Amy Rose and Sonic

[Way Past Cool]

But why would falling in love nessicarily mean "settling down". It's not as if he'd suddenly have to buy a house in the suburbs and get a 9-5 job. XD

Adventurous, free-spirited, always on the move people exist in real life and have partners -- usually partners who are the exact same way. And what do they do? They explore, adventure, and travel the world together. Some never "settle down". There are couples who do nothing but roam the world, hoping from place to place.

There's nothing to suggest that Sonic would detest having someone to come along, as long as they could keep up to some capacity (naturally, they'd always arrive a bit late, but hey, love can be a little patient, right? XD)

Doesn't mean I support Sonic/Amy in any way.

Edit: Also, the above doesn't mean I can see ANY of that happening in game or ever being canon. I don't WANT anything of the sort to happen in canon. I'm simply arguing in terms of fanfic/art and pure speculation only, Sonic falling in love with someone is not something I think is impossible.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Way Past Cool

[Nattala]

Not so much here to talk about the ship but more Amy herself, a lot of people criticise Amy's portrayal in Heroes for that scene before the Team Rose/Team Sonic battle. I admit if you look at that scene she looks crazy but this was a game where EVERYONE was attacking everyone for no apparent reason. I mean looking at Heroes, Rouge is apparently paranoid, she thinks everyone is out to steal Eggman's treasure before her, plus Sonic gets really angry if you steal one of his lines. If you steal one of his lines he will beat you up and take it back. But outside of that scene I think Amy's portrayal in Heroes was mostly good. She shows more independence, taking charge and leading her team. Her upbeat nature really shines through as she encourages her team even when the other two have given up. One last note is that the main series games all have Amy as sweet and upbeat and its the spinoffs that are made by other teams which give Amy her Heroesesq personality.

Oh and the stiry of Sonic games is pretty much straightforward in that all side stories relate back to the main plot. Putting in a romance side story would seem tacked on and wouldn't relate to the main plot at all so it would seem pointless and distracting.

[HunterTSF]

She's clearly been written to be as sterotypical as possible: bright pink, obsessed with chasing a boy... and I admit, much of this is based on my single worst experience of Amy Rose, namely Sonic Heroes. In that game, she did battle with Sonic midway through his quest to stop Dr. Eggman, and for what reason? Because she wanted Sonic to marry her, even though he clearly wasn't up for it (that goes a bit beyond friendship, in my book).

Bah. I'd hate to admit it, but Sonic Heroes is definitely not a game to refer back to when it comes to character traits and interaction between anyone aside from members of the same team. Keep in mind that the other Team battles were started for even far more trivial causes than that - Rouge picked a fight with the Chaotix just for looking funny, Shadow quarreled with Team Sonic merely because they crossed paths, and Team Rose broke into a fight with Vector over a frivolous misunderstanding.

Compare:

Grand Metropolis

Amy, Big, Cheese, Cream, Knuckles, Sonic, Tails

Amy: Gotcha! My darling Sonic!

Sonic: Amy? What are you doing here?

Amy: Sonic! This time there's no way outta marrying me!

Grand Metropolis

Charmy, Espio, Omega, Rouge, Shadow, Vector

Rouge: Man... who are those creeps over there?

Vector: What's up, Espio?

Espio: And you are...?

Rouge: Just whaddya think you're doing here?

Vector: Who's this broad?

Espio: Our client's adversary, perhaps?

Charmy: You mean the bad guys?!

Rouge: You guys don't fool me, I know what you're after! Better stay outta my way!

Lost Jungle

Knuckles, Omega, Sonic, Shadow, Tails

Shadow: Look, it's that hedgehog...

Rouge: Wonder what the big rush is all about? Betcha those guys will end up getting in my way and making trouble.

Knuckles: Hey, isn't that...

Tails: Sonic!

Sonic: Heh, talk about being stubborn and full of surprises...

