Sonic is underrated

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

You heard me right, I think Sonic is underrated and unappreicated. I have reasons and I state them all in this thread. I think hes underrated as a character. I ask most my friends outside what they love about Sonic and they say his speed and gameplay. Most people on the internet will say thats all they like about him is his gameplay... which has been outshined in a few games. Mainly Sonic 2006, the Advance series and Sonic Adventure 1. Why do I think Sonic is underrated as a character? Hes overlooked man! People dont take all the cool stuffs he does seriously. Hes a normal hero to people. Yes a normal hero to where hes like most other heroes like Batman and Superman.But hes more then a straight get it done hero.

 

Heroics:

 

Sonic heroics are very much overlooked. Yes Sonic is easy going and hes cocky and confident. When he fights a villian he does it with confidence and grace. But being a hero is not about fighting crimes. Its showing compassions to the people you are saving. Its showing your heart and helping others because you want to. Sonic shows all of those traits. Lets not forget that Sonic has been beaten up and left for dead more times I can count. But he still gets up and fight. Examples?

 

Sonic X Episode 26  I mention this episode in my heroics thread but I wanna say it again. Eggxterminator. That thing beat the heck out of Sonic. Dont belive me? Look up the episode I list. That episode make me cry because of how heroic Sonic was. Eggmans machine had 6 chaos emeralds and it can beat Sonic easy. But when Sonic was on the ground he was beat up. He was even tossed in the water. But he came back and he suceeded!

 

There were some situations where he was willing to sacafice himself to save the world, like in Sonic X episode when they fight the metarex, he was Super Sonic and he wanted to go into the cannon to shoot himself at the planet egg. His friends warned him that he wouldnt survive but Sonic said he didnt care and that no one will talk him out of it. He just wants to save the world.

 

Sonic and the Black Knight, he was knocked out... and he was dying! But he got up to save the world.
 

Oh and lets not forget that when his friends are in trouble Sonic will drop everything and save them. Sonic Generations anyone? He saved all his friends from dead pockets of air and he saved the world from the time eater.

 

Normal? in Sonic Heroes he lead his team to victory and they beat Eggman/Metal Sonic. Sonic also lead his team to also beat Metal Sonic in overloard forme.

 

His heart

 

Now these are heroics but them Im gonna get into something else thats overlooked in Sonic... his heart. Sonic has a heart! But it gets overlooked. If you look at all the compassinate thnigs he did.. well Sonic is pretty much the heart of the franchise. not only is he a hero but he is a hero with compassion. Sonic... doesnt really care about what happens to him. He only cares what happens to other people. Examples?

 

Lets go back to Sonic X Episode 26. Theres more I want to talk about with this episode. Like when he was limp he keep saying that he was coming for Chris and that Eggman better not stop him. Sonic was beaten up! But he try to save his best friend anyway! He didnt care if Eggman beat him up... he worry about Chris.

 

Shadow the Hedgehog? Well he try to reason with Shadow to stop what hes thinking. I see it? Sonic was worry about Shadows mental state and he wanted to protect him.

 

Sonic Unleashed? He told Chip to run after he was weak by Dark Gia. He was about to be beaten up and did he care about himself? No. His only concern was Chip. Thats not all. when you do missions with him, he teaches kids and delivers medicnes to people.

 

Sonic and the Secret Rings... well he took a fire arrow to the heart for not only his friend but to save the kingdom. But with that, he slow down to help others. And about that hankerchif wish, that wast ment so that his friend who he forgive, would cry as much as she needed to. to morn her loss. Hes not trying to be mean.

 

Sonic and the Black Knight. Yeah theres alot to say about this one but I see aloy of people touch on the scene where he slayed a dragon.... yeah that scene where he ignore Caliburn. So I wont repeat that one. But then he battled the dark queen and got beaten up. He still got up and faught.. and he even inspired the person he faught! He forgave!

