REAL Character Profile - Rouge the Bat

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Rouge

Nicknames: Bat girl (addressed as this primarily by Eggman and Knuckles)

Race: Bat
(If you choose to get technical, Rouge is most likely a simple Fruit Bat. I doubt she's one of those pig-faced Vampire Bats or something along those lines.)

Gender: Female (and how!)

Age: 18

Date of birth: Unknown

Birthplace: Unknown

Height: 105 centimeters (3 feet and 5 inches)

Weight: Secret.
(Speculation: Rouge is Big's age yet is close to Knuckles' height. If you factor in those two attributes, along with her voluptuous bulk, you can estimate Rouge's weight is about ~35 kg [77 lbs] to ~39 kg [85.8 lbs].)

Physical techniques:
(1). Spin Jump
Description: Also referred to as the "spinball jump," Rouge is able to leap into the air and curl into a spinning, tightly compacted ball of destruction which can destroy enemies and break barriers.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(2). Black Wave
Description: When enough rings are gathered, Rouge is able to conjure up a black, water-ripple-like obscurity in midair that inflicts major damage to anyone caught in it.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(3). Drill Drive
Description: When airborne, Rouge can hurl herself towards the ground, spinning her body at a nearly impossible speed to form a drill. It can penetrate right through foes, or drill her right into the ground for digging, always making the impact with her feet.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(4). Screw Kick
Description: The Screw Kick is a lot like the Drill Drive, except it is done in an upward direction. Rouge must quickly run in a circle to set up the maneuver and is then able to leap up and spin her body to form an upwards drill, feet-first. The attack gets very impressive altitudes: it is able to send Rouge about 15 feet into the air.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(5). Hip Drop
Description: Rouge pounds her hips into the ground to trigger a tremor of impressive magnitude that spreads a radius of about a hundred yards.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

Abilities and aptitude:
(1). Knuckles and Rouge are rivals when it comes to their power. But where Knuckles has most of his power in his fists of fury, Rouge's power is in her legs and feet. One good lashing kick from Rouge can shatter boulders or slice metal in half, or even dent walls of thick steel. She uses her feet for almost all of her offensive tactics.
(2). Very experienced swimmer.
(3). Of course, using her wings, Rouge can fly.
(4). Rouge can climb pretty much any wall, no matter what material.
(5). Excellent at digging and tunneling through subterranean regions with her specialized digging boots.
(6). Can be pretty fast when need be. How she can run anywhere with those big boots is beyond me.

Hobbies and talents:
(1). Excellent kickboxer.
(2). World-famous treasure hunter.
(3). Talented with many types of Extreme Gear.

Weaknesses:
(1). If a tempting opportunity presents itself, Rouge can be easily sidetracked.
(2). Being a bat, Rouge's hearing is quite sensitive, so a constant high pitched sound can bring her to her knees.
-No other known weaknesses. (Unless you find it necessary to include that she has no strength in her hands, which is not confirmed.)

Physical Appearance:
- Her head is covered in white fur
- Tan skin muzzle and inner ears
- Tan skin voluptuous and feminine body
- Gorgeous aqua green eyes
- Fur spikes out into four thick, arched tufts on the back of her head, looking somewhat like shoulder-length hair
- Large, alert sensitive ears with a darker skin color near the inside
- Black bat wings
- Small black, shiny nose
- Small, slightly arched tail (always under her clothes)
- Usually applies pink lipstick, mascara, and blue eyeshade cosmetics

Attire:
- Contoured black jumpsuit that only covers her from the chest down, exposing her arms and upper chest, similar to a tube top in that respect. The chest area of the suit is pink and heart-shaped with white trim
- White form-fitting, elbow length gloves with pink cuffs at the top
- White long-stocking high-heel boots with pink collars at the top to match the gloves. The soles and heels are made of metal for digging

Items & weapons:
(1). Pick Nails
Description: Small heart shaped shovels that go on the toe of her boots. They make digging, especially through rough terrain, easier.
Appearance: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(2). Iron Boots
Description: More like metal heels than actual boots, these let Rouge bust open steel containers.
Appearance: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(3). Treasure Scope
Description: A magenta piece of spy equipment with an extending green lens. This let Rouge see things that can't be seen otherwise.
Appearance: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(4). Bat Cracker
Description: Small sphere shaped bombs that follow their target and explode on impact. Some match Rouge's color scheme, while others are made to look like her.
In-game debut: Sonic Battle, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2003

Vehicle(s):
- A white cart that's almost as extravagant as its owner. Rouge has only used it once.

- Temptation
Description: A white, black and aqua Extreme Gear air board with magenta hearts on the top.

