Sonic the Hedgehog/YMMV

The Series:
"Sonic (to Metal Sonic): "You might know everything I'm going to do, but that's not going to help you, since I know everything you're going to do! STRANGE, isn't it?! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!"
 * Alas, Poor Scrappy: Upon the announcement of Big the Cat's retirement from the series the fans reacted by writing memorial poems as well as a Filk Song to the tune of "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett".
 * Awesome Ego: The main character. Without his 'tude, he wouldn't be popular at all.
 * Awesome Music: Has its own page.
 * Base Breaker:
 * Sonic himself: A cool guy with a golden heart, or just an annoying and stupid git who doesn't learn anything over the games?
 * Some fans prefer Sonic's characterization as a "hedgehog with the 'tude" which was mostly apparent in the television series and the comic books. Other fans, however, don't mind him being portrayed as the cocky yet kind-hearted hero he is in the games (i.e., Sonic Adventure, Sonic Unleashed, etc.) and aren't too fond of his characterization in the comics.
 * Due to the series' change in tone since Sonic Colors, people have been split down the middle with Sonic's ramped-up personality. Some people think he's an obnoxious joke machine who never takes anything seriously, the breaking point being when in Sonic Forces, he is supposedly being "captured" for six months and acts as if everything merely inconveniences him and jokes around with Infinite, compared to games before when despite still cracking jokes and constantly showboating, still understood when things were serious. The other side prefer his jokey attitude as a reminder of the Saturday morning cartoons, and don't mind his humor at all, to the point of preferring it over failed attempts at being serious.
 * Tails started as a inseparable friend who idolizes Sonic. Now, is he an independent genius kid who is like a little brother to Sonic or a useless fox who talks a lot? His performance in Lost World got some hate as well, on top of the perception that he has also lost a lot of character development between the Adventure era and the Modern era; turning him into a Non Action Guy. Despite this, he still remains one of the most popular characters.
 * Knuckles started as a cocky and mistrustful rival who protects the Master Emerald. Now, is he some kind of big brother who is always looking out for his friends but sometimes makes mistakes? Or is he some Plucky Comic Relief who always does the wrong thing? There are also those who think he's a "gangsta" type character, which can be blamed on the use of hip-hop music for his theme songs in the Adventure series, even though his actual character doesn't fit that stereotype whatsoever.
 * In the topic of his personality, there are some fans who prefer the aforementioned cocky and mistrustful characterization in his debut where he would chuckle every time he traps Sonic and Tails. Some others prefer his stoic and serious characterization in the Adventure series, and consider it a good contrast to Sonic's carefree personality. Then there are some who liked his gruff, hot-headed personality from Sonic X, which provided some comical moments.
 * Some feel he should revert to his role as the lone guardian of the Master Emerald instead of going with Sonic and Tails in their adventures, while others don't mind him being the powerhouse member of the team and feel that him being a guardian would be limiting his involvement with the series.
 * Amy Rose always had a complete Broken Base. Is she shallow and selfish for taking her love too far, or is she just a nice girl who just follows her heart and isn't afraid to show her emotions?
 * There's also the developer's attempts at Fanservice, starting with an explicit Panty Shot the moment you select her in Sonic Adventure due to her redesign's mini-dress and a strict aversion of Magic Skirt (compared to Sonic the Fighters using her classic design which, while still having a skirt, fell under Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal rather than any attempts at fanservice). Keep in mind that she's twelve (as of Adventure 1, originally just eight in Sonic CD) in all regions and you have a powder keg of controversy amongst the fanbase. Nowadays the problem isn't highlighted anymore due to the story emphasis she gets rather than being a playable character.
 * Shadow. Is he a good rival that is cool and likable, or is he just a lame Evil Counterpart of Sonic made just to fit in said trope? Is his backstory a good way to add more story and complexity to the franchise, or is his backstory pointless?
