The fact they're making the obvious fact that he's a hedgehog a part of some undiscovered lore, and not just some random coincidence to contrast Sonic, is really cool!
You are making the assumption that they are holding back information why Shadow is a hedgehog but there is not one. He is only simply to be dark Sonic. There is no deep backstory to it.
The most common fan lore is that Gerald Robotnik was exploring the Mystic Ruins and saw the Echidna murals of Sonic fighting Chaos. Hence, Shadow became a hedgehog, Biolizard was based on Perfect Chaos dragon form and the other lifeforms on Space Colony Ark were based on Chaos 0.
There's really cool fan theories that shadow is based on the mural of super sonic from Sonic 3 and there's definite lore implications that point to that being the most likely scenario, but him saying that it's meant to be more ambiguous, and not just outright confirming that is all the more cooler. To be fair, in order to draw that conclusion you have to look at a lot of different parts of different sonic games so it could just be fandom brain or it could be legit and that's what's cool about it
Thank you for picking actual questions and only adding a few silly ones. You can tell Iizuka actually cares about Shadow and it's cool to see him give some more in-depth answers. I really enjoy these little interviews with him, you can tell that he actually cares about this series.
"Why is Shadow a hedgehog?" *Literally the biggest question remaining about Shadow's character* "We're going to leave that to mystery." Okay, we're FOR SURE getting the answer in that pre-order book.
Yeah you're right. I remember watching a video saying that there's a page that had sonic on some old drawings. A blue hedhog. So Gerald thought that he needed to make shadow into a hedhog for him to be powerful.
I have one as a pet, unironically named Shadow, and he is the best purchase I’ve ever made in my life! He is literally the cutest thing in the world! 🦔
1:00 I’m so glad they remembered that “good hedgehog evil hedgehog” commercial from when SA2 first came out for the Dreamcast. Definitely got kid me hooked on wanting it back then. I thought the reason he’s a hedgehog was based on the Super Sonic prophecy from Angel Island, thus why his back quills are all pointing up like Super Sonic’s. Was that not confirmed in Gerald’s journals in Sonic Battle when he was delving into Echidna ruins and found Emerl along with Biohazard’s arena being Echidna themed?
@@Mari_IzuAs a starting point? A concept? Sure. That’s probably what it was. Everything’s gotta start from somewhere. But things change, develop, and evolve. Lore gets added. You start out with a guy making a suit of armor and suddenly there’s a whole universe around him. Why can’t the evil hedgehog made by someone related to the main series big bad have his design origin get updated to “I’m going to realize this prophecy myself and make a hero to save my granddaughter?” not knowing that 50 years later that the original prophecy would be fulfilled by someone else and that said someone and Gerald’s creation would butt heads time and time again?
In real life, they were just trying to make an anti-hero Sonic and were doing a yin-yang thing. Having Gerald study the echidna stuff was apparent from the many things on the ARK. But they weren't tied together yet. In Sonic Battle, Emerl's origins were not necessarily revealed other than being created by an ancient civilization and destroying it. In Sonic Chronicles, they revealed that other robots like Emerl were created by an echidna tribe who were at war with the Knuckles Clan, which ties to the flashbacks in Sonic Adventure where the enemy were never shown or specified at the time. But Sonic Chronicles was scrapped as canon which mixes things up. The part about Shadow being based on Super Sonic from the mural on Angel Island is a popular theory. Currently unconfirmed. And even if they confirm it, it's clear that they would be doing so BASED on our theory rather than us just guessing correctly.
Iizuka originally wanted Shadow to have his own sub-series after Shadow the Hedgehog, but at the time because of the negative reception they strayed from that idea. Now that people have a more positive outlook on Shadow, 20 years later, it seems he's finally having his vision realized. Happy for him!
@@jdniscool I don't trust the current writing & game designers to pull that off without making the game another "internet laughing stock" resulting in SEGA 'WAITING' ANOTHER 'DECADE+' BEFORE TRYING ANOTHER SHADOW-CENTRIC GAME AGAIN.💀
Realistic Answer to 2nd question: Gerald Robotnik visited Angel Island for research and saw an ancient inscription with images predicting super sonic defeating Eggman in the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Gerald, wanted shadow to be the ultimate life form so it would make sense the a powerful being like Super Sonic would be the inspiration for shadows design. This is why hes a hedgehog and also why the shape of his quills similar to Super Sonic's design in Super Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and not the modern Super Sonic.
Iizuka said you can keep on theorizing on that, and there is an actual awnser for that question that they purposefully didn't awnsered yet for all those years So yeah, that's just a theory, a theory I believe in, a theory that's valid because Iizuka himself said in question 2 that you can create theories on that, but still not confirmed!
3:23 This is an interesting answer. Shadow at the end of his game in 2005 literally throws away his past life and starts anew, but he continues to be a beacon of hope for people and carry Maria's final wish. He still chooses to do this even though he no longer has the same attachment to Maria as his previous self did.
2:34 well, taking advantage of this, there could be something about Silver in the *future* the guy really got left behind for a while, it would be cool to have the trio sss back
It would be pretty dope if the movie introduced Silver and Blaze and as a duo of opponents. Sorta like how Black Knight introduces 3 knights you have to fight separately. As opposed to just one good guy and one opponent like movie 2, or just one opponent like movie 3. Though since we still need Amy, that would have to mean introducing 3 mobian characters. Which, somehow, is worse and more difficult than introducing 10 time-wasting human characters. lol
@@Axxidous Not that they will be villains, it is very likely that not considering the main villain but it gives prominence to the traveler from the future who was quite forgotten.
@@F3lipe-u8x Yeah Knuckles wasn't a villain either. I said opponent. The Knights of the Round Table also weren't villains. If anything, I would have thought it'd be some Terminator type stuff and the main threat would be Metal Sonic, somehow Amy is involved as well, and Silver comes from the future because Metal Sonic winning had a drastic effect on the world, which would lead to his MAYBE fighting Sonic as well at first. But in the end, the Sonic "Avengers" would come together to fight Metal Sonic transformed. And instead of calling it Sonic 4, they could just call it Sonic Heroes cuz that would actually be a good movie title. It's awfully specific... and they probably won't do that. LOL
Glad to hear that Shadow is still keeping his promise to his friend Maria protecting the world she loved so much Great interview with Mr Takeshsi Iizuka 👍🦔🖤
This brings a big smile to my face to see fan questions answered by Takashi Iizuka. Really shows how much the team cares about their fans! 😊 I feel like I just leaned more about Shadow than what I knew before just from this one video! 😁👍
You know, I can get behind that explanation of Shadow's affiliation with G.U.N. He's sort of like a freelance agent in that sense, which works for me, close enough.
It makes sense; in the Japanese manual for Sonic '06, there is a bio for him that simply says that the government asked for him to help Rouge. In-game, he only explains that it was a request from the president. At no point does it ever say he works directly for G.U.N as an actual employee. He's likely more like temporarily hired help.
Hedgehogs are incredibly smart, resilient creatures that are physically and mentally amazing: some can eat poison or shrug off snake venom, while others can run 10+ miles a night or recover from serious injuries. They are brave, and will take down predators much bigger than themselves, can solve problems and show very distinct personalities. Not saying that's why Shadow is a hedgehog, but they are seriously impressive!
