Reasons why I think FG is just as good, if not better than RR (spoilers)

[Silver Stream. 708]

So I watched The Friendship Games when it aired on the 26th and fell in love. Out of curiosity, I went to go watch some reaction / analysis videos from the Brony community and ultimately, I was disappointed a bit annoyed at the comments.

 

I want to start off by saying the movie was fairly solid and well written and to be honest, the movie was just as good as Rainbow Rocks IF NOT better. There were a few cons such as the underdevelopment of the Crystal Prep students and the lack of rivalry between the mane six and the crystal six. But that's only something I personally wanted to see....because honestly the movie wasn't FOCUSED on the rivarly which is what I liked.

 

The movie was focused on Twilight's development throughout the movie. Clearly, hasbros wanted us to see what the human twilight was like in contrast to the Princess Twilight in the pony universe. I was amused that throughout the movie, it was as if they were doing Season 1 all over again when it came to her development and had a similar plot line: Twilight is a star student who lacks friends but in the end she discovers friendship and decided to stay with her new friends to further learn about it.

 

Despite this plot line with her not being "original", it was beautifully executed in one movie probably better than it was throughout season 1 of friendship is magic. There was something different about her though: she was lonely. Whereas the pony Twilight wasn't....she didn't desire companionship. The human Sci-Twi clearly wanted friends, but it was hard to make them since everyone at her school are jerks. It's my guess that she eventually accepted friendship was beyond reach which LED her to have a mindset to focus on her studies.

 

The movie also focused on Sunset's development as well. In Rainbow Rocks, it was mostly about redemption on her part: the school wasn't too forgiving about her attempt to conquer the school and then Equestrian which was something anyone with common sense to expect. I'm glad they were still angry because it was realistic. ANYWAY! In the Friendship Games, it was more of "completing the loop ". Sunset is starting to accept the role as leader but naturally it is a stressful job just like how it is stressful for Twilight. People are relying on her to control magic that just isn't easy for her to control and with the lack of communication from the one person she trusts enough to know more than her, it's not easy. It's like a slap in the face for her to be powerless against something that was ultimately her doing in the beginning. I freaking love the way she'd have her outburst ESPECIALLY when she yelled at Twilight. That was amazing....why? Because it was another realistic action anyone would've done. Twilight was messing with something she had no idea about and was early making things worse for Sunset and the Mane six not to mention the games.

 

Now I know it was not intentional on Twi's part but regardless she was creating chaos. It's like one of those scientists in the cliché movies where they create abominations that end up making things worse despite them only wanting to.make things better and gain knowledge. Sunset reacted as she should, and being that Twi is already an emotional wreck with little self confidence, it wasn't surprising she took it hard and ran away crying. To be at a school full of jerks, I'm sure this wasn't her first time.

 

In a way, Sunset in this movie was taking a journey from being the student to becoming the teacher. In the end she became the very thing that saved her from a path of darkness. And I'm going to say this once: Sunset Shimmer is the most down-to-earth character throughout the entire MLP franchise without even breaking the fourth wall. I'm not sure if they did that to redeem themselves from executing her so poorly in the 1st movie, but damn it Hasbros, you make me proud.

 

Now moving on to the most annoying part of every discussion: the antagonists. Now I understand that many people still say the Sirens were way better than the villiams in FG. That would be true....IF the FG actually had villains. And quite frankly, they didn't. There was not one character within the movie that was actually evil. There was an ignorant and ambitious Principle who blackmailed one of her students to win a game in attempts to uphold to her perfect reputation; and a bunch of competitive students who were sore losers and clearly needed some manners. I'm not saying they were terrible antagonists because they were awesome despite the lack of development and screen time. But they were NOT villians. Villians are evil characters as well as antagonists whereas antagonists in general are simply characters opposing the protagonists in any given story line. Crystal Prep including the all the students and the Principle were nothing but the simple "opposing team" in this case so it's unfair to even compare them to the RR villians.