 

Sonic Lost World... he was irate when Tails was capture and went to the ends to find him. He even threatned the Zeti that they will get it if they touch him. He only want Tails to be safe. Not only that but he put himself in front of defensless animals.

 

Another thing I want to say that because Sonic is the heart of the franchise hes also the heart of his team. Being the heart of Team Sonic is very true in Sonic Heroes and Sonic Free Riders. Sonic Heroes he lead his team to victory even confort Tails in Mystic Mansion. Sonic Free Riders he was considerte when Jets machine lost power.

 

More traits of Sonic that get overlooked

 

Politeless - Sonic next to Cream is very polite and thankful.

 

 

Must I explain? Hes very grateful.

 

Forgiveness - Sonic is a very forviging character to anyone who isnt evil. Like when Sharha... sorta betrayed him so that she can be with Erazer Djinn.... that wish with the hankies was... a sign of forgiveness actually. He forgave her! His first wish was to bring her back to life. In Sonic 2006, Silver try to kill him twice. But he realize Sonic wasnt the one and Sonic forgive him. He wasnt a jerk to him... he let him help. Theres also Sonic in the Black Knight where Merlina try to kill him... but in the end her forgave her and even inspired her.

 

Good sport - Sonic CAN be a sore loser sometimes (which can be funny) but mostly hes a good sport in the end. its true in Sonic Riders when he gave Jet the cube back because he knew that he won it. In Sonic Free Riders he accepted that Jet beat him and respected his skills as a rider. Same with Shadow, he respect his skills as a rider as well.

 

---

All and all? Sonic is underrated character. People overlook his traits. Sonic isnt just a cocky hero. Hes a cocky hero with a huge heart. Hes selfless, forgiving and polite. His heart and confidence are both his defining traits. Sonic is a guy who does whatever he wants to do. He can act like he owns the place. Hes super confident and can be impusive and can think too fast. Hes cocky but his cockiness is deserved. If you think about his other traits. I dont know... but Sonic isnt appreicated like the other characters. When other characters do things like Sonic I see upmost respect for them... but Sonic? No. Hes just a boring hero. While everyone else is heroic. Someone even tell me that Sonic was only a superhero while the others were real heroes. Sonic is also a real hero as well. And to be honest, no other character except Shadow as ever went through what Sonic has or has the same heart as him. In my opinion. So my point? My confession:

 

 

But of course, this opinion is unpopular on tumblr juding my the comments I got:

 

He’s overrated. Idiot. - comment on my confession

 

and a counter-confession

 

 

Yeah Im used to it. If you think what Im saying is wrong, please counter. I have no problem with it. But I am writing this thread because I want people to see Sonic in a good light. I want him to get more respect because frankly.... he deserves it.

[Vertekins]

Hmm...

 

I'm not as inclined to think that Game!Sonic is underrated as much as I think that's he's simply misunderstood and is judged against portrayals that are really Sonic in name only, non-concilable and are therefore not good incarnations at all to judge against. I also get the impression that many fans fail to acknowledge Sonic's...how do you say? More subtle traits such as his general politeness (As mentioned above) and his view on heroism and life in general which are intriguing.

 

But yeah, there is a bias against Game!Sonic. Especially regarding this falsehood that he was/is some kind of goody two-shoes who could/can do no wrong and I still believe that his traits such as selflessness, compassion and such are looked down-upon since they're often considered cloying especially as they're part of a character who is 'cool', 'edgy' and 'has an attitude', you know, because apparently Sonic isn't allowed to exhibit more personality than that   His heroic actions are also undervalued. This was displayed pretty aptly in the 'Who is the most heroic Sonic character?' topic in which Sonic only got two or three mentions at most yet some acted as if he was taking too much prominence in the topic.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Hmm...

 

I'm not as inclined to think that Game!Sonic is underrated as much as I think that's he's simply misunderstood and is judged against portrayals that are really Sonic in name only, non-concilable and are therefore not good incarnations at all to judge against. I also get the impression that many fans fail to acknowledge Sonic's...how do you say? More subtle traits such as his general politeness (As mentioned above) and his view on heroism and life in general which are intriguing.

