In general, it'd be easier to list a Sonic character who hasn't garnered some level of controversy.
For general Broken Base entries, go here.
The games
- There's a huge debate over how well-written all of them are and if their continued presence is justified. In the greater gaming community, a very common complaint is that the franchise suffers from major character bloat and the series would be better off by paring down the cast to a more manageable size (usually just Sonic, Tails, and Eggman, and maybe Amy and Knuckles) while fans argue having a large cast makes the series more interesting rather than just revolving around just one or two characters, similar to how Mario handles it's cast. Sega faces a constant struggle at handling the large amount of characters.
- While many find the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise's supporting cast to be an annoying Spotlight-Stealing Squad, this is not to say the titular protagonist hasn't become a polarizing character in his own right. The division of fans who don't like Sonic argue that he is a bland, underdeveloped Invincible Hero with once-innovative "cool" traits that have just become annoying, although this part of the character's identity was mostly confined to the many, many Alternate Continuity adaptations created to draw attention to the games (whose plots were kept to a minimum at the time), such as the animated television shows and the comic books. The other section of the fandom, while also not too fond of how he is characterized in a lot of these adaptations (especially Sonic the Comic), contest that Sonic is closer to being an excessively confident, idealistic Loveable Rogue type who lives by a personal code that just so happens to be in tune with heroic interests, arguing that the very few games where his heart steers him towards actions that seem much more morally suspect perfectly demonstrate that there is a lot more to Sonic than just a "radical attitude" personality. Consequently, due to the games since Sonic Colors ignoring the dramatic, gritty tone that prior games became infamous for in favor of family-friendly whimsy, which involved bringing Sonic's casual attitude about all the extraordinary occurrences he's had to deal with to the forefront, there is very little middle ground to be found between the fans who feel that Sonic not taking anything seriously anymore unnecessarily exaggerates his quirks to the point of ruining his character and the fans who feel that his snark is, at the very least, preferable to failed attempts at being serious.
- The Classic incarnation of Sonic has become divisive in his more recent appearances. After the universal praise his return in Generations brought, he began to appear more often in the series to the point where he appeared in both of the 25 anniversary games, and Word of God declared that the classic and modern universes are now separate timelines instead of just past and present incarnations (to allow for more classic games). To fans who dislike the tendency of post-Generations games to focus on pandering to the nostalgia of classic fans over focusing on new content, Classic Sonic serves as the embodiment of everything wrong with the current era of the series for bringing back a retired incarnation of the character for the sake of pandering and usually bringing retro themes and reused stages with him, and him along with everything he brings be pushed into the spotlight more than the current Sonic. Of course, since pandering isn't entirely a bad thing, other fans enjoy his reappearances and the nostalgia aspects he brings with him. And Classic Sonic just is Sonic to some fans, so they approve of their preferred incarnation of the character returning. Nowadays, Classic Sonic can largely be split between the people glad that he is back in the spotlight, and the people who think he's overstayed his welcome and would like him to become a thing of the past again.
- Tails started as a inseparable friend who idolizes Sonic. Now, is he an independent genius kid who is like a little brother to Sonic or a useless fox who talks a lot? His performance in Lost World got some hate as well. The perception that he has also lost a lot of character development between Adventure and Modern era's; turning him into a Non-Action Guy. Despite this, he still remains one of the most popular characters.
- Knuckles started out as one of Sonic's first Foils, being a sub-antagonist in Sonic 3 & Knuckles who would obstruct Sonic & Tails' path through the levels as a result of being tricked by Eggman. After that, he would be a mainstay as one of the series' more popular characters. The split comes from his subsequent appearances where his role as guardian of the Master Emerald becomes less relevant over time along with his Flanderization to a much more bumbling character in tone. Fans are torn over this as while Knuckles is popular and makes a lot of appearances,they feel like those appearances cheapen the character into someone far less interesting than he was in his initial appearances for the sake of Popularity Power. This reached its apex in his Sonic Boom incarnation, who is a stereotypical Dumb Muscle character and resembles the original In Name Only. Tropes Are Tools however, as he still considered one of the funniest characters in the show.
- Amy Rose always had a mixed reception, namely in her post-Sonic Adventure incarnation. Many find her crush on Sonic either cute or annoying, as she would insert herself into whatever adventure he was on just for the sake of it. Fans of the character also insist that she's far more than just her crush: pointing at her empathy for others, and capacity for leadership, and interest in tarot cards as other major facets of her character. However, through the 2000s, (with Sonic X being the biggest example) she became increasingly more neurotic and violent towards not only Sonic but the rest of her peers as well, which turned more people against her and caused some fans to feel like she was becoming a one-note character. Various Sonic media starting from the late 2010s, such as the Sonic Boom cartoon and the IDW comics, would reverse this and begin to downplay her crush in favor of fleshing out her forgotten traits, though this now has people torn on whether this refocusing makes her more interesting or The Generic Girl who lost her most defining character trait.
- Shadow is the most controversial character across the entire franchise, having about an equal number of fans and detractors. His story arc starting in Sonic Adventure 2 was one of the darkest and most complex plots that Sonic has ever done, and set the tone of the series for a few years. Some fans felt that Shadow's presence morphed the series into something it wasn't, that Shadow's brooding and angst is too out of place in the series, and that his presence has been gradually diminished is a good thing. On the flipside, his Darker and Edgier traits are the exact reasons he's so popular with other fans, making the series stand out with more serious stories during the 2000s, Shadow is generally the poster boy for those who prefer the more involved storytelling from the Dreamcast era, and dislike how Out of Focus he has been and how the series became Lighter and Softer after Unleashed and use his increasing absence to illustrate how far the storytelling of the series has fallen.
