Team Sonic Racing Update: Why are Blaze, Sliver, and Vector a Team?

Team...Blaze? Sliver? VECTOR?!

The latest news: Blaze, Silver, and Vector are in the game as a team. This is a little odd, but we'll go over that after the recap.

What we already know: 

1. It's a car (/kart) racing game with Sonic & Co rather than other Sega characters. 
1. The last Sonic series racing game was Sonic Free Riders. 
2. The last All-Stars series (collection of Sega characters) racing game was Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. 
2. Unlike previous titles, Team Sonic Racing is about teamwork rather than winning. 
1. This is the first to use "team-focused" gameplay since Sonic Heroes, and the first in a racing game. 
2. All team positions count towards a total, and the team with the most points wins. 
3. There will be a story mode. 
1. This will explain "why Sonic's driving a car."
2. It's unknown if there will be a story for each team (like in the past), or if it will be tied to gameplay (such as parts of Sonic Forces). 
4. Flight characters are instead technique characters while Speed and Power characters stay the same.



TECHNIQUE

5. Team Hero and Dark are in it, as well as Team Rose minus Cream. 
1. This means Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Amy, and Big are all playable. 
2. Eggman and several of his robots are playable. 
3. Chao (and Omochao) have taken Cream's place in Team Rose. 
4. Silver, Blaze, and Vector have formed "Team Vector."
5. Each team have a special move.   
6. The cars will be customizable for better skills or looks. 
7. Crush 40 made the title song for the game, "Green Light Ride."
1. This is the first time they've made one since Sonic and the Black Knight.
8. Wisps will serve as power-ups.
9. A one-shot comic will be made to go along with it. 
1. With IDW (Archie's replacement), of course. 
10. The game supposedly comes out this fall.  

So why the bleep is VECTOR on a team with BLAZE AND SLIVER? 

...

Background--

Blaze is a speed character; a princess from another dimension with pyrokinetic (fire) abilities and an introvert personality.

• She's good friends with Sonic, Cream, and Marine.
• Her nemesis is Dr. Eggman Nega. 
• In the Oylmic games she was in the "All-around" category rather than speed (because Sonic, Shadow, and Metal Sonic already took up the Sonic-side of the Speed types). She filled in as the power type for Team Rose in Sonic Runners, even though she's faster than Amy (I'm not sure Runners that canon because it seems very inaccurate).

Silver is a flight character from the future. He has psychokinesis, so he can move items with his mind and hover through the air for short periods of time. Despite being fairly fast he's no match for Sonic.

• He knew Blaze once but that time-frame was erased, although they both admit a familiarity with each other (the meet up again in Sonic Colors DS and Sonic Generations, and they both made appearances in the Riders series). 
• He is also enemies with Nega for unrelated reasons, and with Iblis, a being he later destroys. 
• Silver will likely be taking the technique role.

Vector is a power character, a detective, and the leading member of Team Chaotix (him, Espio, and Charmy). He and his team have been around since the "classic" days.

• Despite dreaming of riches and "the big case," Vector isn't nearly as ruthless as Rouge or Jet the Hawk, and will help anyone. 
• He previously filled in as the power type for Team Rose in Sonic Free Riders, hoping to win prize money. 
• Rumors say Vector's the leader, so he must get this team together for some reason. 

I get Silver and Blaze being put together because of their roles in Sonic 06, but I sure didn't except Vector to step in. 

1. He's clearly taking the power role so that the group fits.
2. I'm guessing there's no Cream, Charmy, or Marine because they're "too young" to drive (even though Tails is eight). 
1. This would explain why the Chaotix don't have a team. 
3. I'm also guessing that Silver and Blaze are more popular/recognized than the Chaotix or that Vector's the favorite of that team. Espio has been on solo missions, too, but he's a speed type, and they don't need one.   
4. It could also be story motivated--maybe Eggman Nega kidnaps Charmy or something (doubt that guy will show up on a console game, though). 

I'm not sure why this bunch came to be, but I'm glad to have them in the game. And after Sonic Forces, especially Blaze (she wasn't in it BUT SILVER WAS). 

WHAT?

