Monday, October 29, 2012

My Idea for a continuation of the Fleetway Sonic Comic

I have seen Sonic the COmic Online, and kinda like it. However, it's lacking. The adaptations don't feel like the adaptations from the original STC. Here's what I would have done.

I would use the plot point of the evil council that replaced Robotnik. But I would expand it. It's members would be:

I: Robotnik
II: Vichama the Death Lord
III: Dr. Zachary
IV: E-102 Gamma
V: Fang the Sniper
VI:Captain Plunder
VII: Rouge the Bat
VIII: Shadow the Hedgehog
IX: Blaze the Cat
X:Tails Doll
XI: Omega
XII: Black Doom
XIII: Grimer
XIV: "Yellow Eyes"

The arc will be an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Rush, and Sonic 06. The differences are that:

After the initial capture of Sonic and Shadow's awakening, Blaze is deployed to seduce Sonic in order to give his power fully.
Metal Sonic is reborn and builds Tails doll And Metal Knuckles.

The reason she's been villified is because Chaos was in STC's original run. But, it turns out that Blaze was merely brainwashed and manipulated. The same applies to Shadow and Rouge. It turns out that "Yellow Eyes" is actually none other than Silver. "Yellow Eyes" morphs into a redesigned Silver, who resembles Fleetway Chaos. Silver then uses the three as puppets to fight Sonic with. Silver ultimately goes to Angel Island, killing Porker Lewis. Rouge and Knuckles mourn his death. Silver then ultimately kills Shortfuse and Tekno, and hires the Babylon Rogues, ruthless mercenaries, to kill Sonic and capture Blaze. Silver re-brainwashes Blaze into becoming his bride. Silver takes her to Shannazar and tries to kill her there. Sonic saves her, but not before battling Erazor. Unfortunately, Shannazar is destroyed by Silver regardless. Silver then goes to Nameless Zone, and once again destroys it. Silver then is defeated by Sonic and Blaze on Mobius. Ultimately, Silver uses the Gray Emerald and becomes Iblis.

Iblis then kills Captain Plunder, Grimer, Dr. Zachary, Ebony, Pyjamas, Morain, Saff, Sol Furic, Simpson, Blockhead Bill, and every other surviving original character. Iblis then destroys Mobius and sends Sonic and Friends (and Robotnik and Fang) to Earth. Robotnik has mutated into his SATAM look and conquers the Earth. Sonic and company have to win Earth back from Robotnik. At the end, Robotnik sends Sonic and Blaze back to Mobius to confront Iblis. While battling Iblis, Blaze seems to have fallen to her death. Sonic then goes into Robotnik's secret hideout on Mobius, known as "The Last Spire of Mobius", where Blaze has been entombed. After killing Robotnik, Sonic finds that she was merely in a coma and kisses her back to life. 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Sonic Generations and the "Cargo Cult" Effect

Sonic Generations, on the outside, seems to be much like the classic Sonic games. The old Sonic design is usable, there's many of the old zones, enemies, and music,  the plot is back to simplicity, and even the gameplay seems to have returned. But in reality, the game is not very akin to the originals. First, lets take a good peek at the classic gameplay:


In the actual Genesis games, when Sonic rolled, he was able to use momentum based physics to gain speed. This is not present in Generations, where instead there are automatic running sections. Classic Sonic's top speed outisde of these sections is that of Mario. The stages of Classic have Mario-esque design. Second, another factor that turned some people off: Classic's cuteness.


In Sonic Generations, Classic Sonic uses the original japanese design, a creation heavily based on Felix the Cat:


Isn't he cute?
However, the gammes target demographic remembers the American deisgn more, which was edgy, radical, and somewhat inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Back in the 90's, some non fans thought he was a dinosaur
When Classic used the Japanese version in Generations, people were fine before the game came out, but when it did, they complained that he looked like a baby Sonic and needed to be edgy.

The same thing applies to Robotnik. In Japan, this visual approach was used:

I admit, this one is actually somewhat lame
American gamers, however, were on the reciveing end of this:
People were utterly dissapoitned by this. Some fans even hoped these guys would see the light, but no, they had to balk about these two.