 * In addition, his return to the games garnered some mixed views. One side says that bringing Shadow back cheapened his Heroic Sacrifice in Sonic Adventure 2, thus turning him into a Creator's Pet, while others say it's good just to see Shadow make a reappearance. Then after the release of his self-titled game, there's a split on whether Shadow is still a good character who's just been the victim of overexposure and bad writing, or a glorified Gary Stu who should have stayed dead after his debut and just does not fit with the whimsical nature of the series. (The latter point of detraction was given even more fuel thanks to a completely random and inconsequential boss fight in Sonic Boom" Rise of Lyric, strangely enough.)
 * There are some fans who were less than pleased that Shadow had taken Knuckles' role as the arch-rival due to him being the aforementioned lame Evil Counterpart and feel that Knuckles had become a less relevant character since Shadow's inclusion to the series. On the other hand, others find him to be a good match to Sonic and feel that Knuckles wasn't really that much of a rival because he would always get tricked by Eggman into fighting Sonic.
 * There's a divide on whether or not Shadow should serve as a GUN agent. One side says that joining GUN would give him more purpose, while the other side states that it doesn't make sense for him to join a military organization who killed his best friend/surrogate sister.
 * Dr. Robotnik started as a simple yet effective Evil Genius, enslaving cute animals into robots, destroying nature, lying to Knuckles, and using the Chaos Emeralds' power to create his own empire. Nowadays, his name is Eggman and his design changed many times with games -- this is a result of the American canon (and name) being effectively banished in favor of his Japanese canon. Is he the man with the master plan, ready to destroy/trick/enslave anything that stands in his way and conquer the world by any means necessary, but unluckily Sonic gets in the way? Or is he getting worse every game, making silly or exaggerated plans instead of evil or efficient ones, unleashing a Sealed Evil in a Can (accidentally destroying the world), and losing control over his own robots/minions?
 * Silver. Is he a good character with an interesting ability, deep plot, and unique characterization, or an unlikable Jerkass who is also a huge idiot?
 * Fans will also argue constantly over romantic pairings between characters, despite the fact there are no official romantic couples whatsoever in any of the games. The only official pairings of any kind have been from the SatAM/Archie end of things, and they will go so far as to whine about those couples because they don't conform to personal preference. Some fans are known to push their personal beliefs on Sonic fanon as absolute truth, to the point you'd think some of these people were the legal owners of the series. If you want to avoid an argument, then do not, under any circumstances, bring up which Sonic characters should be dating. The worst case scenario is if the pairing(s) involve child characters such as Cream, for example. This also applies to crossover pairings as well, which caused many fights and arguments between the fans and haters. No doubt a major reason Sega avoids any Official Couples is because they fear Fan Dumb backlash, given what they already have to put up with.
 * Try asking Sonic fans who is Sonic's true rival. Some will say Knuckles, due to him being the one to knock Sonic out of his super form and also being a foil to his character (strength to his speed, solitary lifestyle to his carefree lifestyle). Some will say Shadow due to him being a darker counterpart to him and having similar abilities like him (both are hedgehogs, both are fast, etc). Some will say Metal Sonic because of him being an evil robotic counterpart and that he solely wants to defeat Sonic so he can prove himself to be the real Sonic. A few Take a Third Option and accept ALL of them as Sonic's rivals.
 * Broken Base: Shattered, actually, about every single thing about the series. And each faction hates all of the others. This article best sums up the fandom's splintered state.
 * The series is usually divided into three distinct eras which are each defined by distinct characteristics of the series "main" games; the classic era (1991-1998, Sonic the Hedgehog to Sonic R), the Adventure era (1998-2006, Sonic Adventure to Sonic Riders), and the modern era (2006-present, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 onwards). Certain fans of the classic era dislike everything from the Adventure era and onward, while certain fans of the Adventure era dislike the games of both the classic and modern eras, a situation that Sega has actually become aware about. Funny enough, most people from the modern era tend to like all Sonic games. Keep in mind that this doesn't even include the cartoons, comics, and other media released over the years, which have also broken the fanbase.
