Should The Sonic Freedom fighters Return? 

The only way I can see them returning is by having the freedom fighters be part of alternate dimension similar to blaze but have their events be retconned to make them feel fresh and new.

I remember almost a year ago I had a dream where the Saints Row franchise was bought out by SEGA, and the former workers at the now defunct studio Volition were hired to work on a new open world Sonic game in the same vein as SR but more family friendly, and in that game, many characters from Sonic’s past lore were in it including the Freedom Fighters. I vividly remember from that dream that there was a mission where Sonic, Sally, etc. ran up top a staircase and there were jokes that were also targeted towards the Gen Z audience in some dialogue, during that mission Sonic said something like “I guess Eggman really *SHEESHED* the opportunity!” (Play on “Seized the Opportunity”), and that caused Sally to go into a hysterical laughing fit, her laugh was a contagious wet phlegmy wheezing laugh btw, and her laugh went on for about 30 seconds.

I think the Freedom Fighters still could work in a Sonic game. I can imagine them being introduced as a "rival" team of sorts to Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles, trying to stop Eggman and also maybe have their own campaign telling their side of the story, similar to how it worked in the early-to-mid-2000's Sonic games like Adventure 2, Heroes and Riders. The story could take place in a reimagined setting of SatAM, the city of Mobotropolis located on the Mobius Island (a nod to what used to be the name of the whole planet) where Mt. Mobius from Sonic Spinball also is and could even be Eggman's newly rebuilt lair. Design-wise, I'd go for the original SatAM look of the characters, though I'd give Sally clothes INSPIRED by post-reboot Archie along with something similar to her ring blades that'd allow her to play like Sonic. And since roboticization isn't as prevalent in the games, perhaps Bunnie would be redesigned from having partially roboticized limbs to something similarly cool like an Iron Man exo-skeleton/armor similar to what Bunnie and Rotor had at one point in the comics. Characterization-wise, also like in SatAM, though maybe I'd make each Freedom Fighter's personality compliment that of the Sonic's crewmember each character is the most similar to, like Sonic's impulsiveness VS Sally's calculated planning (like in SatAM and Archie), Tails and Rotor would be trying to impress each other with their tech-smarts, same with Knuckles and Bunnie, both of whom would be powerhouses, though Knuckles' shyness around girls would probably also make Bunnie a little more like Rouge, in that Bunnie also likes to flirt. That'd leave Amy with Antoine and I'm sure their dynamic could work somehow. Antoine would look like he does in SatAM but maybe his personality could still be something similar to how he was in Archie. Or maybe he'd have a mini-arc throughout the game and he'd go from a coward to a hero. And maybe Amy would help Antoine with that. Or at least inspire him.

Antoine was better in the comics than the show I feel.

Short answer: yes they have potential and should return

Freeform Fighters really deserves a comeback in both animated series and games for consoles and PC

If you wanted to bring them back, the basis have already been done with Archie in its post-SGW era. Ian's said the only character that would be limited to their SatAM counterpart would be Nicole since Archie specifically owns her holo-lynx form, but other than that the rest of the cast can easily take after their Archie selves pre or post reboot. They could also have their villain be Snively or Naugus since both characters were planned to be the central antagonists had there been a Season 3, and Snively as an anatagonist specifically with his relation to Eggman can answer the question of how would Bunnie be roboticized. I've been a fan of these characters for a while and just like we've seen other characters come back like Mighty, Ray, or Sticks due to fan demand of wanting to see them return I'll always advocate for them and their merits as characters and what they could offer for the series.

Tails was barely in SatAM, but the times that he was really stuck out to me. It probably might need a lot more work to make it plausible in Modern Sonic, but if they did bring Sally back, I would like to see her dynamic with Tails again. It was one of the sweetest aspects of SatAM and it stings that the show was cancelled because, not only would Tails have been a major character, but his relationship with Sally would have been touched upon a lot more. It wouldn't just have been the Funny Kiss and tucking him in at night: we likely would have seen conflict between them. The way I see it, Tails was made an official Freedom Fighter by Sally herself after he devised the plan to stop Robotnik getting the Power Stones. He accompanies the Freedom Fighters on missions, but Sally knows that said missions are laughably safe because, with Robotnik gone, there's no danger. When Snively and Naugus make their presence known, it's all hands on deck for the Freedom Fighters, including Tails. Sally now has a quandary: she needs all the help she can get, but Tails' safety is her top priority. Perhaps she refuses to allow Tails to help because "it's too dangerous" and he doesn't take it well: she's backing out on her promise. Sally gets no support from Sonic, who sees Tails' potential and wants him to help. For the first time, we see Tails and Sally fight. It's not like the arguments Sally has with Sonic, there's genuine anger and tears. We see both sides of the conflict: Tails feels like he's being left behind and treated like a child, and Sally is frustrated because she's just trying to protect Tails and he doesn't understand. After that massive essay on SatAM, how do you implement Sally and Tails in the video games where the latter is a genius who can definitely look after himself? The closest I can come up with complements Sonic's dynamic as a big brother to Tails where Sally is Tails' mum. Not only is she nurturing, but she teaches Tails how to fight and protect himself.

I will say that robotization kinda exists because tails was gonna be turned into a robot in lost world

Here's how I'd bring them back. Retroactively have them be there the whole time. They're all native of West Side Island: - Sally is the island's Princess, who's castle overlooks Knothole Lake. - Bunnie is from the Mirage Desert and is Sally's eccentric best friend. - Rotor is a resident of Knothole Lake, who has an interest in robotics. - Antoine is a wannabe hero who can never step up to the challenge and is hopelessly in love with Sally In the midst of all this is Tails, who is something of a surrogate son to Sally. When Sonic arrives, Sally at first doesn't think highly of him being a role model for Tails, due to his careless nature. Their peaceful lives are interrupted when Robotnik attacks the island to use it as a means to launch the Death Egg. Knothole Castle is destroyed and sinks into the lake. This would become Aquatic Ruin. Bunnie's home is overrun with badniks when Robotnik sets up Oil Ocean in the Mirage Desert. Rotor is pulled into the fray when Robotnik begins siphoning water from Knothole Lake to his Chemical Plant. During the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, when Sonic and Tails take the fight to Robotnik, Sally and the others each fight off his forces on their own fronts. Upon the Death Egg's destruction, Sally sees how much Tails is capable of and allows him to go off with Sonic while she and rest stay behind to rebuild everything that was messed up by Robotnik. So they're still on West Side Island.

