Dreams of a Silver Absolution - A Character Analysis of Silver the Hedgehog

#SilverTheHedgehog #Sonic30th #SonicTheHedgehog Join me for a deep dive analysis on the journey of Silver the Hedgehog's character since his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (Sonic 06). Silver has had a tough go of it since his first appearance in Sonic's 15th anniversary game back on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and faded into relative obscurity in the mainline game series until Sonic Forces. In this video we'll discuss the highs and lows for this straight talking, time traveling Hero. As well as what can be done to reboot this eternally optimistic Hedgehog in a future game! With Sonic's 30th anniversary coming up, I can think of no better time to show our friend Silver some love.

[maxmanly]

I love the idea of Silver and Shadow having a growing relationship. Shadow outgrew his rivalry with Sonic long ago and Silver gives him new opportunities to grow. Silver isn't just shy Sonic, he has a lot of baggage to deal with and I think Shadow would be able to understand that easily

[Rattman_]

He is so naive, but, we always liked that about him. Right?

[darkkirb]

Silver to me is a very interesting case of the Sonic cast. He debuted in a game that left a huge scar on the franchise that hasn’t left to this day despite it being a 15 year old game. Silver is a well-meaning optimist who is just naive and was just given misinformation that he believed would save his doomed world. He had a pretty good arc in 06 that’s been reduced to a part of a game SEGA’s doing everything in their power to bury. Silver is a good character who deserved so much better and shouldn’t be just inserted into stories for the sake of him being there. I also find it ridiculous that people give Silver flak for falling for Mephiles’ manipulation when Shadow literally did the SAME THING in his game a year prior.

[quonit]

It's amazing that they had Silver literally be trying to kill *Sonic the Hedgehog* the entire game, and he still ended up extremely likable because of how compassionate and caring he was for other people.

[quinnlim]

Silver is my favorite character by far

he's a precious, naive, optimistic cinnamon bun character, but one who will do what it takes to save his world

[HighLifeProds]

It's sad that fans have a better handle on Sonic characters than Sega does.

[quonit]

I love how in SA2 it's such a big deal that Sonic was able to learn Chaos Control to the point that it becomes a turning point of respect for the characters Sonic and Shadow, then in 06 Silver just IMMEDIATELY figures it out hahaha.

[trollwist]

silver deserved better, his own game, same to you, deserved more subs bro!!

[tylerwilson]

My freaking opening killed me lol, almost busted out laughing at work lol

[Cyberleader]

Here's how I think they could make him part of the main cast. He finally saves the future for good and travels back to live his life but because the future is now changed no one knows who he is and all the friends he made are completely different people now. He's happy that the future is safe but decides he can't stay and travels back to the past and stays there with the new friends he's made

[Nothavinit]

Silver is my favorite character due to how much we have in common. Too much in fact. Ever since his debut, I enjoyed him and his gameplay. I also adore his theme song. The lyrics are very passionate, and the song itself is Techno/Trance. My favorite music genre. If he got a game of his own, I'd be thrilled.
Funnily enough, my favorite video game is Garry's Mod because I enjoy creating art and animation for fun. I love how Silver has gotten pretty popular as time has passed. Excellent video

[Zunoa]

Man it's so cool to have someone give Silver the attention he deserves; he's legit one of my favorite characters and this vid did him justice. 🙏 Both his character and gameplay are just leaking with potential but SEGA just refuses to use him. (Plus I'm so GLAD you brought up how he fell for Mephiles, people get on to Silver for it so much without looking at it from his perspective. Like what would you do in his situation, kill a god for the rest of your life or attempt to kill one person to end it all?)

Anyways, I would love if this new decade of sonic brings us more Silver content alongside exploring his relationship with Shadow and Blaze. You can see that Shadow realizes this naive kid has been through hell and back and wants to guide him on his own path rather than fall for Mephiles'. And as for Blaze, her big sister relationship with Silver couldve been fleshed out more but I still find it enjoyable. But anways, seeing lines from Gens where she mentions how familiar Crisis City is and how in JP Team Sonic Racing Sonic remembers Silver's lines from when he was about to kill him makes me really excited for more recognition of 06 and a possible salvaging of Silver's character.

[bahamutbomb]

I wasn't the biggest fan of 06. And I do think that is a big part of the reason that many dismiss Silver. This video does a great job at highlighting how even though the game itself was mishandled terribly that Silver himself actually progressed. Well done.

[Rxnaldo]

I wish i could just send this video straight to Sega. This video was bloody fantastic.

[numbug]

Honestly, I'd argue Sonic is an introvert despite his immense personality and devotion towards friendship.

[NightFuryLover]

You really captured everything that I love about Silver. Even with the game having a bad rep, I never let that define how I saw him. Going in depth as to why he trusted Mephiles, his determination, and hopeful nature despite never really having a reason to believe in hope. He has so much potential as a character and a player. He's definitely the one I want to see more of and explore more.
I don't know when SEGA will give Silver a proper role in a game again, so for now I turn to the IDW comics. Silver may be more optimistic and occasionally sillier than he was in the games, but I see this as Silver letting down his defenses and able to enjoy a life with friends and a beautiful world he never had. It also still shows how powerful Silver can be when he tries.