 * The notion of whether or not games like Sonic 3D Blast, Shadow the Hedgehog, and the Storybook games are main series games or spin-offs have also caused some conflict. Aside from the fact that all of these games are platformers with a major degree of speed involved, this is often mistaken for being due to the continuity of the games. Shadow The Hedgehog is justified, as it tries to conclude many of the plot points found in both Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, while the plot of Sonic and the Secret Rings was directly referenced by Sonic himself in Sonic Generations.
 * There are some fans who consider Sonic Heroes to be the last good Sonic game before the Dork Age, while others consider the game the beginning of the Dork Age. Then there are arguments about whether Shadow the Hedgehog or Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) worsened the Dork Age. Spinning it in the opposite direction, fans are split on whether the Nintendo-exclusive Sonic Colors or the multiplatform Sonic Generations should be considered the title that brought the series out of the Dork Age, and again on whether or not the series is in another one at the moment (with divisive titles like Sonic Lost World and Sonic Forces directly following up on acclaimed ones like Generations and Sonic Mania to jarring effect).
 * As shown with Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a game specifically designed to pander to old-school fans, even the slightest mention that the game deviates from the original formula, for good or ill, or that it has a flaw, be it real or imaginary, is enough to send fans into a flame war. When the second episode was announced, some fans cheered that the addition of Tails and two-player co-op is a move most wanted and it'll add a lot of gameplay replay value, while others complained that it's just a crappy throw-in just to cover up the problems that it'll bring over from the first episode. It went From Bad to Worse when Tails was clarified to be a mandatory co-op character instead of having him and Sonic be separately playable (with a co-op option) as they were in previous games. Fans were very disappointed.
 * Speaking of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, one of the loudest (if not, the loudest) points of contention over the game's reveal was the game's use of "green-eyed Sonic": in particular, the use of the character designs used from Sonic Adventure and onwards, instead of the original character designs for the Genesis and Saturn era of Sonic titles. Some in favor of it argued that the game was supposed to be a sequel to the Genesis fans, and thus it should be supported with the designs used for those titles; they also noted that the PR team for the game leading up to the reveal had tons of callbacks to the original designs. Others who argued in favor of the new design that Sonic 4 was not only a new title (hence it should use the designs used for the newer games), but the original designs hadn't been used in a new game over a decade. The debate faded away though with the release of Sonic Generations, which had both the original "Classic" Sonic and the current "Modern" Sonic designs as playable characters; and was entirely absent come Sonic Mania, which became the first game in years to exclusively use the original designs.
 * In regards to Lost World, the amount of flak the game had received from some fans over the game's more simple, stylized/cartoonish art style (compared to past games' more detailed, semi-realistic art style) alone, coupled with the aforementioned light-hearted tone the game is continuing from previous installments, led to some calling Lost World the worst of the Sonic franchise and accusing it of being a Mario clone before it even released. Years after release, fans remain split on whether it was a good entry (citing the multiple paths you can take to complete the levels and its complex mechanics) or a bad entry (criticizing its slower pace and underwhelming story). The two DLC levels that crossover Sonic with Yoshis Story and The Legend of Zelda further muddy the issue, with opinions ranging from them making the game worse to the DLC possibly being better than the main game.
 * With the release of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, there are arguments on whether or not this is worse than Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
 * There's a recurrent argument about whether or not Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is considered to be a "Sonic Adventure 3." Some fans consider it to be a spiritual successor of the two Adventure games due to the similar gameplay and features such as the adventure fields (for Adventure 1), while others feel that the game isn't worthy of being considered a "Sonic Adventure 3" due to certain issues of the game (such as the glitches). Before 2006, some fans considered Sonic Heroes to be the closest thing to an "Adventure 3" due to the game taking place after Adventure 2, though other segments of the fandom disagreed because they felt Heroes was closer to a modern imagining of the Genesis titles in terms of gameplay and level design than it was to the Adventure games. A few could consider Shadow the Hedgehog to be Sonic Adventure 3, as it finishes off Shadow's character arc in the series which started in Adventure 2 and was slightly expanded on in Heroes. In other cases, there are people who consider Sonic Unleashed as Sonic Adventure 3 since it was, in fact, originally planned to be titled "Sonic Adventure 3" and was actually released in Japan as Sonic World Adventure. And, of course, there are some fans who don't consider any of the said games a "Sonic Adventure 3" and probably won't be satisfied unless there is a game clearly titled "Sonic Adventure 3". Speaking of which...
