Shadow in Heroes and SA2: I”’m gonna protect the world Maria loved so much.” Shadow in Shadow the Hedgehog: “Humanity? More like futility.” Shadow in 06: “I don’t care if people turn on me, I’ll do what is right.” Shadow now: “I don’t have time to care about any of you, I’m better than all of you.”
Finally someone understands him. Even as a kid I always knew his tough personality was due to his tragic past and not cause he's just edgy. He was depressed, lonely, and had ptsd from what happened to Maria. I hate how the newer games completely erase that part of him and just made him smug
Yeah, i can agree you with that, Shadow deserve better than that and not just being an egdelord for no reason just like how Trevor Phillips from gta 5 doesn't become a psychopath beacuse he likes killing them with no reason, It's beacuse he has a tragic past about never have parents around him when he was young, like people think that trevor killing Johnny from tlad for no reason but in actulalaty, he kill him from snapp him out from descivory his suspose dead friend, Michael come back from the death at that point. Edit: Thank you for all the likes of my comment Btw.
@@lightthegreninja2793 _Because he has a tragic past about never have parents around him when he was young._ Hold on. I thought Trevor became a psycho due to the abuse that his own mother gave him when he was young.
It really needs to be made clear how much good a lot of 06's story has, for all its flaws. And I absolutely hate how Shadow has been delegated to a cardboard cutout of himself without the actual character. Hell this is an issue with more characters than just Shadow.
Nobody wants to study 06 past glitches, Elise, and "IT'S NAW USE!!!" We deserve better than the modern below-average depiction of the characters. Btw, your video on SA2's story helped me appreciate it and Shadow's character even more. I'm always eager for your next video essay; whether it's a lengthy review or a commentary on A-list internet personalities that don't know what they're talking about.
@@crashingbasher7376 I appreciate the Shadow love in 06, but I wouldn't write everyone else off as terrible. The other characters have their pros too. Rouge has a heartwarming moment where she stands up for Shadow after hearing of his fate and later tells him that she'll always be on his side. Omega is uncomfortable with his predicted future in targeting Shadow (he opens fire on Mephiles out of anger). Mephiles' plan makes no sense, but he did have charisma and an intimidation to him. Blaze is composed and trustworthy. Amy is kind to Silver when they first meet. Speaking of Silver, he's one of the best characters in that game. He started out narrow-minded in thinking that simply killing someone will save the world, but then he opens his mind to the bigger picture and his adventure in the peaceful past has strengthened him before he returns to his future with a reasonable solution. And I have to give him props for putting his mission on hold while he helps Amy find her friend because he cares about others. And about Elise, I'm working on a video with her in it.
@@crashingbasher7376 Sorry about this, but it turns out Elise isn't in my new video. She was in the original script and recording, but it was too long and I sounded too angry. I apologize for getting your hopes up about that.
Ruby of Blue in the archie comics well when ian flynn joined the book shadow continued his development from sa2 especially in sonic universe issue 1 and 2 seriously go read them he develops it starts off with him fighting metal sonic and he stops for a bit and tells metal sonic your a intelligent thinking machine dont let the doctor use you he is trying to get metal sonic to leave robotnick and be a hero unfortunately in the idw comics sega has more control and made shadow a edge lord again seriously read sonic universe #1 and 2
Shadow’s old character is complex and brilliant. He isn’t edgy, he’s just in a lot of pain. Especially, in 06, he was past his pain..and rejected a chance of revenge he would have taken years ago, instead fighting for what’s right.
I wouldn't describe it like that, but it's close. I would say he WAS in a lot of pain and because of the pain and trauma, he just doesn't care anymore. He is numb. This is what he tells Amy on the ARK as the Biolizard attacks- that he no longer cares what happens to the humans. It's only when he regains the memory of Maria begging him to help the humans that he decides to take action. Excellent use of amnesia to bring along character development. I think, often times, people label dark things as "edgy" when the truth is: they simply don't relate to it. It's because they don't relate to it that they label it as "edgy" or "dark nonsense".
I always thought even as a kid Shadow was pretty chill. Just quiet. Maybe a bit depressed. Especially compared to the rest of the SA2 cast. I got really confused whenever people would claim he was an edgelord.
agreed, I always saw Shadow as more of a straight man or introverted, quiet cool guy with a soft spot for others. Sonic X and Sonic 06 especially portrayed Shadow this way and I loved it. Too bad the 2010s turned him into a violent edgelord who's a knockoff clone of DBZ Vegeta
Autism? Shadow is a cocky, friendly, and cool character that appreciates his friends and lives for the future, and that's all. I think you all are reading a little too much into it.
Apparently, Shadow was meant to be the Zero to Sonic's MegaMan. Stern and stoic, but with a good heart and defiant attitude. 06 is the closest we came to that and I wished we saw more.
Sonic 06 can still be known as the worst sonic game ever to some people, but when it comes to the majority of the cast's character development, it succeeds imo.
At this point in time, where the main 2010 games has placed most characters in the "benchwarmer" roles or "background decoration", I think your comment holds a lot of weight.
You hit the nail on the head with how Shadow can be a relatable character to kids who are shy, introverted or only have a few close friends. That drew me to him when I was very young. I was incredibly shy and had a hard time making friends. Lots of people (both adults and kids) I knew acted like something was wrong with me because I preferred to keep to myself (not my family, just those at school), and it caused me to feel very insecure about myself. When my brother started playing the Sonic games, I was immediately drawn to Shadow. My first introduction to him was Sonic Heroes, and I loved how he was portrayed in it. It was one of the first times I saw a characters being reserved and quiet as acceptable and not something to be concerned about. Rouge and Omega never made any concerned or condescending remarks about his personality, and it made me feel better about who I was. Seeing a character who helped me overcome some of my own insecurities as a child being treated as either an afterthought or “just an edge lord” by the people still making Sonic content really does make me sad.
@@TheReZisTLust it's not just them, blaming just them is technically generalzing since ign and metacritic along with others are all part of the problem
You just summed up Shadow better than anyone I've seen and showed us the reason he is my favorite Sonic character. I couldn't have said it any better myself! Shadow is supposed to be a tragic hero who is quiet and determined but has a heart and genuinely cares about his friends and protecting the world. Not some egotistical jerk who is edgy and broody. Unfortunately the IDW Sonic Comics have regressed his character too. Sega apparently just wants him to be a dark edgy rival to Sonic without any compassion or character development. It really makes me sad to see Shadow portrayed like this in the modern day.
No he is not an edge Lord in IDW,he is handled well:1)He doesn't believe eggman had his memory erased and wants to neutralize his threat and protect the planet espicially after metal's sonic planning and him not getting involved until last seccond proves for him that eggman is still a danger for the planet,he is doing what he sees best to Maria's wish. 2)Shadow's fighting against zombots while getting infected gives people more time to run that's why he does'nt run away from zombots even if this means getting more infected to a critical state,espicially that every secconds he fights in gives rouge more time to help people escape with team darks truck and more time for sonic to heal back the metal virus and fight too.
@@ahmadkazan7994 as I said in another comment, the author of the IDW comics said on twitter that he inteneded for shadow to have and epic and compelling scene (taking out his inhibitor rings to use all his power to fight in a desperate situation, while hoping it would be enough to burn off the infection he was under) but nope!, Sega said that's not the character they want, so they forced the writer to change it to: "Hey shadow, if you fight the zombies you will get infected, you have to run to burn it off" "Stupid sonic, I don't run, I FIGHT" and proceeds to punch zombies and get needlessly infected.
@RandomCarfromNFS No, he doesn't.. he only cares about his friends (mostly Rouge and Omega). Humanity is what he doesn't care about, therefore.. he doesn't actually care about everyone. Heck, Shadow LITERALLY has a line that says "I don't care what happens to others. I just don't like it when fools do whatever they please on this planet." That's not the FULL line, but still.
Psycho Panda's Realm Of Randomness! I think that people will ask sega to change shadow back to his original good character that he developed and move on from his past. Seriously he says “I’ve left my past behind me” like 3 times in 3 different games. We need something new! Not the same old story that shadow has been through. Don’t you agree?
@@hristijan4469 exactly we need to see Shadow on his story continued after 06 where he's an agent who protects the world. Sonic Universe about does Shadow justice
I'm not even a sonic fan, AT ALL, but even I find this to be rather accurate. It's like people just think of Shadow's personality and character as just "*Crosses Arm and Glares*".
I blame grame grumps and idiot fans that never got passed the Genesis era. The Genesis games weren't that good. At least Sonic Boom has the Saturday Morning cartoon excuse (though most fans weren't even alive when those were a thing).
I saw someone say that the entire plot of prime is Sonic doing exactly what Shadow tells him not to and then both of them have to clean up the mess. I agree with that. Shadow is basically the responsible adult in Prime. He's still a little edgy but much closer to his SA2, Forces and Sonic 06 character than in other games
I haven't played SA2 yet (I'm also over spoilers at this point since they are almost unavoidable in this fandom) and neither any of the other games with Shadow in it, so I always thought of him as an edgelord since I just thought of the 2005 game and other material supporting this. But now I have been convinced as well that he is way more than that.
Evan Standley is a pretty good writer I recommended checking her stuff out like ghost of the future and some of her writing for the official Sonic comics.
SEGA's writing staff gets all their ideas from memes and fandom in-jokes, so he's an edgelord now. Also, Sonic is a one-note jokester incapable of taking anything seriously, Tails is a coward again, and Knuckles is a complete moron.
I think one of the things that made Shadow such a strong character is that his up until colours ruined every character, Shadow was one of the few characters who's motivations didn't involve Sonic at all. Shadow lived his own life and had his own day to day goals that were completely divorced from Sonic, the only reason the two remained "rivals" is that Shadow was the only supporting character who Sonic never surpassed- whether it be fighting skill or speed.
Also can we Sonic fans stop shitting on Sonic 2006? It was a good game, it was just unfinished because of Sega's rush to get it out for the 15 year anniversary. It had great designs, a cool story, amazing music, and got the characters right. Also can we stop giving it shit for the Elise smooching Sonic at the end? I mean if I say that like a princess will kiss a frog, nobody panics. But if say that one, little old hedgehog will get smooched. _WeLL tHeN eVeRyOnE LoSeS tHeiR MiNds!!!1!1!_
@@demaunix2723 Never Turn Back, the song of the true ending of the game: Shadow realising it's not that important to know your past and you just need to move forward.
I clicked on this video confused by the title because i have always considered Shadow an edgelord. But after watching this I'm glad to say you've changed my view on him. I completely agree with you now. Not only that but you made me remember why as a kid i chose team dark before team hero in Sonic Heroes. It was because i saw myself in Shadow and i still do. Overall i really enjoyed this video. Keep it up!
"Edgy the hedgy is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted character in the Sonic franchise." No. No he isn't. That would be Knuckles. He went from Sonic's rival and equal to a dumb as a rock muscle head that tried to replace Tails.
The Boom continuity is a separate continuity, don't act like it's the only one. Hell, mainstream Knuckles led the resistance in Forces, stayed with Amy to watch over Earth in Lost World, and was his more well meaning self in Generations.
@@wanderlustwarrior In Lost World and Generations he was only there for a few comedic scenes and that's it. In Forces, he was only a "general" but the game makes the conflict seem not as serious since the game's story isn't well thought out.
If Shadow ever appears in the movie series it would be nice to see him start out like his 2005 incarnation: a cold, selfish jaded ex-hero who believes that the cruel world is no longer worth saving and sees Sonic as a nuisance. However, he slowly grows into his original incarnation as Sonic slowly convinces him the world is worth fighting for, and he gradually comes to respect Sonic even if he doesn't often agree with him. also: imagine if Keanu Reeves voices Shadow in the movie
06 as a game might be bad, but do people just ignore how many good characters and thereby stories came out of it? Like, Silver and Mephiles are awesome characters that sadly debuted here, and characters like Shadow progressed in a manner true to their character in this game, even if it was kinda garbage-
I wouldn't say they ignore it so much as the gameplay critiques tend to be (justifiably) frontloaded and with the added fact that the other stories have to be unlocked so there's a fair few people who are going to be turned off by the gameplay issues before they even get to the other stories, keep in mind that only a fraction of players actually finish most games in the first place, I think it's somewhere between 20-30% so a lot of the truly great character moments being further into the game will go unnoticed by most casuals.
it annoys me to no end when people represent shadow as an angry, violent person, and call him an anti-hero. whatever, the new writers dont really care at all. hes not gonna get represented well.
MightySo92 Sega makes him play that role sometimes, but they can’t understand that’s not really why people liked him, and his original personality... Most of the time it’s poorly received lol.
I do believe that Shadow is an Anti-Hero. Not the tradtional Anti-Hero, but the more 'modern' idea of a 'dark hero' rather then 'Just barely better then the bad guys'. Nowadays, Anti-Heroes tend to be seen as more just the dark brooding and more serious heroes rather then the tradtional jovial fun loving mostly carefree ones. Like Batman tends to get classified as such even becuase he's more serious then his contemparies like Superman, Flash, etc. And yeah. Shadow is sorta the Batman to Sonic's Superman.
Characters In-Depth in the archie comics well when ian flynn joined the book shadow continued his development from sa2 especially in sonic universe issue 1 and 2 seriously go read them he develops it starts off with him fighting metal sonic and he stops for a bit and tells metal sonic your a intelligent thinking machine dont let the doctor use you he is trying to get metal sonic to leave robotnick and be a hero unfortunately in the idw comics sega has more control and made shadow a edge lord again seriously read sonic universe #1 and 2
Sonic 06 story is super underrated. Yeah the time travel isnt handled well and yeah Else and Sonic's relationship is dumb. But the rest of the story is epic. Theirs a reason why fans still think Mephiles is a great sonic villain. Second best to eggman.
Cloud Link as much as I like some of the plot points, you are right. The way the game tells the story is awful, with a mixed up sequence of events that is pretty confusing to keep track of, that only starts coming together properly once you’ve finished all three campaigns (four if you count the abomination that is the games final act). I feel that the game deserves a redo, not just to fix the broken gameplay, but to fix the story as a whole.
I would like to add how Sega is obsessed with shadow staying in that arrogant prick stereotype. The author of the IDW comics said on twitter that he inteneded for shadow to have and epic and compelling scene (taking out his inhibitor rings to use all his power to fight in a desperate situation, while hoping it would be enough to burn off the infection he was under) but nope!, Sega said that's not the character they want, so they forced the writer to change it to: "Hey shadow, if you fight the zombies you will get infected, you have to run to burn it off" "Stupid sonic, I cowards run, I FIGHT" and proceeds to punch zombies and get needlessly infected.