I think Bunny can work very well in the games, she has a fun care-free yet tough attitude. She's likable and she'd be a lot of fun to play in the games. As for Antoine I think he can be given a character arc showing him become brave and from there on out he can just be a re-occurring character. I'm sure they can work without a history with Sonic or Robotization. Rotor I can understand being much harder to work with given that he's only known to be a technician and Tails is already the Gadget boy. But given that the game's retcon their own cannon a lot anyway, it's possible to at least give him a history with Tails as it would explain why Tails is so tech-savy in the first place. And Sally I'm think we can both see eye to eye on. I think with the right amount of thought, time, and talent. Having all the freedom fighters make a comeback to a new generation of fans is possible. The real problem is weather or not Sega has access to that level of thought, time, and talent. That's the part to be concerned about when it comes to weather or not they should return. While I think Sonic Prime and the movies have the potential to pull it off, the main games on the other hand have much less certainty given that Sonic Team is in a debatable place in their history right now.

I feel like while I really have no stakes in whether they come back or not, I'm always in the belief that even IF the Freedom Fighters came back, there would be a two minds kind of situation. There would be people glad to have their original cast back, and much like any time the friends of Sonic get some spotlight, they'd be received warmly. I also feel that there would be a case of people disliking their return since it wouldn't be their Archie Characters with their stories but rather a more or less clean slate with more restrictions now, and much like the usage of the friends of Sonic, would not get treated as a good thing for their inclusion by the fanbase. I imagine that if we did get back them, it would be nice, but I also feel like the cast would start to become a bit too crowded, and characters would begin to be somewhat shafted, and I don't even mean the IDW OC Cast.

I think a new series with them could work. My reason? Just look at New Yoke City and the rebels in Sonic Prime and how cool that setting is! That's so SatAM! :D

If there ever was a revival of the Freedom Fighters, the big question is: would any of the original cast from SatAM reprise their respective roles, or would they go with completely new actors? We all know Christine Cavanaugh could never return as Bunnie because she’s very obviously been deceased for almost ten years. Bradley Pierce is so very obviously not the young boy he once was 30 years ago, so they’d have to get someone like Colleen O’Shaughnessy to play Tails. Jaleel White and Rob Paulsen might still be able to reprise Sonic and Antoine, but Kath Soucie might be the trickiest because she’s currently 70 years old, and may or may not have the same ability she had when she was 39 and 40.

I think that they really should all return. They all have just as much value for this franchise as any other, especially seeing as having them there can only add to the dynamics of the rest of the cast and I really just can't help but feel like the lack of them being here gives this feeling like there's something missing or incomplete about the whole franchise.

If the freedom fighters were to return I think the would join the resistance and Sally and Amy can work together and help each other(I see these two as best friends)

While they would indeed clash, (some more than others) part of the reason the FF works and is so beloved is it gives the Mobain side some much needed structure. At the very least the Kingdom of Acorn ruling the different islands like in the Archie reboot would go a long way in fleshing out mobian life and culture.

As someone who is too young to have seen the SatAM cartoon, and only has a few old Archie comics, I find them interesting, it’d be neat to see a smaller threat challenging them in a game about Sonic’s friends who need to grow, thus introducing them to the main franchise, and from there bringing them to the main mainline games

I think the FFs being a sort of helpful side faction would make the most sense if we’re reintroducing them into the canon. Kind of like a good version of Babylon Rouges. Wether in the classic era or not is up to interpretation.

They should totally come back.

I feel if they want to bring Rotor back and 'introduce' him, it has to be a specific story point where Rotor is knowledgeable in something that Tails has not covered. Does it mean tweaking Rotor character? Possibly. I think at the very least having Rotor being a genius at a certain field could help.

The Sally Acorn name first appeared in the Stay Sonic Book. The book would have the first appearances of Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis names who are Freedom Fighters in Fleetway's Sonic The Comic

Tbh i thought of an idea for them to appear and i think its decent? Basically sonic used to be friends with Rotor, Sally, Bunnie, And Antoine, Becoming a friend group [Maybe tails too, But i think like a WHILE back, Taking in the fact tails is 8 from our knowing he probably wouldnt be born yet] But they start to distance. Then, As an idea in the video, The kingdom of acorn gets attacked by eggman and the freedom fighters [minus sonic] Get back together, This time no longer as a friend group but a group of heroes. Sonic gets alerted about the attacks and goes to save it where he meets the freedom fighters and they team up. Character changes: Rotor would be more skilled in building stuff, Not mechanics. He’d be more of a weapon builder for the team, And could be helpful in battle as a fast swimmer when it comes to it Bunnie Rabbot got her robotic limbs from a surgery because of some illness or something that only affects her arm and legs, Maybe both arms but it didnt spread enough yet. Her main skill that makes her different then the ‘60th strong powered character’ would be her robotic limbs being able to stretch out. Antoine would take the weapon-Based person, Being a good fighter with basically anything, He’d still be clumsy, And a coward, But he’d be determined to be less of a coward and would jump through his fear- But it’ll take a minute for him to gain enough courage to. Might write a story with this plot and character updates lol.

