Shadow has always been the best "character" It's just that SEGA seemed to forget what made him. He isn't just an edgy Sonic, he is so much more, and it seems that they are finally starting to remember.
@@Egood_ty it’s ok to like Sonic more, he’s the fun loving main protagonist after all. But objectively, Shadow’s writing and story is superior to Sonic’s.
Good, because if SEGA has no plans to let us play as Silver on console ever again, they might as well make Shadow more fun to play as, than the main character of their game brand. At least it's better than having to play as 2 Sonic's every freaking year.
@@kowabonga3552 why would they do that? Why would they make a side character funner to play than their main character? Look I know recency bias and all that Jesus cmon man 🤦♂️
Two things I adore about this game that I feel like is under appreciated are the optional dialogue and the chest gear placements. The optional dialogue that changes throughout the playthrough is a joy to read. The gear placements in levels are much better than the red rings in my option because almost all of them are found in the fastest path in the level rather than being all over. Great video.
"A game with sonic, shadow and silver" God I never realised how hard this would go if they tried it in boost formula. Silver has been cursed with the chains of being from 06 for too long, he deserves better. Also... Blaze needs a focal role again! Rush and 06 was all she got before "durr we hate sonics friends" and honestly I just want more characters to have the spotlight again!!
I mean the IDW comics did her some justice, and since they have been recently confirmed to be canon, it kinda counts as her getting the spotlight in the canon universe
I'm truly hoping with the success of Shadow Generations, that Shadow gets an entire new game for himself! His new abilities can't just be a one-shot thing, it's soooooo much fun using his Doom Wing alone, they open up endless possibilities. This is easily one of my favorite Sonic games next to SA2~
@sylviastone628 gonna be honest only thing from this game I want them to drop is the power ups, too gimicky and looked out of place. Things like chaos sphere and control should stay though
@@I.Am.Terrible.At.Usernames chaos sphere? what is that ? although i do agree there should be more focus on the chaos abilities (chaos snap, control, blast and boost) for his next game and instead of doom wing the super form equivalent should be removing his limiters rings too
@@IKIGAIofficial idk what the deal is with people hating 2d levels so much. shadow gens had a perfect blend of both, and the stages were just as good (arguably sometimes better) than their 3d counter part.
@Reec3R You haven't actually listened to peoples complaints then because they're usually pretty clear about there being too much of them when the games are usually advertised as having more 3d.
@@Reec3R I think your missing the point we want 3d stages to be FULLY 3D he didn't say anything about 2d. Keep the two separate and it becomes a masterpiece and this is an example of that.
@@IKIGAIofficial has anyone here ever bothered to actually find out why 2D exists in 3D Sonic games? Here's why. Sonic's immense speed is fundamentally flawed. There's a video on this on UA-cam, but I'll quickly summarise it here. Sonic is the fastest video game character of all time, and because of that, it's one of the hardest to make games for, especially in 3D. Sonic covers so much ground in so little time, so substantial levels take so much resources and time to make. So to compensate, Sonic Team has come up with many methods to avoid such problem. Alternate playstyles, gimmicks, fodder, and the subject at hand, 2D. In 2D, Sonic/Shadow is much slower, so they can make the level design much more compact, costing less to make. Bro grateful they're even trying. They easily could have either release the games every few years much shorter so the people complaining about 2D will shut up, or take 5-10 years for every mainline release, in order to give a substantial game without 2D. They cannot handle the sheer effort it takes to make 5 minutes 3D boost levels and still be alive after. Don't act like their being lazy, and can just "make more 3D".
That is because Shadow canonically does Teleport to fight these days. They make up his homing attacks, and to further differentiate him from Sonic. Its also part of how his Chaos Warping works, a Chaos Emerald fuels and increases the distance. This was presented in the end days of Archie Sonic, where Shadow, fighting the remnants of the Black Arms in space, required an Emerald to safely evacuate from the enemy vessel back to the allied G.U.N. ship.
@@gengargamer5657 This is literally stated in his bio, using previous games as an example is irrelevant seeing how going forward it has been retconned into him needing an Emerald to use it.
@@spidermanserpa3039 he was literally teleporting in sonic adventure 2 without an emerald in his second fight against sonic on the ark, teleported in the intro to shadow the hedgehog 05 and he could also use the teleport in sonic 06.
I really wanted Shadow Generations to have completely revamped cutscenes for the main story, but after seeing Shadows' content, I can see why they weren't because HOLLYYYYY that budget reallocation paid off
Now just need something with a grander story akin to 06, with huge stakes and a large roster… but not a playable roster though. Have Sonic, Shadow, and Silver campaigns, Sonic about super high top speeds and good platforming, Shadow with chaos control like this game did but not as fast as Sonic, and Silver with slower gameplay but more intricate platforming and puzzle mechanics using his telekinesis. Those 3 as the only playable characters, with Sonic’s Frontiers combat, Shadow’s chaos control and a new telekinesis system for Silver, in a 15-20 hour campaign, and they all go Super towards the end.
Ok, hot take, I wouldn't mind a Remake of '06, and I mean a REMAKE not a remaster or port and a retelling of the story so they can make the game that was invisioned at that moment and fixing the mechanics without making it boost formula
The only problems with Shadow Generations is that it is so good that it leaves you wanting more and feeling that the game is kinda short, and it also makes Sonic Generations levels feel unpolished and clumsy.
Just wanna say ur correct on the Black Arms hive mind thing. It came up in Shadow 05 and is the extended unfinished version of the Dark Beginnings animation which has thankfully already been uploaded to UA-cam because it's Sony exclusive for some reason.
With this game showing side characters have legs if the time to polish their unique talents is taken, I feel like they could easily do separate adventures. This might be testing the waters in the back of an established remaster to see if people would buy, giving the ending of Frontiers hinting that other characters wanted to find their own way.
For some reason,when takashi lizuka is involved in any sonic project,he would either cook raw or overcooked it just like frontiers but when he isn't we get this
Honestly I liked the 2d stages. I've even heard some people say that some of the 2d shadow stages were some of the best 2d speed stages in the entire history of the franchise. But also, I think doubling the length of the game would be a bit much. Really, all Shadow Gen needed was 1 more level I think to just let the mechanics stew. Every stage is overtly dedicated to being a tutorial for a different ability and we really could have done with a stage, possibly referencing the black comet or something from Shad05, to just let us marinate on all the abilities for the length of a stage, without having to worry about anything new being introduced.
Don’t listen to these doubters, stay on the hating grind 🫡💪🏽 hating isn’t just an action, it’s a lifestyle, it’s a grind, and you must never hop off it
Shadow lends himself to better gameplay as he's acquired so many abilities that were well utilized in the Shadow half of this game and he's the better character story wise too. Sonic by comparison is too vanilla. I'd love to see them make another dedicated story driven Shadow game with most if not all these abilities that really shake up gameplay. The problem with the first game is they leaned way too hard on trying to make it weirdly mature and it clashed with the Sonic motif. This game strikes a good balance as his story is darker, but swapping out guns for fun gameplay mechanics in the form of abilities was a great call.
Probably the biggest compliment I can get ngl. He's been one of my biggest inspirations when making content ever since I started watching like over a decade ago.
Im sorry but i gotta critique this one thing. The slap on gimmick isnt a boost formula issue. It was always a 3D sonic issue. Since adventure the reason they even added different playable characters was because it was hard to design stages for 3D sonic to sustain an entire game since he can go so fast & clear levels easier on a 3D plane. And to make that for other characters that do the same was difficult for sonic team. So they did what they did for sa1 & 2, heros, even 06. There was always a gimmick slapped on to extend playtime because 3D sonic is a difficult beast to make enjoyable on its own than 2D. Really- colors was arguably the first to have an entire “3D” sonic game in one gameplay style. The wisps were power ups It was never a boost formula issue. Other than that, great review
@@AK46supr I'd say it's a Sonic problem, period. 2D games also tend to be short, but people are just more tolerant for 2D games being short for some reason. Although there were games that attempted to lengthen the game with filler, like Sonic Advance 3 with hubs, Rush Adventure with ships and material grinding and Shattered Crystal with the whole collectathon thing.
