Characters you feel have the most potential.

[Diogenes]

Well what's "firmly" established to you? Both of them fight Sonic enough times, so I have no idea how it can get more established than that.

Rivalry isn't about the fighting, it's about the characters. There's no consistent interaction to support a rivalry. Shadow's motivations have been all over the map, and '06's poor writing and limited interaction between him and Sonic combined with him having barely any significant appearances since make their relationship look more like a vague alliance than anything passionate enough to call a rivalry. And Metal's been about as schizophrenic on top of barely ever appearing, going from mute and unknowable in the Age Before Dialogue to an insane potential world conqueror in Heroes to questionably sentient in the Rivals to whatever the fuck SFR was about...at any rate Heroes was the only game where he expressed any real hints at rivalry, and even that was secondary to Giant Monster mode.

[Boodendorf]

To me, characters that would have lots of potential would be Knuckles, Blaze, the Chaotix and probably Amy. Anyone else would want to see Amy more mature in the next sonic games? Because I really like the character, I think it's too bad she's only seen drooling over Sonic ALL the time in the recent games(well more like in the recent games I've played, so not many.)

I really hope Sonic Team won't do anything bad to make them stupid or annoying.

[Kuzu]

Rivalry isn't about the fighting, it's about the characters. There's no consistent interaction to support a rivalry. Shadow's motivations have been all over the map, and '06's poor writing and limited interaction between him and Sonic combined with him having barely any significant appearances since make their relationship look more like a vague alliance than anything passionate enough to call a rivalry. And Metal's been about as schizophrenic on top of barely ever appearing, going from mute and unknowable in the Age Before Dialogue to an insane potential world conqueror in Heroes to questionably sentient in the Rivals to whatever the fuck SFR was about...at any rate Heroes was the only game where he expressed any real hints at rivalry, and even that was secondary to Giant Monster mode.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

You know what we haven't seen? Sonic as a tool for a villain.

Now obviously Sonic isn't going to work for a villain out of his own free will so I kind of thought of how things could pan out if Sonic were captured and mind controlled in the video game canon.

[Kuzu]

You know what we haven't seen? Sonic as a tool for a villain.

Now obviously Sonic isn't going to work for a villain out of his own free will so I kind of thought of how things could pan out if Sonic were captured and mind controlled in the video game canon.

A game that forces the shitty friends on you? Now that'd be pretty damn funny.

[Rusty Spy]

Knuckles took a back Seat after S3&K so he's not even considered a rival anymore

That's because he ISN'T anymore. Did ANYONE play S3&K? Hell, they were NEVER rivals if you want to be literal about it. In S3&K they weren't competing or trying to be superior to one another, Knuckles was trying to stop Sonic from (presumably) stealing the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic was trying to stop Robotnik.

And even THEN, their conflict was orchestrated by Robotnik the whole time, once Knuckles realises who the real enemy was, he IMMEDIATELY stops fighting with Sonic.

Knuckles has no reason or real motivation to fight Sonic aside from the times where he just gets pissed off.

[Johnny Boy]

Definitley the chaotix in my opinion. I alway felt like they should get their own spinoff series.

[Kuzu]

That's because he ISN'T anymore. Did ANYONE play S3&K? Hell, they were NEVER rivals if you want to be literal about it. In S3&K they weren't competing or trying to be superior to one another, Knuckles was trying to stop Sonic from (presumably) stealing the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic was trying to stop Robotnik.

And even THEN, their conflict was orchestrated by Robotnik the whole time, once Knuckles realises who the real enemy was, he IMMEDIATELY stops fighting with Sonic.

Knuckles has no reason or real motivation to fight Sonic aside from the times where he just gets pissed off.

He was designed to be an Antagonist, but not on the same level as Eggman, so I guess that, more or less, defines rival, its at least somebody who's abilities can be compared to each other, so while Knuckles(or anyone really) doesn't play the rival in a more traditional way, they're abilities rival each other, and I think that's where people got the idea from.

This is a moot point anyway because Sonic & Knuckles are friends now, and don't even fight for serious reasons anymore.

[Tatsumaki]

To be honest, before even starting to consider developing even further any other secondary and background Sonic characters, they should focus on Knuckles.

