Why bother? (A parody, though not a joke either)

[Kinzer]

Good morning fellow insomniacs, Kinzer here, and in the Sonic subforum, you're probably expecting some kind of metagame advancement or food-for-though thread right?

...Eh, not entirely true, but please keep reading, I promise you it will be worth it, and give it a chance. I just hope somebody reads this, because if I were to post this on AiB, it would be dead the instant I put it up. :/

So if any of you have been wondering or have recently read this:

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=238461

You're probably questioning/ (re)thinking why do you stay as Sonic (or any character not named MK for that matter) and not as some other character that has a better chance in tourney play and/or is in actuality, a better character.

...Why aren't you? Think about it, no matter where you come from, you probably have came across bumps in the road playing this game, be it at a casual level, or if you're more battle-hardened and in the competitive gaming scene.

If you're on the casual level, this probably doesn't mean too much to you, but regardless everybody likes a little bit of competition every now and then, it doesn't have to be with professionals, it can just be with fellow friends/classmates/whoever else you know. Don't lie, it feels great to pull a win, doesn't it? Do you also feel like actually deserving a win, or do you want to win by any means necessary? I can't give you a complete answer FOR YOU, only you can tell yourself that answer, and to what degree.

However if you have answered with something "no matter what it takes, I want to win, even if that requires that I have to do some stuff that doesn't normally fit me.", then you'll know that the best way to do this in efficiency terms is to maximize your odds of winning. This is done by analyzing you and your opponents habits as well as the comparison of the characters' strengths and weaknesses that you both play, unless of course you two are playing the same character but that's a different topic.

I will assume that the select people reading this fully acknowledge that by playing Sonic, they realize that they will have a long road ahead of them... because for the kind of website and sub-forum I put it, I shouldn't be expecting much different otherwise... -_- Uhm... anyway if you, the reader, or not aware of this, take it how you will, everybody is different and everybody will have their own choice on what they do and how they do it. Now let me assume you're like me, the crazy die-hard Sonic fanatic, who while is hopeful is still realistic/knowledgeable (yes I'm blowing my own horn here, deal with it). Should I be convincing you to stray away from Sonic even though I come from my own world? Yes and no.

Yes, because if you're the kind of person who while has one kind of a passion but has a hotter, more brightly-burning candle-fire for another, then you will have to come down to Earth and accept that Sonic as a character in Brawl has weaknesses that keep him from winning any major competitions. This is like taking a trained baseball player for your team that you've just met at a dinner party instead of your (imaginary) friend who is stuck in a wheelchair who you've known for years. This is perfectly understandable and if your friend was really your friend, then he/she would understand perfectly, and you should in no way feel guilty.

No for multiple reasons. Unlike some of the other characters on the select screen, Sonic CAN win a tournament on his own (this is debatable but let's assume it's true) actually, sure it is one steep uphill jog but it is not impossible as some would say or want to believe (or otherwise, again debatable but not the point). However you can't be in denial either, if you want to get far then there are many things you will have to know, learn, and understand. For one, Sonic is no Meta Knight. If you weren't already aware, Meta Knight is the character people (want to) play if they want to win, this means that if you stick with Sonic you can't afford to lose faith in him and/or yourself, do this and your purpose while you're here, whatever it is, is lost. Two, even if it isn't Meta Knight, Sonic still doesn't have a lot of things going for him as some would kill to have.

For your sake though, don't get confused with player and or character weakness(es). It's one thing to lose a match because of a character/player pair-up, but it's another to blame yourself, your character, your opponent, your opponent(')s' character(s), or a mix of all those put together. Assuming Sonic can actually win a tournament on his own, many are hasty to find an excuse as to not see why they made a mistake or a bad judgment. If you're doing this, you can be playing any character and you're just not admitting that you are a bad person/competitive player. I'm gonig to be using a (lot of) Baseball example, so read on if you would please. "Hey, you could have stayed at second base instead of trying to steal third, but you got out because you took that risk," accept the lose and move on, or learn from your mistake and get better for/from it next time, don't be an *** and say "oh well I wasn't fast enough to get there" or "I could've stayed at second base and just have the guy hit the ball far enough to where I could've ran both bases and got the run", well guess what, if you knew you weren't fast enough, why did you take that chance knowing you wouldn't have made it anyway, or why are you complaining about what could've been when nobody knows what would have been actuality?! This annoys me to no end, GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

But anyway, I think you get the point, now that you know that it will be a hard road in front of you when you stick with Sonic and now (if you didn't already) realize that hard work can get you where you want to be. Go ahead and Ask Meta Knight player, contrary to popular belief, they have to do some kind of work to get where they are... but if you really care, you can get away with knowing that they probably have it easier than most... but forget about that and concentrate.

