Sonic character tier list

[Aquaslash]

I WAS gonna do a Metal Sonic vs Shadow topic, but I'll incoporate it into this.

Since we as fans love analyzing everything, I figured why not organize the Sonic characters ability wise. I'd like to see how you think the Sonic cast would rank if placed in a fighting game tier list. Granted, it's gonna be huge, since there's a lot of characters. The lists are self explanatory. There's:

God Tier

High Tier

Mid Tier

Low Tier

Bottom Tier

Slag Tier

Talk about what characters you think should go where, and why. As always with any topic I start, it's open to all characters in all canons, since while the personalities differ, they have the same abilities.

I'll start with three. For all the flack I give him, I gotta say that Sonic is most definitely God Tier. Armed with more ways to roll than you can shake a stick at, he always gets the job done. I will also argue that Silver is either God Tier or High Tier. Sure, he's a whiny little kid, but the things he can do with his PK are astounding. That said, it also makes since to lump into god tier the only character that can actually BEAT him. That being Shadow. Granted, I think he's now become an overrated pile of slag who's coolness peaked in his debut. However, i's no secret that he's been in a fighting game before, and actually WAS God Tier.

Have at it, and have fun!

[Iceman Etika]

I gotta disagree, I say Sonic gets mid-high tier, but when he turns super, he gets god tier. I think god tier should only be reserved for super chars or people powered up with chaos emeralds, so Chaos for example...

I also say Eggman deserves god tier just for how many times he should have been dead by now and still surviving to fight again lol.

[Aquaslash]

Actually, I wasn't even gonna include Super States and actual god characters in this, but I guess if you want, yeah.

[Thirsty Pocket]

Does Cheese count? Because that indefinitely flying little critter can break nearly any badnik or Eggman Boss. I wan't to know how well she works in Heroes too, but my only chance to use Cheese was during character battles, when only cream remained standing.

[Rusty Spy]

Saying Super forms are God Tier holds as much wait as saying Sonic is blue.

Anywho:

God Tier

Big - Once reeled in a fish that could've swallowed every other character whole, and wrestled it right in the middle of the lake and snapped it's spinal cord with his bare hands. Bitch is badass.

Cheese - He's the REAL powerhouse behind Cream. He can kill any boss by just ramming into it unharmed.

High Tier

Sonic - obviously

Shadow - obviously

Knuckles - he's just about the only other character to be able to hold his own against Sonic for the most part(and even Shadow if you wanna count X), whether he wins or loses not withstanding

Blaze - same as Knuckles

Middle Tier

Silver - I know what your thinking, but to me, while he is certainly capable to be as strong as Sonic and Shadow, he's still rather easy to beat,

Rouge - Is around the same level of skill as Knuckles, but doesn't appear to be able to take on most of the High Tiers, unlike Knuckles.

Amy - Kinda in the middle. She's got the power, but not sure about the skill.

Low Tier

Tails - Not much of a physical fighter, but does show signs of being more able bodied.

Bottom Tier

Can't think of anyone else

Slag Tier

Cream - Since when could she hold her own? If you wanna count X, Cheese had already warmed him up for her.

Wish I could include Metal but I can't recall any time where he's actually fought face to face against any other character. A rough guess says somewhere in between lower High Tier and upper Mid Tier.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Black Spy

[Aquaslash]

There is Sonic the Fighters for Metal Sonic, where unless you're ace at fighting games, he is nothing short of diesel.

Also yeah, I'd count Cheese. He'd have to be god tier since he can wreck...everything.

[Diogenes]

Hm, let's see.

God Tier

Sonic (By virtue of being the title character, Sonic is always going to be able to pull out a win if he needs to. Doesn't matter the odds, if he needs to win, he will)

Shadow (Has been shown to rival Sonic's abilities)

Silver ('06 places him on a similar level as the above two)

Chaos (in Perfect form, competes with Super Sonic and doesn't get killed in the process)

Solaris (Required 3 super forms to go down)

Emerl (Even though he was taken down by normal-form Sonic, his ability to copy any attack or weapon is incredibly powerful)

High Tier

Blaze (while strong, she hasn't gone toe-to-toe with gods yet like the hedgehogs above. It's close, tho', and she could easily prove herself in a future game)

Knuckles (used to compete with Sonic, but has kind of faded into the background)

Biolizard (was fatally wounded by normal-form Shadow; Super forms were only needed to stop his kamikaze attack, without that, he would've just died)

Omega (said to be able to take down Shadow. Presumably normal-form Shadow)

Metal Sonic (can compete with Sonic, but has not shown a super form. I exclude his Metal Overlord form because it is dumb and won't be used again anyway)

Mid Tier

Tails (he's mostly moved into a support role, but he can still fight if he needs to, and his gadgets can give him a bit of an edge)

Amy (she's gotten much faster and stronger since SA, but not enough to be a real powerhouse)

Espio (ninja and chameleon abilities make him quite tricky)

Vector (good power, but lacks finesse)

Rouge (can hold her own against Knuckles, but is generally geared more towards sneaking than fighting)

Low Tier

Big (Immense strength, but being slow and not too bright drags him down)

Storm (Like the other Rogues below, but has been shown to have super strength)

Bottom Tier

Cream (Most of her fighting ability comes from Cheese; without him she doesn't have much beyond basic Sonic game abilities)

Jet (has shown no significant fighting ability, but can airboard and is presumably in good shape)

Wave (see above)

Charmy (annoying)

Marine (has some sort of power, enough to bump a good-sized mech, but hasn't yet shown that she can do anything particularly special)

Eggman (is almost entirely reliant on his machines. Though he has shown odd bursts of speed and strength on occasion...)