Rouge: Long time no see, boys! Too bad you had to come all this way for nothing! We'll take it from here.

Knuckles: What'd you say?

Omega: Sensors locked on Eggman. Non-compliant intruders will be destroyed.

Sonic: Hmm, didn't you know? We have a date with Eggman too.

Shadow: Is that so... well then, it will be a date to die for!

Sonic: Hey, that's my line!

Lost Jungle

Amy, Big, Charmy, Cheese, Cream, Espio, Vector

Vector: Excuse me miss, I was wondering if I could ask you something.

Amy: If it's about a date, it'll hafta wait!

Vector: A date?! You think this is a joke, you little brat?

Espio: Now, hand over that Chao nice and easy...

Cream: I betcha you're the ones who took Chocola-Chao.

Vector: What?!

Big: It's not nice to tease my friends!

Charmy: Yeah... time to rock and roll!

Yeah, just about everybody was crazy and on edge during Sonic Heroes. Rouge was ludicrously over-confrontational towards complete strangers doing absolutely nothing but walking near them, for instance. Amy's representation both exaggerated and inverted her preexisting character traits. The former example being displayed during her confrontation with Team Sonic, in which she impeded his progress just to mess around with him in a rather violent manner. Yeah, she loves Sonic - but the entire concept of fighting your crush and his buddies atop of a hovering platform suspended several stories off of the ground in a feeble attempt at forced marriage was complete insanity on her behalf.

The latter example would have to have been her display of rudeness towards a stranger right before the battle with the Chaotix. Amy is extremely warm and kind to strangers, and is over trusting of them if anything. She quickly befriends just about anybody she comes in contact with (Professor Pickle, Cream) regardless of their affiliation or past actions (Gamma, Shadow), and even will protect those who have done her harm before (Egg Pawns). Her brash response to Vector's politely-worded inquiry was completely out of character for her, as was most of the character interaction that took place outside of the pre-defined Teams in that game. As Pinche Pitochu has stated beforehand, Amy's defining character traits are her friendliness and "power of heart". Yeah, she likes Sonic. But she's still a character in her own right.

Edited April 16, 2010 by HunterTSF

[-Mark-]

Random, but let me just add in that in Japanese, Amy never once so much as mentions marriage.

Granted, I've not actually got access to the Japanese voice track for Sonic Heroes, but in every other instance where the English translation mentions marriage, Amy simply wanted a date with Sonic in Japanese. So I can't imagine why Heroes alone would be an exception to that rule.

I think that mistranslated 'date = marriage' thing does make Amy seem a bit more extreme in English, really.

Regarding Amy being a relatively stereotypical girly-girl, which Sonic character isn't pretty one-dimensional these days? Granted, they'll usually have their own little 'deep' moments from time to time, but that doesn't mean you can't sum up basically every characters' overall personality in one sentence.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Mahzes

[Iceman Etika]

I think that mistranslated 'date = marriage' thing does make Amy seem a bit more extreme in English, really.

A bit?? :|

She's a kid! Date is at least more modern and sounds teenagerish, which may someday lead to marriage if things turn out alright, but not right away.

[-Mark-]

Well, yeah. That too!

Considering Amy's twelve years old, marriage is pretty much illegal and thus impossible for her in most countries anyway.

[Iceman Etika]

Exactamundo! Just with that fact alone, and with all the censoring done within the Sonic series, I'm surprised that they allow her to spew out marriage while being a minor so freely. It seems out of place and makes her seem more weird than cute, but that's just the opinion I take, there's probably multiple people that see her more cute than weird. ;]

If she stops using marriage from now on, you'll know that SEGA browsed this topic and then we can all have a good hearty laugh.

[-Mark-]

Interestingly, during the SA2 adaptation in the Sonic X dub, it was actually more accurate in that Amy said "Go out and do something fun together like see a movie or something" (paraphrasing there mind, but along those lines) instead of the blatant "If I tell you, will you marry me?!" line used in-game.

