Megathread MT | Sonic Prime (Netflix, TV Series) - General Discussion

[Shiny Gems]

I saw season 3, and...

 

Spoiler

It was epic! I loved every bit of it, especially how it ended with Nine. Nine did turn to the side of good at the end. I love how Shadow has at least one bit of humor, which was...

"Do you want me to save you or not?"

That whole season was also suspenseful! It was quite a good way to end the series.

 

Edited January 11 by Shiny Gems

[Razule]

Spoiler

On 1/9/2023 at 9:46 PM, Razule said:

Sonic Prime's premise kinda guarantees it's a one-and-done thing. If the Shatterverse was a regular multiverse it'd be different, but it's the prime universe split up. By the end of the planned 24 episodes, it'll be fixed, and there'll be no more multiverse to adventure in. The show has a built-in reason why the concepts introduced in it won't exist after it's done.

 

Called it

[DaBigJ]

Spoiler

I can't believe they made an ending lamer than the idea of Prime Sonic shattering into the Sonics we know

 

[Lorekitten]

Spoiler

Yeah, I should've seen that one coming. I'd figured that Sega wouldn't want to just throw all the new concepts they'd introduced in the series into the irrelevance basket after how much marketing they'd done around them, but no. Status quo wins out, into the box you go with SatAM and Sonic Boom and every other Sonic cartoon ever made.

 

[Kikoli]

I will say...

Spoiler

The Sonic Advance 3 reference with music and sprites at the start of episode 3 of the season was a surprise to see. That was one of the last references I expected to see.

 

[Razule]

About the ending..

Spoiler

If it was completely undone, is the Shatterverse still a thing somehow? Is Sonic blisfully unaware all his new friends don't exist anymore? I figured they were going to gloss over that if that was how it ended, but no one aside from Nine at the end of season 2 seems to acknowledge that's what the logical consequence of the prism being back together would be

 

[Diogenes]

1 minute ago, Razule said:

About the ending..

Spoiler

We see all the other worlds reform and everyone is set to go back to their respective homes. They magicked a happy ending for everyone.

 

[Shiny Gems]

3 minutes ago, Razule said:

About the ending..

  Hide contents

If it was completely undone, is the Shatterverse still a thing somehow? Is Sonic blisfully unaware all his new friends don't exist anymore? I figured they were going to gloss over that if that was how it ended, but no one aside from Nine at the end of season 2 seems to acknowledge that's what the logical consequence of the prism being back together would be

 

Spoiler

Odd. Honestly, I was thinking about some of that and should have thought about all of that more. Still, I did like the series overall, I do wonder what happened to the Shatterspaces.

 

[cosmichaos]

Just a forewarning: These are my thoughts on the show. I'm not trying to say that anyone's wrong for enjoying it because it did have its enjoyable moments. If you like Prime, then more power to you, it's just not for everyone, and that's ok.

Spoiler

Man, I wanted to be positive about this show so bad. I wanted to say, by the time it finished, "yeah, that was a pretty good show!", and I can't even honestly say that. Sonic Prime was probably doomed to mediocrity from the beginning. The ending was the most cookie cutter sendoff ever, and it doesn't even really explain what happened. Green Hill was gone, and they didn't even have the balls to keep it that way. The show as a whole suffered from a lacking plotline, underutilized characters, and drawn out sub-plots that went on for way too long. Nine was interesting at first but quickly faded into the tired "super villain that monologues and sits on the top of his perch for like 5 episodes" trope, and then is immediately forgiven for everything he did? He attempted mass genocide, and then all of a sudden he's sorry, and everything's ok because he didn't really mean it.

I'm sure a lot of people were excited for Shadow to be more relevant in S3. I mean, he was heavily advertised in S2 and barely got any screentime, so the least they could have done was give him more of the spotlight, right? Yeah, too bad he spends 2/3 of the season trapped in a hole in the ground. Sorry guy, better luck being relevant next time. Sonic really didn't get any better either. I can't say anything new about him because he's just there and has been the whole time, unfortunately. 

