The Redemption of Shadow

[@cynicalto]

The best reasoning I’ve seen for Radical Highway is that it’s where Shadow first vocalized his vow of vengeance in SA2, and Doom is trying to trigger that anger in Shadow again.

[@BlackClaw2]

Shadow himself actually confirmed this in the latest twitter takeover. Lmao.

[@cynicalto]

@@BlackClaw2Oh, neat. I saw someone on discord say it, but nice to know it’s canon.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@BlackClaw2 I was JUST about to reply with this and saw your comment lol. Yep. In Shadow's own words "Doom tried to torment me....but I'm better than that." it's nice to HEAR him ADMIT that he's grown as a character. He acknowledges his changes. It's sweet.

[@demonmysterykid3343]

​@@BlackClaw2 did eggman show up or no?

[@BlackClaw2]

@ no eggman wasn’t in this recent one.

[@radwolf76]

So, what I'm hearing is that the answer to "Can Doom run on a hedgehog?" is yes.

[@bandicootsauce4569]

MVP comment right here.

[@TimeTravelingFetus]

The opposite is also true, given that SRB2 exists

[@wednesdaygeckok.7899]

Why will that joke always be evergreen 😂

[@sytbaconman]

This is a DAMN good video. Almost as good as stealing candy from a baby. (Which is fine by me.)

[@alejandrocuevas3858]

😭

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

@@alejandrocuevas3858 Beautiful.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

Shadow is growing and changing. He's very much done so for the better....but I think his past will always linger there like a shadow. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[@hyperstargaming6150]

Frontiers is proof that a bad past can be utilized for a better future, if written correctly and accordingly. Although, it doesn’t need to be AS extreme as Frontiers needed to be.

[@galten7361]

@TheRibottoStudios Shadow didn't actually change from how he was established in the 2010s. He's just in a plot centered on him within a game post-06 rather than be a side character or in something like Sonic Channel's short stories.

[@galten7361]

@@hyperstargaming6150 "sitting talking about stuff that happened is the pinnacle of writing" "Eggman worrying about a machine's pronouns fits for the character" "Amy"

[@pupununu3024]

​@@galten7361You say this, but you also complained about Eggman keeping an orb and cube with no combat experience that he can abuse at his leisure around while comparing them to a quintet of battle-made robots that he sent to shoot stuff up and find a frog with a tail that he relocated two of and reformatted and weaponized the other two since only one of the quintuplets bought the frog he wanted... Eggman isn't allowed to have attachments to anything or anyone, and if he does, it's because they're useful to him, so having him be cautious of what he should call an AI isn't in line with how he should be acting, I get it, but more importantly, what did Amy do outside of the complaints that they leaned too much into her tarot cards to the point of those being her weapon instead of her hammer?

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@galten7361 I disagree. Shadow isn't as stagnant as you think he is. If SA2 Shadow had been given his Doom Powers, you can't convince me otherwise that he would've stabbed Sonic in the back with them. But the fact that he THOUGHT about it, and actively decided not to attack Sonic in a dishonorable way, SHOWS that Shadow has changed.

[@ZukoPrince]

One detail, that I'm not even sure is intentional, but i still want to point it out, it's that despite Shadow being nothing like Black Doom, he still has a lot of his mannerisms. They both loves crossing their arms for example, and a lot of their hand gestures are the same. So that shows Shadow still has some connection with Black Doom, despite rejecting him outright. It's just neat, again, if intentional

[@bowmaj8666]

I honestly don't recall Black Doom folding his arms even once.

[@ZukoPrince]

​@@bowmaj8666He definitely did it in cutscene with Gerald and Maria, i immediately noticed that because it'l was qute unusual to see him do this.

[@shady5595]

​@@bowmaj8666Yup, he did

[@zincpodzzz]

No way, bro drops the hardest line in the first five minutes at 1:35 “The next generation of fans… the… Shadow… Generation 😎💥🔥☄️⚡️🔫.”

[@EduardoRato420]

Say that again?

[@CyberweaverVT]

“I just think Radical Highway is so cool” - Black Doom

[@BritBox777]

When they revealed Maria and Gerald were in the game I was concerned that magically bringing Maria back for closure would tarnish the great motivations that Shadow had. I'm pleased to say not only did they maintain that connection, they improved it and now Maria feels even more 'real' than she did before. How can you not adore writing like that?

[@galten7361]

@BritBox777 Shadow only caring about protecting the world since he has Maria's wishes on his back was already a thing.

[@bluefox8011]

I appreciated his apprehension, how shaky he was upon meeting Maria and Gerald, he knew their fate and just wanted to complete his goal, but found closure at the end when Maria tells him why she named him Shadow

[@lazaroskarmaniolas7410]

​@@galten7361Stop misinterpreting the story to suit your own made up narrative. Shadow always chased Black Doom down because it was the right thing to do. Maria simply helped him overcome Black Doom's corruption. I'm sick or your whining fuckaas.

[@joshshrum2764]

They did it in the best way.

[@normalichu]

This game is really good, and that's great; but I feel like the best part of Shadow Generations is seeing Sonic fans happy. This game is uncomplicatedly good, and that shows.

[@Howlabunga]

Weirdly enough one of my first reactions to the cutscenes was "Wait, the Fake Emerald was just sitting there on the Ark the entire time?"

[@fojisan2398]

I mean, Tails had no use for it after the game. Why would he take it back with him? I'd imagine he just thought it was garbage after his initial plan failed.

[@liamclarke91]

​@@fojisan2398And I guess GUN and the black arms didn't notice it or have time to take it when they both had forces on the station in Shadow 05

[@Woopahch]

Something i love while doom winging is saving chaos control for when my boost almost runs out,then renew it for extra glide time!

