The Hill Is Always Greener

What a horrible night to have a curse. Fortunately, we've got the cure for what ails you in this look back at the final Martin Adams novel, Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik! To save Porker's life, Sonic and Tails need to brave the halls of Castle Robotnik, a horror film set filled with gruesome encounters, thinly veiled parodies, and a surprising amount of continuity. Can they survive bad jokes, Hollywood critiques, and yet another Sonic doppelgänger, or are they fated to meet a terrible end on this darkest and stormiest of nights? (Just don’t ask the Pharaoh, he's into some WEIRD stuff.) (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic in Castle Robotnik (0:11:02) Chapter 1: Terror in the Dark (0:19:58) Chapter 2: A Visitor in the Night (0:27:50) Chapter 3: Robotnik Eggsplains (0:35:44) Chapter 4: Bring on the Eggstras (0:42:35) Chapter 5: I Used to Be a Werewolf But I'm All Right Now-oooooh! (0:45:28) Chapter 6: We're Off to See the Wizard (0:54:01) Chapter 7: The Butler Did It! (1:04:00) Chapter 8: Dinner with a Vampire (1:08:07) Chapter 9: Nightmare on Robotnik St. (1:11:27) Chapter 10: Last Action for a Hero? (1:16:38) Chapter 11: The Rat Pack Movie (1:22:24) Chapter 12: Into the Black Tower (1:23:42) Chapter 13: I Want My Mummy! (1:27:51) Chapter 14: Things That Go Bump in the Daytime (1:31:05) Chapter 15: What's in the Box, Dude? (1:37:19) Chapter 16: The Tower of Power (1:42:09) Chapter 17: March of the Killer Pigs (1:47:42) Chapter 18: Let Me Borrow Your Mind for a Minute (1:51:03) Chapter 19: Return of the Psychobunny (1:54:31) Chapter 20: Total Melt-Down (2:00:45) Chapter 21: Robotnik Eggscapes! (2:05:59) Chapter 22: FrankenSonic Lives! (2:09:24) Chapter 23: Over-the-Top Deranged Mayhem and Madness! (2:14:32) Chapter 24: All's Well That Ends Well, Dudes (2:16:41) Final thoughts (2:21:08) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Sonic the Comic the Podcast STCTP interview with "Martin Adams"

Time to put the kiddies to bed, because you're about to enter the After Dark Zone, Act 1! In our first officially explicit episode, Prismaeya returns for what starts as a fairly bog standard discussion of all the times they’ve used sex appeal in Sonic the Hedgehog, only to quickly evolve into a surprisingly nuanced discussion about the nature of sexuality in ourselves and the media, gender presentation and how it defines personhood, and confrontations with our own internalized misogyny... all while also joking about boobs and butts and stuff. If that's not your scene, maybe skip this one, but for those of you that decide to stick around, feel free to pull up a chair. (Not the one the rooster is using, though.) (0:00:00) Disclaimer (0:01:04) Intro (0:05:06) Main topic: The horny episode (0:09:43) The before times (0:18:13) AoStH (0:21:37) SatAM and the comics (0:53:07) OVA (0:56:03) The Sleet and Dingo debauchery hour (1:03:20) Dreamcast Amy (1:19:05) Rouge (1:46:00) Vanilla, Vector, Tangle and Whisper (1:54:06) Shadow (1:56:20) Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles (2:05:26) Princess Elise (2:16:58) Shahra, Merlina, and Lah (2:19:24) Why is Sonic such an awakening for young people? (2:32:12) Lanolin (and the misogyny of online discourse) (2:46:36) Sonic Channel 2026 (2:49:04) Our Sonic celebrity passes (3:02:12) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree IDW Sonic: On Lanolin the Sheep, and the problem with Sonic Twitter

If you want something done, right, you've got to do it yourself...so why not create another you? That's Robotnik's plan in the beloved "Project Brutus" storyline of Sonic the Comic, which we're revisiting in today's episode! Robotnik has created a new second-in-command, Commander Brutus, and instilled him with all of his brain patterns and personality, resulting in the most terrifying foe Sonic and the freedom fighters have encountered yet. Does the cool blue one stand a chance against this super trooper, or is Robotnik about to learn the hard way what it means to be your own worst enemy? (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Project Brutus (0:07:05) Part 1 (0:25:18) Part 2 (0:34:49) Part 3 (0:45:15) Part 4 (0:56:13) Final thoughts (1:08:53) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree

Podcast! We can really move! Podcast! We've got an attitude! Following up on our discussion of the AoStH pilots, we're doing the same thing for SatAM! We dive deep on its earliest conception before watching "Heads or Tails", the first episode produced, which takes a very different approach than the rest of the series as Sonic and Tails sneak into Robotropolis! Then we jump forward (or back?) to "Sonic Boom" for a more tonally-familiar tale of Sonic, Sally, and Antoine following a secret message left by King Acorn! It's an origin story for the ages, so arm your episode-seeking missiles and get ready for a retrospective that's BEAN a long time coming! (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic:  (0:05:20) Development history (0:34:53) Heads or Tails  (1:11:41) Sonic Boom (1:39:42) Final thoughts (1:49:40) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Heads or Tails Sonic Boom Saturday Morning Sonic

