Ngl, I disagree with almost every single point made in this video, but I know its a matter of opinion. To me, this is legit the best 3D sonic game with the best stages, great boss fights and a great story. The doom powers made every stage unique and mastering them was key to getting a good time. The 2d stages to me are also some of the best and most fun Ive played, even compared to unleashed and generations. I respect your opinion and it's unfortunate you seem to not have enjoyed it as much as I did.
@@taxman7617 the 3D stages were indeed peak. But besides that I don’t agree 2D stages were decent but the physics let them down Some bosses were great and others were let downs And the story was pretty one note. The doom powers felt like a stage by stage basis with some being useless in some stages which I didn’t like
I think the game’s story is actually pretty effective. True, it’s not very heavy or complex, but the way that it mixes with the gameplay and is astounding. Good dialogue and character interactions really carried the plot, which in my opinion makes up for the minimalistic story. Then there’s Shadow himself. Though I can understand why some people would be slightly put off by the arc in this game, I don’t really think it’s retreading old territory. Shadow may have reconciled with his past before, but keep in mind, he did so at a point in time where Maria and Gerald were too late to save. Imagine for a second that someone important to you dies, and after you’ve spent so much time grieving and coming to terms with their loss, they show up at your doorstep, as if nothing ever happened. That’s a lot for anyone to take in. But for Shadow, he knows what happens next. He’s already come to terms with his life once, but now he’s finally with the people he loves again, and knows that it’s only temporary. His anger that they’re about to be taken from him again is completely warranted. At the end of the day, it makes him seem so much more human, and leaves a bittersweet feeling that reestablishes Shadow. Characters, for as much growth as they go through, should be allowed to regress a little if it makes things more realistic. I’ve been blown away by everything about this game, and I’m glad that other people are having a blast with it too. I just feel like comparing such a short but touching narrative to Sonic Generations’ plot is an underestimation.
@@DaltonIsaacs-fn3bb the plot is basic but the characterisation is pretty good Especially as it’s refreshing seeing the main character in a sonic game get decent development and exploration - as Sonic himself rarely ever develops
@@TheGamingRift11 Sonic feels like someone who's already through with his self discovery, he knows who he is and what he is about, all he now needs is some fun adventure and doing what he believes is the right thing to do. Shadow on the other hand is more complex but is kind of the same as Sonic, both would have been free spirited if only Shadow wasn't held down by his past events but both share a trait that they will do what they believe what's right even if it makes them the bad guy. Sonic is a character that needs no development but if he does get some that would be incredible
I was disappointed that they didn't bring back a level from Shadow the Hedgehog (2005). I would have loved to see a level like Black Comet be remade. Would have been cool to see Black Bull return and improved. Sonic Team seems interested in redeeming Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), so why not Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)
Sorry but there ARE reasons behind the level choices. - Rail Canyon is where Team Dark first find out about the Shadow Androids, which put Shadow's mere existence into question. Additionally, alongside Seaside Hill, the level was appearently one you could play on a small stand promoting Sonic Heroes in a store (forgot which) as Team Dark (according to Channel Streak as he said in one of his livestreams). - Kingdom Valley is where Shadow first met Mephiles and released him by accident, said entity being a hidden boss in Shadow Generations. - Sunset Heights is where Sonic confronts Fake Shadow, only for the real one to show up and kick it's ass. The city in ruins is also the most in tune with and symbolic of the story with the war going on in the background. - Chaos Island is the only one without a proper explaination but many speculate that Shadow is yet to go there, possibly in Frontiers 2, as unlikely as that sounds.
yeah gotta say you're def wrong about the challenges. In sonic generations the challenges were a choir but shadow generations challenges were genuinely fun. There may be less content but the small amount of content thats there is incredible and probably the best we got since adventure 2.
@@ryry8533 the challenges are quite literally the same in both games conceptually so idk how you can praise one yet dislike the other However sonic generations was far more creative with its challenges in addition to offering freedom as to which ones you complete to beat the campaign Shadows are very repetitive and the games forces you to do specific challenges to beat the campaign I don’t agree with
@@TheGamingRift11 because Sonic generations challenges are straight up boring. Like treasure hunt with knuckles. That sucks it’s not fun playing a boost game trying to find shit. But shadows challenges are natural like use chaos control or collect 100 rings or use doom wings. It’s actually interesting challenges.
@@ryry8533 the shadow ones are repetitive since you are playing easy “challenges” with watered down level design There’s also no creativity with those challenges Something being “boring” is irrelevant as that’s a subjective opinion - objectively Sonic Generations had Greater variety and creativity to its challenges and you had to do LESS to beat the campaign
@@TheGamingRift11 It does not “objectively” have better things because that is also subjective. I don’t agree whatsoever I don’t bother playing generations challenges because they are trash. Most people would agree with me. I wanted to play more shadow challenges especially the hard mode ones. They were fun too.
@@TheGamingRift11 I disagree, the challenges are much more fun than Sonic Generations. Sonic Generations had very gimmicky challenges like Knuckles or Vector, which had nothing to do with Sonic's gameplay Shadow Generations challenges require you to doge spikes with one ring, use chaos control to get a S rank etc and they had visual camera angles to make them more appealing. Sonics were more unique but not as engaging, so it's better you don't have to do as many. I'd much rather play Shadow Generations Challenges over again than Sonic Generations' challenges any day of the week
@@hawkseyy I never said that. I said that Shadow controls worse/slower than frontiers in the hub world since he no longer has the cyloop nor the power boost. And I never said he was slow, I said he was far slower compared to the speeds you achieved in Sonic Generations
I will say I am not entirely on board with saying that the offerings as far as content in Shadow Generations is lacking in comparison to the Sonic Generations portion. While it has a smaller number of stages, I also think the length of those stages ought to be taken into account as well. Most Sonic Generations stages are a decent bit shorter than Shadow Generations, so by the end of it I think there is a comparable amount of stage to playthrough within the main acts. Also while Generations boasts a large 90 challenge gates, Shadow does still offer 30, with 24 base game and 6 hard mode challenges unlocked after completing the campaign. Throw on top of that the open zone portion with its ring and clock challenges (which also offer a hard mode), along with regular navigation of white space for the collectable chests and rocket parts, and I don't think it offers much less gameplay at all. Beyond that I don't know that I entirely feel the same way about the Shadow challenge acts versus Sonic. Sonic's acts that involved his friends were often a highlight and something I very much appreciated, but the vast majority were uninspired to me. Shadow's challenges while still boasting the same watered down level design at least used the doom powers and felt like constant iterations and tests of mechanics in the game. While never difficult in and of themselves I found the Chaos Control and Doom Blast acts to feel particularly rewarding. All that said though I agree with the title. The game isn't at all perfect. While it offers some of the best level design for the franchise within recent memory, and shows great strides to attempting to improve both the narrative, and open zone format, its short run time causes the doom powers to feel like a gimmick instead of the full rewarding sense of ability progression that the adventure games, or even frontiers had. It also for whatever reason over commits to terribly tuned controls, that while better than base or cyberspace frontiers, lacks the same fluidity of SA 1 and SA 2 had. It, like frontiers feels like a step in the right direction, and makes me very excited for the future of the series if they commit to taking the criticism and adjusting. But considering how many games in the franchise you can say "it had potential" that isn't exactly a compliment at this point.
