In Defense of Sonic 2006's Princess Elise: The Blunders of Ambition
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2023
- Designing For is a series which looks at one specific level, character, or idea in gaming and breaks down the central theme to that element to figure out what it's, well, designing for! In this episode, I CAN EXPLAIN. We look over the disaster that was the release of Sonic 2006, and break down its failures in storyetlling, while also trying to capture what it was attempting to do with its central character: Princess Elise. We look over all of the ambitious efforts this character arc tried to go for, and what about Sonic's writing makes it so special, but so potentially volatile, to see what we can learn from the ultimate failure of this much-maligned game.
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To quote Jacob Geller regarding beautifully ambitious flops: "you can say [it's] striking out, but you can't accuse it of not swinging"
Damn that's a good line.
What vídeo he says that?
@@petwisk2012 The Strangest Game of 2023
He’s the one that made that Quiet Sadness of Mario Galaxy video.
Elise's biggest issues always came from the overall writing of Sonic's story rather than the concepts behind her being flawed (romance notwithstanding). She thematically works great as you explained, but the pacing and execution of these plot beats needed far more polish to be effective. This improvement can even be seen in characters like Shahra and Merlina from the Sonic Storybook series, who are generally more well-liked despite filling a similar role of "new female (and basically human) character that Sonic helps move forward from their personal problems" (romance notwithstanding). Elise isn't inherently flawed; she's just stuck in a game where she never gets to capitalize on her themes due to various issues on every level.
She’s good already. 06’s writing is fine as far as she’s concerned.
didn't help she got kidnapped every 5 seconds and had no agency in the story at all until the literal end where she prayed to save Sonic and made the decision to blow out the Flame.
@@jeremyabbott4537She had agency. She breaks out of Eggman’s clutches twice AND willingly surrenders herself to protect her people.
I thought I was the only one who thought of it xoxox its a shame that sonic 06 was so rushed, that it basically screwed its own characters, story and gaming so badly xoxoox
Oooooh, that’s what you were warning us about. I honestly can’t think of her without thinking of that one Snapcube dub, simply because it feels like exactly the sort of energy I would have wanted from that kind of character:
“How many times are you gonna run?! I’ve captured you, like, 17 different times!”
“…I feel like it’s gonna be at least 18”
... The caucasity of this bitch...
i want to live in the universe where sonic 06 had a reasonable deadline and a full dev team, SO bad
it's called P06
@@mishdornotsIt's not fully finished but the base gameplay is excellent
@@mishdornotsbut that's the thing, the fans shouldn't be fixing the game for sega, it still should've been right the first time
@@magolor152 indeed, however at least we can entertain the what if
Any game can get a remake and remaster nowadays. Just wait
Shadow was well written at least. Sa2b shadow continues to grow and develop in this timeline even when he is told his friend will kill him.
Same with the villain killing sonic just because he could and bow creepy he moved and talks.
Sonic 06 problem is how bad the game play is and messy story. If those were better done nobody would rightfully complain
in other words, if SEGA actually polished things than get the wrong idea causing a decade of going the opposite direction before getting right back on track
The gameplay actually isn't that bad, especially if you get the gems. It's pretty fun breaking the game and finding quick ways through levels
You can say the same thing for Mario Sunshine. Not a bad game, but has fun glitches.
There’s a video by Jelloapocalypse where he drinks and rates a bunch of lemonades and he gets to this one that for some godforsaken reason has Maple Syrup in it. The way he describes it is how I describe the plot of this game.
“This is an amazing lemonade that someone put maple syrup in.”
This is a pretty decent JRPG plot that someone put Sonic the Hedgehog characters into.
do you mean honey or is there an even worse syrup lemonade i'm forgetting?
@@purpleisdebeste No he did a new stream where he drank all the lemonade he didn’t get last time.
@@rynemcgriffin1752 Ah yes, the mustard one
@@purpleisdebeste And the pitch for Lord Remington’s sitcom involving his idiot son Geoffrey (he has every disease).
I actually like Elise and my main gripe with her is the artstyle that she has(especially since by extension she made Eggman look like THAT) I think if she didnt have the Final Fantasy artstyle and was cartoony like the rest of the world shed be a great part of the series(kinda like that Sonic channel art where shes shorter and chibi)
I prefer realism in 3D Sonic.
I also kind of like her. Though I like the concept of her story more than the execution.
Noting is wrong with 06 Eggman, he's actually my favorite and was the last time Eggy was a threat not like your cartoony Eggman that's nothing more than a washed up joke trying to be intimidating it's only in forces I'd give him credit since he actually concerned the planet
@@Adominous96606 Eggman is great.
@@bunsmasterbunny he really is, I don't get why people complain about his design but that's when I became interested in Eggman general. He was the perfect combination of a tyrant and scientist.
