Cream the Rabbit

[batson]

A while ago it seemed to become a trend to start general topics about specific characters, but i dont think i ever saw one about Cream. I've never really liked the character, but i do have a couple of things i want to say about her. So here we go!

Have anyone else noticed how Creams significance have really sloped in the last few years? And im talking both in terms of her place in the franchise and in the fanbase. Back in circa 2002-2005, Cream almost seemed like the fifth member of the main group of good-guys (along with Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Sonic himself, with Eggman and Shadow being just as important characters but not really part of that group), and appeared in almost EVERY game released between those years. Not to mention, she probably had more lines in Sonic X than Knuckles did. She also had quite a lot of fanboys (but then again, she also had a lot of haters from day one...). Thinking back to circa 2004 brings to mind endless topics about Cream made mostly by 13-14 year old boys expressing their love for the bunny.

But these days, she seems to have been denoted from being a part of the most main main-cast to just being another recuring character, probably on the same importance level as Rouge or Metal Sonic (just as i side note: i LOVE Metal, but lets be honest, he hasn't really been one of the series most important characters since the 2D era..). And apart from not appearing as much in the games as she used to, i think her less prominent role in the fanbase also have a lot to do with Sonic X (which was probably always the part of the franchise were she had the most exposure) being canceled and thus not that prominent anymore.

But i also think her decrease in popularity might have, how do i put this, demographic reasons behind it. The Gamecube years are well known in the Sonic fanbase for bringing in an enormous WAVE of new Sonic fans through Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic X. And many. many, many of those new fans were boys and girls in their tweens or younger teens. And i suspect that a lot of the reason for Creams burst of popularity was due to to these new fans; the young girls loved her because she was a cute little bunny, and the young boys fell in love with her probably for being the most girly-girly of the female Sonic characters (worthy of mention is also that this was possibly the first generation of adolescents of whom the majority grew up with the internet cultures overt sexualization of cartoon characters, especially "cute" female characters, so that many of these pubertal lads would wound up becoming sexually attracted to Cream and other female Sonic characters probably isn't that strange) . But now those fans have grown up a bit, and the girls aren't obsessed with cute little animals anymore, and the boys have started directing their romantic interest towards either real women or at least more mature fictional characters. And since Cream just doesn't get as much exposure in the franchise as she used to, she doesn't gain that many new young fans.

So yeah, that's my little analysis of the rise and fall of Cream, lol. Personally, i hated her when she first showed up because i thought she was such an unoriginal character; basically just tails and Amy mixed together. But over the past few years, as the series have been pumping out new characters of even LESS originality (Marine, Eggman Nega), she really doesnt seem that bad by comparison. So i guess im cool with her now.

[Blacklightning]

Personally, I think Cream is a little under-utilized. Not in the sense that she doesn't show up often enough, but moreso in the fact that she's a blatant Tails clone when she could easily have a whole different style going for her. There's something I like about guiding a psychotic attack Chao like a conductor's baton, and I'd appreciate it if they worked on that more should she ever appear as a playable again. Hopefully as more than an attack mechanism - personally a secondary function even remotely similar to the Remote Robot in Tails Adventure would do it for me, squeezing into tight places and making way for two-man puzzles and gimmicks.

Also shut up, Marine is awesome. >=(

[batson]

Also shut up, Marine is awesome. >=(

Oh come on, she's just Charmy with an accent!

[Ferr]

under-utilized? I think SEGA realized is an useless character for the main games, only worth for party games (Mario & Sonic and suchs).

[Leon K Fox]

I honesly can't Cream personally. Her character is just too...perfect for my liking, she's so sickenly and (even for her age) unrealistically polite that it drives me insane. She's basically a little miss perfect as far as personaility is concerned which is ironically a flaw in of itself if you ask me, as far as her character is concerned.

Plus, most of her voices make me contemplate suicide, they're so unbelivably annoying. >_<

I like her better than characters like post SA2B Shadow, but still.

That's just my opinion though.

[JezMM]

I love Cream as a character and want to see her return some more, if only in a minor role. NPC or just hostage for Eggman, anything will do. But then I'm missing Rouge and the Chaotix in the same way. Hopefully they'll get some screentime in the next major Sonic title after the holiday we had from the extended cast in Unleashed.

I think Cream was at her best in Sonic X though. It's nice to see events through a child's eyes, and the fact that she didn't do anything made her crowning moment of awesome at the end of the Emerl saga... well, just that, a crowning moment of awesome. One of my favourite episodes.

