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My Reason Why i don't like Mephiles the Dark as Character.
His Backstory of why become into Villain was most confusing bullshit i seen in my life like there barley any reason why he is evil or why waste time on trying get Silver the Hedgehog to killed Sonic if he can do that easily.
And i hated of how He try to lie at Shadow with most stupidest speeches of oh Humans are bad crap Heck even Shadow thought he is lousy liar it sad even Shadow the Hedgehog won't fell into you're bullshit.
But people will tell me but Mephiles was first villain who killed sonic i was like who give a shit because why won't he just killed Elise and Anyone too for Solaris or Chaos Emeralds.
Heck i find him not that impressive as villain because i seen more better villains like Perfect Cell from DBZ,Mr Freeze from Batman Animated Series and many more did better job at their evil deeds and have a reason of why become into Villain while Mephiles is just a boring recolor of shadow the hedgehog with no Mouth.
His Backstory of why become into Villain was most confusing bullshit i seen in my life like there barley any reason why he is evil or why waste time on trying get Silver the Hedgehog to killed Sonic if he can do that easily.
And i hated of how He try to lie at Shadow with most stupidest speeches of oh Humans are bad crap Heck even Shadow thought he is lousy liar it sad even Shadow the Hedgehog won't fell into you're bullshit.
But people will tell me but Mephiles was first villain who killed sonic i was like who give a shit because why won't he just killed Elise and Anyone too for Solaris or Chaos Emeralds.
Heck i find him not that impressive as villain because i seen more better villains like Perfect Cell from DBZ,Mr Freeze from Batman Animated Series and many more did better job at their evil deeds and have a reason of why become into Villain while Mephiles is just a boring recolor of shadow the hedgehog with no Mouth.
Yeah i am sicked of always people think he is impressive villain who killed sonic i was like why not killed anyone else besides Sonic like Elise.
© 2014 - 2024 MagicalKeyPizzaDan
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While you're obliged to think what you want, allow me to attempt to defend him a bit based on my many years of observation. If I may?
His backstory is confusing because the game was incomplete and rushed due to a number of factors (development switching consoles, new hardware did not work to intended ideas, staff being laid off around the time, a holiday release deadline as a launch title... To name a few). Sega has gone on record stating that there was indeed a larger role and backstory intended for Mephiles (he even began character development around the time "Shadow the Hedgehog" was being made, and would have been an antagonist alongside Doom), but the main factor as why it was rushed was time.
One could easily build a backstory for him merely by viewing the cutscenes set a decade prior, when Mephiles was created, and Shadow pursued him. At that point in time, Mephiles was newly thrust into the world, and among the first things he witnessed after being ripped from Iblis was the aftermath of his creation (such as the scientists littering the floor around him), as well as Shadow, who immediately went after him and hunted him down to seal him away for something Mephiles will do in the future.
Bare in mind, at that point in time, Mephiles was technically just "born", and hadn't really done anything yet to warrant the reaction (as the "Accident Ten Years Ago" was indeed an accident and resulted in his "birth"), as well as Mephiles had barely had a chance to even establish who or what he was at this point. He didn't even have a name, and merely took the name that Shadow referred to him as.
So, anyway, Mephiles, confused, frightened and angry, grows to despise Shadow while he's trapped in the Scepter of Darkness for ten years. He doesn't understand why he's been sealed away, as Shadow never drops that bit of info on him. Mephiles is left to stew in limbo for a decade before he's given a chance to escape. When he does, he realizes the form he's been given is that of Shadow the Hedgehog. He laughs, perhaps because it's more maddening than it is ironic.
He does not realize that this Shadow before him has never met him yet, due to time travel shinanagans that Mephiles himself will set forth into motion at this exact moment, and by doing so, Mephiles causes the events that will lead to his past self being imprisoned in the Scepter. He never learns of this, and assumes that Shadow is being a jerk to him by refusing to acknowledge that he had been trapped by him for a decade. This only makes him madder ("mad" in both meanings).
Mephiles is also technically 10 years old at this point, has never been able to walk freely since his creation, so he's young, inexperienced and commands a lot of power that he seems to be only slightly aware that he controls. Mephiles is basically an "Anthony Fremont" (that cornfield kid in the "Twilight Zone"), and can summon what he wants at will, and send people away to a non-discript location on a whim. He's also emotionally stunted and may or may not be a bit mentally unbalanced from being alone in the "dark" for ten years. He's essentially a sociopath.
