Robotnik vs. Eggman

It always bugged me a bit that they have his real name as Robotnik but never call him that. If Eggman is a self chosen nickname (it is), why is it that Sonic honors his wish to be called Eggman?

 

Sure...I was stating my opinion about that topic is all. People can call him whatever they want. I just simply don't like that "Eggman" is the dominant name. Will I lose sleep over the fact? No, not as long as the character remains.

No need to get all worked up over me stating my opinion on which name I personally like better, LOL!

 

Regardless of what you call him, he's a pimp. He's smarter than Tails, he's at least as fast as Sonic, his bitch smack attack does as much damage as anyone else's moves in the games, and he has the resources to make an army of robots. Now if only he'd put a little more effort into making them less retarded, he might be able to come out on top for a change. Clearly whatever Robotnik is is the dominant species of the series.

 

Im not sure of the intelegence ratio between Eggman and Tails, its pretty hard to conclude without giving Tails the opportunity and resources that Eggman seems to pull out his ass every game. I mean, Eggman has theses HUGE fleets and bases in space, Tails has a trampy workshop in mystic ruin, yet he still makes stuff to rival him pretty well lol

 

And what attribute do you think Robotnik exploits to get those resources?

 

There-in lies a true mystery of the Sonic games, not so much where dose he get that stuff, but where dose he keep getting funding :/ Unless he steals all the resources.

Im willing to wager, Tails is onpar with Eggman, but if SEGA let Tails run riot with his true abilitys with unlimited resources, Eggman would be blown away, I mean he builds stuff to rival Eggman outta tinscraps and old radios, and Eggman has resources for EEEEVVVVEEEERRRRRRYYYYYYTHING XD

But you were right earlyer, mabye if Eggman made stuff a little less stupidly, he might actually get somewhere

 

I thought the mysteries make the Sonic universe interesting... come to think of it, the whole logic/sense of the Sonic universe is a mystery. :v:

 

What I was getting at is that he uses his brain to acquire his resources. Actually, he uses his brain and the fact that he isn't bound by pointless scruples. Tails is comparably impotent because he is isn't willing to go to the lengths necessary to acquire what he needs, even when he knows it's for the greater good.

 

Three words for you.
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot

 

I think someone should make this into its own thread (again!) - maybe an 'Eggman vs. Robotnik' thread or something; it's getting way out of hand.

 

Before we do:

I'd say it's one of the defining aspects of the franchise. Its design seems to imply characterization and an overall plotline, but very little of it is expressed in the games as a whole. This enabled each localization to write its own backstory, as minimal or as fleshed-out as they saw fit. Even the cutscenes in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, while telling a general story, say nothing about what the island itself is, why the Death Egg is there, or a number of other mysteries that aren't important to enjoying the game too much.

Even the modern games seem to pick up in the middle of stories and add elements that would usually require explanation. What sort of adventures do the characters go on between games? How did Rouge steal the Master Emerald before SA2, and how far did Knuckles have to chase her to get it back before having to shatter it? Why can Sonic (and Silver) use Chaos Control? What was Eggman doing at the start of Unleashed? What exactly are the Special Stages? Does Blaze hail from another dimension, or another time? This is one of the main sources of fun for the franchise for me, as stalkers have no doubt noticed my interest whenever a storyline-theory thread pops up.

Sometimes the localization teams step in and offer explanations, such as the origin story of Dr. Robotnik from his original form as Dr. Kintobor in the West, adding another layer to the proceedings. This places a spot between the game itself ("canon") and the player's suppositions ("fanon").

I think the fact that Sonic games are open to interpretation means that a lot of people tend to place their own ideas into the mix, and as a result, they can connect with the characters and the surroundings a lot. Unfortunately, if later games aren't consistent with what they've expected, they may feel cheated, especially if the element in question was an "official" localization.

It often puzzles me as to why anyone who comes into contact with the Sonic franchise is so divisive, but I think this realization might be a step along the way to solving that puzzle.

