She hasn't changed that much, and it ultimately doesn't matter that much. I agree. But in the same way Sonic used to be a more stern character of few words that leaned a bit more abrasive, and I still prefer and advocate for that even though it hasn't actually been true for a long time, I have characterization preferences to Amy too that seem slight but imo open more flavorful interactions up. I think leaning into character flaws is better. It's the same reason I don't mind shadow being abrasive that much when people were pushing for him to be more archie!like. They're kind of everywhere here and they're not that great. It feels very "Sonic" though so I never minded it.
Shadow's abrasiveness often stunted his dynamics... It was actively detrimental to interactions with him, it was exaggerated more than he was in Free Riders...which doesn't make any sense.
I think iti depends on how you leverage it. It's not in itself a negative or "limiting". Only if you use it in a boring way.
I mean... he's literally red white and blue + - And he's only able to survive serious medical emergencies by having large amounts of money
This is an extremely boomer take at this point but one of my favorite portrayals of Sonic was the OVA of all things. He hasn't been that guy in a long time though.
Step 1: find hot dogs Step 2: find a can of "hot dog chili sauce" or alternatively any can of chili without beans. Step 3: find anything you might want to add on top of that. Cheese, onion, or whatever. Step 4: prepare hot dogs as desired. Heat up the can of chili as desired. Step 5: make as many as you want to eat. It's always a little weird whenever I see recipes calling for you to make the chili yourself. Like, sure, you could, but it's probably not going to be that much better than the chili sauce they have for less than a dollar a can at Walmart and it kinda defeats the spirit of something fast to make and eat. And even if there is some spice you think is missing from the chili you can still add it while you heat it up.
The trick is to undercook the onions. Yeah, it's been a while since Sonic told a scared Tails to STFU. + - I do like the OVA very much but there are some scenes in it I'd prefer to see slightly adjusted Ian Flynn style.
OVA Sonic is very fitting and good for Sonic. However, and this is very subjective, I'm not a big fan of stoic Sonic, especially one with low empathy
There's been a lot of impatient Sonics but I don't think there's ever been one with low empathy. Even in the classic/CD era I'd consider Sonic a character with boundless empathy, just not all that tolerant of BS.
It's been a while since I've watched the OVA, but from what I recall, Sonic spends most of his time being annoyed by everyone and mainly motivated by his own ego. All of that has always been part of his character, but I didn't feel like it was empathetic. Also considering how metal Sonic works in that movie, where his thoughts are linked with Sonic's own thoughts and feelings, just affirms my thoughts.
You know, I can vibe with this kind of thinking. I do love stoic Sonic, but I can get why him being not very empathetic can be less than ideal. In OVA, though, I can think it's a particularly good fit. It makes Metal Sonic test Sonic more than in (say) Heroes, where he can go "well I don't care that you are built to be like me because I have friends " which is still a pretty good message overall, but less interesting.
I would rather have Sonic stoicism and "uncaring-Ness" be more of a facade than who he is, just how he likes to present. He may not show it, but he has very strong (and clear) morals and values and tries to express it in someway, not necessarily through words and strong emotional reaction. And the intensity of that expression depends on the situation. He can get really angry, and it will catch you off guard, but you will know where it's coming from.
I can vibe with this. I don't mean to say the OVA is perfect or anything, but I can't think of many other shonen/game protagonists who have that same balance of caring about the people around them while also finding them a bit annoying at the same time. He's supposedly a drifter and spends time in-between games alone doing his own thing, so I don't think it's really out of character for him to be prickly about people telling him what to do. I was definitely a bit puzzled by his insistence on helping Sage out in Frontiers when she was being deliberately antagonistic in all of their interactions. "This is obviously a trap and I don't see why it's my problem, but whatever, I guess I'll help you guys out" Sonic is a lot more fun than "Wait, Knuckles! This girl... she needs help. I can tell. I think we can help her out..."
I honestly miss the short temper Sonic and Tails had with each other in the OVA. Makes them feel like real best friends and not just twee partner characters that love being around each other all the time. As a kid I thought Tails was telling him to go to hell here and I thought it was hilarious.
I like the idea of remaking Sonic 06 over SA1 or SA2. There are a large number of fans that have not played it yet because of its bad reputation. If they do decide to remake it, they have a chance to rewrite a bad chapter in history and also add on a game with it. Sonic 06 x Silver the Hedgehog. Silver has the potential to be a more appealing character.
The introduction of Shadow was kind of the paradigm shift for Sonic's modern personality imo. Because that was the point when Sonic's less savory traits and stoicness were kind of transferred over to Shadow to make him a better foil, and Shiro Maekawa even admitted that he slightly adjusted Sonic's character to better serve the dynamic between him and Shadow.