There's a clip on youtube of a video Lythero made that used a more anime-esque Elise model for one of the animated bits and I gotta say, that model is much really nice, it's a human without going too far away from the sonic artstyle, avoiding the uncanny valley effect of regular humans standing side by side with anthropomorphic animal people lmao
Show me this clip. I must see Animelise.
That’s not uncanny valley.
I would love to see this model also!
@@smashmaster521he already gave you name of the person that made video, now stop being lazy and use that search bar
@@LJdaentertainer Giving me the name of the video creator doesn't help me find the specific clip, and I wouldn't be asking if the search bar was useful.
This is pretty good- a rare, legit analysis of Elise’s character.
As far as the state of the game itself, I always remember that 06 was both rushed AND combined with another half-baked game concept
Sonic 06 really did have a lot of strong narrative foundations, which only makes its shortcomings sting that much more. SO close to greatness...
So close, yet so far.
Let's hope that project 06 becomes what the original could have been
@@fernandocervantes6074 In terms of gameplay, it pretty-much already is. But as stated in the video: there's really not much a fan mod can do to change the story's pitfalls. Elise's potential character growth is shoved aside to give her a needless pseudo-romance with Sonic, Blaze remains a walking paradox, and the story as a whole technically never even happened thanks to the ending but it also kinda-sorta did because Generations brought Crisis City back somehow?
You get the point. The game itself can be salvaged by the community, but the plot unfortunately cannot.
@@goldlight1322Elise has growth and her story is fine as is her feelings towards Sonic. One doesn’t negate the other. She’s a good character.
The Blaze thing can easily be fixed.
@@bunsmasterbunny I respectfully but wholeheartedly disagree. The very video above acknowledges all the potential that Elise's arc had and I'll even concede that it had some good moments, but in the game we have, Elise is more of a plot-device than a character. She has next to no agency in the story at all until like the very end, the "romance" with Sonic feels extraordinarily forced, and I've honestly always hated how even in the finale, Sonic just tells her to smile when she's feeling down.
I get that the message is to keep moving forward through hardship, but the fact that Elise is literally never allowed to be sad or angry or else the world will end is kind of messed up when you think about it. Bottling up those emotions for years on end is extremely unhealthy, and the game also never really addresses how she's basically forced into become Iblis's seal entirely against her will.
As for Blaze... I fail to see how that can be easily fixed. Whether she's from another dimension or the future has been a topic of heavy discussion in the Sonic community for years, and I've never seen a perfect explanation for it.
If you're going to argue that the dimension she apparently sealed herself inside of at the end of Iblis's story was the Sol dimension, that doesn't make sense for a variety of reasons. It doesn't explain how she became that dimension's princess, and also it technically never even happened because the Flames of Disaster are erased from time. Sega tried to retcon Blaze's story from the Rush, then backpedaled and went back to her original origin story for the current canon. How/why she was in Silver's future is simply not something we can think about too hard, because it simply doesn't make sense.
There are a number of other issues with 06's story, which is a shame because it DOES still have great moments. Hell I'd even say that Shadow's entire campaign was pretty solid, but the rest... It could have been a lot better.
15:48 One thing that often seems to go ignored is how even Amy herself in this game said that if she were to choose between the world and Sonic, she would choose Sonic cuz she is just that much in love.
Nah man that’s not ignored trust me on that, it get brings up so many times when there’s a discussion about Amy
at first i was thinking "wow even if sonic turned evil or whatever ou'd still be on your knees for him? awful message" until i realized she's not saying that. She's saying Sonic wouldn't turn evil and thus have the upmost faith in him to do the right thing.
But this choice of Amy has Stupied, destroys the World and amy loses Sonic no matter what
Marvel What if episode 3 or 4, the Strange Supreme has the Same Question for Amy, the World or His lover, he Choices her lover and lost everthing.
A friend once laid out a pretty compelling analysis of 06 that basically argued that a running thread throughout the entire story is that each of the three main hedgehogs has to sacrifice something in order to save the world. Shadow accepts the possibility that the world will hate and fear him even as he tries to save them. Silver saves the future, but at the cost of his best friend and his innocence. Sonic's main goal throughout the game is to save Elise, but by the end of the game he saves both the whole world AND Elise's own personal "world", only it's on a level so fundamental and profound that the person he's spent the whole game trying to save doesn't need or remember him anymore.
Each of the three main 'hogs deals with this sacrifice a little differently; Shadow is grimly determined, Silver is forlorn, and Sonic is happily willing to improve someone's life even if he will no longer be in it. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to engineer time travel as a way to save both his wife and the world while bypassing the need for sacrifice, but this ended up creating the very catastrophe that necessitated his sacrifice in the first place.