Enough with the negativity huh, we should look at some positives for being a black sheep and sticking with any character not named Meta Knight, let me use Sonic as an example since I am most familiar with him.

Don't count on this one, but you should think about how if you don't use Meta Knight, you will be at some kind of an advantage, even if you really aren't. If more people are playing Meta Knight, then that should mean they you will be able to pick up on the matchup eventually, and you'll essentially become a Meta Knight "slayer."Looking from the outside in, people might not have experience with your character or playstyle! Your character might also be infrequent in such a environment, that even if people catch on, you would still have the element of surprise, if THAT wasn't enough, you will always have more experience against the high-caliber characters and usually the lower-class characters are overlooked and underestimated. I might've been redundant here though, but oh well...

Metagame advancement. Many of the high caliber players will know what this is, and even if you don't have you ever done something one way but an outside might've said to do whatever the task was in what might be "the correct" way? Let me see if I can draw you a picture: Have you ever tried of thought of the idea of mowing a lawn with a single pair of tiny scissors? Think about how difficult that is, and imagine that most everybody else is doing the same thing... you're thinking "isn't there a better way to do that?" To answer that question, yes there is, but keep reading; Either by being hands-on and experimenting with new things, or just thinking of another way, you're expanding on one way. This is what keeps some people going, and pros to keep getting better.

The Sonic you see now when not being restricted by a player is much different from the perfectly-played Sonic you can look up when the game came out. There have been many successors, some to which are still here to this day. Without these successors, Sonic as a character wouldn't be as potent as you can see now. Metagame doesn't apply to just a character though.

Have you ever played somebody who has given you trouble before but maybe now you have it easier with them? This is probably because you've been doing a little bit of metagaming yourself. Think: that one person was making you lose quite often for a reason right? If you are winning now, then you've found out a way to make the match work into your favor. If not then the reason most likely being is that you have yet to find the key that unlocks the door to the winner screen.

Speaking of metagame evolution, the progress you see has all been achieved with some research hardwork. While people are wise to move on to what will give them a better edge, it's also a good idea to make sure that by leaving you have found no resolution to the problem(s) that might have made you quit in the first place. If people would always take the easy way out, then the problem of seeing top/high-tier characters would be but too much to deal with because nobody made that effort. It is for this very reason that Sonic still has a fighting chance where it matters... some other people/characters sadly cannot say the same.

Do you recall the link I gave you on the top of this thread? if you haven't already clicked it, then do so now and take a look at the R.O.B. community. If you look around what do you see? The answer would be that you see a blog/discussion/rant about people who are either wise or undedicated... or both, take your pick. I'm not going to point any fingers and/or tell them what they should do, but by giving up like this and just assuming that their answer is absolute, they are drifting away from what to some was their passion, and to others what is securing R.O.B.'s incapability to deal with the problems that are opposed to him. Now don't get this wrong, R.O.B. as a character I am sure has made some advancements... but that has far from helped him much... the reason being not that R.O.B. sucks as a character (debatable but not the point right now), but other characters around his class or even lower have made their own advancements and work with what they have. Those characters/players haven't given up to what is suppose to be a dim light at the end of a narrow tunnel, they pressed forward and with this task accomplished they have surpassed R.O.B. This game wasn't designed perfectly or have an end-all-be-all status, when people like give up and/or don't experiment, they aren't doing themselves/the people they work with/ or the character any favors.

Is it right to deem them as whatever harsh adjective you can think of? Again, NO! People have a right to believe in what they want, and if they choose to do what is better for themselves, then by all means let them, it's not like it affects you (if you're a Sonic boarder, it doesn't, if you're actually one of them reading this, it doesn't either, and I'll explain why right now). Now you might be faced with a situation like this, should you give up? Only you can come up with that answer, but assuming you have steadfast belief, then you would prove to the people who don't think otherwise wrong, there is a saying that goes by "if there is a will, there is a way," you just have to find that way. To be honest, no matter what choice you make, so long as it isn't quit the game and go away from the community entirely, you will make some metagame advancement somewhere, whether you are aware of that or not, that's why there is no wrong or right answer to something like this. With all this said, I'm just showcasing to you a cause and an effect.

Do you want an example of what happens when people stay true to their heart and stick with what they have no matter what? Take a look at the community that which you're reading this from: the Sonic community!

