Anti-Amy Rose petition

[CanofEpicSauce]

Upon reading the petition:

Seriously that was absolutely hilarious. If anything it suits well that a cool, fast, swift hedgehog has an obsessive admirer. But still Sonic fans feel the need to cry about things and make petitions that don't work.

And many Sonic fans wonder why they're not taken seriously

Edited July 15, 2011 by CanofEpicSauce

[Gaming Misfit]

Ok her personality sucks. She is just a stalker.

[Kuzu]

Amy doesn't contribute to anything.

[Flame Reaver]

What does that have to do with anything? ITs called a subplot ever heard of one?

[SuperClassic]

She's the reason Shadow didn't destroy the earth.

So if Amy wasn't there everyone would've died, the end.

Edited July 15, 2011 by SuperClassic

[thedarkknight]

She's the reason Shadow didn't destroy the earth.

So if Amy wasn't there everyone would've died, the end.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I suspect that this petition is a bit of a joke... however it is bringing out a few odd reactions on this forum... such as this one...

In SA, she was the second most useless character in the game. She makes Tails look like a badass.

A direct responce to that would be... she can't be that useless... if it wasn't for her, Gamma would never have become self aware/rebel against his master. But either way... it's comments like this... that make me glad I keep this on file.

Disclaimer: (Because every article needs one of these) This article needs updating. I've not included much of her actions in Unleashed, and not touched Free Riders or any other appearences at all.

So here it is again...

HAVE YOU MET MISS ROSE?

A few months ago, I attempted to convince you all that Big the Cat was the best character in the entire Sonic series... (Editors note: This was pre SSMB crash... I do still have a copy of this article if anyone wants to see it). Now I shall undertake something which is potentially harder, and if successful runs the risk of punching a hole through time.

I am going to attempt to convince you that this character is the second best character in the series. I think you know her name...

This is Amy Rose.

Awww isn’t she cute?

Here are some facts about Amy Rose.

* She was once called Rosy the Rascal

* For a very long time thousands of fans and official publications such as Fleetway Comics, got her design completely wrong due to this image. For a long time people were convinced that her spikes went upwards as apposed to down like Sonic. However this image is misleading due to the angle of her head. This is proved by playing Sonic CD itself and seeing her in game design where the spikes clearly go down. and in the final ending FMV when Amy lifts her head and Sonic runs off, her spikes are down.

* In the US manual for Sonic CD, she is named Sally.... Eh?

* If you turn the safe search off and put in Amy Rose into a google image search, it only takes ten images before you get porn.

* If she were a real human being... I suspect that John Barrowman would be tempted.

John Barrowman. He's gay... but you so know he'd have a go.

And now to the main bulk of it.

Amy Rose is a strange character, she's strange because she predates Knuckles, yet she isn't really considered to be a classic character by the fan base. On many occasions, fans groan at her inclusion in a game, her actions too don't do her much favours, often she displays the traits of a psycho or a predatory female.

She's always waving her hammer around and screaming and declaring her love for Sonic. I've never seen someone whose so intent on marrying another. Anyone would think that she needed a Visa to stay on Mobius.

She doesn't have a lot to save her, does she? A 1D character that’s had about as much development as the Ebola virus, she doesn't go beyond this mad woman waving a hammer around yelling "SONIC MARRY ME!

No hope... right?

Well... I for one think that she's a tremendous character.

To explain, we need to look back at her very first appearance in Sonic CD.

In Sonic CD, Amy is an NPC. She runs on screen, gets kidnapped and that’s all we see of her until very near the end of the game.

But in that scene we see the love hearts blooming from her as she follows Sonic and grabs his little blue waist... awww so cute.

Also consider the media around her at the time. The number of times we saw the phrase "Sonic's girlfriend" is up with the same number of times we've seen the phrase "Shadows game sucks."

She's presented as being an innocent weak little girl, she has no fighting experience, doesn't do much of anything to stand on her own. All in all... A poor little scared girl. To illustrate this further. Look at the ending of Sonic CD. She has her eyes closed and her hands over them.

Then we see a few cameos in Chaotix and Sonic R.

