The Miles "Tails" Prower megathread

Well said, Chimpo. Well said.

No offense, jman, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't know about that pun already.

 

Really? Because my mind is officially blown.

 

If only you knew.

 

There's always someone who doesn't know. Not here of course, but elsewhere there's always someone who's surprised when he hears that one.

 

I remember finding out about this. I still find it pretty clever.

And yet today all he fucking does is ride mechs and be a general annoying fucktard.

 

Oh, don't remind me ._. His new voice and 3D design is horrible, and I mean it.

 

I can stand 'annoying' more as that is a factor that usually requires having an actual personality that can grate on people. Tails on the other hand is completely bland and lifeless. He has no real personality flaws or chemistry with the other characters (a big setback considering his previous gimmick with Sonic) and doesn't really stand out except for pulling deus ex machina gizmos out of his ass. How can they make an eight year old fox with helicopter blades for tails as dull as cardboard?

 

Maybe it's because they really haven't tried much of anything with Tails in most of the games since they care more about the events of the story rather than characterization. Heroes was the one that captured Tail's childish side the best. He was naive and a bit immature at times in the course of that game. The main personality problem Tails had in Heroes was that they didn't do much to show that he was smart as well. Tails rode the Tornado in Team Sonic's first cutscene, but that was the only time where evidence of him being smart was seen. Have Heroes Tails be better integrated with smart Tails and that would make for a Tails who has childlike qualities without sacrificing his brain cells.

The relationships Tails would have with the other characters would be definitely trickier. Should Tails see Sonic as an older brother to look at as an idol, or is their relationship deeper than that? Does Tails see Amy as a rival, or does he secretly admire her? Maybe they could have Tail's cannon relationships in Japan, while the less controversial ones would be in other countries.

 

I think even in Heroes Tails was a bit cardboard. I think diluting his bond with Sonic took awaya huge part of his character. In the current games they're really just aquaintances, they meet up on missions then go their separate ways like they don't really have anything in common with each other outside of it. This is owed partially to Sonic's development as well, Sonic doesn't really have close bonds with many of the characters, they come off as rather despensible and merely hindering his desires to roam around all his life (about the one development I liked in Chronicles was basically pointing out what a jerk he was venturing by himself all 24/7 and then expecting to be idolized and best buddies with all those he hardly even talks to).

I think the OVA handled Tails right, not only for the compromise in the two different personas, but in that he has some sort of developed bond with Sonic, they play around and argue, like real brothers, they have some sort of relevant chemistry outside just abiding by mission plans. Without that he's either just a dull technogeek or a generic kid like Cream.

 

This.
In Unleashed Sonic and Tails' interactions were minimal...but then again the only Character he talked to was Chip.
Still their relationship on that game was WAY better than in 2K6. The only thing he did was transport Sonic around in the Tornado, something which he's been doing since the Mega Drive and it was well done. He did pull out some crazy shit that somehow helps effortless victory.

One other thing about Tails' Character. He knows way too much. In every game he's like the fucking Godfather. He knows EVERYTHING going on and knows about mythology and technology, for crying out loud he's 8!! He should be smart, that much granted, but there is almost no Naivity in his character, something which I think would aid younger kids relate to him. He should be the smart little brother who knows technical stuff, but when it comes to mythology, phsychology, moral decisions and understanding reciprocations, he should be like a child; clueless.
He should look to Sonic for advise on what moral actions to take because he doesn't fully understand what to do. Likewise, if there is a scene that is heavy on the other characters, such as Shadow's apparent death at the end of SA2, he should look as though he's got no idea about whats going on, and again should look to Sonic to find the answer.

 

As a kid I always liked Tails more than Sonic for some reason, probably because I'm a girl and I was into cutesy shit when I was little. I didn't realize until I was about 12-13 that Tails is garbage in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3. He can't turn Super Sonic and flying is about as useless as ever. I don't hate Tails or anything, but when I play Sonic 2/Sonic 3 nowadays, I usually pick "Sonic alone" mode. It seems like in recent years (by that I mean after the 90's) Tails was portrayed as a 4 year old kid, which is not cool.

I don't care either way if Tails is in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 or not, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to play the game (I don't know if it'll be downloadable on PS3 or not), I'll be satisfied using Sonic.

 

Yep S4 is on the PSNetwork.

 

You mean 40 year old. There's nothing child like about him anymore, and as stated before, that's a big problem with his character as without it he's really just a technogeek with a dull super sensible and straight faced personality. I don't really see him working as a straight man, the original Tails was a bubbly giddy character that thought Sonic was the most awesome thing in the world, that sorta played into Sonic's character as well. I liked their bond in AoSth, it was obvious how important his 'little bro' was to him then. He also seemed to add to Sonic's ego and self esteem. Characters like Knux and Sally give Sonic a reality check, Tails on the other hand will sit there eagerly listening to his boasting and even add to it.