[brb.]

I'm on a quest to comment "best hedgy" on every Silver-related video i stumble upon

[sharax]

Excellent analysis of a character who deserves better! It's great to take the characters in isolation especially with 06, as it really shows there was actually some good in that game! Would love to see Silver get a fair shake in a new game as this video has highlighted just how good his character arc and development is, it's ripe for a new story.

Also, a boot to the head made me laugh out loud 🤣

[TheCrossSoldier]

Thank you for this! I'm glad for that someone else out there defended Siver's decision to go with Mephiles in his story. I probably would have done the same thing in his situation considering that just going back to what he was doing before wasn't solving the problem.

From what I've seen, many people have an issue with him being completely blind to Mephiles' creepiness since even his more mundane appearance is off putting. Seriously, the guy has creepy looking eyes and no visible mouth. That alone should have been enough to set off red flags in his head. I think something that would have improved audience reception towards the character in his debut would have been for him to acknowledge Mephiles' creepiness. At least have Silver have a private conversation with Blaze or at least acknowledge to himself that Mephiles is creepy, but he feels that going along with Mephiles is the only way for him to have something of a chance of bringing genuine change to his world.

Something interesting about this complaint I've also seen, is that people really don't blame Blaze when she makes the same decision that Silver did of going along with this. Then again, Blaze is treated very strangely in this game. Silver is the only person Blaze has actually dialogue with and he's the only one who ever acknowledges her presence in the game. That's a pretty big writing fumble in this game.

There's also the case of Blaze's backstory. Oh my goodness! Blaze's backstory perhaps make her one of the most confusing characters in the Sonic franchise. Speaking of her backstory, there's something you need to understand about Sonic 06. Despite appearances to the contrary, this game is still canon. The events of this game were erased, but the events must have had to happen in the first place to even have been erased to begin with. If this game wasn't canon, Sega would just flat out pretend it didn't happen like the Game Gear games, Knuckles Chaotix, and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

If you ever do a video on Blaze or just her backstory in general, I would recommend going over the following sources. These have differing interpretations on explaining Blaze's presence in 06:

This first source is a tumblr reblog that was originally written by jadiil. The original blog is empty now, but this reblog is quite informative on how 06 is still canon. It also goes with the interpretation that Blaze is originally from the future which is an interpretation I once agreed with but have doubts on. Still I would recommend you still read this.


Another source I found interesting would be the video Sega Scourge did on Blaze in 06.


He goes with the idea that Blaze's backstory that she's from another dimension is still true even in 06's story. The evidence would lie in Blaze's clothing which still looks too nice to have if she always lived in an apocalyptic future, and being able to serve as a vessel for Iblis which 06 seems to indicate you have to be royalty to do so which further indicates that the backstory that she's a princess from an alternate dimension is still in play here. If you're thinking, "Then how did she get here to begin with?" Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe she got into an accident involving the Sol Emeralds which sent not only to another dimension, but in Silver's time as well. Maybe the Sol Emeralds sent Blaze to Silver since he likely be the one in the most desperate need of help.

Another thing he highlight's is Blaze's fate in Silver's ending in the game. Sega Scourge believes that Blaze did not seal herself in another dimension in the game, but rather died instead. Ask yourself this, "If Blaze was just going to seal herself in another dimension, then why did she ask Silver to be the one to do it?" The answer is she couldn't do it herself. Blaze cannot perform Chaos Control. Since she only had a very short window of time, couldn't use Chaos Control herself, and Silver was too reluctant to perform the act, Blaze was left with only one option: death. Blaze destroyed herself down to the molecule. She had to be so thorough with her own destruction since Iblis' regenerative abilities make him incredibly difficult to permanently defeat. The way she fades out out of the world made it look like she was transferring herself to a different dimension than dying. Also, from out of universe stand point, a more graphic death would not fit the tone of the series and would bump the rating up to a level Sega would not be comfortable. The death had to be portrayed more artistically and beautifully. If you go with this interpretation, it would actually explain why Blaze is in an alternate dimension in the other Sonic games. Since Solaris was erased from existence, there is no Iblis, and thus no threat large enough to threaten multiple dimensions, and the Sol Emeralds didn't see a need to send her to Silver's time.

Lastly, if you want to analyze the stories of Sonic 06 and other games in the series. Please, analyze the Japanese versions of the stories and definitely not English ones. The English dub stories all suffer from poor localization resulting in the video game equivalent of a clunky anime dub. I would recommend the following channel and playlist that shows accurate subtitles for Sonic stories:

[Driffty_Games]

I agree with everything said in this video Silver is my favorite character and the reason for that is he never gives up and always sees the light in dark times