[@jrock6351]

I can't be the only one who wants Shadow's doom abilities to stay as apart of his future moveset in other games. I believe its still up in the air whether defeating black doom reverted the mutations completely, but these are genetic abilities, so I don't think (story wise) it can't be something that returns later on, but on Shadow's own accord. Narratively the abilities give Shadows title of "The Ultimate lifeform" more weight by making him a creature adept at traversing all terrain as well as controlling time and space with chaos abilities, and gameplay wise they were just fun, and helped separate him from the pack. Id even go as far to say that while id still like the see sonic team try there hand at a fully 3d sonic game without the boost similar to the adventure game, I think it would be cool to keep the boost formula with the doom powers for just shadow to make him completely different from sonic (though am still a bit iffy on this idea)

[@AAlex-wg8ml]

I don't think Shadow can still use the Doom powers, mainly due to the fact that the doom wings disintegrate when Neo Devil Doom is defeated, as if he no longer has the power. It makes some sense, since these are modifications that Doom made, instead of powers that Shadow always was intended to have Technically, he could "reawaken them", but I don't think he has access to the powers in later games like Forces (because then it would be weird that he didn't use the powers to stop Eggman's domination) It's possible they return, but I would assume he would have to unlock them again (due to narrative reason) in a future title

[@TheUltimateMachineGod]

The problem with a lot of Sonic's past games has been two fold. 1. They wanted to make something more mature while not giving enough time to flesh stuff out. (Both story and gameplaywise.) 2. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too by coasting the lines between mature and childish. A superficial kind of maturity rather than telling compelling naratives. Shadow generations has none of those issues and kinda proves to people that characters like shadow have a place in the sonic canon. All Sega has to do is give Sonic Team enough time to actually make the game good and also give the writers enough time to flesh them out.

[@nmemassive]

I agree. Both childish & mature can co-exist if they flesh out the story for the tonal shifts. Have a balance between funny moments & serious ones.The problem with Shadow 2005 is that the story is all over the place with the 10 multiple endings & 326 multiple permutations of paths taken to reach those endings. The Last Way is the true ending, but out of all the multiple endings - which one is canonical path taken to reach that Last Way story. I am happy that Shadow Generations cut out all the fluff & got straight to the point of who Shadow The Hedgehog is instead of confusing the player like Shadow 2005 did. Shadow Generations had some good storywriters & redeemed Shadow’s character arc & complex backstory. As long as they make complex stories & flesh out these stories to be coherent & make sense so that the players can be fully invested in understanding the game & story.

[@TheUltimateMachineGod]

@@nmemassive Hey ive been saying this for years. The writers for Unleashed, Secret Rings, and Black Knight were amazing dealing with this tonal shift. Probably one of my favorite eras in terms of sonic stories.

[@Simon_Electric]

There are hit movies that are both action-based and comical at the same time. It's been proven Time and Time again by Hollywood that it can work. You just have to have good writers, a talented dev team and enough time to flesh out the characters and story.

[@syannejohnson6545]

@@TheUltimateMachineGod oh! I fully agree. Say what you will about the gameplay, but the stories from these games were some of the best in the series. Black Knight is my personal favorite story in the franchise. It's really what made me fall in love with Sonic as a character.

[@nnbandicoot1135]

47:42 "You're doing great" "I'm doing great" "I'm okay" "Always" "I would love some water" "Channel pup left the door open"

[@33pandagamer]

I am a huge fan of Shadow, and I am so glad to see people slowly understanding why I like the character so much. I'm a person who likes that Shadow didn't stay dead in SA2, who likes Shadow's game's and 06's stories, and who just wanted Sega to have good stories in Sonic games again. I became a fan because of Shadow, so this year has been amazing for me.

[@joshshrum2764]

Big shadow fan here too.

[@HaydenPrometheus45]

Hey Nick, just a note on radical highway, it IS (lore wise) in the same location as Westopolis and Lethal highway (all within Central City) so I guess Black Doom does technically have a connection there.

[@MSCDonkeyKong]

I didn't know they were all in the same spot lore-wise. That's cool. I definitely got the sense like the game was consciously trying to call-back to both of those stages in act 2, considering act 2 is a broken highway overrun with Black Arms, and the sunset and drop are iconic scenes from Westopolis. Wish we got a Lethal Highway remix, but I'm just happy I can play the stage with that track.

[@Leemmmm]

I really think it's insane that Sega up and introduced an antichrist for the Sonic franchise, so much so that most old fans didn't want anything to do with the newer games involving him. Kind of a metal thing for Shadow to be, from a metacontextual perspective

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

Speaking of Kingdom hearts, Sonic X Shadow Generations make me think of Kingdom hearts chain of memories. A journey through the heroes past, split between the happy go lucky hero with a cocky smile and the edgy character of the group. The edgy one constantly being hounded to give into the darkness.

[@the-point-bearer6689]

I can see the parallel then and there.

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

@@the-point-bearer6689 And the final boss of the edgy story is a previous villain who held influence over the edgy characters so that's another parallel

[@sb14andmore50]

@@Exlayer-pk8hy Only difference is that Sonic isn't forgetting things slowly

[@With2Ls]

54:13 I think it would be easy shadow already forgets about infinite in between when they fight and when eggman takes over the world in forces so it could be funny if he just forgets about him again

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

I kinda wish Sage made a cameo during the frontiers portion of the game. In frontiers she was compared to Maria briefly so that would have been kinda neat. It wouldn't have fit into the story at all but it would have been neat

[@jpcsdutra]

If she does stick around for the next chronological entry, I'm willing to bet that is likely to be a plot point. It seems like Ian does want to write stuff about the Robotnik family. If that does happen, the two interacting is just a matter of time.

[@galten7361]

@@jpcsdutra Sage isn't a well made character.

[@jpcsdutra]

@@galten7361 you're entitled to your subjective opinion

[@blacksun9042]

The green light trail is called chaos dash, teleporting is chaos snap and stopping time is chaos control

[@toko90s9]

It's honestly surreal. I'm part of the camp that felt Shadow's death in SA2 should have been permanent and hate the convoluted alien plot line they introduced in his own game. Yet somehow they made it work here. I don't fully know how. I think the only real complaint I have about the game is the Rail Canyon distortion part made me mildly motion sick as someone who doesn't normally get motion sick and that's largely it.

[@joshshrum2764]

Well shadow would have died alongside Sonic, if adventure two was the end.

