What did you think about Shadow The Hedgehog?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

The thing about Shadow is that there isn't room in the fanbase for an "okay" opinion for him. You either love him or hate him.

No, there's an "okay" opinion. But that opinion is usually within the range of those who pretty much don't care for him; they don't hate him, but they don't love him either - completely neutral.

I've been with this franchise since 1995, and I've played just about every Sonic game out there from the Genesis to the Xbox 360. I think a lot of the dislike for Shadow is without enough reason for a solid opinion. In my opinion, a lot of the hate comes from the young kids who blast him with love crap and all that. The character is not to blame for that. The kids are.

I've been with this franchise since at least 1992 (my parents called me a Sonic fan at around 1 or 2 years of age - take my word for it or don't), and I'm more of a Shadow fan than I ever will be a Shadow hater. But I can damn well admit there is plenty of reason to hate Shadow as a character, and it's not just the fanboys.

They revived the character too early and so lackluster that he came off as lame and generic, and they didn't even need to wait a whole game to revive him as they could have actually made it a bigger plot point when they showed him alive. Hell, Zero in the Megaman franchise is very much their equivalent of Shadow and he's notorious for dying 3 times and coming back at some later point after his death with his revival playing some part in the plot, and yet people still love the character. So Capcom did something right when it came to resurrecting a character than Sonic Team did with theirs if they could pull it off more than once.

Then they gave him a game that made him screw around trying to discover his past that we already knew about, but then tacked on extra junk to his backstory. On top of that, they changed the tone heavily to one that was completely inappropriate for a franchise designed for all general ages and with the addition gun play all in an attempt to emulate other platformers like Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank which managed to pull off the shift in tone, and they didn't even do a good job with the shift in tone as they did it in a way that practically parodied itself into the eyes of many.

Look there would have been nothing wrong with making things darker and edgier, as plenty of series have done it and pulled it off. There would have been nothing wrong with giving Shadow his own game, as again a number of series have pulled off giving another character their own game if not their own series while still being connected to the general canon. There probably wouldn't have been anything wrong with giving Shadow guns, but this is far more of a gamble of an idea than it is an actual good one. At it's basic core, none of these ideas are bad by default. But the concept is a whole different matter.

All in all, there's a right way and a bad way to do these things, and ShTH did everything wrong in it's approach: the dark tone and story did not sit well to the eyes of many fans and non-fans alike, the failure of the game in the public eyes (despite its ironic success) tarnished not only the game's image but that of the whole series, the guns (mainly the human ones) in both appearance and practice did not mesh well with the character they were given too, and the game was so bad in action that it practically served as a catalyst for the very state this fandom is in.

Sorry, but even as a Shadow fan, there is a reason why Shadow the hedgehog has gotten hate as a character, and his game is the primary reason for it followed by the inconsiderate manner they brought him back. Had none of this ever happened, and I can bet that while Shadow would still have those who disliked him simply because he was a generic anti-hero he wouldn't have such a large degree of it.

Edited August 26, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Iju]

(First post! ^.*)

Most people (Sonic fans) I meet say the game can challenge '06 in suckage. But I think it's a very good game, after all. When people say they hate it I, curious, ask why. All they say that the game had "bad controls this" and "bad camera" that. But that's not what makes a game bad. Heck, if that's what all '06 had, I'd gladly play it. But another reason why people say it's bad is because "Shadow's voice had horrible acting". I DO admit that the acting WAS bad, but come on, this was Jason's first try! And I remember Jason saying he didn't even like the voice he sounded like. SEGA told him to sound that way. (TRUE!) Another reason people poke out is "Shadow had, like, a lot of endings! We didn't know which one was canon!" But all of them were canon, and it just made Shadow all the more awesome and interesting. Come on, Shadow revealing that he is a planet buster is so awesome! But I digress....I'm not talking about what makes a game bad anyway.

Just what is it that makes Sonic fans hate Shadow the hedgehog?

Overall, as I've said before, I find the game great. As a matter of fact, I came across by accident an article all about it, and this guy was basically praising the game, practically making an altar to Shadow and worshiping his awesomeness.* And I quite agreed with him. SEGA was trying to make the game to get a more mature audience (I'll find the link somewhere) and, at the same time, tried to explain why Shadow is himself (NOT emo!) and all. It worked with me. Watching the game, (Because I never got around to doing it) made me kinda proud I was a fan of him.

But most of the best epic pics of Shadow are from his game. (TRUE!) But I digress..(AGAIN! ARGGG!) what I think is good about this game is:

1. It uncovers his unknown past before.

Shadow comes to realize that he knows nothing about his past, and neither do we. (I think SEGA did that on purpose. Shadow uncovers his past, and so do we, pretty unique!) Then this guy who looks like Darth Vader upgraded by ten thousand comes and bribes Shadow if he does something for him, he'll give him his past. Then Shadow runs around and realizes there is an android! (*GASP!) Is he the one? Was the real Shadow....dead? Really, this stuff is interesting.

