5:40 Respectfully, I think you forgot a crucial detail: In Sonic Heroes and Shadow 05, Shadow's arcs revolve around him having amnesia. Throughout Shadow 05, he remembers bits and pieces of his past, but he doesn't know about his Black Arms DNA until The Last Way. Since we didn't see all of the details of his past in Shadow 05 and he was gradually remembering some things throughout, it's possible that he didn't remember his discussion with Maria about the Black Arms until after the aforementioned game's events.
@KyndlingStoneCB In the beginning of Shadow 05, he has no idea who Black Doom is. Merely seeing him didn't bring his memory back about it, and he didn't remember about his ties to them before The Last Way and was thus shocked by Black Doom's explanation. Hence why I think he didn't remember his discussion with Maria in episode 2 of Dark Beginnings until after the conclusion of Shadow 05. Also: he was remembering things out of order (for example, remembering Maria's death before remembering Lost Impact). As I tried to explain above, Shadow 05 didn't show everything from his past, so it's possible that he still remembers things about it gradually even after the game.
His theory also could not account for Maria. If Black Doom seek to manipulate his memory so Shadow can join him, why not alter Maria's encouragement of Shadow to be a good person?
5:25 I've never interpreted this scene as Shadow learning of his Black Arms lineage for the first time. He has amnesia throughout the whole game and basically reacts exactly like this to pretty much everything lol. I personally believe Shadow pre-amnesia already knew about his Black Arms history. Professor Gerald in SXSG certainly doesn't dance around the subject either, which says to me that he wasn't really trying to keep it a secret from him.
you can even apply this argument to explain why shadow didn't remember Emerl in battle despite having encountered him on the ark. since that game came out in the same era of shadow having amnesia, and taking place dubiously in the series between heroes and shadow 2005. even despite that, these can still be black doom using these memories to break shadow down before trying to take over his mind.
@@jadeninjaproductions7007 and to add, remember Shadow's FIRST encounter with Emerl- he's very adamant on destroying then and there. If Shadow never interacted or even knew Emerl existed until Battle, why would he have such a reaction in the first section of the whole game?
@@jadeninjaproductions7007 i went back and watched it- shadow ignores Sonic, tries to get Emerl's attention, surmised it had formed a Link, and needs to be destroyed, then fights both Sonic and Emerl until he realizes Sonic was the one Emerl has a Link with, so he leaves to go find more info in Gerald's lab.
Ok I just found the intro to shadow’s story. it takes place before his confrontation with sonic and Emerl where he actually does in fact not know Emerl. He gets a weird premonition from a disembodied voice telling him “a tragedy is about to repeat itself” and he meets a deactivate Emerl and gets lore dumped by rouge.
"How could it be that Shadow didn't know about his Black Arms lineage until the end of Shadow The Hedgehog, if he apparently already knew about it back on The Ark?" Maybe because the main plot point of the game in question is that Shadow has amnesia?
I chalked up Shadow not knowing things like the Black Arms DNA to Shadow’s amnesia. It’s possible he remembered some things but not all. Shadow could’ve had the conversation with Maria about the Black Arms, and then by Shadow’s solo game, he hasn’t fully recovered from his amnesia and there are gaps in his memory. Shadow didn’t even remember who Maria was in the opening cutscene.
Can you see all of me, walk into my mystery, step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me, capture you or set you free. I am all, I am all of me
With respect, there's a lot of misinformation and incorrect assumptions in this video, and I'm only a few minutes in. -> Shadow fighting Emerl does not contradict anything in Sonic Battle. Human scientists would not be able to subdue the Gizoid, especially if it had a Chaos Emerald installed. Gerald's Journal in SxSG also stated that the Artificial Chaos rampage shown in Shadow '05, which was stopped _by Shadow,_ was directly caused by the damage the Gizoid did when it went rogue. Shadow *had* to have been awake when Emerl went rogue, and is therefore likely the main reason the scientists were able to subdue him. -> Small thing, that's a Black Arms larva, not an embryo. -> Shadow 50 years ago knowing he was part Black Arms does not contradict anything in Shadow '05. Shadow had amnesia all throughout Heroes and Shadow '05 due to "dying" in SA2, where the details of his creation weren't relevant. He only knew fragments of the most important people in his life, but few specific details. Shadow didn't know who the Black Arms _were_ until Black Doom exposited it to him throughout the story. He wouldn't have remembered a specific moment of his life learning a specific detail about his creation. -> Rouge and Omega were not sent by GUN to investigate anything related to the Black Arms. They were sent do gather intelligence on Eggman's current/future plans. Rouge shows Commander Tower schematics on the Time Eater at the end of Episode 3 of Dark Beginnings. -> The final "flashback" in Dark Beginnings was not actually a flashback. That was a dream of what his life _could've been_ had GUN not ruined everything. SxSG re-contextualizes Shadow 'moving on' from his past as him 'not thinking about it anymore so it can't hurt him'. He is not being haunted by his past, he's haunted by a future he and Maria were never able to live.
Well put. Thanks to that journal we know that Shadow was already awake before Emerl's rampage, there's no way he would not get involved in a incident that destroyed most of the Ark. Gerald saying that the scientists "somehow" stopped him means that Gerald would not know if Shadow was involved or not. And I'm really confused how he could forget that Shadow's story in Heros and in 05 were based around him having amnesia.
@@Havik61 It's like he was watching/playing the game with his eyes and ears closed.. misinformation after misinformation It's absolutely crazy he's supposed to know so much about the lore yet completely misunderstanding it.
@@rosaline7549 You tend to notice that with a lot of videos like this which is why whenever anyone posts a "lore" video I tell others to take it with a grain of salt
Another point about Note 1: The journal entry for the Gizoid going on a rampage and being subdued is after Shadow was created and after Shadow grew close to Maria. It is immediately followed by the events of Lost Impact. The journal blatantly says that Shadow was created before Gizoid, but it doesn't mention Shadow in that entry. I think this is an inconsistency caused by how the Sonic Battle journal was written. This journal tries to keep everything from the past journals and add new information. As a result of this, this journal CANNOT have it be mentioned that Shadow stopped the Gizoid, because the original journal never implied Shadow had been finished yet. The entry about the Artificial Chaos was inserted into this journal and didn't exist in the original one, and yeah, its clearly a reference to Lost Impact. However, its immediately after Sonic Battle Entry #6, which is also after Shadow's creation. The implication here is its intended to line up with Dark Beginnings (despite the fact that Dark Beginnings has odd contradictions with the main game anyway...) In the original entries, Entry #5 says Shadow is not yet complete. Shadow isn't mentioned again until Entry #8. Its fairly easy to explain away why Gerald doesn't mention Shadow--in Dark Beginnings, Gerald appears to be unconscious. Shadow defeats Gizoid, then runs off to stop the Artificial Chaos. Gerald wakes up after Gizoid was defeated and is able to witness Shadow quelling the Artificial Chaos. He may have penned the Gizoid being subdued before he saw the aftermath of the Artificial Chaos being quelled.
Rouge and Omega weren't there because they thought the Black Arms returned. They were there to steal information on the Time Eater from Eggman and Shadow just happened to go to the same base as them. Also Black Doom wasn't brought back by the Time Eater. He was already still alive as shown in the post-credits scene of the animation. He's just using the anomaly to his advantage... which was also explained in the game.
Shadow likely knew of the Shuttle team Sonic used in SA2, as it seems to be the same base. That also brings up the question as to why he didn't use the space transporter that we see Rouge use in SA2.
7:18 I don't think he was being haunted by his past here. He was imagining what his life could have been if Maria hadn't died, then he snapped out of it and continued the mission.
@@sconroweo Yeah, that. Shadow and Maria never got to go to earth together (and this actually mirrors a similar scene in Sonic X that clearly was a 'what if' and not something that actually ever happened).
I call BS on the fight with Emerl not happening. It was said Emerl getting released as he did caused the Artificial Chaos to go on a rampage. Plus, in Gerald Robotnik's Journal, there's an entry where Gerald mentions the researchers "somehow subdued the Gizoid"; that same entry also mentions that he not only absorbed enough weapon data to go berserk, BUT he ALSO had one CHAOS EMERALD installed (even though the actual name is redacted, a sentence states "if it were to have all seven installed, it might destroy the whole planet", so we can easily infer it was indeed a Chaos Emerald), therefore it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the researchers to subdue Emerl on their own. The only other option is Shadow. Only he would be powerful enough and capable enough to subdue Emerl. So the fight they had DID happen.
This is something i agree on but then again if shadow was capable of taking on emerl then why couldn't he fight back against the gun solders i do agree with what your saying but then its just kinda weird at the same if you get what im saying
@@deadpoolwade-de7jm I assume that Shadow didn’t want to fight the GUN soldiers because A) he’s not the type to kill them in front of Maria, B) Shadow was probably hoping that Gerald could reason things with them so he wouldn’t be separated from Maria, then tried to escape with her when the plan fell apart. Finally, he was forced to watch Maria die as she stalled long enough to send him out of the arc. It’s not a matter of could Shadow fight back, but why he didn’t. He hoped he wouldn’t have to fight back against the human’s Maria wished for Shadow to protect before he got his memories scrambled.
gerald’s journal is by far the most depressing thing this series has ever put out. you can feel gerald’s slow descent into madness and depression, interspersed with maria’s optimism. it’s absolutely heartbreaking
Even Black Doom was surprised that Shadow didn't know. Like it be more likely that Gerald actually did delete the Black Arms memories when he turned Shadow into the instrument of his revenge on Prison Island over him having never known about this part of his origin 50 years ago.
@@Miles-xh4ky Legit, it's so obvious to find who didn't play this game when they somehow don't realise Shadow had amnesia. Shadow literally only talks about his memories and finding out "the truth" in the majority of the playthrough, even when idle within a level he just keeps wondering about his past (if you have no partners active) lmao.
I think its more likely that Shadow had a hand in stopping Emerl, cause how are a bunch of normal human researchers supposed to stop a rampaging Gizoid? I think Shadow might have served as a distraction fighting Emerl while the researchers figured out a way to stop his rampage. Also, Black Doom didnt return because of the Time eater, we can see in the post credit scene in Dark Beginings that he was already regrowing himself aboard the Arc.
In relation to the second episode flashback in Dark Beginnings… I’m fairly certain that one is an intact, unaltered memory. Yes, there is the transition from the end of Ep. 1 to the start of Ep. 2, but I don’t think that’s much of a story element, I think that’s just video editing piecing the three parts together since they were released separately. And Shadow knowing about the Death Leech and him being made from Black Arms DNA back on the ARK doesn’t seem to contradict Shadow 05 either, at least to me. I think that’s fair game because of Shadow’s heavy amnesia, he just simply forgot and found out again at the end of Shadow 05 by Black Doom. Really goes to show how much Shadow’s mind was altered by Gerald before the professor’s execution. That’s just where my thinking goes in all of this… Edit 1: From what I could tell, it’s hard to tell if Abraham was born on the ARK or not. In the White Space dialogue with Maria in-game, Maria speaks to Shadow that Abe’s parents convinced her parents to go join her grandfather on the ARK, with Maria commenting that if they brought their son into space, it must be okay for her. So this would mean Abe was already born on Earth before he and his parents went up to space to join the researchers on the ARK’s first days? Unless we get confirmation that Abe’s parents were expecting him during this time and did have him on the ARK. Edit 2: The Perfect Chaos mural was found in the Lost World, beneath the Mystic Ruins. Gerald did not encounter the mural in Hidden Palace on Angel Island. He even states in his journal that stepping foot on the island already felt taboo to him because of it being sacred ground, so he didn’t go past the Altar of Emerald, but he still observed his surroundings, the Altar, and the Master Emerald.