[@GBlastMan]

There is something that some shadow fans seems to not fully grasp about him about how he acts around people or reacts to maria and gerald that i finally understood while playing this game. Shadow acts more like a typical Tokusatsu protagonist, like think about it the shady organization that does dodgy experiments in search for the perfect life form, dark overlord tyrant that conquers worlds and tries to get earth but gets stopped by a loner warrior, the loner warrior that was created by said shady organization that went rogue and lost everybody he loved and sworn revenge on them and now is the stand in for justice and peace even if that has to come to the cost of his own life. Like come on Sega already has freaking Hongo as Segata Sanshiro and you have Sonicman and so on, like Shadow is clearly a Kamen Rider reference, and knowing that you kinda understand why he acts the way he acts.

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

He uses a dramatic kick a couple times in the game ala Rider kick lol

[@jaredtherock5692]

One thing I love more than anything about Sonic's interaction with Shadow, is that we are in Shadow's perspective. I don't care if Sonic is a... Richard... sometimes, but I like that he is annoying to Shadow specifically. It makes me wonder if we had a Knuckles game and Sonic just stops by, would we feel that annoyance too when seeing him, or maybe it's more nuanced due to all that Sonic's done for him? I want to see Sonic from every character's perspective. Because I feel like Sonic is the same as he always has been, we've just been seeing things from his eyes too often.

[@megasora4]

i took the difference in white space's between sonic and shadow as a view of their beings. sonic is in the moment so his space is very short and empty with all platforms being related to the area he's exploring, whereas shadows is full grand buildings and pathways, almost that of a castle designed to protect that which he holds dear. because that's what makes shadow.... well shadow. ("i am all of me" pretty much) i also loved that we got to see more of shadow then just his normal "hmph" or pout that hes been written with, hes given the spotlight and thus is able to show more emotion and growth. my only gripes with the game are the octopus powers (just not explained very well and feels very clunky till you figure it all out) and that while there is a reason for it, i would have liked a super shadow transformation even if it was just a "oh you beat the game, here is this cosmetic skin for doom wings." very similar to how the sonics gain theirs after you beat their campaign.

[@lilbasenji1]

This game was an absolute blast. I was introduced to the Sonic franchise by Sonic Adventure 2 and unfortunately ended my Sonic adventure with Sonic Colors. I played this game and I was absolutely blown away with the story and gameplay. I honestly enjoyed it more than Sonic Generations. I was interested in seeing what you thought of the game after hearing your thoughts on Shadow’s character and I am glad that you enjoyed it as much as a Shadow fan like myself.

[@NightFuryLover31]

This has hit almost all the marks. The game play, the animation, the story, the voice acting. Just amazing! I especially love how this really fleshes out Gerald and Maria. Who they were before the tragedy on the Ark. I also applaud how they have used the fake Chaos Emerald and the yellow one Shadow had in the first Generations. If I had to pick a replacement for Mephiles, I’d pick Keith Silverstein. His performance as Hawkmoth is similar to Dan Green’s Mephiles. Plus, the guy already voices Vector, so he’s already a part of the cast.

[@BlinkyRen]

To give some insight on Black Doom here, his goal is the same as it was in Shadow the Hedgehog(2005), to continue his conquest over the universe and turn the inhabitants of Earth into slaves/a source of food, but he also has to take a few extra steps to that goal because the Black Comet and his species are extinct and Shadow is actively in the way, that's where the Time Eater comes into play. Black Doom survived fighting Super Shadow and the White Space has accelerated the growth of his new body and the resurrection of the Black Arms that were being produced in the Black Moon. Black Doom has control/influence over White Space due to the fact that he is the master/creator of Chaos Control, which naturally allows him to manipulate time and space and Radical Highway is Black Doom's realm. It takes the form of that stage via illusions in order to torment and remind Shadow of his campaign for revenge and his destructive nature as the champion of the Black Arms, as Black Doom can in fact create illusions as he did in Shadow's first spinoff title, Radical Highway isn't really there in the same way the other locations are, it's Black Doom's craftwork. What is also Black Doom's work are Shadow's new powers, in order to remove him as a threat, Black Doom is providing Shadow with new power, but the cost of such power is a deeper connection to the Black Arms, as Shadow grows in strength so does Black Doom and their bond, if Shadow were to reject the Black Arms once more, Black Doom would then decide to take over his body as the avatar of his return. Black Doom did not account for the fact that Shadow has grown significantly since their last encounter and has surpassed him in every way. An idea on Black Dooms personality: He and Shadow are alike in a number of ways, but Black Doom is of course evil and is inherently tyrannical. Black Doom is highly intelligent, but also arrogant and cruel, he believes everything will go as he plans with enough force put behind it without having much consideration for retaliation since he believes himself to be the Immortal Lifeform and the Ultimate Power not dissimilar to Shadow. Black Doom is extremely proud of his own kind, especially Shadow and his growth in power only being possible as a result of him taking in more of Doom's DNA, however he detests the fact that Shadow doesn't look like one of the Black Arms(since Shadow as far as we know is 100% Black Arms and Gerald deliberately put him in the form of a Hedgehog) and greatly dislikes Shadow's sense of justice and duty to protect Earth rather than conquer it, which most likely means Black Doom dislikes Maria and her influence on Shadow, meaning Doom could very well have been the one to encourage the Black Warriors to attack her until Shadow intervened. Ultimately, Black Doom is debatably the most evil character known to the Sonic universe and has left a scar on the humans of that Earth that is bigger than any other villains thus far.

[@the-point-bearer6689]

Otherwise known as "somehow Black Doom returns" plotline.

[@BlinkyRen]

@@the-point-bearer6689 If you've seen the ending of Shadow the Hedgehog, you'd know Shadow never actually guarantees Black Doom's death, his Devil Doom form simply plummets and Shadow destroys the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon. We don't see the body or the eye of Black Doom properly destroyed.

[@galten7361]

@@BlinkyRen New Star Wars appreciator found.

[@deringjosuegarcia1531]

@@galten7361 "Somehow Black Doom returned"

[@bathilra5364]

ALL HAIL SHADOW HEROS RISE AGAIN (also sidenote this perfectly put into words why shadow gens just clicked with me as a persons who only other boost game has been forces)

[@fojisan2398]

OBLITERATING EVERYTHING THATS NOT YO FRIEND!

