#Why Sega Finally Gets Sonic Right

[freshthoughts2020]

Why Sega Finally Gets Sonic Right

Why Sega Finally Gets Sonic Right

January 14, 2025

Growing up with Sonic the Hedgehog has been one of the most nostalgic aspects of my life. From playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the SEGA Genesis to experiencing the grandeur of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, I’ve seen the franchise at its peak and its lowest lows. Back in 2016, I criticized Sega’s handling of Sonic, lamenting how they had turned an iconic character into a mere tool for selling merchandise. But today, I’m here to say this: Sega has finally started to get Sonic right.

1. Sonic Mania: A Love Letter to Fans

While I’ve never played Sonic Mania myself, I’ve seen enough gameplay to appreciate what it represents. Sega handed the reins to passionate fans like Christian Whitehead, and the result was a 2D masterpiece that brought back the magic of Sonic’s Genesis days. Classic zones were reimagined, new ones were introduced, and the game perfectly balanced nostalgia with innovation. Sonic Mania proved that Sega could still make Sonic’s roots relevant in modern gaming.

2. Sonic Frontiers: Bold Innovation

I haven’t had the chance to play Sonic Frontiers, but the gameplay I’ve watched left me satisfied. This open-zone concept is a major leap forward for the franchise. It’s not just about running fast anymore; it’s about exploring vast, beautifully designed worlds. The game’s serious tone, coupled with the freedom of exploration, feels like a modern evolution of what Sonic Adventure started. Sega’s willingness to experiment has breathed new life into the series.

3. Sonic x Shadow Generations: Getting Shadow Right

I have played Sonic x Shadow Generations, and let me tell you, this game is a gem. Shadow’s gameplay feels distinct and refined, a far cry from the missteps of Shadow the Hedgehog. The mechanics are polished, and his stages bring a level of intensity that complements Sonic’s speed. Sega finally found a way to make Shadow fun to play without overshadowing the blue blur.

4. Sonic in Other Media

Sega’s multimedia approach has been phenomenal. The Sonic the Hedgehog movies were a game-changer for the franchise. I’ve loved every one of them, even though I haven’t seen the third installment yet. Let’s not forget the studio’s decision to redesign Sonic’s look after the original trailer sparked backlash. Listening to the fans like that? Major respect.

The Knuckles spin-off series was another fantastic addition. It fleshed out Knuckles’ character in a way that felt authentic and engaging. These projects show that Sega understands the importance of storytelling and world-building, even beyond games.

5. Embracing the Community

One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is how Sega interacts with its fanbase. From embracing memes and fan art to collaborating with artists like Louis Guzman, they’ve built a bridge between Sonic’s legacy and its vibrant community. This level of engagement has created a sense of camaraderie between Sega and its fans, making the franchise feel alive and relevant.

What Sega Got Right

Sega’s recent efforts prove they’ve learned from past mistakes. Whether it’s through nostalgic throwbacks like Sonic Mania, bold innovations in Sonic Frontiers, or multimedia expansions, Sega is finally respecting Sonic’s legacy while adapting to modern times. They’re not just making games; they’re rebuilding a beloved universe.

Follow me on x.com/onlyonejaevonn gettothecorner.com LIFE LOGS™ by JAEVONN HARRIS

[doverstar]

Shadow personally ensured that that G.U.N. guy was ejected before his lil ship blew up. This is how you do Shadow the Hedgehog. Welcome back sir

[artificialchaoscola]

another ramble about some blue dude

AREN'T YOU TIRED OF BEING NICE, SONIC?

DON'T YOU WANT TO GO APESHIT?

But nah seriously the whole plot thread of Sonic getting his "I don't kill people teehee" attitude pushed back against constantly is the coolest part of IDW to me. He bounces back and does what he thinks is right but I just love that you can tell it's not 100% easy for him to do it. I mentioned this when I talked about Scourge + rewriting zombot!Shadow in other posts but I just love how you can debate on whether or not this attitude of his is a flaw or not.

IMO the Eggman in IDW feels much darker than the one in the games, more cold and calculating as well as sadistic in a lot of ways. I do enjoy the difference, since IDW Eggman to me feels like more of a threat, which in turn makes Soinc's constant sparing + moments like the page above feel more intense. I was honestly surprised in the recent Riders arc that Sonic would team up with Eggman at all at first, but then I realized how Sonic has likely not been pushed as far as he could be. Yet.

Something I liked about Sonic Prime was Nine clocking Sonic for the reason he saves people (in that particular interpretation of Sonic, of course), and I 100% want more of that. It would be interesting for a different character to expand further on the things Shadow, Espio, and Surge yelled at him for, to finally connect the dots as to why he even bothers giving the guy so many chances. Granted, in the recent arcs he did say he'd do what was right, that he didn't care if people saw him as a bad guy, etc., and that's all AWESOME and in line with how I see him. I just wonder where this thread is going to go, and if he'll snap in some way. Not killing Eggman or anything silly like that, but basically, an exploration of how "doing the right thing" all the time can stress you tf out maybe. Or some kind of expression on how ticked off he is that Eggman is pushing his luck constantly. Certainly, it's all bubbling up toward something...

(On the topic of different interpretations of Sonic's character, I'm also just so happy we get so many perspectives on how he can be. Some ARE pretty out there and not well written, but I hope SEGA allows the IDW team to expand more and more on the canon characters. I was talking with a friend about this the other day, but I feel a lot of the fun, more interesting writing tends to be given to the IDW OC's outside of the main characters, and that's likely because there's not as much pushback into how they're written. That's just my speculation though, and it's obviously not as true for characters like Sonic and Eggman. I just kinda want SEGA to let these people COOK more.)

[randomthefox]

Omfg. Ya know what, I now believe you when you accuse these IDW stans of being cultists.

I was scrolling through some of your posts the other day and found this one talking about this Kotytang dude on YouTube, and I believe you now. Flynn and Stanley are just brainwashing these people to believe that the comics are good and the games are bad.