[KittyNakajima]

Random, but let me just add in that in Japanese, Amy never once so much as mentions marriage.

Granted, I've not actually got access to the Japanese voice track for Sonic Heroes, but in every other instance where the English translation mentions marriage, Amy simply wanted a date with Sonic in Japanese. So I can't imagine why Heroes alone would be an exception to that rule.

I think that mistranslated 'date = marriage' thing does make Amy seem a bit more extreme in English, really.

Regarding Amy being a relatively stereotypical girly-girl, which Sonic character isn't pretty one-dimensional these days? Granted, they'll usually have their own little 'deep' moments from time to time, but that doesn't mean you can't sum up basically every characters' overall personality in one sentence.

I think Heroes overall was an example of very bad Lost in Translation on SEGA's part, with several lulzy translations thrown in. "It'll be a date to die for" and "look at all those Eggman robots" indeed.

I also thank you for explaining why she seemed so....extreme in that game because I thought it was one of the few titles where her characterization (and pretty much everyone else's) was totally off base.

[HunterTSF]

A-ha! So, the marriage=date is merely a translation mishap? Bah, I should've expected as such! The most recent installments (SWA, SatBK) have used the term date instead of marriage, so it's great that the translations are staying truer to the source material.

[-Mark-]

True. I mean attacking someone as an attempt to try and get a date is one thing, trying to force them into marriage is just... wut. D=

[Glenn]

True. I mean attacking someone as an attempt to try and get a date is one thing, trying to force them into marriage is just... wut. D=

The epitome of "desperate"...?!

Cheers for the clear-up, Mahzes! *hugs tight*

[KirbyGamer91]

As most of you guys have said before, I don't think Sonic and Amy should start dating, seeing as if Sonic got in to a romantic relationship with anyone (Not just Amy), he would just get tied down, and unless Sonic's character develops to be more mature enough to accept commitment, he and Amy should stay as friends.

[Blazey Firekitty]

To be fair, I think a lot of the cast has fallen into the pre-packaged anime sterotypes, but yeah, Amy is certainly a good example of that.

Try as some fans might, I just don't see Amy as a particularly dynamic character. As Glenn says, as the only constant female character, it's kinda sad how she 'represents'. Yeah, she's shown she can hold her own... not saying she's physically useless, but it's like when a TV show brings in the "token black guy" and makes him do all the things people would "expect" of him.

I don't personally see Amy, for the most part, as a negative female stereotype. I mean, I do think that it's embarrassing that she still gets kidnapped in spite of her fighting ability, and I do think that the basic "joke" of her chasing Sonic around has gotten old, and that it kinda makes it look like she can't control her emotions. And she hasn't really changed that much as a person.

But at the same time, I don't personally see her as being completely defined by being a damsel in distress or crushing on Sonic. She seems to love action adventure just as much as Sonic's other friends, has, at times, displayed a strong sense of empathy and compassion towards others, and seems determined, just like Sonic himself, to follow her dreams against all odds. She can be selfish and petty at times, but I don't personally feel that her character is completely defined by that, or that she would abuse Sonic if she finally had to accept that he didn't want her.

I don't even feel that Amy is defined solely by being a "girl." If she were a male, and acted the same way, I'd like and dislike her in the same ways.

I'll admit that a lot of this stuff probably isn't explicitly canon, but I do think it's possible to at least see these kind of likable things in canon Amy, even if she's still not a deep character.

[Genesis]

I mean, I do think that it's embarrassing that she still gets kidnapped in spite of her fighting ability

It's been a while since she last got kidnapped. The last game she got kidnapped in was back in 2006, in Sonic Rivals. To be fair, despite their fighting abilities both Sonic and Knuckles have been taken as well. Sonic was taken twice by GUN in SA2 and he also has been captured by Eggman a few times. Knuckles got kidnapped by the Nocturnus. So the other main characters don't exactly have clean slate either when it comes to being captured or kidnapped.

it kinda makes it look like she can't control her emotions.

