One small yet often overlooked detail: just imagine what'd be going through Rouge's mind in the """hero""" route. She's smart, so she knows very well shadow's here to destroy whatever is left of mankind's last line of defense But she still asked for his help, perhaps a desperate attempt for her part to get him to his senses? You can bet she thought it was futile...but he accepts, he actually helps her, he picked her, his friend, over the alien bastard who brought so much pain and death to the planet. And they defeat him together, Black doom now lying on the ground, soon to be killed once and for all. Mankind, against all odds is saved... And then she hears Shadow's speech about taking over the world as its new overlord laughing with pure malice in his voice Her friend didn't help her because he was gone from the start and she didn't realize it until it was too late.
He wasn't "gone from the start", he was shaped by Black Doom to be like that, then became rebellious. One of the points of the game's story is, "the world shapes who you are" and I think that route shows it off the most. Either that or the Full Dark route.
I like how even Black Doom in this level acknowledges that Shadow is beyond salvation as one of his quotes if you pass a generator is “It’s too late to turn back now”
=RIGHT AFTER......."YOU DISOBEYED MY ORDERS!!!!".....ONLY SEMI DARK DARK PATH ISNT CONSIDERED AS MUTINY. =PURE DARK PATH IS ABOUT THE RIGHTFUL EXECUTION OF ALL THE HUMANITY FOR GOOD....SINCE FOR REAL HUMANS ARE BASICALLY AWFUL BECAUSE OF LOVE AND CONSIDER AS HUMANS ONLY "OURS" CORRESPONDING TO SOME "HUMANITY CRITERIA" =HOW TO PROVE=?????.....NAH,EASILY......FOR EXAMPLE,"CAN YOU SPEAK ON HUMAN LANGUAGE?"....WHERE'S ALWAYS DOES MENTIONED ABOUT THE "HUMAN LANGUAGE" IS ALWAYS NATIVE LANGUAGE FOR A PERSON..........SO ALL OTHERS ARE "NOT HUMAN LANGUAGES",RIGHT??.............SO THEIR BEARERS AREND BEING CONSIDERED AS HUMANS BY PERSON TOO.............. .........THE SAME THING ABOUT FLAT EARTHERS DO SAY....ABOUT "ALL HUMANS BELIEVE THAT EARTH IS FLAT".....AND EVERYTHING LIKE THIS........AND THAT IS TRUE TO LOGICAL SEQUENCE CIRCULATING IN THEIR MIND ABOUT "IF BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH>>>>>THEN THAT PERSON IS HUMAN>>>>ALL HUMANS DO BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH",AND "IF DISBELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH>>>>THEN THAT PERSON ISNT HUMAN>>>>>HUMANS MUST NOT PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT LOWER LIFEFORMS DO SAY>>>>ALL HUMANS DO BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH" ..........SAME THING WORKS WITH ALL OTHER CRITERIA OF HUMANITY,EVEN YOURS................................. =EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT UNDERGO SOME "HUMANITY CRITERIA" IS BEING DESCRIBED AS "UNDERHUMAN".....WHAT IS THAT??...GO TO WIKI,ABOUT NAZIST GERMAN DESCRIPTION....OR "SUBHUMAN"...... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untermensch "The subhuman is a biological creature, crafted by nature, which has hands, legs, eyes and mouth, even the semblance of a brain. Nevertheless, this terrible creature is only a partial human being.Although it has features similar to a human, the subhuman is lower on the spiritual and psychological scale than any animal. Inside of this creature lies wild and unrestrained passions: an incessant need to destroy, filled with the most primitive desires, chaos and coldhearted villainy." =THE NATURE OF NAZISM IS PRETTY ADEQUATE RELATION OF HUMANS TO "OUTER WORLD" WITHOUT ANY FLICKER OF FEAR.............NAZISTS IS TRUE NATURE OF ANY HUMANS......................................................................EVERY HUMAN IS NAZIST IN RELATION TO EVERYTHING THAT DOESNT UNDERGO CRITERIA OF HUMANITY OF THAT HUMAN................................................. =YEAH,IT WAS KIND OF PROOF WHY SHADOW WAS BASICALLY LEGITIMATE OF DESTROYING EVERYTHING,BECAUSE OF EVERYONE DESERVED IT.................................. P.S. .....THOSE WHO FOR "ANTI RACISM" OR "HOMO RIGHTS" ARE BASICALLY THE HUMANS TOO,BECAUSE OF THEIR "HUMAN WORLDS" CAN BE SEPARATED TOO........AND CORRESPONDING SUBHUMANS ALSO...........SO THEY'RE NOT RIGHT TOO.......BECAUSE OF IF YOU'RE *REALLY* RIGHT THERE'LL BE NO SUCH AS SUBHUMANS FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT..........