The 8 Oddest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutrles were an absolute hit in the 1980's. They spawned a lot of toys, including some... weird ones. That's what this article's about: Weird TMNT toys from the 1980's and 1990's.


8) Vernon Fenwick

In 1992, Playamtes launched the Toon Turtles line, a set of figures that would be much closer to the cartoon than the older toys, which were closer to the original comic. In addition, the line would feature characters from the show who did not have toys before that point, including the long-awaited Irma!

After seeing Irma Langenstein immortalized in plastic, children everywhere wondered who was going to come next! Would it be Lotus Blossom? The dastardly Don Turtelli? Krang before being seperated from his dinosaur-like body and placed in the Pillsbury Doughboy? 

No. Instead we got Vernon Fenwick. Most fans couldn't stand Vernon, so why him over Hamato Yoshi (pre-Retromutagen Ooze) or some of the recurring baddies that weren't available?


7) Clownin' Mike

One of the core aspects of the line was the countless variants of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There were Star Trek turtles, military turtles, and yes, clown turtles. Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and even April got their fair share as well. Surely, this one is in character (as he's the silliest) but it's still bizarre.

6) Bandito Michealangelo

I have noticed Michealangelo always gets the stupidest variants. Case in point: this. At least the eyes are like the cartoon...

5) Turtle Trolls

In order to capitalize on the Troll Doll craze that was just hitting, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutrles hybridized with trolls. Sure, it had been done before, with the Stone Protectors:

Not pictured. The villains. Also Opal. Because she was never released.
and the Battle Trolls:

This time, it was the turtles themselves doing it. Could you imagine Power Rangers trolls? Or Sonic trolls? (or Sonic with a Bieber bowl). Thankfully, no Shredder troll. However, an April O'Neil with hair like a Barbie was released.

4) Scratch

This guy right here is probably the most valuable figure in the whole line. He's not in any other material beyond the toys (which applied to a lot of characters), but is very similar to the Archie Comics villain Halocat. They are both bandit cats who were mutated from normal cats. If Scratch really is Halocat, why was there never a Ninjara figure? If he isn't, why is he so valuable? He's just another figure. Was he so hated that he was pulled, killing the chances for Ninjara and Armagrron toys? (outside of maybe the classics line or new versions in the Nickelodeon show) Was he a special promotional figure, never meant to be sold at normal retail?

3) Sumo Raphael

Not even the dark, grim Red Sky era was safe from stupid variants. Just look at Sumo Raphael.  He really lost himself. Check out that belly!

2) My First Turtles

The My First Turtles were an attempt to cash in on Water Babies and other such products. The box reads "He's warm, he's wiggly, he's a mutant turtle!" Lets hope there wasn't a My First Krang.


1) Burne Thompson

It's April O' Neil's boss. Eh? Why did he get a toy and not, say Lord Dregg?

Maybe because he was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles equivalent to Mephiles?


Or Ninjara?
She's actually becoming one of my favorites.




Or Armaggon?



Rawr!

There were dozens of awesome TMNT characters who were left toyless. But Burne Thompson did get a toy. He comes with such boring accessories as a sandwich, a press pass that does not fit on him, and a cameracorder. Burne's figure is just one giant "Why?" It is one of the greatest questions in the universe, going up there with "Where is Blaze from?" "What species is Yoda?"

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Why Modern Sonic is not going away.

People say "Sonic Adventure 2 was the last good Sonic game, bring back Classic Sonic!" Sonic Adventure 2 had Modern Sonic. Thus, as long as you complain about SA2 being the last good Sonic game, Modern Sonic will stay.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

How Silver the Hedgehog Ruined Everything

The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a fine series. However, it, and it's creator, SEGA, seem to be on their last legs at the moment. Here's why. We can blame all of this on a single character: Silver the Hedgehog.

Behold!

