How Sega All But Ruined Tails

I personally didn't think much of the Adventure version either. Outside his battle with Eggman (outside of which he was still perfectly confident and just a generic ally for Sonic) he didn't seem all that developed and again was little more than swiss army knife for Sonic. He had more of a connection with Sonic but even then it wasn't really delved into enough and more like a pacifier for his self esteem issues than a real friend he wanted to hang around, they barely even talk to each outside missions.

I thought the OVA character was a good compromise, still very smart and arguably more the hero of the story than Sonic, but also a wacky attention seeking brat that had a very noticable 'older/younger sibling' connection with Sonic ('YOU'RE NO HEEEEELLLLLLPPP!!!!').

I don't think Tails works as Sonic's 'straight man', he works better childish and niave, he believes Sonic can do anything, it is perhaps that gives Sonic a lot of his confidence. Then again maybe I've watched too much AoSth, I ADORED the two characters' chemistry in that.

 

I like him, dun see him as ruined. Perhaps a bit underdeveloped after Adventure 2, but, eh. Could be far worse, really.

 

Because I first played Sonic when I was so young, Tails was the character who was closest to my age. He looked up to Sonic like an older sibling and wanted to be just like him, and I was able to relate to that. Hence, Tails became my favourite character. When playing "adventures" (you know, pretending to be the characters), I would always be Tails, and I would play as Tails in 2, 3, & K the most often.

I think somewhere between the OVA and the SatAM/AoStH versions would be perfect for me. One way or another, he needs to go back to being a cute little kid, loud and annoying but basically sweet. Ever since they added this "super-genius" trait he's just been dull.

It also doesn't help that his modern design is a worse makeover than Sonic's. He used to have a cute fox snout, but now he's got this horrible snub nose that makes him look like a cat or something.

I mean, look at this picture. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?

 

Giving Tails a voice did not ruin him. The voice actor for Tails was pretty god damn awesome in Adventure. Everything afterwards was pretty terrible though, yeah.

 

Real simple, guys... watch closely.

Sonic Adventure 1: Introduces Tails as sidekick, the role we've known him in since 1992. However, part way through his story, he realizes he relies so much on Sonic and decides that maybe its time he begins to do things on his own. This leads to him saving Station Square from Eggman, despite being scared and hoping Sonic would come. In essence, the character developed, showing he was maturing as a hero. This is a good thing.

Sonic Adventure 2: All build up from SA1 is thrown out the window and he becomes that annoying side kick who has to always worry about Sonic. This gets progressively worse as the series progresses until he devolves to the point that CHIP is a better character than he is.

 

I think they evolved him just in the wrong way, in that rather than expanding him as a character they just took it off his flaws and personality. Obviously since he grew up somewhat in SA1 it would be illogical for him to have any childish foibles anymore, it's just not realistic for an eight year old cartoon to act like a child after a single bout of maturity and heroism. And of course since he doesn't need Sonic anymore there's no reason for them to be really that close anymore, since obviously Sonic was just a pacifier that Tails had no real closeness with after all.

This seems to be a running flaw in character development in that writers seem to get the idea that character progression means diluting the character of their flaws until they become a Mary Sue. Antoine went through a similar evolution in the comics, to the point he's practically a different character that they can't really find a role for anymore. The thing is, the character's flaws are usually what make them unique. They should be balanced with redeeming aspects but that's more a case of adding traits than taking them away, otherwise the character may as well end up another generic add-on to the cast.

I thought his SA actor was iffy. In SA2 he sounded robotic like he was reading off a cuecard (What-have-you-done-to-Sonic-I'll-never-forgive-you-for-this). I actually think Palant is better, however I think half the problem is the actors can't really connect, he's just really given a generic little tagalong voice since there's nothing much else in his character to go by, compare Palant's work in Unleashed where the character sounds rather dull and unenthusiastic to the Mario and Sonic games, one of the few titles Tails acts like a child, and thus Palant actually seems to give him more life ('HAHA, I DID IT!!!)..

 

You know, I hadn't thought about this until now. You're so damn right about it, I mean seriously , what is Tails' purpose in the games nowdays? Just to be there?
I have to disagree about the voice though, I never liked it but come on , there are many great characters in videogames that didn't have a good voice (especially in the mid to late 90's, people didn't have any clue as to what they were supposed to do), but that didn't keep them from having a purpose and real personality. Heck, look at Tails in Sonic the Movie. Yeah the voice sucked , but the characteristics where there. It was the Tails we always knew, childish, intelligent, creates machines and shit etc.

 

I don't really have much to say that hasn't already been said. I think he was perfect in Sonic OVA, voice and all. He was cute and childish but smart and still looked up to Sonic like a big brother. SA1, for the most part, did a great job of continuing to portrait Tails as Sonic's best friend and sidekick. He looked up to Sonic, and even when he saves Station Square form Eggman by himself, he runs off to find Sonic in the Mysitc Ruins to tell him all about it.

He continues the trend in SA2 by being a bit more grown up. I got the impression that now, instead of relying on Sonic, he can finally be really useful to him. As bad as the voice acting was, I loved this line: "Sonic... This is the first time Sonic has asked me to do something for him. I won't give up! I won't let him down!" I got the feeling that since Tails thought Sonic was dead, he now had to fill his shoes and save the world from Eggman.

IMO, it was the voice acting in SA2 that started to ruin him. Sega delt another major blow in Heroes and finished him off in Riders and Sonic 06.

 

Actually he still makes machines to a ridiculous extent, pulling dimentional travel gadgets and spaceships outta his ***, just that's all there is to his character now. Look at Chronicles, constantly had good ideas and made deux ex machina gizmos, a rather prominant character, however because he was so friggin' dull and had no flaws to balance it out, he was mostly just an irritating Wesley who was always sensible, right willed and had the perfect solution to a problem. You can't really sympathise or connect with a character that has no prominant flaws.

