Well, this episode was very enjoyable. It didn't have as much laughs as a typical episode, but it was more dramatically intense and unlike the last episode, this one didn't make me have uneasy feelings watching it. But, once again, it involved an Eggman robot turning on him. I'm starting to think that Eggman is not good at building robots because this is like the 3rd time this season that his robots have betrayed him. There's also something else special about this episode, but I'll get to that later.
So, here's my review of the episode of Sonic Boom, which aired on February 11th, 2017.
"FiendBot"
The episode starts with Tails, Knuckles, & Amy playing cards at Tails' house when Sonic comes in with exciting news. He got an old video game from a flea market: Tomatopotamus 2. Tails comments on how that game is the best one of the entire series and that Tomatopotamus never worked in 3D. (Ow.) Knuckles added how game companies always ruin their beloved franchises. (Ouch.) And Sonic added how they should have never changed the color of Tomatopotamus' legs. (Okay, this 4th wall breaking self-deprecation is going just a bit too far here, guys...) Amy said that they used to play this game all the time and wondered why they ever stopped. Tails explains that the games were built with a special microchip made from sparcium, a rare valuable alloy that was worth more than the game cartridge itself, which resulted in the games getting recalled and melted down years ago. Sonic commented on how they didn't get every copy as he puts the game in the system. We soon see the gang playing the game, which consisted of each player playing as a colored flying hippopotamus that shoots tomatos out of its mouth while avoiding flying obstacles. The object was simple, shoot down the opposing flying hippos and the last player left standing wins. (That game actually looks pretty fun. I hope SEGA adds this as a bonus game or a game within a game thing for the next Sonic Boom game.) Sonic tells his friends that he is still the undefeated Tomatopotamus champion and Knux tells him to put his tomato where his mouth is. Sonic then said that if any of them can beat him, chili dogs are on him. Meanwhile, at Eggman's lair, Eggman proclaims that his latest creation will surely defeat Sonic. As Orbot sarcastically proclaims that he's never heard that one before, Eggman informs him that it's different, this time. He plans on programming his new giant robot, named FiendBot, all that is known about his speedy blue nemesis, being able to anticipate every move he makes. Back at Tails' house, the gang was still playing their Tomatopotamus game when Tails' flying hippo is the first to lose all 3 hit points and be eliminated. Amy bragged on the fact that she wasn't eliminated first and pointed out on how the stereotype of girls not being good at video games is not only offensive, but completely untrue... that is, until her flying hippo was the next to be eliminated. :) It came down to Sonic & Knuckles. It was clear that their video game skills were second to none as they continued going at each other for 14 hours! Sonic & Knuckles have racked up so many points, they reached level 27, a level previously thought to be unreachable. And level 27... was an underwater level. (Basically, the same thing, just with a watery background.) Apparently, even virtual water triggers Sonic's fear as Sonic started to freak out, giving Knuckles the chance to eliminate his hippo! As Sonic gets frustrated, Knuckles celebrates the fact that he actually beat Sonic! Back at Eggman's lair, he finishes inputting the video data (which is a pretty cool montage of Sonic's best feats from Season 1) into FiendBot. Meanwhile, at Meh Burger, Sonic gets a dozen chili dogs, made with, as Dave says, the finest ingredients, which basically means not yet expired. :D Eggman then calls out Sonic as FiendBot lands near his path. As Sonic was doing his trademark witty banter about putting this new robot in a landfill... the robot blasted him, saying that before every battle, Sonic engages in witty banter for an average of 3.5 seconds, allowing time for a targeted attack. (Whoa...) Sonic then tries to use his spinning attack on FiendBot only for FiendBot to block it instantly, saying that 72% of Sonic's spin attacks veer right 8 degrees. (Okay... this looks bad...) I will admit, this plan of Eggman's is pretty brilliant... Sonic is really put to a challenge here... The robot then fires rockets at Sonic. Sonic was quick to avoid the blasts. One of the rockets hits a tree. Sonic looks back to see that the tree was about to fall on Perci. He quickly rushes back and saves her just before the tree could fall on them. As Perci thanks him, FiendBot analyzes Sonic's rescue. Suddenly, Lady Walrus cries out as her baby was going to fall off Meh Burger's roof beam, but Sonic quickly catches the little fella and gives him to his mother. As FiendBot continues to watch, Eggman demands that it finishes him immediately. FiendBot proclaims, after analyzing the new data, that it sees Sonic not as an enemy, but as a friend. As Eggman commented that he must have programmed him to have his sardonic wit, FiendBot starts firing its rockets at Eggman's Egg Mobile! Eggman made a hasty retreat. (Sheesh... You'd think Eggman would program some kind of loyalty in his robots. Seriously, how many robots that aren't Metal Sonic has betrayed him, huh? :D ) As Sonic was thanking the robot for saving him... from itself, he picks up the bags of chili dogs and leaves... all while FiendBot was following him like a puppy! (Well, I guess Clifford the Big Red Dog would be an appropriate comparison... :D ) Complete with puppy dog eyes, too! :D Sonic says that the robot can't follow him back, since his friends doesn't like it when giant robots follow him back home. (Yeah, especially Sticks... who was surprisingly absent throughout this episode. Would have loved to see her reaction to this...) Back at Tails' house, Sonic comes back and gives the gang their chili dogs. Suddenly, they hear a loud stomping noise. