Ranking How USELESS Shadow is in Every Sonic Game

Shadow the Hedgehog started off as an equally powerful rival to Sonic, but throughout the years, he's fluctuated a TON and has looked pretty useless from time to time.
Today, we're looking at Shadow's character in every mainline Sonic game and ranking him from worthless to elite.
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[@TheAzulmagia]

The funniest thing about Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is that Shadow does more to move the plot forward than Sonic does.

[@blood-reaper]

Sonic is literally Mario in that game

[@guyzamdvais1357]

@@blood-reaper wdym by that

[@tmanuel44]

​@@guyzamdvais1357I'm assuming it's because Sonic's plotline revolved around saving a princess, like Mario is known for.

[@gypsysprite4824]

Shadow's characterization also happens to be among the few things that Sonic 06 failed to completely screw up

[@guyzamdvais1357]

@@tmanuel44 oh shii good one

[@BigOofs2213]

Nah Shadow is still in Sonic Superstars, he was just skinned alive to conpensate

[@kingades1013]

Skinned alive😂😂😂

[@Kirbattle]

Classic Sonic really wanted to be the ultimate life form

[@RealSuperStar_SonicSpeed]

I thought I'd never see Shadow like that

[@ygbailey22]

Sadly Sonic doesn’t have the costume when he goes super

[@yyuuu___77]

Yeppp skinned alive sounds about right

[@DeviMevian]

"Damn". -Shadow.

[@najadamu2724]

"Not here..."

[@dradzrail1673]

Damn -espio

[@charlesnunn6773]

Omg he he inappropriate

[@MarboTheMapo]

You forgot to say that in Sonic Forces, Shadow is basically the reason the game happened since he made Infinite want revenge on him and prove he is not weak because Shadow called him "Weak"

[@sonomni]

The fact that Shadow didn’t play a major part in the main story baffles me considering Infinite should have a major vendetta against Shadow.

[@JCSA79V]

​@sonomni The whole angle of Shadow being responsible for Infinite was a last minute change for the DLC. You can tell in the base game his backstory was just that he was created by Eggman. Opening cutscene shows him in a pod and the last level has a line from Amy about it being the place where he was "born".

[@ceylancobalt3117]

The game would've happened anyway since Infinite was a villain in the first place, he worked for Eggman. It wasn't Shadow's fault, Infinite could get beaten by any other of the main heroes and the result still would've been the same. It was just a matter of time for Infinite to meet Sonic or Knuckles and get his ass kicked. Cause Infinite really is pathetic and useless. He calls himself an ultimate mercenary but once he defeated he throws a tantrum. I mean, he's never experienced a single defeat in his life? Whom he's been fighting against before? Little kids? A mercenary should know who his opponents would be. As a mercenary Infinite should know who Eggman's adversaries are. But he just boldly attacks a guy known as the ultimate life form without any proper thinking. Not only pathetic, but also stupid.

[@sonomni]

@@ceylancobalt3117 Yeah but it's been mentioned in the comics that Shadow killed his allies prior.

[@Replies.Delete.Sometimes.IDKy.]

But making the problem doesnt make you usefuI.

[@triledink]

Bro. When Shadow kicked silver in the back of the head in 06' I remember that his shoes (air shoes) are mostly metal of some kind. Imagine that. Like getting kicked by a steeltoe boot.

[@chaoticmeep]

Silver shoes are metal looking so I guess he learnt how it felt

[@sina.am.legend9981]

Shadow is the only one that doesn't get any useless tier. And that make sense he's a great character

[@AngeloM16Games_YT]

Shadow is pretty useful in pretty much EVERY Sonic game in my opinion. He better have a big role in Sonic 3

[@Boykee1]

Every sonic game with him in it. Except forces tbh, he inadvertently created infinite

[@mycoplasm]

no there are games where his character completely ruined and hes useless

[@DJBoo64]

@@Boykee1 Tbf, how was Shadow know that would be his villain origin story?

[@AngeloM16Games_YT]

@@DJBoo64 I mean.....

