Mephiles: A Necessary EVIL
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- čas přidán 24. 04. 2021
- In today's character analysis we examine the elusive Mephiles the Dark. I'll be going over just what makes him such a fantastic villain not only in the Sonic franchise but a villain and character as a whole.
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i really love Mephiles becuase throughout the whole game he never tells a single lie
The best lies are half-truths and lies of omission.
"It's futile. The world will betray you. Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?"
Hey omega count how many MOUTHS he has!
@Goku and Vegeta The Saiyans lol
"If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have!"
@Goku and Vegeta The Saiyans "Yeah, exactly! You don't got no mouths, bitch!"
You had me at Mephiles 👀
You know what, Mephiles deserves praise. He's the only villain in Sonic game history to ever succed in killing Sonic.
You had me at Memphis
Great news, mephiles is coming back as a plushies. Over 15 years, now sega gonna bring him back 😂
Really? I only knew about the skate. Where did you find this information? I cannot find it
@@Randomgirl20038 its on twitter just type mephiles plushie
@@Randomgirl20038 tailschannel.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/merchandise/whisper-the-wolf-mephiles-emerl-part-of-upcoming-great-eastern-plush-line/
Remember when Mephiles made a cameo in the Archie comics?
Kishimoto 1 year later: I'm gonna bring him back
We used to hate Mephiles. Now we want more of him. To quote the Dark himself:
*_"Oh, how ironic fate can be!"_*
He really needs more love. Too many people write him off as an outright bad character based off of his design or just the fact he’s in 06.
He was honestly my favourite character for many years, I always found him interesting.
I do love him.
Honestly I think that Mephiles should come back as the antagonist in a Shadow The Hedgehog sequel. He's always been Shadow's personal villan to me, like the way Joker is to Batman and the way Hreen Goblin is to Spider-Man. They're dynamic is just so interesting because Mephiles represents the worst parts of Shadow, his cunning, his deceptiveness and his blatenet disregard for others as seen in SA2 when Shadow manipulated Eggman into gathering the Chaos Emeralds and his attempted destruction of Earth.
Not only that but based on his boss fights he just seems to be equal to Shadow in almost every way, hell he was even able to make him take of his Inhibitor Rings which is something no one else has ever done and as such would always push Shadow to his limits. And considering that they're both immortal you can have an endless amount of stories between them.
I totally respect your opinion. I think Mephiles is a very underrated villain but it sucks that 'cuz it's Sonic 06, SEGA has that mindset of "oh if this game didn't work then screw it, it's never coming back" which is bullshit considering Silver and other characters return but that's not the point lol. Mephiles villian characterization honestly makes him one of the greater villains that we've had in a Sonic game. SEGA tried to bring that back with Infinite but it was no where near on how Mephiles potrayed that villain role. I wouldn't mind them using Mephiles in a newer Sonic game but it depends on what direction they're going for tho.
Mephiles literally got wiped out of existence. Most sonic villains in the 2000s would get come and go.
@@kamsienyioha4574 but he can travel through time
@@wisccheese9257 and it's shown that Crisis City existed in Generations, meaning that Iblis had to have existed even in the new timeline.
Oh, Sega. Always snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
Underrated? What're you talking about? Almost everybody kisses his ass. Also Mephiles is dead. It would make no sense to bring him back other than to just please you fans who want him back so badly. The closest thing you're gonna get to Mephiles himself is the Time Eater.
You can sort of consider Mephiles a tragic villain, in the sense that he wasn't _always_ like this - he was once Solaris, a small flame that supposedly was at the very least a neutral force, and being ripped apart into Mephiles and Iblis is what made him into the villain he is, and is perhaps the cause of his desire to end everything: he is (or at least feels) irreparably broken, to the point that even becoming Solaris again won't fix it, so he feels spiteful toward the reality that let this happen.
