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Shadow the Hedgehog (game)

From Sonic Retro

Revision as of 11:05, 8 November 2010 by Wesker (talk | contribs) (Voice actors)

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Shadow title.png
Shadow the Hedgehog
System(s): GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: 3D Adventure

Shadow the Hedgehog is a game starring Shadow the Hedgehog, an antihero of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was revealed at Sonic's inauguration into the Walk of Game. Shadow the Hedgehog was the first Sonic game to have an E10+ rating by the ESRB. It is also the first post-Sonic Adventure Sonic series game to not feature Sonic's name in the title.

The game is the first and only in the series to feature branching level progression based on the choices of the player, allowing for up to a total of over 300 different ways to complete any given playthrough, which culminate into one of ten different endings. As in most Sonic titles, the Chaos Emeralds play a big part in this game, as Shadow must collect them in order to unlock the secrets of his forgotten past.

The attempt at an overall darker storyline, as well as Shadow's use of weapons and vehicles, has been criticized by fans.

Story

Over 50 years ago, deep in a Military Research Space Station, Prof. Gerald Robotnik forged an experiment known as "Project Shadow" while trying to unlock the secrets of the Chaos Emeralds at the request of the United Federation Government. The experiment culminated in "The Ultimate Life-Form"; Shadow the Hedgehog, a hedgehog with the ability to harness the mysterious power of the Chaos Emeralds in ways not thought possible.

After being thought dead in Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow has returned - with amnesia. He does not understand who he is or where he's from, but he's determined to find out, be it from Black Doom, the leader of an alien race who claims he and Shadow made a pact involving the Chaos Emeralds, or from Dr. Eggman, who seemed to be experimenting on Shadow for an unknown purpose in Sonic Heroes. He may also have to learn his secrets from the very military organization that he swore revenge against, G.U.N.. Essentially, all parties are after the Chaos Emeralds and know something of Shadow's past, and he intends to get them first and make one of them talk.

Main Characters

  • Shadow the Hedgehog: A rival of Sonic and the protagonist of the game. He is the main playable character of the game. Shadow must go on a quest to find out who he is and why he was created.
  • Black Doom and Doom's Eye: The leader of the Black Arms and the game's main antagonist. He commands Shadow to bring the seven Chaos Emeralds to him and he will unlock the hidden story about Shadows past, also witness of the creation of Shadow. Dooms Eye is an extension of Black Doom, allowing him to view whats going on when he's not there.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Although he is a rival to Shadow he can ally with him during the Westopolis, Lethal Highway, and Final Haunt levels, and races against him in the Space Gadget level. Sonic is also a boss if the player plays through the Dark Mission. Sonic is playable with controller 2 when allied with Shadow.
  • G.U.N. Commander: The highest ranking officer of the Guardian Unit of Nations. He is one of the few who knows the secrets of Shadow's past and loathes Shadow for reasons unknown, at least until a certain level and is one of the bosses on the dark path.
  • Dr. Eggman/Dr. Robotnik: Sonic's arch-nemesis, but this time appears as either an ally or an enemy, depending on the player's choices. He plans to create a utopia called Eggmanland, but needs to get rid of G.U.N., the Black Arms, Sonic and company to do so. He tracks Shadow and follows him through means of a floating camera-monitor.
  • Professor Gerald Robotnik: A brilliant scientist as well as Shadow's creator and grandfather of Maria and Dr. Eggman, and the top researcher on board Space Colony ARK.
  • Maria Robotnik: Prof. Gerald Robotnik's Granddaughter; she was Shadow's best friend who gave her life to save him from G.U.N.

Allies/Supporting Characters

These characters are playable with controller 2 in the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions.