It's a tough thing to consider. I kinda fell off of Sonic a while ago, in part _because_ Archie died. As a kid, I didn't have a lot money, so I couldn't afford a lot of the games. And when I did get them, a disability meant that I wasn't actually good at them. So I tended to experience Sonic vicariously, and because of that, I became far more attached to the narrative aspects of Sonic than the gameplay aspects, and here was where the FF had an advantage. Being characters that SEGA stopped giving a shit about in the mid-90s, they weren't subject to the same endless restrictions and bad writing that SEGA are prone to. This in turn became a strength of the book: It was easier to miss that Sonic was at best static and at worst _regressing_ into a one-liner machine when he was surrounded by other characters who remained consistent and dynamic, and it's why, in my opinion, the book's quality dropped off a cliff when Flynn decided he needed to write the FF out for two years. If they came back now, they'd absolutely be folded into the same restrictions as the rest of the cast, which is unfortunate. It's also worth noting that the FF are not considered equally by the fandom. People definitely want Sally, Bunnie, and Nicole back. They're less wild about Ant and Rotor. Ant's got supporters, but they're mainly Buntwan shippers who want the wholesome vibes of their relationship back, rather than specifically attached to Antoine himself. But there's no guarantee that said relationship would be preserved. SEGA's Sonic isn't exactly a romantic story. I think it could be done, and it could be done well. There are certainly ways to integrate the concept into the game universe without diminishing either group. But it could also easily be done badly. SEGA's writing has been quite hokey for a while now, and introducing 4-5 new NPCs to the roster would be a challenge. Also I'm kinda liking this shield of "My faves are all either dead or non-canon" that I have between me and said hokey writing. I think Sally would work decently. Nicole too. Bunnie could follow the same route as her Archie reboot counterpart, and have her robot parts be prosthetics. Rotor would only fit if they were kept separate, like how Tails and Wave can coexist. Antoine is much murkier.

Ok, lemme debunk the Why real quick. Why? Does it really matter why? The Chaotix were in an obscure spinoff and got brought back a decade later and was reimagined into something new. There was no reason for it either. Why doesn’t necessarily matter when similar things happened to other characters in the same boat as the Freedom Fighters. The Chaotix literally only had Knuckles Chaotix and Archie until Sonic Heroes. Thats the exact same setup as the Freedom Fighters. Now how do you bring them back. There’s a couple ways you could go about this. You could have them be a ragtag group of people trying to recover lost citizens and take back their kingdom from Eggman Post-Forces. You could make them some friends from Sonic’s childhood on Christmas Island Pre-SegaSonic Arcade which is a prequel to Sonic 1 and how Sonic met Robotnik, or have Eggman take over Mobotropolis in search of an ancient power and they have to take it back. Maybe make Nicole this powerful sentient AI that Eggman corrupts or bring back the Sword Of Acorns if they buy that license from Penders (Which is only a couple thousand dollars) Now as for characters, both Rotor and Tails are inventors and geniuses BUT they’re fields of operations are vastly different. Tails is based in vehicles and computer tech. He’s essentially a coms technician and mechanic. Rotor is based in weaponry so he’s basically an arms expert. They can co exist due to their inventions serving vastly different purposes and even then. Who’s to say they couldn’t become a power duo in inventing some crazy gadgets. Antoine can have his character arc redone. The Sonic series is known for their impactful character arcs, make Antoine a coward and have him grow into a courageous warrior as time goes on. That can actually resonate with the audience since all of us have dealt with fear and anxiety before. I don’t see the issue with another capable fighter in Bunnie. Like no one asked why Mighty or the Chaotix came back, I don’t see why this is a question when it comes to Bunnie.

Forces is ironically the perfect starting point to reintroduce them imo; given that Seaside Hill is mentioned ingame yet never seen on the "100% completed" globe (and how the levels are a grand total of 5 themes; 4 when not counting Death Egg; thus already having a poor sense of "globetrotting adventure" especially when most are Green Hill or Chemical Plant), having an unknown kingdom still occupied by Eggman's forces (pun not intended) while a smaller but dedicated resistance team is still struggling to reclaim it back could work. Obviously Sally would be the leader, and I'd assume Antoine (who would start as a goof but not entirely unreliable) would substitute for her if she's on the field for things like sneaking missions (something she was capable of in SatAM). Rotor would also still work within that context given they'd need a technicician and inventor in this iteration where they either didn't or barely met Sonic and Tails (at most they'd have seen Sonic speed by a couple times). This way you can establish that cast separately as its own faction, and if the modern cast doesn't show up in too big numbers (maybe just Sonic, Tails, and potentially Amy for the heroes lineup?), they can still fairly easily share the spotlight. Bunnie would be interesting to have as Sally's only other physical female companionship, and their dedicated bruiser when out on expeditions, but her inclusion would require setting up the villains as well, since it'd require technology (and it'd go against their nature-loving theme to have her get robotic parts on purpose); maybe she was saved from being fully turned into a robot (like Tails was about to be in Lost World) by Sonic who just happened to be passing by? You could have a substitute villain be an underling of Eggman working out his plans there; I suppose Snively could work, but giving modern Eggman a human relative would get things a bit messy with the SA2 Robotnik family (& Nega), so I was thinking it'd be a more advanced machine of his; maybe his sidekicks from Sonic X? Though three sidevillains might be a bit of a crowd, and adding Bocoe/Decoe/Bokkun to an antagonistic lineup that already has Orbot, Cubot, Sage, Eggman himself and somewhat Metal Sonic would definitely be a bit much, but I can't really think of any other familiar villain name that is focused on technology and under Eggman's command. (So perhaps it could be an entirely new character, who knows) (I would also assume Nicole would also simply be Sally's personal computer; perhaps an Eggman AI that Rotor managed to repurpose?)

Not only the Freedom Fighters from SatAM/Archie comics should return but also Fleetway comics should too.

In short: Yes, I would like for the Freedom Fighters to return. In other words: With the right story, time given, work and the right people on the project. It can and has worked.

I think the Freedom Fighters should be kept around in some shape or form since they are a staple in Sonic's History, and predate most of the cast from the games, but they probably should still remain a separate universe to the game world. Make a new show that retells the story of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters fighting against Robotnik. And who knows, you could potentially make games of them too, but once more, a separate universe to the game world. Maybe have a crossover where the two dimensions meet down the line in a similar way to Sonic Generations.

