Do you like the concept of the Restoration?

[Vlad]

1 hour ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

I've been asking you how multiple times, so go right on ahead. Let's hear it.

How does operating in a formal organization function differently than a group of friends if they still do the exact same thing in the end?

And if you never broke any of their rules or guidelines before getting hired, how would it be any different afterwards?

People do have things called "Ethics" which can operate the same way.

Just because the end result of function is superficially the same, doesn't mean that it's some minute difference that suddenly makes the Restoration just like Sonic Heroes.

When characters in the games band together, it is because they, especially Sonic, are reacting to the current threat of Eggman, and then they go about their lives later. One of the new key points of the Restoration is that they want to be this proactive "get the jump on Eggman" force. This really isn't in-line with the game series' core values. Whether this is a good idea or not is subjectively for each of us to judge, but the PRINCIPLE of the two ways of operating (banding together as friends in the moment vs a dedicated operation) are not the same at all.

[Leebo4]

10 hours ago, Slashy said:

Yes but we are out of the Forces era. This feels like an attempt to maintain the spirit of the Resistance.

It wouldn’t make sense to actually have the restoration just disband in the comics since at the beginning they were a rennamed resistance from forces trying to fix the world and even after metal virus was taken care of and the after effects; why disband an organisation that was made to help heal the world and clean up after eggman attacks if it’s still an ongoing issue? Why disband all these volunteers who want to help make this searingly never ending war easier

[Iko]

I like the concept of a "restoration", as long as it stays a background thing and the main characters aren't involved in it.

There could be this no-profit charity organization that helps people and rebuilds cities/disbands Eggman's leftovers after every invasion... they might also save the remaining trapped animals from robots and such. This organization doesn't need to get screentime, but knowing that it's there gives the world a little bit more depth and makes you feel a bit less bad for leaving a few animals behind when you play the games.

Ideally, it should be something like the "Captain Toad Brigade" in the Mario games, they are there, you occasionally meet them as NPCs, they're not major plot elements.

I don't think the "restoration" should ever get into military stuff... there's G.U.N. for that, and a few characters (such as Team Dark) can also occasionally work for them, if you really want to get the organization involved in a story. Canonically, G.U.N. is no more, but nothing stops them from re-founding it.

However, I think that Sonic and his circle of friends should not be involved in those organizations and just be free spirits doing whatever they want to do (exceptions aside, be it Shadow or others... the Chaotix would make sense as detectives working for the restoration to find the wereabouts of missing people and such). Overall, I prefer if those organizations were mostly ran by humans and "civilians" (I mean, characters with no supernatural powers/fighting skills), and the main heroes just do their thing separately, or occasionally help them, temporarily at most.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Iko

[Leebo4]

18 minutes ago, Iko said:

I like the concept of a "restoration", as long as it stays a background thing and the main characters aren't involved in it.

There could be this no-profit charity organization that helps people and rebuilds cities/disbands Eggman's leftovers after every invasion... they might also save the remaining trapped animals from robots and such. This organization doesn't need to get screentime, but knowing that it's there gives the world a little bit more depth and makes you feel a bit less bad for leaving a few animals behind when you play the games.

Ideally, it should be something like the "Captain Toad Brigade" in the Mario games, they are there, you occasionally meet them as NPCs, they're not major plot elements.

I don't think the "restoration" should ever get into military stuff... there's G.U.N. for that, and a few characters (such as Team Dark) can also occasionally work for them, if you really want to get the organization involved in a story. Canonically, G.U.N. is no more, but nothing stops them from re-founding it.

However, I think that Sonic and his circle of friends should not be involved in those organizations and just be free spirits doing whatever they want to do (exceptions aside, be it Shadow or others... the Chaotix would make sense as detectives working for the restoration to find the wereabouts of missing people and such). Overall, I prefer if those organizations were mostly ran by humans and "civilians" (I mean, characters with no supernatural powers/fighting skills), and the main heroes just do their thing separately, or occasionally help them, temporarily at most.