Are you serious? SEGA really doesn't remember their own characters! Or only gives a shit about Sonic since they've screwed over countless characters too except him. It's gotta be both. Especially since they have a tendency to listen to critics and the negative part of the fandom which is so angering.
Aprilcelesti oh, they have screwed him too. Apparently he literally isn't allow to cry in the comics. Ever. I pity the writers trying to write compelling stories despite sega.
@@ceresgc I forgot about that. But still, the other characters usually have it worse like Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles. At least Sonic's well known spunk is still recognizable and he's one of the closest characters written consistently. Still not all the time of course. And yes! At this point, the higher ups may as well credit themselves for the story and not hide behind the employee's names when hovering over them like that. I would want space for my imagination to run free while giving the interpretation of the character I feel is right and consistent for the audience to enjoy. Like voice acting but in the form of text rather than vocalization. SEGA continues to dig their own grave.
"Introverted person with a soft spot for people, but doesn't always know how to show it" Uhh wow, I feel called out LOL EDIT: Yes this whole video, it's why he's one of my favorites. I'm sad he's been demoted to "haha I'm so mean!" I guess it's what's been driving me away from the games, a lot of the characters I love, have been demoted to cardboard cutouts :/ sigghh oh well, we can only dream.
See, here's my take on Shadow. He's not an exact hero, he'll do what has to be done and make the hard choices that no one else will. Same with Sonic. They're both...I wouldn't say anti-heroes, but their worldviews aren't black and white. But they go about it in different ways. Sonic is open and outgoing, loud, a bit obnoxious but has a heart of gold. Shadow on the other hand is quiet and personal, very refined in himself and tries to keep to himself and Team Dark. Sonic and Shadow's rivalry? In current games, Shadow is always trying to prove himself and Sonic kinda entertains his ego when it should be the exact opposite. Shadow may act like he doesn't have time for Sonic's foolishness but he's definitely not above throwing shade back at Sonic or entertaining the blur. Sonic: Don't be late Shadow: Same to you. That, right there is there "rivalry" in a nutshell. It should be full of little well meaning jabs at one another, but neither one trying to prove whose better or not. Heck, look at Sonic Universe issue 1-4 for a good Shadow story arc. He quickly befriends Blaze, has a small misadventure with Sonic and Rouge, accidentally forms Team Dark, and then goes on to use Team Dark to get a Chaos Emerald. With a backup plan to boot. Wanna give him a short temper, go right ahead. It takes a few things to set it off, but Sonic's antics aren't one of them. Annoying sure, but nothing blood boiling. Sorry, had a rant
The way the Sonic games go back and forth between handling Shadow well and poorly feels like the contrast between The Shadow Saga (1-4) of Sonic Universe and the 30 Years Later Saga, which spat in its face during the very next arc (5-8). Sonic Universe Shadow is my favorite version of Shadow, especially in Shadow Fall (59-62), but even Sonic Universe butchered him a few times. I don't understand why his character suffers from being inconsistent so much, even among the same writers like Ian Flynn (responsible for all the aforementioned arcs).
I kinda miss more id say battle 2 and sonic x style sonic. As a kid I watched the 1993 show. I hated sonic but show was like classic toon feel, so I liked it. Reason why I like what I like, sonic did have a small ego, in a childish way. The way to manage him was to slightly entertain it. But also they are anthro animals and their socialization isn't human standards. If you could run fast and get all your work done in 5 min or less and got more free time than others what would you do? Also I could be wrong but it seems sonic just can't go 1 day no running. I keep wishing they go back to old personality traits but with the modern graphics
@@shadowacesonic2827 The "30 years later Arc" I can kinda see why Shadow became like that. In a previous arc from the actual main comics dubbed "25 years later" Sonic had been presumably killed and since we don't see Rpuge and Omega, it's entirely possible Eggman killed them. So Shadow, having let his guard down and be vulnerable again just to loose another family, he's completely done with it. So to ensure world peace, he puts the planet under his boot. And then power does VERY interesting things to people, it's possible that Shadow was no different. 30 years later, and his once rival is just some old husk of what he once was. He doesn't deserve the throne. Just my take on it.
@@jokerson1316 The fact that Rouge and Omega didn't appear could mean they're dead, or perhaps Shadow has never met them on Light Mobius. Either way, he was far too despicable. It didn't feel like a reaction to the loss of his second family--he even interpreted Maria's wish differently. Perhaps on Light Mobius she phrased it as keeping the peace and not giving people a chance to be happy, but his misinterpretation of it as "keep peace at any cost, no matter the damage or happiness of civilians" was both selfish and ignorant, as well as cruel. He's abjectly cruel and kills without purpose, as seen when he murdered Lien-Da. 30 Years Shadow is nothing like Archie Shadow, and the only way I can tolerate him is the retrofitted excuse that he's Light Mobius Shadow and not the same person, as he's clearly not. I can't imagine Shadow ever regressing to become Light Mobius Shadow after the things he learned about the world.
my GOD you summed it all up i dont like the ‘temper tantrum’ shadow, but if you go ahead and give him anger problems, sonic’s attitude was never, ever one of them as serious and dark 06 was, their little rivalry scene in flame core was a perfect summary of their personalities
I always thought having Shadow use guns was OOC. He sees himself as the ultimate life form and is proud of his power. To me at least, it seems more accurate to have him think he’s too good for man-made weapons and rely on his own power.
Something that just occurred to me is that guns are actually not even useful to him outside of very niche situations, since he's able to run faster than the bullets move, and he has a constitution able to withstand moving at those speeds and coming to a halt from/ crashing into other things from those speeds. So unless he mustn't touch the target he needs to bring down, he can probably just hit it sooner and about as hard with himself then with guns, and even then he has those chaos arrows he can throw out for ranged attacks.
There's another game in there that I think did Shadow some justice. It's the rather obscure "Sonic Battle" on the GBA. Shadow's characterization there is rather interesting. It's him after the events of "Sonic Adventure 2" though its exact placement in the timeline is messy. Can't exactly say it's him after "Sonic Heroes" considering "Sonic Battle" released about a month before it did. But point is, Shadow is alive for whatever reason and is interacting with everyone. In the game, the cast takes care of a new character, a humanoid robot named Emerl. Throughout the story, Shadow has been trying to destroy Emerl due to it being a bioweapon with potential world ending capabilities. But in the second-to-last chapter, Sonic outright lets Shadow take Emerl, to Shadow's surprise, and ends up spending time with him. It turns out that Shadow is conflicted with self-loathing over his own status as a bioweapon. After seeing how similar he and Emerl are, starts sympathizing with him and chooses to save Emerl from his fate rather than destroy him. And actually managed to do so by disabling Emerl's bioweapon programming, with the help of Rouge. At the end, he also willingly relinquishing his Chaos Emerald to Emerl, which he has been absorbing throughout the story and Shadow's was the last one left, in order to complete his evolution. When asked by Rouge if he was okay with giving up his memento of Maria, Shadow states that it's okay since Maria will always be in his heart. It's a little cheesy but still heartwarming. Shadow ends up acting as a mentor to Emerl and caring for him., all while coming to terms with his own internal conflicts. It's really sad that this isn't the kind of Shadow we see anymore. The one we keep seeing regurgitated now is this malformed, bastardized version of him that doesn't remotely represent his actual character. Even sadder, that's the most perceived version of him, an asshole edgelord. Saying Shadow the Hedgehog is among one of the most misunderstood characters out there is almost no exaggeration.
To me post SA2 Shadow feels a lot like batman, he's trying to save the world but doesn't really need recognition for it (further evidenced by his confrontation with Mephiles in 06) that's not to say he doesn't WANT recognition, at the end of the day he's still basically a kid as far as maturity level goes, I'd also argue against one of the points in this video, I'd say he does think of himself as stronger then most people, he would just never gloat about it past Adventure 2, and he would think that him being stronger means he has a responsibility to use that strength for the the greater good, but I do think at least internally he thinks of himself as somewhat superior, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, despite how he's been unfortunately portrayed in recent times, and don't even get me started on that one racing skit where shadow just drives past Rouge and Omega like they're nothing, ooh that grinds my gears.
Team Sonic Racing's portrayal of Shadow was the one that pissed me off the most (even more than Sonic Boom to a certain extent). Not to mention Rouge and Omega are supposed to be Shadow's bestest of friends to him and now he treats them like shit now.
@@jordanboyd5587 I hated shadow in tsr overdrive when he completely ignores rouge and omega, but what the fuck, a fantastic scene would have been the shadow that made them get on board and during the race the wheels of the car burst due to the excessive weight of Omega and therefore lost the race.
I agree wholeheartedly. They need to stop confusing Shadow's character. I like the way he was in Sonic Adventure 2 where he is a tough guy but yet deep down he wants to do what's right. That's the Shadow I would like to see again.
Shadow never was an Edgelord He is A HERO . Yes there is a lot if darkness in him but he overcame his past and remained faithful to his promise. Besides he’s also very wise He thinks wbout everything thoroughly like a real strategist . There’s only one thing for what he actually hates Sonic. It’s his carelessness.They are not just rivals they are friends and rivals at the same time. He always saved Soniс’s ass when he appeared. And he also cares about everyone. He real,y wants to save the world and humans and he never considered himself to be better than anyone But Sega turned him into a stupid anti-Sonic
Why make Shadow the Anti-Sonic when the Archie comics literally had Scourge aka Anti-Sonic. Sega should translate this concept into games, not torment poor Shadow.
@@ShadowDante7 who the fuck is Cream? And Silver and Blaze are underused but recurring characters so they can't be as ruined as characters like the 4 most popular ones, Sonic, Shadow, Tails and Knuckles
This entire video explains everything about Shadow that I love, and everything I hate about his recent portrayals. Thanks for preaching the truth, my guy.
I think they will... if they do their research on the right games. I wouldn`t have formed an expectation that they will probably get Shadow right, but they got Tails & Knuckles right in the sequel, so I think we can trust them with Shadow.
Aaaayyy yes yes! I love her too - funny that I always said that she is like a Terminator, and later it turned out that she was created out of love... 100% like Shadow.
I don't know why, but I got very emotional after realizing how human of a character Shadow is. He's not always happy go lucky, and it may be hard for him to outwardly express his emotions, but that IS what makes him so lovable. It took me a while to get into Sonic, and I always thought that he was just some bland edgy character, but he isn't. He truly is just someone who was misguided at a time in their life where they were the most vulnerable and confused, but he grew from that and found himself. I now see him as a hero who would his risk his own life for the people he loves, because he DOES care, and always will.
He is literally a mech or a clone, he has died at least once in SAB 2. When he has "amensia" thats just him getting reset. In the game where he is an "edgelord" shadow could easily be getting manipulated through his wrapped mind, also everytime he forgets himself he turns into an asshole.
@@shuheihisagi6689 Well Shadow isnt really a clone and here are some reasons: -In Heroes, Rouge falls deep into one of Eggmans bases and finds Shadow in a locked room with a passcode. He is the only one in there btw. If he was just a clone, wouldnt he just be with the rest? Clearly something is special with that one. - He recounts certain benign details like Rouges Treasure Hunting and when Rouge mensions space in Egg Fleet, he seems like hes trying to remember something (The Space Colony). Why include these things in a random robot? - Eggman states that the Shadow in the Devil Doom Final Boss of Shadow the Hedgehog that he is the one from Sa2. If i misunderstood something pls do tell^^.
@@justcallmekai1554 No you did great pulling together what happened. But none of these events are concrete enough to show me that Shadow didn't die. I guess it was SEGA's way of retconing shadow. But I still feel like SA2 really meant to kill him at the end. And so the clones at the end of Heros gave me more questions than answers. The fact that the Shadow you play as is found seperate from the other shadows is not strong enough evidence to say that he is or not a clone.
@@shuheihisagi6689 Actually he was meant to die and stay dead in Sa2 but the fans of that time really liked him so they brought him back. I would have preferred that in a way tbh lol. But I brought up those because if he was a regular clone like the others, why; seperate him in a locked room with a powerful guard robot (Omega), give him weird details like Rouges hunting, Sonics semi rivalry, or hints of him remembering the ark? And thats just Heroes. Sonic Battle has Shadow recalling events from previous games and makes comments relating to his backstory. I dont remember the exact quote but "Looks like you will never understand. You creators (Gerald Robotnik included) dont know how your creations truly feel." Shadow was talking Tails in this quote while he was working on Emerl who reminds him of himself. If he truly was a clone, why give him a personality especially with a distain towards his creators and conflicting thoughts? We saw what happened with Metal Sonic. The clones in Shadow the Hedgehog where just Shadows with none of the personality and Chaos powers. Just robots built to kill.
@marexuia Well said. Especially, your second to last sentence. You summed up well why he is my favorite Sonic character. I think I relate to him a lot. I know why but don't really want to psychoanalyse myself, lol.
I really hope in the new movie, they don't trash his character again. As a new fan (who's still learning stuff about the games as I go), the whole "Shadow has guns and is super angst-y with no remorse for what he does to humans as long as it benefits him" always felt a little weird cause when I first saw him, he didn't seem like he was very... Edgy. He just seemed like he was serious and quiet, so it caught me a little off guard when I saw pictures of him with a fucking GUN lmao
I love how people make shadow do evil things in shadow 05 and then complain about it The irony man 😂 it’s literally confirmed in the final story that’s the canon ending as it takes place right before shadows 06 story That was also a time where games had a darker tone and it wasn’t edgy at all back then.
Wow. How did I end up here? But seriously, this was a very thoughtful and fun watch. My first impression of Shadow was in his titular edgy gun game and I mean, as a 14 year old I, embarrassingly so, was infatuated with his bad boy demeanor. All these years I never thought much more about him. I guess I did see him as an edgy and needlessly mean character. But your video really brought up points I never thought about, then again I'm not *that* big of a Sonic fan. I've only played a handful of the games. But now I understand yet another reason why true fans of Sonic feel hurt and let down. They've fucked up too many times :( I feel for that. Here's hoping that someday they do justice to every character in a good game.
Same here. I was never sure of what Shadow was and never understood his deal. One second he and Sonic are about to sucker punch each other and the next they're sucker punching Eggman like a couple of bros
7:30 A little thing to add here, as Mephiles tells Shadow about that in the future he will get “imprisoned” again he actually changes the future in a way, because from that moment, Shadow knows what is going to happen so that he can change that future, so when he says “I determine my own destiny” he’s actually right .