I enjoyed the Freedom Fighters and would wish they can make a comeback

16:38 Rotor’s face in the corner. “What the heck am I looking at?”.😂

I guess, maybe with a good story, inteligent choices, great personalitys and the right moments for them to shine, with this thoughs make it possible to the freedom fighters come back, leave in the coments if you agreed with me

Now we need to know if the Sonic The Fighters characters need to come back

And I think the freedom fighters should

Gotta think more in the long term. Even if they start off as base SatAM that just means there's room for them to grow in the current continuity. Of course, characters over the games/comics have somewhat taken over the spots for the Freedom Fighters (mainly after Forces), but there's also more to work with now in terms of world building. The FF can be from another region, Roboticization could be a newer thing since Robotnik hasn't actually done so aside from cramming animals into robots, Rotor and Tails can bounce off each other with ideas that the other probably didn't consider (which usually happens with smart characters), there's nothing keeping the cast from being adjusted based on how the current stories have gone and is just a matter of having them properly established. Obviously, things aren't going to be the same with having the FF around all the time like they were before, but it'll set-up their familiarity with Sonic and the other characters for future adventures. Sonic's not always going to be there or is busy with another event (like in the Tangle & Whisper comic) so there will be time to help give the characters some spotlight. If we're talking games, yeah SEGA has a hard time making side content for other characters and will really have to grow a pair and do so more often as they have tons of characters that are just either sitting on the side lines or only used in the comics.

I believe there's potential but they'd need a revamp to fit with mandates and the games I would say they're sonic's childhood friends who he's found for a while and maybe sally as a childhood crush

Man, I would love for them to return. But Sega would never let it happen lol 😅

Honestly, I can imagine the freedom fighters, or at least just Sally appearing in an upcoming classic Sonic game, I feel like it would be one of those situations where maybe sonic and tails are getting attacked and they come in

I still think the SatAM version has merit. They can even devlope in a different way, maybe even better!

Since Sega seems to consider classic and modern as seperate dimensions, they could introduce the FF in the classic universe where Sonic has fewer friends and is less capable, hasn't gone through character development etc. I just don't see a reason why Sonic would even join them. He has always been described as someone who keeps moving, so joining a group would slow him down in his eyes

My favorite take of the Freedom Fighters is the Archie Reboot. I would have them focus on Fighting Naugus and protecting their kingdom while Game Sonic is doing his own adventures. Sally and the Team fight Naugus on one side of the planet while Sonic and friends fight Eggman on the other side, but they never meet. Maybe a story where they meet for the first time and team in a situation and later go there own way.

I grew to accept their retirement. But if theres any silver lining of their return, yeah id be way into that. Especially for Bunnie, shes my favorite!

In addition, even if they did all come back somehow exactly as they were, you talked about how different game Tails is from SatAM Tails But game Sonic is also a whole different beast from SatAM/Archie Sonic. They're very different characters and since Sonic is so core to the Freedom Fighters and their dynamics, even if everyone else is the same, it'll make the group feel very different. Like, I have no idea what game Sonic's chemistry with Sally would be like at all. So much of the reason it works in the comics was because Sonic was basically a different person

The Freedom Fighters work wonderfully....in Sonic SATAM. 'Sega' Sonic is it's own beast, and without Eggman ruling the whole planet (Sonic Forces not withstanding) the concept just doesn't really translate.

That is true, lot of the core heroes take the existing roles. Also Roter would basically be Tails assistant and would probably never be able to escape that role.

I would love to see Freedom Fighters and Tiara Boobowski in Sega World.

i would like to see them return, but if they never do, im fine with that too. we already got way more time with them in the archie comics than we were ever supposed to. plus it would be difficult to adjust to having their characters reset, and worse, nicole not being included

If I had to go about it I'd say making them in Classic Sonic's dimension or whatever if they have to make it a different thing from Modern Sonic we may as well use that for different stories we can't tell in the modern games.

I'd do of the following. Sally not only is the Acorn Kingdom princess, but also leads her division of G.U.N. Rotor would be a G.U.N. member who taught Tails on all the tech gadget crafting. Bunnie is also a G.U.N. agent, but had to have prostetic limbs, due to a major injury, during a mission. Antoine would be retconned to have him fill in the role Tails used to be, that being of a child. They'd know Rouge throughout their time in the agency, & Sonic though news articles, & past memories.

I do see the value and potential benefits of them being re-canonized into the games and idw comics. But I feel like it will be very difficult to insert them back in. Especially since the world of the games and idw has had so much difference from Archie so it would be essentially rebooted characters or some Spider-Man multiverse scenario. They will either be rebooted like they’ve never heard of sonic and friends, or they are from a different planet or country or even different universe.

Honestly their's a lot you could do with the freedom fighters plenty of good. Even though it's been years since their last appearance, they still hold relevancy heck even raise the standard of modern sonic we've seen it in the comics so not impossible just tricky right now