The blog video said that fun was defeated but disbanded since forces? Not sure that’s likely as they could have rebuilt along with the human settlements after the game

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

2 hours ago, Vlad said:

Just because the end result of function is superficially the same, doesn't mean that it's some minute difference that suddenly makes the Restoration just like Sonic Heroes.

When characters in the games band together, it is because they, especially Sonic, are reacting to the current threat of Eggman, and then they go about their lives later. One of the new key points of the Restoration is that they want to be this proactive "get the jump on Eggman" force. This really isn't in-line with the game series' core values. Whether this is a good idea or not is subjectively for each of us to judge, but the PRINCIPLE of the two ways of operating (banding together as friends in the moment vs a dedicated operation) are not the same at all.

"Getting the jump on Eggman" is literally the plot of Sonic Heroes. That is practically Team Sonic and Team Dark's whole story, with Team Sonic practically getting an invitation from Eggman (Metal Sonic?) himself to do it, and even the reason his team and Team Dark were literally (and stupidly if I were to be more critical) fighting each other over being the ones to do it. What do you mean it's against the series' core values?

Sonic does it multiple times on his own since at least the start of Unleashed when he trashed Eggman's entire space fleet, then does it again (with Tails' help) in trashing Eggman's space elevator in Colors, both of which before he even knew what Eggman's plan was. And he even does it again in Lost Worlds where it backfires on him with the Deadly Six running rampant as a result of it. I'm pretty sure having a whole ass Restoration helping him do all that as well isn't anywhere removed from that just because it's a banner of people rallying together as a organization to do it.

That hasn't restricted Sonic one bit whether he was an official part of it or not. That is functionally and principally the same with what has gone on with the games. And that goes without saying that, as far as I know, Sonic isn't a formal member of this organization than he is someone helping them out--THAT'S the real difference. He's a freelancer by their standards.

Edited December 15, 2023 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow

[Vlad]

5 minutes ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

"Getting the jump on Eggman" is literally the plot of Sonic Heroes. That is practically Team Sonic and Team Dark's whole story, with Team Sonic practically getting an invitation from Eggman himself to do it, and even the reason Team Sonic and Dark literally (and stupidly if I were to be more critical) fighting each other over to be the ones to do. What do you mean against the series' core values?

Sonic does it multiple times on his own since at least the start of Unleashed when he trashed Eggman's entire space fleet, then his space elevator, both of which before he even knew what Eggman's plan was. He does it again in Lost Worlds where it backfires on him with the Deadly Six running rampant as a result of it. I'm pretty sure having a whole ass Restoration helping him do all that too isn't anywhere removed from that just because it's a banner of people rallying together as a organization to do it.

That hasn't restricted Sonic one bit whether he was an official part of it or not. That is functionally and principally the same with what has gone on with the games.

The setup of Heroes vs something like Urban Warfare are not the same at all. "Eggman" sends a letter directly to the heroes (in this instance presumably Tails) daring them to come challenge him. In Urban Warfare, Lanolin has taken it upon herself to go after Eggperial City without any direct provocation from Eggman. (Once again whether this is good or bad is a separate question, but) It must be acknowledged that these are two different setups even if they lead to the same basic result of fighting Eggman.

I don't think Unleashed is a very good example to bring up either because we don't have the context for the beginning of that story. It's opening feels like the tail end of an adventure in and of itself. And the same goes for Lost World—that game starts with them chasing Eggman for an animal capsule, and their continued pursuit is directly related to freeing more animals, a problem Eggman has incited. When Sonic kicks the conch, that impulsivity isn't him "being proactive" because the adventure has already kickstarted. It's no different than freeing an Animal capsule at the end of a level, which is ironic since he also gets punished for that in that game.