Outside of a modified retelling/remake of 06, I don't think Mephiles really works as a character to be brought back for another game, outside of _maybe_ a cameo or something. He really shone in 06, and bringing him back for a new game would kind of cheapen him, especially if the writing and voice acting aren't as good (and given the recent games as of writing this, I have no hopes for the writing department).
9:04 Infinite also has voice acting in his favor. If it weren't for that, I don't think he'd be as popular as he is.
*Starts video with a Snapcube dub clip*
Curses!! My one weakness!!
Excellent work, man. 06 actually did something cool when making Memphilis.
Memphis Tennessee is the ultimate gamer! Also he's a good villain too, I guess
Well there is an aspect that you're not considering. Mephiles might be a monster but Solaris wasn't. Solara's had trusted the king or at the very least their ancestor with their purest most vulnerable form and protected their people and their land. However that kindness was taken advantage of in the king tried to steal solaris's power for himself damning the consequences and creating the incarnation of solaris's hatred that was Mephiles.
I love Mephiles. I think he works as a villain and one of the more enjoyable parts of Sonic 06. His theme sounds like it came from a horror movie. He does have a few flaws though, but I’d love for him to come back in a modern game. If they were to rewrite him with a new origin, I think they should still let him keep his personality that so many people fell in love with
My only complaint with Mephiles is the way he killed Sonic. I would've preferred him killing Sonic in combat instead of using an underhanded tactic. I would've been shocked and impressed if Sonic actually died during a fight against Mephiles. Also, Zavok and Infinite deserve a second chance. I believe it's better to improve on characters that aren't well-received because they have more potential to grow.
From a narrative standpoint, Mephiles has no reason to return. Considering what happened at the end of 06, it wouldn't make any sense for him to suddenly come back in a new game. Regarding Infinite, his fate is unknown. We never saw him die or get erased from existence like Solaris did. Since Infinite's fate is unknown, there's plenty of room for what-if theories and ideas for new stories.
As for Zavok, he's already doing better in the IDW comics. To be more precise, I'm referring to the "Bad Guys" miniseries with Dr. Starline, Mimic, and the Skunk brothers. As generic as he was in Lost World, Zavok's earned my respect after reading the comics. Although, my favorite villain as of now is Dr. Starline. A character that wants to surpass both the Blue Blur and his former idol that he looked up to (Dr. Eggman) is pretty admirable.
Mephiles is a cheat
@@Sydney_Angelyt He's pure evil why would he care if he cheated
@@Sydney_Angelyt if that's the only way to win he will do it
@@panch3470 he wouldn’t, that’s why I called him a cheat.
I think I can explain why Mephiles killed Sonic the way he did. Mephiles plan is to unleash Iblis and merge to create Solaris, Elise crying will unleash Iblis and he knows killing Sonic would make her cry. Hence why Mephiles killed Sonic using an underhanded tactic when Elise and Sonic have a peacefully good time and when nobody else was around. It was an unexpected attack that Sonic nor Elise could prepare for or escape from.
mephiles is what happens when black doom meets erazor djinn. also, the part that makes my grudge as a player against mephiles personal is the part where he escapes the rebuilt scepter of darkness and declares that what worked years ago no longer does. villains are trouble enough to deal with when theyre predictable... theyre flat out unbeatable when theyre not... no amount of superpowers will help bring them down... you're entirely at their mercy or lack thereof. not even a deus ex machina will save you.
by deus ex machina i mean plot armor but whatever.
This is a great analysis. As someone who never played 06 I feel like I understand him a lot more and also belive he is a great villian.
Amazing work man
Mephilise's danger level is on par of junko enoshima. Both wanna have the heroes taste despair and both are able to kill someone in the game
Remember when uhhh crisis city that was supossedly vanished from existence came back in a canon game? They have an excuse to bring him back with that, and I have always fantasized about That, imagine if he steals a phantom Ruby now that the concept exist, just imagine the potential, maybe he could torment shadow about Maria and geralt, maybe he could try to put the characters between eachother, maybe Eggman could try to stop him in the shadows because he knows of his nature or something. Idk I just love this concept in this type of story where the only important thing are the characters.