[@ErizoLoK0]

@@DJBoo64 True

[@zeospark9715]

Shadow was definitely the MVP of nearly every game he has been in. It makes me wonder the reason why they omitted Shadow in a lot of the modern games is because he can just solve the plot quicker. Like this was apparent in 06 where Sonic was so focused on chasing a princess around and Silver was blindly following some stranger's words, Shadow was actually getting things done by actively going after the main threat

[@CHICKENRAN34]

Sonic Boom Shattered Crystal he literally defeats lyric single-handedly and saved Team Sonic from being reduced to ash 💀

[@Boykee1]

Don't think he ranks the 3ds boom games for some reason

[@Godiswithus3]

First time a character never gets a single worthless ranking. Not surprising. He is the Ultimate Lifeform after all.

[@SilentImmortal-]

Interesting fact if you stall the final boss of Shadow the Hedgehog long enough, Eggman reveals that Shadow is the original, when he fell to earth, his robots recovered him which is why he had amnesia to begin with.

[@zachpro5475]

Shadow pissed on Eggman wife so I agree with the sa2 placement

[@Purpl3_B3an]

Shadow the hedgehog shoes are kinda cool

[@AkoYano]

Yep

[@kaizokuli]

I would wear them

[@Charnics_The_Hedgehog]

“Kinda” Dude, their 🔥(Opinion)

[@Violety-UvUlovesisplinky]

"They're air shoes."

[@NOUH-my9kq]

@@Violety-UvUlovesisplinkyI thought they were jet boots

[@unionofslavstanrepublics2317]

Happy with this Tier list, glad to see there's no "Worthless" entries as Shadow is definitely a useful overall character in the games he's been in. Definitely worthy of the Elite tier for SA2, [insert Snapcube Fandub references here].

[@LucasTheEmojiAvatar12]

Shadow turns into the angriest thing alive when anybody mentions Maria in a way he doesn't like. Bro would kill anything that offends Maria.

[@crashbandicoot430]

Tbh i jvnt rly been keeping up with the sonic franchise since like sonic boom. But after shadoe the hedgehog 2005, when has he mentioned maria and gotten angry over someone offending him

[@tdenzel101]

@crashbandicoot430 none that was only in sonic adventure 2 before Mariah begged shadow to forgive the humans when he had that flash back after talking to amy. And then he lost his memory after saving the earth.

[@parzival-bo]

You forgot Colors DS, where he literally shows up for two scenes, talks a bit of smack, gives you two pointless optional missions, and lightly foreshadows the true final boss but you never actually have to talk to him to fight it. WORTHLESS.

[@stomper1232]

The DS version had a lot of characters giving out pointless optional missions

[@lightchaos4204]

Shadow is pretty much the second protagonist in the franchise right now. There's no way he'll be useless in any sonic games

[@tompel5081]

Lol, that Cream in S-tier for Battle along Shadow...

[@TheLalchi]

Cream has that thing of being overly powerfull and insanely good in every game she's playable. (to the exception of Sonic hereos, where she's the same as any fly unit... Which are the best unit of any team in combat at level 3.)

[@chosofbPG]

FINALLY someone who talks about sonic 06 and NOT roasting it.

[@tdenzel101]

06 deserves the back lash, animals kissing humans like cmon.

[@doohickey.enthusiast]

I love these videos because not only does it sort out which games have what characters, but also decently explains their relevance and part in the game. Very helpful!!!

[@chosofbPG]

shadow from sonic boom rise of lyiric be like ; "im the prince of all mighty headgehogs you are a shame for our species".

[@LimeTH2]

I was surprised he doesn't get a single useless ranking, but that's in the games. Recent shows and comics have sort of given him such a prevalent reputation of being an angry blustering douchebag that it's easy to forget almost all his mainline game appearances have him as a major force in everything happening.

[@RoniBuell]

6:45 he has the same exact backpack as me

[@pumpkintron8969]

"he is not in sonic superstars" LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER*

[@SonicM216]

agree on all the placements...no complaints. now...Where's that damn fourth chaos emerald!

