X In The Dirt

Game sonic being functionally perfect works because his character arc, if you could call it that, is applying his skills to be the kind of person the rest of his cast and the plot need. Frontiers was the closest we've gotten to an "arc" from him in some time, and that was again being the person his friends need as *they* grow and change, to become "game sonics" on their own. IDK, I just think it's neat. Sorry this is a bit disorganised I just really liked your post.

Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate that you liked my post enough to think more deeply about it and consider it in the context of the writing and handling of movie Sonic, because how these characters compare and contrast is an interesting discussion, albeit one that is hard for me to have specifically due to the wide celebration of the Sonic movies being seen as amazing video game adaptations by the general populace.

At this point in time, I don't agree with the notion that movie Sonic is becoming game Sonic. Honestly, it stopped being Sonic the second he was given a dead owl mom and a traumatic backstory to encourage the viewer to feel bad for him, so whatever they do now is for naught unless they just completely ignore that backstory they already established and make it ineffectual to all of his motivations and decisions, which would just create a new problem of being, generally, pretty bad writing. If it is a goal to get new fans to play the games, then it is rather questionable to present a completely different Sonic as encouragement when there's no guarantee they will even enjoy game Sonic if they enjoy movie Sonic.

Even if this was what they were going for, the concept of forcing myself to suffer through years of sequels to see the main character be like what they were in the source material is a practice in "cinematic universes" that shouldn't be normalized as much as it is. If I end up enjoying the sixth movie because they finally made Sonic act like Sonic that still leaves five movies over the span of >10 wasted years that I dislike (because, among other reasons I do not enjoy these movies, Sonic's character is perhaps the biggest.) Quite frankly, they already made their message loud and clear by throwing out game Sonic right away and just doing what they want in accordance with current consumer trends, so for my own sanity, I'm going to assume that they are never going to make movie Sonic faithful for the sake of capital returns instead of convincing myself of the false hope that it might happen someday in the next decade.

I feel I must emphasize, with the point you brought up about how movie Sonic is different because of a younger audience: Sonic was always for a younger audience. Sonic games are already for children. He didn't need to become Sonic, he just was already Sonic. I see what you're saying with Frontiers and how it can mirror movie Sonic growing into his own like Amy/Knuckles/Tails grow into their own. The thing is, characters besides Sonic serve a different role than Sonic himself, which is why they even exist in the first place. Switching the roles here is missing the point, because these are not interchangeable aspects of the characters. They achieve opposite effects. The reason Sonic doesn't tend to have a full-on narratively-focused arc where he changes fundamentally is not because Sonic has no weaknesses, or because he's literally perfect. It's because none of his weaknesses are treated, by the narrative, as things to be fixed. When this is flipped on its head, he is being presented as the antithesis of this concept, which therefore removes the feeling that this character is Sonic the Hedgehog.

This idea that movies about preexisting franchises need to ease in slowly into things by writing the characters as different characters in a banal real life world to appeal to the new generation/people new to the franchise may be a popular trend these days, but it's ultimately not true. Movies can be anything, and with the right execution, can communicate anything. They can be faithful and appeal to new audiences, these are not mutually exclusive at all like so many people argue them to be. The key difference between games and movies is that games have additional gameplay elements that add to the storytelling that movies do not, so movie writers should consider how to supplement this. It's actually an interesting topic that is outside of the scope of this ask right now.

People who handwave away OOC characterizations with "character development" or "it's a different side to them" are really saying the OOC version is who the characters really are. They don't actually believe in character development because they are fine with the characters being rewritten to always be that way. They don't actually care about the original characterization and just want their OOC wear the original as a skinsuit.

Here's the June wallpaper for Sonic Channel!

Hello. This is Hayane Tomoko! It's June, the rainy season. The damp air might become refreshing if a gust of blue wind blows...?

So this month, we'll be introducing wallpaper featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, the supersonic hedgehog whose birthday is on June 23rd!

Chili dog sommelier!?

What immediately catches the eye is the combination of black-rimmed glasses and a playful expression! He has a boyish charm, yet also a mature sexiness...it's kind of unfair, isn't it?

What Sonic is holding up is his favorite food, a chili dog! Could these glasses possibly be for judging chili dogs?! He might be wearing them to examine his favorite spicy flavor, appearance, aroma—from every angle.

And this is the item that caught their eye! With the Chaos Emerald flag even flying, it truly looks like a glorious first prize winner.

Sonic's expression seems to convey a sense of confidence, as if to say, "This settles it, right?"

Looks like I can't beat Sonic after all!?

Sonic is free-spirited and cool, like the wind. He's completely natural, yet even his casual gestures look incredibly stylish. And on top of that, he has a kindness that won't leave people in need alone—he's just so charming!

For example, what if this chili dog was a fake, planted by Dr. Eggman to trick Sonic ...?

Having seen through the trap, Sonic deliberately plants a flag and declares: "Hey, Eggman. You look perfect, but you might smell a little bit like industrial oil."

His overwhelming confidence allows him to manipulate even evil schemes with ease. That's Sonic for you!

As a fan of Dr. Eggman, I'm honestly frustrated that he's cleverly thwarted every time! But I think it's also interesting to see how Dr. Eggman's never-give-up spirit is nurtured with each setback.

I hope Sonic continues to do his best and cleverly stop Dr. Eggman's evil plans!

This month's top recommendation!

Please download this wallpaper and enjoy Sonic's playful side! On X, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the wallpaper and your guesses about the situations depicted, using the hashtag #Sonicatsu ♪

I felt like Sonic, appearing as a chili dog judge, was confidently declaring it a pass!

Sonic Adventure's "Select a character" buttons! For when you pick a character for your web page.

Sonic Adventure 2's "Phrases I knew the best" buttons! For when, uh, you want to remember those iconic lines you heard the most in the game.

A huge supermarket in a certain suburb 🛒

Eggman, unusually, had come out shopping on his own, accompanied by Sage. The two were enjoying their shopping, filling their cart with what they wanted, but… "Abnormally high calorie reaction. Cannot be approved." ❌ "What?!" 💦

The Japanese manuals for Sonic Chaos (1993) and Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (1994) (or Sonic & Tails and Sonic & Tails 2, as they're titled in Japan) both contain mentions of alternate dimensions.

In the former, it's stated that Aqua Planet Zone exists within an alternate dimension, and in the latter, the Fang the Sniper character is stated to reside in an alternate dimension referred to as "subspace." (亜空間, A kūkan)

Subspace is not to be confused with the dimension Special Stages exist in. [X] If the Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia is to be believed, the Special Stages the player encounters Fang in are simply ones connected to subspace.

(Manual scans + translations under the cut)