I was watching his reviews on the comic issues and let out a long tired sigh when he began to see Surge as his Waifu. but then I saw his posts. One that made me very angry was him saying: "A major problem that I have with Sonic x Shadow Generations is that we have no reason at all to believe that Maria has a genuine connection to Shadow."

Is he fucking serious? The more I scrolled through his comment sections the more I realized that you were right. He has NOTHING good to say about the games.

These people don't like Sonic, so they change Sonic into what THEY want him to BE. And sadly, Flynn and Stanley's asses do the same thing. hence why so many "fans" love these comics.

I fucking PRAY that IDW Sonic will burn and crash and die soon, because I can't take this shit anymore.

Sometimes I do engage in hyperbole. But nothing I ever say about Sonic comics fans is hyperbole or exaggeration.

If you think a single thing that I have ever said about Sonic comic fans is an exaggeration, then that just means you haven't seen what I've seen.

Fans of the Sonic IDW comics would MURDER ME for what I've said about the comic, if they thought they could legally get away with doing so. You think I'm exaggerating? You haven't seen what I've seen. I am being dead serious. And honestly for some of them, it isn't the fear of consequences that's stopping them. It's simply the lack of means.

That's them at their most extreme, their most rabidly cult like. Compared to that, my pointing out the OBJECTIVE FACT that they simply hate the Sonic video game franchise from the bottom of their heart is mild.

The ONLY REASON they like Ian Flynn is because he represents an ideal for them. He is an icon. The "big name fan" who infiltrated the franchise and now he has the keys to the asylum. They GENUINELY AND SINCERELY BELIEVE that Flynn can dictate the canon of the Sonic series, and is slaying the evil dragon of SEGA so that he can turn the franchise into Archie/IDW Sonic The Video Game. Because that's what THEY want to do. They are living vicariously through him.

They sincerely and legitimately resent the video games from the bottom of their heart, they hate everything from them and about them. They have nothing good to say about a single thing that originates from the video games, unless it's something that they claim was "fixed" by the comics and what they enjoy is the comics "version" of it. They derive no joy from the video games. To them, the video games are an albatross. A ball and chain. And yet at the same time, they want to coopt it and turn the video games into what they think the franchise should be i.e. the comics.

It's like they're so insecure and resentful of the fact that their stupid comics owe their existence to the video games that the only way they can cope is by constructing these delusional fantasies of destroying the video games and rebuilding them into interactive representations of the comic books. I don't even know what mental illness you fucking call that. I don't know what else to call that besides pure religious fanaticism.

It's going to be so fucking funny when IDW Publishing finally goes out of business and the comic fucking dies because of that, and everything from them is immediately forgotten about and never even acknowledged again. There'll be some cope for a little bit after it happens, some frothing at the mouth that a new comic publisher can just pick up the license and take over where IDW left off or that SEGA can just self publish the comic themselves, or that it just means the games are going to start adapting the storylines and cast of the comics. They'll deny reality for quite a long time. And it will be insufferable. But it will also be hilarious.

[bumblekastclips]

KYLE CROUSE: Here's one from Nenemyun! "Uh oh, Ian. SEGA's asked for a special romcom Valentine's issue called "Everybody Loves Shadow!" Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Blaze and Metal Sonic are all fighting for Shadow's affection and its up to YOU to bring some sense to this awful premise! So how would each of our cast members try to rizz up the ultimate lifeform? What would be Shadow's reaction to the strange amount of attention he's suddenly getting from them?"

IAN FLYNN: I think it would be funniest if Shadow is exiting each encounter thinking he's coming into a regular relationship, and then it's almost like a horror movie surprise that no, they're actually interested in him, and he reacts to that. KYLE: [laughs] IAN: So you start off, y'know, gently enough with Amy being open in her affections, and Shadow's like, [Shadow voice] "Is the sun in your eyes again? Do you think I'm Sonic?" and she's like, "No, no, no! It's you! It's totally you! It's always been you." And he's like, [Shadow voice] "No! Ew! Weird!" and he runs off. KYLE: [chuckles] IAN: Y'know, gets sidelined by Metal Sonic. [Shadow voice] "Oh, the Doctor sent you to kill me!" Until it goes on down on one knee and grabs his hand, like... [Shadow voice] "Ew! No! Weird!" and he runs off. KYLE: [wheezing laughter] IAN: He gets up to Angel Island just to get some distance. He needs some time alone, and there's Knuckles, and he's like, [Shadow voice] "Don't worry, I'll leave your island in just a minute." [Knuckles voice] "No, it's okay... you can stay." [Shadow voice] "Ew, no! Weird!" And he's running off again. KYLE: [laughs] IAN: Manages to beam himself straight over to Blaze's dimension to get away from it all. She's very happy to see him over here. They don't get too many visitors. He can, uh, stay as long as he wants. [Shadow voice] "Ew, no! Weird!" And he goes right back to Sonic's world! KYLE: [laughing] It's all so weird! Everybody's acting so weird! IAN: He's on the run, and Sonic comes in line with him, he's like, [Shadow voice] "Don't you even start with me!" [Sonic voice] "Dude, relax! We're just going for a run! Why are you always on edge?!" [Shadow voice] "I've had the weirdest day!" And they go running around, and y'know, fighting robots. It's completely casual and platonic, and he's finally relaxed about it all, and Sonic goes, "I'm glad you've had this time to just... chill out. It's been a good date." [Shadow voice] "I beg your pardon?!" KYLE: [wheezing laughter] Oh no! Where's he gonna go next? Does he launch himself into space? IAN: He finds his way back into the ARK and just seals the capsule again. KYLE: Yeah! [laughing] I was gonna say, he just launches himself back into space, onto the ARK! Like, [Shadow voice] "Oh god... I don't wanna be here anymore." [laughs] Oh, boy.

----- TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Please remember that nothing that is said on BumbleKast is canon! It's just some guys and their opinions occasionally spitballing ideas. If you don't like an answer, you don't have to take it as Word of God or anything like that. It's all just for fun! ----- This question was requested by @funeepapyrus! Do you want a specific question transcribed and posted? Send the question, the episode date, and time stamp to my ask box! Or if you just want questions about a certain character, send me their name and I will see what I can do!