I remember in ClementJ64’s review way back in the day, he compared Elise’s plotline to a Sonic X episode where Sonic befriends a disabled girl. It was a good comparison to show what Elise could have been like if they didn’t have the romance aspect.
I think that was a bad comparison since it's not appreciating Elise for what she is. She's honestly fine. Many things do interspecies romances and don't get flamed for it.
@@bunsmasterbunny Even in this series, there's tons of people who ship Rouge and Topaz. Without much issue, too.
@@dankwaifu2093The creator of shadow ships him and Maria.
what is that pfp
@@bunsmasterbunny shadow and maria are not coyples. they are brother and sister
I never did have a problem with Elise in concept personally. Your breakdown of her story arc was great because, as you pointed out, it was exceptionally hard to follow in the game and I feel weirdly lucky that I somehow caught it just watching slowbeef's run.
At least Sonic 06 gave us Silver and Mephiles, and I can always be thankful that we got those characters.
I like the idea of silver a lot. Back when it was first revealed some speculated him being another serious edge lord but no, even after seeing so much death, most likely people from his timeline, seeing the duke die, Elise kinda die, seeing Blaze fade out of existence even seeing a dead sonic, he still refuses to wallow in despair and decides to be hopeful. Quite a little ball of sunshine I must say. To be on topic I do like his connection with Elise. He feels bad for her and wishes her the best and even vows to try and save her, even encourages her by sparking the idea of using the emeralds to bring the dead back to life. in a way he's sort of her guardian angel (ignoring both times he distracted sonic long enough for eggman to capture her lol).
You made Sonic 06's story seem like a masterpiece. You can really see what the devs might have been on to.
Thank you for this !! Been going over 06 and Elise and Blaze for my own personal project lately and I really like her !
"Letting Sonic into your heart will change you, and often for the better, encouraging you to pursue new horizons that you didn't find yourself capable of before." THIS. SHOULD BE SAID. MORE OFTEN. Thank you for putting it into words !
Ever since I integrated myself in the Sonic community... it's taken time and effort, but today I get to have a place I BELONG in ! And that is priceless ! Sonic DOES inspire. I want to enjoy life, free like the wind, like he does ! Appreciate the little things, smell the roses, find the good in things, accept myself as i am and fight to better my life ! Sonic is a role-model to be had, that's for sure.
And I will say being a Sonic fan makes you learn to grow in the face of adversity like no other fandom out there. Holy shit the fans have been through, and continue to be put through, a lot of shit ! From the creators, from themselves and from the people around them. But we STAY STRONG ! Never give up !
Thanks for a great video !
I do think that more people would take to Elise if 06 lacked the realistic artstyle.
Also I saw art that shipped her with Professor Pickle's assistant.
It was specifically the human part people tripped about which wouldnt have fazed them if she looked like Adventure style
Something interesting I found is an animatic about Elise where she looks sassy before jumping off of Eggman's ship and honestly, it was so cool.
If Elise was more like that in canon, maybe she would be liked more by the fanbase. Also maybe she would a better romantic match for Sonic. Because sassy partners.
Also if she was in a more "Sonic-styled human".
Amazing video dude, you made me discover a brand new appreciation for this character. Elisse could have been the perfect example of what the character Sonic The Hedgehog is all about, helping the others to be *FREE* as he is. But she was butchered by a rushed plot, poor paced story, and overall a disaster of a game, that it's no use.
Take this.
I actually like the IDEA of Sonic and Elise being this kind of romance where whether Sonic reciprocates or not is up to the player's decision - with that ambiguity allowing the scenes to maintain both a platonic and romantic undertones depending on the player's reading of their dynamic.
The problem is just very simply that said dynamic is not well written, platonically OR romantically.
It is well written though.
Honestly I don’t really blame her for falling for sonic. This sheltered and traumatized girl who basically forgot how to truly live but is saved by a brave hero who then reminds her how to actually enjoy life. Can you really blame her for developing feelings for the guy regardless if he wasn’t human?
So... hot take.
I don't mind the kiss at all.
Normal people don’t.
I gotta admit, as someone who isn't super into Sonic, y'all did a damn good job of making the game's plot sound legitimately compelling up until the last five minutes of the video. = P
You know that the principal reason for have realistic humains characters in Sonic games (from Adventure at 06), it's because Saga wanted to show the technical power of the console/game, to show how realistic humans could be made.
"You don't understand, we HAVE to make Dr. Eggman look like a bloated corpse to show off what we could do with 3D now!"
Nah, it’s what they had been doing since Adventure 2.
YES, Elise is s good character victim to a bad game and poor writting, she deserved better🥹💙
Really good analysis. Not ignoring the flaws, but still giving Elise the credit she deserves. "My Destiny" is one of my favorite Sonic songs as well.
