And now, a personal story.
I remember the first time I read Sonic Fights Robotnik aloud. The year was, of course, 1998. So tickled was I by the stories of SONIC FAN (though not yet realizing why), I wanted to share this joy with someone. This was before the age of Discord or Skype, when voice chatting on the Internet was a rarity. So I subjected the only person who was around to my vocal performance - my sister. She laughed, even if she wasn’t really a Sonic fan. To be fair, how could any of us be a fan like SONIC FAN? But I digress.
Years later, when audio communication on the Internet was more feasible, I would enter Skype calls with people who were part of the communities I engaged with. We’d talk about a number of things, but at some point, we decided to amuse ourselves by reading whatever we could find to each other. At first, they were the scripts to Sonic Adventure and its sequels, including the leaked script to Sonic 06. But soon, we looked towards other stories, fanfiction that would tickle our fancy.
Reaching into the archives, I pulled out Sonic Fights Robotnik. I’m not sure how many times we read it and its sequels, or with how many different people, but one thing was clear. We had grown since 1998, and what was originally met with utter confusion and anger was instead met with bemused confusion and laughter.
In 2007, a small group of us toyed with the idea of making a radio play version of the original story. Those plans never materialized, and what little remains will stay buried, for who wants to hear a half done audio play with terrible quality control and bad acting? In 2010, however, the first performance in front of an audience happened. An online audience, during the Sonic Amateur Games Expo of 2010.
Featuring LittleKuriboh (y’know, the guy who did Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged?) it was a hit at the show. Over the next few SAGEs, further sequels would be read aloud. It wasn’t long before other people would end up reading the stories to other audiences, the saga of Sonic Fights Robotnik being shared to new and unprepared audiences.
The first known performance of Sonic Fights Robotnik, in front of a live studio audience, happened at MAGFest 2017, the popular video game and music convention. With a slightly different cast, a performance of Sonic Fights Robotnik 3 took place during the 2019 festival. At both of these live shows, I did what I’ve always done - read as Miles “Tails” Prower, using a silly Mickey Mouse-ish voice, trying to emulate the way my sister would talk as Tails back when we were children.
It is strange how, 21 years later, the same story could still entertain not only myself, but the audience in front of us. Even my sister, if it’s brought up, remembers the story. Perhaps this speaks to the appeal of SONIC FAN’s writing. Clearly, Sonic Fights Robotnik can speak to those who were nowhere near the Sonic Internet fandom as it existed in the late 90’s. Some truths happen to be universal.
“"Hey we're on TV!" said Sonic
"Hi Mom!" said Rotor
"Uhh rotor your Mom's robotocized" said Sonic
"waah" said Rotor”
— Sonic and Rotor, Sonic Fights Robotnik 3