- In addition, Shadow's modern characterization as an overly edgy and angry rival is this. To put it one way: Sonic Team has effectively made Shadow into their Vegeta, which is a decision that further splits Shadow's fanbase. Some at least enjoy this version of the character, mainly during the more comedic situations like Sonic Boom and the Twitter Takeover series, and appreciate Kirk Thornton for going absolute Cold Ham on the role he was given, especially in later titles where his performance is more defined. Others feel it stripped away everything that made Shadow unique when he was first introduced (being more of a Byronic Hero in the Dreamcast Era) and reduced him into a generic jerkass rival and just another way for Sonic Team to sell merchandise by constantly heavily promoting him.
- Predominantly due to a Dub Personality Change, Dr. Robotnik started as a simple yet effective Evil Genius, enslaving cute animals into robots, destroying nature, lying to Knuckles, and using the chaos emeralds' power to create his own empire. Nowadays, his name is Eggman and his design changed many times with games — this is a result of the American canon (and name) being effectively banished in favor of his Japanese canon. Is he the man with the master plan,
ready to destroy/trick/enslave anything that stands in his way and conquer the world by any means necessary, but unluckily Sonic gets in the way? Or is he getting worse every game, making silly or exaggerated plans instead of evil or efficient ones, unleashing a Sealed Evil in a Can (accidentally destroying the world), and losing control over his own robots/minions?- Fans are also divided on whether to address him as Robotnik because it's more menacing sounding and think Eggman is too much of a silly name to take the character seriously, or Eggman because (aside from being his current canon name) it's a more iconic and memorable name and think Robotnik is a very generic name for an evil mad scientist characternote .
- Silver debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), wildly considered the worst game in the entire series by fans, and one of the worst games of all time in the greater gaming community. Naturally, Silver himself had his reputation severely damaged simply by association. Some less forgiving fans saw him as nothing more than a blatant attempt at recreating the success of Shadow, being another superpowered Hedgehog rival for Sonic, in addition to falling for the Obviously Evil Mephiles` plans to trick him into fighting Sonic. Lastly, his voice acting is considered grating and having one of the most annoying boss fights in the game. Over time however, the hate lessened and fans were able to appreciate his Endearingly Dorky attitude and recognized that he was just trying to do the right thing, not unlike Knuckles in his debut and wish he was given another chance at the spotlight after Sega quickly tried to sweep him aside due to the backlash.
- So there's a bit of a schism between the fanbases of Knuckles and Shadow over their role as The Rival. When Knuckles debuted, he became an instant Breakout Character due to his interesting origins that gave him direct ties to the Chaos Emeralds, and his rocky relationship with Sonic. He was able to stand on his own as an equal to Sonic and headlined his own spin off title and his own comic book all until Sonic Adventure 2. That's when Shadow debuted as a new rival to Sonic, and proved to be so much more popular than Knuckles ever was with the new generation. Subsequently, this is when Knuckles gradually fell Out of Focus and his character was changed to be more comedic in tone and to make Sonic look better while Shadow would headline the next few games, including having his OWN spin off. Fans of Knuckles resent Shadow over this and feel Knuckles deserved way better than how he was treated. Conversely, people argue that Knuckles was never a good rival to begin with, as his conflict with Sonic mostly revolved around being tricked by Eggman into fighting him. Amusingly, this actually mirrors what happened to Piccolo when Vegeta debuted in Dragon Ball as it's common for fans to make comparisons between the two series. There are also other fans who feel that both Knuckles and Shadow have merits as rivals in different ways, but that they both suffer as characters due to the inconsistent writing quality and lack of proper usage.
- The Babylon Rouges from the Riders subseries. Some fans love them, finding them to be super interesting rivals and Shadow Archetypes to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, as well as wanting their backstories to be explored more, with their jerkish behavior and funny team dynamic keeping them fresh and interesting. On the other hand, other fans find them to be insufferable Jerkasses, especially Jet and Wave, with extremely annoying voices.
- Of Team Chaotix, Charmy Bee is easily the most divisive. Some hate him for his attitude and think he's an annoying Tagalong Kid who adds nothing to the games. There's also people who find his voice insufferable. However, Charmy has fans who think his hyperactive, upbeat personality is cute.
- Similar to Charmy, Marine the Raccoon is another child character that people have split opinions about. Her detractors think she's a whiny brat that does more harm than good anytime she tries to help out Sonic and co. Marine also gets flak for her Australian accent, with some Australian fans finding it incredibly stereotypical. The fact that she replaced Cream as Blaze's partner certainly didn't help. Even though Marine goes through Character Development and grows out of her brattiness near the end of the game, it was too little too late and their bad first impression of her had stuck. On the other hand, there are fans that like Marine for her character development, adventurous attitude, and wish she'd make a reappearance.
- Depending on who you ask Orbot note and Cubot are either an effective and funny Greek Chorus and a nice callback to Eggman's robot sidekicks in other media, or they're an annoyance who eat up screen-time despite not actually contributing to the story and whose antics and insults only compound Eggman's Villain Decay (something the Adventure era Eggman would never have tolerated). Not helping matters is that they suddenly appeared without a proper introduction at a time when every previously established character was being swept under the rug and have been inseparable from Eggman in every appearance until Sonic Frontiers.
Other Media
- Sally Acorn, a character originating from Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and given a strong focus in the Archie Comics, is either loved for being one of the most developed female characters in the franchise and only character to ever have a serious romantic relationship with Sonic that deserves to be made a proper part of the main franchise. Or loathed for being a boring Flawless Token, taking far too much attention from Sonic in his own spinoffs, her romance with Sonic, and is better off left as a relic of the franchise's past. And that's not even getting into the shipping conflicts, especially with Sonic/Amy (or Sonamy) fans.