  • Sonic the Hedgehog: During Westopolis, Lethal Highway, and Final Haunt levels he will be your ally. and you also can do races against him in the Space Gadget level, or face him in the dark endings of GUN Fortress, Black Comet, and Final Haunt, but not as the main boss.
  • Rouge the Bat: She Appears in the Digital Circuit, GUN Fortress, and Death Ruins levels as an ally.
  • E-123 Omega: Omega appears in the Iron Jungle and Lava Shelter levels as an ally. Omega is the only ally that does not appear in the opening and the last story.
  • Vector the Crocodile: He appears in the Cosmic Fall level as an ally.
  • Espio the Chameleon: He appears in the Mad Matrix level as an ally.
  • Charmy Bee: Like Doom's Eye and Dr. Eggman; however, he hovers just out of reach and does not fight. He is not playable using controller 2. He appears in the Prison Island level as an ally.
  • Miles "Tails" Prower: He appears in the Circus Park and Air Fleet levels as an ally.
  • Knuckles the Echidna: He appears in the Glyphic Canyon, Central City, and Black Comet levels as an ally.
  • Amy Rose: She appears in the Cryptic Castle level as an ally.
  • Eggman's Drone: Appears in the Sky Troops, Iron Jungle, Lava Shelter, Circus Park, and the Cryptic Castle levels as an ally. Eggman's robots count as hero enemies if there are any Black Arms on the level, even if he's the dark mission, leading to a hard situation on Cryptic Castle, where both the hero AND dark mission characters complain about killing one type of enemy!
  • Maria Robotnik: She appears in Shadow's memories in the Doom and Lost Impact levels as an ally.
  • Cream the Rabbit: She is part of the hero mission of Cryptic Castle where Amy needs Shadow to help rescue Cream, as well as her Chao, Cheese. She never tags along with Shadow as an ally.
  • Doom's Eye: Doom's Eye is Black Doom's third eye and a "character" in the story who mainly just watches Shadow. Black Doom is also one of the bosses. He appears in the Westopolis, Glyphic Canyon, Prison Island, Sky Troops, Lethal Highway, Death Ruins, Final Haunt, Space Gadget, Cosmic Fall, Digital Circuit, Mad Matrix, The Doom, Central City, Air Fleet, Black Comet, The Ark, and GUN Fortress levels as an ally.

Gameplay

Shadow must get from the start of the level to the end, as has traditionally been the case for the Sonic titles. It is possible to reach the end of the level in more than one way, the traditional way is to reach a goal ring, however certain objectives can be completed to finish the level earlier. The way in which levels are completed affects how the game progresses, what levels are played, and, ultimately, which of the 10 possible endings that will be shown. As each level features cutscenes and boss battles, there are a total of 326 different paths in which to complete the game, and each one has a name. There are a total of 23 levels including the last story stage, and each time, the player only plays six levels. A list of possible paths can be found here: List of Library sequences.

Three missions are available in almost every level (these being Hero, Dark, and Neutral), although some only have two, and these can be choosen to accomplish at any point in the level. Whichever mission is completed will determine which level is played next, and the ending cutscene that is played. Only the final ending, the hardest one to obtain, is considered Canon.

Shadow can still use all his moves from the previous games like the Homing Attack and Spin Dash. More weapons will become available as the games multiple endings are obtained. Also, Shadow now has two Chaos abilities, Chaos Control (In stages it lets him teleport through the stage, but in boss battles it lets him slow down time) and Chaos Blast (creates an explosive 20 yd radius blast of energy damaging enemies), and gains these by killing certain targets: killing aliens the Chaos Control Gauge, and killing humans and destroying nature or architecture (trees, plants, etc.) increases the Chaos Blast Gauge. Additionally, Super Shadow can use "Chaos Spear", a move previously used in Sonic Adventure 2.

The biggest change in gameplay, however, would be Shadows ability to use several weapons and parts of the scenery. Weapons dropped by defeated enemies or inside crates can be swapped for another, but only one can be carried at a time. The weapons and objects can, naturally, harm opponents, but they also have the ability to break down large pieces of the level, such as tall columns. There are 6 weapon types: close combat, gun, lock-on, cannon, laser and vacuum. Close combat weapons are melee weapons. Gun weapons are weapons which can harm opponents that are further away. Gun weapons can come in semi- or fully-automatic variants. Lock-on weapons usually take the form of missile launchers in which several targets would be locked onto before firing. The missiles would automatically home in on these targets. Laser weapons are similar to gun weapons except that they cause greater damage. Vacuum weapons are weapons that involve a gun "inhaling" enemies and firing them back at other enemies, and can also pull out some walls in Final Haunt. The use of weapons is mostly optional, although there will be some levels that require their use.