Edited July 2, 2009 by JezMM

[speedfreak]

The coolest thing about Cream is that she actually has a parent. It's a very unique thing for the Sonic series.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Cream needs a return to the Sonic series. Chronicles wasn't enough. I was hoping she will be in All-stars racing as playable but...doesn't look like that will happen. I miss Cream, she is the most polite and innocent character in the Sonic franchise and that what makes her unique.

But for most Sonic gamers unfortunately, they hate her because of her voice, she's too young and she's too "cute" to be in a Sonic game. Therefore maybe because of this we are not seeing her in games anymore. There are many people such as myself are very disappointed that Cream is no longer appearing in games. Big or Cream, I'll choose Cream anyday.

[Flyboy Fox]

I really don't care for Cream as a character, but I like that she exists because it means that Tails, while younger than most of the cast, isn't the 'baby' of the pack. Cream having a parent is also, I agree, a somewhat interesting point.

[Leon K Fox]

I really don't care for Cream as a character, but I like that she exists because it means that Tails, while younger than most of the cast, isn't the 'baby' of the pack. Cream having a parent is also, I agree, a somewhat interesting point.

Save for AoSTH (where he himself said he was 4 years old in one episode if I remember correctly) Tails has never really been a "baby" as such, yes 8 years old is incredibly young, but by no means would that make him a baby.

[Flyboy Fox]

That's why 'baby' was in quotes. In that context meaning the youngest character, saddled with all the tropes of being totally innocent, naive, sweet in every possible way. Cream having that role means that Tails has more character potential. (And he's actually not that much older than Cream).

[Leon K Fox]

That's why 'baby' was in quotes. In that context meaning the youngest character, saddled with all the tropes of being totally innocent, naive, sweet in every possible way. Cream having that role means that Tails has more character potential. (And he's actually not that much older than Cream).

Oh right, sorry, misunderstood you a bit there.

heh, he has more character potential as you mentioned, but they still don't act on it or use it :/ But that's another story.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

But hardly anyone dislikes Tails anyway. If one or two hate Tails, it cannot be because he is very young.

If there is one game that Cream takes over Tails' place, the whole world will scream with anger. They just hate Cream. >.>;;

[Tombi]

.Not to mention, she probably had more lines in Sonic X than Knuckles did.

This reminds me; does anybody else remember that huge monologue Cream had in one of the episodes of the Metarex saga? She was basically explaining everything that had happened so far - and she must have went on for at least a minute and a half with no pause in talking whatsoever. By the time it was nearing the end and after consistently speaking in that squeaky voice for so long; her voice actor seriously sounded like she was about to collapse. I just wanted to give her a pat on the back and an oxygen tank after pulling that off.

Anyway, Cream is quite good. I enjoyed her little moments in Sonic X where she was one of the few characters to get actual character development throughout the series - even if she did seem to be "just there" most of the time when it got to the last series. I don't think she's been handled "bad" in any of the games she starred in per-se; but I can't help but feel there's some untapped potential waiting to be used. Apart from getting to say "poo", she didn't contribute a whole lot in Chronicles storyline-wise; but I liked the idea of her gameplay at least.

She has a nice design and attitude though, very much "cute bunny" to the extreme. Considering that, though; it makes me want to see her snap and kick some ass even more - which I hope Sonic Team let her do sometime.

[turbojet]

I love Cream. Yeah, I said it. The guy with a hooded maniac stabbing his heart in his signature said that he loves Cream. Sure, her VA didn't do her any favors but she is so cute. And when has she ever taken Tails' place? The closest thing she has ever been to Tails is when Blaze or Amy decide to be the Sonic to her Tails. Even these characters are rarely seen or hardly playable. Hell, Blaze even has a new side-kick!

Edited July 2, 2009 by turbojet

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

I love Cream. Yeah, I said it. The guy with a hooded maniac stabbing his heart in his signature said that he loves Cream. Sure, her VA didn't do her any favors but she is so cute. And when has she ever taken Tails' place? The closest thing she has ever been to Tails is when Blaze or Amy decide to be the Sonic to her Tails. Even these characters are rarely seen or hardly playable. Hell, Blaze even has a new side-kick!

