#zebraspeaks

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Ok first they bring in Ridley, then Simon and Ritchie, FREAKING CASTLEVANIA CHARACTERS, and now King mc freaking K.Rool.

...Who's next? Phoenix Wright for Smash Bros Ultimate?

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IDW Sonic #6 review

To Spare? Or not to Spare? That is the question.

So I finally got around to finishing Issue 6 (a few times). And it made me change my theory up a bit which I’ll get to later. I will say the interactions for this part were pretty good all round, Sonic and Shadow actually fight over a reason rather than fanservice (a la Sonic Boom) and the points from both sides was what made the story interesting. (Also more game story references!)

In the previous issue, we see Sonic take note of how much of a threat Eggman is. This time, he tries to convince Shadow to give him a chance despite the amnesia, by pointing out the times Eggman actually assisted the group when there was a new threat, using the Black Arms battle as a good example, considering Shadow was technically created by them (and Gerald Robotnik). He even reminds Shadow of his own past, (a la SA2 and some of the story routes from Shadow the Hedgehog).

And right at the beginning Shadow states that “Losing one’s memory doesn’t make them any less dangerous”, which was a surprising and sad reference to the times he worked with Eggman and fought with the others. But the cool thing about him in this issue was that he cared about Sonic’s well being. He pinned him down but only to state his two cents on the matter, showing concern over the time Eggman attacked Sonic many times (and the recent capture in Forces).

This wasn’t one of those daily battles, it was more of a fight with words one that made the interaction between Sonic and Shadow interesting.

                                      We all have that one friend...

There were also some amusing moments, Sonic using the events of SA2 to justify his point, only for Shadow to stare at him while Sonic gives that sheepish grin. Sonic saying “nerts” (another way of saying “nuts” you learn something new every day!) was pretty random. I didn’t know what to expect when he was saying that. The Chaotix in this issue was pretty amusing. When they decide to go after Sonic and Shadow only for sweat drops to appear after seeing how fast they’re going was hilarious and then pinning the blame on Rouge after that with the latter being coy was also funny.

Also, Rouge was the one who sent that tip to the Chaotix and Charmy still not getting it was amusing. Then Mr. Tinker revealing what Eggmanland is, a small playground was slightly amusing and more cute honestly, though I will ask: Is it a good idea to design the rides off of several badniks? Some people are afraid of these things... Anyway seeing Tinker and Sonic getting along well was pretty nice to see! 

...And this is where we can talk about the ending of this issue which was...uh...

Excuse me whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Okay, now I’m pretty sure there’s more to this than meets the eye but if there isn’t then this would kill all the foreshadowing hype the issues were building. With that said... before this reveal, I initially thought that Mr. Tinker was a mere illusion and the Ruby is back. but now my guess is as follows: Mr.Tinker really is Eggman, who is slowly getting his memory back (Sonic’s thoughts may be implying that this could be the case). The Eggman on the chair is either Metal Sonic (Overlord?) or Eggman Nega. Both of them have disguised as the Doctor before (in Heroes and the Riders duology).

I think it’s going to be Nega. It would be a chance to make his debut in the new comic, since he didn’t make an actual appearance in the Archie Comics (the closest we got were his cameo appearances in an off panel and then another comic panel as a silhouette). Assuming that mandate isn’t in effect in this continuity.

Blaze being in Sonic’s world because the Sol Emeralds have warned her about something else coming (that isn’t the events of Sonic Forces) may be implying that it could be Nega? I think he’s more of Blaze’s (and Silver’s) enemy rather than Sonic’s. Then there’s the fact that Eggman was eyeing the Master Emerald again in Issue 3. Who else aside from the real Eggman, Sonic and his friends are aware of the Emerald?

...Eggman Nega is somehow aware of it, considering the fact that he managed to store it in a card in Rivals. Unless I’m totally missing something and that Metal Sonic was aware of it’s existence before and tried to take it. But yeah, these are my current thoughts. Issues 5 and 6 were pretty interesting interaction wise. The art by Tracy was alright, with few amusing expressions from Sonic and the Chaotix. His cover (shown in op) looks really nice and it’s another favourite cover to come from the series. Those colors are really good against the black background.

Though I’m hoping we get to see other artists for a while. At least there will be actual answers this time from Issue #7 (with ABT doing the work again! I’m pretty interested to see where it goes from here!

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What do you think of all the Boom games so far?

Rise of Lyric from what I’ve seen, wasn’t very good. Gameplay wise, there were glitches, the combat didn’t work for some, and sometimes the in game dialogue was weird and annoying. Story wise, I thought it had potential in some places but it just didn’t work out.

Shattered Crystal had slightly better gameplay, but I found the story to be worse than ROL. The characters were super dumb, the jokes fell flat and then we have Any and Sticks going hardcore for some reason.

Both stories had Shadow being a complete dick to Team Sonic for no reason, and while this is a spin-off and I would have been interested to see this Shadow as a villian if they only gave some story reason as to why he’s behaving this way. (Although the Japanese version of ROL had Shadow mind controlled).

I can’t say much about Fire and Ice gameplay wise. I can say the story isn’t bad, I found it to be a bit decent. It felt like one of those neutral Boom episodes but there were one or two things from that that did make me chuckle.