Well, she is only 12 years old . I don't know what pre-teen girl isn't overly emotional, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. It would be unnatural for a character of that age not to at least act a bit emotional.

(what I'm about to say next isn't directed at you, Blazey but in general)

After reading some of the post here after I last posted, I find it odd that some say Amy is too one dimensional for Sonic, when Sonic himself is one dimensional too. Granted I do believe both characters have gotten better in recent games, way better than games like Heroes. Yet it seems like some fans can not look past the way Heroes characterized the characters, particularly Amy's character. That game came out years ago, there are newer, recent games that have at least progressed a bit of the characters towards a better direction in their characterization, like Unleashed and the Black Knight.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Genesis

[Blazey Firekitty]

It's been a while since she last got kidnapped. The last game she got kidnapped in was back in 2006, in Sonic Rivals. To be fair, despite their fighting abilities both Sonic and Knuckles have been taken as well. Sonic was taken twice by GUN in SA2 and he also has been captured by Eggman a few times. Knuckles got kidnapped by the Nocturnus. So the other main characters don't exactly have clean slate either when it comes to being captured or kidnapped.

True. Exactly how capable the main characters are at protecting themselves seems to depend entirely on narrative causality...if it seems cool at the moment, the writers make it happen.

Well, she is only 12 years old . I don't know what pre-teen girl isn't overly emotional, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. It would be unnatural for a character of that age not to at least act a bit emotional.

That does seem to make sense. I guess the Sonic game series in general feels a bit odd, since you've got all these young children and hormone addled pre-teens/teens trying to handle these adult situations of epic importance.

Of course, I probably described about half of all Japanese RPGs ever, so I guess that's not something limited to the Sonic games.XD

(what I'm about to say next isn't directed at you, Blazey but in general)

After reading some of the post here after I last posted, I find it odd that some say Amy is too one dimensional for Sonic, when Sonic himself is one dimensional too. Granted I do believe both characters have gotten better in recent games, way better than games like Heroes. Yet it seems like some fans can not look past the way Heroes characterized the characters, particularly Amy's character. That game came out years ago, there are newer, recent games that have at least progressed a bit of the characters towards a better direction in their characterization, like Unleashed and the Black Knight.

Interesting analysis, here, I think you and I might be on almost the same wavelength.

I think that the basic problem with using Heroes as a measure of character depth is that it was supposed to be a homage to the classic games, and thus did not have a deep plot(With Shadow's resurrection being a possible exception). The characters were portrayed as being flat in that game because it fit the games' "retro" tone. So, given that Heroes was a one time thing, I don't personally think that it's fair to say that the characters have no depth based on that one game.

Admittedly, both Sonic and Amy have both had problems, in my eyes, with being stereotypical. Sonic's character tends to rely too much on being a 90's American "cool dude," while Amy kinda feels like the protagonist of Sailor Moon and similar "magical girl" shows. I think that they both have potential to be more emotional, sentimental characters, though, and I agree that Unleashed and Black Knight made them feel more likable, and, for lack of a better term, human.

[Daisoku]

Sonamy? Eh, 'tis Okay, when done right. But not in Game Canon, just in Fanfics.

I much prefer Sonadow, myself. Or any Yaoi/Yuri/even hetero pairing, really. (Shut up, I'm 14, what dya expect from me?)

Again, just in fanfics.

In the games, I see Sonic as a fast and carefree spirit, who rarely even sleeps in his own bed in his house! I highly doubt he'd be willing to settle down with someone. Especially if that person is colourblind and glomps ANYONE who resembles Sonic in any way, and when she does find him, she goes on about dating and marriage and BABBYS(Sonic Battle, Emerl, anyone?). She threatens him with a GIANT hammer, for goodness sake! And some people wonder why he gets nervous around her...

[Blazey Firekitty]

Sonamy? Eh, 'tis Okay, when done right. But not in Game Canon, just in Fanfics.

