Dr. Crusher Presents: The 30 Days of Sonic the Hedgehog (sponsored by PowerVerte)-Fin, PAGE 150

[Jolt_TH]

Day 9

Well my original favourite character was Sonic, obvious answer, and was for a while. But I honestly can't tell you when he dropped to the second spot, it was a sort of gradual thing that i realised one day, nowadays the number one spot goes to a certain protector of the 7.

You all thought I meant Knuckles didn't you?

When I was originally introduced to Blaze in Sonic Rush I thought she was pretty cool, but still not the number one spot position. But love for our local pyro kinetic purple feline had grown, which I only really realised reccently within the past few years. Is she alternate dimension sonic? Yes, but she is so much more than that. She is a complex character with a unique and interesting backstory (06 aside), she felt that the entire fate of her world was on her shoulders because it was her responsibility to look after and guard the sol emeralds, putting both her world and Sonics in danger due to her inability to open up and trust thanks to who knows how long in isolation. After being shown how to open up by sonic she then immediately goes on to save Cream, who it is safe to say was her first (or close to) friend. This unlocked the sol emeralds to her so she could become burning blaze (I know it's practically Super Blaze), who I think is one of the most interesting and original transformations in the series (aside from you Werehog, don't worry your safe). The ending to Rush really emphasises that she has learnt to open up and trust other people aswell as that she may have a slight soft spot for our blue hero

Then SRA came along and although it didn't have as much characterisation for Blaze as the last game (focusing more on Marine), it kept her characterisation from Rush and kept her character consistent. I also like how She goes from seeing Marine as a nuisance to caring about and even looking out for her.

All in all I think she is a really interesting and unique character who has tons of untapped potential, I'd love to see her playable in a 3D game and expand on her fire powers

(Am I seriously the only Blaze lover here?)

[Ducktor Naldush]

Oh, this is easy-peasy, doc.

 

Question #9: When it comes to your top favourite Sonic character, were you always a fan of him/her from the very beginning, or did it take a while before you warmed up to him/her?

 

I always liked Tails. He was my favourite since the beginning. Sure, through the years I grew attached to other characters as well, like Amy, Knuckles (the first Sonic character I played as, for your interest) , Sonic and good old Ivo, but Tails always had a special place in my heart.

I may not like the Tails in Lost World but, that game aside, the cute, innocent, smart yet somewhat naive Fox boy is one of my favourite characters in video game history, just like Luigi, Doctor Wily, Zangief, Klonoa and Shantae.

[Tani Coyote]

...and serious ones. This is pretty much one of his crowning moments of awesome in my book:

I must concur.

I had forgotten all about this moment... but it really says a lot he can make "I was made in the name of love" actually sound, well, badass.

It shows the good path his future can take; whenever Sonic's old and gray, he'd be able to pick up the mantle and protect the planet. Given I can easily see Eggman some day digitizing himself just so he can wait out Sonic's natural end... well, Shadow being immortal quickly shreds that trump card.

[ImPantsAtThis]

So if ya'll don't mind, I don't wanna hear any more of that "30 Days of Eggman" jibba-jabba around here, or else the Penguinators will getcha.)

 

C'mon man, you know I was just playin'... 

 

Day 9: Was your favourite character always your favourite?

 

Quickest answer would be: yes, I always liked Tails. Just for the sake of this being an interesting answer however, I'll discuss one of my other favourites -- Vector the Crocodile.

 

"Let's go Shadow! We need to find the... the uh... nevermind."

 

When I first played through Heroes, I was pretty indifferent to the reptilian rascal, with his irritating accent, bubblegum gliding move and awful singing. Back then, I thought that while the Chaotix were good for comedy, they were pointless additions. It wasn't until I came back to Sonic in late 2012 that I looked into some of the guy's quips a little more. Obviously, there's the computer room joke, but there's a whole set of stuff about electricity bills and paying the rent that he talks about -- and it's hilarious.

