Over the past couple of months, a fan movement has gained traction within the Sonic the Hedgehog
fan community.
Rallying behind the hashtag #RoomForOneMore, fans have been calling out for the game to
include the character of Amy Rose in some meaningful form – ideally as a playable
character.
There’s been fan-art, Reddit posts, tweets, and even opinion videos from longwinded YouTubers
like ourselves.
What really kicked things up a gear, though, was a fake fan-trailer by animator Bluecore,
in which Amy appears to be included in the fun…only to be left out of the party.
This trailer is so well made that many people have mistaken it for the real deal, but alas,
it’s the work of a fan, and Amy has still not been officially announced for the game.
According to the Sonic the Hedgehog social media overseer Aaron Webber, this isn’t
going to change.
Addressing Bluecore’s video in a recent livestream, he explained why Amy won’t be
playable in Sonic Mania Plus.
Said Aaron: “If we had all the time and money in the
world, Amy would certainly be in there.
But it’s one of those cases of, [the developers] had an idea of what they wanted to make, from
a development, from a production standpoint, and they made those character.
But please know that a lot of us here are huge supporters of Amy in general as a character
and we love seeing her as much as possible.”
So what’s the reason behind Amy’s exclusion from Sonic Mania Plus?
Simply put, Christian Whitehead and his team didn’t feel like including her.
One of the fantastic things about Sonic Mania is its inclusion of Easter Eggs and references
to many different aspects of the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom – specifically to the era
when the 2D games ruled the roost.
This has been heavily marketed as a game that celebrates all aspects of the Classic Sonic
fan community – the slogan of “By the Mania, For the Mania” speaks to the attempt
to please everyone.
Ultimately, though, this game is not going to reflect everyone’s Sonic gaming experience.
Some people started with the first Sonic game on the Mega Drive or Genesis, while others
are more fond of the Master System titles.
Others started with an LCD Tomy game based loosely on Sonic 2, but we’re hardly going
to get a callout that references this piece of Sonic history.
So, it’s understandable that the development team behind Sonic Mania Plus can’t possibly
cater to all the demands of the fanbase.
This is a particularly large problem considering just how fractured the Sonic community has
become.
Some people want more Classic Sonic.
Some want more Adventure-style gameplay, while some people actually defend Sonic ’06.
We’re looking at you, Liam!
So with all these different voices offering up opinions on Sonic Mania Plus, the dev team
behind the game can’t really start taking suggestions from the crowd.
This is particularly true considering that Mania Plus is being released physically.
There’s no option for last-minute changes or patches this time around.
The game has to be set in stone, a long time before it’s fully unveiled to the public.
This is understandable, but it does beg the question: why didn’t the Sonic Mania Plus
development team want to include Amy to begin with?
Why is the only reference to Amy in the original Sonic Mania simply an explosive toy that bothers
the player during a boss fight?
Sonic Mania Plus is a perfect reflection of the ‘90s gaming landscape that existed when
the Mega Drive titles were first released.
Unfortunately, to a certain extent, it’s also a reflection of gaming culture from decades
past.
A time when games were actively marketed as being only for boys.
Women in ‘90s games are often objects to be obtained, through rescue or other means,
rather than actual, playable characters.
There are exceptions, but Amy’s role in Sonic CD as the damsel in distress is fairly
typical of games of the decade.
She’s the Princess Zelda or the Pauline of the classic Sonic franchise – she exists
to give the player some emotional reason to want to beat the game.
In more modern titles, Amy has been reworked, albeit very haphazardly, into a character
with a little more autonomy.
She’s perhaps best used in the Sonic Advance trilogy, where she’s capable of using a
unique (if somewhat clunky) moveset to add variety to the 2D Sonic formula.
Making Amy one of the heroes of Sonic Advance goes a long way to redeeming her as a character.
In these titles, she’s no longer a damsel in distress, but instead is capable of not
only defending herself, but of saving the day.
This inclusion, along with other female characters, has made the Sonic fandom more inclusive as
a whole.
The fan community no longer feels like a gated-off community; a Boys
Only treehouse that keep girls at bay because they have cooties.
Nevertheless, Sonic Mania Plus is aiming to bring ‘90s childhood nostalgia back into
vogue, and with this comes a return of the kind of backwards No Girls Allowed mentality
that was prevalent in gaming during this era.
This probably wasn’t even done deliberately.
We’re not accusing Christian Whitehead of deliberate sexism; he and his team of predominantly
male creators are merely perpetuating the gatekeeping mistakes of a previous generation.
But the question does need to be asked: are we sure that ‘90s gaming culture should
be treated with such reverence if it is inherently exclusionary in nature?
Or should Sonic Mania Plus be more than this?
More than just a retread of the same highs and lows of previous generations of Sonic
gaming?
In the wake of Sonic Mania, fans have been quick to point out that many of the game’s
hangovers from previous eras, such as its lives system and its 10 minute time limits,
no longer make sense in the modern era of gaming.
These gameplay elements have actually been tweaked in response to feedback.
For example, in Mania Plus, players can ignore the time limit so that they can play unhindered.
So should we be happy to accept the exclusion of any playable female character just because
it’s a more authentic oldschool experience?
That’s up to you to decide.
No doubt many people will disagree with us in the comments, and that’s fine.
We’re interested in fueling a debate, and we look forward to your polite thoughts on
the matter.
Just be aware that this video was written by Kotor, so be sure to address your concerns
to him personally if you feel like reaching out.
Regardless, Sonic Mania Plus is still going to be a Day One purchase for us.
We love the original game, and we’re eager to play more of it, together, with or without
the inclusion of Amy.
There is still the hope that Rosy the Rascal will pop up as a reference somewhere in the
game.
We also wouldn’t put it past Aaron Webber to be misleading us with his comments so as
to keep a surprise unlockable character from leaking before the game’s release.
Even if Amy doesn’t show up, we’ll be playing Sonic Many Plus for hours to come.
We’ll also be eagerly awaiting any future Sonic games that come from this team, along
with the hope that, if we’re very lucky, the next instalment in the series will be
more than just a well-built nostalgia trip.