Sad to think he actually has more appearances as an edgelord than a genuine character. Then again, everyone post Unleashed has been flanderized to hell, so far as 2010s go, he's just one of many victims. I haven't played StH since 2008, so I missed just how bad they fucked him up. That being said, he's still one of my favorite characters in fiction for the few good moments he does have.
Go watch the true ending and canon parts of STH 05. His character is fine in those. The others are what ifs that arent canon so idk why people think they made him edgy from that game.
Unfortunately they refuse to repeat anything they did involving that game, except for rushing development which was pretty much the only thing that went wrong with that game. Good job Sega, you're great at learning.
Basically, they keep Vegeta(ing) him, whenever Vegeta goes through his character arc of overcoming his arrogance and superiority complex, they end up reverting him back to a state before he overcame those vices and go through character development again, then again, and again.
I hope the writers for Sonic 3 will keep this idea for him. Not edgy, but a character with a tragic past, and keeping his promise to protect earth. Even if the world is against him, he will continue to fight on no matter what.
Ok, so im kinda new to all this of Sonic and all that. The first time i saw Shadow, and read his story in the Ark i said "Hell, this has a lot of potential. This character seems really good i cant wait to see more." But then I saw how he is being portrayed in a lot of fan material and some that are canon in some kind of way and... I felt....It was wrong man. Just sick. I tough maybe I was wrong about what to expect or maybe I read him wrong...This really gives me peace, and went over a few doubts i have. Thank you a lot for taking the time of explaining this.
I hugely appreciate the love for Shadow, as he's so often misrepresented everywhere. However, my bias favours Shadow the Hedgehog(2005), as it was the first 'Sonic' Game I played. With the context of the other games, I'd say that after witnessing all the Shadow Androids at the end of Sonic Heroes, Shadow begins to have self doubts, and is less confident in himself overall. He questions his origins and his past, and after some time for introspection, tries to find his identity in Shadow the Hedgehog, as most people do in their teenage years. He's feeling more reclusive, and he has the potential to *be* anyone, and do anything. That was a large part of the appeal for me back when I was a kid: What do the choices I make do to change his character? While I can definitely agree that it shouldn't have been the basis for his character going forward, I enjoyed the look inside the mind of an unsure Shadow, and found him very interesting because of it. Then I played SA2, and learned more about who he is in a more confident setting, and I love the character all the more for it. What they've done with Boom is reproachful, and he hasn't been great in modern titles, that's for sure. It's such a shame, because he is and always will be one of my favourite characters of all time.
The canon parts and the true ending was great and got his character well. People need to realize the others were what ifs and don't represent his actual character. They're just fun maybes
The way they have Shadow acting nowadays is almost as offensive (if not as equally offensive) as what Warner Bros did to Scrappy-Doo, in the live-action Scooby-Doo movie. Turning him into a villain, just to please the people who hated him.
Wow, I never thought of it like that, but I think you're right! Either that or Sega just don't care anymore since, according to the "fans" and "critics" (who clearly know exactly what they're talking about) no one cares about the story of a Sonic game! And that gives Sega the perfect excuse to be lazy with their characters, giving us these sidelined, half arsed, flanderized versions of our favourite characters. And if you disagree and actually like these characters and want to see them being treated with more dignity in a decent and likable story then.... Tough Titty I guess! Your opinion apparently doesn't matter!
I always related more to Shadow than Sonic. I’m introverted, have a select number of friends, and have often felt misunderstood. I hate that he is viewed as an edgelord
But I think Shadow is in all of us. He may not be there with us physically, but he’s there- watching us grow into the people we will become eventually. I guess I should say that Shadow could be related to Batman
The different endings are only possibilities and I the end of shadow the hedghog he saved the world the guns and motorbike wasnt to make it edgy but more dark and more for adults shadow at least didnt hate friendship and was still sad about the death of Maria he wanted to fulfill his purpose also black doom was one of the best villains he still cared about his friend in the good endings what makes it edgy is just how hes a bit of a try hard like he keeps saying words like damn anyway I still liked him especially compared to sonic boom
Yes finally someone stepped up and made a video defending my all time favourite video game character. I felt the same way about Shadow but didn’t have the courage to make a video about him. Thanks so much for making this video and getting my feelings about Shadow out for me. Hopefully one day people will not see Shadow as an edge lord but a hero who cares for his friends as much as Sonic does
I think one of the times we actually see shadow for who he is isn’t in the main games, but in the Twitter takeovers. Sure, he makes fun of sonic for having friends there, but he clearly still likes rouge and omega enough to not discard them like trash. He also still shows his connections to Maria in some of his answers.
Shadow is awesome. He's empathetic, is badass and IS one of the good guys. The fact that the goodness in two girl's hearts is the thing that turned him is immediate proof he's not an edgelord. Any Edgelord would have told Amy to shut up and probably would have beaten her ass and wouldn't really be swayed by the memory of Maria. But its that exact arc and his fate encounters with Sonic that changes him and ultimately results in him becoming a humble person and a force for good. It's so kick ass because his name is Shadow the Hedgehod for petes sake and unlike anyone else who would have had that name he's actually a kickass hero with a good heart
I know the feeling. As a Shadow fan, I feel like nowadays memes have practically flanderized this character. Yes, he was made to be a dark reflection of Sonic but he has more to him than just being quiet and grumpy compared to Sonic's carefree nature. I think Chronicals could have also improved on this. They got him kind of right but still ended up just sidenoting him as edgy after his introduction. I'm not sure if you've played it but in the game you discover that he's been searching for Omega. And after you battle and convince him to join you when he thinks you're slowing him down in his search, you find Omega broken down. Shadow gets furious and after trashing nearby guard robots for parts, he vows to get revenge for the villains for daring to mess with his friends. It was a sort of, odd mix of his actual personality and his edgy personality. Better than what Sega is currently doing but not perfect either. It was a step in the right direction though. I also liked how his moveset and abilities made him very distinct from Sonic in that game. Made him feel more unique rather than the 'dark edgy Sonic' the current writers and fans think he is.... Really wish they could see past the memes.
I blame all those shitty meme vids back in the 2000's as well (etc. numerous Newgrounds parody animations and Purple Triforce). I mean, they're funny until people actually get the misconception that that's their characrter.
i like sonic battle; at first shadow is a bit self depreciating, calling himself a weapon of war and having a *genuine* episode of angst by the end, he remembers maria’s promise, and he has friendly competition for the remainder of the game
Thanks for making this. I've been a Shadow fan for as long as I can remember, but I never try to say it out loud because I'll be labelled as an edgelord wannabe for liking Shadow. I view this insult the same way people look down on those who say they're huge fans of Batman, who is more than a brooding anti-hero.
Yeah, same. I have been admiring Shadow for quite some time. And I like him a lot. I have had many struggles in my life, and in some of those situations, I felt like giving up. But, Shadow changed my life. He inspired me to keep going and don’t be hard on yourself. Keep helping those who need you and keep the promise you made to your friends. For me that promise is that I will become successful, and die successful
Funnily enough, the Twitter Takeovers actually do Shadow quite well in my opinion. While he does have a bit of an ego and thinks highly of his title, Shadow does deeply care for those he's close to and looks out for the smaller companies out there in the world. Forces even did Shadow decently well, even if some lines were a bit off. That's truly why Shadow is awesome. Even if his own game was a bit...weird with it's story, at least the ending was satisfying enough.
The Twitter takeovers are all done by the most recent set of voice actors, who all worked on the more recent, bastardised versions of the characters. So "edgy" Shadow is the only version that Kirk Thornton has worked with (he joined on in Colours). There's also an element of playing it up even more because it's Twitter, we're all meming around here. Twitter Takeover Shadow is like the NAVY Seal from the copypasta who'll hunt you down where you live for insulting him too much.
I don't agree, to be honest. The Twitter takeovers make Shadow seem like a secret goof. More importantly, Shadow IS NOT PROUD of his title of "ultimate life form". This is the entire point of his character. Because he is the ultimate life form, everyone on the Ark was killed, including Maria. Because he is the ultimate life form, an alien species tried to get him to destroy the world for them. Because he is the ultimate life form, humanity will turn on him if he is ever blamed for a catastrophe, as in the future of Sonic '06. Shadow wears his title as a burden, not as a badge of pride. He is not Vegeta, yet recent material (the Twitter takeovers, the IDW comics, Sonic Boom) portray him as if he were.
@@ButSeriouslyThough I agree with you about IDW's portrayal of Shadow. He's just like Vegeta, when he fights the zombots and said shit like "I'M THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM" and how he'll "not get infected", and it turns out he actually did get infected. i enjoy the IDW comics but one thing i have to admit is that Ian Flynn treated Shadow pretty poorly to be honest.
this.. video made me think. since I am an introvert I often come off as timid or shy in the gentle sense but other days I feel apathy. the way you described Shadow's true personality in those games apart from the edgy personality he exhibits in those that Sega uses it to pander to such an audience made me realize something about my own personality. I connected with both of these types very well. it is amazing how art is a way to connect and reflect yourself by putting yourself in the character's shoes and figuring out what they go through how they handle each situation, and as time passes by they gain more experience to teach us the viewers what they have learned. fiction has a way of expressing ourselves and being creative in ways that reality can barely replicate, which is saying something.. though the Sonic franchise is cheesy and has some weird fans it is refreshing to find some genuine quality underneath the surface glass. this video helped me to gain some more insight into myself through a cartoon character's perspective. great job!
Shadow may be moody and stand-offish but that’s not all of his character. In SA2, we see Shadow on a quest for revenge because Gerald fiddled with his memory. I think that Shadow had PTSD in that game because, to him, his best friend died a few days prior. Due to some prompting on Amy’s part, Shadow is able to break through the incorrect memories and remembers Maria’s true wish. Then, he chooses to sacrifice himself when he fights alongside Sonic, who he had been against up until then. In Sonic Heroes, we discover Shadow is alive but has amnesia. He teams up with Rouge and Omega on a quest to discover himself while Rouge is looking for treasure and Omega is looking for his purpose after Eggman locked him up. Once again, Shadow helps the heroes fight Metal Sonic and ends up recovering some memories, like the knowledge of Rouge’s love for treasure. In his game, we first see Shadow alone and struggling to remember who Maria was and his true purpose for existing. The game has multiple endings but I’m only gonna talk about the canon one. Armed with a weapon, Shadow teams up with Sonic and his friends and goes on a journey of self-discovery, fighting dangerous aliens along the way. At the end, he collects all the Chaos Emeralds and his memories return. From Black Doom, Shadow (and all of us) learns that his creation was helped by the dangerous aliens and is shaken to his core. Then, a video of Gerald tells Shadow the truth: The Eclipse Cannon was made to destroy the Black Arms race and ship, and Shadow was made to defy Black Doom’s wishes and save humanity. Shadow does just that and uses the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the ship. With that done, he puts his past behind him once and for all and continues living for the now. In Sonic 06, we see that Shadow is an agent for GUN and he’s on his way to save Rouge from Eggman’s clutches. When he gets to Rouge, she has an item called the Scepter of Darkness. Unfortunately, during a fight with Eggman, the scepter breaks and unleashes Mephiles, who takes on the form of Shadow. On his journey, Shadow goes through time travel, encounters with Mephiles, and a possible future in which he is imprisoned or destroyed by the government for being “too dangerous”. Despite learning that possible future, Shadow intends to fight as he always has and defend everyone from Mephiles. In the final story of the game, we learn Sonic has been killed by Mephiles and a visibly distraught Shadow teams up with Sonic’s friends to collect the Chaos Emeralds and revive Sonic. When Sonic gets revived, Shadow fights alongside him and Silver and they destroy Mephiles and Iblis for good. Then, time gets rewritten and Solaris doesn’t exist, thus the adventures never happen. After that, character writing has steadily declined when it comes to our favorite Sonic heroes.
khfan4life365 don’t forget that during the Devil Doom Boss, Eggman confesses to Shadow that he’s the original that Gerald Robotnik created and isn’t an android and that he was rescued by one of eggman’s robots but lost his memory.
Finally someone actually realizes the canon parts of his game were good story telling. People act like the what ifs were canon and it makes no sense. I dont think a lot have seen the true ending.
You and the PJShow got him so right. Shadow has been my favorite Sonic character since I was 7 years old, and it breaks my heart what they did to him in the Boom series.
Again, I've always liked Shadow's characterization in SA2 and Heroes, I saw a lot of myself in him, also being a rather introverted person who has problems with identity and self-expression but develops meaningful and often quite intimate personal relationships with other people. It was when they flanderized him as a violent edgelord that he began to become less relatable to me.
I thought Shadow was written pretty well in Forces. His character and even voice acting were pretty good, and we saw the sort of things Team Dark does, like taking down Eggman bases behind the scenes. Maybe Shadow just sees anyone who joins Eggman as pathetic, which is why he snapped at Infinite? Because other than that part, there's no real outliers from Shadow in Forces. He was also pretty concerned about Omega's disappearance, saw through the fake Rouge, and recognized the real one when he got out
yah people forget he a government anganet so I in forces it makes sence after destroy eggman forces in forces he be cocky after it being easy he always a dick but what rival is not
Finally, I came to the right part of the Internet ^^ I have the feeling that everyone is criticizing Shadow in Forces, as if his whole personality was locked in one (pretty) scene when he kicked Infinite and called him worthless. Meanwhile, there is so much about how it opens up among friends and stands aside in a group, about how he shows anger in control and cares about friends. And finally - come on! - wouldn't you call a worthless someone who calls himself the ULTIMATE MERCENARY, and then after three hits cringes against the wall? Fuk, even Cream wouldn't act like that.
@Gabriel 2020 It looks like you are talking about Omega. Shadow respects Eggman more than Sonic (he always calls him "Doctor") and occasionally even cooperates with him.
Oh man, someone finally puts it into words! Shadow is a hero. You hear it in one of his theme songs. "All Hail Shadow, HEROES rise again!" What makes him more interesting is that he's willing to go outside the paragon status that Sonic has as long as he can protect those he cares about and keep the world safe as a member of G.U.N. Even then, he still has to follow orders while working for them, which he does. I'm also not a fan of Sega always making him out to be Sonic's rival. (That's Metal Sonic's whole point!) It goes against his whole character. The rivalry in SA2 worked because of the dichotomy of hero and dark. Now that it's over, there's no more need for it. (If Sega wants to give Shadow a rival, Infinite could fit that role.)
can't agree on the metal sonic part more. shadow wasn't just more than a... well, shadow, that catches up to the figure of the model, he has the same heroic will to the model itself. the rivalry shows the black and white, light and sounds, but at the end, fight for humanity.
