- “If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic!”
- ―Amy Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Amy Rose (エミー・ローズ Emī Rōzu ), formerly known as Rosy the Rascal (ロージー・ザ・ラスカル Rōjī za Rasukaru ), is a fictional character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. She is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with a major crush on Sonic the Hedgehog. Since meeting Sonic on Little Planet, Amy has become his self-proclaimed girlfriend and has attempted to win his heart by any means during their adventures. She wields the Piko Piko Hammer, a powerful melee weapon which she uses with skills second to none and never leaves home without.[1]
Amy is a cheerful, though slightly erratic girl, with a positive attitude and boundless energy. However, she has a scary temper and her infatuation with Sonic makes her shortsighted and a bit obsessive about him, having followed him everywhere since meeting him. Nevertheless, she has a pure heart and will not let anything stop her. But then moved on to Shadow.
Concept and creation[]
Amy Rose was created in response to a request from the character division of Sega's licensing business, who wanted a character that could be the "Minnie" to Sonic's "Mickey". But no! Sonic hated Amy chasing him around .[2] However, it was felt that it would go against Sonic's personality for him to locked into a standard cartoon relationship like Mickey and Minnie but no... Instead, it was decided that a one-way relationship, where Amy's affection for Sonic is unrequited, would be more interesting But not anymore.[3]
Naoto Ohshima created the original character design,[4] which was then finalized by Kazuyuki Hoshino.[5][6] According to Hoshino, there were many voices involved in the creation of the character, including staff members from various departments[7] and editors of the then upcoming manga series.[3] Amy's hairband and trainers reflect Naoto Ohshima's taste, while her mannerisms reflect the kind of traits Kazuyuki Hoshino looked for in women at the time.[7]
Although Amy was originally created as a character for the video game series,[8] she first appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog manga and illustrated stories series published by Shogakukan. The series began in the April 1992 issues[note 1] of Shogaku Ninensei, Shogaku Sannensei, Shogaku Yonensei, Shogaku Gonensei and Shogaku Rokunensei. The manga series would later feature in Shogaku Ichinensei and Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special.
The manga series had various writers and artists, working from a story concept created by Kenji Terada, who wrote the illustrated stories in Shogaku Yonensei. In these series, Amy is the girlfriend of Nicky, a nerdy young male hedgehog with the power to transform into the superhero, Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy is also the target of the bully Anton Veruca. In the stories illustrated by Sango Morimoto she had a very different design - most notably, she was brown rather than pink and her spines were styled into a ponytail. She is simply known as Amy throughout most of the series, with her surname "Rose" not being mentioned until later issues of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special, released after the Sonic the Hedgehog CD video game.
Amy Rose made her video game debut in 1993's Sonic the Hedgehog CD, as a non-playable character. In this game she is an 8 year old hedgehog girl kidnapped by the new antagonist, Metal Sonic. In the Japanese release, she was primarily known by her nickname Rosy the Rascal, although it is still stated that her real name is Amy Rose. She later appeared as a playable character in several ensemble spin-off games such as Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic the Fighters and Sonic R. She did not appear in any of the early TV series, although she was included in most comics, including the Archie Comics series, the British Sonic the Comic and the French Sonic Adventures.
When Sonic Team reunited and started work on their three-dimensional follow-up to the classic Sonic games, Sonic Adventure, it was decided they would revive the pink hedgehog and give her a starring role in the game. Like the rest of the returning cast, Amy was given an updated design by Yuji Uekawa. While Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all received minor design changes, Amy's clothing and hairstyle were completely revamped. She also had her entire figure redesigned to make her appear older. In addition to her redesign, her official age was changed from 8 to 12.
Appearance[]
Amy is a pink-furred anthropomorphic hedgehog with green eyes and peach skin on her muzzle and arms. Unlike other hedgehogs, her spines are not spiky in appearance (though they were when she was younger) but are rather worn down like that of ordinary hair, somewhat resembling a bob cut.
For attire, she wears a red, sleeveless dress with white trims, tall red boots with a white stripe down the center and white cuffs, a red hairband, and white wrist-length gloves with gold bracelets for cuffs.
