>>532237482
Nahh, the Rivals games, Colors DS, that Sonic Generations party, Sonic Runners...they were also shipbaiting Knuxouge in Prime (Rebel/Renegade). All of those had Knuxouge hinting in them. They don't shipbait it as obviously as they used to, but you could say that for most of the pairings.
>>532238032
>even then it's intentionally vague
Nnnot really...I picked up on it when I was like 7. They're unsubtle about Knuxouge in SA2.
>Probably the most forced scene in franchise history. She's a bat, she can fly, and the beam they're on doesn't even exist prior to the cutscene
Yeah, the cutscene is done sloppily, but it tells you pretty clearly what Sega wanted - romantic tension between Knuckles and Rouge.
>Not Japanese
I'm sure you could find some of the things I've mentioned in Japanese as well.
>I must have missed the memo because Sa2 seemed like a shadouge game to me
That's cool if you interpreted it that way I guess, but it seemed like a Knuxouge game through and through to me. The way Shadow and Rouge interact is far less sexually charged and Shadow shows no true interest in her the way Knuckles did.
>Aaand there's your true colors. Maria is dead
...That's just Shadow's character. He remembers her and loves her forever. It doesn't matter whether or not she's dead. They also imply she will meet him again somehow.

My impression:
>Rouge has a romantic/sexual interest in Knuckles and Shadow, but she also values her own freedom immensely
>Knuckles has a slight interest in Rouge and he is flustered by her teasing, but the Master Emerald takes priority
>Shadow has no clear interest in Rouge and he is emotionally taken by Maria, but he cares about Rouge's safety