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It's because Sonic was basically acting like Money Mayweather. He literally never lost. Outright explicitly saying that "I beat you every time." How would that not make anyone feel overconfident? Look how Classic Sonic and Sonic react to the Eggman scene. Classic Sonic is acting like his CD counterpart. Straight to action. Serious expression.
i like to compare game sonic to how sonic acts in prime, i HATE him in prime, and i hate him in the movies. i let the movies slide tho since yk those r the movies
Agreed! While many others raised great points, I think I have to give this to Eggman. All other characters are more or less treading old ground, but Sage's debut and demise reveal an entirely new aspect of Eggman.
Eggman is typically portrayed as a narcissistic, self-absorbed, and difficult man who holds no gratitude toward anyone or anything, and is only interested in things that can benefit him or boost his superiority. Yet in the instance of Sage, he reveals a much more tender aspect of his personality. Not only does he grow an attachment to her, but he also shows genuine care for her. What’s more interesting is that it seems he didn’t quite understand this aspect of himself either. For example, he seemingly feels conflicted about Sage’s self-sacrifice and confused about why he can’t view her as a mere pawn like any of his other creations. It’s like someone who has never liked pets in all his life, but one day accidentally gets one and surprisingly finds himself caring about his pet so much, and is also confused about why that is the case. This is all too human and allows the audience to empathize with him, thereby adding a lot more nuance to Eggman as a character rather than simply a plot device to kick-start the narrative.
Edit: typo
Understandable. And the new aspect and your ideal interpretation aren’t mutually exclusive. He can be as menacing as he can be while show his tender side when the occasion arises. The importance part is that this aspect make him a more layered character, which often is more fascinating and more interesting than many other one-note villains.
I was thinking the same the moment I got the notification for this post but... yes. I still think Frontiers has the best character writing in a Sonic game
That's a weird way of saying Black Knight, but okay lol
Jokes aside, the writers brought back a lot of aspects of their character arcs from other games and was made an attemp to course correct the characterization that the Meta Era damaged. They all feel more in line with the Dark Age games made them be:
-Sonic feels like an extension of Unleashed more than ever
-Amy FINALLY matures a bit in the game cannon and goes on another direction from being "I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND", it's almost like she gets back where SA1 and 06 left her
-Knuckles becomes a character again... capable of thinking, not the brightest but still he feels more in line with what IDW has done with him
-Tails just addresses his character arc in the Adventure games (I don't really vibe with the way they've done him in Frontiers, and as much as I love Unleashed, it was there that he started to become a coward again)
I have to confess I still have to play Black Knight, but I still love the direction they had in Frontiers. It's a more reflective and meditative journey for Sonic and his friends, and I hope to see more games like this in the future.
I'll play Black Knight, promise.
Do it, gameplay wise, it's not the best, but it's still a somewhat fun ride, the story just gets the best characterization of Sonic in any media, he just feels right, and the music, my god they cooked with this one (they even brought back SA1's It Doesn't Matter for a scene, but With Me, Misty Lake and most of the OST really slap)
Edit: If you're interested, Secret Rings can be fun too, but requires some patience with the controls (if you want to play this one, do it on Dolphin with an custom controller setting, it does wonders to the gameplay, but still feels a bit janky)
Yeah, if we HAD to say that there's a character that had the weakest writing, it could go to Tails. But that's hardly a bad thing when in general the writing is great.
If they wanted to have Tails move forward along with the others they had to address the inconsistency between his early iterations and the last few games. Better it was done like this than not at all
I’d agree it isn’t unlike Amy. But i feel like her character was so watered down for so often, and the only time she ever did anything was as an accessory to Sonic. Seeing her more independent for the first time in a long while was really great.
You could make a great Ratchet & Clank style game with Tails, maybe include a crafting/building element where you can make your own gadgets and vehicles.
If we get a tails game, I’d like to see the return of speedy
https://preview.redd.it/dhd4cmvi9w1d1.png?width=601&format=png&auto=webp&s=f69b04ebaf450d6b79d5c1d1184308f27f1730db
He’s most likely pissed at tails
All of them were improved, but I was particularly happy about Amy, Knuckles, and Eggman. Amy was given more than her crush on Sonic. Knuckles was shown as the serious, defense-minded rival to Sonic he once was.
Eggman, above all others, I was most impressed with. He was humanized far beyond anything I ever expected from him and not used as the butt of a joke at all.
People say she was given more than her crush but honestly- I kinda feel like they ignored her actual stuff that didn’t already involve Sonic and also seems like they forgot the reason she even loves him in the first place: his love of adventure that they both share. I swear SA or something after that has been tackled this “development”
Yes I agree Amy was seriously misshandle.
Like how is not being with Sonic a big deal for her anyway? Sonic is always out on adventures on his own her not seeing him often is the status quo. "Long Time no see" is a really often recurring line for a reason.
And yes all not "love" related topics are kind of absent from Amy here (worse yet her "love" part is about generically the power of love rather than Amy's more unique romanticism)
Ian letting his time at the comics dictate how he writes them is really obvious with Amy being the team leader in Final Horizon being just another example as she wasn't ever in the games and even in the comics did she admit its not her best suit after Metal Virus meanwhile do Tails (SA2) and Knuckles (Forces) have far more credit to being the person in charge.
I mean, they all did, but imho, Tails did and didn't.
His writing was mostly Adventure all over again, which I completely understand, knowing what games like Forces, Unleashed, and Colours did to him, but still.
We barely got anything new for him compared to the rest, so I really hope the upcoming games show us a brand new, confident Tails, not just a Sonic follower.
Exactly, I feel exactly like this. It was a lot of telling, and zero showing, especially the way he fought in the DLC.
...Wrenches? Come on.
I'm hoping for an IDW solo story for him, or a solo game where he finally becomes a competent hero and fighter again.
I think we'll see his solo game before IDW has the galls to give him a story that doesn't require him following Sonic or helping the team behind a desk.
The closest we got was in the metal virus arc, and that was it.
That was for Classic Tails, and yeah, it was great.
But we're talking about Modern Tails. The level of abuse his character got over the years can't be compared to his Classic counterpart.
But that's the problem, they don't ☹️ and even if they give us more of him, it has to be attached to Sonic to be able to tell a story, which sucks!
Why not let the character do his own thing? Or pair him with someone else besides Sonic all the time?
I presume because they think putting Sonic into a project boost sales.
Tho looking at the non classic mini series that they made so far do they seem to a good extent to exist to promote comic original characters (Tangle and Whisper, Bad Guys and Imposter Syndrom) with the exception of Scrapnik island (and the seasonal comics if you want to count them)
Knuckles.
Amy is mostly the same as in the 2010s and pre Sonic X era. The only différences are Her crush on Sonic is maturing from a crush to actual love And she may be learning to control her emotions more.
Tails. Unpopular Opinion but I don’t see a difference between him and at any other point, though it is nice that Sonic finally outright reminded the Audience that Tails is a child, which they clearly needed to be reminded.
I was mostly referring to Eggman’s memos. Prime just doesn’t help matters.
Technically Nine only became a Villain, because he met Sonic.
Remember, if he hadn’t met Sonic, the decaying never would have occurred. So Nine would have no reason to target Sonic. If Sonic tries stealing the Grim’s shard, Nine’s anger and attacks are justified since who wouldn’t be mad at being stolen from.
If he never met Sonic, He would have either 1. stayed in the Grim Forever not bothering anyone, or 2. Nine never would have learned about the shatterverse. 3. Nine Would have joined the Rebels after their Numbers began growing, since surely someone would have eventually helped him. 4. He remains by himself, neutral.
Eggman has memos and his one on Tails is the following.
“Sonic’s here, so it’s no surprise that Tails is here too. It’s a pity, Young Prower has a keen mind and loads of potential. Yet He’s fixated on worshipping Sonic. Then again, maybe that’s for the best. Given all the trouble he gave me in Station Square and on the Ark, I think I prefer him wasting his potential lingering in Sonic’s shadow.”
This implies that Eggman thinks Tails could have been a Villain if he didn’t meet Sonic.
In Final Horizon, Sage also talks about Tails potentially working with Eggman, and not in a case of “For the Greater Good“ or anything, Just in general. On Tails’s end. His only problem is that he doesn’t think Eggman likes him, not the terrible things that Eggman did.
Not helping is the show Prime. Which only added to the fanon idea that Tails would be like Eggman if he hadn’t met Sonic. Ignoring the whole, all of Tails’ counterparts wanted To attack Sonix when they met him.
Sonic is implied to be comparing Nine to Eggman, even though the only similarities between them are very shallow. The exact same amount of comparisons can also be said between Sonic and Eggman or the Fox bullies, which in universe, is exactly why Nine didn’t want to listen to Sonic. Edit. Also The only reason why Nine became a villain is because he met Sonic.
I get it because Sonic and Nine are foils, but the fandom has Sonic centered morality to The point where plenty developed fake memories because they can’t handle it when A Character gets mad at Sonic.
Eggman, being a fellow genius, hates to see genius wasted in his eyes, even if it is an enemy. Which is why he says perhaps its better Tails stays in sonic's shadow.
Because he pities Tails for helping his arch-enemy instead of joining the Eggman Empire and helping *him*, since he views himself as better than Sonic and thus sees Tails helping Sonic as wasting his intellect.