I just love the music in this level. The calm and quiet intensity just exaggerates how much your decisions led you to this point. To me, this is the impact it leaves "Well... Congratulations Shadow. Thanks to you and the Black Arms. Humanity's damned to extinction. The GUN Fortress may be the world's last line of defense and hope. But let's face it; there's nothing else that they can do to stop you. You know it and they know it. . . Is this what she wanted? Is THIS Maria's Will? Or was your thirst for revenge beyond your salvation?"
I don't think it's Shadow's thirst for revenge - at least not completely, since Gerald has brainwashed him into initiating the ARK Deorbit plan as a way to take revenge for Maria's death. For what it looks like, those directives just kicked back in.
Actually, that's not true. When Dr. Gerald had wanted to take revenge against the world for Maria's death. Shadow had long since been sent to earth and captured by that time. It's implied that upon awakening in SA2, he had partial memory loss. Hence using Maria as a means to enact revenge, thinking that was her "Wish". When it actuality it was for her wanting Shadow to make the people of earth happy. Since she never got to visit earth. If anyone did brainwashing on Shadow, it's Black Doom. Who utilized Shadow wanting to know the truth about his past to his own advantage. While planting lies and seeds of doubt into his head. It didn't help that, Black Doom actually legitimately help in creating shadow. But I digress, by the time we reach this point. Shadow has such a deep hatred towards humans. He's basically beyond salvation and total control. To the point where, he's even willing to betray Black Doom and usurp control of the Black Arms Race. Turning into an crazed Omnicidal Maniac.
However, don't forget, that even in the captivity, Gerald has managed to program the deorbit protocols into the control systems of the Space Colony ARK and make sure, that the video of his execution will be played everywhere, when his plan goes into action. I think he could've also brainwashed already-captured Shadow in the meantime. But yeah, it's Black Doom's actions, that make Gerald's programming kick back in.
A repost from BrawlBRTSM video: "If there’s one thing this game did right, it’s the fantastic parallels between this level and Final Haunt (the final Pure Hero mission). Both of them have pretty slow, relaxed themes. At least, considering what you’d expect from fast-paced, violent final levels. But it represents the fact that there is no more inner conflict within Shadow. His mind is fully made up. He knows where his heart is. The difference is, in Final Haunt, Shadow knows who he is. He’s found what he was after. In GUN Fortress, he’s lost everything. What was once Shadow is now a broken, angry shell. But his mind is still made up. He’s found inner peace either way. Except in this case, he lost his identity to do so. In Final Haunt, he finds it. And the music reflects this. GUN Fortress is somber. Shadow, or whatever is left of him, has taken everything away from the humans: their families, their lives, their hope, and he doesn’t realise he’s lost all of that as well. Because he’s at peace. Final Haunt is upbeat. Shadow has discovered who he is. His mind is made up, and he’s going to fulfill his best friend’s dying wish. He can finally put the past behind him and move on. Because he’s at peace."
This comment is so amazing!! Can I frame it on my wall?! Look I get that Shadow The Hedgehog as a game didn't do much right, but at least some of the music is redeemable like in every Sonic game. This comment has made me realise that the morality system could have worked in a sense and in this case details how Shadow's character grows through the game, it was just executed a bit poorly as we never really explicitly saw it.