Movie Shadow has a render with one of his poses from 06 in the first trailer for the third movie.The part in that trailer that shows a close look of him turning his head to look over his shoulder looks quite similar to a pose that the Sonic 06 version of him has. The only difference is that the 06 version of Shadow is holding one of his fists up in that pose. That image can easily be found online.
@@mart5610 for me the best renders from the sonic series are from sa1 to sonic unleashed maybe blackknight, but the best for me is between sonic heroes and sonic Adventure 1
@Ahmed_AX99 Old games like Sonic Adventure and Heroes have cool looking renders although the cgi and shading on them look dated. But I love the current renders and models that they've stuck with since Secret Rings. Somehow Secret Rings, Rivals 2, Unleashed, Colors, etc all look really good to this day. It's consistent. Some people on twitter never appreciate the new renders and think Sonic needs a new look or tweaks when that would make thinks worse
0:51 the coolest theory I heard was from bluespindash. I can’t remember in which video he said it in but he said that a popular theory was that Gerald robotnik was in hidden palace zone one day and saw the mural of sonic and eggman fighting over the master emerald and sonic was what inspired shadows design. I thinks that’s a REALLY cool head cannon and one I want to say is true
@@장준현-i9p I mean yeah, but the mural in the ancient ruins (much akin to the hidden palace) also depict Chaos as a giant lizard, there's the fact that it's housed in a mock Master Emerald shrine... I don't think any of this has to be mutually exclusive, in fact IF that detail were true, that's pretty much the only thing making SA2 a true sequel in story. I will admit, if it was an unintended coincidence, that almost makes it more interesting. Because it works SO WELL.
I am so glad Takeshi Iizuka's favoties are Sonic 2 and then Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic 2 was my favorite growing up as a kid, the most I played as a kid with my dad, and getting to be Tails while dad was sonic and helping him out was such a cool thing to do. I have fond memories of that, and then there's Sonic Adventure 2, and I spent literally WAY too many hours invested into that game but loved every moment of it, from raising Chao, to playing the story modes over and over again, or just 'ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND--' I hope we keep getting more and more games similar to a lot of these games and as a whole we have fun and build new memories with our own kids or our siblings and friends or our parents!!!
If you want to know fearless, for Shadow (2005), Iizuka was the: - Director - Lead Game Designer - Scenario Writer - Level Designer(s) - CG Movie Supervisor(s) This was coming right off Sonic Heroes were he allegedly lost huge weight from stress, after having to cover the level designing after the staff member was sick-absent.
Honestly speaking whenever I see Iizuka and what he's doing with Sonic I can't help but feel that Sonic is in a very good care in his hands. It genuinely seems as though Iizuka really cares about the franchise. And even though I don't know how he'a really like, at least in these interviews he seems like a nice person
Summary: Shadow has no sympathy for the biolizard Geralt made Shadow is a hedgehog for the reasons you wish (basically, there is no explanation) The Year of Shadow was made for the movie and there are no plans for the others at the moment Shadow doesn't have a morning routine for his hair Shadow has no occupation, he does what he wants but his main goal is to protect the earth for Maria Takashi likes Sonic 2 and SA2
Glad to hear that Shadow is still keeping his promise to his friend Maria to help protecting the world she loves so much. This is actually a pretty good interview about Shadow the Hedgehog.
I like the fact that this campaign is called "fearless" because for me it feels almost like it's describing the franchise itself. For so many years it became just "the sonic show" and other characters got pushed aside due to negative reception and sega listening to people who, in truth, really weren't even sonic fans. Having the focus FINALLY be back on a different character, especially a character like shadow, really feels like they're finally trying to make something for the fans again. Haven't played a sonic game since generations back in 2011, shadow generations is the first time i've actually felt excited for a sonic game since being a kid.
“Why is Shadow a Hedgehog?” Leading up to the one question we need answers to: why about the hedgehogs in this series is so special that only they can use Chaos Control?
For the question on why Gerald Robotnik picked a hedgehog for the “Ultimate Lifeform”,: there was a lore or theory I came across about how Gerald found the ancient mural of a hedgehog in superform, and after doing further scientific research he found that hedgehog DNA (or their organs) were the most compatible with Chaos energy and the ability to sustain it. So if you were to create a creature to harness massive amounts of chaos energy without it becoming unstable (like the BioLizard)… a hedgehog would be the answer. It’s the most logical theory from what I found.
I find it funny that they say they have no plans for anyone else when this year is literally Knuckles 30th birthday! (Yes, I know we have the Knuckles show!)
That means nothing, at this point they have nothing plan, also this the year of Shadow, they can't go halfway and said after all is the year of Knuckles, also the show wasn't good, that wasn't the Knuckles show, it was the Wade show.
I always thought the reason Shadow was made a hedgehog is because of the Super Sonic mural found in Angel Island's Hidden Palace. Many things found within the ARK's interior heavily imply that Professor Gerald had been to the island before, or at least knew of it. So I just assumed that he saw this mural, and figured a hedgehog-like body would be best for controlling Chaos Energy. One of the Master Emerald's shrines is also found within Angel Island's Hidden Palace. This would also explain why Shadow's hairstyle is shaped like how Super Sonic's hair was shaped in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
This was always just a theory, but SA2 heavily imply’s Gerald went to Angel Island and the preview pages of his journal actually confirm it. I also head-canon that Shadow was meant to be yellow but the Black Arms DNA turned him Black.
For me Sonic X Shadow Generations is one of the BIGGEST games in 2024 only because it's the Fearless Year of Shadow: I am All of Me, Never turn Back, Live and Learn! 🔫🦔💎🌀🔥🔥
For the question about shadow the hedgehog being a hedgehog, the popular theory is that Gerald found the ruins in the hidden palace zone from sonic 3 and knuckles and since he was planning to betray black doom, he made shadow a hedgehog as if he was fulfilling the prophecy.
Don't go there, Paramount didn't say anything about the 4th movie, if they were going to do 4th movie they already would started the production, also Jim Carrey won't be on the 4th movie, he is't coming back, this is his last movie, I rather this to only be a trylogy, I don't need to have movie after movie, 3 movies is good enough.
@@DarkHeartTheEmo you do know paramount is gonna milk this franchise right? Specially since the sonic movies making them money nah..they are not gonna stop anytime soon they have plans to expand the ((sonic cinematic universe)) yeah.. movie sonic is here to stay for a while
@@JakeThehedgehog-m1x Source, if you are claming that mean you have a source, should I remind you that one day before Sonic The movie 2 debut, they say that they were doing the 3rd, they were in production for this movie in fact, if they were thinking on the 4th they would speak about.
Honestly, takashi lizuka needs to be the story writer for most next sonic games. He has literally been here since sa2 and he knows the characters from inside out and he also knows ways how to keep the main plotline consistent and since sega and sonic team keep recycling story writers and cant just stick with one like most game dev studios, lizuka san seems responsible for setting and story. And if sega and sonic team are to bring back an old story writer, it should definitely be kiyori yoshimura (the one who wrote the metarex arc and unleashed) since his storytelling is simple yet peak. This is just my overall opinion.
they should also brinmg back shiro maekawa. He wrote SA2 and Black Knight, and co-wrote SOnic 06 with Kiyoko! Even if Sonic 06 Story has it's flaws, it still has some good story points like Shadow's story and characterization and Silver story is underatted and underappreciated! And mephiles is a great villain too!