The Restoration helping out objectively removes the reactivity aspect the games have always maintained by taking the fight to Eggman first instead of waiting for him to do something... which is what Lanolin says in the first place. Sonic's reactivity is only not compromised by the fact that they have to ask him for help. And I don't personally think it goes against Sonic's character to help the Restoration when they ask him, since they've been careful to skirt this line about his reactivity, no doubt under Sega's watchful eye. So I agree it hasn't restricted him personally. But Slashy's primary concern is that this just isn't how the series handled things for all these years, which is correct. Eggman is a spontaneous force that incites challenge. Going after him when he isn't the one bringing the challenge to the heroes first is not what the games have been doing. To dismiss this because "it functionally achieves the same end" is kinda just missing the point.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

2 hours ago, Vlad said:

The setup of Heroes vs something like Urban Warfare are not the same at all. "Eggman" sends a letter directly to the heroes (in this instance presumably Tails) daring them to come challenge him. In Urban Warfare, Lanolin has taken it upon herself to go after Eggperial City without any direct provocation from Eggman. (Once again whether this is good or bad is a separate question, but) It must be acknowledged that these are two different setups even if they lead to the same basic result of fighting Eggman.

I don't think Unleashed is a very good example to bring up either because we don't have the context for the beginning of that story. It's opening feels like the tail end of an adventure in and of itself. And the same goes for Lost World—that game starts with them chasing Eggman for an animal capsule, and their continued pursuit is directly related to freeing more animals, a problem Eggman has incited. When Sonic kicks the conch, that impulsivity isn't him "being proactive" because the adventure has already kickstarted. It's no different than freeing an Animal capsule at the end of a level, which is ironic since he also gets punished for that in that game.

The Restoration helping out objectively removes the reactivity aspect the games have always maintained by taking the fight to Eggman first instead of waiting for him to do something... which is what Lanolin says in the first place. Sonic's reactivity is only not compromised by the fact that they have to ask him for help. And I don't personally think it goes against Sonic's character to help the Restoration when they ask him, since they've been careful to skirt this line about his reactivity, no doubt under Sega's watchful eye. So I agree it hasn't restricted him personally. But Slashy's primary concern is that this just isn't how the series handled things for all these years, which is correct. Eggman is a spontaneous force that incites challenge. Going after him when he isn't the one bringing the challenge to the heroes first is not what the games have been doing. To dismiss this because "it functionally achieves the same end" is kinda just missing the point.

The setup of Urban Warfare is basically akin to the endgame of Heroes without Sonic going Super. They're already neck deep in his lair after a series of events getting them that far. And it doesn't matter whether you have the context for the beginning of Unleashed or Lost Worlds, that is still taking the fight to Eggman before his plans have even bore results, aka "getting the jump on Eggman" or "going after him when he isn't bringing the challenge first".

Heck, you want a better example? When they were still "The Resistance" during IDW's early issues, starting with them mopping up badniks to ending with the Battle of Angel Island, that was basically a sequel story of Heroes in essence and form when they were dealing with Neo Metal Sonic, organizing and banding together to stop a threat that was outplaying them. They sought to find and stop Eggman who, at the time, lost his memory and wasn't even involved in the whole thing to the point they ended whatever pre-emptive measures they were going to take at the time as a result. (which turned out to be a mistake that led to the Metal Virus)

Like dude, you're picking at nuances here. I'm talking the overall structure--the Restoration, Sonic going solo, or with a group of his friends is still them combating Eggman whenever he strikes terror around the world. There is no way around that regardless of how you frame it. That happens in the games as much as it happens in the comics, and whether Sonic is a full fledge member of an organized group, a freelancer that's assisting, or someone just doing it on his own doesn't change that they functionally achieve the same end, because that's the whole point behind his actions. Eggman doesn't always take the fight to Sonic and force him to react to his plans; sometimes he hides and Sonic takes the fight to him when he's suspicious or when Eggman is terrorizing someone else.

Why else would Sonic even involve himself in such events were that even not the case to begin with? He may like a challenge, but he still out to stop Eggman as soon as he can, and Sonic can and has taken proactive approaches before. So it isn't against the series core values just because you have an organization built up to do it as well.