There aren't really any flaws tbh.
@@bunsmasterbunnyYou’re actually delusional for saying this. Have you sat through the loading screens? That could take over an HOUR of your life (people have counted) of literally nothing and that’s if you never Game Over. Have you played the Silver the Hedgehog boss fight. Have you witnessed how dreadful it is for Shadow to home in on anything. Or that half the time “cutscene” portions like Wave Ocean’s loop the loops can result in your death.
All the more power to you for being able to stand all of that, but Sonic 06 isn’t graded as a pitch draft. It’s graded as a 15th Anniversary video game, where the gameplay is the transition from story beat to story beat. And the gameplay (news flash) doesn’t even function. And even the final product of the story is so stupid. The existence of time travel makes Mephiles an idiot for not abusing it. The fact that Elise could mistake Sonic for Silver yet never open her mouth when they meet ACTUAL Silver. The fact that Elise somehow held onto a Chaos Emerald for decades that Sonic needs to complete the Adventure Games (which 06’s Shadow is from SA2 so no excuses there).
I love that this “franchise killer” is being revisited and reviewed on its own merits more recently but we gotta be real here.
@@thatnerdyouseeeverywhere7536 You misunderstood what I said completely. I said there are no flaws in the context of Elise's storyline. The full story is messy but Elise isn't the problem.
Also, the chaos emerald thing is literally called "Closed Time loop". Look it up.
@@bunsmasterbunny1. No you didn’t. You just said “there are no flaws tbh”. The OP said “not ignoring the flaws” as in referring to the game as a whole so what else should I have interpreted it as?
2. That loop idea’s literally a fan theory. None of which is canonically supported as Sega doesn’t ever want to talk about this game. Also doesn’t address other critiques about the game’s story so you’re doing the most cherry of pickings. And Elise is at the heart of it all. The plot holes and stupid choices affect her and the validity of her arc. Neat concept but far from “no flaws”.
Sorry but you can’t weasel your way out of this. You’re wrong, end of story.
I've honestly grown not to hate Elise over the years. I still don't like her too much because I feel she's a bit boring, but she is nowhere near my biggest problem with the game which is pretty much the gameplay and majority of the story. Heck, unpopular opinion, but I have way more problems with Mephiles as a character than I do Elise. I feel like if the kiss wasn't added in the game she wouldn't be nearly as hated as she is. At most she would just be known for being apart of the disaster that is Sonic 06.
Elise at least has a character arc to follow with general desires for freedom and connection, which gives something to analyze even if it isn't executed the best. With Mephiles, it's hard to tell what his motivations and reasoning are beyond being evil and angry at mankind for dividing him, so he becomes a flat character with an extremely convoluted plan that also never gets explained beyond making Elise cry through Sonic's death. And a lot of time travel.
I think he's mainly liked due to his voice acting being entertaining and having some cool visuals and mannerisms, but there really isn't much substance to back those elements up, which is kinda a significant issue when discussing the main villain whose driving the conflict and themes forward.
@@joshuareesor1756 Another problem is that Mephiles is another Villain who wants to destroy the world, because he's evil. Outside of Eggman there's plenty of those kinds of villains in the Sonic series alone, so he doesn't stand out that much either.
Honestly, I enjoy your content for this reason. your introspective looks and dives- rethinking, or even just examination of characters and glancing at what they could mean or be, while still holding an air of entertainment. Keep doing what you're doing.
I'm happily consuming every bit of this content.
Man Sonic 06 getting props from multiple amazing channels from Thor HighHeels to D4 is wild
In a world where it is becoming easier and easier to create creative works, I feel it is always a good idea to go over bad works from the past and pull the good out of them, to rehash them, perhaps mixed together with other elements, and see what comes out. It keeps the memosphere fresh and stops everything from winding up samey.
I still believe most players wouldn't have hated Elise as much if she had been a squirrel or something.
I freaking love the fact that Sonic and Amy's relationship in Frontiers comes off much more like an old friendship than the tired lovestruck fangirl of old. They work really well together when they're as characters bringing out the good in each other and putting their skills toward a shared goal, and I think you're really into something about that lesson being learned from 06.
Also His World is an absolute banger of a theme song.
I can't look at her without picturing Sonic laughing and just saying, "One!", because of the damn abridged XD
Let's be honest... Elise would have worked a lot better if she was either A) an animal of some kind like Sonic and his friends instead of a human, or B) didn't have ANY romantic implications in the game. Either of these options would have made her a memorable character instead of an infamous one. Pretty much the only issue with her story/character is her creepy love interest in Sonic.
