GAME REVIEW: Sonic x Shadow Generations review

GAME REVIEW: SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS: 

SHADOW’S STELLAR EXPANSION TO 20^TH ANNIVERSARY SONIC TITLE! 

By Nico Beland

Game Review: A 

SEGA/SONIC TEAM

Classic and Modern Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic x Shadow Generations

 

            In 2011, Sega released the video game, Sonic Generations in celebration of the 20^th Anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise which ended up being one of the best games in the series. I even reviewed the original game for my high school newspaper back when it came out as it was largely responsible for me rediscovering my love for Sonic after a string of underwhelming or downright terrible entries. 

            When I initially reviewed it, I gave it a B+ mainly because of Sonic’s friends doing very little in the story and that I thought it lacked the character development of games like Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and even Sonic Heroes. Looking back, that was kind of a minor issue and the game itself is still an incredible time 13 years later, it’s an A-Rank now. 

            Now, with the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie right around the corner which will feature the character, Shadow the Hedgehog’s big screen debut, I thought it’d be an appropriate time to pay tribute to that newspaper review I did all those years ago with the new, Sonic x Shadow Generations. The game is actually 2 games in 1 with the first being a remaster of Sonic Generations with re-recorded cutscene dialogue and a higher frame rate while the second is an all-new campaign set in-between the events of Sonic Generations focused on Shadow titled Shadow Generations which is what I played for this review. 

            I already hailed the original Sonic Generations as one of Sonic’s best games, but Shadow Generations adds even more on top of an already fantastic game and his campaign alone makes it worth checking out even if you still have your OG game. It is significantly shorter than the base game, but Shadow Generations takes full advantage of what’s given to it and manages to be more story-driven than the original in its short amount of time. 

            The game follows Shadow the Hedgehog aboard the Space Colony ARK (Where he was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik in Sonic Adventure 2) investigating a report of unusual activity (Oh, and Rouge the Bat is at Sonic’s birthday party while this is happening). It turns out there is something on the ARK and it’s none other than Shadow’s alien second father and arch nemesis, Black Doom who survived his defeat at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog. 

            When he tries to pursue him, the Time Eater (from Sonic Generations) appears and warps Shadow to the realm of White Space (The white void where Sonic and friends are teleported to in Sonic Generations where time doesn’t exist) where a mysterious object known as the Black Moon hovers over it. 

Shadow notices a few familiar faces including his Team Dark partner, E-123 Omega, Big the Cat, and Dr. Eggman’s robots, Orbot and Cubot in White Space. However, the most shocking to him is Shadow finds his seemingly alive creator and Eggman’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik and Gerald’s granddaughter and his only friend aboard the ARK, Maria Robotnik before she and Gerald met their demise 50 years ago when Shadow was created. 

            Determined to find answers, Shadow speeds through his entire history (Stages from previous Sonic games likeRadical Highway from Sonic Adventure 2, Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes, Kingdom Valley from Sonic ’06, etc.) while along the way discovering new powers and abilities courtesy of Black Doom’s influence. But Black Doom has other plans as he intends to use the newly powerful Shadow to possess him, gain his powers, and become unstoppable; and Shadow ain’t having that. 

            I didn’t spend much time on Sonic Generations as that part of the game is exactly the same except higher quality graphics, re-recorded dialogue during cutscenes as already mentioned (Some of the characters’ voice actors changed since the release of the original) that at times feels stilted, and now there’s Chao to collect in each stage (Kind of like in Sonic Advance 3). You’re still getting one of the best Sonic games of all time regardless even if I don’t think the cutscene dialogue is nearly as snappy as in the original. 

            Shadow Generations is the real meat and bones of this review and is essentially what Bowser’s Fury was to the remastered Super Mario 3D World where it expands upon the original game and gives more insight on the characters and plot. The plot is still pretty simple like Sonic Generations, Sonic/Shadow are sent to a dimension where there’s no time and have to go through previous events to figure out what’s happening, but Shadow’s story also involves him avoiding the returning Black Doom’s temptations and reuniting with Maria and Gerald before they were killed and hopes to change their fate. 