Personality details: Rouge is fearless, bewitching, and obviously overflows with feminine charm. These three features are all that she needs to get what she wants. And what does this sexy bat want? Valuable jewels. A treasure huntress by nature, Rouge has devoted her time to possessing all of the most precious gems she can get her hands on. If she sets her eyes on one she fancies, she will go for it no matter what the costs. In particular, she likes very large ones, which is how she has developed a brewing rivalry with Knuckles since she wants the Master Emerald. However, she's secretly attracted to the rad red echidna (although she'd never admit it), and she admires his fortitude when it comes to looking after the Master Emerald.

Judging by her ever confident smirk and vain conduct, Rouge comes off as careless, while on the contrary, she is always calculative and scheming on the inside; performing her feats with the utmost stealth and cunning. She takes her work as a treasure huntress seriously, always looking forward to her salary at the end of her job, which comes in the form of a nice, shiny new jewel. Despite being more of a heroine than she'd readily admit, it just goes to show that when it comes to Rouge, "Diamonds are a woman's best friend."

Historical biography:

           Rouge: a world famous treasure huntress and secret military spy. Little did she know, however, that a single mission that seemed so simple would propel this bat into the escapades of Sonic & the gang. That mission? To research and analyze Project: Shadow, and accomplishing it required a double agent routine. Rouge allied herself with Dr. Eggman and Shadow with the promise that she'd get them the Chaos Emeralds they needed to power the Eclipse Cannon with her famed treasure hunting skills. The three of them became a team, while Rouge was secretly gathering information from the Space Colony ARK on Project: Shadow, frequently reporting back to the military to update them on her successful progress.

           During all of this, however, Rouge was also searching for the shattered Master Emerald. Turns out Knuckles deliberately shattered it so Eggman couldn't snatch it, but Knuckles didn't mind so much since he could always find the pieces himself. This event happened during an argument between Knuckles and Rouge over who gets to take the Master Emerald while the gem stood between them, waiting for its impending fate. Luckily, Eggman came to mediate the argument by trying to steal it himself. Knowing Eggman couldn't get it if it was in pieces, Knuckles shattered it. This of course infuriated Rouge, so after she rang Knuckles' neck, the both of them went off in a race to find the pieces. Afterall, Rouge loves jewels and the Master Emerald was definitely a jewel worth collecting. Also, nfortunately for Knuckles, he was unaware of how skilled a treasure hunter his newly acquired bat of a rival was.

           As the whole snafu progressed, they eventually reached outer space in the Space Colony ARK. In time, not only did Rouge surrender the pieces of the Master Emerald she had back to Knuckles under the lame defense that they stunk like echidnas did, but she was also caught red-handed in her double agent routine by Shadow. The hedgehog managed to catch Rouge gathering data of Project: Shadow on disc, yet Rouge wasn't so phased. After all, she completed her mission. She was rather confused as she confronted Shadow, since the creature she read about in the data files was not at all like the hedgehog who stood in front of her and who claimed to be the real Ultimate Lifeform. This was her report: Project: Shadow. (Translated by Kojichan.)

           By now, you obviously know how the whole story goes; eventually they all band together to stop the Space Colony ARK from colliding with Earth, Super Sonic and Super Shadow stop the Biolizard, etc., etc. Since the end of that whole episode, she still is up to her scheming for obtaining jewels and gems, particularly the Master Emerald or the Chaos Emeralds. But when a global crisis presents itself, the surprisingly righteous side of Rouge kicks in and she can always be depended on when the going gets tough. In the end, though, she still has to capture her ultimate prize. *coughKnucklescough*

Personal information:

Greatest friend(s):Shadow the Hedgehog and E-123 "Omega".

Other friend(s): Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower (she loves teasing the lil' fox).

Rival(s): Knuckles the Echidna (she actually has a crush on Knuckles, but she's too stubborn to admit it) and Wave the Swallow (Rouge considers her as Extreme Gear competion).

Enemy(s): Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (when the situation calls for it)

Likes: Jewels, treasure hunting, having things her way, dark places, being a tease and she seems to fancy Knuckles, considering how much she flirts with him.

Dislikes: Rouge dislikes when things don't go her way or when she can't obtain a certain jewel. She doesn't want any challenges, she just wants what she goes for right away. Amy Rose tends to get on her nerves. And, like her crush, Rouge can't stand it when it gets too bright.

Favorite food(s): Unknown. Probably some real classy food. Rouge is an individual who seems to enjoy the finer things in life.

Favorite color(s): Unknown. Possibly magenta or other alluring colors.