And mind you, this series has always had other aspects like outside forces getting in between them:

• GUN chasing Sonic around the world in SA2, which Eggman was indirectly responsible for by freeing Shadow, who indirectly framed Sonic for a crime that GUN is chasing him for, (which Eggman didn't even plan, but was happy for)
• The Black Arms invading the whole planet in ShTH and forcing them to work together,
• Silver being a roadblock to him saving the Princess in 06 among other things,
• And the overall Monster of the Week hijacking the plot as the true villain in the end.

But it's not like it's really set in stone how Sonic goes about dealing with Eggman whether before, during or even after his plans take fruit. Being proactive or reactive is irrelevant in how Sonic handles it; his whole goal is that he simply stops whatever Eggman is doing before it cause serious harm. The sooner the better, with the later he takes the more drastic he has to be to stop it. The Restoration is just another extension of that--or even an "iteration" of that considering it's been done in the past before. This isn't really anything that's new.

Edited December 15, 2023 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow

[MetalSkulkBane]

I agree what many say, Restoration is okay-ish concept, but for background. We spend a little too much time with them.  My biggest problem is how... drab they feel. Just look at Restoration HQ. If it can't be sold to kids as a toy playset, it doesn't belong in Sonic. Station Square was somehow more colorful than this and it was a boring human city, just a HUB to visit more exciting places around.

But if we're talking philosophy "what franchise is, core values, etc" I think the problem isn't with them, it's with whole IDW. It tells completely different stories than games.

Games Sonic is an adventurer, going to new fantastic locations and new magical/alien thing to interact.
IDW Sonic is a superhero. He hears there is trouble in a generic city, runs towards it, fights his recurring rouge gallery.

It's not automatically a bad thing, just different. I would prefer more epic adventuring, but I some stories are easier to tell with HD graphics multi-hour game, rather than with 20 pages comic that tells bunch of small stories feeding into each other.

Edited December 15, 2023 by MetalSkulkBane

[Slashy]

32 minutes ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Games Sonic is an adventurer, going to new fantastic locations and new magical/alien thing to interact.
IDW Sonic is a superhero. He hears there is trouble in a generic city, runs towards it, fights his recurring rouge gallery.

But if we're talking philosophy "what franchise is, core values, etc" I think the problem isn't with them, it's with whole IDW. It tells completely different stories than games.

Games Sonic is an adventurer, going to new fantastic locations and new magical/alien thing to interact.
IDW Sonic is a superhero. He hears there is trouble in a generic city, runs towards it, fights his recurring rouge gallery.

It's not automatically a bad thing, just different. I would prefer more epic adventuring, but I some stories are easier to tell with HD graphics multi-hour game, rather than with 20 pages comic that tells bunch of small stories feeding into each other.

The start of Urban Warfare was most egregious, having Sonic be called by an agency to go deal with Eggman.

The issue is not inherently a bad thing, but it is when it is designed to be in the same continuity of the games and also not allowed to make drastic changes for it, which is essentially required if you want the main cast to be constantly invested in an organization like the Restoration.

Also I feel like you absolutely could tell the game esque plots in a comic, just have it be a story arc with a certain number of issues and then later on sell that as a graphic novel.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Slashy

[GentlemanX]

I enjoyed the Restoration at first as a way to resolve the plot from Forces, but it's long overstayed it's welcome and is one of the things that's most hindering IDW Sonic's format at present.

I LOVE pre-reboot Archie, and there are bound to be comparisons between the Restoration and the Freedom Fighters/Kingdom of Acorn. But the key difference there is context. Old Archie was based on SatAM, which featured a Sonic with very different priorities to his SoJ game counterpart and relationships explaining his behavior and motives. If you plopped game Sonic into old Archie, there's no way he'd be satisfied staying put in New Mobotropolis. He'd help them with their problems, sure, but afterwards he'd be on his way looking for his next adventure. The characterization isn't drastically different, you got the same thing post Endgame with Sonic realizing the conflict with Robotnik gave him excitement in life, but because SatAm and early Archie were about Sonic and his friends reclaiming and protecting their home, you could accept that version of Sonic living in that environment.