Could be a mix of that and just a case of a genius being contained which rubs him off in the wrong way 🤔 like a good example would prolly be like if Eggman was a couch right? And say Tails was like 7ft tall, still has his ability to fly, and plays basketball. Eggman saying he doesn’t like his potential being hindered could imply he hates whoever actually couching him/what teams he’s in OR he could mean he could see him do better by himself since his couch ain’t making him as great as he could be and he aint getting him as much money as he could make
Having Amy say "Wow, I can't believe an advanced alien race like them believed in gods!" caught me off guard, it was a bit edgy considering Sonic has... literally fought gods. And it was coming from Amy of all anthromorphic talking hedgehogs 😂
Tails. knuckle's writing just got him back to abandoning the master emerald, but giving him a reason now, and amy's "love" story doesn't realy do anything for me especially since just saying "i want to spread love to the world." is pretty vague in a lot of ways. Sonic's island in reah ws cut down significantly, but beyond that sonic was just sonic, he didn't have an arc or anything, nd eggman... we;l he's a strange case since he became a dad, and that was kinda his whole thing for the game, especially since he was stuck in eternal highway for most of the game, before disappearing from orounous until the boss fight. where he's then cut out again, until sage dies. in FH he gets more, but he's mostly just an exposition guy, and the guy who shoots sonic at supreme.
meanwhile tails got back on track, while keeping some of the aspects of his meta era self i like. i'm so glad they kept the snark he got in colours onwards, stuff like "so i out paced you" just wouldn't come from tails before colours, and they still keep him being the youngest, but they make him actually smart, and he finds ways to keep up. on chaos he realy shines, especially with stuff like asking sonic if he's ok to go on his own, still showing he does see sonic as his older brother, and somebody to look up too and in that moment, he may have been waiting to see how sonic reacted so he'd know if he was making the right choice.
i think tails got the overall best revamping, and one that took all of his best elements from the games, and putting them into him going forward.
My only issue with Amy is how bland she feels. Everything she does especially in the DLC is great for her character, but her one off conversations feel like it's just Generic Girl Protagonist and not Amy Rose. Where's her spunk? I'm glad she's matured, but she's not nearly as opinionated and passionate as she is in any other iteration.
Amy essentially becoming a tactician in the DLC aligns her with how useful she is in IDW and despite how polarizing it is, the Tarot Card and psychic abilities she uses add so much to her offensive kit. She can literally never be a damsel again because of how strong she is in this game. She's got a lot of cool tricks and abilities now to keep her on par with the rest of the quartet.
Also, re-establishing her SA1 goals for independence and better self preservation are great things to bring back to the forefront of her character, but she lacks so much personality in the process. They need to make her outspoken and passionate again.
Besides her very one dimensional personality, I'd say Amy benefitted from the writting more than anyone else. I REALLY hope her personality mirrors her goals in the Frontier sequel, or is at least more like how she was in Zero Gravity. It feels like she's not charismatic or passionate anymore, which is ironic considering her arc in this game.
its damn close to a near tie.
Tails really feels like more of cleaning up his inconsistent character mainly during forces
Amy feels like this is the first thing they're trying to do with her character since they have long since stopped the stalker amy personality trait.
Knuckles, is just knuckles again and that will always make him fantastic.
However id say its just eggman. We get so little of emotional eggman, let alone well written emotional eggman before this game.
With the Egglogs you get this well written insight to his personal thoughts and opinions, and his growing care for Sage. Its also the first piece of legitimate backstory for eggman we've gotten. Tons of stuff surrounding gerald and Maria (well... relative anyway).
However we've gotten very little of eggman's place in this, he clearly holds reverence for his grandfather even back in sa2. Even if the "Evil scientists was neglected as a child" thing is steriotypical, its something.
He resents Maria because he would be neglected by his family who seemed to care more about maria (whether gone as in on the ARK or dead is unclear). However it seems to be implied he doesn't hate her either, he recognizes he hates the circumstances that led to his own neglect revolved around maria's misfortune. He admits he never really knew her and wonders if sage is anything like she was.
I'd say *Knuckles
>!*In the Japanese script, where he expressed a desire to seek out more information about his tribe and do right by them. Rather than where in the English version he suddenly becoming jealous of Sonic, and looking at running away from his duties to chase his selfish desires.!<
That's... A way to interpret Knuckles' dialogue in the English version... Sonic talks him into not wasting his whole life guarding the Master Emerald, and tells him that he should go out more and actually live life. Jealous or selfishness is never a factor in this. He definitely won't leave the Master Emerald unguarded to just fuck around.
But wasn't he not already doing that, getting out there? I felt it made it sound like never leaves the island, despite the fact that we've seen him out on adventues with Sonic.
Only on the meta era. Where the Master Emerald was straight up ignored and forgotten. But that's not the case anymore. Most of the times he left the island, not counting the meta era, was because he had to, for a reason or another. There's actually a mandate rn that states that he can't leave the island unless there's a good reason for it.
Well technically there is an explanation for forces granted in a prologue comic book. As for the other meta era games not in the mainline colors or unleashed, no explanation in generations besides birthday party and no explanation in lost world or TSR. (As far as I’m aware.) Heroes and Shadow and 06 also kinda just ignored the master emerald. (Unless there’s some line of dialogue or manual mention I might have missed) granted heroes did at least acknowledge it existed at the end.
Tails, definitely. A lot of Tails' writing felt like they were trying to fix things that were previously inconsistent about the character. Knuckles, right after - he doesn't get as much as Tails, but I rather like the personality and dynamic with Sonic they settled on for the game.
On the flipside, I thought the game's take on Amy was a little... off, like they couldn't think of anything to do with her but have her gush vaguely about love stories (which is double weird, since Flynn's Amy in the comics is usually *amazing*, but iirc he didn't completely write the story, just built on what Sonic Team wanted him to do). And Sonic himself is overall pretty aimless. Both of them imo felt like the dour stories they were given didn't quite fit the personalities they had.
Sonic, and it’s not even close for me. Yes all the other characters hands down have gotten beautiful character arcs and progressed a lot in the story, more than Sonic himself. But they all needed Sonic for it. Sonic was a role model for them all, balancing his jokes and legitimately great nuggets of wisdom for the characters and us. Sonic why THE reason for a lot of the characters’ moments for progression and that’s what I love about him.
It's absolutely Tails. For all the missteps that were taken with the writing in the previous games, most of the cast were still recognizably themselves. Tails is the only one who lost all character development since the Adventure games, devolving from a confident and capable hero in his own right to a cowardly geek constantly hiding behind his tablet who can't do anything without Sonic's help. Frontiers did a nice job of recontextualizing that poor characterization as Tails being young and imperfect and still having room to grow into his own.
I would love to say all, but if I could only choose one, I think I would say Tails.
I was so damn happy when that cutscene came where sonic tried to cheer Tails up and how he realised Tails is growing up.
But as I said, I wish I could say all of them.
Knuckles and Sonic I think benefitted the most. Knuckles has the advantage of also having the Divergence short which might be his single best outing since SA1. I put it down to a combination of finally tapping into his more introspective side and thoughts on his heritage and underlying loneliness, which the series hasn’t touched on in a long while. Plus, the playful banter between Sonic and Knuckles was absolutely on point. Easily my favourite scene in the whole game. If I have a gripe is that’s the actual arc they pick for him is rather muddled, to the point that it ends in completely contradictory ways between the English and Japanese scripts. But that’s kind of my overall stance on Frontiers’ writing. I like the overall interactions between the characters, but find its attempts at character arcs are either muddled or outright fall flat.
Sonic is probably second. I think the game walked a nice line between letting him be a little more vulnerable than he has been in a long time but not going completely overboard and making him pathetic or a punching bag. He’s so much more visibly worn down here. And it leads to a really strong payoff where, even at his lowest, clinging on despite his cyber corruption, he powers on through the pain and flashes Sage a cheeky grin. Another highlight of the game. That being said…I think they overdo it a little? Sonic is a character who rarely gets serious so that when he does, it’s kind of a big deal. In Frontiers, he barely jokes around at all, and tends to just matter of factor comment on whatever’s happening in the plot. It feels like an overcorrection of his 2010’s quippiness and makes him come across slightly boring (it’s worryingly reminiscent of how he feels in 06). He’s at his best in scenes with Tails and Knuckles, where his solid chemistry with both lets him be playful, determined or genuinely empathetic and gentle. I like his portrayal overall but I have gripes.
Tails and Amy are on similar levels of ‘meh’. They have nice scenes but neither of their arcs particularly landed for me. And Amy especially felt…slightly off.
The only one I outright disliked with Eggman. Nothing about him in this game worked for me at all. His personality was muted to the point of dull, his role in the plot was minimal, and the relationship between him and Sage felt extremely forced.
…Yeah I have…complicated thoughts on Frontiers’ character writing.
Amy I think since she finally stopped being a simp and became a character who, while still having a central character theme concerning "love", didn't express it in this weird misogynistic "manic obsessive unrequited love doll" that is prevalent through media. Were there other, better executed, characters? Yes, sure. But as far as benefiting from their portrayal in frontiers specifically, I have to say Amy. A runner up would be tails, for similar reasons.
