In an interview with ThisIsMyJoystick.com, Yuji Naka has revealed that the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was created with environmental themes based around the impact mankind is having on the world, but says he couldn’t speak about it back in 1991 because it was a touchy subject at the time.
Naka instead decided to showcase his views in Sonic the Hedgehog’s video game world, with the villainous and polluting Dr.Robotnik/Dr.Eggman being the main representation of the concept.
“Dr Robotnik is a slightly radical representation of all humanity and the impact humanity is having on nature. In 1991, it was a very sensitive subject to talk about the environment and while I had my viewpoint, I did not speak of it. With Sonic, I was given an opportunity to express my views in a different way and did so, showing Robotnik using pollution and creating machinery which desecrates the environment and it is down to Sonic to change his ways.”
Source: ThisIsMyJoystick.com
What do you think of this revelation? Could you already see the concept? Discuss in the comments.
Yeah, I’ve always made that connection about Sonic, Eggman, the animals, and zones like Oil Ocean.
I think most people realized this at some point in time. If not in the main line of the games, then Sonic CD hammered the concept.
It is definitely in certain location in Sonic 2 (IE Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean).
Though as for the original Sonic the effects on the environment itself were as obvious, but the effects on the creatures of the world were quite apparent.
See, mindlessly running into danger to fight robots=safer world for our kiddies. Violence is the answer, and educational!–The More Yo Know!
P.S. FIRSTIES!
Honestly….I’m not all that surprised. I mean, I AM surprised that they actually admitted it, but I’ve gotten an environmentalist vibe from Sonic for years. Heck, SEVERAL spin off continuities tapped into this theme, including SatAM, Archie, and Sonic Underground (to a lesser degree). I think even Sonic the Comic tapped into it.
Still, it’s cool to hear Naka finally admit it. Sonic’s kinda lost this message over the years. Maybe it’s time to suttely ring it back? (If Colors isn’t already)
I actually realized many years ago when I was watching an episode of SatAM. I looked at it as an remarkably true point though; many places in this world (like forests) are being destroyed by mankind and what mankind has built such as factories. And it does seem like were losing animals and making more machines.
I could always tell it was supposed to be supportive of the environment but I never got the metaphor quite right until now.
Yeah, I knew it 😀
Shown explicitly on the cartoon and in the comics, but also shown in the first games.
In Sonic the Hedgehog, for Master System, you could see the first zones totally green, and the scrap brain zone’s atmosphere so polluted, also shown on the maps.
The ending with all the emeralds show them blowing up the last machineries, turning the island the way it shouldve been (the utopia)
This had always been kind of obvious to me… but hey, if it gets kids to think critically about the environment, and SUBTLY, then power to you SEGA!
O_O
Suddenly the whole reason for Sonic just made sense. xD
In Sonic 1, we start off at Green Hill Zone and end in Scrap Brain Zone. It was pretty obvious. And it being obvious is a good thing meaning he accomplished what he set out to do. And now he can confirm his actions.
Sonic CD was more based on the concept style, but then again the game was lead by Naoto Oshima. Even it still had the theme (kinda) where the planet is all metallic looking but if saved it’s all nature looking.
Sonic 2, like the first comment suggests, specifically has Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean.
In Sonic 3 he caught the forest on fire.
It’s technically in the Adventure series as well. To get what he wants he’s always destroying something good. Big and Knuckles specifically prefer the jungle over the cities that already exist and Robotnik blows up part of the freakin moon!
Sonic Heroes looses the concept as they make Grand Metropolis look like it’s a good thing as well as other aspects, but it was also Metal Sonic as the villain of that game.
And despite the reaction people have to hearing of the title next gen, it had a major theme similar to this following from it’s predecessors. Silver comes to the present and considers a mere desert as gorgeous because his world’s already messed up.