Besides wielding weapons, Shadow can use vehicles; 4x4's, motorbikes, G.U.N. mechs, alien crafts, etc. Shadow can run as fast as Sonic, so the use of vehicles has been deemed by fans as unessesary as he should be able to outrun most of them. Although Shadow can run faster than the game's vehicles, the vehicles have some capabilities that Shadow does not have (e.g. using a motorcycle as a rolling missile, running over enemies, driving through acid soaked floors). Like the weapons, most of the vehicles are optional.

Weapons

Weapon Damage Rounds Range Picture
Pistol Low 10 Short Pistol.png
Submachine Gun Low 20 Short Smg.png
Semi-Auto Rifle Medium 30 Medium Semiautorifle.png
Heavy Machine Gun High 30 Long Hmg.png
Chain Gun High 40 Long Gatlinggun.png
Grenade Launcher Medium 6 Short Grenadelauncher.png
Bazooka High 6 Short Bazooka.png
Black Barrel Medium 8 Short Blackbarrel.png
RPG Launcher High 4/8/16 Long Rpg.png
Worm Shooter High 4/12 Long Wormshooter.png

Enemies

The enemies change depending on which side the player chooses, though all non-partner characters will indiscriminately attack Shadow regardless of the chosen mission. If Shadow chooses to commit acts of heroism, then the Black Arms will be the main enemies. If Shadow chooses to commit acts of evil, then the GUN Troops will be the enemy. If Shadow decides to be neutral, then everyone is an enemy. Whether Eggman's robots are a Hero enemy or a Dark enemy depends on whether the opposite group of enemies are the Black Arms or GUN. Shadow is free to attack any free-roaming enemy/ally present (exempting Shadow's 'partner character'), regardless of which faction Shadow chooses to ally himself with. Attacking an ally provokes a scold from Shadow's partner and a score penalty at the end of the level.

Pre-Release Comments/First Impressions

The gaming community had strong opinions on the preview 'Shadow' videos posted on popular Internet gaming sites (such as GameSpot or IGN.com).

Many comments were made about the gun Shadow wielded. Some argue that it goes entirely against the spirit and/or gameplay mechanic of the Sonic series or that Shadow should be powerful enough that a gun would not be necessary, given that he has proclaimed himself to be the "Ultimate Life Form" in Sonic Adventure 2. Others note his technological background in defense of the weapon, from his inception to the air shoes he wears and the weapons that Eggman and Tails used in Sonic Adventure 2.

Another topic of discussion is Shadow getting a game over Sonic; after Sonic Heroes, many fans had been hoping for a new Sonic game that would take the direction that game was heading and lead it toward a more retro feel, closer to that of the original Sega Genesis games. When it was revealed that that was not the direction the new title was heading, some people were disappointed.

A rebuttal to some of the criticisms was that it was a sidestory game, and not starring Sonic himself; therefore, as it couldn't be considered a true Sonic game (much like Knuckles' Chaotix), it should be given some freedom to attempt new things without hampering the main series. Another rebuttal was that it was an early preview, and that it could have ended up significantly changed by the game's ultimate release.

Music and Remixes

Music

An album has been released entitled Lost and Found: Shadow the Hedgehog Vocal Trax. Several music tracks from the game are featured in this album, while some mixes were made to others. There is also a promotional song in Japan : a remix of m-flo's "TRIPOD BABY" track off of BEAT SPACE NINE, their latest album.

Vocal tracks

  • "I Am... All of Me" by Crush 40 (Trailer, Main Theme, Intro and Final Boss theme) A lyric in this refers to "What I'm Made Of", the theme of the final battle in Sonic Heroes (Unleashed a million faces, And one by one they fall).
  • "Almost Dead" by Powerman 5000 (Dark and Pure Dark ending theme)
  • "Waking Up" by Julien-K (Neutral ending theme)
  • "E.G.G.M.A.N. Doc Robeatnix Mix" by REMIX Factory ft. Paul Shortino (Dr. Eggman's Theme)
  • "Chosen One" by A2 (Hero ending theme)
  • "All Hail Shadow" by MAGNA-FI (Pure Hero ending theme)
  • "Never Turn Back" by Crush 40 (Final ending theme)

Remixes

Since it was the game in which Shadow was introduced, many of the songs featured in Sonic Adventure 2 were remixed for Shadow the Hedgehog.

