The Redemption of Shadow The Hedgehog

[@RyanTheDark]

I understand the hate for Sonic 06 but Shadow's development as a hero is by far the best thing in that game. Mephiles was the perfect villain for Shadow.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Mephiles and Doom are both great for me, although Mephiles used his screen time better.

[@TilkiOfTheTaiga]

W take, Sonic 06 was a low point in many regards but Shadow's character was a rare peak.

[@RyanTheDark]

@@TilkiOfTheTaiga Fr, I remember when I was playing the game back in 2010, when Silver said "It's time to end this." and Shadow jumped in front of Sonic with the action music in the background, it gave me chills because I love seeing the two being friends and Shadow defending the one he'd previously tried to destroy.

[@chadpeterson5698]

@@TheRealMightyEmperorand Mephiles was cooler in general.

[@takeruneverborn4740]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor for real Doom representing Shadows Origin via being part of the black arms race while Mephiles represent the fear of the future that humanity would have of Shadow Existence both a shadow Archetype of Shadow himself that he overcame once before and will have to do so again the perfect Test For The Ultimate Life Form

[@joopvanhedel1372]

Ian Flynn's writing is not perfect, but he knows the characters better than anyone else. He knows that shadow is not just an edgelord. He knows Knuckles isn't some half-baked idiot. He knows that tails can do more than just technology. Side note: During the metal virus arc Ian Flynn wasn't really in control, the higher ups at Sega changed a lot of things which is why the ending was so bad. Ian Flynn is the writer for Shadow generations dark beginnings and you can clearly see from the first episode that Shadow is back to his sonic adventure 2 and 06 level writing

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

The fact that Ian is involved in all of this should show he was truly being supressed during the Metal Virus Shadow scene.

[@joopvanhedel1372]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor That was indeed a bad moment. Luckily after the metal virus arc there is a small moment where Shadow admits his mistake and says he will learn from it which is probably Ian Flynn regaining control over writing after the arc was over

[@faz10do]

People still hate Ian, I understand in early idw days, but after frontiers I don’t really understand because some of that depth wasn’t their in 2010

[@ivoneo2806]

I kinda disagree but yeah

[@ceylancobalt3117]

Flynn doesn't know Shadow at all, he proved that in disgusting Metal Virus ark where Shadow was nothing like himself. IDW Shadow is past ShTH and 06 , so that was totally out of his character. He is a smart and pragmatic character, he doesn't need Sonic to tell him the basic things. But Flynn made Shadow look like an idiot.

[@makhaiwilbert2716]

Theres actually 5ish bosses confirmed so far.for shadow gens.Anyone who guess it will get a free cookie

[@BurningFlamesofDivineDragon]

I'm looking forward to both Sonic movie 3 and Sonic and Shadow Generations. Loving the year of Shadow so far and I hope everyone else is too.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

It's Great!

[@BurningFlamesofDivineDragon]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor Yes it is indeed.

[@Kiezly]

the best part about Shadow Gens is theres no worry or fear or anxiety in my mind about this games quality. for the first time since like ever i feel like we are in good hands and can let our guard down and just enjoy what we get. sure there can be nitpicks and minor issues here and there, but this is night and day difference from the sonic depression of 2011-2021.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

I have to agree. My hopes began low but have been raised up each time they show more.

[@levibull6063]

Shadow genuinly had a interesting story i think Like you said with him being seroius and caring Sonic is more laid back and caring he can get serious of course But shadow seems to always seems have his head in now and the past His story was a story of loss and anger in a way but he genuinely had character development that was good even with bits in shadow the hedgehog or sonic 06 Like joining gun and wants to make a world a better place .... yeah he looks cool as hell from a design standpoint but they havent shown how awesome he really is Keeanu reeves doing his voice was probably a good choice (I genuinely thought it was a joke at first) Shadow is a interesting character he says what needs to be said at times and wont speak unless he needs to I thought he was more of a listener because of how doom minipulated him But more listening so he can understand and solve a kind of puzzle with tip bits of information Say like sonic 06 with mephalise Genuinely always enjoyed shadow as a character

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

This is a good view on Shadow!