I think it’s because people want to play as other characters. In the adventure era it was about sonic and friends. Not just sonic. They made the friends and rivals side characters when they two has main character status. Tails actually could fight, Shadow was not just an edge lord, rouge was more than just 18+ material. They were characters and fighters just as much as sonic was and I’m glad Sega are remembering that’s there other characters can actually DO things without Sonic.
I just love how they made Shadow a character again instead of "edgy sonic with guns" like my mans has TRAUMA out the ass, watched his family get shot dead in front of him just for his ass to be frozen for 50 years 😐 oh and then for you to be made the "untimate lifeform" but the zippy blue one was just born more powerful naturally. Shadow has to deal with identity crisis, has the murder of his family fresh on his mind and HAS TO KEEP WATCHING THEM DIE MULTIPLE TIMES! While also having your real "father" be an alien warlord trying to corrupt your mind and body...so basically raven from teen titans dealing with trigon. Shadow is the best, and nothing you can say will change my mind. Hes got every right to be evil yet chooses to be a hero
this is honestly the best sonic game ive ever played, it feels so good even for a noob like me who struggles with the clunky controls in each other game
I mean, it is about Sonic. It’s a Remaster of Generations and they’ve had over a decade to know how to refine it. It’s also releasing into a world on every major platform, including the Switch in a world in which streaming is higely popular. And Generations was stupidly popular. I’d be more shocked if it did not hit 1mil in a day.
Add in Shadow's own popularity the EXCELLENT prequel animation that had no right to be so good id want a whole movie of that animation quality i swear, ironically there's also the hype around the movie that IS coming, and i think at the start of a year there was a really cool small project made by fans on Shadow's time on the Ark that just raised hype even more for the movie thus the game. The game had all the hype in the world to work so well. Its just that lets be real given the state of the franchise in the 2010's and the destruction of the reputation of Sonic game since 06 and to an extend for Shadow 05 since the story was bad, getting a Sonic game with this much attention, especially for a character that is nonetheless relatively less popular than Sonic , will not be anything less than surprising
SPOILERS . . . . . .. . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I think the way the reason why Maria and Shadow didn't get a conversation of them catching up in life and stuff is because, the moment Shadow meets her and Gerald, Shadow starts to pretend to be from around the same point in time as them, or a little further, since there are those conversations with Maria that she see's Sonic and the others as Shadow's friends, and then there is Gerald, telling Shadow not to interact too much with them to stop any paradox from potentially happening
@@ExpiredPorridge Stiffer control for faster, more quick, reaction-based gameplay. Speed and tight control can't coexist, which is why Shadow gens feels slower than sonic gens while feeling tighter to control.
YES! And i Hope Sega will understand that spin off of other character is a Monet printer. Give us more shadow and others liké Silver Tails knuckles blaze or even the chaotix.
@@alu_sonic Or fully introduce some.of the IDW characters to the series proper too. Tangle got a voice mention, imagine her game play. Something Bionic Commando like. Or Surge who tho might play like Sonic types would have to fully avoid submerging in water giving Lightning powers(which I realize might not have been planned but does make her even more of a Sonic parallel). These characters could add so much to the franchise if they were really fleshed out as gameplay first and unique.
Shadow is literally THE best Sonic character. He literally has way better character development and story than Sonic ever had. Shadow is the reason why I got into the Sonic franchise
While Shadow is undeniably a standout character with a compelling story, Sonic’s identity is the heart and soul of the franchise. The series thrives on Sonic’s upbeat spirit, vibrant tone, and iconic speed-based gameplay. Shadow’s darker edge adds valuable contrast, but it works best in tandem with Sonic rather than replacing him outright. Sonic’s enduring popularity comes from his energetic optimism and momentum-driven style - key elements that made the series a household name. Stripping the spotlight from Sonic risks losing the very qualities that have sustained the franchise across decades. Shadow may be a pivotal figure, but the overall “best” Sonic experience still hinges on the dynamic interplay between these contrasting characters, rather than one overshadowing the other.
Guess you could say, he overshadowed Sonic! But seriously, I’d like to see GUN and Mephilis return in a future game somehow. And maybe Sage interacting with the larger cast. I’d also love a new Sonic anime in the style of Dark Beginnings or the Dream Team trailer. As for the game itself, it feels like Sonic Team took the gameplay from Boost, Adventure, and Frontiers, and cup of Frontiers’s charter focused writing. I hope SEGA and Sonic team follow this formula going forward.
shadow generations is absolutely amazing, i love the hub world, i love all the different powers shadow gets, having a 2d esque side scroller for act 2 is awesome, its reverse sonic generations where act one is the side scroller, it adds a new aspect to alot of levels featured in shadow the hedgehog, SA2, and sonic heroes
I once imagined Shadow bursting through the door being all sassy, and then immediately telling Sonic all of the good things he got in his second game, that Sonic didn’t over a long time. (All with the signature Vine Boom) -All banger levels -A well written story -Ian not cramming in too many references -Great OpenZone -Sonic X representation -Your music and my music -No Santiago -And an 80 on Metacritic!
i demand modders find a way to add levels into the game but as seperate things without replacing pre existing stuff because i need more content like yesterday
Shadow Generations could have been its own game. Just add extra stages and more challenge acts. Because after completing his portion of the game and heading into Sonic Generations… the difference in controls is night and day. Modern Sonic does not feel good to play after about 20 hours of Shadow’s gameplay.
Absolutely agree with everything you’ve said, apart from the fact that the Doom Morph actually grew on me after that I actually learned how to use it. Oh! And just because you wondered! 3:41 Yes, Shadow is probably connected to the Black Arms’ hive mind, as he has Black Doom’s blood and can physically feel or resist certain effects (in Shadow the Hedgehog he’s the only one who doesn’t get paralyzed by the Black Arms’ paralyzing gas).
As a guy who was brought into the Sonic franchise with the Sonic Adventure titles, I REALLY want to play this game... but only the 3D "act 1" of Shadow's levels. I really wish Sonic team/Sega would do what Nintendo did with Mario and separate their 3D and 2D platforming games rather than putting both game styles in every game
This is such a good game. I have the original Generations on PS3, and I liked it then, and I got this one to play as Shadow, and I’m having lots of fun. Hope that Shadow’s new abilities will stay for future games.
so glad you and other people are noticing the animation quality improving greatly in Shadow Generations. nearly all of Frontiers cutscenes looked stiff and not that great to me.
OR.. hear me our juuuuuust hear me out… this game is doing well for both Sonic and Shadow and it’s massive W for Sonic and Shadow fans. Since they’re both supporting this game. And many ppl who are saying they weren’t big on Sonic are saying that his side of the gameplay is extremely fun as well. C’mon lol
Gimmicks in the boost formula are fine as long as its not garbage like the werehog. The wisps added to the speed of the gameplay and the doom powers are even better.
15:14 Black Arms soldier: “Black Doom, sir. Not to question your supreme authority and wisdom, but why did you give Shadow an ability made specifically to kill only us?”
4:22 The pre-rendered cutscenes are pre-rendered to basically avoid having the game be more complicated than it needs to be. The only cutscenes that are pre-rendered are ones that have some sort of environment change (Both cutscenes on the ark, Shadow VS Sonic fight, when the white space transforms into doom space, the ending, etc.). The only cutscenes rendered in-game are basic white space ones, but also when we are talking about pre-rendered cutscenes, it literally means they are rendered in-house. This can mean they can use movie quality CG path-traced renderers like the unleashed intro, or they can use the actual game's render engine, like all of the pre-rendered ones in this game. It doesn't actually dictate the animations if they are rendered in the real time game render engine. Actually a cool detail I noticed is when shadow calls rouge from the ark, she is at Sonic's party, but not just that. They render Shadow in Hedgehog Engine 2, and they render rouge and the party in Hedgehog Engine 1 to avoid having to put this whole scene together in the new one, but they can get away with this because it is just an MP4. I know this is literally the most basic stuff on the planet but when I realised my brain grew 2 sizes.
