>>137675378Lot of but I see each rival serving a purpose
Metal Sonic = pure speed test, kind of like a tool-assisted speedrun. Exists solely to fuck Sonic up so he's the most straightforward hard test of his abilities
Shadow = Natural innate ability, Shadow doesnt give as much of a fuck about him as Metal Sonic but is still a challenge regardless just by doing his own thing which appeals to Sonic's own independence. Most wild card rival
Jet = biggest mutual competitive spirit, two sportsmen just shit talking each other
Knuckles = most friendly rivalry, more based on each others' history and rambunctious personalities than speed
Bonus stage: Scourge is literally him, an ideological rival from a more ideologically-influenced series, doesnt exist anymore lmaoObviously these are influenced heavily by my headcanon and what I'd like to see, but what matters is I think there's a lot to explore with each of Sonic's presented rivals and they don't necessarily need to be just about raw speed, thats what Metal is for