However... there is a brief appearance of her in Sonic the Fighters... should this be ignored? No... It should no be ignored because this is the first time we see her included as a character with combat. Whilst her moves are very feminine, it's the first time we see the hammer.

From this game we see a girl learning to stand on her own and taking punches instead of cowering in Sonics arms as the world falls down around her.

But her most famous return is Sonic Adventure 1.

In this game we see her change into the character who is chasing down Sonic repeatedly. She's so love sick it often blocks the mind from her true character traits.

In Sonic Adventure 1, it's true that we do see the predatory female character trait. However, that should not force us to ignore the rest of her, the majority of her time in the game which displays far more nobility and bravery than everyone else in this game (except Big the Cat --- See topic).

She's confronted by Zero, her immediate response is to run. She doesn't put up any attempt to fight him, instead she turns and runs away, then takes cover inside a diner. From this moment on, her missions are entirely based upon her being chased by a killer robot named Zero. Amy has utterly no strength nor the ability to defeat Zero, instead she must run for her life, only occasionally striking Zero when he gets close.

However, one significant factor about this opening is the promise she makes to the little bird, she pledges to look after and protect the bird. What's evident here is her willingness to protect a lesser being. The bird is not able to fight anything, yet she promises to protect it from the man and his machines, the same man who sent a killer robot back through time to capture her and use her as live bait. During this same sequence we see a flashback where Metal Sonic is chasing Sonic and Amy down attempting to kill the pair.

So lets review... she's a girl with little to no combat skills, who is now pledging to protect a bird from the many who kidnapped and tried to kill her... Isn't she a brave soul?

Well not quite... she still runs from Zero...

However... this does show that Amy has grown from the weak little girl in Sonic CD, she recalls the moment in fact through a flashback. She's able to battle badniks/robots and stand up for herself,

She needs the help of someone who has the ability to tackle the machine.

It seems that she can never progress... However! Just prior to the final boss, her character will change forever.

Just prior to the final boss the bird she's been protecting is harmed by Zero. Amy rushes to the birds aid, but then she turns and faces Zero.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srvpAwUvAR4

"YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!? NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!

This is the moment (at 0:57-1:27, Specifically at 1:08 when she turns to face Zero) when Amy no longer becomes a coward. Amy challenges Zero to a fight to the death, this is despite being unable to defeat him throughout the whole game. She's able to engage the robot and ultimately defeat him.

Has this game been called Call of Sonic Adventure Duty Killzone... chances are that line would be "Come on then mother fucker!" or something similar to what kyle Reese says when he comfronts the terminator at the end of the movie.

Observation:

Actually... now that I think about it. Many people compare Sonic CD to the movie 'the Terminator' but I could argue that Amy's story in Sonic Adventure is more like it, especially the ending.

Check back to that video I showed you of her battle with Zero...

[/

Hasta la vista Amy!

* It's a constant running battle.

* The machine is 'unstoppable'

* When they think they're safe it attacks again.

* Theres the moment where all characters eventually turn to face down the machine.

* The machine is eventually destroyed by an environmental factor, in the terminator... hydrolic press, in SA it's the electric fence.

The basic building blocks for the story are the same, if not the gender roles are reversed, the big difference is tone, Terminator is an 18+ movie, Vs Sonic Adventures cartoon (for everyone) tone.

But anyway... thats for another topic...

Zero Vs Amy

What do we learn from this fight.

We see that Amy cares for creatures smaller/weaker than herself.

We see that Amy is no longer a coward and will no longer run away from a fight or a monster trying to chase her down.

The catalyst for Amy's new character development is being whiteness to an innocent weak life being seriously hurt by a stronger foe. Amy shows intense compassion but also a type of guilty rage, had she not ran from Zero, she would have defeated him, thus the bird would not be hurt.

Unlike any other character in the series, she has been forced to develop a need to battle, previously she was the damsel in distress, she never needed to fight because someone would always come along and protect her... now she must join in the front line and contribute directly with the rest of the main heroes.

She even promises both herself, the bird and the gamer that she'll no longer be the scared little girl she once was, shortly after the bird flies away she says

"I'm going to try my best too! Just watch me, I'll make that Sonic respect me! And by that time it's going to be too late!"

