Ever since SA1, poor Big has been the brunt of jokes and the ridicule of many since his first outing way back in the day when Sonic was greeted with hope and positive anticipation.
Ah how times change.
Anyway, Sonic fans have their classic put downs.
"Fat, stupid, useless, dumb cat"
"Waste of space"
"Crap"
"Dull"
"Slow!"
"I hate fishing mini games!"
"DIE CAT DIE!" (In German that would be "the cat the!")
Well... I shall tell you why those people are wrong! And why I think Big the Cat is the greatest character in the history of Sonic... if not the world!
What! Sonic is the best I hear you cry! (replace Sonic with Shadow for some people). Well no.. Sonic is not the best character. He's not your flawless hero... Sonic is someone who fights to maintain his way of life, he doesn't abide by the governments rule, nor that of the police. Otherwise he would surrender to Gun and he would never have been arrested, nor would he have escaped.
Shadow... Shadow only fights when something comes into conflict with his own goals, he has no interest in a right or wrong. He behaves in a manner fitting a soldier, must complete the mission, remove or halt anything which compromises the mission.
Now lets look at Big.
Big the Cat lives life care free in a tropical paradise.
He spends his days fishing.
He spends his days sleeping.
He spends his days relaxing.
He is clearly unfit.
He is clearly in no position to do much physical activity.
Yet... he gives up his paradise in the tropics, his carefree lifestyle, his favorite hobby, to go on a dangerous, exhausting, mission, fighting killer robots and an ancient God of destruction...
All to save his best friend.
At no point in SA1 does Big bring his own desires or anything which can be described as selfish behavior into his actions. It is purely to find and rescue his missing friend who he loves.
Upon completion what benefits does he have? Nothing. Big personally has no benefits made to him other than his friend is safe. Even the E-Series Robot has a better outcome, he has been made free of Robotniks control and has been reunited with his family and as a robot learned to love and feel for lesser creatures (thanks to Amy).
Big however has nothing other than his friend back by his side. He suffers no major benefit nor does he manage to impose any rule or impose any new system of belief/thought over the society or any other character in the game.
He's the ultimate hero in that he faces truly impossible odds to save an innocent lesser life and succeeds!
Then in Sonic Heroes. Again he acts for the benefit of others.
Unlike Amy who is only interested in getting Sonic to marry her. Cream is the only one just as innocent as Big is.
Bigs goal in that game is to save/reunite himself with Froggy.
Again he is not in any condition to fight.
Again he has barely improved his skills or health.
Again he is living in a tropical paradise.
And again he gives it all up and risks his life to find his friend.
At no point does Big go out on a mission for selfish reasons, nor does the outcome involve him imposing a view/belief/rule over people. He gets nothing other than his friend back upon the moment of resolution.
And unlike all the other characters who use weapons/machines/or unmatched skill/abilities to fight hunter killer machines designed by a man with an IQ of over 300... All what stands between big and death... is a fishing rod.... A FISHING ROD!
Yet he has the ability to use this rod to defeat an ancient God of War and killer robots!
The time has come people... Big the Cat: slow and useless? Big the Cat: valiant hero for our time more like!