Slag Tier

Vanilla

Tikal

Nearly every human

I think that's just about everyone important...

[SuperStingray]

Made my own list a while ago. It's more oriented to my opinions of the characters than how I feel their powers compare, though.

GOD TIER

Sonic - The basis of the series. Only times I really disliked him were Heroes and 06.

Eggman - Great villain, great character, great boss fights. What more do you want?

Gamma - Perhaps one of the most emotionally appealing characters in the series.

Emerl - Has a quickly developing and interestingly molded personality and combined all the great traits of other characters.

Chaos - Unlike most of the other monsters of the week he had some real character development before hand.

Metal Sonic - Just an all around badass, and really had the most interesting development in Heroes.

SA-55 - A funny foil for Eggman's egotistical character. Fits a great niche.

HIGH TIER

Tikal - I'm mostly apathetic about Tikal, but she does have a great background story that pushes SA's plot ahead without becoming too in-your-face.

Mephiles - A damn good villain and a great foil for Shadow. Loses points though for not having an established motivation.

Tails - A good sidekick for Sonic with an original design and especially great development in the Adventure games and Chronicles. His presence is sometimes forced though.

Knuckles - Enigmatic yet funny. But also loses points for a forced presence. Just stay by the emerald, dammit!

Chip - Cute, curious and well developed. Could have gone without the Light Gaia thing, though.

Espio - Ninjas are always awesome. So are chameleons.

Fang - No truly established character, but it works for him, being a mercenary type. Has a great design too.

Omega - More of an independent, well developed character than people give him credit for. His vengeful, destructive nature is an interesting contrast to Gamma's reserved subtlety.

Bean - He's a duck that throws bombs. Weird, cute AND intimidating!

MID TIER

Eggman Nega - A great foil to Eggman's evil side in the same way Mephiles is for Shadow. Would also be God Tier if not for the gaping plot hole he's left behind.

Silver - A good character with cool powers hurt by bad dialogue and voice acting.

Shadow - Inconsistently really good and really bad in character and background.

Jet - With Knuckles and Shadow on their own paths, Jet's really Sonic's strongest rival now. Much like Shadow, hurt by his background. (Genies from space? Really?)

Wave - Brings out different sides in both Tails and Jet and is a respectable character in her own right, if only for her interactions with them.

Rouge - Kind of bland mostly, but she does have her moments. I don't think Sega intended to make her a sex symbol so much as make a spy character based on sexy spies from the movies.

Mighty - Completely indifferent.

Ray - "

Bark - "

BOTTOM TIER

Vector - Made a great comic relief in Heroes, but since then... well, there are a few VA jobs I think can REALLY hurt a character, and his is one of them.

Charmy - Also good comic relief at first, but quickly got annoying.

Amy - Amy had great development in SA1 and SA2, but they since reduced her to pretty much a stalker.

Blaze - Alright in Rush. Basically what Shadow should have been like in his own game, but, again, ruined by plotholes.

Shade - Pretty much just Tikal + angst. Absolutely nothing special about her.

BOTTOM TIER

Storm - No personality. Just an absentminded, all muscle lackey.

Cream - Gameplay is pretty much a joke in the advanced games and she's not much more than a goody too shoes.

Marine - I kind of like her dialogue, but she doesn't seem necessary; her niche is filled by Cream.

SLAG TIER

Werehog - Now I don't completely HATE the Werehog, but he sure as hell wasn't necessary.

Big - In a series with speed as a motive, he really has no reason to exist. And where his dimwittedness is supposed to be simple, it just feels stupid.

Elise - I don't think I can express how much I hate Elise. She's an amalgamation of every cliche from every animated Disney film ever, and if that weren't enough, she dragged Sonic along with her.

Edited February 27, 2010 by SuperStingray

[SefHighwind]

God Tier:

Super Sonic: With Super Sonic you've got his powers to basically tickle kill anything in his way. Plus you also have his improved speed over his normal form.

Cheese: This little guy is the powerhouse for Cream. The best part is that he looks like a weakling, but then once he's on your tail, you know your end is near.

Chaos: A great character with great character development. He has the ability to transform and grow stronger when he eats the chaos emeralds (though I think Chaos 4 would be pretty pathetic on land).

High Tier:

Sonic: Minus the Super Form, he's still a great character and fighter. With his speed and what seems like free-running skills, Sonic would be a great choice for a fight.

Shadow: As much as his abilities and likability have changed over time, his fighting style is very good. Getting rid of the gun aspect, he has his chaos powers, and he also has fighting skills that give him an advantage over the other characters.

Knuckles: A born fighter with fists of steel. He's a powerhouse not meant to be toyed with, and if you get on his bad side, his determination to hunt you down will get the better of you. Now if he'd learn to go back and do the job he was born to do.