 

The thing that I'm stuck on is, the original Sonic games were developed in the US, were they not? Even though several Japanese developers worked on them, if they were developed here, that makes them American games. Therefore that makes whatever was in the American manuals canon.

 

This would apply had these changes not been openly admitted as localizations by the people who actually made the changes, and even by the company itself on several occasions (remember that "history of Sonic" series from 1up or whatever?). Dean Sitton, the man to create the Robotnik moniker, outright admitted this, and the internal design sheet circa 91 for the Eggman character has his name very clearly spelled out as "Dr. Eggman" in the top left corner (I linked this earlier in the topic).

Also, the first Sonic game was developed in Japan, given that Sonic Team's original headquarters were in Ota, Tokyo.[1] It didn't go to the US until Sonic 2, where STI headed up the game's development.

 

I thought Eggman was always deemed as a nickname myself, resulting in the full name Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Also, Sonic Team was Japanese, so the original games were mostly designed by the Japanese (except Sonic Spinball). Depending on what stance you wish to take, you could either say you want to take sides with the Japanese canon (Eggman) or the American canon (Robotnik) for the older games.

In all honesty, I do prefer the name Robotnik, but Eggman has seemed to become the norm in Sonic games today, and I can't do anything about that.

 

I personally prefer the name Eggman for the good Doctor. Robotnik usually makes me think of the wanna-be villains from the cartoons and early comics, or the “good” doctor's grandfather.

Eggman, on the other hand, makes me think of the badass, mustached, bald-of-awesome-blessed villain from the games, who was really shining (no, not on the head) in SA2, Sonic '06 and Unleashed, if ye ask me.

I do however recognize Robotnik being his actual name. c:

 

I called him Robotnik as a kid because of the cartoon and manuals, also it sounds more badass than Eggman. However I accept both names. Although it does seem a little odd when he calls himself Eggman, asif he's mocking himself.

 

I just call him whatever I'm in the mood to call him.


However I will always call the AoStH design Robotnik. The name "Eggman" and the DURR HURR I AM FUCKING RETARDED meme just don't really fit together to me.

hehe :v:

 

Topic Rebirth!

I vote don't care.
Putting fanrage and nostalgia aside, for me both names are worthy of the character for different reasons.
And I'm actually glad of the merge, now both names are correct everywhere.

I also think that the "Robotnik" name fanatics, (not fans, as I am actually one :P) have some "more evil" bias because of the American cartoons and some 90s marketing, or nostalgia is speaking too loud...

Some people out there with justification like the "original" name or "first name", makes me laugh, how can someone name the character before even Oshima does when creating the character...

I bet, for much you deny, that if the case was the opposite, the reactions would be the same, just switch the names.

For me...

"The name's Ivo Robotnik, and I am the evil Dr. Eggman!"

 

whoa thread merge

To me, I personally prefer Eggman, but mostly because I was young and accepted it quite quickly after playing Sonic Adventure.

Although, to be honest, I really don't know where I knew his name was Dr. Robotnik. I mean, I never watched the cartoons and the games never really reference him by name until Sonic Adventure at least. Maybe I convinced myself when playing Sonic Adventure that I already knew his name was Robotnik after hearing him refer to himself as such? oh dam my brain hurts

But anyway, while I do prefer to call him Eggman, it doesn't bother me when people call him Robotnik. I consider it to be interchangeable (as proven by Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic X) so both names are right. Although it's unlikely that we'll ever hear him be called Robotnik anymore, aside from manual bios (the same manual bios that claim that Eggman is a feminist).

However, it does bother me when people say it ONLY can be said as Robotnik. I'd say the same thing for the other side but to be honest I don't see too many people who say it can only be said as Eggman. But yeah, it's interchangeable! At least it is to me, as it makes the most sense.

 

I prefer Robotnik over Eggman, because a villain named after something that falls out of a chicken's backside doesn't seem right to me. Still, I'm perfectly happy to accept that Eggman was his original Japanese name, and that many people refer to him as such. As long as I can still call him Robotnik, I'm happy.