Yeah I completely agree with this. I don't believe it's a retcon at all. The amnesia honestly helped Black Doom out in getting him to goad Shadow into getting the emeralds back in Shadow's game. If it weren't for that, I feel like the Black Arms wouldn't have been able to get onto the Earth in the first place. G.U.N would have probably been ready for them.
Yeah, that's my thought too. Throughout Shadow the Hedgehog he's learning the details of his creation bit by bit. He doesn't even remember who Maria is at the beginning of the game so it makes sense he also doesn't remember being made from Black Doom's DNA
@@BlueBands539 yeah plus even Black Doom is confused at first as to why Shadow didn’t remember Gerald or why Shadow didn’t even know about Black Doom himself. I mean Black Doom does talk to him giving orders on what to do expecting Shadow to know who he is already and obey him.
For Edit 1, The Ark and its team were in space before Maria was born. So there was plenty of time for two scientists to find love in space. And I'm in the impression that the scientists are all stuck in the Ark for long periods of time. So we can deduce from that that Abe was born on the ark. And Abe's parents used Abe himself as an example of how the Ark can be seen as a child-friendly environment for Maria.
While it is unclear if Abe was born aboard the Ark or not based on most evidence, its very clear in Gerald's Journal. Gerald describes Abe's birth as the Ark's "happy accident". So that right there makes it clear enough. Later in the journal, it implies Maria has been aboard the Ark for a significant period of time. I would have to assume she was on the Ark for years by that point. Because some researchers begin to believe she had been born there. My assumption is these must have been newer researchers added to the roster, as obviously older ones would have to be aware she was brought to the Ark later in life.
When your talking about how Shadow didn't know about his black arms lineage. In Shadow the hedgehog he loses his memories. So what I believe is that shadow used to know he was apart of the black arms but when he lost his memories he frogot.
I've seen it two times now, in terms of addressing Shadow not knowing something he knew while on the Arc as a retcon. I think there's a simpler solution you've forgotten. Shadow lost his memory starting with Sonic Heroes. He's obviously not going to know things from his past in Sonic Battle and Shadow 05. Shadow 05 is _all about_ the fact that he can't remember anything.
All of this can be explained by the fact that Shadow had amnesia, he never actually recovered all his memories. So of course he wouldn't recognize the Gizoid in Sonic Battle and would be surprised by the reveal that he is part Black Arms in his own game.
Actually, Shadow _DOES_ recognize Emerl in Battle. It's literally his first appearance in the game- he immediately reacts to it with "we need to destroy it", before using commands to try to shut it down bc it "seems unresponsive", then realises it choose Sonic as it's new Master, leaving it to Sonic while he searches for more info.
@@matthewwilliams8267 I've read that apparently, Shadow's story in that game shows him not knowing what the Gizoid is when his story begins (which starts with a flashback to before Sonic's story begins). That being said, the theory that Shadow doesn't remember everything after his amnesia is very likely in all honesty. He probably remembered the Gizoid only sometime after he met Emerl.
Very confused on why you're so adamant that those flashback scenes aren't real. Not only is it less narratively satisfying, since it would mean those comforting conversations with Maria about Shadow's identity just didn't happen, but also the only real evidence you have is that Shadow isn't mentioned in the one journal entry which was only the same for consistencies sake, and Shadow not remembering something in the game where he has amnesia. Additionally, Black Doom wasn’t brought back by the Time Eater, since in both the end of Dark Begginings and the start of Shadow Generations he's shown to be alive before the Time Eater's interference
Yeah I thought the game made it clear that it wasn't simply memories and more like something that's actually happening.. if you play with your eyes open
I think it was a missed opportunity, but they wanted to include other characters instead. Big wasn't really a great addition and Orbot and Cubot are weird, but it makes more sense including them than a one-off character like Abraham Tower. It sucks, but he's still reference quite a bit in the game. Maria directly mentions him, and he's mentioned in Gerald's journal. Shadow also indirectly references him at the start when he says GUN sent him to investigate something aboard the ARK.
It is. Shadow just simply didn't remember that he already knew since having amnesia. It's practically all new info to him for that reason. Plus Maria knowing about the black arms is clear in the Shadow05 last story. Where she is on a video with Gerald talking about how to defeat the Black arms and Black Doom.
Shadow didn't know about the black arms thing in Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 because he had amnesia. It's not a retcon for that knowledge to have been known to him in the past. It's consistent with Abe's attitude towards him and in the extended scenes + gerald journal, gerald says he inserted knowledge into shadow, which could've included knowledge of the black arms. In the manga, shadow literally shares his blood with Maria in an attempt to cure her, if it's green or something he would've known before the amnesia. Gerald, revealed in Sonic Battle, worked on Emerl and gave him a soul based on Maria's that means Emerl was on the ark for a time. Gerald journal entries also mention how Emerl got out of control one day which lines up with the memories. He didn't witness shadow subdue Emerl so in the journal he says something close to "somehow the scientists subdued him".
It was never made clear if Shadow's memories were changed by Gerald or not. Its probably the most likely theory, though. In Gerald's entries before he went completely insane, he mentions he was well aware that Maria's final wish was "bring hope to humanity". My only guess is that some of the soldiers in the area who shot her had heard her say this. (I'm pretty sure Maria being shot wasn't intentional, it was just an accidental result of the harsh sudden shutting down of the colony and the fact that Maria was trying to escape with Shadow. Their aggressiveness is still what got Maria killed, though, which they then covered up. Abe survived the massacre after all, not everyone died.) Gerald was aware of Maria's final wish, but he went insane and decided to end everything. He had to have known Shadow was there at the end with Maria, and somehow Shadow was captured and locked away. Likely, I think, the soldiers traced the trajectory of Shadow's capsule and found him on Earth, or they grabbed the capsule before it hit earth. Gerald had to have someone put everything into motion so Shadow would do his bidding. He already injected knowledge into Shadow upon creating him, so its by no means impossible Gerald could alter Shadow's memories later.
you forgot that after SA2 shadow had amnesia for sonic heroes and shadow 05, which explains why he didn’t know he was related to the black arms until later
It actually makes more sense for Shadow to have fought Emerl than not. Following the journal Shadow was awakened before Emerl went on a rampage. It's very likely he helped the scientists with Emerl just like he did with the Arteficial Chaos later. Also by Gerald's wording, "somehow", he doesn't actually know how Emerl was defeated. It's also worth all of the other memories in the nightmare were actual events so it would be weird if only one was completely fabricated.
You can easily explain Shadow not knowing his Black Arms DNA while being told about it on the Ark. Remember, he had amnesia in Shadow The Hedgehog. I doubt that memory is Black Doom manipulating him, otherwise I doubt Maria would've reassured him that he's more than his heritage.
About the T person at the start of the Journal. There is 1 person who is mentioned in the Journal that we never get to see, Maria's sister that Maria never got to meet. At the end of the note at the start of the Journal T says this: "It's a pity (That the journal is damaged) I would have liked to have greater insight into Gerald's and Maria's lives too." Now I get why someone would want to learn more about Gerald, he was the head scientist to Project Shadow, however why do they want to know about Maria too? and why specifically their lives? T is Maria's sister trying to find answers as to why her sister went missing. Also I highly doubt Topaz is T, Topaz is a GUN soldier, T is part of the archival and requisitions department of GUN
Plus the daughter of an archaeologist becoming an archivist just makes sense if we assume the same pattern of Eggman and his robotics dad. She might have inherited some of the Robotnik genius too, being skilled with ciphers and hidden messages like the GUN barcode.
Also Ian revealed on his podcast that original characters from Sonic X are like...HELLLLLLA off limits for legal reasons apparently. Not sure what those legal issues are, Ian's not able to get into detail, but like yeah Topaz has like zero possibility of being brought over to the main canon.
Allegedly the Japanese version calls her "Tori". I do think its likely this is either Maria's sister, or perhaps more likely, Maria's niece. As for Sonic X... yeah, in the game artwork from Sonic X is labeled as "Sonic Animation" or "Shadow Animation". So there's clearly big licensing issues involved there, they can't use that crap. That being said, this doesn't negate the possibility of it being a loose reference to Agent Topaz. Based on the Japanese version, though, that's probably not really what they're doing.
@@Davanthall That's honestly really sad, since some of the important ones (namely Cosmo) were actually designed by Sonic Team, and they still seem to view Sonic X fondly. That said, the way the Soap shoes are popping up more and more recently gives me hope that something could theoretically be worked out, if SEGA had the motivation to make it work. But that is a HUGE 'if' and licensing for these things can be really complex - the fact we got any nods to Sonic X in a game at all is incredible. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected that OMG
6:42 Correction, Rouge and Omega had no idea about the black arms return until shadow showed up and explained. Rouge and Omega were hired by G.U.N. to go to the Eggman base to get information on the Time Eater
I thought Black Doom just revived and came back before the Time Eater ever appeared? The game gave us Black Doom's Eye in the opening stage - and this is before the time eater arrived, from that point onward, its believed that the time eater had nothing to do with Black Doom coming back
My theory on the binary at 24:50 is that it's less important WHAT it says, but more WHEN it was written. Since this is in a very broken code in-between established entries from other games, my theory is that THIS is the point in time Gerald was transported into White Space in Shadow Generations. This would explain his ominous responses, demeanor & dialogue as you talk to him in White Space between levels. I also don't think Gerald & Maria were brought into White Space from the same point in time, but that's another conversation.
One of the things I was able to interpret while talking to a friend about Gerald's notes is that he says that "Maria's parents had another daughter who did not show signs of Maria's illness and that despite the happiness in the conversations, the subtext was glaring" which made us think that Maria's parents basically gave up on her and simply preferred to have another daughter, which if true is quite harsh and cruel to her, which adds another layer to Gerald's motivation since on every page he highlights how much he cares about Maria, Gerald's first granddaughter meant the world to him, this is very good information and I liked the information put in Gerald's journal
This isn't accurate at all if you actually read the journal entries. Yes, they had another daughter, but Gerald makes it clear later on that they're still angry with Gerald for keeping Maria away from them. They either want Gerald to cure her or let her live out the rest of life with them. They want their daughter back. Them having another daughter doesn't mean they don't also want Maria back.
The fact they revealed maria has a baby sister changes everything. What if shadow encounters her years later? After all she would likely be in her early 50s so it’s believable that she could still be alive and active
4:32 I don't think Black Doom returned because of the Time Eater, I think some remnants of that larvae were able to hide on the Ark & slowly evolve enough for him to return. There was something Doom said in the game that makes it sound like he was already in the return process, and the Time Eater's appearance was just as much of a surprise moment for him as it was Shadow, stating that the event is speeding up his return to full strength.
@@rossjones8656 Yeah, I recall that line now. Black Doom clearly says that the time rift quickened his plans, not that its what allowed him to come back.