He spends a great deal pursuing Shadow, trying everything he can to mess with him and catch him off guard. He wants to take down Shadow by any means. He will stop at nothing to do so, and in a fit of rage, Mephiles discovers that he can change form to a crystalline version of himself. However, his inexperience and overestimation of himself leads to him being easily overcome by Shadow and Omega, which infuriates him enough to try to run away to another time.
He continues his goal in trying to destroy Shadow. He fails again and again, and continues to be in denial about his limitations as this happens
"... I am forever..." He says, sinking to the ground as a puddle of darkness. "... I am invinc...ible..." (Legit ending sequence in a boss fight)
Meanwhile, in the future (where Silver resides), Mephiles of 200 years later (dude be 210 at this point) has mellowed out and taken the time to learn how to bide and observe from afar. He's been watching Silver and Blaze for a while, and decides that they are his best option to avoid getting his hands dirty. He cannot target Elise directly, perhaps unsure if that will cause harm to Iblis, or perhaps the circumstances of their sealing 210 years ago caused a stipulation where Mephiles and Iblis cannot interact directly so long as the seal exists. Mephiles cannot join with the Iblis of 210 years later because Iblis has grown unruly and too wild to be able to approach, perhaps?
Mephiles of the future knows the rules this time around. He knows that he cannot afford to cross paths with his past self, so he avoids this by spending much of his time in the present in Castle Town, only venturing to the Forest when he was able to secure the Emerald and make his move against Sonic and Elise without being seen.
At that time, Mephiles of the present is currently fighting Team Dark in Dusty Desert, and Silver and Blaze are back in the future, sealing away Iblis of the future.
It's clear now, Mephiles chose to join with Iblis of the past because at that exact same parallel in the future, Iblis was being taken away with Blaze. Iblis was most accessible and safe in the present.
Mephiles knows this because, as a cut bit of dialogue indicated: "... I transcend time itself... A bridge to other worlds..."
Mephiles knew of that outcome in advance.
Mephiles also managed to speak without, as far as it's been confirmed, lying. Killing Sonic DID trigger Iblis' release. Silver DID change the future's outcome. And Shadow COULD end up hunted down in an alternate timeline.
Mephiles tells you what he's got planned, if you're willing to listen. He'll tell you right to your face.
He never had a vendetta against Sonic; it was simply a means to an end. Sonic was merely a step in his plan, and Mephiles couldn't care less who Sonic was, or even his proper name.
Future!Mephiles killed Sonic, Present!Mephiles fought Shadow, by the way.
Other intriguing character traits of Mephiles is:
- He's physically weak compared to his powerful abilities. He may be able to send gigantic orbs at you, or summon darkness dwelling beings at will, but he cannot take a smack to the face very well, and a Chaos Spear can temporarily paralyze him. Hence why his attacks are usually from a distance and he spends much time maintaining defenses.
- At the core, he's a coward. He attacks from behind, and he's quick to run when the tables turn on him. His first moments of existence consisted of him fleeing from Shadow before being backed into a room with one exit. When visibly worn down during a battle to the point of tripping and a clear loss of motor control, he ended the fight by escaping through a portal.
- He has a low tolerance for aggravation, as displayed during the boss encounters. In addition to reaching his crystalline form initially due to Shadow's blunt rejection of Mephiles' "offer", Mephiles eventually also dissolves into various disgruntled noises during boss battles, with some sounds being easily described as "growling", "snarling", and gradually rising utterances of frustration. He also begins to speak in shorter, less eloquent sentences (notably "I'll crush you!" and "Dance! Dance!" as opposed to "I'll make sure you'll regret this...")
- Mephiles also displays a gradual decline in his stability as the game progresses. Initially, he's introduced as a slightly bitter creepy guy that just likes to screw around with Shadow (or Silver, depending on which story you chose first to play), but eventually he starts displaying a twisted, almost childish persona where he becomes more erratic and begins to toy with Shadow. And when we reach the near end, he's hardly recognizable from his introduction, having changed form entirely, as well as he drops all pretenses and just flat out disregards everything he's allowed to build up. Worth noting that since the present-day time takes place over three days, and Mephiles escaped the Scepter at the start of those three days, and he's never once showed any signs of taking a break, so he was actively pursuing his goal between 48-72 hours, which is a long time to be active in anything. Dude went through Time several times, a volcano, a beach locale, and a desert, as well as two boss battles (I'm not taking into account Future!Mephiles, who is another can of worms entirely). As he's displayed fatigue from battle a couple times, it's safe to assume that he requires down time every now and then.