If you aren't aware, back when this game first came out, many things were being looked into and many claims were made. At the time, Sonic had a big fanbase to what seemed to be a promising community. After some time though, people disappeared, for what reason is their own and I cannot speak for everybody, but this place was like a ghost town where anybody still living here would be kidnapped by bandits never to be seen again. Not a place to be around in short. This lead to many to believe that without any kind of representation where people could see an example, those many would make the claim that Sonic was the 5th worst character on the selectable roster. This would further cause people to be shunned away from Sonic because without doing any research of their own, they would go with what others would say and just not bother with him. This however was not without a biased observation; back then Sonic did not have much to prove or work with. what is set in stone right now though is that Sonic's face attributes are not impressive, this cannot be changed. What has changed however is the development of the character, thanks to the few people who stuck around from the very beginning, showed to others how he works in the capable hands of talented players, and with this has introduced many new and promising faces and have the character proven worthy enough to get around with enough work, even when it seemed otherwise that no matter how hard people tried, they couldn't get him to work. If you look now then you know that Sonic has made the biggest jump in the history of Smash... and he's a third party character that wasn't a veteran of Melee or Smash 64... IMPRESSIVE!

I hope that by reading this I have answered some questions, or sparked something new in you. I leave you with one last saying to at least consider going by in your career, thank you for reading and I hope that no matter where you go, you have a healthy smash career!

"If at first you do not succeed, try, try again."

 

[DDM]

Kinzer.... This.

Now, before I continue, it's probably appropriate that I remind everyone that in the credits you don't see "Developed by: Smashboards". This is primarily a party game, and what we've done here is a fun by-product. The folks working on Brawl did the best they could to make the characters evenly-matched while still maintaining the integrity of the character. For the sake of not beating a dead horse, I'll assume that even if they figured that a R.O.B. / Meta Knight matchup was imbalanced, they probably assumed that a Pokeball or two would turn it around.

Now, with that being said, back to what we do here.

I get my @$$ kicked, rather frequently. That's just a fact. I'm not one of the top Sonic's here. I may never be. But I have potential, because Sonic has potential. A ****load of potential. There are times, which manifest in many different scenarios, when it is physically impossible for one person to overpower the other. But the one infinitely unquantifiable X factor, is the ability to outsmart someone. That's where we come in. Sonic has the distinction of being THE fastest character in this game, and one of the most agile. That lends itself to two things: confusing / frustrating the he11 out of the opponent, or pressing too much and making stupid mistakes. As cut-and-dried as it sounds, it is mostly in the hands of the player, and partly in the hands of his opponent.

I've seen Sonic, as played by the pros. And I've been playing him since I unlocked him over a year ago. I KNOW he can be great, weak KO power or not.

I may fiddle with Olimar some, but that hasn't gone as well as I expected. As far as Brawl goes, my allegiance is with the Blue Blur. Suck it, Meta Knight.

 

[Red Arremer]

Kinzer.

I want to use this posting to express my love and desire for you. <3

 

[Browny]

^^ was that really neccessary >_<

I was gonna mention how that rob thread is a complete joke, but it looks like all the othe rob mains are already doing it instead

However I read it all (OMG LONG) and I dont quite see what youre trying to get at here. I mean this post may have made perfect sense if that rob one was posted like, 8 months ago but this far in most everyone knows and accepts Sonic's shortcomings. Most of what you say is either opinion, or simply very obvious not really bringing much new info here :/ Its well written but you should consider cutting out much of the stuff that holds little relevance, being concise is a very good thing and will save a lot of the inevitable tl;dr's this is gonna get

 

[Red Arremer]

^^ was that really neccessary >_<

Yes. Yes it was. :3

 

[Kinzer]

Kinzer.... This.

Now, before I continue, it's probably appropriate that I remind everyone that in the credits you don't see "Developed by: Smashboards". This is primarily a party game, and what we've done here is a fun by-product. The folks working on Brawl did the best they could to make the characters evenly-matched while still maintaining the integrity of the character. For the sake of not beating a dead horse, I'll assume that even if they figured that a R.O.B. / Meta Knight matchup was imbalanced, they probably assumed that a Pokeball or two would turn it around.

Now, with that being said, back to what we do here.

I get my @$$ kicked, rather frequently. That's just a fact. I'm not one of the top Sonic's here. I may never be. But I have potential, because Sonic has potential. A ****load of potential. There are times, which manifest in many different scenarios, when it is physically impossible for one person to overpower the other. But the one infinitely unquantifiable X factor, is the ability to outsmart someone. That's where we come in. Sonic has the distinction of being THE fastest character in this game, and one of the most agile. That lends itself to two things: confusing / frustrating the he11 out of the opponent, or pressing too much and making stupid mistakes. As cut-and-dried as it sounds, it is mostly in the hands of the player, and partly in the hands of his opponent.

