Worst Characters In Sonic History

[ASonicAP]

The Sonic Cycle is a meme (Google it  ) that has been used by fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise to explain the excitement and eventual disappointment many feel during the lead-up to a new game in the franchise. While Sonic Boom effectively skipped much of the Sonic Cycle by giving fans doubts from the get-go with poorly-received character designs, the moment the excitement starts floundering, according to the Sonic Cycle, is when new characters outside of the core group are announced. Unfortunately, there have been many more misses than hits when it comes to the new characters being introduced in the more recent games, but who do you think are the worst?

[jkid101094]

Well of the choices above I honestly like Zazz the least.

[Elija2]

The worst Sonic character isn't even in the poll.

[Elija2]

Shadow, duh.

[jkid101094]

Don't mind Eli, just throw tomatoes at him.

[Elija2]

Don't even try to convince me that Shadow is a good character and not symbolic of everything that went wrong with the Sonic franchise.

[jkid101094]

Don't even try to convince me that Shadow is a good character and not symbolic of everything that went wrong with the Sonic franchise.

I won't because even if I could make a point you couldn't refute you wouldn't listen anyway.

Well, he IS bad, but nowhere near to being the worst. I think the worst charactars are Elise and Big.

I'm not sure who my least favorite Sonic character is but I really can't say I agree with you. Elise is pretty far down on the list but at least she's pretty. Plus, judging the potential of a character by one appearance is a bit of a stretch considering Silver also debuted in that game and became a pretty cool character in later titles.

Big is the same way. While I don't hate his fishing game as much as most do I can agree it was completely unnecessary in Sonic Adventure. Really what keeps him up the list for me is his cool appearance as an Easter Egg in Sonic Adventure 2 and the fact that he was actually useful in Heroes.

[Elija2]

I won't because even if I could make a point you couldn't refute you wouldn't listen anyway.

I mean, this is all subjective so it's impossible to make an irrefutable point.

[jkid101094]

Well that's technically a person by person basis. If you could make an argument that I'd personally agree with then I couldn't refute it for the sake of defending a point that now has less ground in my opinion.

Personally I love Shadow and, ironically, Shadow the Hedgehog was the game that did it for me. I loved that game when I first got it but going back to it now it takes some getting used to. Still don't understand why it gets so much hate. I loved it's concept and the execution made for a fun game.

[jkid101094]

Sonic Boom was a giant mess anyway. I really wish SEGA would just retcon Rise of Lyric and give Sonic Boom a second chance with a new developer. It really had the potential to be a fresh spin on the series but since Big Red Button fell apart during development the game took absolutely no advantage of it.

[Elija2]

Geez, you're really gonna make me write an essay on why Shadow is terrible? Okay then.

Shadow was introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, the first Sonic game that tried to have a dark and edgy story. Naturally, Shadow is a dark and edgy character, but they tried too hard to make him cool that he kinda came off as lame. Everything about his design just screams "I'm so edgy", from his black quills with red highlights to his deep voice and hover skates. Even his backstory was lame. The whole "ultimate life form" plot line was such a stupid attempt at making Shadow look cool and it only made the story in that game even more hilariously awful. So they kill him off at the end of the game (probably another attempt at making him look cool), but I guess Sonic Team loved him so much that they brought him back in Heroes. Luckily Heroes is much more bright and colourful than SA2, and if there's anything it did right it's that it never took itself seriously.

But since Heroes didn't satiate the huge boner that Sonic Team had for Shadow, they decided to give him his own game. A dark world with a dark story (even darker than SA2 despite being a continuation of it), guns, vehicles, and multiple endings to a story that still doesn't make any sense. All of this stuff was put into the game to make Shadow seem even cooler than before, but at this point not even kids could think that Shadow is cool. They catered a game specifically to his attributes and it ended up being one of the worst Sonic games ever made. If that's not proof that Shadow is a terrible character, then I don't know what is. The game was so bad that Sega decided to reboot the Sonic series after it. Of course, Sonic Team didn't learn their lesson and the reboot sucked, too. Luckily that was the last Sonic game that Shadow had a major role in, and the games have only gotten better since. Coincidence? I think not!

Shadow is emblematic of everything that went wrong with the Sonic franchise. It took itself too seriously and added things that don't belong in Sonic to try to make it look cool. Yeah, Big the Cat and Elise are dumb, but their existence didn't have long-lasting effects on the tone and direction of the franchise. Only Shadow sports that dubious honour.

[jkid101094]

Shadow was introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, the first Sonic game that tried to have a dark and edgy story.

Was the embodiment of Chaos nearly destroying the world not dark enough for you? That game had nothing to do with Shadow and it was still dark. Yeah it had it's silly moments but so did Sonic Adventure 2.