I strongly disagree with your instinct to chalk up all of the flashbacks in Dark Beginnings to "false memories" A: There's absolutely no evidence that the second flashback isn't accurate. The first was directly shown to be a nightmare scenario created by Black Doom, the second was presented as a normal flashback and it's not even clear if Shadow is experiencing it. It could very well be non-diegetic for the sake of exposing this information to the viewer (a purpose it would serve very poorly if it never actually happened). There's no reason to even claim it is because the explanation is obvious. Shadow didn't remember ANYTHING in Shadow 05. Why would he remember that he's a product of Black Doom? B: While the Emerl fight did take play stirring Black Doom"s nightmare sequence, again the purpose of that scene was mostly to exposit Shadows history to the audience. None of the other events that happened were actually fake, they were all alluding to real things that did. Why would they include a Shadow vs Emerl fight that never happened, that would just serve to confuse the viewer when a large part of this prologue's purpose in the first place is to softly educate people on Shadow's past. We know it's not a retcon either way because the entry in question is still in Gerald's journal in Shadow Generations, and still mentions that "somehow" the researchers subdued Emerl, but considering Gerald what's flat on the floor during this fight I think it's more likely that he's just wrong. He didn't actually witness the fight, which explains the "somehow." Gerald literally doesn't know what happened, he just assumed. In all honesty it makes vastly more sense that Shadow is the one that subdued Emerl. I see no feasible way that any human, even a group of them, especially untrained researchers, could do so. Under this lens it's not exactly a retcon, but rather Simmons Gerald himself as an unreliable narrator in this particular circumstance. C: Black Doom was not revived due to the Time Eater, he revived himself through the larva on board the Ark (further proof that that memory is real), would you can see clearly in the final scene of the combined prologue. The Time Eater stuff happening at the same time was a coincidence that Black Doom took advantage of to revive his forces more quickly by tapping into the time anomaly to pull the Black Arms from across time. Ngl, some of this video had me questioning if you even properly watched the prologue or played the game 💀. I don't mean that sound harsh, I'm sure you did, but clearly not intricately enough.
There's a ton of misinformation and clear failures of understanding before you even hit the ten minute mark; Gerald's journal never implies Shadow couldn't have been involved with Emerl, somehow forgetting about Shadow's amnesia in Heroes and 05, implying that Rouge and Omega were also searching for Black Arms when its made abundantly clear by Rouge that she's actually researching the Time Eater, and a flagrant misrepresentation of the ending of Dark Beginnings as a memory and not Shadow thinking of, in his actual words, "that future". If you're going to proclaim yourself "the resident Project Shadow lore master" you've GOT to back it up.
28:10 My headcanon states that Rouge silently promises Professor Gerald and Maria to look after Shadow for them. As the Tails to Shadow's Sonic. "Shadow? Even if you believe everyone is against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that."
Rouge even does a direct callback to that line in this game. Its impressive how Rouge is so important to this game, even though she barely appears lol. She calls Shadow in the very first cutscene of the game. Omega throughout the journey is constantly trying to regain contact with Rouge, and even shows genuine care for her, despite him saying she's "a valuable asset". He finally managed to re-establish contact with Rouge. Then after Chaos Island, Rouge appears in a cutscene again, and from that point on she remains outside Chaos Island (once I realized Rouge hadn't appeared yet before Chaos Island I figured she'd be standing outside of that portal). Then Shadow ends the story by following Rouge back to Sonic's White Space. I do like how Rouge mentions Gerald and Maria as well. Big also says he spoke with Maria, so the implication is that the characters do travel around and speak with other characters. Rouge very much could have spoke with Maria and Gerald while Shadow was busy doing something else.
5:36 did we forget the whole point of ‘Shadow the Hedgehog’ game was for him to remember his past. He forgot his memory so it makes sense he wouldn’t remember back in the old game, yet still know it a long time ago.
I 100% Shadow Generations, my god so much to process when seeing the story unfold and reading Professor Gerald's Journal. It is such a tragedy to see what has happen to Shadow's family. They really wanted everyone know who Shadow is. Loved it. I hope SEGA and Sonic Team can make more stories like this from here and there.
Now that in know the whole story this makes me feel so bad for Gerald. The fact he just wanted to heal his broken family the lore reveals. That fact that he felt bad for sealing away the biolizard and couldn’t even tell Maria what he had done to a once innocent and harmless animal. He’s truly the most tragic Sonic character. Can’t wait for a in depth review of SonicXShadow generations Chaomix.
So… does anyone else think Maria’s sister is meant to be the pink haired lady from tailstube? Maria’s father was probably the archeologist son Gerald had and the pink haired lady looks a lot like an explorer
I’m gonna have to disagree with most of your Dark Beginnings explanations. I do think Shadow & Emerl’s fight did happen and that Shadow did know in the past that he was created from Black Arms DNA. I do think that was Ian Flynn’s intention & works fine in the past Project Shadow lore. Reasons being: 1). Shadow had amnesia & only knew what he was told & remembered at during Shadow The Hedgehog. Him remembering more & us seeing more of his memories if logical & fair 2). Emerl was given to GUN by Gerald to buy more time to finish Project Shadow. This would imply that Shadow was already a thing as the project would have started off to create The Ultimate Life Form, with the first attempt being the Biolizard. And, we learn in Shadow Generations that Shadow was named by Maria for a specific reason, not by Gerald picking the name from just the project title. Shadow’s purpose as The Ultimate Life Form was not yet complete as Gerald was designing Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form, not for strength & power, but to find a cure for Maria. This did not happen, so by Gerald’s logic (even though to GUN, Shadow was ready as the Ultimate Life Form in a strength & power sense) Project Shadow was not complete 4). The ending of Dark Beginning’s shows Black Doom aboard The Ark. The reason being is that Black Doom grew from the Black Arms Larva that was on The Ark in that flashback scene. If that part of the scene is what happened, than the entire scene is what happened
28:17 honestly, this feels on brand for Shadow. Though he holds too much pride to ever truly admit it, he knows how powerful Sonic truly is, powerful enough to defeat even Shadow in base form. 2 Sonics with all the Chaos Emeralds squaring off against 2 Eggmans? Shadow of all people knows it's just another day at the office. Considering that he'd only just defeated him again a little while before, and having just gone through his own trials with time and Black Doom, I too would be like "Hey, I've done my bit, now do yours, you blue fuckwit".
I personally like that the ending of Shadow 05 was retconned for the benefit of Shadow Gens without taking away from the older game's ending. Shadow didn't set the past behind him. He was in so much pain and carried a baggage that he couldn't bear the burden of and attempted to forget everything, just like how he did before. As a certain content creator whose name starts with P and ends in ariah said, Shadow was afraid of facing a past he tries to keep at bay. You could say it's quite "Fearless" of Shadow to finally confront it all. Also, doesn't Black Doom directly state that the Time Eater has only accelerated his return? As in, he is still around, only slowly recovering from his demise. The Black Arms are a hivemind after all.
It wasn't retconned. A character can have multiple motivations for something. Shadow threw away his past because he wanted to take his agency back, AND because he didn't want to think about it.
I think in Shadow 05 he didn't really put it behind him so much as decide he was going to move on. His only real purpose in life was still Maria's wish (hence Gerald in Gens saying that he needs other things to live for than just that) and it still weighed on him, he just wasn't going to let it consume him like he was, and will instead decide who he was for himself. Gens, however, is him finally doing better than just moving on. It's giving him closure.
Rouge clearly says that Shadow put his past behind him, and now its "staring him in the face". She even says "cherish your time with them, but remember that you've moved on." That's basically what happens here. It hasn't retconned the ending of Shadow the Hedgehog at all. He has moved on, that doesn't mean he can't still cherish his memories of them. It just means he won't be burdened by the past anymore.
@@JaidynReiman I forgot she used that phrasing in that line, which makes my comment very poorly phrased lol. When I said he didn't put it behind him, I meant that he still carried that trauma with him while moving on. It wasn't exactly resolved, he just decided he was going to try to not let it hold him back.
The Gerald journal entries were also all I could've ever asked for. I find it so neat that they connect old entries we knew about along with new entries that bring context to different parts of Project Shadow's history and it all comes together cohesively. Plus, while I'm not a fan of the Rivals duology, I do enjoy the fact they got the Ifrit entry in there since that creature was discovered by Gerald. Gives this journal a sense of completeness even if there are hundreds of entries we'll probably never see.
@Dog1167 The Ifrit is the main threat of Sonic Rivals 2. A powerful being that Eggman Nega planned to use to destroy the world after stealing its page in Gerald's research from Eggman.
The Gerald Journal pack-in with the game was such a good idea. It’s cool to see the old entries alongside new information. And ending with the final entry we saw in SA2 was great. Very chilling.
Really enjoyed this. It's possible for Shadow to know his heritage in the flashback, but not at the end of Shadow 05, because he was still an amnesiac in 05.
Little detail people miss in this that i find very interesting: the ring gerald finds that leads him to angel island. the same ring is mentioned all the way back in sonic 3's manual, sonic picks it up and its carved with ancient writing that reminds him of the story of the island.
Oh you're right! The Japanese manual story had that bit in it! There's some serious love for lore. Having the officially translated story (and the screensaver) is like the only good side to growing up with that port.
I love the detail that Shadow was thinking what life could've been, 7:18 and when he got that chance in 27:55 he had to do stop his greed and selfishness. He knew he could've had what he always wanted, and that makes that cutscene so much more powerful.
I usually love your lore dives… but I think you just missed a really crucial aspect of Shadow’s past that has led to this video being disappointing. Everyone’s already pointed it out - Shadow has amnesia. I would love to see a new video going over this info or Gerald’s journal!
So here's a question? Could Maria and possibly Gerald still be alive? The only reason why im saying this is because time can be altered, for an example in Sonic Generations Sonic was able to teach his younger self how to do the homing attack. Of course he cant use in the classic games but he can use it in Sonic Forces. And Gerald was able to piece together what was going on Shadow's adventure in Shadow Generations. Its just a thought, Maria also says "I'll see you again." but normally if you know that you won't see them again then wouldn't you just say the second line?? Let me know what yall think?
I believe considering the order of the journal entries and the fight shown in Dark Beginnings that Gerald was knocked unconscious by Emerl and didn't see the full fight. Shadow knew about his Black Arms heritage in SA2 and prior, but it wasn't relevant to his plan to destroy the world. In Heroes and Shadow 05, he had amnesia and didn't remember.
Shadow knowing he is Black Arms isn't a hallucination. Remember, in Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow had amnesia. Of course he wouldn't know he's partially Black Arms. You can say, "Well, then why wasn't it mentioned in SA2?" The answer to that is: What would that have had to do with anything? It was irrelevant to SA2's story.
The Dark Beginning part of the video is a disaster. The information in the animation is very clear. It literally gives it to you without any complications, and yet he couldn't catch it.
I love that we get to see a calm and loving side of Gerald before going insane. It adds to his descent into madness and makes everything about him more eerie. Not going to lie, I hope we go even further into the Robotnik family and where they are now.
Shadow didn't remember he was made of black arms DNA because he had amnesia. Remembering his past was the whole point of the game Shadow the Hedgehog. How could you forget that? 🤨
A funny thought is that Abraham whistle blew Gerald's dealings with Black Doom, and when GUN were contacted they were like "THERE'S A KID ON THE ARK!?"
I think the funniest edition in SXSG is how in the journal, it mentions that Gerald used a lot of model guns to link with Emerl. I guess a love for firearms runs in the family.
Heads up for your Gerald Journal video, you said in the group chat that there's no evidence of Black Doom regrowing from the larva. But Gerald straight up says in Shadow gens that he "grown a new body" and we see that at the end of Dark Beginnings where he's growing like a fungus inside the ARK. Time Eater doesn't show up until AFTER Black Doom was revived.