[acuteobserv4tion]

New theory

Big Spoilers. HUGE

Since we just touched space with the 3rd movie, what if the 4th has Princess Blaze, ruler of an alien planet, backing the fight against the new big bad. What if Amy and Silver are like freedom fighters? Like, their own little family group.

The Gaurdians of a Galaxy to Team Sonic: Earth's mightiest Heroes.

I've had it in my head for a while that Blaze and Silver would get their own individual movie. And seeing as how Sonic 3 was in every way Shadow's movie, I'm thinking that idea could work even more.

SPOILERS

Eggman is gone. All we have is Stone. And with the end credits scene, I hear the idea floating around that the new Eggman can be from another dimension. And who else was from that alternate dimension?

Of course for the movies, it could easily be changed to simply another planet.

Silver and Blaze are best friends, and both of their characters are tied to Amy like Shadow was. Even more so with Blaze and Silver.

Imagine this:

Amy is open and honest, ready to help everyone she meets. Immediately willing to accept help from the newcomers while keeping up moral. Relentless in pounding her enemies with a smile, unbridled enthusiasm for what she does because it's fun. (and the right thing)

Silver is unsure of trusting these new people, but still his optimistic self in search of a better future. Ready to do what he believes is necessary. He's unsure and willing to trust, but just as willing to put you down if it comes to that.

(Also, maybe the inhibitor rings come into play like they did for Shadow)

Blaze is their leader, possibly a seasoned warrior, put in charge, and the most hesitant to engage due to her responsibility and what they're up against. Her best friends are the ones she trusts most in all this, but she still has the weight of their world on her shoulders.

Sonic and Amy have this talent for making friends and softening them up. Yet, Sega has had this weird thing for a while now about not expanding on individual character dynamics.

But that's been changing. I think now we could finally be able to see the Amy key character interactions with Blaze, Silver, and Shadow that we've been missing.

Maybe not Shadow anymore since the movies have Sonic be the one to reach him (in a really incredible way, mind you), but it would be an easy way to integrate Blaze and Silver alongside Amy.

Because, why would she be all alone in this fight? Let her shine in the next movie with her friends behind her.

[samthedays]

Rediscovered Frontiers Shortest Review.

(Sorry I don't have images of Rediscovered Frontiers fanart, cuz you know...I don't own them, so pretend those images bellow are from Rediscovered Frontiers.) (also there's no spoilers, do not worry, although I think no one will read that so, yeah...)

There's a better way to read something Sonic Related than a fanfic that unites the main, Archie, Fleetway and much more canons all together? I don't think so, that's why Rediscovered Frontiers is the best Fanfic out there.

Made by @the-infamous-man, Rediscovered Frontiers is a joy to read, the very descriptive way that is written makes it easier to understand the scenarios where the characters find themselves, characters that are very well written and don't stray from their original personalities while still making them have a unique flavor to them.

The story has great results by mixing Action, Drama and even comedy in, with each one taking part at the right moments, not breaking the rhythm of the chapters, the secondary stories contained inside the main story told by flashbacks or even being taken at the same time are a great way to introduce new characters to the story.

Combining different canons and making it so it look like they could co-exist isn't a easy task, but Infamous managed to make like it was a easy all along, the interactions between the Game main cast with the characters from different canons is amazing.

Final judgment? Definitely worth reading, beginning to the end, it almost feels like a fanservice made by a fan of the Franchise and interestingly something that would be gratefully accepted in the official Canon (Maybe Sega should learn from Infamous?), Great fanfic and I really hope it gets even further than it already has, thanks for that gift to the fans, Infamous!

[juipterjim]

stuff that's most likely not gonna happen in sonic 3 but still wanna voice out anyway since the final trailer is coming out tomorrow and what do I have to lose honestly

after watching the tv spot, I've been thinking that it'd be pretty cool if sonic was low-key the medic of the team (like how Leo is in ROTTMNT since ben also plays leo).

I've been imagining this scene in my head for some time of sonic immediately taking charge and tending to everyone's injuries ( he stores a mini med kit in his quills cause why not)after shadow beating all three of them the first time before they go back home and seek proper care (probably from Maddie). Maybe shadow sees how sonic cares for his brothers and gets flashbacks of Maria from that?

I wonder if gerald and sonic are gonna have a chance to talk to each other, even if it's for a brief moment. That'd be pretty cool.

I really think that shadow is gonna bring out the WORST in sonic. I've never seen him look so MAD (paramount/sega stop being cowards and give us dark sonic PLEASEE)

Side note: I also think Gerald is gonna be the REAL villain of this movie. Think about it. RIGHT AFTER Eggman says, "Using shadow's power, we can use it to rule humanity". Shadow goes all, "When we're done, there won't BE ANYTHING left to RULE"

seeing the eclipse canon makes me wonder if they're gonna do the scene where Eggman traps sonic in a capsule with a bomb and freaking EJECTS him out of said space station and once the capsule explodes, knuckles and tails are completely DEVASTATED (tails would be screaming, "SONIC!!" as tears roll down his face ). Maybe shadow's watching sonic's friends reaction and noting just how much sonic meant to them. Maria flashbacks AGAIN perhaps? This could be the moment when he's second guessing if this is what Maria wanted (assuming sonic tried reaching out to him again prior the incident)

Long story short, I'm so excited to see this movie and I wanted to get this out of my system so yeah

[cursed-sonic-opinions]

back in September of 2023, just a few months into my Sonic hyperfixation, i had finally run out of Silver's appearances and lore to dive into. i missed him terribly (even back then i considered him a son to me) so i started listening to Ian Flynn's podcast, the BumbleKast. it was so much fun! i was having such a great time listening that i decided to make a Tumblr blog where i could share clips and transcripts with Sonicblr. i created bumblekastclips and began posting the funniest moments from the show i could find, doing my best to emphasize that none of the show was canon in any way and it was just two dudes having fun goofing around.

