Best Shadow VA

Best to Worst

1 Jason Griffith (Sonic X, 2005-2010)

Although his initial voice for the character during the Sonic X arc "the Shadow Saga" was slightly off, by Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic X season 3 it was spot on.

The ultimate voice for Shadow, Griffith was able to hit Shadow's different emotions perfectly, from threatening to sad to determined. He was often able to switch between making the character's voice  rough or soft depending on the situation.   

2 David Humphrey (2001-2004)

Shadow's first voice helped establish his memorable character traits. I especially like how he is able to show empathy for Maria through his voice. He got even better by Sonic Heroes. Humphrey did a great job as Shadow, just not as good as Griffith.

3 Kirk Thornton (2010-now)

Thornton's rough Shadow voice is okay. In Forces his take on the character was pretty good, but in the past he's done little to impress. The recent games haven't given Shadow much of a role, anyway, though.

Best Amy VA

Best to Worst

1 Lisa Ortiz (Sonic X, 2005-2010)

Ortiz did a wonderful version of Amy. She was able to sound cute, girlish, and peppy. Her version also showed Amy's "fan-girl" and angry sides the best.

2 Cindy Robinson (Sonic Boom, 2010-now) 

Starting out, her high pitched Amy sounded annoying and like Minnie Mouse. Since voicing Boom Amy, though, she improved and has showed a mature side to the character. Luckily her changes were extended to the games as well.

3 Jennifer Douillard (1999-2004)

Although her voice was youthful and she improved a lot by Heroes, her appearances in the Adventure series weren't that good and lacked the personality the others had.

Best Knux VA

Knuckles was originally supposed to be Jamaican, but that didn't happen. Time for figure out Knuckles' best voice:

Best to Worst:

1 Travis Willingham (Sonic Boom, 2010-2017)

While his voice initially seemed mediocre, it wasn't as bad as some of the others from the "2010" group. His voice acting for the character improved with Sonic Boom, where he somehow made (the drastically different) Knuckles funny and likable. I also like how mature he portrayed the character in Sonic Forces.

2 Dan Green (Sonic X, 2005-2010)

Green was able to portray Knuckles' hot-headed personality the best. He also was able to make the character comical by keeping his voice completely serious.

3 Scott Dreier (2001-2003)

Dreier's Knuckles seemed kinda' weird at first, but he seems enthusiastic and still sounds tougher fellow characters.

4 Ryan Drummond (Sonic Shuffle)

Surprisingly, Drummond does a good job matching Knuckles' personality for only voicing the character once.

5 Dave Mitchell (Team Sonic Racing)

Mitchell manages to keep his voice similar to the others, but so far doesn't stand out much.

6 Michael McGaharn (Sonic Adventure)

McGaharn doesn't capture Knuckles' fired-up attitude as well, but does a decent job showing the explorer side of Knuckles.

7 Bill Wise ("The Movie"/OVA)

Wise has the oddest version, with a strange accent. It's not as bad as some of the other OVA actors, but it's strange for Knuckles.

8 Brian Drummond (Sonic Underground)

Brian Drummond (no relation to Ryan Drummond) makes Knuckles seem younger than the rest of the actors. While he tries to make the character have a threatening tone, the higher pitch makes it hard to take serious.

Best Tails VA

Tails has had the most voice actors in the entire series. He would often be voiced by a young boy, and then their voice would change...Tails has almost been voiced by girls as many times as by guys...

Since there are so many for Tails, I'm ranking them all at once (games and cartoons).

Best to Worst

1 Christopher Welch (AoStH)

Tails' first voice actor remains the best in my opinion. He sounds young but not babyish, and is able to show affection and admiration for his "big bro" very well. Though this version of the character was about 4-5, I think the voice would have fit the games fine.

2 Colleen O' Shaughnessey (Boom, games since 2014, Sonic movie cameo)

Shaughnessey does an admirable job of making Tails sound cute, smart, youthful, and boyish at the same time. This "Tails" combination is something that others have struggled with.

3 Kate Higgins (games 2010-2013)

Higgins gave Tails a boyish voice and was able make poorly written lines comical. However her lower pitch makes Tails sound older, and I don't get as much of an emotional bond with Sonic as with the others.

4 Amy Palant (Sonic X, games 2005-2010)

Her voice for Tails is adorable, though it can be kind of annoying in some cases. She does a good job of making Tails sound smart, and (after a few years of speaking too high) she was able to improve and make him sound more like a boy. Had it been that way the whole time, Palant would be in third.