But sadly whit what they did in forces having lots of potential for the Story, I Don't really want Mephiles back anymore. Better die as a villain that being noooooooo im weak noooooo
Yeah! The Silver boss fight in Generations was in Crisis City which made no sense.
How does it exist since it didn't happen in the current timeline? Can the time eater go into alternate timelines? Was that 06 or Rival Silver? If it was 06 Silver then how does he exist? If its Rivals Silver then what is he doing in Crisis City? Why is the boss fight in Crisis City when Sonic and Silver didn't even meet there?
SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! ANSWER SEGA!!!
@@strelitziamystery21 Time Eater can fuck with timelines. Metal Sonic is fought in the Bad Future of Stardust Speedway, the Death Egg is still in Sky Sanctuary (if I remember correctly), etc.
@@melon6444 but the 06 timeline doesn't even exist
@@strelitziamystery21 It did in a previous point of time. As far as canon goes. The CD "Bad Future" may not exist either, it could be a completely hypothetical timeline. Yet the Time Eater brings it into this one.
@@melon6444 Time stuff is complicated!!!
I wish Sonic or some of the other characters commented on those levels and been like "Huh, you'd think I would remember a place like that." Or something similar.
I hope they bring Mephiles back in a main game, so that Sonic can fight him this time.
That’s exactly what I want bruh
It's been a while since I saw a vid on this subject
I love how this guy could have just do his plan right away but decided to be a sadistic manipulator and do things the hard way. And most people hate playing Sonic 06 so he also forced them to play through it.
shadow is the only person mephiles physically fights, so it makes a lot of sense for him to return in sonic x shadow generations as a boss fight! it would be really cool to see him again and the remix would be fire!
A Mephiles video!!! 👀👀
Sonic never really even knew Mephiles, he was a Shadow villain
Actually sonic, tails and knuckles all saw him
@@jackthebitingcyborg8689 I should've said knew, you're right
Yeah, it’s weird that Sonic, Tails and Knuckles never really interacted with Mephiles. Considering the fact that he is the main antagonist of the game.
amazing as always 😎😎
also hmm sure seemed to be alot of DC related things in here....is that a hint towards something?
I absolutely adore his design
Mephiles is by far the greatest sonic villain because unlike all the other villains the only way to stop him was by erasing his existence!
The best way to bring Mephiles is that he had a contingency to where he saved a small part of himself in case he failed he would be able to regenerate and recover his power
His biggest advantage just like from the game no one knows who he is and what his intentions are, no telling what he will do but undoubtedly it will be whatever he pleases.
I personally think that while Mephiles is a fine enough villain, i think he could have used better framing alongside Elise having a less... dumb trigger for Iblis. Despite his clear desperation, Silver trusting someone named MEPHILES THE DARK, kinda makes him look dumb
What if Mephiles is still around in the background waiting for the time to reveal he is still around along with Iblis still existing but sealed inside of Blaze like what '06 did and Silver gets his own game where it's him facing off against Mephiles resulting in a final showdown where Iblis gets released and instead of going to Mephiles it goes to Silver turning him into Solaris instead with a new look and power set where Silver wipes this Meph out but knows there are hundreds of versions that still exists and goes around the multiverse to wipe them out before they become a threat
Great video - I doubt that we’d see him as the main villain again but your video shows why he’s one of the best (if not the best) villain for the Sonic franchise
YAS!!!! My absolute favourite Sonic villain!!! I NEED HIM TO COME BACK!!!
I have a feeling Shadow will become the "new" Mephiles the Dark in future Sonic games for some reason.