Then there’s Dash 2 Boom which I play often. While theres a graphical downgrade a bit, I do like some of it’s gameplay! The enerbeam can be fun, the characters have different abilities and boosts, you can switch to different players, some of the Sprites are useful.

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So this Saturday's episode, Where have all the Sonic's Gone, has me thinking. More under the cut.

I wonder whether it'll focus the Sonic's from the dimensions mentioned in Season one and two?

We have the Sonic we know of: The leader of his team who's cocky (and dorky at times) and has fun with his friends.

Then there's the timid Sonic from the alternate dimension (where Smart!Knuckles came from in the Two Good to be True episode.)

And then there could be a Sonic from another dimension: Morpho's. Although it's been mentioned that it got screwed over because of that dimension's Eggman caused a freak accident or something.

But maybe that dimension survived without Morpho's knowledge? Assuming the Eggman there is a klutz, it could be how the Sonic comes to the Sonic Boom world (Assuming that's the case).

It would be interesting to see the personality of Sonic from Morpho's dimension and even more stuff on what it was like?

Maybe the episode could go like this: Either Eggman or Morpho discovers this and Morpho recognises that Sonic is from his dimension. Then both of them scheme to destroy the three of them, so they could resume with their other plans.

Of course, other shenanigans ensue: The Sonics start to fizz out or probably go in insane speeds, and the others have to find a way to get them back and send the other two home before the Eggmen get to them.

... Now this sounds like Two good to be True part 2.

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Robots From the Sky review (Part 1)

                       Nothing is more horrific than Sonic’s giant hand.

The day is upon us! Sonic Boom’s first story arc, Robots in the Sky, has begun with 4 parts to tell the tale. Here’s part 1:

Part one has put this arc up to a good start. There were a couple of funny moments, and it was definately action oriented, with the animation in this episode once again making it more dynamic. 

A little more on that: I found the fights in this episode to be quite interesting, especially the one in Eggman’s lair. One showcased Mighton and Bolts abilities, and there was good timing of the slow motion effects, such as Knuckles knocking off the badnik. The interactions between Mighton and Bolts and the other characters were pretty nice!

There were some neat call backs in some of the humor. Team Sonic not being amused by Sticks’ “Robo apocalypse” theory reminded me of the time when Sticks mentioned it during the Translate This episode. The village getting a name during the Unnamed episode is also mentioned, with a funny awkward silence. 

Other jokes included Sticks trying to hit Mighton with a brick, and then giving various looks after not doing it. Some of the expressions are pretty good as well, Sticks’ were the funniest though. Eggman shouting Boom shaka laka was unexpected. Knuckles’ freaking cliff hanger joke was kinda funny, but I felt it slightly ruined the tension in the end.

I think one of my favourite interactions was when Bolts offered Orbot and Cubot two spaces to go with them to Morris town, (that’s the Sky City. I do wish they could come up with a better name like Sky Sanctuary as Cubot mentioned before.) and look how happy Orbot and Cubot were after hearing that!

But what caught me really off guard was Tails getting hurt again in the end. Audible gasp when he was hit by one of the lasers from the mystery attackers. This scene felt far more tense, especially in slow motion than the time Tails got injured by the plane crash landing way back in Season one. Sonic’s friends crying out in horror added to the tension.

I think this arc has me excited for the other parts. What’s gonna happen now?!                                        

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The Analysis Zone: Green Hill Zone (Sonic Forces)

So Sega Europe has posted a clearer version of the Classic Sonic gameplay for Sonic Forces on YouTube. Gameplay for this was shown very briefly during the Nintendo Direct, and now that there's a few more minutes of this, I thought I'll analyze/state some thoughts about some of the things in this zone.

Comparing the screens from the Nintendo Direct and the video Sega posted, visuals of this zone have improved, showing some of the details and better color saturation, though it's also clear that some graphic elements were removed. There are pyramids at the far back of the stage, and there are more rocky structures.

Also noticed during the direct trailer is that there is sand all over the place even replacing the waterfall. Given the rock like towers and wooden banners it looks as if Green Hill is fused with another canyon like zone. The official Sonic YouTube channel posted the same gameplay and confirmed that desertification caused by Eggman's Industries is why GHZ looks like... this.

The badniks seem to have gotten a design change! The Motobugs are white, blue with a glowing Tron circle, even the wheel shows a slight shade of blue. The Egg Pawns in Modern Sonic's stage show up here too. I think the Buzz Bombers may have the same color scheme as the Motobugs but with a tinge of pink, and the Choppers are red and blue.  

Some of these robots have got beady eyes rather than detailed ones. I guess the aim here is to make them look more futuristic.

It's slightly hard to see here, but the yellow springs just pop up and launch Sonic breaking his run. It kinda ruins the momentum to be honest. Even further the level design, there are boost pads in the automated loop sections.

It looks like Classic Sonic has the Drop Dash from Sonic Mania. There's no booster after he hit those robots.

One last thing for tonight: The music for this is irritating honestly. The tune could've been better if some other instruments were used for this.

And that's my take on this GHZ: The visuals are better, but the music is pretty weak.

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Whisper is sort of my spirit animal.