[@witheri2um]

​@@fojisan2398 NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW! NO GHOSTS TO BRING YOU DOWN!

[@fojisan2398]

@@witheri2um WHEN THERES NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE, YOU WIN!

[@witheri2um]

@@fojisan2398 BOW YOUR HEADS DOWN, ALL HAIL SHADOW!

[@joshshrum2764]

Find the

[@Yuti640]

The level choices were certainly made with reusing resources in mind, Ark was semi made in generations for the Shadow fight, Kingdom Valley, Chaos Island and Sunset Heights are already made since they’re from HD games and very clearly Metal Overlord used a recoloured Chemical Plant

[@agentomecha634]

Shadow Generations has become one of my top favorite Sonic games along with Sonic Unleashed. The gameplay was fun, the returning levels were great to see (even Sunset Heights). The returning boss fights were awesome, especially the fight with Mephiles. And the story, while short was great in my opinion. This is probably the best characterization Shadow has received in a long time and it’s nice to see. Seeing Shadow have to leave Maria and Gerald again was heartbreaking. Yet he continues to move forward and carries the promise he made to them in his heart. It’s great to see Sonic Team taking the stuff they’ve learned from Sonic Frontiers and other past games, and improving upon them with this game. And it has me excited for what the next mainline Sonic game will be. Something I couldn’t say a few years ago.

[@galten7361]

@agentomecha634 "sitting around talking about stuff that happened is the pinnacle" "Eggman worrying about Sage's pronouns fits for the character"

[@Jin-yq6vb]

I wonder if Sliver would get the chance in the spotlight, like Shadow currently. Although I doubt there will ever be the year of Sliver 😅

[@bennewbury2572]

I also hope Silver gets time in the spotlight And for the love of Chaos LET THE OTHER CHARACTERS GO SUPER!

[@abacaxigomes4416]

I'm kind of new to Sonic lore. Does Silver's Future (without being destroyed) Has anything defined yet? A game taking place there could be interesting.

[@chilidogsonic6774]

@@abacaxigomes4416in Archie and a little bit in IDW but other than that we only see it in ruins

[@sb14andmore50]

​@@chilidogsonic6774Here's a question I'm pretty sure a lot of people are wondering: Does Silver remember the events of 06? You'd assume he would considering he's from the future...right? But then there's the version of Silver in Rivals and even Colors DS, I'm a bit confused, what I'm getting at is does Archie or IDW cover that at all

[@chilidogsonic6774]

@ no the events of 06 were completely wiped from the timeline silver from rivals doesn’t remember that and it also would make sense considering blaze is from an alternate dimension in rush while also being in the future in 06

[@alfiebell6058]

I've seen someone make a theory that black doom didn't die in shadow the hedgehog, since we only saw him fall at the end of the devil doom fight. The theory suggests that when he fell, he landed on chaos island, explaining why the location appears in the game. The theory goes on to say he stayed on chaos island, trying come up with a new scheme, eventually leading to him returning once again, trying to take advantage of eggmans place with the time eater to come back, and use shadow to continue his plan.

[@Mrdengekioh]

They were fighting above a city, presumably Westopolis. How would he end up there? I think the “he grew a new body from the Death Leech aboard the ARK we see in Dark Beginnings” makes a lot more sense, honestly.

[@alfiebell6058]

@@Mrdengekioh well the person mentioned that, during the fight with devil doom, he and shadow teleport around a lot, and they thought he might have been teleporting around the world, and when the fight ended, they were above chaos island, though I'm not really sure if I believe that part. If you wanna see the theory for yourself, it was made by a youtuber named mr needle mouse, who posted a video about the theory before the game came out.

[@TomsSauce]

ngl when i first played chaos island i hated doom morph so i kept replaying to understand it and it was so worth it, easily made chaos island my favourite level in the game would really love if it was a tease for a return to the starfall islands as shadow

[@KraziShadowbear]

*AN OVER AN HOUR LONG EPISODE OF GAME APOLOGIST ABOUT THE NEW GAME AND ABOUT SHADOW?!* *YES PLEASE.* Can't wait to hear your thoughts about this amazing new addition and spark of hope for the franchise as a whole! :D

[@reall4839]

7:19 EXCUSE ME IS THAT A SONIC CONDOM?

[@AmazingFalcon720]

Oh my god!? How have I never heard of that before😭 It says "gotta c*m fast" too💀💀💀

[@ClassikSprites]

I completely blocked that out of my mind until I saw it in this video, GET OUT OF MY HEAD.

[@gristlywolf2119]

Christ that can't be real right

[@thespookymage6294]

Its nice to see a video where nick is happy and enthusiastic. Last few have seemed to have an undercurrent of anger, which I don't blame him for what's been going on in his life, but its nice to see some more passion and joy. Good video, nick!

[@foxtrap86flame]

Frame one click

[@MartianDX]

22:35 ngl, the Doctor Doom reference and then cutting to Robert Downey Jr hurts my soul just a tiny bit. I get it, just a me thing lol.

[@DarkusNights]

Like many had said Shadow is growing and changing, his trauma can eventually heal and I feel like it was a good closure of his past. but now can he mend the rift of the family? Marias baby sister is out there, maybe its time to finally meet.

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

The Archie books kinda dealt with that at one point so I doubt Sega would reuse a plot those guys did.

[@DarkusNights]

@@Exlayer-pk8hy Never Reach archie, but the game cant just name drop family members and never appear XD

[@galten7361]

@@DarkusNights Sure they can. I can easily see it that Maria's sister is there to address how Eggman Nega came to be (retconned to not be Eggman's actual descendant).

[@dallinjc3]

Are we just assuming Shadow will lose his doom powers in future canon titles? My impression was that Shadow "took" those powers for himself. He and Black Doom share the same DNA, so I would assume those powers are essentially natural abilities for Shadow, and Doom just knew they would eventually manifest and he could try to take advantage of their connection in order to use and manipulate Shadow. But since they share DNA, those powers are as much Shadows as Black Doom's.