Reference or Ripoff: "Mech Suits Me" (Sonic Boom)

Yet another Sonic Boom Episode.

"Mech Suits Me"

Sonic & crew find an old "suit" that Sonic immediately loves. Unfortunately for his friends, it takes over his personality.

Conclusion: Reference

The beginning was clearly playing out Predator, even calling the game "jungle predator."

Heat Vision

At first, when Sonic was attacking Eggman, I though that the mech was fueling Sonic's negative emotions like some of his past transformations--Evil Super Sonic (Sonic the Comic), Dark Sonic (Sonic X), Darkspine Sonic (Sonic and the Secret Rings), or even Sonic the Werehog (Sonic Unleashed).

IT'S BETTER THAN ANYTHING TAILS COULD EVER INVENT, AM I RIGHT?

Afterwards it soon became clear that they were aiming for something else. That's right, Spiderman 3.
Sonic acts rude to the locals, acts "friendly" with the twins (Perci and Staci)--in front of Amy, and is a jerk to his closest friends. And all this happens with music suspiciously similar to what it plays when Peter goes around New York...
 

No one can think "Spiderman 3" without it. 

To see what I'm taking about, here is the episode (5:22) and, in case you've forgotten, that part from Spiderman 3.

Then Tails gets into how it's a "symbiotic technology" which defiantly rings a bell (with the "venom" symbiote). Of course Sonic doesn't listen and his friends have to save him.

Moving on!

Quotes:

Amy: "Studios should stop recycling the same, tried old property and make something original for once."

• A number of possibilities, here. The fact that a lot of movies and shows nowadays are reboots or remakes, that Sonic Boom is the 5th Sonic cartoon, or simply that they were reenacting predator.   

Eggman: "200 and 50 channels and finally something interesting to watch! Well aside from that guy who goes to failing restaurants and yells at everybody. Love that guy."

• Clearly Chef Ramsey and Kitchen Nightmares, or his more recent show, 24 Hours to Hell and Back. I'd have to check the air dates. 

Sonic: "I like it better with my feet on the ground."

• Sonic says something similar in Sonic X: "Space is fine, but I like my feet on the ground." 

Oh I remember the twins alright--[AMY'S PISSED LOOK]--I-I mean I remember how much I disliked them!

The references combined with the dialogue makes this a really funny episode (if you can get over how ugly the Mech is). Not bad, Sonic Boom. Not bad.

 

Reference or Ripoff: "Knuck Knuck! Who's Here?!" (Sonic Boom)

We're looking at another episode of Sonic Boom.

"Knuck Knuck! Who's Here?!"

Knuckles. WHY DOES THAT NAME HAUNT ME? It's the only thing I can remember...and that gruesome redesign. 

Knuckles gets amnesia and when he recovers he realizes he's that last of his kind. Saddened, he hunts for a new family.

Conclusion: Both. 

There are some obvious references, but the second part of the episode is stealing ideas from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

• To an outsider, the title looks like a knock-knock joke, but to meme-fans, it's clearly alluding to the infamous "Knock Knock it's Knuckles."  
• The characters poke fun at the idea of amnesia (specifically on TV sitcoms), possibly with the 90s Sonic cartoons in mind as each had an episode where a character lost their memory/identity ("Blank-Headed Eagle," "No Brainer," and "Who Do You Think You Are?").
• Or Shadow the Hedgehog, who lost his memory in Sonic Heroes. 
• However, considering how common that situation is on shows, they could simply be making fun of TV in general (and themselves). 
• The ending where Knuckles (well, Amy, technically) concluded that Sonic/Tails/Sticks/Amy was his family was reminiscent of when Manic realized that his true home was with his siblings in Sonic Underground (Mobodoon).     

Group hug!

"Tails' New Home"

Didn't see that one coming. Not at all. 

After Tails is hurt, Sonic sets off to find him a new family so he'll stay out of harm's way.

Just simply the idea of finding foster parents (and ending up with "parents" that where actually bad guys). Combine this with "The Sidekick," another similar episode, and AoStH was completely ripped off.