 

Vector's much more grounded than the rest of the cast; he isn't a ninja or a six year-old detective, and he also isn't a global hero, spy or ultimate life form. He's just a guy trying to get by, and just look at him: he probably owes money to a few mob bosses, let's be honest. Nowadays, their humour is why I like the Chaotix just as much, if not more, than the rest of the cast -- and Vector is certainly the headh honcho in that regard.

[Debug Ring]

Day Nine.

Well, my favourite character cycles about a bit. Sonic, Knuckles, Eggman. They all place top every now and then. With Sonic, yes, I loved him from the get-go. His joking, his attitude, I just sort of felt they got him right on for me.

With Knuckles, I wasn't too bothered about him, but recently I started noticing him more when replaying games. I love his individuality, and on the flip side I love how he aims to better Sonic. So yeah, I now feel Knuckles is a strong character (when they use him)

Now with Eggman... When I was younger he was just the guy I aimed to stop. Other than SA2, he never got enough time for me to appreciate him. Nowadays, with him stealing cutscenes for himself in Unleashed onwards, he's really an excellent cast member and should always be utilised to him full potential.

So my favourite characters are a mix of loving from the start, or growing to love them and realising that they're really cool characters.

[spinny]

Was my favourite Sonic character always my favourite, or did it take time to adjust?

 

Well, we all know who my favourite is...

 

 

...And I've got a fun fact for all of you.

 

Between when I became a Sonic fan and Generations' release, I honestly didn't give a single crap about Amy.

 

I'm not even sure what started me off to be an Amy fan, even though I actually link it usually to a run of Adventure, Adventure 2 and Heroes I did back a couple of years ago-- it connects with those three being my favourite portrayals of her. 

 

But in a nutshell, it definitely took time to warm up to Amy. When I was younger, I never hated her or anything, she was just... there. But since that event I listed above, things've done a massive turn.

[Tara]

[ Day 9 : Was Your Favorite Character Always Your Favorite Character? ]

 

Hard to say when I don't really know if I have an absolute favorite character.  At times I want to say Sonic himself is my favorite, and other times it's Tails.  So really, the struggle is not so much how did they become my favorite character and how much time did it take, but rather, how do I decide between my favorite characters.  It also depends largely on what media you're talking about since just about every Sonic medium tends to portray the characters vastly different, while still having a few key principles to their character.  With that in mind, while I still love Tails in SatAM, he holds no special presence to me due to his lack of direct involvement in the plot for most the series, but he's a phenomenal aspect in the games, AoSTH, Sonic OVA, Sonic X, and from what little I've read of the comics.

 

In any case, I do think I've always loved both Sonic and Tails from the beginning as well as Robotnik.  As I've mentioned before, I think what makes me click with the series in general is the fact that watching SatAM is literally my very earliest memory of simply being alive. (I believe it was Episode 20 to be specific).  That is literally my earliest memory of anything ever.  Any earlier than that and my mind simply draws a blank.

 

There have been characters that have admittedly taken me some time to grow fond of, though.  One of which is Blaze.  Now, please note that I was quite a different person in 2005, so I understand now that this was the most shallow and stupid thing, but at the time of Sonic Rush's release, we were already going through the "too many characters" struggle of the then-modern Sonic era.  It's not that I hated her character, but I simply hated the fact that we had yet another character to add to the already impossibly-huge roster to begin with.  Now, I think she's one of my absolute faves and were it not for her ever-so-troubling aspect of being the princess of an alternative world, I would definitely have no reservations against her being part of the primary cast.  Another character I still don't like that much but I don't despise her greatly would be Rouge.  She has her moments of being interesting, but most of the time, she's just not to me.  Still, it wouldn't take too much to rectify whatever problems she has if you get the right writers on board.

[Spin Attaxx]

I'm a bit cheaty here, since my favorite Sonic character is actually six, but when I saw the Deadly Six for the first time, I loved them there and then. They looked very different from anything that came before them, yet they still felt like they were legitimate Sonic the Hedgehog characters.