I much prefer Sonadow, myself. Or any Yaoi/Yuri/even hetero pairing, really. (Shut up, I'm 14, what dya expect from me?)

Again, just in fanfics.

As long as we're on the subject of fanfic pairings, I just remembered that "Sonamy" sounds like "Sodomy." Which leads me to imagine Sonic/Male Amy yaoi, because I'm weird that way.^_~

[Sega DogTagz]

It's been a while since she last got kidnapped. The last game she got kidnapped in was back in 2006, in Sonic Rivals. To be fair, despite their fighting abilities both Sonic and Knuckles have been taken as well. Sonic was taken twice by GUN in SA2 and he also has been captured by Eggman a few times. Knuckles got kidnapped by the Nocturnus. So the other main characters don't exactly have clean slate either when it comes to being captured or kidnapped.

While kidnapped might not be the right word, Amy has in fact played the Damsel in distress role in practically every game she has appeared in post 06 (keeping in mind the same trend that continued before 06 as well). The main cast found themselves rushing to her rescue in both Riders and Zero Gravity (whether she ultimately needed their help or not). Sonic found a call to action in saving Amy in both Unleashed and Rivals as well. In Sonic Chronicles, you have the option of taking Amy along to challenge the Voxai and have her become temporarily indoctrinated.

Amy gets herself into some kind of trouble that Sonic has to come to the rescue of in practically every recent game in the franchise short of the Olympic tittles which don’t really count and Black Knight which was technically Nimue.

While none of the main characters are immune to capture, you can bet the farm that at some point in the Story, Amy will get in over her head and Sonic will have to rectify the situation. It is a piece of her character that I am beginning to loathe.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Sega DogTagz

[Blazey Firekitty]

While kidnapped might not be the right word, Amy has in fact played the Damsel in distress role in practically every game she has appeared in post 06 (keeping in mind the same trend that continued before 06 as well). The main cast found themselves rushing to her rescue in both Riders and Zero Gravity (whether she ultimately needed their help or not). Sonic found a call to action in saving Amy in both Unleashed and Rivals as well. In Sonic Chronicles, you have the option of taking Amy along to challenge the Voxai and have her become temporarily indoctrinated.

Amy gets herself into some kind of trouble that Sonic has to come to the rescue of in practically every recent game in the franchise short of the Olympic tittles which don’t really count and Black Knight which was technically Nimue.

While none of the main characters are immune to capture, you can bet the farm that at some point in the Story, Amy will get in over her head and Sonic will have to rectify the situation. It is a piece of her character that I am beginning to loathe.

I suppose, in retrospect, Amy is Sonic Team's Peach...Certainly capable of growing out of the damsel in distress role, but still often put in danger out of a misguided sense of tradition.

I personally feel that Amy has come along way since Sonic CD, even if she could stand to be a deeper character. I'd agree that removing this "damsel" aspect of her character would be a good idea...It doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose anymore. It's as if it's just a relic of Sonic CD that stuck around for no real reason.

[Sega DogTagz]

I suppose, in retrospect, Amy is Sonic Team's Peach...Certainly capable of growing out of the damsel in distress role, but still often put in danger out of a misguided sense of tradition.

I personally feel that Amy has come along way since Sonic CD, even if she could stand to be a deeper character. I'd agree that removing this "damsel" aspect of her character would be a good idea...It doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose anymore. It's as if it's just a relic of Sonic CD that stuck around for no real reason.

I beleive that the scary thing about Amy’s situation is that she really hasn’t changed since her introduction back in CD. She is perpetually stuck in the same increasingly narrow little niece.

Even in her shining moment of characterization back in SA1, she was still serving the role of a DiD. I think most of us give it a pass in that game because it was still a relatively fresh concept and Gamma provided a fun change of pace. Amy in my eyes is coming dangerously close to losing her status as a character and turning into some kind of prop, much like I feel Peach has already become in many games (my opinion).