I genuinely believe this is the story shadow needed since his character arc was largely complete, I think Maria was the best way to make him angry again as it’s not a full on regression he’s still the developed character he was at the end of 06 but another chance at saving Maria coming up was enough to make him more brutal and angry without throwing away his development.
While these abilities may be the best gimmicks, they are also the least "slowing" if that makes sense. It may have only been able to be pulled off like this because it's a 4 hour side game paired with a remaster. That said, it really is amazing. Still hard to beat Adventure 1&2 though, I liked the other characters. Hunting for master emerald bits was fun, and E-103's story still makes me cry. If we ever get an adventure 3, I do hope the Sonic/Shadow levels take note of this game.
The Act 1 levels and both Acts in Radical Highway are like some of the best 3D Levels in Sonic History, while the 2D ones are really good. They remind me of refined Rush and Advanced levels. Also the Doom Abilities are like an evolution of the SA1/SA2/Unleashed Abilities. I love them so much, especially Doom Wings and Doom Morph.
Shadow generations is way better than Sonic generations IMO. It fixed all the issues I had with it. The modern Sonic levels had too much sidescrolling which should have been reserved for classic Sonic. Those segments kill the momentum, which is ok for the classic style but not what I want in a 3D Sonic game. Shadow generations fixes this by letting the act 1 stages be full 3D and leaving the 2D to act 2. And the 2D is at a slight angle so you can see whats up ahead and not run into things as much as Sonic. And the platforming feels less slippery than Sonic.
Don't NEED the digital deluxe edition?! Good Sir, I can listen to Sonic Speed Riders while doom surfing and fight [insert boss here] while listening to ANY of the vocal shadow and Frontiers tracks. I think I needed the digital upgrade.
I don't use the word masterpiece for almost anything but that changed with two pieces of media; Godzilla Minus One and Sonic X Shadow Generations. They did Shadow justice in this game. And the lore being presented through Gerald's journal was just magnificent. Oh and the OST has some bangers. I bought the Deluxe Digital I mean it's $60 plus you're getting a 2 in 1 package so it's worth it IMO.
Yeah because the remastered a good game, i mean if sega didn't include the shadow stuff and then somehow remade gens with more levels new skills and the quality of shadow gens then I'd be about sonic but since they didn't have time or resources for a remake we got shadow gens
Dude easily one of the most entertaining videos from you! Loved a lot of your points, and yeah dude I’d totally love to see sega take everything done right here and expand on it for the next BIG Sonic title!
My primary gripe with Frontiers is how the story was actually big enough to make it about Sonic, but they continue to recucle a lot of the tropes from Sonic trends and paraphernalia What I mean is in a game where you could be maturing the super sonic form using your love of your friends, the game forces you to run the gauntlet of tutorials, miningames, and locked off zones It flies in the face of the kind of game they were emulating. Zelda let you helldive into enemy territory even when you were unprepared. They compensated this by having you engage with civilian characters affected by choices made by their ancestors. Everything else was peripheral This is probably an aesthic design merit by the developers. They knew you were going to need arrows and junk, but the real meat and potatoes of any Zelda game is where you get your heart. The more heart you have, the longer you can play at their game. Weapons can break, but you'll have more opportunities to scrounge around and plan when you can tough it out If I were planning Frontiers, I would have made the entire range available. Every single path has access, with the exception of steep hills and spatial areas that require you to have masterd techniques much in the way the Simpsons movie handled the cliff jump One way I would pattern this would be to have echoes of what your friends are doing in virtual space and what you might have to do to match, knowing that your don't bear their gift or intuition Personally I think that avails itself to story beats. This would be a deconstruction of Sonic's brand identity. They've been adding a lot of characters which serve little in game purpose. You could have Sonic learn that he's been depending too much on hero worship and how his speed initiative makes him sort of take over everyone's participation This would be the story where they rescue him by letting go of the need to be needed. Ironically that this is the first true mission since his debut where he would have to go it alone Again this has place in game. The trials that you cross grant you access to their perception, but you can't see over the hill without examining their resourcefulness first When you examine Sonic's pattern for design over the years, you can kind of see how the gameplay parameters have hit a wall. The devs want you to boost down a straight, but this puts dampeners on what scope you have. You can mess around with rails, but this makes sonic feel like playing operation. You can have a dynamic camera, but this turns gameplay into a series of scripted events . You can add 2.5D, but it will end up playing like a Rube Goldberg machine because side scrollers need full use of the xy plane to convey crucial information, especially at top speed Having an open world sonic which unfolds with topography puts sonic at the to focal point again. It allows you to breath in the environment knowing that you could dart any which way, but the objective is just as important as the journey. You want to go fast, but propeller fast, not like an aeroplane that has reached its target altitude. You want go be able to increase velocity against the wind, looking out for every nuance which might affect your best time But further than that, _learning_ what sonic can do in addition to this toolkit would make it game worth exploring. This is why Sonic 3 added shields and Mania added the drop dash. What you want is a sonic which is all terrain and climbing. Plus you want to be able to harness that potential hands on so that you feel a sense of mastery as well as progression I feel as though Shadow ticks a lot of these boxes for people, but with a few water weights. Chaos control makes it feel inductive, but to a keen eye, this is the equivalent to a game like braid. Incorporated variants on gameshark which modify normal play. They add different powers that wouldn't clear in a boardroom regarding Sonic's brand. My problem with this is why _wouldnt_ they want to *push* Sonic? Why not codify Sonic's utility from every angle for us to explore and enjoy? Again there's enough to the Super Sonic profile that incorporating different pieces of him outside of full control should make for a proper game. Set up, pay off. One exemplifying flight, another snap decisions, another marvelous strength, another explosive throughput. This is an incentive based design which can also function as a navigation tool. If you can leap tall buildings in a single bound in ways you couldn't before, but the game trained you how to execute these maneuvers, you've literally given the player reasons to explore Have your Chao gardens and fishing spots in-between, but make Sonic's navigation methods the object of player creativity. That way when the boss is balls to the wall hard, the developers can say, well we did set up progress markers. The 4 year old that keeps getting stuck on the walls just won't be able to enjoy the remainder until he graduates skill-wise. Although I feel as though its the devs that haven't progressed very much
This video perfectly captures my feelings about the game. I've never played a Sonic game that's so satisfying mechanically. I tried playing Sonic Generations after Shadow's campaign and it felt like such a slog. But I'm still thinking about how fun Shadow's hub world and levels were, and I want more of it. Honestly if Sonic Team could like, just do a bunch of smaller games like this for some of Sonic's other characters, I'd be pretty happy about it. I'll pay 30 bucks for a 5-hour Knuckles campaign that's as well thought out as this was.
16:23 Would the fake emerald affect Sonic in anyway? If the fake emerald has the exact same properties as the original (other than blowing up machines its placed in), could Sonic still become Super Sonic with 6 Emeralds + a fake? What happens if Sonic gets all 7 Chaos Emeralds + The Fake? Does he become Super Sonic + 1?
I was hoping for a solo Knuckles The Echidna game in a free roam style. His story, adventures, and journey has so much potential to make it a true game with so many fight scense vause he's a warrior. But I guess SEGA just want Sonic more popular or atleast characters who are just like Sonic.
Honestly I agree. I think sonic team is on the cusp of rediscovering the adventure formula again. If we got sonic adventure 3 and it felt like this people would be over the moon. Read something earlier where one of the sonic team devs were interested in remaking sonic 06? Not sure if it’s tabloid farce or not. Also not sure how warranted it is with project 06 being project 06, but if they’re willing to do that I would be interested to see them take a crack at it. Sega is looking really good right now, and I’m actually hopeful for where sonic goes from here.
I've played the game a bit and the first thing i noticed was how cool Shadow's skating animation looked. It's a good game so far, i'm really enjoying it.