In Sonic Unleashed they make it out to seem less enviromental as the whole world’s blown apart but everything’s normal except the light and darkness. However, it does technically show that Eggman’s hasty greeds caused the “world” to backlash negatively.
Sonic Colors, so far, seems to be showing something similar to both Sonic CD and the STH series by the worlds being converted for an Amusement Park which obvious isn’t good for it’s planets being used. o.o
Makes sense.
But still, did they really need a line in the Knuckles SA theme about saving flowers?
Perhaps this contributed to Naka’s departure from SEGA: Sonic lost its message. But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
@sonictoast WIN
Knew it. They were always trying to shove environmental themes down our throats back in the 90s.
Now Robotnik doesn’t pollute anymore, instead it is all about egocentric desires and flamboyance.
The Nostalgia Critic figured this out a long time ago.
Well duh. Still, it’s interesting to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
I won’t get into the logical absurdity of Naka’s implied position that humans and what they do are not “natural” or are somehow inherently destructive. I’d rather prefer to think of Sonic as a defender of freedom and rights rather than an irrational environmentalist who puts the preservation of a static, unchanging environment above all other values including the happiness and well-being of the population.
I also wonder whether this was actually Naka’s idea, considering his track record for taking credit for things.
Well we did kinda work it out a while back… but we’ve never had official confirmation… although I do wish that the soviet union theory was a bit correct.
Going back to the interview, I see that Naka’s answer was in response to the question of why Robotnik was the only human in Sonic’s world. Interesting. I always did think that the themes made more sense when the good guys were animals and only the bad guys were humans.
Awesome Hedgehog kicks Dr Robotnik’s butt.
Sonic “I”M AWESOME! “
I like how in Sonic CD, all the good futures showcase perfect harmony between technology and nature. Though I don’t like all this environmentalist crap, I also think mankind should take care of the world.
Wow, cool information. Whenever I played Sonic, I knew that the game was very outdoorsy and environmental-like. I didn’t know that one of the game’s purposes was to have that kind of representation and impact. Agreeing with an above comment, it really does make sense of why Robotnik was the only human on Mobius. Now that I think about it, that makes me like the game even more now that they have the makers had that kind of mindset. No joke, thats kinda why I liked Sonic in the first place was because of the environmental themes, but that type of purpose of the game just makes me like it even more. If I were Naka, I would have said this a long time ago.
I disagree with the notion that the Sonic Series was trying to force an environmental message on us.
The games are rather subtle. They mostly present the topic in scenery. The story of the earlier games is a bit less subtle, but they never say that machines equals bad. It more of a warning against taking things to far.
In the StH for the Genesis, each level seems to represent a shift in the balance between nature and machine AND human civilization. Green Hill Zone is perfectly tipping the scales on the nature side of things. Marble Zone show a lot a nature but with little representations of human civilization and machinery. Spring Yard Zone takes it past the balance point. You see more machines and more civilization, but you can still see nature here and there in the background. Labyrinth Zone has less nature, lots of human civilization, and a medium amount of machines. Star Light Zone has a lot of machinery, but less human civilization than Labyrinth, and little if no nature represented. Scrap Brain Zone is the peak of machinery, with no nature, and seemingly no human civilization. I see the message as being is that, human civilization can’t survive without nature. Balance with nature is important.
That naturally is how I see it, but others may not see it this way. I don’t view it as a radical naturalist theory, but more of a warning.
Sonic 2, however takes a more contrast approach. Giving you a good zone/bad zone dynamic.
Emerald Hill Zone then Chemical Plant Zone
Aquatic Ruin Zone then Casino Night Zone
Hill Top Zone then Oil Ocean Zone
Mystic Cave Zone then Metropolis Zone
The compare contrast kind of stops there though. Each zone I mentioned first has a high amount nature content and the second zones a high amount corrupt content.
This extends to Sonic 3 but not as much to Sonic and Knuckles.