I agree with you that we need a villian to give us an impact like mephiles, the fact that mephiles was a one off villian gave his appearance more value
Mephiles is a very simple villain and I admit that I start seeing him more as "cartoonishly evil" when it comes to his goals of simply wiping the board as I grow older, yet the exaggerated movements, eerie music and glorious voice performance makes him an absolute treat to watch regardless of whatever he plans to do. He's a character that we rarely find nowadays, probably because a lot of people no longer seem to want monsters as villains, which is a shame because there is such an interesting sincerity that comes from these characters. Yes, their goals can be nonsensical and we may laugh at how silly they can be sometimes, but dang is it always fun to see our heroes give it their all against such foes. Just like our favorite doctor which I still cry for not getting his own moment of glory in Forces...
But anyway, Mephiles. I have to admit I have a hard time seeing him come back considering how 06 ended, not to mention I'm not really sure where the character could go after pulling something like becoming a god of space and time, so it might be better to simply let him rest as a legend than drag him out and ruin the magic.
Merlina, Meph, and Scourge are super underrated
I'm surprised you didn't so much as mention character's motivation. That's the most interesting thing about it.
For one thing, it's fascinating how Mephiles's motivation *is* its existence and vice versa. While the creature is clearly intelligent, it's arguably non-sentient, since its only reason for anything it does, from manipulating others or... well, apart from the battles, that's actually most of what it does... is to ultimately fulfill its reality-destroying nature.
Writing an evil character whose evil is simply a part of nature is incredibly difficult to do. Especially in a way that makes the creature frightening rather than pitiful.
Mephiles arguably accomplishes this as a character because of how clearly its actions show that there's nothing inside of it for you to hate or pity. All that leaves is fear.
To put all that in some logical terms, this is a monster that wants only to erase the universe (maybe or maybe not erasing itself along with it -- that part isn't made clear). The only thing the monster itself accomplishes by erasing the universe it is to lose everything that it has. Yet at the same time the creature is obviously sane and competent enough to know what it's doing, and to understand and manipulate the people around it-- and it's still so determined to achieve this goal that it can't be reasoned with. Losing everything is not something that any rational or instinctual mind can actually want-- it is, in fact, the opposite of wanting. Even a monk who gives up all worldly possessions wants to gain something intangible in exchange. The simplest explanation, then, is that, while it obviously has intelligence, the monster doesn't have a mind.
Add that this erasure of everything is the only thing the monster wants-- implied to be the only thing that it's even capable of wanting, as the creature never shows any temptation itself, even while it tempts others-- and the monster is looking less like something alive and more like a force of nature that happens to have taken on the image of a conveniently-nearby creature.
Also on a sidenote I would object to your calling Mephiles "he" in a serious analysis like this... even though the characters in the game do it, one of the few things the game itself actually manages to make pretty clear is that Mephiles isn't a living thing. Pronouns don't apply to it any more than they do to a cardboard box, and I think that using them ignores part of what makes the character work so well.
And I also wouldn't describe anything it does as "for its own gains" since the thing that motivates it is the opposite of that.
This is an interesting view on Mephiles. The distinction you make between having a mind and having intelligence are kind of hard for me to wrap my head around - could you elaborate on that a little bit?
@@syweb2 Hmmm... what I meant was kinda like having intelligence without having any free will, but taken up to an even bigger level.
The way I see Mephiles is almost like a really advanced learning computer; it can "think" to predict people's actions well enough to deceive them, but it's incapable of making any choice that wouldn't actively further its programmed goals.
What makes Mephiles super-scary to me is the idea that even though it can reason with you, you can't reason with it because there's just nothing in there to reason with.
Putting it another way, if Mephiles has a consciousness, that consciousness has no agency. All Mephiles ever does is act in whatever way will get it closest to merging with Iblis/destroying reality.
So there's no evidence that a consciousness is there, and my point of view is that it's probably not, because for Mephiles, being capable of conscious thought would get in the way of achieving its goals.
...you can probably tell this isn't easy to explain :)
But I love a good brain-twister.
This is legit too good
Mephiles also is an alpha gamer, he can be in friendzone frequently but it's okay
Pretty great video. One of the very few video essays I've watched that actually understands the functionality of the "Chaotic Evil" and what makes them great.
