Requesting Sonic Adventure DX be re-examined.

[hanzogakuen]

I see Sonic Adventure DX marked on the list as "recommended - Contains no Woke content". I request a re-examination, please.

• The game contains subtly anti-human and pro-environment messaging. The most prominent human character Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, is unambiguously antagonistic, using animals as a power source for robots (turning them into robots in some versions) and trying to destroy natural landscapes for polluting urban development. The player characters are anthropomorphic animals trying to stop him (along with one robot who rebelled against him). No other humans are given voices, or plot significance, and the game can be completed without talking to any of them. The only other human given a name is "Mr. Know-It-All", a nickname for a smug hint-giving character. When a city populated by humans is destroyed in the game's conclusion, Tails says "All's well that ends well", indicating a lack of care for humans.
  
  
• The game contains subtle metaphors for climate change. A recurring boss, Chaos, is a water monster which keeps growing from Eggman's influence; eventually becoming an uncontrollable flood that turns against its master and destroys a city for the final battle.
  
  
• The game contains subtly anti-colonialist messaging. Through flashbacks, we learn that Knuckles' ancestor, Chief Pachacamac, was the first to awaken the water monster Chaos, thanks to his ambitions to take over surrounding tribes with the Master Emerald's power. His daughter Tikal warns him against expanding the kingdom, and it's explicitly shown that Chaos only started being evil due to Pachacamac invading his territory and hurting its creatures.
  
  
• The game contains subtly pro-LGBTQ+ messaging. NiGHTS from NiGHTS Into Dreams (a genderless character referred to by Sega with they/them pronouns, rated as "Informational" on this list) features prominently in the Casinopolis stage. The Chao, a major feature of plot and gameplay, are based off the genderless Nightopians. Chao have no genders, and any two Chao can be bred. Individual Chao are also referred to with "they/them" pronouns by Sega. (See: https://web.archive.org/web/20201016175957/https://spiritsonic.tumblr.com/post/632062761415966720/hi-i-really-enjoyed-issue-33-of-sonic-idw-i )

Any one of these points in isolation might not mean much, due to the subtlety of the messaging, or how much the player has to engage with optional mechanics and the history of Sega. But with all of these points combined, and playing off each other, it's hard to deny there's Woke influence at play.

See Destroy All Humans 1/2, Humanity Must Perish, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, Wobbledogs, NiGHTS Into Dreams, and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog for examples of games on the list with similar themes rated as "Informational" or "Not Recommended".

My own view is that Sonic Adventure DX should be re-rated as "Informational". If the community has examined my analysis, looked over Sonic Adventure DX again, and still feel the game contains no Woke content, then I will accept the judgement.

[SarmaCube]

1. Complete BS since humans hate Robotnik as well. In the end of Tails's story we see them cheering after he stopped Eggman. Also, in Gamma's story if we talk to a skyscraper owner, he's gonna recognise him as an Eggman's robot and call for police (but nothing actually happens afterwards).
4. They are fictional creatures anyway.
2, 3. That is possible though

[hanzogakuen]

1. Valid argument. I would point to the Game Gear extra games where there are no good humans, but those are inaccessible in this version without hacking tools. Eggman's actions in other games shouldn't influence this game's rating, I don't believe?

4. Nightopians and Wobbledogs are also fictional creatures (as far as I'm aware). Yet NiGHTS Into Dreams and Wobbledogs are marked as "Informational" for their depiction of genderless creatures. You could argue that the Chao Garden is an optional part of gameplay, but they figure heavily into the plot, and Chao Breeding is more involved than Nightopian Breeding in NiGHTS

[› Furin]

You make some good points.

I agree that it can be said there are, at the very least, subtle undertones of pro-environmental, anti-colonialism, and pro-LGBTQ+ messaging.

I will update the review to informational.

[macintosh1257]

Wasn't Tails "All's well that ends well" line a mistranslation?

[gamefan128]

it's a stretch.