Yeah it probably would have been better if it was platonic only😅
Another animal seems to always come with expectations of being able to keep up with Sonic mechanically despite the narrative goal. I think it could be done, since Amy started off this way but it wouldn't stick out since we already had a super genius child and a super polite child who kept up with Sonic in two separate games starting with "Sonic" and ending with "2".
I guess they could go with a weaker animal friend who grows into the role eventually to hit a middle ground (vaguely like Emerl) and maybe use time shenanigans to age them up, but I don't know.
@@gracekim25 Indeed. If it was platonic it would have been wholesome rather than weird.
Yes. Exactly. Elise and her family should be doves. That just makes sense.
Nah, she's fine as she is. Interspecies romance is valid.
Glad you made the comparison to Frozen. I've always thought SEGA's intention with Elise was to evoke something like a Disney princess coming of age story. The kiss seemed like it was supposed to be a Sleeping Beauty moment to me.
I think Elise would have been better received if 06 had a more cartoony art direction. Like, I expect most people would still have disagreed with the romantic angle of her story, but it would have been viewed as less weird if they looked like they both belonged in the same game.
I think it works better and is more unique realistic. Having two people look so different and yet love form anyway is a great message.
The fact it evokes feelings of Disney makes people hating the romance on the grounds of “interspecies” even more hypocrites since Disney does this too.
I just wanna say that i enjoy your videos and I can't wait to see your video about DKC: Return to krokodile island since your King K Rool videos are my favorites
I never got the controversy of Elise kissing Sonic...
Sonic kissing Elise to me is the same as Shepard kissing any alien in the Mass Effect cast.
Thing is the game was made with romance and such in mind, the writing reflected that.
Sonic the Hedgehog was not, and the writing reflected that.
People joke about the kiss but in reality it's just not like the franchise, Sonic's a free spirit whose always running, he doesn't really have the time for a relationship like that. It's not just because of two different species but the writing around the romance itself. Sonic was never made for romance, the closest he has is Amy and even then it's mostly one-sided.
I appreciate you correctly casting elise as the alien here
same, it's literally a kiss of life like in any other media, yet, Sonic has to be bashed by everyone for something everyone else does because Sonic
@@Ultimafire1258the relationship was platonic, it was ultimately Sonic cheering her up and showing it's okay to be happy because she had Iblis inside her, so she was never able to really show emotion without worrying she'll accidentally destroy the world by releasing a monster
@@Ultimafire1258Nowhere has it been stated Sonic wouldn’t work romantically.
I love Princess Elise. I've always had a crush on her ever since I was a child. I have always wanted to wear her dress. And cosplay as her for Anime and Comic Con Conventions. I love her. And I always felt like Princess Elise would make for a very beautiful. And a great Final Fantasy character. I for one never once had an issue with Sonic The Hedgehog 06. I love how strong, sweet, caring, beautiful, and willing to give up her life to save her home kingdom Soleona. And all her people who look up to her. She is a sweet, strong, and kind hearted woman. She grew as a character for the better. And I love her character development through Sonic The Hedgehog 06. Honestly when the Sonic fanbase was complaining about Princess Elise kissing Sonic The Hedgehog wasn't even a problem. One thing I dislike is when people call that beastiality, yet they accept the beastiality with demon horses. And demonic animals in Berserk, plus many other gross things. That makes no sense to me. Princess Elise is a great person. And one of my top favorite Waifus in all of Anime and gaming. 😍
Honestly, I've always felt the story was the least of Sonic '06s problems. I think it had potential. It just needed another draft or two.
This video has inspired me to install Windows XP solely for the background and do a play through of Project 06. Well done!
I kinda like thinking the Elise storyline is like a Chris Thorndyke's story in Sonic X condensed into a single game! They certainly would relate with each other like have you seen Chris's crying face scenes in Sonic X, I feel like they went too overly detailed on those scenes that it feels romantic for no reason.
Both characters are vastly misunderstood.
ah sonic 06, tried to be a million things, didn't end up being even one of them. Loved your story and character analysis of what could have been.
I feel that if Elise had been a cartoon animal in the style of the others from the beginning rather than this realistic proportioned human then she would have been a lot more liked, and probably there'd be strong Solise shippers today. But they really wanted to show off those high end graphics on the Xbox so pushed for making her model as high quality as they could and it did not work.
That’s a silly reason to not like her.
@@bunsmasterbunnyit's not that I don't like her. Truth be told I did not get the chance to play this game. I was thinking of how when the game came out I remember a slew of jokes about the Sonalise plot line and how it was bestiality (which I just want to clarify I don't think it is cos the Sonic characters are fully sentient), but I remember those jokes being everywhere. Elise did not click with people, and when the Sonic fandom is known for having multiple ships but barely anyone talks about this one, which is the central romance of a whole game, then something went wrong.