 

But yeah, there is a bias against Game!Sonic. Especially regarding this falsehood that he was/is some kind of goody two-shoes who could/can do no wrong and I still believe that his traits such as selflessness, compassion and such are looked down-upon since they're often considered cloying especially as they're part of a character who is 'cool', 'edgy' and 'has an attitude', you know, because apparently Sonic isn't allowed to exhibit more personality than that   His heroic actions are also undervalued. This was displayed pretty aptly in the 'Who is the most heroic Sonic character?' topic in which Sonic only got two or three mentions at most yet some acted as if he was taking too much prominence in the topic.

its fine to think hes not underrated. thats only my opinion.

 

funny thing is if Sonic was a one hit wonder character who sacrafice himself... he would be consider heroic. If he was a little kid with a mentor that disabled a bomb... he would be heroic. if he changed a robot from good and convinced Shadow of Marias wish... he would be heroic.

 

??? But hes not.

[Servo]

I wouldn't say that Sonic is underrated, far from it really, though I do get what you're saying, how he's not viewed on the same level as say, Batman or Superman.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I wouldn't say that Sonic is underrated, far from it really, though I do get what you're saying, how he's not viewed on the same level as say, Batman or Superman.

Hes also not on the same level as his friends. His friends good traits and hear and heroics shine but not Sonics.

[Vertekins]

If he was an Eggman robot who showed absolutely no semblance of nobility regarding freeing his 'brothers' and then got one-shotted by one of said brother's out of vengefulness and then being misappropriated as having 'sacrificed' himself (When the narrative and shown character motivation shows absolutely no indication of such) he'd be considered a great hero. Apparently jumping in front of someone he hardly knew out of selflessness to take a fatal curse to the heart and then assuring the saved person that there's nothing wrong with him even though there obviously is isn't particularly noteworthy compared to this.

 

If he intended to seal an angered water spirit in a giant emerald through a wish clearly without any intention or knowledge of having his soul ripped from his body and bringing forth his demise he'd be considered as a prime hero too. Let's not mention how he stood-up for everyone's salvation to prevent their lives from becoming an eternal living hell just because a woman with very one-sided sadness couldn't accept fate and performed morally objectionable actions to avoid it. I mean it's not like he didn't get beaten to within an inch of his life for simply stating his opposition to it yet still kept getting back up. Nah....

 

If he focused on saving a non-sapient frog of all things he'd also be considered as, yes, tremendously heroic. Somehow, saving an entire world's population on a daily basis isn't more notable.

 

If anything, Sonic heroism is underrated especially compared to other character's heroism in this series much more than his character is under the belief that being the main character undermines what he does in this respect when that status as main character is ultimately irrelevant.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

If he was a little kid who rely on a mentor and then he decided to save such person and disarm a bomb he would be heroic. Yeah... can you see why it makes me angry when he gets over looked?

 

Same comes to his compassion. Characters like Amy always get priased for their compassion but never Sonic.

[JAiRO]

Sonic is underrated.

 

I think your base statement is incorrect. Most people love Sonic moreso than his friends, there's entire communities who think games should only feature Sonic and Dr. Eggman.

In fact that's basically how Sonic 4 came about. SEGA had a character countdown slowly showing which characters would be featured in the game solely to create hype for the game, because that's what many fans wanted.

 

See what I mean? Too bad about "Sonic's new friend Mr. Needlemouse".

 

Most fans favor Sonic, to say he is underrated is just incorrect.

 

EDIT: I should say I love Sonic and his friends, the Sonic series as a whole is pretty underrated, but as a character he is king of the fandom.

[spinny]

There's those people that love Sonic only and those people who prefer to have his friends as an option.

 

Online game journalists such as IGN and Gamespot started this Solo-Sonica era with the infamous "shitty friends" claims, along with honestly quite a few people from the fanbase too. As JaiRo said above, it's also the reason Sonic 4 had that countdown of every single character being erased until Pikachu in a Sombrero Sonic.