Sonic, Tails, and Eggman have their characters neatly pressed and ready. But Knuckles on the other hand is well, a knucklehead. And quite useless at that. Which sucks, since Knuckles is my third favorite character in the series, and when you think about it, is the most poorly developed of the series (minus SA1, but that wasn't much to write home about). That shouldn't happen as he's as much of a main character as Sonic and Tails are. My suggestion? The writers must give some more life and color to the red echidna.Only then we'll see some development on the characters.

As for the rest, I think Rouge needs some more love. She's a fantastic character.

And Shadow should be a lot more like he was in Free Riders. Oh, and I know this has nothing to do with how he's written, but PLEASE, get rid of the new VA Shadow has. I feel it doesn't help much with his character at all. Maybe I should give him some time. He may be a diamond in the rough, kind of like Griffith was. But I should probably stop, this is about how should Sonic characters should be handled to harness their full potential, not about which VA is better.

Chaotix needs some help as well. They're badly written, and they can also be really important characters in Sonic's adventures. Particularly Vector.

And... That's it for now. Can't think of anything else.

[Kuzu]

To be honest, before even starting to consider developing even further any other secondary and background Sonic characters, they should focus on Knuckles.

Sonic, Tails, and Eggman have their characters neatly pressed and ready. But Knuckles on the other hand is well, a knucklehead. And quite useless at that. Which sucks, since Knuckles is my third favorite character in the series, and when you think about it, is the most poorly developed of the series (minus SA1, but that wasn't much to write home about). That shouldn't happen as he's as much of a main character as Sonic and Tails are. My suggestion? The writers must give some more life and color to the red echidna.Only then we'll see some development on the characters.

As for the rest, I think Rouge needs some more love. She's a fantastic character.

And Shadow should be a lot more like he was in Free Riders. Oh, and I know this has nothing to do with how he's written, but PLEASE, get rid of the new VA Shadow has. I feel it doesn't help much with his character at all. Maybe I should give him some time. He may be a diamond in the rough, kind of like Griffith was. But I should probably stop, this is about how should Sonic characters should be handled to harness their full potential, not about which VA is better.

Chaotix needs some help as well. They're badly written, and they can also be really important characters in Sonic's adventures. Particularly Vector.

And... That's it for now. Can't think of anything else.

Not that I don't want Knuckles to prominent again, but why does he need to come first above everyone else? Can't everybody just get a bigger role than they already have in one game if possible?

[Tatsumaki]

Not that I don't want Knuckles to prominent again, but why does he need to come first above everyone else? Can't everybody just get a bigger role than they already have in one game if possible?

Everyone needs to be developed, as soon as possible. However, I just personally consider Knuckles to be developed above the others because other than he's part of the Classic series, he is an important character. The fact that he's the guardian of the Master Emerald and can sense Chaos Emeralds (if I'm not mistaken) is more than enough to make him at the very least an extremely important character in the Sonic Universe. And to see him get dumbed down to a guy who just derps a lot is not fine with me. Edited February 3, 2012 by Tatsumaki

[Kuzu]

Everyone needs to be developed, as soon as possible. However, I just personally consider Knuckles to be developed above the others because other than he's part of the Classic series, he is an important character. The fact that he's the guardian of the Master Emerald and can sense Chaos Emeralds (if I'm not mistaken) is more than enough to make him at the very least an extremely important character in the Sonic Universe. And to see him get dumbed down to a guy who just derps a lot is not fine with me.

The Chaotix, Rouge, Blaze, and Silver are important too ya know, yeah not as important sure, but they still have significant roles in the Sonic universe, and contribute just as much as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles when they're all involved. I know everyone can't get an expanded role all at once, but simply focusing on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles when we have more than just them seems like a cop out, especially when its for reasons like "Oh, they came first, or they're classic" I mean if they're the primary playable characters, then yeah I wouldn't complain, but in terms of character and importance I see no reason to restrict it to just those three and no one else. You can at least have them in an important supporting role.

Edited February 3, 2012 by Shadic Claus

[Tatsumaki]

The Chaotix, Rouge, Blaze, and Silver are important too ya know, yeah not as important sure, but they still have significant roles in the Sonic universe, and contribute just as much as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles when they're all involved. I know everyone can't get an expanded role all at once, but simply focusing on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles when we have more than just them seems like a cop out, especially when its for reasons like "Oh, they came first, or they're classic" I mean if they're the primary playable characters, then yeah I wouldn't complain, but in terms of character and importance I see no reason to restrict it to just those three and no one else. You can at least have them in an important supporting role.