I was more thinking the problem with her design is she and the other humans in 06 don't look cohesive with any of the Sonic characters. It looks like a crossover where they're from two different genres of game. I think if the humans had been more stylised and inkeeping with the Sonic style, people would have gelled with it more.
But they chose this very realistic style to show off just what this new console could be capable of, and I think along the way they lost sight of how jarring these things would look next to each other. And I think that led to people being less willing to take the romance seriously. It was another thing to point to on top of the game already being buggy and flawed.
I've seen a lot of really cool fanart of Elise that either does her more stylised or as an animal and I think these look great, but also I think once again does a better job of making you believe these two characters could exist together. I just think that would have been better for helping her click with audiences.
@@emilystewart6175 That's on the viewers. The actual "Romance" (If you can call it that since it's entirely one sided on Elise's part) was written fine.
They look good together though. I really like Realistic person/cartoony anthro. Especially looks good in the CGI cutscenes. If the environments in other games and the animals like seagulls can be realistic I see no reason why the humans can't be. The problem wasn't the realistic art style, it was the fact that the majority of the humans looked bad for the tech (not because they were realistic). If anything her being realistic makes the message of "True Love overcoming everything" stronger.
I've been waiting fora video like this for a while and I didn't even know it! Glad to know there are others out there who appreciate what Sonic 06 tried to do... even if it didn't stick the landing.
Elise did.
IS TIME FOR JUDGEMENT
Sonic 2006 is extremely underrated, it could only be better but there's a lot of good stuff the guys exaggerate, I've already finished 2X
Here are some of my reasons why i consider Princess Elise to be a favorite character. And one of the best Waifus:
1. Unique Character: Princess Elise stands out as a unique character in the Sonic series due to her royal status and distinctive design.
2. Emotional Depth: Her character development in Sonic '06 adds emotional depth to the story, as she faces challenges and grows as a person.
3. Central Role: Elise plays a central role in the plot of Sonic '06, making her an essential character in the game's narrative.
4. Strong-Willed: She exhibits determination and strength of character in her efforts to protect her kingdom.
5. Kind Hearted: Elise's kindness and compassion are traits that endear her to some fans.
6. Love Interest: Her role as Sonic's love interest adds an element of romance to the story.
7. Memorable Moments: Sonic '06 has memorable scenes involving Elise, such as the iconic "kiss" moment.
8. Potential for Fan Fiction: Some fans enjoy exploring her character further in fan fiction and fan art.
9. Contribution to Lore: Princess Elise contributes to the lore of the Sonic universe, expanding the world of the games.
10: She would make for one of the best Waifus in all of Final Fantasy. She is the most beautiful girl in all of the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise.
This game may not be "good" in the traditional sense, but in my opinion it has much more personality than more modern Sonic games.
I also find it funny how this game was lambasted for releasing in an unfinished state whereas nowadays tons of AAA games do that and we've grown used to it.
As a fan of Sonic 2006 I like Sonic X Elise the fact Elise is human and while Sonic is anthropomorphic makes their interaction/relationship more unique
i mean, peoppe ship topez and rouge and made a compilation of their interactions. makes you think if only the game was done right, people would surely ship Sonic and Elise
Honestly I don’t really blame her for falling for sonic. This sheltered and traumatized girl who basically forgot how to truly live but is saved by a brave hero who then reminds her how to actually enjoy life. Can you really blame her for developing feelings for the guy regardless if he wasn’t human?
Exactly. It’s beautiful and makes sense!
Thanks for that honestly. That made me feel, and laugh. Which is the way I like it.
I think the narrative could have been a lot stronger if Elise was not in love and simple greatly inspired by Sonic, and that Sonic revived through Elise's tears falling on him rather than a kiss, going full circle from not crying, to crying through sadness, to crying over helping someone who's helped you so much... Of course there's plenty more to FIX in the whole story lmao, but I think that'd make Elise a much better character
There’s nothing wrong with her being in love. You can have both.
Probably the best analysis of the main plot of Sonic 06 I've seen
Wow, I can't believe someone is making a video that's...
Fur Elise
Starting the video off with the immortal pokecapn and the posse. Perfection.
Two videos I'd love to see from you in the future are one talking on why it is that gorons, zoras, gerudo, rito and koroks became iconic to the Zelda franchise when so many other "demihuman" races failed to take off, and one talking on the infamy of Lopunny and Gardevoir.
how can you make this story seem so good
06 burns like Iblis.
That grass Sonic and Elise walk around on several times, like at 12:26 does that really happen in the game, because it looks like the image from Windows XP desktop background?