I must admit, edgy Shadow was awesome for that trailer in Shadow The Hedgehog, and I knew he wasn’t an edgy anti bad boy, but I had a hard time remembering what he truly was. Thank you for helping me do so. He isn’t an anti hero, just an introverted hedgehog who has a hard time expressing his feelings.
Shadow the Hedgehog did a great job with the canon parts especially the ending. The rest are what ifs so i just ignore those as they're not canon just fun what if scenarios
lets be reasonable here; unleashed was a great story, and so was black knight. secret rings was good too, but 06 was super convoluted as you heard a thousand times truth be told though, it did extreme justice to team dark, and i can never thank it enough for that
12:56 I've always considered Shadow to be somewhat of an anti-hero (sadly, his game turns him into an overly edgy version of an anti-hero), especially when you compare him to a more boy-scout-like character like Sonic tbh, but other than that, I completely agree with the video. Shadow is still heroic and compassionate, he's just more reserved and serious than a lot of the other characters in the series.
Alright, this made me completely changed my mind on Shadow! I’ve always thought he was some edge lord but now, that has completely changed. Made me appreciate his characters even more than I already did. I kind of had a feeling he wasn’t this person but the whole thing of him being edgy kind of covered his whole character.
It's funny how the Twitter Takeover events that Sega holds to promote new games give us more information about Shadow's character than any of the games released in the past decade. Because of them we now know that his favorite anime is Kill La Kill and that he drinks his coffee by putting a handful of coffee beans into his mouth then chugs down warm water.
@@Mariodash23 WUT!? WHY THE FUCK WHOULD ANYONE AT SEGA EVEN CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT A 17 YEAR OLD PURPLE FIRE WIELDING CAT PRINCESS IS EMBARRASSED BY THE SIZE OF HER BAZONGAS LET ALONE ACTUALLY PUT THAT INFORMATION OUT INTO THE WORLD!!!?
Here's my first thoughts of Shadow when I was young: I see Shadow as some sort of a vigilante soldier, that takes on more risking missions and actions, because it's the right thing to do. Especially since I watched Shadow the Hedgehog game. Speaking of which, it does make sense that Shadow can be associated with the military or something, like G.U.N. Another way, is that I view Shadow as a warrior, one who is strict and stern, yet that's what makes him effective against opponents who tried to fool him, and always has respected others who fight for what they cared or loved.
About time someone said it. I really do miss Shadow’s characterization and oh boy does his current voice actor not do him much justice either. I’m not saying he’s bad but Jason’s shadow is so much better than the current VA.
That's the funny thing about shadow. He doesn't think he's better than everyone else, he knows it. He's a competent fighter, knows when to retreat, and he even tricked eggman in his debut appearance. And he ultimately shows how noble he is by becoming a hero.
I'm not saying Shadow is a super friendly character, but he was more easier to work with back then. (His debut game had him teaming up with two other characters. Shadow has never been a lone wolf I can do shit by myself I don't need YOU guy. He did work with people to achieve stuff when he needs to. Yeah he'd probably be a bit stiff and not as willing to have small talk while paired up with others, but he isn't impossible to hang out with. ) And he was also capable of admiting to his faults. And yeah he does have a ego and can get cocky like Sonic, but not as bad as he is now. Now we have this Shadow with alot of hubris who believes he's incapable of making poor judgement and runs off on his own all the time even to the detriment of others and himself. Also say what you want about him and Sonic's relationship, but he did respect Sonic back then (Check out the finale hazard and how he's even one of the characters who cheers Sonic on in Heroes during the Neo Metal Sonic fight.) Now Sonic can't breathe around Shadow without him calling him a disgrace to all hedgehog kind or some other you're pathetic bs. And one of my favorite things about their dynamic is it started out antagonistic, but the two started to mutually respect each other by the end of Sa2. And yeah they have banter, but it's standard rivalry stuff not as antagonistic as it is now. I don't like how unapproachable Shadow is now I don't like how they say he hates everything. Like they're trying to tell me he doesn't like anything. Not his motorcycle not chao gardens not Rouge or Omega. Or how he called bingo highway a cool city! (Like atleast in the Sonic twitter we learned he likes cats and in Lego Sonic he likes flower arrangements which makes sense since he lived in space for a huge part of his life and is new to earth.) Stuff like that humanizes Shadow more and he needs that he deserves to be able to enjoy life. I'm tired of everything about him starting ending and revolving around the ark and Maria. (Although I'd love to learn more about her she holds Shadow back a bit.) Let him heal and make new friends even a small amount of friends would do. He isn't edgy he isn't hateful or mean Shadow is traumatized and he has a hard time connecting to people cause he's afraid he'll lose them. He's afraid of being a weapon of mass destruction. (Sonic Battle shows this.) Shth got him so wrong in so many ways. Why would they have him turn his back on humanity! I'd understand if it was Shadow during sa2 before he remembered Maria's true promise, but he doesn't have his memory here so they're implying he's always seen humans as pathetic and disgusting which is not true at all. Plus they gave him guns even though his most traumatic event in his life is witnessing his friend literally getting shot like for the love of God. I have alot of thoughts on Shadow man so much.
That scene with Team Dark in wave ocean is pretty great. The voice acting is delivered well, the characters fit well… Honestly if it wasn’t for the puppet animation and Omega’s horrible voice… It would’ve been perfect.
I love Shadow's introdection in SA2. And that line about Sonic being the U.L.F, not cannon. And I love how Shadow becomes ftiends with Rouge and Omega. And the way he was in the true ending of his game was ok. And I wish Rouge and Omega helped Shadow there. And 06 is when his character and friendship with Rouge and Omega are at there best. As for BOOM, there mite not be a Rouge and Omega there. So he never got that character arc. And as for Forces, his friendship with Rouge and Omega is there, and there is playful banter between them in Episode Shadow. And what TSR did is unforgivable. And I think the Phantom Clone of Shadow was more faithful than Shadow in the cut sean from Episode Shadow. And that's why I'm thinking of an alternate ending to Team Sonic Racing Overdrive.
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Here's a much better video on Shadow's character made 5 years later: th-cam.com/video/WzDEy8z0BWY/w-d-xo.html
Shadow in Heroes and SA2: I”’m gonna protect the world Maria loved so much.”
Shadow in Shadow the Hedgehog: “Humanity? More like futility.”
Shadow in 06: “I don’t care if people turn on me, I’ll do what is right.”
Shadow now: “I don’t have time to care about any of you, I’m better than all of you.”
Shadow In forces: I am edgy, you’re weak and lacks hate
Shadow 06 has to be my favourite Shadow
Sonic Boom: Friends? FRIENDS?! FRIENDSHIP IS GAY!!!!!
Edgy shadow is the best shadow
I thought the whole reason Shadows character regressed was because he had amnesia? He barely even knew what Maria meant to him.
Finally someone understands him. Even as a kid I always knew his tough personality was due to his tragic past and not cause he's just edgy. He was depressed, lonely, and had ptsd from what happened to Maria. I hate how the newer games completely erase that part of him and just made him smug
Yeah, i can agree you with that, Shadow deserve better than that and not just being an egdelord for no reason just like how Trevor Phillips from gta 5 doesn't become a psychopath beacuse he likes killing them with no reason, It's beacuse he has a tragic past about never have parents around him when he was young, like people think that trevor killing Johnny from tlad for no reason but in actulalaty, he kill him from snapp him out from descivory his suspose dead friend, Michael come back from the death at that point.
Edit: Thank you for all the likes of my comment Btw.
@@lightthegreninja2793 _Because he has a tragic past about never have parents around him when he was young._
Hold on. I thought Trevor became a psycho due to the abuse that his own mother gave him when he was young.
You are beta male magnus- shadow
Agreed
@@RoxyAfton Even Shadow agrees!
It really needs to be made clear how much good a lot of 06's story has, for all its flaws. And I absolutely hate how Shadow has been delegated to a cardboard cutout of himself without the actual character. Hell this is an issue with more characters than just Shadow.
Nobody wants to study 06 past glitches, Elise, and "IT'S NAW USE!!!" We deserve better than the modern below-average depiction of the characters.
Btw, your video on SA2's story helped me appreciate it and Shadow's character even more. I'm always eager for your next video essay; whether it's a lengthy review or a commentary on A-list internet personalities that don't know what they're talking about.
@@crashingbasher7376 I appreciate the Shadow love in 06, but I wouldn't write everyone else off as terrible. The other characters have their pros too. Rouge has a heartwarming moment where she stands up for Shadow after hearing of his fate and later tells him that she'll always be on his side. Omega is uncomfortable with his predicted future in targeting Shadow (he opens fire on Mephiles out of anger). Mephiles' plan makes no sense, but he did have charisma and an intimidation to him. Blaze is composed and trustworthy. Amy is kind to Silver when they first meet.
Speaking of Silver, he's one of the best characters in that game. He started out narrow-minded in thinking that simply killing someone will save the world, but then he opens his mind to the bigger picture and his adventure in the peaceful past has strengthened him before he returns to his future with a reasonable solution. And I have to give him props for putting his mission on hold while he helps Amy find her friend because he cares about others.
And about Elise, I'm working on a video with her in it.
@@crashingbasher7376 Sorry about this, but it turns out Elise isn't in my new video. She was in the original script and recording, but it was too long and I sounded too angry. I apologize for getting your hopes up about that.
I wasn't a huge of archie making him a full on villain
Ruby of Blue in the archie comics well when ian flynn joined the book shadow continued his development from sa2 especially in sonic universe issue 1 and 2 seriously go read them he develops it starts off with him fighting metal sonic and he stops for a bit and tells metal sonic your a intelligent thinking machine dont let the doctor use you he is trying to get metal sonic to leave robotnick and be a hero unfortunately in the idw comics sega has more control and made shadow a edge lord again seriously read sonic universe #1 and 2
Shadow’s old character is complex and brilliant. He isn’t edgy, he’s just in a lot of pain. Especially, in 06, he was past his pain..and rejected a chance of revenge he would have taken years ago, instead fighting for what’s right.
He not a complex.
I wouldn't describe it like that, but it's close. I would say he WAS in a lot of pain and because of the pain and trauma, he just doesn't care anymore. He is numb. This is what he tells Amy on the ARK as the Biolizard attacks- that he no longer cares what happens to the humans. It's only when he regains the memory of Maria begging him to help the humans that he decides to take action. Excellent use of amnesia to bring along character development. I think, often times, people label dark things as "edgy" when the truth is: they simply don't relate to it. It's because they don't relate to it that they label it as "edgy" or "dark nonsense".
So he's edgy. Insane how people can't admit this simple fact, they gotta use a lot of words and justifications.
Nope and NOT tho he NOT edgy!
@@thegk-verse4216 These people think Sonic is well written.
I always thought even as a kid Shadow was pretty chill. Just quiet. Maybe a bit depressed. Especially compared to the rest of the SA2 cast. I got really confused whenever people would claim he was an edgelord.
agreed, I always saw Shadow as more of a straight man or introverted, quiet cool guy with a soft spot for others. Sonic X and Sonic 06 especially portrayed Shadow this way and I loved it. Too bad the 2010s turned him into a violent edgelord who's a knockoff clone of DBZ Vegeta
I wonder if shadow falls under the autism spectrum in some way. Probably not.
@@GamingPiratesTwitch My sister and I actually saw a head canon that said Shadow has autism and ptsd.
@@magenta_mer-goat86 ngl. I do see a little bit of myself in Shadow (David Humphrey Shadow). Griffith and Thornton? Nope (yes I have autism)
Autism? Shadow is a cocky, friendly, and cool character that appreciates his friends and lives for the future, and that's all. I think you all are reading a little too much into it.
Apparently, Shadow was meant to be the Zero to Sonic's MegaMan. Stern and stoic, but with a good heart and defiant attitude. 06 is the closest we came to that and I wished we saw more.
Shadow was inspired by Wario as well.
adeleine the artist LOOK GUYS LOOK! IT’S ONE OF MY GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG LAND FOR THE SEGA GAMEGEAR
@@traktor420 XD
adeleine the artist ya I always thought that shadow was inspired by Wario
@@wombo8604 Me too.
Sonic 06 can still be known as the worst sonic game ever to some people, but when it comes to the majority of the cast's character development, it succeeds imo.
At this point in time, where the main 2010 games has placed most characters in the "benchwarmer" roles or "background decoration", I think your comment holds a lot of weight.
@@YuzuMelodious true
No, that's Rise of Lyric now.
Sonic Forces is 1000x worse than 06. Prove me wrong.
@@jordanboyd5587 I agree ngl
You hit the nail on the head with how Shadow can be a relatable character to kids who are shy, introverted or only have a few close friends. That drew me to him when I was very young. I was incredibly shy and had a hard time making friends. Lots of people (both adults and kids) I knew acted like something was wrong with me because I preferred to keep to myself (not my family, just those at school), and it caused me to feel very insecure about myself. When my brother started playing the Sonic games, I was immediately drawn to Shadow. My first introduction to him was Sonic Heroes, and I loved how he was portrayed in it. It was one of the first times I saw a characters being reserved and quiet as acceptable and not something to be concerned about. Rouge and Omega never made any concerned or condescending remarks about his personality, and it made me feel better about who I was. Seeing a character who helped me overcome some of my own insecurities as a child being treated as either an afterthought or “just an edge lord” by the people still making Sonic content really does make me sad.
Cool!
As my French teacher once said:
“Don’t tell me your life story”
@@ninjababy3141 too bad
@@ninjababy3141 As my English teacher once said:
"Go fuck yourself"
@@ninjababy3141 welp, then my germany teacher is much more better.
"Edgy" Has just become a blanket term for any character that wears black and doesn't mind killing.
Pretty much yeah.
Exactly
Or just has to do with ANYTHING that is negative.
Pretty much!
and it's got out of hand tbf...
Sega has forgotten about their characters personalities & went with stereotypes/typecasts instead.
Let's say thank you to fans and so-called video game critics
I hate how true this is.