You can also add that during the Pure Hero pathway that leads to Final Haunt, we see Shadow slowly regaining his memory by doing what he feels is right by those his friends (Sonic and co.) instead of sticking by the one promising him everything (Black Doom). These heroic deeds lead to Shadow regaining the memories of protecting Maria and her dying wish to protect the people of Earth, whilst he's on his way to Space Colony ARK with Sonic. By the time that memory is finished and they reach the Black Comet, Shadow is ready to fulfil that promise by confronting Black Doom and his army. By contrast, the Pure Dark pathway sees Shadow being manipulated by Black Doom to do his bidding and in return he'll deliver Shadow his past memories back, but obviously this isn't the case cos he just wants to take over the world and exterminate humanity, the complete opposite of what Maria wanted. In fact he even blocks out that dying wish of Maria's to protect humanity on Earth. As a result of this, Shadow's mind is twisted into believing the promise that Black Doom was never going to give him, probably out of desperation in this case (the game never tells us why we should trust Black Doom). In alternate dark path routes that can lead to GUN Fortress (say The Doom level for example), Black Doom tries to show Shadow that memory of the GUN soldier killing Maria to further manipulate him to feel disgusted with the humans, adding that their greed causes the death of those who are unfortunate. In SA2 we gathered that Maria was accidentally killed when sacrificing herself for Shadow, yet they changed that moment in this game to make it seem the GUN soldier purposefully killed Maria. Even though this is clearly a retcon, it could also be argued that when Shadow remembers this at the start of the game, his memory of it is still fuzzy and when Doom shows him that moment in The Doom's boss fight, it probably swayed Shadow further to join his side because that moment also blocked out Maria's dying wish (it's still up to the player whether they want to go up to GUN Fortress after The Doom however). However we see that dying wish present in the Pure Hero level Lost Impact and as a result Shadow seems ready to keep that promise (also I hate that Pure-Hero Dark ending). So Shadow goes through reliving different interpretations of the same moment of Maria dying depending on who he helps out. It's like poetry, it rhymes.
@@sirkjohno0129 It's not my commentary, just something I've managed to save from back before the BRTSM was still up, and I don't know author, so... do it at your own risk, I guess.
@@sirkjohno0129 Even if you go to Final Haunt through Space Gadget, Shadow still remembers everything. Except he doesn't get the flashback on the way, but Sonic induces one, by racing him on the ARK. If Shadow wins (Hero mission) it works: he remembers the finale of SA2's normal stories, and I assume that the Last Story as well, including the flashback with Maria. I actually think this version might be better, because Sonic is the one to help him remember.
If you take the Evil Route for this level, it means Black Doom's plan succeeded, and he's gotten the perfect weapon for his conquest. If you take the "Hero" Route for this level, it means Black Doom's plan went right. Horribly, horribly right. Now he's got the Perfect Weapon looking to overthrow him.
You could argue that, in the Evil Route for this level, his plan has also gone horribly, horribly right. I mean, the Semi-Dark evil route is the only one that has him outright express loyalty to Black Doom. In the Evil Route here, he decides he’s going to destroy the planet, which pretty much bones Black Doom’s entire plan to use Earth and its population as a feeding ground for his army. Either way, Black Doom’s kinda fucked in this ending, he either loses his army, or his ultimate goal.