Silver: Silver is a great character although he's a bit on the slow side. However, what he lacks in speed he makes up for in his awesome Pk abilities.

Fang: A mercenary shrouded in mystery, he's a badass character who know how to take advantage of others. He's also cold and a bit relentless, and he wont stop at nothing to reach his goal. Plus the bike he rides is fricken sweet!

Gamma: Another great character with a great background. He knows how to fight, and he has different modes to change into when the time calls for it. With versatility, he can fight his way through anything.

Mid Tier:

Tails: As much as he's been more of a supportive character recently, he does know how to fight and hold his own. Plus with the gadgets he uses, he's on the verge of becoming a high tier character, but certain aspects just keep him on the mid-ground between the two tiers.

Rouge: She know how to fight, but yet her character has become more of a Sex symbol than anything else. And this feature really brings her down to the mid tier.

Bean: A bird who knows how to fight and blow shit up. I just wish we knew more about him, and I also wish he'd make a comeback along with Bark.

Low Tier:

Charmy: He's a bit of a pushover, but he's a good form of comic relief. He can fight a bit, but it's mostly with his stinger.

Eggman: Without his machines he can't really fight, but he has had moments where his speed would increase without warning.

Amy: All she can do is swing a hammer and stalk Sonic. Her character has turned into an insane obsessive stalker, and I'm shocked she hasn't be committed yet.

Bottom Tier:

Can't really think of anything yet.

Slag Tier:

Cream: Without Cheese she can't hold her own in a fight, and the only time she's been able to win anything is because she's had Cheese to almost annihilate the competition.

Big: All he can do his fish, and he could probably kill someone if he was to accidentally fall on them. I mean what can he do, whack people on the head with his fishing pole?

[batson]

How could anyone consider Metal Sonic be anything less than a God tier when he can copy everyone else's abilities?

[Badnik Zero]

Endgame Tier - All transformed characters from Super Tails to Alf-Layla Erazor, every transformation by power items.

High - Sonic and Shadow, Blaze, Metal Sonic, a lot of Eggman's mechs, Chaos 6, Erazor Djinn, Black Doom, probably some others I won't name.

Middle - Knuckles at the top of this list, Rouge, Tails, Gamma, Omega, the Chaotix. Werehog. Amy Rose. Most of the supporting cast. Other Chaos forms.

Low - Amy Rose as damsel, depends on game. Cream and Big. Possibly Tikal but I can't say for sure. Probably Marine. The more normal furries.

Henchman Tier - Badniks and assorted Egg bots. A lot of the Gaia things from the Werehog stages. The disposables. GUN robots and soldiers and so on.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Badnikstan

[Sega DogTagz]

How could anyone consider Metal Sonic be anything less than a God tier when he can copy everyone else's abilities?

That doesn’t equal automatic induction to God tier. I would imagine that it has a lot more to do with what the character does with it. Emerl for one curb-stomps both Sonic and Shadow at the same time, and harnesses the power of the emeralds.

Metal just keeps coming up juuuuuust short.

As for that,

God Tier

Sonic = rides at the top because he is a god slayer. Unbeatable when the series calls on him to shine. Taking down Emerl really shows off what Sonic can do.

Shadow = spammy chaos powers (best shown off by Lancelot) put Shadow here. Aside from the tank status Shadow receives across all media streams. His abilities in Battle put him here on that alone.

Blaze = Athletic and fast are a good combination. She hasn’t been around long enough to really have a real test, but she did go toe to toe with Sonic and fire powers boost her stock.

Emerl = described as a god by professor Gerald himself. Not gonna argue with him. No shame in losing to regular Sonic either.

Mephilies = Manipulative and cunning, Mephi also has a ton of tricks up his sleeve. Lost to Shadow and Omega while furthering his master plan. Still, the most proficient user of Chaos Control in the series gets some respect from me.

High

Chaos = Harnessing each individual emerald is a useful ability. Outside of his unmatched destructive potential however, Perfect Chaos probably isnt as big a threat as he used to be to most of the higher characters on this list.

Knuckles = Still the powerhouse of the series, and while the recent years haven’t been kind to his stock, his uppercut to Super Sonic is eternal... That being said, Knuckles Exrpress and Echidna Rush both have the common denomentator of Knuckles, proving his spot on the list.

Silver = Silver attacked Sonic and basically lost the first time, and got waxed by Shadow pretty good as well. Psy powers still make him a force though.

Metal Sonic = Speed and Power makes him incredibly dangerous. He has simply failed to put it all together in the past.

Omega = So strong, he can beat some of the ones up on the God tier. Not the fastest character though. In this series that really works against you.

Shade = Highly trained fighter with all the skills to match.

Rouge = might have normally placed her a little lower, but thoroughly beating Amy in X and Battle earns her a bottom spot on the high tier.

Medium

Tails = Lets his tools do the fighting for him most of the time. Still, he is young and his combat skills are still growing.

Amy = Amy is long removed from her position of female powerhouse (surpassed by Rouge and most likely Blaze). Still, when overzealous, she can pack a dangerous wallop.

