’m biased, but bro shows up after the very first stage and doesn’t get a single thing to do, despite being a member of Team Dark! Utterly appalling. But, regardless, I’m happy these characters are around to give Shadow someone to bounce off of (even if silently). After the second stage you get Orbot and Cubot…strange additions to be sure, but I guess they couldn’t overlap with anyone Sonic rescues and pickings were rather slim. These two are trying to build a rocket to escape, and will give you artwork in exchange for those machine parts hidden around White Space. Third is the one and only Big the Cat—another bizarre choice, but Big needs no justification, especially since it’s just…kinda nice to see him and Shadow chat casually? I enjoyed having him around. Fourth stage gets you important NPCs we’ll discuss later, and fifth brings Rogue onboard for some last-minute involvement in the plot. (Okay one overlap, but y’all would riot if she wasn’t here.) Only five stages then? Well there is a sixth and final level, but clearing that beats the game. Maybe it’s time we start getting into those stages and the story tying them together…

Fittingly, Shadow begins aboard the ARK. As advertised, this stage combines aspects of ARK stages from SA2 and Shadow 05, a sizable pool to draw from and, rather shockingly, the only Shadow 05 level representation. Sure, it’s something, and plenty of the artwork and music you can collect is from that game so it isn’t being ignored, but I would have expected at least one dedicated full level adapted from Shadow’s first solo outing. Eh, not a dealbreaker by any means. You then drop into White Space, where you’re initially restricted to a small area with just the ARK level entrance, Omega, a few level assets you can scale to find a few chests, and an ominous pod next to a sealed door. Clearing the ARK earns you a “Doom’s Gear”, which is used much like a Portal Gear to unlock that weird pod…a “Power Sealing Device”. Lame. Like, it doesn’t matter, I know it doesn’t, but that’s just such a lame name. Give it some flavor! Just call it a “Doom Capsule”, there, that’s an easy one! You might have already guessed, but these are what give you your Doom Powers. Opening the door reveals a short pathway leading to the next level: Rail Canyon from Heroes. Honestly, this is probably the inclusion that warmed my heart the most since Heroes was my first 3D Sonic game…not that I ever fully beat it. Ironically, I recall Rail Canyon/Bullet Station being the farthest I managed to get with Team Dark, so this feels like a chance to resolve some unfinished business! I even flung myself into the void just trying to change rails—that’s what really made this an authentic experience! (It only happened once, though, the physics here are far more polished than those in Heroes.)

And here’s where we encounter the first Boss Gate. Interacting with the Gate causes Challenge Acts to spawn, and clearing those will get you Boss Keys—the basic structure of Sonic Generations, with a few tweaks such as there being fewer challenges and needing to (eventually) clear all of them to access all the bosses. These all seem pretty straightforward: collect a certain number of rings, defeat a certain number of enemies, stages built specifically around one of Shadow’s abilities…I had fun with them. I will say that it’s a little weird that you need to interact with the Boss Gate before these spawn, if only because the second and third Boss Gates are tucked away in their own areas you have to navigate to get to them—definitely cool, but feels a bit more like a chore when you have to go back after leaving to get the keys. It’s no surprise that the first boss is the Biolizard, which starts with familiar patterns before shaking things up in its later phases. I had a bit of trouble, but it wasn’t too difficult a fight; it makes a point of utilizing Chaos/Doom Spears and ending with Chaos Control, both of which you’re expected to know your way around before moving on to the mid-game. It’s after this that Black Doom makes his first real appearance after taunting Shadow through Doom’s Eye across the preceding stages. He’s a bit cryptic, but notes that the temporal anomaly caused by the Time Eater has allowed him to accelerate his pre-formulated plan to revive himself. For whatever reason, I like that the thing “connecting” Black Doom and the Time Eater is nothing but sheer happenstance: Doom saw an opportunity and seized it, that’s all. Certainly makes it easier to write around Sonic Generations and not interfere with its established plot!

