u/Specialist-Rest-3391

Damn, we literally could have gotten a Gundam Metal Sonic!

What's strange is that I actually like the Netflix anime trilogy version and the MonsterVerse design. But this one felt a bit off.

It feels similar to the MonsterVerse version, but maybe, unlike other Mechagodzillas, it's because they tried to make the proportions a perfect 1:1 match to be completely identical to Godzilla.

If you happen to know the exact reason, I would appreciate it if you could let me know.

Orbot and Cubot are characters I quite like, but the reason for that is actually because the official canon finally gave Eggman the comic-relief robot henchmen that he had in other media. In that respect, however, I felt that Orbot and Cubot had quite a few execution problems compared to those other henchmen.

To begin with, right from their first appearance in Sonic Colors, there was really room for mixed opinions. They literally only existed for the gag scenes in Colors, and other than the scene early on where they chase the Wisps with a gun and a butterfly net, and cleaning up the debris of the boss robot Sonic destroyed, their roles were never particularly emphasized. However, Colors had no intention of writing a serious story from the start anyway, and they ultimately functioned exactly as the writer intended, so I don't think there was any problem up to this point.

In Generations, Eggman discovers the Time Eater and abandons them, leaving them trapped in White Space, and after the events of Shadow Generations, they move on to Lost World, which I personally liked better than their appearance in Colors.

Once again, they only exist for comedy, but rather than just having gag scenes that literally only annoy Eggman, there were direct interactions with Sonic and Tails, so I feel like there were more memorable scenes than in Colors. Examples like Cubot losing his body and Tails trying to fix him by putting him on a Crabmeat, which makes him turn aggressive and leads to him being attached to a body after various events, or Orbot asking Sonic if he could be his sidekick when Tails gets kidnapped, were at least more meaningful than just the two of them bouncing off each other. However, after Eggman fakes his sacrifice in the latter half, they just end up just being there until the final battle.

The part where I felt they had the biggest problem was precisely the Forces section. Everyone might not have paid any attention to them in Forces because of the various cases of character assassination, wasted potential, and the way Infinite himself was utilized, but I think that is exactly the problem. Forces completely failed to create a serious atmosphere, but because it attempted to do so, Orbot and Cubot, whom the writer created to exist solely for comedy, just stood next to Eggman without getting any proper scene direction or playing any role whatsoever.

When Eggman talked with Infinite, exchanging some banter there was the entirety of their dialogue, and for the rest of the time, they just stood beside Eggman, ultimately not even showing up at the final moment, which is the biggest problem. In particular, even if the writer lacked knowledge about Sonic, the fact that they didn't even know how to utilize Orbot and Cubot, who had been there since the writer first took over writing for the Sonic series, felt like one of the biggest problems to me.

After that, they ultimately only appeared in the prologue comic for Sonic Frontiers and were left out of the main story, which I honestly think was a very good choice. However, because of that, I saw some reviewers in several review videos who thought Orbot and Cubot would exit the series for good when discussing Sage's story, but in the end, that is not true. Like it or not, they have to be there, and no matter how the story develops in the next game, they cannot be treated as if they never existed.

At this point, I don't think they can just function the same way they used to. In the IDW comics, when Zavok took over Eggman's base during the Zombot arc, they were given some kind of role, such as providing information in response to Rouge's call, or Cubot feigning ignorance over a voice file issue instead of answering right away when Surge interrogated him (though he gave up the information immediately once Surge threatened him, at least he tried), and that was a good thing. However, because that still wasn't something that really highlighted them, I think the problem still remains.

At this point, I want to bring up Bocoe and Decoe from Sonic X as examples. They are also side characters who exist for comedy, but they pilot a few of Eggman's robots and do their jobs to some extent, which highlights them. However, that is not the most important part. That would be the part in Part 2 where they subdue Narcissus, a commander of the Metarex. Everyone probably only remembers Dark Sonic from this episode, but because Dark Sonic's actual appearance ended so quickly compared to the fan-made videos I saw when I was a kid, this part was more memorable to me.

The reason this part is so impressive is that while the boss of the Metarex was depicted as powerful enough to give Super Sonic a hard time on his own, another member required a fierce battle from Knuckles, and Narcissus also pushed Sonic hard enough to make him turn into Dark Sonic, right when it looked like he was about to be destroyed by Sonic, Eggman calmed Sonic down and sent him away, and the ones who subdued Narcissus were none other than those comedic characters. That single moment had a huge impact on me, and as a result, it served as a device that not only highlighted them but also made Eggman stand out by showing he had even intended for them to have a bodyguard role rather than just being casual comic relief (Eggman actually says so in the original version).

At this point, what I want is not for them to constantly function as a threat like Metal Sonic, but rather, they just need a single moment where their role is heavily emphasized. Just the Archie Comics scene in the second image alone shows that they can represent both the comical and threatening sides of Eggman.

Alternatively, the idea of Orbot himself connecting to machinery, like in the third and fourth fan comics, feels like it would fit well with their design that allows them to curl up their bodies. I also want to highly praise how the artist made Orbot's threatening side look terrifying while still keeping it true to the character.