i really enjoyed running that blog and sharing my favorite answers with the tumblr community. i was hopeful that people would see that Flynn is a fan just like they are and that even if we have disagreements on the quality of his writing, he absolutely doesn't deserve the death threats, multiple doxxing efforts, and misinformation spread about him. he really is just a completely normal guy with a great sense of humor, and so is Kyle. not long after i created BKC, i joined the official Bumblekast Discord, and to this day, that is the single best move i have ever made. it is a small, intensely friendly, personal community where i have made some of the closest friends of my life. i am active in there every day, and many of its members feel like family to me now. hell, i have even met one of them in person twice (last night he came over to my grandma's house where we've been staying during her hospice care and we chatted, had pizza, and both lost playing Team Sonic Racing. it was incredible fun!)

through the BKDS, i have also gotten to know Kyle, the Bumblekast's co-host. he is an incredibly nice, super funny guy who is an absolute blast to talk to in VC and play games with. i am fortunate to now also be able to call him a personal friend as well as the host of my favorite podcast. he is so kind and when i am feeling down and struggling, he always makes an effort to tell me that he appreciates the energy i bring to the community and that i'm wanted there, and i believe him.

it's because of this community i have grown a lot as a person. my friends there have helped me through what, so far, has been the worst year of my life. my anxiety has gotten easier to manage. or at least, it had. as many people know, the show has swarms of people who hate it, and those people started creating problems online by posting clips out of context and trying to get Ian in trouble with SEGA. sadly their efforts worked, and Ian had to make the decision to ban Sonic questions from the show entirely.

it broke my heart, but i completely understand why he made that choice, and given the circumstances, i think it was the right call. SEGA also insisted they change their policy on people who post unauthorized clips, which means that SEGA indirectly killed my transcript & highlights fan blog... but honestly, i don't really care. that blog had its run and i am happy to leave it in the dust. i care so much more about the show's future and the well-being of my favorite podcast boys. some silly blog is nothing to me in the grand scheme of things.

however, a day or two after Ian announced this change, i received an anonymous ask from one of Flynn's countless haters. bumblekastclips always received metric shitloads of hate and harassment, which i always just deleted and moved on from. i intended to do the same with this particular ask, but with time, it's really started to bother me. i can't remember the specifics because this was weeks ago now, but it went something like this:

"I just wanted to say 'Thank You' for running the Bumblekastclips blog! Because of you, now everyone on Tumblr knows how much of a god awful writer Ian Flynn is. You brought so much attention to his stupid little podcast that not even SEGA could ignore it anymore. Because of you, Ian Flynn might even lose work from them in the future! That would be so great, he would never be able to damage Sonic's writing and reputation ever again! I'm so happy. Thank you! Because of you, more people than ever before are figuring out that he doesn't deserve to work at all. I hope you know that when he stops getting hired, it'll be all your fault. Their stupid little show will never make money ever again. Kyle and Ian will go hungry and we have you to thank for it. You're my hero!"

like, that's comically evil, right? bumblekastclips only had like 330 followers, max. the average transcript got maybe 20 notes. it seems like a stretch to claim that SEGA came down on the boys like that because of shitty little a tumblr blog that posted only a few clips each month and had long stretches of inactivity. when i received this ask i just rolled my eyes, blocked the person, and deleted the ask... but as time has gone on, what they said has really been eating at me. i started BKC to share my appreciation for the show. i wanted people to laugh because so many of the questions had gotten me to laugh to the point of tears. the absolute last thing i ever wanted was to disrupt the show. the idea that the boys have lost a significant portion of their income because of me has been bothering me so, so much. Kyle is my friend, and so are a lot of the other members of the BumbleKrew. as unlikely as it may be, the idea that this all happened because of me makes me sick to my stomach. sure, it's a stretch, but far more unlikely things have happened. oh, god, what if i'm a burden on the community i love so much?

🦔‧₊˚✩彡

[pixelrushiguess]

Considering that Shadow got himself a year dedicated to him, who do you think also deserves a year?

In my opinion, Silver definitely needed on.

That’s a tough one. I obviously have my favourites who I’d love to see get a year dedicated to them, but I guess it depends on who really deserves something like that. Silver is pretty high up there since he really hasn’t had the best luck in terms of the games he’s appeared in, let alone actually be relevant in. Giving him his own story would be really cool too.

I can see them doing a year of Amy, which I would love if I could actually trust them to handle Amy well which...I don’t. Making Amy the star of her own game would be super risky because the cynical part of me feels like they’ll water her down even more and misunderstand why she’s so great. I feel like they’d just make her the generic girl that she’s been for some time now.

I think a year of Knuckles could be neat too but again, you’d need to do it right. Knuckles is definitely the best of the main “team” right now but I still don’t think he’s particularly interesting or entertaining to watch like he used to be. But the Knuckles prologue short was pretty neat even if it was focused more on action than character, not that there wasn’t any there, but you know what I mean.

And the last character who I think deserves it would be Blaze, mainly because there’s still so much about her world that’s yet to be explored. Like you could easily make a game set in the Sol Dimension and get really weird and creative with it, it’s a literal goldmine of potential. And the cool thing about Blaze is that I honestly don’t think she’s been ruined as a character. Blaze is still awesome and I totally believe she could carry a game on her own. If there was ANYTHING I’d be worried about with a story focused on Blaze, it would be what they’d do with the Sol Dimension as Ian Flynn as gone on record saying that he’d like to merge Blaze’s Dimension with Sonic’s which is...just a really bad idea. Ian obviously doesn’t have the final say on these things, but I know he does pitch ideas to Sega as he did the same with Frontiers with the Ancients looking like Chaos. But yeah, I honestly think a year of Blaze would be pretty awesome.

And maybe a year of Rouge would be neat too.

[spruzu]

Sonic and shadow dynamic in sonic prime

Yes, i am doing this rant now because it's been on my mind too much and i need to talk about it.

