Sonic Frontiers coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC (Holiday 2022, from Sonic Team)

Eh, Eggman being "scary" was never that big a deal to me, even at the height of his nastiness in the comics, just because they knew when to pull the camera back and not make anything too explicit. The guy's already a terrorist and a slaver in the games who's killed at least a good deal of animal and plant life, it just doesn't really frame it that way.

 

Yeah, reminder that Eggman was 100% ready to perform a missile strike on Station Square and would’ve wiped out at least tens of thousands, had Tails not stopped him, not to mention threatening to shoot Amy in the head, as well as coming within a hair’s breadth of killing Sonic. I do not feel that anything that Eggman has done under Flynn’s pen has really exceeded the bounds of his character and after feeling his presence hasn’t been as impactful since Colours, I’m very much looking forward to some stone cold Eggman moments in Frontiers. Nothing too edgy, but a reminder of why he is able to be such a persistent enemy to a force of nature like Sonic.

 

Oh please. Chaos destroyed Station Square anyway and according to official sources, nobody died during that whole attack and everyone got to safety. Eggman's threat amounted to destroying a city, not actually killing the people in the city. This is the series that had Unleashed begin with the planet splitting open and unleashing an ancient Lovecraftian evil, then immediately cut to the people who should realistically be affected by this selling Sonic ice cream. SEGA never intended whatever crimes Eggman committed or attempted to commit in the games to be taken realistically. They don't want death and consequences in Sonic the Hedgehog.

I want you to watch all the cutscenes featuring Eggman in Sonic Origins, look me in the eye, and tell me that's the same man who in the comics causes actual children to live a fate worse than death and be tortured to the point of insanity, or in Charmy's case, disability. His behavior and actions in the comics, even after the Preboot era, are horrific. Imagine if Neo Cortex started doing these kinds of things, or Heinz Doofenshmirtz. That's the kind of tonal dissonance I feel.

 

I mean, Sega passed off on the Zombot saga and that's kind of not Eggman's full intention the way it played out but that tells me that after Forces, they're willing to go dark and have dark stuff happen, it's just not highlighted in the games the past while. Until potentially now.

 

Eggman reached peak international terrorist status that one time he threatened to piss on the moon

 

I'm not a big reader of the comics or anything but I can see why Flynn is so well loved by fans. I'm looking forward to seeing the story of Frontiers, I think it might be the most interesting part of the game for me lol

 

Oh thank god they gave him the usable characters, the man seemingly doesn't know how to not inject 4-5 random goobers to make a story work smoothly. Means no OCs probably.

 

There's actually four OCs that Sega has confirmed already. Their names are Sonic, Tails, Amy and Eggman.

 

Seems like they're still operating with the same setup as Pontac and Graff going by this:

 

Spoiler

For anyone wondering, the “Kodama” strings are not referring to a new character but rather the Korok-like things. (I think they’re called Kocos?) Kodama are free spirits from Japanese folklore that were made famous by their depiction in Princess Mononoke. Said depiction strongly influenced the design and behavior of Zelda’s Koroks.

 

Spoiler: Origins Datamine Thing

Lines 49, 100, 101, and 102 are iirc the first time we've seen the term "SAGE" mentioned outside of the leaks, and allegedly it refers to the name of the "AI thing" that captures Sonic's friends. It also just might be a subtle advertisement for Sonic Amateur Games Expo

 

That's just an excuse for Mario and Nintendo. Why shouldn't any major IP, that's been going for years not look to use old assets from the past, to please fans?. I've been playing Sonic for years I sort of expect a Green Hill-inspired stages in each new game, I like it in RE games when old characters like Chris Redfield come back in and I can't wait to play Mapple Valley in the new Forza game next year. I think it's very unfair to say it's like ice cream and so it's ok for Mario, but not for Sonic.

Also, don't give us the sales excuse either that comes across as another copout and an excuse for Nintendo. I bet if Nintendo were to make a new DKC game they'll reuse assets, decline sales or not

 

Spoiler: datamine leak

I'm glad there's a fishing mini-game, it'd be disappointing if there wasn't one lol

It would be extremely funny if we finally get an alternate playable character and it's just Big the Cat

 

Eggman in the comics is a sadist who tortures people for fun, gets off on betrayal, AND tried to destory the multi verse because he was mad Sonic defeated him, which ended up changing the timeline and removing several people from existence.

He's notably nastier in the comics. Ian Flynn writes a very sadistic Eggman very much unlike anything from the games, even at his worse.

Someone mentioned the missle strike in Adventure but somehow ignores and forgets that he was going to do it to build Robotnikland, a haven he wants to make for scientists and the world where machines take care of everything for us. He's always been pragmatically evil and has no issue teaming up with Sonic to fight against actual monsters when they pop up. He's also one who believes the ends justifies the means instead of just being evil for the sake of evil.

I hope they reign him in because I don't really want to see that version get too much attention.

 

Full disclosure I am not intimately familiar with Adventure due to having only played it once, but blowing up Station Square is still blowing up Station Square, no matter the motive, which itself may only be what Eggman's spouting off to make the whole thing sound better. Man has a planet sized ego, and machines taking care of everything for us is likely still animals and maybe people trapped inside said machines.

 

Villians who do bad things with good intentions are a regular thing though? Especially in the 10's with many villians in comic movies being right but going about it in the worse way possible. He wasn't doing what he did to cause despair and pain in others needlessly. He felt his actions now might hurt a few but be worth it in the end to help MANY.

There is a clear difference there from Ian Flynn Eggman who would have done it just so he could relish in the fact that he's making them await their deaths. I think the distinction is obvious really.

 

Sonic Adventure is the only time he's expressed Eggmanland as an altruistic desire. He got his wish in Sonic Unleashed and it was a gaudy, ego massaging amusement park that pumped out smog into the atmosphere for no real purpose. Eggman doesn't give a shit about anyone else, otherwise he wouldn't be stuffing animals into robots and polluting the planet. He was straight up willing to tear apart time and space in Generations just to get one over on Sonic.

 

Again, for several people to have concerns with how Ian is expressing writing Eggman should make it clear that his version is different enough from the original to cause concern.

Unless you've read the comics and are versed in the on screen atrocities he committed there I don't think you'd understand. Fingers crossed they reigned him in though.

 

I mean, I am. I've read most issues since Ian started writing in 2006 and, while he goes deeper into Eggman than the games get chance to, it never feels incongruent with what the games present. For example, the Metal Virus arc is the typical fare of Eggman unleashing something he can't actually control and does broker an uneasy peace with the heroes to sort it out, but the moment he sees the danger coming, he'll do everything he can to make sure someone else takes the fall before he does, as seen with him kicking Amy into Big to give himself more time to escape. The only place where you could truly argue Eggman isn't this petty, self-serving bastard is the classic games but that's only because they don't have the means to go into Eggman as a character, and even then they do accomplish a fair bit with environmental storytelling.

 

Well, once again, I disagree based on what I've seen from the games and I hope they reign Flynn in.