@@ilcapitano648 Is that so? Because while it’s definitely established that Black Doom’s plan is to eat/enslave all humans, several characters (e.g., Shadow/Rouge/Gerald) all state that he also wants to destroy the Earth at some point too. In the Last Story, Black Doom uses the Black Comet to douse the world in paralyzing gas, presumably so that the Black Arms could imprison all the humans in the Black Comet. But in the Pure Dark Story, there’s no need for the gas since Shadow and the Black Arms have already brought humanity to its knees. So putting all this lore together, here’s how I see it; Once the last bits of human resistance have been eliminated, the Black Arms swarm the planet, taking rule over the entire human race, while Shadow fights Sonic/Diablon. Then, after the fight, Black Doom uses Chaos Control to bring the Black Comet down to Earth, loads the defeated humans onto it, and teleports it back into space. And finally, as his own personal reward, Shadow uses the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the very planet he once loved but now despises thanks to Gerald’s reprogramming coupled with Black Doom’s manipulation. EDIT: I just realized the Black Arms have flying gunships. So, assuming they use those to abduct the humans instead of the Black Comet, Black Doom would have no need to take the Chaos Emeralds from Shadow, therefore giving him even less of a reason to turn on the Black Arms. I could also see Black Doom deliberately leaving Sonic and G.U.N. alive and stranded on Earth, so that when Shadow fires the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the planet, he has the satisfaction of killing off the people he's been trained to hate throughout the Pure Dark Story. This would create as little of a power struggle as possible between Shadow and Black Doom. And while I'm not against the idea of Shadow betraying Black Doom even after committing all these dark deeds, we also have to consider that Shadow's love and affection for the humans is completely dead at this point, meaning that there's nothing protecting him from Black Doom's mind control. Remember, in the Last Story, we learn that Shadow is technically a Black Arms, and that Black Doom can physically control him. It wasn't until Shadow learned of Gerald's good side that he truly forgave the humans and was able to break free from Black Doom's control as a result. But with those variables out of the picture, I don't see that happening. Instead, what I think most likely happens is that Shadow ends up as Black Doom's personal weapon of mass destruction at best and his mind-controlled slave at worst.
@@ljnkrabby that’s a very good argument and fair play to you for it, but my theory against it is that there is a separate ending (specifically the Dark ending of the Semi-Dark path) in which Shadow specifically swears allegiance to Black Doom and accepts his role as his servant. Because of this, I believe that this ending was supposed to represent Shadow going completely out of control. I mean, he’s supposed to be the embodiment of evil in this ending, it would make sense for him to escape Doom’s control and pursue his mission of destroying Earth with or without his permission. Otherwise, this ending and the one I mentioned previously are essentially the same. And I do like the idea of Doom creating a monster he can’t control and it coming back to bite him.
@@ljnkrabby No, you're mistaken. You say Doom might not have need the gas, but consider: Black Doom created Shadow the Hedgehog 50 years in advance for the express purpose of collecting the Chaos Emeralds to teleport the Comet. You do not demonstrate such a massive degree of forethought only to wing it once it comes time to ennact your plan. You have to look at the story as just that, a story, rather than a linear plot, because the events contradict too heavily otherwise. 1. Black Doom is a liar, and very little of what he says can be taken at face value. An example is in the Doom, one line has him attempting to agitate Shadow, "Look how the humans have defiled *our* precious home." Then he turns around and says,"This facility is grotesquely large; I am not impressed." Making the first line an obvious manipulation tactic. 2. Details matter, the Black Arms do not wish to simply gorge themselves on humans, they wish to use them as livestock, as in breeding them to keep them as a continuous energy source, which is why even with humanity subdued, the paralyzing gas from is necessary. If the Black Arms are to subdue humanity in the long-term, the gas is necessary. 3. Beyond this, we can actually speculate the Black Doom intends to migrate his species to Earth fully. This is supported by his decision to teleport Glyphic Canyon to Earth. It makes little sense to teleport such an immense structure to Earth millennia ago only to use it as an airbase for a relatively short-lived siege and depart Earth once more. The Black Arms also make attempts to convert Terran foliage to support their environment, as evidenced by the slime conduits to aid in their transit and the plants they grafted all over the place. They even spawn their larvae on Earth to proliferate on the planet. That sounds far more like a relocation than a temporary siege. With all this in mind, we can assume that the Black Comet was meant to stay in place once Doom teleported it to the surface, and there it would remain as a perpetual source of paralytic for their livestock. 