I never said Cream had taken over Tails' place. I was saying IF she did though. =O

Blaze has a sidekick? Um...more like...she's Silver's sidekick according to Sonic '06. o.O

Edited July 2, 2009 by Spicylicious

[KittyNakajima]

I never really liked Cream. To me she's always felt like some pointless little tag-along who dislikes fighting and won't do it unless pushed into a corner, so I'm glad SEGA hasn't featured her in more recent titles outside of being a party/multi player character because who wants that as a constant Sonic story? Besides that, she was probably the only Sonic character that acted their age; and not in the good sense mind you. Aside from being a pacifist I doubt any 6 year old would be wanting to fight a mad scientist and his big shiny, metal robot minions willingly when they could be having an ice cream cone, watching TV, or playing outside and doing something that probably wouldn't cause a boo boo.

I won't say I completely dislike her because her characterization was actually fairly good in Sonic Chronicles, where she got to be the pacifist she was and still help out by being the healer/spell caster of the group. As far as I know, excluding her from joining up with you would be a foolhardy move as she could heal and revive party stats to full power in one turn. Not bad. Also enjoy the relationship she has with Amy, since it kind of runs on a similar parallel to that shared between Sonic and Tails.

But overall, I guess I'm relieved that her role in the games has lessened somewhat, and I blame that in part to her mother. While the other Sonic characters seem to be able to do whatever the hell they want at any given time of day, Vanilla seems content enough to say "HELL NO!!" on a regular basis to even remove the slightest thought of running off from her daughter's mind.

Edited July 2, 2009 by KittyNakajima

[Sean]

So who's Cream, again?

No really, when I think of Sonic she's one of the last things to pop up in my mind. Seems to be just another boring anime archetype (the overly polite token cute girl) and nothing more.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

And you hate her so much because of that, Jake?

[BlazingTales]

I used to think Cream was worthless until the Individual Character Focus topic. Cream has a lot of potential. Cream is one of those characters that needs someone in order to shine. For instance, she helped Blaze open up, and in the process showed her polite and cheerful personality. Another terrific example is Emerl. Here's what I said earlier:

In Sonic Battle, Emerl brought out the best of Cream, and while I love Emerl to death, I don't really want him to lamely come back. Maybe Cheese could replace Emerl. After all, they are already great friends, all you have to do is make Cheese show more emotion (Who here wouldn't mind a Wentos-styled feisty, silent Chao? XP).

Cream should also contrast Amy's personality (like in Battle). While Amy should be an innocent dreamer, Cream should be innocent and down-to-earth.

Gameplay-wise, what if Cream were to run a optional Chao Garden? There could be flying 'mini-games' (not exactly mini-games, but small levels that use Cream's abilities of flight and Chao fighting) to collect items and small animals for your chao! It could be fun!

[Sean]

And you hate her so much because of that, Jake?

I don't hate her, I just almost completely ignore her presence. She's quite boring.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

KURIMU-CHAN! *hugs Cream Plushie*

She is a rather unique character. And I like her for that. x3 (she has surprised me on several occasions.)

And she is just plain cute in Sonic X. x3

Makes me smile whever I see her.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Blue Streak

[turbojet]

I never said Cream had taken over Tails' place. I was saying IF she did though. =O

Blaze has a sidekick? Um...more like...she's Silver's sidekick according to Sonic '06. o.O

Lets not go into the Sonic 06 and Sonic Rush paradox. I have suffered far too many headaches tring to figure that out. Lets just assume that Sonic Rush takes place later and she gets Marine as her new sidekick. Thats what I was talking about Spicy.

[Jason Berry]

But overall, I guess I'm relieved that her role in the games has lessened somewhat, and I blame that in part to her mother. While the other Sonic characters seem to be able to do whatever the hell they want at any given time of day, Vanilla seems content enough to say "HELL NO!!" on a regular basis to even remove the slightest thought of running off from her daughter's mind.

What?! If anything she gives that kid too much freedom.

"Momma? Can I go help my friends fight Eggman?"

"Sure you can!"

"Can I go into deep outer space to help fight the Betamax or whatever?"

"Sure you can!"

"Can I go play in busy traffic?"

"Sure you can!"

Secretly, I think Creams dad passed away and left everything to her in the will and Vanilla's trying to have her offed and make it look like an accident.

To me, what best describes Cream is....she Raven Simone. Not "That's so Raven" Raven, but "last two seasons of the Cosby show" Like Rudy, Tails started to get older and they needed a replacement for the "cute widdle sidekick" role. So, they stuck in Cream instead.

[Blazey Firekitty]

My main exposure to Cream is through the first Sonic Rush game. I thought she was portrayed pretty well in that...While she did express her emotions in a childish way at times, for the most part she seemed wise beyond her years. I can't speak much for her other portrayals, but I really liked that one.