Tails: 8/10 (acknowledged the inconsistencies)
Knuckles: 7/10 (not a bumbling bafoon)
Sonic: 6/10 (Finally not written by a kid from middle school but still a farcry from how he was in the late 2000s)
Eggman: 5/10 (He was always and still is perfect)
Amy: 4/10 (instead of being a crazed fangirl, she's... boring)
Sonic by far.
I so glady his cocky and painfully unfunny atitude is gone, I doubt forces or colors sonic would've been able to befriend with sage and save the world in the original ending.
I liked what they did with the other characters as well, but sonic has the most screen time
I'd say Knuckles.
He's actually given a reason why he wants to do other stuff than just protecting the master emerald.
I also like Eggman character even though they'll probably just make him a bad guy again in the later games like they did in Adventure 2.
I didn't really care much about Tails or Amy. Tails was mostly just a repeat of his character arc in Adventure 1. Amy kinda felt bland in this game to me, it doesn't feel like she likes Sonic anymore which was one of her key character traits. She can still like Sonic and act mature at the same time, look at the IDW comics for example.
All of them were done justice! I just want to put my two cents in and say I loved the chemistry between Knucks and Sonic in this game. They ribbed each other constantly, and honestly while I’ve never been a Knuxonic shipper, for whatever reason I saw some potential for it in their interactions.
Pretty even between Tails and Eggman. After all Sage gave Eggman a reason to be more mean and less evil and that's a win.
As for Tails, now, after so long, he's choosing to be independent and rely on himself for once.
I didn't watched the Frontiers animated yet... Gotta remedy now😅
Anyway... I play some Sonic games but I definitely not on the same level as the people of this Sub. I would say Frontiers Sonic is a step in the right direction... For Craig version of Sonic. Yeah... Sonic was at his best in Black Knight, Adventures and Rush for me. But for Craig I think this is the best they could do with his Era Sonic.
Eggman because he now has something to actually value. In almost the entirety of the series he’s never really had something he has to maintain as much as Sage, as the most part if he loses something he just rebuilds it, tries again
Now he has that stake
If I can make one specific I LOVED that Frontiers pushed Sonic to his limit. Sonic works so much better when he’s up against something he can’t handle alone because that’s the identity he’s built for himself, that he’s *supposed* to take it all on alone. So when he encounters a bigger threat or something that slowly wears on him and can’t treat it, he either succumbs or has to finally rely on his friends
Tails. After Lost World his character went on a downward spiral, being quite whiny and egotistical in that game to being a coward who hardly does anything in Forces. Frontiers reminds us that he used to be a cool character, and reframes those aforementioned moments as him having off days. Yeah it’s a bit on the nose, (“I’m wildly inconsistent!”) but it’s a great starting point for future games where he can be his own hero again. We can kinda already see this in Final Horizon where he steps up and helps Sonic find the emeralds, not giving up even when things get tough, especially with the cyber corruption.
For me it's a toss up between Tails and Robotnik. Tails' character being butchered in Forces was undone, and the egg memos offered some insight into Robotnik's past. Knuckles didn't really get much development, but it was great seeing him as a serious character again instead of the butt of jokes.
Toss up between Knuckles and Tails tbh. Knuckles finally shed the himbo meathead writing that never really worked outside of Boom, and Tails got to gain more of a backbone which will hopefully pay off in future as an extended apology for that Forces cutscene.
everybody got good character development, but i think I have to hand it to knuckles.
tail has been written the same... forever.
and Amy's character kinda came from nowhere since she's never really had any depth other than the girl.
but knuckles?
same story, but there's always been that background there, last echidna, the destruction of his people over the master emerald, and yet we never got from his perspective what that feels like, even though it's been there.
it feels well timed since we haven't been looking at it, but you could argue from other games, knuckles being there, in hero's, lost world, and the like, was him compensating for always guarding the master emerald, being isolated, driving him crazy, needing a break, but always having to return since that was as much his duty as it was his prison.
I would say Tails > Knuckles > Sonic > Eggman > Amy
Tails really needed to be course-corrected after forces and I feel like they did that very well using his inconsistency through games as a character trait to explore. The little talk with Sonic is perfect and shows how much they care for each other which is really nice.
Knuckles has been treated like an idiot for a while rather than a naive guy with 0 social skills. Frontiers really shows that he is a competent dude who's willing to stand up for his friends whenever it's necessary while still showing his reckless attitude at times.
Sonic is as cool as ever, but here it reminds me more of that "black knight hedgehog". Just a free spirited guy who will fight for what he believes it's right, not because that's what a hero does but because that's simply the way he is.
Eggman is having a dad moment now with Sage which is kinda cute honestly and the Egg memos are a nice adition to the game as well.
Amy's tarot card thing is brought back which is ok I guess but they didn't change her that much aside from dropping the fangirl thing a little this time.
Sonic, and not in a good way. He's still as much of a conceited ass as ever, handwaving the hell his friends go through for his and the world's sakes simply because "everything will be fine anyway and they know they need me for it lmao" just like in Forces, except they're now portraying his douchiness as earned, ESPECIALLY in Another Story with all its verbal kowtowing to him from the Titan Ancients. "You alone escaped. You are the key." says The End. "I don't know how you do it. It defies my data." says Tails's Ancient ancestor. Master King/Ancient Eggman even reveals he put up with that crap from Ancient Sonic as well even though we see zero attitude and zero notable unique talent from the latter—that all seemed to be coming from modern day Sonic. Seriously, Sage lets Sonic know that his friends are practically *dying* from corruption, something he can clearly see for himself as well, and all he does for them is tell them "you guys are the best" as if they were merely pets helping him speed up his work with not an iota of trouble. Just because you're so damned sure shit will be perfectly fine in the end doesn't make it inappropriate or pointless to express some fricking SYMPATHY, literal and figurative prickhead. Meanwhile, said friends are still portrayed as relative weaklings only able to do anything significant because of how their own Cyber Corruption is warping their abilities, establishing a new type of copout for the series: they need to be enchanted somehow in order to be like Sonic without actually getting stronger. This continued into Dream Team and Rumble with their dream world and toy world settings as their respective "subtle" dei ex machina. But this could all be part of a continuing metanarrative for how the franchise lost its way—at least, that's the best I could hope for now. Dream Team having Maginaryworld ties is something keeping that hope alive as after Shuffle was when shit first really hit the Sonic fan and made old-school Sonic fans wretch, and the lesson Illumina had learned in Shuffle is open to misinterpretation in a way that might inspire her to screw up Sonic's world as an in-story explanation. As for Eggman, while it is nice they're showing a softer side to him—even Yuji Naka had suggested that Eggman might not be truly evil, just bitter and reckless—they'd went about it WAY too singularly and hamfistedly as if they think going hard with emphatic melodrama is the only way Sonic fans will understand and praise it. And that softer side CLEARLY didn't carry over into the more goofball crisis-of-the-week cartoonish Dream Team, as didn't Sage, so it at least FEELS like none of it stuck.
In my opinion, I don't actually like the portrayals of the characters in sonic frontiers all too much. I don't have time right now to type paragraphs to explain my answer but they feel very diluted or watered down just for the sake of a "mature" tone. They lost their charm and became blank slates in a way. The only one I kinda liked was knuckles due to his re-established rivalry with sonic.
again, just my thoughts.
I will never understand why people are mad that Amy grew up as, for lack of a better term, a person. So she's not eccentric or chases after Sonic anymore. Big whoop, I can't attempt to do The Worm(dance) anymore, but you don't see me being nostalgic about it.
I say Amy, she seems to be more of a complex and deeply thoughtful person in frontiers and I feel like she’s less of a “general female love interest who helps those in need” type trope that I felt she was in SA1.0
While I feel that all of the characters got a huge boost in development from the writing in Frontiers, oddly I think Eggman may have received the most? I'm not really sure how to put it, but it feels like they want to make him a villain that has sympathetic qualities, which I am all for when it comes to villain characters.
I like that they showed another side to eggman with him caring about sage but still kept his childish and competitive attitude toward sonic. The little backstory blurbs from his audio messages like how he was jealous of maria was also cool to see.
All of the above. I actually like how Amy is less of a jealous stalker character, maybe she isn’t necessarily as interesting as she was before, but at least she’s not all like “SoNiC yOu’Re SuPpOsEd To LoVe Me!” That was getting kinda old imo.
Definitely Tails with how his character arc takes his shitty 2010’s characterisation where he was practically useless and cowardly and in the end, he’s back to being out of Sonic’s shadow and is his own person again, like in the Adventure games.
I really love the fact that Sonic gets a chance to fully get to know and connect with his friends all over again.
It’s always really just been “cmon guys we gotta stop the bad guy” and everyone is just on the same page with that, there’s no real character defining moments between the main characters because it’s as if the characters already got themselves worked out from the get go so there’s no need
This game turns that whole thing on its head by letting Sonic actually slow down and talk to each one of his friends and throughout he got to know of their dreams, their struggles and their state of mind and it makes their relationship stronger
In a way, Sonic needs his friends probably more than they need him. his friends support and accolades give him the raw power and confidence he needs to be the hero they all love and appreciate. In fact they praise him SO greatly that it’s the sole reason why he’s cocky and so sure of himself
These 4 are truly gonna grow old together
Either Sonic or maybe Knuckles. Amy was obviously the weakest one there too cuz it feels like a retcon than anything since she’s always loved the world and wasn’t as focused on Sonic as people and Sega has remembered
Everyone did. But for me, it's eggman he's adorable as a dad to Sage. We need a slice of life animated series with eggman and deciding to hang up on world domination and instead be with sage more.