 

I mean yes I'm not denying there's the fair share of people who prefer his friends. I just think you're giving too much of a glare to that side here.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

There are more reasons to why I think Sonic is underrated. I said this in my post: I ask most my friends outside what they love about Sonic and they say his speed and gameplay. Most people on the internet will say thats all they like about him is his gameplay... which has been outshined in a few games.

 

In gameplay hes not underrated. Hes normal. But as a character hes underrated. I said that in my post but the focus is more on the title.

[Chariot]

If Sonic is underrated why is he always the main character of the series, got a bunch of merchandise with his face on it, was part of the Macy's parade twice, the only character to play as in the games recently starting with unleashed, is considered the best character of the series (outside of the fanbase) and his name plastered on the title of SONIC'S ultimate genesis collection, SONIC and sega all-stars racing, and SONIC and all-stars racing transformed just because Sega doesn't have any fate in their other IP's that they have to put Sonic's name on it to sell?

[Vertekins]

If Sonic is underrated why is he always the main character of the series, got a bunch of merchandise with his face on it, was part of the Macy's parade twice, the only character to play as in the games recently starting with unleashed, is considered the best character of the series (outside of the fanbase) and his name plastered on the title of SONIC'S ultimate genesis collection, SONIC and sega all-stars racing, and SONIC and all-stars racing transformed just because Sega doesn't have any fate in their other IP's that they have to put Sonic's name on it to sell?

 

Because prevalence in the franchise's multiple aspects does not automatically mean that his character is given credit regarding aspects of his overall personality, quirks, abilities and such by the fandom.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

being the mascot =/= being respected for who he is

[Chariot]

Also why is it that people like to say their favorite things are underrated and the things they dislike are overrated when their not?

[FriendBot]

Also why is it that people like to say their favorite things are underrated and the things they dislike are overrated when their not?

 

Because in most cases, they are underrated and overrated. I'm pretty sure a lot of people would agree that Call of Duty is very overrated due to the makers not putting enough effort into their games and recycle used assets. Sonic is quite underrated due to a huge amount of negativity to the series.

 

As for the question, is the character underrated?

 

I think the better question is, is Sonic treated with respect in his games?

 

In the Adventures, he was treated as the care-free hero who only gets serious when something very bad happens, like Perfect Chaos or when Eggman is threatening Sonic that he'll kill Amy. But in games like Shadow or 06, he becomes a bit too care-free or in 06's case, irrelevant. In Shadow, there's an alien invasion and it would be a pretty serious moment for Sonic and the others but Sonic seems to be take this with a grain of salt. In 06, Sonic is treated with most amount of disrespect for the character. From having the least significant story to the plot to killing him in the most pathetic way ever, the writers just really didn't cared for Sonic in this game. It did got better in games like Unleashed and the Storybook series, where Sonic is shown to be very caring and is wiilling to put himself on the line to save the world, you can actually care for the guy.

 

From Colors to Lost World, he was alright. He's pretty much now the overconfident goofball that can kick some serious butt. It was rather refreshing for a light-hearted tone for a story but Sonic made a lot of unfunny jokes that it became rather aggravating. In Generations, he's bland, just did stuff and didn't show much personality.

 

In Lost World, it shows that Sonic can make mistakes and it shows how he regrets it and is willing to do fix them while there was a rather sudden conflict between him and Tails but it was resolved at the end. Overall, Sonic was treated like crap at the end but now, he's alright now. So, he's not entirely underrated but that's just me.

[Lady Soniko]

Isn't it pointless to be arguing who you think is overrated/underrated? It's all down to personal preference as to your views on a certain character's popularity within a fan base, when really it's only one person speaking out of thousands on how their favourite character is either not being treated as well as they would want them to, or less than favourable characters in a franchise has more love from their point of view?