[@Charnics_The_Hedgehog]

“Where’s that DAMN 4th Choas Emerald?” -Shadow the Edgelord

[@Abner-gu3ve]

Considering how important of a character Shadow is, I’m not surprised he’s ranked high in most of these games

[@knucklesplayz9223]

Nice video! Video Suggestion: How Useless Espio is in Every Sonic Game.

[@fatalwaffle1715]

Awesome Video Bro! And Shadow's Nintendo Counterpart is Dark Link.

[@xmarius0645]

This is the first time when he didn't say "damn". : D

[@JayJayRichburg]

You should have kept Manipulated but Strong tier. In Adventure 2. He's similar to Knuckles in Adventure 1 and Sonic 3. Awesome Vid!

[@jeremymklinger]

Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed!

[@Fun_mation]

IVE LITERALLY HAD THIS EXACT VIDEO IN MY HEAD FOR LIKE A DAY HOLY CRAP-

[@E-102GammaMKII]

You could have put _Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood_ in here. Shadow is in that game, first as a mini-boss, but will join your team for the rest of the game. In the story, he's looking for Omega, who had gotten separated from him and was neutralized by the Marauders. He has similar stats to Sonic and is fairly strong as a fighter. He'd likely fit in Sidekick Tier.

[@ceylancobalt3117]

That game considered non canon.

[@ATM05867]

1:52 heplanation:the shadow we play in the game is the real shadow as he was kept isolated and he was rescued from the crash by one of eggman's robots(which is either metal sonic or omega) and was kept in the isolation seperated from the androids,he revealed it in the shadow the hedgehog final game

[@N00B360]

Shadow do be shadowin.

[@DonMoody4]

Wats the odds of me watching all your videos on binge mode and then boom you post this vid

[@TheLalchi]

Small correction. On sonic forces : Shadow have unique levels where only him is playable. They are also the hardest level of the game. Not only he has his own levels, but it tells a bit more of the story, revealing that Infinite has basically gone mad because he got his butt kicked by Shadow.

[@jeremymklinger]

Thank you for the correction! I’ll be honest I haven’t played the shadow episode of forces, I dropped the game about halfway through and never bothered, so I appreciate the clarification

[@TheLalchi]

@@jeremymklinger Ain't blaming you. Sonic forces is a bit boring to play unfortunately :v

[@lightninghands3071]

Where is the sound byte at 3:21 from? It sounds so familiar but I don’t remember lol

[@TheCreationOfDread]

Shadow actually appeared in Colors DS in Asteroid Coaster missions alongside Omega

[@nelsonalexanderjimenez8120]

The kick to silver’s head alone demands a tier that’s above S

[@Renzob0nd]

my fav shadow is sonic 06 shadow

[@threeworldheroes]

Can you rank games based on how dangerous eggman is? From world threat to hero

[@DragonKingMadaraUchiha]

Shadow is not an edgelord. Jeremy Klinger clearly knows nothing about Shadow or the Sonic Series in general.

[@zerogravitee]

So did you watch the video then? That's straight up not what he says and makes it clear multiple times.

[@rubinmuttoriginal7444]

I want to point out Shadow does appear in Sonic Colors but only in the DS version. All he does is have Sonic go through some sort of mission to make sure he hasn't gone soft and have him learn new info about Eggman's other project (The Nega-Mother Wisp). Other than that, he doesn't really help Sonic and Tails, now confident the two will easily stop Eggman.

[@stomper1232]

Surprised Rivals 1 and 2 weren't on here

[@ruining_replies]

shadows also is useful in summer, shows how great he is

[@assassin0282]

What about black knight of shadow. What tiers would you give him? Idk if you forgot about it

[@azraelvrykolakas157]

As someone who's only played the classic 2d games and shadow the hedgehog. I wanna ask are the other characters as tela novela coded as shadow himself.