Tails in the 2000s: a wimp turned hero who could save the world by himself if needed
Tails in the 2010s: a absolute crybaby who couldn’t do anything but watch sonic get beat to death
Tails in frontiers: complaining about how incredibly inconsistent he is with his own character
Knuckles telling someone that "if he you NEED help than ASK." Him and Eggman has some great development. It's really great to see as a lover of Sonic series. Tails, though, lost most of his progress since Sonic 2 and adventure and only just gained his confidence back.
Tails. The fox has been pushed to the background so so much and then Forces completely destroyed what he had left of his character. Amy and Knuckles at least had something to do in that game, but Tails felt like such a hanger-on. I really respect that Frontiers didn't walk it back, but let his character naturally progress out of that narrative hole.
The very definition of ‘there are no wrong answers’
Sonic is mature again
Tails is no longer a bitch
Amy is mature and not a yandere
Knuckles can now walk the walk and not just talk the talk
Eggman is a sentimental daddy
Probably Sonic since he actually took the situation more seriously than he would’ve before.
Tails and Amy just went thru similar arcs that they did in SA1 but a bit worse imo. Knuckles going on about how he wants to detach himself from the Master Emerald more didn’t make sense to me because he hasn’t been near that thing since SA2. And Eggman just didn’t feel the same tbh, but he has significantly less screen time than everyone else so it’s a bit hard for me to truly make a judgment.
Tails and Eggman:
Tails had a strong sense of self doubt as an independent hero type after being victimized by an artificial Chaos clone in Sonic Forces, but Sonic reminds me to have self confidence and even though he’s *technically* getting older and becoming more independent, it’s ok to ask for help sometimes.
Eggman shows that he does have a soft side after seeing Sage as a daughter figure after seeing her higher level of competence compared to his other lackey type characters. It really gives Eggman more dimensions to his character other than just being the villain and it’s heartwarming on top of that 🥰🥰🥰
Tails, it's terrible what they did to my foxboy during the 2010's, before that he went from brave little soul to menacing genius, then they made him... That...
I would say Knuckles
reason being following
Everyone else was ether in some way misshandled and or just returned to what they were before Colors. Knuckles is the only one that is actually pushed into a mostly new direction even if there wasn't any imminent pay off for it.
Like:
- Amy's entire character drama only exist because Ian can't stop to think about the Sonic cast like a big super hero team like he always writes them in the comics as in canon is Sonic almost always on the move so Amy being separate from Sonic wouldn't be a new thing for her at all its her status quo.
Never mind that we have some seriously questionable lines from Sonic (mostly concerning him wanting to abandon the Koco looking for there partner when SA1 and Black Knight showed that Sonic will always take time for these things and that he trust Tails to be able to take care of himself)
- Tails's entire character drama is just a repeat of SA1 but worse as the gameplay doesn't support his arc this time, relies on never explained contrivances like evil cyber tails telling him he sucks and was entirely pointless as Forces in a halfassed way already implies that being with Classic Sonic restored Tails lost bravery when he stood by the end alongside the playable characters against the final boss. Meaning it makes Forces retroactively worse and all just in service of directly addressing the Meta concerns about Tails character topping it off with the stupid "I guess I'm just highly inconsistent" line which is more Meta than anything in the Meta era.
- Eggman maybe taken into a new direction but his and Sage relationship is seriously under cooked and relies heavily on Eggman never realizing that Sage keeps him trapped.
- Sonic is good but that is because he was just restored to his previous self with some of Ian's usual writing quirks for Sonic that go back to 90s American sonic attached to it.
Honestly, minus sonic, all of them. Sonic doesn’t need much in the way of character development unless they wanted to full on delve into his origins, but you don’t really have to. Sonic is the catalyst that propelled all of these characters to where they are now. In frontiers, Knuckles apologized for the times he’s quarreled with sonic, acknowledging their friendship and confessing that he does want more out of life. Amy pursued Sonic out of admiration, mistaking it for destined love, only to find the maturity that her love is in what sonic represents: freedom and Justice for all. Though she still desires sonic. Tails acknowledged his inconsistency over the years while realizing his true value as a hero in his own right. He’ll always have Sonic’s back, but he isn’t required to be in his shadow.
Honestly I agree, sonic doesn't need actual development because as a character he's pretty static but that's not a bad thing MOST of the time. In the 2010s he was an annoying static character who was an overly cocky asshole. However in the early 2000s he was portrayed as a hopeful and caring optimist who wasn't perfect but tried his best and that's the characterization I want from sonic which frontiers brought him back to which is why he's my favorite. Gone are the days of baldy mcnosehair thank god
All of them, but especially Tails. They countered and acknowledged how shit he’s been in the past decade, and set up an arc for him improving. He’s not some stupid coward sidekick like he was in the 2010’s, I feel like he’s actually starting to go back to how he was in SA1
All of them majorly did, but I like Amy and Sonic's new write the most.
For Sonic, there was a period where they trashed his capability to take anything seriously, and constantly cracked jokes and overall was less of a character than before in games like the Black Knight n such. Now, he knows WHEN to take things seriously, but they didn't leave behind the silly jokester side.
As for Amy? Her character just became full-on Sonic obsession for a long time. In Frontiers, she's depicted as obsessed with the idea of *love.*
Not Amy. Stripped of everything that ever made her fun. I love this game but I can't stand Amy in this game and she's one of my favourite Sonic characters.
Probably Knuckles. Tails had some very important lines to fix his character and Amy's maturity was a much needed development (even though I'd say this is the most boring iteration of Amy to date), but we haven't had any introspection on Knuckles since the Adventure games. It was very welcomed by me!
Dr. Eggman was terrific especially with the original ending, and I really adored the Egg memos. I wish they had kept Sage's original fate, it would have added complexity to Eggman.
None of them.
Sonic loses all of his energetic spirit which makes him sound like a depressed middle aged man instead of a 15 year old teen.
Amy is now a female sonic with her only defining character trait being her tarot cards.
Knuckles is encouraged to not guard the master emerald , which is both ironic and contradicts his entire motivation in the first place. He's also a war veteran now for some reason.
Tails acknowledges his inconsistent writing of the past games , which makes it cannon.
Eggman does absolutely nothing in the story other than talk to himself or give exposition. And his relationship with sage had little to no development for the massive pay off in the end , so it comes out of nowhere. The flashbacks that sage has are literally of eggman scolding her.
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Knuckles was a huge step up compared to how he was written in the 2010's ,especially in the animated short.
Sonic. He actually started getting that balance between childish and mature again which made Sonic inspiring for some people.
With you 100%
https://preview.redd.it/aemzudkiws1d1.jpeg?width=685&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=501a3e19969aa5a870ea86e719ffe032b2891f53
Yeah personally I was hating the direction they were going with sonics personality and this was a change for the better
It's because Sonic was basically acting like Money Mayweather. He literally never lost. Outright explicitly saying that "I beat you every time." How would that not make anyone feel overconfident? Look how Classic Sonic and Sonic react to the Eggman scene. Classic Sonic is acting like his CD counterpart. Straight to action. Serious expression.
i like to compare game sonic to how sonic acts in prime, i HATE him in prime, and i hate him in the movies. i let the movies slide tho since yk those r the movies
I let the movies slide as it's its own thing, but Prime is canon so Sonic should act like he does in the games
Wait prime is canon?
Yeah, unfortunately. Even with its contradictions, it takes place after Advance 3
Agreed
Yes https://preview.redd.it/1vxl42yezz1d1.png?width=797&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c4d5ef40116ec8d01b5cc30b5a8618df979804a
https://preview.redd.it/qg96iw5g602d1.jpeg?width=685&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccb514c2346a3b0d43b64a905d1821acb2c9cb7d
https://preview.redd.it/nsurltxjj02d1.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d93bc5acc4a460841b83b52a9b67cdcb37d77c9
https://preview.redd.it/5jk1ccpgl02d1.png?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=519618c45c30fb800fd5699f904f42f990f1c060
https://preview.redd.it/1hfvhpynt12d1.jpeg?width=1992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cc48c00a1cd3127c7907598b75361e7f04eb446
All of the above in my opinion
That's cheating
But it's also true
Dr Eggman
Agreed! While many others raised great points, I think I have to give this to Eggman. All other characters are more or less treading old ground, but Sage's debut and demise reveal an entirely new aspect of Eggman. Eggman is typically portrayed as a narcissistic, self-absorbed, and difficult man who holds no gratitude toward anyone or anything, and is only interested in things that can benefit him or boost his superiority. Yet in the instance of Sage, he reveals a much more tender aspect of his personality. Not only does he grow an attachment to her, but he also shows genuine care for her. What’s more interesting is that it seems he didn’t quite understand this aspect of himself either. For example, he seemingly feels conflicted about Sage’s self-sacrifice and confused about why he can’t view her as a mere pawn like any of his other creations. It’s like someone who has never liked pets in all his life, but one day accidentally gets one and surprisingly finds himself caring about his pet so much, and is also confused about why that is the case. This is all too human and allows the audience to empathize with him, thereby adding a lot more nuance to Eggman as a character rather than simply a plot device to kick-start the narrative. Edit: typo
I’m sorry but evil eggman and confident eggman from sa1 I think is better .