*looks at tails in forces* yeah your right
@@zorakthelonemantisoftheapo5680 fuck the game grumps for shitting on sonics credibility with such a huge fanbase
@@TheReZisTLust it's not just them, blaming just them is technically generalzing since ign and metacritic along with others are all part of the problem
You just summed up Shadow better than anyone I've seen and showed us the reason he is my favorite Sonic character. I couldn't have said it any better myself! Shadow is supposed to be a tragic hero who is quiet and determined but has a heart and genuinely cares about his friends and protecting the world. Not some egotistical jerk who is edgy and broody. Unfortunately the IDW Sonic Comics have regressed his character too. Sega apparently just wants him to be a dark edgy rival to Sonic without any compassion or character development. It really makes me sad to see Shadow portrayed like this in the modern day.
The IDW Sonic version of Shadow is only written out of character BECAUSE of SEGA's stupidity.
No he is not an edge Lord in IDW,he is handled well:1)He doesn't believe eggman had his memory erased and wants to neutralize his threat and protect the planet espicially after metal's sonic planning and him not getting involved until last seccond proves for him that eggman is still a danger for the planet,he is doing what he sees best to Maria's wish.
2)Shadow's fighting against zombots while getting infected gives people more time to run that's why he does'nt run away from zombots even if this means getting more infected to a critical state,espicially that every secconds he fights in gives rouge more time to help people escape with team darks truck and more time for sonic to heal back the metal virus and fight too.
@Yung Sooty Shadow didn't really get that much time in the comic to get his character judged.Let's hope they do good for him.
@Yung Sooty true.
@@ahmadkazan7994 as I said in another comment, the author of the IDW comics said on twitter that he inteneded for shadow to have and epic and compelling scene (taking out his inhibitor rings to use all his power to fight in a desperate situation, while hoping it would be enough to burn off the infection he was under) but nope!, Sega said that's not the character they want, so they forced the writer to change it to: "Hey shadow, if you fight the zombies you will get infected, you have to run to burn it off" "Stupid sonic, I don't run, I FIGHT" and proceeds to punch zombies and get needlessly infected.
Shadow is an introvert who cares about everyone, but has trouble showing it.
No he doesn't
@@reggielacey2235 he has
@RandomCarfromNFS No, he doesn't.. he only cares about his friends (mostly Rouge and Omega). Humanity is what he doesn't care about, therefore.. he doesn't actually care about everyone.
Heck, Shadow LITERALLY has a line that says "I don't care what happens to others. I just don't like it when fools do whatever they please on this planet."
That's not the FULL line, but still.
@@DarkShadowX9what? Where does he say that?
@@DarkShadowX9*Maria’s Promise*
Done.
Finally someone who understands Shadows character perfectly. It's a shame how he's been treated in recent games..
Psycho Panda's Realm Of Randomness! I think that people will ask sega to change shadow back to his original good character that he developed and move on from his past. Seriously he says “I’ve left my past behind me” like 3 times in 3 different games. We need something new! Not the same old story that shadow has been through. Don’t you agree?
@@hristijan4469 exactly we need to see Shadow on his story continued after 06 where he's an agent who protects the world. Sonic Universe about does Shadow justice
Argee sega change Shadow and i hate it
@@scorpion8837 they also changed Sonic, Tails and Knuckles too
People think he’s the exact as vegeta being sonic edgy rival and that’s about it
I'm not even a sonic fan, AT ALL, but even I find this to be rather accurate. It's like people just think of Shadow's personality and character as just "*Crosses Arm and Glares*".
Exactly like Sega of America and stupid fanboys love this especially game grumps
Yeah, and some of those people are actually the ones writing the games now.
its actually *crosses arms and glares while saving the world*
I blame grame grumps and idiot fans that never got passed the Genesis era. The Genesis games weren't that good. At least Sonic Boom has the Saturday Morning cartoon excuse (though most fans weren't even alive when those were a thing).
Better than Metal. He's barely in the franchise at this point, and is more or less a joke anymore.
Finally someone gets it right.
Make that two.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱
There’s always room for four.
Any room for a fifth?
How about sixth?
Sonic Prime does Shadow much better. He’s basically the jaded older brother that has to clean up after Sonic’s mess
I saw someone say that the entire plot of prime is Sonic doing exactly what Shadow tells him not to and then both of them have to clean up the mess. I agree with that. Shadow is basically the responsible adult in Prime. He's still a little edgy but much closer to his SA2, Forces and Sonic 06 character than in other games
@@lucywoomyI agree
You changed my mind... know i know who the real shadow is, he's a true hero.
Why did you need your mind to be changed? Are you that unintelligent?
@@sizzle_falco Considering he used the word know instead of now...
It changed my mind about him too but I only had the 2005 game to go off of
I haven't played SA2 yet (I'm also over spoilers at this point since they are almost unavoidable in this fandom) and neither any of the other games with Shadow in it, so I always thought of him as an edgelord since I just thought of the 2005 game and other material supporting this. But now I have been convinced as well that he is way more than that.
@@destroyerblackdragon this is called: auto correct failing at his one job and change what you have written without asking.
Bruh SEGA needs to hire better writers who understand characters, or maybe bring back the old writers.
Evan Standley is a pretty good writer I recommended checking her stuff out like ghost of the future and some of her writing for the official Sonic comics.
I'd be happy to, but I'm more of an artist & story teller than a writer (as proven by my bad past fan fictions 😅 ).
Yes please.
@Yung Sooty we can't,unleashed writers,developers and artists moved thier ship to nintendo.
@Yung Sooty so sad.
SEGA's writing staff gets all their ideas from memes and fandom in-jokes, so he's an edgelord now. Also, Sonic is a one-note jokester incapable of taking anything seriously, Tails is a coward again, and Knuckles is a complete moron.
Sad but true
I think one of the things that made Shadow such a strong character is that his up until colours ruined every character, Shadow was one of the few characters who's motivations didn't involve Sonic at all. Shadow lived his own life and had his own day to day goals that were completely divorced from Sonic, the only reason the two remained "rivals" is that Shadow was the only supporting character who Sonic never surpassed- whether it be fighting skill or speed.
Also can we Sonic fans stop shitting on Sonic 2006? It was a good game, it was just unfinished because of Sega's rush to get it out for the 15 year anniversary. It had great designs, a cool story, amazing music, and got the characters right.
Also can we stop giving it shit for the Elise smooching Sonic at the end? I mean if I say that like a princess will kiss a frog, nobody panics. But if say that one, little old hedgehog will get smooched. _WeLL tHeN eVeRyOnE LoSeS tHeiR MiNds!!!1!1!_
@@John-X people really only shit on 06 because the glitches could be really fustrating and load times were horrible
@@John-X no, 0'6 was unplayable...
@@davidkekstroll5836 how i come i beat it in 2020 then?
@@davidkekstroll5836 i litterally have a fun time on stream playing it two days ago
They're treating Shadow like his "I Am... All of Me" theme song.
"One step forward, two steps back"
Great burn to the modern writers
However I think i am all of me is shadows best theme song lol
That's not the good song but okay.
@@Game_Hero All Hail Shadow?
@@demaunix2723 Never Turn Back, the song of the true ending of the game: Shadow realising it's not that important to know your past and you just need to move forward.
@@Game_Hero Oh, never heard of that, gonna listen to it now
I clicked on this video confused by the title because i have always considered Shadow an edgelord. But after watching this I'm glad to say you've changed my view on him. I completely agree with you now. Not only that but you made me remember why as a kid i chose team dark before team hero in Sonic Heroes. It was because i saw myself in Shadow and i still do. Overall i really enjoyed this video. Keep it up!
Same here
Same
"Edgy the hedgy is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted character in the Sonic franchise."
No. No he isn't. That would be Knuckles. He went from Sonic's rival and equal to a dumb as a rock muscle head that tried to replace Tails.
Every character has been written awfully since the 2010's
Also Knuckles was smart and a great tracker now he’s a dumb high school jock
The Boom continuity is a separate continuity, don't act like it's the only one.
Hell, mainstream Knuckles led the resistance in Forces, stayed with Amy to watch over Earth in Lost World, and was his more well meaning self in Generations.
@@wanderlustwarrior In Lost World and Generations he was only there for a few comedic scenes and that's it. In Forces, he was only a "general" but the game makes the conflict seem not as serious since the game's story isn't well thought out.
Knuckles has always been gullible, but they really took that and ran with it, eventually just turning him into a meathead
If Shadow ever appears in the movie series it would be nice to see him start out like his 2005 incarnation: a cold, selfish jaded ex-hero who believes that the cruel world is no longer worth saving and sees Sonic as a nuisance. However, he slowly grows into his original incarnation as Sonic slowly convinces him the world is worth fighting for, and he gradually comes to respect Sonic even if he doesn't often agree with him.
also: imagine if Keanu Reeves voices Shadow in the movie
Hehe
Bleh. Who needs those big Hollywood names? Let's just give him the Tails treatment and cast Kirk Thornton already
Let's get him back hid original voice actor instead, that was only dropped because of 4Kids back then.
Give him his og voice actor or his 4 kids voice actor.
@AsrielLSD David Humphrey. Really talented person. He only got to voice act in two major Sonic games before being replaced by the 4Kids cast.
06 as a game might be bad, but do people just ignore how many good characters and thereby stories came out of it? Like, Silver and Mephiles are awesome characters that sadly debuted here, and characters like Shadow progressed in a manner true to their character in this game, even if it was kinda garbage-
true
I'm waiting on p-06 so I can finarry experience the story and complete my internal collection of shadow lore
I wouldn't say they ignore it so much as the gameplay critiques tend to be (justifiably) frontloaded and with the added fact that the other stories have to be unlocked so there's a fair few people who are going to be turned off by the gameplay issues before they even get to the other stories, keep in mind that only a fraction of players actually finish most games in the first place, I think it's somewhere between 20-30% so a lot of the truly great character moments being further into the game will go unnoticed by most casuals.
@@GodOfOrphans meh
Also the music
it annoys me to no end when people represent shadow as an angry, violent person, and call him an anti-hero.
whatever, the new writers dont really care at all. hes not gonna get represented well.
Him being an anti hero is not a bad thing it makes him different from Sonic. But yes Shadow is way deeper than some edge lord
MightySo92 He’s not really an anti hero at all tbh,he’s really just a hero who’s not happy go lucky
@@KnucklesWTD well I guess that's your opinion because he's played the anti hero role in multiple games. Which is not necessary a bad thing
MightySo92 Sega makes him play that role sometimes, but they can’t understand that’s not really why people liked him, and his original personality... Most of the time it’s poorly received lol.
I do believe that Shadow is an Anti-Hero. Not the tradtional Anti-Hero, but the more 'modern' idea of a 'dark hero' rather then 'Just barely better then the bad guys'. Nowadays, Anti-Heroes tend to be seen as more just the dark brooding and more serious heroes rather then the tradtional jovial fun loving mostly carefree ones. Like Batman tends to get classified as such even becuase he's more serious then his contemparies like Superman, Flash, etc. And yeah. Shadow is sorta the Batman to Sonic's Superman.
Doing my part sharing this video around. This is as true as it gets. SEGA, fix your damn character, please
I appreciate that. The dour "friends suck" Shadow has run its course for too long.
Characters In-Depth in the archie comics well when ian flynn joined the book shadow continued his development from sa2 especially in sonic universe issue 1 and 2 seriously go read them he develops it starts off with him fighting metal sonic and he stops for a bit and tells metal sonic your a intelligent thinking machine dont let the doctor use you he is trying to get metal sonic to leave robotnick and be a hero unfortunately in the idw comics sega has more control and made shadow a edge lord again seriously read sonic universe #1 and 2
Okay, I applaud you for sharing this video, but I got a chuckle out of your avatar because I recognize the artist.
Red Blade Renegade oh shit I’ve been found out, ABORT ABORT
UltimateShadow You can run all you want, but people will discover the sauce.
As someone who shares Shadow's personality type, that part in the beginning of being a misunderstood introvert done dirty really hits home.
hahahahahhahahah shut up lil n word
Sonic 06 story is super underrated. Yeah the time travel isnt handled well and yeah Else and Sonic's relationship is dumb. But the rest of the story is epic. Theirs a reason why fans still think Mephiles is a great sonic villain. Second best to eggman.
Finally, a Sonic 06 supporter.
I personally don’t like it’s story. It feels confusing and not sonic-like. Just my opinion tho
Cloud Link as much as I like some of the plot points, you are right. The way the game tells the story is awful, with a mixed up sequence of events that is pretty confusing to keep track of, that only starts coming together properly once you’ve finished all three campaigns (four if you count the abomination that is the games final act). I feel that the game deserves a redo, not just to fix the broken gameplay, but to fix the story as a whole.
And the ending being a reset is kinda lame
Thank god I'm not the only one 😭 If only they had better writers and game developers-
Hopefully Sega can stop trashing Shadow as a "edgelord." They don't understand the reason why Shadow is beloved by some many people.
He's beloved because he's like sonic but more death metal, sadly.
SEGA doesn't even understand why Sonic was beloved by so many, let alone Shadow, Tails, Knuckles and the rest.
@@Chaotic42Kami Hopefully with Frontiers setting a new era with Sonic they can fix that
@@bottomtext593 They probably won't
These are the same people who's treating one of their Oldest Ip's like crap.......
I would like to add how Sega is obsessed with shadow staying in that arrogant prick stereotype. The author of the IDW comics said on twitter that he inteneded for shadow to have and epic and compelling scene (taking out his inhibitor rings to use all his power to fight in a desperate situation, while hoping it would be enough to burn off the infection he was under) but nope!, Sega said that's not the character they want, so they forced the writer to change it to: "Hey shadow, if you fight the zombies you will get infected, you have to run to burn it off" "Stupid sonic, I cowards run, I FIGHT" and proceeds to punch zombies and get needlessly infected.
Are you serious? SEGA really doesn't remember their own characters! Or only gives a shit about Sonic since they've screwed over countless characters too except him. It's gotta be both. Especially since they have a tendency to listen to critics and the negative part of the fandom which is so angering.
Aprilcelesti oh, they have screwed him too. Apparently he literally isn't allow to cry in the comics. Ever. I pity the writers trying to write compelling stories despite sega.
@@ceresgc I forgot about that. But still, the other characters usually have it worse like Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles. At least Sonic's well known spunk is still recognizable and he's one of the closest characters written consistently. Still not all the time of course. And yes! At this point, the higher ups may as well credit themselves for the story and not hide behind the employee's names when hovering over them like that. I would want space for my imagination to run free while giving the interpretation of the character I feel is right and consistent for the audience to enjoy. Like voice acting but in the form of text rather than vocalization. SEGA continues to dig their own grave.
Aprilcelesti 100% agree
can we get a shadow mania treatment pls
He really was not ment to be that edgy.
He is stoic, a bit melancholy.