His Not-so-Notable Debut

Silver the Hedgehog first appeared in the little known PSP game Sonic Rivals. Sonic Rivals was pretty similar to the Sonic Rush and Sonic Advance games that came out around the same time. The level design was stark and linear. In addition, all the characters were carbon-copies of each other. Silver is against Eggman Nega.

The Badness Begins

The series had been in mediocrity-to-suckage for a while before Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 came out. Silver made his mainstream debut here. His gameplay was Big the Cat levels of slow and his story was a convoluted mess. Unfortunately, his gameplay was so awful, every other character was instantly branded as stupid BECAUSE OF HIM. 

Replacements, Replacements

In the spinoff game Sega Superstars Tennis, the playable Sonic characters were Sonic, Tails, Amy, Shadow, and Robotnik. Knuckles, Blaze, Big, Metal Sonic, and Silver showed up as cameos on the stag- wait, where the heck is Rouge? This was the first in a long line of undeserving replacements of poor, poor Rouge. Rouge is an interesting and compelling character. She steals jewels, but is still kind regardless. Silver is an annoying ripoff of X-Men's Cable.

The next replacement was in Sonic and the Secret Rings. The party mode roster consisted of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Shadow, Silver, and Blaze, as well as Jet as a came- What, were the heck did Rouge go? She's only in the galleries, and even then only on box art.

Next was Super Smash Bros Brawl. Sonic was playable, Shadow was an assist, and Tails, Knuckles, and Silver showed up on Green Hill Zone. Also, Amy, Cream, Blaze, Robotnik, some Chao, and freaking Jet of all people were trophies. Why no Rouge? Why Jet and Silver?

The last straw is when they started to demonize Rouge. In the Mario and Sonic series, Rouge is alwas a boss, while Silver (who tried to kill Sonic in cold blood), Metal, and even Robotnik himself were playables.


Buy All Our Playsets and Toys

The last reason I hate Silver is because he gets so many freaking toys. Before Silver came along and gunked up the series, everyone got equal share. Now it's just Silver this, Silver that. GIVE ME FIGURES OF THE FREAKING FEMALES FOR ONCE! AND MECHA SONIC AND EGGROBO!


Goodbye Fatty

Sega has recently announced they would retire Big the Cat. Even though he's hated almost as much as Silver, he's more unique and is a better fit than Mr. Cable Ripoff.

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Most Obscure Sonic Characters Of The Games Canon

You know Sonic, Robotnik, Tails, Knuckles, and a Robot Sonic. Some of you know Shadow, Amy, Silver, Blaze, more than one robot Sonics, and others. Fewer know of a number of scrapped and one-shot characters, and even some unused ones.
But do you know these suckers?:

Heavy The Mechanic

Heavy the Mechanic was a member of the original Chaotix crew.  He was a robot. To most people, he looked like just another Eggman robot. But he's actually good. In Knuckles Chaotix, partners were selected by a crane machine game. Randomly, Heavy (or Bomb) would be selected. Heavy slowed the other character down, but was invincible and could damage enemies. You could play as him by hitting a Heavy monitor or entering a code.

Bomb

Bomb was the other "lost Chaotix." He was selected by grabbing him out of a crane. He was totally useless, as he exploded upon being damaged and was weak even as playable.

Dr. Fukurokov

Dr Fukurokov right here was a boss in Tails Adventures. He just stood there. You beat him by dropping a boulder on the guy. He seemed to be an owl.

Wendy Witchcart

Wendy Witchcart was the final boss of the Japan-Only Tails Skypatrol. She was a witch who turned tresspassers into crystal. Somehow, Tails is a tresspasser and is threatened with crystalization. She rides a minecart.

Fockewulf, Bearanger, and Carrotia


These three were Witchcart's lackeys in the game Tails Skypatrol, and served as bosses. Very little is known about them. 

Sonic Man




Sonic Man was in Sonic The Hedgehog 2006, so his canonicity is unclear. Howevr, he is still just plain odd. You can talk to him and he races you. However, Sonic quickly outruns the poor fellow.

Hatsun




Hatsun is a pigeon who you can talk to in Sonic 06. He just says "coo" and flies off.