  • "Event 3" was a remix of "E.G.G.M.A.N." from Sonic Adventure 2, remixed by The Remix Factory (used during cutscenes involving Eggman, including one prerendered cutscene)
  • An extended version of that remix used before battles with the Egg Dealer. The song's true title, "E.G.G.M.A.N. Doc Robeatnix Mix" wasn't revealed until the "Shadow the Hedgehog : Lost and Found" album was released.
  • "Blue Falcon" and "Heavy Dog" as different remixes of "G.U.N. Mobile" (known as "Boss 1" in the sound test) from Sonic Adventure 2, remixed by The Remix Factory (used during boss battles after the levels The ARK and The Doom)
  • "Battle Mode" is actually the Radical Highway theme, "Vengeance Is Mine", from Sonic Adventure 2 (used during 2P matches)
  • "The ARK" as a remix of Final Rush's "Highway in the Sky" from Sonic Adventure 2 (Used during the stage called "The ARK")
  • There is also an Event song not listed in the Sound Test (called "Strategy" in the Shadow the Hedgehog Original Sound Trax) that is a remix of an Event song in Sonic Adventure 2.
  • During the Last Story cutscene in which Shadow uses the Chaos emeralds to go Super, a slower, remixed music clip of "I Am (All of Me)" plays, then seamlessly switches to a remixed music clip of "Live and Learn", the main theme of Sonic Adventure 2.


List Rankings

Levels

Level Mission A B C D
Westopolis Hero 30000 25000 15000 5000
Normal 32000 28000 20000 10000
Dark 30000 25000 15000 5000
Digital Circuit Hero 16000 12000 8000 4000
Dark 10000 8000 5000 2000
Glyphic Canyon Hero 26000 20000 15000 5000
Normal 28000 22000 16000 8000
Dark 24000 20000 12000 5000
Lethal Highway Hero 22000 18000 12000 8000
Dark 22000 18000 12000 8000
Cryptic Castle Hero 18000 16000 12000 8000
Normal 18000 16000 12000 8000
Dark 14000 12000 8000 5000
Prison Island Hero 22000 20000 15000 10000
Normal 28000 26000 20000 10000
Dark 28000 26000 20000 10000
Circus Park Hero 26000 22000 16000 10000
Normal 23000 20000 15000 10000
Dark 30000 28000 20000 10000
Central City Hero 18000 16000 14000 12000
Dark 28000 26000 20000 12000
The Doom Hero 4500 4000 3000 2000
Normal 30000 27000 22000 10000
Dark 28000 25000 20000 10000
Sky Troops Hero 30000 25000 20000 8000
Normal 25000 20000 15000 8000
Dark 16000 12000 10000 5000
Mad Matrix Hero 3000 2500 1500 500
Normal 27000 24000 18000 10000
Dark 4000 3500 2500 1000
Death Ruins Hero 32000 29000 23000 10000
Dark 35000 32000 25000 10000
The ARK Hero 37000 34000 27000 10000
Dark 36000 33000 26000 10000
Air Fleet Hero 33000 28000 20000 10000
Normal 20000 18000 12000 8000
Dark 20000 18000 12000 8000
Iron Jungle Hero 28000 24000 15000 10000
Normal 30000 26000 20000 15000
Dark 30000 25000 15000 10000
Space Gadget Hero 34000 31000 28000 25000
Normal 26000 23000 15000 10000
Dark 20000 17000 12000 5000
Lost Impact Hero 16000 13000 10000 5000
Dark 34000 31000 25000 15000
GUN Fortress Hero 18000 15000 10000 5000
Dark 20000 18000 12000 5000
Black Comet Hero 18000 14000 10000 5000
Dark 28000 24000 18000 8000
Lava Shelter Hero 32000 25000 20000 15000
Dark 26000 22000 18000 12000
Cosmic Fall Hero 15000 12000 8000 4000
Dark 24000 21000 15000 10000
Final Haunt Hero 25000 22000 15000 8000
Dark 18000 15000 10000 5000