 

And I don't think the Crystal Six were true counterparts either; at least not all of them. With the exception of Sugarcoat, Soursweet, and Indigo Zap, the rest were too underdeveloped for us to really determine anything. I'm not saying that you shouldn't see them as Mane six counterparts,.but you shouldn't ONLY see them that way. For instance, Sugarcoat is a character I rather enjoyed being her blunt personality clashed with her name for what I assume comedic relief for the audience to notice and have that "AHA I GET IT" moment. While she is honest like Applejack, she doesn't care to hold back in how she delivers the truth. But at the same time, they did add that Pinkie Pie moment at the end where she said everything at once.

 

Soursweet, was just wonderfully executed without even giving her a lot of screentime. Before you even find out her name, you can already tell something is up with this girl and you immediately think "well dang is she bipolar or.just plain crazy?" Her sarcastically sweet turned rudely sour nature lives up to her name. In a way you COULD say she is Fluttershy's counterpart since Flutter is genuinely kind and Soursweet, whether it's a sweet moment or not, doesn't generally mean the nice things she says. But other than that, she is her OWN character and shouldn't be seen as only a counterpart.

 

Sunnyflare.....there wasn't much to go on. My guess is that she is similar to Rarity and I'm not saying this because of the opening credits with them being paired off because that doesn't mean crap. I say this because out of all the Crystal Prep students, she was the only one who carried herself in a less extreme fashion and appeared to be smug in her presence without saying too much. It's obvious she is confident in herself and classy without being trashy.

 

Lemonzest was a bit interesting for me....in the opening credits she was paired off with Pinkie, but as I said that doesn't mean anything. Because as far as I'm concerned, she is neither similar nor is she the opposite of Pinkie. Sure she is a little bit outgoing, but so is Rainbowdash, IndigoZap and a few others. Lemon strikes me more as a Vinyl with a voice. Her obnoxiously loud way of expressing her rocker persona was more for comedic relief.

 

Aaaaannnnndd then there is IndigoZap which is nothing more than an underdeveloped Rainbowdash with a more competitive attitude. Thats....it. The fact that we didn't see more of them is a little disappointing BUT in a way this could be a good thing. I'll explain why later.

 

I was a little irritated when a few people mentioned how RR was better because of the songs which is unfair on all levels. The songs in RR are expected to be better and seen with more value...because itnwas centered around music. I mean there was Sirens,and band battles....the music was SUPPOSED to have been phenomenal. The FG,.is about school rivalry and development among Sunset and Twilight....if anything the AWESOME songs that came with it was nothing but a merciful gift given to us by Hasbros. They could've been crap for all we cared, but instead they were pretty good to say the least. "Unleash the Magic" did have that Disney vibe with it, but that was a good thing. Rainbow's first song was edgy and felt like a spirit lifter which was the whole point. What's a high school pep rally without a pep rally song? Twi's solo, despite how cliche it was, was beautifully sung you can actually appreciate the moment and even giggle at the lyrics and be like "haha...another me you haven't met. Yep you have no idea Twilight". And the "fight song" (that's what I like to call it) was genius. If you listen to the lyrics from both school sides, it makes you smile and appreciate that they put effort into making the rivalry more interesting which makes up for it not being too well executed in the film entirely.

 

While I do agree that maaaaaaybe the story line could've been better written and the antagonists should've been better developed, I find it BETTER than RR when it comes to guessing the outcomes. In RR, there were so many things you could predict in the beginning. You already knew they would sing Flutter's song at the end since hints of Rainbowdash brushing it off a few times was obvious. You already knew Sunset would end up singing with the band because they showed how much she wanted to be in it plus the Sirens basically screamed "HEY YOU MIGHT BE IN THE BAND SOON" when they teased her in the dark halls. There were a lot of things you could guess would happen, but in FG there weren't. Only when a certain scene is fairly close to occurring is when you'll get an idea.