When she was younger, Amy had black eyes and wore an orange ruffled or pleated skirt, a green shirt with puffed sleeves and a white collar, white and blue sneakers with orange shoelaces, white wrist-length gloves and a red tie on hairband.
Personality[]
Amy in the main series is presented as being somewhat kind and girly. In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, she was referred to as an "optimistic tomboy" who loves fortunes and uses tarot cards. Because of her tomboyish nature, she became a playable character as a fighter in Sonic the Fighters. However, after Sonic Adventure, Amy had grown a more feminine personality, such as an interest in shopping and fashion, but that did not remove her tomboyish nature. However, in the later games, she has the personality of a girly-girl more so than a tomboy, unlike the earlier games. In the more recent games, Amy has become a bit more obsessive and far more aggressive, much to Sonic's dismay. She often shows her anger by pulling her Piko Piko Hammer out of Hammerspace, sometimes threatening Sonic with it. That being said Amy is rather temperamental, bossy, overbearing, and stubborn, much to the annoyance of a few characters.
In Sonic Battle, her attraction towards "Boxercise" plays to both elements of her ever-changing personality: the exercise helping her lose weight to maintain her girlish figure, and the boxing to help her train when she's forced to fight. In Sonic Battle, she had shown a very powerful and aggressive attitude, willing to fight whenever necessary.
Despite her aggressive tendencies, Amy has a kind heart, never gives up, and is one of the most optimistic and cheerful characters. Amy is always full of hope and is always cheering on for the good side of things. She almost never seems to find anything hopeless, as shown in Sonic Adventure, where she was determined to help the bird who had lost its family.
In Sonic Adventure 2, Amy felt strongly that there was a chance for the world to be saved and that people were basically good (as she told Shadow). Amy is often a likable person she has rarely met anyone who she did not befriend (including Shadow and Blaze). Amy is a cheerful and caring individual, with a positive outlook on life, and an over sweeping infatuation for Sonic.
Since Sonic Free Riders, Amy seems to be more bossy and infatuated with Sonic than before. This is most likely due to the more light and humorous nature of recent Sonic games. Amy's personality has added more a humorous factor in games like Sonic Colors, Sonic Free Riders, and Sonic Generations with her obsession for Sonic, which causes her to say silly and embarrassing things.
Starting from Sonic Lost World, Amy appears to have matured. Although Amy maintains her crush on Sonic, she has learned more self-control over her demeanor towards him and is now more caring and level-headed.
Powers and abilities[]
Physical abilities[]
While not superhuman, Amy possesses above-average physical attributes, making her a powerful figure in her own right. She has high physical strength, wielding her apparently heavy Piko Piko Hammers with little effort and swings them around with enough force to smash clean through metal, send enemies skyrocketing, fly around like a helicopter rotor, create whirlwinds, generate shock waves or send herself flying by hammering into the ground. On top of that, Amy could slap Knuckles with enough force to send him flying into a tree without even trying.
Amy is capable of running at super speeds, which stems from her practice of chasing after Sonic and her innate hedgehog abilities.[9][10] While her exact top speed is unclear, she can run fast enough to even keep Sonic on a constant lookout for her, suggesting she is a remarkably fast runner. Amy can even run fast enough to create afterimages of herself. However, Amy has admitted herself that she is not as fast as Sonic.[11]
Amy has as well good acrobatic skills and agility, being able to handle and swing her large Piko Piko Hammer gracefully and without disturbing her when airborne, perform various forms of movements and tricks when launched into midair, and grind on rails with ease. Amy also possesses a very high degree of physical endurance and durability.
Combat skills[]
Said to be stronger than most people give her credit for,[12] Amy is a tough fighter, though her combat skills are not as developed as those of Sonic, Knuckles, or Tails.[13] Combined with her aggressiveness though, Amy can be a fierce opponent in a confrontation. While the martial arts she has trained under are more reminiscing of exercises, Amy knows how to defend herself against, and can go up against powerful robots and highly trained combatants.