 

But if you want me to go for just ONE character, then my second favourite, Blaze, was one that I initially just thought of as "yup, she's a character, she exists, yup". I dunno when I started to care about her more, but I eventually did (that said, I first saw her in a preview of Sonic Rush in a magazine back in '04, and I thought "wow, that cat girl looks cooooooool").

[Indigo Rush]

Zone 9: Favorite Character - and were they always your favorite?

 

 

 

*cough*

 

gimme a beat

 

yeah...

 

yeah...

 

Now, this is a story all about how
My identity got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how Big the Cat became my favorite character

In southern Virginia born and raised
On the Genesis was where I spent most of my days
Chillin' out runnin' spin-dashin' all 'lone
And all spinning some badniks outside of the zone
When a couple of guys who were up to some good
Started giving out Dreamcasts in my neighborhood
I got one little system and bless my soul
I said 'I'm gettin' Sonic Adventure for my new console'

I begged and pleaded with mom day after day
Til she bought me a 3D Sonic game to play
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my disc.
I put it in my Dreamcast and said, 'This is gonna be bliss'.

First story yo, this mad!
Playin' as Sonic in 3D is rad!
Is this what the the rest of the game will be like?
Hmmmmm this might be alright.

But wait I hear there's this new guy who's indigo and fat
Is fishing the type of gameplay that they give to a cat?
I don't think so
I'll see when I get there
If he sucks I'm gonna rip out his purple hair

Well, Gamma's story finished and when I picked Big out
There was a dude who looked like a ballon standing there with a fishing rod out
I don't wanna go fishin' man
I just got this game
But I said 'screw it,' even though it'd be lame

I fished for a frog and when it came near
The Big Cat said 'FWOGGY YOU'RE HERE'
If anything I could say that this cat wasn't very smart
But I thought 'but hey, I think this guy has a nice big heart!'

I finished his story at about 8 or 9
And I beat Perfect Chaos 'Hey I'll play with you some other time'
I looked at my save file
It was all old hat

But man my favorite character will always be 

 

BIG THE CAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So yeah, I was kind of unsure about Big the Cat, but after a while I couldn't help but love this guy. I'll post again with some more constructive analysis, but for now, this is my favorite character. <3

[Junko]

Question #9: When it comes to your top favourite Sonic character, were you always a fan of him/her from the very beginning, or did it take a while before you warmed up to him/her?

So - Blaze has been my favourite character from her very first appearance in Sonic Rush. She's calm, cool and collected, and not to mention her pseudo-theme (as shown by the Medal of Percival in SatBK) kicks ass.

[JezMM]

For me, I consider Amy Rose, Sonic and Eggman to be joint 1st place for favourite characters, and yes ALL of them grew on me.

 

 

There was no single defining point for any of them, just an amalgamation of lots of little character moments that I appreciated over the years.

 

For Amy it was the slow realisation that no she wasn't a creepy obsessive stalker.  In 90% of the games she runs into Sonic by accident, and once around him there'll be a bit of jokey/flirty exchange and then that's it.  She's a girl with a crush and haven't we all been there?  It's obviously exaggerated coz these are cartoon characters, but I see stuff like pretending to be Sonic's girlfriend as being not much more than playfulness and amusement at how it annoys him.  Sonic has never got actually angry at her over it, the two are clearly best friends regardless.  It's for that reason I've always preferred the dynamic of the main trio being Sonic Tails and Amy rather than Sonic Tails and Knuckles, who are just lumped together all the time out of tradition.  It also helps that she breaks the role of girly girl pretty often by serving as a completely straight power character despite her girly motifs (as oppose to say, Princess Peach, who has always had very passive abilities in most games etc).

 

For Sonic, it was the fact that in multi-character games, he was always the most fun to play as.  Somehow I grew to really appreciate his design, he's just really cool looking, and games like the storybooks and Unleashed made me really like him as a character too.

 

And Eggman just gets better and better with each game.  They get closer and closer to striking that perfect balance between supervillian SA2 Eggman and goofy Sonic X Eggman and I am loving it.  Almost any cut-scene with him is a treat.