Good video. I personally don't think there was anything wrong with there being a one way romance for Sonic (It's not the first or last thing to do it) and think Elise is actually a really good character as she is, but I'm glad to see someone see her objective positive aspects. I think the story has problems but Elise isn't one of them.
wrong elise is actually a really bad character. sally acron is better character
@@freezeblazestar1079 Nope, you're wrong.
Learn to spell.
@@bunsmasterbunny only wrong is you.
9:43 This article earned you a subscriber. Not like I had a choice but still.
Oh hey a pokecapn clip in 2023, this is a pretty good channel.
Oh my god? Is that an opinion? About sonic? ON THE INTERNET?
LANKY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?! 😂😂
Also a majority of the “cheese” in the adventure games were dub inventions so it’s not 06’s fault for not having them.
At least Shadow was well written! Small victories!
There's a billion and four videos out there saying "sonic 06 bad gaem" and while I can't say any of them are wrong, they rarely give any more analysis than that. Even if the end product was significantly less than palatable, I think there's still merit in looking at what kind of story the development team wanted to tell.
After ur 25th anniversary Pokémon video I hope we still get a designing for environmentalism at some point even episodes past Gen one
every generation has environmentalism its been a core of the franchise since Gen 1
Pokémon has always been an allegory about the preservation of nature and coexisting with nature
it’s such a deep and nuanced activist message from someone who cares about the environment teaching the rest of us to do the same
Gen 8 literally had a message about global warming with galarian corsola
it’s at the core of the franchise has been since Gen 1 and it’s very real and keeps happening and will always happen so new people will always need that message
The franchise is based on the creator’s childhood hobby of bug collecting and then losing that hobby due to industrialization
Such a deep message like that is one of the things that makes pokemon so unique
And many more examples in every game in each generation
Environmentalism will always be a part of Pokémon’s heart and soul because of the creator’s passion for nature and that’s not something that should ever be taken for granted by haters it’s a message that everyone needs to learn always that not everyone has learned since nature keeps being abused
There are a lot of people who got into careers about animals and nature like zoology and marine biology because of Pokémon
And we need that environmentalism in Pokémon to keep inspiring more people so that nature stops being abused
Because pokemon has always been about humans coexisting alongside nature
So again designing for environmentalism will be a fantastic episode
Sorry to bother u guys hope u see all this
I like learning 😊
I've always said that Sonic 2006's ending, removed from the larger context of the story, is actually a good way to end a story involving time travel and two characters' bond. It has good bones. The rest of the story leading up to it, though, just trips up a few too many times.
It's got the heart, and it has a beautiful message at the core of it... but it's wrapped in a very unfortunate package.
Elise's story is well done. It's the middle of other things that aren't.
@@bunsmasterbunny elise story is awful done
Please do more Metroid stuff. The Metroid series is a master class of all things game design, it’s a crying shame that you have hardly any Contant related to it on your channel.
Sonic 06 it's bad, they slip the Sonic team into two so half the team could make 06 and the other would make Secret Rings, the plot is very chaotic, but if dig deeper than the messy surface, you find out that they tryed, and there's a special charm for games that genuinely try, in spite of the final result
Can you do a sora in smash video,something like designing for conclusion
Alright, now you gotta cover the other infamous 6, Mega Man X6.
They really had the chance to make a good game with 06, unlike boom
P-06 exists, check that out for what 06 could've been if it was polished
The sad part is the show showed that those variations of the characters had alot of potential
Rise of Lyric at least still has good music, so it’s still better than Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood.
@@austingordon3709 any game has better music than Sonic Chronicles
Boom was a TV show tie in, nothing more. Not nearly in the same stratosphere
I don't even care for this topic but I love vids with passion for stuff.
Oh.. Oh, I thought you were going to rag on the Chao or the glory of Ray The Flying Squirrel. This... This is just going to be fun.
16:14 😅Ehhhh,....Not really as the next games showed Sonic, moved on from Elise fairly quickly and was busy restoring the planet from Dark Gaia, Helping the World of King Arthur, Saving Aliens from an Interstellar Amusement Park, Restoring the Space Time Void [Again] from The Time Eater, Stopping The Deadly 6, Saving the World from Infinite, Eggman & The Phantom Ruby, and Saving his Friends from Cyberspace and stopping The End from destroying Planet Earth.
I might be the only Princess Elise fan
You aren’t. She’s great.
Amogus
Look all i am saying is she is down for his “quills”
Correction: Project 06 is not a mod, it's a fangame.
13:54
I think it would've been funnier if the cover was revealed on Sonic's hand, but that's just me.
This will be interesting at least.
THERE WAS A TRAIN!
Can you look up the game Puppeteer?
I had a lot of problems with the game but the story wasn't really one of them, romantic relationship aside, it's not even that they're different species for me, it's that Sonic historically isn't interested in pursuing romance so it feels really weird and off putting that the game would put him in that situation.