Gamma = Marksman extraordinaire. Rapid fire and Chao reaper status make Gamma a strong showing on the tier list.

Vector = Smarter than he looks, but doesn’t do much with all that strength.

Espio = Most skilled character, but his surgical approach to things keeps him from over exerting himself, which is good for him, but bad for his ranking.

Jet = Hard to rank. Assuming he has some speed (every character could run at a good clip in Riders), he could do something. Jet has a scrappy mentality.

Wave = Shown prefrences to be more gadget oriented like Tails, and is not above underhanded methods.

Storm = Strong but somewhat incompetent. Intelligent enough to carry out a task though.

Marine = Also hard to rank. She has some sort of hidden power, but to a suspecting enemy, it may not do her too much good.

Big = Doesn’t know his own freakish strength. Staggeringly low IQ drags him down.

Low

Cream = Pacifist tendencies and low physical attributes do not a medium tier make.

Charmy = If anyone else got that many licks in directly at a defenseless Eggman, he wouldn’t of lived to see the next game.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Sega DogTagz

[Blacklightning]

Just a couple of things I'd like to argue:

Cream - still has all the standard moves of a Sonic char (namely, all the spinning ones), and has a method of flying at least on par with Tails', so at the very least that actually makes her stronger than virtually every human character in the franchise, save maybe Eggman (and even then, that depends on whether or not he's in a vehicle and whether or not you count a robot-destroying bitchslap as a legitimate attack). And if it counts, she did beat the absolute shit out of the otherwise unstoppable Emerl in Sonic X - sure, Cheese was helping, but at least this time they were more or less fighting as equals instead of Cheese doing all the legwork.

Tikal - has a playable appearance in SA2 which does prove she has some fighting potential. Even though she's physically weaker than the other treasure hunters in the game (or so I can only assume, seeing as strength translates into attack reach in this game if Chaos speaks for anything), her special abilities are a hell of a lot cheaper to use and more effective overall than anyone else's, so chances are in a straight fight she'd be relying a lot more on those rather than going straight fisticuffs anyway. I'm sure her ball-of-light form counts for something too, considering she can at the very least pass through walls with it.

Big - if Cream and Tikal get low ranks for being pacifists then I sure as hell don't see why Big is anything special.

Silver - if used defensively, any opponent would have virtually zero means to attack him, and we all know how many Sonic players learned that the hard way. He can grab and throw virtually anything that's shot at him, irregardless of size or velocity (hell, that giant fucking magmaball in Solaris Phase 3 has got to count for something), and he can stop in their tracks most anything that tries to get in close (with the exception of the bots, which need to be paralyzed first). The only reason he's even defeatable is that he lets his guard down in the first place, save for Shadow's case, who can literally break the laws of time and space anyway. The only actual disadvantage I can think of is his speed, but it's arguable as to whether Sonic '06 was actually his proper running speed, considering he runs faster in every other game he's ever been in, and that he actually had the "Speed Chip" upgrade that was cut from the final game which would suggest at least that he would've been faster at endgame anyway had the game actually been finished.

Mephiles - I know he's high up on most people's lists anyway, but consider for the moment that Shadow's Chaos Boost is required to actually expose and damage him. Call me crazy, but no other character in the franchise can even do that, can they? The only one who was able to beat Mephy without the boost was Omega, and considering he was the one to defeat and imprison Shadow in the future I'd say he's pretty much stronger than Shadow to begin with.

Werehog - now just because Sonic can 1HKO every enemy in the game doesn't necessarily mean he's physically stronger than his Werehog counterpart - practically any object moving at the speed of sound can potentially do that. But even IF we were to ignore that anyway, the Werehog's certaintly nothing to scoff at - his more over-the-top moves can removes crowds of enemies even faster than Sonic can, with a much longer reach to boot, and although he can't cover quite as much horizontal ground, he is at least capable of scaling heights much more effectively - the kind standard Sonic would otherwise need a spring or ramp to cover. He still ain't quite on the same level as Sonic, but he's certaintly not bottom tier material.

[Diogenes]

Tikal - has a playable appearance in SA2 which does prove she has some fighting potential.

Yeah, but that was multiplayer. If we're to take that as proof of anything, we'd have to assume Chaos is able to glide, as well...

Big - if Cream and Tikal get low ranks for being pacifists then I sure as hell don't see why Big is anything special.

The way I see it, it's not being a pacifist in itself, but what tends to come along with it. Pacifists of this sort don't want to fight and they generally don't intend to fight, so they don't have the sort of physical training of someone who will and does fight. Tikal is a young princess and Cream is a 6 year old girl, both with no real interest in becoming strong, and it shows. Big, on the other hand, while he doesn't intend or train to fight either...can still lift a car over his head with no real effort. Tikal and Cream are weak in part because they are pacifists, but Big is strong in spite of it (likely as a natural consequence of his self-sufficient mountain man sort of lifestyle). I'd say that's enough to give him one tier's worth of an advantage over Cream...

[Blacklightning]

Yeah, but that was multiplayer.