“Knows the characters inside out” proceeds to say shadow felt no sympathy for the biolizard (shadow literally said himself that he was going to kill the biolizard to end its suffering) also tikashi is literally the head of sonic team what are you talking about lmao
2:33 SILVER PleasEe ! I will pray everynight for him to be next in the spot light 😭🤍🦔💨 Also I really wanted the answer for why is Shadow a Hedgehog (I wanted to be already canon it was from that mural Dr Gerald saw 🙂↕️) Good interview ! This was better than nothing at all.
The main takeaway from this interview is I can be relieved its the original vision of shadow that comes from SA2-S06 that is focused on keeping the world safe and not the new rival/anti hero idea of shadow that theyve tried with other interpretations of Sonic. I was worried theyd go with the characterization people think Shadow is vs what he actually is.
@gatorssbm Shadow is only protecting the world since Maria cared for it. He doe not care at all for mankind and will not go out of his way to protect them if it won't actually protect the world. His bios repeatedly say he detests man.
Technically, I don't think he ever DID work for G.U.N directly but was more like requested assistance. His Japanese bio for Sonic '06 basically suggests as much, explaining it as him helping Rouge as a request from the government. (In-game, he simply says it's a request from the president.)
@@galten7361 Well, yes. True. However, her Japanese bio in '06's game manual directly describes her as a member of G.U.N. Shadow's bio in it does not do that. It just says that the government asked him to help her.
@@CPURianaElmori8879I mean, that game was from 2005, right? It's definitely possible that he just forgot. I mean, if I made a game, I probably remember all the details after 19 years (Especially not if it was a franchise).
People will hate me for even saying this and throw the usual passionless replies such as "aint that deep" and "he literally made him" and the like but here's how it really is. Shadow's motivation since the ending of Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) has been protecting the world because HE WANTS TO, it was HIS CHOICE to defend it and its people. He still carried on loving Maria and his memories of her but didn't let that define him, something that 06 and the Rivals duology carried forward pretty much flawlessly. We've seen with Battle how Shadow can still wonder about his past and explore the project and people that created him without having his goals realign and fall back to womp womping about Maria too so just going "oh yeah it's cause Maria wanted it" is a huge disservice to the great work they did back in the day. And I'm not just throwing opinions here, this is all nonnegotiable stuff they've literally given us through official canon Sonic media. Did you see him go "Maria determined my destiny and I will uphold it" when confronting Mephiles for the first time? Did you see him go "Let's get you out of this dimension Metal, Maria would have wanted me to save you" in Rivals 2? Do you think he told himself "This is for Maria!" when charging into battle along the rest of the cast in the final battle of Forces? Shadow's moral compass landing on the heroic side since Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) IS Shadow's motivation. Iizuka is objectively wrong about his motivation unless they're actively retconing it, in which case it's unfortunate cause they're literally making him more shallow in the process. Just because he was involved in Shadow's creation and runs Sonic Team doesn't mean he's automatically correct everywhere, sometimes he isn't and we are, the fans. This IS one of those cases, we're not the ones misunderstanding the canon material here. The other thing people already pointed out, Shadow has in-game lines in both Japanese and English about showing sympathy towards the Biolizard so again, yeah, he wasn't right about that either. I love him too guys but needlessly defending him when he's openly incorrect about stuff does no one no good, it just lowers our standing as a fanbase even lower to the public eye and between each other. Only through pointing out what's not right and asking for corrections can we legitimately improve.
@@DarkHeartTheEmo 06 is canon, but gets erased from time in the canon. Sonic X Shadow Generations has Sonic 2006 levels. Rivals I don't believe is canon though,
@@DarkHeartTheEmo I don't know if I should laugh or scream at this. I'll maintain composure and treat you as I would have treated someone with a valid argument, so let's go. 06 is canon and saying otherwise is both headache inducing and factually incorrect. Let's knock the scapegoats out of the way, shall we? Crisis City (alongside Iblis) and Kingdom Valley appear in Generations which alone leaves your 'agrument' in shambles but I'll continue anyway. Soleanna as a location gets referenced in Unleashed, IDW and the Cookbook dialogue (if you predictably say "haha cookbook" and avoid everything else I'll legit burst out laughing). Sonic and Silver return to Kingdom Valley in one of the 2021 Sonic Channel stories, in one of the 2023 Phantom Ruby realities Silver and a young Elise reunite. Sonic directly references 06 in Team Sonic Racing. The final cutscene of the game has no reason to not be canon even after the timeline reversal so, um, get UNO reversed? Not to mention even if 06 COMPLETELY wiped itself out it wouldn't change the fact that the events DID HAPPEN with the mainline cast and world before getting reversed, meaning we know exactly how the cast would react to the same or similar situations and background world building literally remains untouched either way. And lastly, my weakest argument but still worth mentioning, 06's director has said he wrote the story as if Sonic and Shadow remembered everything by the end of it and Elise and Blaze had blurry recollections of it (which they have revisited, Elise feels it in the end of 06 and Blaze recognizes Crisis City in Gens), Blaze in particular might still have Iblis sealed inside of her post-06, something the series' current main writer Ian Flynn has expressed great interest in exploring. Your Rivals duology take is insane, I'll just apply your logic to everything else to see how insanely d-mb it is. If spin-offs "don't count and don't fit the Sonic lore" then SegaSonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic Chaos, Triple Trouble, Blast, 3D Blast, Drift duology, R, the Fighters, Labyrinth, Shuffle, the Advance trilogy, Battle, the Rush duology, the Riders trilogy, the storybook duology, Runners Adventure and TSR aren't canon either right? Because you don't like them or don't find them important cause they're spin-offs? Even tho they establish things seen in mainline, you know, Triple Trouble established Fang, Knuckles' Chaotix the Chaotix, SegaSonic Ray and Mighty, Advance 2 established Cream, Battle with Emerl. Oh oh, is Blaze not canon either pal? Cause according to you spin-offs and 06 aren't canon? Was Generations here first and only appearance then, hm? No Marine and Eggman Nega too of course haha, spin-off characters after all. Or are Rush and Rush Adventure canon because DarkHeartTheEmo likes them so that's the way it is? Who's Jet and the Babylon Rogues anyway right? Idk bro, spin-off characters, they ain't canon. See why you can't be taken seriously?
@@NinjaGamerGirl2023 Both 06 and Rivals are canon. Rivals literally reintroduces Silver into the fold, it can't NOT be canon even for the largest of Rivals avoiders. Rivals 2 shows us the fate of Eggman Nega. Why is everyone assuming they're not canon, just cause they're handheld spin-offs and not popular? Cause when you place biases aside they're portable spin-offs just like the Rush duology and the Advance trilogy. It's not debatable that the Rivals duology is canon, yes, it very much is.
What an interesting little interview, indeed. Nice to have some concrete word on how Shadow hasn't forgotten about Maria's wish, contrary to what some people may think!
3:42 Maybe it was just the way he explained it, but this a slightly disappointing answer just because IIRC part of the true ending of Shadow the Hedgehog is Shadow coming to terms with who he is and discovering that his actions don't need to be defined by his past. I think in regards to that you could say that "Shadow started out protecting the planet because that's what Maria wanted, but after all this time and the relationships he's made, it's now what he wants too." would fit with how they saw his character off at the end of that game.