2. More epicness of Shadow than SA2 and Heroes combined.

In his intro, he does things we never even thought possible. "Chaos Blast!" 0.o What...is Chaos Blast? Just the awesomeness you can do in the game too! It completely annihilates everything! Super fun and powerful! Then, we have more of what Chaos control can do, (Stopping time! Flying at uncountable speeds ahead of levels! Oh yeah! Shadow kicked away his flying boots and and flies with Chaos powers!!!!!) Then he also has epicness of using guns!

And he's not shabby at it, either!

3. It shows us Shadow's "eyes."

Not literally! What I mean is that the characters are very (Even Sonic) annoying. Talking WAY too much, and we finally realize how annoying they are to Shadow and how he can't stand Sonic. (Sonic is my favorite character, but I like seeing how each character is to each other in their own view. I wish they would do this again!) Sonic and his friends treat him like he's an idiot, and some of the ways he just doesn't talk to them are hilarious!

4. OMG! SHADOW IS RELATED WITH SOMEONE?! (Or somebodies)

Shadow is a creation, we know this. But hold on. He has a relation with someone?! BLACK DOOM IS HIS FATHER?! I swear, that's worse than Trunks figuring out his father is a Sayain that hates his guts. But it makes it all the more interesting! Shadow technically isn't even a real hedgehog! He's an alien! How cool! This unraveling is just really exciting! (I know this is really supposed to be in the "1" isle, but I wanted this to be another topic.)

5. Epic lines.

We know Sonic has said some pretty cool and funny things, but Shadow (being his rival and all) even rivals that. "Death to all that oppose me!" "I am the ultimate life form!" Even his own way of saying "Chaos Control" is cool.

6. His awesomeness is immortal.

I mean this 2 ways.

1. His awesomeness is never dying and will be noted forever (Year 21,999: "Hey remember that cool guy, Shadow the Hedgehog?)

2. He really is immortal. Well, with all that epicness flowing within him, you wouldn't think it would all be wasted by his being mortal, would you? XD

I'm not sure if this impresses you, but the fact of beings being immortal has always interested me. I just love the word, and the meaning of it. And the fact that one of my favorite characters is immortal? -.- MY MINE IS BLOWN.

So there are my reasons of Shadow the Hedgehog being good. Why do you think that he sucks, or why do you agree with me? Hope you post below, thanks for reading anyway, if you don't!

P.S. FACT: Hedgehogs are NOT rodents. Thought I would just say that to people who think they are.

BYES!

*(http://www.screwatta...shadow-hedgehog)

[Lady Soniko]

what the fuck did i just read?

[Jack / Joker]

Personally I hate it because of the poor gameplay, terrible controls, ridiculous tone for a so-called Sonic game, the fact I did not really care for what I was trying to achieve in the game, awful camera, how out-of-character the main cast are, how hilariously hard they tried and failed to make Shadow all "badass who doesn't afraid of anything", and how incredibly user-unfriendly it was.

Look, if you enjoy the game and the character, good for you! It's good to know someone finds fun in something I don't really like

Edited October 14, 2012 by -The Joker-

[Soniman]

People hate the game because it fucking sucks!

Also, what the fuck is up with that OP?

Edited October 14, 2012 by Soniman

[Tornado]

Don't feed him guys.

[Iju]

@the joker

if you read the link i gave below, you will see how epic he really is. just out of curiosity why do you think SEGA failed at making shadow look awesome? i think they did fairly well.

[Wentos]

Bias levels are off the charts!

[Iju]

@VGMBuff

yes, but why do you think it sucks? 06 sucks, but of course, there is a reason why.

[Soniman]

@the joker

if you read the link i gave below, you will see how epic he really is. just out of curiosity why do you think SEGA failed at making shadow look awesome? i think they did fairly well.

Instead of handling Shadow personality and backstory in a interesting and dignified manner, they instead opted to have him utter swear words like a 13 year old, give him shit load of guns for no other reason other than for just looking cool (or their shallow perceptions of cool) and handled his backstory with all the respect and dignity as your run of the mill fan fic, they just had no idea what the fuck they were doing.

[Endy]

So basically its good because of everything but gameplay? Am I right?

Edited October 14, 2012 by Enderwoman

[...]

Here's some reasons.

1. It ruined the image of Shadow for fans and critics alike, and completely bastardized his character.

2. The game's mission structure and overall gameplay was a complete mess, and had many technical problems.

3. The story tries to take itself so seriously, you can't help but laugh.

4. It helped give people the impression that Sonic Team didn't know what the fuck they were doing anymore. '06 just solidifed that.

[Tori Himemiya]

Welcome to SSMB~!

I can pretty much state why people hate Shadow in a sentence.

Shadow is too grimdark to the point its laughable and its like playing with soap.

There. Go home everyone.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Morpheus

[Iju]

@Soniman

"cursing like a 13 year old?" but arent you just cursing? everybody has their own reason for hating or liking the game, but your reasons apply to just what everyone says. i mean, what do you mean, "his backstory is bad?" what was so bad about it so much that you had to use the F word more than once? its not really that specific on what you are talking about. im not trying to attack you, but what is your personal opinion?