I've seen Sonic, as played by the pros. And I've been playing him since I unlocked him over a year ago. I KNOW he can be great, weak KO power or not.

I may fiddle with Olimar some, but that hasn't gone as well as I expected. As far as Brawl goes, my allegiance is with the Blue Blur. Suck it, Meta Knight.

It's a party game, but the keyword is "game", meaning there is something to be won. Even in something as luck-based as Mario party, the goal is to still be the superstar, whether or not you play with computers or other people.

Still, I can't argue that you're right that the developers tried to balance the characters while keep it "fun." The developers of Brawl also happened to go out of their way eliminate most competitive aspects, and it wasn't meant to be played without items... Oh well, in the spirit of fair competition, we try to eliminate as much "luck-factors" as possible, meaning items have to go, and now we're left with all the characters on the roster with nothing but their moveset, and the stages that are legal... because I bet you we were also suppose to be playing on stages like Spear Pillar... *shiver.*

Still, here is where it comes down to choice now, we have our ruleset, and no character is ban-worthy, how good they are is different, but people have a choice to put a handicap on themselves; just like you have a choice of whether or not you want to practice for your role in a play, you don't have to do it, it's not necessary, but it is highly recommended you prepare yourself prior. I can play Meta Knight, that much is true, but I don't want to.

Seriously though, we can't get rid of much more other than what is being debated on now, because it's not going to change the outcome of a match because it's not luck, it's the skill between the players. For example you can also argue that since both players have an equal chance of tripping, there's no point in complaining about it since your opponent could have also tripped right into your smash attack, but they didn't. Oh well, try again next time. If that's not enough you could also... you know... play an aerial based character if you despise tripping so much to the point where you want to avoid by any means necessary. This is getting ridiculous though, I'm getting away from the real response, and I'm sure you get it that what we have to work with is now all on you, and not the game.

Glad to see that you got my point! <3

Kinzer.

I want to use this posting to express my love and desire for you. <3

Awww riiiiight.

/Quagmire.

^^ was that really neccessary >_<

However I read it all (OMG LONG) and I dont quite see what youre trying to get at here. I mean this post may have made perfect sense if that rob one was posted like, 8 months ago but this far in most everyone knows and accepts Sonic's shortcomings. Most of what you say is either opinion, or simply very obvious not really bringing much new info here :/ Its well written but you should consider cutting out much of the stuff that holds little relevance, being concise is a very good thing and will save a lot of the inevitable tl;dr's this is gonna get

Yes, yes it was.

I know it was long, I'm sorry there was no way to keep it short. *shrug* And I also know that most of this is opinion, but it's also arguably fact. It also happens to be the best source of information we have, because God knows the way this game was made we're going to go to Sakurai and see his opinion on this matter.

If we look @ Sonic's matchups, I know it's not cold-hard fact but this is the best we got (haha, developed by the hedgehogs, for the hedgehogs, from the hedgehogs) we can see two things that come to the eye.

1. Sonic has little/no advantegeous matchups.

2. Sonic also happens to have a couple of characters to which they have an easier time with.

This tells anybody looking/glimpsing at it that Sonic will have to work for all of his wins, some even more than others. Are any of his matchups unwinnable to the point where they say "CP another character or lose"? Not at this time and point of the metagame (thank God), we aren't talking Donkey Bong Vs. D3 or Ganon Vs. ICs (although technically Climbers ruin everybody in this game but themselves lololol). Now how hard it is for Sonic to take some victories is debatable, but there are also some things set in stone... some inbetween.

Marth, G&W, Wario, Peach, Snake, D3, Toon Link, Falco, Donkey Bong, Lucario. The bolded characters are universally agreed by this community that they are Sonic's hardest Matchups, nobody denies this. How hard is it though? Some claim it's 65:35 which is borderline hard-counter... some also probably say it can be 7:3, which is a hard-counter. Anybody who says it's worse is an idiot because they don't know how Sonic works. Anyway now the unbolded characters are (mostly) agreed to be as bad as 6:4, which is a soft-counter. Some of those soft-counters are more threatening, but this still claims that if the MU is played right on Sonic's part, he can still win... it's just going to take less mistakes on his part.

I don't feel that I need to take out anything, because I am trying to get multiple points across. Let me see if I can at least put them in a sentence or two.

People are hasty to blame their lose on the character/ their opponent/'s' character(s) and not think about exactly why.

Player/character metagame are different things that still correlate to oneanother.

Sonic is a tourney viable character, it's just one Helluva time getting there.