The length of the game really makes it feel more like a DLC, which is a shame because I really want more from it. I'd love a game in this style that keeps all the right things for either Shadow or Sonic. This has been one of the first Sonic games I've genuinely enjoyed and wanted to get all the way through since Adventure 2, and I hope they keep up the good work (knock on wood).
I loved the dlc but as a certified Metal Sonic fan I am disappointed that Metal Sonic doesn’t use chaos control. Not to mention the finial boss is just Metal with an extra gimmick. Other than that it was cool
Shadow Generations just makes me happy. I won't lie that I am one of those that actually like Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 (knowing it's problems of course), and I enjoy how it used it. The only thing that I wonder is why they chose to use a frontiers map in shadow's story over any other Shadow related map in his history. Circus park, black comet and many more come to mind.
I must say with a lot a fans saying Mephiles wanting to be canon to the series again but Shadow pushed him back into his seal, so think about it if the Sonic the hedgehog did happen but it didn't since Mephiles technically "came back" wouldn't that mean Silver have a spotlight in game too especially Elise she would have to come back to?
Shadow the Hedgehog 05 is actually an amazing game but you have to actually play it with the right mindset to get any enjoyment. It’s meant to be enjoyed at a slow and methodical pace, contrary to what the fast physics would leave you to believe. Most of the issues people have with the game are solved by just going a little slower and understanding that you won’t be speedrunning the game. The game definitely isn’t perfect, but unlike some other games in the series it is a complete game with a massive (for a sonic game) 23 stages. It was an ambitious project and its biggest flaw was setting the wrong expectations by being a sonic game with a character that needs to be speedy. Edit: 7:49 This is exactly what I’m talking about. Shadow the Hedgehog is what happens when they DIDN’T slow him down. They met community expectations for how fast he should be, but at the expense of actual being able to control him or find targets you need to kill because you are zooming right past them.
sonic has not hit for me ever since the boost formula dumbed down the gameplay so much compared to adventure 2. So I hope for the next Sonic game we get something that controls more like shadow generations
@@Thermalfusi0n yea the boost formula is so stupid. It’s clunky and the game plays itself half the time and it IRKS me like the controls in this game PISS ME OFF.. I’ve died so many times cause the game pulls you forwards and you don’t have nearly as much control over Sonic as you should
@@SuhailGanondorf1999Singh sonic team still can’t figure out how to give us complete control over Sonic it’s frustrating cause the game plays its self it’s constantly pulling you forwards when I’m trying to maneuver and make precise moments or even slow down and it leases to deaths over and over smh
The best Sonic games is about Sonic, but it’s also about the destruction and restoration of Angel Island, the discovery of the Echidna(e) living there, the lore behind the Chaos Emeralds (Super and Master Emeralds), and Robotnik’s attempts to restore the Death Egg
Shadow portion is perfection, I really could not enjoy majority of the sonic generations levels. The messy, unrefined controls mixed with the crap level design (specifically the 2d sections) just created disaster.
If we could get the same type of polish for both sonic and shadow gameplay with seamless mechanics for the two of them and then make a different play style for Silver that’s just as fun if not more so then the other two hogs with animation and story elements as strong as this game, I genuinely think the Sonic franchise would be so back.
the fact we had two decent films and 2 bangers of games made me actually come back to sonic as a fan. Im waiting for them to fuck it up because SEGA never seems to be able to make good sonic games consistently. I hated Boom, Colors, Forces, and Lost World so much more than forces, and Forces was simply offensively bad. IDW really is the golden era for sonic.
I need a new adventure style game with boost levels as special levels but not as the norm. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver stories and a true ending like ‘06.
The shadow portion is 100% the highlight but can we talk about how they added the drop dash to generations? Like they barley changed much but the last thing i expected was a completely new mechanic unfortunately its not super useful in modern sonic levels for the most part to be frank its similar for classic sonic the spin dash is much more powerful but its just cool to me they've even added a brand new thing to a really old game
I personally love this game and was super excited. The only problem I have with this game is the 2D. I really wish this game were just a 3D game and I feel like 2D just doesn't work for how Shadow controls.
Lets remember sonic started in 2D and felt great, the 2D in shadow gens is very good, i get that feeling of being fast and nostalgia from when i first played the first sonic but i think to actually get that feeling u must (pls dont get mad at me for saying this) be good at the game n explore the dif routes to take in the game, but that is something that also had to be done in the first sonic in order to get the best times in each stage. (i think sega doesnt want to let go of 2D cause its closely tied to what made sonic great in the first game, and imo thats fine)
Shadow has always been the best "character" It's just that SEGA seemed to forget what made him.
He isn't just an edgy Sonic, he is so much more, and it seems that they are finally starting to remember.
erm I like sonic better.. cant replace him
@@Egood_ty it’s ok to like Sonic more, he’s the fun loving main protagonist after all. But objectively, Shadow’s writing and story is superior to Sonic’s.
@TheLsp2011 mainly because unlike Sonic, Shadow isn't a static character at his core.
@@TheLsp2011 writing is subjective
he is literally edgy sonic
Good, because if SEGA has no plans to let us play as Silver on console ever again, they might as well make Shadow more fun to play as, than the main character of their game brand. At least it's better than having to play as 2 Sonic's every freaking year.
Ohhhh the irony of it all
Silver x shadow x Sonic generations is next boys because we gotta see why sonic fought silver
@Jill-ql5sr not maybe for another 11 years on the next gen consoles
@@Jill-ql5sr sonic generations episode metal needs to happen next
@@kowabonga3552 why would they do that? Why would they make a side character funner to play than their main character? Look I know recency bias and all that Jesus cmon man 🤦♂️
Two things I adore about this game that I feel like is under appreciated are the optional dialogue and the chest gear placements. The optional dialogue that changes throughout the playthrough is a joy to read. The gear placements in levels are much better than the red rings in my option because almost all of them are found in the fastest path in the level rather than being all over. Great video.
sega needs to remove red rings entirely they're not fun at all to collect and you dont get anything worthwhile😭😭😭
"A game with sonic, shadow and silver" God I never realised how hard this would go if they tried it in boost formula. Silver has been cursed with the chains of being from 06 for too long, he deserves better.
Also... Blaze needs a focal role again! Rush and 06 was all she got before "durr we hate sonics friends" and honestly I just want more characters to have the spotlight again!!
Blaze was introduced with the boost, so this could work
I guess Blaze also got Black Knight, but does that really count?
I mean the IDW comics did her some justice, and since they have been recently confirmed to be canon, it kinda counts as her getting the spotlight in the canon universe
Justice for Silver
I'm truly hoping with the success of Shadow Generations, that Shadow gets an entire new game for himself! His new abilities can't just be a one-shot thing, it's soooooo much fun using his Doom Wing alone, they open up endless possibilities. This is easily one of my favorite Sonic games next to SA2~
@sylviastone628 gonna be honest only thing from this game I want them to drop is the power ups, too gimicky and looked out of place. Things like chaos sphere and control should stay though
@@I.Am.Terrible.At.Usernames chaos sphere? what is that ? although i do agree there should be more focus on the chaos abilities (chaos snap, control, blast and boost) for his next game and instead of doom wing the super form equivalent should be removing his limiters rings too
@@0ikess I think they meant chaos spear
@@craigbarker4675 oh yeah you're right, i'm dumb as fck
Endless possibi… I see what you did there
we must let the devs know that we want the new philosophy of 3D boost levels being FULLY 3D for the future games too!
@@IKIGAIofficial idk what the deal is with people hating 2d levels so much. shadow gens had a perfect blend of both, and the stages were just as good (arguably sometimes better) than their 3d counter part.
@Reec3R You haven't actually listened to peoples complaints then because they're usually pretty clear about there being too much of them when the games are usually advertised as having more 3d.
@@Reec3R I think your missing the point we want 3d stages to be FULLY 3D he didn't say anything about 2d. Keep the two separate and it becomes a masterpiece and this is an example of that.
@@IKIGAIofficial has anyone here ever bothered to actually find out why 2D exists in 3D Sonic games?
Here's why. Sonic's immense speed is fundamentally flawed. There's a video on this on UA-cam, but I'll quickly summarise it here.