What she means by this is that, she'll make Sonic respect her because she'll fight on her own, she won't ask for his help again. In turn by doing this she will earn our respect because we shall never have to see her needing to be rescued, She'll always attempt to complete her goals and save herself before asking for Sonics/our help.

And that’s exactly what’s happened... Since Sonic Adventure 1 we have seen Amy make appearances in the advance series and in SA2 and Riders. Taking a major proactive role where she must use her basic combat skills to fight seemingly impossible odds to achieve her goal.

In Sonic Heroes however, she undertakes a huge change.

She becomes a leader of a team.

Never before has anyone listened too her or took her seriously. However she now takes it upon herself to lead a team of non combatants through a dangerous adventure... And what’s the goal?

It's a rescue mission. Granted, she wants to find Sonic... however, until she discovers that Creams Choa and Froggy are in missing does she make the decision to form a team and go out in the big bad world.

This is evident from her looking at Sonic's picture at the start, however she makes no attempt to find him until there is a moral reason.

Not to mention that Amy, Cream and Big's goal is the most moral and selfless of the lot.

Sonic only goes for Eggman because Eggman challenges him to stop his plans. Sonic is not actively looking for Eggman until Tails and Knuckles bring him the letter.

Rouge's team only begin the mission for revenge and treasure... or personal gain.

And the Chaotix only begin the mission for the promise of money... as with Rouges team... personal gain.

Team Rose is the only team whose primary goal is a rescue mission.

This is evidenced during the ending for each team too. Sonic and co. stand proud boasting at how easy it was, Rouge looks for the treasure, Omega prepares for destruction of the area, and shadow... wanders off... The Chaotix chase Eggman because they still haven’t been paid.

Team Rose however cheer and jump for joy after Froggy and the chocolate thing are reunited... only then does Amy go get her man.

But her development is not over yet! Oh no! Oh my no! No! no! no!

One of her most recent and significant roles comes in Sonic 06.

Amy mistakes Silver for Sonic (she does that often no? Maybe she needs an eye test?). However, during the next few stages, Amy follows silver and is whiteness to the power that Silver has as well as his additional fighting abilities.

Amy would know from this that she is completely outmatched. No way can she fight silver without losing within seconds.

However... When Silver first finds Sonic and fights him. Silver readies the deathblow.

It is at that moment that Amy throws herself in front of him and in an act which can only be described as giving her life for another, Amy is more than prepared to take the death blow in order to keep Sonic alive.

Now if that isn't love I don't know what is! Well... another word could be bravery. She knows what Silver is capable of, but she still holds her ground and is quite prepared to fight him if it means that Sonic will survive.

Even after Sonic escapes, she holds her ground and challenges silver to explain himself. Despite Silvers claims she refuses to allow him to continue.

Quite a step from this cowering girl who cries at the end of Sonic CD and who runs away from Zero isn't it? Now she's standing her ground against a creature who has the ability to bend the laws of physics and manipulate matter.

So Amy's journey has changed once again. Now, she'll not only protect the weak, but she'll protect the strong. Sonic is capable of taking down Silver, Amy is not. But despite this, Amy is willing to fight Silver even if it means her destruction.

It would appear that she's keeping her promise that she made at the end of Sonic Adventure.

"I'm going to try my best too! Just watch me, I'll make that Sonic respect me! And by that time it's going to be too late!"

Sure enough he does. After Amy jumps in front of Silver, Sonic says...

"Thanks Amy, I appreciate it."

Amy has now earned Sonics respect, he'll (we) should never again (or at least he/we shouldn't) treat her as if she's a whimpering child.

She's not that anymore. She can stand on her own and pick fights, even if she's outmatched in every respect.

But it doesn't end there! Oh my no!

At the end of Sonic 06 despite being near inconsolable due to Sonics apparent demise, she’s able to venture through one of the most dangerous locations in the mission ‘the end of the world.’ Again she’s working for the benefit of another against what appears to be impossible odds.

Since her creation, she has undergone one of the most radical journeys and vigorous character developments in the Sonic series. Despite having a full game to his name and major focus in an additional 3, Shadow's development and depth doesn't come anywhere close to Amy's (sorry Shadow fanboys).