With the Biolizard defeated, the hub world expands to include a new area across a big lake. This is where you get Doom Surf, and again, this one proved difficult for me; despite that, I appreciate how the next few stages and upcoming boss are designed to incorporate it, rewarding players able to master the move for their skill. Speaking of stages, we now get access to two: Kingdom Valley from 06 and Sunset Heights from Forces. I wonder if there’s something to said about this juxtaposition. But in all seriousness, these levels are just as good as the rest—my knowledge of and ability to analyze Sonic level design may be lacking, but even I can feel the difference between this Sunset Heights and Forces itself. It’s around Kingdom Valley that Big hangs out! He says he’s visited Soleanna to fish before, which makes sense, and he even mentions meeting Elise! (Not by name, but it’s still nice to see.) Sunset Heights, on the other hand, is home to two NPCs…Maria and Gerald Robotnik.

I mean, y’all saw it in the trailer. And it’d be a missed opportunity to NOT do this. But uh, still hits pretty damn hard. They’re from a point in time before the ARK incident, obviously, lacing their every word with potent dramatic irony. Shadow reacts to this as one might expect, which…is actually kind of a big deal! If you cared enough to read this far I probably don’t need to tell you that Shadow’s characterization has been quite a hot topic (heh) in recent years, and his portrayal here could easily make or break the game. Without getting too ahead of myself, I want to say that—at least in my opinion—it’s good news. I remain a bit unsure about some of the pacing, perhaps necessarily due to the length of the game, but Shadow is fleshed out remarkably well and with appropriate nuance, and is once again recognizable as the character we all came to love during his debut. Not to get controversial, but maybe this’ll help to convince more people that Ian Flynn kinda sorta knows what he’s doing? Anyway. Time to fight Metal Overlord! Again, never actually beat Heroes so I can’t properly compare this fight to his original, but this one seems pretty good. You spend the whole fight using Doom Surf (ah…), hitting rubble and projectiles at Metal while he tries to blow you to bits. His tail swipe attack felt unfair at the end, when you have to jump twice in quick succession—Doom Surf is NOT built for that. One cool thing is that if you use Chaos Control, Metal will be unaffected and gloat about how he has the same power. It's a neat attention to detail that actually comes back into play later on!

With Doom Morph now acquired you can navigate some goop to reach Chaos Island, which, yeah, does feel like a weird inclusion since Shadow wasn’t in Frontiers. That it and Sunset Heights come from the future is actually something I like, something you’d expect in a scenario about breaking the timeline but can only be done in a situation like a rerelease for obvious reasons. This is around where things really began to get tough for me: early on I was at least getting B Ranks, but from here on it was all Cs and Ds. Difficulty is a tricky thing, of course, but I think it progressed pretty well here. This is also where we begin to enter the endgame, with some pretty big things happening after beating Chaos Island and around doing the Mephiles boss fight. (Very fun and frantic, built around using Doom Morph and Doom Blast, honestly might be my favorite boss in the game! Shadow also ends things off with a badass one-liner about Mephiles not having a future. “Ever.”) One of the first is a cutscene where Shadow ends up in Sonic’s area of White Space. They bump into each other, have a race as a stand-in for the rival battle you fight while playing as Sonic, and Shadow goes to use Doom Spears but decides against it because he only wants to beat Sonic if it’s on equal terms. Rad. Of course, this loss of focus leads to Sonic beating him and taking the Chaos Emerald he’s been carrying, and this is when Rouge shows up to ask how the hell he could let himself lose. This scene is great, maybe the best example of how this game is careful about precisely maintaining continuity and making it look easy. See, Shadow’s been carrying an Emerald around because it’s been established he needs one to use Chaos Control. Okay, gameplay mechanic justified. At the start of the game, while exploring the ARK, he comes across the fake Chaos Emerald Tails made in SA2, actually sort of compliments Tails saying that even he has a hard time telling which one’s a fake. Huh, okay, neat callback I guess? So now, problem: if Shadow Generations takes place at the same time as Sonic Generations, then Sonic has to be the one to take the Chaos Emerald, that result has already been established. Does that mean Shadow loses Chaos Control past this point? Nope! Because the Emerald he dropped was actually the fake Emerald! He even asks Rouge to swap it out for the real one as soon as he’s done with it, so the two Sonics going Super against the Time Eater still works! I’ve seen it mentioned that this even explains why you can’t use Super Sonic before that point despite having all seven Emeralds, because you’re unknowingly carrying a fake! That’s awesome!