Metagame will always develop, just in different places, and sometimes without people being aware of it.

In fact let me bring up a point right here... do you recall any AT we might've picked up a long time ago but discarded it, but then came back to it to actually be able to apply it? That would be like me taking a short break as some people would suggest because my style has been getting a bit off.

I also like how this is long, for people who probably have a short attention span and/or don't really bother to at least ready some of this, then they're probably the losers that would take the easy way out and eventually give up. Perhaps I could make this a bit more "pretty" but then I don't have to, though I don't deny it certainly helps.

...Meh, I also acknowledge that some people won't/don't want to read this, but again there is little I can do to change how people will be, reading this thread would be like reading a book.

 

[TwinkleToes]

You misspelled parody.

And past that I didn't bother reading the thread except that apparently Spadefox has feelings for you.

 

[Kinzer]

...I always have to have a freaking typo, in the title.

This is ridiculous.

 

[DDM]

I understood your point, my only point in posting that first part was to remind anyone (not necessarily you) who shakes their fist at the sky cursing the fate of R.O.B., Sonic, et al that the game was not custom-tailored to us, so we have to be prepared to accept some of the imbalances that occur despite our stripping-down of the game.

But my main point was that Sonic is a BAMF, no matter what anyone thinks.

 

[platiepoos]

Good morning fellow insomniacs, Kinzer here, and in the Sonic subforum, you're probably expecting some kind of metagame advancement or food-for-thought thread right?

How can you write such a long thread and deny this?

Anyway, I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it's coming along quite nicely. I do believe Sonic while possessing an incredibly steep learning curve, and some of the worst matchup ratings of any character, has the potential to win some sizable tourneys. Just look at Mr. 3000, who places in the top 10 among respectable players with almost exclusively Sonic. Not to mention his almost limitless potential. For these reasons, I'm thinking that Sonic's hindrances are much worse on paper, which seems to be agreed on by much of the community.

By the way, I'm new to the Sonic boards. Previously maining Kirby, (who I still love) his metagame seemed to be getting staler by the second. I just didn't see what else I could do with Kirby. Thus began my search for a new main. None of the high tiers seemed to suit my style, Olimar was cool, but I didn't like the way he played. (campy and such)So I turned to the low tiers, and I was disappointed mostly. I tried Jiggs, who was too similar to Kirby. Bowser, who lacked representation and made it hard for me to learn. Falcon, who was too painfully slow compared to his speed in melee. (melee falcon forever <3) Finally, I resorted to turning to the dank, dark corners of the Sonic boards. [word about you guys gets around ^_^;] And........it was great. Sonic showed so much potential, I fiddled around with him for a while, and it was the most fun I've had in Brawl in a log time.

Looking at my postcount:joindate ratio, it's easy to see I'm a real lurker. But who knows, the Sonic community is so awesome, I might just raise that post count.

 

[Kinzer]

Rumor has it Mr. 3K quit playing Sonic.

Also I would like to think I'm in the tactical board a little bit. User blogs is quite a nice hub too. I am sure I am around in other places, but if not, those are a few to name.

...But yeah, most of my time isn't even on the forum, I'm usually on the Xat, and so is everybody else. O.o

 

[Jim Morrison]

This was a real eye opener. You're right, I should go main Meta Knight.

 

[Kinzer]

At the way this is going, I thought you already played MK.

 

[Camalange]

I think we all know the only people who truley go all Sonic in tournament and actually place higher than last are the people who are die-hard Sonic fanboys and sold their soul to Sega for all of eternity.


Thus, I will always use Sonic in tourney no matter what ^_^

But Sonic is still trash. He rose up 8 spots because of mindgames. We have the best.

 

[Kinzer]

Where did you copy and paste that from?

'Cause that is amazing, and quite true.

Is there anybody here who is a pro at Sonic but doesn't really care for him?

I think I hear crickets in reply to that question.

That is a good thing. ^_^

 

[Camalange]

Wow@disrespect
Those were my words, not some copy-pasta **** >_> lol




But really, Sonic players have amazing mindgames. No one can understand this character unless they mained him for at least a year in tourney and put as much time into him as we did. Hence the +8 because they fear us and our superiority.

 

[Kinzer]

I could've sworn I've seen that somewhere, I wouldn't ask otherwise Cam, I'ma sorry <3?

 

[Camalange]

lol, it's okay Kinzer. I'm sure something along the lines of that have been said before <3

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=238461
^still laughing at this thread btw

 

[Tenki]

wtfpeptalk.