We can still see the flashes of a character in Amy in the really dialoge heavy games, like Battle and Chronicles but as far as the main series goes, the only feature more redundant that Amy’s eventual attempt to glomp Sonic is the fact that at some point she is going to be in a Sonic-save-me esc peril. We always end up back where we started with Metal Sonic taking the fangirl and Sonic having to save the day.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Sega DogTagz

[Saint Nathan]

Even in her shining moment of characterization back in SA1, she was still serving the role of a DiD. I think most of us give it a pass in that game because it was still a relatively fresh concept and Gamma provided a fun change of pace. Amy in my eyes is coming dangerously close to losing her status as a character and turning into some kind of prop, much like I feel Peach has already become in many games (my opinion).

Sonic Adventure 1...?

You mean the game where she was captured, escaped, fought her way through Eggman's ship, and only THEN Sonic "saved" her? By just showing up?

Yes, she was such a damsel in distress.

[Genesis]

While kidnapped might not be the right word, Amy has in fact played the Damsel in distress role in practically every game she has appeared in post 06 (keeping in mind the same trend that continued before 06 as well).

While none of the main characters are immune to capture, you can bet the farm that at some point in the Story, Amy will get in over her head and Sonic will have to rectify the situation. It is a piece of her character that I am beginning to loathe.

Damsel in distress

One of the oldest themes in literature and drama is the damsel in distress, in which a young and presumably innocent woman is held captive against her will by an evildoer, or cannot free herself from a curse or some other psychological captivity. The only person capable of rescuing a damsel in distress is an altruistic hero figure, typically a knight in shining armor in Medieval literature. The roots of the archetypal "damsel in distress," however, can be traced back as far as Greek tragedies involving young female mortals and their harrowing encounters with gods and demigods.

link

A real damsel in distress ultimately can not save herself and only can be saved by the hero. Has Amy played the role of damsel in distress where only Sonic had to save her? yes. Was it practically in every game she is in? No, that is not true. Amy has got in out of her own predicament by herself more than one occasion. A true damsel in distress is pretty much helpless, like Olive Oil from the old cartoon, Popeye.

Games where Amy did not play the damsel in distress.

Sonic Drift 1

Sonic Drift 2

Sonic R

Sonic the Fighters (introducing her fighting abilities with her hammer)

I kinda want to mention Sonic Adventure because at the end she ultimately saved herself and that Flicky from Zero. Not being a damsel in distress at the end. She also did fight her way through Eggman's ship to even meet up with Sonic on the deck.

Sonic Shuffles

Sonic Advance 1

Sonic Advance 2

Sonic Advance 3

Sonic Heroes

Sonic Battle

Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic 06

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity (she saves herself without Sonic's help nor is she kidnapped)

I would mention Sonic Rivals 2 but she wasn't in the story and nor was she playable, so I'll leave that one out.

Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic Chronicles (yes, I put Sonic Chronicles because to take Amy is an "option", if the player doesn't take Amy nothing happens to her.)

Sonic and the Black Knight (The real Amy was in the story, even if it was short scene for her. She is also playable as well. Nothing threatening happened to her.)

Amy has not been a damsel in distress in almost every game she has appeared in.

I beleive that the scary thing about Amy’s situation is that she really hasn’t changed since her introduction back in CD. She is perpetually stuck in the same increasingly narrow little niece.

I disagree. Sonic CD Amy is definitely not the same Amy of today's games. Sonic CD Amy was introduced as a helpless girl who liked Sonic, who was overly innocent. While her crushing on Sonic hasn't changed, she has evolved into a character who can defend herself without always needing Sonic's help. She has also helped save other characters, even Sonic himself she has helped, on more than one occasion. She has also been shown to be feisty as well. Those are traits her Sonic CD version did not have. She does indeed have flaws but I'm glad she does to be honest because having a perfect character makes the character dull. That goes for any story I read or see. Even her relationship with Sonic isn't exactly the same since Sonic CD.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Genesis

[Sega DogTagz]

Sonic Adventure 1...?