What probably would have interested me the most is if Shadow sees anyone else than Maria as a friend? Maybe Rouge and Omega? I've heard once that Izuka (I guess?) said that Shadow does not see the other members of Team Dark as his friends and that would be kinda weird and sad as well.
@WeirdRodent Team Dark are comrades in arms who first teamed up from having shared enemies. They are not like Team Sonic who are just friends who hang out 24/7 or Team Chaotix who live together.
@@galten7361 Team Sonic does not hang out 24/7. :P But I understand what you mean. But 06 could give you the impression that Shadow considers Rouge and Omega friends since that game clearly showed that Shadow cares about those two.
@WeirdRodent Tails is in canon Sonic's younger brother proxy and Amy's life is devoted to being Sonic's bride. They both are seen hanging around Sonic even outside of adventures or following him around. Team Dark is not that. Looking strictly at games and other acceptable sources like Channel Shadow has a bond with Rouge and Omega as his comrades who will always have his and each-other's back. Note however that there's no evidence in actual game canon that Team Dark actually do hang out like Team Sonic or Team Rose or Team Chaotix do and something like Shadow sleeping in Rouge's home is framed as a one time thing.
@@galten7361 I guess you're right about that and I didn't mean to disagree with you. I just have a weird tendency to take sentences word-for-word and did this again when you said that they hang out 24/7 - which I considered every second of their lives in that case.
I just gave up on seeing Shadow properly represented by people that actually understand the character. We've leapt from one terrible characterization to another that isn't quite the return to form some of us wanted
"Fearless Interview with Takeshi Iizuka"
As opposed to all the other interviews with Iizuka wherein the interviewer was scared out of their mind
Those were the times interviewers found themselves facing Lizuka, his reptilian doppelganger.
this was cringe af
@@hugevasectomy5505 You're welcome 😉
Tbf, this is sonic we’re talking about sooooo-
Why they scared?
“He doesn’t have any special care routines.”
Totally me😂
Same
Me too.
@@sonicgalaxy27 thanks for the subscription 💙💙
@@sonicgalaxy27thanks for subbing ❤❤
Am pretty sure Shadows EN VA confirmed he does on Twitter takeover?
now that we have the fearless interview.. where's the fear-filled interview 😈
Yo
It’s just him screaming his lungs out to every question lol
.
Mason
Wait until year of Silver 😅
The fact they're making the obvious fact that he's a hedgehog a part of some undiscovered lore, and not just some random coincidence to contrast Sonic, is really cool!
I always thought the latter
You are making the assumption that they are holding back information why Shadow is a hedgehog but there is not one. He is only simply to be dark Sonic. There is no deep backstory to it.
I always headcanon it to be Maria's favourite animal was a hedgehog, so Gerald made Shadow a hedgehog.
The most common fan lore is that Gerald Robotnik was exploring the Mystic Ruins and saw the Echidna murals of Sonic fighting Chaos.
Hence, Shadow became a hedgehog, Biolizard was based on Perfect Chaos dragon form and the other lifeforms on Space Colony Ark were based on Chaos 0.
There's really cool fan theories that shadow is based on the mural of super sonic from Sonic 3 and there's definite lore implications that point to that being the most likely scenario, but him saying that it's meant to be more ambiguous, and not just outright confirming that is all the more cooler. To be fair, in order to draw that conclusion you have to look at a lot of different parts of different sonic games so it could just be fandom brain or it could be legit and that's what's cool about it
"I don't think Shadow has any special care routines."
Real Shadow fan 01 : "I got cheated by Shadow???"
In Shadow the hedgehog he Is brushin His spikes im very confunded about the anwer😅
In Shadow the hedgehog he Is brushin His spikes im very confunded about the anwer😅
@@zombiecat5019 with his hand though, not any special brush or anything
@@zombiecat5019 that was in sonic heroes
Thank you for picking actual questions and only adding a few silly ones.
You can tell Iizuka actually cares about Shadow and it's cool to see him give some more in-depth answers.
I really enjoy these little interviews with him, you can tell that he actually cares about this series.
My question is at 0:05, literally the first one shown in the video! Thank you so much Iizuka-san and Sonic Team, it's a huge honor! ❤️🖤🙏✨
LET'S GO BESTIE!!!!
@@jayartzandanimationz996 LEZGOOOOO
YESSSS CONGRATS !!!
@@Gabycretin THANKSS
Your very lucky to get your question answered by the man himself. Congrats.👍
I love the part where Mr Iizuka unleashed his black doom all over us
we meet again.
Unleashed reference 😱😱😱😱😱🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
@@LowTierMarston 'hey that's my line'
@@LowTierMarston Can I have a biscuit
@@calamario8Hello there peak music maker
"Why is Shadow a hedgehog?"
*Literally the biggest question remaining about Shadow's character*
"We're going to leave that to mystery."
Okay, we're FOR SURE getting the answer in that pre-order book.
probably the tapestries on angel island
Big mystery.
It might mean the opposite of that
@@jomadre3902 true but there's no way to know either way
Yeah you're right. I remember watching a video saying that there's a page that had sonic on some old drawings. A blue hedhog. So Gerald thought that he needed to make shadow into a hedhog for him to be powerful.
Completely unrelated but can we talk about how cute real hedgehogs are? How could you not like them?
I have one as a pet, unironically named Shadow, and he is the best purchase I’ve ever made in my life!
He is literally the cutest thing in the world! 🦔
@@StockReviewsStuff that’s really wholesome, keep treating him right! 💙
@@UltraSTH I sure will! I actually got him a little house he can sleep in for his cage yesterday.
@@StockReviewsStuff aww, that is adorable, good stuff!
1:00 I’m so glad they remembered that “good hedgehog evil hedgehog” commercial from when SA2 first came out for the Dreamcast. Definitely got kid me hooked on wanting it back then.
I thought the reason he’s a hedgehog was based on the Super Sonic prophecy from Angel Island, thus why his back quills are all pointing up like Super Sonic’s. Was that not confirmed in Gerald’s journals in Sonic Battle when he was delving into Echidna ruins and found Emerl along with Biohazard’s arena being Echidna themed?
While I do subscribe in the mural theory, I won't doubt they just "lol let's make an evil hedgehog and make Eggman's grandpa his creator"
@@Mari_IzuAs a starting point? A concept? Sure. That’s probably what it was. Everything’s gotta start from somewhere. But things change, develop, and evolve. Lore gets added. You start out with a guy making a suit of armor and suddenly there’s a whole universe around him. Why can’t the evil hedgehog made by someone related to the main series big bad have his design origin get updated to “I’m going to realize this prophecy myself and make a hero to save my granddaughter?” not knowing that 50 years later that the original prophecy would be fulfilled by someone else and that said someone and Gerald’s creation would butt heads time and time again?
In real life, they were just trying to make an anti-hero Sonic and were doing a yin-yang thing. Having Gerald study the echidna stuff was apparent from the many things on the ARK. But they weren't tied together yet. In Sonic Battle, Emerl's origins were not necessarily revealed other than being created by an ancient civilization and destroying it. In Sonic Chronicles, they revealed that other robots like Emerl were created by an echidna tribe who were at war with the Knuckles Clan, which ties to the flashbacks in Sonic Adventure where the enemy were never shown or specified at the time. But Sonic Chronicles was scrapped as canon which mixes things up.