Bosses

Boss Level // Mission A B C D
Black Bull after Lethal Highway 1:40 2:00 2:30 3:00
after Death Ruins 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30
Egg Breaker after Cryptic Castle 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30
after Mad Matrix 3:20 4:00 4:30 5:00
after Iron Jungle 0:45 1:00 1:30 2:00
Heavy Dog 1:50 2:30 3:00 3:30
Blue Falcon 1:50 2:30 3:00 3:30
Sonic and Diablon after GUN Fortress (dark) 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00
after Black Comet (dark)
after Final Haunt (dark)
Black Doom after GUN Fortress (hero) 2:00 3:00 4:00 4:30
after Cosmic Fall (hero)
after Final Haunt (hero)
Egg Dealer after Black Comet (hero) 3:20 4:00 5:00 6:00
after Lava Shelter (either mission)
after Cosmic Fall (dark)

Manuals

Also Released On

Voice actors

This is one of the first Sonic games in which the voice actors from the the cast of Sonic X voiced the videogame characters. Many Sonic fans were angered by the change and sent demands to Sega to rehire the original voice cast.

Role English Voice Actor Japanese Voice Actor
Shadow the Hedgehog Jason Griffith Kōji Yusa
Sonic the Hedgehog Jason Griffith Junichi Kanemaru
Black Doom Sean Schemmel Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
Dr. Eggman Mike Pollock Chikao Ōtsuka
Gerald Robotnik Mike Pollock Chikao Ōtsuka
G.U.N. Commander Marc Thompson Banjō Ginga
Maria Robotnik, Secretary Bella Hudson Yuri Shiratori
Miles "Tails" Prower Amy Palant Ryo Hirohashi
Knuckles the Echidna Dan Green Nobutoshi Canna
Amy Rose Lisa Ortiz Taeko Kawata
Rouge the Bat Caren Manuel Rumi Ochiai
E-123 Omega Andrew Rannells Taiten Kusunoki
G.U.N Soldiers Andrew Rannells
Vector the Crocodile Carter Cathcart Kenta Miyake
Espio the Chameleon David Willis Yūki Masuda
Charmy Bee Amy Birnbaum Yōko Teppōzuka
The President Maddie Blaustein Yutaka Nakano
Cream the Rabbit Rebecca Handler Sayaka Aoki

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions have both voice language tracks included in the game disc. The PlayStation 2 version, together with a multi-lingual text language option, is the only version featuring an additional option to switch between both English and Japanese voice language, though this is only present in the Japanese and North American versions. The EU/PAL PlayStation 2 version remove this feature and only has the text language option present, defaulting the voices automatically to the system language. Since the Xbox version doesn't feature any language option at all, neither of text nor of voice, the only way to have the Japanese voices in this version is changing the console language to Japanese in order to set the game entirely in Japanese.

The GameCube version features only one voice track in the disc and according to the regional version, due to size constraints. The Western versions have the English voice language whereas the Japanese version has the Japanese one, while the text language is entirely multi-lingual in all regional versions.

Trivia

  • This game features two bosses that have the same names as two F-Zero machines from the game F-Zero. One is the Blue Falcon owned by GUN and the other is Black Bull owned by the Black Arms. Even more coincidental is that the two F-Zero machines are owned by the main protagonist and antagonist of the game, Captain Falcon and Black Shadow, respectively. GUN and the Black Arms are the two opposing sides in Shadow the Hedgehog. Whether this was intended or not is unknown.
    • On another note, the victory pose that Omega does is strikingly similar to a pose made by another F-Zero character, Michael Chain.
  • To promote the game, third-party game accessory developer NubyTech made a special Shadow the Hedgehog-themed controller designed exclusively for the PlayStation 2 console.

Production Credits

For a complete list of the games production credits please click the following link: Shadow the Hedgehog credits

Scans

GameCube version

PS2 version

Xbox version

Artwork

External links

Template:ShadowZones Template:SonicGamecubeGames

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
Sony PlayStation 2
 2003  Sonic Heroes     2004  Sonic Mega Collection Plus     2005  Sonic Gems Collection | Shadow the Hedgehog     2006  Sonic Riders | Sega Genesis Collection     2008  Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity | Sonic Unleashed     2009  Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Shadow the Hedgehog    
Xbox
 2003  Sonic Heroes     2004  Sonic Mega Collection Plus     2005  Shadow the Hedgehog | 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Heroes/Super Monkey Ball Deluxe | 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus/Super Monkey Ball Deluxe     2006  Sonic Riders