This is miniscule but I need to point it out so bear with me, but where were Mangey and Sails after they got bombed? They were fine, which, yeah, obviously, show targeted towards a painfully young audience, but a good hour or two passed in-universe most likely, and about three episodes passed in real time. If they were fine the whole time, why wait for everyone to be on the brink of death before stepping in for a dramatic entrance?

If you made me say some positive things about the show, then here: Dread's realization, the sisterhood between Black, Rusty, and Thorn, Shadow's VA (and personality? idk we didn't SEE that much of him), Rebel Knux, Dr. Babble giggling when everyone was about to die, and Rusty realizing that she really doesn't need Birdie to live.

All in all? Disappointing. Predictable, yes, but still no less disappointing. It's a shame it didn't live up to the hype, but at least it happened. I mean, hey, new Sonic cartoon, even if said Sonic cartoon is shoehorned into already established canon that goes against everything the show boasts, targeted towards toddlers, and ends on a Disney style happy note that completely contradicts everything that was said earlier in the show. It was a run. Not a good one, but an ok one.

 

Edited January 11 by cosmichaos

[Kikoli]

From my understanding about the ending...

Spoiler

Sonic knows what happened. He references it when he's greeting his friends and was about to explain before the stinger. He has memories of the events and I think that sorta also helps show his growth as a character slightly.

Nine at the start was probably thinking that to reform Green Hill with the current energy of the prism, it would cost all the other Shatterspaces, based on how to grow the Grim, he had to consume the others. However, with the energy in Sonic extracted, it would allow Nine to both restablize and rebuild them all AND also open the way back to Green Hill at the same time. Just until Nine's heel turn, he was so focused on hating Sonic and his own plan, he didn't care about any alternatives. Without the energy though, Sonic likely couldn't survive in those realities anymore, hence he was fading out.

Shadow returning to Green Hill likely returned him and Sonic to that moment that Shadow ported out with Chaos Control, hence that moment before the event happened.

The ending stinger kinda hints that something from the Shatterverse (likely the Chaos Council) has come through to threaten Green Hill, but only if we get another season will we discover what that was.

 

[MetalSkulkBane]

That was... extremely predictable. If you haven't watched it yet, try guessing the plot. If any plot point baffles you, aim it towards simpler solution. And don't worry how a simple plot like this can fill 6 whole episodes, they found a way.

In fact the plot is so lazy, it downright creates plot holes. Tiny ones, but numerous

Spoiler

- The biggest one: why even fight? Prim has enough power to fix all the worlds and still exist by the end. Nine could save all worlds, make everyone happy, cure cancer and afterward shut himself in Grim to do his own thing. The conflict is completely artificial.
- Shadow claims he was stuck in that hole without a way to escape... but then he and Sonic run out like it was no problem?
- It's stressed out few times that if Sonic runs alone to fight Nine, he'll walk right into his hands. Sonic does it anyway... and nothing happens.
- Also it's pointed out that they should just move the Prism, but the room will be guarded by the Alphas, who won't go into the battle for obvious reasons. Guess what, Alphas do go into the battle anyway, but no one goes after the Prism.
- Why the last episode ends with few minutes going back in time for no reason?

The answer to all is: that it's easier to write this way.

And my god, the final fight draaaaags. It's kinda like if Avengers Endgame battle lasted twice as long, with a fraction of characters, much less unique fighting styles and barely any plot. Also bickering, tons and tons of bickering.

Also last two minutes of the whole show is a joke, reminds me of OG Mario Bros movie, in a negative way.

With the previous 2 seasons, two elements saved the show: Shadow and more importantly Nine. Shadow isn't terrible but is generic, and gets little to do over being a strong ally. He gets maybe one or two good lines.
I'm much more disappointed with Nine. He fights well, but other than that he's disappointing as a new big villain. He's just not as clever as you would expect, making some dumb mistakes you'd expect from Chaos Council. But more importantly, a conclusion to his arc (which I won't say out loud, but you damn well know what is it) just doesn't feel earned. I'm also disappointed about his final fate

Spoiler

by which I mean there isn't one. Unless he really will stay in Grim as a hermit which is lame.