 * While professional critics have become generally unfavorable to both titles in recent years, there are mixed views within the fanbase as to how well the Adventure games have held up over the years. This overlaps with the arguments on alternate playstyles (see below).
 * When viewed as having aged badly, Sonic Adventure is considered to be overly glitchy (albeit not to Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) extremes), having unneeded fishing, shooting, and/or chase sections, shoehorning all of the characters into mixes of the same 11 stages making level design less cohesive for all of them, and a badly acted plot; however, the views on the rest of the gameplay are more varied and some people still enjoy the game's attempt at story.
 * Sonic Adventure 2 has seen a bigger drop in prestige, with all the gameplay outside of Sonic/Shadow stages being viewed as controlling badly. The story is viewed by those who dislike it as clich&eacute;d, too dark and realistic for a Sonic game, and, worst of all, on top of introducing Shadow to take over for the following few installments, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle helped introduce an entire generation of Sonic fans that would eventually conflict with the older fans. However, the improved and expanded Chao Garden is usually seen as a bright spot to the extent where some like to play it just to experience that section, and the stages that were well-liked are favorites among some fans. Others go as far to believe that it makes up for its gameplay by being surprisingly mature and genuinely emotional. And then there's a camp that feels like the Tails/Eggman stages get a bad rap just for not being the Sonic/Shadow stages when they're actually overall well-designed around their playstyles in their own rights, controlling much less awkwardly than throwing Gamma into stages built around more maneuverable characters. Even fans of Knuckles/Rouge's stages, as well as their predecessors in Knuckles' Adventure 1 levels, will freely admit that they can be more than a little frustrating, though.
 * Before Unleashed, there was a great deal of argument on whether the series had too many characters, as some felt that they took away too much focus from the core of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles and that many of them had either annoying and/or clich&eacute;d personalities and/or poor designs. It certainly didn't help that many of them (Tails and Knuckles included) had completely different styles of gameplay from the core Sonic style, which exacerbated matters.
 * With the absence of other playable characters from Unleashed onward, it's nearly universally agreed that there needs to be more playable characters again. However, in the infamous "Alternate Gameplay" debate, fans cannot agree on how they should be implemented.
 * Many are against "alternate gameplay" due to it taking away focus from the "main" Sonic gameplay and turning many Sonic games into a collection of smaller games. It's often cited that there is next to no backlash against the playable characters in the classic Sonic 3 and Knuckles as well as the Dimps-developed Advance and Rush games, all of which have characters that fit neatly into the same gameplay style as Sonic. People who argue against alternate gameplay feel that it has unfairly sullied the reputation of playable characters at best and that it has been the downfall of the series at worst, or that it's an effect of Sonic Team's pathological need to put some sort of alternate gimmick in every game.
 * However, many other fans, mainly those of the Adventure games, think that "alternate gameplay" is the superior way to implement playable characters. These people feel that making the other characters have different levels/paths and/or goals make them much more satisfying to play as, since their unique goals actually take advantage of their abilities. As a corollary, many of these fans think that characters like Tails and Knuckles are Game Breakers and that shoehorning them into Sonic's playstyle causes the game to lose challenge, not to mention making Sonic, the main character himself, seem underpowered, as his speed doesn't allow the freedom that flying or gliding and climbing do.
 * The Hub worlds in a number of games, such as Sonic Adventure. Some find them to be interesting and enjoyable when it comes to exploration and interacting with people, while others feel they're unnecessary and would prefer the stage-to-stage formula that the majority of Sonic games usually have.