You mean the game where she was captured, escaped, fought her way through Eggman's ship, and only THEN Sonic "saved" her? By just showing up?

Yes, she was such a damsel in distress.

Like I said, people tend to give SA1 a free pass in this reguard because it wasn’t exactly Sonic whom stood in as the hero. Amy did not “escape” in SA1. Gamma choose to let her go as I recall. All those heroics took place after the fact. Had no one come to her rescue, she would still be rotting in that cell.

Take away the Knight in shining armor, and Amy would have done nothing in that game short of walking around and getting captured.

A real damsel in distress ultimately can not save herself and only can be saved by the hero. Has Amy played the role of damsel in distress where only Sonic had to save her? yes. Was it practically in every game she is in? No, that is not true. Amy has got in out of her own predicament by herself more than one occasion. A true damsel in distress is pretty much helpless, like Olive Oil from the old cartoon, Popeye.

You took my words too far. Even in the quote you were responding too, I said that Amy has played the role of a DiD in practically every game post 06 while only citing the trend of the role beforehand. I’m just gonna ignore all that stuff about the Drift and Fighters series, because my analysis was never intended to go there.

As for critiquieing the DiD notion in itself, again I’ll have to disagree. The definition you provided only examines the role in a more historical sense, and fails to provide for a more modern interpretation. The characters we see today that fill in that archetype are hardly helpless (Peach, Amy) but still can be reduced to being helpless for periods of time to fit the role. Amy is clearly able to fend for herself, but repeataly finds herself in situations where she is utterly powerless to change the situation at hand.

I never said she was a DiD 24/7, just that at some point in almost every story, she would fall into that role, which she has a habit of doing as of late.

I kinda want to mention Sonic Adventure because at the end she ultimately saved herself and that Flicky from Zero. Not being a damsel in distress at the end. She also did fight her way through Eggman's ship to even meet up with Sonic on the deck.

Which, I again point out wouldn’t have happened if Gamma choose not to release her and play the role of the knight.

Sonic Shuffles

Sonic Advance 1

Sonic Advance 2

Sonic Advance 3

Sonic Heroes

Sonic Battle

Shadow the Hedgehog

Sonic 06

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity (she saves herself without Sonic's help nor is she kidnapped)

Most of those were pre-06, and I don’t really know if Shadow helps your argument because the entire cast short of the black hedgehog was rendered helpless at the end of the game anyway. Everyone was a DiD there.

Also, as I stated before, “kidnapped” isn’t the right word for Amy. Eggman did not “kidnap” her in SA2, he mearly held her at gunpoint and she played the role of DiD pretty convincingly there. In Zero Gravity, Amy played the role of a DiD in concept because she was put in a situation where the hero had to go rushing off to her aid. While she did rectify the situation, Sonic’s main motif for that next stage was to go rescue the Damsel.

I would mention Sonic Rivals 2 but she wasn't in the story and nor was she playable, so I'll leave that one out.

Shameless Plug

Rivals 1 still works in my favor

End Shameless Plug

Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic Chronicles (yes, I put Sonic Chronicles because to take Amy is an "option", if the player doesn't take Amy nothing happens to her.)

Sonic and the Black Knight (The real Amy was in the story, even if it was short scene for her. She is also playable as well. Nothing threatening happened to her.)

Amy was in Secret Rings? You mean the multiplayer? A mode with no storyline or even the slightest impact on the cannon whatsoever? I don’t think you want to go down that road. (unless she was in the story, in which case I am forgetful and need a refresher course).

As far as Chronicles goes, the Voxai overlords had the power to weild mental control from great distances, and effectively could corrupt your entire cast outside of Sonic himself. Wheather Amy was a part of your squad or not, for all intensive perposes she would have been rendered useless under Voxai control.

