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Sonic the Hedgehog thread

Quillion

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Just now, I appreciate the irony that the Year of Shadow doesn't fall on a 5x year anniversary of anything Shadow related, yet they're declaring this all because of him being added to a port of Sonic Generations.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has Peach take a more proactive role in the movie, has her fully playable in Wonder and a remake of Super Mario RPG, and gives her a starring role in Showtime. They didn't declare 2023-2024 the Year of Peach.
 

fogbadge

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Just now, I appreciate the irony that the Year of Shadow doesn't fall on a 5x year anniversary of anything Shadow related, yet they're declaring this all because of him being added to a port of Sonic Generations.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has Peach take a more proactive role in the movie, has her fully playable in Wonder and a remake of Super Mario RPG, and gives her a starring role in Showtime. They didn't declare 2023-2024 the Year of Peach.
well what you gotta remember about the "Year of Luigi" is that it was about letting the underdog have his time to shine. Peach isn't considered an underdog
 

Quillion

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well what you gotta remember about the "Year of Luigi" is that it was about letting the underdog have his time to shine. Peach isn't considered an underdog
I think being a damsel in distress most of the time is something of an underdog.
 

Quillion

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Anyway, if Peach can have a take 2 in having a starring role, Shadow should have one too.
 

Mushroomguy12

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If Peach can have take 2 in a starring role, maybe Amy could finally get one for herself?

Although I guess to be fair, Sonic doesn't really get much in the way of spinoffs for the sidekicks due to being a relatively smaller series in general, Tails Sky Patrol/Tails Adventure and Knuckles Chaotix are much smaller scale and older compared to stuff like Luigi's Mansion, Yoshi's Island, and WarioWare that all have full series that get frequent updates. And Amy doesn't even have a game to herself, as far as my knowledge can recall.
 
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Quillion

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If Peach can have take 2 in a starring role, maybe Amy could finally get one for herself?

Although I guess to be fair, Sonic doesn't really get much in the way of spinoffs for the sidekicks due to being a relatively smaller series in general, Tails Sky Patrol/Tails Adventure and Knuckles Chaotix are much smaller scale and older compared to stuff like Luigi's Mansion, Yoshi's Island, and WarioWare that all have full series that get frequent updates. And Amy doesn't even have a game to herself, as far as my knowledge can recall.
Honestly, I think developing all of the "alternate gameplay" styles in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 into their own games would be a fantastic avenue for Sonic spin-offs beyond generally good Mario spin-off clones.

Like Knuckles with his gliding would actually fit better in an open-level platformer than Sonic's attempt in Frontiers. Tails could summon an pilot vehicles in a shooter (they'll need to deal with his flight some way though). And Amy could be a stealth game protagonist based on her role in SA1.
 

StrangeKitten

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Honestly, I think developing all of the "alternate gameplay" styles in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 into their own games would be a fantastic avenue for Sonic spin-offs beyond generally good Mario spin-off clones.

Like Knuckles with his gliding would actually fit better in an open-level platformer than Sonic's attempt in Frontiers. Tails could summon an pilot vehicles in a shooter (they'll need to deal with his flight some way though). And Amy could be a stealth game protagonist based on her role in SA1.
I would love that! I enjoyed the alternate playstyles of SA 1 and 2 more than most people. Honestly, I'd love for them to return in a mainline Sonic game. It feels like, while they were a little rough around the edges, they did a good job laying the foundation for how the playstyles could be going forward... and then didn't get iterated upon much. I suppose it was 06 that was to blame for that, but I really wish they had been given more chances.
 

Quillion

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I would love that! I enjoyed the alternate playstyles of SA 1 and 2 more than most people. Honestly, I'd love for them to return in a mainline Sonic game. It feels like, while they were a little rough around the edges, they did a good job laying the foundation for how the playstyles could be going forward... and then didn't get iterated upon much. I suppose it was 06 that was to blame for that, but I really wish they had been given more chances.
The problem with them is that the game ends up feeling very unfocused with them present. They feel like 3-5 quarter-done concepts that are taking resources away from the main Sonic gameplay.

If I can say anything about Dream Team, I'd say that Hardlight managed to perfect how the other characters can act in a 3D Sonic game before Sonic Team ever could.
 

SpecterFlower

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Quillion

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If they're going to make another "open zone" Sonic game, I hope they somehow cut down on the "big open space" that plagues a lot of the open zones.

I know they kinda have to do it to give Sonic room to run around, but that's like if Mario Odyssey made every level like the Sand Kingdom (the weakest kingdom in the game because a lot of it is empty open space).
 