Look at them, silly guys ⬇

So we all know that Sonic and Shadow are always seen as rivals right? Off topic, but personally i hope in Sonic x Shadow Generations Sega changes that but we'll just have to wait and see. In Sonic prime, they are obviously shown off as rivals, starting off having a fight and Shadow being pissed of with Sonic through out pretty much all of the second season because he shattered the prism and broke reality but we also see that they do have to team up because of that. We get to the last episode of season 2 and the whole 'Nines betrayal' takes place. Shadow did have every right to be annoyed at Sonic and he does say ''Sonic, i told you Nine couldn't be trusted.'' Of course pulling the 'i told you so' line shows he's very much bothered about the situation they're in, but then he goes on to say ''Whatever he's up to, it's causing this world to fracture.'' in saying that, trying to make Sonic come to his senses of what's around him and to stop focusing on the situation he's put himself and Shadow in. He wants Sonic to stop his classic way of thinking about the present situation he's in and to start thinking about the reality around them. Shadow also knew his and Sonics lives were more important in that moment than the shards and he wanted Sonic to see that to. Then of course Sonic goes on to say ''I don't understand, why would he-'' but getting cut off by Shadow ''Pull yourself together! This mountain is decaying, and it's going to take us with it. We have to run.'' Then proceeding to take Sonic by the hand and dragging him out the mountain, unwillingly. Shadow doesn't care about the fact Sonic is upset that Nine took the shard, he cares about the fact his and Sonics lives are at higher risk.

Through out all of that part, it's shown that Shadow wants Sonic to be like him. To have a straight forward tactic, to think before he acts. This is clearly shown when they're escaping Ghost Hill. Shadow is saying out the plan he has in mind to Sonic to make sure that they BOTH make it out alive. Ahh teamwork...

He then again, has to pull Sonic out of spiralling down a 'my friends are gone and it's all my fault moment.' when Sonic sees his ghost friends. This time Shadows face is completely unamused. He see his tactic of trying to get Sonic to focus on safety didn't work. ''I thought we went over this.'' blatantly shows that. He tries stop Sonic getting any closer but Sonic just pushes him out the way. Then, when Sonics ghost friends start decaying, it's shown then that Sonic has FINALLY come to his senses and knows they need to get out and get safe.

Just in this episode it's shown that Sonic thinks on his feet, plans are a big no no for him and that's exactly what Shadow is the opposite of. Shadow is the guy who makes sure they're safe and are able to stay alive, yes he still thinks on his feet but not the way Sonic does. Shadow takes the lead in a lot of season 3 because of that.

I would go on and on for the whole entire season about this but i'm not, because i want to talk about the ending.

Ahh yes, the ending we all know and love. Sonic sacrifices himself and nearly dies in Shadows arms on the way back to Green Hill.

WE LITERALLY SEE SHADOWS EARS LOWER AND HIS FACE DROP. HE CARES ABOUT SONIC!!! That care is shown in tiny parts through the whole season, Shadow getting Sonic out of the Grim so Nine doesn't use sonic energy, helping in the battle blah blah blah. But this is hits the nail on the head. All the small build up of 'Oh Shadow's helping Sonic, that wasn't very expected' is finally used.

Shadow taking the lead in situations where Sonic could and probably would get himself killed is Shadow caring about Sonic... and himself. Yes of course Shadow cares about his own life and getting Green Hill back and is probably still pissed off at sonic through out all of this still but it's shown way less.

In a way, they're shown as team mates, the beginning of friends... who are mean to each other BUT WE MOVE PAST THAT.

I know their whole shmuck is that they're rivals and they hate each other but it's finally nice to see that they can work together like in the ending of SA2. I hope to see that again in Sonic x Shadow Generations and not just them fighting constantly because it gets boring. Also not to mention, Rouge is SEEN helping Team Sonic fight Eggman in Sonic Prime so, may i say Shadow is a bit left out there he should join in the fighting instead of brooding the little grump.

Anyways i think that's all i have to say, if i repeated myself my bad but i'm very good at that.

This is also not me shipping Sonic and Shadow. I don't mind people shipping them, i get why but i hate the people who are rlly weird about it...

ANYWAYS BYE

[shadamyheadcanons]

I saw a while back you were asked what your favorite interpretations of Shadow and Amy were.

While I don’t disagree (haven’t played heroes so can’t comment there, but have beat SA2) I was curious on your views over Sonic 06 version of Shadow? Ignoring the heavy problems with the game itself, I’m personally a heavy fan of the VA and how he acts.

It may be selfish of me… but I kinda wish Amy got more interactions with Shadow instead of Silver. I get WHY they did it, but I feel like it could of been nice to have them reunite and maybe even contrast the end of SA2 y’know?

First post about my favorite Shadow & Amy portrayals, SA2 and Heroes

Follow-up about Sonic Battle and Sonic Chronicles

I love both Shadow AND Amy in that game!

06 Shadow in particular has been getting a ton of interest in the past few years, and it’s wonderful to see. I considered including it in that first post about my favorites. 06 being such a failure gameplay-wise really screwed things up for the series for a long time. Sega learned all the wrong lessons. No more humans apart from Eggman. No more dark, serious plotlines. One-dimensional characters. No playable characters apart from Sonic in mainline games. None of the others can talk to anyone but Sonic. Obviously there were exceptions to this, but the series lost so much. Sonic 06 is older than most Sonic fans, but we’re only just now getting all of that back with Frontiers, IDW, etc.

This would have been bad enough on its own, but coming off the heels of Sonic 06, it hurt that much more. Sega decided Team Dark weren’t friends directly after their most poignant interactions. Shadow knew who he was. He knew what was important. And he knew he could trust the best friends by his side. When’s the last time he was so self-assured? That’s the downside of the 06 timeline being erased in the end. We know Shadow and Team Dark’s potential, but he doesn’t remember any of it.

That said, I’m ultimately still glad it’s erased. I’d hate for Shadow to go through life knowing the humans would reprogram his own best friend to hunt him down and lock him up forever. It says great things about Shadow, but it makes me like the humans a lot less.