Sonic is the fastest video game character of all time, and because of that, it's one of the hardest to make games for, especially in 3D. Sonic covers so much ground in so little time, so substantial levels take so much resources and time to make. So to compensate, Sonic Team has come up with many methods to avoid such problem. Alternate playstyles, gimmicks, fodder, and the subject at hand, 2D. In 2D, Sonic/Shadow is much slower, so they can make the level design much more compact, costing less to make.
Bro grateful they're even trying. They easily could have either release the games every few years much shorter so the people complaining about 2D will shut up, or take 5-10 years for every mainline release, in order to give a substantial game without 2D. They cannot handle the sheer effort it takes to make 5 minutes 3D boost levels and still be alive after. Don't act like their being lazy, and can just "make more 3D".
Agreed AF
That is because Shadow canonically does Teleport to fight these days. They make up his homing attacks, and to further differentiate him from Sonic. Its also part of how his Chaos Warping works, a Chaos Emerald fuels and increases the distance. This was presented in the end days of Archie Sonic, where Shadow, fighting the remnants of the Black Arms in space, required an Emerald to safely evacuate from the enemy vessel back to the allied G.U.N. ship.
No, he can only chaos warp with an Emerald.
He’s used the Teleport multiple times in cutscenes since STH 2005, Shadow Generations is simply the first time it became used in gameplay
@@gengargamer5657 This is literally stated in his bio, using previous games as an example is irrelevant seeing how going forward it has been retconned into him needing an Emerald to use it.
@@spidermanserpa3039 No it hasn’t? He mainly needed the Emerald for his other abilities in this game such as Chaos Control and Chaos Spear
@@spidermanserpa3039 he was literally teleporting in sonic adventure 2 without an emerald in his second fight against sonic on the ark, teleported in the intro to shadow the hedgehog 05 and he could also use the teleport in sonic 06.
I really wanted Shadow Generations to have completely revamped cutscenes for the main story, but after seeing Shadows' content, I can see why they weren't because HOLLYYYYY that budget reallocation paid off
Now just need something with a grander story akin to 06, with huge stakes and a large roster… but not a playable roster though. Have Sonic, Shadow, and Silver campaigns, Sonic about super high top speeds and good platforming, Shadow with chaos control like this game did but not as fast as Sonic, and Silver with slower gameplay but more intricate platforming and puzzle mechanics using his telekinesis.
Those 3 as the only playable characters, with Sonic’s Frontiers combat, Shadow’s chaos control and a new telekinesis system for Silver, in a 15-20 hour campaign, and they all go Super towards the end.
I hear you want a Sonic 06 remaster but actually a good Game this Time without a annoying Princess around xD
@@GroizardBros You want Project '06
@@GroizardBros you want Project 06
People saying Project-06 which, undoubtedly is an amazing game, but if you want the story mode again I'd recommend Legacy Of Solaris
Ok, hot take, I wouldn't mind a Remake of '06, and I mean a REMAKE not a remaster or port and a retelling of the story so they can make the game that was invisioned at that moment and fixing the mechanics without making it boost formula
The only problems with Shadow Generations is that it is so good that it leaves you wanting more and feeling that the game is kinda short, and it also makes Sonic Generations levels feel unpolished and clumsy.
Just wanna say ur correct on the Black Arms hive mind thing. It came up in Shadow 05 and is the extended unfinished version of the Dark Beginnings animation which has thankfully already been uploaded to UA-cam because it's Sony exclusive for some reason.
I LOVED the little stumble/rolls Shadow would do at the end of a mid-level cut scene as it transitioned back to to gameplay
silver would be cool and all but just imagine a Sonic Rush in 3D
what i'd pay to play as Blaze again..
@@Kokokekko7 if only sega remembered she exists again 😭
@@Wolf-Chalk they did reference her in frontiers at least so theres a bit of hope maybe??
With this game showing side characters have legs if the time to polish their unique talents is taken, I feel like they could easily do separate adventures.
This might be testing the waters in the back of an established remaster to see if people would buy, giving the ending of Frontiers hinting that other characters wanted to find their own way.
Silver being playable again with Project 06 style gameplay ✅
Blaze getting a 3rd Sonic Rush game with just her and Sonic ❌
@@kowabonga3552 what
For some reason,when takashi lizuka is involved in any sonic project,he would either cook raw or overcooked it just like frontiers but when he isn't we get this
I love the way Doom Wings control. I feel like they’re a great blueprint for how Super Sonic can control in future games.
@@enlongjones2394 agreed
Honestly I liked the 2d stages. I've even heard some people say that some of the 2d shadow stages were some of the best 2d speed stages in the entire history of the franchise. But also, I think doubling the length of the game would be a bit much. Really, all Shadow Gen needed was 1 more level I think to just let the mechanics stew. Every stage is overtly dedicated to being a tutorial for a different ability and we really could have done with a stage, possibly referencing the black comet or something from Shad05, to just let us marinate on all the abilities for the length of a stage, without having to worry about anything new being introduced.
@@chaincat33 agreed
I just love that thumbnail, it's as if Shadow is thinking "Your savoir has arrived!" But mostly to mess with Sonic.
I can no longer fake hate Sonic, this game is a banger
"fake hate" that's the evilest sh;t I've heard wtf
@@KhalilSonic in most cases I must uphold my hater status, even if it isn’t real
@@JustMaxT I’m disappointed…
@@Khronen-r3u like comment subscribe for more sonic videos
Don’t listen to these doubters, stay on the hating grind 🫡💪🏽 hating isn’t just an action, it’s a lifestyle, it’s a grind, and you must never hop off it
Sorry but shadow the hedgehog is actually peak
*I SEE NOR HEAR NO EVIL* 🗣🔥🔥🔥
@@Digicara64BLACK WRITINGS ON THE WALL🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥
@@metadowyuri*UNLEASH A MILLION FACES* 🗣🔥🔥🔥
@@Digicara64 AND ONE BY ONE THEY FAAALL🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
@@HarmonizeeeBLACK HEARTED EEEEEEEVILLLLLLLL
Shadow lends himself to better gameplay as he's acquired so many abilities that were well utilized in the Shadow half of this game and he's the better character story wise too. Sonic by comparison is too vanilla. I'd love to see them make another dedicated story driven Shadow game with most if not all these abilities that really shake up gameplay. The problem with the first game is they leaned way too hard on trying to make it weirdly mature and it clashed with the Sonic motif. This game strikes a good balance as his story is darker, but swapping out guns for fun gameplay mechanics in the form of abilities was a great call.
@@TurkeyFaceX I’m rlly just happy Shadow ain’t a clone of Sonic
Everybody about Shadow:
Me liking the funny relatable characters: SEGA, give me that Team Chaotix Adventure game next, you cowards! X3
why do u sound like somecallmejohnny i legit forgot and thought i was watching his video for a few minutes in the middle lmao
Probably the biggest compliment I can get ngl. He's been one of my biggest inspirations when making content ever since I started watching like over a decade ago.
Im sorry but i gotta critique this one thing. The slap on gimmick isnt a boost formula issue. It was always a 3D sonic issue. Since adventure the reason they even added different playable characters was because it was hard to design stages for 3D sonic to sustain an entire game since he can go so fast & clear levels easier on a 3D plane. And to make that for other characters that do the same was difficult for sonic team. So they did what they did for sa1 & 2, heros, even 06. There was always a gimmick slapped on to extend playtime because 3D sonic is a difficult beast to make enjoyable on its own than 2D. Really- colors was arguably the first to have an entire “3D” sonic game in one gameplay style. The wisps were power ups
It was never a boost formula issue. Other than that, great review
@@AK46supr I'd say it's a Sonic problem, period. 2D games also tend to be short, but people are just more tolerant for 2D games being short for some reason. Although there were games that attempted to lengthen the game with filler, like Sonic Advance 3 with hubs, Rush Adventure with ships and material grinding and Shattered Crystal with the whole collectathon thing.