10shinjonics.

dr.tl

Other than playing Reflex and BigLou, I haven't really experienced a "OMG RAEP D:" attributed to matchup (though, I'm not sure if it's more matchup inexperience or that they spaced/played that much better lol). As a player, I've still got alot more to overcome/improve on (reading/punishing airdodges, sloppy control issues [if anyone watched the recent vid taken of me vs Yoshi, there was one point where I foxtrot x2 towards the edge and grab it - that was me trying to foxtrot > pivot charge F-smash lol], Ally-blocking), and haven't felt absolutely limited by Sonic just yet x.x;

Sure I've seen limits on his moveset's effectiveness (ex: spindash cancels lol) but I'm still kind of far from the 'high level play' that I want.

I don't really know what this post has to do with this thread, but I just felt like taking the HugS standpoint lol.

 

[Camalange]

Other than playing Reflex and BigLou, I haven't really experienced a "OMG RAEP D:" attributed to matchup (though, I'm not sure if it's more matchup inexperience or that they spaced/played that much better lol). As a player, I've still got alot more to overcome/improve on (reading/punishing airdodges, sloppy control issues [if anyone watched the recent vid taken of me vs Yoshi, there was one point where I foxtrot x2 towards the edge and grab it - that was me trying to foxtrot > pivot charge F-smash lol], Ally-blocking), and haven't felt absolutely limited by Sonic just yet x.x;

Sure I've seen limits on his moveset's effectiveness (ex: spindash cancels lol) but I'm still kind of far from the 'high level play' that I want.

QFT

That's the same way I feel. I'm not good enough at this game yet that I can say I'm loseing soley because of Sonic xD

The thing I do like is that he doesn't have any ZOMG UNWINNABLE MUs. I still understand he's not a good character though.



I wish ROBs could understand this but they're all ******** and would much rather all switch to B+ or MK rather than get better at this game. Like wow, everyone loses to MK >_> if that's the only problem then...wow.

 

[Kuraudo]

This is gonna turn into a long and winded "I Sonic" speech, but we can all go all day with this. So here goes nothing.

The boards and the attitude around here is a part of the reason why I still continue to play Sonic to this day. Why I desire to still place with him. But sorry to say that like most, it's personal reasons that bring me coming back for more. And it all started for me in the fateful year of 1991. I was 2 years old and my Father needed a way to pass the time before doing work as a Paramedic.

SEGA Genesis.

He left the console on one day, and I fumbled over towards the controller, and what game was inside? My very first video game. Sonic the Hedgehog. Sure, I failed horrendously at it, but I could run through a loop and beat the first level. By randomly pressing buttons and holding forward, yes, but by gods I did it. And when I grew old enough to become coherent, there was nothing else I would play except Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, and then the occassional Mario game because those are awesome. That's beside the point, however. I would pretend that I was Sonic or Knuckles in school, try to run the fastest, hit the strongest, these games had a deathgrip on my life, and yet because of Sonic's live-or-die attitude? I never sank in school. I kept going, and I even motivated myself to perform better in everything I did. By the time Grade 9, Junior High came around, I was ranked the fastest runner in my city.

Guess who was running through my head the entire bloody time?

Sonic's not just a character to me. He's inspiration. Of course I have my real inspirations like my Father and the like, but Sonic's proof, in my eyes, that rolemodels aren't only right in front of you, holding you by the shoulders and saying, "I believe in you." Inspiration comes from anywhere you believe it does. And if that benefits you in the end and keeps you afloat over the water? That's all that matters. Nothing else does. You live life, you fight for your place, and you work to PROVE yourself.

I spent most of my life proving myself to my peers and the world, and continue to do so to this very day. Given Sonic's stature in this game? I relate to him. I started off as the nerdy child who stereotypically "had no friends" but people wanted to get to know, but were afraid to with not knowing what'd happen. But because I held true to my nature, never giving up, and bettering myself as a person, I just stayed true to myself, and those stereotypes of elementary and the like, vanished. And all there was, was normality amongst everyone. But I stood out to myself. And who do I have to thank for that? My family, and one blue rodent that can't see me, but I can see him.

This is why I bother playing Sonic the Hedgehog in Brawl. This is why I place with him in Brawl. He's the best to me, one way or another.

I haven't sold my soul to SEGA to be good with him. I just owe thanks to an old friend whose been there with me since the beginning. And as far as I can tell, we'll never stop running.

 

[Tenki]

I wish ROBs could understand this but they're all ******** and would much rather all switch to B+ or MK rather than get better at this game. Like wow, everyone loses to MK >_> if that's the only problem then...wow.