Sonic CD is sort of a separate case. It takes the environmental message to a different extreme. It lets each individual zone tell the story. With Past being Nature Only. Present being a balance between Nature and Machine. Bad Future being Machine taking precedence over Nature. Good Future being Nature taking precedence over Machine.
I think the games less force a message on you, but they let you experience the message. Now none of this analysis includes Robotnik’s robots. Just the state of the zones in general. Robotnik just represents the worst possible attitude that humans can take with nature. Robotnik is bound by the machinery, he can’t even fight without it. On the other hand, Sonic is free. Free to run through nature and experience it. Though Sonic doesn’t seem to be against machines as a whole, just Robotnik. Proof being the airplane from Sonic 2. (Was it known as the Tornado back then?)
Honestly, I think most people react to these kinds of things on a more sub-conscious level. I always remember the nature-based zones more fondly and remember the machinery zones in a more notorious way. That’s not saying nature zones are the ones I liked the best or the other way around. Its just that each zone leaves you with a different kind of feeling. Every Green Hill Zone makes you think of the fun your going to have/had. While every Scrap Brain Zone makes you feel the challenge and the fun that comes with that. I think that human civilization needs both nature and machines to exist and survive. Similarly, I don’t think a Sonic game isn’t complete if it doesn’t have a balance of cool brightly colored nature zones and awesome challenging machinery zones.
TLDR:
Sonic is about the balance between nature and machine. Nature represents the fun of freedom. Machine represent the fun of challenge. Without both Sonic games aren’t complete. The same goes with human civilization without both a balance of nature and machine, we simply would not survive.
It may have been a touchy subject in 1991, but he’s just saying this now? I feel like had he really wanted the world to know that he would’ve brought it up earlier. Seems as if he’s riding the back of a wave in order to gain popularity.
Though yeah I can see how the games hint at the message, him just coming out now how he based Sonic on it seems like a cheap ploy.
Of course, we do all realize that if environmentalists had there way we wouldn’t have any video games, right?
I never really thought about it, but this isn’t really shocking. I guess I kinda subconsciously knew it.
@sonictoast: I always thought that was a metaphor the Master Emerald, but that’s just me.
Good thing there bringing it back with the Planet Wisp Stage from Colors
Seriously, did anyone else notice it?
Yea I figured that was the concept…and as soon as they started introducing more humans that concept was thrown right out of the window.
Sonic SEZ: GO GREEN!
now let a green Sonic recolor come in!
Oh wait… that’s already has happened… 😕
Well I agree with mosst eople here, you figured that out pretty easy.
I knew it ever since i watched the Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon when i was a kid.
Robotnik: Smog, beautiful beautiful smog!
“What do you think of this revelation? Could you already see the concept?”
*Looks at Sonic 1 Scrap brain and Sonic CD*
Yeah I already saw it. Some people have commented on Sonic being an Eco terrorist as well.
Uh.. yeah. Sonic was saving his animal friends from the man who makes machines.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out the connection.
Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean pretty much sealed the deal.
… This is pretty much non-news considering the obviousness of it all.
But imagine if Eggman really was an amalgamation of all mankind… I’d probably be somewhere on his ass…
Wait, wait wait hold on I cant comprehend this… An environmental message that’s… SUBTLE??
So thats why SonicTeam favors the Casino Environment over the snowy one. To be honest, I think that Sonic is the only platformer to even use a casino, let alone have it appear more often than a desert stage or a snowy stage.
I was never sure if it was intentional in the games, but it certainly came through in the cartoons. I was just never sure if the cartoon producers got that interpretation from it or if it was intentional in the game originally. The clues are there though, such as the tree-chopping boss in Sonic & Knuckles and stuff. Pretty cool.
Honestly? I didn’t realise this wasn’t *already* confirmed? As with others, I’d assumed this was the case for the last two decades.
Yes everyone, it is pretty obvious, which is why I said “Could you already see the concept?” This isn’t me being stupid by posting this, it’s just the first time it’s been officially confirmed. It’s also nice to hear that the man himself Yuji Naka was the one behind the environmental themes concept.