The part about Shadow being based on Super Sonic from the mural on Angel Island is a popular theory. Currently unconfirmed. And even if they confirm it, it's clear that they would be doing so BASED on our theory rather than us just guessing correctly.
Also important to point out that Shadow's quills are the exact same as Super Sonic's in SA1 and 2.
Iizuka originally wanted Shadow to have his own sub-series after Shadow the Hedgehog, but at the time because of the negative reception they strayed from that idea. Now that people have a more positive outlook on Shadow, 20 years later, it seems he's finally having his vision realized. Happy for him!
*Fingers Crossed For Another Shadow-Centric Game That Isn't Attached To A Pre-Existing Sonic Game*
🤞🏼
@@MyzayuI just hope it features guns and some swearing like the original
@@jdniscool I don't trust the current writing & game designers to pull that off without making the game another "internet laughing stock" resulting in SEGA 'WAITING' ANOTHER 'DECADE+' BEFORE TRYING ANOTHER SHADOW-CENTRIC GAME AGAIN.💀
@@Myzayu Frontiers is proof they can do it, I’d say.
@@jdniscoolYeah
This is actually pretty cool! Shadow is genuinely my favorite character, so this interview is amazing for someone like me!
Realistic Answer to 2nd question:
Gerald Robotnik visited Angel Island for research and saw an ancient inscription with images predicting super sonic defeating Eggman in the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Gerald, wanted shadow to be the ultimate life form so it would make sense the a powerful being like Super Sonic would be the inspiration for shadows design. This is why hes a hedgehog and also why the shape of his quills similar to Super Sonic's design in Super Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and not the modern Super Sonic.
He also got the design for Biolizard from looking at paintings of full power Chaos. But these are all just really well thought out fan theories.
This theory is actually so flipping epic, I love it🔥
That's still just a theory right now, we have to wait for the journal's release to find out if it's actually true
@@hulyaterzi8560Well, they _did_ aay realistic, not necessarily canon.
Iizuka said you can keep on theorizing on that, and there is an actual awnser for that question that they purposefully didn't awnsered yet for all those years
So yeah, that's just a theory, a theory I believe in, a theory that's valid because Iizuka himself said in question 2 that you can create theories on that, but still not confirmed!
"How can I answer as little as possible while promoting the series as much as possible?"
He has mastered this skill like nobody else before. I admire that
Bro what you mean.
Honestly it's good they keep the lore mysterious because then they can create a game around Silvers timeline etc.
4:08 My question!! Good to know I can just run really fast to make my hair look as good as Shadow's. Thank you, Iizuka-san and the Sonic Social Team!
I hope that one day Silver and his fans will also be remembered that not even Shadow is there now, there are 3 hedgehogs besides Shadow and Sonic...
@R3i___ When Amy has a super transformation like the other three, she will have this game
@R3i___ Even if your joking I want this. I want this as badly as I wanted a girl super saiyan girl.
I hope that will happen whenever Silver is introduced in the movies
I'm hoping for Silver and Tails has a chance for their own year soon.
@@sonicgalaxy27 They gone do your boy like they did Knuckles...
Takeshi Iizuka taste in Sonic Games is impeccable, he listed two of my favorites when listing his favorites ^^
1:38
This is SEGA basically saying "Oh, we have a reason in-lore, but we're not telling you that reason."
We are so overjoyed that Sega is doing so much to celebrate the Year of Shadow the Hedgehog! Please keep the momentum going and do more for Shadow!
Who’s ready for Sonic 3 and Sonic x Shadow Generations?
I am
Me
I am 2.
@@PrinceRioPalace I am 3 & Knuckles
@@retro05856 nice one 👍🏽
This is gonna be good, I can feel it
3:23 This is an interesting answer. Shadow at the end of his game in 2005 literally throws away his past life and starts anew, but he continues to be a beacon of hope for people and carry Maria's final wish. He still chooses to do this even though he no longer has the same attachment to Maria as his previous self did.
2:34 well, taking advantage of this, there could be something about Silver in the *future* the guy really got left behind for a while, it would be cool to have the trio sss back
It would be pretty dope if the movie introduced Silver and Blaze and as a duo of opponents. Sorta like how Black Knight introduces 3 knights you have to fight separately. As opposed to just one good guy and one opponent like movie 2, or just one opponent like movie 3.
Though since we still need Amy, that would have to mean introducing 3 mobian characters. Which, somehow, is worse and more difficult than introducing 10 time-wasting human characters. lol
@@Axxidous Not that they will be villains, it is very likely that not considering the main villain but it gives prominence to the traveler from the future who was quite forgotten.
@@F3lipe-u8x Yeah Knuckles wasn't a villain either. I said opponent. The Knights of the Round Table also weren't villains.
If anything, I would have thought it'd be some Terminator type stuff and the main threat would be Metal Sonic, somehow Amy is involved as well, and Silver comes from the future because Metal Sonic winning had a drastic effect on the world, which would lead to his MAYBE fighting Sonic as well at first. But in the end, the Sonic "Avengers" would come together to fight Metal Sonic transformed. And instead of calling it Sonic 4, they could just call it Sonic Heroes cuz that would actually be a good movie title.
It's awfully specific... and they probably won't do that. LOL
Glad to hear that Shadow is still keeping his promise to his friend Maria protecting the world she loved so much Great interview with Mr Takeshsi Iizuka 👍🦔🖤
He truly is fearless
This brings a big smile to my face to see fan questions answered by Takashi Iizuka. Really shows how much the team cares about their fans! 😊
I feel like I just leaned more about Shadow than what I knew before just from this one video! 😁👍
You know, I can get behind that explanation of Shadow's affiliation with G.U.N. He's sort of like a freelance agent in that sense, which works for me, close enough.
It makes sense; in the Japanese manual for Sonic '06, there is a bio for him that simply says that the government asked for him to help Rouge. In-game, he only explains that it was a request from the president. At no point does it ever say he works directly for G.U.N as an actual employee. He's likely more like temporarily hired help.
@KodyCrimson Shadow was never said to be a full time member of G.U.N. rather he agrees to do requests from them when it suits his plans.
Hedgehogs are incredibly smart, resilient creatures that are physically and mentally amazing: some can eat poison or shrug off snake venom, while others can run 10+ miles a night or recover from serious injuries. They are brave, and will take down predators much bigger than themselves, can solve problems and show very distinct personalities.
Not saying that's why Shadow is a hedgehog, but they are seriously impressive!
4:17 I didn't know shadow has a render with the same pose from sonic 06 cover
Movie Shadow has a render with one of his poses from 06 in the first trailer for the third movie.The part in that trailer that shows a close look of him turning his head to look over his shoulder looks quite similar to a pose that the Sonic 06 version of him has. The only difference is that the 06 version of Shadow is holding one of his fists up in that pose. That image can easily be found online.
