History YMMV / SonicExe

* AdaptationDisplacement: The original video game adaptation of the Creepypasta by [[https://gamejolt.com/@MY5TCrimson MY5TCrimson]] (which simulates Tom's experience) is more well-known and [[BetterThanCanon is often considered the superior experience by many,]] as you are the one experiencing the cat-and-mouse game with the demonic Sonic, as opposed to [[IdiotPlot the contrived and idiotic human characters in the original story.]]

* IdiotPlot: Both stories rely on people failing to warn others about the cursed game, people failing to destroy the disc when they have the chance, and people playing the game even when the grave danger is obvious. There are [[FanWank slight hints]] that X can control his victims subtly enough to prevent these courses of action, but it’s never shown outright.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: If there's one central problem with this concept of a Creepypasta, it's that it shouldn't even be such a [[ClicheStorm hollow shell]] of a [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame "haunted game cartridge"]] pasta to begin with, as the basic plot outline of Sonic being either possessed or overtaken by an evil doppelganger who goes out to [[FromBadToWorse "play" with his friends and foes]] should be capable of standing on its own as a DarkFic (not unlike ''Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}'') with a "NothingIsScarier" approach.

* IdiotPlot: Both stories rely on people failing to warn others about the cursed game, people failing to destroy the disc when they have the chance, and people playing the game even when the grave danger is obvious.

* HilariousInHindsight: There would eventually be an [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 official Sonic media]] with a human protagonist named Tom. Funnily enough, it ''also'' had a version of Sonic that made people reel in horror.

* AdaptationDisplacement: The original video game adaptation of the Creepypasta by [[https://gamejolt.com/@MY5TCrimson MY5TCrimson]] (which simulates Tom's experience) is more well-known and is often considered the superior experience by many, as you are the one experiencing the cat-and-mouse game with the demonic Sonic, as opposed to [[IdiotPlot the contrived and idiotic human characters in the original story.]]

* AdaptationDisplacement: The actual video game adaptation of the Creepypasta (which simulates the experience) is more well-known and seems to be considered superior by quite a few.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: A bloodied [[MemeticMutation Trollface]] appears in Hill Act 1 if you try to run left. This is replaced with a [[LampshadeHanging "hyperrealistic]] [[MemeticMutation doge"]] in the 666 version.

** The voiceovers in the game version can sound more ridiculous or over-the-top in a CrossesTheLineTwice way than scary.
** When X says "DIE" out of nowhere.
** When X catches Tails, he snarls "I will eat your heart", but the distortion of his voice makes the "heart" sound like "hat".

** The story also has a love for repeatedly listing or estimating an exact number of seconds something happened. This can get pretty tiring. This culminates in a moment near the finale, where the following happens, in which our protagonist ‘in an actual split second’ screams - must have been a very short scream! - then screams again for 7 seconds while the game produces static for the exact same amount of time, cramming in a healthy dose of PurpleProse for good measure.
-> Suddenly in an actual split second I screamed as Sonic lunged at the screen screeching loudly with his mouth wide open to an unnatural length revealing nothing but a literally spiraling abyss of pure darkness before the red static came again, this time much louder and distorted, so loud that it hurt my ears, I yelled and grabbed my ears as the red static screeched for a good 7 seconds.

** The story also has a love for repeatedly listing or estimating an exact number of seconds something happened. This can get pretty tiring.

----
!!The Fanfic:

----
!!The Video Game:

* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** A bloodied [[MemeticMutation Trollface]] appears in Hill Act 1 if you try to run left.
** Replaced with a [[LampshadeHanging "hyperrealistic]] [[MemeticMutation doge"]] in the 666 version.

* NightmareRetardant: The voiceovers in the game version can sound more ridiculous or over-the-top in a CrossesTheLineTwice way than scary.