A heart of gold covered in a cage of obsidian.
"Introverted person with a soft spot for people, but doesn't always know how to show it"
Uhh wow, I feel called out LOL
EDIT: Yes this whole video, it's why he's one of my favorites. I'm sad he's been demoted to "haha I'm so mean!" I guess it's what's been driving me away from the games, a lot of the characters I love, have been demoted to cardboard cutouts :/ sigghh oh well, we can only dream.
I feel called out too :>
Yep Same
@@Schnort OH NO LOL.
Somehow, I feel like I've been called out, too.
Same
I cried... Thanks for seeing Shadow as he is... Darkness is darkness, but a shadow can lead you to light.
Where did you get that
Yeah you can't have shadow without light to begin with
dang
That's deep man
Good line
Shadow didn’t start out as an edge lord.
He became an edge lord.
which sucks
@@donathan2933 Yeah, I agree.
@Senpai Neo especially in boom
Ikr we need the old classic shadow back which will make him a better person than the edge lord rubbish
He didn't became an edgelord, THEY made him an edgelord
"And despite all the problems that 06 has, they got Shadow right."
Finally, someone gets it!
'06 could've been one of the best if they'd done eggman better.
@@Attaxalotl Agreed, Eggman was kinda lame in that game
See, here's my take on Shadow.
He's not an exact hero, he'll do what has to be done and make the hard choices that no one else will. Same with Sonic. They're both...I wouldn't say anti-heroes, but their worldviews aren't black and white. But they go about it in different ways.
Sonic is open and outgoing, loud, a bit obnoxious but has a heart of gold.
Shadow on the other hand is quiet and personal, very refined in himself and tries to keep to himself and Team Dark.
Sonic and Shadow's rivalry?
In current games, Shadow is always trying to prove himself and Sonic kinda entertains his ego when it should be the exact opposite.
Shadow may act like he doesn't have time for Sonic's foolishness but he's definitely not above throwing shade back at Sonic or entertaining the blur.
Sonic: Don't be late
Shadow: Same to you.
That, right there is there "rivalry" in a nutshell. It should be full of little well meaning jabs at one another, but neither one trying to prove whose better or not.
Heck, look at Sonic Universe issue 1-4 for a good Shadow story arc. He quickly befriends Blaze, has a small misadventure with Sonic and Rouge, accidentally forms Team Dark, and then goes on to use Team Dark to get a Chaos Emerald. With a backup plan to boot.
Wanna give him a short temper, go right ahead. It takes a few things to set it off, but Sonic's antics aren't one of them. Annoying sure, but nothing blood boiling.
Sorry, had a rant
The way the Sonic games go back and forth between handling Shadow well and poorly feels like the contrast between The Shadow Saga (1-4) of Sonic Universe and the 30 Years Later Saga, which spat in its face during the very next arc (5-8). Sonic Universe Shadow is my favorite version of Shadow, especially in Shadow Fall (59-62), but even Sonic Universe butchered him a few times. I don't understand why his character suffers from being inconsistent so much, even among the same writers like Ian Flynn (responsible for all the aforementioned arcs).
I kinda miss more id say battle 2 and sonic x style sonic. As a kid I watched the 1993 show. I hated sonic but show was like classic toon feel, so I liked it. Reason why I like what I like, sonic did have a small ego, in a childish way. The way to manage him was to slightly entertain it. But also they are anthro animals and their socialization isn't human standards. If you could run fast and get all your work done in 5 min or less and got more free time than others what would you do? Also I could be wrong but it seems sonic just can't go 1 day no running. I keep wishing they go back to old personality traits but with the modern graphics
@@shadowacesonic2827 The "30 years later Arc" I can kinda see why Shadow became like that.
In a previous arc from the actual main comics dubbed "25 years later" Sonic had been presumably killed and since we don't see Rpuge and Omega, it's entirely possible Eggman killed them. So Shadow, having let his guard down and be vulnerable again just to loose another family, he's completely done with it. So to ensure world peace, he puts the planet under his boot.
And then power does VERY interesting things to people, it's possible that Shadow was no different.
30 years later, and his once rival is just some old husk of what he once was. He doesn't deserve the throne.
Just my take on it.
@@jokerson1316 The fact that Rouge and Omega didn't appear could mean they're dead, or perhaps Shadow has never met them on Light Mobius. Either way, he was far too despicable. It didn't feel like a reaction to the loss of his second family--he even interpreted Maria's wish differently. Perhaps on Light Mobius she phrased it as keeping the peace and not giving people a chance to be happy, but his misinterpretation of it as "keep peace at any cost, no matter the damage or happiness of civilians" was both selfish and ignorant, as well as cruel. He's abjectly cruel and kills without purpose, as seen when he murdered Lien-Da. 30 Years Shadow is nothing like Archie Shadow, and the only way I can tolerate him is the retrofitted excuse that he's Light Mobius Shadow and not the same person, as he's clearly not. I can't imagine Shadow ever regressing to become Light Mobius Shadow after the things he learned about the world.
my GOD you summed it all up
i dont like the ‘temper tantrum’ shadow, but if you go ahead and give him anger problems, sonic’s attitude was never, ever one of them
as serious and dark 06 was, their little rivalry scene in flame core was a perfect summary of their personalities
To think '06 had the best recent incarnation of Shadow.
@Astro8 99 I'm not saying it didn't.
I'm saying he's been a _shadow_ of his former self for 14 years.
Play on words???????
Had ‘06 done much better, we might’ve seen this incarnation of shadow more often
I always thought having Shadow use guns was OOC. He sees himself as the ultimate life form and is proud of his power. To me at least, it seems more accurate to have him think he’s too good for man-made weapons and rely on his own power.
Normal Name Not to mention the psychotic break he must have had wielding a polka dotted chicken vacuum as a weapon.
I always thought the exact same thing! Considering his best friend was literally shot right in front of his eyes. WITH A GUN.
Something that just occurred to me is that guns are actually not even useful to him outside of very niche situations, since he's able to run faster than the bullets move, and he has a constitution able to withstand moving at those speeds and coming to a halt from/ crashing into other things from those speeds.
So unless he mustn't touch the target he needs to bring down, he can probably just hit it sooner and about as hard with himself then with guns, and even then he has those chaos arrows he can throw out for ranged attacks.
PyjamaKama THIS
I always thought it’s for long hit attack or to hurt someone without the security cameras finding him
You’re literally right tho. He’s introverted. Not edgy. As someone who’s introverted it really irks me sometimes that those are considered the same
EDGY
@@reggielacey2235 stop
I'm saving the world for everyone, that's me
He's both, get over it.
@@bubbykins4864 The video proves you wrong. Cope.
There's another game in there that I think did Shadow some justice. It's the rather obscure "Sonic Battle" on the GBA.
Shadow's characterization there is rather interesting. It's him after the events of "Sonic Adventure 2" though its exact placement in the timeline is messy. Can't exactly say it's him after "Sonic Heroes" considering "Sonic Battle" released about a month before it did. But point is, Shadow is alive for whatever reason and is interacting with everyone.
In the game, the cast takes care of a new character, a humanoid robot named Emerl. Throughout the story, Shadow has been trying to destroy Emerl due to it being a bioweapon with potential world ending capabilities. But in the second-to-last chapter, Sonic outright lets Shadow take Emerl, to Shadow's surprise, and ends up spending time with him. It turns out that Shadow is conflicted with self-loathing over his own status as a bioweapon. After seeing how similar he and Emerl are, starts sympathizing with him and chooses to save Emerl from his fate rather than destroy him. And actually managed to do so by disabling Emerl's bioweapon programming, with the help of Rouge.
At the end, he also willingly relinquishing his Chaos Emerald to Emerl, which he has been absorbing throughout the story and Shadow's was the last one left, in order to complete his evolution. When asked by Rouge if he was okay with giving up his memento of Maria, Shadow states that it's okay since Maria will always be in his heart. It's a little cheesy but still heartwarming. Shadow ends up acting as a mentor to Emerl and caring for him., all while coming to terms with his own internal conflicts.
It's really sad that this isn't the kind of Shadow we see anymore. The one we keep seeing regurgitated now is this malformed, bastardized version of him that doesn't remotely represent his actual character. Even sadder, that's the most perceived version of him, an asshole edgelord. Saying Shadow the Hedgehog is among one of the most misunderstood characters out there is almost no exaggeration.
what about his line in that game
"Emerl bring hope to humanity"
@@amycrescione5880 that was a password. He could have meant it, or he could have not.
sonic adventure mania wen
@@Schnort have you tried letting the ghost of a speedrunner inhabit your body or.... get the mod that lets you see all 3 treasures at once
To me post SA2 Shadow feels a lot like batman, he's trying to save the world but doesn't really need recognition for it (further evidenced by his confrontation with Mephiles in 06) that's not to say he doesn't WANT recognition, at the end of the day he's still basically a kid as far as maturity level goes, I'd also argue against one of the points in this video, I'd say he does think of himself as stronger then most people, he would just never gloat about it past Adventure 2, and he would think that him being stronger means he has a responsibility to use that strength for the the greater good, but I do think at least internally he thinks of himself as somewhat superior, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, despite how he's been unfortunately portrayed in recent times, and don't even get me started on that one racing skit where shadow just drives past Rouge and Omega like they're nothing, ooh that grinds my gears.
Being aware that you're stronger than most is different from bragging about being numero uno. The latter's the problem with Shadow now.
Team Sonic Racing's portrayal of Shadow was the one that pissed me off the most (even more than Sonic Boom to a certain extent). Not to mention Rouge and Omega are supposed to be Shadow's bestest of friends to him and now he treats them like shit now.
@@jordanboyd5587 I hated shadow in tsr overdrive when he completely ignores rouge and omega, but what the fuck, a fantastic scene would have been the shadow that made them get on board and during the race the wheels of the car burst due to the excessive weight of Omega and therefore lost the race.
With great power comes great responsibility.
I agree wholeheartedly. They need to stop confusing Shadow's character. I like the way he was in Sonic Adventure 2 where he is a tough guy but yet deep down he wants to do what's right. That's the Shadow I would like to see again.
Shadow never was an Edgelord
He is A HERO . Yes there is a lot if darkness in him but he overcame his past and remained faithful to his promise. Besides he’s also very wise He thinks wbout everything thoroughly like a real strategist . There’s only one thing for what he actually hates Sonic. It’s his carelessness.They are not just rivals they are friends and rivals at the same time. He always saved Soniс’s ass when he appeared. And he also cares about everyone. He real,y wants to save the world and humans and he never considered himself to be better than anyone
But Sega turned him into a stupid anti-Sonic
Why make Shadow the Anti-Sonic when the Archie comics literally had Scourge aka Anti-Sonic. Sega should translate this concept into games, not torment poor Shadow.
I want my hero shadow, not the edge-lord shadow 😫
argee 100%
@@DipperPines1986 Sega are just incompetent idiots out of touch with the times if they actually DO that it would be a miracle.
They turned Shadow into anti-Sonic when they clearly had Metal Sonic, who is MEANT to be anti-Sonic
2010 era(Excluding Unleashed): Ruined all the Sonic characters
that's why 2010 Sonic sucks
Maybe not all characters. I wouldn’t say Blaze or Silver or Cream have been ruined, but most of the characters yes.
@@ShadowDante7 You know, Silver's only Change in character is that he is a small child. Other than that, They didn't really change.
@@ShadowDante7 who the fuck is Cream? And Silver and Blaze are underused but recurring characters so they can't be as ruined as characters like the 4 most popular ones, Sonic, Shadow, Tails and Knuckles
@@donathan2933 she's the rabbit from Team Rose in Sonic Heroes
This entire video explains everything about Shadow that I love, and everything I hate about his recent portrayals. Thanks for preaching the truth, my guy.
“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will like I always have” that line was just too cold
When the 3rd Sonic movie comes out, I really hope they get this right.
agreed he's not a vegeta wannabe, he's a compassionate, heroric, intellegent, heroic character
We need OG *PERSONALITY*
We need OG *CHARACTER*
They will because they are not Sega.
@@crichie21 He is not a Vegeta, he is an Edgeworth (who, despite the name, is not edgy)
I think they will... if they do their research on the right games. I wouldn`t have formed an expectation that they will probably get Shadow right, but they got Tails & Knuckles right in the sequel, so I think we can trust them with Shadow.
Shadow's a lot like Garnet: he's stoic but he's not inflexible.
Aaaayyy yes yes! I love her too - funny that I always said that she is like a Terminator, and later it turned out that she was created out of love... 100% like Shadow.
More like Garnet is a lot like Shadow... Xcept Shadow is cooler cuz he said so
No he’s not
Astroni800 No it’s not 100% like Shafow
cURSED Garnet is not a lot like shadow
3:12 this is why shadow is my favorite character. I can relate to all these traits.
Same
I don't know why, but I got very emotional after realizing how human of a character Shadow is. He's not always happy go lucky, and it may be hard for him to outwardly express his emotions, but that IS what makes him so lovable. It took me a while to get into Sonic, and I always thought that he was just some bland edgy character, but he isn't. He truly is just someone who was misguided at a time in their life where they were the most vulnerable and confused, but he grew from that and found himself. I now see him as a hero who would his risk his own life for the people he loves, because he DOES care, and always will.
He is literally a mech or a clone, he has died at least once in SAB 2. When he has "amensia" thats just him getting reset. In the game where he is an "edgelord" shadow could easily be getting manipulated through his wrapped mind, also everytime he forgets himself he turns into an asshole.
@@shuheihisagi6689 Well Shadow isnt really a clone and here are some reasons:
-In Heroes, Rouge falls deep into one of Eggmans bases and finds Shadow in a locked room with a passcode. He is the only one in there btw. If he was just a clone, wouldnt he just be with the rest? Clearly something is special with that one.
- He recounts certain benign details like Rouges Treasure Hunting and when Rouge mensions space in Egg Fleet, he seems like hes trying to remember something (The Space Colony). Why include these things in a random robot?
- Eggman states that the Shadow in the Devil Doom Final Boss of Shadow the Hedgehog that he is the one from Sa2.
If i misunderstood something pls do tell^^.
@@justcallmekai1554 No you did great pulling together what happened. But none of these events are concrete enough to show me that Shadow didn't die. I guess it was SEGA's way of retconing shadow. But I still feel like SA2 really meant to kill him at the end. And so the clones at the end of Heros gave me more questions than answers. The fact that the Shadow you play as is found seperate from the other shadows is not strong enough evidence to say that he is or not a clone.