I think rebooting the Freedom Fighters is highly possible, and I think it could work in Classic Sonic's dimension in the 90's. Maybe they could be tied to Sonic's beginnings when Eggman began conquest on South Island, Sonic's first journey. If Sega could make another Classic Sonic game, then that would be a perfect opportunity to bring them back. Robotnik would manage to collect all the time stones from little planet and rewrite history on Sonic's world where he won and reigned as emperor of all Mobius and successfully killed Sonic the Hedgehog. Of course, this situation is very similar to Sonic Forces, but this time, the stakes are very high. In this rewritten timeline, Robotnik would look and act very much like his SATAM self. After defeating Sonic, he sought after the master emerald to empower and tighten Robotropolis' security. Only a select few of resistance fighters led by Sally Acorn were the last survivors from the mad doctor's global industrialization and robiticization. The freedom fighters in this case would actually slightly resemble that of their animal critter selves mixed with their original designs. Rotor would build a time machine powered by one of the time stones so that they could find Sonic and seek his aid. They planned to go back in time to the point before Robotnik collected the time stones. That would technicllally mean they would travel to a split timeline before Robotnik found the stones. However, Robotnik found out about the resistance's plans to fix thise events, so he captures and quickly roboticizes everyone except for Sally and her handy device Nicole which has the recorded data to when Sally's timeline would happen soon in Sonic's timeline. As she arrives in the past, Sonic, Tails, and Amy were just relaxing on the beach of South Island where Tails would try out his new jet-propelled bodyboard, a complete nod to the OVA. Suddenly, that moment if oeace was disrupted when Sonic hears laser fire and explosions. He goes to check it out and the first level he goes through is Jungle Zone, one of the first game's game-gear levels. Maybe their could be in-game dialogue like in Forces, but the first voiceline that speaks would be from Sally who's in danger. For context, Sonic and Tails would have their own communicators in case if they're distant from each other. Sonic would receive this distress beacon from his communicator hacked by Nicole. The stage gameplay is like Sonic Mania, but when it comes to act II bosses, a cutscene would play each time before the boss starts. In this case, the first boss cutscene would have Sonic rescue Sally from danger. The bosses would look intimidating unlike the other badniks which are bugs and bats and hogs and all that's. That rhymed. Anyway, Sally catches Sonic up to speed by telling him what Robotnik did in her timeline. After receiving this important information, Sonic wastes no time to bring Tails and Amy up to speed as he brings Sally with him. Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik was minding his won business planning his schemes when suddenly he receives a transmission from his imperial future self. He tells his younger doctor self that the last of the Freedom Fighters from his future have come to undo what he did by changing the course of history. Emperor Robotnik gives Dr. Robotnik the plans and blueprints to succeed in world domination. One of those plans involves the R.O.C.C. Retro Orbiter Chaos Compressor, the very machine that made Sonic and Dr. Robotnik the very beings they are now. With it, he can harness the power of the time stones with the R.O.C.C. to warp future Robotnik and his army of his dystopian empire to the past to prevent Sonic from restoring Sally's resistance of Freedom Fighters. Immediately, Dr. Robotnik begins manufacturing these futuristic robots as well as S.W.A.T. bots. Also, future Robotnik had a backup plan in case if Sonic and the Freedom Fighters should succeed in collecting all the time stones before Dr. Ribotnik did. Meanwhile, Sonic and his friends journey to gather more of their allies including Mighty, Ray, Knuckles, Trip, and the Chaotix. However, they discover a helpess bunny that's being thrown into a roboticizer. This would serve as a boss fight as there would be a time limit before the rabbit is roboticized, so Sonic has to smash the machine while taking on its defensive units. This is a great way to introduce Bunnie Rabbot. Throughout the game, the player would collect the time stones in each special stage after collecting 50 rings and touches each checkpoint. Throughout the game's story, there could be emotional character moments. Sally could have moments like Silver did in Sonic '06 as she hasn't seen how beautiful the planet was whene Robotnik ruled Mobius. This coukd be the one and only time thing to do, but the writers could establish romance between Sonic and Sally. It's been done before in the 2006 videogame, but here, it makes so much more sense and is more tolerable than that one scene from the game. There could be real deama and contrasting views of life. Maybe Sonic could help Sally cope with her tragedy by soaking in what she sees now. This reflects the message at the end of Sonic snd the Black Knight because the players know that there's only time to enjoy the positive things around them before Robotnik takes over the world, but man would this be just compelling and heart-wrenching. Later on, in the climax, the restored Freedom Fighters would take the fight to Robotnik at his base, but Dr. Robotnik set up a trap which ultimately allows him to nab the time stones from Sonic and install them into the R.O.C.C. Now, Robotnik has total control over time, and he initiates his olans of world domination at last. Eveyone can see that reality is distorting into the dystopian future. Sally gives Sonic Nicole to jump through a time portal to go back to the point before Dr. Robotnik was informed by his future self. Before he leaves, Sally hugs Sonic tightly and kisses him on the lips telling him goodbye. Sonic slightly sheds a tear and hoos in tothe portal. He finds the source of Emperor Robotnik's transmission and goes to that time period when he had won and before he found out about the resistance's plans. As Rotor activates the time machine and the before Sally enters the portal and before Robotnik's machines had discovered their plans and before they Freedom Fighters were ultimately roboticized, Sonic pops out of the time portal and spin attacks Emperor Robotnik's army completely changing the course of history. With Sonic's aid, the Freedom Fighters now have a chance to take on Emperor Robotnik. Before that, Sonic asks to have one of the time stones just in case things go wrong. They meet up with Emperor Robotnik, and Sonic us eager to take the Eggman down. However, Emperor Robotnik has other plans as he equips the R.O.C.C. with his latest creation. He uses his mech to back in time to undo what thus Sonic has done, but Sonic is not having it as he clings on to the machine and uses the time stone to warp with Emperor Robotnik. The way he used the time stine againstbthe others installed into the R.O.C.C. counters the mech's power and has caused a ripple in the space-time continuum. Then the epic showdown between Sonic and Emperor Robotnik would commence. This would be one of the final bosses if the player collected all the time stones in the first place. Now, in this bossfight, while Sonic has one if the timestones, the player has to get the other time stones from the mech in order to transform into a new super transformation. This new form if Sonic demolishes Emperor Robotnik's mech, and Sonic leaves this Robotnik to be stuck in this time void forever. Sonic time travels for one last time to prevent Dr. Robotnik from ever killing Sonic's younger self in the first place. He takes this one last fight with Dr. Robotnik who has all the seven time stones this time and defeats him. Sonic goes further back in time to prevent Robotnik from ever collecting the time stones or planning this scheme in the first place. To make sure this doesn't happen, he beats Robotnik to little planet and finds the time stones in that era and destroys all of the time stones at the cost of his own life and his timeline's existence. Now Robotnik shall never time travel in this dimension ever again. In the end, Sonic never dies in this dimension. So, with all time stones destroyed, Dr. Robotnik discovers the existence of the Acorn Kingdom upon South Island. Meanwhile, Tails shows Sonic the jet-propelled bodyboard. Sonic tries it out. While surfing, he notices smoke coming from a villag. He informs Tails about it, so they go to investigate. They find Eggman attacking a group of villagers that look like Rotor, Bunnie, Antoine, and Sally. Sonic and Tails defend the helpless and battle Robotnik. I put in a lot of effort overnight in this idea. What do you all think?