This is the role of a Fixer Sue, they come in and solve plot points and then go away so as to avoid excess details like actual character development.

As for his voice, I liked it in the OVA, the wacky 'stuffy nose' voice at least made him sound unique and distinct as a character. Maybe this is why I can stand Palant's more cartoony voice over another generic kid actor, the former isn't great but at least makes him sound distinct.

 

Amy Palant's voice is too high-pitched and garishly annoying for me to even consider liking. The voice sounds just as what it is: an elder woman trying to talk like a little boy. His voicing in SA1 and SA2 was quite good actually, but like said, his voice from the OVA (although nasally) filled the role of Tails rather well. Heck, every one (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles AND Eggbotnik) need their voices and personalities from the OVA back.

I also never liked Tails being too overdone as an individual character and too oriented with machinery. I don't like the fact that nowadays all he does his sit in his workshop/lab and mess with machines and SCIENCE, instead of being the curious and funloving child he is, following around Sonic and adventuring like he should be. Taking away Tails' dependence of Sonic is like turning him into a completely different character; because you can't just bring in another Tails and have Tails go solo (like Robin/Nightwing from Batman). That is, unless if you consider that's what happened in Unleashed with Chip, but that possibly can't happen again since he was an obvious oneshot character.

Tails just needs to be lovable and fun again, and while still keeping control of making machines and tinkering and stuff, he still needs to mainly be Sonic's sidekick and best friend first and foremost. Just like the OVA.

 

I think Palant is okay on a good day (as said she sounded more childlike and hyper in MaSatOG) I thought the SA VA was too generic and sounded like he was reading off a cuecard. Truthfully I'm used to most of the 4Kids VAs now (par maybe Rouge, and the E-Series VA depending what direction they take after Maddie), if I remember correctly OVA Eggman sounded almost exactly like Pollock only higher and with a slight accent (my Hye-pa Me-tale Son-eek).

I agree with most of your character points though. Tails needs flaws to work, you can't just take all of them away just because 'not doing so is avoiding character evolution'. Tails doesn't work completely sensible and mature, he doesn't work as well as a foil to Sonic that way (then again Sonic could use some development with other characters too).

 

Some people I know from around the web usually say the way Sonic and Chip were in Unleashed should be how Sonic and Tails are.

 

This. (AoSth and Adventure's VAs were good though, so after them.)
Also, he was better as a sidekick than some mechanic at the back nowadays.

 

this comic is how I've always viewed Tails, minus the whole "annoying idiot" angle:



I miss that version of Tails, who was basically the worlds biggest Sonic fan and thought Sonic was just the coolest thing ever and wanted to be his little brother.

THAT is what Tails is to me. I personally never liked the Inventor angle. Of all the character traits to adopt from Sonic Adventure, why did they have to keep his independence he found at the end?

 

Looking at Tails as a character alone and then his relationship to Sonic.

To me, Tails should not be sugoi-fanboy ^___^. Why? Because Amy is already like that, even though I don't like her current characterization (but that's for another time). Yes, Tails' characterization is inconsistent enough so that everybody has enough ground to assert what Tails should be like, but Tails being the dependent, biggest fan of Sonic seems like a bad idea for the reason I just mentioned.

It would be neat if they took the extra time after the necessary dialogue for Tails to be fleshed out. Show that he still cares about Sonic, but not in a dependent way as much as showing how precocious he is and the irony of how Tails shows more concern for Sonic than Sonic may care about him. He could express frustration at Sonic's repeated brushing off his suggestions to get into some sort of intellectual pursuit so they could bond in a new way. So another part of fleshing the characters out would be to acknowledge how they are not as close as they used to be in the older games which had no story in the first place.

For example, Tails might say "Hey Sonic, I recently read this historian's take on "X" incident on (planet)". Sonic would say something that perfectly fits the context, being a smartass and go off to doze. Tails gets pissed.

 

The main problem is, SEGA seem to have forgotten what made Tails cool in the first place:



He can fly. Now, when you develop a character, don't get rid of what was cool about him, and don't forget about it when designing a story. Tails can fly; he doesn't need to build a new gadget to get Sonic out of a tight spot when simply flying in and picking him up would suffice, and look cool at the same time. If there needs to be a time when Tails can't fly in, think of a better way of getting Sonic in trouble.

 

I don't understand how Tails is competition in the mechanic stakes with Eggman. How is that possible? It's not exactly realistic.

 

He really didn't. Not in Sonic Heroes, at least. He was back to being Sonic's shadow in heroes, now with a new and not so improved voice! Oh, and Knuckles decided to join the fun too...

... Heroes was a mess <_<

 

In a way I can see this happening, even though I'd probably not have enough balls to drop viewing every cutscene featuring Sonic and Tails with immense dialogue from that point on.

 

They brought back the kid like aspects but in a rather underdeveloped sense, he still doesn't really have a closeness with Sonic and seem more just allies that respect each other and rarely even speak outside when a threat appears (it doesn't help that nearly conversation they have begins with 'long time no see', do these two even have a casual interaction?). That said it is also a flaw on Sonic's part as well, he doesn't really show that same care and protectiveness for his friends as he did in say, the DiC cartoons, they just seem expendable and only worth saving for the fun of a usual bout with Eggman (I think Amy is about the one character he is shown to have great concern about as shown in SA1 she is also perhaps the one character who some sort of casual interaction with him, as much as he tries to avoid it). I miss that protective 'big brother instinct' he had beforehand, heaven help anyone who dared even look at Tails or Sally the wrong way.