sonichq.mobiusforum.net/newsite/fanfair/editorials/04-1 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 4/18/2003
Last Visited: 5/7/2007
Subject: The highs and lows of 10 years of Amy.
I wanted to write an editorial, but was worried, what would I write.Seeing Crazy Penguin's editorial I came to realize, I could do anything.So what subject am I hot on at the moment, well if you check the forum, you will see quite obviously that I am very let's celebrate 10 years of Amy Rose at the moment.So, I have a subject, let's see how it goes.
With Amy Rose 10th Anniversary coming up in September, celebrating 10 years since Sonic CD, I have to admit that my favorite character of the series is Sonic, but that's just because Sonic is Sonic, but if you want to go into depth, to look at a character that Sonic Team has managed to do great justice to and kept on seeing her great potential, and yet seriously messed her up recently, I'm here to announce why We Care about Amy Rose.
Strictly speaking, this is a SegaSonic article, but I will spend brief amounts of time summing up other universes she's appeared in.
Introduced in Sonic CD, assumed as 8 years old, with a serious crush on Sonic.A bright, energetic girl who likes fortunes and mystic things.She came to the Little Planet by "the order of the cards," but there she has a "destined" encounter with Sonic.Well, truth be told the "Order of the cards" point has never been picked up on since, and personally I hope it won't be, she's moved of being a mystic if indeed she ever was one.But you could immediately see the potential of the character back then, unfortunately with 2D format, often you don't get a serious plot so she was left out for the immediate time onwards.But it does mention, Sonic is her hero, she has a childhood crush on him, she adores him for what he is and wants him to be hers.
She made appearances in Sonic R, both the Drift games and Sonic Jam, but nothing major happened there and Jam just repeated what we already knew about her from CD.In Drift, there is nothing to say really.It is a shame though that she's in a car in Sonic R, and even then she is really slow.I know she's slower than Sonic, but even so ... But the MAJOR plot points for Amy Rose came in Sonic Adventure.And it is here that I learnt exactly how much I adore her character.
In Sonic Adventure, Amy plays a bored pragmatist, someone who all those years ago had been on a fantastic adventure with Sonic, and hadn't seen him since (actually, this isn't confirmed but she acts like it, puts doubt on Sonic R as a cannon game, supporting Crazy Penguin's editorial theory here).She longs for the good old days, and wants something interesting to light up her life.She has nothing else to do but shop till she drops, and she is well known in Station Square so she's obviously been here a while.Her age is given as 12 years old (Crazy Penguin says this rules out the 8 year old Sonic CD, but truth be told this actually supports Sonic CD.Sonic Team have mentioned that Sonic was 5 in Sonic 1, which many people disagree with but this would mean that most the characters have grown, Sonic isn't given an Age in Sonic CD, so Amy could of been 8, back then and it would of been 4 years between Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure.Unfortunately this is confusing as Between CD and Adventure.The only thing this explains is that the SegaSonic age rating universe is EXTREMELY messed up and is in desperate need for someone to explain it).So back to the bored 12 years old Amy, at 12 years old she's changed quite a bit in the 4 years, she entered that young adult stage where she's striking out for her own independence, but she still has that childhood crush on Sonic, but she still is considered as a girl by Sonic and the others, so she still describes herself as a girl, and desperately longs to be more grown up.
I love this character element, it is similar but different to Tails.Both consider Sonic their hero, and want to be with him to help, Tails as his sidekick and friend, Amy as his girlfriend.Obvious plot points can be drawn across the two, and I personally think Amy Rose handles it better as she makes it personal.Although you can see Sonic treats Tails with more respect than Amy, in fact he almost seems scared of her when they meet.In his eyes, she is this mad young girl who chases him around and he's freaked out by her insistence that she should marry him.Yet he does care for her, he follows her into Twinkle Park and sets out to rescue her from Robotnik when she is captured.Although I'm sure that he would go after anyone who Robotnik captures as he is the hero, he acts sort of responsible to get her, and when he rescues her, he makes sure that she is in Tails capable hands to get off the Egg Carrier.Sonic cares for her, but not in the way she wants him to.
She is self motivated, she takes it upon herself to see that the bird comes to no harm.First she talks to Sonic to ask for his help, and he palms her off wondering what possessed her to go into this crazy errand.Did you see that, BIG plot point here.Sonic is the hero, he deals with the big picture and saves the world, he defends it from harm.Yet, he doesn't seem to care about this small bird as compassionately as she does.Sure he'll make sure neither Amy or the bird gets caught by Zero, but he doesn't want to spend his time hunting down its parents or being small quiet bird's bodyguard.He's got better things to do.So Amy Rose is compassionate, more compassionate than Sonic.She isn't as heroic as Sonic, but she's better than him.This is picked up in Sonic Adventure 2 later when she is able to remind Shadow of his real promise to Maria, not the one that Gerald put into his mind, (that was if Shadow ever really did know Maria, which is left uncertain but has NOTHING to do with this editorial).So Amy is in her own way a better hero than Sonic, and she's also just as determined.She sets out to do something and she does it.She will stand up for her beliefs, her rights, and is as willing to put her own life on the line as Sonic is.
Continuing of that, she isn't as strong as Sonic.She can't roll and bounce like the rest of the gang, and her only weapon is the hammer.Now personally I think that the hammer is a bit well, each.But she needs it for gameplay's sake, and it fits in perfectly with the gameplay, so you have to respect the hammer in its own way.With her its not just a weapon, it's a symbol of her defiance of the lack of morals that Robotnik displays in his creations.
And of that note, we can see many ways in which her morals stand out.She shocks and confuses E102 in what has to be an overused plot point through the years, yet she plays it off well with Gamma, and uses her own method to escape the Egg Carrier.Not by bashing her way out hammering everything in sight, but by simply standing up for what she believes in and keeping with her morals, she keeps herself determined and active and she finds a way.But, when confronted by Robotnik face to face, she still remains morally strong, but weak."No, not the birdie."she calls out, but is unable to do anything.
Which leads to point out, she is still weak.She's a similar age to Tails, she and him are both clamouring for respect by Sonic and having trouble facing up to the danger.Both do it their own way.Tails by acting tough like Sonic and Amy by sticking with her own beliefs.But when it comes down to action, she's still just a little girl, and it is a compliment to her that she is still scared and helpless against these robots that surround her on every side.She needs Sonic to look up to get her out of the spots where action and only action will suffice.Lucky isn't it that he pops along when he does.
She also proves that she has a moral sense of right and wrong by saving E102.She rescues him from Sonic and Tails, and pleads his case that he can change for the better and doesn't have to stick with Eggman any longer.Sonic and Tails back down, and it is tribute to her that E102 does go against Robotnik afterwards rather than just sitting quiet.Then afterwards Tails drops her of home in Station square and leaves.She pauses to look around, before realizing that she still hasn't helped the bird.She discovers that it has parents, her task is left unfinished, so the game continues.
56 online sources [ view sources ]
Profile is not claimed [ claim profile ]