 * As if the fanbase couldn't get even more divided, the reveal of the Custom Hero feature in Sonic Forces divided it even further. Some fans are thrilled to be able to make their own Original Characters canon, and think that the gadget weapons bring a lot of variety to the gameplay. Others think it's the worst idea in the whole franchise, noting how Sonic fan characters tend to leave much to be desired and that the Custom Hero's gameplay brings down the two existing playable Sonic characters, or feel that the Custom Heroes are a good idea full of wasted potential. Still others who have wanted established characters other than Sonic playable again for years are absolutely chagrined that Sonic Team literally chose to make a OC creator playable over the existing cast. As for the game itself... well, it takes Contested Sequel to a level not seen since the original Sonic Adventure. Some fans view it as a flawed, but enjoyable enough game, while others despise it for its sloppy level design and uninspired gameplay or feel that its flaws, although forgivable on their own, are only magnified by the fact that the game is meant to celebrate 25 years of Sonic.
 * Sonic Mania, critical acclaim aside, managed to infuriate many Adventure-era fans who are upset that the classic era fans are being pandered to again.
 * And combining the two Sonic games of 2017, just as there are fans of Sonic Mania who dislike Sonic Forces for its lower-quality gameplay, there is also a quieter segment of Sonic fans who are into Sonic for the characters and lore, not the gameplay, and prefer Sonic Forces over Sonic Mania because of the greater emphasis on story, world-building, and spectacle, and the return to the Darker and Edgier storytelling after the more lighthearted nature of Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Lost World.
 * Some think the games released on the Master System and Game Gear are inferior, poorly-performing, and lackluster, while others consider them underrated gems, a few even going so far as to say they liked them more than their 16-bit counterparts.
 * Canon Sue: Arguable cases include:
 * God Mode Sue: Knuckles in The Movie, where he has a Big Damn Heroes moment to effortlessly save Sonic and Tails from Metal Robotnik. Oh, and he can fly too. In every other continuity, he only glides.
 * Shadow is occasionally criticized as such; he's overpowered in nearly every case except his own game because of the gun usage.
 * Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch: The fanbase is very quick to start ranting and raving about how any new game will "ruin Sonic forever", often months or years prior to the entry's release. Let's not even get into the squabbling that occurs after a game is released.
 * Complete Monster: Eggman Nega (whose actions at the end of Sonic Rush Adventure disgusted Eggman) and Black Doom (whose plot is an easy candidate for Nightmare Fuel) are major examples. Mephiles the Dark also counts, except that his plan is too convoluted to take seriously.
 * Designated Protagonist Syndrome: A few accuse Sonic of having little personality and backstory compared to the rest of the cast.
 * Dork Age: No one can seem to decide on WHEN it was, but most fans agree that at some point or another there was a Dork Age in the series.
 * 8.8: Fans flipped out at Unleashed's atrocious scores in the press (in a few cases, worse than the universally-panned Sonic '06), many of which blamed the Werehog for ruining the game entirely.
 * Ensemble Darkhorses: Most of which became Breakout Characters; started out with Knuckles, then Fang/Nack, and then Shadow, but nowadays it appears to be Blaze the Cat, one of the few Sonic characters who evokes a generally positive response from the highly Broken Base when she is speculated to appear in a new game. The critics still hate her, though.
 * Some characters from alternate medias qualify to an extent as well. Princess Sally Acorn, Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, who all were originally derived from background characters in the original games, became main stars in their respective shows and have pretty valid fanbases. During the early nineties, Sally arguably appeared on more merchandise than Knuckles and Tails.
 * Mephiles. While his plans are a complete mess, he's considered a pretty good villain by the fans; some fans even want him to make a reappearance in a Sonic game.
 * E-102 Gamma is one of the few newer characters in recent games to not attract much bile, mainly due to not truly coming back from the dead, and his whole life being a Tear Jerker.
 * Rouge the Bat has more fan art than any other Sonic character, and she isn't even a main character. This is probably due to her being a Memetic Sex Goddess.
 * Espio has a huge fan base despite not having as much screen time as other Sonic characters.
 * That seems to be true of the Chaotix trio (re)introduced in Heroes, as they've played in a part in (almost) every game since.