* CondemnedByHistory: You would have nary a clue this used to be one of ''the'' most well-respected game Creepypastas out there judging by how the pasta is treated nowadays; after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved off the Creepypasta Wiki and onto a wiki dedicated explicitly for bad or troll Creepypastas. This in turn led the author to practically explode with petulant rage, writing a response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story so overwrought and laden with PurpleProse that he only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself, resulting in even more relentless mockery and criticism. The only fans of the Creepypasta left as of 2022 fit into five categories; [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids little kids]], those who chose to [[FixFic rewrite the story in their own words to fix its mistakes and have created their own adaptations and variations]], those who discovered/rediscovered it through [[VideoGame/VsSonicEXE a game mod]] for ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''[[note]](which ''is'' pretty good, admittedly - and even that mod is in on the joke for the most part)[[/note]], people that discovered the soundtrack from the [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Mr. Incredible]] becoming uncanny meme, or purely ironic "fans" who enjoy it [[SoBadItsGood for decidedly different reasons]] - the former of which are doing no help to the pasta's image, given fanworks inspired by the pasta that are ''made'' by these young children [[SturgeonsLaw are generally not very good]].

* CondemnedByHistory: You would have nary a clue this used to be one of ''the'' most well-respected game Creepypastas out there judging by how the pasta is treated nowadays; after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved off the Creepypasta Wiki and onto a wiki dedicated explicitly for bad or troll Creepypastas. This in turn led the author to practically explode with petulant rage, writing a response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story so overwrought and laden with PurpleProse that he only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself, resulting in even more relentless mockery and criticism. The only fans of the Creepypasta left as of 2021 fit into four categories; [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids little kids]], those who chose to [[FixFic rewrite the story in their own words to fix its mistakes and have created their own adaptations and variations]], those who discovered/rediscovered it through [[VideoGame/VsSonicEXE a game mod]] for ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''[[note]](which ''is'' pretty good, admittedly - and even that mod is in on the joke for the most part)[[/note]], or purely ironic "fans" who enjoy it [[SoBadItsGood for decidedly different reasons]] - the former of which are doing no help to the pasta's image, given fanworks inspired by the pasta that are ''made'' by these young children [[SturgeonsLaw are generally not very good]].

** [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl The scream]] made by X's victims when he catches them. It fits with Tails since he's a young child, but with [[TheBigGuy Knuckles]] and [[FatBastard Eggman]] it's so unfitting it's hilarious.

!!The Fanfic

* ClicheStorm: Many of the tropes found in video game creepypastas are found here played completely (and unashamedly) straight. Particularly JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples include the author's [[ExactTimeToFailure obsession with listing the exact amount of time things happened for]], constantly jamming things from other games into the story simply because it might be 'scary', and of course, hyperrealistic blood.

** [[EldritchAbomination X]] is a monster resembling Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog. Trapped in another dimension, X created a cursed Sonic game. Once someone had played through the game, a portal would open up, allowing X to tear the players soul out of their body and take them back to his world for [[AndIMustScream eternal torture]]. When Tom plays the game, he witnesses X torment several people whose souls have been transformed into Sonic characters, before he brings Tom into his realm. In ''Sonic.exe Round 2'', it is revealed that X has killed 31 people, and plans to one day permanently cross over to Earth and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans turn it into a realm of eternal suffering]]. Viewing all of humanity as toys [[ForTheEvulz for his amusement]], X is as evil as a Creepypasta monster could be.

* CondemnedByHistory: You would have nary a clue this used to be one of ''the'' most well-respected game Creepypastas out there judging by how the pasta is treated nowadays; after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved off the Creepypasta Wiki and onto a wiki dedicated explicitly for bad or troll creepypastas. This in turn led the author to practically explode with petulant rage, writing a response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story so overwrought and laden with PurpleProse that he only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself, resulting in even more relentless mockery and criticism. The only fans of the creepypasta left as of 2021 fit into four categories; [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids little kids]], those who chose to [[FixFic rewrite the story in their own words to fix its mistakes and have created their own adaptations and variations]], those who discovered/rediscovered it through [[VideoGame/VsSonicEXE a game mod]] for ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''[[note]]Which ''is'' pretty good, admittedly - and even that mod is in on the joke for the most part[[/note]] or purely ironic "fans" who enjoy it [[SoBadItsGood for decidedly different reasons]]--the former of which are doing no help to the pasta's image, given fanworks inspired by the pasta that are ''made'' by these young children [[SturgeonsLaw are generally not very good]].
%%* ContestedSequel: Reactions to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130323114443/http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/SALLY._EXE Sally.exe]] are split between the Creepypasta Wiki and Website/DeviantArt.