[@Luffy_its_good_to_see_ya_buddy]

Shadow with a gun: cool Hedgehog with a gun🍷🗿

[@sawiq802]

Lol

[@kolkagaming1234]

I asked if this guy could make this videos, well he did! Yay! 🥳

[@marmaje6953]

The fact he never got worthless tier just shows how amazing he is.

[@RaiginAnimator]

1:50 I know what this will sound like but in shadows Own game Eggman confirms he is the shadow in heroes is the real shadow. That’s why Gamma was guarding him

[@VirgilUsosekai]

SHADOW, MY FAVORITE SONIC CHARACTER

[@joopvanhedel1372]

Tip This thing can also connect the steam deck to the TV, I don't have the same brand, but I think this one can probably do it too. For someone who doesn't have a PC but does have a Steam deck, this is perfect for you

[@derekrequiem4359]

"Where's that 💥 *D A M N* 💥 4th Chaos Emerald?"

[@BBorp]

He actually did it

[@WjnRF]

Do Cream the rabbit next please.

[@Dreamteam-51]

She is almost never in the series I don't think he will

[@grandadmiralthrawn92]

She was a playable character in Heroes but only a cameo or side character in pretty much anything else she's been in, which isn't much to begin with. I doubt it'd be that interesting of a video.

[@lorenzoantonio3630]

I really hope shadow is done right in the movie who show him as not a edge lord but as someone who we see as edgy but as a true hero

[@Hedgie3]

I've been very strongly hoping for that too. Paramount better not mess Shadow up in that movie and any future films that they will have him be in. I hope that they've been staying faithful to the source material of SA2 when deciding what he will be like in that movie, by showing him as a smart and grumpy hedgehog who has a heart, but was doing that bad stuff because Gerald Robotnik had memory-swapped him into thinking that revenge was what Maria had wanted him to cause. Then later starts behaving as a hero after he remembers that that's what he's truly supposed to be doing.

[@TheCapcarap]

Shadow is the second most useful Char in unlesshed, because he is holding the Earth together, with the might he has. There is a death battlre video where they explained HOW STRONG HE IS

[@Theleafsheepwithatophat]

0:43 "I have an announcement"

[@starreturns1]

Can't wait to see how shadow goes in sonic generations!

[@PeteTheKittyTeamSonic]

I’m not too sure if he’s that useless because he is suppose to be the ultimate life form

[@scottcampbell3735]

Even in a minor roles Shadow has always been portrayed as competent figure in the series at the very least. Though if he was to be ranked based on how needlessly hostile he acts to the rest of the cast you would get some interesting results. Especially if the comics and spin offs were included.

[@hiddenmaster6062]

Dude, it's just Earth. There is no Mobius. This isn't the comics. There is no Mobians. This is not the comics nor the SAT AM cartoon or where ever the hell else THAT came from. Freaking Sonic X didn't even have Mobius.

[@UnovaKing48.]

Robotnik, Metal, Infinite, Shadow, Chaos, Zavok. I forgot what is the title of that 2017-2018 Sonic game 4 Switch and PS4? That game has to be my 2018 heaven that I bought in January 1st 2018 and play in 2018 alongside Pokemon Ultra Sun which I was bought in January Four4th 2018.

[@Mikeaxolotl]

Can i use it on the netendo switch lite

[@mohammadrezasafaei-fn1zf]

Silver rank too

[@ninjatuna1362]

I wanna see one about espio next just so I can hear him say "Damn" instead of shadow

[@bluespheresguy2306]

I recommend using the original/real japanese stories of the sonic games and not english ones i understand you maybe dont know japanese and that is why you dont use them but windii has translated lot of the japanese cutscenes. (unfortunately most of her videos were deleted but there are some repost i have made a playlist of most the reposts on my channel.) but other than that good video. There are also a few retranslated mods you can use. And the voice acting is just way better.