Someone mentioned Grand Metropolis. I haven’t played Sonic Heroes in a while, but I think there were areas like gardens in there, if you pay close attention. Like trees growing in preserved areas. I think Grand Metropolis is more like an environment friendly techonology. And you can’t see pollution anywhere.
I really love Chemical Plant… Everything in it, the background, the music, the layout… My favorite stage in Sonic 2.
@Jetronic:
Oh my gosh he IS… I don’t think I’ll ever look at Sonic the same way again…
Like many here I’ve realised this fact for years but I’m glad that Naka finally admitted it. However it seems said message became less apparent with the transition to 3D; not that it really matters anymore.
And I thought SA2 had a dark story…
@sonictoast:
Not really. As far as I can tell, the “flower” in Knuckles’ theme is a visual metaphor for the Master Emerald.
Heh. What do you know, SatAM was more in tune with the games than it made itself appear. I still don’t get most of the choices they made, though.
Don’t get me wrong, I never watched SatAM thoroughly, but I still like it. =p
@EmeraldWind
Well said, friend. I think your argument was the most well-thought out
As for my opinion, I always suspected that Sonic had a ecological message. I think everyone did. I guess even a blue hedgehog can teach you a thing or two.
And as for that “Sonic is an eco-terroist” crud, please knock it off. Sonic was simply a speedy little dude that was trying to save his buddies from a tyrannical madman. It was only by unwitting extension that he represented the destruction of nature by Man.
Whats really weird is that I was just thinking about this yesterday! My brother was playing Sonic 1 and that got me thinking about how it was such a strong theme back in the early games. I always used to think of Sonic being very environmentally themed back in 90s.
So yeah, it always seemed obvious to me.
Ah, the good ol’ days. When Robotnik was an evil mechanical supervillain and not a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke. Sigh.
@ EmeraldWind
Nice.
I always figured that that was the sort of message that SatAM was convaying, but it never occured to me that the games did the same.
I saw it as being more about the Cold War.
Let’s see: Sonic 1, Robotnik kidnaps animals, destroys wildlife, and his base is a massive pollutant.
Sonic 2: Chemical Plant Zone (and that nasty stuff that he pours on Sonic) and the Oil Ocean zone(A foretelling of the 2010 Oil Spill?)
Sonic 3: He burns Angel Island and does other stuff like stealing the Master Emerald.
Sonic CD: ISN’T IT OBVIOUS?! The bad futures usually result in some horrible, polluted, psychotic-fat- guy paradise.
SatAM, AoStH & the Pre-Adventure comics: He destroys all the wildlife he can get his hands on and anything living he metalizes.
Seems obvious, isn’t it?
Another thing to ponder: Why Casino Levels? Sonic’s only fifteen, and Robotnik owns everything there!
Perfect Chaos: Obviously an illistration of water polution… or somthing…
My friend and I actually said this a while ago!
Sonic 1 – 3&K: Nature vs Pollution, life vs machine
Sonic Adventure: Freedom vs Greed
Sonic Adventure 2: Hope vs Prejudice
Sonic Heroes: Starts the series of Sonic games that have no deep lesson to learn like the rest of the franchise in all it’s continuity as well as starting the first of the series of games to be considered “crap” by the fanbase…
o.o Epiphony! Sonic Unleashed had a lesson and Sonic Colors looks like it’s gonna have a lesson! The awesome Sonic games have lessons! :U lol
(Sonic Heroes technically has “teamwork” as it’s lesson but that’s not a world plot-filled lesson. lol)
@PorpoiseMuffins
Robotnik was never the only humans. In the concept Sonic had a human girlfriend. In the OVA there is a human civilization. In the Adventure series and Sonic X there are tons of humans. In Sonic 1, there is supposedly a robot “bullying” a human or 2 which Sonic destroys discovering that there’s a little animal inside and that someone is “bullying humans and animals alike”.