Quillion

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Day late, but Sega is still riding the mobile train. And yes, it has single-player; I looked.


Seriously though; what is it with these mobile developers being far better at handling and implementing the playable characters than Sonic Team themselves? First Hardlight and now Rovio.
 

CannonStreak

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Hey all, here are some ideas for gameplay mechanics and moves for Sonic games I have thought of before. I just thought I would share them with you if that is okay. There are quite a few though, so bear with me.

Enhanced 2D Drift. Via an upgrade, Sonic can use the Drift from Sonic Unleashed in 2D Sections or 2D Levels. Here is how it would work: When Sonic nears part of a path that has turns that are tighter than, say, the one at 0:08 to 0:10 here...(without the upgrade)


Sonic acts like he is balancing on a narrow pole, and will fall off onto the side of the path or worse, a bottomless pit. If he falls onto the side of the path, Sonic will fall down, get back up and get back onto the path, all if he goes too fast on that part of the path. These areas are indicated by "!" signs, and without the upgrade, it is best to skip them, not use them or go through them slowly.

However, with the upgrade, things are different. Just press and hold the Drift button while going through the path with tighter turns and Sonic will go through those parts quickly and not fall off. Even then, Sonic can choose to stop drifting to access platforms and other paths from the middle of the path.

Honestly, though, this could work in 3D sections where turning is automatic, or with 3D turns that are automatic but function the same as these 2D paths with turns.

The Extended Boost: When Sonic gets this item or upgrade, he can do this: He can use the boost and as it is used, Sonic accelerates from default boost speed to higher boost speeds. The acceleration for this can be shorter by collecting more of these or collecting upgrades for this. So Sonic is not at a set speed when boosting. This still uses stamina or the boost gauge, and when the boost empties in energy or Sonic stops using them, he will have a harder time slowing down. (Though further upgrades and/or certain items may make slowing down easier)

Tunnel Exit Turning: This happens when Sonic is spinning through a tunnel. When about to exit a tunnel, whether or not Sonic is going to break through a wall that leads to the outside or just fly out of the hole to the outside, just using the c-stick will allow Sonic to turn as he is exiting the tunnel onto the adjacent wall. This can make Sonic go left, right, up, down or diagonally on the wall he turns onto while spinning, and Sonic can possibly go around the corner of a wall the tunnel is in and continue around that corner in the opposite direction.

This can also work on tunnels that are larger and can be run through, provided that Sonic is running on the right side (on either side or on the ceiling) before exiting the tunnel. At the same time, Sonic can effectively do this with pipes that are not in walls that he was spinning in. When he turns onto the side of the pipe and reverses, Sonic can go along the pipe, with the player tilting up or down on the control stick to make him go around the pipe.

Momentum Retention: After getting an upgrade, Sonic can run on walls and ceilings as well as loops and, should he hit something that damages him, like spikes or explosives, he can maintain momentum without falling off surfaces. It is kind of like hitting something in the Mach Speed sections of Sonic 06, only Sonic just trips instead of tumbling through the air. Sonic can still lose rings, though!

Braking Boost Attack: With this, Sonic can effectively boost and, while doing so, the player just has to tilt backward. When the player lets go of the c-stick, Sonic will brake quickly while letting out an energy burst attack that keeps going and can destroy or defeat enemies. The longer the player tilts the control stick backward, the more powerful the gap becomes.

Gap Dash: With an upgrade, Sonic can just go onto the edge of a surface he is on (but not to the point of teetering) and begin to Spin Dash or do the Super Peel Out. Once Sonic builds up enough power for either, he can do the move and, upon doing so on the edge, will cause Sonic to do a fast dash forward, one that will be able to g a good distance, making it useful for crossing gaps.

The Blue Dash Pad and the Blue Ramp: The Blue Dash Pad is always optional, but should it be touched, it will allow Sonic and other characters to automatically go into "Mach Speed Mode", which is similar to the Mach Speed Stages in Sonic 06. Here, Sonic's speed, which increases when he touches a Blue Dash Pad, will depend on how fast Sonic was going before hitting that Dash Pad, and the faster he goes, the faster the speed will be. While running automatically, Sonic can boost, quick step and drift, but aside from that, the player can increase Sonic's speed by tilting forward on the Control Stick, decrease it by tilting the stick backwards, and tilt left or right to move in either direction. Tilting forward to increase Sonic's speed depends on the speed Sonic hit the Blue Dash Pad at. The more speed Sonic had before hitting it, the faster he can go with the forward tilt of the control stick. If the player does not want to tilt the control stick forward, no problem, as Sonic automatically runs. However, if Sonic goes faster, his momentum will increase when he runs off things, but his turning and drifting will be negatively affected. Also, when Sonic hits something like a wall, he will just stop at it like in Sonic and the Secret Rings. If he is chasing something or someone or if something or someone dangerous is chasing him, he has a number of seconds to get back on the path and boost, or he will lose a life due to failing to catch what he was chasing or what was chasing him having caught up to him. These Blue Dash Pads can still be skipped, if necessary.