The next big thing: Shadow goes to check in with Gerald and Maria, only for Black Doom to show up. Shadow immediately gets between them and him (he protecc!), and Black Doom assures him that he’s learned from his past defeat and won’t make any mistakes this time. We also get to see Maria shout at Black Doom that Shadow’s nothing like him, points there for sure. I believe it’s here the game states that Black Doom is using his connection with Shadow to grow stronger as he does, allowing him to revive faster and simultaneously corrupt him so that he can possess his body and become the Ultimate Lifeform himself. It seems to be working, too, since Shadow gets pissed off and starts shouting about how he’s going to wipe out all the Black Arms. However, Maria steps in to calm him down, saying she can’t bear to see him driven by hatred like this, that Black Doom isn’t his real family, that she and Gerald love him and just want him to be happy. Shadow doesn’t really know how to respond and runs off. His next stop is the last Power Sealing Device…I think an extra scene or two might’ve helped here? Just so he doesn’t go straight from nearly giving in to corruption to absorbing even more corruption. Whatever the case, this is where you finally get Doom Wing (after a small taste all the way back in the ARK stage), and now that Shadow has his full set of powers, Black Doom enters the final stage of his plan and turns White Space red while calling Shadow to come and finally face him. Shadow goes to Maria first, and tells her that while he has let go of his anger, he will continue to fight with her wish in his heart. The change in White Space causes it to shake and throw Maria off her feet, but Shadow stoops down to help her up—which is such a great way of showing that he’s still in control of himself, love it. One short platforming challenge later, it’s on to the final stage…

Radical Highway! Yep, SA2 gets a full stage in addition to contributing to the ARK stage. Both Acts are built in a way that encourages you to test out the Doom Wings, but can be cleared without them. Also these Acts are HARD. I died repeatedly here, really driving home how happy I am that lives are no longer a thing. Eventually you reach Black Doom, and after exchanging some final words, he goes straight to Devil Doom form and the battle begins! You start out using Doom Surf, but after getting his health down to half, he changes the arena and you need to use Doom Morph to take out the other half. Then Doom transforms AGAIN, becoming Neo Devil Doom, and you enter the traditional “fly around in Super Form” type of final boss using a modified Doom Wing while a new version of “All Hail Shadow” plays in the background. Not really one of my all-time favorite Sonic songs but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was hype as fuck. Once you finish off the second health bar, Doom uses Chaos Control to freeze Shadow and goes in for the kill…but, hey, remember how Metal Overlord could cancel out your Chaos Control? Now YOU get to cancel out DOOM’S Chaos Control! And Shadow finishes him off with a volley of giant Chaos Spears followed by blasting through his chest Goku-style! It’s such a good final fight—I may love Frontiers but Supreme was a pushover, this is leagues better. After the fight Shadow’s wings shrivel up, so he probably won’t be using them again any time soon (sad…), and he hands his Chaos Emerald off to Rouge before going to say goodbye to Gerald and Maria. When they start to fade away, returning to their time, Shadow says he can stop Rouge and use Chaos Control to keep them in this moment, but Maria doesn’t want that. He tries to argue that they don’t know what’s going to happen, but she tells him that even if they’re pulled apart from each other, her love will always be in his heart. Shadow leaves, and as he runs past Rouge, a single tears flies off. They let him cry! Not on-camera maybe but they let Shadow cry at seeing his family ripped away from him again! This is the good shit!