King Solomon

King Solomon is a skeleton king featured in Sonic and the Secret Rings. he rules Skeleton Dome and has to be put together by Sonic. He gives Sonic a grim warning.

Generic Animal Avatars


These guys appeared in Sonic's Schoolhouse, and were the playable characters. You played as them instead of Sonic, who was the guide.

And now, for what are probably the two most obscure Sonic characters ever made...


Hip and Hop



The above picture is fan art. These two are so obscure that I can't find a screenshot anywhere. They appeared in Sonic Spinball for the Megadrive, and were in Lava Powerhouse and helped Sonic.

Friday, September 14, 2012

A scathing review of the fiasco "Johnny Test"

 http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Johnny-Test-tv-04.jpg

Cartoon Network has this one show called Johnny Test. I hate it. Here's some reasons why:
1) Awful animation
The animation is so stiff and jerky! It feels like a grade school project of attaching pins to pieces of paper and moved them. It feels like molasses. The first seaswon's animation was okay, but it all went downhill in seasons 2 and beyond. Combined with the exaggerated facial expressions and pupil-less eyes, it can be quite unsettling, to say the least. In season 5, it actually got worse than before. Almost Naked Animals is just as bad as an offender in this department, as are "Scardey Squirrel", "NHL Rush Zone", "Sidekick", and an almost-forgotten Disney show called "Shorty McShort's Shorts."


2) Bad Writing
The writing is pretty poor compared to "Adventure Time", "Regular Show", "Gumball", or even "Ninjago" No originality occurs. It's a ripoff of "Dexter's Labratory." At least the first season had slightly better writing.
3) The Sound
 Johnny Test has a lot of loud screaming. Espeicially from Johnny, but Dukey's also a culprit. The sheer amount of screaming can cause MIGRANES. Also, the same rock riff plays all.the time in every transition. Every single freaking time a character's arm moves, you hear this annoying whip crack sound.
4) IT'S ON ALL THE TIME
Johnny Test is on Cartoon Network constantly, filling holes in the schedule that could easily be filled by "Chowder", "Camp Lazlo", "Ed, Edd, and Eddy", "Looney Tunes", "Pokemon", "Tom and Jerry", "Animaniacs", "Flapjack", or old Hanna-Barbara shows. This has lessened over time, but still.
5) IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE
The animation got worse in season 5, Dukey's actor left, and where's Dark Vegan?
 
Worst of all, my brother loves this show.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Mystery of the American Robotnik (and other U.S. oddities)

During the development of Sonic the Hedgehog, the producers wanted a villain who was simple to draw. The result: Dr Eggman. A ball-shaped man with a mustache and cape, always smiling for some odd reason.

Ha Ha!

However, when the series was brought to the US, the designs had to be made edgier. While the sprites were unchanged, Sonic went from a very adorable little fellow (whom Westerners got their first glimpse of in Sonic Generations):

Hi!


To the embodiment of 90's additude, much like the Punisher:
Way Past Cool!

Robotnik on the other hand, went from a charming "egg-man":


To a nightmare creature:


The same thing happened to Tails, from absolutely adorable:


To less adorable:


And also Knuckles:





Metal Sonic, Vector and Nack remained the same, and no American art exists of Amy, Mighty, Espio, Charmy, Ray, or the Kukus. There were also Sonic cartoons. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog harkened back to the Japanese version:

Well, sorta. He even reminds me of the current one!


While SATAM made him even more frightening:

The nightmare of a thousand 90's kids

The U.S. Comics took the "even more frightening" look:

 

While the U.K Comic used the traditional one at first:

 

Then used the AOSTH one but less whimsical:

 

And in it's twiglight made him even scarier:

 


Also, they made Chaos from Sonic Adventure scarier as well:

 


 

Also, Chaos was pure evil and also died.

When Sonic Adventure was released, designs were changed in all regions. People complained. Furthermore, Generations brought back Classic Sonic, Tails, and Eggmans' Japanese versions. Unfortunately, people were unfamilar with the japanese ones and complained.