[@Eis_Cold]

Probably as the cutscene when Shadow loses his wings were them looking like they were almost withering away while Shadow looked to be in pain. That cutscene felt like a big sign that had "that's it, no more" written on it.

[@nicholassgobero]

It's kinda necessary, Shadow didn't use those powers during forces or the comics and they come afterwards

[@dallinjc3]

@@nicholassgobero ahh that makes sense, I didn't play forces and I'm not up to date on the timeline

[@slateoffate9812]

I guess you have a point about the Doom Powers being extensions, instead of interruptions like the color powers. Doom Spear is Chaos Spear, but more. Doom Blast is an extension of Chaos Snap. Doom Surf; Quickstepping. Doom Morph: it's a more in-depth Homing Attack. Doom Wings: Boost. The other day I had a thought that I think Sega was trying a similar idea with the Wisp Choices in Planet Wisp. Pink Spikes is an extension of Classic Sonic's Spindash, and Orange Rocket is basically a vertical boost.

[@meowlid_]

okay a few things, please bear with me great video, i haven't really watched you since your sonic 3 & K videos (which were also amazing btw!) and you've definitely gotten better at presenting arguments and things! i totally understand people's gripes with the werehog and unleashed in general (and I'm biased because it's one of my favourite sonic games), but i sincerely believe that with minor tweaks sonic unleashed is an amazing title, including the werehog sections which, like any sonic game, do take a while to get used to but mastering them can be very rewarding. Outside of the optional content, the werehog probably needed the most development time imo. im not sure what it is, but this game's story had me HOOKED. Shadow parting with maria again had me in tears and similarly the section where you were talking about that scene did too. Since I haven't finished frontiers and am quite eager to do so, I don't know much about the story and therefore can't comment on it, but Shadow Generations feels like the first story in a sonic game that is presented 100% sincerely since 06/Unleashed/Black Knight and it's really refreshing to see. I would love to see a character like Knuckles or Tails be given similar character 'redevelopment' in-game like their character arcs from Adventure to Heroes (knuckles esp., the muscle-head thing worked for boom but elsewhere it's alienating). finally just some small things and theories since I don't know where else to leave them: the warp hole the time eater appears from in shadow's story bears a resemblance to the portals made by the phantom ruby, which doesn't appear until after the events of generations. possible connection or am i crazy? the phantom ruby has whatever powers the story demands of it which seems to include time manipulation? who knows. After you encounter black doom for the first time, he states shadow is his latest creation which begs the question: what else has he created? have sonic & co encountered any of these creations? Will they? Not only confiding the secret of Chaos Control to gerald but also being knowledgeable on the chaos emeralds themselves despite being an alien race is really fascinating and I kind of hope to see it touched upon, even if black doom himself doesn't appear and is just the influence behind whatever calamity occurs (think of Dio's influence over the universe of jojo because I have no better analogy) basically this game makes me feel like I'm 10 again in the best way possible and I really hope it's a good sign of things to come but there should've been a shadow 05 stage in the game and idk why they didn't do that (cosmic fall goes really well with chaos island act 1 btw)

[@Furtleturtle]

Absolutely perfect, Brudda! I can't wait to see you make your review on the Sonic fan games you were recommended to :3

[@MattAnd]

I loved Shadow Generations. Far, far more than I ever expected to. My childhood with the franchise was…in all honesty maybe the worst time to grow up as a Sonic fan. My first game was Sonic Heroes (2nd was Advanced), and the earliest birthday I can remember was the one where I got Shadow 05. I was so excited for it, I knew I was getting it but wasn’t allowed it till the day of. I barely slept the night before. Then when I did get it…well being a kid and pure excitement carried me through it, but even then I knew it wasn’t a good game. After that I had 06, I had Secret rings, Unleashed and Black Knight (but never the Rush games annoyingly) And then I stopped right before Colours came out. The franchise had burnt me every time, and while I desperately wanted it to be good, there were elements I loved, I felt like it was only ever going to be the idea of that, never actually reaching it I was out of the franchise for years, it was always in my peripheral but never centre stage. That was, until I was drawn back in, specifically by SomecallmeJohnny and you, Nick. Your content showed me the parts of the franchise I could’ve loved, the characters, stories and games that I never knew existed. All the parts that originally drew me in, and that kept me checking in every now and again All that to say, Shadow Generations has finally given me everything I wanted when I was a kid. Playing that first stage was one of the few times I genuinely have gone back to my childhood - and exceeded it - with a game. I imagine it’s what the Genesis generation felt like when Mania came out. Shadow Generations isn’t perfect, but it is the closest I’ve personally experienced I the franchise. It didn’t just bring back what made the series great, it made it as great as I always wanted it to be Thanks for anyone who read this far! I have rambled for far too long here!

[@kelliefay7625]

Yeah all that unspoken baggage between Shadow and Gerald, I felt had to be addressed. My fic "In search of Spirit" makes a small attempt at that. I already have Maria as Shadow's guardian spirit. She was waiting for Shadow's timeline to catch up before she discussed it with him.

[@sunstormnova]

If we ever get a Silver Generations (which is unlikely, but you never know), I think it'd be a great opportunity to explore what the white space realm is. Find out what it's purpose is, what the deal is with the castles, who created it, etc. Silver is a perfect character to do that with considering his whole deal with time travel and finding the source of catastrophes. Helps that, just like Shadow, he was doing his own thing during the main plot, so you wouldn't have to worry about clashes. The other thing I'd love to see them do is explain what happened to Blaze at the end of 06. Is the Blaze that died in 06 the same one from the Sol dimension? Does Silver remember the events of 06? Did Silver ever reconcile with Blaze's death? What was it like for him to see her again? Did he play a role in why she's alive in the Sol dimension? There's plenty of story potential there, and I'm sure Ian Flynn could pull it off. Also, a Silver Gens would be the perfect place to bring Infinite back. They fought in Forces, let's get a rematch.

[@Exlayer-pk8hy]

Honestly I think the Sol dimension isnt a different dimension at all, just the future. They keep flip flopping on wether or not Classic Sonic, Blaze and Eggman Nega are from different universes or different time periods so maybe were just working on Dragon ball time travel or something.