Naturally, Shadow is a dark and edgy character, but they tried too hard to make him cool that he kinda came off as lame. Everything about his design just screams "I'm so edgy", from his black quills with red highlights to his deep voice and hover skates. Even his backstory was lame. The whole "ultimate life form" plot line was such a stupid attempt at making Shadow look cool and it only made the story in that game even more hilariously awful.

As much as I love SA2 I can admit the entire plot line of it was fucked from the beginning. Shadow is honestly just a casualty of it. The only reason he stayed "dark and edgy" was because that's how the fans liked him. He was the more serious counterpart to Sonic and his cocky attitude which resulted in them having fun chemistry and diologue. That's what he's about, not the edge.

Luckily Heroes is much more bright and colourful than SA2, and if there's anything it did right it's that it never took itself seriously.

May I remind you that the only reason he was brought back for this game was because of the incredible fan demand for his return.

But since Heroes didn't satiate the huge boner that Sonic Team had for Shadow, they decided to give him his own game. A dark world with a dark story (even darker than SA2 despite being a continuation of it), guns, vehicles, and multiple endings to a story that still doesn't make any sense. All of this stuff was put into the game to make Shadow seem even cooler than before, but at this point not even kids could think that Shadow is cool. They catered a game specifically to his attributes and it ended up being one of the worst Sonic games ever made

This is also wrong. Remember that Shadow the Hedgehog spawned from an interesting fan request that asked for Sonic to wield guns. Since it was out of character for a "good guy" they swapped the role over to Shadow and tried to make the game edgy to appeal to the older crowd of gamers.

Luckily that was the last Sonic game that Shadow had a major role in, and the games have only gotten better since. Coincidence? I think not!

Are you being serious right now? Did you completely forget about Sonic '06, Sonic Boom and Sonic Lost World? I can tell you seriously put no thought whatsoever into this argument.

Shadow is emblematic of everything that went wrong with the Sonic franchise. It took itself too seriously and added things that don't belong in Sonic to try to make it look cool. Yeah, Big the Cat and Elise are dumb, but their existence didn't have long-lasting effects on the tone and direction of the franchise. Only Shadow sports that dubious honour.

Or maybe you're just spewing bullshit to try and degrade a character you personally don't like. Shadow has been in just as many good games as bad ones and honestly had little to no effect on the series overall. Even games like Sonic CD had darker tones before he was even conceived. It's clear that the darker tones the series dealt with were a result of Sonic Teams ambitions to appeal to a wider audience, and not because of one character.

[Hakudamashi]

I like Shadow...

[Hakudamashi]

The worst Sonic character is obviously Tails

Station Square is totalled and many people are dead and the little shit's like "All's well that ends well"
Fucking insensitive dick.

[Elija2]

Was the embodiment of Chaos nearly destroying the world not dark enough for you? That game had nothing to do with Shadow and it was still dark. Yeah it had it's silly moments but so did Sonic Adventure 2.

No, SA1 was much more light-hearted than SA2. That's like saying that Super Mario Galaxy has a dark story because Bowser tried to take over the universe.

This is also wrong. Remember that Shadow the Hedgehog spawned from an interesting fan request that asked for Sonic to wield guns. Since it was out of character for a "good guy" they swapped the role over to Shadow and tried to make the game edgy to appeal to the older crowd of gamers.

I don't believe that, but even if it was true the fact that Sonic Team actually went with it is just as damning. And again, them trying too hard to make their games edgy is the thing I'm complaining about!

Are you being serious right now? Did you completely forget about Sonic '06, Sonic Boom and Sonic Lost World? I can tell you seriously put no thought whatsoever into this argument.

No, I mentioned Sonic 06 (aka the reboot) in my post. Shadow had a major role in that game, too. Sonic Boom doesn't count because it was a cheap tie-in for the cartoon, and Lost World is still a major improvement over Shadow and 06.

Or maybe you're just spewing bullshit to try and degrade a character you personally don't like. Shadow has been in just as many good games as bad ones and honestly had little to no effect on the series overall. Even games like Sonic CD had darker tones before he was even conceived. It's clear that the darker tones the series dealt with were a result of Sonic Teams ambitions to appeal to a wider audience, and not because of one character.

I would not call Adventure 2, Heroes, Shadow, or Sonic 06 "good games". SA2 and Heroes are average at best. And how can you say that he had little effect on the series when the stories of SA2 and Shadow revolve around him? And dark tones in Sonic games aren't inherently bad, but the stupid convoluted story that Shadow spawned with the whole ultimate life form and GUN and Maria shit is just embarrassing.