 

You didn't see that the portal would close, you didn't see that the device would create rifts to Equestria, and you did not see Twilight becoming some "raging she-demon" until the end where you are like "OH IS SHE ABOUT TO BECOME A DEMON? OMG DON'T SO IT TWI"

 

The movie was suspenseful and given the unrealistic relay with the motercross race and large over the top field (I loved when Sunset speak your mind and expresses that it was overkill...once again, good job Hasbros) was a little unnecessary, it still made things enjoyable and had you at the edge of your seat. And you definitely did not see Sunset going sailor moon on us at the end. EVEN the Bronies who already knew Sunset would become an alicorn or something of it one day, they were shocked to actually see it happen because come on people....how often do we get what we want?

 

Lastly....despite it being disappointing....I'm glad the antagonists weren't too development the first time around. I'm amused they still haven't developed Flash either because honestly: he was only in this movie to tease us. He had no role in this whatsoever despite him participating in the games. He was only there, in fact maybe he was only created, as a joke. But that doesn't mean his character is hopeless. And also, think about how many people are unpset they still haven't seen characters like Discord or Sombra and others in the Equestrian girl world yet....all this "unfinished" business gives us SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. Hasbros is slowly, but surely making the Equestrian Girl franchise stand up on it's on without heavily leaning towards the pony world.

 

This leaves room for possible shows and even more.movies. Had they given us everything we wanted or what we were curious about all in one movie then the hype would've died and there wouldn't be any questions left to ask or stuff to want to see. The

 

I apologize for this extremely long post but i wanted to get MOST of my opinion out there and see what you guys think Still a few things I want to uncover but I think I've rambled enough lol

 

(Mobile so excuse the typos)

Edited October 2, 2015 by Sunset19

[Nightfall Gloam 18,295]

Couldn't of said it better myself! Honestly, I was surprised at how much better the Friendship Games was to the other movies (IMO, EqG and RR were not that good), and, as much as I thought I'd never say this about EqG, I'm looking forward to the next film, and I wish I could've watched the Friendship Games in cinemas. Sure, the film is far from perfect, but it sure is pretty close to becoming one of my favourite animated films of this decade, and I practically LOVED Sci-Twi the moment I saw her. I also think that Equestria Girls should've been what we got with the Friendship Games long ago.

[Silver Stream. 708]

Thanks!

 

And to be honest, I believe the only reason why RR is considered the best was because of The Sirens (and Sunset being adorable of course). The movie had to rely on their development in order to keep us fangirling over it. After all, there's no denying it was their songs and scenes that were proven to be the best throughout the movie with a few minor exceptions. Replace The Sirens with some normal undeveloped antagonist, and I bet the rating would be lower than EG 1!!

 

The FG didn't NEED a villain to be good. Sure we hated Principle Cinch, but you can't say it was her character that made the movie great....it was Sci-Twi's and Sunset's development and awesome finally that made it great not to mention the symbolism within it that made fans go crazy (I went crazy at least). Even with a few flaws, EG 3 managed to be a solid and well engaging movie that could match the EG 2 rating making it better in my opinion.

 

Plus...even though magic was still an issue,they did integrate a more realistic side conflict like school rivalry. They weren't competing against a magical school or anything....it was just another school with normal students. Unlike RR where magical creatures were basically controlling the whole showcase turned battle from the beginning.

 

Don't get me wrong, I freaking love RR.... I just think FG is not getting the credit it deserves and there are a few things RR just couldn't cover

Edited October 2, 2015 by Sunset19

[Summer Wish 102]

sigh i get to be "that guy" in this thread....

 

Adagio > every new character in FG

 

Those hips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Silver Stream. 708]

My point exactly. RR is only categorized as better only because of the Sirens. Adagio is freaking awesome (she is in my top ten favorites when it comes to the mlp characters )

 

So in a way, movie wise, FG is better. But when it comes to the character, Adagio wins (but personally I still love Sunset better obviously) lol

[Summer Wish 102]

oh your totally right, film wise FG is leagues ahead of RR, but RR had the sirens.....and character wise they had 90 minutes to develop them while the Shadow bolts had SECONDS. I'm in love with Sour Sweet but i havent seen enough of her to say write a fiction about or draw art because like the rest of the SBs she had little to no screen time. 