But ROB's moves are actually really limiting from certain positions. He's weak to juggling. Sonic can juggle, but after he's double jumped, ROB has time to N-air or whatever. If he's up against MK, he's not gonna have enough time to do anything - airdodge gets U-air'd, N-air, B-air, D-air is too slow, F-air is not under him.

It might be a foreign feeling to you, but believe it or not, there are actually **** matchups out there in the non-Sonic using world.

 

[Camalange]

But I still believe ROB has enough strengths to win. That's just my opinion.

 

[Espy Rose]

Yes. Yes it was. :3

Your sig is too cute for its own good. I must snuggle it.

Rumor has it Mr. 3K quit playing Sonic.

Xyro told me that 3000 DID quit Sonic. He's been a D3 main for almost 3 months now, according to Xyro.

Stuff

Sonic does have amazingly inspirational characteristics. Of course, I was influenced to do my best because of him as well.

One of my favorite quotes is the text written on the bonus art of SA1 when you popped the DC disc into your computer.

"I'll never look back.
I've got no regrets,
'Cause time doesn't wait for me,
I choose to go my own way."

 

[Kuraudo]

My line of inspiration right there, when it comes to Sonic. Espy, I'm going to Genesis. If you're going, it's on.

 

[platiepoos]

sonicluv

This is pretty much how it was for me, but I stopped playing Sonic games after SA1 and SA2.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the first videogame i ever played. My dad bought a Genesis for me when I was about 3. I don't think I ever got past Zone 2 before I got Sonic 3, which was the clincher for me.

 

[DDM]

I miss Sonic 2. I should get it on VC.

 

[Kuraudo]

Don't bother. Just get Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube. As long as you have a memory card, you get so much for your buck.

 

[platiepoos]

My gamecube died a couple weeks ago. ;_;

Fortunately I have Sonic 3 & Knuckles (the greatest Sonic game ever made) on CD for my computer, as well as a wii to play my mega collection of course.

 

[DDM]

Don't bother. Just get Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube. As long as you have a memory card, you get so much for your buck.

Good call, I forgot about that.

 

[PhoenixoKaZe]

well, I`m not rly a sonic fan-boy, I love playing him, because the rest of the charcters bore me lol xD

 

[~TBS~]

lol, me being a huge Sonic fan is enough to keep me on Sonic for good. i main only Sonic in any game he is in, and i wont ever give up. Sure, its a long road, and its not easy at all. There will be upsets( like me vs atomsk, i should have had that match! ERRR!)

But what reason is there to quit? I have came this far, helped Sonic out, and even did some amazing things. Sonic is too good in my opinion.

for life, anywhere, everywhere.

 

[Exceladon City]

What SM5 said. Sonic is made of win despite what haters may say.

 

[DDM]

The funny thing for me is that I never owned or was really into any of the Sonic games after Sonic 2 for Genesis. I've always been a Mario guy as far as games go.

 

[iSpiN]

In a game where one character is good, 3-6 are decent, and the rest are trash or near it you have to either accept your character or go to a better one. Not much has changed in fighting games, lol.

Also, when I did go MK I had nightmares. It wasn't a pleasant experience for me.

 

[blurogue]

That was a great article kinzer, thanks a lot. I really appreciated what you said about how at launch everyone and their mother thought that sonic was the best thing since sliced bread. Heck, even all of my friends flamed me nonstop about how, " sonic was soooooo dam cheap and nobody could ever hope to match him". yet 2 months or so later they were singing a different tune: "wow i can't believe you play sonic, he kinda sucks". It was when I started hearing this, that i started looking online for a "new way" to play sonic. And I learned a whole lot. No doubt, the sonic think tank has come a long way from a year ago.

And whether or not sonic is truly a mid-tier charatcter. nothing quite compares to killing a player when he well off the level but bound to recover. The look on their face..... priceless



P.S lol at me posting a month after last post.....


"did you know that i can kill you underneath the level..... yea I'll bet u didn't"

 

[Sonicstud]

Yesh, awesome thread kinzer. Every competitive brawl player should read this imo.
I cant stand when people switch to a top tier because its to hard to get a win. I think its a thousand times more satisfying to win with a character that may not be the best, but is your favorite.

a pro sports player can work hard all his life and eventually become the best or they can take roids and instantly become the best. thats kinda how i view it. Now to me, the player that works hard all his life has made a better accomplishment.

This is gonna turn into a long and winded "I Sonic" speech, but we can all go all day with this. So here goes nothing.

The boards and the attitude around here is a part of the reason why I still continue to play Sonic to this day. Why I desire to still place with him. But sorry to say that like most, it's personal reasons that bring me coming back for more. And it all started for me in the fateful year of 1991. I was 2 years old and my Father needed a way to pass the time before doing work as a Paramedic.