Class is back in session! We're leveling up our newbie education course, and who better to test this intermediate level than the one who's been learning nonstop about Sonic from this podcast for the last 4 1/2 years? That's right, we're putting Jake under the spotlight this week as we talk about comic comparisons, the voices in our heads, and just how much he's retained since his education began, particularly on a certain subject that...well, you could probably guess what his "number one with a bullet" topic is. (0:00:00) Intro/main topic: Sonic Education 102 with Jake (0:05:20) Archie or STC? (0:11:33) Minigame: Mobius Midterm (0:22:41) what style of music would you like to hear in Sonic that you haven't heard yet? (0:26:00) Minigame: Take Your Shot (0:44:49) What are your headcanon voices for comic characters? (0:58:40) Mobius Midterm (1:19:58) Final thoughts (1:23:28) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Featuring Hieifireshadow

Hope you believe in the heart of the cards, because we're talking about Sonic Shuffle in today's episode! The oft-forgotten middle child of Sonic's Dreamcast days sees our heroes brought to Maginaryworld to help save everyone's dreams. Unfortunately, this dream quickly becomes a nightmare as the group are faced with strange minigames, countless items, and some of the cheating-est CPUs you've ever seen in your life. So clear some space in your nearly empty apartment, and listen in as we decide whether to chase our dreams or crash this party. (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic Shuffle (0:10:54) Development (0:17:56) Story and cast (0:44:56) Gameplay (0:54:00) Force gems (0:58:28) Minigames (1:15:14) Boards (1:24:15) Sonic room and ending (1:32:37) Other story ramblings (1:39:17) Final thoughts (1:50:27) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Giant Bomb's Mario Party Party playlist

It's no secret that we're big fans of everything Eggman on this show, but any great leader requires a loyal number two (or three, or four, or five) at his side, and we all know the doctor does his best work when he's got a couple of loyal(-ish) minions to play off of. So today we're joined by Paddy of the Sonic Shorts as we look back at the history of the good doctor's sidekicks and rank them to see which toady takes the top tier. From Badniks to backstabbers, cronies to confidants, doppelgängers to dumbbots to daughters, over 20 of Robotnik's right hands are run through the wringer as we settle on the S-tier stooges once and for all. (0:00:00) Intro/Paddy's history with Sonic (0:03:44) Main topic: Ranking of sidekicks and henchbots (0:07:42) Metal Sonic (0:10:52) Grimer (0:16:51) Scratch and Grounder (0:22:03) Coconuts (0:26:20) Crabmeat (0:30:13) Cluck (0:34:42) Snively (0:45:30) Eggor (0:51:15) Commander Brutus (0:57:16) Front and Center (1:03:02) Sleet and Dingo (1:10:35) Decoe and Bocoe (1:20:09) Bokkun (1:29:03) Mecha "M" Robotnik (1:35:34) SA-55 (1:41:54) Orbot and Cubot (1:55:22) Infinite (2:05:30) Dr. Starline (2:17:34) Agent Stone (2:24:13) Sage (2:38:05) Rearrangement and honorable mentions (2:47:03) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree ⁨Paddy_RL⁩ on YouTube

We are vengeance. We are the night. We are...here to discuss the DC X Sonic the Hedgehog comic series in this latest episode! It's hard not to be cynical seeing two disparate IPs slammed together for maximum brand synergy, but when the meeting of the Justice League and the Sonic Heroes is this charming, it's hard not to find yourself smiling at every page. Can these new super friends put a stop to the evil Darkseid's ambitions? How many headcanon voices for these characters can we name in a single episode? And seriously, why isn't Superman flying around in nothing but gloves and shoes? (0:00:00) Intro/Main Topic: DC X Sonic the Hedgehog (0:13:15) Part 1 (0:42:22) Part 2 (0:55:43) Part 3 (1:20:45) Part 4 (1:38:11) Part 5 (1:48:43) Final thoughts (and some Metal Legion talk) (1:58:31) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Happy Batman Day! Sonic Central - September 24th, 2024 DC x Sonic The Hedgehog - Chaos Crisis | DC

Spin dash for initiative! It's time to explore the world of the Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Gamebooks, a set of UK-exclusive stories that bring Sonic's escapades to the world of pen and paper role-playing games. But this is no ordinary retrospective, far from it. Instead, we're actually going to let you live the experience with a live playthrough of the third book, Sonic vs Zonik! The cool blue one's reputation is being soiled by yet another evil doppelgänger, and it's going to take all his speed, quick wits, good looks, and other assorted stats to stop this faker's malevolent mischief...not to mention a few lucky rolls of the dice! (0:00:00) Intro/Main Topic: Sonic Adventure Gamebooks (0:09:34) Sonic vs. Zonik (0:14:22) Choosing Sonic's stats (0:23:44) Green Hill Zone (0:41:19) Chemical Plant Zone (1:01:07) Aquatic Ruin Zone (1:16:45) Casino Night Zone (1:35:26) Hill Top Zone (1:37:40) Mystic Cave Zone (1:43:44) Metropolis Zone (2:11:33) Sky Chase Zone (2:19:49) Final thoughts (2:25:22) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Sonic Gamebook Origins by ThePowerPlayer

Time for a new episode, Super Sonic style! Stuart Gipp of Retronauts joins us for a discussion about Super forms! This golden godlike state has become a lasting part of the Sonic series' identity. So to celebrate that, we're taking a look at the many super forms featured in the series, from their obvious influence to their many adaptations, along with some other super-ish transformations seen over the years. But be careful, because this episode will only last for as long as you have rings to spare! (0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Super forms (0:08:56) Super Sonic (0:30:39)Other characters' super forms (0:48:02) Comic super forms (mostly STC)  (1:22:39) Super-adjacent forms (1:43:30) Who deserves a new super form? (1:49:20) Jake's take (1:54:45) Outro Amie Waters on Linktree Merry Hell Raining Blood - Slayer | Sega Mega Drive Soundfont / Sega Genesis Soundfont Retronauts Episode 524: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Part 1 ThanksKenPenders