As for the Blue Dash Ramps, they also work depending on how fast Sonic and other characters move before hitting it. When hitting these ramps, Sonic is sent flying forward through the air at longer distances than usual. It is kind of like 2:39 and 3:06 here.


Sonic and other characters' speed do not increase when the player tilts forward on the Control Stick. Rather, they change direction according to which way the control stick is tilted after hitting the ramp; kind of like in this video, except with more directions and that the user does not return to the middle when the control stick is let go. Depending on Sonic and other characters' speed after hitting the ramp, they may land further past or sooner than their intended target, which can lead to alternate routes..

The Light Speed Cyloop.

Through the player holding down the Cyloop button, Sonic charges up in a blue aura. Then, after some time, Sonic glows bright blue, and the player must hold the button down continually. When near a group of enemies, when the player lets go of the Cyloop button, Sonic can effectively do a dash where he makes a series of connected semicircles on the ground, each around one enemy. Then, after completing one set of semicircles around each foe, Sonic either turns around and does another set of semicircles or runs to where he began the move if he is near it, continuing to do another set of semicircles. In either case, the second set of semicircles will connect to the first set of semicircles, creating an overall series of circles, each around an enemy. This happens in normally less than a second, and when done, each enemy is thrown into the air and can be attacked one by one.

This works on certain objects, too, and this can even work on flying enemies or objects. This also cancels out at the beginning if Sonic moves during his charging phase, creating a regular Cyloop trail instead.

The Super Peel Boost

I already made something like this before, but here is something more to it: With an upgrade, Sonic can do a Super Peel Out when he is still before doing the boost, kind of like how he stands still when not moving instead of moving when the button is pressed in Sonic Frontiers. Once the player then tilts the control-stick, Sonic will do a more powerful boost than normal that allows him to go extremely fast, even faster if he has the Power Boost. This can be cancelled with a button, and Sonic will do his in-place boost pose from Sonic Frontiers. With another upgrade, Sonic can do this while moving when the left trigger is pressed when Sonic uses this move or just boosts.

Aerial Quick Dash and Falling Drift

For reference for the Aerial Quick Dash, look at 2:22 to 2:244 here, and notices how Sonic dashes in the air in his Super form.


Without needing his Super form, and with an upgrade, Sonic can do this: When Sonic goes off a red ramp, maybe a yellow ramp, he can, with the B button (or Square button if a Playstation controller is used) and the C-stick, move tot he side (left and right), up or down as well as diagonally, like in the video above. This can be used to avoid obstacles in Sonic's way while in the air or access alternate routes. This can also work when going off a spring Sonic bounces off of, or when Sonic is doing tricks in the air.

For the Falling Drift, a spring, ramp or doing tricks is also needed. With an upgrade, when Sonic is in the air after being launched, with the C-stick or the Y button (X button for some Nintendo controllers and the Triangle button for Playstation controllers), Sonic goes in to dive mode and turns in mid-air, doing a Sonic Drift, in other words. Sonic can effectively thus turn in any direction while he is doing this, and with this, he moves in a corkscrew pattern as he is falling. This can lead Sonic to alternate routes in any direction, to the side, behind Sonic or diagonally. With upgrades, Sonic can do this move faster.

The CyDash.

This move is a combination of the Spin Dash, the Cyloop and the Light Speed Dash. Here, as Sonic does the Spin Dash, a Cyloop like line will form, and as the Spin Dash is charging, the player can control the direction the line goes, and even curve it in any way they wish, to an extent as this move has a limit as to how far it goes (without upgrades). Once a path is set, Sonic can dash off in a Spin Dash and he will go along the made line, which disappears as Sonic goes through it. Timing may be crucial to this for some areas.

The move replaces the Spin Dash when acquired, though the player can toggle between this and regular Spin Dash in the menu.

So, what do you all think?
 

CannonStreak

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Quillion

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So here's a question I want to ask, away from any dedicated Sonic fan community:

Do you guys think Sonic's combination of speed and platforming is... contradictory?