[@bigbang238]

You should also include Sonic Chronicles

[@LoneWolfDaniel23]

I can't wait to see Shadow return in the Generations remaster. It might give him the best appearance in quite some time and with the Sonic 3 film coming out, i have no doubt he'd be like the Vegeta to Sonic's Goku. Just like how Knuckles was like the Piccolo to the series

[@DW9427]

Shadow was actually in Color's DS version but he basically just sends Sonic on a side mission because he doesn't want to do it, which is funny as hell to me but also disappointing 😂

[@Felik18]

6:43 Ahem... technically he's in Superstars in a form of a costume

[@kindasomeviews]

Shadow Glazers: "How dare you say our overlord of the edge is useless" *gets to Sonic Boom* "That doesnt count, you cheated"

[@trehernley]

Am I the only one that misses the way shadow skates? They should’ve kept the sa2 skate in every game. It was mad cool.

[@LarvalGhoul]

You left out that in Sonic Forces, Shadow is once again the reason everything bad happens. He kills Infinite's squad, calls him worthless, and gives him the complex that starts the story off.

[@ceylancobalt3117]

The game would've happened anyway since Infinite was a villain in the first place, he worked for Eggman. It wasn't Shadow's fault, Infinite could get beaten by any other of the main heroes and the result still would've been the same. It was just a matter of time for Infinite to meet Sonic or Knuckles and get his ass kicked. Cause Infinite really is pathetic and useless. He calls himself an ultimate mercenary but once he defeated he throws a tantrum. I mean, he's never experienced a single defeat in his life? Whom he's been fighting against before? Little kids? A mercenary should know who his opponents would be. As a mercenary Infinite should know who Eggman's adversaries are. But he just boldly attacks a guy known as the ultimate life form without any proper thinking. Not only pathetic, but also stupid.

[@samuelmelendez7566]

The year of Shadow 🖤

[@adeadphish7931]

So all around, when he is a factor in the story, he is a strong supporting character at worst and the GoAT more often than not. Glad we can all agree on that

[@user-wf5nb4jd1y]

Sonic superstars has the Shadow outfit for Sonic tho =o

[@Kenobizxx6363]

U should do how use full super sonic is in every game!

[@Harry2013sonicfan]

Shadow is kinda in in sonic super stars with that classic sonic skin

[@Masterazzam]

I’m waiting for you to do rouge the bat

[@user-cq2tq4mi4r]

2:04 yes let’s go!

[@CarlosGabriel-pv4dn]

you forget to say he saved rouge in sa2! I think thats pretty elite c:

[@kurahoods]

Well, Shadow don't appear in Sonic Colors, but in reality he does... On the DS version ! Yeah, he's just a side character during some extra missions levels, but it's important to mention it ! :D

[@maxeason7048]

I think he’d be more useful in forces since he was the leading drive for infinite in his story

[@RikouHogashi]

"Salor" mouth at the start huh neat

[@RikouHogashi]

Man it's quite the major missed opportunity not to have Shadow in Frontiers due to its serious/dour tone heck he could even respect Sonic more due to it

[@Eric_Cartman1]

Wasn’t Shadow in Sonic Colors DS and Sonic & The Black Knight?

[@jestagoon8408]

I guess you could say,... 🤨 He's a *Shadow* of his former self 😎

[@zydron8910]

Sonic Boom Shadow is such character assassination.

[@Lufisyth]

Shadow Boom is the parody exaggeration of what people not familiar with the series or hate it think Shadow is. He is not nearly as lame in the show, fortunately.

[@bottleofgreed4415]

The ultimate potential

[@Smgdesti]

I actually use my dock for tv mode so it has a reason for me

[@valef0rt360]

Rouge next?

[@quangamershyguyyz7166]

2:09 Tails look, I’m famous!

[@Xeodis]

got what you wanted lmao

[@cashbrady4074]

Also in generations shadow cheered sonic on and helped so that’s a low sidekick

[@Retrogameswithnuutti]

can you make a video like this but with toads?

[@randomfromscratch]

1:59 shadow like me frfr (the dab part)

[@Matteo_depetris]

Bro I clicked on this so fast