5 William Corkery (2003-2004)

While cute and friendly, Corkery's Tails is simply too young sounding (which is somewhat ironic because his voice actor was actually 8 at the time). His sound effects in Sonic Heroes can get annoying.

6 Chris Turner (AoStH-Christmas Blast)

Turner sounds similar to Welch--a good choice--but he's not as quite as likable. His Tails acts the appropriate age, but lacks some of Tails' personalty traits.

7  Bradley Pierce (Sat Am)

Pierce has the same problem as Corkery of sounding too young for the role. But it's even more bothersome when this version of Tails is supposed to be ten.

8  Corey Bringas (1999-2000)

His version of Tails is fair. He matches Tails' age nicely, but at points seems...immature? It's not really his voice but his acting, I guess.

9 Conner Bringas (2001)

The lines sound more awkward and unnatural from Connor Bringas than most of Tails' other voices.

10 Lainie Frasier (OVA)

Tails has probably never sounded more annoying. High, her version of Tails is babyish, or maybe sick.

So the best all-time voice for Tails was Christopher Welch. Being a young boy when voicing the lines, it's understandable why he'd (likely) never reprise the role.

As for the best in the games, it's Colleen O' Shaughnessey, which is suiting because she's the current voice for Tails.

Best Sonic VA (Recap)

I decided who was Sonic's best voice actor once before...but now that the Sonic Movie has come out, where does Ben Schwartz stand?

Best to Worst:

1 Jason Griffith

"Alright. Bring it on."

2 Jaleel White

"I'm WAITING."

3 Ryan Drummond

"Let's blast through with Sonic speed!"

4 Roger Craig Smith

"No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me." 

5 Ben Schwartz

"There's a fish on my head."

6 Martin Burke

"SHUT UP, TAILS."

Ben Schwartz isn't bad. It takes a bit of getting used to. He's able to switch between emotions easily and also manages to be comedic without trying too hard.

Still, in my mind he's movie Sonic, not Sonic. I'm not sure if he'd be as likable in the games.

Had this been a few years ago, I would have ranked him above Roger Craig Smith, but as of Team Sonic Racing, I've decided Smith isn't as bad anymore. My ranking between Drummond, Smith, and Schwartz is very close.

However Jason Griffith and Jaleel White are still the best by far, and Martin Burke is still at the bottom of the list. 

Quote of the Month

"That's a Chaos Emerald...collect 7, and a miracle's supposed to happen."
--Blaze the Cat, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

Sonicomics: IDW Changes...

Info

It's been announced that Evan Stanley (Creator of the fan comic "GOTF;" writer of "The Silver Age" issues/co-writer for "Victory Garden;" and a "fan favorite" Sonic artist) will be taking over as main writer for the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW comic series starting in issue 33.

The issue also features art by "fan favorite" Gigi Dutreix ("TMOM" fan comic; co-writer for "Victory Garden"), who will assumingly start penciling for the series more often. 

Current writer Ian Flynn will still be involved; it's more of a partnership. However, it is a big step in the world of Sonic comics since there hasn't been a main comic written without Ian Flynn since 2006 (and none "main" in the IDW series).

The success of "Tangle and Whisper " apparently opened the door for more spin-off material. There will be new mini-series focusing on sub-villain Dr. Starline. Written by Ian Flynn, it's titled "Bad Guys." Also, this year's Annual has been given a new release date in June (as it and most of the issues were delayed by the REAL WORLD virus).

Thoughts    

I'm happy with the change in writing. Though I don't hate Flynn, as some fans do, I've often felt that others should be involved for a better balance. I also believe that Stanley has a better grasp on how some of the characters act. Neither are perfect, but working together could turn out to be a great idea.

So many...

I'm less pleased with this "Bad Guys" idea. The Sonic cast is large and there are many amazing characters to base a story around. Most probably deserved a story more than Tangle/Whisper, but they were new, very popular characters. It made sense for IDW to show-off it's original characters in a original story.

But Starline? I don't think he's done anything to deserve a series. He's rather bland and lacks the popularity to support him. What's more, the series will deal with "the aftermath" of the Metal Virus saga...MORE OF THE D@^# M@%$@! F*&$!^% METAL VIRUS SAGA?!

Starline and fellow worthless characters (excluding maybe Mimic)

Look, Flynn has managed to make unique stories about villainous characters before. But it's defiantly not the angle I'd choose for the series' second spin-off, and I'm not interested.