Quote of the Month

"You...it can't be..."
--Princess Elise, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

Sonic Themes

Several conflicts are repeated in the Sonic series.

Nature vs Technology

This was found in the very beginning. Here is Ivo Robotnik, a human, sticking animals into robots and building all kinds of crazy creations to take over. CD's bad futures show the extent of the pollution and corruption. 

Good vs Evil

A simple element, Sonic is clearly good and Robotnik is evil. Knuckles was the first rival, and the first to blur the lines, but it would be "neutral" characters like Rouge and Shadow that really caused questions. 

Ultimately, though, there is often a "greater" evil such as Perfect Chaos or Solaris that causes even Eggman to put aside his hatred to help.   

Light vs Dark

This is similar to the last but slightly different. In Unleashed, Chip is the light and he is good. Dark Gaia is of course the dark, and is bad. However in 06 Iblis is the "light" half, but the fire creature is a menace. Solaris itself has been a villain yet the "true" Solaris is supposed to be good. 

For the main characters it's a matter of sides. Team Dark doesn't like to advertise themselves as heroes like...Team Hero. Or any of the other teams. But they aren't evil; they aren't the bad guys. 

This is also seen with the Chao.   

Calculating vs Blind Evil

Some monsters ares simply that. They only try to destroy because it's all they know. Other villains are far more aware and planning. 

Gift vs Curse

Many characters have abnormal powers or origins that affect them. Blaze the Cat originally regarded her powers as a curse, though she used them to protect her world. Tails was bullied over his tails, but they gave him flight. 

Clever vs Naive

Many characters have been tricked at one time or another. Clever characters like Metal Sonic, Mephiles, Eggman, or even Rouge manipulate characters like Knuckles or Silver because they have a trusting nature. Sometimes even "clever" characters fall victim to someone else's plan, like Eggman to his grandfather's.   

Sonic 06 is Better than Colors (Part 4)

I started a list of reasons Sonic 06 is better than Colors. Surprisingly, this ended up being rather lengthy. So, I decided to make this a mini-series of sorts.

Part 4 The Level Ups/Power Ups/Upgrades

In 06, like most main-Sonic games, there are mandatory level ups like light dash. There are optional, extra abilities that can be purchased with rings toward the end of the game.

Sonic (Gems)
RED--Slows time down
BLUE--Boost ("mach" speed)
GREEN--Wind/tornado attack
WHITE--homing smash
YELLOW--Thunder guard/shield
SKY--Gun drive/throw gem
PURPLE--Scaled down/tiny Sonic

Shadow (Memory Shards)
RED--Chaos Blast chaos spear upgraded
BLACK--Chaos Blast upgraded attack

The gems are really cool because they make tings easier and can be used forever. What's especially great about them (sky specifically) is that it makes it easier for Sonic to glitch past areas and finish the level faster. It was probably unintended but it's a great asset.

Shadow's upgrades (with their given descriptions) are misleading. However all they do is add to the already-fairly-awesome-but-could-have-been-awesomer Chaos Blast.

In all, the level ups benefit the gameplay, and while some are kind of suckie (Blue gem), most are very useful.

Onto Sonic Colors, and the levels-ups are temporary--like getting invincibility shortly. But in this case, the Wisps double as both a plot device and a level-up, helping Sonic take different forms. Sounds cool, right? It's not.

Sonic (Wisps)
WHITE--Boost
CYAN--Laser
YELLOW--Drill
GREEN--Hover
BLUE--Cube
PURPLE--Frenzy
VIOLET--Void
RED--Burst
PINK--Spikes

Really, I find the "wisp" gimmick more of a nuisance than a help. It slows the gameplay down, and there are plenty of parts when you have to use them.

Having them fuel the boost is very annoying, and I prefer the other methods of fueling it like rings (Unleashed) or the trick system (Rush). 

Using the wisps means the player has to be very precise (like aiming the rocket or laser) and they usually backfire. The drill, rocket, and cube suck. Hover, laser, frenzy, and burst can be hard to control.

Every single level is ruined by these annoying f@!*king wisps and the annoying b*stard that keeps narrating "HOVER!" "LASER!" "ROCKET!" uuuuugh. And that's the same awful voice as whoever says "Game Over?" Who is that?

[lets see, the only credits include Roger Craig Smith, Kate Higgins, Mike Pollock, Kirk Thornton, or Wally Wingert...I assume it's not Kate Higgins because she's a girl--even if she is voicing Tails--I wouldn't expect it to be Thorton because I think I'd recognize "old-man-shadow" voice (but than again he voiced Orbot and I didn't remember that one)...it'd be easy to pin on Roger "Crap" Smith 'cause I hate his Sonic-voice but I don't remember...You know what, I have no idea. For all I know it's a computer. I'd have to look up the voice, listen to it, and try to figure it out--but I HATE THAT VOICE so I'm not gonna' do that...whoever you are, you're in my "worst voices" list along with Smith and the new guy who voices Jet!]
EDIT: It is Smith (confirmed from Sonic Generations).

Anyway, the wisps are very annoying an disrupt the gameplay instead of add to it. What really ticks me off is that since idiots labeled this "good," Sega assumed their fans were on their knees begging for more wisps and now they're in every frickn' game. I hate them, and they keep coming back. The only game even tried to fix them was Forces, which for the most part turned them into guns (because Sega's too afraid to bring guns back). "Wispons."

Yet they still fuel the frickn' boost. ARGH.

So while 06 had some cool--pretty much unfinished/broken, but cool--additions, Colors created slo-mo aliens nobody likes.