The fact she was even considered for a multiplayer role speaks something, though. They could easily have thrown in, oh say, Metal Knux*, if they thought Tikal was unsuited to a playable role of any kind. The multiplayer abilities can't be taken too literally of course, being there for the sake of comparability and balance than anything else (I mean let's face it, removing the ability to glide and climb in a glide and climb centric level design focus is paramount to suicide), but the fact she has her own set of strengths and weaknesses even outside of that can't really be ignored. Let's not forget Metal Sonic's playable appearances have all been multiplayer-only too.

*Yeah, there are better potential examples, but it was the first to come to mind.

[Sega DogTagz]

Cream - still has all the standard moves of a Sonic char (namely, all the spinning ones), and has a method of flying at least on par with Tails', so at the very least that actually makes her stronger than virtually every human character in the franchise, save maybe Eggman (and even then, that depends on whether or not he's in a vehicle and whether or not you count a robot-destroying bitchslap as a legitimate attack). And if it counts, she did beat the absolute shit out of the otherwise unstoppable Emerl in Sonic X - sure, Cheese was helping, but at least this time they were more or less fighting as equals instead of Cheese doing all the legwork.

Tikal - has a playable appearance in SA2 which does prove she has some fighting potential. Even though she's physically weaker than the other treasure hunters in the game (or so I can only assume, seeing as strength translates into attack reach in this game if Chaos speaks for anything), her special abilities are a hell of a lot cheaper to use and more effective overall than anyone else's, so chances are in a straight fight she'd be relying a lot more on those rather than going straight fisticuffs anyway. I'm sure her ball-of-light form counts for something too, considering she can at the very least pass through walls with it.

As for my list, I can answer my thoughts on these.

The first thing to remember is that tiers are relative to the abilities of the people around them. Yes, Cream has the similar basic abilities of the other characters, but if you stack that next to said characters, they are all placed in the bottom tier with their other attributes allowing them to climb the ladder (unless your polluting the bottom tier with humans and npc’s).

This basically meaning that the spin dash, homing attack, ect are largely meaningless in a tier list, seeing as how everyone else here can do them too. We have to look at her other abilities. Her flight and assistance from Cheese certainly boost her stock, but her politeness and in some cases, paralyzing pacifism, get in the way. They balance out in a way. Sonic X provides her strongest points for the character, but there are also plenty of moments where she is relegated to the sidelines, doing little more than cheering on the others or expressing concern for the conflict to end. Even in Chronicles, she was a tank simply for what she could do for her teammates, and not what she could do to opponents. At the end of the day, Cream is a support character that depends on the Characters around her.

Tikal (whom I did not rank) suffers from a similar paralyzing pacifism. She like Cream, stood still and received the punishment of more aggressive characters. She has some impressive Chaos Powers, but the extent the master emerald played in those is unclear. All that magic would make me put her higher than Cream, but that mindset holds her back.

Big - if Cream and Tikal get low ranks for being pacifists then I sure as hell don't see why Big is anything special.

I low-balled Big for a separate reason. Still, no other character possesses the freakish surplus of a single stat such as Big (save for Sonic’s speed). Big gets a small amount of credit for being the sole character who could fall butt-cheeks backward into killing someone else……

Yes that was a fat joke.

Silver - if used defensively, any opponent would have virtually zero means to attack him, and we all know how many Sonic players learned that the hard way. He can grab and throw virtually anything that's shot at him, irregardless of size or velocity (hell, that giant fucking magmaball in Solaris Phase 3 has got to count for something), and he can stop in their tracks most anything that tries to get in close (with the exception of the bots, which need to be paralyzed first). The only reason he's even defeatable is that he lets his guard down in the first place, save for Shadow's case, who can literally break the laws of time and space anyway. The only actual disadvantage I can think of is his speed, but it's arguable as to whether Sonic '06 was actually his proper running speed, considering he runs faster in every other game he's ever been in, and that he actually had the "Speed Chip" upgrade that was cut from the final game which would suggest at least that he would've been faster at endgame anyway had the game actually been finished.

Silver is the biggest offender of being hindered by his mindset. Much like my explanation of Espio, if Silver were to unleash his power with reckless ambition along the lines of Sonic, he would be that much more dangerous. Silver has all the tools to be god tier, but his (jeez I hate to say it) naïve-ity holds him back. He charges recklessly into situations, but as far as combat is concerned, has to focus on using the enemy against himself. If he could develop some Psy blasts or something more offensive than that pathetic ground-pound, he may well be the most unstoppable character in the series.

Until then, he is just a character who may think along the same lines as Sonic, but doesn’t actually fight with his passion, abandon or vigor. Case and point, waiting for Sonic to make a move while hurling the odd chair at him is not a winning strategy. EVER. Silver learned this the hard way. Its almost like Silver doesn’t realize, or hasn’t yet developed his full potential.

I wouldn’t worry about his speed though. He can pull a Neo and fly. Fast.

Mephiles - I know he's high up on most people's lists anyway, but consider for the moment that Shadow's Chaos Boost is required to actually expose and damage him. Call me crazy, but no other character in the franchise can even do that, can they? The only one who was able to beat Mephy without the boost was Omega, and considering he was the one to defeat and imprison Shadow in the future I'd say he's pretty much stronger than Shadow to begin with.

No arguments here. Mephi is a tank.