@@calebcollette7806 that’s fair - I might make a video comparing the 2 games sometime. Since they both definitely outperform each other at various aspects
A huge gripe I have when replaying the levels is the missed opportunity when Black Doom distorts the levels into Radical Highway/Westopolis. There could've been a chance to sprinkle in parts of Shadow 05's levels instead of the same one every time, and even make them tie in with the theme of the stage: Lost Impact/Space Gadget for Space Colony Ark, Glyphic Canyon for Kingdom Valley, Lava Shelter for Chaos Island, the untapped potential there was crazy. But that would mean a bunch of new assets to make, doubt the devs would tire themselves with that when they could just reuse assets instead. Not to mention, the distorted sections feel underwhelming compared to the levels you were just playing through, so it ends up becoming the least enjoyable part whenever it comes up, it just makes me want to finish it quickly so I can return to the level. TL;DR, Imo, the levels are really fun up until Black Doom distorts them, since it becomes repetitive and less engaging than the level themselves. Also, no standalone Shadow 05 levels is criminal. edit: My dumbass. Black Doom doesn't touch Kingdom Valley or Chaos Island. No wonder they're my favourites.
Great video man and I glad this game turned out pretty good even if it not perfect because there been a long time since I been interested in a sonic game
Right it’s stated in the game that time means nothing by robotnik so shadow might go there in the future Kingdom vally is where shadow releases mephelis
It’s also stated by Eggman that he uses the time after to undo his PAST mistakes. Also if that was the case then why are there no future levels in Sonic generations?? But there are future ones In Shadow? It’s poorly written no matter which way you spin in
Forces and Frontiers appearing despite Generations taking place before them isn't really a problem. In base Generations, Crisis City appears and it takes place far into the future, so past and future areas were already on the table anyways.
I feel like I'm firmly in the minority when I say I didn't like the orginal Generations. I thought it was mediocre. I don't like any if the classic stages at all and the story is completely forgettable. That leaves the modern Sonic stages. I thought they were okay. I like most of stages of modern Sonic but there're a couple of stinkers. And all the side stages suck ass. You tally that up and that means I like about 15% of that game. That's well below a failing grade.
People are forgetting that its a overal project from Sega to promote Sonic as an IP through Shadow in combination with the next movie coming out. Shadow's backstory wasnt as mainstream as his appearence so this is great way for the casual audience to get familiar with his background from the source material in a nutshell. I think they wanted to re-release Generations anyway but only the Ark and Radical Highway levels are actually made for Shadow and his other levels were made as 'new added levels' for Sonic but than changed it. I do hope they will make a remake of SA1 and 2 or otherwise adapt those stories into a Anime or CGI TV series.
I hate the criticism that Chaos Island takes place in the future so it makes no sense for Shadow to be there. Generations can retroactively take place after Frontiers. There's literally no information that would conflict with that. And if that doesn't do it for you, fine. You insist Generations takes place before Frontiers on the timeline for some reason. Okay, and? In a game about time travel you find it impossible to travel to the future? That's where you draw the line? What about Mephilis? That's a different timeline entirely. That's okay but future stuff is off limits? Maybe the criticism is Shadow wasn't there for those events and he might not have been. Not on screen anyway. Shadow doesn't have to have been there before to be there now. Time travel, dude. Time travel!
You misunderstand the plot It was never about “time travel” it was about Eggman fixing his PAST mistakes He never once specified anything about the future Especially as that then creates a new problem - if it’s about the past and future then why are there no future levels in sonic? Its poorly established no matter which way you spin it
@@TheGamingRift11 the main thing i disagree with is sxs generations isnt worth getting atp. While i agree the game relatively short i think the quality of the game along with the replay-ability makes it a worth while experience to get even now. I honestly think its a good experience for ppl who only played sonic generations on ps3/xbox 360 or never played the game before and shadow was done amazingly in this game probably the best shadow has ever played. While ofc it has its flawed and i think it could have added a little bit more content i still think this is easily a 9/10 game and gives me and many other hope for the future of sonic games especially sonic remasters
@@Invisibleboy999I think the game certainly has appeal but for a game that’s only around 7 hours long if you factor both games, and neither one is perfect. I question the price tag Compare that to something like Spyro Reignited or Crash Bandicoot NSane trilogy where you for 3 games for the same price as SXS Generations Yet those trilogies were greatly enhanced not just in terms of graphics but also gameplay. With SXS one game is over 10 years old and largely unchanged and the other game has less content than OG Generations and has its own pros and cons. For those reasons, I honestly can’t justify full price for this game. Now if it was on sale for like £20, then yeah this would be a game I’d highly recommend, no doubt
I’m just gonna say this. Complaining about the story and its narrative was kinda odd, considering the fact that it’s not just focusing on shadow, but his past as well. It’s not just to give him a new part, it’s to introduce him to new fans of the series, fans who never got to see the rage in Shadows game. I’d say in explaining his backstory, black dooms involvement, and shadow truly letting go of his past trauma shows character development we barely see in frontiers. In frontiers Sonic is just seen as a perfect person who inspires everyone around him, and has no flaws. The character development is just so bland, but for shadow, it quite literally attacks his flaws head on. And complaining about his anger is actually extremely contradictory, in 06 shadow was holding back expressing his emotions, however you can see he’s hurt and damaged by the manipulation by mephiles. And for the challenges, did you forget the whole reason they have you use the doom abilities is so Black Doom can get more powerful? You complained about the narrative being horrible, yet you don’t even realize the fact of why these challenges exist, it’s stated by black doom himself that shadow when he got the doom blast he wasn’t ready, and specifically ‘we are not ready’. This alone tells us he’s getting stronger along with Shadow, which drives the narrative further with the challenges and even the boss fights. All leading up to the final confrontation. This review is bad, and I hereby revoke your Sonic fan tag. Go back to playing fan games while we let Sonic team work on making an official remake for 06.