IDW Sonic is game Sonic, and keeping him tied to one place and one group for so long just doesn't work. It's why he down right turns Amy down about staying part of the Restoration in IDW issue 2, it's just not in his character. Despite this, the comic continues to revolve around the Restoration now FIVE YEARS into the comic's lifespan. We're not with them all the time, but we are with them most of the time. It's the routine gathering place, we've seen them handling the Neo Metal cleanup AND the Zombot apocaylpse. The Diamond Cutters are entirely based around the concept and since IDW primarily promotes it's original characters the Resistance comes up nearly any time Tangle and Whisper come up. Characters not based around the Restoration have been absorbed into over time, be it Lanolin, Jewel, or Belle. We now get occasional breaks where we see the game cast existing away from it, but that's always what they feel like - breaks. A special surrounding a holiday or special event, a brief short story where two characters just talk, fluff stories simply meant to break up the pace. But when we need to get back to the plot, that's when we get back to doing a mission for the Restoration or coordinating with Restoration members, and it all just goes back to them.

And I'm not against larger organizations like GUN or aid groups like the Freedom Fighters. But the problem is when those groups dictate what most of the stories we get to see are. We rarely see Rouge actively working with GUN because that's just one aspect of her character, the ones that show off more her personality than her occupation tend to be more appealing. As said, the Freedom Fighters pre-reboot were very much SatAM focused in execution - that foundation would not translate directly to game/IDW Sonic. Post-reboot had a better balance, and unfortunately we didn't get to see the team post 292 when we would have seen more of them as individuals after an ongoing crisis. But that setup, having a few individuals to follow that have a life outside of their organization would be far more preferable to the Restoration. There are tons of stories you could tell with Tangle and Whisper, but they're mostly stuck with the Restoration setup and Sonic and his friends sadly also end up having their stories built around that group - even though they can't actually be part of it due to their role in the rest of the ip.

In my eyes, the Restoration NEEDS to go if IDW wants to really tell Sega Sonic stories. I want IDW to start telling stories like Frontiers or Superstars that feel like the world of the games and offer new characters and adventures befitting the series as a whole. The classic IDW comics and Scrapnik Island get to do this and they're great! But the main book continues to read as Sonic Forces the Comic and again, OVER FIVE YEARS LATER, I'm really tired of this setup. Don't throw characters like Tangle and Whisper out with the rest, but the organization itself needs to go or at the very least be a background element we see OCCASIONALLY, and not one we see every time the comics want to use an IDW original character.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

You could put them more in the background if you were to have a second comic series about them. I.E. Sonic Universe.

But the problem with that is...? I've heard cases that they can't afford it.

[Slashy]

4 minutes ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

You could put them more in the background if you were to have a second comic series about them. I.E. Sonic Universe.

But the problem with that is...? I've heard cases that they can't afford it.

The priority should be on the cast we are familiar with telling stories like we see in the games.

If there were resources for it, then I can see a Restoration spinoff.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

12 minutes ago, Slashy said:

The priority should be on the cast we are familiar with telling stories like we see in the games.

If there were resources for it, then I can see a Restoration spinoff.

Okay...? What characters are we unfamilar with here?

[Slashy]

Just now, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Okay...? What characters are we unfamilar with here?

Pretty much everyone from the comic but Tangle and Whisper.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

6 minutes ago, Slashy said:

Pretty much everyone from the comic but Tangle and Whisper.

Mimic, Surge, and Kit too?

We're usually with the game cast when we're dealing with these other characters in the comic. And that's not even bringing the Restoration into account yet.

Edited December 15, 2023 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow

[Slashy]

Just now, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Mimic, Surge, Kit too?

We're usually with the game cast when we're dealing with these other characters in the comic. And that's not even bringing the Restoration into account.

Yes and no.