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy step outside to see FiendBot and were about to attack it. Sonic quickly stops them and told them that FiendBot won't attack them. Tails, not one to usually question Sonic's judgement, pointed out that the robot was created by Eggman, is covered in missile launchers, and his name is FiendBot. Sonic then figured to change its name to FriendBot. Knuckles then tells Sonic that Tails couldn't have been any clearer and he still missed the point! XD Knuckles: "Whoa... Is this how you guys feel every time I open my mouth?" XD Sonic told them that FriendBot had a chance to destroy him, but he didn't do it, to which Knuckles said he could destroy him at any time... to which the robot thought Knuckles to be a threat to Sonic and armed its weapons towards him! Sonic quickly calmed the robot down, letting him know that they're his friends, too. As the robot retracted its weapons, Sonic told the gang to just give FriendBot a chance. Back at Eggman's Lair, Eggman proclaimed that his error was making FiendBot sentient, one he won't make again with his new weapon: An energy blasting turret. He explains that he uploaded this energy blaster with the same Sonic data he uploaded in FiendBot, only with no robotic brain power, guaranteeing that it won't turn traitor. Later, we see Sonic & friends make an effort with FriendBot. Playing volleyball, video games, and having a late night dance party. But, due to the robot immense size and strength, that would be quite difficult as it spiked the volleyball deep in the sand, almost pulling the video game system out as it sat to play with Sonic's controller, and accidentally smacked Sonic & Amy into a table. The next day, we see Sonic and friends heading to Meh Burger for lunch with FriendBot following behind them. Knuckles, annoyed, asked Sonic if he really has to come with them, since the robot doesn't even eat food. Sonic then tells him that it's not fair... to compare Meh Burger with food. :D Suddenly, Eggman shows up with his army of robots, including Obliterator Bot & Mega Bot. As Sonic, Tails, & Amy dealt with the scorpion bots and grasshopper bots, Knuckles fought with Obliterator Bot, pounding away at its midsection, and FriendBot faced off against the equally giant Mega Bot. In a giant battle reminiscent of the Light Gaia Golem vs Dark Gaia Beast from Sonic Unleashed, FriendBot was easily able to topple Mega Bot. Sonic, Tails, & Amy watched on in amazement while Knuckles was annoyed, telling them he's fighting a giant robot, too. Mega Bot got up, only to have a rocket take out its head! FriendBot then turned its focus on Obliterator Bot. As FriendBot engaged with Obliterator Bot like giant sized Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, like the ones you see at Dave & Buster's, Knuckles fell off, even more ticked, saying he's supposed to be the strong one on the team. FriendBot then rips the chainsaw arm off of Obliterator Bot and uses it to slice off its other arm and put it down for the count. Eggman then decides to bring out the main weapon as we see the Energy Blasting Turret approach Sonic. As it fired its energy blasts, Sonic was able to dodge it a speed off away from it, but the turret was close behind it. As the turret manages to corner Sonic by a wall, it fires directly at Sonic. Suddenly, FriendBot dives in and takes the full brunt of the attack! As FriendBot slowly shut down after it heroic save, Amy, Knuckles, & Tails sees this and realized that Sonic was right about that robot after all. Knuckles charged towards the turret and delivers a ground pound, knocking it up into the air. Amy smacks the turret with her hammer, sending it crashing into a tree and being destroyed. Sonic then executes a spinning attack to Eggman's Egg Mobile, sending Eggman far away. Later, at Tails' Workshop, we see Tails attempting to repair the deactivated FriendBot. Sonic, Knuckles, & Amy waits in Tails' house, concerned about their new robotic ally. Tails returns, telling them that FriendBot's A.I. processor was destroyed in the blast. Eggman made the processor out of sparcium. Tails is able to replace it, but... in order to do that, he'll have to extract the sparcium from their Tomatopotamus 2 cartridge. Knuckles, having a high score in that game above Sonic, didn't want to do it... but realized it had to be done. (Dang... Very dramatically epic...) The next morning, as we see their game smashed up, Tails reboots and reactivates FriendBot. As they celebrate FriendBot's recovery, Tails said he made one extra adjustment. He presses a button and confetti shoots out of FriendBot's missile launchers. Guess Tails added a party mode in him. :) Sonic then tells Amy that FriendBot is too big to fit in any of their houses and wonders where can they keep him. Later, Sonic and friends lead FriendBot through the forest. Sonic tells him that this will be better as the robot can live out here where he'll have plenty of space and they'll come visit him at any time. Plus, if there's trouble, they'll contact him on his new wrist communicator. They soon lead them to where the prototype Cubots were hiding. (Ha! A continuation from the Valley of the Cubots episode. Nice use of contingency.) Amy explains that these robots could use someone of FriendBot's strength to take care of them. FriendBot accepts this responsibility and says farewell and gives the gang a group hug. Knuckles then says to FriendBot to never forget... that he beat Sonic in Tomatopotamus and got the high score to which FriendBot kept in its memory storage. :)
Wow! Just... wow... This episode was great, dramatic, and epic. Plus, the fact that it would end with the new robotic ally acting as a bodyguard for the Cubot colony from Season 1 was pretty cool.
So... Last week we have a mech suit that Sonic says may come in handy in the future and now we have a reformed giant Eggman robot as part of the Team Sonic Boom Crew. Something tells me that the Season 2 finale is going to be an epic 2-parter... or even 3-parter... that could possibly bring Lyric and do him better justice than the first 2 games ever could try to do... Either way, Season 2 keeps getting more and more interesting and entertaining and I look forward to the next episodes. :D