I ask because most platformers even after Sonic's debut focus more on precision over speed, because platforming is inherently precision-based gameplay. The scant few platformers who try to have speed and platforming are explicit Sonic clones.

Honestly, when I think about it, the inherent contradiction of speed and platforming in Sonic can explain a lot of difficulties with game design the series has had over the years.
 

CannonStreak

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So here's a question I want to ask, away from any dedicated Sonic fan community:

Do you guys think Sonic's combination of speed and platforming is... contradictory?

I ask because most platformers even after Sonic's debut focus more on precision over speed, because platforming is inherently precision-based gameplay. The scant few platformers who try to have speed and platforming are explicit Sonic clones.

Honestly, when I think about it, the inherent contradiction of speed and platforming in Sonic can explain a lot of difficulties with game design the series has had over the years.
Well, from my knowledge, the Sonic series is more about speed based and momentum based platforming. It has its own style of platforming, so no, not really.
 

Quillion

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Well, from my knowledge, the Sonic series is more about speed based and momentum based platforming. It has its own style of platforming, so no, not really.
Yeah but think about it; the speed makes it really easy to just careen past platforms.
 

KneeOfJustice99

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So here's a question I want to ask, away from any dedicated Sonic fan community:

Do you guys think Sonic's combination of speed and platforming is... contradictory?

I ask because most platformers even after Sonic's debut focus more on precision over speed, because platforming is inherently precision-based gameplay. The scant few platformers who try to have speed and platforming are explicit Sonic clones.

Honestly, when I think about it, the inherent contradiction of speed and platforming in Sonic can explain a lot of difficulties with game design the series has had over the years.
I think it's difficult to determine, if only because "platforming" is such a vague term on its own. Essentially, "platforming" is a toolkit from which you can then create all kinds of different experiences - whether it be slow, methodical, precision-centric movement, dense exploration with new movement tools, or indeed, fast-paced movement through a variety of equally high-octane challenges.

Ultimately, the combination of speed and platforming is only contradictory if the design of the platforming isn't designed for speed - and a lot of the levels that people have issues with show this pretty well. (The best instances of that are probably the more slow, precision-centric elements of Sonic 1.)

From a game design standpoint, the ultimate issue with combining speed and platforming is that most platforming from which you can take inspiration isn't inherently speed-centric. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't be. It just means that there's an additional level of creativity required to do it well.
 

Quillion

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I think it's difficult to determine, if only because "platforming" is such a vague term on its own. Essentially, "platforming" is a toolkit from which you can then create all kinds of different experiences - whether it be slow, methodical, precision-centric movement, dense exploration with new movement tools, or indeed, fast-paced movement through a variety of equally high-octane challenges.

Ultimately, the combination of speed and platforming is only contradictory if the design of the platforming isn't designed for speed - and a lot of the levels that people have issues with show this pretty well. (The best instances of that are probably the more slow, precision-centric elements of Sonic 1.)

From a game design standpoint, the ultimate issue with combining speed and platforming is that most platforming from which you can take inspiration isn't inherently speed-centric. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't be. It just means that there's an additional level of creativity required to do it well.
Good take, but another issue that speed introduces to platforming is that a lot of the time, you can't really see things coming very well. I know Unleashed's day stages suffered quite a bit from this, and problems with this exist as far back as a few of Sonic 2's stages (esp Metropolis zone).

I'm all for challenge, but it's clear that the key to make difficulty "fair" is to let the player see things coming via telegraphs of some kind. Games from Punch-Out to Soulsborne run on this philosophy.

There's also another issue that when Sonic games attempt to introduce gameplay variety to the series, they have to slow things down. This exists equally in the S3&K "play like Sonic plus aerial ability" style and the Adventure "alternate gameplay" style. Even Sonic has struggled with speed limiting the kinds of things they can do with the gameplay, and actively having to downplay it to achieve greater variety.
 

LiveStudioAudience

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The thing with Sonic is that it's all about balancing the punishment/reward for those that are skilled enough to do speed and platforming well. Questionable Sonic level design relies too much on bottomless pits as the negative outcome for lack of reaction to hazards and/or lack of memorization of stage layouts. The problem with that is that it makes replaying more frustrating than it needs to and renders certain level quirks more unfair than they need to be. Ending up on a slower path with less spectacle is enough of a punishment without relying on pits or spikes to drive that home.

As far as variety, in 2D that's generally easier because the shift to different gameplay emphases (exploration with Knuckles/Tails and platforming/defense with Mighty/Amy) can still keep much of the flow of the gameplay while feeling different. 3D is harder for that and it's a context that might be more ideal via stuff like power-ups to really explore that. It's a pity the Wisps got dubiously used after Colors because with some refinement there's ways of including them while maintaining the speed/momentum philosophy.
 