4. Further evidence supports Black Doom's plans of resettlement rather than destroying the planet in Cosmic Fall, Black Doom launches an assault on the Ark with the intention of permanently disabling it. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to use the Eclipse Cannon. He also says in the Ark that Earth will cease to be blue. Most players assumes he meant red with destruction, but with all the prior evidence in mind, he likely meant purple and gray, the color of the Comet when its surface is entirely converted. 5. This is something of small point, but I'd argue Shadow begins the game in the same headspace he was in SA2 due to his amnesia. Apathetic to contemptuous of humans. He even disparages and dismisses humanity in the opening scene when the Black Arms first invade. The Hero mission narratives serve as reconnections to humanity throughout the game, as various characters remind him of his heroic acts of SA2, he develops a competitive streak with Sonic in Lethal Highway and Space Gadget and just has fairly wholesome interactions with much of the cast. And of course, the flashback levels to Maria probably dislodged a lot of that bitterness. So all this to say, love and affection for humans isn't necessarily something that stops Doom for controlling him, because he doesn't begin with much in the first place. Lastly, Black Doom becomes rather irate whenver Shadow disobeys him, but doesn't even attempt to control him until Shadow is literally within striking distance to foil his entire plan. We can thus assume that Doom's ability to control Shadow is limited and wouldn't be able to puppeteer him with anywhere near the same combat effectiveness as Shadow demonstrates when he voluntarily obeys. We can thus assume that Doom planned to use Shadow as his enforcer going forward, leaving him to his own devices in times of order but dispatching him to surpress disturbances when they arrive. He only resorted to mind control when his plan was near fruition and only needed to immobilize Shadow.
@@faded9581 I like how Black Doom’s plan to permanently migrate to Earth is never explicitly stated; it’s the player’s job to piece it together. The initial assumption of “aliens are destroying the world” is shared by the player and a majority of the characters. It’s a favorable assumption to make, since it portrays Black Doom as unambiguously evil and humanity as morally superior. However, when his true plan is revealed, this moral high ground begins to crumble. Black Doom wants to find a new home and protection for his species. He wants to settle the land and cultivate it to suit a growing population. He wants to tame the native inhabitants, ensure their continued survival, and put them to much better use than destroying one another. Sound familiar? It’s easy to take everything at face value, but with thoughtful consideration and effort, a more nuanced understanding can become available. Assembling the clues rewards the player with a new, morally challenging perspective. Black Doom is simply acting in the best interest of his species. War is just a means to an end, and he even offers a (one-sided) chance at peace. In a way, this humanizes him; but it also poses a crucial question. One that Shadow might be inclined to ask. How is humanity any better? Humans have done and will continue to do these same things to each other, so why should Shadow defend them? Why risk his life for a planet that hates him? That tried to enslave him? That took everything from him? Because of hope. Because despite the darkness of the world, Maria had hope for a brighter future. She begged Shadow to give them a chance - a chance for growth, for redemption, for happiness. There may be a lot of bad in this world, but there’s still so much good that needs to be saved. Maria’s dying wish became Shadow’s true purpose. Not to be a weapon for GUN, nor a servant for Black Doom, nor an experiment for Professor Gerald, nor a cure for Maria. But to be a hope for humanity. Darkness is always alone, but Light is accompanied by Shadow.
The sadness in the guitar inspires me to believe that no matter what you do now, the damage done is too great to be fixed so there's no way for mankind to be reborn, even though right here, when drums and bass kick on makes me feel like a sudden last change of heart for Shadow, like he'd do the hero mission, stop his bloodlust and think twice about what to do, like if the flame of hope would spark again as an ember and keep there fragile but active...
@@DeltaBlazin but you're not "changing your ways". You're either head lackey or a usurper. The mood is "destroy mankind" or "Black Arms civil war, then destroy mankind". New regime, same apocalypse.
Did no one mentioned here yet that before this level starts, Shadow hears Gerald's voice asking him to take revenge on humanity? That was a REALLY chilling moment to me. Shadow sees Gerald in Black Doom... ultimately fulfilling mad scientist's wishes.
In fact, I'd argue Pure Dark Shadow is pushed further towards Gerald's dying prophecy than Black Doom's. Remember, Doom reveals in the end that he wants to preserve humanity and subjugate them into being the Black Arms' livestock. In the Pure Dark - Dark ending, Shadow claims he'll destroy the world. I wonder who else wanted to destroy the world(?)