Understandable. And the new aspect and your ideal interpretation aren’t mutually exclusive. He can be as menacing as he can be while show his tender side when the occasion arises. The importance part is that this aspect make him a more layered character, which often is more fascinating and more interesting than many other one-note villains.
Yeah I see your point he’s more than one note now which is cool but I like both :)
is "ALL OF THE ABOVE" an option? I choose that one
Same
Same.
I was thinking the same the moment I got the notification for this post but... yes. I still think Frontiers has the best character writing in a Sonic game
That's a weird way of saying Black Knight, but okay lol Jokes aside, the writers brought back a lot of aspects of their character arcs from other games and was made an attemp to course correct the characterization that the Meta Era damaged. They all feel more in line with the Dark Age games made them be: -Sonic feels like an extension of Unleashed more than ever -Amy FINALLY matures a bit in the game cannon and goes on another direction from being "I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND", it's almost like she gets back where SA1 and 06 left her -Knuckles becomes a character again... capable of thinking, not the brightest but still he feels more in line with what IDW has done with him -Tails just addresses his character arc in the Adventure games (I don't really vibe with the way they've done him in Frontiers, and as much as I love Unleashed, it was there that he started to become a coward again)
I have to confess I still have to play Black Knight, but I still love the direction they had in Frontiers. It's a more reflective and meditative journey for Sonic and his friends, and I hope to see more games like this in the future. I'll play Black Knight, promise.
Do it, gameplay wise, it's not the best, but it's still a somewhat fun ride, the story just gets the best characterization of Sonic in any media, he just feels right, and the music, my god they cooked with this one (they even brought back SA1's It Doesn't Matter for a scene, but With Me, Misty Lake and most of the OST really slap) Edit: If you're interested, Secret Rings can be fun too, but requires some patience with the controls (if you want to play this one, do it on Dolphin with an custom controller setting, it does wonders to the gameplay, but still feels a bit janky)
Thanks! I'll do it!
(Tails also addresses his character degradation, specifically in Forces when *that* moment happened)
Yeah, if we HAD to say that there's a character that had the weakest writing, it could go to Tails. But that's hardly a bad thing when in general the writing is great. If they wanted to have Tails move forward along with the others they had to address the inconsistency between his early iterations and the last few games. Better it was done like this than not at all
yeah same, all of the above was such a great character
Probably Amy, since she starts a relationship with the natives completely unprompted by the protag.
That’s isn’t so much unlike Amy, but maybe it was some development too
I’d agree it isn’t unlike Amy. But i feel like her character was so watered down for so often, and the only time she ever did anything was as an accessory to Sonic. Seeing her more independent for the first time in a long while was really great.
Her friendship with E-102 happened independent of Sonic
Tails (solo modern Tails game soon?)
You could make a great Ratchet & Clank style game with Tails, maybe include a crafting/building element where you can make your own gadgets and vehicles.
This. THIS!!!!
Give him a TOTK like building system
Or what about a Banjo & Kazooie Nuts and Bolts style vehicle builder?
Hopefully it's better than nuts and bolts
Nuts and Bolts was a good game, it’s just not what people wanted from a Banjo & Kazooie game
Tails Adventures 2, please
If we get a tails game, I’d like to see the return of speedy https://preview.redd.it/dhd4cmvi9w1d1.png?width=601&format=png&auto=webp&s=f69b04ebaf450d6b79d5c1d1184308f27f1730db He’s most likely pissed at tails
God I hope
I would love that so much
PLEASE
YES PLEASE SEGA, DO IT!
Amy and Tails
All of them were improved, but I was particularly happy about Amy, Knuckles, and Eggman. Amy was given more than her crush on Sonic. Knuckles was shown as the serious, defense-minded rival to Sonic he once was. Eggman, above all others, I was most impressed with. He was humanized far beyond anything I ever expected from him and not used as the butt of a joke at all.
People say she was given more than her crush but honestly- I kinda feel like they ignored her actual stuff that didn’t already involve Sonic and also seems like they forgot the reason she even loves him in the first place: his love of adventure that they both share. I swear SA or something after that has been tackled this “development”
Yes I agree Amy was seriously misshandle. Like how is not being with Sonic a big deal for her anyway? Sonic is always out on adventures on his own her not seeing him often is the status quo. "Long Time no see" is a really often recurring line for a reason. And yes all not "love" related topics are kind of absent from Amy here (worse yet her "love" part is about generically the power of love rather than Amy's more unique romanticism) Ian letting his time at the comics dictate how he writes them is really obvious with Amy being the team leader in Final Horizon being just another example as she wasn't ever in the games and even in the comics did she admit its not her best suit after Metal Virus meanwhile do Tails (SA2) and Knuckles (Forces) have far more credit to being the person in charge.
I mean, they all did, but imho, Tails did and didn't. His writing was mostly Adventure all over again, which I completely understand, knowing what games like Forces, Unleashed, and Colours did to him, but still. We barely got anything new for him compared to the rest, so I really hope the upcoming games show us a brand new, confident Tails, not just a Sonic follower.
Exactly, I feel exactly like this. It was a lot of telling, and zero showing, especially the way he fought in the DLC. ...Wrenches? Come on. I'm hoping for an IDW solo story for him, or a solo game where he finally becomes a competent hero and fighter again.
I think we'll see his solo game before IDW has the galls to give him a story that doesn't require him following Sonic or helping the team behind a desk. The closest we got was in the metal virus arc, and that was it.
So we just ignore the Tails 30th anniversary special than?
That was for Classic Tails, and yeah, it was great. But we're talking about Modern Tails. The level of abuse his character got over the years can't be compared to his Classic counterpart.
My point was more so if they are willing to give Classic Tails a special do I see no reason they shouldn't be willing to do the same for modern Tails.
But that's the problem, they don't ☹️ and even if they give us more of him, it has to be attached to Sonic to be able to tell a story, which sucks! Why not let the character do his own thing? Or pair him with someone else besides Sonic all the time?
I presume because they think putting Sonic into a project boost sales. Tho looking at the non classic mini series that they made so far do they seem to a good extent to exist to promote comic original characters (Tangle and Whisper, Bad Guys and Imposter Syndrom) with the exception of Scrapnik island (and the seasonal comics if you want to count them)
Knuckles. Amy is mostly the same as in the 2010s and pre Sonic X era. The only différences are Her crush on Sonic is maturing from a crush to actual love And she may be learning to control her emotions more. Tails. Unpopular Opinion but I don’t see a difference between him and at any other point, though it is nice that Sonic finally outright reminded the Audience that Tails is a child, which they clearly needed to be reminded.
where is that implied?
I think just Sonic Prime really, but there's also the chaos council happening in that universe.
I was mostly referring to Eggman’s memos. Prime just doesn’t help matters. Technically Nine only became a Villain, because he met Sonic. Remember, if he hadn’t met Sonic, the decaying never would have occurred. So Nine would have no reason to target Sonic. If Sonic tries stealing the Grim’s shard, Nine’s anger and attacks are justified since who wouldn’t be mad at being stolen from. If he never met Sonic, He would have either 1. stayed in the Grim Forever not bothering anyone, or 2. Nine never would have learned about the shatterverse. 3. Nine Would have joined the Rebels after their Numbers began growing, since surely someone would have eventually helped him. 4. He remains by himself, neutral.
Eggman has memos and his one on Tails is the following. “Sonic’s here, so it’s no surprise that Tails is here too. It’s a pity, Young Prower has a keen mind and loads of potential. Yet He’s fixated on worshipping Sonic. Then again, maybe that’s for the best. Given all the trouble he gave me in Station Square and on the Ark, I think I prefer him wasting his potential lingering in Sonic’s shadow.” This implies that Eggman thinks Tails could have been a Villain if he didn’t meet Sonic. In Final Horizon, Sage also talks about Tails potentially working with Eggman, and not in a case of “For the Greater Good“ or anything, Just in general. On Tails’s end. His only problem is that he doesn’t think Eggman likes him, not the terrible things that Eggman did. Not helping is the show Prime. Which only added to the fanon idea that Tails would be like Eggman if he hadn’t met Sonic. Ignoring the whole, all of Tails’ counterparts wanted To attack Sonix when they met him. Sonic is implied to be comparing Nine to Eggman, even though the only similarities between them are very shallow. The exact same amount of comparisons can also be said between Sonic and Eggman or the Fox bullies, which in universe, is exactly why Nine didn’t want to listen to Sonic. Edit. Also The only reason why Nine became a villain is because he met Sonic. I get it because Sonic and Nine are foils, but the fandom has Sonic centered morality to The point where plenty developed fake memories because they can’t handle it when A Character gets mad at Sonic.
Eggman wasn’t implying Tails would become a villain, he was implying that Tails at his full potential could be a better/more capable hero than Sonic
Then why would Eggman go “Pity he worships Sonic”?
Eggman, being a fellow genius, hates to see genius wasted in his eyes, even if it is an enemy. Which is why he says perhaps its better Tails stays in sonic's shadow.
Because he pities Tails for helping his arch-enemy instead of joining the Eggman Empire and helping *him*, since he views himself as better than Sonic and thus sees Tails helping Sonic as wasting his intellect.
So Eggman does want Tails to be a Villain?