They could show him returning to New Yolk and lead Resistance, new chance at making friends, but that's too much work.

Of course, most logically he should just go with Sonic and Shadow to Green Hill, but havens forbid that would affect game continuity, which we will still pretend it's connected to.

So if I didn't make myself clear, I find it to be the weakest season and overall meh conclusion. Not slap to the face, more like flip to my nose. There are few things I enjoyed, but mostly minor.

Spoiler

- While there was wayyyy too much brawling, Nine put up a decent fight. Rusty Vs Grim Amy was cool duel too.
- Overall Amy trio was kinda cute. Dregg... well, he learned his lesson and was much less annoying this season.
- Baby also learned to keep quiet. In fact, I chuckled both times he cheered for horrible things that are about to happen.
- Tails boasts how his robots are better because they don't argue like fleshlings, but then Sonic's friends sacrifice themself to protect him, which baffles Nine. That's cute theme-wise, proving beings with hearts have their own strengths.
- One or two jokes are fun, like Shadow saying enjoying destroying Sonic bots. Also Jungle Knuckles's stupid plan. The joke wasn't that funny, but his face sold it.
- Grim Shoes power is cool, even used in creative ways.

Also I find it a bit weird that 2nd season had a much flashier climax than 3rd.

Edited January 12 by MetalSkulkBane

[Shiny Gems]

Well, there may have been some dragging on, but I did not think it was too much.

As for the predictability, I think that was maybe because it was intended for the younger Sonic fans. This is part of Netflix: After School, after all. That may not mean predictability is a good thing, but then again, I do think the older Sonic fans were not exactly being aimed to be pleased by those making the show.

That could still not excuse its other faults, that is for sure, but I don't think that, again, that this was for older people like many on here. Even while some younger people still might not like this season or show, I am sure this show would have been much different if it was for older people.

[Mega]

Yyyyeah, this took a really hard nosedive for me. Making the bulk of the "season" an extended, repetitive fight scene that ended up being really pointless in the end was just a drag. You could've slashed this batch of episodes in half, and not a lot of meaningful material would be lost.

Honestly, it kinda just gets to the root of my problems with Sonic Prime. Great voice cast, lively character animation, some good action when the action is allowed to have weight and impact and not just be light taps, but this season almost entirely took place in one boring location, with Nine basically just repeatedly saying the same thing over and over again.

I get that it's a show for kids, but I feel like even if I was a kid, I'd be bored. And boring is the worst thing a show can be. It just stinks because Prime had some genuinely great moments throughout its run, but it really did not do the premise of a Sonic Multiverse justice.

Idk, I just think outside of New Yolk City being a cool setting and Rusty and Nine being cool characters and some fantastic Shadow characterization, there's just too much that just was clunky for me personally.

Like, what Nine did with the crystal was also just underwhelming, too. I get that it's a CGI cartoon on a tight budget, but I think the premise was bigger than they could have really explored. Idk. Just a bummer all around.

[Shiny Gems]

17 minutes ago, Mega said:

Yyyyeah, this took a really hard nosedive for me. Making the bulk of the "season" an extended, repetitive fight scene that ended up being really pointless in the end was just a drag. You could've slashed this batch of episodes in half, and not a lot of meaningful material would be lost.

Honestly, it kinda just gets to the root of my problems with Sonic Prime. Great voice cast, lively character animation, some good action when the action is allowed to have weight and impact and not just be light taps, but this season almost entirely took place in one boring location, with Nine basically just repeatedly saying the same thing over and over again.

I get that it's a show for kids, but I feel like even if I was a kid, I'd be bored. And boring is the worst thing a show can be. It just stinks because Prime had some genuinely great moments throughout its run, but it really did not do the premise of a Sonic Multiverse justice.

Idk, I just think outside of New Yolk City being a cool setting and Rusty and Nine being cool characters and some fantastic Shadow characterization, there's just too much that just was clunky for me personally.

Like, what Nine did with the crystal was also just underwhelming, too. I get that it's a CGI cartoon on a tight budget, but I think the premise was bigger than they could have really explored. Idk. Just a bummer all around.