Reference or Ripoff: "Shadow Boxing" (Quote)

In this case, we're looking at a line of dialogue.

Sonic Boom's "Eggman the Video Game Part 1"

STONE FISTS

Eggman tricks Shadow, who, feeling insulted, takes revenge on Team Sonic by beating each of them to a pulp. When it was Knuckles' turn to fight, he said, "Good thing I took that shadow boxing class."

Conclusion: Reference

Sonic X's "The Cosmo Conspiracy"

STONE FISTS

Shadow wrecks havoc on the Blue Typhoon when he finds out some information about Cosmo and tries to take her out. While defending her and Tails, Knuckles says, "I've always wanted to shadow box."

I find it unlikely that the writers on Sonic Boom (a show that lives off it's Sonic related inside-jokes) would come up with a pun so similar on accident. This allusion was probably made because (cartoon-wise) Sonic X was the only time Knuckles and Shadow ever fought.

Also, Shadow beat him both times.

THE ULTIMATE

An Addition: 

I came across another case of this line in the Archie comics... 

Sonic Universe's Total Eclipse: "Part Three: Shadow Boxing"  

THE EMERALD STAYS, YOU GO!

Shadow, convinced that Eclipse (of the Dark Arms) will steal the Master Emerald, wants to move it to a secure location. Knuckles? NOBODY MESSES WITH THE MASTER EMERALD! In this case, "Shadow Boxing" is the name of the issue.

I'm assuming this was between Sonic X and Sonic Boom, so I guess Sonic Boom could be referencing this (or both). These three events are the only significant times the characters fight--maybe in Sonic Battle--I'd have to check. But given that, I doubt it's a coincidence. 

Pretty interesting how a mediocre pun can link three continuities...    

Ugh. ALSO it's a trophy for defeating Shadow in Sonic Generations. Guess it does link to the games (though that was Sonic vs Shadow).

Reference or Ripoff: "The Sidekick" (Sonic Boom)

I decided to point out parts in various Sonic games and media. In some cases, these are Easter Eggs/inside jokes for the fans, and in others, it's pretty much just a re-hash of something we've seen before. 

Today we're looking at Sonic Boom's "The Sidekick."

The Sidekick

After Tails gets hurt in a plane wreck, Sonic looks for a new sidekick so that Tails will stay safe.

Conclusion: (mostly) Ripoff.

• There are a few "references."
• Tail's plane crashing (happens often in the games--Sonic Adventure, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Unleashed). 
• Tail's being bandaged up (Sonic X) 
• Sonic fearing water (established in Sonic X and Sonic Underground, hinted in the games since he cannot swim). 
• However, the main plot was suspiciously similar to "Tailss New Home," an Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode. 

"Tails' New Home"

Tail's New Home

When Tails gets hurt, Sonic searches for foster parents to raise Tails to keep him safe.

Yeah.

Of course, both take different paths and there's no harm in finding inspiration from a past Sonic source, but considering it was the first episode I was pretty annoyed.
   

HARDEST Sonic Bosses

This is going to be a hard one...lol. Sonic bosses are typically either extremely easy (like fighting Sonic as Silver in 06), are easy once you figure out the weakspot (literally all the classic bosses), or are so frickn' hard it makes one want to throw their controller, have a tantrum and yell that they "aren't weak."

One of the only problems I have with the Sonic series is that in most cases the bosses are strict--it doesn't matter how far Sonic is to defeating the boss--if he dies, he gets to restart. There is one bright side to the final bosses, at least. The intense version of the game's main theme. Yeah...First our line up, and then I'll go over a few that didn't make it on this list.

1-3 

Perfect Dark Gaia/Dark Gaia/Egg Dragoon (Sonic Unleashed) 

(this seems like cheating my list, here, but how can I not think of them as one?) 

60 times, damn it, 60 times.

These three have are separate bosses, but they're all unrelenting torture.

• Sewn together at the end of Sonic Unleashed, right after the longest and most difficult level in the game, these all must be beat in order to win the game. 
• Meaning if one runs out of lives, one must start all over. 
• Done right, they can be easy, but one slip up and the fight will become a long, angering, and tedious process.  
• To top it all off, you have to press the square button (or whatever button it asks for) 60 times in what seems like five seconds. Failing to do so results in automatic death. 