 

 

 

The reason they're notable for me is because as a kid, Tails was my fave character!  Nowadays I like him but just... somehow "grew out of him".  Can't think of another way to put it.  I dunno what it is but he doesn't interest me anymore.  I think it helps that his modern look had like a 50% cuteness reduction.  Honestly the only portrayal of him that I still love like I always did as a kid is his appearence in the classic games and the Sonic movie.  I really like him being clever but cute and looking up to Sonic because he's cool without ever directly mimicking him.  His snarky oversensitive mean streak in Lost World can fuck off.  The kind of Tails I want is the kind we saw in the Sonic movie.  That one scene where Sonic is mouthing off to Eggman and Tails is copying Sonic's poses a second too late to look cool and co-ordinated - that's my Tails.

[Johnny Boy]

Day 9

 

No freaking contest. Ever since I first played Sonic Advance as a small child, I always loved playing as this guy. And the 3d games made me love this guy even more because for some reason, I could relate to this guy due to the fact that he was kind of serious, was awkward around women, and was just freaking dedicated to what he's supposed to due. Those reasons alone along with his fun gameplay (sans the treasure hunting in SA2), is what single handley makes knuckles my favorite Sonic character. Too bad Sonic Team doesn't treat the guy with much respect these days.

[Dr. Crusher]

Another character I still don't like that much but I don't despise her greatly would be Rouge.  She has her moments of being interesting, but most of the time, she's just not to me.  Still, it wouldn't take too much to rectify whatever problems she has if you get the right writers on board.

 

...Why did you mention her in the first place if she's not a favourite?

[TCB]

Well, time for me to attempt this; time for another TCB Special:

 

Day 9:  When it comes to your top favorite Sonic character, were you always a fan of him/her from the very beginning, or did it take a while before you warmed up to him/her?

 

If there's anyone that has influence on my from the outset, it has had to have been Sonic. Funny story about that though; I had no idea Sonic (as a brand) existed until 2002. How did I find out? From a random SA2:B instruction manual. From reading through it though; I immediately taken a liking to what the booklet described Sonic as: cool, free with the wind, heroic, and a look that immediately made me like him. 

 

Then I played Sonic Advance...and THEN Sonic Heroes, and it pretty much hit off from there. Since then Sonic has been an important effluence to me; for starters it spurred on my budding interest to draw. His character, in my opinion, is endearing, so it's no surprise how many people look up to him. As a young child I was one of them.

[C4k3]

The new porcupine on the block with the buff chest

In the wilderness with the ruggedness

Knock, knock, it's Knuckles, the blow thrower

Independent flower, Magical Emerald holder

I'll give you the coldest shoulder

My spikes go through boulders

That's why I stay a loner

Ah yes, my main man, Knuckles the Echidna. Rival and ally to that blue rodent for nearly 20 years. Ever since the first Adventure game, I've been a great fan of his character. The mysteriousness of his past, his unwavering duty of protecting the Master Emerald, all these things just click with me. A serious and down to earth guy who gets shit done. No questions asked. He could be your greatest friend, or your most powerful enemy, as Sonic himself has experienced through the years.

 

His reclusive nature can make him come off as awkward and gullible, causing him to be sometimes mocked by his friends and tricked quite often by a certain egg shaped person. Despite that, he's still a headstrong hero with his heart in the right place. SA1 depicted him as a cool and collected character, usually keeping a calm composure, unless provoked, which will result in getting your shit kicked in. I liked that about him. He's not an angry person, he just wants to live a peaceful life and fulfil his duty as protector of the M.E. Unfortunately, being a guardian to a powerful entity doesn't allow that.

 

I just hope Sonic Team throw him a bone or two in their next game. I miss seeing him in action. Hopefully Boom will fill that missing void of Rad Red gameplay.

 

And now, I'll end this with one of my favourite lines in the series:

 

"I'll probably be on this floating island forever. Guarding the Master Emerald, again. I may not know the whole story behind this. But perhaps it's better that way. I am at peace once more."

