Sonic Boom - The new Sonic cartoon

Yeah, Soar didn't get used as much as he could have. Should've taken a page out of Iron Will's handbook.

I'd like to see more Soar as well.

Yup, he seems to be a quite interesting character.

T.W. Barker as well! Hell, with Dave, they could make up their own Legion of doom!

I wanna see more Barker too...

By the way, I think that this show is like Wander Over Yonder. That the creators want us to believe that Robotnik is the guy we actually want to focus on more than the protagonists.

Well, he typically is the most consistently good part of the franchise.

...Ehhhhh, soniccolors2006boomridersheroes...

He's a punch-clock baddie, he gets his hours in. With all of his past experience, sometimes you wonder why he's even in the situations he's in.

Sonic Boom and Sonic Lost World have sort of cemented his status as an unrepentant dick with no other purpose than to swap insults with Sonic, and no connection to the outside world beyond terrorizing the places Sonic is likely to show up.

edited 4th Mar '15 5:08:14 AM by FOFD

Two games out of a 25+-year-old series, yeah, that'll do it.

Oh no, what a huge departure from Eggman's traditional role in the series.

Yeah.

Because he was a silent unrepentnant dick in the early games, a race-car driver in 2 of them, had his forces taken over by a maniacal robot in 1, worked with the heroes to stop the current Big Bad's in Adventure and 2006, and was actually quite sorry a bit remorseful about the Finalhazard incident, and even told Shadow the truth about his origins when it came time to fight Devil Doom. Slightly redeeming factors in each.

So that leaves Sonic Battle where he was a full-on dick to Emerl and Cream, Rush games where Eggman Nega was the Bigger Bad, Storybook games where he wasn't in the plot, and then Colors/Unleashed/Generations/Lost World/Boom where he was just a dick for the sake of being a dick - moustache-twirling evil.

Even in Riders he apparently owns a legit company that more-or-less sponsors an entire city.

I like my antagonists to have sensitive sides and actual hobbies, you feel me?

edited 4th Mar '15 6:40:33 AM by FOFD

Yeah, he didn't talk in the old games. No one did. That doesn't actually contradict my point at all. He trapped animals in robots and built a Death Star knockoff and enslaved a planet and stuff. I mean, what do you want, a scene where Eggman looks down at himself and says, "Maybe... Maybe building a brainwashing ray to take over the world is a despicable thing to do?" But, oh well, I guess since Eggman is cartoonishly evil in Sonic Colors, there's no way anyone could have possibly found him to be an appealing character.

I'd be fine with Eggman having a pool table somewhere in a throwaway cutscene. The Egg Carrier had a residential suite and a pool that was entirely irrelevant to the plot, but it was there and told you this guy actually exists as a person, not as a robot that plugs into a wall every night.

And no, it isn't a huge departure, but it's kind of disappointing when the earliest games were devoid of much characterization (where we ignored it entirely), whereas later it started to happen (people were being given origins and parents) and then it tapered off into the easiest, workable personalities - Sonic is usually cool and hip and righteous, Eggman is usually a jerk, prone to failure, and childish.

I think maybe you're reading too far into things. The game designers don't give a crap about inane background details that hint at deeper characters. This is Sonic the Hedgehog, not the freaking Last of Us. Frankly, if a game designer sat down and said, "Wait! We should include a pool table so Eggman won't be a two dimensional villain," I'd fire him and hire someone who actually cares about gameplay and won't waste game development time rendering a pool table as a background detail.

"Dr. Cortex had a piano in Crash of the Titans! That proves he's not a two-dimensional villain!"

That makes him a two-dimensional villain. One-dimensional would lack the piano or any hobbies, three dimensional would have his entire plot/final battle themed around Beethoven's symphony while he waxes rhapsodic about his goals, simultaneously painting Crash as the villain of the game.

And yes, I see your point. I still don't like Colors and think they should do more with Eggman than Saturday Morning Cartoon Villainy (except for Boom, obviously), but I see your point.

edited 4th Mar '15 7:29:40 AM by FOFD

Wasn't Eggman always for the most part JUST HUMAN?! I mean I still believe his origins are shadowy, but by a whole, he fails just like any other being, had a mother, had more than one emotion. I don't get where this sprung from.

I don't know if anyone is "just anything" anymore.

Sonic is a hedgehog that can't swim. Tails can fly with two tails. Sonic-World!Echidnas can fly, yet Boom Knuckles can't unless he's daydreaming. A six-armed, flying brick might one day fit the Sonic universe's definition of "human".

edited 4th Mar '15 7:44:28 AM by FOFD

Hold on, that giant pool was part of the adventure field, part of the bit where you explore Eggman's base. That's the perfect place to render a pool, a neat little thing to find when you're exploring (and you will find it you're playing Knuckles' story). I don't see how that gets in the way of gameplay, even development-wise, since it rewards exploration with "Oh, this guy has a swimming pool! ...He has a swimming pool." *Scarred for life*

I also don't think the swimming pool was rendered for the sole purpose of developing Eggman's character, though. Like, I seriously doubt a game developer sat down and thought, "You know what? We need to humanize Eggman. THROW IN A POOL!" The pool was there for the sake of exploration and scenery, which is a totally different thing.

edited 4th Mar '15 11:27:05 AM by spashthebandragon

For the record, I don't think that a villain's hobbies have anything to do with how well-rounded they are. The conflicting motivations are the important part, and honestly, Eggman's always been kinda short on character depth.

Really, the Sonic Boom TV show is a much better place to develop Eggman's character than the games themselves since the show is completely character driven and doesn't have to worry about balancing story with gameplay. I thought this latest episode did a good job giving Eggman a little more depth without needing to flesh out his motivations or anything. In the Sonic Boom universe, Sonic and Eggman seem more like Road Runner / Wile E. Coyote-style cartoon characters, where they fight each other because that's just what they do. Having Eggman suddenly get tired of trying to destroy everyone with robots was an interesting way to deconstruct his character.

...Except that he'll be right back to being evil next episode. Ah well.

edited 4th Mar '15 2:21:24 PM by spashthebandragon

Everybody hoping for Boom Shadow!

...So that's a no on the Boom Shadow, then?

Okay, that was hilarious.

Still hope he shows up and is actually interesting, though.

Reblogged

Anybody know where I can find that background picture Mike has, or what character that is?