Should Sonic ever try to pursue a romantic relationship (or have moments that hint at romance)?

[Jango]

Pegi- 10 and nothing more.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jango

[Soniman]

....but Sonic isn't interested in Amy. The point of introducing a new character would be that it would be someone Sonic would find attractive, with common personality and interests.

As for Hypothetical the Hedgehog only being Sonic's love interest, well that wouldn't be the case if she were well written. She could easily be a fully three dimensional character......of course then they'd have to start adding depth to every other character in the series...

I don't know, I just find the idea of Sonic and Amy's relationship developing from annoying fangirl crush to something genuine much more appealing than having some other character made for Sonic's affection and having a very easy time falling for one another.

[Anti Alias]

I don't know, I just find the idea of Sonic and Amy's relationship developing from annoying fangirl crush to something genuine much more appealing than having some other character made for Sonic's affection and having a very easy time falling for one another.

yeah... but about that...

let's just say Amy is not really the only character written as a love interest for Sonic in this continuity, and the dinamics of the relationships with said characters are rather different from the way Sonic and Amy interact...

But I see what you are trying to say and I quite agree with that.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Anti Alias

[Diogenes]

....but Sonic isn't interested in Amy.

Wouldn't be much of a jump for him to be, I think. The way I read their relationship, it's not that Sonic simply has no interest in Amy, but that she's been too clingy for a guy who values his freedom over all else. Considering the things Soniman pointed out in the OP in Unleashed and SatBK, I think it's pretty obvious that a relationship is not entirely off the table. They just need to grow up a bit and find a compromise.

[Soniman]

Wouldn't be much of a jump for him to be, I think. The way I read their relationship, it's not that Sonic simply has no interest in Amy, but that she's been too clingy for a guy who values his freedom over all else. Considering the things Soniman pointed out in the OP in Unleashed and SatBK, I think it's pretty obvious that a relationship is not entirely off the table. They just need to grow up a bit and find a compromise.

Also this

Nimue is not Amy, which is quite obvious due to her reserved and generally calm nature. Of course Sonic doesn't realize this at first and his initial instinct is to run away, but when Sonic realizes that it isn't Amy he wastes no time giving her the reach around. Id like to think this is how Sonic would treat the real Amy if she actually bothered to tone her attitude down and see Sonic as a person rather than an idol.

[Scar]

I'd prefer Sonic stick to the occasional flirt with the female characters.

Sonic flirting with Amy just to tease her would be pretty hilarious in fact, even more hilarious if he flirts with other females in her presence. Oh the lulz to be had would be priceless. To be honest, I don't see Sonic the type to take a full-time relationship seriously enough for it to work. I guess they could do it such that Sonic's free-willed spirit becomes a source of frustration for the other half.

The other half is another issue. Logical choice is Amy because she's been designed as a love-interest. I don't think it fits, because she's a clingy little bitch, that Sonic just wouldn't be able to put up with. The other choice, and one I'm sure will make a few people happy, is Blaze. I personally think her character is a better fit for Sonic. Biggest problem with this though, is of course; Amy. How would that work? What would Amy be, a jealous bitch....? Or would she just let Sonic go.

[Diogenes]

Honestly I don't have a clue what they could do with Amy if Sonic ended up with someone else. Chasing Sonic is kind of the entirety of her character; unless they did a hell of a lot of work to give her something else to go with, I don't see how it could end well.

[Anti Alias]

I'd prefer Sonic stick to the occasional flirt with the female characters.

Sonic flirting with Amy just to tease her would be pretty hilarious in fact, even more hilarious if he flirts with other females in her presence. Oh the lulz to be had would be priceless. To be honest, I don't see Sonic the type to take a full-time relationship seriously enough for it to work. I guess they could do it such that Sonic's free-willed spirit becomes a source of frustration for the other half.

The other half is another issue. Logical choice is Amy because she's been designed as a love-interest. I don't think it fits, because she's a clingy little bitch, that Sonic just wouldn't be able to put up with. The other choice, and one I'm sure will make a few people happy, is Blaze. I personally think her character is a better fit for Sonic. Biggest problem with this though, is of course; Amy. How would that work? What would Amy be, a jealous bitch....? Or would she just let Sonic go.

it's less about "shipping" who goes well with who, what personalities fits and such, and more about writting, subtext and interaction...

I just don't feel like writting a wall of text discussing and detailing characters relationships and interactions and subtext of scenes, I've done too much of that already.

I personally feels people should go ship whatever they like, but MY writting style is all about being as accurate possible and...

yeah... shit gets complicated there.

[Diogenes]

it's less about "shipping" who goes well with who, what personalities fits and such, and more about writting, subtext and interaction...

