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Heartwarming Moments in the Sonic the Hedgehog series


Dr. Mechano

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I mentioned Battle's ending with Emerl's death, but there's also the other half - Tails' speech about the future. The speech itself sounded exactly like something Gerald would say (excluding the playing with Emerl again bit), which is fitting given the situation. It also highlights how far from being a typical loud and hyper child Tails actually is, and for me it puts a new light on the fact that Sonic's usual enemies consist of, well, weapons. Suffice to say, Tails' words about what they could do with the future were more heartfelt to me than anything about 2006's disaster future ever did.

You know, now that I think about it, I always liked that - excluding the Iblis/Dark Gaia/etc minions and mindless beasts - Sonic's enemies are always robots. Cartoony maybe, but still robots that don't have any mind other than doing whatever Robotnik tells them to (and those that do usually defect anyways, like Gamma and Omega). So unlike characters like Mario regarding Koopas and Goombas, Sonic never has to worry about the context making him look like a heartless killer. Add in the early games with the animals being used as fuel, and not only is Sonic not given the "OMG he killz innocent creatures!!!!" touch, he's treated even more as a hero because he's technically saving their lives every second by beating their cybernetic shells.

Another meta one - looking back at the manuals in Mega Collection today. Hearing the relaxing music as I read the Zone descriptions, just like when I first got the game back in 2003... memories, man. And it goes with the Generations part I brought up earlier. I'm not looking at this and going "Oh, where are you these days...", no, instead I'm all "He was there back then... and he's here today."

Fuck yes.

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Admittedly, these moments are subjective by their very nature and won't appeal to everyone. I myself wasn't particularly moved by the Chip stuff. To each their own!

Of course, since I'm posting here, I have another moment to reminisce on. This time it's from the anime version of Sonic X.

In the final battle against the Metarax, Cosmo manages to pin the enemy leader Dark Oak down, and instructs Tails to fire the Blue Typhoon's lasers, which would destroy both her and their alien enemy. Tails is understandably conflicted about this, but Eggman steps in and encourages him to do what has to be done.

But what makes this so special is that Eggman isn't abrasive or insensitive about it. He doesn't just go "Bah, shoot the girl so we can all survive, you weak little fox!" What he does is empathize with Tails, telling him that he knows his responsibility is difficult and even heartrending, but that Cosmo- and for that matter everyone else will die anyway if he doesn't take the shot. He encourages him to make a very difficult decision, by letting him know he'd be doing what Cosmo wanted in the end.

Regardless of how you feel about Cosmo as a character (Both she and Chris bored me), I love this scene because of how genuinely understanding and supportive Eggman is. It's a small moment, perhaps, but one that made me smile nonetheless.

Of course, I can see the appeal. Again though, I'll have to go against this one also, what with me being a fan of Bastard Robotnik and all (not SatAM). I suppose I wouldn't have minded as much if it had been someone else comforting Tails.

EDIT: While everything up to the Eggsterminator fight were the only real parts I liked about Sonic X, I do admit to liking the goodbye scenes, seeing them go one by one into the portal. But then Chris had to turn it off. Dick.

Edited by Dr. Crusher
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Of course, I can see the appeal. Again though, I'll have to go against this one also, what with me being a fan of Bastard Robotnik and all (not SatAM). I suppose I wouldn't have minded as much if it had been someone else comforting Tails.

While I don't want to get too off topic, I feel that occasional moments of humanity don't necessarily have to take away from Eggman's "bastard" appeal. Even many terrible real-life dictators have been family men with soft spots for children and animals; In these cases, this could make them even more unsettling, since they clearly understand the concept/appeal of love and kindness, yet can comfortably commit absolutely atrocious deeds to others anyway.

One could make the argument that such "nice guys" who are nonetheless completely uninhibited of wanton destruction and risking loads of innocent lives are worse villains than completely hateful foes who hold not even the slightest positive regard for anyone or anything. A psychopath's lack of empathy isn't an excuse for his actions, per se, but it does give his actions an easy explanation. Conversely, an emotionally balanced human being who is more than capable of love, empathy, and positive regard- who nevertheless still does some of the worst things imaginable- has no disorder or deficiency to blame his misdeeds on; He's just kind of a bastard, without all the baggage of psychosis to complicate things.

Personally, the idea of a man who can give uplifting, fatherly, and genuinely sincere encouragement in one moment and then launch a missile into Station Square the next moment delights me to no end (Sonic X's Eggman has been committed both extremes), and I enjoy the complexity of Eggman's affable side, as I feel it only makes his evil even more heinous. Not to mention more interesting as a fully fleshed-out character.