Well, I did say this was for kids, and even with that, some kids might not like this season or this show at all. Whatever the case, you do seem to fit the bill for being one of the kids who did not like it, if you were to be one, so I have to compliment you on that.

I still very well liked the season very well, but I do respect your opinion. Also, there is only so much I can do to defend this, since I can't really deny that there are faults in this show anyway. Thanks for pointing out some of them, though. I do appreciate it.

But yeah, I really have to not disagree (which means I agree) that the multiversal thing was not done justice. They could have done more with it.

Edited January 12 by Shiny Gems

[Mega]

I'm actually not a kid. :P I'm just saying that if I was a kid, I would've been bored senseless.

[Shiny Gems]

1 minute ago, Mega said:

I'm actually not a kid. :P I'm just saying that if I was a kid, I would've been bored senseless.

Oops! How die I make that mistake? I edited that mistake just now. Sorry. I did not mean to say you were an actual kid.

Still, I have to compliment you, and I do thank you for being honest and pointing out some of the faults of the third season.

[Sonicka]

Damn, was 4-5 episodes of this literally just an extended LOTR battle sequence but with Sonic and Co? Like, I appreciate the quality of the animation on offer here but boy did this drag on for way to long for me. By the time I reached Episode 4 I ended up back-screening this show when I realised I wasn't missing much so I could continue focusing on a game with Sonic Prime in the background.

I think as a structural basis for a standalone "Season 3" that this was not a suitable format of storytelling. BUT when you consider that Sonic Prime really is just one whole season of production and Netflix split it in 3 chunks (because Netflix) then the story structure and arcs actually makes a lot more sense here. Clearly Sonic Prime was originally designed/delivered to be broadcasted as a 23-24 episodic season. 

That being said, the everyone Vs Nine arc should have been a 2-part finale a best IMO. I appreciate that we get more character moments with the battle being a culmination of the last two seasons / episode batches - but we also get too much derivative droid vs allies sequences which felt very samey after a while. Additionally, because this battle went on for so long it actually made feel that Nine was irredeemable. I get that he was supposed to take it too far... but because this went on (and on) it made his turnaround at the end and sonic forgiving him and being understanding feel unearned. There were certainly a LOT of mistakes and misunderstandings where this could have been avoided, but Nine could have chosen to be reasonable (and this was pointed out to him). Sonic made some mistakes, but Nine crossed way to many lines IMO by choice.

Another thing that I don't understand was the sudden reset when reaching Green Hill. My assumption that the Shatterspaces still existed but Green Hill is now fully back as well (and maybe this is the case?). But reseting the narrative just before the shatter event and Shadow somehow getting the Chaos Emerald back (?!?) was really puzzling to me, does he remember events as well? What about the emerald that got dropped int the void - I figured this was going to go somewhere... I guess not? Why did the narrative feel the need to reset us to just before? 

I think the thing that most troubled me though, was the untapped potential of the multiverse. Whilst the Shatterverse allowed Sonic Prime to be a self contained story, I genuinely thought this entire show was supposed to be about sonic zipping to different universes each episode and that we'd get fun throws to different game universes, or SATAM, AOSTH, BOOM, Sonic X, The Movie... etc... etc... this would have been really cool. Sadly no fan service on that end, and only 4/5 universes to explore in total, some which were duds.


To switch this to a positive note the Shatterverse allowed the story to stay focused. I got some real neat SATAM vibes with New Yolk city and the rebels as well, and turning a hero into a villain made for a suitable arc and setup for NIne since his motives weren't your regular 2 dimensional "I want to rule because reasons" schtick. This was refreshing.

Also enjoyed the little retro flashbacks, the use of Sonic Advance 3 in this batch of episodes where they quasi mimicked assets and the music was wonderful (even if some assets were used incorrectly in context, the thought was there). It's almost a shame we didn't get more cutaway segments like this overall.

The really funny thing though, was that the parts of this show I enjoyed the most was the interactions between the ORIGINAL cast at the top and tail end of the series - this is what I came for primarily, I wasn't expecting us to go 23 episodes with the knockoffs. At least we had Shadow occasionally, and I was pretty happy with how they handled him and his banter with Sonic. 