How so?

[Jetronic]

Honestly....I'm not all that sure, though I'm expecting one other person to really say something on the matter for this.

As for myself, again I don't know...lots of different unbalanced reactions can occur from this, both in game and out. Though I wouldn't mind some games opening with some of the characters chilling out at some type of grill or something for about 12 seconds (since many are impatient with the wanting the game to start immediately).

[Scar]

To be honest, in the end, there would need to be a lot of character groundwork before anything actually happens. For instance characters would need to all be deepened significantly beforehand, so that some of them aren't rendered obsolete (ahem Amy), naturally developing the characters over time would be much better than them just suddenly changing because suddenly Sonic has a girlfriend.

[Danj86]

I'd imagine it could be believable that Sonic could return her feelings. She has saved Sonic several times in the past and that could impress him.

From Gamma in Sonic Adventure. (Only during Gamma story.)

From Prison in Sonic Adventure 2. (Although mostly thanks to Tails)

And from Silver in 06.

[Vertekins]

Well, for the romantic subtext in X between Sonic and Amy that was never overdone and was pretty believable. So whilst I don't actually have much interest if at all in SonAmy in the game continuity, I guess it would be pretty interesting to see it and it has some great characterization potential if it was well pulled off and Amy was snapped out of the rather horrid character derailment she's been getting for years in the process.

Romantic interest between two characters is no less an avenue to explore regarding character interactions than any other kind of relationship. The only contempt should be reserved for how it is written, not the concept of it.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Vertekins

[Anti Alias]

That's the problem!!!

the interactions between Sonic and Amy in the game continuity lacks a primordial thing for romance in fiction.

it lacks:

and without subtext it's just.... dialogue, with no affection, no conection, no feelings, there is nothing left...

okay, weird but effective example:

That is a scene with SUBTEXT, it's romantic! there is romantic tension, you can see it, you can FEEL IT deep in your heart!!!

and that's...

..exaclty how they don't interact in the game continuity....

that's why the scene feels out of character for Sonic.... because that not how the dinamics of their interactions works, not saying that people can't write like that or that is wrong or anything... ANYTHING, repeat, ANITHING can be awesome when it's well written, I've seem people talk about Sonic/Amy stories that are very well written in character and that's great, and there is a LOT LOT of subtext between Sonic and Amy in Sonic X, but that's... another continuity.

while we get that Sonic cares for Amy, and sometimes he enjoys being with her, and even did agree to go on a date with her in SaTBK (even though the subtext is killed in the scene) that's exactly what's missing in their interactions:

[Scar]

To add on to what AA just said, we need to generate subtext through groundwork over a couple of games or one game at the very least. Sonic currently, has no reason to behave like he did in that small comic strip AA just posted. If that did happen, it would feel kind of random, in a "Where the fuck did this come from" kind of way.

Its pretty clear that currently, Sonic is massively irritated by Amy and her clingy-ness. See first cutscene in Generations.

The one time they moved on from Amy being an annoying bugger (SA1) they moved her straight back in the very next game. At this point its pretty much what the character is defined by, and as such there needs to be an underlining character arc spanning at least one game, featuring changes to Amy and Sonic (and basically every other character but that's for a different reason) to make it plausible. And if Sonic is to be with somebody else, then Amy would need to change into a much more mature character to be bearable at all.

[Diogenes]

That is a scene with SUBTEXT, it's romantic! there is romantic tension, you can see it, you can FEEL IT deep in your heart!!!

[Kuzu]

To be fair, Sonic & Amy don't interact much at all in the games beyond their tired old running gag. Any relationship the two could have is really mitigated by how much Flanderization has hit Amy, she's a borderline psychopath stalker at this point, and that's...not romantic at all, and Sonic is almost justified in ignoring and avoiding her. So, until Amy is written with her head on her shoulders, there's almost no way you could realistically make any subtext between the two.

Basically, Amy is too insane, and obsessive for Sonic to realistically like her back. Like Scar said, you'd have to take quite a few games for it to be believable otherwise you fall into the trap of "Strangled by the Red String"

Edited November 7, 2012 by Popo

[Naysu]

dispite his obvious run away tactics with amy, he seems to be tolerating her more in recent games, sonic riders, he allowed her to bash him with her hammer without zooming off into the horizon. And in Generations he simply holds his hand over her face rather than peel out. He doesnt show any real romantic interest in the games, BUT I can see a friendship that is getting stronger, as Amy is being written a little more as comic reliefe and less as crazy psycho.

sonic and blaze would just be too serious as a relationship. there would be no humour, which the cutscenes in the newest games seem to thrive on. the problem with sonic and blaze is that they are TOO alike. that means if they were together, in a relationship, neither character would 'evolve', and they would not really rub off each other (do no take that the wrong way there) the way that sonic and amy do, when amy enters the stage you are eager to see Sonic's reaction, they react from what each other does in an exaggerated way, which again is what makes the humour.

thats my opinion anyway.