Finally someone takes seriously Mephiles and NOT Memphis Tenesse. First He was unknown by the most but Now is a friking meme and I hate it. It's the best evil sonic character and I appreciate that is getting some interest by the fans
He is part lizard 😃
Was not aware of this character till recently, he sure shows out to be a great character! I just say that maybe him not going far in the series was actually a good thing in a way as to sonic characters tends to get oversimplified in more modern games, so even if he came back, who can really say they would handle his character well?
I say that sometimes it's better to kill out a character at it's peak rather then milk them until they become boring and just not enjoyable. So at least he got killed out while still new and fresh, even if he came from the most infamous sonic game, dam.
So I've seen a lot of people ask from a narrative stand point, how in the world would Mephiles come back?
Well I have a solution, and it was partially inspired by a fan comic I read a long time ago
Mephiles survived 06 through a crack in time, but was imprisoned and weakened in this crack, waiting for a time anomaly to release him.
In a future Sonic game, an anomaly, likely caused by Eggman, happens and unknowingly releases Mephiles, who's bitterness has been festering.
But he was freed in a new timeline that doesn't know anything about him, Iblis, and Solaris is more a symbol and a myth than anything else
Giving Mephiles a second chance to take others by surprise
"My name is Memphis, Tennessee"
- Mephiles 2019
Nice to give this video the silhouette thumbnail, even if one of his hands looks like it's griping a croissant
I personally never had a problem with zavok however I think lost worlds story and zavok's character would have been better if maybe he cared more about the deadly six like he does in the Idw comics. I would have been fine if they just had him say in lost world his motivation for trying to destroy sonics world was just to get back at Eggman for just hurting his family its small but I feel like just that little addition would have made a real difference.
His motivation was obvious. What, you want him to outright state it word for word? He's also shown caring about Zazz and Zik in Lost World. His is shown caring a lot about all of the Six in the comics though.
@@chrange9714 no I just mean he should have been more companionate to only the other zeti and of course his motivation was obvious he wanted to destroy Sonic's world as revenge for what Eggman did to them.
@@Gusername You made it sound like his motivation wasn't obvious. He did show care for Zik and Zazz in Lost World like I said, just in the comics he showed care for everybody.
I mean mephslis exists due to his being being split while being experimented on them imprisoned …. Yea I wouldn’t be the happiest camper of that was my existence.
That last image of Mephiles right there, just before the end of the video, pure fear.
Am I the only one that's not a fan of sympathetic villains. Not every evil is born from Tragedy.
Wanted to know his origins and why he didn't have a mouth. He came from a dark side of shadow of create it by it? I don't remember 😂😅 but long ago I did like his movements and how manipulating he is and design 😁👍🏻
Good video 😎👌🏻
1 year later and Kishimoto says that he might come back in the future games
I like the thumbnail change, Nick.
If I'd be making a video essay on Mephiles it'd just be me simping about him 10-20 minutes straight 😅
Sadly after 06's ending all we can hope for is a good successor to Mephiles 😢
Mephiles also has 4 interesting Forms
My my favourite archetype of villian is tragic (the kind that you can understand the reason they broke and sometimes can even have a redeeming quality even if they are still a Monster)
Mephiles also has a Monstrous Form. Which that's a state that Mephiles powering up his Darkness from his shadow minions.
imagine if mephlis went into a super form without iblis
Mephiles was very good, but the best SONIC villain is Scourge from the Archie comics.
Y O S H
The possible only way to bring mephiles the dark back is with the sonic movie’s at this point since sega wants us to forget him
Honestly, bringing Mephiles back would only really cheapen him, and they probably wouldn't even do a good job of it anyway - he embodies a very specific mindset that Sonic Team's writers had at that time, and that time and mindset have _long_ since passed.
💯 like.
My favorite Sonic villain of all time!!!
If Sonic 06 gets remastered I hope he returns.
