Jump to content
Awoo.

The essentials of a good Sonic villain


KHCast

Recommended Posts

why create an intentionally terrible character for everyone to hate is beyond stupid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it helps if the villain need not be taken entirely seriously. Yeah, Eggman can be a serious threat when he needs to be, but the man is such an egomaniac that he'll plaster his face onto any surface likely to grab attention, and he's prone to prioritze eccentric design over actual function - because who cares whether it'll work on a mach 1 hedgehog, attaching a wrecking ball to a flying machine is fucking dope, right? Likewise, you've got Nack, who in the first encounter triggers his own trap and sets himself on fire. I can't claim to know much more than that considering I honestly hate that game, but like Eggman it sets the stage for a villain that, while badass in one right, is clumsy in another. Even Mephiles could've worked if his character flaws - ie: his crippling complexity addiction and seemingly mindless omnicidal tendencies - was actually taken note of.

It's one thing to pose a threat to the protagonists, because without that they'd be a crap villain. But it's another for that to be the only thing to a villain, because while that's true, they'd be a boring villain. There's really no absolutely binary way of putting it - a good villain has to find both a theme and a balance, and through some other form of narrative hope it actually catches on.

Well Erazor and Merlina were taken pretty seriously, and were still interesting characters despite it. I think it's less of being an eccentric villain, and more of being an interesting one, regardless if taken seriously or not. Eggman's interesting because of his hammy, jovial attitude while still being a legit threat(No matter how little Sonic takes him seriously), Erazor's interesting because he knows how to play on people's emotions, and Merina's interesting because we can sympathize with her motives.

Basically the character needs to have an interesting personality to be an interesting villain. I mean I get what you're saying in that the villains need to have some flaws for them to be taken note of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Erazor's interesting because he knows how to play on people's emotions

God, at the end? When he was like

"It can be just you and me again!" Playing Sharha's love for him against her?!

Holy FUCK, Sonic Team. Ball out of the goddamn park on that one.

I just realized that I love Erazor. :V

  • Thumbs Up 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe because they want you to outright hate this character, and want to see how much they can make you hate them? The same way as some filmmakers make scary movies to see how much they can scare you, or to make something as unbelievably cool as possible.

There are two types of hate for villains:

The first kind is of the "love to hate" variety, in that the audience hates them because of how evil they are, but loves them for how effective they are as villains.

the second kind is of the "Die in a fucking fire" variety, you want him to lose, but not because he deserves it, but because the villain is such a terrible/boring/ineffective character that you just want him to go away, basically a "Villainous Scrappy"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see the Babylon Rogues go back to being evil.

They weren't ever evil. I'd like to live in your world for a day, Miru, it must be so nice being able to spawn things using just your imagination.

Edited by Sexy Nightmaren Reala
  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see the Babylon Rogues go back to being evil.

They were evil?, I mean yeah they were dicks, but I wouldn't call them evil.

Edited by The Burning Blaziken
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it'd be interesting to see Scourge from the Archie comics as an antagonist in the games, provided they found him a good voice actor...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the series villans are so mixed at this point it's rediculus. You have Eggman who is bombasitic, chrismatic, and a lovable goofball that can also be pretty dam evil (holding Tails/Amy gun-point in adventure 2, the death egg saga of Sonic 3/K, using sonic's cockyness to his advantage in the Unleashed intro), GOOD one-off's such as Merlena having a solid middle ground with a understandable character and strong motive, and the monsters of the week that varies rapidly (Chaos being a good villan with a strong backstory behind his actions, Black Doom being evil for the hell of it). The sonic series needs a more robust, consistant band of villans in future games besides Eggman. Maybe bring back Nack as a trickster getting in sonic's way, have Metal Sonic becoming a more recering foe working with Orbot and Cubot, and give Eggman more control over his forces (like in Generations where he took control over time eater).

Edited by RK64
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are two types of hate for villains:

The first kind is of the "love to hate" variety, in that the audience hates them because of how evil they are, but loves them for how effective they are as villains.

the second kind is of the "Die in a fucking fire" variety, you want him to lose, but not because he deserves it, but because the villain is such a terrible/boring/ineffective character that you just want him to go away, basically a "Villainous Scrappy"

Edited by ChaosSupremeSonic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it'd be interesting to see Scourge from the Archie comics as an antagonist in the games, provided they found him a good voice actor...

Oh please no. Scourge is the comics' equivalent to Mephiles in terms of design and character (and that's among the billion echidnas and rival gangs). Like Mephiles, I'll never understand what's so great about him.

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it'd be interesting to see Scourge from the Archie comics as an antagonist in the games, provided they found him a good voice actor...

Yeah, let's have another hedgehog that'll clutter up the cast.dry.png

EDIT: Plus, if I wanted to watch a green and more arrogant/egotistical version of Sonic, I'd have Jet for that. Maybe Johnny as well since Dr. Crusher is here.

Edited by DarkLightDragon
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nega is terrible. Eggman has a vibe to him. Metal isn't as bad ass as Sonic Team describe him.

Eggman is the best villain, It's hard to explain why.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In any case, it's good to see Erazor getting some respect here. Everywhere else he's rarely mentioned since everyone's going on and on about "kawaii" Mephiles and "badass" Metal Sonic, so I'm happy to see there being kudos for a villain who actually deserves it.

Hell, I didn't even have a problem with his English voice. It may be funny, but Black "Dr. Claw" Doom and Mephiles the "Not Crispin Freeman" Dark aren't any better.

Edited by Dr. Crusher
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I admit Erazor's English voice was hammy and unintentionally funny most of the time. But it was only during the most crucial or serious moments where he sounded more threatning like summoning the Ifrit or when he was about to kill Sonic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh please no. Scourge is the comics' equivalent to Mephiles in terms of design and character (and that's among the billion echidnas and rival gangs). Like Mephiles, I'll never understand what's so great about him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, but in addition to there already being four recurring hedgehogs anyway (five including robo-hogs), Sonic already has both Metal Sonic and Shadow to play as potential "fighting yourself" characters. A third one just feels redundant.

And I imagine he'd be fairly similar in personality to the comics version. And since he's already the number one spot on my least favourite Sonic comic characters list, I don't see myself changing my feelings for him in the games.

And his design looks like a textbook example of a bad Sonic fancharacter. I'm surprised he doesn't have something cliche like a katana with him.

Edited by Dr. Crusher
  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shadow would be better as being Dr. Eggman's sidekick, or something along those lines. Being a villain fits Shadow much more than being a hero.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shadow would be better as being Dr. Eggman's sidekick, or something along those lines. Being a villain fits Shadow much more than being a hero.

Because?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shadow would be better as being Dr. Eggman's sidekick, or something along those lines. Being a villain fits Shadow much more than being a hero.

Good idea, I must say that I like Shadow much more in SA2. Shadow The Hedgehog was the last game he ever felt needed in. I know people complain about that game but without it, Shadow would still be in EVERY game trying to find out who he is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.