2 things about your idea that Shadows memories are being deliberately messed with in the Dark Beginnings First: it's very possible that Gerald omitted Shadows involvement in the Emerl incident due because he knew GUN would find ways of reading his journal and didn't want them to view Shadow a weapon. Second: Shadow still didn't have all of his memories back by the end of Shadow the Hedgehog so it's very possible he knew of his Black Arms origin on the ARK but was forgotten by the time of that Cutscene.
well, there is one more life form left. After Gerald Robotnik with Shadow. And that's Jeffrobe Baby. Baby Greed The Hedgehog. The greatest experiment completed by Legends. Well, they were kill by Zare But they're experiment was sent to Sonic's world. More Sonic Team/ SEGA puzzles to pick up by him. A fascinating Experiment. Well, I'm glad you're all finished. Gerald Robotnik Ultimate life form completion. Now you guys can move on. But the movies coming it hit the same road. Enjoyed the movie coming out. Well, his story is unanswered in a mystery to the Galaxy. Of Sonic. But good job on your work. We can finally put Shadow to rest. BYE
5:34~5:43 Here's my answer to that question: *The game was about Shadow having amnesia and trying to learn about his past, he probably still didn't have his memories when Black Doom revealed his Black Arms heritage!* 6:43~6:47 No? Rouge was gathering info about the Time Eater, not Black Doom. And Omega only joined her because "Eggman's Robots". 7:24~7:27 Actually, the Dark Beginnings compilation had an extra scene after the credits that shows Black Doom *on the Ark.* In fact, it seems to be implied that that scene is while Shadow is on his way to the Ark. And also, The Ark Act 1 in Shadow Generations takes place *before* the Time Eater even shows up, and Doom's Eye was still there. I originally had this earlier in the comment in response to a different section of the video, but I moved it after seeing this section of the video.
5:45 it's not a retcon. He could have known about his origin in the past, but he was still suffering from amnesia and trying to recall his memories by the time Black Doom dropped the bombshell in the 2005 game.
Well the thing about Shadow not knowing he is part Black Arms, is he lost his memory after SA2. Black Doom in ShtH is even surprised when he notices Shadow's memory is messed with. Thematically, i do think it's neat that Gerald was motivated by wanting to keep his family together since it's something Shadow doesn't get to do, just as Gerald didn't.
5:03 given how reasonable I think it to be that it could've just been the Amnesia he was suffering from in the game, I think it's pretty inconclusive However, I really like how you used it to support your understanding. Incredibly well done and very persuasive
Seeing Gerald's journal makes me think of something crazy, but hear me out. What if... there was an animated adult series about Gerald and the staff's life aboard the Ark? Just imagine, it could be animated in the same style as Dark Beginnings. It would involve Gerald, his sons, Maria and her family, Abe and his parents, baby Biolizard, and some new characters like various workers, scientists, government personnel and all of that. It would have a very mature tone in order to properly show more of the raw tragedy and severity of Gerald's situation. And the series would last from the creation of the Ark, to the incident. It would essentially be the Rogue One or Andor of Sonic animation. Sega would never do this, but it would be fun to imagine... or depressing.
Fun fact: the barcode on the back of the journal IS scannable. If you do, it says, "they dont know". Similarly, the binary on the left page is also translatable, and reads "6".
I can't help but wonder if Maria having a sister is there to lowkey plant a seed of exploring the Robotnik family tree at some later point. Possibly even meaning something in store for Shadow if he were to ever learn that someone with a closer blood connection to Maria than Eggman existing.
I think that's exactly why its here. Its so out of left field otherwise. Its both in the journal and Maria directly mentions having a sister. I believe the letter to Commander Abraham Tower, written by "T", is from this connection. I have heard the Japanese version lists the name as "Tori". While it could be Maria's sister, its just as possible its Maria's niece. Whoever wrote this to Abraham Tower, however, seemed very interested in Maria and Gerald's story, and there's a reason why she gave it straight to Abraham--he wants to uncover what really happened aboard the Ark, and has been looking for those answers ever since the events of Shadow the Hedgehog. This "T" (Tori potentially) being who it is from and desiring to know more could also be a relative of Maria, either her missing sister or (more likely I feel) her sister's daughter. (That's not to say Maria's sister couldn't still be alive of course; she probably is, but I find it more likely it'd be a younger character going out and seeking this kind of knowledge.)
“I got scared as I was no longer able to control my thoughts, all I could think about was that I wanted it all to end.” I never finished the game when I was a kid, I’m playing through it again now. They REALLY did not sugarcoat that, did they?
No, I think Shadow did in fact used to know he was part Black Arms. Remeber, in Shadow the Hedgehog, the game, Shadow had forgotten most of his memories and only recalled some details by the end of lost routes. Even in the True Hero route which continues to the Last Way, it’s likely that Shadow didn’t have ALL his memories back,
As everyone else here as already said. Shadow still had amnesia in 05. Him having knowledge of his black-arms heritage before his amnesia is possible. "T" possibly being Topaz. Is interesting and something I welcome.
Reading Gerald's journals is pretty sad that he did everything for the good of humanity and to save Maria, yet all that lead to him going insane after what GUN did. But its nice we got a complete backstory on Shadow's past.
Wait a minute! After hearing about Marias death, Gerald talks about completing project Shadow and writes in his journal, to "release and awaken it". Wasn't Shadow already "born" a long ago, since he was close with Maria?
I am so happy that you made a video about the information found in Gerald’s journal and explained some of the information I couldn’t understand (mainly anything that was added to Shadow’s story in Sonic Battle and after Shadow’s game). Thanks for that by the way. As a biologist I am really happy that the biolizard’s species has been unidentified (since it has been a big mystery to me why it didn’t look like a lizard despite the name). I was also extremely interested in how much information we got about the Robotnic family and how Gerald was working so hard in hopes to bring them back together as well as everything he made he hoped to be use in a nonviolent way or was thinking of loophole to the requests that were given to him. Also I am praying that Maria’s younger sister makes an appearance in future Sonic games. I can totally see Shadow hanging out with her children or even her grandkids reminiscing about his time with Maria.
This entire video is BS💀 shadow not knowing about having a black doom dna in 2005 was because of amnesia and how tf do you think emerl was stopped? Nobody was strong enough to stop him except for shadow.
The biggest clue for Shadow not actually fighting Emeral is how Maria is surprised when she sees Shadow fight off the Black Arms in White Space. She says to him "Where did you learn to fight like that?". It seems heavily implied that Shadow really did not learn how to fight, especially how he is now, until after his reawakening by Eggman in SA2. He may have learned the tools and techniques but did not know how to actually apply it in a real battle since he had never actually been in a fight before. It also explains how he didnt easily defeat all the GUN soldiers when they invaded the ARK.
Here's the issue with that, though- Maria wasn't there during the fight against Emerl. And considering Shadow was ALSO created as a weapon for Black Doom, in a weapons-based super soldier project funded by a military branch of the global government, and tasked as Maria's caregiver and bodyguard, why wouldn't he know at least basic hand-to-hand combat? Maria has never seen Shadow fight, that doesn't mean he's physically incapable of doing so. And Shadow HAD to have encountered Emerl, ESPECIALLY in a fight, because of his literal introduction in Sonic Battle- he goes right to destroy Emerl after realizing it has taken a new User, but then leaves it in Sonic's hands when he puts together that Sonic is the User. Why would he immediately go to destroy Emerl if he never met him before? Why would he know the vocal commands, especially on to register a user, on something he shouldn't have any knowledge about?
I think Maria's surprise is less knowing that he could fight and more *how* he was fighting. He was just being brutal and that wasn't the kind, protective Shadow that she knew.
Its canon that Shadow subdued the Artificial Chaos, though, which is a memory "level" featured in Shadow the Hedgehog (Lost Impact). Maria is actively following Shadow while he is subduing the Artificial Chaos (the "Neutral" mission in this level is simply Shadow ending the memory sequence and moving on; there is no Dark Mission). This sequence is a memory Shadow is regaining, so its canon that Maria had seen him fight before. There's two possibilities: 1. Maria is saying that Shadow's fighting skills have greatly improved since they last met. This is obviously the case because Shadow is from the future, but Maria at this time isn't aware he's from another time period as she is. 2. This is Maria before her having seen Shadow do any fighting. I think #1 is probably more likely, but we don't know for sure. Either way, this doesn't preclude the possibility Shadow did in fact subdue Gizoid and almost assuredly did; Shadow was awake when Gizoid rampaged, right after the Gizoid rampage Shadow subdued the Artificial Chaos, and when Shadow stops Gizoid in Dark Beginnings, Gerald is already unconscious. Its possible he regained consciousness, learned it had been subdued, and jotted down that journal entry. After the fact they realized the Artificial Chaos had gone on a rampaged due to the Gizoid's rampage. So Shadow goes and subdues them as well, and this is the one Gerald actually sees. Maria was present for this one based on the events of Lost Impact. GUN soldiers are present here, but that's probably the normal soldiers who are protecting researchers aboard the Ark and not the actual invading force who come to shut down the colony later (the events depicted in "The Doom").
I think the flashbacks are retcons as shadow says "it's happening to quickly" not "this didn't happen", and I think it's fine because it's interesting, and the Sonic lore kind of requires retcons to make sense.
5:40 ...Amnesia? 7:19 These are not memories of your past, and I don't think they are manipulated.If you notice, they are in the meadow from episode 1, that represents the life that Shadow couldn't have, the "what could have been"
What do you think about how SXSG handled the Project Shadow lore?
Hi first to comment
Amazingly. They really showed the project shadow lore to a new generation (heh) and made it coherent and well thought out
they COOKED
Peak
I’m glad the pre-order book is a collectible in game so it’s preserved in digital form. [wish it wasn’t in cursive though]
5:40 Respectfully, I think you forgot a crucial detail: In Sonic Heroes and Shadow 05, Shadow's arcs revolve around him having amnesia. Throughout Shadow 05, he remembers bits and pieces of his past, but he doesn't know about his Black Arms DNA until The Last Way. Since we didn't see all of the details of his past in Shadow 05 and he was gradually remembering some things throughout, it's possible that he didn't remember his discussion with Maria about the Black Arms until after the aforementioned game's events.
Yes but his memories would still have started to return and he would’ve been like “that’s right! Black Arms!”
@KyndlingStoneCB In the beginning of Shadow 05, he has no idea who Black Doom is. Merely seeing him didn't bring his memory back about it, and he didn't remember about his ties to them before The Last Way and was thus shocked by Black Doom's explanation. Hence why I think he didn't remember his discussion with Maria in episode 2 of Dark Beginnings until after the conclusion of Shadow 05. Also: he was remembering things out of order (for example, remembering Maria's death before remembering Lost Impact). As I tried to explain above, Shadow 05 didn't show everything from his past, so it's possible that he still remembers things about it gradually even after the game.
I was quite literally about to make a comment about this
His theory also could not account for Maria. If Black Doom seek to manipulate his memory so Shadow can join him, why not alter Maria's encouragement of Shadow to be a good person?
@@nguyenhoangnam8609 Black Doom could have actually done a "For all the people that live on that planet... KILL THEM"
5:25 I've never interpreted this scene as Shadow learning of his Black Arms lineage for the first time. He has amnesia throughout the whole game and basically reacts exactly like this to pretty much everything lol. I personally believe Shadow pre-amnesia already knew about his Black Arms history. Professor Gerald in SXSG certainly doesn't dance around the subject either, which says to me that he wasn't really trying to keep it a secret from him.
you can even apply this argument to explain why shadow didn't remember Emerl in battle despite having encountered him on the ark. since that game came out in the same era of shadow having amnesia, and taking place dubiously in the series between heroes and shadow 2005. even despite that, these can still be black doom using these memories to break shadow down before trying to take over his mind.
@@jadeninjaproductions7007 and to add, remember Shadow's FIRST encounter with Emerl- he's very adamant on destroying then and there. If Shadow never interacted or even knew Emerl existed until Battle, why would he have such a reaction in the first section of the whole game?