 

FG had alot of good ideas and really dropped the ball on them, im happy with what it DID do, but i can blatenly see what it didnt do because of its short 90 run time...the film needed another hour, i just dont "connect" with any of the new characters like i did with the sirens

[Silver Stream. 708]

Totally agree. I mentioned there wasn't enough screen time and development for the Crystal Prep students.for us to genuinely connect. However, it could turn in favor for the EG franchise for a possible show where they can go deeper into their development....and that goes for Flash as well.

 

Hopefully they will tale advantage of how much they missed in EG 3 and male up for it in future films or better yet a show. Thats the only positive outcome I can see out of this movie's shortfalls.

 

I do appreciate how some are able to already notice Soursweet's behavior before we even learn her name giving us a moment to have that glorious "OMG I get it" moment. Sugarcoat was amusing as well. But as I said, in the film they were simply there for comdedic relief since the movie was more focused on Sunset and Twilight than the school rivalry.

 

In RR, The Sirens dominated and the only mane character to even come close to being memorable was Sunset since it was her redemption journey throughout the entire film. In a way though, The Sirens were a bit of a cliche to say the least. We had the bossy evil leader/ genius, the adorable idiot and the grump. They ALMOST remind me of Hocus Pocus but I appreciate how they were still their OWN person.

 

In FG Principle Cinch was a cliche as well. Not evil, but you already get that "uptight and bitchy" vibe from her. She is the type to remind you of that teacher you hated back I'm high school.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Sunset19

[Silver Stream. 708]

sigh i get to be "that guy" in this thread....

 

Adagio > every new character in FG

 

Those hips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been meaning to ask, where did you find that avatar? It's pretty awesome lol 

[Summer Wish 102]

I've been meaning to ask, where did you find that avatar? It's pretty awesome lol 

Check out the link in my posts

[Silver Stream. 708]

Ah okay! Thank you so much: )

[Lunas Sorrow 21]

i liked FG and i personally think it was better than EG or RR story and character-design-wise, the Shadow Bolts mane 5 was especially good characters that needed to be expounded on more and i especially liked Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap

 

but i feel that this movie was kinda lacking in the Villain factor though and thanks to that i just feel like this movie didn't really hit the mark but was close

 

i also like the Elements of Harmony counter Parts:

    WonderColts              vs            ShadowBolts

 

Sunset Shimmer (Magic) vs Twilight Sparkle (Magic?)

Apple Jack (Honesty) vs SugarCoat (Blunt Honesty?)

Fluttershy (Kindness) vs Sour Sweet (Sarcasm? or fake Kindness?)

Rarity (Generosity) vs Sunny Flare (Selfish Generosity?)

Pinkie Pie (Laughter) vs Lemon Zest (Selfish Fun?)

Rainbow Dash (Loyalty) vs Idigo Zap (Blind Loyalty?)

 

im just guessing on the shadowbolts personality but they really have that mirror feel to the WC mane6 only for personal gain

[Silver Stream. 708]

I think the writers personally didn't give FG villiand because there was a more deeper purpose to the movie. As stated in my first post, I don't think the Shadowbolt six were just ONLY counterparts to the mane six specifically because they were more "gray" characters and not just black and white. Especially Sugarcoat and Soursweet because they are their own character.

 

But I do agree with your comparisons since it's similar to mine and now that you mention Indigo and Lemonzest that way, I can look back and notice that.

 

They did lack antagonist development though. But villain wise, i think leaving the movie without one was brilliant. Cinch was just a pain to hate so the audience can have something in common, but the real villian for Sunset was the very person who saved her....despite it not being the same Twilight.

[MLPFanatic34 3,241]

I agree 100% with your post Princess Sunset, but yeah I do wish that they had developed the Shadowbolts more, they're all interesting and colorful characters and I would have liked to see more of them than was shown like with the Sirens.

