Amy Rose, Rosy The Rascal, Anti-Amy — her monikers are plentiful, although she’s stuck with the most former (and her iconic red dress) for quite some time now. But far asSonic Origins Plusis concerned, neither that name nor the red dress are anywhere to be seen. This version of the character makes some brief appearances in Sonic Origins by way of Sonic CD, but it’s never explained why her outfit is so different from present-day Amy’s.
So who is this not-lookalike, and why is her return so significant for the series?
Rosy the Rascal is, at a first glance, the original Amy Rose. Back in 1993,Segamade an effort to introduce a counterpart toNintendo’s Princess Peach with its own damsel-in-distress character. Unlike Peach and the political intentionality behind Bowser kidnapping her, Rosy just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets snatched by Metal Sonic. We don’t see her again until the end of the game, when Sonic drops her off safely before handling what’s left of Dr. Robotnik’s forces. Funnily enough, the Japanese version of Sonic CD referred to her as Amy Rose, and so the Rosy nickname was an addition made purely for American appeal (which clearly didn’t stick).
Following Sonic CD, she made some guest appearances in a handful of equally retro Sonic games, namely the Sonic Drift series, Sonic The Fighters, and Sonic R. As with the vast majority of Sonic characters, she quickly fell to the supporting cast pool. She didn’t play a major role in any form until 1998, which was also the point at which she dropped the nickname of Rosy The Rascal and started consistently going by Amy Rose.
As of Sonic Origins Plus, although she’s still going by Amy, she’s got her original outfit back and isplayablefor the first time, as far as the quintessential classic Sonic games are concerned (Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD, Sonic 3 & Knuckles). It’s such a big deal because it means that, more and more, Sonic Team is beginning to cherish its extensive past and the lore that comes with it.
While we saw a bit of this process beginning with Sonic Mania, that game was developed by fans who of course would go out of their way to lovingly reference as much Sonic history as they possibly could. Sonic Origins Plus and its predecessor are meanwhile developed by Sonic Team, which shows that the big studio is indeed listening to its fans.
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In a way, this even goes beyond just acknowledging the games. For those who don’t know, Amy’s “Rosy the Rascal” design has lived well beyond its heyday of the ’90s in the form of Anti-Amy. Anti-Amy was a comic book adaption of Rosy the Rascal, a cheeky acknowledgment of the fact that Amy had gone through more than one design and name. She was entirely villainous in nature and became infamous after a shocking debut in 2008. Of course, Ian Flynn wrote that story and, if you aren’t familiar with him, he’s about as immersed as a Sonic fan can be. The Sonic comics have long been well-regarded for their attention to lore and detail, and recollection of characters and tidbits that make the Sonic franchise feel deep.
Amy Rose being playable in these classic games isn’t a confirmed nod to Anti-Amy of course, but it is a nod to the fact that she has been a long-neglected character whose history goes even further back than the likes of Knuckles the Echidna, a character who’s received a lot more mainstream love in recent years. While I’m not normally in favor of rewriting history, the addition of Amy in games where she wasn’t previously playable (even though she had already been introduced) feels like Sonic Team is rightfully acknowledging its diverse cast of Sonic characters and the bolstering of lore that each one provides. It’s showing that, as many Sonic fans will tell you, Sonic games are much fuller when multiple characters can share the spotlight.
