I have a plan to "fix" Game-Canon Amy Rose

[Nepenthe]

Heads up: We're cleaning up the topic because the latest guy to join the battle was a ban dodger. No need in responding to someone who can't respond back.

[Scape]

I want Amy to never stop being the female lead, but without it triggering clowns like this into going ape shit. If you don't like my ideas, that's fine. I just want to watch a Let's Play of a game she's in without having to brace myself.

[Zaysho]

@Scape Your post was hidden as it was a direct response to the ban-dodger Nepenthe just finished taking care of. Don't go re-posting something if it's been removed.

Secondly, while I realize your point is to, essentially, write Amy better and not do... whatever the hell it is Generations did (never mind this is a problem plaguing the entire cast), I think you are getting far too defensive about this subject, so just chill a bit, 'kay?

[KoDaiko]

Sonic Channel describes her as "hates boredom" "dreamer" "is in love falling in love" "energetic and bright" "strong-spirited" "inspiring to others" "in emergencies, can become very active putting the boys to shame (I can't translate correctly)" "even Sonic is overwhelmed by her wholehearted feeling and vigor", and can be taken as child-ish but also mature from the past games, so before we change her into something else it would be nice if they can start putting these in use more. Her love for Sonic does help describe some of the active-traits if seen correctly, so like all other characters if the game had space for interaction with others or some gameplay it would help.

It seem I'm one of the few who doesn't see her as a psychopath, and doesn't mind if the game keeps it going. First off the Sonic series is one of those game where nothing changes; the character doesn't grow up, they don't (at least drastically) change personality or learn something new. Second, I don't want to start the argument of "what if Amy was a boy???" or shipping wars but it's hard to see her as a predator when it isn't shown that way. She is (if Rosie is canon) a formal fan-girl who wants to be a lady but hasn't gotten out of her childhood and see the formula of love incorrectly going directly to 'marry me!'. Sonic is taken back by her energetic chase and fears her hammer, but seem to respect her feelings since he did once promise what Amy called a "date" or didn't seem much annoyed running away (I forgot which game that was). And he isn't the type to unwillingly obey or care, personality-wise would rather run than promise her something he doesn't want to do. He doesn't hate her; he cares for her well-being, and overall treats her as one of his good friends. I see Sonic Team creating her that way on purpose so it works with Sonic's personality, an eternal love-chase that's one sided but not unhealthy and bad. Of course, this becomes messed up depending on who writes it in the games. And while I don't want to summarize everything by "cultural difference", it may be the case.

For the idea of Amy as a Magical girl: aside from the reoccurring gag of her being a hedgehog sensor, I don't think SEGA see her as magical or psychic. The fortune-telling and dowsing are mere hobbies, and even in the newest anniversary comic Scape put a link to the original description at Sonic Channel says that her fortune-telling rarely succeeds. It's just a fun activity she does for enjoyment.

[MetalSkulkBane]

The

12 hours ago, KoDaiko said:

It seem I'm one of the few who doesn't see her as a psychopath, and doesn't mind if the game keeps it going.

There are few games that push her 'craziness' a bit to far

First is Sonic Heroes, which is a shame, since she's much better than most people think. At start she thinks only about getting Sonic, but after meeting first Eggman Decoy she realizes that her problem is trivial in comparison to Cream and Big, her dialogue changes  to "come one, we can find then" or "Eggman, give Chocola back", she takes her role as leader more seriously. At the end she doesn't even look for Sonic, Cream points him out for her. It's pretty much karma, she thought about others and got rewarded (that's at least how I interpret this). Sadly, gameplay is more important than story, so he have Sonic Vs Rose fight, and "this girl is crazy" is the only excuse for it.

Second we have Sonic Rush, where she threatens Cream with hammer. Using hammer on Sonic I can get, he can be a pain sometimes. Forcing exercise on Cream (Sonic Battle) I can take, since her intentions aren't evil. But using hammer on little girl, that is your best friend is going way to far.

Lastly when we have scenes like this

Spoiler

it's hard to believe that Sonic even respects her as friend.

[Tara]

SA1-Heroes paint Sonic and Amy's relationship as someone he only reluctantly hangs out with because he finds her annoying, but still cares for her.  It's not a malicious relationship, but it's clearly a one-sided one.  I think it's an okay relationship because it adds a bit of disonance.  Not all Sonic's friends can be chum of chums BFF's forever.  There needs to be some level of less black-and-white friend or enemy relationships.

[Kuzu]

21 hours ago, Scape said:

1. [Problem: "Sonic needs a restraining order"] I understand the point of the crush, but years and years of character derailment and flanderization turned her into a psychopath, and made her the butt of jokes that I'm unable to laugh at and have personally become fed up with seeing. If SEGA could hire writers competent enough to keep the crush alive without it devolving into making Amy a little demon then fantastic, but until then, I'd just like to see anything else be exaggerated to the point of consuming her.

2. [Problem: "There's nothing noteworthy about Amy besides being Sonic's stalker" ] SEGA's still pushing the mysticism angle, and I personally still think my suggestions would be fun, but if it's not necessary, then cool.

