Reviews

Like the Advance games, this is almost a re-envisioning of the Sonic cartoons. Although some episodes are shallow and/or embarrassing, following the plot of recent games allows for some truly spectacular set pieces. The battle to save Colony Arc was very exhilarating, as was the attack on Eggman's base in the first episode.

Surprisingly, character and plot development are highly prominent, with mankind's reaction to the arrival of Sonic and the others forming the basis of the core plot, giving the series a depth you wouldn't expect from Sonic. In the early stages Sonic plays second fiddle to the rest of the cast, in fact at first he seems incredibly uncaring, but thankfully this is changed. The secondary storyline, concerning Rouge's employment by the government, is cleverly woven into the main storyline and the protagonists' situations alter often enough to prevent the series from becoming stale.

So... I like this. A lot. Everything has its faults though, so here we go: Cream is annoying. Extremely. Considering she was a young-yet-feisty character prepared to travel to space and back right from her first appearance in Sonic Advance 2, her inherent wussy-ness is both odd and frustrating. She plays no really important part until Emerl shows up (waaaaay near the end of the series) and is mostly a waste of screen time. Knuckles seems far too aggressive towards his own friends, while Sonic is simply lazy at first, often turning up only at the end to destroy a robot. Don't even mention Vector. Rouge, on the other hand, is perfectly cast, and despite being in a kid's cartoon she conveys the femme-fatale persona I always thought Sega intended for her better than in the games. The human supporting cast are generally good too, complementing the Sonic characters and the plot arc rather than simply stealing screen time.

Most of the humour works well enough, despite the fact Japanese humour often doesn't go down well with Western audiences, and overall the series is well animated, the anime style suiting Sonic. The music is nice too, being used to good effect in the first episode for instance, although the theme tune is a matter of taste. Because there is a clearly defined structure to events, you feel more involved than in Sonic's other TV incarnations, and it's worth watching most of the 52 episodes, despite the fact some are of little relevance or interest, as important plot lines tend to end in spectacular style. Another 26 or so episodes are on their way, so (hopefully) roll on Metal Sonic and the rest of the Sonic Heroes...