This is most likely will never happen

I don't think it is something that needs to happen right now but I can see them bringing back the freedom fighters as a team that only heard about Sonic and dealt with Eggman's machine but mostly dealing with their own enemies that Sonic hasn't seen before, also it is more likely that they would use the post genesis versions that were made of Antoine being a warrior, Bunnie being strong with her own fighting style, and Rotor being smart while also still feeling relevant among the modern characters. Even if they aren't the same, it could still work introducing them as new characters to be fleshed out in a story like the IDW comics and Frontiers can make them into fan favorites.

Bunnie was so cool, I’m disappointed that she doesn’t appear anymore she’s a great character

No, because a) I doubt Sega would be able to do them justice (would you really want to see "your favourite characters" be ruined... again?); and b) it'd be pretty damn hard to introduce them into the mainline canon without dramatically changing them. Now, a spin-off canon (a lá Sonic Boom) on the other hand...

Amy Rose in Sonic Forces adopted a roll identical to Princess Sally. Which is interesting since the beginning of Sonic Forces seemed like a SATAM type game due to atmosphere... then the game got all wacky and I could not tell if the plot was meant to be comedy or serious. Either way, my only opinion of Forces was whether I had fun or not. If we use a comic styled take on Sally, then avatar gameplay with the grappling hook and tools would work. But in the end it comes down to Sega's skill. In a proper open world game like Tears of The Kingdom (not Sonic Frontiers) Freedom Fighter characters can give out missions or side quests. Once again, all it takes is a competent developer to make the obvious work

sometimes it feels like people think that incorporating the freedom fighters into the main canon would just be like pulling them exactly as they are from the tv show as it is and plopping them into the games like a strange photoshop edit. the rebooted archie comics already have a squeaky-clean version of the freedom fighters (and the entire "planet formerly known as Mobius") ripe for inspiration for a potential canon incorporation. What could work is just taking all of sonic's old freedom fighter friends, and stuff them into the massive sea-spanning island network of a nation that also houses the islands the classic sonic games took place on. Maybe they didn't really have anything else to do after the death egg incident on west side island in sonic 2, so they were confined there and haven't been able to show up ever since then in a hypothetical welding.

I just have to hope that the Freedom Fighters will get a comeback. 🤞🏾

Nice analysis! Cant wait for more great uploads and content!

I feel like the best way to bring them back is to have them in a series where they are the main support to our main cast (sonic, tails, amy, knux), having it not tied to the games or even being metioned in them, but they can put some stories from the games into their series, funny tho archie was doing that. Part of the reason why i personally love satam - archie is they felt grounded, (though it got crazy later on) and the growth of the FF shows, rotor retires while tails become more involved, Antoins character is given deph, and sonic and sally as characters are at their best when theres writters that are actually good and has no bias for or agaisnt those two, and many other characters are interesting personalities, With lore behind them, they dont feel like bots compared to the games. And to bring them back, the new series with the FF is gonna have to be recontextualized, lore is gonna have to be cut (and i mean a lot of it) and lastly stories will be rearranged. W vid btw

You could bring them back through the Sol dimension, Sally could still be a princess just from a further distance from Blaze’s kingdom. They build a relationship with blaze and could help build her character and give her a group of people who push her forward, like a reverse, where sonic pushes his group forward and inspires them, the freedom fighters could be the ones pushing blaze to be better. And then you can also introduce robotization by having Eggman nega being the one to make it I know he’s either dead or just gone but it could work if done right. The sol dimension allows a great way to introduce them, gives them time to shine before meeting sonic and the rest of the group, and could give blaze her own spin off game

There are times that I really really really really want to see the Freedom Fighters from Sonic The Hedgehog SatAM return

I wish they can back as my birthday gift. Well not just for me, but for all the SatAM/Archie Sonic fans. 😔

Honestly, I think you could bring the Freedom Fighters back nearly 1:1 with their Archie characterizations. Yes Penders owns his own stories and the characters from them, but the Freedom Fighters are older than that and most of their good characterization came from Ian Flynn. As for how you’d bring them in; honestly I’d do the exact opposite of what you suggested in the video. Have their home be taken over a long friggin time ago, like years before Sonic 1, maybe it was even one of the first conquests of Robotnik. As a result, this ragtag group has been fighting Robotnik for years…and been incredibly ineffective at it, to the point their home has long been paved over with the 1st and largest of all the Eggmanland amusement parks. This might not be for everyone, but I think it would leave the group with a very different dynamic with Eggman from Sonic; in turn giving a different dynamic with Sonic. Like, maybe they take Robotnik very seriously, so they butt heads with Sonic for taking the guy that’s ruined the last decade of their lives so lightly.

I would argue that not only are they possible, but almost needed. Ever since the end of S3&K, I have always question how robotnick builds his empire without a homebase since the fall of the death egg. And the answer to that is Sally's kingdom. And groups step on each other's toes all the time, so it's not like it matters. Heck Sonic Heroes explored that very concept down to a mechanical level. Babylon and Chaotix are never questioned when they are basically different variations of the core trio. Now I wouldn't make them a consistent "in every game" characters, but I could see references and occasional appearances every 4 games or so, or as the plot demands. These guys really deserved to be Forces more than anything. But agreed that Sally would be first and foremost the face of that particular group. Heck, I could see the discovery of eggmans home base of operations being on top of Knothole being something Tails would discover as the questions how he is building all this stuff without the Death Egg. Especially since he personally announced that he had some self reflection to do. EDIT: Come to think of it, we never got an explanation as to what that huge ass base was at the edge of the mystic ruins, did we?

I believe that they should return as Sally and the others are beloved sonic characters that still have many fans to this day and i believe that fans would love to see them again. An off topic question but have you ever played any of the sonic.exe games?

Yes! Yes they should! The world needs them!