@@sirkjohno0129 This implies that Gerald’s madness led him to become more evil than Black Doom. It’s disturbing, but also sad. He must have loved Maria immensely for her death to affect him so much. It shattered him, and he chose to reassemble the broken pieces into something monstrous and unrecognizable. And now Shadow may be heading down the same path…
No, I am aware. What wou;d be an extra helping of heebie jeebies would be if shadow's quote on finishing the level was "Finally.... all of you ungrateful humans will feel my loss and despair..." as if gerald was possessing him
'This is it, Shadow. It's time to fulfill your purpose. Destroy these foolish humans who've imprisoned you. Humiliated you. Demoralized you. You've fallen too far from grace to be redeemed now. Infiltrate, and exterminate the Commander and your blue copycat.' Damn, this song is powerful.
Or "You see what you have to do now, don't you? The humans are weakened, the Black Arms are preoccupied. One last mission. One last place to go through. Now, as you make your way to your so called "master" with your old "friend" aiding you, none the wiser and barely even noticed by you anymore, the world and even the universe must prepare itself for the imminent reign of its new master... Now... Proceed."
@@greasemonk4576 it's pretty much in character for her. she's blatantly selfish, to the point where she's asking for help from a "friend" who she's not even sure if still is her friend to protect a thing she likes so much. but honestly that's why i love her
That kind of depends on the route you took to get here, take route 284 for example(westopolis hero, lethal highway hero, circus park dark, sky troops dark, air fleet dark, and gun fortress hero) by this point things aren’t actually looking too bad for humanity(at least compared to other dark path routes) the president is alive, eggman’s forces are crippled, same for the black arms, and the ark’s defences are still intact, granted shadow himself may be an issue but he’d likely be easier for gun to manage than a massive alien army(and who knows, maybe rouge can talk him out of that whole world domination thing)
10 endings and the last story but there were 326 different storylines. Imagine if this game came out in the times of Achievements systems. Achieving every possible storyline would literally be the ultra rarest trophy. It could literally be made into a Platinum Trophy if that was possible.
The outcome lies in that humanity is doomed regardless of what happens and they just have to take it in. It's either he helps black doom and goes on to aid in conquering the earth with the species. OR Turns his back on them and does it his damn self with all of the power he was able to acquire.
A lot of people emphasize how the music reflects Shadow's somber fall from grace, and I certainly agree with that, but I think it also reflect the feelings of GUN at this moment, as they know they're doomed but are determined to make one last stand, trying to hold the line against their doom if only for a minute longer.
Here’s a comment that someone left on BrawlBRSTMs3 X’s upload that deserves a repost here. (R.I.P. BrawlBRSTMs3 X.) “This song not only reflects that Shadow's actions are irredeemable, but also how he's not really himself anymore. Shadow already resorted to putting his past behind him before this game - but when Black Doom came around, he just filled his head with toxic dreams of hatred and revenge, corrupting Shadow into someone that wasn't even recognizable as himself anymore. Not only are his actions irredeemable, but he is, too. He's gone.”
This stage gives much such a Half-Life vibe. Aliens are attacking an underground base, and the military is putting up a fight and losing hopelessly. Except in this game, you're on the aliens' side. The music, though, feels almost calm. The decision is made for you now; humanity is doomed. Your only choice left is whether you'll destroy the world or take it for yourself. Interestingly, neither ending has you helping Black Doom. Shadow is too consumed with hatred to follow anyone at this point.
But if you go full dark, you do end up seeing Black Doom's plan through. The only variable that changes is whether or not you cause an internal power struggle
Precisely. In Black Comet, he explicitly says in the dark ending that he was born to serve black doom, who he refers to as “dark lord”. In the Hero ending, he goes out on his own, fully independent. He doesn’t explicitly despise humanity in semi-dark, he just can’t trust the heroes due to their connection to GUN, so he’s either resigned to his fate, or striking out on his own.