%%** Some people considered [[http://spinpasta.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-Sonic_dll Anti-Sonic.dll]] to be superior to the original pasta.
%%** Similarly, ''An Ordinary Sonic 1 Rom Hack'' is considerably more entertaining than the original "game", and is actually rather creepy ([[NightmareRetardant more so if you have not read or played the original]]).
* HilariousInHindsight: There would eventually be an [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 official Sonic media with a human protagonist named Tom]].

* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Ever since it was posted on the Creepypasta Wiki and the fangame adaptation, it has gained widespread popularity across the net, and since then many find it as one of the worst examples of creepypastas out there. This trope, [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny among]] [[CondemnedByHistory other]] [[ClicheStorm reasons]], is the reason it was moved from the Creepypasta Wiki to its sister site, the Trollpasta Wiki (along with many other old creepypastas that fell into this trope)--even amongst its initial following, it didn't really stand the test of time against other pastas.

** The phrase "hyper-realistic", thanks to this story, sees use as a catch-all phrase when discussing badly written pasta.

** The Gods in The Cult of X in Chapter 2, who show up, are introduced as ‘[Insert [[GratuitousJapanese Emotion in Japanese]]], the God of [Insert Same Emotion in English]’ and then promptly vanish from the plot.

** The author's [[AuthorCatchphrase general overuse of the phrase]] "[[InsistentTerminology hyper-realistic]]", probably taken from ''Fanfic/SquidwardsSuicide.''

** The constant rip offs from other video games (ripping off the final boss music from ''VideoGame/{{Silent Hill|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', Kefka's ever-popular laugh, [[note]] This had already been used in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmyv5iOh9HI Sonic Oddball Crackups]]" in the lieu of Knuckles's sniggering for an ''intentional'' comedic effect. [[/note]] et cetera).
** The ending. [[spoiler:It ends with a bloodied Sonic plushie that appeared out of nowhere on Tom's bed]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: While JC himself was already a pariah in the Creepypasta community, in the summer of 2021, several current and former ''Sonic.exe'' fans came forward and alleged that JC-the-Hyena had been taking part in sexual roleplays with them while they were still underage. This, combined with the revelation that JC had been emotionally abusing his at-the-time girlfriend and making her believe such actions were normal, his attempted comeback under another username and later actions (including ''hacking'' another person's Discord account) and the fandom's lack of proper response to the allegations only served to sour the story's reputation to the general public. A more in-depth analysis can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OA-coDLOM here]].
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The .exe part of the story's name itself. The idea was that it is just a regular file called "Sonic" with the file extension for executable files at the end to give an eerie air since [[ParanoiaFuel it is seemingly a regular file that anyone could stumble upon and open to find out the consequences too late]]. After tons of imitators copied the story's name, adding .exe to the end of a title is just seen as a common creepypasta trick, and of the often-mocked kind at that.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: If there is one central problem with this concept of a Creepypasta, it's that it shouldn't even be such a [[ClicheStorm hollow shell]] of a [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame "haunted game cartridge"]] pasta to begin with, as the basic plot outline of Sonic being either possessed or overtaken by an evil doppelganger who goes out to [[FromBadToWorse "play" with his friends and foes]] should be capable of standing on its own as a DarkFic (not unlike ''Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}'') with a "NothingIsScarier" approach.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: X's {{Leitmotif}}, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ6hSMFi2Qg "Hill Act 1,"]] is a beautifully melancholic piece of GothicHorror music.
* CrossesTheLineTwice:

* NightmareRetardant: The voice-overs in the game version can sound more ridiculous or over-the-top in a CrossesTheLineTwice way than scary
** When Sonic.EXE says "DIE" out of nowhere.
** When Sonic.EXE catches Tails, he snarls "I will eat your heart", but the distortion of his voice makes the 'heart' sound like 'hat'.
** [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl The scream]] made by Sonic.EXE's victims when he catches them. At least it fits with Tails, since he's a young child, but not with [[TheBigGuy Knuckles]] and [[FatBastard Eggman]]: It's so unfitting, it's hilarious.

