It’s the early 00’s. I finally have a copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the GameCube, after spending an all-nighter with friends to beat the first game in one sitting. I’m wearing my emo baggy jeans. Linkin Park is playing in the background.
Except that I’m playing Sonic X Shadow Generations, set in the year 2024, an anniversary re-release that was initially all about nostalgia but now doubles down on its own merits with the addition of the Shadow campaign. Sonic Generations was released in 2011 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sonic’s first Mega Drive game, but this fresh remaster adds a new, quirky set of levels for his edgier nemesis, Shadow.
Within seconds, it all comes flooding back to me. I’m racing through the Space Colony level, seemingly inspired by the ending of Sonic Adventure 2, targeting enemies, tearing up grind rails, and searching for hidden routes to maintain flow and speed in search of that elusive S-rank. Sonic Adventure is back, baby! “This is crazy,” I write simply enough in my notes like a terrible millennial.
After playing the demo, I had the opportunity to ask Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka some questions. I had to ask: Will Shadow, like in his 2005 standalone game, wield a gun?
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“When we came up with the concept for the Shadow the Hedgehog game, we really wanted to make an action shooter, because that was a popular game genre at the time,” Iizuka says. “Since Shadow is an antihero character who would use whatever he had at his disposal to get the job done, we had him use a gun so we could incorporate that action-shooting gameplay.”
That’s not the case for Sonic X Shadow Generations, however, with gameplay that fits the typical Generations template. “Instead, we wanted all of the stages to make the most of Shadow’s iconic move, Chaos Control, to stop time and find new platforms to run through the worlds or new ways to attack bosses,” Iizuka said. “In addition to Chaos Control, Shadow also has brand new Doom Powers that allow him to attack enemies and traverse the world.”
Chaos Control allows Shadow to pause time for a moment, adding an extra layer of gameplay to his levels beyond just running and jumping very quickly. Time it right and Shadow can scoop under floating pillars, align moving platforms to create new runways, or – in one particularly weird but delightfully ridiculous moment – slam a rocket into oblivion like Chris Redfield into a boulder. All while electro-rock music pounds away in the background. This is ’00s cool through and through, and Sonic at his best.
The addition of Chaos Control sets Shadow apart from his blue counterpart, along with his more staccato homing attack, and the adorable way he skates instead of runs, his limbs swinging to keep up with his own speed. The Doom Powers Iizuka mentions weren’t part of this demo, but I’m curious to see how they’ll affect Shadow’s moveset.
Of course, Shadow is also a narrative foil for Sonic. “Sonic is a true hero character – he will stand up for others and fight for justice,” says Iizuka. “When we designed Shadow, I was living in America and dark heroes were very popular at the time, and I thought that would be the perfect foil for Sonic.”
Beyond Shadow’s moveset, it’s the uninterrupted flow of the level design that really impresses. This particular preview level packs everything from speedy grind rails to platforming challenges and set pieces into a tightly designed five-minute rush, but that’s helped along by a generous (and crucially accurate) homing attack that launches me through the zone with ease, all without the frustrating camera angles and sudden stops of previous 3D Sonics.
I ask Iizuka how Shadow’s abilities affect that signature Sonic sense of speed and flow. “For the Shadow Generations level design, the team made sure that the levels were fundamentally similar to the Generations level design with lots of fast-paced action platforming that also included additional features that work when Chaos Control is used,” he says. “From there, they built on the level design through iteration to add things that can also be done with the new Doom Powers, so that not only can you rush through traditional Generations gameplay, but you can also find new things to do with Chaos Control and the Doom Powers.”
Just don’t expect “Classic Shadow” levels like Sonic’s, though Shadow’s perspective will still shift to 2D at times. Levels will also be taken from Shadow’s appearances in games, “with a lot of iconic moments from Shadow’s past incorporated into the new gameplay,” Iizuka says. “We wanted to tell a new story using a lot of these familiar locations to really introduce Shadow as a character to players who may not have gotten the full lore of the character, as has been done in several titles, and also make sure that this one title could properly introduce Shadow as a character and highlight some key moments in Shadow’s history.”
Another part of this is the hub world for Shadow. In Sonic Generations, the level selection is a playable side-scrolling zone; for Shadow, this has been expanded to include the Open Zone gameplay from Sonic Frontiers, though it wasn’t part of this preview. Iizuka says, “We also wanted to include a White Space for the Shadow gameplay, and the Open Zone gameplay from Sonic Frontiers was so well-received that the team decided to use that as inspiration for the Shadow Generations White Space playable hub world that had a level of gameplay depth and exploration that was deeper than Sonic Generations, but still familiar and fun for players.”
In that sense, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a mix of Sonic’s past and future. Unfortunately, the boss battle in this preview brought back less favorable elements of the past. The fight against the giant lizard makes use of Chaos Control to address weaknesses, but with awkward camera angles and movement that’s too fast for such a small arena, it’s a struggle compared to the freedom of the main stage. Bosses have long been a weakness of 3D Sonic games, and that won’t change here.
I also got to play two Green Hill Zone levels from the original Sonic Generations campaign, which have been improved. And, well, it’s exactly as you remember, just a bit sharper visually. The old shortcuts from 2011 come flooding back to me and I slip right in, and it seems to be just as smooth as you’d expect on PlayStation 5.
For most fans, though, it’s the Shadow campaign that takes center stage here. Generations was well-received by players old and new alike, giving it an enduring appeal, though Iizuka admits that the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie prompted this re-release as part of the Year of Shadow celebration.
“As you know, the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie is coming out in December, and Shadow will be the focus of that movie,” Iizuka said. “We also have the Year of Shadow to celebrate and put the character in the spotlight, and at the same time, we needed a game that not only supports everything that’s happening with Shadow, but also delves deeper into Shadow as a character and introduces players to Shadow’s backstory and legacy gameplay moments. We felt that creating a new game for Shadow and adding it to Sonic Generations would be a perfect way to have a game that can be marketed to that movie audience and to fans who enjoy Shadow and the Generations gameplay.”
What makes Shadow, who was first introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, such an enduring character in the Sonic world?
“I think Shadow is particularly appealing because he’s a dark antihero who will do anything to achieve his goals,” Iizuka says. “That gives him qualities that really work in contrast to Sonic, making him cool and edgy but also strong and heroic and a little bit dangerous. It’s harder to predict what Shadow is going to do, and that adds to the mystery of the character, and I think that’s what people find really exciting about Shadow.”
I think fans just like bad boys.