Tip: If you don't know you're controller buttons by now, you better learn.

4

Great Eggman Robo (Sonic and Knuckles)

Ouch.

After escaping the already super-hard bosses of the Death Egg Zone, Sonic gets to challenge this bad boy, in a lovely, ring-less environment. Defeating this boss is necessary to move on to the final boss, another difficult challenge, and to win the game.

• With several parts and a totally evil laser, this ugly fella' almost seems invisible. Perfect timing is required for success.  

Tip: You can manipulate the level select and debug mode "for practice." If you're playing on  a re-release that allows you to save at what ever point you want (Like the Sonic Mega Collection or Classic Collection), you can keep redoing this point without starting over or (potentially) losing lives. Listening to the sound effects is the key to avoiding the attacks. 

5

VS Sonic/VS Blaze Normal Mode (Sonic Rush)

IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY. 

At first, the rival boss fight is as easy as ever.

• It's a simple fight...then Sonic and Blaze argue some more, and suddenly the two start boosting each other. 
• The result is pure button-smashing for the player as they frantically hit A and B. 
• Well, that's it. It may not seem like much, but once the player's thumb starts to numb, they're reconsidering. 

Tip: The mode can be switched to "easy," which make this boss along with all the others much easier to handle, but in time-attack the boss is reset to the normal mode no matter what. 

6

Eggman (Sonic Battle) 

Red. Original. 

The real monster in this game was beating the Guard Robos within the time limit Rouge assigns Emerl (in her story), but that doesn't really count as a boss. However, I consider Emerl vs Eggman and later Sonic vs Ultimate Emerl bosses, since it's not just training, it's important to the story, and it leads to the ending.

• At first it's not so bad, but as with all bosses, it gets difficult as it progresses. 
• Eggman is able to attack while flying. Hitting him back without Emerl taking damage can be a real challenge.

Tip: Use cheat codes to gain Emerl's combo moves and enable one of them. It will make life a whole lot easier.

7

Egg X (Sonic Advance)

Orange. Original.

All the bosses in Advance are harder than expected, especially for Amy and her specific hammer attacks. I've never gotten all of the Chaos Emeralds for this game, so I can't judge the final boss, but Egg X was pretty menacing.

• It alternates its attacks, only becoming vulnerable at quick moments. 
• It is very easy to lose all rings, largely due to it's arm attack. 
• If the player dies, they have to go through the previous bosses, although they are very short/easy (and throw-backs to the classic games).

Tip: First off, don't try to attack it right away--you can't, so when you land it will harm you and you'll drop your rings. Perfectly avoiding attacks can make this easy, but goof up and it become a real problem.

8

Metal Madness/Overlord (Sonic Heroes)

That's Metal Sonic?

With the final boss in the game, the teams have to come together and defeat the power-hungry "Neo" Metal Sonic.

• Team Rose? A breeze, as usual. Chaotix is where I started having trouble. 
• Risking the Homing Attack is rewarding...but not when Espio jumps right off the platform! 
• That's the main problem throughout Madness--falling off. 
• Repeating the same proccess of rotating attacks gets frustrating fast, and the attack that traps the player's allies is terrible, mostly as a flight character because it's hard to free them and avoid becoming caught. 
• Do Super Sonic and his bubble-buddy pals have it any easier? No, not really, because they have to keep their ring count up, counter the beast's attacks, and charge their Team Blast to hurt it. 

Tip: In Metal Madness, there seems to be an order to attack in (such as flight, power, speed). Figuring this out can reduce the time spent on this portion of the boss. No wasting time on the easy ones--your seconds spent in Madness are used in Overlord, too. Use the Team Blast as much as possible, and move quickly. 
   

9

Mecha Sonic/Death Egg Robot (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)

Double Trouble. 

Back in the day, this would be at the top of my list. Thanks to the amazing powers of the internet, though, it's here at number nine.