The next question is... with that purposely ambiguous ending (something coming through from the Shatterverse?) - was the show popular enough for Netflix to commission another run of Sonic Prime? 

Edited January 12 by Sonicka

[SSF1991]

So...I have a lot to say about this show now that all of the episodes are out.

Spoiler

So, this show may have been one of the biggest wastes of time I have ever seen from a Sonic show. It's...not good at all.

I'll give the positives first. The animation is great! The voice acting was done very well! But that's really all I can say that I actually liked.

As for the negatives...

• Holy crap, this show absolutely loves to be repetitive. We see a flashback to the initial battle that kickstarts the show multiple times. We had to see the characters in broken Green Hill repeating lines over and over again. Sonic spent season 2 revisiting the exact same places all over again. And season 3 was easily the worst of this. The same battles again and again. Nine constantly telling us he needs Sonic and his energy again and again. Sonic trying to reason with him again and again. Nine constantly popping in and out with his projection screen in episode 1 of season 3 was getting tiring fast. This show just seems to have an issue where it can't just simply establish a plot point and then move on. It has to constantly remind us of it again and again. It uses the same damn jokes over and over again too. The creativity in this show is so damn lacking and it shows.
• The show loves pointless filler too. Why did we have to see the Egg Council trying to take the stabilized Prism for themselves at the end? Why did we go through an entire "war" with Nine, only for it to be absolutely meaningless in the end because Sonic gave up not once but twice? And again, why did the show have to repeatedly show us that initial battle with Eggman? By the time the end arrives and it happens one last time (but obviously ends in victory this time), I'm not even interested. We've seen this scene in some way multiple times already that it just loses any impact!
• I'm sorry, but a lot of the "split" versions of Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Rouge are just annoying to me. I get that they're split versions of the characters' personalities, but it really would've been nice if the pirate versions had more personality than "we're pirates". It would've been nice if the New Yolk versions had more personality than "we're rebels trying to survive". It would've been nice if the jungle versions had more personality than "we're in a jungle". The Egg Council is just so damn annoying and obnoxious and they're easily among the worst characters in this show. They're not even split versions of Eggman's personality, they're just different ages of him and that's their personalities! A baby, a teenager, an adult, and an elderly man. And as for Nine...he had promise at first...but then he fell into the same problem as everyone else and ended up becoming "I hate people and only trust myself...oh and I'm smart I guess". And then he became a villain because the writers didn't really know what to do with him anymore, I guess, and his selfishness and disregard for others became so tiring and overdone by the end of season 3 that any remaining sympathy I had for him was gone and the rushed forgiveness he receives at the end just rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn't even care much about Thorn and Rusty Rose because, even though they got a smidge more personality than the others, the writers still didn't really do much with them. Thorn's character arc was basically done by season 1, and Rusty Rose was all over the damn place and it got to a point where I didn't even know what side she was on anymore because the writers couldn't make up their mind. By the time her "character arc" came to an end in episode 6 of season 3, I completely forgot about the Birdie she had, mainly because the writers did too! It felt so rushed.
• Sonic in this show is...bleh. A lot of things in this show, especially all of season 3, could've been avoided if he had just simply said "I'm sorry". And it wasn't even a pride or ego issue that kept him from doing that. He just simply never says it until the very end. On the other hand, I also ended up feeling bad for Sonic because all the poor guy had to do was breathe and the split characters would complain about him betraying them, even when it is so obvious that he wasn't. This wasn't more evident than in season 3 when Sonic and Nine make a deal. But Sonic's allies come to help him, so Nine throws a fit about being betrayed because...why? He knew Sonic had allies that were helping him! Sonic didn't even break the deal! He gave himself up like Nine wanted him to, he never told Sonic his allies couldn't be there! And did he really expect that Sonic's allies would just let him turn himself in? Besides, that's not even what a "betrayal" is anyway, the 2 were enemies at that point! Didn't he want Sonic's energy anyway? He kept saying so repeatedly! I get that Sonic wasn't perfect, but the least this show could do is make it so Sonic's flaws actually did cause conflict. Because more often than not, they didn't. It was just things out of his control because everyone else kept doing things on their own.
• Poor Shadow...easily the only good character in this show, but because he's actually well written, the writers decided that he shouldn't be involved at all for at least half of the episodes. And a lot of the time, he doesn't say much. Why the hell does the pointless jacksepticeye character get more damn dialogue than the ultimate life form? The sad thing is that a big reason why Shadow's so good in this show is because his no-nonsense attitude stands out so much in a show filled with nonsense. He was basically my mood throughout the show.
• The show's ending doesn't even make any damn sense. Are the shattered universes still around? We see them and Green Hill, but Sonic and Shadow return to Green Hill and they...return to when the cave battle happened? Wouldn't that not have happened since technically the shattered universes are still out there? And that weird cliffhanger...is that supposed to be Eggman or the Chaos Council? Eggman just got defeated moments before, there's no way he'd already have another plan ready to go this soon after the Prism one was ruined! It felt like the writers were trying to make it so, regardless of whether the show was cancelled or not, the ending would still make sense in relation to the games canon.