I have the same wishes as well. I suppose they can develop all of them at once. But they shouldn't focus too much on the other characters. While I do want all Sonic characters to have some depth, the less important characters shouldn't be more deep than the more important ones themselves. For example, I find Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter a million times better written than Harry Potter himself. As much as I love the books, that's unbalanced writing. I'm cool that they give all the characters some love, but don't give too much love on the others, because then the purpose of the main characters would be moot. Which is pretty much what Tails used to suffer post Heroes, and Knuckles since SA2.

[Diogenes]

You're only counting the main series then,

No. I may focus on them, but I am not intentionally disregarding any game.

06 was complete shit, and every game afterwards are pretty much Sonic centric, and even so I hardly think a character not having a significant role in a few games afterwards completely diminishes their character.

It's not that those games diminish it, but that it never existed in the first place.

Sonic & Shadow's rivalry is completely secondary to their characters ,and only shows up when both of them are involved in the same plot,

When is this, exactly? In what games, in what scenes, does their rivalry show up? Unless you're going to include every time they fought, I would say the list is depressingly short.

but that however doesn't make them any less of rivals,

If it's secondary to everything else, then yes, it does. A rivalry that doesn't affect the plot, or that isn't given plot time by the writers, is not as deep as a rivalry that is.

[Knuckles] was designed to be an Antagonist, but not on the same level as Eggman, so I guess that, more or less, defines rival,

It really doesn't.

You know what we haven't seen? Sonic as a tool for a villain.

Now obviously Sonic isn't going to work for a villain out of his own free will so I kind of thought of how things could pan out if Sonic were captured and mind controlled in the video game canon.

Mind control is...ugh. It's just such a cheap way to manufacture drama. How much weight does it really have when one party is not in control of their actions? It just becomes a bunch of "bluhhh I don't want to hurt you!!!" and then he does anyway, and it's not like this is a series where any lasting injury is going to come of it so you don't even get that. If I see heroes fighting each other, I want both sides to have a reason for it. Edited February 3, 2012 by Diogenes

[Sean]

Mind-control is a terrible tactic and it always turns out in predictable ways.

Doing a bunch of tasks in a game that ultimately end up aiding the villain's goals without you realizing it is a better one if pulled off expertly. And not just that, but rub it into the hero's face that things would have been better off had he not done anything to begin with. Still a bit of a cliché, but it has more ways of going about it.

More importantly, it would dent Sonic's ego, seeing as how his fights with Robotnik are a battle of egos just as much as they are for the fate of the planet.

[Dr. Crusher]

I'm not a mind control fan either. Partly for being one of the cliches I'm less fond of, and because certain art sites have turned it into a fetish and ruined it for me personally.

Mind-control is a terrible tactic and it always turns out in predictable ways.

Doing a bunch of tasks in a game that ultimately end up aiding the villain's goals without you realizing it is a better one if pulled off expertly. And not just that, but rub it into the hero's face that things would have been better off had he not done anything to begin with. Still a bit of a cliché, but it has more ways of going about it.

I'm 50/50 on that one when it comes to games. I like my villains to be intelligent and manipulative, but I don't like it when it's essentially "Oh, so the whole game excluding the final was for nothing. And said finale is less a dramatic clash and more fixing the mistake I just made, a mistake that wouldn't have happened had I didn't do anything. That's just fucking great. I feel so achieved."

Edited February 4, 2012 by Dr. Crusher

[Sean]

It doesn't have to be true when the villain gloats about how the hero should have done nothing. Obviously the hero's involvement should always be important (unless you're writing a dark humor or very cynical story), so it's just another taunt tactic. But do make it so that the hero's actions end up furthering the villain's goals regardless.

It'd be nice to have one moment in the game where Sonic's actions really do end up worsening a situation rather than improving it, which can add fuel to the fire. But I agree that the whole plot shouldn't amount to that.

[Dr. Crusher]

In that case, it should still be done carefully. It'd still feel unsatisfactory if it amounts to the hero being an idiot.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I have the same wishes as well. I suppose they can develop all of them at once. But they shouldn't focus too much on the other characters. While I do want all Sonic characters to have some depth, the less important characters shouldn't be more deep than the more important ones themselves.