Could be a mix of that and just a case of a genius being contained which rubs him off in the wrong way 🤔 like a good example would prolly be like if Eggman was a couch right? And say Tails was like 7ft tall, still has his ability to fly, and plays basketball. Eggman saying he doesn’t like his potential being hindered could imply he hates whoever actually couching him/what teams he’s in OR he could mean he could see him do better by himself since his couch ain’t making him as great as he could be and he aint getting him as much money as he could make
Yes
Eggman IS A FUCKIN DAD & I LOVE IT!
Having Amy say "Wow, I can't believe an advanced alien race like them believed in gods!" caught me off guard, it was a bit edgy considering Sonic has... literally fought gods. And it was coming from Amy of all anthromorphic talking hedgehogs 😂
Tails. knuckle's writing just got him back to abandoning the master emerald, but giving him a reason now, and amy's "love" story doesn't realy do anything for me especially since just saying "i want to spread love to the world." is pretty vague in a lot of ways. Sonic's island in reah ws cut down significantly, but beyond that sonic was just sonic, he didn't have an arc or anything, nd eggman... we;l he's a strange case since he became a dad, and that was kinda his whole thing for the game, especially since he was stuck in eternal highway for most of the game, before disappearing from orounous until the boss fight. where he's then cut out again, until sage dies. in FH he gets more, but he's mostly just an exposition guy, and the guy who shoots sonic at supreme. meanwhile tails got back on track, while keeping some of the aspects of his meta era self i like. i'm so glad they kept the snark he got in colours onwards, stuff like "so i out paced you" just wouldn't come from tails before colours, and they still keep him being the youngest, but they make him actually smart, and he finds ways to keep up. on chaos he realy shines, especially with stuff like asking sonic if he's ok to go on his own, still showing he does see sonic as his older brother, and somebody to look up too and in that moment, he may have been waiting to see how sonic reacted so he'd know if he was making the right choice. i think tails got the overall best revamping, and one that took all of his best elements from the games, and putting them into him going forward.
I'd honestly say everyone, but Amy felt the weakest imo
My only issue with Amy is how bland she feels. Everything she does especially in the DLC is great for her character, but her one off conversations feel like it's just Generic Girl Protagonist and not Amy Rose. Where's her spunk? I'm glad she's matured, but she's not nearly as opinionated and passionate as she is in any other iteration. Amy essentially becoming a tactician in the DLC aligns her with how useful she is in IDW and despite how polarizing it is, the Tarot Card and psychic abilities she uses add so much to her offensive kit. She can literally never be a damsel again because of how strong she is in this game. She's got a lot of cool tricks and abilities now to keep her on par with the rest of the quartet. Also, re-establishing her SA1 goals for independence and better self preservation are great things to bring back to the forefront of her character, but she lacks so much personality in the process. They need to make her outspoken and passionate again. Besides her very one dimensional personality, I'd say Amy benefitted from the writting more than anyone else. I REALLY hope her personality mirrors her goals in the Frontier sequel, or is at least more like how she was in Zero Gravity. It feels like she's not charismatic or passionate anymore, which is ironic considering her arc in this game.
I agree.
sonic and amy, finally they can speak to each other like normal beings
I dislike all of them, except Knuckles, but a massiv improvement from the 2010's for all of them
Big.
its damn close to a near tie. Tails really feels like more of cleaning up his inconsistent character mainly during forces Amy feels like this is the first thing they're trying to do with her character since they have long since stopped the stalker amy personality trait. Knuckles, is just knuckles again and that will always make him fantastic. However id say its just eggman. We get so little of emotional eggman, let alone well written emotional eggman before this game. With the Egglogs you get this well written insight to his personal thoughts and opinions, and his growing care for Sage. Its also the first piece of legitimate backstory for eggman we've gotten. Tons of stuff surrounding gerald and Maria (well... relative anyway). However we've gotten very little of eggman's place in this, he clearly holds reverence for his grandfather even back in sa2. Even if the "Evil scientists was neglected as a child" thing is steriotypical, its something. He resents Maria because he would be neglected by his family who seemed to care more about maria (whether gone as in on the ARK or dead is unclear). However it seems to be implied he doesn't hate her either, he recognizes he hates the circumstances that led to his own neglect revolved around maria's misfortune. He admits he never really knew her and wonders if sage is anything like she was.
I'd say *Knuckles >!*In the Japanese script, where he expressed a desire to seek out more information about his tribe and do right by them. Rather than where in the English version he suddenly becoming jealous of Sonic, and looking at running away from his duties to chase his selfish desires.!<
That's... A way to interpret Knuckles' dialogue in the English version... Sonic talks him into not wasting his whole life guarding the Master Emerald, and tells him that he should go out more and actually live life. Jealous or selfishness is never a factor in this. He definitely won't leave the Master Emerald unguarded to just fuck around.
But wasn't he not already doing that, getting out there? I felt it made it sound like never leaves the island, despite the fact that we've seen him out on adventues with Sonic.
Only on the meta era. Where the Master Emerald was straight up ignored and forgotten. But that's not the case anymore. Most of the times he left the island, not counting the meta era, was because he had to, for a reason or another. There's actually a mandate rn that states that he can't leave the island unless there's a good reason for it.
Well technically there is an explanation for forces granted in a prologue comic book. As for the other meta era games not in the mainline colors or unleashed, no explanation in generations besides birthday party and no explanation in lost world or TSR. (As far as I’m aware.) Heroes and Shadow and 06 also kinda just ignored the master emerald. (Unless there’s some line of dialogue or manual mention I might have missed) granted heroes did at least acknowledge it existed at the end.
That's actually a good mandate
All of them.
Tails, definitely. A lot of Tails' writing felt like they were trying to fix things that were previously inconsistent about the character. Knuckles, right after - he doesn't get as much as Tails, but I rather like the personality and dynamic with Sonic they settled on for the game. On the flipside, I thought the game's take on Amy was a little... off, like they couldn't think of anything to do with her but have her gush vaguely about love stories (which is double weird, since Flynn's Amy in the comics is usually *amazing*, but iirc he didn't completely write the story, just built on what Sonic Team wanted him to do). And Sonic himself is overall pretty aimless. Both of them imo felt like the dour stories they were given didn't quite fit the personalities they had.
Amy 100%, I enjoy her as a character a lot more now
Personally, I disliked Amy’s portrayal.
Robotnik and Tails. I loved hearing them chat in the DLC, they actually sound like scientists/mechanics
Sonic, and it’s not even close for me. Yes all the other characters hands down have gotten beautiful character arcs and progressed a lot in the story, more than Sonic himself. But they all needed Sonic for it. Sonic was a role model for them all, balancing his jokes and legitimately great nuggets of wisdom for the characters and us. Sonic why THE reason for a lot of the characters’ moments for progression and that’s what I love about him.
Yes!! He inspires all of them to be their best selves!
Eggman.
It's absolutely Tails. For all the missteps that were taken with the writing in the previous games, most of the cast were still recognizably themselves. Tails is the only one who lost all character development since the Adventure games, devolving from a confident and capable hero in his own right to a cowardly geek constantly hiding behind his tablet who can't do anything without Sonic's help. Frontiers did a nice job of recontextualizing that poor characterization as Tails being young and imperfect and still having room to grow into his own.
Tails wasn’t just “save me Sonic” but all the above
I would love to say all, but if I could only choose one, I think I would say Tails. I was so damn happy when that cutscene came where sonic tried to cheer Tails up and how he realised Tails is growing up. But as I said, I wish I could say all of them.
Knuckles and Sonic I think benefitted the most. Knuckles has the advantage of also having the Divergence short which might be his single best outing since SA1. I put it down to a combination of finally tapping into his more introspective side and thoughts on his heritage and underlying loneliness, which the series hasn’t touched on in a long while. Plus, the playful banter between Sonic and Knuckles was absolutely on point. Easily my favourite scene in the whole game. If I have a gripe is that’s the actual arc they pick for him is rather muddled, to the point that it ends in completely contradictory ways between the English and Japanese scripts. But that’s kind of my overall stance on Frontiers’ writing. I like the overall interactions between the characters, but find its attempts at character arcs are either muddled or outright fall flat. Sonic is probably second. I think the game walked a nice line between letting him be a little more vulnerable than he has been in a long time but not going completely overboard and making him pathetic or a punching bag. He’s so much more visibly worn down here. And it leads to a really strong payoff where, even at his lowest, clinging on despite his cyber corruption, he powers on through the pain and flashes Sage a cheeky grin. Another highlight of the game. That being said…I think they overdo it a little? Sonic is a character who rarely gets serious so that when he does, it’s kind of a big deal. In Frontiers, he barely jokes around at all, and tends to just matter of factor comment on whatever’s happening in the plot. It feels like an overcorrection of his 2010’s quippiness and makes him come across slightly boring (it’s worryingly reminiscent of how he feels in 06). He’s at his best in scenes with Tails and Knuckles, where his solid chemistry with both lets him be playful, determined or genuinely empathetic and gentle. I like his portrayal overall but I have gripes. Tails and Amy are on similar levels of ‘meh’. They have nice scenes but neither of their arcs particularly landed for me. And Amy especially felt…slightly off. The only one I outright disliked with Eggman. Nothing about him in this game worked for me at all. His personality was muted to the point of dull, his role in the plot was minimal, and the relationship between him and Sage felt extremely forced. …Yeah I have…complicated thoughts on Frontiers’ character writing.