It’s thanks to 06 that I consider Shadow to be the biggest hero in the franchise. This clip encompasses everything that makes his heroism unique:

“If the world chooses to become my enemy...I will fight like I always have.”

Iconic. Badass. I love the way he drops his inhibitors as he talks. This is Jason Griffith’s delivery at its best.

Sonic fights to protect his friends and the planet he calls home, along with the humans and Mobians who all love him, but there are SO MANY people who’ve treated Shadow like filth, and he still protects them. There’s no one else in canon who’s that selfless, and I also like that 06 doesn’t lean on Maria as the reason he does all this. Shadow himself is a good person and does good things for his own reasons, not just because she told him to.

Heroes proved this, too. Shadow didn’t even remember Maria in that game, but he still made the right call. Maria’s important, but she’s not the only reason he’s a good person.

Jason Griffith does a very good job as Shadow here and elsewhere, but David Humphrey is and always will be my favorite Shadow VA. If Jason is an A-rank, David is S-ranked. I’d be thrilled to have either of them back.

You’ll never see me judge anyone for wanting more Shadow/Amy interactions. I’ve thought the same thing with 06, and I love the Silver/Amy bits, too. She has an adorable scene with him AND starts him on the path to redemption. It’s the Amy Rose Special. I also like how she and Shadow inadvertently worked together to turn him around. Amy raised a question Silver hadn’t thought to ask, and Shadow showed him the answer.

But what this demonstrates to me is that this didn’t have to be an either/or situation.

It would’ve been nice for Amy to reunite with Silver and see how he turned things around. They were both there for the final battle, but they didn’t speak to each other. What if they’d had a scene with all three of them together? I hypothesized about that possibility in headcanon #99.

Side note: I just want to say that I think Amy is great in 06. She has the same cute accidental hug/elevator speech combo she used to turn Shadow around in SA2, but people sleep on it in 06 for some reason. On top of that, a lot of fans willfully misinterpret one particular line of hers. And anyone who knows Sonic 06 knows which one that is.

“If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic!”

I’ve seen so many people say she’s a dumb, ridiculous fangirl for this, and I can’t stand it. She’s not saying the rest of the world doesn’t matter, she’s saying that she has so much faith in Sonic as a person that she’d take his side even if the rest of the world said he was wrong. And, uh...she has good reason to! It’s not the first time he’s been falsely accused of something. It’s like these fans conveniently forgot what happened in SA2 the second they saw an opportunity to hurl insults at Amy.

You know what Amy’s line reminds me of most?

“Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you, know that I’ll always remain by your side. Remember that.”

Yeah. That line everyone loves about ultimate loyalty for someone you care about. The line that many consider to be Rouge’s best. The only difference is that Rouge is a calm young adult talking about a friend, while Amy was an upset young girl whose feelings were too big for careful phrasing and restraint. Combine that with how much hate there was for her at the time, and you have a great, dedicated line absolutely drowned in ice-cold, bad faith takes from the fandom. And Silver needed that fervor to make him question Mephiles, too! It had to be her! It was because he saw how strongly she felt about Sonic that he started having second thoughts. You think a calm statement like Rouge’s could have made him back down from attempted murder?

Much like with Shadow in SA2, it had to be Amy. 06 did a great job with her. Some fans still need to wise up about it. They’ve been recognizing how awesome 06 Shadow is, so maybe, just maybe, they’ll do the same for Amy someday.

[archoneddzs15]

Sony PlayStation 5 - Sonic Frontiers

Title: Sonic Frontiers / ソニックフロンティア

Developer/Publisher: Sega 2nd Development Division (Sonic Team)

Release date: 8 November 2022

Catalogue No.: ELJM-30201

Genre: Open Zone Action RPG

Talk about Sonic the Hedgehog's equivalent of a glow-up from Phantasy Star 4 to Phantasy Star Online right here. To be honest, I was getting sick of the PS5's somewhat lacking amount of quality titles that make it worth the investment, and then Sega dropped a bombshell by releasing this game right here. And yes. That's right - my first-ever PS5 game review! I was coming into this game with low expectations and while the game initially did not wow me judging from all the IGN FIRST hands-ons I watched pre-release, I have to say that I was mighty blown away at the final product. This game actually reminded me of a cross between Sonic Adventure 1, the Final Fantasy Sonic X flash games as well as the newest Final Fantasy games, and if you are old enough, the epic cinematic (though dull to me) intro to Burai Hackigyoku no Yuushi Densetsu on the Mega CD, as well as Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast.

I was sorta flip-flopping on whether it was good or bad but personally, having played it for some time and even 100%-ing it with the Content Updates (Update 1: Sights, Sound and Speed; Update 2: Sonic's Birthday Bash; Update 3: The Final Horizon) that Sonic Team delivered, the game itself is mighty excellent for PS5 Sonic game standards. I am personally playing this game using Japanese audio and English text and I think that language combination works wonderfully. The English story is written by Ian Flynn of IDW Sonic Comics and Bumblekast fame, and while the story is a major improvement over the Happy Tree Friends vibe that Ken Pontac and Warren Graff gave I still have yet to play it again on English audio though. Sonic controlled weirdly for the first time I played, but I pretty much got used to the control scheme after learning through it and configuring the settings to my own personal preference. The in-game soundtrack is all sorts of excellent. A mix of melancholic mixed with hard rock, and ONE OK ROCK did a stellar performance with the in-game version of Vandalize. Shame I did not get to see their December 15 2023 concert in Kuala Lumpur though.

The graphics are not the best compared to all the PS5 exclusives (this game is also on PS4, Switch, and PC - at least in my country the XBOX version is not sold here) but for my first ever (and probably only) PS5 experience, it's not bad. Could've been Spider-Man 2 great though, but that would be me pulling the Sony fanboy card. Instead, I'd say, it reminds me of the Shenmue games mixed with Ridge Racer 7, Sonic Generations, Phantasy Star Online, and Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012.

