NegaMetallix

Alright, time for my thoughts on Issue #34: First, 'Shadows Of The Moon'. I thought it was pretty good, and I liked that it was mostly from the perspective of the Wily-bots rather than Mega Man & Co. Which makes sense, since his story is basically just retracing his steps from the last arc. I enjoyed seeing Pharaoh Man and Plant Man again, and the revelation that Shadow Man is a Ra Moon creation was... pretty obvious, but cool nonetheless. (Could that mean he used to be a Stardroid?) I also really enjoyed the dialogue between the MM3 Robot Masters, which makes me kinda sad that they'll have to be destroyed soon... well, whenever they get around to actually doing the MM3 adaptation, that is. Then there's 'The X-Factor'. I liked it, but it didn't really excite me that much. Then again, this was just a simple 'how the Reploid Era began' story, so for what it was, it did it's job just fine. Overall, this was a great issue to read, both wrapping up one story while starting another, and I'm definately looking forward to the next issue.

Hmm... I think I'll go with these three bosses (in no particular order): #1) Egg Dragoon from Sonic Generations (I'm starting to sense a pattern here...) As the penultimate boss fight of the game, I felt that Eggman's Prototype-1 was a fitting choice, and I found it to be a very fun boss fight. Also, as Skye said, you get the choice of many different tracks (though the Dragoon's remix is still good), my personal choice being 'Un-Gravitify' from Riders 2. Of course, that's not to put down the original Werehog fight either, but I found this one more enjoyable. Time Eater, on the other hand... #2) Egg Salamander from Sonic Rush "Too black, too strong, too black, too strong..." Facing both Eggmen as Super Sonic & Burning Blaze was very enjoyable for me, as it felt like a true 'final countdown' fight, as losing would result in Eggman either taking over both dimensions, or destroying them in Eggman Nega's case. Also, the interactions between them, both before and after the fight, are fun and intriguing at the same time. Seriously, pay attention to what Nega says... he's not everything he claims to be. #3) E-101 Beta Mk.II from Sonic Adventure Less on a gameplay perspective, and more story-wise, this fight really sticks with me. As E-102 Gamma, you've 'rescued' all of your 'siblings' by releasing the Flickies inside them. All except for two: E-101 Beta, whose been upgraded and is ready to beat you... and Gamma himself. You know what the outcome will be; both robots must destroy each other to save the other. And as you finally seem to defeat Beta, he shoots you right in the face. What follows is a very touching moment, one of the best in the series if you ask me. You could argue that I'm looking too deep into the subject (...again), but I still stand by what I've just said.

Hey guys! Just thought I'd show you all this quote from Ian Flynn himself, about the question of "Is this going to be a sequel to Sonic Unleashed, or an adaptation?" Hope that clears up a majority of questions about the arc for now. It is indeed what I thought it would be: an adaptation of the game with the comic elements mixed in.

Alright, here are my thoughts on Issue #257:

Guy, guys. You're missing the best part about this game... YOU GET TO PLAY AS OTHER CHARACTERS BESIDES SONIC! *ahem* ...Excuse me for that outburst. Anyway, the gameplay looks pretty interesting from what I saw, giving it a unique style while playing with each characters abilities: Sonic's Homing Attack, Tails' flight, Knux's... er, digging and climbing (I'm sure he still has the glide) and Amy's hammer-spin. It looks like it could be co-op based which excites me... until I remember that I don't have many people to play with. :( And hearing that it's made by former Naughty Dog members reminds me of the original Crash Bandicoot and Jak trilogies. :D My only criticisms are the same as the ones I posted on the other topic page, so check over there to see them. Now I need a Wii-U... oh, and PLEASE don't let the 3DS version suck. (Actually, I have the perfect solution for that... stop letting DiMPS make tie-ins to the console versions! Let them make their own unique games again!) EDIT: So the guys behind the recent Sly Cooper releases are handling the 3DS version? In that case, it sounds like another game I've gotta keep an eye out for...

Well, I've found a trailer/sneak-peek at the series for you guys, so here it is: I... er, I... *sigh* I don't know what to think, honestly. It's good to see Tails and Eggman still being voiced by their current voice actors (though is it just me, or does Mike Pollock seem to fluxuate between his Eggman and Eggman Nega voices a bit?), while Roger's Sonic I find is... meh. I don't know, but to me he just starts sounding a little bit worse each time he returns as the Blue Blur. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't hate the guy, I just personally find his Sonic voice to be very... meh. I'm very mixed on the designs (no surprise there). Sonic with blue arms doesn't bother me (see: overreacting to green eyes) and I actually really like Tails' design. It kinda reminds me of a cross between his Riders and Secret Rings (as Ali Baba) appearences. Knux and Amy, on the other hand... well, I won't get too worked up over Amy since, if anything it appears to stop any 'panty-shots' from ever appearing (see: Sonic Advance 3 Special Stages) but Knux is just... ugh. Ah well, as long as the series is entertaining, I'm sure I can get over these problems. (Heck, people aren't fully agreeing with the Sly Cooper movie designs, but I'll still watch it regardless.) Also, I'd like to point out that any comments on the video game tie-in (please don't suck!) should be noted in the seperate topic that Shadow/Cheery made, not this one.