[Yoko/葉子]

I like Metal Sonic since I saw the OVA as a kid. Metal was so tough, brutal and epic, I was not dissapointed in his appearences in the games, in fact I view him as the Chuck Norris of dopplegangers.

 

Edit: Couldn't decide on a favorite character, so I picked villain instead.

[Chooch]

I'm not really sure if Knuckles was my absolute favorite when he was first introduced in Sonic 3. He definitely seemed cool at the time given his design and all the various traps that he'd set for Sonic and Tails. When I was younger, red was my favorite color so his color scheme also played a pretty large roll in things. At the the time tho' I'm pretty positive that my favorite Sonic character was actually Tails because I thought that he was cute and/or awesome and I always loved animals like dogs, wolves and foxes.

 

It wasn't until later that year when Sonic and Knuckles was released where my fondness for Knuckles really grew. It was the first time he was ever properly playable and I was introduced to his totally unique gameplay mechanics that separated him from Sonic. I found gliding and wall climbing far more satisfying than outright flying and I still do to this day. I think it's just more engaging and interesting. I spent many hours in Sonic and Knuckles' levels exploring each and every surface using Knuckles' abilities and honing them. I also liked how his shortened jump height made some areas more challenging than they would be otherwise.

 

The introduction of Knuckles was also subsequently the introduction of the Master Emerald and tons of interesting lore in the Sonic series which would later be expanded upon in Sonic Adventure. The fact that he had such a strong tie to one of the major elements of the series' mythos really made me grow fond of him as well.

 

So yeah I don't think he was originally my favorite character. He's just gone up since he's been playable. I'd say more but I've made more than enough Knuckles posts in my lifetime.

[MamboCat]

Question #9: When it comes to your top favourite Sonic character, were you always a fan of him/her from the very beginning, or did it take a while before you warmed up to him/her?

 

It's a tough one for me, as my favourites are Tails and Amy. But I have more to say about Amy, because what happened is that I actually experienced both: I went from YAY to URGH to YAY again!

 

The first picture I saw of her was this one, from the Sonic CD manual:

 

I was already a Sonic fan, but to see a girl character was great for me! In my primary school (I guess elementary for our 'murican buddies) there was a teaching assistant who used to draw cool pictures for us to colour in at play times. When I said I was a fan of Sonic he drew me a picture of Amy, based on this picture.

 

I thought her design was lovely, she looked so cute and awww.. and I liked her upturned spikes, although I would later learn they were drawn that way to show "motion", and get her spikes out of Sonic's face! XD I guess the artists of STC made the same mistake as me, and drew her based on this picture throughout Sonic the Comic until the Chaos arc:

 

 

Until then she only minor changes to her wardrobe, because let's face it trying to Freedom Fight in a tutu is a bit difficult, and a girl needs a bit of variety!

 

 

 

Amy was my favourite character in STC because she grew from a typical damsel in distress to a kickass fighter in her own right. Even in her second appearance, she gets Sonic and Captain Plunder to stop fighting and work together. She would then go on to become the de facto leader when Sonic wasn't around. Armed with different types of bow, STC and STCO Amy's fighting technique is distinct from her other portrayals. She also has a different set of interpersonal skills; she uses her brain as shown in the fight against Plasma, she inspires others through example, as shown in the Solidarity movement against Robotnik and she has strong leadership skills, as shown when Super Sonic becomes an overpowered superdemon. Moreover, it is implied that she believes Sonic is not just a hero in terms of his abilities; he is the symbol of freedom that Mobius needs. Her actual feelings for Sonic are extremely downplayed, and when she does sneak a peck on the cheek in it is usually in jest. I would like to think, and this is my own headcanon speaking, that really they are just good friends and it's actually Sonic who can't deal with his feelings since Amy is a girl who is just as competent as he is, hence his awkwardness around her. Anyways... moving on!

 

Since Amy was not really a major character in the games until Sonic Adventure, and I didn't get to play this until years after its release... the next version of Amy I would see would be in Sonic X.