@ fair point
I think it’s because people want to play as other characters. In the adventure era it was about sonic and friends. Not just sonic. They made the friends and rivals side characters when they two has main character status. Tails actually could fight, Shadow was not just an edge lord, rouge was more than just 18+ material. They were characters and fighters just as much as sonic was and I’m glad Sega are remembering that’s there other characters can actually DO things without Sonic.
The game does mention why Shadow’s on the ARK. He says that GUN detected an unknown bio-signature up there.
I just love how they made Shadow a character again instead of "edgy sonic with guns" like my mans has TRAUMA out the ass, watched his family get shot dead in front of him just for his ass to be frozen for 50 years 😐 oh and then for you to be made the "untimate lifeform" but the zippy blue one was just born more powerful naturally. Shadow has to deal with identity crisis, has the murder of his family fresh on his mind and HAS TO KEEP WATCHING THEM DIE MULTIPLE TIMES! While also having your real "father" be an alien warlord trying to corrupt your mind and body...so basically raven from teen titans dealing with trigon.
Shadow is the best, and nothing you can say will change my mind. Hes got every right to be evil yet chooses to be a hero
this is honestly the best sonic game ive ever played, it feels so good even for a noob like me who struggles with the clunky controls in each other game
its going to be so hard to go back to standard run of the mill sonic focused games after this masterpiece
I mean, it is about Sonic. It’s a Remaster of Generations and they’ve had over a decade to know how to refine it. It’s also releasing into a world on every major platform, including the Switch in a world in which streaming is higely popular.
And Generations was stupidly popular. I’d be more shocked if it did not hit 1mil in a day.
Add in Shadow's own popularity the EXCELLENT prequel animation that had no right to be so good id want a whole movie of that animation quality i swear, ironically there's also the hype around the movie that IS coming, and i think at the start of a year there was a really cool small project made by fans on Shadow's time on the Ark that just raised hype even more for the movie thus the game.
The game had all the hype in the world to work so well.
Its just that lets be real given the state of the franchise in the 2010's and the destruction of the reputation of Sonic game since 06 and to an extend for Shadow 05 since the story was bad, getting a Sonic game with this much attention, especially for a character that is nonetheless relatively less popular than Sonic , will not be anything less than surprising
Sonic Sweep ❌
Shadow Sweep ✅
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I think the way the reason why Maria and Shadow didn't get a conversation of them catching up in life and stuff is because, the moment Shadow meets her and Gerald, Shadow starts to pretend to be from around the same point in time as them, or a little further, since there are those conversations with Maria that she see's Sonic and the others as Shadow's friends, and then there is Gerald, telling Shadow not to interact too much with them to stop any paradox from potentially happening
the shadow portion is fantastic. The sonic portion feels incredibly clunky and stiff and awkward to play afterwards
Like the OG Sonic Generation.
Sonic is fine, Shadow just controls better
@@ExpiredPorridge Bs
Bs
@@ExpiredPorridge Stiffer control for faster, more quick, reaction-based gameplay. Speed and tight control can't coexist, which is why Shadow gens feels slower than sonic gens while feeling tighter to control.
YES! And i Hope Sega will understand that spin off of other character is a Monet printer. Give us more shadow and others liké Silver Tails knuckles blaze or even the chaotix.
@@alu_sonic Or fully introduce some.of the IDW characters to the series proper too.
Tangle got a voice mention, imagine her game play. Something Bionic Commando like. Or Surge who tho might play like Sonic types would have to fully avoid submerging in water giving Lightning powers(which I realize might not have been planned but does make her even more of a Sonic parallel).
These characters could add so much to the franchise if they were really fleshed out as gameplay first and unique.
@@ReikuYin it would be cool too. But there alteady IS so many cool character that are left on the border like Silver blaze or Espio
as long as lanolin gets hit with the de-existence beam, i'm happy
Absolutely love this video, your editing style is so fun to watch and your scripts are always well put together.
Shadow is literally THE best Sonic character. He literally has way better character development and story than Sonic ever had. Shadow is the reason why I got into the Sonic franchise
@@CyrilSmithVA agreed. Shadow is the best character and I won’t be convinced otherwise
While Shadow is undeniably a standout character with a compelling story, Sonic’s identity is the heart and soul of the franchise. The series thrives on Sonic’s upbeat spirit, vibrant tone, and iconic speed-based gameplay. Shadow’s darker edge adds valuable contrast, but it works best in tandem with Sonic rather than replacing him outright.
Sonic’s enduring popularity comes from his energetic optimism and momentum-driven style - key elements that made the series a household name. Stripping the spotlight from Sonic risks losing the very qualities that have sustained the franchise across decades. Shadow may be a pivotal figure, but the overall “best” Sonic experience still hinges on the dynamic interplay between these contrasting characters, rather than one overshadowing the other.
@ yeah I agree. I still like Shadow more tho
Guess you could say, he overshadowed Sonic! But seriously, I’d like to see GUN and Mephilis return in a future game somehow. And maybe Sage interacting with the larger cast. I’d also love a new Sonic anime in the style of Dark Beginnings or the Dream Team trailer. As for the game itself, it feels like Sonic Team took the gameplay from Boost, Adventure, and Frontiers, and cup of Frontiers’s charter focused writing. I hope SEGA and Sonic team follow this formula going forward.
shadow generations is absolutely amazing, i love the hub world, i love all the different powers shadow gets, having a 2d esque side scroller for act 2 is awesome, its reverse sonic generations where act one is the side scroller, it adds a new aspect to alot of levels featured in shadow the hedgehog, SA2, and sonic heroes
The teleporting homing attack is actually called chaos snap
Correct
I once imagined Shadow bursting through the door being all sassy, and then immediately telling Sonic all of the good things he got in his second game, that Sonic didn’t over a long time. (All with the signature Vine Boom)
-All banger levels
-A well written story
-Ian not cramming in too many references
-Great OpenZone
-Sonic X representation
-Your music and my music
-No Santiago
-And an 80 on Metacritic!
This wouldn’t be possible without Sonic let alone Sonic’s portion of the game being extremely fun.
Are you saying they should remake 06 with the new budget and give us the story gameplay and moments we deserve?
Not a bad idea
i demand modders find a way to add levels into the game but as seperate things without replacing pre existing stuff because i need more content like yesterday
Shadow Generations could have been its own game. Just add extra stages and more challenge acts. Because after completing his portion of the game and heading into Sonic Generations… the difference in controls is night and day. Modern Sonic does not feel good to play after about 20 hours of Shadow’s gameplay.
Shadow Generations is a Bowser’s Fury. But yes, Shadow controls way better
Absolutely agree with everything you’ve said, apart from the fact that the Doom Morph actually grew on me after that I actually learned how to use it.
Oh! And just because you wondered! 3:41 Yes, Shadow is probably connected to the Black Arms’ hive mind, as he has Black Doom’s blood and can physically feel or resist certain effects (in Shadow the Hedgehog he’s the only one who doesn’t get paralyzed by the Black Arms’ paralyzing gas).
21:24 omg I needed to laugh so badly
As a guy who was brought into the Sonic franchise with the Sonic Adventure titles, I REALLY want to play this game... but only the 3D "act 1" of Shadow's levels.
I really wish Sonic team/Sega would do what Nintendo did with Mario and separate their 3D and 2D platforming games rather than putting both game styles in every game
This is such a good game. I have the original Generations on PS3, and I liked it then, and I got this one to play as Shadow, and I’m having lots of fun. Hope that Shadow’s new abilities will stay for future games.
so glad you and other people are noticing the animation quality improving greatly in Shadow Generations. nearly all of Frontiers cutscenes looked stiff and not that great to me.
OR.. hear me our juuuuuust hear me out… this game is doing well for both Sonic and Shadow and it’s massive W for Sonic and Shadow fans. Since they’re both supporting this game. And many ppl who are saying they weren’t big on Sonic are saying that his side of the gameplay is extremely fun as well. C’mon lol
Gimmicks in the boost formula are fine as long as its not garbage like the werehog. The wisps added to the speed of the gameplay and the doom powers are even better.
