The Fall of Eggman?

By Doc Eggman

7.22.2005

Maybe I’m looking too much at the details, perhaps I’m pessimistic, or maybe, just maybe, I’m looking at an obvious threat to our favorite evil scientist’s role. Is it just me, or has Eggman been getting the short end of the stick in EVERY game recently? I’m seeing almost no involvement from the Doc in almost everything now.

Think with me for a second, and see if you’ve noticed any of these trends in recent games-

"Eggman is betrayed by a robot/monster/other power source and in the end cannot implement his plan, and as such, must either form a truce with Sonic or simply sit on the sidelines and do NOTHING. Eggman gets away in the end, but makes no further impact on the story."

This, in an eggshell, sums up the basic plot outline for all recent games. Sonic Adventure was the first game that did this, but Eggman still had plenty of screentime. Sonic Adventure 2 did this as well, but the Doc was playable! So all’s well. But following SA2 came games that belittled and neglected him, and it was all a downward spiral from there, as Eggman’s role slowly began to unravel…

Sonic Battle

Surprise, a robot wants to do more damage than Eggman bargains for, and in his attempt to stop it, he gets attacked by it, and knocked aside. This, my friends, is pathetic. The OLD Eggman wouldn't be pushed around by some robot. He kept his plans in order!

Sonic Advance 3

Once again- "Eggman betrayed, Sonic and Eggman team up to save the world." Sonic Adventure 2 handled the "temporary truce" theme very well, but here, G-Mel’s betrayal wasn’t explained, and although you fight alongside Eggman to defeat the renegade bot, the Doctor still gets pushed aside and is portrayed as someone unable to control his own bots! I want a game where Eggman makes some super awesome weapon, steals the Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic STOPS him without random plot twists, "dark" characters, random extras, and knockoff bad guys. Call that cliched if you want- but it's no more repetitive than the plots of the newer games. Plus it's the roots of the series anyway...

Sonic Heroes

Aside from being one of the the series' most shameful plots EVER, let us thouroghly examine what's become of Eggman here.

1. Eggman is, yet again, betrayed by a Badnik
2. Eggman is, AGAIN, powerless and in a position where he can't do much.
3. AGAIN, Eggman's role was diminished even more.

Metal Sonic betraying Eggman... Now, as a fan of the early Sonic games, I loved Sonic CD, and I would never imagine Metal betraying Eggman. EVER. This was a totally random and stupid move in my opinion. SH's plotholes(How Eggman sent that radio from his prison cell for instance) don't upset me nearly as much as the fact that Eggman's being reduced to the role of a common NPC, not even the villain anymore! I'm sure you oldschool fans will agree. I’m not even gonna try to elaborate on how out-of-place and ridiculous Charmy’s attacking Eggman was, but it backs up my argument that Heroes made no sense, and was an awful game for Eggman.

The future is iffy. Sonic Rush has a new villain described by the tagline as "Dr. Eggman times two" but that doesn’t tell me how involved Eggman will be. Shadow is even iffier- Sega.com says he’ll play "an integral part in the storyline" but just what is "integral" to them? If it’s as much part as he had in Heroes, then I’m justified in being wary.

And this isn't just some fanboyish "OMG MY FAV CHARACTER ROCKS" rant either. I'm just making an honest criticism of Sonic Team's recent decisions. Although he's my favorite character, I can honestly say I'd be just as outraged if they tried to shove someone like Tails or Knuckles way into the background. But this being the current issue at hand, I simply felt I had to make this observation.

In closing, Sega, you’ve let me down exponentially. Eggman’s role, or lack thereof in today’s case, needs to be examined closely. Something has to be done to prevent Eggman from being shoved aside any longer. The ball’s in your court, Sega, now’s your chance to restore Eggman’s formy glory(and make this fan stop complaining).

~ Doc Eggman