@@jaid2568 so to introduce fans to Shadow…..they have to follow almost the same plot beat for beat from a game from nearly 20 years ago? - even though it contradicts Shadows arc from his nearly 20 year old Solo game as well as his arc in Sonic 06 They couldn’t just…. Create a new plot? With references to Shadows past? Creating new dilemmas or conflicts which help establish Shadows character to newbies whilst also developing his character for long time fans? Apparently that is too much to ask for?? Up your standards (Also yes I will continue to play P-06 as it’s easily better than The original, in addition to being better than a lot of the 3D games made by Sonic Team)
@ How do they follow the exact same plot as Shadow 05? Your telling me that because they decided this was to officially kill off shadows past and show he’s moved on that isn’t good character development?? Shadow 2005 follows the plot of a shadow who doesn’t know who or what he is and just follows whatever someone says, without knowing the consequences, which ends with him finally remembering and defeating black doom. However, if you actually read the plot of shadow generations, then you’d know the process of black doom returning was sped up tremendously via the Time Eater, and shadow spends the game discovering more about his abilities and truly ending his anger with the help of his old family. Not to mention, this is GENERATIONS. The game literally made to celebrate a characters past, complaining about the plot that reflects the past of a character is quite literally contradicting the whole purpose of Generations.
The sonic portion doesn’t feel polished to me, more of a port than remaster, the textures haven’t been changed. The shadows are still baked in and look pixelated.
For the price, the length of it all isn't much of a problem, especially since the levels are fairly long and the hub world itself is one big level that's a lot of fun to traverse. My biggest gripe with the game is how the hub world's controls feel so much better than the actual stage controls. The stage controls feel alright, better than base Generations even, but when you're at the hub world, you have way better control over how Shadow turns and jumps, almost like how the Adventure games control.
It’s funny cause I have the opposite issue I think shadow controls decently in the stages yet without the power boost from frontiers, his new control scheme feels sluggish in the open world to me.
@@TheGamingRift11 I wonder why that is? In the hub world you can literally run around in circles while in the stages its far more difficult and practically impossible in base Generations stages. Altho maybe its because youre using the default settings where theres no gradual deceleration or acceleration whatsoever. I have my deceleration and acceleration set to 0 and 65 respectively if i remember correctly.
Good review. I do think there are reasons for thee other stages to be in shadows campaign and I try to say why. Rail canyon: that level was important for shadows arc in heroes because he started questioning if he was an Android or not since he saw a robot of himself (or whatever what was on thee ground) which continued from heroes to shadow thee hedgehog. Kingdom valley: this was thee level where mephilis was released from his seal in shadows campaign and mephilis is thee main antagonist and I would say is more of a shadow villain then a sonic villain. Sunset heights: abit confusing but my theory of why it's there because since thee timer eater is destroying time, it might be bringing in levels from thee future that he has not met yet, same as chaos island.
Interesting theory but I wouldn’t have chosen those stages myself Final fortress or Egg carrier would’ve been the perfect choice for shadow especially if the whole narrative is based on “letting go of the past” Kingdom valley is by no means a bad choice but I feel like Aquatic base and Dusty Desert would’ve been better Aquatic base since shadows run takes place 10 years in the past - and Dusty Desert since that’s where he confronts Mephiles Sunset heights….. idk. It makes the most sense I guess but shadow honestly has no levels from Forces that are going for him - we should’ve got something from Shadow 2005 instead And chaos island I guess makes the most sense out of the islands in frontiers…. But even so it’s stretching it Those are my thoughts, what dya think?
@@TheGamingRift11 that's fair, there definitely could of been better stage choices. Kingdom valley is tricky since I wouldn't of mind if it was aquatic base or dusty desert but it's thee most popular level in sonic 06 I believe and more well regarded then thee other levels and probably thee most important in thee game since it is what allows mephilis to start his plans which starts thee plot of thee game basically. This is definitely thee best version of sunset heights but I agree that there should of been a level from shadow thee hedgehog, perhaps sunset height could of maybe been a dlc level. Chaos island was a werid choice, I think other levels would make sense for shadow then a level that belongs from a game he doesn't appear in but it's fine for what it is, could of been something else but it is what it is.
@@TheGamingRift11i think you’ve fundamentally misunderstand the narrative. the original shadow the hedgehog video game is about “letting go of the past” while shadow generations is directly about embracing it. not just embracing it, but facing it head on. facing past “versions” of himself (biolizard) or impersonators (mephiles.) facing the trauma that he thought he buried in shadow 05, seeing maria again ripping open the wound he thought was healed. the game as a whole is about embracing the past, bringing back terios and black doom. literally encouraging the player to engage with those past elements, embrace the doom powers. the game has its issues but i think the theming is pretty clear, not just in story but in gameplay, art design, and marketing.
@@TheGamingRift11 no a rumour is possible a stage that’s been shown isn’t a rumour I don’t understand what you mean at all if I say the next sonic movie is gonna have fleetway super sonic I’m making a rumour
Besides art and music, i wasn't very impressed by it. We didn't get anything new story-wise. The bosses were okay, except the doom fight (who thought morph was a good idea?) The doom powers didn't really do it for me in general. Shadow felt "slippery" to me and the acceleration felt like the turbo kicking in on your car when you are trying to cross the street. It would just kick up when you didn't want it and could make things harder/more dangerous for you. The world itself was annoying. I highly disliked frontiers, and it felt exactly like it. I also with some levels from Shadow the Hedgehog were used. I hated rail canyon in heroes and putting Shadow in chaos island just felt weird and out of place. I also didn't care for those levels that much. I agree not worth the asking price. IMO it was mid at best.