@@shuheihisagi6689 Actually he was meant to die and stay dead in Sa2 but the fans of that time really liked him so they brought him back. I would have preferred that in a way tbh lol. But I brought up those because if he was a regular clone like the others, why; seperate him in a locked room with a powerful guard robot (Omega), give him weird details like Rouges hunting, Sonics semi rivalry, or hints of him remembering the ark? And thats just Heroes.
Sonic Battle has Shadow recalling events from previous games and makes comments relating to his backstory. I dont remember the exact quote but "Looks like you will never understand. You creators (Gerald Robotnik included) dont know how your creations truly feel." Shadow was talking Tails in this quote while he was working on Emerl who reminds him of himself.
If he truly was a clone, why give him a personality especially with a distain towards his creators and conflicting thoughts? We saw what happened with Metal Sonic. The clones in Shadow the Hedgehog where just Shadows with none of the personality and Chaos powers. Just robots built to kill.
@marexuia Well said. Especially, your second to last sentence. You summed up well why he is my favorite Sonic character. I think I relate to him a lot. I know why but don't really want to psychoanalyse myself, lol.
I really hope in the new movie, they don't trash his character again. As a new fan (who's still learning stuff about the games as I go), the whole "Shadow has guns and is super angst-y with no remorse for what he does to humans as long as it benefits him" always felt a little weird cause when I first saw him, he didn't seem like he was very... Edgy. He just seemed like he was serious and quiet, so it caught me a little off guard when I saw pictures of him with a fucking GUN lmao
Shadow 05 is not edgy, play the game.
I love how people make shadow do evil things in shadow 05 and then complain about it
The irony man 😂 it’s literally confirmed in the final story that’s the canon ending as it takes place right before shadows 06 story
That was also a time where games had a darker tone and it wasn’t edgy at all back then.
@@virtualashezcap
@@thymecrafter “cap” 🤓
@@Sebo994that’s exactly what I’m saying 😂
Wow.
How did I end up here? But seriously, this was a very thoughtful and fun watch. My first impression of Shadow was in his titular edgy gun game and I mean, as a 14 year old I, embarrassingly so, was infatuated with his bad boy demeanor. All these years I never thought much more about him. I guess I did see him as an edgy and needlessly mean character. But your video really brought up points I never thought about, then again I'm not *that* big of a Sonic fan. I've only played a handful of the games.
But now I understand yet another reason why true fans of Sonic feel hurt and let down. They've fucked up too many times :(
I feel for that. Here's hoping that someday they do justice to every character in a good game.
The empathy in this comment hits man. Thank you, I hope you'll pick up some more Sonic games in the future! some of the games are really awesome
Yeah our community may seem messed up but we have a pretty large good side.all of the fandoms I’m in are like that actually huh.....
Same here. I was never sure of what Shadow was and never understood his deal. One second he and Sonic are about to sucker punch each other and the next they're sucker punching Eggman like a couple of bros
@@LycanMOON all of the fandoms that aren't niche are like that. Period
Really gotta pray that Sonic Prime is good shit
7:30 A little thing to add here, as Mephiles tells Shadow about that in the future he will get “imprisoned” again he actually changes the future in a way, because from that moment, Shadow knows what is going to happen so that he can change that future, so when he says “I determine my own destiny” he’s actually right .
One of the few good things that Mephiles did
@@EV_Rebound Yeah
Unless now that he knows he might inadvertently end up imprisoned
Oh my gosh you’re right!
Sad to think he actually has more appearances as an edgelord than a genuine character. Then again, everyone post Unleashed has been flanderized to hell, so far as 2010s go, he's just one of many victims. I haven't played StH since 2008, so I missed just how bad they fucked him up.
That being said, he's still one of my favorite characters in fiction for the few good moments he does have.
Quality over quantity. SA2 beats every half-hearted Shadow appearance combined.
That it does.
...You just summed up 90% of my opinions on Shadow, feels good to know that there are people out there I can relate. Thank you.
Yup. It seems that Black Knight and Colors DS were the last games to respect the characters.
Go watch the true ending and canon parts of STH 05. His character is fine in those. The others are what ifs that arent canon so idk why people think they made him edgy from that game.
Shadow is the character I can relate to the most. It saddens me that people don’t understand his character.
He's the Sasuke of sonic,of least for me
Sonic 06 gets Shadow's character right, the creators need to look back at his moments from the game to make him better again in the next one.
ikr
Instead of being an edgy vegeta rip off when he's much more than that we all want him to be his sa2 self
I don't think Sega or the Sonic Team want to see 06 again, and that unfortunately includes Shadow's story.
Not surprising it's always the good shit that they ruin in that series
Unfortunately they refuse to repeat anything they did involving that game, except for rushing development which was pretty much the only thing that went wrong with that game. Good job Sega, you're great at learning.
Basically, they keep Vegeta(ing) him, whenever Vegeta goes through his character arc of overcoming his arrogance and superiority complex, they end up reverting him back to a state before he overcame those vices and go through character development again, then again, and again.
Guess that's what made Dragonball Super bad regarding story, at least it had some good fights. But too much god, too less monkey.
"A case of 2000's amnesia." Easily my favorite line lol
I hope the writers for Sonic 3 will keep this idea for him. Not edgy, but a character with a tragic past, and keeping his promise to protect earth. Even if the world is against him, he will continue to fight on no matter what.
Ok, so im kinda new to all this of Sonic and all that. The first time i saw Shadow, and read his story in the Ark i said "Hell, this has a lot of potential. This character seems really good i cant wait to see more." But then I saw how he is being portrayed in a lot of fan material and some that are canon in some kind of way and... I felt....It was wrong man. Just sick. I tough maybe I was wrong about what to expect or maybe I read him wrong...This really gives me peace, and went over a few doubts i have. Thank you a lot for taking the time of explaining this.
I hugely appreciate the love for Shadow, as he's so often misrepresented everywhere. However, my bias favours Shadow the Hedgehog(2005), as it was the first 'Sonic' Game I played.
With the context of the other games, I'd say that after witnessing all the Shadow Androids at the end of Sonic Heroes, Shadow begins to have self doubts, and is less confident in himself overall. He questions his origins and his past, and after some time for introspection, tries to find his identity in Shadow the Hedgehog, as most people do in their teenage years. He's feeling more reclusive, and he has the potential to *be* anyone, and do anything. That was a large part of the appeal for me back when I was a kid: What do the choices I make do to change his character?
While I can definitely agree that it shouldn't have been the basis for his character going forward, I enjoyed the look inside the mind of an unsure Shadow, and found him very interesting because of it. Then I played SA2, and learned more about who he is in a more confident setting, and I love the character all the more for it. What they've done with Boom is reproachful, and he hasn't been great in modern titles, that's for sure. It's such a shame, because he is and always will be one of my favourite characters of all time.
Gasp, a defense for Shadow's story in his game!
The canon parts and the true ending was great and got his character well. People need to realize the others were what ifs and don't represent his actual character. They're just fun maybes
The way they have Shadow acting nowadays is almost as offensive (if not as equally offensive) as what Warner Bros did to Scrappy-Doo, in the live-action Scooby-Doo movie. Turning him into a villain, just to please the people who hated him.
exactly
Wow, I never thought of it like that, but I think you're right!
Either that or Sega just don't care anymore since, according to the "fans" and "critics" (who clearly know exactly what they're talking about) no one cares about the story of a Sonic game! And that gives Sega the perfect excuse to be lazy with their characters, giving us these sidelined, half arsed, flanderized versions of our favourite characters. And if you disagree and actually like these characters and want to see them being treated with more dignity in a decent and likable story then.... Tough Titty I guess! Your opinion apparently doesn't matter!
@@bowmaj8666 That’s exactly what their mindset has been throughout the 2010’s. Hopefully all of that changes.
@@SuperSonicWarrior93 Will it though?
Hopefully
I always related more to Shadow than Sonic. I’m introverted, have a select number of friends, and have often felt misunderstood. I hate that he is viewed as an edgelord
Same
I get a lot of awkward stares often times, so I can definitely relate to how Shadow feels
But I think Shadow is in all of us. He may not be there with us physically, but he’s there- watching us grow into the people we will become eventually. I guess I should say that Shadow could be related to Batman
Less edgelord, more tsundere
Damn accurate!
Shadow is both edgelord and tsundere at the same time.
"Shadow the Hedgehog is a Tsundere" Is not a take I thought I needed until now
@@greenstarforce001 I know
@@greenstarforce001 yup
So the Shadow game was just a BAD fan fiction, makes sense to me.
Except it wasn't a "fan" fiction. That's the worst part.
@@walrider2133 Most Unfortunate
The different endings are only possibilities and I the end of shadow the hedghog he saved the world the guns and motorbike wasnt to make it edgy but more dark and more for adults shadow at least didnt hate friendship and was still sad about the death of Maria he wanted to fulfill his purpose also black doom was one of the best villains he still cared about his friend in the good endings what makes it edgy is just how hes a bit of a try hard like he keeps saying words like damn anyway I still liked him especially compared to sonic boom
@@Supersak67 Basically like Fate/Stay Night, but Shadow.
Yep
Exactly
Yes finally someone stepped up and made a video defending my all time favourite video game character. I felt the same way about Shadow but didn’t have the courage to make a video about him. Thanks so much for making this video and getting my feelings about Shadow out for me. Hopefully one day people will not see Shadow as an edge lord but a hero who cares for his friends as much as Sonic does
I think one of the times we actually see shadow for who he is isn’t in the main games, but in the Twitter takeovers. Sure, he makes fun of sonic for having friends there, but he clearly still likes rouge and omega enough to not discard them like trash. He also still shows his connections to Maria in some of his answers.
I really doubt the takeovers are canon.
True. Bro straight up confirmed he loves lavender and has worked in a tea shop before.
Shadow is awesome. He's empathetic, is badass and IS one of the good guys. The fact that the goodness in two girl's hearts is the thing that turned him is immediate proof he's not an edgelord. Any Edgelord would have told Amy to shut up and probably would have beaten her ass and wouldn't really be swayed by the memory of Maria. But its that exact arc and his fate encounters with Sonic that changes him and ultimately results in him becoming a humble person and a force for good. It's so kick ass because his name is Shadow the Hedgehod for petes sake and unlike anyone else who would have had that name he's actually a kickass hero with a good heart
Anti hero. Also that's not what en edge lord would do
“If the world becomes my enemy, then I will fight like I’ve always have” Never forgot how cool this line and scene was. glad it wasn’t just me.
*” THE PAST, THE PAST, OH MY GOD, ITS THE PAST”*
I am nowdays less angry at Shadow being a massive prick to everyone else and more angry at writers for ruining this fantastic character
I know the feeling. As a Shadow fan, I feel like nowadays memes have practically flanderized this character. Yes, he was made to be a dark reflection of Sonic but he has more to him than just being quiet and grumpy compared to Sonic's carefree nature.
I think Chronicals could have also improved on this. They got him kind of right but still ended up just sidenoting him as edgy after his introduction. I'm not sure if you've played it but in the game you discover that he's been searching for Omega. And after you battle and convince him to join you when he thinks you're slowing him down in his search, you find Omega broken down. Shadow gets furious and after trashing nearby guard robots for parts, he vows to get revenge for the villains for daring to mess with his friends.
It was a sort of, odd mix of his actual personality and his edgy personality. Better than what Sega is currently doing but not perfect either. It was a step in the right direction though.
I also liked how his moveset and abilities made him very distinct from Sonic in that game. Made him feel more unique rather than the 'dark edgy Sonic' the current writers and fans think he is.... Really wish they could see past the memes.
I blame all those shitty meme vids back in the 2000's as well (etc. numerous Newgrounds parody animations and Purple Triforce). I mean, they're funny until people actually get the misconception that that's their characrter.
@Sega Sonic facts
@@donathan2933 what did he say?
those are nostalgic but dumb lol, also Do Nathan and Your Mom it's you guys again
Factssss
You forgot sonic battle. Shadow the hedgehog was portrayed pretty well in that game.
i like sonic battle; at first shadow is a bit self depreciating, calling himself a weapon of war and having a *genuine* episode of angst
by the end, he remembers maria’s promise, and he has friendly competition for the remainder of the game
Thanks for making this. I've been a Shadow fan for as long as I can remember, but I never try to say it out loud because I'll be labelled as an edgelord wannabe for liking Shadow. I view this insult the same way people look down on those who say they're huge fans of Batman, who is more than a brooding anti-hero.
He's an anti hero
Yeah, same. I have been admiring Shadow for quite some time. And I like him a lot. I have had many struggles in my life, and in some of those situations, I felt like giving up. But, Shadow changed my life. He inspired me to keep going and don’t be hard on yourself. Keep helping those who need you and keep the promise you made to your friends. For me that promise is that I will become successful, and die successful
Funnily enough, the Twitter Takeovers actually do Shadow quite well in my opinion. While he does have a bit of an ego and thinks highly of his title, Shadow does deeply care for those he's close to and looks out for the smaller companies out there in the world. Forces even did Shadow decently well, even if some lines were a bit off. That's truly why Shadow is awesome. Even if his own game was a bit...weird with it's story, at least the ending was satisfying enough.
I feel like in the Twitter takeovers, he's just putting up an act when he is talking highly of himself.
The Twitter takeovers are all done by the most recent set of voice actors, who all worked on the more recent, bastardised versions of the characters. So "edgy" Shadow is the only version that Kirk Thornton has worked with (he joined on in Colours). There's also an element of playing it up even more because it's Twitter, we're all meming around here. Twitter Takeover Shadow is like the NAVY Seal from the copypasta who'll hunt you down where you live for insulting him too much.
I don't agree, to be honest. The Twitter takeovers make Shadow seem like a secret goof. More importantly, Shadow IS NOT PROUD of his title of "ultimate life form". This is the entire point of his character. Because he is the ultimate life form, everyone on the Ark was killed, including Maria. Because he is the ultimate life form, an alien species tried to get him to destroy the world for them. Because he is the ultimate life form, humanity will turn on him if he is ever blamed for a catastrophe, as in the future of Sonic '06. Shadow wears his title as a burden, not as a badge of pride. He is not Vegeta, yet recent material (the Twitter takeovers, the IDW comics, Sonic Boom) portray him as if he were.