[@KobeRogers-vw8nx]

Shadow my Favorite Sonic character

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Good Opinion

[@lukescrew1981]

Shadow in his own game was at his best.

[@TheSwordsman100]

Been around since the Genesis days, I don't think some people truly get how damaging the Meta Era was to the continuity of the series, this and Frontiers are basically repairing the foundation. As for Black Doom and Mephlis sticking around, I'm going to have to disagree with that notion, especially for the latter as it would harm the timeline of the series, even if Mephlis' having a connection to the Time Eater in some way is true. Instead I would reintroduce a separate arm (no pun intended) of the Black Arms for Shadow to fight later on since they are a alien species. As for my own personal theory, given what seems to be Black Doom's new form and how Ian always has speculated that the Time Eater is what remained of Solaris, I think that it will be revealed Mephlis is the true villain of Shadow's campaign since he is the devil of the Sonic universe and that he will tempt Shadow with bringing him and Doom back to life with saving Gerald and Maria from their deaths. (This may even retcon the rival fight where Sonic is facing Shadow to bring him back to his senses)

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Interesting theory, we will see how that plays out. And yes the Meta Era was ruinous.

[@Signerdragon123]

If Mephiles is the true villain of Ian Flynn's rewritten Generations, I'm expecting that to come to a head with a Last Story after clearing Sonic and Shadow's campaigns (even if we don't see it, Iblis should be somewhere in the Crisis City landscape during Sonic's run through that stage even if they don't cross paths and with Mephiles back... you know where this could go if it means we get a new Solaris boss).

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

@Signerdragon123 Part of me saying Mephiles should stick around was also relying on Iblis staying dead. This would mean 06 still had consequences and give Mephiles a new arc about the rage of never being "complete" again.

[@Sone01TheFirst]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor Its all timey wimey nonsense with Sonic, I'm sure they can just treat Solaris as a sort of separate entity, essence or whatever and then say that thanks to the ending of 06 Solaris cannot be re-completed regardless of whether or not Iblis and Mephiles both remain in this new timeline for whatever reason they come with, maybe something to do with their nature as being part of the god of time. That being said I don't much care about a return for either of them unless more is done with them, such as not restricting Mephiles to Shadow or giving Iblis a character, maybe something similar to Mephiles but with a more blunt and intimidating approach rather then a deceitful one.

[@illyanesterenko8930]

Now the only one left, is definitely Infinite.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Maybe. I don't think Infinite is good outside of fan ideas though. The character we actually got was terrible. Plus with Mephiles back, Infinite looks like a baby.

[@Abner-gu3ve]

@@TheRealMightyEmperoralso I think a manual confirmed that Infinite was dead 💀

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

He's cooked

[@vinkennest3274]

​@@Abner-gu3ve so was mephilis, but he came back anyway

[@illyanesterenko8930]

@@vinkennest3274 it's kinda like with movie Eggman lol. Especially after 2 movie. I just wonder how they're gonna explain that he survived that falling

[@qwefg3]

Mephelis was a good.villain. His game was not good, but he was an enjoyable. Villain. I am both happy and curious that the new shadow game has.him and I wonder what shall be done with him as he was a good story villain for shadow. Here is to looking at what may happen with the new game.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Yes!

[@davemillerirl]

I'm a Shadow fan who checked out of the series in the Meta Era for reasons you stated. I'm so glad you brought up the concerns about Shadow regressing since that is something I've seen and here which has been frustrating for me. You can heal from grief, but it never fully goes away so it's a bit silly in my opinion to act like Shadow post-06 should forever be over and never think of or mention Maria. Anyway, I'm super hype but super wary after what? Fifteen years of being burned? Lol

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Sounds like we are in the same boat!