Urban Warfare largely focuses on the Restoration crew until what half way? Sonic's presence during the first half feels contractually obligated. The same thing  happens in the Endless Summer comic.

The current Duo storyline pretty much only has Silver as the only game character who is heavily involved in it.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

12 minutes ago, Slashy said:

Yes and no.

Urban Warfare largely focuses on the Restoration crew until what half way? Sonic's presence during the first half feels contractually obligated. The same thing  happens in the Endless Summer comic.

The current Duo storyline pretty much only has Silver as the only game character who is heavily involved in it.

Urban Warfare had more than just Sonic. It had Team Dark, Blaze, and Silver with the Diamond Cutters being the only representatives of the Restoration. Lanolin is the only one we're unfamiliar with who gets a major presence, but her and her group are more outnumbered by the Game Cast dealing with the threats outside the dimension they get caught in.

I haven't read Endless Summer, so I can't comment on that, but this doesn't really seem all different to when the games introduce new characters for us almost every entry.

Edited December 15, 2023 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow

[Wraith]

I think it would be fine if it existed to contrast the loose, breezy way Sonic and co like to handle things, you know, to present the pros and cons of it. I don't think they should be the status quo. Logistics and worldbuilding are just not what people come to Sonic the Hedgehog for, and even if you're the exception to that point the worldbuilding in the comic isn't interesting enough to warrant this angle anyway.

As it stands now the main benefit is a more convenient way of having all the characters in the same place so they can interact with eachother. You could argue that even that isn't all that necessary though, since when Sonic games want characters to interact they just kind of have them run into each other on an adventure. If it's good enough for the games, why not the comic?
 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Wraith

[ZinogreVolt]

I'd probably be more fine with the Restoration if their purpose in the active story was actually about, well, restoring things. A Sonic story mostly centered around the gang going around fixing stuff and solving problems in a post-Forces world could have been plenty interesting, but it's a pretty unnecessary backdrop and wrinkle past the first arc or so. After that it's mostly just normal ass Sonic stories with more drama than normal, making me wonder what the point of keeping the Restoration around even is after that point. Part of me just wants another time skip to happen so they can hopefully push the whole thing further back and the gang is allowed to be more independent and show up in different places again.

[Slashy]

29 minutes ago, ZinogreVolt said:

I'd probably be more fine with the Restoration if their purpose in the active story was actually about, well, restoring things. A Sonic story mostly centered around the gang going around fixing stuff and solving problems in a post-Forces world could have been plenty interesting, but it's a pretty unnecessary backdrop and wrinkle past the first arc or so. After that it's mostly just normal ass Sonic stories with more drama than normal, making me wonder what the point of keeping the Restoration around even is after that point. Part of me just wants another time skip to happen so they can hopefully push the whole thing further back and the gang is allowed to be more independent and show up in different places again.

Again I suspect it is a writing crutch.

My biggest belief is the world building Flynn wants to do is blocked by SEGA, and the world building he is allowed to do he is not interested in or just struggles with given he has to build it all himself. (source a handful of questions he got on his podcast). This kind of stuff is almost essential if you want stakes and grandiose stories built around Team Hero (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Big, Rouge) thrill for adventure.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Slashy

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Personally, I was fine with them - as people have said - as a means to clean up the mess left behind by Forces. I was relatively fine with them being a background organisation.

But at this point, I think it's pretty frustrating just how much revolves around the Restoration now. It's a major place, and it's main purpose - to be blunt now - is to just be the gathering spot for all the original comic characters. Every single heroic one at this point is basically associated with it to the point it's become their main team. Tangle is no longer this random villager inspired by Sonic who tags along whenever she can. Whisper is no longer this jaded lone wolf mercenary. Even Jewel is just there as a excuse to get Amy out of the leader position because of how much it held her character back. 