I'm still skeptical on a few things that Iizuka has said in the past, especially last year where he said, among other things: Hyper Sonic doesn't exist, the broken part of the moon is nearly never facing Mobius/Earth/Sonic's World, and that he wants to try and incorporate the Wisps into most, if not all future games... Yeah, no thanks Iizuka.

Hey guys! Here's the solicitation for the upcoming Issue #36: Another crossover? Alternate endings? ...I'm not sure what to think of this. What are your thoughts, guys?

Hey guys! Here are the covers (spoilered due to new character reveal) and solicitation for Issue #260, and you'll wanna be wearing something water-proof: This, along with the recent Universe arc reveal, pretty much confirms that a 'Sonic Unleashed' adaptation/sequel is beginning. What are your thoughts, guys?

Hey guys! Here are the solicitation and covers for the upcoming Issue #63, beginning a brand new arc starring everyone's favourite Rad Red Echidna! This, along with the Sonic Issue #260 solicitation, pretty much confirms that a 'Sonic Unleashed' adaptation/sequel is on our way. What are your thoughts, guys?

Huh, no MMX side-story this time? Ah well, looks interesting enough. I'll start reading Issue #33 soon. Now, for my thoughts on Issue #33: I'm looking forward to Mega Man's return to the Lanfront ruins next time... as well as the awesomeness that will be the debut of MEGA MAN X!

Actually, I just remembered something; in Mega Man 7 & 8 (the Sega Saturn version, at least), weren't Guts Man and Cut Man (along with Wood Man) enemies again for no given reason? Maybe we're seeing a lot of those two recently because they might end up temporarily reprogrammed during those particular arcs, which could leave a greater impact on Mega Man when he has to fight them again... (Hmm, maybe I should stop theorising about events that won't even happen for a LONG time).

I'm right with you on that one. Don't get me wrong, I like Guts Man and Cut Man enough, but they really are taking a lot of page time that the others could have.

Wow... That. Was. AWESOME! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. Here's my thoughts: That's just my thoughts. What about you guys?

SEGA probably just don't want another villain overshadowing Eggman. Sure, we have other villains like Captain Metal and Black Death, but they're more-or-less there as a one-time villain (well, maybe not Metal, but Black Death might), so Eggman stays as the main focus. However, I could also see why Nega hasn't been officially seen in the comics. I mean, Nega's shtick is that he's a chaotic-evil villain, and more liable to destroy anything in his path... kinda like Eggman in the comics (to an extent). It should be obvious at this point, but Eggman is clearly more evil in the comics than his games counterpart, so Nega's game-role is already taken... sort of. Now, if Nega did appear in the comics, he most likely wouldn't have the same backstory as Rivals (descendant from Silver's future), as that would REALLY throw things off-balance. (And I don't think any amount of Genesis Waves would change that). So he'd likely have his Rush backstory (Sol Dimension counterpart) and be the main foe to Blaze. As for Emerl/Gemerl... I got nothing. (Maybe it's because Gizoids are in Sonic Chronicles, too?) And we have yet to see how long it takes for the BBA to return...

Hmm... Kinda hard for me to choose. I think mine would be: #3) Sonic Adventure - I enjoy the different gameplay styles (besides one), and the story(s) are one of my favourites in the series, non-directional voice acting aside. #2) Sonic Rush Adventure - The lack of voice acting gives me a great excuse to practice my voices... oh, and the gameplay's great, I guess. The story's decent, too. #1) Sonic Generations - More specifically, the PC version. Such a wonderful selection of character and level mods make me always go back to play it again. (I just want to clarify: Sonic 3&K comes dangerously close to Adventure for my #3 spot, but I always seem to go back to Adventure more than 3&K.)

No Nega?! B-but he was mentioned no more than two issues ago. In terms of Shade and the Nocturnus... well, wasn't there news about Penders 'trying' to sue SEGA and BioWare a while ago? Maybe they're just trying to avoid any more problems comic-wise. But as for Nega and Emerl (and I'm assuming Gemerl by extent), to me that just sounds like SEGA saying: "Well, these characters are completely useless to us now. Let's just keep them locked up in storage for now! It's not like those guys at Archie Comics could do anything with them." (Okay, I'm likely exaggerating a bit. But this just upsets me a lot.) The only other explanation/excuse I could think of for Eggman Nega is that he has one of... no, the most mixed-up, convoluted backstory in the entire (game) franchise! They might be worried about one day bringing him back in the games, and comic readers getting overly confused as to why his backstory is slightly/massively different from the comics. Okay, I'm done with my ranting.

(Aw, and here I was hoping that I could read it before the holiday was over. Oh well...) Was there any specific reason, or is it just a standard delay?