Here is something cool. My copy of Sonic Frontiers for PS5 also came with a flyer for Sonic Movie 2 (a great Sonic movie honestly), and a promo sheet that I forgot even existed. That promo started players off with extra Blue Defense Seeds, Red Power Seeds, and Skill Points.

Overall, if you are looking for a great Sonic game for your new PS5, why not look at Sonic Frontiers? I mean, with Sonic Superstars and Sonic X Shadow Generations doing quite well, the 2020s is probably going to be a wonderful Decade of Sonic. Next up on my bucket list is to collect the two Sonic Frontiers soundtrack CD's that were released.

[alterchaos]

AWAKENING

Eve finally wakes from her slumber...

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: THE GREAT SPIRIT OF FIRE

NEXT CHAPTER: REUNION

ALT. SCENARIO: CLICK HERE

“SONIC!!!”

Eve immediately jumped up in her panic, not aware or paying mind to her situation. She reached out as she had in her nightmare, falling from the bed and crashing into the floor with a resounding thud. The IV tugged from her arm, dragging the fluid stand down on top of her.

“N-Nnnn…”

She trembled a bit from the dull pain in her stomach as well as the weakness in her limbs as she attempted to crawl forward. Her tired eyes swam as she focused on the door to her left. She coughed a bit from the impact on her abdomen, reaching out once more.

“S-Sonic…”

“Oh my- EVE!!!”

The pink hedgehog had woken with a start, hammer at the ready as she searched for the threat. She lowered her weapon with wide eyes as she realized what had happened, racing to her friend’s side.

“Woah!! Easy!! You’re really hurt!!”

“H-He’s in danger…I…I have to…”

Amy pulled the IV from her arm, which had already begun to bruise from the needle stuck in her vein. She lifted the stand off her friend, before kneeling down in her way to stop her, “There’s no danger, Eve. You’re safe now. It’s okay.” Tears sprung up in her eyes, “Y-You’re okay…”

Eve propped herself up onto her elbows, lifting her head to meet Amy’s eyes, “Sonic…h-he was…he was in danger…Amy…what happened? Is he okay?”

Amy paused, torn between what was right and what had been asked of her, “I-I…”

This caused Eve’s eyes to widen further with panic, “Please, Amy! H-He was trying to save me…I-If anything happened to him…” She pleaded with her eyes to know the truth.

Amy couldn’t bring herself to lie.

She smiled warmly, “Why don’t you ask him when he gets back from his trip with Tails?” 

Eve’s eyes widened. She then began to sob happily, “H-He’s safe…Thank goodness…”

It took all of Amy's strength not to reveal his secret.

She helped her friend up off the floor, “For now though, you need to stay in bed until you get some of your strength back. I’ll get you some food since the IV is out, but you have to promise to stay put.”

Eve nodded, sitting propped up in the bed, “I promise.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.” She handed Eve the wrist communicator and a second hammer, “Use these in case of any emergency. I won’t be long.”

clack

—----------------------------------------------------------

Zonshen and his wife refused to let the pair of brothers travel without rest and a proper meal. Plus, Sonic needed a chance to rest after that battle, so he and Tails made themselves at home, planning to leave first thing in the morning.

beep beep

Tails’s eyes went wide as his Miles Electric indicated a call from Amy. Assuming the worst, he answered without hesitancy.

“Amy! What’s wrong! Did something happen to-!”

“Tails?”

The fox paused, stunned speechless by the voice on the other side. The human girl’s worried face was softly lit by the bedside lamp as she spoke. Sonic’s ears perked at the sound, and he turned his face to look at his brother equally speechless.

“Is…Is Sonic with you? Can I see him?”

Sonic reached forward, stopping abruptly when his clawed hand inched into his sight. He pulled back, shaking his head and turning away.

“He’s…not here right now…He’ll be back in the morning…when he’s awake…”

“Oh…” The disappointment in her voice was palpable, “Where did you two go?”

“That’s…a bit of a long story. We’ll explain later.”

“Is he okay?”

Tails felt his heart drop as he looked upon her worried features. She had a right to know. She really did. He knew it. Sonic knew it too.

Still…

“...Never been better hehehe…”

“...”

He needed to change the subject before she grew suspicious, “Where’s Amy?”

“Oh, she went to get me some food.”

“She left you alone?”

“Well, she didn’t get much of a choice since…well…you see…I sort of panicked when I woke up and fell and tore out the IV…” She smiled nervously, “Sh-She left me one of her spare hammers though…in case I need it…”

Tails sighed, “Well what matters is that you’re finally awake.”

“How long was I out?”

“Seven days.”

“Seven days!?” Eve sighed comically, “No wonder I feel so groggy. I WAY overslept.”

Tails chuckled, a few tears springing up, “I’m really happy you’re okay!”

She smiled, “Yeah…me too…”

Sonic remained turned, trembling as he attempted to hide his tears. He wanted to speak to her so badly, to see her physically okay, but he felt ashamed, unable to take that step out into the open. Part of him knew she would be hurt, but part of him was afraid of what she would think. No matter how hard he tried, it didn’t matter.

He simply couldn’t face her.

“Hey, Tails?”

“Hm?”

“When you see Sonic, can you tell him that I’m okay now? I know he must be really worried after everything that happened and…I feel bad for scaring him like I did…”

Sonic turned back around, the guilt weighing on his heart now more than ever.

“...I’ll tell him. And don’t feel bad for what happened, okay? Just focus on eating up and taking care of yourself so he can see how much better you’re doing. That’ll make him happiest.” Amy clicked the door open, having returned with the food, “We’ll be back tomorrow. Get plenty of rest!”