You know, I worry that in these posts I spend too much time summarizing and not enough actually commenting. But in a case like this, what is there really to say? Shadow’s in-character. That’s best demonstrated through example. After the way he’s been written through the 10s (as well as his previous solo outing), that alone is worth the price of admission for quite a few of us. Let’s see, what else did I want to bring up:

-Shadow’s first thought upon seeing Maria and Gerald is that he might be able to change their fate, but I felt like this wasn’t really followed up on. There is the scene at the end where he considers Chaos Control, but by itself I’m not sure it’s enough? Plus, this game is about Shadow defying the destiny Black Doom chose for him, so seeing him successfully do that while not being able to change Maria’s fate feels a little at odds. But the former is about the future and the latter is about the past, I suppose.

-There are points where the dialogue very clearly echoes some familiar Shadow lines like “This is who I am” and “I will fight like I always have”, but do so without directly quoting those lines. I may not be part of the faction that seems to view call-backs as a grave sin, but even still, this approach definitely feels superior to direct quotes.

-In contrast…the Shadow vs Sonic scene repeats that one exchange from SA2, and even a line from the Team Battle in Heroes. These felt forced to me, especially the latter.

-This is probably the most Maria’s illness has actually been focused on? We see her getting weak and fainting, and there’s even a picture in Gerald’s Journal of her in a wheelchair. Part of me wonders if this is an attempt to make Maria better representation for people with chronic illness; I don’t feel qualified to evaluate that if true, but as a writer I’m very curious to see if it does or doesn’t work for people so that I can learn from it.

-It’s been confirmed we’re getting at least one DLC level based on Movie 3, though I don’t know if it’s been stated whether it will be free or paid? I have to wonder if there will be any other DLC; it could certainly help combat dissatisfaction with how short the game is, and I know I’d be willing to pay money for an excuse to keep playing. Although Frontiers did give us a LOT through free updates, and I’d be ecstatic if that were to become the norm.

Sonic Team has always experimented, something I think they should be commended for even if it hasn’t always worked out. Shadow Generations, however, feels more like a culmination of lessons learned from Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), Sonic Generations, and Sonic Frontiers—the fully-realized fruit of all those experiments, if you will—and it’s definitely stronger for it. As someone with vivid and fond memories of that road’s starting point, not caring or even realizing I was playing a “bad game” because I just fucking LOVED Shadow, my heart’s telling me that nearly 20 years was more than worth the wait to experience its endpoint. If you have the chance, I absolutely recommend you try Shadow Generations and behold the ultimate power for yourself.

#Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic X Shadow Generations #Game Night #Pahrak plays games

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dangan-kagura · 11 months ago

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I Couldn’t Clear Sonic Frontiers Because the Titan Music Made Me Uncomfortable

So I just started playing the Switch remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and when I got to Hooktail Castle, I noticed that they really revved up the music. There’s now a lot of fast paced drums and metal-like guitars, which felt kinda surprising since, being that Mario is a series targeted for kids, this isn’t exactly the kind of music I’d let my kids listen to (If I had any). When I thought about it, something about it reminded me of the Titan boss music in Sonic Frontiers. Unfortunately for that game, I couldn’t get past the 2nd Titan boss, the music was just unbearable to listen to. It’s only now that I’ve seen someone’s playthrough of the game, just to see if I would give it a 2nd chance.

I found out in the credits that the songs are sung by Kellin Quinn, who I’m assuming is the lead singer for Sleeping With Sirens. Once I knew that, I started thinking that I probably don’t want to give this game another chance. When I first heard the opening “GO!” lyric for the 1st Titan boss, I knew right away that the tone of voice sounded like a death growl and that led me to worry that this Sonic game has music sung by a screamo band and that didn’t feel right to me. Thankfully they didn’t sing in death growls or screaming vocals. I can’t imagine if there are kids today playing this Sonic game and getting the same uncomfortable feeling that I had, especially if the songs were sung like that.

Now you don’t have to remind me that this isn’t the first Sonic game where they got a metal band to do one of the songs. But I’m not talking about Infinite’s theme in Sonic Forces. At least Infinite’s theme, sung by the rap-metal screamo band Dangerkids, was a song I could tolerate, at least until I heard one of the band's actual songs “We’re All in Danger.”