[Silver Stream. 708]

*nods* I do hope they take advantage of this and develop more on the new characters later in future films. If they don't, then the mistakes they made in this movie would have been for nothing and we'll be left with characters we really want to see more of, but won't get it. 

[Silver Stream. 708]

Does anyone think that EG3 is too similar to EG1? I just rewatched the movie and I'm sort of confused to why people get that vibe

[UnknownFry 169]

I think that was intentional on the part of the staff to show how things have come full cycle by having Sunset being the one to befriend Twilight as far as the climax is concerned and there were several references to the first movie thrown in there so I can see why some people might get that vibe.

 

However Friendship Games does plenty on its own to make it stand apart  as its own unique entry.

Edited October 23, 2015 by UnknownFry

[RainbowTashie 379]

Couldn't of said it better myself! Honestly, I was surprised at how much better the Friendship Games was to the other movies (IMO, EqG and RR were not that good), and, as much as I thought I'd never say this about EqG, I'm looking forward to the next film, and I wish I could've watched the Friendship Games in cinemas. Sure, the film is far from perfect, but it sure is pretty close to becoming one of my favourite animated films of this decade, and I practically LOVED Sci-Twi the moment I saw her. I also think that Equestria Girls should've been what we got with the Friendship Games long ago.

To be honest this film changed my opinion on the whole EQ franchise. Prior to this film I hated everything about it and saw it as hasbros gimmickly excuse to make dolls to keep up with the competition like barbie/monster high whatever huge doll brand is big right now. The characters were the same, the voices were the same but it just wasn't ponies which is the single reason half of us have even signed up to this forum. But FG shined a new light on it for me, well to be honest it was just Sunset. Her character has developed so much from the first film that it finally convinced me that maybe someone out there is actually making an effort with these films after all hell i've even seen it multiple times which i can't say about the other two. The one thing that bugged me about the whole film however despite my positivity is why the hay couldn't Sci Twi leave her goddamn locket at home after the first time it started harming it people?! there's one thing to be curious but that's plain stupid. 

Edited October 23, 2015 by SiriusDusk

[Silver Stream. 708]

I think that was intentional on the part of the staff to show how things have come full cycle by having Sunset being the one to befriend Twilight as far as the climax is concerned and there were several references to the first movie thrown in there so I can see why some people might get that vibe.

 

However Friendship Games does plenty on its own to make it stand apart  as its own unique entry.

My thoughts exactly. I do understand that the climatic ending was similar to what we seen in EG1, but I never consider the movie entirely to be EG1 which is what I've been seeing other people believe. And while I respect all opinions that differ from mine, it bothered me on where the idea came from. Just because there is a scene that is familiar from another movie, doesn't make it the same entirely. In fact, I'm impressed at what they managed to accomplish in making this movie as it's own

 

 

@SiriusDusk

I somewhat agree as well. Though I did see a lot of subliminal advertising throughout the movie....more than the last two actually. And while there were many plot holes within the film, I never count that against it, being there plenty plot holes in the others. AND yeah I never fully understood why Twilight kept the device.... Cinch never would have made her had it been thrown or hidden out of her sight.

 

But I don't question that too much either....because sometimes things like that, despite how we see a more easier and smarter route, happens for the sake of the climax

[UnknownFry 169]

I never fully understood why Twilight kept the device.

 

Possibly to avoid having it fall in the wrong hands (there really was no where else to go or put it safely elsewhere as she was occupied with games all day), and the other is that her curiosity got the better of her even if she was sorry for the events that took place at games. Truth be told I don't think she fully comprehended the consequences of the magic herself even after she was told off by Sunset and all that she saw during the games.

 

Make no mistake about it Twilight made a mistake and had to learn from that mistake first hand, but she was not in a great state of mind at that point so she made some irrational decisions while her guard was down succumbing to the allure of understanding the magic when she unleashed it.

 

It is what it is though, but it made for an interesting climax at the very least.

Edited October 23, 2015 by UnknownFry

[Silver Stream. 708]

I never fully understood why Twilight kept the device.