But anyway, since I'm posting here, I'll list another moment:

We're back to the Sonic X comic for this one! It seems this time, Dr. Eggman's in love~

Over the course of the comic, Eggman develops a little crush on the Thorndykes' maid, Ella. He spends the entirety of a pool party showing off and trying to impress her, only for Ella to never really notice his advances. The party ends with Eggman doing a cannonball into the pool, only to splash everyone and embarrass himself. He leaves in shame, bemoaning the terrible impression he must have left on her.

But his feelings aren't totally dashed, nor are they totally unrequited. It's all come full circle, because El Gran Gordo is back for this moment too!

article8_ella.jpg

Seems that while Ella isn't really that concerned with Eggman, she finds the mysterious hero El Gran Gordo to be quite the dashing gentleman. So, to recap, Eggman likes Ella, Ella is indifferent to Eggman, but Ella likes Eggman's heroic alter-ego. Ian Flynn has vaguely commented that he wanted to expand on this subplot in the future, as well as a third and final El Gran Gordo story arc, but the comic's early cancellation means we probably won't ever know what might have been.

Still, seeing Eggman romantically attracted to someone was nice. And as much as I think Eggman/Sera is cute, the implications of that relationship are more disturbing than heartwarming, since he wanted to destroy the world and forcibly marry her. In Ella's case, he just seemed like a socially-awkward fellow with a crush, and it was adorable.

Another reason I love the X comic so much.

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Hm, normally, I'd avoid threads like this; I've long since lost patience for gushy threads in general. Since this is the holiday season, however, eh, I guess I can indulge myself just this once:

One moment that gives me that "Warm And Fuzzy Feeling" is the cutscene in Sonic Unleashed where you first "meet" Amy Rose in Spagonia, specifically Sonic's reaction to Amy's inability to recognize him in his Werehog form. At the very least, it shows that for all the trouble and grief Amy gives him with her constant fangirling over him, he still does care enough for her as a friend to be legitimately saddened by the fact that not even she could recognize him. I don't know, perhaps it's just my Sonic/Amy shipping tendencies taking hold over my sensibilities, but that cutscene honestly resonates with me.

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Seems that while Ella isn't really that concerned with Eggman, she finds the mysterious hero El Gran Gordo to be quite the dashing gentleman. So, to recap, Eggman likes Ella, Ella is indifferent to Eggman, but Ella likes Eggman's heroic alter-ego. Ian Flynn has vaguely commented that he wanted to expand on this subplot in the future, as well as a third and final El Gran Gordo story arc, but the comic's early cancellation means we probably won't ever know what might have been.

Whenever Ian gets around to reopening the "I Write For You" commissions, you can always request that he write it for you. wink.png

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One moment that gives me that "Warm And Fuzzy Feeling" is the cutscene in Sonic Unleashed where you first "meet" Amy Rose in Spagonia, specifically Sonic's reaction to Amy's inability to recognize him in his Werehog form. At the very least, it shows that for all the trouble and grief Amy gives him with her constant fangirling over him, he still does care enough for her as a friend to be legitimately saddened by the fact that not even she could recognize him. I don't know, perhaps it's just my Sonic/Amy shipping tendencies taking hold over my sensibilities, but that cutscene honestly resonates with me.

I'll be honest: while everyone didn't recognise Sonic and as such Amy's not any different from any other's case, the previous events of her identifying Shadow and Silver as Sonic and then doing the opposite with the actual albeit more werehogish Sonic made me think less "Awww" and more "Amy... you idiot."

Luckily she was better off afterwards in Unleashed, so it wasn't that bad I guess.

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Wait! Nobody else has mentioned it?!

The ending to Sonic OVA, where Metal Sonic taps into Sonic's heroic nature and rescues old man Owl and the President from that explosion, only to get slammed into a lava pit on the brink of death. Sonic leaps to his rescue and it seems he's about to be saved, only for at the last moment Metal refuses Sonic's hand with his dying words, "There can only be one."

It was interesting that Sonic felt such grief and shock over a robots actions that was, only moments earlier, trying to kill him.

There is something else I'd like to mention. Team Dark's last scene with Rouge and Omega. Omega in his own way, actually comforted a worried Rouge who was truly believing that Shadow is dead. To see a machine so bent on killing act in such a warm manner was actually a shock for me, and it brought back memories of his older brother Gamma. It was a nice moment in my opinion.

I would also have to say the ending of Battle, Black Knight, Secret Rings, Adventure 2 & Gamma's death as well as Shadow's scene with Amy, where he finally remembers Maria's true last wish, showing a single tear in his eye. He quickly turns round to help after promising Amy the same thing.

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Wait! Nobody else has mentioned it?!