Basically, in a comic that's becoming increasingly more and more dominated by storylines and arcs revolving around the original characters, the Restoration has become the easy excuse, especially now that Lanolin is involved (And I have gone at length before about my laundry list of issues with her in recent stories). Even now, the current arc is all about the Restoration being destroyed from the inside out, and it's frankly frustrating because that only happened because of several contrivances and a lot of idiotic character writing that made practically all of the Diamond Cutters look stupid, but even when we do split off from the Resistance, it ends up tying back to them.

I was quite excited for the Knuckles mini-arc we got because I really loved the Knuckles/Amy story a few issues back. Turns out that's actually just a excuse to get Knuckles and the Chaotix out of Clutch's way for a bit. Sonic and Tails get a story in #68 and it feels like a fresh breath of air. Hell, Silver and Blaze were meant to be trail-blazing around the world, and yet not three issues later, they're already back at the restoration gathering supplies.

It feels like the Restoration has become the real bottom line of a lot of problems the book has faced recently. Forcing the original characters into each and every single arc, no matter what. Being too much of a easy way to solve problems around the world + be a excuse to gather everyone quickly, and in general, the latest arc is not only just a full-blown hodgepodge of EVERY original character sans Starline now, but so much of it just relies on the heroes being both so incredibly stupid to constantly let villains walk through their front door, or contrive reasons as to why certain characters would forget facts they know about people (Whisper dropping the issue about Mimic will never NOT be completely idiotic). 

TL;DR: Concept was solid on paper, but it's worn it's welcome out, and the new arc is massively suffering from how contrived everything about the Restoration feels at the moment, not helped with it feeling like most major characters are just tied there, and how it also strips out the unique traits of original characters like Whisper to make them fall in line with being just 'the Restoration'.

[Maria.Sosori]

It's a decent idea, but it shows up so much I'm tired of it. 

Mild spoilers for IDW #67:

Spoiler

BUT having Surge, Kit, and Duo/Mimic infiltrate it is interesting. But still the same old setting.

I think it just lost its appeal after a while.

[GentlemanX]

As an addendum: the most recent TailsTube out right states the group is going to meet for a party at Restoration HQ and also directly references Sage indicating it takes place after Frontiers, I think it's safe to say this is the status quo for these characters for the foreseeable future. Yay.

[Danj86]

I had been thinking about the question and eventually came to a decision regarding the Restoration HQ but was reluctant to add my take since no posts had been made in a while. Now that it's active again, I can go ahead with this and based on the visible replies here, my opinion matches what others have said. To put it in video form, the Restoration is...

I would've used a gif but I couldn't find one of Homer saying that line. I feel like that should be a crime and somebody needs to go on my enemy list for this large mistake. If the video doesn't load, that will be doubly annoying because of a statement I made yesterday in which I suggested using gifs instead of videos due to stuff like region locking to a fellow member. (Also if it didn't load, the word you should've heard is "boring.")

But all goofing around to the side, it's about time I got to the point, but if you want to hear something new, I'd suggest you bail now.

At first, the Restoration was a nice bit of world building, something to explain all the messes left behind by....technically Sonic, since he is the one smashing all of Eggmans tech. I have to assume they would've done something to the Egg Carrier that was last seen floating on the ocean. But now I'm kinda curious if the one on Scrapnik Island is the first Egg Carrier or the second that got blasted by Perfect Chaos. Um...I don't think it can be the third one from 06 since those events were erased at least.

Back to my point....wait....actually....does the comic ever clarify if it is a secret location or not? I recall Starline having to sneak in, but the Zeti, Mimic, Clutch, Kit and Surge all have no issue finding the place. It's probably fair to say Eggman knows where it is too, he is a genius after all. I just imagine the Restoration is so below his radar that it ain't worth bothering with.

Oh, um...yeah, I kinda hoped it would be an infrequent setting, used sparingly to help maintain the world building, rather then a recurring setting or more annoyingly, a flipping base. Because the place is boring. It's purpose was to answer a question and nothing else. The original characters had lost all sense of individuality when they all get mushed together into this single setting. I was already getting bored of them, but with them now associated with a boring location, my feelings towards them grows worse.