[@takeruneverborn4740]

What really pisses me off is that the creator of shadow the hedgehog would perfer Shadow Reverting back to a villain and that him and sonic would never see eye to eye and would continue to be conflict with one another which to me makes absolutely nosense cause sonic and shadow have no reason to fight against each other to begin with Sonic would never try to force his ideology on anyone for it would make him no different from eggman and everyone including the sega team is forgetting at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic came to respect shadow after his sacrifice heck even prior to during their last clash stating it due to watch and learning from shadow about chaos control that he didnt perish when eggman shot him to space

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Clearly Shadow is currently moving in a more positive direction

[@takeruneverborn4740]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor trust me bro I hope it remains positive but Sega need to keep with the consistency

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

@@takeruneverborn4740 For sure

[@nightlydata2181]

U completely misrepresent wut Iizuka is sayin. They're jus not close & have their differences & simply do as each pls. That sometimes might lead them to clash. Neither forces anythin on the other. Shadow jus prefers sonic stay out if his way while sonic likes to treat him as a rival he's willin to duke it out wit anytime. Shadow isn't a "villain" he's simply the antithesis to sonic hence "Anti-Hero". Iizuka has written shadow for 3 whole games & still guides his trajectory. Aside from the maria stuff nothin Iisuka has said in regards to shadow is inaccurate based on evidence in all the ST media even beyond games

[@EternityVoid_]

I believe Izuka means more of a antagonistic role. Not all antagonists are evil.

[@featherguardian6023]

While I don’t agree with some directions like Shadow never has Friends like Rouge and Omega and that he would team up with people like Eggman when his One and Only Mission is to Protect the World Maria Loves, I see Sega are giving Shadow a Better Future and starting with Time Travel to explore the Character’s History is a Clever Strategy, I do agree that we need new Characters, Villains, and Stages, how I also learned from the MK Franchises that the want the Opposite with Old Characters, Villains, and Stages, it’s the Same and I also agree that Black Doom and Mephiles should survive as Eggman and Metal always appearing is living proof that Classic Villains have this Spark.

[@Nigmare191]

YOUR BACK!😍

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Hi!

[@Nigmare191]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor boy I missed your videos Man

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

@@Nigmare191 The series didn't leave me with a whole lot to work with until now.

[@laniakeas92]

One of the reasons SA2 was that good it's because this game was supposed to be one of sega's last games. They experienced a big financial collapse because of Dreamcast issues. Since its was supposed to be last game, they weren't scared to do experiments, be creative and write brave concepts for character' stories. Since SA Sonic basically was a copypaste of Mario games. There was nothing original about these games anymore. Creativity should and can be nurtured back at all times. Sonicteam have capabilities to become creative again. Will they? It's a good question. I see some positive changes, wonder if they continue with this path.

[@Kiezly]

youre absolutely right that villians should be defeated but get away and pose a threat eventually in the future. cuz guys like Time Eater and Mephiles who have time travel powers technically cannot be killed at all, cuz a version of them from a different time period can always return into the present. and time eater can potentially pull dead villians from their time into ours. black doom returning is a perfect example, maybe he already always survived but his return feels earned and believable!

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

I do understand why people would want them dead so that victory means something. I also don't want a Batman scenario where bad guys never die. But a middle ground for exceptional foes like the demi god Mephiles would help not having to spam Eggman every time.

[@DLxxx]

​@@TheRealMightyEmperorAt the same time, bringing back Mephiles seriously runs the risks of ruining his prestige. What would he do that wouldn't make his character feel significantly more one note than his OG appearance? Without Iblis, Solana, Elise, the Duke, etc, its going to feel like Mephiles is just.. there, and disconnected from the world.

[@Lazardeve2]

Memphis tennessee.

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

M'philes

[@lukescrew1981]

Shadow shouldn't remember who Mephiles is

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Correct

[@lukescrew1981]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor But we don't know if he actually remembers him so I'm not going to give it too much shit

[@Abner-gu3ve]

The game didn’t confirm if he remembered Mephiles or not

[@lukescrew1981]

@@Abner-gu3ve I know

[@Abner-gu3ve]

The 2020’s have rlly gone out their way to redeem these characters. Tails, Knuckles, Shadow

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

About time!

[@elenamata2577]

Part 3 of what if sonic SatAM was canon please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Not sure it will happen...

[@Voltricity435]

Can't wait for the game. Shadow is BACK

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Oh yeah!