@@matthewwilliams8267 that’s a good point, I did not remember that.
@@jadeninjaproductions7007 i went back and watched it- shadow ignores Sonic, tries to get Emerl's attention, surmised it had formed a Link, and needs to be destroyed, then fights both Sonic and Emerl until he realizes Sonic was the one Emerl has a Link with, so he leaves to go find more info in Gerald's lab.
Ok I just found the intro to shadow’s story. it takes place before his confrontation with sonic and Emerl where he actually does in fact not know Emerl. He gets a weird premonition from a disembodied voice telling him “a tragedy is about to repeat itself” and he meets a deactivate Emerl and gets lore dumped by rouge.
"How could it be that Shadow didn't know about his Black Arms lineage until the end of Shadow The Hedgehog, if he apparently already knew about it back on The Ark?"
Maybe because the main plot point of the game in question is that Shadow has amnesia?
I chalked up Shadow not knowing things like the Black Arms DNA to Shadow’s amnesia. It’s possible he remembered some things but not all.
Shadow could’ve had the conversation with Maria about the Black Arms, and then by Shadow’s solo game, he hasn’t fully recovered from his amnesia and there are gaps in his memory. Shadow didn’t even remember who Maria was in the opening cutscene.
Can you see all of me, walk into my mystery, step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me, capture you or set you free. I am all, I am all of me
I. I. I AM. HERE WE GO BUDDY HERE WE GO BUDDY HERE WE GO BUDDY HERE WE GO BUDDY HERE WE GO !!
Go ahead and try to see through me, do it if you dare
1 step forward 2 steps back I'm here
One step forward two steps back
Do it do it do it do it DO IT!
With respect, there's a lot of misinformation and incorrect assumptions in this video, and I'm only a few minutes in.
-> Shadow fighting Emerl does not contradict anything in Sonic Battle. Human scientists would not be able to subdue the Gizoid, especially if it had a Chaos Emerald installed. Gerald's Journal in SxSG also stated that the Artificial Chaos rampage shown in Shadow '05, which was stopped _by Shadow,_ was directly caused by the damage the Gizoid did when it went rogue. Shadow *had* to have been awake when Emerl went rogue, and is therefore likely the main reason the scientists were able to subdue him.
-> Small thing, that's a Black Arms larva, not an embryo.
-> Shadow 50 years ago knowing he was part Black Arms does not contradict anything in Shadow '05. Shadow had amnesia all throughout Heroes and Shadow '05 due to "dying" in SA2, where the details of his creation weren't relevant. He only knew fragments of the most important people in his life, but few specific details. Shadow didn't know who the Black Arms _were_ until Black Doom exposited it to him throughout the story. He wouldn't have remembered a specific moment of his life learning a specific detail about his creation.
-> Rouge and Omega were not sent by GUN to investigate anything related to the Black Arms. They were sent do gather intelligence on Eggman's current/future plans. Rouge shows Commander Tower schematics on the Time Eater at the end of Episode 3 of Dark Beginnings.
-> The final "flashback" in Dark Beginnings was not actually a flashback. That was a dream of what his life _could've been_ had GUN not ruined everything. SxSG re-contextualizes Shadow 'moving on' from his past as him 'not thinking about it anymore so it can't hurt him'. He is not being haunted by his past, he's haunted by a future he and Maria were never able to live.
Well put. Thanks to that journal we know that Shadow was already awake before Emerl's rampage, there's no way he would not get involved in a incident that destroyed most of the Ark. Gerald saying that the scientists "somehow" stopped him means that Gerald would not know if Shadow was involved or not.
And I'm really confused how he could forget that Shadow's story in Heros and in 05 were based around him having amnesia.
@@Havik61 It's like he was watching/playing the game with his eyes and ears closed.. misinformation after misinformation It's absolutely crazy he's supposed to know so much about the lore yet completely misunderstanding it.
@@rosaline7549 You tend to notice that with a lot of videos like this which is why whenever anyone posts a "lore" video I tell others to take it with a grain of salt
Dang dude, you saved me 30 minutes of wasting my time listening to some literally who yap and be wrong. Thanks and cheers.
Another point about Note 1:
The journal entry for the Gizoid going on a rampage and being subdued is after Shadow was created and after Shadow grew close to Maria. It is immediately followed by the events of Lost Impact. The journal blatantly says that Shadow was created before Gizoid, but it doesn't mention Shadow in that entry.
I think this is an inconsistency caused by how the Sonic Battle journal was written. This journal tries to keep everything from the past journals and add new information. As a result of this, this journal CANNOT have it be mentioned that Shadow stopped the Gizoid, because the original journal never implied Shadow had been finished yet.
The entry about the Artificial Chaos was inserted into this journal and didn't exist in the original one, and yeah, its clearly a reference to Lost Impact. However, its immediately after Sonic Battle Entry #6, which is also after Shadow's creation. The implication here is its intended to line up with Dark Beginnings (despite the fact that Dark Beginnings has odd contradictions with the main game anyway...)
In the original entries, Entry #5 says Shadow is not yet complete. Shadow isn't mentioned again until Entry #8.
Its fairly easy to explain away why Gerald doesn't mention Shadow--in Dark Beginnings, Gerald appears to be unconscious. Shadow defeats Gizoid, then runs off to stop the Artificial Chaos. Gerald wakes up after Gizoid was defeated and is able to witness Shadow quelling the Artificial Chaos. He may have penned the Gizoid being subdued before he saw the aftermath of the Artificial Chaos being quelled.
Rouge and Omega weren't there because they thought the Black Arms returned. They were there to steal information on the Time Eater from Eggman and Shadow just happened to go to the same base as them. Also Black Doom wasn't brought back by the Time Eater. He was already still alive as shown in the post-credits scene of the animation. He's just using the anomaly to his advantage... which was also explained in the game.
Shadow likely knew of the Shuttle team Sonic used in SA2, as it seems to be the same base. That also brings up the question as to why he didn't use the space transporter that we see Rouge use in SA2.
@@CaptBlock I'd assume it's not working anymore, seeing as the rest of the station seems to be almost entirely shut down.
@@MintyKuro That would make sense
7:18 I don't think he was being haunted by his past here. He was imagining what his life could have been if Maria hadn't died, then he snapped out of it and continued the mission.
Yes that's exactly what it was.
100%. The biggest hint is that they are outdoors in a field of flowers. Obviously, that couldn't have happened in the past.
@@sconroweo Yeah, that. Shadow and Maria never got to go to earth together (and this actually mirrors a similar scene in Sonic X that clearly was a 'what if' and not something that actually ever happened).
I call BS on the fight with Emerl not happening. It was said Emerl getting released as he did caused the Artificial Chaos to go on a rampage. Plus, in Gerald Robotnik's Journal, there's an entry where Gerald mentions the researchers "somehow subdued the Gizoid"; that same entry also mentions that he not only absorbed enough weapon data to go berserk, BUT he ALSO had one CHAOS EMERALD installed (even though the actual name is redacted, a sentence states "if it were to have all seven installed, it might destroy the whole planet", so we can easily infer it was indeed a Chaos Emerald), therefore it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the researchers to subdue Emerl on their own. The only other option is Shadow. Only he would be powerful enough and capable enough to subdue Emerl. So the fight they had DID happen.
This 👆
I think so too.
This is something i agree on
This is something i agree on but then again if shadow was capable of taking on emerl then why couldn't he fight back against the gun solders i do agree with what your saying but then its just kinda weird at the same if you get what im saying
@@deadpoolwade-de7jm I assume that Shadow didn’t want to fight the GUN soldiers because A) he’s not the type to kill them in front of Maria, B) Shadow was probably hoping that Gerald could reason things with them so he wouldn’t be separated from Maria, then tried to escape with her when the plan fell apart. Finally, he was forced to watch Maria die as she stalled long enough to send him out of the arc. It’s not a matter of could Shadow fight back, but why he didn’t. He hoped he wouldn’t have to fight back against the human’s Maria wished for Shadow to protect before he got his memories scrambled.
gerald’s journal is by far the most depressing thing this series has ever put out. you can feel gerald’s slow descent into madness and depression, interspersed with maria’s optimism. it’s absolutely heartbreaking
5:36 its because he didnt have his memories
Finally someone who actually played shadow 05
Exactly…. That’s what I was thinking
Even Black Doom was surprised that Shadow didn't know.
Like it be more likely that Gerald actually did delete the Black Arms memories when he turned Shadow into the instrument of his revenge on Prison Island over him having never known about this part of his origin 50 years ago.
@@Miles-xh4ky Legit, it's so obvious to find who didn't play this game when they somehow don't realise Shadow had amnesia.
Shadow literally only talks about his memories and finding out "the truth" in the majority of the playthrough, even when idle within a level he just keeps wondering about his past (if you have no partners active) lmao.
I think its more likely that Shadow had a hand in stopping Emerl, cause how are a bunch of normal human researchers supposed to stop a rampaging Gizoid? I think Shadow might have served as a distraction fighting Emerl while the researchers figured out a way to stop his rampage. Also, Black Doom didnt return because of the Time eater, we can see in the post credit scene in Dark Beginings that he was already regrowing himself aboard the Arc.
Yes, I agree. There is so much misinformation in this video, I can't sit through it all.
In relation to the second episode flashback in Dark Beginnings… I’m fairly certain that one is an intact, unaltered memory. Yes, there is the transition from the end of Ep. 1 to the start of Ep. 2, but I don’t think that’s much of a story element, I think that’s just video editing piecing the three parts together since they were released separately. And Shadow knowing about the Death Leech and him being made from Black Arms DNA back on the ARK doesn’t seem to contradict Shadow 05 either, at least to me. I think that’s fair game because of Shadow’s heavy amnesia, he just simply forgot and found out again at the end of Shadow 05 by Black Doom. Really goes to show how much Shadow’s mind was altered by Gerald before the professor’s execution. That’s just where my thinking goes in all of this…
Edit 1: From what I could tell, it’s hard to tell if Abraham was born on the ARK or not. In the White Space dialogue with Maria in-game, Maria speaks to Shadow that Abe’s parents convinced her parents to go join her grandfather on the ARK, with Maria commenting that if they brought their son into space, it must be okay for her. So this would mean Abe was already born on Earth before he and his parents went up to space to join the researchers on the ARK’s first days? Unless we get confirmation that Abe’s parents were expecting him during this time and did have him on the ARK.
Edit 2: The Perfect Chaos mural was found in the Lost World, beneath the Mystic Ruins. Gerald did not encounter the mural in Hidden Palace on Angel Island. He even states in his journal that stepping foot on the island already felt taboo to him because of it being sacred ground, so he didn’t go past the Altar of Emerald, but he still observed his surroundings, the Altar, and the Master Emerald.
Yeah I completely agree with this. I don't believe it's a retcon at all. The amnesia honestly helped Black Doom out in getting him to goad Shadow into getting the emeralds back in Shadow's game. If it weren't for that, I feel like the Black Arms wouldn't have been able to get onto the Earth in the first place. G.U.N would have probably been ready for them.
Yeah, that's my thought too. Throughout Shadow the Hedgehog he's learning the details of his creation bit by bit. He doesn't even remember who Maria is at the beginning of the game so it makes sense he also doesn't remember being made from Black Doom's DNA
@@BlueBands539 yeah plus even Black Doom is confused at first as to why Shadow didn’t remember Gerald or why Shadow didn’t even know about Black Doom himself. I mean Black Doom does talk to him giving orders on what to do expecting Shadow to know who he is already and obey him.