 

 

Now... I have mixed feelings about this Amy. I didn't like Sally Acorn in SatAM, and I was disappointed when I found out Sonia was not Amy in Sonic Underground, so I was pleased to learn that finally Amy would have a place in a Sonic cartoon. However... when I actually saw Sonic X I wasn't exactly impressed. Her voice is annoying as hell, her new design was a total shock to me, the use of a hammer was new to me compared to STC Amy's crossbow (I didn't ever play Sonic the Fighters) and I didn't like her temper tantrums. She just seemed like a terrible, cliched character; a ticking timebomb who will go to any lengths to get her way, and her man.... er... hog...

 

She's also occasionally used for comic relief, such as this scene where she has to pretend to be a cuddly toy, but loses it when a kid annoys her:

 

 

As funny as I found this back in the day, Amy was never about comic relief for me, so I didn't like seeing her doing "funny" things, especially when the joke was that it was a girl being a bit violent because she wasn't getting her way. Sonic X Amy could really come off as a brat sometimes, and that I didn't like at all.

 

What I did like was how sometimes it was implied that Sonic had a soft spot for her, albeit begrudgingly:

 

 

Not that I am into shipping at all. Especially in the Sonic series, but I was so used to STC Sonic being so mean to Amy, when it wasn't even clear if she was just teasing or not, it was kind of nice to see this Sonic being more friendly with Amy... despite the fact that in Sonic X, she's completely nuts!

 

This brings me onto Sonic Adventure, which finally introduced me to the Amy in the games.

 

 

 

Once again Amy is presented as a young girl obsessed with Sonic, and he is not exactly thrilled about it! Only his rejection of her is not as extreme as in STC.

 

I'll say the same as Sonic X's Amy in that I'm not as big a fan of her current design than her older one. Sure, she has spikes like a hair cut which sort of makes sense... but in some art she looks more like Knuckles than she does Sonic. The dress is just... ugh. It's especially a pain in Sonic Dash when you can see right up the damned thing, eww. I like her boots though. :3

 

I find her voice equally annoying, but I get that it's meant to be part of her character. That she is a massive pain but Sonic and his friends tolerate her anyway.

 

In the game she starts off as damsel in distress, being chased by Zero... but later she learns how to kick some booty and decides she will win Sonic's respect by being independent (isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?)

 

 

In some way that's not dissimilar from STC's Amy, which is great in my book! I'd much rather Amy have other aspects than just being obsessed with Sonic. STC's Amy was cool because she cared as much about the freedom of Mobius as Sonic did, and she had several other friendships the comic focussed on such as when she was teaching Tails how to shoot arrows, her friendship with Johnny Lightfoot, her adventures with Tekno etc... Even after Sonic had left, Amy wouldn't stop until her new birdy friend was reunited with his family, so here in Sonic Adventure it was nice to see her enthusiasm to help others selflessly.

 

Her portrayal in Sonic Adventure 2 is not that different; except she is no longer a playable character in the main story, which bugged me a bit. I actually played SA2 before SA1, since my stepdad had it on the GameCube... and I was disappointed I could only play as Amy in 2 player mode. She is mostly just there until the end, where she is the one to convince Shadow that he was not built to destroy the world. So despite being pretty much useless in SA2, it shows Amy's strong belief in the power of love, and her desire to see good in everyone. Even sullen folk like Shadow!

 

 

Sonic Heroes... um, well while I like that I could play as Amy again, her motivation during the story is just plain creepy. I really wish it could have been something else, like she was willing to help Cream and Big find their buddies just because they're friends, yknow? She had already decided she would become more independent, so why has she gone back to chasing Sonic? *sigh* Heroes was such a step back for her.

 

Sonic 06 is just well... Sonic 06. Amy's presence is just weird, really. She's still chasing Sonic, still mistaking other hedgehogs for him, her conversation with Elise is just awkward as hell... her dialogue protecting Sonic against Silver is just completely nuts... arrrgghh! Gameplay wise, I would like that she had the double jump back from SA1... but if it was done properly! > Also the invisiblity... what the hell? Is it meant to reference that she's into tarot and magic and stuff, even though it's not really a thing in the games previously?