I really wanted to love this show. I really did. It had so much potential! But the dialogue and plot really just ruined this show for me, and I highly doubt I'll ever watch this show again. I get that this show was aimed more towards a younger audience, but I feel like even kids would've gotten tired of the overall repetitiveness and filler this show had. There was just way too much of it.

On a side note: I really wish we'd just get a damn Sonic show that was just the games canon for once. No Looney Tunes-esque episodes like AoSTH, no transportation to a strange world like Sonic X, no parallel universe like Sonic Boom, no non-canon relatives like Sonic Underground...just a show where games canon Sonic and friends battle Eggman. I really don't know why Sonic shows just refuse to do that. I mean, sometimes branching off of the main canon works, like Sonic Boom, Sonic X and AoSTH, but in cases like Prime, Underground and SatAM (somewhat) it just...doesn't. =(

One last thing...please no more with Netflix? I really don't like their marketing in general and this show was no different. And these 23 episodes really didn't need to be stretched out into 3 batches of 7-8 episodes for over a damn year. It just felt so excessive.

Anyway, I'm done ranting. =P

[StaticMania]

7 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

I really don't know why Sonic shows just refuse to do that.

Because it still wouldn't feel like..."Sonic"

[Sega DogTagz]

I like how the final batch of episodes really stressed giving most of the alts their own little moments. (Mangy resorting to headbutting the command console when he panicked made me forgive the fact that he had any technical prowess in the first place lol).

But I think the best part of the entire series was Nine himself. Dude went full on god, and still knew the best way to deal with Sonic was indirectly. Targeting his friends. But at the same time, he wasn't infallible. He could became distracted and his ego made him vulnerable to the other Tails's as well.

Sonic himself was also much less annoying. Not enough to balance out the pain he was in the first 2 batches, but still a noted improvement.

[LegoFedora]

 

It was...fine. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Probably the weakest of the Sonic animated series we've had though.
 

Spoiler

I wouldn't say it was stronger than the first two seasons, but I wouldn't say it was weaker either. For better or for worse, the entire show has had a pretty consistent quality to it (which for me, is a middling low). I did kind of like how the final season was one long drawn out battle, that was pretty neat and gave them time to actually focus on characters working together instead of trying to tie shatterverse-hopping into it.

Sonic is still the most annoying aspect of this show. Throughout the entire run I was really hoping I wouldn't say this but after season 3, I genuinely don't think Pontaff is that bad anymore. I'll take Pontaff's Sonic over this one any day of the week. The other characters were fine, I did enjoy Nine slowly becoming more and more desperate as the fight went on.

Shadow was fine. I guess. He didn't really do much of anything outside show up to remind us that he is actually a character that does still exist sometimes. Did find it weird how he mentioned to Sonic about not being able to teleport out due to lacking a chaos emerald, only to immediately run up the cave wall and out of it.