I hate the sonic generations final boss with a burning passion, the controls feel like shit, some attacks feel almost undodgeable, and the Mf is too fast for even a boosting super sonic, launching classic sonic forward feels like a completely useless move, the time stop felt like just a random ass move to piss me off, I could never get enough rings in most attempts and idk if I’m just stupid but the fact that it shows the homing symbol but doesn’t let you home in is stupid Also the hard mode just felt like they wanted to make an impossible boss but realized that’d piss off the fans and just slightly lowered the difficulty to just absurdly hard I promise I enjoyed the game, it was just the final boss of the sonic generations campaign 😭
I disagree with many of your opinions, but i understand that it is your opinion. For me, i really liked the bosses, the 2D stages are the best weve gotten since unleashed, and i love how shadow controls in this game, and really like the story. But doom morph is still very clunky, and the challenges are worse than og gens
Great review. I agree that Shadow Generations has great 3D stages but the mandatory 6-8 challenges and Frontiers style hub world drag it down for me. The 2D stages I also found fun but not at the same level as the 3D ones. But the tight gameplay and design of Sonic Generations makes it still the superior of the 2 for me. Also I like the more upbeat and lively feeling of Sonic Gens over the more dull tone of Shadow's
A lot of what was said was objectively true. Like the game having less stages/bosses - being slower than OG generations etc. I wasn’t a huge fan of the structure of the levels either since playing future levels contradicts the narrative
@@scooby_doobies I’m glad you enjoyed the game! I enjoyed it too. And no. I’m never gunna say that something is “good or bad” In a bad game there are always redeeming aspects. And in a good game there are always means for improvement.
@TheGamingRift11 you have your opinions, though saying how places from the future can't show up when time travel is at play is like saying you like a cheese burger without the cheese
While I really don't like getting into the "Woke vs. Anti-Woke" argument on this part, but IMO, the edited scenes in Sonic Generations Remaster were stupid and unnecessary. It's the same story with different dialogs and (somehow worse) redubbed lines and edited scenes that were just fine and funnier in the original.
I think the only change I can think of that could possibly be called woke is that Knuckles no longer says classic Sonic looks like gained weight. It's a dumb change but I wouldn't say it's a change that had an agenda behind it.
@@hmmmp “overused” is irrelevant since how often have you actually seen it? And it’s hardly relevant if it’s how I view the game. A flawed masterpiece is the perfect description IMO. Also I’m guessing you agree with literally everything in my video. Since the only criticism was tone policing the title! So thank you 👍
@@TheGamingRift11 It is "overused". Just look up flawed masterpiece on UA-cam and you'll get thousands of videos with the same low effort title as yours. Ain't no way you're telling me it ain't overused after that. Also I didn't really watch the video, just came to clown on the title lmao
@@TheGamingRift11Every Sonic game has a "flawed masterpiece" video. Sonic 2, both Adventure games, Unleashed, original generations, Mania, and Frontiers.
Maybe my memories are playing tricks with me, but I'm finding this remaster to be glitchier than the original release. I don't remember finding the death egg robot boss to be annoying, it feels like it's almost impossible to jump on its arms now.
Man U really are a hater bro. This is certainly a cash grab meant to capitalize on the hype of the movie while also simultaneously building up more hype for the movie in a self propelling “doom” cycle, but damn is this everything we’ve ever asked for skimped out, but we’re still willing to pay $65 for 😂
What do you guys think??
Wanna discuss the game? Join the discord!!
discord.gg/3WsC2Bd95t
It's fucking great
@@Joker3180Z because it is flawed in areas
@@jasonblack2477 How do you fly with Shadow?
@@jasonblack2477 Never mind, I just found out it is the last ability you unlock. I'm about 3/4th through the game.
@@LeadMe2TheBliss nice bro have fun!
Ngl, I disagree with almost every single point made in this video, but I know its a matter of opinion. To me, this is legit the best 3D sonic game with the best stages, great boss fights and a great story. The doom powers made every stage unique and mastering them was key to getting a good time. The 2d stages to me are also some of the best and most fun Ive played, even compared to unleashed and generations.
I respect your opinion and it's unfortunate you seem to not have enjoyed it as much as I did.
@@taxman7617 the 3D stages were indeed peak. But besides that I don’t agree
2D stages were decent but the physics let them down
Some bosses were great and others were let downs
And the story was pretty one note.
The doom powers felt like a stage by stage basis with some being useless in some stages which I didn’t like
I think the game’s story is actually pretty effective. True, it’s not very heavy or complex, but the way that it mixes with the gameplay and is astounding. Good dialogue and character interactions really carried the plot, which in my opinion makes up for the minimalistic story.
Then there’s Shadow himself. Though I can understand why some people would be slightly put off by the arc in this game, I don’t really think it’s retreading old territory. Shadow may have reconciled with his past before, but keep in mind, he did so at a point in time where Maria and Gerald were too late to save. Imagine for a second that someone important to you dies, and after you’ve spent so much time grieving and coming to terms with their loss, they show up at your doorstep, as if nothing ever happened. That’s a lot for anyone to take in. But for Shadow, he knows what happens next. He’s already come to terms with his life once, but now he’s finally with the people he loves again, and knows that it’s only temporary. His anger that they’re about to be taken from him again is completely warranted. At the end of the day, it makes him seem so much more human, and leaves a bittersweet feeling that reestablishes Shadow. Characters, for as much growth as they go through, should be allowed to regress a little if it makes things more realistic.
I’ve been blown away by everything about this game, and I’m glad that other people are having a blast with it too. I just feel like comparing such a short but touching narrative to Sonic Generations’ plot is an underestimation.