[@Beastmd]

Great video emp. Can I do a video request? I always thought about is it possible for Tikal to come back to life, or what would happen if Tikal didn’t go to heaven with chaos? The reason I ask is cause in knuckles resurgence we saw her hunt orb as well as the water move, aka chaos was already back in some form. I think she’d be cool to come back, cause then we have someone from the future silver and someone from the deep past. It also is nice for shadow to have someone out of time like he is too. Not to be a shipper but I think shadow and Tikal are a very interesting duo, just cause she was so adamant about being peaceful and he at some points was willing to destroy the world and is always willing to fight. She could probably expand on chaos emerald lore too

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

It's still unclear what was meant by their "cameos" in the Knuckles short. I think the idea is we are saying Chaos and Tikal are still around so they can be used again, which is fine by me. As for her meeting with Shadow, I don't think they have as much in common as you may think. Tikal is more like the Maria of her time than a Shadow. And where as Tikal died to prevent a monster she cared about from destroying everything, Shadow was that monster but he was "destroyed" by those who made him. He simply wouldn't have much to say, and yeah Tikal is nice to people but she doesn't know much about him either. Plus, her knowledge about how the Chaos Emeralds work is likely very specific compared to Shadow's mastery. I think Tikal would better spend time with characters such as Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Cream and Metal Sonic.

[@Beastmd]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor I completely agree with you! To be clear, I meant that they are like opposites to each other, that’s why I think their interactions would be interesting, not that I think they’re the same. It’s funny you mention Maria cause I’ve heard multiple people compare Tikal to Maria, which I feel like would maybe trigger him. I think he needs to interact with some more gentle beings, like chao or Tikal, to help bring him more at peace. Thanks for responding!

[@nightlydata2181]

1st off I know this is more part of that prior vid u referenced here but to be clear shadow doesn't fight for maria's "promise". She wanted shadow in SA2 to give humans a chance to "be happy". he did that in SA2 & then "died" for her. By the end of 05 cus he lost his memories & doesn't care for the past anymore he doesn't fight to protect humanity. He still doesn't like them. They're his only outright stated dislike by ST. He does fight to protect the planet from "fools" as that's wut HE chose to do. I don't think shadow has been "ruined" in any way they jus barely used him cus as u stated shadow is a HEAVILY story centric character & so he only appeared in forces(& he was himself there) for mainline titles outside of base gens but that was jus a celebration thing that HAD no story. There was MAYBE a "plot" to an extent but Gens straight up has no story. Also u go over shadow bein directly confronted as his current self for this like it's NEVER been done before but that was THE WHOLE POINT of his thing wit mephiles. 06 is alr the solidified current shadow & he was alr confronted in that sense so this jus comes off an unnecessary rehash at "best"(if they handle it PROPERLY). I know the point is to reintroduce him cus GENS & MOVIE 3 & blah blah blah rey rey rey but it's so tirin to get almost nothin for YEARS & the most substantial thing is jus a rehash like c'mon. The whole point for shadow is to be done wit all this but now we gotta DO IT AGAIN! I'm also worried they'll unnecessarily retcon his character jus to appease ppl who don't get him. They let Flynn try that shit alr in Frontiers & it was horrible(the jp version tried to salvage it which makes me prefer it). I'm positive the game will be incredibly fun to play but as for shadow's story it'll still not be as genius as his game or prob even beat out 06(which is alr in many parts a rehash of his game). Also u state it's "automatically better" if it has a story but that's not true. If the story is "bad" or gets in the way of the main experience(gameplay) then no amount of story will make an experience wit a poor story better than an experience wit NO story cus it's a vg & gameplay is king. The wholistic experience is diminished. If a game has no story then the wholistic experience can't be worsened or improved beyond wut IS there. If shadgens story works out fine, then cool u can argue an improvement but if it doesn't it'd arguably be less "perfect" than base gens on its own edit: also I DO NOT trust flynn so I'm jus guna C if it's diff in jp

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Shadow's last statement has been misunderstood in my opinion. He was no longer going to let the past define him, but lets be real the very next goal he sets is to protect earth. It is clearly inspired due to knowing Maria cared about Earth. He is haunted by her anymore and he even puts his grudge with GUN behind him because he has grown as a person, but if Maria didn't care for Earth so much he likely would have stayed on the Ark. Also yes, I link the Shadow Video near the beginning of this one which goes into the subject in far greater detail. (Also I have a forces review you might find interesting). The story we have seen so far is already better than the OG Generations. That game's story made it a worse game to me. I do not think this is a mere rehash of Shadow's story but a whole section of this video already explains why.