Fighting style[]
Amy's fighting style focuses heavily on her Piko Piko Hammer. In battle, she uses her hammer's size and durability to her advantage, either using it to knock opponents far away or bringing the entirety of its weight down on the opponents, crushing them with devastating force. For more offensive moves, Amy twirls around with her Piko Piko Hammer, either turning herself into a spinning top that mows down everything in her path or stirring up whirlwinds and shock waves to blow the opponents away, though such maneuvers can leave her dizzy. However, Amy can as well fight opponents hand-to-hand, though she rarely resorts to this method. As seen in Sonic Battle, when fighting opponents close up, Amy utilizes kickboxing moves, using fast jabs and uppercuts.
Techniques and moves[]
Amy has one of the widest ranges of moves and techniques in the series, ranging from techniques involving her Piko Piko Hammer, to the basic Spin Attack maneuvers, to even mimicries of other characters' moves.
Most of Amy's offensive techniques revolves around the variants of her primary technique, the Hammer Attack, a downward swing with her Piko Piko Hammer on opponents. These variants serve to compensate for Amy's lack of superior physical skills and moves. Her Jump Attack lets her swing her Piko Piko Hammer in midair to attack enemies while airborne with increased attack range, and her Spin Hammer Attack and Spinning Hammer Attack lets her spin around with her Piko Piko Hammer to attack with increased attack range. For better movements, Amy can use her Hammer Jump and Mid-Air Hammer Jump techniques to let her somersault higher into the air by setting off with her Piko Piko Hammer from where she is positioned, and with her Propeller Hammer she can float through the air like a helicopter for a short time.
Some of Amy's more special moves include her Tornado Hammer where she throws a whirlwind at opponents to blow them off the ground, and the Rose Typhoon where she creates a dome-like shock wave by hammering into the ground. While she sometimes lacks it, Amy can also perform the various forms of the Spin Attack where she curls tightly into a concussive ball while in locomotion to damage, mow down, or burrow through obstacles and foes. The Homing Attack allows Amy to jump and home in on an enemy to get over large gaps she cannot normally reach, the Spin Jump lets her curl into a ball to attack opponent by landing on them, and the Spin Dash lets her shoot herself forward as an acceleration roll at high speeds to break barriers or mow down enemies.
Miscellaneous skills[]
Amy has on several occasions proved to possess excellent tracking and dowsing skills, especially when she is looking for Sonic. As demonstrated during her searches for Sonic, Amy is able to locate a person no matter where in the world they are. In fact, at least in Sonic's case, Amy is able to "feel" where a person has been. Amy's tracking skills are further enforced in Sonic Rush, where Cream told Blaze that Amy was sure to find Sonic for them.
Amy has displayed some skills in the mystical field, primarily in reading tarot cards. Using her tarot cards, Amy is able to predict the future and give herself the knowledge of future events, such as successfully predicting where Sonic would be in Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic Battle, and even curse others.
In the Sonic Riders series, Amy has steadily proven herself as a very talented Extreme Gear rider. Though she did not make it to the finals during the first EX World Grand Prix in Sonic Riders, she had at the time of the Grand Prix in Sonic Free Riders become so skilled at riding Extreme Gear that she was able to compete against even the world's best Extreme Gear riders. While riding on an Extreme Gear, Amy is skillful enough to ride on rails, focus on opponents while remaining in control of her Extreme Gear, and as well pulls off highly advanced tricks and techniques on her Extreme Gear while in midair.
In Sonic the Fighters, Amy demonstrated the ability to harness chaos energy from the Chaos Emeralds, allowing her to enter the Hyper Mode. In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Amy also displayed the ability to turn herself invisible for a short time.
As seen during Dodon Pa's Grand Prix, Amy also has excellent skills when it comes to driving and racing in racecars like the Pink Cabriolet.
Weapon[]
Piko Piko Hammer
Amy's trademark weapon is the Piko Piko Hammer, a large and powerful hammer capable of dealing massive damage with no excessive efforts, which she can call out from nowhere at will. In Amy's hands, the Piko Piko Hammer is such a powerful weapon that Amy can strike fear into the likes of Sonic and Knuckles by displaying strength and fury with it.
Though simple in function, Amy is highly adept at wielding it and uses it with proficiency second to none. She mainly uses it as a melee weapon in combat, but can also use it for improving her movements, performing long-ranged attacks, and even mimic the Spin Attack variants.