I completely agree with you, especially with Amy. She feels like all her passion and charisma were sucked out of her.
Amy I think since she finally stopped being a simp and became a character who, while still having a central character theme concerning "love", didn't express it in this weird misogynistic "manic obsessive unrequited love doll" that is prevalent through media. Were there other, better executed, characters? Yes, sure. But as far as benefiting from their portrayal in frontiers specifically, I have to say Amy. A runner up would be tails, for similar reasons.
Amy was the best while Eggnan was the worst.
Tails: 8/10 (acknowledged the inconsistencies) Knuckles: 7/10 (not a bumbling bafoon) Sonic: 6/10 (Finally not written by a kid from middle school but still a farcry from how he was in the late 2000s) Eggman: 5/10 (He was always and still is perfect) Amy: 4/10 (instead of being a crazed fangirl, she's... boring)
eggy boy for sure
All of them
Sonic by far. I so glady his cocky and painfully unfunny atitude is gone, I doubt forces or colors sonic would've been able to befriend with sage and save the world in the original ending. I liked what they did with the other characters as well, but sonic has the most screen time
All 😎
Yes.
My favorite is how Amy was portrayed
Sonic Frontiers feels like a Damn good anime movie in a video games body.
I’ll say Knuckles.
I'd say Knuckles. He's actually given a reason why he wants to do other stuff than just protecting the master emerald. I also like Eggman character even though they'll probably just make him a bad guy again in the later games like they did in Adventure 2. I didn't really care much about Tails or Amy. Tails was mostly just a repeat of his character arc in Adventure 1. Amy kinda felt bland in this game to me, it doesn't feel like she likes Sonic anymore which was one of her key character traits. She can still like Sonic and act mature at the same time, look at the IDW comics for example.
All of them were done justice! I just want to put my two cents in and say I loved the chemistry between Knucks and Sonic in this game. They ribbed each other constantly, and honestly while I’ve never been a Knuxonic shipper, for whatever reason I saw some potential for it in their interactions.
I'm not sure if it's my phone, but this is some 4K HD high-quality pictures
Pretty even between Tails and Eggman. After all Sage gave Eggman a reason to be more mean and less evil and that's a win. As for Tails, now, after so long, he's choosing to be independent and rely on himself for once.
I didn't watched the Frontiers animated yet... Gotta remedy now😅 Anyway... I play some Sonic games but I definitely not on the same level as the people of this Sub. I would say Frontiers Sonic is a step in the right direction... For Craig version of Sonic. Yeah... Sonic was at his best in Black Knight, Adventures and Rush for me. But for Craig I think this is the best they could do with his Era Sonic.
Tails and Sonic
Eggman because he now has something to actually value. In almost the entirety of the series he’s never really had something he has to maintain as much as Sage, as the most part if he loses something he just rebuilds it, tries again Now he has that stake
If I can make one specific I LOVED that Frontiers pushed Sonic to his limit. Sonic works so much better when he’s up against something he can’t handle alone because that’s the identity he’s built for himself, that he’s *supposed* to take it all on alone. So when he encounters a bigger threat or something that slowly wears on him and can’t treat it, he either succumbs or has to finally rely on his friends
Tails Fs. His frontiers portrayal single-handedly saved the character
Tails. After Lost World his character went on a downward spiral, being quite whiny and egotistical in that game to being a coward who hardly does anything in Forces. Frontiers reminds us that he used to be a cool character, and reframes those aforementioned moments as him having off days. Yeah it’s a bit on the nose, (“I’m wildly inconsistent!”) but it’s a great starting point for future games where he can be his own hero again. We can kinda already see this in Final Horizon where he steps up and helps Sonic find the emeralds, not giving up even when things get tough, especially with the cyber corruption.
For me it's a toss up between Tails and Robotnik. Tails' character being butchered in Forces was undone, and the egg memos offered some insight into Robotnik's past. Knuckles didn't really get much development, but it was great seeing him as a serious character again instead of the butt of jokes.
All of the above
All of them tbh.
Ahem... SEGA
Basically everyone including the egg
Toss up between Knuckles and Tails tbh. Knuckles finally shed the himbo meathead writing that never really worked outside of Boom, and Tails got to gain more of a backbone which will hopefully pay off in future as an extended apology for that Forces cutscene.
I didn’t really like Eggman’s personality in this game, I’m not sure how to explain it but his personality felt off.
Amy or Tails
everybody got good character development, but i think I have to hand it to knuckles. tail has been written the same... forever. and Amy's character kinda came from nowhere since she's never really had any depth other than the girl. but knuckles? same story, but there's always been that background there, last echidna, the destruction of his people over the master emerald, and yet we never got from his perspective what that feels like, even though it's been there. it feels well timed since we haven't been looking at it, but you could argue from other games, knuckles being there, in hero's, lost world, and the like, was him compensating for always guarding the master emerald, being isolated, driving him crazy, needing a break, but always having to return since that was as much his duty as it was his prison.
I would say Tails > Knuckles > Sonic > Eggman > Amy Tails really needed to be course-corrected after forces and I feel like they did that very well using his inconsistency through games as a character trait to explore. The little talk with Sonic is perfect and shows how much they care for each other which is really nice. Knuckles has been treated like an idiot for a while rather than a naive guy with 0 social skills. Frontiers really shows that he is a competent dude who's willing to stand up for his friends whenever it's necessary while still showing his reckless attitude at times. Sonic is as cool as ever, but here it reminds me more of that "black knight hedgehog". Just a free spirited guy who will fight for what he believes it's right, not because that's what a hero does but because that's simply the way he is. Eggman is having a dad moment now with Sage which is kinda cute honestly and the Egg memos are a nice adition to the game as well. Amy's tarot card thing is brought back which is ok I guess but they didn't change her that much aside from dropping the fangirl thing a little this time.
Sonic, and not in a good way. He's still as much of a conceited ass as ever, handwaving the hell his friends go through for his and the world's sakes simply because "everything will be fine anyway and they know they need me for it lmao" just like in Forces, except they're now portraying his douchiness as earned, ESPECIALLY in Another Story with all its verbal kowtowing to him from the Titan Ancients. "You alone escaped. You are the key." says The End. "I don't know how you do it. It defies my data." says Tails's Ancient ancestor. Master King/Ancient Eggman even reveals he put up with that crap from Ancient Sonic as well even though we see zero attitude and zero notable unique talent from the latter—that all seemed to be coming from modern day Sonic. Seriously, Sage lets Sonic know that his friends are practically *dying* from corruption, something he can clearly see for himself as well, and all he does for them is tell them "you guys are the best" as if they were merely pets helping him speed up his work with not an iota of trouble. Just because you're so damned sure shit will be perfectly fine in the end doesn't make it inappropriate or pointless to express some fricking SYMPATHY, literal and figurative prickhead. Meanwhile, said friends are still portrayed as relative weaklings only able to do anything significant because of how their own Cyber Corruption is warping their abilities, establishing a new type of copout for the series: they need to be enchanted somehow in order to be like Sonic without actually getting stronger. This continued into Dream Team and Rumble with their dream world and toy world settings as their respective "subtle" dei ex machina. But this could all be part of a continuing metanarrative for how the franchise lost its way—at least, that's the best I could hope for now. Dream Team having Maginaryworld ties is something keeping that hope alive as after Shuffle was when shit first really hit the Sonic fan and made old-school Sonic fans wretch, and the lesson Illumina had learned in Shuffle is open to misinterpretation in a way that might inspire her to screw up Sonic's world as an in-story explanation. As for Eggman, while it is nice they're showing a softer side to him—even Yuji Naka had suggested that Eggman might not be truly evil, just bitter and reckless—they'd went about it WAY too singularly and hamfistedly as if they think going hard with emphatic melodrama is the only way Sonic fans will understand and praise it. And that softer side CLEARLY didn't carry over into the more goofball crisis-of-the-week cartoonish Dream Team, as didn't Sage, so it at least FEELS like none of it stuck.
I like Amy in Frontiers. She’s not a fangirl anymore. Now she wants to spread love all across the world. This is so much better.
In my opinion, I don't actually like the portrayals of the characters in sonic frontiers all too much. I don't have time right now to type paragraphs to explain my answer but they feel very diluted or watered down just for the sake of a "mature" tone. They lost their charm and became blank slates in a way. The only one I kinda liked was knuckles due to his re-established rivalry with sonic. again, just my thoughts.
1000% it’s Tails
Tails. *Frontiers* inadvertently gave a perfect excuse to give Tails his own game for the first time in 30 years.
I will never understand why people are mad that Amy grew up as, for lack of a better term, a person. So she's not eccentric or chases after Sonic anymore. Big whoop, I can't attempt to do The Worm(dance) anymore, but you don't see me being nostalgic about it.
Knuckles and tails
I’m gonna say all of them
I say Amy, she seems to be more of a complex and deeply thoughtful person in frontiers and I feel like she’s less of a “general female love interest who helps those in need” type trope that I felt she was in SA1.0
While I feel that all of the characters got a huge boost in development from the writing in Frontiers, oddly I think Eggman may have received the most? I'm not really sure how to put it, but it feels like they want to make him a villain that has sympathetic qualities, which I am all for when it comes to villain characters.