The sprite animation, which is already being beaten to death, was weird. If I'm not wrong, this is the same studio that made Megaman Fully Charged. While that series also had sprite-based moments, those sprites weren't nearly as bad since they were brand new sprites made specifically for the show and its design. Why did Sonic have to settle for drawing over old sprites (or just flat out reusing advance 3 assets)? Is Sonic Team that picky about how they want Sonic portrayed in other mediums or something?

I recall Ian mentioning in the past how he had a LOT more freedom with Capcom's Megaman Archie run than he did with Sonic's. I wonder if that still applies to tv shows as well, and sonic team still has a chokehold on just how much freedom the team can run with (using the same cast of 5 characters with differing designs isn't helping much).

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Also I find it a bit weird that 2nd season had a much flashier climax than 3rd.

Spoiler

That was really weird. I was expecting something drastic to happen, forcing Sonic to get close to the paradox prism and pull off prism sonic again but...he didn't. In a weird way, it kind of reminds me of Dark Super Sonic back in Sonic X. Appears once, is sort of a big deal when it happens, then is never used or brought up ever again.

 

[caitash]

Ahhh all done and watched. People have mostly covered the flaws I had with the show as a whole. The battle in the Grim taking way too long. Could have easily cut that down by half and had mostly the same overall impact but I guess with so many characters they all needed their own (sometimes multiple) times to be in the spotlight.  If they had cut down the length of that battle they could have dedicated more time to the resolution/ending. 

I have to admit I was mostly otherwise content with the pacing because I believed there to be 8 episodes again. I didn’t look at anything beyond pushing ‘play’ on season 3 because I didn’t want any thumbnails to spoil anything, so when I realised halfway through episode 7 that this was the last episode I did feel a bit…. Well, ‘cheated’ is probably the best word but also instant disappointment that absolutely everything had to be wrapped up in the next 8 minutes or so by that point and there wasn’t even going to be enough time to do that properly, let alone give it any breathing space. I know that the Prime world was not the focus of this season but I was hoping that there would be a couple of moments at the end where Sonic showed his Prime friends that he had learned to listen to and respect them etc, but as far as Prime Amy/Tails/Knux know Sonic hasn’t changed a bit from his flaws at the initial battle at the start of season 1. There needed to be more time spent there instead of on the battlefield.
 

Positives though, the animation is gorgeous and lots of subtle things like ear movement, expressions making the characters inner thoughts so clear, lips quivering on occasion, all wonderful additions and I wish the game cutscenes could be this expressive. Voice cast brilliant, I wouldn’t go so far to say to replace the game cast with the Prime cast but they work well for this branch. I still love Nine even though he did push it too far. I wish he got his happy ending but it looked like the Grim didn’t reform at the end, only the other portals did and where the Grim was only stood the wreckage of Nine’s Elsa tower without the world around it. Not a great place to be left alone without any prism energy left to make his perfect world.
 

One final thing to add though is we’re sat here as adults (of varying ages) dissecting a show for younger kids and we aren’t sure if the intended target audience likes this.  My 7yo watched the whole show with me and she absolutely thinks it’s the best thing ever made and was hyped on the edge of her seat so much. So I think it’s probably done the job for its intended audience.

[MetalSkulkBane]

 

9 hours ago, Shiny Gems said:

Well, I did say this was for kids

Netflix: After School includes Nimona, Hilda and Dragon Prince, so it's fine with more involved plots. Overall, "it's just for kids" is never good enough excuse. I would kill to write for Sonic and I could write much better story, while still remaining kid friendly.

Fine, I can agree that "it's predictable" isn't best argument. The problem is rather that it goes through the motions without without earning the feels. It feels "predictable", but really it's just failing to engage.

You know who did it better? Sonic Prime, but a season ago.

Nine betrayal in season 2 was very predictable, but not because "cliche" but rather because it was set up. And it was emotional. When Sonic says "real Tails would understand" and Nine yells "I am real" you get emotions. Nine felt betrayed, because Sonic never saw him as who he is, just a replacement for his actual Best Friend. Temporary replacement at that, because he wants to go back to status quo. That's conflict, that's strong emotions.
This season ends with Sonic defending Nine despite everything he did. Sure, it proves he cares, but doesn't acknowledge the heart of the issue. Nine felt like Sonic is abandoning him to go back to his own world and friends. And how show end? With Sonic abandoning him and going back to his own world and friends. How is that remotely satisfying?