 * For some of the more self-aware parts of the fandom, Big The Cat: he has a unique character design and does a solid enough job as comic relief. They aren't so keen on the fishing mechanic, but even that has its fans...
 * Fan Dumb / Fan Wank: A prime example. There was even an article in Wired magazine about it.
 * Fat Bastard: Dr. Robotnik.
 * Fridge Brilliance:.
 * Game Breaker: Cream in Sonic Advance 2. Makes the bosses a LOT easier. She's a game breaker again in Sonic Chronicles, where she can provide all but unlimited special move use for everyone . She also breaks the game in Sonic Battle, where all of her moves are good or decent at worst. That's saying something. Her slightly below average stats don't change this either.
 * Also the combination of Knuckles with Tails as your partner in Sonic Advance 3 made most levels a joke, considering their combined aerial abilities.
 * Gannon Banned: Numerous examples in the series. Common mistakes that get ire from Sonic fans include:
 * Calling Shadow's Super Form "Hyper Shadow", a mistake stemming from Prima's Sonic Adventure 2 game guide. This one is a surefire way to light the fuse to a Flame War.
 * Mention any of the old backstory used in English speaking countries prior to Sonic Adventure (i.e. Mobius, Sonic's speed coming from his sneakers) and you'll likely be blasted by a group of "Only the Japanese stuff counts" purists. Which will then trigger a war with the "It's our childhood memories and we don't care if it's not really canon" fans.
 * Not to mention confusing the Archie, Fleetway, or cartoon continuities with the canon of the games.
 * Debating over whether Sonic the Hedgehog is really canon.
 * Debating whether Ivo's real name is "Robotnik" or "Eggman" is another classic flame war kickstarter. Sega settled the issue, but even this works as well as Shigeru Miyamoto's word on Shiek's gender.
 * Oh, and do NOT spell Rouge as Rogue. Just don't.
 * Referring to Rings as "Coins"
 * And lastly, do NOT call Tails a girl. He is a boy.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Sonic is widely more popular in America and Europe than he is in Japan, his country of origin. There's a particularly fanatical subset of fans in the UK, thanks to Sonic the Comic. There's yet another slight fanbase division over international differences.
 * Goddamned Bats: Nearly every single enemy in the second half of Sonic Chronicles can act as this due to either ridiculous defenses, regenerating health, poisoning you every chance they get, leeching off your health, or any combination of the previously mentioned.
 * The Raptor Hawks in the first half of the game probably count, too. Although there's only six of them at the most, they have 120HP, do ~50 damage per hit, and can use "Evading" whenever they want. It's a good thing when they use their Special move, Feather Barrage, because it's easy to counter.
 * Guide Dang It: Act 2 of the Carnival Night Zone from Sonic 3 still haunts people to this day.
 * Hate Dumb and Fan Haters: Just as bad as the Fan Dumb.
 * And sometimes they're all the same "fans".
 * Internet Backdraft: Anything about this series can cause massive Flame Wars.
 * 2 words: Eye color.
 * And in the case of Sonic 4, eyelids.
 * Just Here for Godzilla: Most fans play the 3D games for the Sonic gameplay rather than for the many, many other gameplay styles, even when it can comprise as little as 1/4th the length of the entire game. This has resulted in Sonic being the only playable character in some of the more recent games.
 * Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Sonic and Tails. Let's just say that pairings with them can get rather silly at times.
 * It's made all the more confusing because neither of them is particularly interested in romance (bar Sonic X and the comics), to the point where Tails outright hates romance in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and, to a lesser extent, the games.
 * Memetic Mutation:
 * BLAST PROCESSING
 * There is one particular meme that tracends all continuities, and that is the fact that "Sonic is the fastest thing alive... in bed."
 * MARGARINE!!!!!
 * Junichi Kanemaru's Gratuitous English.
 * "If someone tries to touch you in a place or in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's no good!" The subject of many a YouTube Poop.
 * From Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie, aside from "SHUT UP, TAILS!", there's:

"Sonic: Uh oh, gotta speed up!"