For Edit 1, The Ark and its team were in space before Maria was born. So there was plenty of time for two scientists to find love in space.
And I'm in the impression that the scientists are all stuck in the Ark for long periods of time.
So we can deduce from that that Abe was born on the ark.
And Abe's parents used Abe himself as an example of how the Ark can be seen as a child-friendly environment for Maria.
While it is unclear if Abe was born aboard the Ark or not based on most evidence, its very clear in Gerald's Journal. Gerald describes Abe's birth as the Ark's "happy accident". So that right there makes it clear enough.
Later in the journal, it implies Maria has been aboard the Ark for a significant period of time. I would have to assume she was on the Ark for years by that point. Because some researchers begin to believe she had been born there. My assumption is these must have been newer researchers added to the roster, as obviously older ones would have to be aware she was brought to the Ark later in life.
When your talking about how Shadow didn't know about his black arms lineage. In Shadow the hedgehog he loses his memories. So what I believe is that shadow used to know he was apart of the black arms but when he lost his memories he frogot.
I've seen it two times now, in terms of addressing Shadow not knowing something he knew while on the Arc as a retcon. I think there's a simpler solution you've forgotten.
Shadow lost his memory starting with Sonic Heroes. He's obviously not going to know things from his past in Sonic Battle and Shadow 05. Shadow 05 is _all about_ the fact that he can't remember anything.
All of this can be explained by the fact that Shadow had amnesia, he never actually recovered all his memories.
So of course he wouldn't recognize the Gizoid in Sonic Battle and would be surprised by the reveal that he is part Black Arms in his own game.
Actually, Shadow _DOES_ recognize Emerl in Battle. It's literally his first appearance in the game- he immediately reacts to it with "we need to destroy it", before using commands to try to shut it down bc it "seems unresponsive", then realises it choose Sonic as it's new Master, leaving it to Sonic while he searches for more info.
@@matthewwilliams8267 I've read that apparently, Shadow's story in that game shows him not knowing what the Gizoid is when his story begins (which starts with a flashback to before Sonic's story begins). That being said, the theory that Shadow doesn't remember everything after his amnesia is very likely in all honesty. He probably remembered the Gizoid only sometime after he met Emerl.
Very confused on why you're so adamant that those flashback scenes aren't real. Not only is it less narratively satisfying, since it would mean those comforting conversations with Maria about Shadow's identity just didn't happen, but also the only real evidence you have is that Shadow isn't mentioned in the one journal entry which was only the same for consistencies sake, and Shadow not remembering something in the game where he has amnesia. Additionally, Black Doom wasn’t brought back by the Time Eater, since in both the end of Dark Begginings and the start of Shadow Generations he's shown to be alive before the Time Eater's interference
Yeah I thought the game made it clear that it wasn't simply memories and more like something that's actually happening.. if you play with your eyes open
It would have been really cool if Abraham Tower was in the White Space, but overall I really loved what they did story-wise.
I think it was a missed opportunity, but they wanted to include other characters instead. Big wasn't really a great addition and Orbot and Cubot are weird, but it makes more sense including them than a one-off character like Abraham Tower. It sucks, but he's still reference quite a bit in the game. Maria directly mentions him, and he's mentioned in Gerald's journal. Shadow also indirectly references him at the start when he says GUN sent him to investigate something aboard the ARK.
Couldn't Shadow not recognize the Black Arms and Emerl simply because he lost his memories in SA2/Heroes?
That's what I thought, too.
It is. Shadow just simply didn't remember that he already knew since having amnesia. It's practically all new info to him for that reason. Plus Maria knowing about the black arms is clear in the Shadow05 last story. Where she is on a video with Gerald talking about how to defeat the Black arms and Black Doom.
Shadow didn't know about the black arms thing in Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 because he had amnesia. It's not a retcon for that knowledge to have been known to him in the past. It's consistent with Abe's attitude towards him and in the extended scenes + gerald journal, gerald says he inserted knowledge into shadow, which could've included knowledge of the black arms. In the manga, shadow literally shares his blood with Maria in an attempt to cure her, if it's green or something he would've known before the amnesia.
Gerald, revealed in Sonic Battle, worked on Emerl and gave him a soul based on Maria's that means Emerl was on the ark for a time. Gerald journal entries also mention how Emerl got out of control one day which lines up with the memories. He didn't witness shadow subdue Emerl so in the journal he says something close to "somehow the scientists subdued him".
5:40 brother did you forget that shadow memories got changed by gerald? And after sa2 he got amnesia?????
It was never made clear if Shadow's memories were changed by Gerald or not. Its probably the most likely theory, though. In Gerald's entries before he went completely insane, he mentions he was well aware that Maria's final wish was "bring hope to humanity". My only guess is that some of the soldiers in the area who shot her had heard her say this.
(I'm pretty sure Maria being shot wasn't intentional, it was just an accidental result of the harsh sudden shutting down of the colony and the fact that Maria was trying to escape with Shadow. Their aggressiveness is still what got Maria killed, though, which they then covered up. Abe survived the massacre after all, not everyone died.)
Gerald was aware of Maria's final wish, but he went insane and decided to end everything. He had to have known Shadow was there at the end with Maria, and somehow Shadow was captured and locked away. Likely, I think, the soldiers traced the trajectory of Shadow's capsule and found him on Earth, or they grabbed the capsule before it hit earth. Gerald had to have someone put everything into motion so Shadow would do his bidding. He already injected knowledge into Shadow upon creating him, so its by no means impossible Gerald could alter Shadow's memories later.
you forgot that after SA2 shadow had amnesia for sonic heroes and shadow 05, which explains why he didn’t know he was related to the black arms until later
It actually makes more sense for Shadow to have fought Emerl than not. Following the journal Shadow was awakened before Emerl went on a rampage. It's very likely he helped the scientists with Emerl just like he did with the Arteficial Chaos later. Also by Gerald's wording, "somehow", he doesn't actually know how Emerl was defeated.
It's also worth all of the other memories in the nightmare were actual events so it would be weird if only one was completely fabricated.
You can easily explain Shadow not knowing his Black Arms DNA while being told about it on the Ark. Remember, he had amnesia in Shadow The Hedgehog.
I doubt that memory is Black Doom manipulating him, otherwise I doubt Maria would've reassured him that he's more than his heritage.
7:20 These aren’t memories. That’s him thinking about what could’ve been.
They’re on earth.
About the T person at the start of the Journal. There is 1 person who is mentioned in the Journal that we never get to see, Maria's sister that Maria never got to meet.
At the end of the note at the start of the Journal T says this: "It's a pity (That the journal is damaged) I would have liked to have greater insight into Gerald's and Maria's lives too."
Now I get why someone would want to learn more about Gerald, he was the head scientist to Project Shadow, however why do they want to know about Maria too? and why specifically their lives? T is Maria's sister trying to find answers as to why her sister went missing. Also I highly doubt Topaz is T, Topaz is a GUN soldier, T is part of the archival and requisitions department of GUN
Also Topaz would be like over 50 years old
Plus the daughter of an archaeologist becoming an archivist just makes sense if we assume the same pattern of Eggman and his robotics dad.
She might have inherited some of the Robotnik genius too, being skilled with ciphers and hidden messages like the GUN barcode.
Also Ian revealed on his podcast that original characters from Sonic X are like...HELLLLLLA off limits for legal reasons apparently. Not sure what those legal issues are, Ian's not able to get into detail, but like yeah Topaz has like zero possibility of being brought over to the main canon.
Allegedly the Japanese version calls her "Tori".
I do think its likely this is either Maria's sister, or perhaps more likely, Maria's niece.
As for Sonic X... yeah, in the game artwork from Sonic X is labeled as "Sonic Animation" or "Shadow Animation". So there's clearly big licensing issues involved there, they can't use that crap.
That being said, this doesn't negate the possibility of it being a loose reference to Agent Topaz. Based on the Japanese version, though, that's probably not really what they're doing.
@@Davanthall That's honestly really sad, since some of the important ones (namely Cosmo) were actually designed by Sonic Team, and they still seem to view Sonic X fondly.
That said, the way the Soap shoes are popping up more and more recently gives me hope that something could theoretically be worked out, if SEGA had the motivation to make it work. But that is a HUGE 'if' and licensing for these things can be really complex - the fact we got any nods to Sonic X in a game at all is incredible. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected that OMG
6:42 Correction, Rouge and Omega had no idea about the black arms return until shadow showed up and explained. Rouge and Omega were hired by G.U.N. to go to the Eggman base to get information on the Time Eater
I thought Black Doom just revived and came back before the Time Eater ever appeared?
The game gave us Black Doom's Eye in the opening stage - and this is before the time eater arrived, from that point onward, its believed that the time eater had nothing to do with Black Doom coming back
My theory on the binary at 24:50 is that it's less important WHAT it says, but more WHEN it was written.
Since this is in a very broken code in-between established entries from other games, my theory is that THIS is the point in time Gerald was transported into White Space in Shadow Generations. This would explain his ominous responses, demeanor & dialogue as you talk to him in White Space between levels.
I also don't think Gerald & Maria were brought into White Space from the same point in time, but that's another conversation.
One of the things I was able to interpret while talking to a friend about Gerald's notes is that he says that "Maria's parents had another daughter who did not show signs of Maria's illness and that despite the happiness in the conversations, the subtext was glaring" which made us think that Maria's parents basically gave up on her and simply preferred to have another daughter, which if true is quite harsh and cruel to her, which adds another layer to Gerald's motivation since on every page he highlights how much he cares about Maria, Gerald's first granddaughter meant the world to him, this is very good information and I liked the information put in Gerald's journal
Man that’s cruel, you think they will ever make Shadow meet the sister? I don’t think so tho
This isn't accurate at all if you actually read the journal entries. Yes, they had another daughter, but Gerald makes it clear later on that they're still angry with Gerald for keeping Maria away from them. They either want Gerald to cure her or let her live out the rest of life with them.
They want their daughter back. Them having another daughter doesn't mean they don't also want Maria back.
Fun Fact: The barcode on the back of Geralds journal reads "THEY DONT KNOW"
The fact they revealed maria has a baby sister changes everything. What if shadow encounters her years later? After all she would likely be in her early 50s so it’s believable that she could still be alive and active
Yeah I think there's a reason why Maria's sister was mentioned.
4:32 I don't think Black Doom returned because of the Time Eater, I think some remnants of that larvae were able to hide on the Ark & slowly evolve enough for him to return. There was something Doom said in the game that makes it sound like he was already in the return process, and the Time Eater's appearance was just as much of a surprise moment for him as it was Shadow, stating that the event is speeding up his return to full strength.
I think it was something along the lines of, "This time rift has quicken my plans" or something like that.
And plus he’s the immortal lifeform he might’ve sealed his consciousness or essence inside of that larva and 50 years later he grew back to black doom
@@rossjones8656 Yeah, I recall that line now. Black Doom clearly says that the time rift quickened his plans, not that its what allowed him to come back.
@JaidynReiman yeah and at the end of dark beginnings we see doom pre time eater there.
I strongly disagree with your instinct to chalk up all of the flashbacks in Dark Beginnings to "false memories"
A: There's absolutely no evidence that the second flashback isn't accurate. The first was directly shown to be a nightmare scenario created by Black Doom, the second was presented as a normal flashback and it's not even clear if Shadow is experiencing it. It could very well be non-diegetic for the sake of exposing this information to the viewer (a purpose it would serve very poorly if it never actually happened).