Color Powers[]
Color Power
By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Amy can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser, or even a planet, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Amy has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill, and Indigo Asteroid. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained.
Relationships[]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Since the cover date was one month ahead of the publication date, these issues were released March 1992.
References[]
- ↑ Sonic Advance 3 (Game Boy Advance) North American instruction booklet, pg. 16.
- ↑ Famitsu. "『ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ』誕生・ヒット・新生の真実をソニックチームのレジェンドクリエイターが、25周年のいま明かす 秘蔵資料満載の永久保存版!(2/5)" (Japanese). Retrieved on 10 February 2019. “中 『ソニックCD』と言えばエミー・ローズが登場しますけど、僕らアメリカにいた側からすると、それがナンパに思えたんですよ。ソニックのガールフレンドとしては、すでにグラマラスな大人の人間女性“マドンナ”が設定されていたんですね。それがあったので、すごく違和感を覚えた記憶がありますね。 大島 あれはライセンスビジネスを担当していた当時のキャラクター部から「ミッキーに対するミニ―にあたる女の子キャラクターがほしい」と言われてデザインしたんですよ。でも、マドンナの要素はエミーにも受け継がれていますよ。”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 MajinReid. "Sonic Boom 2013 - Part 2/3 - Q&A Session" (English and Japanese). Retrieved on 10 February 2019.
- ↑ Shmuplations (translation). "Sonic the Hedgehog – Developer Interview Collection" (English). Retrieved on 10 February 2019. “Other than Sonic, the only characters I directly designed were Dr. Eggman and Amy Rose. The others characters were thought up by different staff.”
- ↑ Naoto Ohshima. "Naoto Ohshima on Twitter" (English). Retrieved on 10 February 2019. “An image of Retro Amy's decision was found. Mr. Hoshino painted the picture. Retro Amy's design finish was Mr. Hoshino.”
- ↑ Naoto Ohshima. "Naoto Ohshima on Twitter" (English). Retrieved on 10 February 2019. “This picture is me, but Amy 's finish design is Hoshino.”
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Keith Stuart (06 November 2014). Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works (in English). Read-Only Memory, page 289. ISBN 978-0957576810. "Kazuyuki Hoshino: Although I created the in-game graphics for Amy, there were many people involved in the birth of the character, with staff members from various departments all contributing ideas. Just like Mickey needs Minnnie to exist, Sonic's world needed a heroine that could not be ignored. Her fashion - the head piece and trainers - reflect Naoto Ohshima's taste, while her mannerisms reflect the kind of traits I looked for in women at the time."
- ↑ Naoto Ohshima. "Naoto Ohshima on Twitter" (Japanese). Retrieved on 10 February 2019. “Game が先です”
- ↑ BioWare (26 September 2008). Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Nintendo DS. Sega. "Codex: As a member of Sonic's team, Amy lends both speed and strength to the group, using her innate hedgehog speed and her immensely powerful Piko-Piko Hammer to good effect."
- ↑ "Amy's running skill. She's got excellent running skills, since she's used to chasing Sonic." - Amy Run's Info, Sonic Battle.
- ↑ Sonic Team (June 27, 2003). Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. GameCube. Sega. Area: Station Square Adventure Field. "Amy: Wait up, Sonic! Not fair! I can't run as fast as you!"
- ↑ Sega of America. Amy Rose. Sega of America. Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved on 26 October 2017. “Once Sonic saved Amy from the clutches of Dr. Eggman in Sonic CD, the two became fast friends. Amy is graceful and powerful at the same time and though she often gets into trouble, she is stronger than most give her credit for. She has a big crush on Sonic and wouldn't mind if they became more than friends, but Sonic is too busy saving the world to think about having a girlfriend, let alone a wife and kids! With her Piko Piko Hammer and Tarot Cards, Amy has proven herself a valuable member of Sonic's team.”
- ↑ Stratton, Bryan (17 June 2003). "Amy Rose", Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games, page 91. ISBN 978-0761542865. "Amy's combat skills are not as developed as those of Sonic, Knuckles, or Tails."
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