Occupation: Government spy, treasure huntress, and club owner.

Place of residence: Unknown. Probably her nightclub, Club Rouge.

GAME INFORMATION

Franchise name: Rouge the Bat

Original purpose: Rival and love interest for Knuckles the Echidna, and as a villain role in Sonic Adventure 2.

Current purpose: Hasn't changed. Although, she isn't really that much of a villain anymore. She wasn't to begin with, in fact.

Date of first promotion/presence in the industry: Rouge was first shown in Sonic Adventure 2, first released in the US on June 19th, 2001.

Years in service: 5, and still going…

Original Designer: Uncomfirmed. Takashi Iizuka or Yuji Uekawa?

Design process: Unconfirmed. Rouge's design process was probably similar to how all of the others were made. Many design sketches were made and Rouge was chosen. Simple as that.

Possible design inspirations: No known design inspiration. Rouge seems to be completely original.

Prestigious design variations: 2
+ - current design
— - original design

- 1, Sonic Adventure 2, 2001 — + (pictured to the left)
- 2, Sonic Heroes, 2003 (image - this design is not her current design; it seems to have been used exclusively for Sonic Heroes)
- 3, Sonic Riders, 2006 (image - this design is exclusive only to Sonic Riders and is not her official design)

Known Game Voice Actors:
Sonic Adventure 2 (US): Lani Minella
Sonic Adventure 2 (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Sonic Battle (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Sonic Battle (US): Lani Minella
Sonic Heroes (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Sonic Heroes (US): Lani Minella
Shadow the Hedgehog (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Shadow the Hedgehog (US): Kathleen Delaney
Sonic Riders (US): Kathleen Delaney
Sonic Riders (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (JP): Rumi Ochiai
Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (US): Kathleen Delaney
Sonic Rivals (US): Kathleen Delaney

Sonic Games she has been playable in:

(1). Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)
(2). Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (GameCube)
(3). Sonic Battle (Game Boy Advance)
(4). Sonic Heroes (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
       - Sonic Heroes (PC)
(5). Sonic Riders (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
(6). Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3)

Sonic Games she has made an appearance in:
(1). Shadow the Hedgehog (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
(2). Sonic Rivals (PlayStation Portable)

Non-video game portrayals:

(1). Sonic the Hedgehog, SOA-licensed by Archie comics (Comic series)
(2). Sonic X, made in Japan, then later dubbed for US release (Anime TV Series)
(3). Sonic X, SOA-licensed by Archie comics, based on the previously mentioned anime (Comic series)

Personal character analysis/commentary (by Nuclear Envoy):

          Rouge the Bat, as far as female Sonic characters go, broke many barriers and surprised many fans. She is definitely a unique one, so she gets points for that. And with her debut on Sonic Adventure 2, accompanying its rather dark feel and atmosphere, came a much more mature and realistic touch to the Sonic Universe. Why? Simple. What game series aimed towards children would promote a female character who is obviously, well… blessed with the body of a super model? … Not those bony Euro-trash ones that snort cocaine.

          But even more unique than her "bodacious bod" is the fact that Rouge can kick ass. A female character who can kick ass and is even more imposing than some of the male characters is quite a rarity in a game series like Sonic. Sally and Bunnie are the only official Sonic characters that are like that, yet they're not in the games or are part of the game storyline. So far, Rouge and Blaze are the only female characters that are independent and can single-handedly wipe out Eggman's robots with style and agility. Amy has been known to be powerful, but it's usually in a comic relief style. Rouge just pwninates the opposition in a sleek, action-packed style like how Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow do.

           It was that, her appearance, and her personality that many Sonic fans found appealing. Not only does she kick ass and looks gorgeous, but she has a careless and calculative personality to go with it: the mark of a true intelligent woman who exploits her well-endowed appearance to charm any guys into getting what she wants. Rouge fans are mostly older girls with personalities strikingly similar, or ones that look up to that conduct. Rouge fans usually aren't young girls, since Amy & Cream are meant to appeal to them more.

           And next to Amy, Rouge is by far the most popular character among the guys of the Sonic fanbase for reasons obvious to the naked eye. What red-blooded adolescent male wouldn't like a character like Rouge? To them, it doesn't matter if she is a 3 foot tall bat anthro.

          Although her popularity was shadowed by Sonic Adventure 2's showcase character, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge is now slowly beginning to form quite an extensive fanbase, since unlike Shadow, she wasn't screwed up beyond repair in Sonic Heroes. She still acts generally the same and has the same tricks of the trade, which is never a bad thing. So overall, she seems to have a bright future, and is too unique to be trashed any time soon.