The ending to Sonic OVA, where Metal Sonic taps into Sonic's heroic nature and rescues old man Owl and the President from that explosion, only to get slammed into a lava pit on the brink of death. Sonic leaps to his rescue and it seems he's about to be saved, only for at the last moment Metal refuses Sonic's hand with his dying words, "There can only be one."

It was interesting that Sonic felt such grief and shock over a robots actions that was, only moments earlier, trying to kill him.

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I'll be honest: while everyone didn't recognise Sonic and as such Amy's not any different from any other's case, the previous events of her identifying Shadow and Silver as Sonic and then doing the opposite with the actual albeit more werehogish Sonic made me think less "Awww" and more "Amy... you idiot."

Luckily she was better off afterwards in Unleashed, so it wasn't that bad I guess.

Edited by Komodin
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NO GAMMA NO WATCH OUT

DON'T ENTER THAT ROOM AUGH

DON'T SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR YOUR BROTHERS, DON'T SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THAT SCUMBAG BETA

DON'T DIIIIE ;_;

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NO GAMMA NO WATCH OUT

DON'T ENTER THAT ROOM AUGH

DON'T SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR YOUR BROTHERS, DON'T SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THAT SCUMBAG BETA

DON'T DIIIIE ;_;

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Holy shit, Gamma's Japanese Sonic X voice is frightening.

As for heartwarming moments - I'll have to say, Sonic and the Black Knight. Not just the ending, but also the cutscene before the final boss - I found it great that, despite being attacked to near-death, failing to get past Merlina's barrier, and seeing Caliburn get bisected right under his nose, Sonic would not give up. THAT is the Sonic we all know and love. "It doesn't matter now what happens, I will never give up the fight" indeed.

Edited by The Dead Skin
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To be honest, the scene that does it for me would be the last episode of the second season of Sonic X(in Japanese, of course). Sonic comes back to his friends; Tails has his buddy back and Amy has her crush back. Then we skip 5 years later to see a grown-up Chris who reflects on his times with Sonic. His section touches me the most (I know everyone is going to hate me for saying this), and he makes us feel like him. He reminds himself that he had to let go both a friend and thrill for his life. On one side, there is a coming-of-age reflection of Chris while the other involves how Sonic remembers those times, too. The Last Scene music from SA2 was used here, as well as a song from Off Course to add to the mood: sad, but still uplifting to the end.This also might be the first time many fans would see Sonic cry.For all we know, Sonic could have his trademark grin on his face, but he is still going to miss Chris. I know Chris stole the spotlight for Sonic in this series, but to me, he represents all of the fans of Sonic; we're whiny, we don't want to let Sonic go, but we know what Sonic would want us to do: make the right choices. Sonic Says!(sorry, had to say that!)

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If no one else will, I'll gladly be the first in this thread to bring up Emerl, Emerl had a special innocence to him beyond his prime directive. Just as with his physical traits, he adopted personality traits from all the characters around him and reflected everything he learned from them, displaying all their flaws and virtues, accepting their desires and fears. He was particularly strong as a foil to Shadow, being in the same boat as him: designed to be a weapon yet possessing a will of his own. Observing his behavior through the course of the game feels nothing different from watching a child grow up. And that only made watching him become corrupted and fade away in the end that much harder.

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**SPOILER FOR NEAR END OF SONIC COLORS** I always thought it was heartwarming at the end Sonic Colors when Sonic pushes Tails into the capsule to go back to earth while he would stay and fight Eggman. It shows just how much Sonic cares for Tails as a friend.

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You know what? I'm going to be different.

This sums up what I've always thought Sonic and Tails' friendship was: brotherly love.

Edited by Indigo Rush
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  • 2 months later...

emerl's dead. not in sonic battle. but in Sonic X

when he wins an emerald in a tournamen so he becomes crazy and beats up everyone.

so cream has to beat emerl by herself

emerl falls on the water. with just a single picture in his memory. a picture of cream

emerl seems to "tear" and finally shuts down

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The most heartwarming moment for me is when the big ball of trash fell on Silver. It was a really beautiful moment.

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The most heartwarming moment for me is when the big ball of trash fell on Silver. It was a really beautiful moment.

Meh, I liked when Sonic was killed, better.

Edited by Shaggy Rogers
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The most heartwarming moment for me is when the big ball of trash fell on Silver. It was a really beautiful moment.

Agreed. Really made you feel awesome after having to be put through the hell of his horribly cheap boss fight in 06.

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You know what? I'm going to be different.

This sums up what I've always thought Sonic and Tails' friendship was: brotherly love.

Edited by Sonikku_Kiah
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