3. [Problem: "She failed to make Sonic respect her/No one likes her"] I still really like the idea of Amy looking after the flickies/chao/wisps, etc. Someone going out of their way to care for the lives that Eggman stops on. Really, all I'm suggesting is that SEGA makes the depiction of Amy in Sonic Lost World the default.

4. [Problem: “I come to a Sonic game to play as Sonic”] This one is drastic. She was slow, now she's not. I didn't imagine her using the shoes 24/7 from then on, just when she wants to be a pink Sonic for whatever reason.

 

19 hours ago, Scape said:

I want Amy to never stop being the female lead, but without it triggering clowns like this into going ape shit. If you don't like my ideas, that's fine. I just want to watch a Let's Play of a game she's in without having to brace myself.

It sounds to me like you need to stop caring about what random youtubers think; like come on, these aren't even problems, they're just ramblings of Youtubers who have nothing better to do. Hardly the opinions you should really care about.

 

2 hours ago, Tara said:

SA1-Heroes paint Sonic and Amy's relationship as someone he only reluctantly hangs out with because he finds her annoying, but still cares for her.  It's not a malicious relationship, but it's clearly a one-sided one.  I think it's an okay relationship because it adds a bit of disonance.  Not all Sonic's friends can be chum of chums BFF's forever.  There needs to be some level of less black-and-white friend or enemy relationships.

Eh, I feel its a bit jarring for him and Amy to have this type of relationship since they're both "main" characters and Sonic doesn't really have any reason to dislike her as a person, compared to say, Jet or Shadow. I mean, Amy's clingy and prone to violence sure, but she clearly cares about him greatly and is mostly on the level when she isn't hugging the life out of him. Like Sean said, it kinda sours my opinion of both characters when Sonic blatantly doesn't want her around but Amy insists on staying around anyway.

I do prefer their relationship in the comics, mostly because Amy actually interacts with other characters on a daily basis and when she does act on her feelings, Sonic doesn't mind too much and it seems to be playful on both of their parts.

[Tara]

2 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

 

It sounds to me like you need to stop caring about what random youtubers think; like come on, these aren't even problems, they're just ramblings of Youtubers who have nothing better to do. Hardly the opinions you should really care about.

 

Eh, I feel its a bit jarring for him and Amy to have this type of relationship since they're both "main" characters and Sonic doesn't really have any reason to dislike her as a person, compared to say, Jet or Shadow. I mean, Amy's clingy and prone to violence sure, but she clearly cares about him greatly and is mostly on the level when she isn't hugging the life out of him. Like Sean said, it kinda sours my opinion of both characters when Sonic blatantly doesn't want her around but Amy insists on staying around anyway.

I do prefer their relationship in the comics, mostly because Amy actually interacts with other characters on a daily basis and when she does act on her feelings, Sonic doesn't mind too much and it seems to be playful on both of their parts.

Well, I don't really mean that in a "Sonic totally hates Amy" as much as just finds her similar to... I don't know, the way I think of my baby niece.  I certainly don't hate her, but I do consider her super annoying and am thus reluctant to spend any amount of time with them.  That kind of conflict can really make for a great dynamic, ad I don't think her being a main character really changes that.

That being said, I do prefer Archie's Mega Drive version, as I've said before, because her annoyance and Sonic's frustration is toned down just a little, and Sonic does treat her as... well, a friend.  I'm just saying that I don't have a problem with them having a weird sort of rone-sided relationship, because I think that opens up doors for interesting interactions in its own right.  Just not in the way Sega typically handles it.

[Kuzu]

8 minutes ago, Tara said:

Well, I don't really mean that in a "Sonic totally hates Amy" as much as just finds her similar to... I don't know, the way I think of my baby niece.  I certainly don't hate her, but I do consider her super annoying and am thus reluctant to spend any amount of time with them.  That kind of conflict can really make for a great dynamic, ad I don't think her being a main character really changes that.

That being said, I do prefer Archie's Mega Drive version, as I've said before, because her annoyance and Sonic's frustration is toned down just a little, and Sonic does treat her as... well, a friend.  I'm just saying that I don't have a problem with them having a weird sort of rone-sided relationship, because I think that opens up doors for interesting interactions in its own right.  Just not in the way Sega typically handles it.

Oh I gotcha, yea I wouldn't mind that then. She'd be like that annoying younger sister that you really don't wanna hang out with, but gotta look out for. 

[Sean]

Sonic and Amy are great buds in the comics and I don't get the impression that Sonic dislikes being around her whatsoever. I can see classic Sonic treating classic Amy as an annoying younger sibling he has to look out for, but I don't really want that for their modern incarnations since a point of Amy's character is that she's supposed to have developed into a more independent person after SA1's events.