[Eternal EX]

Before Diogenes attacks this. The game sucks. Everything Sega worked towards as putting sonic in 3D and making his games legendary all were basically shitted on when this game came out. Next 06, Black Knight and Labyrinth, this goes down as one of sonic's worst games (even though technically it's shadow's game). The controls were crap, the levels, except maybe one were crap. the music was one of the worst soundtracks in the series. Which is sad considering the sonic series is praised for it's amazing soundtrack. And the whole tone was un-needed. We don't need a dark poorly written and acted story to explain shadow's past. We needed another GREAT game to back up sonic and co in 04/05. Something we did not get.

Sure, you can enjoy this sorry pile of shit because that is your opinion. But by fact, this was a poorly designed and executed game. End of story.

[Wraith]

Let's be honest here. Only a Shadow fanboy could say with a straight face that this game was not only good, but made shadow look "badass".

It's quite the contrary, really. Shadow running around killing soldiers, stealing guns, cursing, and fighting aliens like he's duke fucking nukem made me despise him. Not to mention they killed a perfectly good backstory. Shadow as a character was ruined. This is a SONIC game. I should be running around in fantasy worlds collecting rings and shit, not running around in the same destroyed city every level.

Also, the game played like shit.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Luigi the Ghost Hunter

[TheOcelot]

they just had no idea what the fuck they were doing.

What else is new?

I don't hate ShTH. I truely think it could have been a really good game instead of an average one, if it had been made a year after SA2. Unfortunately it was made a year after Heroes (which sucked!). Enough said really.

Okay, Heroes is a slightly better game than ShTH, but I enjoy playing ShTH so much more.

[Soniman]

@Soniman

"cursing like a 13 year old?" but arent you just cursing? everybody has their own reason for hating or liking the game, but your reasons apply to just what everyone says. i mean, what do you mean, "his backstory is bad?" what was so bad about it so much that you had to use the F word more than once? its not really that specific on what you are talking about. im not trying to attack you, but what is your personal opinion?

Me cursing has absolutely nothing to do with anything so I don't know why you'd bring it up. Nothing was bad about his back story....at first, but they decided to shoehorn in that friggin awful Black Doom/Aliens plot point that had absolutely no business being related to Shadow at all. It just took a dump on a already decent backstory for Shadow and just makes it unsalvageable.

[Lady Soniko]

WHAAAAAAAAT

the only decent thing in SHth WAS the soundtrack! it was still a great soundtrack, don't know what you're talking about Eternal-X!

[sonfan1984]

There's already an if you're very curious to why people hate the game.

As a game, it's pretty awful. As a Sonic game it's a disgrace and pretty fucking embarrassing. This game should've never been made. They took a once good character and backstory from SA2 and bastardized them to shit.

Edited October 14, 2012 by sonfan1984

[Tori Himemiya]

WHAAAAAAAAT

the only decent thing in SHth WAS the soundtrack! it was still a great soundtrack, don't know what you're talking about Eternal-X!

Sonic's games have great soundtracks, even when the game themselves are bad.

[Vertekins]

- This shit panders to 13 year old Shadow fanboys/fangirls who think that having him act like an "edgy badass" by using motorcycles and guns and uttering utterly pathetic curse words makes for the height of entertainment. Well it doesn't. Vehicles are pointless because they're slower than Shadow's running speed and control like shopping trolleys with broken wheels.

- The game squanders it's premise of taking Shadow on differing paths as 1 - Only one pathway is ultimately canon and 2 - Some pathways make no logic sense as you can alter his objectives, making his moral compass stupidly nonsensical and that gimmick of the game unnecersary.

- Missions are not particularly varied. The ones that have you destroy a set amount of things give you no leeway and if you missed one, the game has you boringly scope-out the entire stage seeking it out.

- Practically every Sonic character exists for the gratification and pedestal-placing of Shadow himself, cementing him as the biggest creator's pet in the franchise next to Sally Acorn. Sonic and Eggman are particularly good examples, the former being morphed into a lowly stepping stone in a boss fight, the latter karate-chopped to death.

- The graphics are dull and muddy, they don't epitomize the graphical tone of the series. There is zero appeal to them.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Vertekins

[Iju]

@SuperSonicko

I agree 100%!

[Eternal EX]

WHAAAAAAAAT

the only decent thing in SHth WAS the soundtrack! it was still a great soundtrack, don't know what you're talking about Eternal-X!

Compare ShTH to Unleashed. Different tone yes, but overall unleashed's soundtrack is spectacular...heck perfect compared to ShTh.

Let's be honest here. Only a Shadow fanboy could say with a straight face that this game was not only good, but made shadow look "badass".

Fanboy here. And I agree the game was pure ass.

[Diz]

Greetings, Iju, and welcome to the SSMB! We have countless of Shadow The Hedgehog topic floating around, and I think I found another one which is quite identical to this one, so I will go ahead and merge this in there for you!

To other members: If you have nothing to contribute to the topic, please do not post.

People hate the game because it fucking sucks!

Also, what the fuck is up with that OP?

Elaborating would also be nice, even if you feel it is not at all needed, as it tempts lazy/spammy discussion otherwise. ^^

Edited October 15, 2012 by Diz