 * Sonic 2006 brought us this:


 * Super Smash Brothers brought us "You're too sloooooooow..."
 * "Find the computer room!"
 * "SnooPING AS usual, I see".
 * "I'M GOING TO GIVE MYSELF A PRRRROMOTION!"
 * "Ah! Happiness is so much more enjoyable, when it comes from the misery of others!"
 * "GOTTA GO FAST", a phrase associated with two different memes: an infamous piece of Sonic fanart, and a dub themesong from Sonic X. It also managed to get associated with Tribes due to the gameplay style of the latest installment revolving around speed.
 * HOW 2 DRAW SANIC HEGEHOG.
 * Memetic Sex God: Rouge, again.
 * Eggman's Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog appearance was pitched as the sexiest fat guy in the world.
 * Moe: Cream, along with her pet Chao, Cheese.
 * Most Annoying Sound: Any variation of "Be careful not to fall!"
 * " Get a load of THIS!!!" "Get a load of THIS!!!" Get a load of THIS!!!"
 * "All systems, FULL-POWERRRR!"
 * Hi, I'm Omochao, and I'm here to help you!
 * "You know what they say, the more, the merrier!"
 * FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM!
 * "Time for a change of pace!" It's getting to the point where it seems that Eggman has to have at least one irritating ad nauseum line per game.
 * "THAT LOOKS LIKE A HOMING SHOT!"
 * "IT'S NO USE!"
 * Narm Charm: The corny dubs of most of the games may be annoying, but the thrill of the gameplay is usually worth it.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Has its own page.
 * The Roboticizer, the Sonic Colors drowning theme, Shadow's backstory, and the bosses in Sonic Spinball.
 * Nightmare Retardant: Possibly played deliberately with E-102 Gamma. With his intimidating design, lifeless facial features, Machine Monotone and deadly abilities (he came close to blowing Sonic's brains out point blank at one point), he may have made for a genuinely terrifying and imposing creation of Eggman's, if his sentience didn't get in the way. Even his theme qualifies both as Nightmare Fuel and a pure Tear Jerker.
 * Older Than They Think: A good number of fans seem to think that Amy has only been around since the Sonic Adventure days/is a recent addition. She has actually been around for about or (at least) almost as long as Tails (depending on whether you count the manga or Sonic CD as her debut).
 * Popularity Polynomial: Sonic's popularity has gone up and down over the years. It's currently on an up trend due to a string of acclaimed games such as Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
 * Ron the Death Eater: Sonic himself. He very often has his character mutilated and warped into an abusive boyfriend and even a Complete Monster towards Amy Rose by ShadAmy and KnuxAmy shippers in fanwork.
 * Rooting for the Empire/Evil Is Cool: Robotnik/Eggman might be a Fat Bastard, but in most of his incarnations he's also brilliant, stylish, and chews the scenery to the point that a better nickname might be Hamman.
 * Ruined FOREVER: Many Sonic fans cry Ruined FOREVER after any game is released after another one, usually with a controversial choice. It also happened when the game voice cast was replaced with 4Kids one.
 * The Scrappy: Take your pick; every medium has one. The main ones from the games are Big, Cream, Silver, Princess Elise, and Exposition Fairy Omochao. Even Shadow counted at one point, given that he is a Base Breaker.
 * Damsel Scrappy: Princess Elise was kidnapped four times throughout the entirety of the game.
 * Replacement Scrappy:
 * When Silver got a starring role in the Milestone Celebration |Sonic '06 with Sonic and Shadow, fans felt he was usurping worthier characters like Tails or Knuckles and accused Sega of being biased against their non-hedgehog characters. His cameo in Brawl also led to claims of this.
 * The Rivals games were more enjoyable before we found out Nega kicked Eggman out of the villain spotlight.
 * Omega is this for fans of E-102 Gamma.
 * Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
 * Thanks to Bioware, Big went from scrappy idiot to lovable oaf.
 * Also Cream, who goes from Damsel in Distress to Badass Adorable Game Breaker in Sonic Advance 2.
