>>534689841
I feel like the issue is both 06 and Rivals try to make Silver a rival to Sonic; introducing him as a ally, like Chip or Caliburn, would have made him more unique during the rival glut of the Dark age
Like really commit to him being "Light Sonic", the opposite of Shadow

>why he matters to Sonic himself since that's what all the other characters do
I feel like this isn't necessary for strong Sonic characters, as as shown by the Chaotix, I don't even think they really interact with Sonic in either Heroes or Shad05 and they're still well liked characters