@Dashell
Well, I don’t remember any gardens. Maybe there was. But I remember Knuckles saying he disliked the place due to the lack of nature. Also Grand Metropolis was supposedly run by Eggman who was transporting energy through the tubes (which created see-through roads for them to run on too) So it was kinda like a “pretty” Chemical Plant City or something.
@Inferno The Fox
Because they’re fancy. ;D lol
I think it’s more of “party” levels. They often have to do with pinball. Spring Yard Zone, Collision Chaos, Casino Night, Carnival Night, Casinopolis, Casino Park, Bingo Highway, Circus Park, SEGA Carnival.
Found that out a while ago.
“Strange isn’t it?”
Pretty unsurprising, really, especially with the Archie comics doing the same basic thing except much more obviously.
@ ChaoticFox
“Ah, the good ol’ days. When Robotnik was an evil mechanical supervillain and not a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke. Sigh.”
So you never liked game Robotnik? Because that’s what he was from day one in the games.
@Kintobor Indeed..
I had a feeling this concept was conveyed throughout the series since it started, I didn’t think Naka would actually announce at though.
@Kintobor & ChaoticFox
Correction, he was an evil mechanical supervillain AND a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke.
@Ax
I was only talking about Sonic 1, 2, 3&K. There were no in-game humans. Whether or not Sonic’s world was intended to have them or not is a matter of reasonable debate. Either way, Robotnik being one of the few humans supports (or would have supported) the environmental theme much better. There’s no question there.
@PorpoiseMuffins
I already said
“Robotnik was never the only humans.”
“In Sonic 1, there is supposedly a robot ‘bullying’ a human or 2 which Sonic destroys discovering that there’s a little animal inside and that someone is ‘bullying humans and animals alike’.”
True they weren’t in-game. But so what?
As for you saying “Whether or not Sonic’s world was intended to have them or not is a matter of reasonable debate.”, no, no it’s not. Robotnik can’t be the ONLY human, Madonna’s concept existence is not speculation and I already pointed out the bit about Sonic 1, twice. It’s not debatable, it’s fact. XD
I don’t think they’re saying humans = bad, I think they’re saying that Robotnik, a human, represents doing bad things to the world similar to what was actually being done to the world only by humans. But then again almost all villains represent the bad that exists in the world. That’s a big duh, amirite? XD
“Ah, the good ol’ days. When Robotnik was an evil mechanical supervillain and not a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke. Sigh.”
Sure unless you’re talking about SatAM Robotnik and not the one in the videogame series cause he’s always been a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke since the first game.
@PorpoiseMuffins
“@Kintobor & ChaoticFox
Correction, he was an evil mechanical supervillain AND a bumbling idiot crossed with a fat joke.”
Which one? if you are referring AoStH Robotnik, then yes. If it was SatAM, then the first one.
If it is just the last one, then you are daft. Robotnik has an I.Q. of 300, thank you very much. ;P
Ah.. it all makes sense..
when i played sonic CD and got the bad futures, I always noticed that it seemed all nice and pretty and full of life but in the bed future levels it was like all nature was destroyed and replaced with machinery. I see where that came from.
Also, a nudge to Sonic SatAM. In robotropilis, there was always a look of pollution and gases in the air…it looked horrible.
Mr. Yuji Naka… you were a great man to hide this environmental subliminal message in the Series.
Well, at least he didn’t beat us over the head with it, the way American environmentalists often do. Sometimes it seems like some of them would be willing to kill off the rest of us just to protect the planet. Although, it does make you wonder why there were no other humans in the classic Sonic games.
He’s referring to the game Robotnik because that’s what the sentence was in response to. XD
Game Robotnik: Mechanical genius villain and a bumbling idiot (based on his personality) with fat jokes and a circus.
AoSth Robotnik: Fat idiot villain with fat jokes.