 

I know it's all personal preference and whatever, but these are two complaints I've just never really got. The design for Tails is probably the least changed Sonic character design out of the characters from pre-Adventure. As for his voice, I think it's at least much better than the "I have a head cold" voice from Heroes, or the "My voice fits the character but I'm a horrible actor" voice from Adventure 1 and 2.

 

It looks alright from some angles, but it's got a pot belly and funny posture. It reminds me of those starving native kids in Africa who have pot bellies because their protein deficiency prevents their abdominals from keeping their body in the normal shape.

 

And thus Phos makes this thread depressing as fuck. Personally, I don't mind his newer designs. His voice could use some work, though.

 

...I can't say Tails's character has really done all that much in the way of going downhill, since there wasn't exactly much in the way of characterization back when he did have "chemistry" with Sonic and all that jolly fluff. Sonic Adventure did him some pretty decent justice, but then, Sonic Adventure was also the game that started the whole Technogeek thing with him, so it's hard to say. It's also hard to say because characterization doesn't exactly shine when the story presentation values are absolute shit.

I can't say a whole lot for Tails in the cartoons. I liked him in AoStH, but that was when I was a kid and could actually stand AoStH. I tried watching it recently, and I just couldn't see whatever it was I used to see in it. Ah, well.

I like his character in SatAM, for all of the two minutes and thirty seconds he appears.

I find him interesting enough in the Archie comics.

Aaaaand... that's about it.

I also did kind of like him in Unleashed, but Unleashed didn't attempt to portray his character so much as include him under the assumption that everyone already knows who he is and what he's about.

 

Still think he knows to much.
He knows everything and understands everything better than every other character. I Riders 2, he is basically the moral mastermind.

I don't have a problem with him being smart, but he should have a childlike personality.
Basically, he should be smart enough to know the cause, but should be childlike enough to not understand consequence.
Intelligent but naive.

Let give a scenario. Sonic is sad that Chip has been sealed into the Earth again, and is therefore basically dead for the next million years. Tails doesn't understand this and questions why Sonic is sad, because he doesn't fully grasp the concept of death. He's only 8.

 

Agreed, very much so. All Tails did in the classic games was follow Sonic, and he was content with that. There's not much character to derive out of someone whose definitive feature is following. By the time of Sonic Adventure, someone must have thought that an eight-year-old flying a biplane must have some precocious intellect. Why shouldn't Tails be characterised as the intelligent one capable of understanding consequences? Compare Sonic (always impulsively running off somewhere in his attention-deficit flights of fancy), Knuckles (perennially big on brawn and not on brain), or Amy (ditzy valley-girl stalker). No one else on the hero side appears to be especially prone to thinking beyond the face value of a given situation.

Why should he be childlike? In the Adventure games, he was growing up and demonstrating individuality. He saved Station Square in Sonic Adventure and thought he saw his childhood icon die in Adventure 2. It'd be stranger if he didn't mature as a result of these events. If Sega were peddling a message to young kids via Tails in those games, it was self-empowerment (an idea neglected since then, but still). There are enough naive and/or irresponsible characters hanging about in this franchise. Being clever like a fox, Tails is a welcome exception.

 

Because essentially without this, Tails' personality doesn't really have any flaws. He is intelligent, mature and perfect in every aspect, and thus completely dull.

I admit Tails' childlike aspects and bond with Sonic is something largely created from alternate media like AoSth, that said a lot of the modern bios seem to abide by this depiction of him, I'm pretty sure at least one described him as 'a hyperactive fox-boy who idolizes Sonic', a good few certainly describe him as Sonic's 'surrogate brother' which I don't really see much at all in their rather distant business only chemistry in the games. Even if Tails is the voice of reason in the series, that doesn't mean he should be perfect in this aspect. The best 'straight men' are usually saner than the other characters but have some significant flaw that prevents them from being viewed as such by them. They are often bad tempered, self serving or convinced of their sanity and morals over others more than what they really are. Tails just comes off as too perfect and boring.

I could argue Sonic borrowed slightly from the alt medias' more arrogant depictions as of recently, and his character seems more depthful and multi faceted as a result. I prefered the goofier egotistical Sonic of the storybook series than the 'SUPER POWER OF TEAMWORK' borderline Mary Sue of Heroes.

I saw his role in Adventure to be a poor excuse to tone down his persona. What, because he did ONE act of competance he's just gonna instantly lose his flaws and not act like an eight year old anymore. I hate when writers devise developing and maturing a character as being on par with 'erasing all of your flaws and complexities'. You can make a character competant without being flawless and Mary Sue-ish. No human, no matter how spectacular and heroic, is perfect in personality.