“As if I need any more sleep. I’ll see you two tomorrow. Thank you, Tails.”

beep

CHAPTER END

[wereh0gz]

Been thinking abt sonic prime recently. And how much missed potential it had. Like this could've been one of the best sonic shows but in the end it just turned out kinda ok

I think part of it was due to how little time they had to fully explore a lot of the stuff introduced into the series, and also not managing the time they had very well. Like there's so many characters that go underdeveloped or have their development tacked onto the last batch of episodes during a very drawn out fight against nine

The general pacing was so quick it barely left room to breathe and properly flesh things out. Both the characters and the setting don't really get enough time to be fully explored because the almost non-stop action takes a lot of focus away from that, making the series constantly bounce from one place to another until the final season where a good chunk of it is just. Fighting against nine

Shadow is also woefully underutilized as a character which is really a shame bc he's really good whenever he IS utilized. Same with sonic's powered up prism form. It only showed up once and it wasn't even for the endgame. Literally pulled a dark sonic on us again

I'm kinda mixed on the ending too. Basically having it reset to the status quo with no clarity as to whether the shatterspaces and all the new characters that came with them still even exist in some way is definitely. A choice. No closure for me ig :/

Also this is more of a nitpick than anything but ghost hill bothers me as a concept. It feels like they couldn't come up with another unique shatterspace (or maybe they didn't have time?) so they just made it what remains of the og green hill... even though the grim could have easily served that purpose and have been much more impactful and horrifying if it was used that way. AND it would've made more sense bc the grim's shard is LITERALLY THE CORE OF THE PARADOX PRISM. LIKE WHERE THE OTHER SHARDS BROKE OFF FROM? IT'S LITERALLY RIGHT THERE ARE YOU KIDDING ME HOW DID THEY NOT THINK OF THAT

Also kinda nitpicky I think but splitting eggman into the chaos council is also weird to me. It doesn't make much sense in comparison to how all the other characters were split up. Why are they Like That. Why are they basically just eggman at different ages. That's not how it worked with the others why'd that happen to him specifically

Ok that's enough criticisms. I think given more time (both in the sense of having more episodes and more production time to fully flesh everything out) prime could've been so much greater than what we got. It's good, especially in the animation department, but the narrative really falls short imo

In spite of everything tho I'm glad it got made at all and that it had such a positive reception, so here's hoping whatever full-length show comes next is even better (please god make it an anime sega I beg of you give us another sonic anime PLEASE)

[randomthefox]

Why do some people dislike the characterization from Frontiers?

They will say stuff like:

"But Amy already shares love with the world! It doesn't make sense for this moment to be sad!"

Me: You don't get it. Amy is going to be own hero and not rely on Sonic entirely anymore. She will help and heal others, even if that means she won't see Sonic that much anymore.

"Knuckles HAS been off of his island to do fun things! It doesn't make sense!"

Me: You don't get it. He's struggling between duty, and happiness. How can you live your own life and not be selfish? He is the last of his kind, but does that mean he won't get the chance to live how he wants? This next chapter for Knuckles is going to be interesting.

"Tails did stuff on his own! He defeated Chaos and Eggman! It doesn't make any sense!"

Me: You don't get it. Tails is going to find out what he'll be without Sonic. He called himself a "burden" to his best friend; now he needs to find the confidence to let go of that pain by proving to himself he is amazing. Overcome the fear of failure he had in Forces, and realize he isn't a "side kick" but a best friend who is the coolest. He is going to find out who to be without Sonic, because there might be a day....when his best friend won't be there.

But nope. SEGA and Sonic Team and IIzuka are stupid. They wouldn't put ANY god damn thought into the story and characters, right? Why do they think this? BECAUSE THEY DON'T GET IT.

Yeah honestly the complaints about the writing in Frontiers always seem really stupid to me. Like they're inventing things to complain about for lack of anything genuine that's bad about it.

I can understand not really jiving with the way Frontiers is handling its story. The game is very slow paced and dialog heavy and introspective, it's characters mostly just talking about their feelings. If that's boring to you I totally get that. If you prefer the more story light and action oriented plots of Sonic Heroes or Sonic Colors, or if you prefer the more theme focused stories of Sonic Adventure and Adventure 2, or if you'd rather be along a roller coaster that's more about the situation the characters are in like with the storybook games or Sonic Forces, or if you're more down for the vibes of an experience like you get out of Sonic Unleashed. Then that's totally fair.

Personally I'm up for whatever Sonic wants to do regardless of what it is lol. And Frontiers being more navel gazing and dialog oriented is something I can be very engaged by. If it doesn't engage you then I get that - we all have different tastes. But when you say it isn't a matter of taste and start acting like the writing of the story itself is lacking, that's when I'm gonna be holding your reasoning to scrutiny and often the complaints about Frontiers do not hold up under that scrutiny.

Amy and Tails's character stories in Frontiers are about them wanting to set out on their own and figure out how to define themselves separately from Sonic. And you can't really argue against the fact that they're both very much satellite characters who are defined almost entirely by their relationship with Sonic. Realizing due to the experience of cyberspace that they kind of don't like that about themselves and wanting to strike out on their own to figure out who they are when Sonic isn't in the room seems like a reasonable character conflict to explore from where I'm sitting.

Knuckles' story as far as I'm concerned is addressing a hole that has existed with his character ever since the ending of Sonic Adventure, where his story concluded with him deciding ignorance was bliss and he was content with just living as a guardian for the master emerald without getting embroiled in the wider world around him. There was never really a direct in text explanation for why he's going and running around doing stuff with Sonic instead of guarding the master emerald after that. You could argue that them finally addressing that is too little too late but I say better late than never.

You could nitpick by saying that Tails and Amy spend PLENTY of time on their own without Sonic around so realistically this shouldn't be a question they're burdened by and that Knuckles obviously DOES leave his island to go on adventures so having him address the limitations of his guardian duty is a moot point. Obviously it's very meta writing, it's the characters sort of confronting their narrative roles rather than acting like three dimensional individuals who continue to exist whenever the camera isn't looking at them. But since when has being meta automatically been a bad thing? Sonic has always been meta from the very beginning. And going in a different direction with the narrative to have the characters confronting the way they're conventionally written as an in universe attribute of their characterization is a fun experiment for them to take to coincide with a video game that is experimenting with a new system of gameplay.

If that experiment didn't really work out for you, then that's okay

But that isn't a problem with the story.