SatAM Robotnik: EEEEVIL mechanical fat idiot. (Because, despite his evilness and temper, he wasn’t that bright)
Underground Robotnik: Mechnical fat villain.
OVA Robotnik: Mechanical genius villain with fat jokes.
@Hamilton
I think that pic of him also makes me think of him running a circus (The clothes) which is odd cuz they don’t often mention his Amusement Park theme til later, and now that I think about it his new clothes, though more “scientist” looking and “fancy”, it does look like a circus leader’s kinda clothes still.
@needsemail1
There were humans in Sonic 1, just not in any levels. To be fair, there wasn’t ANYONE in any of the levels except Little Animals and that’s because they were inside the robots.
Interesting. Some people here are talking about those amusement parks too, I remember Sonic and Chip talking before (and during the boss fight) the Eggmanland stage in S. Unleashed, they end up saying that Robotnik is acting like a wicked man. Indeed, the constant reference to these parks, and the will of building a huge city og bright lights and smoke makes me wonder if it also refers to the idea of using media and fun to control people, turning their eyes away from the problems behind Robotnik’s ambitions. geez.
i noticed it in the 2d sonic games i thought everyone already knew this
@Ax
Alright, I can see that you have no interest in actually trying to understand what I said.
I seem to have stirred up quite the controversy. Sticking strictly to the games, Robotnik was never an idiotic fat joke. Yes, he was always fat. But he was never used as comic relief, or as the butt end of a bad joke. There WERE no jokes in the classic games.
Yes, he consistently failed to defeat Sonic, but that does not make him a “bumbling idiot”. Pre-Adventure, there was no dialogue, and little in the way of animation to insinuate much of a personality BEYOND mechanical genius. His entire character was defined and evidenced by his badnik army, Death Egg, and numerous robotic war machines. This made him evil. This made him a technological mastermind. This made him a threat.
Nowadays, an 8 year old (Tails) can compete with his IQ of 300. His mechanical “genius” produces gag robots like Orbot, and his plans to take over the world involve summoning stupid evil demons without a plan for how to control them, among other things. This is what I’m referring to. Game Robotnik has essentially become the gag villain he was depicted as in many of the cartoons, particularly in Sega’s own cartoon: Sonic X, where once he was the silent evil villain. Perpetually ineffective, as all villains are, but still a menacing threat.
“There WERE no jokes in the classic games.”
The biggest joke of all was that a fat man could always out run Sonic the Hedgehog. A sight gag that still continues to this day in Sonic 4.
“His entire character was defined and evidenced by his badnik army, Death Egg, and numerous robotic war machines. This made him evil. This made him a technological mastermind. This made him a threat.”
Wellll…..actually his earlier artwork tends to tell us of his lighter personality, a flamboyant and feminine man who enjoys fun alongside of conquering the world and raising hell. Without viewing those you only get half of the story of the man known as Dr. Robotnik, and a vast assumption made by many which bastardized him into being a terror from the beyond, or such nonsense.
“There WERE no jokes in the classic games.”
How about the first boss battle in Sonic 2? You know, the one where Eggman tries to hit Sonic with a very slow drill machine?
@ Everyone.
I’m not saying he didn’t have a lighter side. I’m not saying he was the epitome of evil. I’m just saying he wasn’t always quite as much of an embarrassing goof, or at least he didn’t seem that way. If you want to argue he has been that way all along, then I will argue that it was as disappointing a decision then as it is now, and I can be thankful that it wasn’t made as apparent back in the day. I don’t mind a little silliness, but to I just can’t take the current Robotnik seriously. They’ve turned him into a complete and utter gag villain, regardless of whatever he actually accomplishes.
Drill tank, and quick escapes in the Death Egg? Those weren’t intentional gags. Sure, they may seem a bit funny now… but how literal are you really trying to get? I seriously doubt that Sonic Team had a giggle fit when they programmed the first boss to be easy.