            There are some genuinely heartfelt moments in Shadow’s part of the game specifically when Maria and Gerald enter the picture. There’s a scene where Shadow is full of anger and revenge because of Black Doom and Maria knocks some sense into him by telling her that “Without light, there is only darkness and a shadow will help you find the light” (Hence why she named him Shadow) in a very touching moment and even the ending of Shadow Generations where he, Maria, and Gerald accept their eventual fate in order to save the fabric of time almost had me teary-eyed. 

            The game is also filled with references and callbacks to previous games, I was delighted when the Fake Chaos Emerald Tails made in Sonic Adventure 2 to foil Eggman’s plan was shown in the beginning and when Shadow encounters Sonic and says the “It’ll be a date to die for” line from Sonic Heroes. Even Shadow’s motorcycle from Shadow the Hedgehog makes an appearance in the game’s Collection Room that houses art, music, and movies you unlock during the game. 

            It’s also structured like Sonic Generations where you complete 3 Zones, 2 Acts per Zone, play Challenge Stages to unlock Boss Keys, and defeat Boss enemies including The Biolizard from Sonic Adventure 2, Metal Overlord from Sonic Heroes, and Mephiles the Dark from Sonic ’06. A lot of the Challenge Stages are a great way to test your reflexes, abilities, and reaching the Goal Ring under specific conditions like with only one Ring to protect you or destroy a certain amount of enemies in the time limit. 

            I appreciate the fact the game isn’t insane with its challenge when it tests your platforming skills and when you fail an obstacle or challenge it doesn’t make you want to rage quit, it makes you want to get better at it. I found it a mostly relaxed time though it did start kicking my butt in the later part of the game. 

            The gameplay is similar to Sonic Generations and other titles in the Sonic boost-era where much of it is about blazing at high speeds, but Shadow has his own unique moves to make him more than just a Sonic skin. For example, Shadow can shoot Chaos Spears to stun enemies and activate locks on gated off areas and when the Chaos Control meter is filled up, you can use it to slow down time and zip past obstacles with a Boost which is very satisfying to do; he can also Double Jump which Sonic can’t do in the original game by pressing the jump button twice and the attack button for the Homing Attack. 

            Shadow also has his new abilities from Black Doom that either enhance or transform him depending on what they do such as creating a giant manta ray known as the Doom Surf which allows him to travel across water and turning himself into a giant squid to get across sticky goop and swing across airborne orbs with the Doom Morph, and finally growing a pair of demon wings and gliding through the levels called…well, Doom Wings. These can take some time to get the hang of, but they can make for some fun ways to progress through the levels. 

            This is easily the best Shadow has controlled since Sonic Adventure 2 and if you ask me it’s way more refined here. Shadow isn’t as slippery as in other games even when boosting and his ground control is super responsive, he is just a joy to control here whether it’s speed or platforming, and any slipperiness or failing an obstacle felt like it was me simply being careless and not on the game itself.  

Because his hub-world is in 3D unlike in Sonic Generations, it’s just as much fun to simply run through the world, test out Shadow’s abilities, and uncover special chests filled with hidden goodies you get when collecting emblems in a stage (Basically Shadow’s version of the Red Rings). Shadow’s journey is much shorter yet there’s so much more to do than in Sonic’s campaign. 

I do have some issues though, while the Maria and Gerald moments are the emotional core of the game, they aren’t given much to do in the storyline. There needed to be more scenes or dialogue pieces with Shadow, Maria, and Gerald together to make it more effective, as is they’re very well-executed, but I felt they could have done more with them.  

This game is also called Sonic x Shadow Generations and aside from the return of Black Doom and his army of Black Arms aliens, there is hardly any acknowledgement of Shadow the Hedgehog’s own game from 2005. It is not a good game don’t get me wrong, but because it is tied to Shadow’s story I think it would make more sense to have a level based off Westopolis (The first stage in the game) here and instead they went with 2 levels from games Shadow was either barely involved with or wasn’t even in at all (Sunset Heights from Sonic Forces and Chaos Island from Sonic Frontiers), I thought that was a serious missed opportunity. 

I think I said all I can about the game in this behemoth of a review, Sonic x Shadow Generations is a spectacular entry in the Sonic franchise that adds more on top of an already great game. This truly is the Year of Shadow and rightfully so as I eagerly await his appearance in the third Sonic movie voiced by Keanu Reeves this Christmas.