The Custom Heroes - And my Thoughts on Them

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MasterPerryMartin's avatar
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So...remember when I said that Lowell could be the next character in Sonic Forces? WELL...

I'm fairly sure the news we got about Sonic Forces concerning that mysterious third character was one of the more...contentious things this franchise has ever managed to whip up for itself. At least, that's what some say. I'd say it's a touch more straightforward than simply "some like it, some hate it and most don't mind". Yes, even simpler than THAT. For those who don't know, the new character in Sonic Forces...is you! Yes, finally, we have been given a Character Creator, a true Original Character generator. You can make your own character, customise him or her, and use them to save the world and battle Eggman. Details are a bit sketchy but it seems the third wheel gameplay is Modern Sonic's boost-style gameplay, only instead of Boosting you are allowed to use actual weaponry and combat against the robots, designed around using the Wisps and a grappling hook.



Now this has its supporters and its...uh, well I don't think the usual terms really apply here. It's not really "Attackers" and "Defenders" with this one. Here one third of all those who care don't mind it...and the other two thirds are...well, let me put it this way. I've waited for this sort of thing for a long time. I've wanted to play a Sonic game as my own character, right in the thick of the action. Running, jumping, interacting, all that good stuff. Even at 19 years of age, I personally think it's healthy, or at the very least entertaining. And now I can do all that.

HOWEVER.

I didn't exaclty want SEGA to actually DO it. I know why SEGA hasn't done it until now. It's not like they weren't capable of it. Hell, they might have had the idea years before. But I think even they know exactly what would happen if they announced it;

"LOL ORIGINAL THE CHARACTER DONUT STEEL"
"LOL COLDSTEEL"
"LOL SONICHU"
"LOL DEVIANTART"
"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL"

I bet you all the money I have that they were terrified they'd get this reaction. So was I, to be honest. And...yeah. It's happened. As Somecallmejohnny said, the jokes just write themselves. Sonic DeviantArt, Sonic OC DONUT STEEL, "OMG COLDSTEEL IS NOW CANON" and so on. Within hours everyone parroted the same jokes over and over. These "jokes" were painful on their own but now they're getting even staler even faster. Now don't get me wrong, there ARE a lot of crap Original Characters out there, some of them rather notable - Sonichu, Akai, Selkadoom to name a few - but I think making a crap character for the sake of it is...stupid. To put it lightly.
 
As for my own take on it...well, honestly I'm quite torn. As I've said before, I've wanted this for a long time. It's fresher, it's more creatively supportive, it reminds me of Sonic 3 in that each character played nearly the same but with just enough differences to make them unique and it seems to integrate combat better than Unleashed or Rise of Lyric could. Now Traveller can finally prove his worth...if I can create him. I think that's the main problem I have with this idea right now. It's still SEGA behind the wheel to this barge and I wouldn't trust them to steer it with my life. Ambitious they are not, and I just have the feeling that the creation aspect just won't be extensive enough. For one thing, the selection of animals to choose from is...limited. Can't have foxes, for example, and a lot of the available species are the more standardised OC species, which isn't going to help much. Most of my main cast aren't exactly possible with what I know; you can't make porqupines, so that's Nikolai out. Katherine is a bit more possible but her clothes are so specific it'll be a miracle if I can get it to work. Same with Traveller, even if all he wears is a blue trenchcoat and bandoleer. The only character that COULD be feasible with the info I have is Lowell, and HE wears a trenchcoat too! But I doubt you can just make a copy of Sonic - I don't think SEGA is even THAT thick to put his spines and shoes in the character creator - but making an actual, genuinely different Sonic OC is going to be...a little tough, to put it likely. And then there's the problem of how much actual stake SEGA will allow these characters to have...

I guess I'm just annoyed by what I'd guess is a double standard. I think if this was literally any other game franchise, no-one would care. Like, no-one takes the piss out of Skyrim OC's even though they're the main character. But it's Sonic, the butt monkey of the gaming world. A lot of people pick on it because A: it's easy to do so, not gonna lie and B: it's easy attention and views for comparitively little risk. All you have to do is mention Sonic 06 and see the leigons of sycophants line up to agree with you. Even Jim Sterling, a man I otherwise respect, decided to completely take the piss out of this move even as he continues to say that he hopes Sonic does good. Methinks it's because it allows you to...well, make your own OCs and use them as actual characters in the story.

Newsflash; Dragonball Xenoverse does that too! Infact, most MMO's do that! And nobody cares!

Overall, I'm glad SEGA has done this. We'll get stinkers, yeah, but I and others think it can really open up some creativity within the franchise, maybe create some designs that might stay with us in some manner. I just don't like the mockery and the baggage that came with it. Like, as far as the internet is concerned, a reasonable, rational Sonic fan doesn't exist. "They can never be pleased!", they cry, which I feel is massively oversimplifying the issue. We can be pleased, it's just that there's so many things we want (that conflict with each other) that SEGA can't fulfull them all - and even then they're not capable of doing so. Regardless, it's a step in the right direction and has the potential to please a good amount of people. For all the people who mock, there's all the others who are finally excited to be able to play as the characters they created out of love for this blue-balled bugger. It's gonna get on my nerves, but I won't let it get to me. I'd like to think I'm stronger than to lash out at everyone who makes trash like Coldsteel.

'Cause hey, anything that could allow me to play Traveller as the classic hero he was designed to be, rather than the violent and gritty edgelord he became, is fine by me.
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alexwarlorn's avatar
So now it's staring Sonic, and Sonic! And Your OC! 

Where have I heard that before?

Dragon Ball Xenoverse, "Only your OC can save Dragon Ball History!"