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Quillion

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The thing with Sonic is that it's all about balancing the punishment/reward for those that are skilled enough to do speed and platforming well. Questionable Sonic level design relies too much on bottomless pits as the negative outcome for lack of reaction to hazards and/or lack of memorization of stage layouts. The problem with that is that it makes replaying more frustrating than it needs to and renders certain level quirks more unfair than they need to be. Ending up on a slower path with less spectacle is enough of a punishment without relying on pits or spikes to drive that home.
That's a good explanation as to why bottomless pits don't really work in Sonic as opposed to other precision-based platformers.

Though keep in mind, that leads to the drawback of there being less levels in total, as having to put so many different paths into one level limits the resources left to make other levels.

As far as variety, in 2D that's generally easier because the shift to different gameplay emphases (exploration with Knuckles/Tails and platforming/defense with Mighty/Amy) can still keep much of the flow of the gameplay while feeling different. 3D is harder for that and it's a context that might be more ideal via stuff like power-ups to really explore that. It's a pity the Wisps got dubiously used after Colors because with some refinement there's ways of including them while maintaining the speed/momentum philosophy.
Dream Team keeps the emphases at least, with Sonic/Amy having the Air Dash and Light Speed Dash, Tails/Cream having Flight, and Knuckles/Rouge having gliding and climbing. It's just that the latter two ability sets are nerfed, which isn't all that different from how Kirby and the Forgotten Land was forced to severely nerf Kirby's flight (even further than Kirby 64).
 

LiveStudioAudience

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That's a good explanation as to why bottomless pits don't really work in Sonic as opposed to other precision-based platformers.

Though keep in mind, that leads to the drawback of there being less levels in total, as having to put so many different paths into one level limits the resources left to make other levels.



Dream Team keeps the emphases at least, with Sonic/Amy having the Air Dash and Light Speed Dash, Tails/Cream having Flight, and Knuckles/Rouge having gliding and climbing. It's just that the latter two ability sets are nerfed, which isn't all that different from how Kirby and the Forgotten Land was forced to severely nerf Kirby's flight (even further than Kirby 64).
Forgotten Land is a solid comparison because while it's still got ways to go to match the depth of its 2D counterparts (more so with the abilities than anything), it did feel like the spirit of them was kept relatively well even in 3D. Ideally follow-ups to both Dream Team and Forgotten Land can build on top of the respective cores of both games, because foundationally both feel strong.
 
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Quillion

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So I've been taking a look at some Sonic Rumble gameplay.


This game definitely needs to be released on console. Not because it's hard to access (if Android can play it, any of the Android emulators can), but it's clear that they had to severely compromise the speed for phones.
 

Quillion

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Just wanna get this off my chest:

Team Sonic Racing was released at a time when it felt like a massive step backwards from the Sonic All-Stars Racing games.

But somehow I think if it were released in this current era of crossover burnout, it would be seen as refreshing.
----
Also, when writing this post, I just realized that the title of the "Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing" is awfully clunky.
 

Mushroomguy12

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I still hope Amy and Rouge are being hidden somewhere, but it's not really looking good at this point.

Peach gets an expanded role from damsel in distress to Mario's equal partner and mentor in the very first Mario movie. Rosalina also gets heavily hinted at to appear in the 2nd or 3rd film with the Luma appearance.

Amy and Rouge get cut out of the adaptation of the game they were originally part of and had huge story roles in... and their pretty much the only major characters that get cut out from SA2, the contrast is a bit much.

We're on the 3rd Sonic film and not even Amy, the most significant female character in the games, can appear, let alone Rouge or Cream. A bit disappointing. I know we have Maria but in terms of the super powered animals, we're sorely lacking in any of the major playable female characters from the actual games.
 
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LiveStudioAudience

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What's becoming pretty clear is that the Sonic films are very much broad strokes adaptations of the games and the seeming lack of Amy and Rouge in 3 seems to reflect that. The focus seems to be on the major emotional beats relative to the critical figures so with three heroes, Robotnik, Stone, Tom/Maddie, and apparently Gerald Robotnik? It may have been determined that simply wasn't s pace for introducing, fleshing out, and giving critical roles to two more characters, especially when they might end up giving the most important scenes (like someone jogging Shadow's memory of Maria's true wishes) to someone else.

Given Chris Thorndyke already took Amy's place for that scene in the Sonic X version of Adventure 2, it wouldn't surprise me to see something similar here.
 
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