[@مشفارس]

1:08:29 The Doom Zone that occurs in most of stages (Radical Highway) is an illusion that occurs because each Black Arm is connected to another and Black Doom can broadcast his thoughts and memories to them because he is the leader (and from a normal person's perspective it just looks like Shadow stopped moving suddenly) and he can even transfer his mind to any of the Black Arms Larva and Shadow.

[@syannejohnson6545]

I grew up with this franchise. I was there for the highs and there for the lows. Sonic Forces for me was the nail in the coffin that made me completely want to give up on the franchise. It convinced me that I *must* of outgrew it because literally nothing resonated with me. I didn't expect much from Frontiers, but it truly surprised me. It brought me all the way back to when I was a kid. Though I had a couple of nitpicks here and there, I largely enjoyed and think it is one of my favorite games in the series. But SXSG absolutely brought the hype back. Seeing Shadow have the spotlight and have his character redeemed really made me feel like Sonic is on the right path FINALLY. It also feels like they finally nailed gameplay. I had a blast playing this game and I just want more! Which is the best feeling after playing a Sonic game. Great video! I loved the general positivity you had throughout! I'll be on the lookout for your future vids!

[@dishierbongo2757]

Sunset Heights is my favourite level in this game. Who would of thought that a level from Sonic Forces could be so good in a different game

[@n.sanity2049]

Radical highway represents one of the darkest and angriest times in shadow's life, narrative wise, he fights G.U.N after thinking of maria, and they try to blow him up with missles from robots and fighter jets while he blitzes through the highway

[@deltaace6426]

Bro made a movie and I am HERE FOR IT

[@joshshrum2764]

Love the profile picture it’s like if Sonic actually did sacrifice himself in Sonic x.

[@mistersp3753]

It would be such a Sega 2010s thing to release such a well-received game and follow that up with something completely different. That surely couldn't happen again in the 2020s, right?

[@cynicalto]

I wish Maria had a bit of sass to her character. I understand why she’s portrayed as the pinnacle of kindness, but she’s related to two mad scientists you’d think she’d have a bit of snark.

[@Speedracer6]

Tbf. It'd probably ooc. She didn't snark even when she was on the verge of death. She was always the best of humanity archetype.

[@galten7361]

@cynicalto "All geniuses need to act like Rick Sanchez or a redditor/tumblr user/other" "MCU dialogue is the pinnacle"

[@shady5595]

​@@galten7361No one said this

[@smashmaster521]

I mean, she kind of sassed Shadow when she teased him for being behind on his homework and never turning in his assignments. Who knew the Ultimate Life Form was also the Ultimate Slacker?

[@smashmaster521]

@@shady5595 I can't tell if he's a troll or just highly opinionated.

[@agsdragon5475]

I hope sliver gets his own campaign

[@RaiginAnimator]

I never really jives well with Shadow throwing his past away in Shadow 05 but the way they expand it here To be something he did out of sadness and His own inability to process his grief and now Shadow has it only accepted the past and his future through his friends and family😊

[@AlexMartinez-gv7hy]

I'm not a sonic fan or rather didn't grow with the franchise, but I'm glad to see it doing well. I'm glad to see Shadow Generation wasn't a rushed add-on or something less. I hope this continues in future titles.

[@k-bluetoons3593]

The dialogue in the hub world definitely leaves alot open for stories or Shadow stories for future games.

[@ZeroNightBlaze0]

Been re-watching some shadow the hedgehog analysis videos in preparation for playing through all the games where he appeared to compare his writing, and this video got recommended at just the right time. The video itself is great ^-^ kinda wish sonic x Shadow Generations had "Who I am" as the final boss theme instead of a new remix version of "All hail shadow" Sorry if this is a ramble of a comment

[@EmeraldUltima713]

32:32 I would say it's similar to Scala ad Caelum from KH3, but yeah, you made your point there now that I mentioned it. I have no shame whenever I correspond both franchises depending on context. 😅

[@Valk2003]

From what I remember, radical highway is in wesopolis, so it’s another 2 birds one stone kinda thing it’s the stage radical highway but it’s also westopolis the first stage from shadow the hedgehog

[@sorakingdoom7297]

I want to point out that in the Sonic cutscene in Shadow gens, they are litellary in the ACT 1 of the ark

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

Redemption? More like SEGA waking up and realizing how fans like a well told story with good gameplay. They started going down with Sonic when making certain restrictions placed on Archie.

[@galten7361]

@mysterycupofjoe2670 Archie is not and will never be what the series was meant to be. What with it having Sonic side with a monarchy that locks up protestors.

[@galten7361]

@mysterycupofjoe2670 Archie is not and will never be what the series was meant to be. What with it having Sonic side with a monarchy that locks up protestors and actually being a full time hero. And the games have had mandates on writing the characters since Sonic Adventure at the latest.

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

@galten7361 Not all of Archie but SEGA's mandates leaked to the games as well. Unleashed and Lost World were too cartoony.

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

@galten7361 Besides, Ian Flynn has been doing the game stories and he originally is from Archie. Some influence has found its way in for sure in the games.

[@galten7361]

@@mysterycupofjoe2670 The Sonic Channel stories having a way different version of what Sonic's dynamic with Eggman is when put against what IDW tries to pull with the two shows that what Flynn tries to do with the characters is not in line with how SoJ sees them. Double counting Frontiers.

[@SonicTheBlueBlur15]

Shadow generations is peak, we need frontiers 2 to solidify that sonic truly is back

[@galten7361]

@SonicTheBlueBlur15 Frontiers didn't have a great plot and messed up Eggman.

[@sb14andmore50]

@@galten7361 Why? Because he's more human? Get real

[@galten7361]

@@sb14andmore50 "Eggman worrying about a robot's pronouns and suddenly seeing her as a daughter is great writing"

[@sb14andmore50]

@galten7361 Sage is an A.I you dunce, which stands for Artificial Intelligence, she's the first one, I know you hate this game and it's "reference-filled" writing, but it's the closest we're gonna get to 2000s era writing back considering that not a single Sonic fan liked the 2010s era writing, give it time or just admit you hate Sonic

[@galten7361]

@@sb14andmore50 Baldy Mcnosehair is more in-character than Sonic's speeches in IDW.