- Mephiles is also mirroring Shadow initial persona from SA2. Hatred of Humanity? Check. Got screwed over in life and probably wrongly persecuted by a member of GUN simply for existing? Check. Created because of a science project to play God and cheat death? Check. Polite to almost a mocking point, and conveniently withholds information simply because he wasn't asked about it directly? Check. Ultimate being of sorts, able to bend Time at will? Check.
-- That said, Mephiles is what Shadow could have ended up as, and Shadow is what Mephiles can never be. This is why Shadow is so insistent on stopping him, because he sees what he was, and knows what will happen if this isn't rectified.
In short, Mephiles has an interesting concept around him and his character traits, but due to factors that hindered the full realization of the plot, Mephiles was given to us at face value, and his character building was sacrificed in favor of appealing to a contract and to eager fans awaiting a new game before the end of the 15th milestone year.
Mephiles may be able to control Time, but time constraints really messed up his character.
His backstory is confusing because the game was incomplete and rushed due to a number of factors (development switching consoles, new hardware did not work to intended ideas, staff being laid off around the time, a holiday release deadline as a launch title... To name a few). Sega has gone on record stating that there was indeed a larger role and backstory intended for Mephiles (he even began character development around the time "Shadow the Hedgehog" was being made, and would have been an antagonist alongside Doom), but the main factor as why it was rushed was time.
One could easily build a backstory for him merely by viewing the cutscenes set a decade prior, when Mephiles was created, and Shadow pursued him. At that point in time, Mephiles was newly thrust into the world, and among the first things he witnessed after being ripped from Iblis was the aftermath of his creation (such as the scientists littering the floor around him), as well as Shadow, who immediately went after him and hunted him down to seal him away for something Mephiles will do in the future.
Bare in mind, at that point in time, Mephiles was technically just "born", and hadn't really done anything yet to warrant the reaction (as the "Accident Ten Years Ago" was indeed an accident and resulted in his "birth"), as well as Mephiles had barely had a chance to even establish who or what he was at this point. He didn't even have a name, and merely took the name that Shadow referred to him as.
So, anyway, Mephiles, confused, frightened and angry, grows to despise Shadow while he's trapped in the Scepter of Darkness for ten years. He doesn't understand why he's been sealed away, as Shadow never drops that bit of info on him. Mephiles is left to stew in limbo for a decade before he's given a chance to escape. When he does, he realizes the form he's been given is that of Shadow the Hedgehog. He laughs, perhaps because it's more maddening than it is ironic.
He does not realize that this Shadow before him has never met him yet, due to time travel shinanagans that Mephiles himself will set forth into motion at this exact moment, and by doing so, Mephiles causes the events that will lead to his past self being imprisoned in the Scepter. He never learns of this, and assumes that Shadow is being a jerk to him by refusing to acknowledge that he had been trapped by him for a decade. This only makes him madder ("mad" in both meanings).
Mephiles is also technically 10 years old at this point, has never been able to walk freely since his creation, so he's young, inexperienced and commands a lot of power that he seems to be only slightly aware that he controls. Mephiles is basically an "Anthony Fremont" (that cornfield kid in the "Twilight Zone"), and can summon what he wants at will, and send people away to a non-discript location on a whim. He's also emotionally stunted and may or may not be a bit mentally unbalanced from being alone in the "dark" for ten years. He's essentially a sociopath.
He spends a great deal pursuing Shadow, trying everything he can to mess with him and catch him off guard. He wants to take down Shadow by any means. He will stop at nothing to do so, and in a fit of rage, Mephiles discovers that he can change form to a crystalline version of himself. However, his inexperience and overestimation of himself leads to him being easily overcome by Shadow and Omega, which infuriates him enough to try to run away to another time.
He continues his goal in trying to destroy Shadow. He fails again and again, and continues to be in denial about his limitations as this happens
"... I am forever..." He says, sinking to the ground as a puddle of darkness. "... I am invinc...ible..." (Legit ending sequence in a boss fight)
Meanwhile, in the future (where Silver resides), Mephiles of 200 years later (dude be 210 at this point) has mellowed out and taken the time to learn how to bide and observe from afar. He's been watching Silver and Blaze for a while, and decides that they are his best option to avoid getting his hands dirty. He cannot target Elise directly, perhaps unsure if that will cause harm to Iblis, or perhaps the circumstances of their sealing 210 years ago caused a stipulation where Mephiles and Iblis cannot interact directly so long as the seal exists. Mephiles cannot join with the Iblis of 210 years later because Iblis has grown unruly and too wild to be able to approach, perhaps?