Black Knight poses a special problem, in the fact that the only scene with Amy technically occurred after the story the game intended to tell had already ended. So I’ll give Amy that. I will concede that Amy is not a DiD when she appears outside the scope of the main story, sideplot, sidequests or even just a one time event.

Then again, who is?

Amy has not been a damsel in distress in almost every game she has appeared in.

From a recent standpoint I would beg to differ. I never meant to imply that Amy was not capable of handling many of her own situations. That would simply be shortsighted of me. What I said was that in almost every recent game, at some point, in some shape or form, Amy Rose has been reduced to a DiD status. That accusation still holds up. Reguardless of what she did before or after, Amy still has those moments of helplessness that define her character.

I disagree. Sonic CD Amy is definitely not the same Amy of today's games. Sonic CD Amy was introduced as a helpless girl who liked Sonic, who was overly innocent. While her crushing on Sonic hasn't changed, she has evolved into a character who can defend herself without always needing Sonic's help. She has also helped save other characters, even Sonic himself she has helped, on more than one occasion. She has also been shown to be feisty as well. Those are traits her Sonic CD version did not have. She does indeed have flaws but I'm glad she does to be honest because having a perfect character makes the character dull. That goes for any story I read or see. Even her relationship with Sonic isn't exactly the same since Sonic CD.

I agree that Amy has shown the flashes of a character beyond what she used to be, but at the same time she is still the same fangirl getting stuck in the same helpless position time and time again. She has grown to be able to fight for herself, and yet in practically every recent game she at some point has needed someone else to bail her out. I feel like while most of the characters in the franchise have evolved along the teamwork theme, Amy has stayed stuck in an over-reliance, and in some cases, need of the people around her which in my eyes makes her the same naieve little child she was back in CD with a new paint job.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Sega DogTagz

[Genesis]

As for critiquieing the DiD notion in itself, again I’ll have to disagree. The definition you provided only examines the role in a more historical sense, and fails to provide for a more modern interpretation. The characters we see today that fill in that archetype are hardly helpless (Peach, Amy) but still can be reduced to being helpless for periods of time to fit the role.

Your taking the meaning of DID and turning it to your own interpretation of the word. There isn't a "more" modern meaning to the term concerning story telling and overall literature. Even Wiki doesn't have a modern meaning to the word. Not all meanings change. Even in modern works, the term Damsel in Distress is usually a term saved for a female who is helpless, meaning she can not help herself in a problem she finds herself in because the hero needs to save her. Like I said Amy has more than once has taken care of herself, without Sonic's help. Her finding herself in a problem or in trouble doesn't make her a DID, no matter how many times it happens. Her being saved by the hero (like Sonic) because of her problem, does. If Amy is repeatedly finds herself in a problem but she repeatedly saves herself, technically she is not a damsel in distress because she didn't need saving from anyone, she wasn't helpless. That goes for any character, not just Amy. (I can't comment on Peach because I'm not into Mario's universe)

Your post to me said she was DID in nearly every game she ever appeared in. If that were true the list of games I put would be a lot shorter, based on the actual meaning of damsel in distress. Even after Sonic 06 she wasn't DID in almost every Sonic game, like you claimed in your previous post.

Amy is clearly able to fend for herself, but repeataly finds herself in situations where she is utterly powerless to change the situation at hand.

If Amy was utterly powerless repeatedly, then your implying she can't defend herself because you are claiming she is powerless. That statement is conflicting.

Rivals 1 still works in my favor

With the very short list of games Amy was actually a damsel in distress in, where she couldn't save herself. I also forgot to add Sonic Rush to the list of non damsel in distress.

Anyways I disagree mainly because I don't agree with your interpretation of damsel in distress. I stand by my previous statement on what a damsel in distress is. I'm not saying Amy has never been a damsel in distress, I know she has. I just don't agree she's been that way in most games she's appeared in.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Genesis