@@DaltonIsaacs-fn3bb the plot is basic but the characterisation is pretty good
Especially as it’s refreshing seeing the main character in a sonic game get decent development and exploration - as Sonic himself rarely ever develops
@@TheGamingRift11 Sonic feels like someone who's already through with his self discovery, he knows who he is and what he is about, all he now needs is some fun adventure and doing what he believes is the right thing to do. Shadow on the other hand is more complex but is kind of the same as Sonic, both would have been free spirited if only Shadow wasn't held down by his past events but both share a trait that they will do what they believe what's right even if it makes them the bad guy. Sonic is a character that needs no development but if he does get some that would be incredible
I was disappointed that they didn't bring back a level from Shadow the Hedgehog (2005).
I would have loved to see a level like Black Comet be remade. Would have been cool to see Black Bull return and improved.
Sonic Team seems interested in redeeming Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), so why not Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)
Exactly - I wasn’t a fan of Shadows stages but if they tried combining a few stages it could’ve worked
Sorry but there ARE reasons behind the level choices.
- Rail Canyon is where Team Dark first find out about the Shadow Androids, which put Shadow's mere existence into question. Additionally, alongside Seaside Hill, the level was appearently one you could play on a small stand promoting Sonic Heroes in a store (forgot which) as Team Dark (according to Channel Streak as he said in one of his livestreams).
- Kingdom Valley is where Shadow first met Mephiles and released him by accident, said entity being a hidden boss in Shadow Generations.
- Sunset Heights is where Sonic confronts Fake Shadow, only for the real one to show up and kick it's ass. The city in ruins is also the most in tune with and symbolic of the story with the war going on in the background.
- Chaos Island is the only one without a proper explaination but many speculate that Shadow is yet to go there, possibly in Frontiers 2, as unlikely as that sounds.
yeah gotta say you're def wrong about the challenges. In sonic generations the challenges were a choir but shadow generations challenges were genuinely fun. There may be less content but the small amount of content thats there is incredible and probably the best we got since adventure 2.
@@ryry8533 the challenges are quite literally the same in both games conceptually so idk how you can praise one yet dislike the other
However sonic generations was far more creative with its challenges in addition to offering freedom as to which ones you complete to beat the campaign
Shadows are very repetitive and the games forces you to do specific challenges to beat the campaign
I don’t agree with
@@TheGamingRift11 because Sonic generations challenges are straight up boring. Like treasure hunt with knuckles. That sucks it’s not fun playing a boost game trying to find shit. But shadows challenges are natural like use chaos control or collect 100 rings or use doom wings. It’s actually interesting challenges.
@@ryry8533 the shadow ones are repetitive since you are playing easy “challenges” with watered down level design
There’s also no creativity with those challenges
Something being “boring” is irrelevant as that’s a subjective opinion - objectively Sonic Generations had Greater variety and creativity to its challenges and you had to do LESS to beat the campaign
@@TheGamingRift11 It does not “objectively” have better things because that is also subjective. I don’t agree whatsoever I don’t bother playing generations challenges because they are trash. Most people would agree with me. I wanted to play more shadow challenges especially the hard mode ones. They were fun too.
@@TheGamingRift11 I disagree, the challenges are much more fun than Sonic Generations. Sonic Generations had very gimmicky challenges like Knuckles or Vector, which had nothing to do with Sonic's gameplay
Shadow Generations challenges require you to doge spikes with one ring, use chaos control to get a S rank etc and they had visual camera angles to make them more appealing. Sonics were more unique but not as engaging, so it's better you don't have to do as many.
I'd much rather play Shadow Generations Challenges over again than Sonic Generations' challenges any day of the week
The one thing im glad they didnt do is make shadow just a copy and paste of sonic like they did in forces
Tbh he was a clone of sonic in Adventure 2?
But I agree, I’m glad newer games display how he differs from sonic
@@TheGamingRift11 when i mean copy and paste i mean im glad they didnt make their gameplay perspectives the same
@@Spidergoat_editsI gotcha
No speed in this game? Jeez you’re alone on that one. This is definitely faster than Frontiers and way better to control.
@@hawkseyy I never said that.
I said that Shadow controls worse/slower than frontiers in the hub world since he no longer has the cyloop nor the power boost.
And I never said he was slow, I said he was far slower compared to the speeds you achieved in Sonic Generations
I will say I am not entirely on board with saying that the offerings as far as content in Shadow Generations is lacking in comparison to the Sonic Generations portion. While it has a smaller number of stages, I also think the length of those stages ought to be taken into account as well. Most Sonic Generations stages are a decent bit shorter than Shadow Generations, so by the end of it I think there is a comparable amount of stage to playthrough within the main acts. Also while Generations boasts a large 90 challenge gates, Shadow does still offer 30, with 24 base game and 6 hard mode challenges unlocked after completing the campaign. Throw on top of that the open zone portion with its ring and clock challenges (which also offer a hard mode), along with regular navigation of white space for the collectable chests and rocket parts, and I don't think it offers much less gameplay at all.
Beyond that I don't know that I entirely feel the same way about the Shadow challenge acts versus Sonic. Sonic's acts that involved his friends were often a highlight and something I very much appreciated, but the vast majority were uninspired to me. Shadow's challenges while still boasting the same watered down level design at least used the doom powers and felt like constant iterations and tests of mechanics in the game. While never difficult in and of themselves I found the Chaos Control and Doom Blast acts to feel particularly rewarding.
All that said though I agree with the title. The game isn't at all perfect. While it offers some of the best level design for the franchise within recent memory, and shows great strides to attempting to improve both the narrative, and open zone format, its short run time causes the doom powers to feel like a gimmick instead of the full rewarding sense of ability progression that the adventure games, or even frontiers had. It also for whatever reason over commits to terribly tuned controls, that while better than base or cyberspace frontiers, lacks the same fluidity of SA 1 and SA 2 had. It, like frontiers feels like a step in the right direction, and makes me very excited for the future of the series if they commit to taking the criticism and adjusting. But considering how many games in the franchise you can say "it had potential" that isn't exactly a compliment at this point.
@@calebcollette7806 that’s fair - I might make a video comparing the 2 games sometime.