[@nightlydata2181]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor The point is he isn't bound by Maria & doin it FOR HER! The promise is FOR HER, Shadow chose to do things like work wit GUN himself cus he thought they'd be useful to his goals. There's no proof he'd stay on the ARK. Even if he didn't choose to protect the planet the ARK is part of THE PAST he let go so he would NEVER step foot in there unless there's proper reason like there is now to investigate BD's return. We can't say if it's "good" yet the game hasn't come & again base gens HAS NO STORY u can't knock the story if it's LITERALLY not there. There's a diff to bein inspired to do somethin of ur own volition & doin it BECAUSE of them. Also it's never confirmed how much of his memory shadow has. ST stated this themselves in 2021

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

@nightlydata2181 Gens has a story. It's about Robotnik teaming up with himself to undo his failures, forcing Sonic to relieve the past and save his friends. It's just that the plot of gens was so bad it feels like nothing. The unique time mechanics are not used to see old events in new lights, nor are the new stakes of the time eater given room to be built up. And again, my old video covers a lot of what you are saying already.

[@nightlydata2181]

@@TheRealMightyEmperor That's a PLOT not a STORY. A story is a narrative where a theme is presented. Gens is literally "hey remember this?" there's nothin to critique or analyze or be sucked into/entertained by. there's simply NOTHIN THERE. It jus doesn't count in the least

[@DLxxx]

Why does Shadow care about protecting the world if he doesn't care for humanity? Who is he fighting for? Why does he care to stop Eggman? Why work with GUN or Team Dark? Clearly he cares about protecting the people on the planet. It's not necessarily because of Maria, I agree, but HE clearly wants what's best for the world and the people there that he cares about.

[@Zilla30173]

W

[@PatrickUche-u5n]

Second

[@PatrickUche-u5n]

First

[@filipvadas7602]

Might be a controversial opinion, but I feel like Sonic 06 and *especially Mephiles* really brought a satisfying end to Shadow's arc Mephiles shows him that humanity will inevitably turn on him and tries to convince him that they're not worth protecting. Yeah, Mephiles is a manipulator but he never lies ironically enough, and Shadow knows that, which adds even more sting to the reveal. Shadow acknowledges this. He acknowledges that there is an element of truth to what he says and that even he's suspected that one day people will turn on him out of fear. But, also that he *DOESN'T CARE!* And, honestly, I think that's genuenly beautiful. Knowing your inevitable fate at the hands of the people you're trying to protect and going forward anyway is the mark of a real hero. Its a level of self-sacrifice and peace of mind that Mephiles will never understand, because he's too consumed by his obsession with Shadow and his hate for the humans that separated him from Iblis Sonic 06 had a lot of problems, but Shadow's story arc with Mephiles *the BEST villain in the franchise don't @ me* was NOT one of them

[@TheRealMightyEmperor]

Shadow was not accepting he will fail 100% to humans, just that if they do turn on him he will fight like he always has. Much as how 06 showed Shadow a doomed future that he managed to change, he will not let the idea of future betrayal stop him from doing what is right in the present. But yeah, Mephiles was great for Shadow.

[@filipvadas7602]

​@@TheRealMightyEmperor not really "accepting" just that he acknowledged that what Mephiles was showing was something he would have to face Fun fact: Knowing Mephiles, the reason people turned on Shadow was *because of him* He does look like him after all? And it would right up his alley to not kill Shadow, but to keep him a prisoner, like a ship in a bottle, for all of time. His last conscious memory being the idea he failed. Its sadistic as hell! It

[@Abner-gu3ve]

I agree. However Shadow getting the chance to confront Maria and his past in person would give him some proper closure

[@PatrickUche-u5n]

Third