I don't get why some people hate like the 3d renders and think they look bad and outdated. They look really good and polished still
@@mart5610 for me the best renders from the sonic series are from sa1 to sonic unleashed maybe blackknight, but the best for me is between sonic heroes and sonic Adventure 1
@Ahmed_AX99 Old games like Sonic Adventure and Heroes have cool looking renders although the cgi and shading on them look dated. But I love the current renders and models that they've stuck with since Secret Rings. Somehow Secret Rings, Rivals 2, Unleashed, Colors, etc all look really good to this day. It's consistent. Some people on twitter never appreciate the new renders and think Sonic needs a new look or tweaks when that would make thinks worse
0:51 the coolest theory I heard was from bluespindash. I can’t remember in which video he said it in but he said that a popular theory was that Gerald robotnik was in hidden palace zone one day and saw the mural of sonic and eggman fighting over the master emerald and sonic was what inspired shadows design. I thinks that’s a REALLY cool head cannon and one I want to say is true
I thought that was genius too.
Which also explains why the Biolizard is so similar to Perfect Chaos.
@@daynnethedrummer684Although in the Japanese Guidebook, it just stated that Biolizard is based on the lizard’s self regenerating ability.
@@장준현-i9p I mean yeah, but the mural in the ancient ruins (much akin to the hidden palace) also depict Chaos as a giant lizard, there's the fact that it's housed in a mock Master Emerald shrine... I don't think any of this has to be mutually exclusive, in fact IF that detail were true, that's pretty much the only thing making SA2 a true sequel in story.
I will admit, if it was an unintended coincidence, that almost makes it more interesting. Because it works SO WELL.
My head-canon is this, and that Shadow was meant to match Super Sonic’s colour but the Black Arms DNA changed it to Black.
What an interview I gotta say! It’s nice to see Iizuka Asking questions from the Sonic Community. Nice SEGA💙🖤
Sonic = Chillidogs
Amy = Strawberry shortcake
Knuckles = Graps
Tails = Mint cookies
Shadow = Swiss Roll (CHAOS BRANDED)
For Shadow, Kirk Thornton assumed that Shadow’s favorite food is Jalapeño Poppers. And Takashi Iizuka once said, he likes black coffee.
"graps" lol
I meant to say grapes. 😭
I am so glad Takeshi Iizuka's favoties are Sonic 2 and then Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic 2 was my favorite growing up as a kid, the most I played as a kid with my dad, and getting to be Tails while dad was sonic and helping him out was such a cool thing to do. I have fond memories of that, and then there's Sonic Adventure 2, and I spent literally WAY too many hours invested into that game but loved every moment of it, from raising Chao, to playing the story modes over and over again, or just 'ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND--' I hope we keep getting more and more games similar to a lot of these games and as a whole we have fun and build new memories with our own kids or our siblings and friends or our parents!!!
If you want to know fearless, for Shadow (2005), Iizuka was the:
- Director
- Lead Game Designer
- Scenario Writer
- Level Designer(s)
- CG Movie Supervisor(s)
This was coming right off Sonic Heroes were he allegedly lost huge weight from stress, after having to cover the level designing after the staff member was sick-absent.
I’m so thankful bro made this franchise, made my childhood freaking amazing 💯
Honestly speaking whenever I see Iizuka and what he's doing with Sonic I can't help but feel that Sonic is in a very good care in his hands. It genuinely seems as though Iizuka really cares about the franchise. And even though I don't know how he'a really like, at least in these interviews he seems like a nice person
My guy has the enthusiasm of the Squid Game protagonist
Summary:
Shadow has no sympathy for the biolizard Geralt made
Shadow is a hedgehog for the reasons you wish (basically, there is no explanation)
The Year of Shadow was made for the movie and there are no plans for the others at the moment
Shadow doesn't have a morning routine for his hair
Shadow has no occupation, he does what he wants but his main goal is to protect the earth for Maria
Takashi likes Sonic 2 and SA2
Thank you very much.
they haven’t delved into why shadow is a hedgehog on purpose?!
that makes me so excited
Glad to hear that Shadow is still keeping his promise to his friend Maria to help protecting the world she loves so much. This is actually a pretty good interview about Shadow the Hedgehog.
Shadow The Hedgehog Is The Ultimate Badass And Life Form Ever 🦔🤩🤩😎😎😎🖤🖤🖤🖤👍👍👍👍
Glad that Maria's wish is not forgotten
He already did that shadow abandoned the wish and moved on he doesn't even know about it
@sukumadehk He doesn't care about mankind or protecting it. He cares about Maria's views
@@galten7361 not anymore of he was he wouldn't have said he is shadow in sonic x in sa2 or in sonic 06
I head canon Shadow's occupation as being a barista worker, solely because of how hilarious him taking a coffee order sounds.
YEAR OF SILVER WHEN??? 🙏
I like the fact that this campaign is called "fearless" because for me it feels almost like it's describing the franchise itself. For so many years it became just "the sonic show" and other characters got pushed aside due to negative reception and sega listening to people who, in truth, really weren't even sonic fans. Having the focus FINALLY be back on a different character, especially a character like shadow, really feels like they're finally trying to make something for the fans again.
Haven't played a sonic game since generations back in 2011, shadow generations is the first time i've actually felt excited for a sonic game since being a kid.
we need year of Silver. he has so much potential being from the future. please sonic team
Thank you for all the amazing work you do
“Why is Shadow a Hedgehog?”
Leading up to the one question we need answers to: why about the hedgehogs in this series is so special that only they can use Chaos Control?
Can Silver or Blaze get some attention next?🥺
Us Silver and Blaze fans have been out here starving
interviews are a treat
For the question on why Gerald Robotnik picked a hedgehog for the “Ultimate Lifeform”,: there was a lore or theory I came across about how Gerald found the ancient mural of a hedgehog in superform, and after doing further scientific research he found that hedgehog DNA (or their organs) were the most compatible with Chaos energy and the ability to sustain it. So if you were to create a creature to harness massive amounts of chaos energy without it becoming unstable (like the BioLizard)… a hedgehog would be the answer. It’s the most logical theory from what I found.
I find it funny that they say they have no plans for anyone else when this year is literally Knuckles 30th birthday! (Yes, I know we have the Knuckles show!)
That means nothing, at this point they have nothing plan, also this the year of Shadow, they can't go halfway and said after all is the year of Knuckles, also the show wasn't good, that wasn't the Knuckles show, it was the Wade show.
I like this. It shows he is in the right head space to listen and improve.
"Shadow dosen't have any hair care routine."
Sephiroth: "And I took that personally!"
I always thought the reason Shadow was made a hedgehog is because of the Super Sonic mural found in Angel Island's Hidden Palace.
Many things found within the ARK's interior heavily imply that Professor Gerald had been to the island before, or at least knew of it.
So I just assumed that he saw this mural, and figured a hedgehog-like body would be best for controlling Chaos Energy. One of the Master Emerald's shrines is also found within Angel Island's Hidden Palace.
This would also explain why Shadow's hairstyle is shaped like how Super Sonic's hair was shaped in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
This was always just a theory, but SA2 heavily imply’s Gerald went to Angel Island and the preview pages of his journal actually confirm it. I also head-canon that Shadow was meant to be yellow but the Black Arms DNA turned him Black.
