Weaknesses. Imperfections. Flaws. Whatever you want to call them, we all have them; I don't care who you are. Naturally, this eventuality carries over to media. A character without some kind of flaw is usually written off as being impossibly perfect, so care is usually taken to avoid that kind of assumption.
The Sonic the Hedgehog series is no different. No member of the cast is the best at everything or loved by all. Whether it is a physical weakness, a personality quirk, or something else entirely, each character is flawed in some way and, in turn, those flaws make him or her more relatable.
I'll list the flaws for everyone who's been in action over the past few years.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Cocky, arrogant, impatient, can't swim, bad tempered. Sonic is also a natural showoff.
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik: Childish, egotistical, rash, diabolical, cowardly, stubborn, cheap, evil, greedy. Eggman is rather full of himself, too.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Weak, somewhat low self esteem, motor mouth, easily frightened. Tails is a bit too humble for his own good.
Amy Rose: Ditzy, self-centered, aggressive, selective hearing, delusional, annoying, weak without her hammer. Amy refuses to see that her love is unrequited.
Metal Sonic: Evil, rebellious, single minded. Metal is too much of an opportunist.
Knuckles the Echidna: Stubborn, gullible, wild tempered, thick-headed, aggressive, inhospitable, arrogant, shy around women. Knux also has a superiority complex.
Espio the Chameleon: Opinionated, egotistical, below average skill with technology. Espio is actually more awkward than he lets on.
Charmy Bee: Scatterbrained, easily distracted, bratty, hyperactive, weak. Charmy is a little too childish for his age.
Vector the Crocodile: Slow, childish, frugal, too charitable, terrible singer. Vector has a bit more maturing to do.
Big the Cat: Dim-witted, slow, single-minded. Big needs to step out of his comfort zone.
Shadow the Hedgehog: Egotistical, brooding, aggressive, violent, selfish, somewhat easily led, arrogant, ruthless, rebellious. Shadow is the textbook example of a perfectly made imperfection.
Rouge the Bat: Materialistic, selfish, a shameless flirt, deceitful, dishonest, immodest, easily distracted, greedy. Rouge needs to see the world beyond her sparkly pursuits.
Cream the Rabbit: Naïve, spoiled, inexperienced, weak without Cheese. Cream has a lot to learn about the world.
E-123 Omega: Slow, single-minded, aggressive, violent. Omega's programming is lacking.
Blaze the Cat: Antisocial, stubborn, timid, afraid of heights, uptight, bad temper, too blunt, insecure about her body, and a lousy cook. Blaze has much maturing ahead of her.
Jet the Hawk: Arrogant, prideful, lazy, selfish, greedy. The sooner Jet learns humility, the better.
Wave the Swallow: Worrywart, selfish, deceitful, dishonorable, arrogant. Wave must learn to respect others.
Storm the Albatross: Dim-witted, slow, aggressive, arrogant. Storm does not know honor.
Silver the Hedgehog: Insecure, naïve, easily frustrated. Silver shoulders too much responsibility than he is ready for.
Marine the Raccoon: Hyperactive, glory seeking, prideful, doesn't listen, bossy. Marine is a nuisance to be around.
So, as you can see, no character is perfect and everyone has weaknesses, big or small. These flesh them out and make them, if you will pardon the expression, more human. Some of these can be damning, but that is what character development is for, and even then, you cannot completely change a person. Heck, many fans love a character because of their flaws, as they endear the character to many.
My point is that one shouldn't have a selective view of a certain character just because that one is their favorite. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with having a favorite character. But, there is a big difference between acknowledging your favorite's flaws and ignoring them out of personal bias. Once you start leaning towards the latter, your viewpoint can become quite narrow-minded.
In closing, I hope this will help you to broaden your scope, gain a new appreciation for the Sonic cast as a whole, despite their imperfections, and to accept those imperfections as a part of who they are, at least until the time has come for a great deal of character development.
The Sonic the Hedgehog series is no different. No member of the cast is the best at everything or loved by all. Whether it is a physical weakness, a personality quirk, or something else entirely, each character is flawed in some way and, in turn, those flaws make him or her more relatable.
I'll list the flaws for everyone who's been in action over the past few years.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Cocky, arrogant, impatient, can't swim, bad tempered. Sonic is also a natural showoff.
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik: Childish, egotistical, rash, diabolical, cowardly, stubborn, cheap, evil, greedy. Eggman is rather full of himself, too.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Weak, somewhat low self esteem, motor mouth, easily frightened. Tails is a bit too humble for his own good.
Amy Rose: Ditzy, self-centered, aggressive, selective hearing, delusional, annoying, weak without her hammer. Amy refuses to see that her love is unrequited.
Metal Sonic: Evil, rebellious, single minded. Metal is too much of an opportunist.
Knuckles the Echidna: Stubborn, gullible, wild tempered, thick-headed, aggressive, inhospitable, arrogant, shy around women. Knux also has a superiority complex.
Espio the Chameleon: Opinionated, egotistical, below average skill with technology. Espio is actually more awkward than he lets on.
Charmy Bee: Scatterbrained, easily distracted, bratty, hyperactive, weak. Charmy is a little too childish for his age.
Vector the Crocodile: Slow, childish, frugal, too charitable, terrible singer. Vector has a bit more maturing to do.
Big the Cat: Dim-witted, slow, single-minded. Big needs to step out of his comfort zone.
Shadow the Hedgehog: Egotistical, brooding, aggressive, violent, selfish, somewhat easily led, arrogant, ruthless, rebellious. Shadow is the textbook example of a perfectly made imperfection.
Rouge the Bat: Materialistic, selfish, a shameless flirt, deceitful, dishonest, immodest, easily distracted, greedy. Rouge needs to see the world beyond her sparkly pursuits.
Cream the Rabbit: Naïve, spoiled, inexperienced, weak without Cheese. Cream has a lot to learn about the world.
E-123 Omega: Slow, single-minded, aggressive, violent. Omega's programming is lacking.
Blaze the Cat: Antisocial, stubborn, timid, afraid of heights, uptight, bad temper, too blunt, insecure about her body, and a lousy cook. Blaze has much maturing ahead of her.
Jet the Hawk: Arrogant, prideful, lazy, selfish, greedy. The sooner Jet learns humility, the better.
Wave the Swallow: Worrywart, selfish, deceitful, dishonorable, arrogant. Wave must learn to respect others.
Storm the Albatross: Dim-witted, slow, aggressive, arrogant. Storm does not know honor.
Silver the Hedgehog: Insecure, naïve, easily frustrated. Silver shoulders too much responsibility than he is ready for.
Marine the Raccoon: Hyperactive, glory seeking, prideful, doesn't listen, bossy. Marine is a nuisance to be around.
So, as you can see, no character is perfect and everyone has weaknesses, big or small. These flesh them out and make them, if you will pardon the expression, more human. Some of these can be damning, but that is what character development is for, and even then, you cannot completely change a person. Heck, many fans love a character because of their flaws, as they endear the character to many.
My point is that one shouldn't have a selective view of a certain character just because that one is their favorite. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with having a favorite character. But, there is a big difference between acknowledging your favorite's flaws and ignoring them out of personal bias. Once you start leaning towards the latter, your viewpoint can become quite narrow-minded.
In closing, I hope this will help you to broaden your scope, gain a new appreciation for the Sonic cast as a whole, despite their imperfections, and to accept those imperfections as a part of who they are, at least until the time has come for a great deal of character development.