[Kuzu]

Hmm, I expected somebody would say that. I agree that having a love interest just for this is very shallow, forced and contrived in my opinion and as if Sonic hadn't so many characters already.

Ella and Sera worked because they had their own roles within the shows, outside of Eggman. They existed, not just because they were supposed to be Eggman's other half. If the character is someone we'd been used to and/or had her own place, then perhaps this could work but as things are, she cannot be introduced without being a major character that is tied to the plot, and no one wants another Elise (I think). Introducing her without depth makes the whole thing fickle and there's no character development, because we don't see why Eggman likes her, or why would she like Eggman.

But I can see how this can be done. At some point, they could introduce a new female character that is not necessarily integral to the plot of the game. Maybe a new commander for GUN, or a different character altogether. The story would drop a few subtle hints that there may be something between them, but nothing substantial, at least not in the game where she is introduced. Maybe she doesn't even need to appear at all. We could see Eggman being caught writing romantic poetry to "someone", or sending a robot to deliver flowers, just to show he's a romantic sap.

[Dr. Homem]

She doesn't have to be a side character, she can be a very major character in her own right, she would just need a more fleshed out role than just being Eggman's love interest.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Homem

[Naysu]

Maybe the new games should focus less on humor then. Also, how are Sonic & Blaze alike? Sonic is an extrovert who loves freedom, and is a pretty easy guy to get along with, Blaze is more introverted and tends to hide her real feelings and can only bring them out in extreme emotion, and not very sociable. That really doesn't sound the same to me. Sonic treats Blaze well enough, and is generally considered one of his closer friends as much as Tails & Knuckles are, while Blaze was able to become a better person because of the influence Sonic & Cream had in her life. Both evolved pretty well if you ask me.

[iDEATH]

I don't know, I just find the idea of Sonic and Amy's relationship developing from annoying fangirl crush to something genuine much more appealing than having some other character made for Sonic's affection and having a very easy time falling for one another.

[Kuzu]

Surely she could be a main character. What should be avoided is that she becomes too integral to the main plot, because like I said, nobody wants another Elise

Now that is an interesting topic. Robotnik is the character that has been portrayed most consistenly in the series - an eccentric and insane yet enderaring and childish. If the whole thing was a gag, a one-way romance ala-AoSTH, it would please most fans and generally have a good success.

However, if it's instead humorous yet semi-serious, it has a slight higher risk of being disliked. Thing is, it probably would have brought some good development as well, if done right. And I don't trust them to get it perfect.

Conclusion: we're better off with a 100% gag romance. While it is comparatively worse than a well done semi-serious romance, it's better than a badly done one. And with better chances too.

I admit, Eggman being an Abhorrent Admirer would lulzy, as long as it doesn't compromise his egocentric goal of taking over. His primary motivation would be greed, and selfishness and not actual romance.

I had always thought that blaze was supposed to be basically the sonic of her dimention, slight differences in personality, but both hide their feelings, blaze is a little more serious.

i just thought, blaze gets with sonic... eggman gets with eggman nega....

im kidding of course

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Sonic isn't the type to hide how he feels, the dude very much wears his heart on his sleeve.

[Linkabel]

Don't you know that girls have cooties? Is a hard life living with that disease you know

Eh, I don't know, I guess they can always hint at it. Or go with the Mickey/Minnie Mouse thing where is official but is also not shove down your face.

And for people who think Sonic would never want to be tied down: Can you name even one thing that Sonic would not be able to do if he were dating someone?

Well for one he will have to get a job to support his love interest and his future family, so no more adventures. He will eventually start going bald and he will lose his spines so that means no more spin dash/homing attack. He is going to get fat and will no longer run fast. His carefree attitude will change to that of responsibility and bitterness. He will be insecure about his relationship and go into a depression, and he is going to wonder why his baby has dark fur and red stripes instead of being blue like him.

.........I'm kidding of course....or am I?

[Wraith]

I wouldn't mind them to subltly IMPLY that Sonic and Amy have grown a bit and therefor gotten closer ala Sonic X, but I don't think they should overdo it or take their relationship too seriously.

If you think about it, Amy and Sonic would fit together MUCH better than Sonic and Blaze ever would if they did some growing up. Blaze seems like the last person I'd expect to settle down with anyone so soon. She just started making friends, and she's so obligated to her duties that I just don't see her focusing so much attention on anyone else. She's got more growing up to do than anyone else, ironically.