Summary
The 20th anniversarySonicgame is getting new life asSonic X Shadow Generations. AfterSonic Generationswas released in 2011, it’s being remastered and coming back as a supposed double feature release - giving Shadow the Hedgehog his own story alongside Sonic’s own campaign to makeSonic x Shadow Generations.
While some fans are questioning as towhySonic Generationsis getting a remasterat all, Shadow’s side story is what’s exciting many players when it comes to this upcoming release. From the announcement trailer alone, it’s easy to see why supporters of Sonic’s rival are getting excited. With the return of Black Doom and other references toShadow the Hedgehog, it seems that Sega’s doing its best to show what the character is about. This kind of respect being given to Shadow is something that’s been needed sinceSonic Generationsoriginally released.
Sonic X Shadow Generations Should Rewrite Shadow’s History in Real Time
Shadow the Hedgehog is one of theSonicfranchise’s most popular characters, often requested to be added to every game possible, likeSonic Superstars,where including him goes against his own lore. Due to this,Sonicfans take what they can get with the black hedgehog very seriously, especially so afterSonic Generationsitself began a very upsetting trend.
The Problem with Shadow in Sonic Generations
In the originalSonic Generations,Shadow is included as a rival battle, serving as an additional boss that players needed to beat to obtain a Chaos Emerald. It replicates the final boss of both the Hero and Dark stories ofSonic Adventure 2, where Sonic and Shadow fought each other in their respective stories. As fun as the fight with Shadow was, there was one clear problem with the fight. InSonic Generations, Shadow wasn’t originally invited to Sonic’s birthday party, and he appears out of nowhere and challenges Sonic for no real reason.
Shadow’s dialogue doesn’t explain his appearanceand makes it sound like he only cares about beating Sonic, saying “I don’t know where we are, nor do I care, this is where I finish you,” which undercuts how previous games gave the two hedgehogs reason and depth to their rivalry. This line was criticized for howGenerationsseemed to force Shadow into a role as a vague rival to Sonic where other characters could have fit just fine. Unfortunately, this one small cameo would start a trend that would last for years after the fact, in which Shadow would indeed be made into a generic character despite the depth he was introduced with.
Sonic X Shadow Generations Could Literally Rewind the Clock on Shadow
After theSonic Boommultimedia project and even theSonicIDW comics forced Shadow to be a rather mean-spirited rival to Sonic,Sonic X Shadow Generationsaims to tell a story that “runs parallel” to the blue hedgehog’s adventure. As a result, it might explain just where Shadow came from during the Time Eater’s attack, effectively explaining the dialogue and recontextualizing the exchange that led to some of Shadow’s worst appearances in the last thirteen years. It seems to also befixing Shadow to better suit the new direction ofSonic the Hedgehogloreas a whole, likely to help prevent appearances that take away what fans enjoy about him.
It’s quite interesting to see theSonicseries go back to change one of its previous mistakes like this. After years of lackluster appearances, Shadow’s upcoming story is definitely cause for excitement. There’s also an unspoken suggestion that the story will treat the hedgehog with the dedication he deservesafterSonic Frontiersalso fixed Knuckles' bad characterizationin 2022. SinceSonic Frontiers' writer Ian Flynn is also tackling what Sega is dubbing ‘Shadow Generations,’ there’s hope that this additional story campaign will be faithful to Shadow’s character, considering Flynn’s long history of writing for the series across comics and now the mainline games. Fans will likely have to play the game to see how Shadow’s story plays out, but no matter which waySonic x Shadow Generationsgoes, Shadow fans are most likely in for quite a treat.
Sonic Superstars
WHERE TO PLAY
Adventure through the mystical Northstar Islands in this all-new take on classic 2D Sonic high-speed action platforming. Play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy and harness all-new Emerald powers to move and attack in dynamic new ways. Navigate gorgeous, never-before-seen environments solo or with up to 3 other players and stop Dr. Eggman, Fang, and a mysterious new adversary from converting the islands’ giant animals into Badniks before it’s too late!