She's had barely any focus at all, her role has mainly been support and in some cases NPC, yet she's developed so radically her current stance is totally unrecognisable from the mindless girl who followed Sonic in Sonic CD, whose last image is of her crying as she's saved from the Little Planet.

Now she's a brave hammer waving hero that stands up for the weakest of all creatures.

Even Sonic refused to help the little bird, but she did not! Amy in a sense, is far more heroic and compassionate than Sonic when it comes to helping others. Not to mention that Amy is not someone who ever wanted to be a hero, nor someone who has any special abilities on the same level as Sonic, Shadow or Silver, and despite this she risks her safety and her life in order to protect her friends/strangers and even rescue others who are far more powerful than she is.

And yet so many people still dislike her...

For shame on you! Her mannerisms are indeed quite full on and in your face. But my goodness, looking past that you see a character that has undergone a large amount of development and is far more than an annoying teenage girl as so many people like to classify her has.

And finally...

With her appearance in Sonic Unleashed she has one very key scene between her and Sonic/The Werehog. Chip calls the werehog Mr Monster Guy as a jolly nickname, but when Sonic first discovers what he’s become, he is shocked and very well aware that people will call him a monster. But Amy doesn’t. She accepts him no problem, but she doesn’t recognise that it’s Sonic.

A very interesting reaction here comes from Sonic, which also suggests how he feels about her. Sonic/The Werehog looks genially hurt... but not because Amy was mean or nasty to him, but at the fact she didn’t recognise him. She was kind to him even though to her he was a stranger.

Onward Miss Rose, onward!

Edit:

And if you didn't like it, to compensate...

here is the marvelous musical tallents of John Barrowman!

Edited July 15, 2011 by Hogfather

[Skull Leader]

At least, Tails has proven himself against a strong enemy.

And Amy didn't? the advance games put her against tough bosses, in Heroes she is the only character that can take out an entire team by herself in less than 8 seconds. In SA2, with only words she defeats Shadow's desire for vengeance and make him realize his mistake. So yeah, she's also proven herself and even Sonic aknowledges her skill in Sonic Unleashed (the fight against theDark Guardian)

[Kuzu]

Ok true. She did 1 good thing, what else?

That's she needed to do, without her everyone would've died. Not so useless huh.

[Dr. Mechano]

Ok her personality sucks. She is just a stalker.

Allow me to counter your point with points of my own. I expect you to respond to these and elaborate on why you still feel this way afterward.

- In Sonic Adventure, Amy selflessly helps a bird for no reason outside of the goodness of her heart. It wasn't some ulterior motive to get Sonic, but a genuine act of compassion for the bird's sake. She also teaches Gamma about love and kindness, ultimately leading to his reformation.

- In Sonic Adventure 2, Amy does the same thing for Shadow. Like Gamma, Amy shows him the value of friendship and love for humanity, leading to Shadow turning over a new leaf and saving the world (Before his convenient amnesia undid all of that in Heroes).

- In Heroes, yes, Amy had an exaggerated yandere personality. But even despite that, she's shown caring for her friends Cream and Big, and seems genuinely concerned with helping them find Chocola and Froggy, respectively.

- In Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy isn't even after Sonic at all. She's trying to rescue her friend Cream.

- In 2K6, Amy develops a friendship with Silver and lends him a hand on his quest. Her feelings for Sonic lead her to stop him from attacking him, of course, but their friendship was still decent character development for her.

Plenty of examples where Amy was displaying personality traits that had nothing to do with her crush on Sonic. To say she's "nothing but a stalker" is horribly reductionist in nature.

[Kuzu]

Do yourselves a favor and don't bother, arrogance isn't something worth fighting.

I'm trying to get him to leave the same way Silver_hedgie did.

[Flame Reaver]

I'm trying to get him to leave the same way Silver_hedgie did.

Go out in a blaze of hate?

[thedarkknight]

Allow me to counter your point with points of my own. I expect you to respond to these and elaborate on why you still feel this way afterward.

