Key conclusions
- Shadow Generations gives Shadow a new story for the first time in years.
- Not surprisingly, there is a lot of anxiety.
- It's a little more surprising that Shadow can show emotions other than anger and even shed tears.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is out today in early access, allowing anyone with the deluxe edition to play ahead of its launch on October 25th. It's no surprise that many are immediately checking out the new Shadow Generations story mode to see all the new content added in this release.
Spoiler alert for Shadow GenerationsAs we've all come to expect, Shadow Generations is a trip into Shadow's past – or rather, his trauma. He's reunited with a few familiar faces here, and reopens some old wounds at the end of the story.
More precisely, Shadow meets Maria again. She reaches out from the past as Shadow makes his way through history, allowing the old friends to see each other again. She's been around for most of the story, but since we're talking about the Shadow, a good thing can't last forever.
The story ends with both Maria and Gerald the Robotnik going back in time – condemning them both to their original fates. It's a bittersweet ending with Maria going along with it despite Shadow's desperate desire to save her this time. It is very clear that this is all too much for the hedgehog, and as he runs away in the final moments of his story, we see that he has shed tears.
The Sonic series has a strange relationship with the concept of crying
Crying after all this is very understandable, but for the Sonic series, this is a revolution. As we've already covered, Sega is very very especially about how his characters are portrayed in games and other media. It is generally believed that one of Sega's rules prohibits Sonic from crying, as it seems to have been enforced in the past.
Apparently the Shadow comes with its own set of rules. The writers of the Sonic Boom show have previously said in interviews that they didn't use Shadow much because everything they wanted to do with him required “layers of cleanup”. This included not allowing him to tell jokes or stray too far from his sharp personality.
Relatives
Sonic X Shadow Generations Review: Nice remaster, fantastic remake
Sonic X Shadow Generations is a good remastering of the fan-favorite game, but it's Shadow's story that steals the show, acting more like a remake.
Given that, it's surprising that Shadow Generations shows him crying rather than using violence to deal with his emotions. I mean, he still does some of that, but there's a lot of tender moments here too.
Hopefully this means we'll be seeing more of Shadow in future games and projects. Sega named 2024 the Year of Shadows due to the number of appearances he made after a long stint on the sidelines. Considering how well Sonic X Shadow Generations was received, I'm sure many will be hoping this continues into 2025.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is a double pack of the remastered version of the 2011 game Sonic Generations along with an all-new campaign featuring Shadow the Hedgehog and 2D and 3D levels.