Werehog - now just because Sonic can 1HKO every enemy in the game doesn't necessarily mean he's physically stronger than his Werehog counterpart - practically any object moving at the speed of sound can potentially do that. But even IF we were to ignore that anyway, the Werehog's certaintly nothing to scoff at - his more over-the-top moves can removes crowds of enemies even faster than Sonic can, with a much longer reach to boot, and although he can't cover quite as much horizontal ground, he is at least capable of scaling heights much more effectively - the kind standard Sonic would otherwise need a spring or ramp to cover. He still ain't quite on the same level as Sonic, but he's certaintly not bottom tier material.

I didn’t include Werehog simply because he is technically included as one of Sonic’s many arsenals of abilities. As a separate identity, I don’t think I can place him at God tier, simply because speed kills in this franchise and WereSonic gets it done his own way. I think a mid-High suits him nicely, seeing as how he is built for combat and gets it done effectively. He’s got a nasty right hook, that’s for sure.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Gallia

[Diogenes]

The fact she was even considered for a multiplayer role speaks something, though.

Not really. They also threw Big and a chao in a mech...

They could easily have thrown in, oh say, Metal Knux*, if they thought Tikal was unsuited to a playable role of any kind.

They most likely picked Tikal because she was a recent character at the time and was at least a vaguely plausible choice for the role, not because they were itching for a chance to expand on Tikal as a character or anything.

To turn it around, tho', if they did have these other valid options, why choose Chaos, of all possible characters, knowing they'd have to make him glide? If they were really that concerned with the character being well-suited for the role, I'd imagine they'd have gone with one that could plausibly perform the basic abilities of the gameplay style.

Let's not forget Metal Sonic's playable appearances have all been multiplayer-only too.

Not SADX (granted, it's a non-canon unlockable so it doesn't count anyway) or the RIvals games. But more importantly, Metal's clearly been shown to have significant abilities through cutscenes, boss battles, official profiles, etc. Tikal, all she's done outside of SA2 multiplayer is turn into a light ball, bring people back to the past, and get trampled; not exactly much that'd help her in a fight.

[Blacklightning]

The first thing to remember is that tiers are relative to the abilities of the people around them. Yes, Cream has the similar basic abilities of the other characters, but if you stack that next to said characters, they are all placed in the bottom tier with their other attributes allowing them to climb the ladder (unless your polluting the bottom tier with humans and npc’s).

Funny that, because Tails and Cream have almost identical abilities and stats, particularly in games they both appeared in together. Gadgets are about the only advantage Tails holds over Cream otherwise, and he doesn't actually use them much in gameplay bar a few outliers (Battle, and '06).

Tikal (whom I did not rank) suffers from a similar paralyzing pacifism. She like Cream, stood still and received the punishment of more aggressive characters. She has some impressive Chaos Powers, but the extent the master emerald played in those is unclear. All that magic would make me put her higher than Cream, but that mindset holds her back.

I wouldn't quite say "pacifisim" - she did stand up to people when necessary (I'd even go as far as to say she could've taken Pachamac down if not for the numerical advantage). It's actually kinda difficult to tell whether or not she detests fighting altogether, as you only see bits and pieces of her story in the past and a Super form was required by the time she actually got a present-day physical manifestation. Also, again there's her multiplayer appearance in SA2, which is a bit less aggresive in playstyle than Rouge and Knux to be fair, but all the same I really doubt Sonic Team would've put her there if she was against getting her hands dirty.

They most likely picked Tikal because she was a recent character at the time and was at least a vaguely plausible choice for the role, not because they were itching for a chance to expand on Tikal as a character or anything.

I don't recall making any arguments based on Tikal's character so much as her abilities.

To turn it around, tho', if they did have these other valid options, why choose Chaos, of all possible characters, knowing they'd have to make him glide?

Considering they threw Amy in as a speed choice, I doubt it matters that much. Chaos was easy to throw in because he had an easily definable advantage (stretchy arms), and the gliding was only a result of making sure he can access the level as decently as anyone else.

Also, like you just well pointed out, because he's a recent character and they want to make further use of him. Nobody's going to take the gliding that literally in a gametype that literally requires it to be playable.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Blacklightning

[Saint Nathan]

God Tier

- Sonic: He can not only run faster than an organic creature on the planet, he can essentially use his speed to control wind around his body, to the point of being able to create controlled tornadoes. He can also hit his full speed at will with enough energy, and is sharp enough to cut through metal.

Also he's defeated everyone I have up here on the God Tier. So yeah he'll kick some ass.

- Chip: Uh, he's an actual god who has rebuilt the Earth on multiple occasions. Also can make a Megazord out of stone temples and kick major ass.

- Dark Gaia: See Chip, except he can't do the Megazord thing and he destroys the world instead.

- Chaos: God of Destruction. Almost wiped out all of Knuckles' clan, then a whole city.

- Metal Sonic: Runs as fast as Sonic, can generate an indestructible barrier, and can copy the data of others. He's essentially Sonic with Axel's Copy Shot.

High Tier

- Shadow: Essentially the ultimate in evolution. Doesn't hurt that he's immortal and invincible, and can control time and space at will with a Chaos Emerald.

