Just like the beloved sidekick Tails, Amy also plays a cliche role for the hero, Sonic himself. Amy’s purpose is to be a love interest to Sonic. Introduced in Sonic CD, Amy chased him around, mainly to be used as a fangirl and a damsel in distress. In the beginning, she had an almost identical appearance to Sonic, similar to how Minnie Mouse is basically a female Mickey Mouse. She would follow his in-game sprite around and needed to be rescued in Sonic CD after being kidnapped by Metal Sonic. Aside from this, her only other seen personality is that she likes to read fortunes through tarot cards and enjoys helping those in need, like in the Sonic Origins cutscenes, where she returns a broken-down Metal Sonic to Dr. Eggman’s base.
Although she didn’t have a solid characterization yet, it was clear to see the amazing amounts of potential she had to be an amazing character. Amy eventually gets her own story and the proper development she deserves during Sonic Adventure, and many fans consider this era to be when her writing is at its best. Not only does Amy grow personality-wise, but she also does physically. During this time, she is aged up from the age of eight to twelve and gets a whole new character design, making her look less like Sonic and more like her own authentic self. Her story begins with her shopping, reminiscing about how life used to be fun, but now feels stale and boring. Later, she encounters an injured bird and a robot she assumes attacked the bird; she immediately decides to protect the bird, showing her willingness to help. She passes along the bird to Sonic, believing it will be safer in his care; through many scenes, we notice how reliant Amy is on Sonic, constantly wanting his attention and to be specifically saved by him. She’s still kindhearted, but is still as lovesick as before. What Sonic Adventure does well, though, is that it makes Amy go through an adventure by herself.
She’s captured by a robot that wants the bird, but she refuses and vows to keep the bird safe. The robot comments on how it’s illogical for her to feel for a bird she just met. In response, Amy says she pities the robot because he cannot feel love or emotions; her words strike the robot. The robot opens the cage, letting Amy out, and Amy befriends the bot. Even defending the robot later from Sonic. I believe that all of this shows her strong emotional strength and loyalty to those she cares for. She feels strongly about what she believes, she’s kind and caring, and through her adventure, she begins to become more self-reliant.
Even in Sonic Adventure Two, she encourages Shadow to do good and to save the world because there is good in humanity, bringing a lost memory back to him of how his dead sister Maria wanted him to save humanity, not destroy it. Unfortunately, after this game, her character begins to go downhill. In Sonic Heroes, she reverts to her dependence on Sonic, her sole personality trait being having a crush on him. Her uniqueness and compassion are replaced by fierce affection for the resident hero; she helps only Sonic.
Her character takes a minor upturn in Sonic 06, where she still has her affection for Sonic, but it’s much more laid back, and her determination and willingness to help are still present when she helps Silver find Sonic, but then protects him when Silver accuses him of destroying the future. This good characterization continues into Sonic Unleashed, but in this game, she is mostly a background character who doesn’t appear often. Later on in the 2010s, she became even more of a background character, mainly focused on being a cheerleader and obsessed with Sonic again for the comedy aspect.
Luckily, in Sonic Frontiers, we get a more fleshed-out and mature Amy who has all her positives from before. I’m very excited to see how Sonic Movie 4 will handle Amy’s character. I’m hoping for a very fleshed-out character who is complex and plot-relevant.