What I am talking about is the metal music in Shadow the Hedgehog’s game from back in 2005. It may not be the most well-received Sonic game, but that game’s metal I actually do like. See, Shadow’s game came out back when nu metal was the most popular kind of metal and that’s the kind of metal I like to listen to. I’m not a total metalhead that likes to listen to the most highly aggressive metal subgenres, I have particular tastes and nu metal is of the less aggressive subgenres. In fact, out of the songs, “Almost Dead” by Powerman 5000 is one of my favorite songs in the game. The sad part however, is that for some reason, the game’s OST doesn’t have the song available. But to the point, I saw nu metal as being Shadow the Hedgehog’s taste in music and being that he was my favorite Sonic character as a kid, that’s probably how I came to like that kind of music.

Clearly, the metal music in some of the more recent Sonic games is meant for a different generation and it’s not mine. If you’ve read my long blog on why I don’t like Ibuki Mioda from Danganronpa, I wrote that for over a decade I’ve become disgusted from seeing how strangely popular screamo has become. Let me tell you that I never did enjoy listening to music with screaming, screeching vocals where you can barely make out the lyrics. How on Earth did music like that become more popular than my taste in rock music?

In fact, when I first learned about screamo, it led me to have some bad first impressions on certain bands that play post-hardcore. You see, I was suspicious that bands like Senses Fail and Rise Against play screamo and it led me to not want to listen to their music, thinking that their music involved constant use of screaming, screeching vocals whose lyrics you couldn’t make out. In the case of Rise Against, I remember back in 2011 the band went on tour with A Day to Remember, one of the most obvious of screamo bands of its time. But I’ve read somewhere that not every post-hardcore band plays screamo and there are post-hardcore bands whose style is more related to alternative rock and emo, Senses Fail being one of those bands apparently. Other examples include The Used and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus whose music I actually do enjoy. How did I come to like their music? Well in the case of The Used, it’s probably because of the collaboration work they’ve done with My Chemical Romance.

Odds are, if the music in Sonic Frontiers was sung by the lead singers of either The Used or The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, then maybe I could’ve tolerated the game’s music better. But I don’t listen to Sleeping With Sirens and based on the opening of the 1st Titan boss, I don’t think I’d want to listen to their music if it’s what I think it is. And it is unfortunate that I probably won’t be playing this Sonic game, because there’s a lot of things about that game’s plot that I wish I understood better. Like, who are the ancients really? Are they related to Chaos from Sonic Adventure 1? And how exactly would Sage be Eggman’s daughter?

And out of the songs in the game, “I’m Here” ended up being included in Samba de Amigo: Party Central. It’s the only song in the game (Samba de Amigo) that has fast paced drums and metal-like guitars. The rest of the songs, or at least the majority, consist of 2010s dance pop songs from artists like Owl City, Maroon 5 and OK Go. I’m just glad that the songs sung by the guy from Sleeping With Sirens weren’t included. It wouldn’t feel right if a rhythm game centered on pop music, like Just Dance, included screamo songs.

Getting back to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Switch, I highly doubt that this kind of music is gonna be in this game, and I don’t think I’d want to imagine a main Mario game using this kind of music. You don’t have to remind me that the theme for SNES Bowser’s Castle 3 in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s DLC is metal-like, but at least that song I thought was good. And thankfully, The Thousand-Year Door remake has a badge called “Nostalgic Tunes” and equipping it lets you play the original versions of the game’s music, and I like that the badge is in the shape of a GameCube.

But in the case of Sonic Frontiers, I probably won’t be playing that game if I start to feel uncomfortable. I mean, one could say that the music for the Titan bosses is more on par with, say, the theme songs for The King of Fighters XIV and XV. At least those songs I was able to tolerate, but I can’t say the same for the Sonic songs sung by the guy from Sleeping With Sirens. It’s not worth it.

#non-danganronpa stuff #blog #sonic #sonic series #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #music #metal #heavy metal #opinion #uncomfortable

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