 

In Sonic Unleashed, she's mostly just there again. As opposed to Tails, who helps out with the science of what's going on, flies the Tornado, helps Professor Pickle etc... but I did like Amy's cutscene where she doesn't recognise Sonic the Werehog (awww! :3) even though it's a little odd that she just smacks him and says sorry! Doesn't she know her own strength?!

 

 

Her animations are pretty cute, flicking her hair/spikes and keeping an eye out for Sonic's return. I like that you can talk to her in hub worlds as well, even if most of her conversation is lamenting she can't go with you or threatening violence if Sonic gets a cute girl's number(!) And I like that even though the end seems near, she tells Professor Pickle she still has faith in Sonic to save the day. Awww.

 

Lost World I haven't a clue... so won't go there!

 

I love Amy to bits, it's just that I get the feeling Amy's characterisation has got a bit lost. She could be so much more than she actually is and I'm not just saying that because I think she has to be like STC's version. My problem is she's the butt of many angry jealous girl jokes and her personality revolves around her infatuation. We've seen in Blaze and Rouge that female characters can be competent and level headed so why does Amy, the first female character in the Sonic series, have to be portrayed as a petulant child with a short temper? I'm sort of hopeful for Sonic Boom as the promos we've seen show Amy to be competent and athletic, and it's suggested she will be interested in archaeology, giving her a reason to be there besides bugging Sonic! My favourite Amy will always be STC and STCO Amy because she's so damned awesome, but all other Amys... meh, it's nice to see her and nice to play as her but I wish she had better developed characterisation.

[Covskin]

I suppose with Tails, I liked him to begin with. My first memory of playing Sonic 2 is actually controlling Tails at a friend's house, so he was my doorway into the series. However, that soon turned into an annoyance. Not so much at Tails himself, but more the petulant little brother sick of having to be Player 2 all the time. This didn't affect my viewpoint of him in the comics or cartoons though.

 

Fast forward to the Gamecube release of Sonic Mega Collection, which meant playing Sonic 3 for the first time in 7 or 8 years...I chose Tails for my first playthrough, purely for the flying. And it was glorious. Ok, he's not brilliant in every game. Sonic Heroes for example  every Flight character is a waste of space there. But typically, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure...from a gameplay point of view, Tails kicks ass.

 

Plus, he's freakin' adorable.

[DocAzure]

Well...let's see here, I guess it's time to indulge a fact about myself, one that I don't usually show. When I first saw this question, I immediately thought of Sonic...but then I realized, I wasn't looking deep enough. The one character that I really enjoy, the one character that I wish would appear much more often, one that is sadly neglected. That character is this guy, this guy right here!

 

 

Metal. Metal, Metal, Metal. I just love the whole 'robot doppelganger' thing, in every kind of media, it's just extremely neat to me. The whole self-aware thing he showcases in the games post-CD really add to this, he's out to prove, above anything else, that he's the better Sonic than Sonic himself, that's his goal. Nothing more, he just wants to be the best. The fact that he completely disregards his original motive, to just kill Sonic, the fact that he completely ignores Eggman and his orders, just makes him have personality, he's a character, not just some badnik. Sonic's first, and only true rival, (Shadow can sod off), he's been sadly ignored recently, which is a shame, I'd like to see him return in a more recurring fashion, perhaps just as a rival to Sonic. Metal Sonic isn't a villain, he never was. From his beginnings as a simple robot that followed orders, to his antagonizing of Sonic in Generations, he's always been constantly neutral, and I like that. He doesn't flip between sides like a certain Doctor, we know his motive, we know why he does what he does, and it certainly isn't world destruction or domination. 

 

In other media, he's been pretty strongly represented, from the fantastic OVA, in which he pretty much fills the same role as he did in Sonic CD, a robot following orders for most of it, although this changes near the end, at his defeat, where he finally concedes that there can only be one Sonic, and that Sonic is the blue bastard we all know. In the Fleetway Comics, he was...oh so very fleshed out, thanks to the Mettalix saga, one of my favorite story lines from StC, in which...a bunch of 'Mettalix' (basically metal sonic) pretty much fuck Mobius up, leading to all sorts of time travelling shenanigans.