His traditional outfit isn’t really that outrageous or flamboyant. To be honest, except for the cape, it’s INCREDIBLY NORMAL looking. Hardly as ridiculous as his current buckled jacket with racing stripes, or the weird nipple decorations on his ’06 outfit. Classic Robotnik had an almost Disney-esque design. Something simple, something classic. It wasn’t OMG SINISTER, but it didn’t have to be.
As for Tails… I don’t care if he’s a genius. He’s barely old enough to tie his shoes (good thing they don’t have laces!). Sonic has a defining superpower that makes him a credible threat to someone of any age. When you can move at the speed of sound, you don’t have to be mature OR smart. Tails is an 8 year old. If he wants to build machines, fine. Never mind the fact that it turns him into a walking cliche and constantly overrides and devalues his original defining trait – but putting him on par with the main villain, whose intelligence is supposed to make him threatening? What’s the point of Robotnik being a genius if the kid sidekick can rival or out-do him? Who even needs Sonic at that point?
I don’t mind that the characters are young. I find it endearing. There’s plenty of media where kids do outrageously ridiculous things to stop the much older, much smarter villain. I just think it’s a bit sad that the primary villain, Dr. Robotnik, has gone from being someone I could see as a strong evil villain to practically being the comic relief – someone whose IQ of 300 is SUPPOSED to be impressive, until you realize that the main character’s 8 year old sidekick is probably rockin’ at least 350.
Yeah, I’ve known this for a while… didn’t realise it was such a secret! I think it’s a very cool theme. =)
Your IQ measures your intellectual capacity, not the level your actual acquired knowledge. Tails may have a brilliant mind, but it’s nonsensical to think he could have actually learned everything he needed to know in order to rival Robotnik on a regular basis by the age of 8. Robotnik has a great deal of experience (not to mention a PhD) in robotics. Sure, Tails could have learned enough to build maybe a radio or something, or to add minor modifications to the bi-plane… but being able to construct and program a fully functional transforming mecha? Give me a god damn break.
I’m not saying I want Sonic the Hedgehog to be realistic, but I AM saying that I personally think these characters could have been written and developed a LOT better. I am disappointed because I liked these characters a great deal, and it saddens me to see them developed so poorly. But hey, that’s my personal opinion. If you guys like your villain as a big silly fat man whose intellectual capacity is challenged by the depthless cliche of 2nd grade boy genius – be my guest. I’m glad you’ve found something to latch on to.
But I never wanted to argue any of this. I was simply expressing my personal disappointment in the direction the franchise has taken its character development – and then a host of people tried to tell me I was WRONG to assume these characters were ever “good” in the first place.
Best case scenario, all you guys could have actually accomplished by “arguing” with me is causing me to realize that something I liked was never really as good I once believed it to be.
So, um, thanks?
No one was correcting me with “facts”. They were correcting me with their own conjecture based on the same limited information.
Saying his classic outfit was equally ridiculous is not a fact. Saying he was always a goofus because he smiles and makes grand gestures in old artwork is not a fact. Saying he hasn’t become somewhat of a goofball gag villain just because he still does evil things is not a fact.
It’s all opinion, including mine.
@Ax
Dude, all it really seems like your trying to do is cloud everyone else’s opinions with your own. Calm down for a second and actually LOOK at the argument that ChaoticFox is trying to make.
Also, stop doing those emotes after every sentence, it makes you very hard to take seriously.
I suggest a new villain be added to the series. O-O Just one. Same character placement as Robotnik only not have anything to do with Robotnik. This way he doesn’t have to be temporary and he won’t be a replacement of Robotnik either. He can be like a rivalling villain. XD What would his theme be though?
@Ax
If you say so. Personally, I think Eggman is fine the way he is. Sonic always seemed pretty light-hearted to me, so having a silly-yet-still-capable villain makes sense.
But like you said, it’s all opinion.