For me Sonic X Shadow Generations is one of the BIGGEST games in 2024 only because it's the Fearless Year of Shadow: I am All of Me, Never turn Back, Live and Learn! 🔫🦔💎🌀🔥🔥
this has to be a bot or somethin that makes no sense
@@FidgetyAtticPeople can get hyped man. I have no idea if they're real, but a reaction like that can be real 🙂
For the question about shadow the hedgehog being a hedgehog, the popular theory is that Gerald found the ruins in the hidden palace zone from sonic 3 and knuckles and since he was planning to betray black doom, he made shadow a hedgehog as if he was fulfilling the prophecy.
The preview pages for his journal even confirm he’s been to Angel Island.
the way Izuka is talking sounds like sonic movie 4 will dictate who gets the next character year
Don't go there, Paramount didn't say anything about the 4th movie, if they were going to do 4th movie they already would started the production, also Jim Carrey won't be on the 4th movie, he is't coming back, this is his last movie, I rather this to only be a trylogy, I don't need to have movie after movie, 3 movies is good enough.
@@DarkHeartTheEmo you do know paramount is gonna milk this franchise right? Specially since the sonic movies making them money nah..they are not gonna stop anytime soon they have plans to expand the ((sonic cinematic universe)) yeah.. movie sonic is here to stay for a while
@@JakeThehedgehog-m1x Source, if you are claming that mean you have a source, should I remind you that one day before Sonic The movie 2 debut, they say that they were doing the 3rd, they were in production for this movie in fact, if they were thinking on the 4th they would speak about.
@@DarkHeartTheEmo tbf. we were already hearing rumours of movie 4 before 3's trailer dropped.
@@necrodamus5481 Source.
Izuka is wearing the shadow the hedgehog diamond encrusted bling I am losing my mind
Honestly, takashi lizuka needs to be the story writer for most next sonic games. He has literally been here since sa2 and he knows the characters from inside out and he also knows ways how to keep the main plotline consistent and since sega and sonic team keep recycling story writers and cant just stick with one like most game dev studios, lizuka san seems responsible for setting and story.
And if sega and sonic team are to bring back an old story writer, it should definitely be kiyori yoshimura (the one who wrote the metarex arc and unleashed) since his storytelling is simple yet peak.
This is just my overall opinion.
they should also brinmg back shiro maekawa. He wrote SA2 and Black Knight, and co-wrote SOnic 06 with Kiyoko! Even if Sonic 06 Story has it's flaws, it still has some good story points like Shadow's story and characterization and Silver story is underatted and underappreciated! And mephiles is a great villain too!
“Knows the characters inside out” proceeds to say shadow felt no sympathy for the biolizard (shadow literally said himself that he was going to kill the biolizard to end its suffering) also tikashi is literally the head of sonic team what are you talking about lmao
@@EricsonGamingNite True, and pair maekawa and yoshimura with lizuka and ian flynn all together and you've got a guaranteed peak sonic story.
He's not a writter.
@@chaodude5087 What is he on?? Shadow clearly saId to Biolizard that he'll end his suffering. Isn't that sympathy! Tashika needs to make some sense!
Takashi Iizuka is so fearless for being in this interview!1!!
Any chance we see what was Maria’s illness that started the Ultimate life form project?
Yas, I’m so hyped for this!
Can you do Year of Silver Next? Silver is a character that never really got enough of a spotlight
I like the last answer. Gives me more confidence to try things that seem too scary.
We will be buying Shadow Generations this October 25th 🗣🔥🔥🔥
1:09 They wanted a Vegeta to Sonic's Goku. Simple as that really
Shadow is not based off of vegeta, that is just something that Sonic fans came up with.
4:08 Oh, but Shadow apparently has a 20-step skincare routine
ah yes, my favorite Sonic creative officer, TakEshi Iizuka
Lmao
I'm gald he is keeping options open with other characters because I want to see sliver get his campaign.
2:33 SILVER PleasEe ! I will pray everynight for him to be next in the spot light 😭🤍🦔💨
Also I really wanted the answer for why is Shadow a Hedgehog (I wanted to be already canon it was from that mural Dr Gerald saw 🙂↕️) Good interview ! This was better than nothing at all.
I liked the interview. Good job, Sonic team
They mispelled his name… it’s TAKAshi Iizuka not TAKEshi Iizuka…
I just realized he is wearing a necklace with Shadow on it as well as wearing black and red.
Takashi Iizuka is fearless untill he hears the "H" Word
Congrats on 2 million subscribers, Mr. Sonic! 🎉
The main takeaway from this interview is I can be relieved its the original vision of shadow that comes from SA2-S06 that is focused on keeping the world safe and not the new rival/anti hero idea of shadow that theyve tried with other interpretations of Sonic. I was worried theyd go with the characterization people think Shadow is vs what he actually is.
@gatorssbm Shadow is only protecting the world since Maria cared for it. He doe not care at all for mankind and will not go out of his way to protect them if it won't actually protect the world. His bios repeatedly say he detests man.
I think it's cute that Shadow fixes his quills in his "Sonic Adventure 2" idol animation. 4:08
Can’t wait for shadow generations and movie 3
I always thought he was a hedgehog because Gerald based his design off Super Sonic
5:12 BUT HE WONT REMASTER IT
It isn't his choice, it's SEGA's decision.
I am so glad that we got this was a good idea video of the first two hours just interview
4:22 relatable
I'm glad Shadow just doesn't work for GUN, he's just doing whatever he wants to protect the world.
Technically, I don't think he ever DID work for G.U.N directly but was more like requested assistance. His Japanese bio for Sonic '06 basically suggests as much, explaining it as him helping Rouge as a request from the government. (In-game, he simply says it's a request from the president.)
@mitchelljohnson1198 Rouge also only worked for the president in Adventure 2.
@@galten7361
Well, yes. True. However, her Japanese bio in '06's game manual directly describes her as a member of G.U.N. Shadow's bio in it does not do that. It just says that the government asked him to help her.
1:14
Sorry, but didn't eggman outright say in the Devil Doom fight that he saved shadow with one of his robots and that he's the real shadow?
With how that statement is put in shadow the hedgehog, i wouldn't be surprised if even izuka forgot
@@CPURianaElmori8879I mean, that game was from 2005, right? It's definitely possible that he just forgot. I mean, if I made a game, I probably remember all the details after 19 years (Especially not if it was a franchise).
Great interview! Was really interesting about how Shadow thinks of the Biolizard
Can't wait to play Sonic x Shadow Generations once it's out!⚫🦔🔴
Finally some good content. This took my attention away from the train wreck that is PS5 pro.
People will hate me for even saying this and throw the usual passionless replies such as "aint that deep" and "he literally made him" and the like but here's how it really is. Shadow's motivation since the ending of Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) has been protecting the world because HE WANTS TO, it was HIS CHOICE to defend it and its people. He still carried on loving Maria and his memories of her but didn't let that define him, something that 06 and the Rivals duology carried forward pretty much flawlessly. We've seen with Battle how Shadow can still wonder about his past and explore the project and people that created him without having his goals realign and fall back to womp womping about Maria too so just going "oh yeah it's cause Maria wanted it" is a huge disservice to the great work they did back in the day. And I'm not just throwing opinions here, this is all nonnegotiable stuff they've literally given us through official canon Sonic media. Did you see him go "Maria determined my destiny and I will uphold it" when confronting Mephiles for the first time? Did you see him go "Let's get you out of this dimension Metal, Maria would have wanted me to save you" in Rivals 2? Do you think he told himself "This is for Maria!" when charging into battle along the rest of the cast in the final battle of Forces? Shadow's moral compass landing on the heroic side since Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) IS Shadow's motivation. Iizuka is objectively wrong about his motivation unless they're actively retconing it, in which case it's unfortunate cause they're literally making him more shallow in the process. Just because he was involved in Shadow's creation and runs Sonic Team doesn't mean he's automatically correct everywhere, sometimes he isn't and we are, the fans. This IS one of those cases, we're not the ones misunderstanding the canon material here.