Nostalgia does nothing but cloud one's judgment

if you want them back, have them in the live action sonic movies

they could play it off as them being child hood friends who haven't seen each other in years and have the freedom fighting stuff as like a game they used to play together or something like that.

I’m gonna be honest, I think most of their roles like as a team have been taken over by other pre-existing characters Knuckles is the brute Amy was like a leader for like a hot minute during the metal virus saga But she’s more of the heart of the team than anything Tales got the smart Sonic simultaneously plays as a big puncher when it comes to fights and the leader Shadow is also a big puncher And some cases rouge can do some technological stuff Overall, other characters have took over their rules over the time , now I’m not saying they have to you know exist to play a role when it comes to fighting they could just be there for the sake of being interesting in the story like I can totally believe that there’s royalty in the sonic universe. I don’t think they’re going to allow any form of like relationships like Sally and sonic , but it would be interesting for them to come back to have some dynamics happen again, I feel like it would be good for the sonic team to allow the sonic characters have a more of a slice of life deal where it isn’t constantly just fighting man like we don’t really get to see them interact with each other anymore. We only get to see that in shows and even then like sonic prime it’s still focus on a big bad sort of deal.

They’re better off gone. They’re nothing but a bunch of Disney Afternoon knock-offs that stick out like a sore thumb in the Sonic universe.

Yeah... I do think though a lot of the problems with them could possibly be solved in a classic era title. It'd for sure be a retcon but I don't think it's impossible to say they're a group of childhood friends of his that he periodically checks up on off screen in a similar manner to SatAM. Especially Sonic's family and Uncle Chuck, they have no reason not to be in main canon regardless of Sally and the FF, all we know is that Sonic was born on Christmas Island, but maybe as a kid he grew up in the Kingdom of Acorn and helped on missions up until he wanted independence and went on his own before Sonic 1. Like Sonic can still be mainly friends with Team Sonic and the game cast and then reconnect with Sally and the Freedom Fighters who deal with their own problems except for when he checks up on them. That way (Even though SEGA would never allow it), you could even keep Sally being a romantic interest, just make her interested in him and him being indifferent and you can keep his relationships with the rest of them. It wouldn't be a 1:1 with SatAM or Archie but would be close enough that you can fill in the gaps. I do agree they need some work to make them a little more unique to the modern cast (Except for Sally who honestly is the main one I want beyond Bunnie and Antoine). Great video though!

Great video man This trully is part of a big deal of why the fendom keeps thinking about it

This isn't even a question, they deserve so much more and have so much potential

They could probably just reboot the freedom fighters as more of a direct offshoot of Sally without Sonic or say that Sonic just knew them in the past in his younger years pre-modern. Rotor could still be the tech guy, but her repair guy while Tails is Sonic's engineer.

Totally agree. I have no particularly strong feelings on the freedom fighters but I am not against them coming back, but I don't think a lot of fans realize that *if* they did come back they would need to be written completely differently because you can't just plop them into the game or comic world as it is now and have it all be okay. That would create huge continuity issues, and sonic has a hard enough time with that as it stands. And at that point is it even worth bringing them back if they're gonna be completely new characters? I say, yes to please the fans in some regard, but fans would need to know that what they get will and has to be different to what came before if they come back at all. Its just how the series has progressed. Now yes, the characters did grow like they did with archie but.... look archie isn't the be all end all of sonic media, and it has its fair share of messy continuity and just straight batshit insanity. Sega and Sonic Team really have no connection or care for these characters because, to be honest, they where only really relevant in the west and under the comics, which not everyone has read. To Sega and Sonic team they are about as relevant as Scratch and Rotor or Bokkun. Sorry for the rant but I have a lot of opinions on this subject.

I have read a fan comic online about the Freedom fighters being in the IDW universe. But where the kingdom doesn't exist and that Sally's dad is more a Mayor instead of a king. And that the Freedom Fighters was created because of the Diamond cutters around the Sonic Forces war and that they haven't met Sonic yet. It's a interesting story I suppose, but yeah is still being work on and the only people that they have met to the IDW cast is Tangle and Whisper so far.

Unfortunately unless they get the rights to those characters back I don't think it will ever happen.

Yes bring back the American Version of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters. Remake the series get creative like before, for there is so much untapped potential with whole series you could make the whole series as long as the anime show One Piece and going strong. Get ideas from those good old Archie Sonic Comics, blow the dust off of those and be absorbed into the World of Sonic.

I will pay SEGA as much money as they want if they bring them back!

Sega of Japan wants nothing to do with these characters they’re never coming ever

I see hard for them to return in either of the 2 versions to the current games and comic. I think they sould be reworked as a independent group aside Sonic and Tails. Maybe a similar introduction like the diamon cutters a group of civillains that be forced to fend for themselves since the Sonic Forces Event. But to diferenciate it to them(speciallty the original team). Sally remain as a princes and the only experienced on the batlefield, and fell the obligation to take charge for it. Antony a new soldier, trained but inexperience, so it can be cowardly but have the skill when is really needed, a blend of his sat am and archie version. Rotor y turn him in a young medic specialized in prostetics limbs(this related to Bunnie) Bunnie, with her we have a obligatory change of background and make her limbs severely damaged as collateral damage of the invasion could be a good replacement to the robotizer, Eggman continue at fault, she has to be mechanized for Rotor because the situation don't allow a proper treatment. PD: other option for Bunnie is she suffer sequel from the zombot virus, or enter in contact with a mutated remain of it that wasnt affecte for the chaos control.