Thanks for being the voice of reason with this game, you're not pretending it's a gem, but you're also looking at what it did right. When it comes to Sonic, it's almost memetic to overblow everything related to the series in a negative way, and it understandably makes fans overcompensate in defense. If we had people looking at it more this way, I feel like there wouldn't be so much insanity surrounding Sonic and the fandom.
Sonic is implied to like Amy back though.
PROS:
-Elise builds up Sonic greatly; he's a guy free as the wind and willing to help the defenseless. Sonic's Story shows this part of him well.
-Sonic has helped Elise grow strong to the point where she willingly gives herself to Eggman to save her people.
-I am also okay with Elise, JUST HER, having romantic feelings for Sonic, seeing how much of an impact he made in her. This makes the scene of erasing Solaris far more bearable when you look at it from her perspective.
CONS:
-Sonic should NOT return her feelings. It makes their relationship develop into an uneeded romance.
-The resurrecting kiss.
-Elise not being able to cry makes her less credible as a character, escpecially when you think of her possible reaction to her father's death.
NEUTRAL:
-She gets captured too often, but I never really cared. It gave Sonic a reason to keep going in his story, but I can see why people can get annoyed by this.
There is nothing wrong with the kiss scene. It's a beautiful culmination of her character arc throughout the game.
No, it does not make her less credible because the game shows that throughout her life her father taught her that crying was not something a "Strong Queen" would do (Shown in the flashback in the "In the Forest" cutscene) therefore making her more likely to internalize her grief.
@@bunsmasterbunny
I have to admit, it's refreshing to see someone have a positive opinion of the kiss scene. And thank you for your second explanation.
Every Sonic Game is rushed I never got what was SOOOOO special about 06? It's easily got some of the best level design in the series.
I honestly find it hard to go back to after seeing P06 but still.
Also Elise is my favorite human in the series. I just like her character arc, it's simple but impactful.
SEGA should reboot this game and give the time, worker and budget it to become the ideal version it was supossed to be
I still think that the stages of 06 have the best level design of any sonic game. They are just let down by the physics not being compatible with the level design.
The developers tried so hard to make this game the magnum opus of Sonic games, and ended up making it the biggest example of how much the series fell off.
Colors Ultimate says otherwise
U think they could ever give sonic 06 a second chance by remaking it fixing the flaws
elise is top very sad overhate heroine
Ironically, I actually think Sonic 06 is the best game in the series. Buggy and broken, sure, but it actually had cool levels, fun gameplay, and an intriguing plot. Imo I think almost every other gake in the series is downright boring
I like Elise, it's a nice car
It really feels like it's just fashionable to hate on Sonic '06 at this point. Yes, it's a bad game, but I feel like its poor quality is romanticized to the point where anybody whom had not played a single Sonic game before might incorrectly assume that ALL Sonic games are terrible. Like everybody's just competing to see who can bash the game the hardest.
All this game needed was some polish and it could have been at least decent. Heck, even in its current state, it would be a game that i would enjoy breaking and glitching the hell out of if it wasnt those load times.
Ill stand by Sonic 06 is better then Sonic Forces though.
Honestly, out of all the sonic games I had to deal with, Sonic 06 is the one that almost made me quit the sonic franchise...I repeat almost.
I didn't know what I was going to face with and when I did, I can't push myself to beat the first level with ho not only how bad the level is, but the march speed sections were the pain to deal with, and when I push on through, I was enjoying it...but not because I grow to like it. it was so glitchy, I find myself amused with the physics and was messing with the game's hub areas with not only Sonic, but Shadow and Silver.
People say that "oh the game is just buggy; they just need to fix the bugs. project 06 proves that!" but that's not the only bad thing about it. The story is just messed up. sure, Shadow's story while flaw is cool and I like time traveling base stories as I find them interesting, especially of having Silver to be the main focus with that, but it just didn't sit well with me, especially when I have to deal with Elise getting kidnapped more times than Peach in one game and Sonic has to rescue her.
Still, I admire of trying to give us a character that puts her in the player's perspective as they face challenges head on. Did they need the romance with Sonic? NO! If they just take that out of the way, Elise could have been a bit better, maybe tolerable to deal with, but alas it is what is.
In retrospect, this reminds me with how people deal with Chris Thorndike in Sonic X, but at least to me, compare to Elise, is handle much better. Perhaps it's just me, but I like how they use Chris as the fans or viewers perspective. he is flaw, I will not lie, but he isn't as annoying as everyone wants you to believe. If Elise takes Sonic X's advice and not include the romance plotline, we might have something great.
Just a suggestion but it would be really cool to see an video on fake peppino from Pizza Tower
20:56 ...........Thanks... that's going into the cringe pit.