@@dancingvalkyrie the Werehog was not garbage that was the main reason I even enjoyed Unleashed
23:21 is bro just asking for a sonic 06 remake?
15:14
Black Arms soldier: “Black Doom, sir. Not to question your supreme authority and wisdom, but why did you give Shadow an ability made specifically to kill only us?”
4:22 The pre-rendered cutscenes are pre-rendered to basically avoid having the game be more complicated than it needs to be. The only cutscenes that are pre-rendered are ones that have some sort of environment change (Both cutscenes on the ark, Shadow VS Sonic fight, when the white space transforms into doom space, the ending, etc.). The only cutscenes rendered in-game are basic white space ones, but also when we are talking about pre-rendered cutscenes, it literally means they are rendered in-house. This can mean they can use movie quality CG path-traced renderers like the unleashed intro, or they can use the actual game's render engine, like all of the pre-rendered ones in this game. It doesn't actually dictate the animations if they are rendered in the real time game render engine.
Actually a cool detail I noticed is when shadow calls rouge from the ark, she is at Sonic's party, but not just that. They render Shadow in Hedgehog Engine 2, and they render rouge and the party in Hedgehog Engine 1 to avoid having to put this whole scene together in the new one, but they can get away with this because it is just an MP4. I know this is literally the most basic stuff on the planet but when I realised my brain grew 2 sizes.
I genuinely believe this is the story shadow needed since his character arc was largely complete, I think Maria was the best way to make him angry again as it’s not a full on regression he’s still the developed character he was at the end of 06 but another chance at saving Maria coming up was enough to make him more brutal and angry without throwing away his development.
@@lostsauce911 agreed
While these abilities may be the best gimmicks, they are also the least "slowing" if that makes sense. It may have only been able to be pulled off like this because it's a 4 hour side game paired with a remaster. That said, it really is amazing.
Still hard to beat Adventure 1&2 though, I liked the other characters. Hunting for master emerald bits was fun, and E-103's story still makes me cry. If we ever get an adventure 3, I do hope the Sonic/Shadow levels take note of this game.
10:19 you are onto nothing this music is fire
@@sap9255 agreed lmao, that music was fire
😬
The Act 1 levels and both Acts in Radical Highway are like some of the best 3D Levels in Sonic History, while the 2D ones are really good. They remind me of refined Rush and Advanced levels.
Also the Doom Abilities are like an evolution of the SA1/SA2/Unleashed Abilities. I love them so much, especially Doom Wings and Doom Morph.
An character that have a very deep backstory could be Metal Sonic.
Shadow generations is way better than Sonic generations IMO. It fixed all the issues I had with it. The modern Sonic levels had too much sidescrolling which should have been reserved for classic Sonic. Those segments kill the momentum, which is ok for the classic style but not what I want in a 3D Sonic game. Shadow generations fixes this by letting the act 1 stages be full 3D and leaving the 2D to act 2. And the 2D is at a slight angle so you can see whats up ahead and not run into things as much as Sonic. And the platforming feels less slippery than Sonic.
Don't NEED the digital deluxe edition?!
Good Sir, I can listen to Sonic Speed Riders while doom surfing and fight [insert boss here] while listening to ANY of the vocal shadow and Frontiers tracks. I think I needed the digital upgrade.
Sonic Riders 4 where Shadow’s board is the doom surf would be so hard ngl
I don't use the word masterpiece for almost anything but that changed with two pieces of media; Godzilla Minus One and Sonic X Shadow Generations. They did Shadow justice in this game. And the lore being presented through Gerald's journal was just magnificent. Oh and the OST has some bangers. I bought the Deluxe Digital I mean it's $60 plus you're getting a 2 in 1 package so it's worth it IMO.
Yeah because the remastered a good game, i mean if sega didn't include the shadow stuff and then somehow remade gens with more levels new skills and the quality of shadow gens then I'd be about sonic but since they didn't have time or resources for a remake we got shadow gens
I fucking love Sonic X Shadow Generations, Sonic is so back..
(Hi dylonic..)
No way Zenith in the chat‼️
Dude easily one of the most entertaining videos from you! Loved a lot of your points, and yeah dude I’d totally love to see sega take everything done right here and expand on it for the next BIG Sonic title!
only thing i dont like about this game is with the mini map i cant control the zoom and put waypoints on the boxes so i can actually find them
Man I straight fell off the chair when you said Sonic Boom was a damn DECADE ago, I was not ready
Wish That silver could have his own game sonic 06 did not do justice for him
My primary gripe with Frontiers is how the story was actually big enough to make it about Sonic, but they continue to recucle a lot of the tropes from Sonic trends and paraphernalia
What I mean is in a game where you could be maturing the super sonic form using your love of your friends, the game forces you to run the gauntlet of tutorials, miningames, and locked off zones
It flies in the face of the kind of game they were emulating. Zelda let you helldive into enemy territory even when you were unprepared. They compensated this by having you engage with civilian characters affected by choices made by their ancestors. Everything else was peripheral
This is probably an aesthic design merit by the developers. They knew you were going to need arrows and junk, but the real meat and potatoes of any Zelda game is where you get your heart. The more heart you have, the longer you can play at their game. Weapons can break, but you'll have more opportunities to scrounge around and plan when you can tough it out
If I were planning Frontiers, I would have made the entire range available. Every single path has access, with the exception of steep hills and spatial areas that require you to have masterd techniques much in the way the Simpsons movie handled the cliff jump
One way I would pattern this would be to have echoes of what your friends are doing in virtual space and what you might have to do to match, knowing that your don't bear their gift or intuition
Personally I think that avails itself to story beats. This would be a deconstruction of Sonic's brand identity. They've been adding a lot of characters which serve little in game purpose. You could have Sonic learn that he's been depending too much on hero worship and how his speed initiative makes him sort of take over everyone's participation
This would be the story where they rescue him by letting go of the need to be needed. Ironically that this is the first true mission since his debut where he would have to go it alone
Again this has place in game. The trials that you cross grant you access to their perception, but you can't see over the hill without examining their resourcefulness first
When you examine Sonic's pattern for design over the years, you can kind of see how the gameplay parameters have hit a wall. The devs want you to boost down a straight, but this puts dampeners on what scope you have. You can mess around with rails, but this makes sonic feel like playing operation. You can have a dynamic camera, but this turns gameplay into a series of scripted events . You can add 2.5D, but it will end up playing like a Rube Goldberg machine because side scrollers need full use of the xy plane to convey crucial information, especially at top speed
Having an open world sonic which unfolds with topography puts sonic at the to focal point again. It allows you to breath in the environment knowing that you could dart any which way, but the objective is just as important as the journey. You want to go fast, but propeller fast, not like an aeroplane that has reached its target altitude. You want go be able to increase velocity against the wind, looking out for every nuance which might affect your best time
But further than that, _learning_ what sonic can do in addition to this toolkit would make it game worth exploring. This is why Sonic 3 added shields and Mania added the drop dash. What you want is a sonic which is all terrain and climbing. Plus you want to be able to harness that potential hands on so that you feel a sense of mastery as well as progression
I feel as though Shadow ticks a lot of these boxes for people, but with a few water weights. Chaos control makes it feel inductive, but to a keen eye, this is the equivalent to a game like braid. Incorporated variants on gameshark which modify normal play. They add different powers that wouldn't clear in a boardroom regarding Sonic's brand. My problem with this is why _wouldnt_ they want to *push* Sonic? Why not codify Sonic's utility from every angle for us to explore and enjoy?
Again there's enough to the Super Sonic profile that incorporating different pieces of him outside of full control should make for a proper game. Set up, pay off. One exemplifying flight, another snap decisions, another marvelous strength, another explosive throughput. This is an incentive based design which can also function as a navigation tool. If you can leap tall buildings in a single bound in ways you couldn't before, but the game trained you how to execute these maneuvers, you've literally given the player reasons to explore
Have your Chao gardens and fishing spots in-between, but make Sonic's navigation methods the object of player creativity. That way when the boss is balls to the wall hard, the developers can say, well we did set up progress markers. The 4 year old that keeps getting stuck on the walls just won't be able to enjoy the remainder until he graduates skill-wise. Although I feel as though its the devs that haven't progressed very much
@@ramblincapuchin9075 can you design frontiers 2 por favor
This video perfectly captures my feelings about the game. I've never played a Sonic game that's so satisfying mechanically. I tried playing Sonic Generations after Shadow's campaign and it felt like such a slog. But I'm still thinking about how fun Shadow's hub world and levels were, and I want more of it.