SEGA Genesis.

He left the console on one day, and I fumbled over towards the controller, and what game was inside? My very first video game. Sonic the Hedgehog. Sure, I failed horrendously at it, but I could run through a loop and beat the first level. By randomly pressing buttons and holding forward, yes, but by gods I did it. And when I grew old enough to become coherent, there was nothing else I would play except Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, and then the occassional Mario game because those are awesome. That's beside the point, however. I would pretend that I was Sonic or Knuckles in school, try to run the fastest, hit the strongest, these games had a deathgrip on my life, and yet because of Sonic's live-or-die attitude? I never sank in school. I kept going, and I even motivated myself to perform better in everything I did. By the time Grade 9, Junior High came around, I was ranked the fastest runner in my city.

Guess who was running through my head the entire bloody time?

Sonic's not just a character to me. He's inspiration. Of course I have my real inspirations like my Father and the like, but Sonic's proof, in my eyes, that rolemodels aren't only right in front of you, holding you by the shoulders and saying, "I believe in you." Inspiration comes from anywhere you believe it does. And if that benefits you in the end and keeps you afloat over the water? That's all that matters. Nothing else does. You live life, you fight for your place, and you work to PROVE yourself.

I spent most of my life proving myself to my peers and the world, and continue to do so to this very day. Given Sonic's stature in this game? I relate to him. I started off as the nerdy child who stereotypically "had no friends" but people wanted to get to know, but were afraid to with not knowing what'd happen. But because I held true to my nature, never giving up, and bettering myself as a person, I just stayed true to myself, and those stereotypes of elementary and the like, vanished. And all there was, was normality amongst everyone. But I stood out to myself. And who do I have to thank for that? My family, and one blue rodent that can't see me, but I can see him.

This is why I bother playing Sonic the Hedgehog in Brawl. This is why I place with him in Brawl. He's the best to me, one way or another.

I haven't sold my soul to SEGA to be good with him. I just owe thanks to an old friend whose been there with me since the beginning. And as far as I can tell, we'll never stop running.

^^^same here Kuraudo
Playing those games as a kid probably made me who i am today. Who knows, with out sonics positive influence on me as a kid i might have turned out to be another high school flunky, instead of getting good grades and being good in sports like i am today.
btw S3&K 4ever, that was my first VG and is still my favorite to this day. Brawl cant even compete with my <3 for S3&K

but ya, imo the reason so many characters are getting left to die, is because it takes a real passion to stick with a character and not take the easy (MK) way out.
Characters like ROB dont have those kinda people to rep him, cause lets be honest. How many ROB fans are there? lol

 

[~TBS~]

K man, that speech is like what i am gunning for. except the dying part on Sonic the Hedgehog.


He left the console on one day, and I fumbled over towards the controller, and what game was inside? My very first video game. Sonic the Hedgehog. Guess who was running through my head the entire bloody time?


Sonic's not just a character to me. He's inspiration. Of course I have my real inspirations like my Father and the like, but Sonic's proof, in my eyes, that rolemodels aren't only right in front of you, holding you by the shoulders and saying, "I believe in you." Inspiration comes from anywhere you believe it does. And if that benefits you in the end and keeps you afloat over the water? That's all that matters. Nothing else does. You live life, you fight for your place, and you work to PROVE yourself.

^^That sounds like Sonic right there. But everthing stated in that post along wiht Studman saying he wouldnt know where he'd be without Sonic is mad legit: i go by it also. Sonic is just more than a character to me. He's too good. (couldnt think of anything else)

Just keep up the work newcomers, and dont get discouraged by losing. It takes time, especially with Sonic.

 

[4nace]

Good read Kinzer.

But for all Sonics, it's just a video game. Play whoever you have the most fun with. If you don't have fun losing anymore then don't play those characters or pick up a different game =P.

If you are trying to make a career from Smash winnings I feel very sorry for you. If you are trying to make a career out of Smash with Sonic then I'm embarrassed for you.

Almost everyone at this forum plays for fun, so if the game does not bring you fun anymore then don't play it o.O

 

[day-day]

This was a good (but long lol) read. I remember trying out meta-knight when the game first came out but idk I just hate the way he plays plus the fast that just about if not all his b-moves are recovery moves.
Always been a Sonic fanboy though. I got the mega collection but sadly it doesn't work anymore thanks to my brother not putting games back in the box . I like all of his games and SA2B is my favorite. Sonic's the main reason I wanted this game and he'll always be my main. Oh, is it wrong that I found Sonic '06 fun and entertaining despite what everyone else said about it?