[@capzone3614]

"how did you get in here" Well let me put this in a way you can understand! *Musical number intensivies*

[@WebstersYouTube]

Love how you described Shadow's reunion with Maria. The cutscene was superbly animated. You can see Shadow's eyes darting around, he's uncomfortably shifting around, his body language screams, "I do not know how I feel about this or how I should respond."

[@chaosgetsuga6114]

Minor note: Nick, I hate to tell you, but Chaos Control being a technique for general spacetime manipulation has never been a secret. That’s literally how it’s described in SA2’s manual.

[@Yuti640]

If Shadow Generations is a sequel to Shadow 05, does that make this Shadow 06?

[@scrunkore]

shadow 24

[@matthewwonks2534]

Early on in the Archie Sonic comics there was an old bald eagle who made a one-time appearance, Cyril. After 30 years, my headcannon is that was him in Kingdom Valley.

[@WeirdguyKruckly]

The last "toot toot Shadow warriors" was a nice call back to the video Why Super Shadow matters

[@WanderfromSOTC]

Btw, the game can also run on 120fps, atleast on PC. Still a great video, just wanted to point that out.

[@Simon_Electric]

As an OG Sonic fan, i can honestly say i am hella impressed with this title. My Birthday is in December and ive made plans to go see Sonic Movie 3 as part of that celebration. After playing this game, for once i look forward to my birthday which i haven't since my early 20's. I turn 39 this year. Sonic The Hedgehog was the first video game i ever owned. Sega Genesis was my first console. This was the first time my Mom and i played a video game together and discovered she was hella good at it. I shed tears when i saw the first movie in theaters and heard the Sonic 1 theme played by an orchestra on the big screen. I sat through the Sonic Symphony on 4/20/2024 and fell in love all over again. I said all this to say, that this franchise has been a huge part of my 30+ years on this planet. I've enjoyed every bit if it and im so glad to see not only The Blue Blur but Edgy The Headgy get they're well deserved moment in the spotlight.

[@CurryTheBunVT]

Around 52:30 The enemy you're talking about is in a very familiar pose. If anyone here is a big SEGA fan then they'd realise it's the Magician's Pose from House of the Dead. Honestly, it was a welcome surprise to find a reference to HotD in a sonic game.

[@jpcsdutra]

I completely agree on the point that Infinite should have been around. I've mentioned the same in Radical Soda's review, but I think it bears repeating: Infinite is one of the most important foils to Shadow as a character because he exists as a direct consequence of his actions, while Shadow is a consequence of most of his other villains. They should have pulled a Kingdom Hearts (speaking of which), and have had him just covered in Ruby energy, so he appears as not much more than red phantom energy, with a ??? as a name; and why not just add insult to injury, have Shadow saying something cold like "I don't even know who you are" when you win the battle. It didn't have to overstay or even be acknowledged that hard. They should just have had Shadow have a chance to go agaisnt him.

[@galten7361]

@jpcsdutra They just excluded Infinite since they didn't think he'd be a suitable boss for what they were doing. Every boss besides Mephiles is a giant monster and Mephiles is a hidden boss to begin with.

[@smashmaster521]

@@galten7361 Hidden? You're required to fight Mephiles to beat the game. His Boss Gate being in a secluded area underground doesn't make him a hidden Boss.

[@WaterMeLoan64]

Do you guys think that the Real-Time FanDubs made by SnapCube helped make Shadow popular again?

[@scrunkore]

probably helped a bit with english speaking audiences but definitely not the whole reason

[@adamc117]

I can’t stand those, they’re so cringey

[@SaddieMoon]

17:31 Was going on an app that cut out the sound in the video for a second. So it sounded like Nick said “I will go back, and give that a fair cake”, instead of “shake”.

[@crimsongamer3137]

Hearing Nick call this game one of the greatest in the franchise put the biggest smile on my face. Somebody I respect and love(Most) of the opinions of, just agreed with me, calling this game Sonic 3 & Knuckles level, or at least close to it. I've never been happier to watch a Sonic review video. Thank you so much Nick

[@alcatrazvongola]

Looking forward to the Gerald journal speedread! There is so much interesting new lore in the game that has added more to the Sonic universe or recontextualizes things.

[@AccelerateHedge]

37:54 Actually, it runs at 120 frames per second (at least on PC) which is an interesting first for a 3D Sonic game.

[@Sydney_Angelyt]

Colours Ultimate did that too

[@AccelerateHedge]

@@Sydney_Angelyt True, forgot about that.

[@Lazerxxlogan]

These videos always get my excited for Christmas

[@fangyboi295]

I see the new body thing as a backup plan, where he already was growing a new body when the ark was abandoned, and moved when he was defeated. The timeline thing is supposed to be his reign or power growth, with the abundance of locations, he can grow in power much faster.

[@TylerBR97]

Love how detailed this video was. Fantastic review and analysis. They really knocked it out of the park with 2D in Shadow Gens compared to all other boost games.

[@willbrgamer5137]

Something that I noticed on sonic Generations is that it uses 3 main colors in all of it's aesthetic, yellow, red and blue, classic sonic's hud has always used the color yellow, and modern sonic's hud has always used the color blue. That only leaves the color red, now guess who uses the color red in his entire hud? SHADOW, he truly is the adventure era character that we were lacking this whole time, he truly completes the game.

[@KirbySonicTeam]

One of your best videos. Loved the sympathetic look at the past of shadow and his fans.

[@proceededspy1370]

52:52 "Sonic shits" Me thinking back on the time friends and i made the Sonic chilidogs from the official cookbook and two of us having the runs the next day. And also watching the first Sonic movie were he farts after eating chilidogs, for the first time, and that kid ate how many? lets just say i wasn't rolling my eyes at it anymore.

[@pokechatter]

47:37 Hello. Video seems okay, appreciate your energy when it comes to things you’re passionate about. I’m okay. Not scared. Have water already. The KZbin algorithm works in weird ways; I’m trying to understand how Sonic fans and their franchise work (how they feel when the games/other media don’t).