- Blaze: Shown so far to have nearly the same capabilities and powers as Sonic, just a bit slower. She could more than likely be a God Tier, but she's been in 3 major games and none of them involved her fighting gods.

- Knuckles: Breaks rock just with a simple punch. Also can glide though unknown means. Can also go Super, and keep pace with Sonic up to some point. Pretty powerful dude.

- Espio: Is a fucking ninja. I rest my case.

- Amy: Now, don't yell at me. She's a girl, so naturally, yeah, she's in some DiD situations. That's the media for ya. But she's got a giant hammer, and a maternal instinct and care for other so great that she can literally turn and kick the shit out of what she's pissed at. With ease. Then yell at them. Then beat them up some more.

- Metal Knuckles: He's pretty much Knuckles but Metal. Not super fast, but if he's anything like Metal Sonic, then he's got all the power areas covered.

- Omega: He has guns out of every plausible location, and is super strong. Also can last hundreds of years with just a coating of dust. Pretty strong robot thar, Eggman must be pissed he never used him.

Mid Tier

- Tails: I hate to put him here, but Tails is "normal" for the Sonic universe. He can fly using his tails SOMEHOW, but isn't the best fighter. He can't really match Sonic's speed either, and for what he can do, it involves him hovering, not actually RUNNING.

- Eggman: ... Other than build shit and have a high IQ, he's obviously not that strong. His legs might have some power, but that's from toting his fatass around all the time.

- Vector: Strong yeah, but kinda slow, and hasn't shown up much.

- Charmy: Well... He's kicked some ass, yeah. Not to mention he's strong enough to pick dudes up. Is cool.

- Big: He's strong, fat, and can kick ass. He's also a little dumb and really slow. Not quite High Tier, but he's a good dude.

Low Tier

- Cream: She's capable, but... Eh. She's a little kid, you know? She's not up there yet.

Bottom Tier

- Rouge: Went from being semi strong at the least, to being just spy like. SA2 was the only time she showed much strength, so she's kinda at the bottom rung here. :\

- Cheese: Strong for a Chao, but he just kinda headbutts dudes. Also not really that strong.

-Tails Doll: It's just fucking creepy. It's not even a good character in Sonic R.

Slag Tier

- Vanilla: I have no clue what she's done ever.

- Any and all Chao other than Cheese: They do nothing.

Edited May 1, 2010 by AMERICA

[Sega DogTagz]

Funny that, because Tails and Cream have almost identical abilities and stats, particularly in games they both appeared in together. Gadgets are about the only advantage Tails holds over Cream otherwise, and he doesn't actually use them much in gameplay bar a few outliers (Battle, and '06).

I wouldn't quite say "pacifisim" - she did stand up to people when necessary (I'd even go as far as to say she could've taken Pachamac down if not for the numerical advantage). It's actually kinda difficult to tell whether or not she detests fighting altogether, as you only see bits and pieces of her story in the past and a Super form was required by the time she actually got a present-day physical manifestation. Also, again there's her multiplayer appearance in SA2, which is a bit less aggresive in playstyle than Rouge and Knux to be fair, but all the same I really doubt Sonic Team would've put her there if she was against getting her hands dirty.

Creams abilities are somewhat similar to Tails, but the entirety of Battle saw her leaning on Cheese while Tails went so far as to mixing in physical moves with his gadgets. More importantly, Tails has the exact opposite head on his shoulders as Cream. While her personality can hinder her in a fight, Tails genius and budding hero qualities propel him to fight smarter and harder. Genius has many benefits outside of gadgets, such as the ability to stay rational and decipher potential weaknesses. Aside from that, many mediums list Tails as one of the few “supersonic” characters in terms of speed. Cream, like everyone is fast, but many people put Tails on that elite tier. Average that out and it is clear that he is faster. Then there is that whole Super Tails business. Cream and Tails are similar on the surface, but its not even close.

Cream just can’t match that Prower prowess.

As for Tikal, pacifism by mindset seems pretty apt to me. She is quite the tranquil soul, even if she is willing to do what is necessary. (doesn’t she apologize while attacking in SA2?) Pacifist by nature, but there are some twinges of a realist as well. Still, we kind of have to temper what we see in the multiplayer as far as combat potential goes. Key example being Amy Flash (no flashing jokes here).

Tikal proved in the story that she was willing to shed her gentle persona to get the appropriate results. That being said, she explored all other avenues before submitting to that outcome. Tikal won’t fight unless she has to. That aversion hurts her stock. No point in packing a punch if you’d rather get beat down before you use it.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Gallia

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

To turn it around, tho', if they did have these other valid options, why choose Chaos, of all possible characters, knowing they'd have to make him glide? If they were really that concerned with the character being well-suited for the role, I'd imagine they'd have gone with one that could plausibly perform the basic abilities of the gameplay style.

My guess for the whole treasure hunter in general is because all the characters you could choose from had some form of connection or involvement regarding the Master Emerald.

Knuckles protects the ME.

Rouge wants to steal the ME.

Tikal sealed Chaos and herself in the ME,

while Chaos was the guardian(?) of the ME.

And you did see Chaos 4 floating in the air the center of the Egg Carrier in SA1 when playing as Big before the "battle" began, if that counts for something. So I guess that could mean something for how he could glide.