6 hours ago, Sonicka said:

That being said, the everyone Vs Nine arc should have been a 2-part finale a best IMO. (...)

I think the thing that most troubled me though, was the untapped potential of the multiverse. Whilst the Shatterverse allowed Sonic Prime to be a self contained story, I genuinely thought this entire show was supposed to be about sonic zipping to different universes each episode and that we'd get fun throws to different game universes, or SATAM, AOSTH, BOOM, Sonic X, The Movie... etc... etc... this would have been really cool. Sadly no fan service on that end, and only 4/5 universes to explore in total, some which were duds.

 

Agree, whole season should be easily done in 4 episodes. Whole show would be much better if it was shorter.

Budget, budget, budget. 3D shows are expensive. That's why they focus on small casts in recurring locations. Of course Knuckles, Pirate Knuckles and Jungle Knuckles will be less expensive than Antoine, Chris sand Sticks. I bet even various Sonics (Satam, X, Movie) would be harder, since they have completely different proportions, voices and artstyles. Not to mention legal issues.

Arguably Prime feels even smaller than Boom (arguably, not sure how to check) but it might be trade of for action scenes.

[Shiny Gems]

3 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

Netflix: After School includes Nimona, Hilda and Dragon Prince, so it's fine with more involved plots. Overall, "it's just for kids" is never good enough excuse. I would kill to write for Sonic and I could write much better story, while still remaining kid friendly.

Fine, I can agree that "it's predictable" isn't best argument. The problem is rather that it goes through the motions without without earning the feels. It feels "predictable", but really it's just failing to engage.

You know who did it better? Sonic Prime, but a season ago.

Nine betrayal in season 2 was very predictable, but not because "cliche" but rather because it was set up. And it was emotional. When Sonic says "real Tails would understand" and Nine yells "I am real" you get emotions. Nine felt betrayed, because Sonic never saw him as who he is, just a replacement for his actual Best Friend. Temporary replacement at that, because he wants to go back to status quo. That's conflict, that's strong emotions.
This season ends with Sonic defending Nine despite everything he did. Sure, it proves he cares, but doesn't acknowledge the heart of the issue. Nine felt like Sonic is abandoning him to go back to his own world and friends. And how show end? With Sonic abandoning him and going back to his own world and friends. How is that remotely satisfying?

Well, I was not truly using it as an excuse, and I did acknowledge that some young people may not like it before. I was just saying this is a show that was aimed at kids for an audience, regardless of how involved the plots are, and how involved plots are thing is something I am sure I never said anything about.

That said, I should say that since the show; and by extension, this season; has flaws that can be noticeable, I must note that it is possible for children to grow up, get smarter, and thus end up liking this show AND this season less. Not to call children dumb, for that matter, but I do think that might be something that could happen with @caitash's 7 year old that they mentioned. That child may do so, or they may not, but I mean no offense to that child or caitash, either way.

But anyway, saying that this show is for kids and that it is aimed at a younger audience, given how this show has its flaws, third season included, I'd say that the for kids and aimed at younger people is hardly something that is going to matter, would it not?

[MGA_Gamer]

Season 3 of prime seems to suffer from the same problem as Power Rangers (Super) Megaforce: Most of it was just fight scenes with very little substance and the characters just repeating the same things over and over again, with no meaning behind it.

At least Megaforce had the excuse of combining two Super Sentai seasons into a forty episode run over two seasons, and a troubled production (check out Linkara’s History of Power Rangers episode for more details). Prime was 23 episodes long, and the final battle still took too long. It’s as if they took the concept of the former’s “legendary battle” and stretched it over 3-4 episodes. Sure, it looks spectacular at first, but after a few minutes it gets so boring!

The ending doesn’t help. It really just makes the whole thing pointless, since it doesn’t really change the status quo.