[@CaptainF123]

1:38 Bro was so proud of that one

[@omegamorph8211]

Honestly I feel Radical Highway is Black Doom trying to get Shadow back at that one point where he was the most angry at the world.

[@tombruncker7013]

Shadow Generations was exactly what I hoped for it was fantastic. Shadow is my favourite Sonic character and I hated the way he was depicted in the 2010’s. This was the return to form for the character I so hoped for as I feel he wasn’t edgy the hedgy in SA2, Heroes and 06

[@galten7361]

@tombruncker7013 Tell how the character modeled on Venom and other 90s superhero antiheroes isn't supposed to be edgy. Or how Shadow in the 2010s behaved in any notably different way from past games.

[@KaiaBrodbecker]

Shadow doing the "Fallen Angel" pose on the thumbnail goes unreasonably hard...

[@comicfan1324]

The fact what is essentially just an add-on to a decade old game/tie in to a upcoming movie is one of the best Games in this franchise really shows how much love and care went in to shadow generations. Are there things I wish the game did that it didn’t? Sure. I would’ve absolutely loved it if we got to see Maria interact with team dark and see how she feels about Shadow’s of life after she’s gone. But for what this game did, being a re-introduction for shadow as a character while psycho analyzing his trauma and resolution to do what is right, I think it is a DAMN story on top of being a DAMN good game

[@joshshrum2764]

Shadow getting his own spin is definitely a dream come true.

[@rooseveltmilordjr3520]

Hey Game Apologist, since Shadow’s is starting the “Year of” trend who do you think the next character should get a “Year of” game. I think Silver should be the next one, but I’ve been hearing people saying that Knuckles should be next. What’s your thought on this idea.

[@gravemind76]

Absolutely. I feel knuckles in today's era ever since all his development became non canon, he became a token character, a joke or just not what he use to be. He is a strong as sonic is fast no one should ever be stronger, yet even that very idea was forgotten.

[@sb14andmore50]

@@gravemind76 What's wrong with characters being stronger, Knuckles is probably on equal grounds with Shadow in terms of strength(unless Shadow takes off his inhibitor/limiter rings)

[@gravemind76]

@sb14andmore50 it contradict all the lore built up over the years. Pretty much retconning and nerfing him. Shadow was never as strong without a emerald or super. Knuckles punched Sonic Sonic out of Super, who is invulnerable. Shadow removing his inhibition rings is a small buff but he's unstable and cannot keep them off for long.

[@sb14andmore50]

@@gravemind76 Sonic was able to take on Perfect Chaos without the Chaos Emeralds and Shadow is able to take on Metal Overlord without any help in SXSG, I wouldn't say it's reconning, it's moreso they're getting stronger, Shadow has always been stronger without the emerald, that's why he's called "The Ultimate Lifeform" neither Super nor Hyper is as invincible as we were led to believe considering that he's able to be damaged in Doomsday Zone(3 & Knuckles)and Egg Reverie Zone(Mania)it's not exactly a "small buff" if he took them off to clear a whole room full of a million Mephiles clones, even if he doesn't remember, it still counts for something

[@gravemind76]

@sb14andmore50 knuckles was the "ultimate lifeform" before shadows. He was the "bioengineered lifeform" from birth infused with the master emerald energy and last time I checked that master emerald is stronger than all 7 chaos emeralds. Yes, they are getting stronger, no doubt, but again, i said they butchered knuckles, and he is a shell of his former self. A token character. The power of the Memphis clones are unknown. Your telling me things i already know. I been with the series since 1999.

[@HyperShadic100]

"Shadow, welcome, to Radical Highway." "Black Doom! Why did you bring me here?" "Nostalga Shadow, and branding." "What?" "I mean, it's where you were sure in your true purpose."

[@DragonStar524]

As Jehtt pointed out, Black Doom loves Radical Highway

[@Nel_Annette]

I was absolutely surprised when I realized that this actually cracked into my top 5 Sonic games. Happy to see that can still happen after all this time.

[@kaistudios5536]

1:06:31 SEE?! I knew I wasn't crazy for pointing out that weird delivery!

[@KeroKaminaX]

most people and the sonic twitter takeover seem to agree he keeps taking him to radical highway to try and remind him of the hatred in his heart/his promise to maria for revenge, but that's a kinda loose reasoning. personally when i saw the promo material for this game i thougth they were going to make the stage transitions be different levels from Shadow the Hedgehog and that the radical highways we kept seeign were Westopolis or Lethal Highway or Central City. like have the arc transition to Lost Impact, Kingdom Valley transition to Glyphic Canyon, Rail Canyon to Iron Jungle, etc.

[@TheSwordsman100]

I grew up with the Genesis as well but I had practically no problems with the series till the Meta Era. I even love a lot of the so called Dark Age titles, so the phrasing was a bit jarring. Heck the Adventure Era is my favorite Era in the franchise.

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

I could see a Shadow game where he offers his blood up for healing purposes but then the people taking it are some renegade offshoot of GUN who're trying to weaponize the Black Arms and then you could pull something from Shadow '05 where Shadow has the choice to spare the soldiers and maybe Maria's sister is involved and it could take place during Frontiers

[@Kibui]

To think when the game was first announced I thought it was going to be similar to Forces' episode Shadow to the point where I only intended to watch the gameplay when it came out and then shrug it off.... man I love this game. I love the gameplay, I even love the 2D stages. I don't know how they did it but it barely even feels like I'm playing in 2D half the time. I love the story, I love how much more lore and character growth we get and how fleshed out Maria and Gerald are now. They made Gerald super likable and that makes his descend into madness and how he manipulated Shadow's memories to carry out his revenge all the more tragic and I love that. I cannot even begin to put into words how happy I am that this game exists in the way it does. I was so frustrated with most of what they were doing in the 2010s and to now see them embrace the less than well received part of the history so unapologetically and earnestly and make the best of it is just beautiful

[@Bysthedragon]

"Shadow, It's me...The DEVIL!" -Black Doom