Mephiles of the future knows the rules this time around. He knows that he cannot afford to cross paths with his past self, so he avoids this by spending much of his time in the present in Castle Town, only venturing to the Forest when he was able to secure the Emerald and make his move against Sonic and Elise without being seen.
At that time, Mephiles of the present is currently fighting Team Dark in Dusty Desert, and Silver and Blaze are back in the future, sealing away Iblis of the future.
It's clear now, Mephiles chose to join with Iblis of the past because at that exact same parallel in the future, Iblis was being taken away with Blaze. Iblis was most accessible and safe in the present.
Mephiles knows this because, as a cut bit of dialogue indicated: "... I transcend time itself... A bridge to other worlds..."
Mephiles knew of that outcome in advance.
Mephiles also managed to speak without, as far as it's been confirmed, lying. Killing Sonic DID trigger Iblis' release. Silver DID change the future's outcome. And Shadow COULD end up hunted down in an alternate timeline.
Mephiles tells you what he's got planned, if you're willing to listen. He'll tell you right to your face.
He never had a vendetta against Sonic; it was simply a means to an end. Sonic was merely a step in his plan, and Mephiles couldn't care less who Sonic was, or even his proper name.
Future!Mephiles killed Sonic, Present!Mephiles fought Shadow, by the way.
Other intriguing character traits of Mephiles is:
- He's physically weak compared to his powerful abilities. He may be able to send gigantic orbs at you, or summon darkness dwelling beings at will, but he cannot take a smack to the face very well, and a Chaos Spear can temporarily paralyze him. Hence why his attacks are usually from a distance and he spends much time maintaining defenses.
- At the core, he's a coward. He attacks from behind, and he's quick to run when the tables turn on him. His first moments of existence consisted of him fleeing from Shadow before being backed into a room with one exit. When visibly worn down during a battle to the point of tripping and a clear loss of motor control, he ended the fight by escaping through a portal.
- He has a low tolerance for aggravation, as displayed during the boss encounters. In addition to reaching his crystalline form initially due to Shadow's blunt rejection of Mephiles' "offer", Mephiles eventually also dissolves into various disgruntled noises during boss battles, with some sounds being easily described as "growling", "snarling", and gradually rising utterances of frustration. He also begins to speak in shorter, less eloquent sentences (notably "I'll crush you!" and "Dance! Dance!" as opposed to "I'll make sure you'll regret this...")
- Mephiles also displays a gradual decline in his stability as the game progresses. Initially, he's introduced as a slightly bitter creepy guy that just likes to screw around with Shadow (or Silver, depending on which story you chose first to play), but eventually he starts displaying a twisted, almost childish persona where he becomes more erratic and begins to toy with Shadow. And when we reach the near end, he's hardly recognizable from his introduction, having changed form entirely, as well as he drops all pretenses and just flat out disregards everything he's allowed to build up. Worth noting that since the present-day time takes place over three days, and Mephiles escaped the Scepter at the start of those three days, and he's never once showed any signs of taking a break, so he was actively pursuing his goal between 48-72 hours, which is a long time to be active in anything. Dude went through Time several times, a volcano, a beach locale, and a desert, as well as two boss battles (I'm not taking into account Future!Mephiles, who is another can of worms entirely). As he's displayed fatigue from battle a couple times, it's safe to assume that he requires down time every now and then.
- Mephiles is also mirroring Shadow initial persona from SA2. Hatred of Humanity? Check. Got screwed over in life and probably wrongly persecuted by a member of GUN simply for existing? Check. Created because of a science project to play God and cheat death? Check. Polite to almost a mocking point, and conveniently withholds information simply because he wasn't asked about it directly? Check. Ultimate being of sorts, able to bend Time at will? Check.
-- That said, Mephiles is what Shadow could have ended up as, and Shadow is what Mephiles can never be. This is why Shadow is so insistent on stopping him, because he sees what he was, and knows what will happen if this isn't rectified.
In short, Mephiles has an interesting concept around him and his character traits, but due to factors that hindered the full realization of the plot, Mephiles was given to us at face value, and his character building was sacrificed in favor of appealing to a contract and to eager fans awaiting a new game before the end of the 15th milestone year.
Mephiles may be able to control Time, but time constraints really messed up his character.