 

I really don't get this whole "overrated and underrated" mentality people seem to have, if it's popular it gets called overrated, if it's obscure it's underrated, neither of them is true it's just personal bias speaking on your behalf.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I never mention Sonic was my favorite character in my post. I wonder if people are just repond to the title and not what I wrote and my reasons? Im not saying that Sonic is underrated because I like him. Even if I didnt hes still overlooked. Even characters I dont like are overlooked like Shadow... hes heroic but people dont see it.  So this has nothing to do with favorites.

 

It has more to do with Sonic as a character and how most fans say that:

 

-Sonic has never went through hardships

-Hes a gary-stu/mary-sue

-Hes just a cocky braggart hero

etc etc

 

Yet when other characters do something less then remarkable, they get uber praise for it. Dont get me wrong, others like Gamma and Tikal did things remakrable and same with Shadow. But Sonic has stuck him self in fire many times. But because hes cocky thats all people focus on.

[Lady Soniko]

When other characters do something... You mean when and if SEGA allow them to do something that is mildly important as to what Sonic does pretty much every game.

[Nepenthe]

I'm not sure where the dislike of the concept of overrated and underrated comes from. It's an opinion like anything else, it just happens to target public perception of something, which is perfectly fair because overwhelming consensus should not be free from scrutiny. I am just as free to say that anything's merits or flaws are either overlooked or exaggerated as seen fit, and this doesn't necessarily depend on whether or not I like or dislike the thing in question either. It's strictly a statement about the majority. You can question or disagree with it, yanno.

[Mr. Taxi]

I'm not sure where the dislike of the concept of overrated and underrated comes from. It's an opinion like anything else, it just happens to target public perception of something, which is perfectly fair because overwhelming consensus should not be free from scrutiny. I am just as free to say that anything's merits or flaws are either overlooked or exaggerated as seen fit, and this doesn't necessarily depend on whether or not I like or dislike the thing in question either. It's strictly a statement about the majority. You can question or disagree with it, yanno.

 

It comes from the fact that whenever they are evoked, they are just a way to make your own opinion seem more universal (as in "backed by a timeless law") than it is. Heck, most of the time the targeted majority doesn't even exist.

[Kuzu]

Yea I never got the whole "Overatted/Underatted" thing either, because its near impossible to have a universal opinion on something and use that to justify the notion that "X is underatted", backed not by factual info, but your own bias.

 

Hell, I can say Cream is massively underrated due to how the fanbase just kind of ignores and/or hates her.

 

 

 

Oh right, there's a topic going on; yea, I disagree. Saying Sonic is underatted implies that he's overlooked...when he's the reason the series is as popular as it is in the first place. Oh so a few people aren't praising the bible about his achievements, it doesn't really matter because everyone knows Sonic is the hero and that he's going to win in the first place. 

 

And people, *gasp* might like another character more? Not everyone loves Sonic, and every doesn't need to; sometimes they latch onto another character that appealed to them more.  Sonic doesn't need to be loved by everyone for people to know he's the hero.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

But Sonic IS overlooked. People dont take his heroics seriously people dont take his kindess seriously. Even if you dont like the guy, you cant say that hes not heroic or he doesnt care. I dont like Shadow but i know that hes very heroic. I dont like Amy but i cant deny she cares and has a heart. This isnt about getting people to like him, not everyones going to like him. I just want people to see that hes just as sweet kind caring and selfless as the other character and sometimes even more depending on the situation.

[Komodin]

But Sonic IS overlooked. People dont take his heroics seriously people dont take his kindess seriously. 

 

Who's actually not taking his heroics or kindness seriously, though?

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Who's actually not taking his heroics or kindness seriously, though?

The fans. If you look there are people who take Sonics hankie wish the wrong way. And then there are those who tell me that Sonic doesnt have a heart and that he isnt Amy... implying shes the only heart.

 

His kindess is overlooked but others kindess shows??

[Lady Soniko]

This general grouping of "fans" is rather insulting you know? You're putting a big label on every fan of Sonic because you've seen a few cases that go against your points, generalizing isn't cool mang.