There's no reason to even claim it is because the explanation is obvious. Shadow didn't remember ANYTHING in Shadow 05. Why would he remember that he's a product of Black Doom?
B: While the Emerl fight did take play stirring Black Doom"s nightmare sequence, again the purpose of that scene was mostly to exposit Shadows history to the audience. None of the other events that happened were actually fake, they were all alluding to real things that did. Why would they include a Shadow vs Emerl fight that never happened, that would just serve to confuse the viewer when a large part of this prologue's purpose in the first place is to softly educate people on Shadow's past.
We know it's not a retcon either way because the entry in question is still in Gerald's journal in Shadow Generations, and still mentions that "somehow" the researchers subdued Emerl, but considering Gerald what's flat on the floor during this fight I think it's more likely that he's just wrong. He didn't actually witness the fight, which explains the "somehow."
Gerald literally doesn't know what happened, he just assumed. In all honesty it makes vastly more sense that Shadow is the one that subdued Emerl. I see no feasible way that any human, even a group of them, especially untrained researchers, could do so.
Under this lens it's not exactly a retcon, but rather Simmons Gerald himself as an unreliable narrator in this particular circumstance.
C: Black Doom was not revived due to the Time Eater, he revived himself through the larva on board the Ark (further proof that that memory is real), would you can see clearly in the final scene of the combined prologue. The Time Eater stuff happening at the same time was a coincidence that Black Doom took advantage of to revive his forces more quickly by tapping into the time anomaly to pull the Black Arms from across time.
Ngl, some of this video had me questioning if you even properly watched the prologue or played the game 💀. I don't mean that sound harsh, I'm sure you did, but clearly not intricately enough.
There's a ton of misinformation and clear failures of understanding before you even hit the ten minute mark; Gerald's journal never implies Shadow couldn't have been involved with Emerl, somehow forgetting about Shadow's amnesia in Heroes and 05, implying that Rouge and Omega were also searching for Black Arms when its made abundantly clear by Rouge that she's actually researching the Time Eater, and a flagrant misrepresentation of the ending of Dark Beginnings as a memory and not Shadow thinking of, in his actual words, "that future". If you're going to proclaim yourself "the resident Project Shadow lore master" you've GOT to back it up.
0:15 man that transition was smooth asf
Ikr
11:27 They DID include Sonic X artwork in the game.
Yes, but they can't use the name "Sonic X". They don't have the rights to that. Instead they say "Animation".
I definitely believe Shadow fought Emerl but didn't remember in Sonic Battle due to his amnesia.
28:10 My headcanon states that Rouge silently promises Professor Gerald and Maria to look after Shadow for them. As the Tails to Shadow's Sonic.
"Shadow? Even if you believe everyone is against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that."
Rouge even does a direct callback to that line in this game. Its impressive how Rouge is so important to this game, even though she barely appears lol. She calls Shadow in the very first cutscene of the game.
Omega throughout the journey is constantly trying to regain contact with Rouge, and even shows genuine care for her, despite him saying she's "a valuable asset". He finally managed to re-establish contact with Rouge. Then after Chaos Island, Rouge appears in a cutscene again, and from that point on she remains outside Chaos Island (once I realized Rouge hadn't appeared yet before Chaos Island I figured she'd be standing outside of that portal).
Then Shadow ends the story by following Rouge back to Sonic's White Space.
I do like how Rouge mentions Gerald and Maria as well. Big also says he spoke with Maria, so the implication is that the characters do travel around and speak with other characters. Rouge very much could have spoke with Maria and Gerald while Shadow was busy doing something else.
29:27 wait this random eagle has a name?!
Nah, it’s an inside joke with another creator, SaltyDKDan
I think that shadow 05 shadow has his amnesia going on a little, so he didnt remember that he was black arms
5:36 did we forget the whole point of ‘Shadow the Hedgehog’ game was for him to remember his past. He forgot his memory so it makes sense he wouldn’t remember back in the old game, yet still know it a long time ago.
I 100% Shadow Generations, my god so much to process when seeing the story unfold and reading Professor Gerald's Journal. It is such a tragedy to see what has happen to Shadow's family. They really wanted everyone know who Shadow is. Loved it. I hope SEGA and Sonic Team can make more stories like this from here and there.
Now that in know the whole story this makes me feel so bad for Gerald. The fact he just wanted to heal his broken family the lore reveals. That fact that he felt bad for sealing away the biolizard and couldn’t even tell Maria what he had done to a once innocent and harmless animal. He’s truly the most tragic Sonic character. Can’t wait for a in depth review of SonicXShadow generations Chaomix.
So… does anyone else think Maria’s sister is meant to be the pink haired lady from tailstube? Maria’s father was probably the archeologist son Gerald had and the pink haired lady looks a lot like an explorer
SA3 lore drop
No. Remember, Maria's sister would be over 50 years old now. It could be Maria's niece, but sister? Unlikely.
wait which TailsTube episode had a random Pink Haired lady?
also Maria & her Sister would be about as old as Eggman
I’m gonna have to disagree with most of your Dark Beginnings explanations. I do think Shadow & Emerl’s fight did happen and that Shadow did know in the past that he was created from Black Arms DNA. I do think that was Ian Flynn’s intention & works fine in the past Project Shadow lore. Reasons being:
1). Shadow had amnesia & only knew what he was told & remembered at during Shadow The Hedgehog. Him remembering more & us seeing more of his memories if logical & fair
2). Emerl was given to GUN by Gerald to buy more time to finish Project Shadow. This would imply that Shadow was already a thing as the project would have started off to create The Ultimate Life Form, with the first attempt being the Biolizard. And, we learn in Shadow Generations that Shadow was named by Maria for a specific reason, not by Gerald picking the name from just the project title. Shadow’s purpose as The Ultimate Life Form was not yet complete as Gerald was designing Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form, not for strength & power, but to find a cure for Maria. This did not happen, so by Gerald’s logic (even though to GUN, Shadow was ready as the Ultimate Life Form in a strength & power sense) Project Shadow was not complete
4). The ending of Dark Beginning’s shows Black Doom aboard The Ark. The reason being is that Black Doom grew from the Black Arms Larva that was on The Ark in that flashback scene. If that part of the scene is what happened, than the entire scene is what happened
28:17 honestly, this feels on brand for Shadow. Though he holds too much pride to ever truly admit it, he knows how powerful Sonic truly is, powerful enough to defeat even Shadow in base form. 2 Sonics with all the Chaos Emeralds squaring off against 2 Eggmans? Shadow of all people knows it's just another day at the office. Considering that he'd only just defeated him again a little while before, and having just gone through his own trials with time and Black Doom, I too would be like "Hey, I've done my bit, now do yours, you blue fuckwit".
4:36 black doom is NOT back because of the time eater, he was already back, and then the time eater came
You know that there is a read button on Shadow Generations to read the journal in typed form?
5:42 He lost his memory after adventure two...
5:36 he had amnesia… that’s how
I personally like that the ending of Shadow 05 was retconned for the benefit of Shadow Gens without taking away from the older game's ending. Shadow didn't set the past behind him. He was in so much pain and carried a baggage that he couldn't bear the burden of and attempted to forget everything, just like how he did before.
As a certain content creator whose name starts with P and ends in ariah said, Shadow was afraid of facing a past he tries to keep at bay.
You could say it's quite "Fearless" of Shadow to finally confront it all.
Also, doesn't Black Doom directly state that the Time Eater has only accelerated his return? As in, he is still around, only slowly recovering from his demise. The Black Arms are a hivemind after all.
It wasn't retconned. A character can have multiple motivations for something. Shadow threw away his past because he wanted to take his agency back, AND because he didn't want to think about it.
@@SSL_2004 ^
I think in Shadow 05 he didn't really put it behind him so much as decide he was going to move on. His only real purpose in life was still Maria's wish (hence Gerald in Gens saying that he needs other things to live for than just that) and it still weighed on him, he just wasn't going to let it consume him like he was, and will instead decide who he was for himself.
Gens, however, is him finally doing better than just moving on. It's giving him closure.
Rouge clearly says that Shadow put his past behind him, and now its "staring him in the face". She even says "cherish your time with them, but remember that you've moved on."
That's basically what happens here. It hasn't retconned the ending of Shadow the Hedgehog at all. He has moved on, that doesn't mean he can't still cherish his memories of them. It just means he won't be burdened by the past anymore.
@@JaidynReiman I forgot she used that phrasing in that line, which makes my comment very poorly phrased lol.
When I said he didn't put it behind him, I meant that he still carried that trauma with him while moving on. It wasn't exactly resolved, he just decided he was going to try to not let it hold him back.
The Gerald journal entries were also all I could've ever asked for. I find it so neat that they connect old entries we knew about along with new entries that bring context to different parts of Project Shadow's history and it all comes together cohesively. Plus, while I'm not a fan of the Rivals duology, I do enjoy the fact they got the Ifrit entry in there since that creature was discovered by Gerald. Gives this journal a sense of completeness even if there are hundreds of entries we'll probably never see.
What is an ifrit?
@Dog1167 The Ifrit is the main threat of Sonic Rivals 2. A powerful being that Eggman Nega planned to use to destroy the world after stealing its page in Gerald's research from Eggman.
Didn’t Shadow have amnesia in his solo game? That would explain why he knew about his lineage 50 years ago.
5:32 reminder that in that game shadow has amnesia
The Gerald Journal pack-in with the game was such a good idea. It’s cool to see the old entries alongside new information.
And ending with the final entry we saw in SA2 was great. Very chilling.
Really enjoyed this. It's possible for Shadow to know his heritage in the flashback, but not at the end of Shadow 05, because he was still an amnesiac in 05.
3:53 I think you were looking a bit too deeply into this part. This was mostly just a transitional device between first and second episode footage.
Little detail people miss in this that i find very interesting: the ring gerald finds that leads him to angel island. the same ring is mentioned all the way back in sonic 3's manual, sonic picks it up and its carved with ancient writing that reminds him of the story of the island.
Oh you're right! The Japanese manual story had that bit in it! There's some serious love for lore. Having the officially translated story (and the screensaver) is like the only good side to growing up with that port.
I love the detail that Shadow was thinking what life could've been, 7:18 and when he got that chance in 27:55 he had to do stop his greed and selfishness. He knew he could've had what he always wanted, and that makes that cutscene so much more powerful.
I usually love your lore dives… but I think you just missed a really crucial aspect of Shadow’s past that has led to this video being disappointing. Everyone’s already pointed it out - Shadow has amnesia.
I would love to see a new video going over this info or Gerald’s journal!
So here's a question? Could Maria and possibly Gerald still be alive? The only reason why im saying this is because time can be altered, for an example in Sonic Generations Sonic was able to teach his younger self how to do the homing attack. Of course he cant use in the classic games but he can use it in Sonic Forces. And Gerald was able to piece together what was going on Shadow's adventure in Shadow Generations. Its just a thought, Maria also says "I'll see you again." but normally if you know that you won't see them again then wouldn't you just say the second line??
Let me know what yall think?
I believe considering the order of the journal entries and the fight shown in Dark Beginnings that Gerald was knocked unconscious by Emerl and didn't see the full fight.
Shadow knew about his Black Arms heritage in SA2 and prior, but it wasn't relevant to his plan to destroy the world. In Heroes and Shadow 05, he had amnesia and didn't remember.
Shadow knowing he is Black Arms isn't a hallucination. Remember, in Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow had amnesia. Of course he wouldn't know he's partially Black Arms. You can say, "Well, then why wasn't it mentioned in SA2?" The answer to that is: What would that have had to do with anything? It was irrelevant to SA2's story.