The other thing people already pointed out, Shadow has in-game lines in both Japanese and English about showing sympathy towards the Biolizard so again, yeah, he wasn't right about that either.
I love him too guys but needlessly defending him when he's openly incorrect about stuff does no one no good, it just lowers our standing as a fanbase even lower to the public eye and between each other. Only through pointing out what's not right and asking for corrections can we legitimately improve.
Why do you mention 06 and Rivals? One isn't canon and the other is a spin off, those don't count fir the lore of Sonic.
@@DarkHeartTheEmo 06 is canon, but gets erased from time in the canon. Sonic X Shadow Generations has Sonic 2006 levels. Rivals I don't believe is canon though,
@@DarkHeartTheEmo I don't know if I should laugh or scream at this. I'll maintain composure and treat you as I would have treated someone with a valid argument, so let's go.
06 is canon and saying otherwise is both headache inducing and factually incorrect. Let's knock the scapegoats out of the way, shall we? Crisis City (alongside Iblis) and Kingdom Valley appear in Generations which alone leaves your 'agrument' in shambles but I'll continue anyway. Soleanna as a location gets referenced in Unleashed, IDW and the Cookbook dialogue (if you predictably say "haha cookbook" and avoid everything else I'll legit burst out laughing). Sonic and Silver return to Kingdom Valley in one of the 2021 Sonic Channel stories, in one of the 2023 Phantom Ruby realities Silver and a young Elise reunite. Sonic directly references 06 in Team Sonic Racing. The final cutscene of the game has no reason to not be canon even after the timeline reversal so, um, get UNO reversed? Not to mention even if 06 COMPLETELY wiped itself out it wouldn't change the fact that the events DID HAPPEN with the mainline cast and world before getting reversed, meaning we know exactly how the cast would react to the same or similar situations and background world building literally remains untouched either way. And lastly, my weakest argument but still worth mentioning, 06's director has said he wrote the story as if Sonic and Shadow remembered everything by the end of it and Elise and Blaze had blurry recollections of it (which they have revisited, Elise feels it in the end of 06 and Blaze recognizes Crisis City in Gens), Blaze in particular might still have Iblis sealed inside of her post-06, something the series' current main writer Ian Flynn has expressed great interest in exploring.
Your Rivals duology take is insane, I'll just apply your logic to everything else to see how insanely d-mb it is. If spin-offs "don't count and don't fit the Sonic lore" then SegaSonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic Chaos, Triple Trouble, Blast, 3D Blast, Drift duology, R, the Fighters, Labyrinth, Shuffle, the Advance trilogy, Battle, the Rush duology, the Riders trilogy, the storybook duology, Runners Adventure and TSR aren't canon either right? Because you don't like them or don't find them important cause they're spin-offs? Even tho they establish things seen in mainline, you know, Triple Trouble established Fang, Knuckles' Chaotix the Chaotix, SegaSonic Ray and Mighty, Advance 2 established Cream, Battle with Emerl. Oh oh, is Blaze not canon either pal? Cause according to you spin-offs and 06 aren't canon? Was Generations here first and only appearance then, hm? No Marine and Eggman Nega too of course haha, spin-off characters after all. Or are Rush and Rush Adventure canon because DarkHeartTheEmo likes them so that's the way it is? Who's Jet and the Babylon Rogues anyway right? Idk bro, spin-off characters, they ain't canon. See why you can't be taken seriously?
@@NinjaGamerGirl2023 Both 06 and Rivals are canon. Rivals literally reintroduces Silver into the fold, it can't NOT be canon even for the largest of Rivals avoiders. Rivals 2 shows us the fate of Eggman Nega. Why is everyone assuming they're not canon, just cause they're handheld spin-offs and not popular? Cause when you place biases aside they're portable spin-offs just like the Rush duology and the Advance trilogy. It's not debatable that the Rivals duology is canon, yes, it very much is.
@@KOTSOSMC2002 So you are saying that he backstory of Blaze is in this game? Despite Iizuka had already said, that no 06 isn't her backstory.
Shadow is truly the ultimate life form and fearless.
Shadow is not scared
Mr Iizuka being asked what Shadow's hair retuone is, is just brilliant.
A new upload, and it's a day off? Today is a breeze!
What an interesting little interview, indeed. Nice to have some concrete word on how Shadow hasn't forgotten about Maria's wish, contrary to what some people may think!
3:42 Maybe it was just the way he explained it, but this a slightly disappointing answer just because IIRC part of the true ending of Shadow the Hedgehog is Shadow coming to terms with who he is and discovering that his actions don't need to be defined by his past. I think in regards to that you could say that "Shadow started out protecting the planet because that's what Maria wanted, but after all this time and the relationships he's made, it's now what he wants too." would fit with how they saw his character off at the end of that game.
@pandabean Do you not get that you can value someone's opinion without kowtowing to them or?
[ Everyone liked that. ]
year of charmy is not off the table
What probably would have interested me the most is if Shadow sees anyone else than Maria as a friend? Maybe Rouge and Omega? I've heard once that Izuka (I guess?) said that Shadow does not see the other members of Team Dark as his friends and that would be kinda weird and sad as well.
@WeirdRodent Team Dark are comrades in arms who first teamed up from having shared enemies. They are not like Team Sonic who are just friends who hang out 24/7 or Team Chaotix who live together.
@@galten7361 Team Sonic does not hang out 24/7. :P
But I understand what you mean. But 06 could give you the impression that Shadow considers Rouge and Omega friends since that game clearly showed that Shadow cares about those two.
@WeirdRodent Tails is in canon Sonic's younger brother proxy and Amy's life is devoted to being Sonic's bride. They both are seen hanging around Sonic even outside of adventures or following him around.
Team Dark is not that. Looking strictly at games and other acceptable sources like Channel Shadow has a bond with Rouge and Omega as his comrades who will always have his and each-other's back. Note however that there's no evidence in actual game canon that Team Dark actually do hang out like Team Sonic or Team Rose or Team Chaotix do and something like Shadow sleeping in Rouge's home is framed as a one time thing.
@@galten7361 I guess you're right about that and I didn't mean to disagree with you. I just have a weird tendency to take sentences word-for-word and did this again when you said that they hang out 24/7 - which I considered every second of their lives in that case.
shadow literally says he's gonna end the biolizards suffering, isn't that sympathy??
I take everything this guy says with a grain of salt tbh, Shadow's character is so complex at this point its contradicting.
fair lmao
@@YoursTrulySonikkuTo be fair, these were probably off the cuff answers. And it’s not like every single detail of a game is remembered.
I just gave up on seeing Shadow properly represented by people that actually understand the character. We've leapt from one terrible characterization to another that isn't quite the return to form some of us wanted
He’s just saying he’s gonna kill it. I don’t think it’s too deep
A game where silver would be the main character would be a cool concept