• No rings, so one false move means an automatic death and a return to the start of the level. 
• A creepy robot copy is there to eat up Sonic's lives, and after managing to move on, fat old Ro-buttnik runs ahead and jumps into a huge, dangerous robot that take 16 hits instead of the standard 8. 
• His arms are fast, sharp spikes, and stomping on Sonic isn't any less lethal. Generation's version is cake compared to this.

Tip: You look it up, genius. Learn the attacks, avoid them, and be careful.

10

Sonic and Diablon (Shadow the Hedgehog)

You Devil!

Now that I think about it, this wasn't that hard, just long. Getting an A rank--that was why I had trouble with this one. Eh, oh well.

• Sonic is invincible, just a nuisance that's ready to knock the rings out of you, so he's not the real boss, here. 
• It's Diablon, the experimental robot...thing, that the revenge-seeking Commander is controlling. 
• Fought three times, the main conflicts are attacking it without being hit. Sometimes its laser, or Sonic, will cause Shadow to fall out of the area and die. 

Tip: Use the weapons to your advantage and feed the Dark Gauge. Save up the ammo for Chaos Blast, then fire on it and use the invincibility to get close. Only use the blast before it's about to run out. This will do more damage than only using the blast.    

Why, why, why: the almost-s. 

Egg-Wyvern (Sonic 06)--I have a great memory of getting an S-rank after a few tries, completing Sonic's story, and watching Sonic and Elise laugh in a semi-creepy way. Replaying it, I found it to be more of a challenge, and it is probably the hardest in the game (Solaris is cake, and the others aren't too bad once the player figures out how to win). Still, that S-rank reminds me that it couldn't have been that hard. 

Egg Viper (Sonic Adventure)--I haven't played this game in a while, but I remember having trouble with this one. Still, that might have been because Eggman was repeating himself, and that can get annoying fast.

Egg Dragoon (Sonic Generations)--When replaying Sonic Generations, Egg Dragoon and the Time Eater were the only bosses I had trouble with. Toughest of them all, and fought in a different style than it's Unleashed counterpart, it was defiantly considered for this list. Eggman, say that phrase again and I'll...

Ifrit Golem (Sonic and the Secret Rings)--I just remember having a tough time. Lava, unreliable platforms. Giant enemy. Not cool, Sega.

Lancelot Returns (Sonic and The Black Knight)--The first time I fought him, it took like, 5 seconds and immediately gave me 5 stars. Lucky I did that then, because replaying it I could barley hit him.

Hot Mobile/Lava Reef Boss (Sonic and Knuckles)--I used to think this was hard. Before I discovered the shields, BOOYAH.

And anything from the 8-bit games...those things are murderous, alright. But I'm not as familiar with them, and they aren't very memorable.

Bosses are more or less required in a Sonic game. I think I could do without them, since it just slows everything down and make the game irritating. But I do like some of them, considering a half are fun or easy. The rival battles are great. Sonic CD and Forces have really easy bosses, and I think that's the way I like it. A little challenge is fine. But those hour-eating ones? No thanks.
   

ITSNOUSETAKETHISITSNOUSETAKETHISTAKE--Urgh, NO!

Battle of the Voice Actors: Sonic

With all those comic-posts I was starting to feel like the Comix Zone. So this time we're jumping into one of the greatest Sonic debates, who is the best Sonic voice actor? We'll start with the games first, then add in the others (but just the main ones, not like, Sonic's Schoolhouse--that doesn't count).

First off, the contestants!

Ryan Drummond--Known for being the first in-game voice actor, Drummond voiced Sonic until 2004. He also stepped in for Knuckles in one game, and voiced Sonic's robot double, Metal Sonic, in Sonic Heroes.

Jason Griffith--Taking over by voicing Sonic in Sonic X, Griffith voiced Sonic until 2010. He voiced Sonic's transformations as well as rivals Shadow the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk.

Roger Craig Smith--The current voice actor, who also voices Sonic in Sonic Boom. He voices Dave the Intern and other characters on the show.