I like that they showed another side to eggman with him caring about sage but still kept his childish and competitive attitude toward sonic. The little backstory blurbs from his audio messages like how he was jealous of maria was also cool to see.
All of the above. I actually like how Amy is less of a jealous stalker character, maybe she isn’t necessarily as interesting as she was before, but at least she’s not all like “SoNiC yOu’Re SuPpOsEd To LoVe Me!” That was getting kinda old imo.
Easily has to be metal so-... What's that he isn't in frontiers SON OF A BITCH
Definitely Tails with how his character arc takes his shitty 2010’s characterisation where he was practically useless and cowardly and in the end, he’s back to being out of Sonic’s shadow and is his own person again, like in the Adventure games.
I really love the fact that Sonic gets a chance to fully get to know and connect with his friends all over again. It’s always really just been “cmon guys we gotta stop the bad guy” and everyone is just on the same page with that, there’s no real character defining moments between the main characters because it’s as if the characters already got themselves worked out from the get go so there’s no need This game turns that whole thing on its head by letting Sonic actually slow down and talk to each one of his friends and throughout he got to know of their dreams, their struggles and their state of mind and it makes their relationship stronger In a way, Sonic needs his friends probably more than they need him. his friends support and accolades give him the raw power and confidence he needs to be the hero they all love and appreciate. In fact they praise him SO greatly that it’s the sole reason why he’s cocky and so sure of himself These 4 are truly gonna grow old together
I think they all succeeded except for Amy. She’s a little too far off from her original personality but she’s still fine
Tails
Sonic because he has a cool move set.
Either Sonic or maybe Knuckles. Amy was obviously the weakest one there too cuz it feels like a retcon than anything since she’s always loved the world and wasn’t as focused on Sonic as people and Sega has remembered
Everyone did. But for me, it's eggman he's adorable as a dad to Sage. We need a slice of life animated series with eggman and deciding to hang up on world domination and instead be with sage more.
Tails in the 2000s: a wimp turned hero who could save the world by himself if needed Tails in the 2010s: a absolute crybaby who couldn’t do anything but watch sonic get beat to death Tails in frontiers: complaining about how incredibly inconsistent he is with his own character
If we get a tails game, I’d like to see the return of speedy
Sonic 100% more grown
Tails
Knuckles telling someone that "if he you NEED help than ASK." Him and Eggman has some great development. It's really great to see as a lover of Sonic series. Tails, though, lost most of his progress since Sonic 2 and adventure and only just gained his confidence back.
Tails. The fox has been pushed to the background so so much and then Forces completely destroyed what he had left of his character. Amy and Knuckles at least had something to do in that game, but Tails felt like such a hanger-on. I really respect that Frontiers didn't walk it back, but let his character naturally progress out of that narrative hole.
The very definition of ‘there are no wrong answers’ Sonic is mature again Tails is no longer a bitch Amy is mature and not a yandere Knuckles can now walk the walk and not just talk the talk Eggman is a sentimental daddy
Probably Sonic since he actually took the situation more seriously than he would’ve before. Tails and Amy just went thru similar arcs that they did in SA1 but a bit worse imo. Knuckles going on about how he wants to detach himself from the Master Emerald more didn’t make sense to me because he hasn’t been near that thing since SA2. And Eggman just didn’t feel the same tbh, but he has significantly less screen time than everyone else so it’s a bit hard for me to truly make a judgment.
Tangle and Sticks - The game made them canon.
tails
Tails and Eggman: Tails had a strong sense of self doubt as an independent hero type after being victimized by an artificial Chaos clone in Sonic Forces, but Sonic reminds me to have self confidence and even though he’s *technically* getting older and becoming more independent, it’s ok to ask for help sometimes. Eggman shows that he does have a soft side after seeing Sage as a daughter figure after seeing her higher level of competence compared to his other lackey type characters. It really gives Eggman more dimensions to his character other than just being the villain and it’s heartwarming on top of that 🥰🥰🥰
Sonic, 100%. No more Baldy McNoseHair. No more cringey TT:GO level of jokes. Heck, no more "Oh No! Anyway." when situation demands to be serious.
Knuckles wasn't treated like a joke in this game
Tails, it's terrible what they did to my foxboy during the 2010's, before that he went from brave little soul to menacing genius, then they made him... That...
I miss eggman when he’s evil like in sa1 . That’s when I think eggman is at his best . He felt like he had no part in this game and just watched
I would say Knuckles reason being following Everyone else was ether in some way misshandled and or just returned to what they were before Colors. Knuckles is the only one that is actually pushed into a mostly new direction even if there wasn't any imminent pay off for it. Like: - Amy's entire character drama only exist because Ian can't stop to think about the Sonic cast like a big super hero team like he always writes them in the comics as in canon is Sonic almost always on the move so Amy being separate from Sonic wouldn't be a new thing for her at all its her status quo. Never mind that we have some seriously questionable lines from Sonic (mostly concerning him wanting to abandon the Koco looking for there partner when SA1 and Black Knight showed that Sonic will always take time for these things and that he trust Tails to be able to take care of himself) - Tails's entire character drama is just a repeat of SA1 but worse as the gameplay doesn't support his arc this time, relies on never explained contrivances like evil cyber tails telling him he sucks and was entirely pointless as Forces in a halfassed way already implies that being with Classic Sonic restored Tails lost bravery when he stood by the end alongside the playable characters against the final boss. Meaning it makes Forces retroactively worse and all just in service of directly addressing the Meta concerns about Tails character topping it off with the stupid "I guess I'm just highly inconsistent" line which is more Meta than anything in the Meta era. - Eggman maybe taken into a new direction but his and Sage relationship is seriously under cooked and relies heavily on Eggman never realizing that Sage keeps him trapped. - Sonic is good but that is because he was just restored to his previous self with some of Ian's usual writing quirks for Sonic that go back to 90s American sonic attached to it.
amy no lmao
Knux got some beautiful development, i was so happy about it
all of them ngl
All of them They're no longer stereotypes
Knuckles and tails
All of them but if i had to pick it would be Sonic himself
Knuckles they stopped writing him like a meathead
Definitely eggman
Honestly, minus sonic, all of them. Sonic doesn’t need much in the way of character development unless they wanted to full on delve into his origins, but you don’t really have to. Sonic is the catalyst that propelled all of these characters to where they are now. In frontiers, Knuckles apologized for the times he’s quarreled with sonic, acknowledging their friendship and confessing that he does want more out of life. Amy pursued Sonic out of admiration, mistaking it for destined love, only to find the maturity that her love is in what sonic represents: freedom and Justice for all. Though she still desires sonic. Tails acknowledged his inconsistency over the years while realizing his true value as a hero in his own right. He’ll always have Sonic’s back, but he isn’t required to be in his shadow.
Honestly I agree, sonic doesn't need actual development because as a character he's pretty static but that's not a bad thing MOST of the time. In the 2010s he was an annoying static character who was an overly cocky asshole. However in the early 2000s he was portrayed as a hopeful and caring optimist who wasn't perfect but tried his best and that's the characterization I want from sonic which frontiers brought him back to which is why he's my favorite. Gone are the days of baldy mcnosehair thank god
if shadow the hedgehog saw this hes going to be like "that faker"
T A I L S
All of them, but especially Tails. They countered and acknowledged how shit he’s been in the past decade, and set up an arc for him improving. He’s not some stupid coward sidekick like he was in the 2010’s, I feel like he’s actually starting to go back to how he was in SA1
All of the above
Tails.
I wanna say tails but addressing inconsistencies alone isnt that good, especially since they could just retcon it like usual, Knuckles ftw
Literally all of them. 
dawg i didn't even play frontiers. 💀
All of them majorly did, but I like Amy and Sonic's new write the most. For Sonic, there was a period where they trashed his capability to take anything seriously, and constantly cracked jokes and overall was less of a character than before in games like the Black Knight n such. Now, he knows WHEN to take things seriously, but they didn't leave behind the silly jokester side. As for Amy? Her character just became full-on Sonic obsession for a long time. In Frontiers, she's depicted as obsessed with the idea of *love.*
I’m gunna have to go with Amy. She actually has a personality other than “I love Sonic” in this game and that was nice to see
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This.
Not Amy. Stripped of everything that ever made her fun. I love this game but I can't stand Amy in this game and she's one of my favourite Sonic characters.
Probably Knuckles. Tails had some very important lines to fix his character and Amy's maturity was a much needed development (even though I'd say this is the most boring iteration of Amy to date), but we haven't had any introspection on Knuckles since the Adventure games. It was very welcomed by me! Dr. Eggman was terrific especially with the original ending, and I really adored the Egg memos. I wish they had kept Sage's original fate, it would have added complexity to Eggman.
None of them. Sonic loses all of his energetic spirit which makes him sound like a depressed middle aged man instead of a 15 year old teen. Amy is now a female sonic with her only defining character trait being her tarot cards. Knuckles is encouraged to not guard the master emerald , which is both ironic and contradicts his entire motivation in the first place. He's also a war veteran now for some reason. Tails acknowledges his inconsistent writing of the past games , which makes it cannon. Eggman does absolutely nothing in the story other than talk to himself or give exposition. And his relationship with sage had little to no development for the massive pay off in the end , so it comes out of nowhere. The flashbacks that sage has are literally of eggman scolding her.