** When Sonic.EXE says "DIE" out of nowhere).

** The constant rip offs from other video games (ripping off the final boss music from ''VideoGame/{{Silent Hill|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', Kefka's ever-popular laugh, [[note]] This had already been used in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO8l-r_NnKc Sonic]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=molSIRI8lcc Oddball]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmyv5iOh9HI Crackups]]" in the lieu of Knuckles's sniggering for an ''intentional'' comedic effect. [[/note]] et cetera).

** [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl The scream]] made by Sonic.EXE's victims when he catches them. At least it fits with Tails, since he's a young child, but not with [[TheBigGuy Knuckles]] and [[FatBastard Eggman]]: It's so unfitting, it's hilarious. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6nY_-y93Q It has to be heard to be believed.]]

* NightmareRetardant:
** The voice-overs in the game version can sound more ridiculous or over-the-top in a CrossesTheLineTwice way than scary (especially when he says "DIE" out of nowhere).
*** When Sonic.EXE catches Tails, he snarls "I will eat your heart", but the distortion of his voice makes the 'heart' sound like 'hat'.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: X's {{Leitmotif}}, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ6hSMFi2Qg "Hill Act 1,"]] is a beautifully melancholic piece of GothicHorror music.

** The voice-overs in the game version can sound more ridiculous or over-the-top in a CrossesTheLineTwice way than scary (especially when he says "DIE" out of nowhere).
*** When Sonic.EXE catches Tails, he snarls "I will eat your heart", but the distortion of his voice makes the 'heart' sound like 'hat'.
** [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl The scream]] made by Sonic.EXE's victims when he catches them. At least it fits with Tails, since he's a young child, but not with [[TheBigGuy Knuckles]] and [[FatBastard Eggman]]: It's so unfitting, it's hilarious. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6nY_-y93Q It has to be heard to be believed.]]

* NightmareRetardant: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6nY_-y93Q scream]] that Knuckles and Tails both give upon X catching up to them. It's intended to be creepy, but it fails due to how [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl girly and high-pitched]] it is.

** In the sequel, our protagonist, despite writing in a diary, decides to write in abbreviations you'd be more likely to see in texting.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6nY_-y93Q scream]] that Knuckles and Tails both give upon X catching up to them. It's intended to be creepy, but it fails due to how [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl girly and high-pitched]] it is.

* AdaptationDisplacement: The actual video game adaptation of the Creepypasta (which simulates the experience) is more well-known and seems to be considered superior by quite a few.

* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** A bloodied [[MemeticMutation Trollface]] appears in Hill Act 1 if you try to run left.
** Replaced with a [[LampshadeHanging "hyperrealistic]] [[MemeticMutation doge"]] in the 666 version.

* GoodBadBugs: In the earlier versions of the game, there was a way you could make a character ''moonwalk'' to their demise.

