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Amy might have missed the boat on character development. Sonic Team is dump-on-the-carpet incompetent and spent 2003-2013 using her as bad comic relief/bad gameplay which frustrated the people who liked her and made everyone else want her gone. Now SEGA probably wants to salvage her to sell merchandise so they and ST are in two-face mode pushing her as Player 4 but not having the budget, ambition or competence to reverse their years of screwups and actually re-establish that as public perception. Sonic Mania would have been the option to get rid of her. I wouldn't have liked it but the option was there. Then SMA6 made her part of that universe so now it looks strange that she wasn't made playable in Plus. Sonic Origins would have been the chance to "soft-reboot" the character and it looks like the animations were wrestling with a potential moveset for her but SEGA is so poor from their hardware bust, they couldn't afford to do it then either. The only option is to bug fangame devs to make her playable and stop polishing off Tails Knuckles Shadow and Blaze. It shouldn't be their responsibility but hey, Sonic fans swooping in to clean up SEGA's mess is how this franchise managed to get any success in recent years.

Something that has been rubbing me the wrong way recently is the intense hatred and/or love for Amy. I mean, I'll gladly admit there are numerous and valid reasons to hate her, but I'd rather be a lover than a fighter when it comes to these characters, and I can't stand the "eagerness" behind some of the hate. What happened to the presumption of innocence? My own regard for her is equal and opposite to her belief of requited affection. I can put up with her screwing with Sonic if she doesn't seriously believe it'll work. But if she really does... She can be really aggravating sometimes, there’s no getting around that. I can only hope she's aware of it. So, what are your thoughts? Is she an infallible angel? Should she burn in the pits of hell? Are you harsh, or lenient on a character's actions?

Ok, we've constantly talk about the other characters and how underutilized they are and how they need to return, but I don't think we've ever asked ourselves, What the hell are they going to do? And what can they do? I mean bringing a character back is pointless when you can't give them a purpose. Since they're Sonic's supporting cast, I think a good way to start would be to ask two basic questions. 1. What does this character contribute to Sonic as a character, how do they support him? 2. What does this character contribute to Sonic's world in general, and how important is it? The topic is basically, take a character and try to justify their existence in this series by thinking about what they contribute and how important are they.

It's easy to prattle on all day about the characters we love the most; After all, they're our top priority in the series and fanbase at large, and we spend more time thinking about them than the characters we're not as fond of. So I'm offering a challenge! Pick some of your least favorite Sonic characters. Whether they're your least favorite because you outright dislike them, or you do like them but simply happen to like everyone else more than them, I'm sure everyone's ranking of Sonic characters has a bottom tier. Ponder these lowest-ranked characters in your personal lists, and tell us something nice about them! That's right, what do you like about your least-liked character(s)? I think it'll be interesting to see what people have to say here. OBNOXIOUS BOLD WARNING: THIS IS NOT A CHARACTER-BASHING TOPIC. IF YOU CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY IN YOUR POST, YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE POSTING HERE. Got it? Good. So, I'll start! ----- So let's kick things off with Shadow the Hedgehog. Most of you know I'm one of Shadow's more outspoken critics, but I'm gonna admit the guy has some cool points. First, I think his role in Sonic Adventure 2 was actually pretty likable. Particularly when he reforms at the end, Shadow comes across as a very earnest and very believable good guy, and his remorse for buying into Gerald's revenge plot is evident. Some might say Shadow's better when he's morally ambiguous, but the end of SA2 is one of my favorite Shadow moments, highlighting what a cool outright hero he can be. Depending on the game, I like that Shadow is sometimes written as a well-spoken, polite character. His interaction with Eggman in 2K6 and the Rivals games highlights this- He always addresses "The Doctor" with a sort of respect, and has a gentlemanly quality about his dialogue in these games at least. And I actually enjoy Shadow's moodiness when it's played for comedy. Mario and Sonic has one of my favorite examples, with Shadow the sore loser. "I let you win." ----- Rouge the Bat is another character who I've always been critical of, but she's not without her merits. Sonic Adventure 2 was Rouge at her best, and portrayed a flawed but likable character. She was greedy and sneaky, but toward the game's final act displayed a softer side of her personality. The scene after the Knuckles fight- and later the game's ending- showed that Rouge was capable of some real emotional range. I also really liked her musical motifs in SA2, for both her theme song and level music. It's quite jazzy, and I totally can dig that. ----- E-123 Omega is probably at the bottom of the barrel for me, but even I can find a few things to like about the raging robot. ...a few. Omega can be kinda funny sometimes, and his fits of robo-rage have emitted a chuckle or two from me in Heroes and Chronicles. I think that's all I can come up with for him, but it's something. ----- Mephiles is a villain who never impressed me, and while I find him a bit overrated, I can see why people like him. Whether this was intentional or not is up for debate, but the guy's hamminess is pretty hilarious at times. Dan Green yelling at the top of his lungs and laughing like a madman makes him fun to watch, and basically turns the whole Sonic death scene into what I presume to be unintentional comedy. ----- Charmy grates on my nerves most of the time, but he's not without his moments. His interaction with the rest of the Chaotix is often a good source of comic relief, and he often plays a vital role in the setup of some great dialogue between the three. I suppose it's less about the character himself, but Vector and Espio wouldn't quite be the same without that hyperactive kid around to balance the mood. ----- So those are a few of my least-liked characters, and some things I enjoy about them. Your turn, SSMB! Think positive!

I love Eggman, with his eccentric personality, passion for empire and robot building, and his interactions with his most hated enemy, Sonic. But I often wonder what it would be like if the series had a second antagonist. Someone with a far different style from Eggman, someone who brought something new to the table in terms of presentation, personality, or minion gallery. I fancied the idea of someone who dabbled in sorcery, or something like that, though I feel that would be to "un-sonic". How would you feel about a secondary antagonist having a place in the series, and if so, how should they be represented?