 * |Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 managed to make Shadow the Hedgehog more bearable for some of his previous haters. Since the previous game saw him reach the end of his Quest for Identity and resolve to put the past behind him, this game saw Shadow greatly cut down on the angsting and replace it with stoic badassery. And from a purely technical perspective, his gameplay is probably the least broken out of the three main heroes.
 * In Sonic Generations, even haters of Silver have admitted to loving his new, more powerful form and the boss battle against him. His appearances in the comic have also made him one of Sonic Archie's most popular new characters, to the point of him getting a new Sonic Special.
 * Scrappy Level: Carnival Night Zone, specifically for the Red Barrel of Doom, and the Labyrinth Zone from the first game. Mad Space and Death Chamber in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * Tier-Induced Scrappy: Shadow, as the Game Breaker in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (with or without Banjo and Kazooie). Shadow has managed to take his Base Breaker status to a whole new level.
 * Shoo Out the New Guy: Silver started out overhyped, but since Sonic '06 and the Rivals games, he's pretty much been reduced to being a member of multiplayer rosters.
 * So Bad It's Good: Among the usual candidates named for this are multiple song lyrics, most strikingly We Can, My Sweet Passion, and the in-level Knuckles raps from Sonic Adventure 2, the campy dialogue during levels, and, to a lesser extent, in some cutscenes, and almost everything about Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * They Changed It, Now It Sucks: Any change as far as the fanbase is concerned.
 * Uncanny Valley: Present in the series starting with Sonic Adventure (though it doesn't have this effect now) and peaking in |Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, with the Anthropomorphic characters compared to semi-realistic humans. Averted starting in Sonic Unleashed, which has stylized humans.
 * Villain Decay: Reverse-proportional to Eggman's Character Development. As he becomes more and more humanized and sympathetic, he becomes less and less evil. Of course, Eggman has many fans precisely because of this morality shift, so perhaps it isn't all bad...
 * He's been getting more dangerous as of recent games. Interestingly this is done without compromising much of his clownish semi likeable personality from before.
 * What an Idiot!: The Nocturnus tried to conquer the ancient world and they did conquer the Twilight Cage -- and given the Cage's Year Inside, Hour Outside effect, Shade probably took part in both conquests. Why did she not expect Ix to actually want to conquer Earth?
 * This is even played up in one episode of the TV series -- when a rival genius' shapeshifting robot defects, Dr. Robotnik boasts that he deliberately designed Scratch and Grounder to be idiots, so they'd never defect.
 * The Woobie: E-102 Gamma. First major character to be killed off, after a lifespan of less than a week, which unlike Shadow or Emerl, was not commemorated or recognized by the other heroes. He shares this with . But, if you pay attention to the chronology, he only got to live for one day.
 * Iron Woobie: Despite how neglected it was by everyone except Amy and everything it went through, it doesn't angst about any of it.
 * Tails usually qualifies for this in most continuities.
 * Shadow the Hedgehog, during Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog, and to a certain extent Sonic Battle, was depicted as a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds at times.

YMMVs for the Sega Genesis game

 * Nightmare Fuel: The infamous drowning music, which would become a recurring jingle in most games in the franchise with bodies of water that don't act as automatic Bottomless Pits. And since Labyrinth Zone is considered the hardest of the water levels in the series, you can expect to hear this a lot.
 * If you don't know the shortcut, Scrap Brain Act 3 (which was actually Labyrinth "4") is harder to some.
 * Porting Disaster: The Game Boy Advance port Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis, which features terrible physics (due to not using the original game code), butchered audio, and slowdown. To make matters worse, this massacre of a classic was released to mark the 15th anniversary of the series. The port of the game on the Sega Dreamcast's Sega Smash Pack: Volume 1 compilation fared better, but was also marred by butchered audio.
 * The DS port is apparently far better.
 * Scrappy Level: Labyrinth Zone, and Marble Zone for younger players.
 * They Just Didn't Care: The Game Boy Advance port. Look above for more details.