** In ''An Ordinary Sonic 1 ROM Hack'', you must warp out of the DarkWorld to beat levels. If you're on it and Sonic.exe isn't chasing you, he'll be where the level goal was supposed to be. He just sits there, laughing and [[AsideGlance staring]]. Due to the random, luck-based gameplay, finding him there is at once terrifying, hilarious, and irritating.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: In contrast, Sonic.EXE's [[EvilLaugh laughs]] when you die in ''An Ordinary Sonic 1 ROM Hack'' are [[EvilIsHammy awesome]]... even if it was [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka's laugh]] first, and not Sonic.EXE's, combined with the fact that [[NintendoHard you'll be hearing them quite a bit]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: In the summer of 2021, several current and former ''Sonic.exe'' fans came forward and alleged that JC-the-Hyena had been taking part in sexual roleplays with them while they were still underage. This, combined with the revelation that JC had been emotionally abusing his at-the-time girlfriend and making her believe such actions were normal, his attempted comeback under another username and later actions (including ''hacking'' another person's Discord account) and the fandom's lack of proper response to the allegations only served to sour the story's reputation to the general public. A more in-depth analysis can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OA-coDLOM here]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: In the summer of 2021, several current and former ''Sonic.exe'' fans came forward and alleged that JC-the-Hyena had been taking part in sexual roleplays with them while they were still underage. This, combined with the revelation that JC had been emotionally abusing his at-the-time girlfriend and making her believe such actions were normsl, his attempted comeback under another username and later actions (including ''hacking'' another person's Discord account) and the fandom's lack of proper response to the allegations only served to sour the story's reputation to the general public. A more in-depth analysis can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OA-coDLOM here]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: In the summer of 2021, several current and former ''Sonic.exe'' fans came forward and alleged that JC-the-Hyena had been taking part in sexual roleplays with them while they were still underage. This, combined with JC's later actions (involving the use of sockpuppet accounts and even ''hacking'' another person's Discord account) and the fandom's lack of proper response to the allegations only served to sour the story's reputation to the general public. A more in-depth analysis can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OA-coDLOM here]].

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Anyone who plays the game. Even if they have no reason to believe it's cursed, it's on a suspect disc that may be full of viruses.
** Tom hasn't heard from his friend Kyle in two weeks. When he finally gets a message from him, he is repeatedly told not to play the game because it will release a monster that is after and will presumably kill Kyle.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Tom to just not play the game, since he was told not to about 20 times.\\
'''Instead:''' [[TooDumbToLive Tom just]] [[AnthropicPrinciple plays the game]], releasing X and causing lots of chaos.
** In the sequel, the police deduce that the killer targets anyone who plays the game.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' [[JustEatGilligan The police to tell the public, which would pretty much stop any more murders from happening.]]\\
'''Instead:''' [[PoliceAreUseless They apparently can't be bothered to do that very obvious and simple thing that would solve all the conflict in the story]], thus letting X continue his murder spree.

* CondemnedByHistory: You would have nary a clue this used to be one of ''the'' most well-respected game Creepypastas out there judging by how the pasta is treated nowadays; after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved off the Creepypasta Wiki and onto a wiki dedicated explicitly for bad or troll creepypastas. This in turn led the author to practically explode with petulant rage, writing a response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story so overwrought and laden with PurpleProse that he only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself, resulting in even more relentless mockery and criticism. The only fans of the creepypasta left as of 2021 fit into four categories; [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids little kids]], those who chose to [[FixFic rewrite the story in their own words to fix its mistakes and have created their own adaptations and variations]], those who discovered/rediscovered it through [[VideoGame/VsSonicEXE a game mod]] for ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''[[note]]Which ''is'' pretty good, admittedly - and even that mod is in on the joke for the most part[[/note]] or purely ironic "fans" who enjoy it [[SoBadItsGood for decidedly different reasons]]--the former of which are doing no help to the pasta's image, given fanworks inspired by the pasta that are ''made'' by these young children [[SturgeonsLaw are generally not very good]].

* CondemnedByHistory: You would have nary a clue this used to be one of ''the'' most well-respected game Creepypastas out there judging by how the pasta is treated nowadays; after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved off the Creepypasta Wiki and onto a wiki dedicated explicitly for bad or troll creepypastas. This in turn led the author to practically explode with petulant rage, writing a response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story so overwrought and laden with PurpleProse that he only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself, resulting in even more relentless mockery and criticism. The only fans of the creepypasta left as of 2021 fit into four categories; little kids, those who chose to [[FixFic rewrite the story in their own words to fix its mistakes and have created their own adaptations and variations]], those who discovered/rediscovered it through [[VideoGame/VsSonicEXE a game mod]] for ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''[[note]]Which ''is'' pretty good, admittedly - and even that mod is in on the joke for the most part[[/note]] or purely ironic "fans" who enjoy it [[SoBadItsGood for decidedly different reasons]]--the former of which are doing no help to the pasta's image, given fanworks inspired by the pasta that are ''made'' by these young children [[SturgeonsLaw are generally not very good]].