 

Metal Sonic, I enjoy him in every incarnation, he was the one of the few redeeming factors Heroes had, he made me smile when he appeared in Generations, and most of all, he's a rival, a great rival to a great character. What more could you want?

[redhellc]

So I guess I failed one day....no S rank for me:P
 

 

Well my favorite character as to be the great guardian of the master emerald, Knuckles the Echidna!
 
Was I always a great fan of him, well no. Mostly because I barely knew him. Since I was introduced to the franchise by the SatAM I didn't have any knowledge of him, so when my friend show me Sonic Adventure I saw a bunch of characters I really didn't know and he was the one that intrigued me more. It would be a couple of year until I would finally have my own game, Sonic Advance, and I just started to love him there. He was the best and most fun of the set of characters the game offered. And when I finally learned his backstory when I actually played Sonic Adventure on the PC it only made him more awesome.
 
Of course I still like him a lot that's why I really wanted Sonic Team to actually treat him well. But now with Boom I'm confident he will have an important role again. I just need to get used to the new design:D 
 
Funny thing my first favorite character was Tails, before I knew Knuckles.

[Wraith]

...Blaze? Uh...not really. When I was younger I gravitated toward Sonic and Tails, since Sonic 2 and 3 were my first games. My favorite character spot shifted a lot over the years but after a while I started to grow apathetic toward a lot of the cast. As I grew older and started getting into more games, Sonic's cast kinda floated off my radar.

 

The handheld Sonic games were ones I still held in high regard, though, and after I played the two rush games Blaze's fun gameplay and character actually kind of grew on me. She doesn't really appear much nowadays, but I'm ok with that. Better than shoehorning her in for no reason.

[Dr. Crusher]

He doesn't flip between sides like a certain Doctor

 

It's curtains for you, friend.

[TearForFear]

When I first started to like the world of Sonic, I didn't have a favourite character. I sort-of putted everyone on the same level.

 

Sonic X haired on TV, and I got interested in Sonic himself, but not that much to be my absolute favourite. Because of his behaviour, his nasal voice ( the italian voice actor also voiced Turbo from Wreck It Ralph, go figure!) and the fact that he was friend with a human kid, I remember I considered him "the bastard version of Winnie the Pooh". Yeah.

 

I continued exploring the Sonic franchise, discovered AoStH, and instantly loved Sonic and Tails and their big-brother-little-brother-bond.

So, Sonic and Tails together were my favourite charactes, in every incarnation of them (except Sonic The Comic).

Then something made Sonic jumps to the very top of my preferences.

 

His character traits that came out in the Storybook games helped, but the decisive nail in the coffin was his facial expressions in Sonic Lost World. Those sad, conjoined eyes pierced through my soul and never left since the first time they looked at me from the screen.

Before I considered Sonic as "just" a great friend and an admirable hero with strong ideals. Then after SLW I discovered he can also have human feelings and emotions, and the blue hedgehog grew and grew on me to the point that he became my favourite character period.

[azoo]

Hate to be boring and obvious here but I mean

 

 

This guy.

 

Sonic's always been my favorite since the beginning, and I don't think he'll stop being. I always loved watching the OVA and playing all the games up to SA2 back when; since he seemed so unified in personality then: a sassy, laid back guy that loved life and did what he wanted, but had a great passion for his friends, the world and what he stood for. 

 

His design is also amazing too. Like seriously. Classic and modern Sonic, whatever, they both look great. Love the mechanics of the original games, his abilities,  and I always have high hopes for him to be portrayed well in a good game.

 

I'd go into detail about really liking Eggman, Blaze or Knuckles a lot too, but I can't seem to muster it up in me at the moment, many gomens.

 

(Sorry for the lack of depth found in my usual posts, just kinda out of the Sonic buzz atm. Too much EarthBound/Smash/general Nintendo in my veins. LOL )