If i want the freedom fighters return, then i rather to have them for redesigns from soft reboot archie comics, they could fit in the modern universe because of redesigns are made for by soft reboot, i would love to see them in the games. I will love to see the dynamic of Sonic and Sally will be healthy relationship based on the show, especially pairing like partners, Tails is smart enough to not getting funny kiss anymore, maybe tails might recognize sally that he had a aunt for long time because of sonic's relationship with sally coming up in the first place. The most important is Having Amy and Sally as besties truly could be more healthy and strong dynamic than sonic and sally

Yes but sally personality should be Should be changed to be more sonic's friend Then girlfriend But Will they return It depends I mean Sonic director from sonic frontier said he would love to See the freedom fighters in the future game so it A little bit possible But it depends that if saga of japan wants to consider it

Perhaps it could be a storyline where sonic gets separated by his friends and has to work with new people? And that’s how he managed to form a team with the freedom fighters, like maybe the kingdom is very distant from everyone else and wasn’t very connected to most of the world, they kinda are just more isolated and that’s how EggMan discovered the kingdom and he probably didn’t think it was anything special until like I don’t know. Maybe some Power thing I don’t know master emerald I don’t know, is introduced again. Perhaps Antoine can get like some sort of character development and becomes the leader in sonics absence near the end of the game or something. I don’t know.

I think bringing back rotor could work considering as of frontiers Tails is going on his own for abit (I hope they make a reboot of tails sky patrol so bad) I’m genuinely interested to see what they do with the future games considering the ending of frontiers with all these long term characters going on their own for abit I’m interested to see if sega will introduce new characters to fill their roles while their gone

You can do a lot of cool things with two genius characters. Rotor doesn't need to learn anything from Tails. They can just both be geniuses. We've seen what two or more smart characters working together can look like in other media.

Personally think if we get the Freedom Fighters, it would need its own game dedicated to them, the fan response would be explosive. I would also have it so that, the Freedom Fighters are capable of taking care of their home without Sonic but leave it open for the future. I would honestly be happy to see them cameo or be playable in spin-off titles. I’m only giving a small idea of Freedom Fighters being brought into the games. For sure if they were to be included, not counting Ken Penders, I for sure want former Archie artist and writer’s involved, Ian Flynn for example.

Antoine, if he so hard to adapt have him killed early on, helps enforce Eggman's threat status & also adds emotional weight to Sally's group.

The idea of the freedom fighters and adventure era characters together is such a strange but fun concept to me. Like you have weird 90s era sonic characters interacting with 00s era characters. It’s like if you had an old school NES boomer hanging out with a PS2/Xbox dude, they are just different worlds really

I say it could work as a spin-off with it’s own separate universe, unrelated to the main games.

Imo, these guys should not be banned they should be allowed to appear in comics and TV shows. However they should not be added in the main games. They existed during the time when sonic has literally nothing to work off of there was only 3 characters at that point. However, now there are a lot of mainline characters that already do the role the freedom fighters use to do.

Ian Flynn did say in his most recent podcast that if the Freedom Fighters did come back, very unlikely as it is, it would be their SatAM versions since their other ones are owned by Archie. One in particular I noticed you didn’t mention was Nicole. She would still be reduced to her handheld device and not her holo form (Ian did say that part saddened him). You make some pretty good points. I did watch the show last month, and due to the cast we got now, it doesn’t feel like they would contribute much. No disrespect at all, I really like the Freedom Fighters. But it doesn’t feel worth the effort. And even if Sally came back, she also probably wouldn’t be a love interest to Sonic anymore since it’s been established more he’s not interested in relationships. But it would still be cool.

I don't know. If they brought Sally into the game's canon, but said "She's not going to be Sonic's love interest", I can totally imagine a bunch of hard core SonicxSally shippers absolutely losing their minds! "NOOOOO, THEY HAVE TO BE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER AND SNOG EVERY THREE SECONDS! THEY'VE COMPLETELY RUINED HER NOW!" I still think that there's more cons than pros in trying to incorporate the Freedom Fighters into the game's universe. Sega should instead try fixing the characters that they already have who have been flanderized and been stuck on the sidelines twiddling their thumbs with nothing worthwhile to do for the past ten years or so!

I'm pretty sure Sega of Japan hates the fredom fighters as well as Sally Acorn, since the ideas were gonna be a part of the game cannon, but Sega of Japan considered the idea antithetical to Sonic's character. They also claimed that Sally is a rip-off of Amy.

As much as I love SatAM, I just don't want them back for the reasons you've explained. They will just not be the same; and to those who championing brining them back "in any form" aren't looking at the bigger picture here. The way the current climate is when rebooting/retuning characters by writers and producers who have alternate goals and agendas rather than letting the characters be who they are as they were created is my biggest fear. As a big fan of the show (and some Archie) I would much rather have the series be left alone and be great than to have them return and be a failure.

Well fitting them into the current canon would be tough. Tails does male Rotor obsolete but yeah Tails is smart but he could learn from Rote who is a seasoned technician/engineer. Knuckles kind of removes Bunnies place but they could have a friendship much like Legolas and Gimli in Lord of the Rings. Having friendly rivalry but respecting each others strength and being trustworthy friends. Sally would easily fit into the role of leader alongside Sonic. Ant could be skilled at whatever he does but can still be comic relief but he has his moments to shine like he has previous knowledge of Robotroplois or he is a shrewd diplomat. They can slot in nicely but you would need a big threat from Eggman. The other way is to have a parallel world running alongside the current one. This was already done with Adventures of Sonic which was more cartoony and comedic with bright colours and wacky antics and SATaM which was a bit darker and had more mature themes. Like Sonic and Sally's relationship/ This one with the freedom fighters could be a lot more mature and make character development it's main goal, like each of the FF have a fear like Ant trying to not be a drain on the FF, Sally trying to balance the stress of being leader with being a princess and finding her father and Kingdom, Rote worried about loosing his freedom and being robotised, Tails wanting to show the o0thers he's not a kid, Bunnie wondering what she is and will she be able to go back to a normal life and Sonic who is shouldering the burden because he is scared of losing his friends but also loosing Sally. A more mature Sonic would be a nice change from some of the more saccharine entries. I believe they should come back and I'm not going to cite Spinball, that's been done. But they had a LONG run. You can't discard 25 years out of hand. They are a big part of the universe and of course they would need their OG look.

If i bringed them back, i would make a spin off game or comic, that take in place in a different timeline than the main series, where Sonic, Tails & Robotnik are different from there main counterparts, they don't have powers and they have designs that make them fit in this universe.