The Evaluations:

Winner: Jason Griffith. 
Griffith voices Sonic with with enthusiasm and feeling. From making Sonic the adventure-loving traveler in Sonic Unleashed to the "bring it on" racer in Sonic Riders. He is able to show Sonic's more serious side like with Darkspine Sonic, and his final boss battle in Sonic and the Black Knight. He greatly improved his voice acting since the beginning of Sonic X, giving Sonic the illusion of maturing. His only faults are a few odd-ball lines and phrases that sounded corny, mainly in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Shadow the Hedgehog. 

Second: Ryan Drummond.
I often think the reason Drummond often gets credited as the best voice actor is because he's the first. Sort of the Connery of Sonic. But, not really because he had a voice in the cartoons. Anyhow, Dummond easily transformed Sonic into the easy-going, "it doesn't matter" hedgehog he needed to be. He was at his best in Sonic Heroes, where Sonic sounded excited and ready for the challenge ahead. He was at his worst at his start, though, in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic lines seemed a little weird (not to mention his mouth movements). The main problem later on seemed to be with sarcasm--Sonic would say something saracastic, but he wouldn't sound sarcastic. Still, Drummond easily got Sonic's style and attitude down pat.

Loser: Roger Craig Smith.
I hated Smith's voice. When playing Sonic Colors, when Sonic did the "BWAH" sound effect when he died, I'd say "Damn it RogerCraigSmith!"--it's one of the reasons I hate that game. It was bad enough they had to replace Griffith, but they replaced him with THIS? Combined with the trashy jokes the writers started throwing in the games, it was a disaster. Sonic was now a lame, emotionless jerk, bored with life. Luckily when Sonic Boom started, Smith began to improve a bit. When I watched the cutsecnes of the Sonic-Lego Dimensions game (because there was no way I was going to buy that) I was surprised to find that Smith did a pretty good job. Going into season 2 of Boom, the same reaction. He was able to make Sonic funny and sympathetic. So I was satisfied with his work in Forces, but there were still lines that weren't "Sonic," and I never really felt the guy matched Sonic's personality to begin with. Which is why he's the "loser."

Now for our cartoon and movie add-ins...

Jaleel White--Voiced Sonic in the first three cartoons. In Sonic Underground, he also voiced Sonic's siblings, Sonia and Manic. But the singing was done by some other people.

Martin Burke--Voiced Sonic in the OVA/"Sonic: the Movie."

Ben Schwarts--Announced as the voice of Sonic in the upcoming film, Schwarts is excluded from this until 2019 (when the movie comes out). I've never heard of this guy: no idea what to expect.

The Evaluations:

Winner: Jason Griffith 
Ultimately, Griffith was the perfect Sonic. He combined what was great about the actors before him and yet made it his own. Griffith's Sonic is exactly the what Sonic should be: funny, friendly, and dynamic.

Runner-up: Jaleel White
White set the bar for what Sonic should sound like. He made Sonic thick with attitude--clever, smart, and heroic in a 90s kind of way. If Classic Sonic spoke, we all know who'd be voicing him.

Lucky Third: Ryan Drummond 
Drummond did a good job. Just not as good. He fit the role and, even though I consider Griffith better, I agree that it was a shame he didn't get to voice more games. 

Loser: Roger Craig Smith
Although he improved, Smith is far from perfect. Smith has been voicing Sonic for a while now and I think that's in part because of Sonic Boom (Sega wants Sonic to sound the same in all media and it would be weird for Sonic to change voices on mid-show). So we'll probably be stuck with him awhile.

Dead Last: Martin Burke
Burke tired, and he still captures Sonic's cocky personality. He's just...bad. Maybe it's not fair because he only voiced Sonic once, but when I hear him I either want to cringe or ignore how "anime dub" he sounds. Compared to all the other voice actors in the movie, though, he was pretty good.

Some people prefer Sonic silent. Those people are *ssholes. It's important to have good animation and expressions, but a voice can add so much more. Determination, courage, anger: true emotions. Part of that is on the script, and on the people who make the game, but the rest of it is on the actors. Sonic has had some great versions of his voice, and I'd rather have to deal with his current one than have him say nothing at all. 

No offense, pal. 

Quote of the Month

"It was never about chivalry for me."
--Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Black Knight