Honestly if Sonic Team could like, just do a bunch of smaller games like this for some of Sonic's other characters, I'd be pretty happy about it. I'll pay 30 bucks for a 5-hour Knuckles campaign that's as well thought out as this was.
16:23 Would the fake emerald affect Sonic in anyway? If the fake emerald has the exact same properties as the original (other than blowing up machines its placed in), could Sonic still become Super Sonic with 6 Emeralds + a fake?
What happens if Sonic gets all 7 Chaos Emeralds + The Fake? Does he become Super Sonic + 1?
I was hoping for a solo Knuckles The Echidna game in a free roam style.
His story, adventures, and journey has so much potential to make it a true game with so many fight scense vause he's a warrior. But I guess SEGA just want Sonic more popular or atleast characters who are just like Sonic.
Honestly an open zone Knuckles game set on Angel Island would be too fire. The world isn’t ready…
Love your review you kinda remind me of some call me Johny lol keep up the good work
Honestly I agree. I think sonic team is on the cusp of rediscovering the adventure formula again. If we got sonic adventure 3 and it felt like this people would be over the moon.
Read something earlier where one of the sonic team devs were interested in remaking sonic 06? Not sure if it’s tabloid farce or not. Also not sure how warranted it is with project 06 being project 06, but if they’re willing to do that I would be interested to see them take a crack at it. Sega is looking really good right now, and I’m actually hopeful for where sonic goes from here.
Bro when metal overlord came back I was hit so hard from nostalgia
I've played the game a bit and the first thing i noticed was how cool Shadow's skating animation looked. It's a good game so far, i'm really enjoying it.
I dont know If you mentioned this but holding side step makes shadow drift in the direction of the side step.
The length of the game really makes it feel more like a DLC, which is a shame because I really want more from it. I'd love a game in this style that keeps all the right things for either Shadow or Sonic. This has been one of the first Sonic games I've genuinely enjoyed and wanted to get all the way through since Adventure 2, and I hope they keep up the good work (knock on wood).
I loved the dlc but as a certified Metal Sonic fan I am disappointed that Metal Sonic doesn’t use chaos control. Not to mention the finial boss is just Metal with an extra gimmick. Other than that it was cool
My only complaint is that the interactable characters dont do enough, like imagine you could have special stages where you play as them.
8:01 this is actually something I found out after beating the game. He does have a drift. You're supposed to hold down the L1 or R1 button to drift.
Shadow Generations just makes me happy. I won't lie that I am one of those that actually like Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 (knowing it's problems of course), and I enjoy how it used it. The only thing that I wonder is why they chose to use a frontiers map in shadow's story over any other Shadow related map in his history. Circus park, black comet and many more come to mind.
I must say with a lot a fans saying Mephiles wanting to be canon to the series again but Shadow pushed him back into his seal, so think about it if the Sonic the hedgehog did happen but it didn't since Mephiles technically "came back" wouldn't that mean Silver have a spotlight in game too especially Elise she would have to come back to?
The 2d stages remind me of the Sonic Rush games, in a way.
Shadow the Hedgehog 05 is actually an amazing game but you have to actually play it with the right mindset to get any enjoyment. It’s meant to be enjoyed at a slow and methodical pace, contrary to what the fast physics would leave you to believe. Most of the issues people have with the game are solved by just going a little slower and understanding that you won’t be speedrunning the game.
The game definitely isn’t perfect, but unlike some other games in the series it is a complete game with a massive (for a sonic game) 23 stages. It was an ambitious project and its biggest flaw was setting the wrong expectations by being a sonic game with a character that needs to be speedy.
Edit:
7:49 This is exactly what I’m talking about. Shadow the Hedgehog is what happens when they DIDN’T slow him down. They met community expectations for how fast he should be, but at the expense of actual being able to control him or find targets you need to kill because you are zooming right past them.
This game is indeed a banger, storywise, levelwise and gameplay wise near perfection. My only complaint is that i wish it was longer
sonic has not hit for me ever since the boost formula dumbed down the gameplay so much compared to adventure 2. So I hope for the next Sonic game we get something that controls more like shadow generations
@@Thermalfusi0n yea the boost formula is so stupid. It’s clunky and the game plays itself half the time and it IRKS me like the controls in this game PISS ME OFF.. I’ve died so many times cause the game pulls you forwards and you don’t have nearly as much control over Sonic as you should
After playing shadow gens, i feel like I cannot play normal sonic generations now. Shadow controls so much better than sonic
@@SuhailGanondorf1999Singh sonic team still can’t figure out how to give us complete control over Sonic it’s frustrating cause the game plays its self it’s constantly pulling you forwards when I’m trying to maneuver and make precise moments or even slow down and it leases to deaths over and over smh
@@cwavygaming6615skill issue. Many people say Shadow controls great in the game. Ain’t nobody else fault your ass at the game.
@@rickyronny4019 I said sonic 🍆 head said nothing about shadow f**k bag
Great video! I downloaded it this weekend and looking to get started! One note-Am I the only one who didn’t hate cyberspace levels😂😅?!
The best Sonic games is about Sonic, but it’s also about the destruction and restoration of Angel Island, the discovery of the Echidna(e) living there, the lore behind the Chaos Emeralds (Super and Master Emeralds), and Robotnik’s attempts to restore the Death Egg
Shadow portion is perfection, I really could not enjoy majority of the sonic generations levels. The messy, unrefined controls mixed with the crap level design (specifically the 2d sections) just created disaster.
The irony is that there was a video made some years ago that said The Worst Sonic Game is not a Sonic Game, lol!
That being said, we need a knuckles game inspired on Shadow Generations and Frontiers Formula
@@Guilherme-ll8rr that could work
The boss battles are amazing, the levels are challenging but fun, and Shadow is as cool as ever. What else is there to ask for?
If we could get the same type of polish for both sonic and shadow gameplay with seamless mechanics for the two of them and then make a different play style for Silver that’s just as fun if not more so then the other two hogs with animation and story elements as strong as this game, I genuinely think the Sonic franchise would be so back.
the fact we had two decent films and 2 bangers of games made me actually come back to sonic as a fan. Im waiting for them to fuck it up because SEGA never seems to be able to make good sonic games consistently.
I hated Boom, Colors, Forces, and Lost World so much more than forces, and Forces was simply offensively bad. IDW really is the golden era for sonic.
I need a new adventure style game with boost levels as special levels but not as the norm. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver stories and a true ending like ‘06.
what mod were you using in that frontiers footage for unique cyberspace level themes?
It’s called original Cyberspace themes. Definitely one of my favorite mods for the game
The shadow portion is 100% the highlight but can we talk about how they added the drop dash to generations? Like they barley changed much but the last thing i expected was a completely new mechanic unfortunately its not super useful in modern sonic levels for the most part to be frank its similar for classic sonic the spin dash is much more powerful but its just cool to me they've even added a brand new thing to a really old game
It kind of reminds me of Super Mario 3D World and Bowser’s Fury.
I personally love this game and was super excited. The only problem I have with this game is the 2D. I really wish this game were just a 3D game and I feel like 2D just doesn't work for how Shadow controls.
Lets remember sonic started in 2D and felt great, the 2D in shadow gens is very good, i get that feeling of being fast and nostalgia from when i first played the first sonic but i think to actually get that feeling u must (pls dont get mad at me for saying this) be good at the game n explore the dif routes to take in the game, but that is something that also had to be done in the first sonic in order to get the best times in each stage. (i think sega doesnt want to let go of 2D cause its closely tied to what made sonic great in the first game, and imo thats fine)