 

Possibly to avoid having it fall in the wrong hands (there really was no where else to go or put it safely elsewhere as she was occupied with games all day), and the other is that her curiosity got the better of her even if she was sorry for the events that took place at games. Truth be told I don't think she fully comprehended the consequences of the magic herself even after she was told off by Sunset and all that she saw during the games.

 

Make no mistake about it Twilight made a mistake and had to learn from that mistake first hand, but she was not in a great state of mind at that point so she made some irrational decisions while her guard was down succumbing to the allure of understanding the magic when she unleashed it.

 

It is what it is though, but it made for an interesting climax at the very least.

Well said. Besides...whatever it takes to make the show...well movie in this case...to go on

[takai 1,060]

Friendship games was a great movie, but i still firmly believe that Rainbow Rocks is still the best movie so far. It had the best soundtrack, greatest amount of development for all the characters, the villains had way more screen time, the plot was better, and it was just overall a much more impressive film as compared to the the other two. The quality jump between the first movie and RR was ridiculously large.

[Silver Stream. 708]

Friendship games was a great movie, but i still firmly believe that Rainbow Rocks is still the best movie so far. It had the best soundtrack, greatest amount of development for all the characters, the villains had way more screen time, the plot was better, and it was just overall a much more impressive film as compared to the the other two. The quality jump between the first movie and RR was ridiculously large.

 

 

I agree the quality jump between EG1 and EG2 were LAARRGE compared to the quality gap between EG2 and EG3. I also agree the soundtrack within EG2 were better as well, but I don't count that against the other movies simply because the songs are expected to be better since it's about music in the first place. Music made them pony-up, music was the Siren's weapons...and music was supposed to save the day. 

 

Music was not to be "great" in the third either....but it exceeded my expectations. Which is why I rank EG3 to be better because while EG2 meet cmy expectations, EG3 surpasses it. 

 

The only REAL advantage Rainbow Rocks has over the other two movies (which may be the main reason people consider RR to be the best) are the villains. EG3 didn't even HAVE villains at all...only antagonists like Principle Cinch and the Shadowbolts. The Sirens were a large part of RR's success. 

[MLPFanatic34 3,241]

I agree the quality jump between EG1 and EG2 were LAARRGE compared to the quality gap between EG2 and EG3. I also agree the soundtrack within EG2 were better as well, but I don't count that against the other movies simply because the songs are expected to be better since it's about music in the first place. Music made them pony-up, music was the Siren's weapons...and music was supposed to save the day. 

 

Music was not to be "great" in the third either....but it exceeded my expectations. Which is why I rank EG3 to be better because while EG2 meet cmy expectations, EG3 surpasses it. 

 

The only REAL advantage Rainbow Rocks has over the other two movies (which may be the main reason people consider RR to be the best) are the villains. EG3 didn't even HAVE villains at all...only antagonists like Principle Cinch and the Shadowbolts. The Sirens were a large part of RR's success. 

Yeah I'll agree, I didn't really find Principal Cinch a very threatening villain not like the Sirens.

Edited November 12, 2015 by MLPFanatic34

[cmarston1 5,965]

While I really enjoy Friendship Games I still have to say that I enjoy Rainbow Rocks more.

Outside of the awesome soundtrack, the quality jump from the first to the second was huge, the sirens were great villains unlike Cinch who was meh, the climax was better, and this was the movie that made Sunset Shimmer one of my favorite characters in the show.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Rainbow Rocks is considered to be the best because of awesome villains, awesome cameos, amazing songs, epic final battle (epicness is McCarthy's middle name ). I like Friendship Games, but it didnt have a satisfying feels that Rainbow Rock had, underdeveloped Crystal students (why bother include them anyway? what a waste...), the build-up is nice, but the pay-off is weak (Midnight is another demon Sunset... lame...), the other mane 5 are weak in this movie (unlike RR, everyone has their fair shares of spotlight). Josh Haber's character writing skill is great, but Epicness is not his middle name . Equestria Girls is still the weakest movie of this franchise, RR is a delicious main dish and FG is a yummy dessert xD.