[Sega DogTagz]

I don’t have a problem with people ranking Rouge lower than Amy. After all, she was once the female dynamo, and some people like to hold the pink hedgehog to that standard. Still, I am hard pressed not to poke holes in logic like this.

High Tier

- Amy: Now, don't yell at me. She's a girl, so naturally, yeah, she's in some DiD situations. That's the media for ya. But she's got a giant hammer, and a maternal instinct and care for other so great that she can literally turn and kick the shit out of what she's pissed at. With ease. Then yell at them. Then beat them up some more.

Bottom Tier

- Rouge: Went from being semi strong at the least, to being just spy like. SA2 was the only time she showed much strength, so she's kinda at the bottom rung here. :\

Across all mediums, Rouge is seen as an elite agent and powerhouse. In the comics, she even goes as far at to stick it to Julie-Su (a competent fighter in her own right) in an argument over Knuckles. In Sonic X, she beats Amy in the tournament, and mocked her directly in her face. The kicker in all this lies in Sonic Battle.

For all of Amy’s maternal instincts, for all of her obscene power when her zealous side is on the loose, Rouge does the unfathomable.

SHE TAKES SONICS CHILD AWAY FROM AMY.

That alone should put Rouge in discussion for god tier. Not only did she defeat Amy, in full rage mode might I add, but she took the one connection she had with Sonic (at the time) away from her. She bested the fury that the other characters in the franchise have come to fear. Amy was clearly no match.

And you did see Chaos 4 floating in the air the center of the Egg Carrier in SA1 when playing as Big before the "battle" began, if that counts for something. So I guess that could mean something for how he could glide.

Sonic Battle gave a hint to this. Chaos’s jump ability mentions that he channels air spirits to do so. Theoretically, if Chaos were to simply channel them a bit harder, he should be able to fly or glide with ease. Also, Knuckles glides by catching air under his locks, and Chaos does have some substantial locks in his own right. He may not have the surface area comparable to Knuckles, but it has to help.

While I am here, I will pose a question. Why are some of you putting Blaze in tiers under god? If we were to nitpick her powers like some of the others so far, I think it would become pretty apparent that she could be put on a pedestal right under Sonic, if not next to him.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Gallia

[Saint Nathan]

While I am here, I will pose a question. Why are some of you putting Blaze in tiers under god? If we were to nitpick her powers like some of the others so far, I think it would become pretty apparent that she could be put on a pedestal right under Sonic, if not next to him.

Mostly for me, it was because she's shown to be as capable as Sonic, but not quite at the same level. While Sonic seems to have natural understanding of the Chaos Emeralds, Blaze had to learn their power and how to control it. She's possibly just as powerful as Sonic, just not currently.

For Rouge...

I hate counting Battle for anything. I think at some point during Rouge's story Amy like... hallucinated that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were there or something, and then they appeared to fight Rouge. Or some shit. I haven't played it in a while, but I remember going all "what" at that part.

Not to mention in Battle, Angel Island is connected to Station Square, all the Emeralds are green and broken, Shadow is alive and is still angst about Maria, and the whole game just fucks everything up.

Also Rouge has appeared in, what, 3 games where she even fought? Two of them she's seemed to have some power, and in Battle she was actually really easy to beat with anyone at all, and when playing as her your tactics had to be a lot more reliant on hit and run, as she wasn't as easy to straight up attack with as Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Amy, Emerl (with right moves), and Tails were.

So yeah, not seeing the God Tier argument here.

[novelty]

This is best to be on Concept: Mobius. We need a formula to this, then post it there as the general opinion.

[Sega DogTagz]

So yeah, not seeing the God Tier argument here.

Oh, no. I wouldn’t put Rouge in the god tier, that was just an exaggeration worthy of the task she followed through with on Amy. (I have Rouge at the bottom of the high tier in my list)

I was just befuddled by how someone could have low-balled Rouge for those reasons, knowing what she has done across all mediums. She’s a pretty capable person and in many ways has replaced Amy as the female dynamo.

I hate counting Battle for anything. I think at some point during Rouge's story Amy like... hallucinated that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were there or something, and then they appeared to fight Rouge. Or some shit. I haven't played it in a while, but I remember going all "what" at that part.

I admit that Battle takes some things way too far, but I don’t think we can completely ignore a fighting game in a discussion about tiers. I mean when you look at it, the story did reflect the basic power rankings of the series, with Shadow and Sonic looming at the top and Cream sitting at the bottom.

The fact that Rouge completely glassed a passionate Amy counts for a lot.

Mostly for me, it was because she's shown to be as capable as Sonic, but not quite at the same level. While Sonic seems to have natural understanding of the Chaos Emeralds, Blaze had to learn their power and how to control it. She's possibly just as powerful as Sonic, just not currently.

Well, now that she knows the full power of the Sol emeralds, she had no problems booting them up in Sonic Rush Adventure. Then we figure in the tidbits we learn from Sonic 06 (however it fits in the continuity) and we see that Blaze is the only character in the franchise to be able to wield both sets of emeralds. (among other useful nuggets).

She may well be more capable than Sonic.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Gallia