All Taxman said was this: https://twitter.com/CFWhitehead/status/791384002280108033 I wouldn't exactly call it a hint.
I still think "Nack the Weasel" is a superior name (not to mention, more consistent with the "Name the Animal" naming scheme, whereas "physical trait the job" is just stupid), so I really hope they can take this chance to nuke the Fang name and consolidate him as Nack.
The naming scheme has always been "physical trait the animal", so "Fang the Weasel" would make the most sense.
Fang the Weasel works. I always figured Nack the Weasel was his given name, and Fang the Sniper is his "street name" as a bounty hunter or whatever his deal is. Nack the Sniper lol
Any name is fine for me. I always call him Fang, but that's just cause it's what I'm used to. Both of them work, and it doesn't matter too much so long as he's not making any real appearances. Fang the Weasel is a nice medium. Though if they really wanted to fuck with us, they'd just come up with a new name that's completely unrelated to Nack or Fang, and change his species in the process.
Right, I can see your points, and I somehow agree. Just like "Tails" is actually Miles Prower, he can actually be Nack, with "Fang" as his appearance-driven nickname, I guess that would be ok. Now to wonder if "Knuckles" has a secret real name as well. I still think "the Weasel" would be better and more consistent than "the Sniper", though.
It's always been Nack The Weasel for me. That's his name in Sonic The Comic, and I'll stick with that.
Fang, Nack, who cares. The real question is the gameplay; what his boss fight would hypothetically be like. I'm hoping for a Taxman style twist on the Game Gear bosses.
A boss fight with Fang where he uses firearms to get you while on his motorcycle-thing would be pretty cool. Especially if his weapons and attacks become more and more over-the-top with each phase (like starting with a regular pistol and ending with several gigantic heat-seeking missile launchers or something.) As for any controversy surrounding him, all they need to do is just give him five fingers and he'll be perfectly fine. Guns have been showing up all the time in Sonic since SA1.
Sega were very inconsistent back in the day, because the character was pretty much a Game Gear-only thing. However as far as the numbers go, "Fang" is actually the most common. Sort of. Triple Trouble (US): Nack the Weasel Sonic & Tails 2 (JP): Fang the Sniper Sonic Drift 2 (US): Fang Sonic Drift 2 (JP): Fang the Sniper Sonic the Fighters: Fang the Sniper Tails Adventures (US): Fang Tails Adventures (JP): Fang It gets a bit wobbly because in the Western comics he was always known as "Nack", and Triple Trouble was probably the only game that sold well in the West. Also Sonic the Fighters wasn't really localised properly and didn't see a widespread release. The "the Sniper" bit has never left Japan. I'm not sure what that bit is meant to mean - obviously he doesn't shoot people from long range, which makes me think it comes from the word "snipe" which is some old-timey word for describing dodgy people.
"Snipe" is also a common made-up animal used to send gullible people on wild goose chases. It's an old prank at summer camps or in Boy Scouts to send rookies out on "snipe hunts" where you lead them out away from camp, then abandon them, leaving them to search for something that doesn't exist until they caught on. I don't know if that has anything to do with Fang, but that's how I associate "snipe" with an animal.
With Knuckles' and Tails' sprites looking entirely new and Sonic's looking more like spruces up 1/2 sprites, it's almost as if Sonic's sprites are lazy. They're most certainly not lazy though, and look gorgeous with the new vivid blue and dozens of extra frames. Tails and Knuckles had more inconsistencies with their sprites in the classics, so giving them bigger makeovers works out really. Seeing the three of them side by side and all up to the same standard is great. I can't wait to get a look at Eggman, more badniks and whatever else the game has to offer.