That "my name is Memphis Tennessee" killed me XD
Mephiles the Dark is one of my favorite Sonic characters so thanks, and I even hate Sonic 06!
#00.3 #myfavouritepartMemphisTennesseeeessss
That character was a one time villain only on Sonic o6 he tricks silver to take out Sonic he tried to get Shadow on his side it didn't work so he killed Sonic his self forcing the princess to cry unleashing his other half ibis both combined into Solaris so all the character except Blaze gets the chaos emeralds to bring Sonic back all three hedgehogs Shadow past Sonic present Silver future defeats Solaris and erasing him from existence that paricular videogame was literally erased so Shadow doesn't know his dark future Silver never met sonic until Sonic rivals and Sonic colors and generations and the princess never met or kissed a blue talking hedgehog with shoes
Tbh in my opinion infinite only has his looks theme and the (in my opinion at least) awsome powers of the phantom ruby
am not really a die hard old fan of sonic 06 but i believe mephiles was a well-made villain..COOL Design and No motive except to fack with people ! He was a very manipulative, villain.
Can I get a HD remake for sonic o6 ?! Like that would be so sick
Mephiles' evil doing in manipulating Silver to kill Sonic.
Edgy deviantart OC:
fandom:
Edgy deviantart OC in a game that's nowadays nostalgic:
fandom: OOOOH SO DEEP
You're comparing Mephiles to Coldsteel?
Fun fact him and Shadow have the INTJ personality type
Hey Psst, Mephistopheles is not a Figure in German Folklore. He is a Charakter in Goethes Faust just like how Hamlet, Romeo and Juliete are Charakters is Shakespears plays.
I think that him possibly being in the Forces was not a rumor. I think one of the devs stated that they were seriously considering him.
But... we all know what that would look like. He would have the same role in Forces as Chaos had. Just being there for the sake of luring the fans to buy the game. He would just be an illusion. He wouldn't do anything. If there was a boss battle, it would be a copy cat of another boss battle, and it would be lame and uninspired. And he probably wouldn't talk at all.
NOW EVERYONES MY BOYFRIEND!!
Its kinda funny about the Monster Typ...Mep is a Monster a part of God...but this Monster Typ has one flaw..."Infinite". Is he a Monster? Or something else?
Why, Nick? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?
* explosion and split into two *
@@jobsidian4219 I've never been happier
I feel like Mephiles should not come back.
Like his character is amazing and all but Sonic 06 was his game and he died with it.
What i mean if we see the return of mephiles Sega would most likely try to milk it hard and eventually turn the character into a joke.
This has happened with Shadow and the Wisps. They were great on their original games but after that, they just really suck (with the exception Sonic 06 Shadow). Like it's obvious they were done with the character on their original but they shoehorn them into the newer games which is why we get Sonic forces.
Great video, but I don't understand why you don't actually play the music or dialogue when you're talking about it. Would add more context to it.
One thing I kinda would like to see with Mephiles' personality is a spin on the "handsome devil" motif. I got this idea from the 06 dub (of all things), like he wouldn't be extremely flirtatious to annoyance, but maybe do something like silently pass Blaze or Silver a rose. Also I wouldn't mind seeing him with a slight comedic side, nothing huge just some whitty retorts here and there.
“Welcome to tilted towers”
This is sad that mephiles had to be in a rushed shity garbage bin
3 weeks? 0 likes? What kind of sorcery?
It still is an issue that Mephiles has character plot holes and how his powers work is never explained. If he can travel back in time then why doesn't he go to the point in time Shadow sealed him away and fuse with Iblis while Shadow is distracted as Silver is not expecting him? Or why doesn't he go to the point in time when Elise dies on the egg carrier, thus releasing Iblis? We are dealing with Billy from Outlast once again, just the most powerful villain in the mythos who has plot induced stupidity aka he should win every time. A good limit to his powers would be that he can't travel back in time to a point in time where the scepter of darkness exists.