Since they both definitely outperform each other at various aspects
A huge gripe I have when replaying the levels is the missed opportunity when Black Doom distorts the levels into Radical Highway/Westopolis. There could've been a chance to sprinkle in parts of Shadow 05's levels instead of the same one every time, and even make them tie in with the theme of the stage: Lost Impact/Space Gadget for Space Colony Ark, Glyphic Canyon for Kingdom Valley, Lava Shelter for Chaos Island, the untapped potential there was crazy. But that would mean a bunch of new assets to make, doubt the devs would tire themselves with that when they could just reuse assets instead. Not to mention, the distorted sections feel underwhelming compared to the levels you were just playing through, so it ends up becoming the least enjoyable part whenever it comes up, it just makes me want to finish it quickly so I can return to the level.
TL;DR, Imo, the levels are really fun up until Black Doom distorts them, since it becomes repetitive and less engaging than the level themselves.
Also, no standalone Shadow 05 levels is criminal.
edit: My dumbass. Black Doom doesn't touch Kingdom Valley or Chaos Island. No wonder they're my favourites.
@@woag4974 I agree - it was a shame they didn’t do a stage by stage basis thing
Great video man and I glad this game turned out pretty good even if it not perfect because there been a long time since I been interested in a sonic game
Thanks for the watch! Yeah this game overall was rather fun! I’ll definitely replay it sometime!
Right it’s stated in the game that time means nothing by robotnik so shadow might go there in the future
Kingdom vally is where shadow releases mephelis
It’s also stated by Eggman that he uses the time after to undo his PAST mistakes.
Also if that was the case then why are there no future levels in Sonic generations?? But there are future ones In Shadow?
It’s poorly written no matter which way you spin in
@@TheGamingRift11 because the shadow park is a completely new game and genz isn’t it’s a remake with nothing new
@@TheGamingRift11 if you talk to gerald in the hub world he mentions that shadow is visiting places in his future as well as his past
@@TheGamingRift11Crisis City is from an erased future though...
Forces and Frontiers appearing despite Generations taking place before them isn't really a problem. In base Generations, Crisis City appears and it takes place far into the future, so past and future areas were already on the table anyways.
I feel like I'm firmly in the minority when I say I didn't like the orginal Generations. I thought it was mediocre. I don't like any if the classic stages at all and the story is completely forgettable. That leaves the modern Sonic stages. I thought they were okay. I like most of stages of modern Sonic but there're a couple of stinkers. And all the side stages suck ass.
You tally that up and that means I like about 15% of that game. That's well below a failing grade.
Do you like any of the boost games?
@@TheGamingRift11 I don't like any Sonic game between Shadow 05 and Frontiers. Frontiers was the first Sonic game I enjoyed in many years.
People are forgetting that its a overal project from Sega to promote Sonic as an IP through Shadow in combination with the next movie coming out.
Shadow's backstory wasnt as mainstream as his appearence so this is great way for the casual audience to get familiar with his background from the source material in a nutshell.
I think they wanted to re-release Generations anyway but only the Ark and Radical Highway levels are actually made for Shadow and his other levels were made as 'new added levels' for Sonic but than changed it.
I do hope they will make a remake of SA1 and 2 or otherwise adapt those stories into a Anime or CGI TV series.
Who's gonna tell him that there is Legacy Controls for both Sonic Generations and Shadow Generations
@@luthergames6930 the button layout isn’t the problem - it’s more-so the physics I’m not a huge fan of
@TheGamingRift11 and that is a fair criticism, I do disagree thoughi say it's a massive improvement to Frontiers
I hate the criticism that Chaos Island takes place in the future so it makes no sense for Shadow to be there. Generations can retroactively take place after Frontiers. There's literally no information that would conflict with that. And if that doesn't do it for you, fine. You insist Generations takes place before Frontiers on the timeline for some reason. Okay, and? In a game about time travel you find it impossible to travel to the future? That's where you draw the line? What about Mephilis? That's a different timeline entirely. That's okay but future stuff is off limits? Maybe the criticism is Shadow wasn't there for those events and he might not have been. Not on screen anyway. Shadow doesn't have to have been there before to be there now. Time travel, dude. Time travel!
You misunderstand the plot
It was never about “time travel” it was about Eggman fixing his PAST mistakes
He never once specified anything about the future
Especially as that then creates a new problem - if it’s about the past and future then why are there no future levels in sonic?
Its poorly established no matter which way you spin it
@TheGamingRift11 well I just finished Shadow Generations and it's very much a game about time travel.
Nice review even tho i completely disagree with most of the things in this video
@@Invisibleboy999 thank you! What do you disagree with btw?
@@TheGamingRift11 the main thing i disagree with is sxs generations isnt worth getting atp. While i agree the game relatively short i think the quality of the game along with the replay-ability makes it a worth while experience to get even now. I honestly think its a good experience for ppl who only played sonic generations on ps3/xbox 360 or never played the game before and shadow was done amazingly in this game probably the best shadow has ever played. While ofc it has its flawed and i think it could have added a little bit more content i still think this is easily a 9/10 game and gives me and many other hope for the future of sonic games especially sonic remasters
@@Invisibleboy999I think the game certainly has appeal but for a game that’s only around 7 hours long if you factor both games, and neither one is perfect. I question the price tag
Compare that to something like Spyro Reignited or Crash Bandicoot NSane trilogy where you for 3 games for the same price as SXS Generations
Yet those trilogies were greatly enhanced not just in terms of graphics but also gameplay.
With SXS one game is over 10 years old and largely unchanged and the other game has less content than OG Generations and has its own pros and cons.
For those reasons, I honestly can’t justify full price for this game.