- In Sonic Adventure, Amy selflessly helps a bird for no reason outside of the goodness of her heart. It wasn't some ulterior motive to get Sonic, but a genuine act of compassion for the bird's sake. She also teaches Gamma about love and kindness, ultimately leading to his reformation.

- In Sonic Adventure 2, Amy does the same thing for Shadow. Like Gamma, Amy shows him the value of friendship and love for humanity, leading to Shadow turning over a new leaf and saving the world (Before his convenient amnesia undid all of that in Heroes).

- In Heroes, yes, Amy had an exaggerated yandere personality. But even despite that, she's shown caring for her friends Cream and Big, and seems genuinely concerned with helping them find Chocola and Froggy, respectively.

- In Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy isn't even after Sonic at all. She's trying to rescue her friend Cream.

- In 2K6, Amy develops a friendship with Silver and lends him a hand on his quest. Her feelings for Sonic lead her to stop him from attacking him, of course, but their friendship was still decent character development for her.

Plenty of examples where Amy was displaying personality traits that had nothing to do with her crush on Sonic. To say she's "nothing but a stalker" is horribly reductionist in nature.

Ok her personality is good, but she isn't original. She's the typical girl who helps the bad people turn into good people.

I'm trying to get him to leave the same way Silver_hedgie did.

Who is that and what happened to him.

[Dejablue]

Where Is my Popcorn gif dammit!

[thedarkknight]

Where Is my Popcorn gif dammit!

Nachos > Popcorn.

[Balding Spider]

Ok her personality sucks. She is just a stalker.

I'll actually agree with you that her personality sucks, but as for that stalker bit....

[Skull Leader]

Ok her personality sucks. She is just a stalker.

*facepalm*

Do you even have an idea what a stalker is? Even more how can she be a stalker when Sonic IS her friend, let alone when stalking involves making another person suffer by abusing them verbally, psychologically and physically.

[Kuzu]

Go out in a blaze of hate?

Yup.

[Dr. Mechano]

Ok her personality is good, but she isn't original. She's the typical girl who helps the bad people turn into good people.

Hate to break it to you, but none of the Sonic cast can be considered "original." Every single character is a walking cliche. Yes, even my favorite character Eggman is a fairly common "wacky mad scientist" stereotype.

That's part of why I like the series though. It takes those cliched archetypes and runs with them, creating a wacky pastiche of characterization traits that have been done to death and turning them into something kinda fresh.

Amy's originality, or lack thereof, doesn't stand out as a major flaw in this cast.

[Gaming Misfit]

Ok her personality is good, but she isn't original. She's the typical girl who helps the bad people turn into good people.

Who is that and what happened to him.

What? This is a BAD thing now?! You have had ALL of your points proven wrong. You should just stop arguing and leave with what little dignity you may have left.

[Flame Reaver]

Where Is my Popcorn gif dammit!

No clue, but this is how I feel...

[thedarkknight]

Hate to break it to you, but none of the Sonic cast can be considered "original." Every single character is a walking cliche. Yes, even my favorite character Eggman is a fairly common "wacky mad scientist" stereotype.

That's part of why I like the series though. It takes those cliched archetypes and runs with them, creating a wacky pastiche of characterization traits that have been done to death and turning them into something kinda fresh.

Amy's originality, or lack thereof, doesn't stand out as a major flaw in this cast.

Ok...

I'm just saying SEGA should give Amy a bigger role.

What? This is a BAD thing now?! You have had ALL of your points proven wrong. You should just stop arguing and leave with what little dignity you may have left.

I will never surrrender to Amy Fanboys/girls.

[Gaming Misfit]

Ok...

I'm just saying SEGA should give Amy a bigger role.

Since when have you said that. You've been saying Amy is useless.

[Kuzu]

Ok her personality is good, but she isn't original. She's the typical girl who helps the bad people turn into good people.

No one in this series has an original character, NO ONE that's part of the charm, they don't hide the fact that their cliches, they just role with it.

[Dr. Mechano]

Ok...

I'm just saying SEGA should give Amy a bigger role.

...I thought you didn't like her. Now you want her to have a bigger role?

Well, I can't argue with that. Sure, I'd like to see her have more scenes and dialog.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Dr. Mechano