In a way, they are the ones who have stayed by Eggman's side longer than Metal Sonic and Sage, because in most scenes featuring Eggman, they continuously appear with him, and since he even sends away or stores his cherished Sage in something like his data suitcase, these henchmen effectively spend the most time with Eggman. That is why I believe there should be moments where they get to stand out, and I think they need to be utilized in more diverse ways.

The Death Egg is one of my favorite Sonic locations because it is funny yet threatening, and because of its sheer audacity in blatantly ripping off the Death Star from Star Wars. I showed the 3D model to an acquaintance who is a Star Wars fan but doesn't know much about Sonic, and they said it looked really ugly. However, when I showed them the pixel art version, they said it looked much better, which made me think deeply about it.

Like the Star Wars Death Star, the Death Egg has countless structures, which was properly shown in Sonic Forces. However, the defining characteristic of the Death Star is that it looks like a gray planet from a distance, and the pixel art appearance of the Death Egg was a presentation that was possible precisely because it was pixel art. Thanks to the various shadow pixels and numerous yellow pixels that created light, you could feel its immense scale despite the limited graphics. In particular, the Death Egg that appeared in the background of Lava Reef captured a truly wondrous yet terrifying appearance incredibly well. It was a truly phenomenal pixel effect that doesn't fall behind at all, even when compared to Mania.

In the end, I believe the Death Egg was a product born from limited graphics. That is why creating it as 2D art or a 3D model inevitably fails to capture the feel of the pixel art. Of course, the official illustrations I uploaded captured their own magnificent appearance of the Death Egg so well, so I truly express my admiration for the artists who drew them.

A major flaw of the 3D model in Generations is that it could not depict the structures on the Death Egg, forcing it to be simplified. By representing the structures as lifeless square blocks, it ended up looking smaller in scale compared to before. It is also a big factor that Eggman's eyes and mustache took up a larger portion of the Death Egg. Unlike other Death Eggs, this version is even smiling. Overall, it failed to properly capture the feeling it used to give.

However, the modeling in Forces is one of the few things I want to praise about the game. It actually did a great job of portraying a grandeur like the real Death Star along with the details of various torn-off pieces, and even the presentation of passing through the structures was beautifully done, making it quite frustrating that the level is so short and there isn't much to play. (All Forces levels are like that, but the Death Egg was the most frustrating for me.)

While it looks almost perfect in every way, it still felt like something was missing. As I wondered what it was and compared it to the pixel art, I think the nose was the problem. I feel like the classic design with its small, curved nose worked much better than the triangular, blunt nose. Especially compared to other parts, the nose lacks any particular detail and is just so blunt that it draws all the attention to itself, which ends up disrupting that grand feeling a bit.

In conclusion, the Death Egg is a structure that has appeared virtually too many times. Even so, I think its initial appearance is the coolest. At this point, everyone is probably sick of the Death Egg and wishes it would stop appearing, but I really want to see a Death Egg that is fully and properly realized. I hope they mobilize everything they can to showcase the grandest Death Egg one last time, with modeling where the exterior and interior function perfectly as a stage.

Thank you so much for reading this far. I ended up thinking deeply about it because of how much I like the Death Egg, which is why it got so long.

That robot looked so much like Auto, and even when I first saw it in the game, I thought it was a robot Dr. Light made to test X.

I couldn't find a clear explanation and it was confusing because in other media it appeared as one of Sigma's robots, so I liked how Dr. Light explains it directly like this.

I especially loved how he vaguely mentioned Auto, and even if it isn't canon, I really appreciate these small details.

I understand why people want these to be canon, given that both works feature great character portrayals, artwork, and battle sequences.

However, starting with The Jet Black Hedgehog, they already made it very clear that they had no intention of following the canon. Starting with the premise that Maria was shot because Black Doom controlled the soldier, the story connected directly to Shadow Generations and even added an original demon sidekick. It clearly looked like they were creating their own original story.

Therefore, it seemed obvious that the next work, Sonic and the Blade of Courage, would also be non-canon. Especially since Shadow appears in it; if that were the same Shadow from the previous comic, the continuity would get even more tangled. It was easier to view it as something like Sonic X Part 2, where it reflects the games to some extent but develops mostly as an original story.

So I was a bit surprised to see the strong backlash online when it was confirmed that this isn't canon. It might be because this happened around the same time IDW was confirmed as canon, causing an explosion of resentment from people who dislike IDW. While IDW has its share of problems, the constraints of being canon can sometimes be a major hindrance. I actually think it is fine to have many non-canon works like these where authors can unfold their own original stories.

Also, whether official or not, non-canonical media often ends up having some influence anyway—excluding original characters—so I don't think there is any guarantee that these will have no impact at all.

Sorry for the long rant. I have been seeing these opinions often in other places, so I wanted to organize my thoughts on it.

It is interesting that Super Godzilla, who only exists in the games, was included. The various other homages to Sonic and Godzilla are fun as well.

The canceled cover art features many fun homages to Sonic and Godzilla, but the most unique one is seeing Super Sonic face off against Super Godzilla, who only ever appeared in the game.

I never imagined seeing this here. It is canceled cover art anyway, and even though Burning Godzilla is right next to it in the same pose, there is no guarantee Super Godzilla will appear in the main story. However, it would honestly be fun if Godzilla became Super Godzilla using the Chaos Emeralds.