Now if it was on sale for like £20, then yeah this would be a game I’d highly recommend, no doubt
I’m just gonna say this. Complaining about the story and its narrative was kinda odd, considering the fact that it’s not just focusing on shadow, but his past as well. It’s not just to give him a new part, it’s to introduce him to new fans of the series, fans who never got to see the rage in Shadows game. I’d say in explaining his backstory, black dooms involvement, and shadow truly letting go of his past trauma shows character development we barely see in frontiers. In frontiers Sonic is just seen as a perfect person who inspires everyone around him, and has no flaws. The character development is just so bland, but for shadow, it quite literally attacks his flaws head on. And complaining about his anger is actually extremely contradictory, in 06 shadow was holding back expressing his emotions, however you can see he’s hurt and damaged by the manipulation by mephiles. And for the challenges, did you forget the whole reason they have you use the doom abilities is so Black Doom can get more powerful? You complained about the narrative being horrible, yet you don’t even realize the fact of why these challenges exist, it’s stated by black doom himself that shadow when he got the doom blast he wasn’t ready, and specifically ‘we are not ready’. This alone tells us he’s getting stronger along with Shadow, which drives the narrative further with the challenges and even the boss fights. All leading up to the final confrontation. This review is bad, and I hereby revoke your Sonic fan tag. Go back to playing fan games while we let Sonic team work on making an official remake for 06.
@@jaid2568 so to introduce fans to Shadow…..they have to follow almost the same plot beat for beat from a game from nearly 20 years ago? - even though it contradicts Shadows arc from his nearly 20 year old Solo game as well as his arc in Sonic 06
They couldn’t just…. Create a new plot? With references to Shadows past? Creating new dilemmas or conflicts which help establish Shadows character to newbies whilst also developing his character for long time fans?
Apparently that is too much to ask for?? Up your standards
(Also yes I will continue to play P-06 as it’s easily better than The original, in addition to being better than a lot of the 3D games made by Sonic Team)
@ How do they follow the exact same plot as Shadow 05? Your telling me that because they decided this was to officially kill off shadows past and show he’s moved on that isn’t good character development?? Shadow 2005 follows the plot of a shadow who doesn’t know who or what he is and just follows whatever someone says, without knowing the consequences, which ends with him finally remembering and defeating black doom. However, if you actually read the plot of shadow generations, then you’d know the process of black doom returning was sped up tremendously via the Time Eater, and shadow spends the game discovering more about his abilities and truly ending his anger with the help of his old family. Not to mention, this is GENERATIONS. The game literally made to celebrate a characters past, complaining about the plot that reflects the past of a character is quite literally contradicting the whole purpose of Generations.
The sonic portion doesn’t feel polished to me, more of a port than remaster, the textures haven’t been changed. The shadows are still baked in and look pixelated.
For the price, the length of it all isn't much of a problem, especially since the levels are fairly long and the hub world itself is one big level that's a lot of fun to traverse.
My biggest gripe with the game is how the hub world's controls feel so much better than the actual stage controls. The stage controls feel alright, better than base Generations even, but when you're at the hub world, you have way better control over how Shadow turns and jumps, almost like how the Adventure games control.
It’s funny cause I have the opposite issue
I think shadow controls decently in the stages yet without the power boost from frontiers, his new control scheme feels sluggish in the open world to me.
@@TheGamingRift11 I wonder why that is? In the hub world you can literally run around in circles while in the stages its far more difficult and practically impossible in base Generations stages. Altho maybe its because youre using the default settings where theres no gradual deceleration or acceleration whatsoever. I have my deceleration and acceleration set to 0 and 65 respectively if i remember correctly.
Good review. I do think there are reasons for thee other stages to be in shadows campaign and I try to say why. Rail canyon: that level was important for shadows arc in heroes because he started questioning if he was an Android or not since he saw a robot of himself (or whatever what was on thee ground) which continued from heroes to shadow thee hedgehog. Kingdom valley: this was thee level where mephilis was released from his seal in shadows campaign and mephilis is thee main antagonist and I would say is more of a shadow villain then a sonic villain. Sunset heights: abit confusing but my theory of why it's there because since thee timer eater is destroying time, it might be bringing in levels from thee future that he has not met yet, same as chaos island.
Interesting theory but I wouldn’t have chosen those stages myself
Final fortress or Egg carrier would’ve been the perfect choice for shadow especially if the whole narrative is based on “letting go of the past”
Kingdom valley is by no means a bad choice but I feel like Aquatic base and Dusty Desert would’ve been better
Aquatic base since shadows run takes place 10 years in the past - and Dusty Desert since that’s where he confronts Mephiles
Sunset heights….. idk. It makes the most sense I guess but shadow honestly has no levels from Forces that are going for him - we should’ve got something from Shadow 2005 instead
And chaos island I guess makes the most sense out of the islands in frontiers…. But even so it’s stretching it
Those are my thoughts, what dya think?
@@TheGamingRift11 that's fair, there definitely could of been better stage choices. Kingdom valley is tricky since I wouldn't of mind if it was aquatic base or dusty desert but it's thee most popular level in sonic 06 I believe and more well regarded then thee other levels and probably thee most important in thee game since it is what allows mephilis to start his plans which starts thee plot of thee game basically. This is definitely thee best version of sunset heights but I agree that there should of been a level from shadow thee hedgehog, perhaps sunset height could of maybe been a dlc level. Chaos island was a werid choice, I think other levels would make sense for shadow then a level that belongs from a game he doesn't appear in but it's fine for what it is, could of been something else but it is what it is.
@@TheGamingRift11i think you’ve fundamentally misunderstand the narrative. the original shadow the hedgehog video game is about “letting go of the past” while shadow generations is directly about embracing it. not just embracing it, but facing it head on. facing past “versions” of himself (biolizard) or impersonators (mephiles.)
facing the trauma that he thought he buried in shadow 05, seeing maria again ripping open the wound he thought was healed. the game as a whole is about embracing the past, bringing back terios and black doom. literally encouraging the player to engage with those past elements, embrace the doom powers. the game has its issues but i think the theming is pretty clear, not just in story but in gameplay, art design, and marketing.
Idk. All I know, that stream was 🔥.
This is indeed a fantastic Sonic game
The sonic movie stage isn’t a rumour if they have shown it off is it 🤣🤣🤣
It’s a rumour how well that stage is gunna play - please dont tone police, you knew what I meant
@@TheGamingRift11 no a rumour is possible a stage that’s been shown isn’t a rumour I don’t understand what you mean at all if I say the next sonic movie is gonna have fleetway super sonic I’m making a rumour
Besides art and music, i wasn't very impressed by it. We didn't get anything new story-wise. The bosses were okay, except the doom fight (who thought morph was a good idea?) The doom powers didn't really do it for me in general. Shadow felt "slippery" to me and the acceleration felt like the turbo kicking in on your car when you are trying to cross the street. It would just kick up when you didn't want it and could make things harder/more dangerous for you. The world itself was annoying. I highly disliked frontiers, and it felt exactly like it. I also with some levels from Shadow the Hedgehog were used. I hated rail canyon in heroes and putting Shadow in chaos island just felt weird and out of place. I also didn't care for those levels that much. I agree not worth the asking price. IMO it was mid at best.