Something that appeals to me personally is how the varied settings and themes in stages help give the games a sense of freedom that Sonic himself exudes. It helps make it seem like the characters are always on the move. Even characters that you'd think would settle down and live in a house or something, rarely do if at all. I'm talking about Tails and Knuckles mostly. Hell, you'd think this wouldn't apply to Knuckles but the fact that he chooses to live without a roof over his head, makes him feel like he's keeping that same sense of freedom in his own way. Tails does have some homes in certain games, but the fact that it keeps changing in surroundings and design also allows Tails to maintain a sense of freedom and explain how creative and resourceful he can be. Cream having that home setting is perfectly reasonable and might even be partially why she was phased out slightly from the main group. But you would also think Amy would have a perma-home, but a game has never shown us one, the closest is a bedroom she invites people in to beat up in Sonic Battle. So that and the fact that her obsessive personality allows her to never give up the chase means that she too has that same sense of freedom. (I know your trying to phase out her obsessive traits Ian, but I refuse to accept that. Being slightly obsessive myself, it's not something you can just wake up one morning and no longer have.) Because of her fleeting appearances in the classic line, she never really had that feeling back then.

Reading back what I just wrote, I'm not entirely sure if I'm making any sense here. What I think I'm getting at is that a majority of the Sonic cast are set up in a way in which it's hard to picture them in an ordinary setting because of who they are. That became an annoyance for me in regards to Sonic X. Half the time, Sonic himself looked bored.

What was I talking about? Oh, fudge....the Restoration. 

Right, so about meshing the original characters. Did you know that Tangle is best friends with Jewel? If you didn't know that, it'd be understandable since they rarely share a scene since merging with the restoration. I wonder...did they deliberately make Whisper a wolf because of the phrase "Lone Wolf?" That was what she started as and character progression is fine but I feel like they set something up with Whisper choosing to leave to chase Mimic but never paid it off. They made it worse by having Mimic go directly to her instead and magically tricking her even though she saw him with her own f***ing eyes. The fact that she was able to identify Mimic from the distance he was at is pretty silly, but if you were going to undo that immediately anyway then...what hell was the point?? Tension and filling up pages probably, but I feel like they could've done it a better way. Silver already had a stigma for being pretty stupid thanks to his strange loyalty to a monochrome Shadow with no mouth who was a stranger to him in what looked like an apocalyptic world, but that aspect seemed to be abandoned until the goofy Mimic thing.

Who else? Oh yeah, Lanolin. How did she end up as the Leader type character to the Cheese Cutters anyway? She admitted to being in over her head and Tangle is a silly ball of energy so surely Whisper would've been a better choice. She actually has field experience and team experience, she probably would've said no, but no fudger ever even asked her!? But instead we get Lanolin. A cool looking Easter Egg character that was kinda ruined by meeting her. Her personality is far from unique but I would be intrigued if they are following up with her inexperienced angle through her weird choices, but at this point, I'm pressing X to doubt. They also haven't balanced her out. A character can do unpopular things and still be likable, but it's clear that the opinions of her have significantly soured for reasonable reasons.

Also Belle exists. I don't hate her, but she has practically become a prop since joining the restoration.

That's all I can think of for the issues I have with Restoration HQ. So it was fine at first but now its moved into the spare bedroom, eats all of my food and hangs the toilet paper the wrong way round. My diagnosis? Please leave.

Edited January 5 by Danj86

[knuckles20]

I have no complaints regarding the Restoration in the comics.

Honestly after the events of Forces and Metal Virus saga, it makes way too much sense to have The Restoration around. Having an organization to combat threats such as Eggman and the Deadly Six and aid support to Sonic and Co. is beneficial in the long run.

There is no way anyone will say "Oh look, GUN's here, we can disband the Restoration now" if the comic introduces GUN alongside human society. It would be the dumbest thing anyone has ever done in the franchise to actively disarm themselves with several existing and possible future threats lurking around.