That is not how you divide character focus, or at the very least a very one-sided way to go about it.

The less important characters should be those who have the less impact on the given plot, meaning that Knuckles would be considered a less important character if he barely does anything or isn't even needed over someone like say Omega if he were to be more important. Character focus should be determined by who is best suited for the focus, not by who's the more important because of a hierarchy of who came first or who is used more. And a character is good by their character, not screentime.

Mind-control is a terrible tactic and it always turns out in predictable ways.

Funny, because it didn't come out very predictable when Tails was mind-controlled in Colors.

In fact, you could say that towards anything regarding the more common elements in storytelling.

Doing a bunch of tasks in a game that ultimately end up aiding the villain's goals without you realizing it is a better one if pulled off expertly. And not just that, but rub it into the hero's face that things would have been better off had he not done anything to begin with. Still a bit of a cliché, but it has more ways of going about it.

That sounds absolutely no different from the Mind Control cliche, and in either case it's a matter of how you pull it off. I don't think I need to go through a complete list of how to do it either.

[Your Vest Friend]

Funny, because it didn't come out very predictable when Tails was mind-controlled in Colors.

It didn't come out as anything when Tails was mind-controlled in Colours. The only other example in the series was pretty predictable though, and then there's the added issue of whether Sonic being mind-controlled is a contradiction of Unleashed or not.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

It didn't come out as anything when Tails was mind-controlled in Colours.

Well, that only adds to it being less predictable than expect, no?

The only other example in the series was pretty predictable though, and then there's the added issue of whether Sonic being mind-controlled is a contradiction of Unleashed or not.

Wait, what other example?

And I'm not sure how Unleashed would count as being mind-controlled when he became a werehog mainly as a result of having the emerald's power ripped out of his superform. That could even fall in a different category separate from mind-control, and more into a state of being out of control as a result of the form if the narrative were to have him not be himself.

Edited February 4, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Tatsumaki]

That is not how you divide character focus, or at the very least a very one-sided way to go about it.

The less important characters should be those who have the less impact on the given plot, meaning that Knuckles would be considered a less important character if he barely does anything or isn't even needed over someone like say Omega if he were to be more important. Character focus should be determined by who is best suited for the focus, not by who's the more important because of a hierarchy of who came first or who is used more. And a character is good by their character, not screentime.

I agree with you to a certain extent. For example, Knuckles shouldn't even be involved at all in Colors, as the Chaos Emeralds have nothing to do with the plot at all. However, for a character that used to be so important in the series just decline in not only importance, but character quality as well (depending on your definition of quality) is just plain shocking. Especially the fact that the prominent object in almost the entire series are the Chaos Emeralds, so there have been so missed opportunities for Knuckles to shine, doing what he does best. Instead, it just ends up getting squandered.The same could also be mentioned for all the characters in the Sonic series, like Rouge and Big.

All characters really need work, but in my opinion, Knuckles needs the most polishing of all because of how they're horrendously writing him nowadays.

EDIT:

Also, having seen the cutscenes in Colors (I never could play it, I am a sad fan), Tails' scene being mind controlled was seriously bad. I know some may like it, but... Not my cup of tea. Didn't grasp my attention or play with my feelings at all. It just happened.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Tatsumaki

[Diogenes]

Funny, because it didn't come out very predictable when Tails was mind-controlled in Colors.

Largely because nothing happened. The scene didn't exist for Eggman to mind control Tails; it existed to establish mind control as part of Eggman's plan, so you later realize the resort is basically a mind control cannon pointed at Earth. Characters actually being mind controlled wasn't important.

That sounds absolutely no different from the Mind Control cliche

The difference is that the characters still choose to take those actions. Whether they're tricked, coerced, or just mistaken, the characters still have some amount of control over their fate. Whereas with mind control...they don't, by definition.

I don't think I need to go through a complete list of how to do it either.

I really would like to hear how you think a mind control plot could work.

[Your Vest Friend]

Wait, what other example?

Sonic Pinball Party.

I'd hope to God that future games have better writing standards than an insignificant spinoff, though.

[Diogenes]

Didn't Rivals 2 have some mind control too?

vvv Eh, possession, mind control, same difference as far as this is concerned.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Diogenes