The Dark Beginning part of the video is a disaster. The information in the animation is very clear. It literally gives it to you without any complications, and yet he couldn't catch it.
NO WAY THE SALTYDKDAN REFERANCE AT THE END LETS GOOOO!!
I love that we get to see a calm and loving side of Gerald before going insane. It adds to his descent into madness and makes everything about him more eerie. Not going to lie, I hope we go even further into the Robotnik family and where they are now.
Shadow didn't remember he was made of black arms DNA because he had amnesia. Remembering his past was the whole point of the game Shadow the Hedgehog. How could you forget that? 🤨
5:27 he did Not amnesia?
A funny thought is that Abraham whistle blew Gerald's dealings with Black Doom, and when GUN were contacted they were like "THERE'S A KID ON THE ARK!?"
I think the funniest edition in SXSG is how in the journal, it mentions that Gerald used a lot of model guns to link with Emerl. I guess a love for firearms runs in the family.
Heads up for your Gerald Journal video, you said in the group chat that there's no evidence of Black Doom regrowing from the larva. But Gerald straight up says in Shadow gens that he "grown a new body" and we see that at the end of Dark Beginnings where he's growing like a fungus inside the ARK. Time Eater doesn't show up until AFTER Black Doom was revived.
2 things about your idea that Shadows memories are being deliberately messed with in the Dark Beginnings
First: it's very possible that Gerald omitted Shadows involvement in the Emerl incident due because he knew GUN would find ways of reading his journal and didn't want them to view Shadow a weapon.
Second: Shadow still didn't have all of his memories back by the end of Shadow the Hedgehog so it's very possible he knew of his Black Arms origin on the ARK but was forgotten by the time of that Cutscene.
well, there is one more life form left.
After Gerald Robotnik with Shadow.
And that's Jeffrobe Baby. Baby Greed The Hedgehog.
The greatest experiment completed by Legends.
Well, they were kill by Zare But they're experiment was sent to Sonic's world.
More Sonic Team/ SEGA puzzles to pick up by him.
A fascinating Experiment.
Well, I'm glad you're all finished. Gerald Robotnik Ultimate life form completion.
Now you guys can move on.
But the movies coming it hit the same road.
Enjoyed the movie coming out.
Well, his story is unanswered in a mystery to the Galaxy. Of Sonic.
But good job on your work.
We can finally put Shadow to rest. BYE
One of my favorite bits of lore is the confirmation that Gerald intentionally made the ARK look like his face as a half-joke.
25:07 When Gerald starts talking here, I keep hearing Mr. Small from The Amazing world of Gumball.
5:34~5:43 Here's my answer to that question: *The game was about Shadow having amnesia and trying to learn about his past, he probably still didn't have his memories when Black Doom revealed his Black Arms heritage!*
6:43~6:47 No? Rouge was gathering info about the Time Eater, not Black Doom. And Omega only joined her because "Eggman's Robots".
7:24~7:27 Actually, the Dark Beginnings compilation had an extra scene after the credits that shows Black Doom *on the Ark.* In fact, it seems to be implied that that scene is while Shadow is on his way to the Ark. And also, The Ark Act 1 in Shadow Generations takes place *before* the Time Eater even shows up, and Doom's Eye was still there. I originally had this earlier in the comment in response to a different section of the video, but I moved it after seeing this section of the video.
5:45 it's not a retcon. He could have known about his origin in the past, but he was still suffering from amnesia and trying to recall his memories by the time Black Doom dropped the bombshell in the 2005 game.
Well the thing about Shadow not knowing he is part Black Arms, is he lost his memory after SA2. Black Doom in ShtH is even surprised when he notices Shadow's memory is messed with.
Thematically, i do think it's neat that Gerald was motivated by wanting to keep his family together since it's something Shadow doesn't get to do, just as Gerald didn't.
5:03 given how reasonable I think it to be that it could've just been the Amnesia he was suffering from in the game, I think it's pretty inconclusive
However, I really like how you used it to support your understanding. Incredibly well done and very persuasive
Seeing Gerald's journal makes me think of something crazy, but hear me out. What if... there was an animated adult series about Gerald and the staff's life aboard the Ark?
Just imagine, it could be animated in the same style as Dark Beginnings. It would involve Gerald, his sons, Maria and her family, Abe and his parents, baby Biolizard, and some new characters like various workers, scientists, government personnel and all of that. It would have a very mature tone in order to properly show more of the raw tragedy and severity of Gerald's situation. And the series would last from the creation of the Ark, to the incident. It would essentially be the Rogue One or Andor of Sonic animation.
Sega would never do this, but it would be fun to imagine... or depressing.
Fun fact: the barcode on the back of the journal IS scannable. If you do, it says, "they dont know". Similarly, the binary on the left page is also translatable, and reads "6".
I can't help but wonder if Maria having a sister is there to lowkey plant a seed of exploring the Robotnik family tree at some later point. Possibly even meaning something in store for Shadow if he were to ever learn that someone with a closer blood connection to Maria than Eggman existing.
I think that's exactly why its here. Its so out of left field otherwise. Its both in the journal and Maria directly mentions having a sister.
I believe the letter to Commander Abraham Tower, written by "T", is from this connection. I have heard the Japanese version lists the name as "Tori". While it could be Maria's sister, its just as possible its Maria's niece. Whoever wrote this to Abraham Tower, however, seemed very interested in Maria and Gerald's story, and there's a reason why she gave it straight to Abraham--he wants to uncover what really happened aboard the Ark, and has been looking for those answers ever since the events of Shadow the Hedgehog.
This "T" (Tori potentially) being who it is from and desiring to know more could also be a relative of Maria, either her missing sister or (more likely I feel) her sister's daughter. (That's not to say Maria's sister couldn't still be alive of course; she probably is, but I find it more likely it'd be a younger character going out and seeking this kind of knowledge.)
12:14 Would be funny if Eggman is the son of the archeologist but was interested on the same field as his roboticist uncle.
“I got scared as I was no longer able to control my thoughts, all I could think about was that I wanted it all to end.”
I never finished the game when I was a kid, I’m playing through it again now. They REALLY did not sugarcoat that, did they?
Nope. Back in the 2000s people could handle darker themes better
No, I think Shadow did in fact used to know he was part Black Arms. Remeber, in Shadow the Hedgehog, the game, Shadow had forgotten most of his memories and only recalled some details by the end of lost routes.
Even in the True Hero route which continues to the Last Way, it’s likely that Shadow didn’t have ALL his memories back,
As everyone else here as already said. Shadow still had amnesia in 05. Him having knowledge of his black-arms heritage before his amnesia is possible.
"T" possibly being Topaz. Is interesting and something I welcome.
Reading Gerald's journals is pretty sad that he did everything for the good of humanity and to save Maria, yet all that lead to him going insane after what GUN did. But its nice we got a complete backstory on Shadow's past.
1:02 [Insert Steam Hams Meme Here]
Wait a minute! After hearing about Marias death, Gerald talks about completing project Shadow and writes in his journal, to "release and awaken it".
Wasn't Shadow already "born" a long ago, since he was close with Maria?
I am so happy that you made a video about the information found in Gerald’s journal and explained some of the information I couldn’t understand (mainly anything that was added to Shadow’s story in Sonic Battle and after Shadow’s game). Thanks for that by the way.
As a biologist I am really happy that the biolizard’s species has been unidentified (since it has been a big mystery to me why it didn’t look like a lizard despite the name). I was also extremely interested in how much information we got about the Robotnic family and how Gerald was working so hard in hopes to bring them back together as well as everything he made he hoped to be use in a nonviolent way or was thinking of loophole to the requests that were given to him. Also I am praying that Maria’s younger sister makes an appearance in future Sonic games. I can totally see Shadow hanging out with her children or even her grandkids reminiscing about his time with Maria.
26:07 Wow I never noticed he changed his voice here from a man scared of what he might do to a man letting his evil thoughts take control so eerie.
This entire video is BS💀 shadow not knowing about having a black doom dna in 2005 was because of amnesia and how tf do you think emerl was stopped? Nobody was strong enough to stop him except for shadow.
It is SO cool they made some of the spinoff journal entries canon
The biggest clue for Shadow not actually fighting Emeral is how Maria is surprised when she sees Shadow fight off the Black Arms in White Space. She says to him "Where did you learn to fight like that?". It seems heavily implied that Shadow really did not learn how to fight, especially how he is now, until after his reawakening by Eggman in SA2. He may have learned the tools and techniques but did not know how to actually apply it in a real battle since he had never actually been in a fight before. It also explains how he didnt easily defeat all the GUN soldiers when they invaded the ARK.
Here's the issue with that, though- Maria wasn't there during the fight against Emerl. And considering Shadow was ALSO created as a weapon for Black Doom, in a weapons-based super soldier project funded by a military branch of the global government, and tasked as Maria's caregiver and bodyguard, why wouldn't he know at least basic hand-to-hand combat? Maria has never seen Shadow fight, that doesn't mean he's physically incapable of doing so. And Shadow HAD to have encountered Emerl, ESPECIALLY in a fight, because of his literal introduction in Sonic Battle- he goes right to destroy Emerl after realizing it has taken a new User, but then leaves it in Sonic's hands when he puts together that Sonic is the User. Why would he immediately go to destroy Emerl if he never met him before? Why would he know the vocal commands, especially on to register a user, on something he shouldn't have any knowledge about?
I think Maria's surprise is less knowing that he could fight and more *how* he was fighting. He was just being brutal and that wasn't the kind, protective Shadow that she knew.
Its canon that Shadow subdued the Artificial Chaos, though, which is a memory "level" featured in Shadow the Hedgehog (Lost Impact). Maria is actively following Shadow while he is subduing the Artificial Chaos (the "Neutral" mission in this level is simply Shadow ending the memory sequence and moving on; there is no Dark Mission). This sequence is a memory Shadow is regaining, so its canon that Maria had seen him fight before.
There's two possibilities:
1. Maria is saying that Shadow's fighting skills have greatly improved since they last met. This is obviously the case because Shadow is from the future, but Maria at this time isn't aware he's from another time period as she is.
2. This is Maria before her having seen Shadow do any fighting.
I think #1 is probably more likely, but we don't know for sure. Either way, this doesn't preclude the possibility Shadow did in fact subdue Gizoid and almost assuredly did; Shadow was awake when Gizoid rampaged, right after the Gizoid rampage Shadow subdued the Artificial Chaos, and when Shadow stops Gizoid in Dark Beginnings, Gerald is already unconscious. Its possible he regained consciousness, learned it had been subdued, and jotted down that journal entry.
After the fact they realized the Artificial Chaos had gone on a rampaged due to the Gizoid's rampage. So Shadow goes and subdues them as well, and this is the one Gerald actually sees. Maria was present for this one based on the events of Lost Impact. GUN soldiers are present here, but that's probably the normal soldiers who are protecting researchers aboard the Ark and not the actual invading force who come to shut down the colony later (the events depicted in "The Doom").
Ah shadow the only sonic character that can have over an hour of chaomix videos dedicated to his lore
Shadow pointing to Silver:
Now... it's your turn.
I think the flashbacks are retcons as shadow says "it's happening to quickly" not "this didn't happen", and I think it's fine because it's interesting, and the Sonic lore kind of requires retcons to make sense.
Yeah, at no point does he say "this never happened like this". He's surprised because his memories are jumping around, not that they never happened.
5:40 ...Amnesia?
7:19 These are not memories of your past, and I don't think they are manipulated.If you notice, they are in the meadow from episode 1, that represents the life that Shadow couldn't have, the "what could have been"