Also this is without a doubt one of my favorite moments between the two:

This is the exact sort of back-and-forth they should be having; rather than treat Amy as a pest, Sonic gives her his usual smarminess and no part of her is amused by it whatsoever. There are a lot of other moments that make Amy go "I seriously can't believe this guy is the man of my dreams smh..." and they're pretty funny since it adds a layer of depth not present in the games, and somewhat makes her crush on him feel all the more genuine.

Other than that I can believe that these two versions of these characters are good friends with each other, whereas I don't get that sort of impression in the games, where they feel like they're just playing out tired anime clichés. Best friends should tease each other and playfully piss the other off at times.

[Your Vest Friend]

Eh, I don't think Amy will even have that dynamic with Sonic in the games because she isn't intended to have that dynamic with him. I guess differences between East and West and all that. Especially when Japanese fans seem to completely ignore what they did with her in Lost World and Boom...uh, Toon.

 

I mean, yes, we're on about how to fix her theoretically, but I dunno whether SoJ would do any of this outside of games and media where others have the reigns. 

[Kuzu]

It doesn't really make her a particularly good character sadly, but I know Japan tend to care more about archetypes and cliches than things with depth most of the time. 

[Tara]

I was mainly referring to the games when I made my post on Sonic and Amy's relationship.  But yeah, I like what admittedly little I've seen of Archie Sonic and Amy's relationship as well.

[SonicFreak94]

23 hours ago, Nepenthe said:

This doesn't actually address anything I said in the post at all.

The point is that the only purpose that keeps Amy a main character is because there needs to be a "main heroine"  and that Blaze and Rouge would fill that same role far better.

 

Amy would do better as a side character.   

[Scape]

3 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Oh I gotcha, yea I wouldn't mind that then. She'd be like that annoying younger sister that you really don't wanna hang out with, but gotta look out for. 

I strongly disagree with this idea. Amy shouldn't still be a burden. 

[AtomicPencils]

40 minutes ago, reflection_of said:

The point is that the only purpose that keeps Amy a main character is because there needs to be a "main heroine"  and that Blaze and Rouge would fill that same role far better.

 

Amy would do better as a side character.   

Er, hm. How would that work, though?

Given Blaze's current standing, she lives in a different dimension and has her duties to tend to. There's very little room for her to follow Sonic on his adventures. Even if those circumstances weren't present, she doesn't seem like the kind of person to stick around him for long.

Rouge... probably fills the role of recurring antagonist better. Her sticky fingers for gems would hinder Sonic more than help him. Hell, that could create a bunch of hilarious situations. Why don't we see that more often, anyway? Bleh. Cutting here. It's getting off-topic.

[Tara]

Saying that Amy only exists because there needs to be a main heroine is like saying Blaze only exists because it's a much cuter ship.

[Your Vest Friend]

Exactly, it's a complete lie. Amy was made to be a damsel in her original appearances, it's only when the Adventure transition happened that they decided to make her a heroine at all. 

[Kuzu]

1 hour ago, reflection_of said:

The point is that the only purpose that keeps Amy a main character is because there needs to be a "main heroine"  and that Blaze and Rouge would fill that same role far better.

 

Amy would do better as a side character.   

You realize she only became a heroine five years after her debut right? She was literally just a damsel in distress before that, nor do I understand how Blaze or Rouge "fit" said role better. Literally every character is a hero to some extent. 

[Scape]

Blaze is a princess, from another world. She would theoretically have precious little time to go adventuring with Sonic and Tails.

Rouge is a government agent and jewel thief. She would also have very little opportunity to deal with them, and would probably just cause friction.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Plus on top of that Blaze and Rouge (Blaze moreso) take their jobs very seriously. So their dedication to their jobs would also not allow them to travel as freely.

[Kuzu]

I don't really agree with defining the term "heroine" in this context as "Female character who partners with the hero and his sidekick" :V

[Nepenthe]

1 hour ago, reflection_of said:

The point is that the only purpose that keeps Amy a main character is because there needs to be a "main heroine"  and that Blaze and Rouge would fill that same role far better.

No they wouldn't. Blaze is in another dimension and Rouge is an anti-heroine. The former can't be around all the time and the latter doesn't actually gel with the main cast well.

Also, Amy is a main character because she's been designated as such, just like Tails and Knuckles are. This focus on gender is kinda dumb yo.

[MetalSkulkBane]

I think reflection-of is mixing terminology. Amy isn't "protagonist/main hero", she's supportive cast to Sonic. Role like this would be hard for Blaze to fill, since she would have to sit on her ass and watch when Sonic saves the day. (Honestly, even Knuckles is kinda awkward in this position. He has his duties too, you know).

If we're talking about something like Sonic Adventure 3, then Blaze arguably be better choice than Amy to be a protagonist. But for entire franchise? It would be like replacing one of Warriors Three (supporting cast of Thor) in next movie with Iron Man. Awesome, but doesn't makes sense and kinda draws attention from the main hero.

[Diogenes]

10 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

If we're talking about something like Sonic Adventure 3, then Blaze arguably be better choice than Amy to be a protagonist.

Would she, though? I mean, doesn't it depend entirely on what the game would be trying to achieve?