@@ButSeriouslyThough I agree with you about IDW's portrayal of Shadow. He's just like Vegeta, when he fights the zombots and said shit like "I'M THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM" and how he'll "not get infected", and it turns out he actually did get infected. i enjoy the IDW comics but one thing i have to admit is that Ian Flynn treated Shadow pretty poorly to be honest.
this.. video made me think. since I am an introvert I often come off as timid or shy in the gentle sense but other days I feel apathy. the way you described Shadow's true personality in those games apart from the edgy personality he exhibits in those that Sega uses it to pander to such an audience made me realize something about my own personality. I connected with both of these types very well. it is amazing how art is a way to connect and reflect yourself by putting yourself in the character's shoes and figuring out what they go through how they handle each situation, and as time passes by they gain more experience to teach us the viewers what they have learned. fiction has a way of expressing ourselves and being creative in ways that reality can barely replicate, which is saying something.. though the Sonic franchise is cheesy and has some weird fans it is refreshing to find some genuine quality underneath the surface glass. this video helped me to gain some more insight into myself through a cartoon character's perspective. great job!
Shadow may be moody and stand-offish but that’s not all of his character.
In SA2, we see Shadow on a quest for revenge because Gerald fiddled with his memory. I think that Shadow had PTSD in that game because, to him, his best friend died a few days prior. Due to some prompting on Amy’s part, Shadow is able to break through the incorrect memories and remembers Maria’s true wish. Then, he chooses to sacrifice himself when he fights alongside Sonic, who he had been against up until then.
In Sonic Heroes, we discover Shadow is alive but has amnesia. He teams up with Rouge and Omega on a quest to discover himself while Rouge is looking for treasure and Omega is looking for his purpose after Eggman locked him up. Once again, Shadow helps the heroes fight Metal Sonic and ends up recovering some memories, like the knowledge of Rouge’s love for treasure.
In his game, we first see Shadow alone and struggling to remember who Maria was and his true purpose for existing. The game has multiple endings but I’m only gonna talk about the canon one. Armed with a weapon, Shadow teams up with Sonic and his friends and goes on a journey of self-discovery, fighting dangerous aliens along the way. At the end, he collects all the Chaos Emeralds and his memories return. From Black Doom, Shadow (and all of us) learns that his creation was helped by the dangerous aliens and is shaken to his core. Then, a video of Gerald tells Shadow the truth: The Eclipse Cannon was made to destroy the Black Arms race and ship, and Shadow was made to defy Black Doom’s wishes and save humanity. Shadow does just that and uses the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the ship. With that done, he puts his past behind him once and for all and continues living for the now.
In Sonic 06, we see that Shadow is an agent for GUN and he’s on his way to save Rouge from Eggman’s clutches. When he gets to Rouge, she has an item called the Scepter of Darkness. Unfortunately, during a fight with Eggman, the scepter breaks and unleashes Mephiles, who takes on the form of Shadow. On his journey, Shadow goes through time travel, encounters with Mephiles, and a possible future in which he is imprisoned or destroyed by the government for being “too dangerous”. Despite learning that possible future, Shadow intends to fight as he always has and defend everyone from Mephiles. In the final story of the game, we learn Sonic has been killed by Mephiles and a visibly distraught Shadow teams up with Sonic’s friends to collect the Chaos Emeralds and revive Sonic. When Sonic gets revived, Shadow fights alongside him and Silver and they destroy Mephiles and Iblis for good. Then, time gets rewritten and Solaris doesn’t exist, thus the adventures never happen.
After that, character writing has steadily declined when it comes to our favorite Sonic heroes.
khfan4life365 don’t forget that during the Devil Doom Boss, Eggman confesses to Shadow that he’s the original that Gerald Robotnik created and isn’t an android and that he was rescued by one of eggman’s robots but lost his memory.
Huh...you somehow make shadows own game sound good ._.
Umb and Samuel Moonliight plays I think the game’s story is good but it was a executed rather poorly.
@@LycanMOON it was good
Finally someone actually realizes the canon parts of his game were good story telling. People act like the what ifs were canon and it makes no sense. I dont think a lot have seen the true ending.
You and the PJShow got him so right. Shadow has been my favorite Sonic character since I was 7 years old, and it breaks my heart what they did to him in the Boom series.
Shadow is a lot like me in a sort of way, misunderstood, and used by others.
Again, I've always liked Shadow's characterization in SA2 and Heroes, I saw a lot of myself in him, also being a rather introverted person who has problems with identity and self-expression but develops meaningful and often quite intimate personal relationships with other people. It was when they flanderized him as a violent edgelord that he began to become less relatable to me.
I thought Shadow was written pretty well in Forces. His character and even voice acting were pretty good, and we saw the sort of things Team Dark does, like taking down Eggman bases behind the scenes. Maybe Shadow just sees anyone who joins Eggman as pathetic, which is why he snapped at Infinite? Because other than that part, there's no real outliers from Shadow in Forces. He was also pretty concerned about Omega's disappearance, saw through the fake Rouge, and recognized the real one when he got out
yah people forget he a government anganet so I in forces it makes sence after destroy eggman forces in forces he be cocky after it being easy he always a dick but what rival is not
Yes, despite Sonic Forces being a very short game, at least Shadow stayed true to his actual personality.
Finally, I came to the right part of the Internet ^^ I have the feeling that everyone is criticizing Shadow in Forces, as if his whole personality was locked in one (pretty) scene when he kicked Infinite and called him worthless. Meanwhile, there is so much about how it opens up among friends and stands aside in a group, about how he shows anger in control and cares about friends.
And finally - come on! - wouldn't you call a worthless someone who calls himself the ULTIMATE MERCENARY, and then after three hits cringes against the wall? Fuk, even Cream wouldn't act like that.
Really, please go check the japanese version of all the games where Shadow was bad written like StH, Forces and TSR. You might be surprised a bit.
@Gabriel 2020 It looks like you are talking about Omega. Shadow respects Eggman more than Sonic (he always calls him "Doctor") and occasionally even cooperates with him.
Oh man, someone finally puts it into words! Shadow is a hero. You hear it in one of his theme songs. "All Hail Shadow, HEROES rise again!" What makes him more interesting is that he's willing to go outside the paragon status that Sonic has as long as he can protect those he cares about and keep the world safe as a member of G.U.N. Even then, he still has to follow orders while working for them, which he does. I'm also not a fan of Sega always making him out to be Sonic's rival.
(That's Metal Sonic's whole point!) It goes against his whole character. The rivalry in SA2 worked because of the dichotomy of hero and dark. Now that it's over, there's no more need for it. (If Sega wants to give Shadow a rival, Infinite could fit that role.)
Exactly Shadow shoulda stopped being considered a rival to Sonic in 2010
@@donathan2933 hell you could feel it in 06. He felt like a close friend more than a rival to Sonic
Shadow not being a rival to Sonic is not gonna happen.
@@hwanniggles187 “Get carless and loose again you’ll have to deal with me” Shadow to Sonic
can't agree on the metal sonic part more. shadow wasn't just more than a... well, shadow, that catches up to the figure of the model, he has the same heroic will to the model itself. the rivalry shows the black and white, light and sounds, but at the end, fight for humanity.
I must admit, edgy Shadow was awesome for that trailer in Shadow The Hedgehog, and I knew he wasn’t an edgy anti bad boy, but I had a hard time remembering what he truly was. Thank you for helping me do so. He isn’t an anti hero, just an introverted hedgehog who has a hard time expressing his feelings.
Shadow the Hedgehog did a great job with the canon parts especially the ending. The rest are what ifs so i just ignore those as they're not canon just fun what if scenarios
He's an anti hero
@@reggielacey2235 No he's not
I'm honestly starting to think Unleashed was the last decent Sonic story.
06 was the last good one.
You read that correctly.
No your wrong. Sonic Unleashed and Black Knight were the true last great sonic stories from great games.
lets be reasonable here; unleashed was a great story, and so was black knight.
secret rings was good too, but 06 was super convoluted as you heard a thousand times
truth be told though, it did extreme justice to team dark, and i can never thank it enough for that
While team dark’s story was actually great. No way in hell would I call the story and plot good by any means.
At Least They Kept The Characters Consistent & Didn't Rely On BS Cringe Humor & The Main Antagonist Was An Actual Treath & Menacing AF
a good story people only salty because they wanted bat to kiss echnidna instead of hedgehog kiss human.
Sending this video whenever someone says he is an edgelord
Great idea!
Mission Accepted, Lets bring it to them !
i did that 3 minutes ago.
@@drkspnova More like three months ago, and counting.
@@magenta_mer-goat86 in YOUR time, yes, when made, no.
12:56 I've always considered Shadow to be somewhat of an anti-hero (sadly, his game turns him into an overly edgy version of an anti-hero), especially when you compare him to a more boy-scout-like character like Sonic tbh, but other than that, I completely agree with the video. Shadow is still heroic and compassionate, he's just more reserved and serious than a lot of the other characters in the series.
Alright, this made me completely changed my mind on Shadow! I’ve always thought he was some edge lord but now, that has completely changed. Made me appreciate his characters even more than I already did. I kind of had a feeling he wasn’t this person but the whole thing of him being edgy kind of covered his whole character.
"Your DIY skills bring shame upon all hedgehog kind. Die!" Is a brilliant line even if it is ooc and you can't convince me otherwise
It's funny, but not something he'd say if he was well-written
It's funny how the Twitter Takeover events that Sega holds to promote new games give us more information about Shadow's character than any of the games released in the past decade. Because of them we now know that his favorite anime is Kill La Kill and that he drinks his coffee by putting a handful of coffee beans into his mouth then chugs down warm water.
What you said reminds me of video game manuals that go into the character bio pages.
Kinda reminds me of how Blaze is concerned about her breast size.
@@Mariodash23 Wut?
Vegeta Briefs I’m not kidding. That’s in an actual magazine or instruction manual in Japan. I think DYKGaming did a video where they mentioned it.
@@Mariodash23 WUT!? WHY THE FUCK WHOULD ANYONE AT SEGA EVEN CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT A 17 YEAR OLD PURPLE FIRE WIELDING CAT PRINCESS IS EMBARRASSED BY THE SIZE OF HER BAZONGAS LET ALONE ACTUALLY PUT THAT INFORMATION OUT INTO THE WORLD!!!?
I just wanna give Shadow a hug now
Here's my first thoughts of Shadow when I was young:
I see Shadow as some sort of a vigilante soldier, that takes on more risking missions and actions, because it's the right thing to do. Especially since I watched Shadow the Hedgehog game. Speaking of which, it does make sense that Shadow can be associated with the military or something, like G.U.N.
Another way, is that I view Shadow as a warrior, one who is strict and stern, yet that's what makes him effective against opponents who tried to fool him, and always has respected others who fight for what they cared or loved.
YOU GET IT DUDE!!! My one wish in life is for Shadow to return to SA2, Heroes and 06's characterization.... please Sega I BEG you
About time someone said it. I really do miss Shadow’s characterization and oh boy does his current voice actor not do him much justice either. I’m not saying he’s bad but Jason’s shadow is so much better than the current VA.
Exactly shadow sounds and acts like discount vegeta now
Omg I miss his Jason voice!
That's the funny thing about shadow. He doesn't think he's better than everyone else, he knows it. He's a competent fighter, knows when to retreat, and he even tricked eggman in his debut appearance. And he ultimately shows how noble he is by becoming a hero.
Too bad the recent games turned him into a stupid Vegeta clone.
I'm not saying Shadow is a super friendly character, but he was more easier to work with back then. (His debut game had him teaming up with two other characters. Shadow has never been a lone wolf I can do shit by myself I don't need YOU guy. He did work with people to achieve stuff when he needs to. Yeah he'd probably be a bit stiff and not as willing to have small talk while paired up with others, but he isn't impossible to hang out with. ) And he was also capable of admiting to his faults. And yeah he does have a ego and can get cocky like Sonic, but not as bad as he is now. Now we have this Shadow with alot of hubris who believes he's incapable of making poor judgement and runs off on his own all the time even to the detriment of others and himself. Also say what you want about him and Sonic's relationship, but he did respect Sonic back then (Check out the finale hazard and how he's even one of the characters who cheers Sonic on in Heroes during the Neo Metal Sonic fight.) Now Sonic can't breathe around Shadow without him calling him a disgrace to all hedgehog kind or some other you're pathetic bs. And one of my favorite things about their dynamic is it started out antagonistic, but the two started to mutually respect each other by the end of Sa2. And yeah they have banter, but it's standard rivalry stuff not as antagonistic as it is now. I don't like how unapproachable Shadow is now I don't like how they say he hates everything. Like they're trying to tell me he doesn't like anything. Not his motorcycle not chao gardens not Rouge or Omega. Or how he called bingo highway a cool city! (Like atleast in the Sonic twitter we learned he likes cats and in Lego Sonic he likes flower arrangements which makes sense since he lived in space for a huge part of his life and is new to earth.) Stuff like that humanizes Shadow more and he needs that he deserves to be able to enjoy life. I'm tired of everything about him starting ending and revolving around the ark and Maria. (Although I'd love to learn more about her she holds
Shadow back a bit.) Let him heal and make new friends even a small amount of friends would do. He isn't edgy he isn't hateful or mean Shadow is traumatized and he has a hard time connecting to people cause he's afraid he'll lose them. He's afraid of being a weapon of mass destruction. (Sonic Battle shows this.) Shth got him so wrong in so many ways. Why would they have him turn his back on humanity! I'd understand if it was Shadow during sa2 before he remembered Maria's true promise, but he doesn't have his memory here so they're implying he's always seen humans as pathetic and disgusting which is not true at all. Plus they gave him guns even though his most traumatic event in his life is witnessing his friend literally getting shot like for the love of God. I have alot of thoughts on Shadow man so much.
That scene with Team Dark in wave ocean is pretty great.
The voice acting is delivered well, the characters fit well…
Honestly if it wasn’t for the puppet animation and Omega’s horrible voice…
It would’ve been perfect.
Best video I've seen all week, Shadow is a kind hearted hero, not an anti hero
I love Shadow's introdection in SA2. And that line about Sonic being the U.L.F, not cannon. And I love how Shadow becomes ftiends with Rouge and Omega. And the way he was in the true ending of his game was ok. And I wish Rouge and Omega helped Shadow there. And 06 is when his character and friendship with Rouge and Omega are at there best. As for BOOM, there mite not be a Rouge and Omega there. So he never got that character arc. And as for Forces, his friendship with Rouge and Omega is there, and there is playful banter between them in Episode Shadow. And what TSR did is unforgivable. And I think the Phantom Clone of Shadow was more faithful than Shadow in the cut sean from Episode Shadow. And that's why I'm thinking of an alternate ending to Team Sonic Racing Overdrive.