The game good
-me. (I've played the game)
I hate the sonic generations final boss with a burning passion, the controls feel like shit, some attacks feel almost undodgeable, and the Mf is too fast for even a boosting super sonic, launching classic sonic forward feels like a completely useless move, the time stop felt like just a random ass move to piss me off, I could never get enough rings in most attempts and idk if I’m just stupid but the fact that it shows the homing symbol but doesn’t let you home in is stupid
Also the hard mode just felt like they wanted to make an impossible boss but realized that’d piss off the fans and just slightly lowered the difficulty to just absurdly hard
I promise I enjoyed the game, it was just the final boss of the sonic generations campaign 😭
I must be the one person on the planet who didn’t hate the timeeater 😂
I beat it 1st try 😭😭 it really is just a boring boss fight. The theme is kinda catchy though, and it looks cool.
I disagree with many of your opinions, but i understand that it is your opinion. For me, i really liked the bosses, the 2D stages are the best weve gotten since unleashed, and i love how shadow controls in this game, and really like the story. But doom morph is still very clunky, and the challenges are worse than og gens
The remake park meh the shadow park was good
one big flaw, its too expensive as a remaster game.
The price is fair in my opinion. Look at nintendo's remasters at 60bucks without any new content...
It's $50 compared to the usual $70 games we get that's incredibly reasonable especially with an extra mode added
I’d agree especially compared to something like the Nsane trilogy or Reignited collection for examples from other franchises
Great review. I agree that Shadow Generations has great 3D stages but the mandatory 6-8 challenges and Frontiers style hub world drag it down for me. The 2D stages I also found fun but not at the same level as the 3D ones. But the tight gameplay and design of Sonic Generations makes it still the superior of the 2 for me. Also I like the more upbeat and lively feeling of Sonic Gens over the more dull tone of Shadow's
@@JH-xc9we thank you! I appreciate your comments!
How are you on pc with a switch controller?
@@calebpaul8496 me and my friend recorded gameplay for it
He uses a wired pro Nintendo controller - I use the Xbox controller
I completely disagree with this video tbh almost everything u said but hey its your opinion
A lot of what was said was objectively true. Like the game having less stages/bosses - being slower than OG generations etc.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the structure of the levels either since playing future levels contradicts the narrative
Well, I like the game and what does flaw masterpiece even mean.
Just say it is good or bad
@@scooby_doobies I’m glad you enjoyed the game! I enjoyed it too.
And no. I’m never gunna say that something is “good or bad”
In a bad game there are always redeeming aspects.
And in a good game there are always means for improvement.
This review was pretty bad NGL a lot of you’re complaints were trash
Care to elaborate? Address a couple?
You say why is shadow in sunset heights and chaos island but you forget time eater exists which is why hes taken into the future @TheGamingRift11
@TheGamingRift11 you have your opinions, though saying how places from the future can't show up when time travel is at play is like saying you like a cheese burger without the cheese
I strongly disagree with most of your points, but I guess it's just a difference in opinion
@@batatosaltosus8921 so you think it’s a shit game? 🤔 cause I think this game is good
Can you provide reasoning for why you disagree?
While I really don't like getting into the "Woke vs. Anti-Woke" argument on this part, but IMO, the edited scenes in Sonic Generations Remaster were stupid and unnecessary. It's the same story with different dialogs and (somehow worse) redubbed lines and edited scenes that were just fine and funnier in the original.
I hate wokeness. But this Game really ain't woke. Sure ppl don't like the Rouge stuff and I also don't like what they did to Amy but that's it
I literally didn’t notice a thing in this game. If they did do “woke” stuff it was very subtle
I'm not saying the changes are "woke." I'm just saying that the changes to Sonic Generations Remaster feel completely unnecessary.
I think the only change I can think of that could possibly be called woke is that Knuckles no longer says classic Sonic looks like gained weight. It's a dumb change but I wouldn't say it's a change that had an agenda behind it.
Wait a sec let me check his channel..... oh i see
@@thegenerations06edits52 your point being what exactly?
Terrible review
@@liltjay7148 care to elaborate?
Fr
Jesus christ, "flawed masterpiece" has to be one of the most lame and overused things to put in your title lmfao
Bro, who cares ?
@@hmmmp “overused” is irrelevant since how often have you actually seen it?
And it’s hardly relevant if it’s how I view the game. A flawed masterpiece is the perfect description IMO.
Also I’m guessing you agree with literally everything in my video. Since the only criticism was tone policing the title! So thank you 👍
@@TheGamingRift11 It is "overused". Just look up flawed masterpiece on UA-cam and you'll get thousands of videos with the same low effort title as yours. Ain't no way you're telling me it ain't overused after that.
Also I didn't really watch the video, just came to clown on the title lmao
@@TheGamingRift11Every Sonic game has a "flawed masterpiece" video. Sonic 2, both Adventure games, Unleashed, original generations, Mania, and Frontiers.
Every AAA game gets "flawed masterpiece" videos. It is annoying
Maybe my memories are playing tricks with me, but I'm finding this remaster to be glitchier than the original release.
I don't remember finding the death egg robot boss to be annoying, it feels like it's almost impossible to jump on its arms now.
@@MisterX867 you could very well be right. But for me at least I didn’t experience any major collision problems
Man U really are a hater bro. This is certainly a cash grab meant to capitalize on the hype of the movie while also simultaneously building up more hype for the movie in a self propelling “doom” cycle, but damn is this everything we’ve ever asked for skimped out, but we’re still willing to pay $65 for 😂
@@syedahmad722 how does complimenting the game and being generally positive about it make me a hater? 😂
@ oh I was being sarcastic I thought u could tell by the rest of the statement lmfao