I disagree. Black Doom needs Earth and humanity alive in order for his Black Arms colony to thrive. Shadow stands in opposition to this by directly intending to kill everyone on Earth (assumidly with the Eclipse Cannon). Black Doom and Shadow want to destroy humanity, but the ways they want to do so will lead to conflict.
Anyone else realise that in the pure evil ending - Shadow declares that he'll blow up the entire planet? Which is what Black Doom never even wanted. Literally nobody wins in the pure evil ending.
I used to think I was alone in loving this game. Everyone on the internet criticized it, but now as I'm an adult with new friends in new places, I'm realizing this game was actually really popular in some urban communities. I love Shadow the Hedgehog
I'm really happy there are lots of people who enjoyed this game, I felt like I was alone in liking it because of how much hate it gets for being "too edgy". It's a fun game with a lot of heart and effort put into it.
@@henry1531 Shadow the hedgehog truly had a lot of effort put into it, which is why playing it will almost certainly leave anyone with a strong opinion - you'll either love this game or hate it, no inbetween.
Before then people used to be like "LORE WITH GOOD PLOT BAD, DARKNESS BAD, BALDY MCNOSE HAIR GOOD" but now people are liking the Dark Era Games and making justice with them.
This is kind of a comfort game to me in a way, even the plotholes make for interesting implications to me,and i find the gameplay fun,and in my view its kind of a sad tale of someone who tried to reject all outside forces only to end up accepting a fixed identity as Shadow Android or as an irreparably bad force in most endings.
@@xamp_exclammark This is one of those games where it's mostly a vibe that's fairly engaging. Plus the run and gun is actually kinda cool for a sonic game tbh
I really like how this game doesn't portray the Hero and Dark sides of two parts of Shadow's mind, but actual understandable paths in life. It's not his conscious or goodwill versus his greed or selfishness, but rather what he chooses to do decided on everything that's happened. In the evil route, he decides to fight against humanity because they took away everything from him. They murdered Maria, they still hunt him down. He wants revenge, and he believes they deserve this. In the evil route, he literally became a person who only wants revenge. In most games, when you can choose to be good or bad, it's usually on a moral scale. But here, it's just about what Shadow decides to do
........AND LET'S BE HONEST,HUMANITY IS ALL THAT BAD,UNFORTUNATELY =................IF NOT GETTING ALONG--THEN YOU'RE NOBODY,A TRASH,AND IF YOU'RE PERSIST YOU MUST B ELIMINATED....ISNT THAT?????HUMAN SOCIETIES ARE ABSOLUTELY TOXIC TO ANY "OUTSIDER"......
I sadly have this mental state for those who wronged me it’s messed up how ppl look at me as a bad person but I try to be nice as possible but it doesn’t matter to them ppl either don’t want to have anything to do with me or vise versa or they want to break me and some of those ppl did during the pandemic I’m sorry I’m just going off on my perspective on how my life was the past few years and I kinda sympathize with shadow in that mindset I know some will say it’s wrong to get revenge but my goal and thing is those who wronged me I try to get even with them
It’s also important to note that it’s not framed as good and evil, or right and wrong. Following a dark path doesn’t make you evil, and there’s more to being good than just heroism. The complexity of Shadow’s life means that he experiences both Dark and Hero, regardless of which path he chooses. It’s not an either/or, it’s a spectrum; the game demonstrates this by providing multiple paths between the pure extremes. The Last Story even rejects this dichotomous format entirely. In the end, Shadow knows who he is, and resolves to create his own path in life. He is more than the product of his circumstances, more than the sum of his choices. To Shadow, Dark and Hero are decisions, not definitions.
Shadow barely utters Maria's name towards the pure evil ending, even if you pass through The Doom. His thirst for Vengeance was his only motivation at this point
I think what makes this level and by extension this ending impactful is that Shadow had multiple chances to seek the light or side with humanity, Sonic, or Rouge. At this point, he choose to not only side with the black arms, but be a agent of destruction in his own way. He’s so corrupted by hatred that he’d even betray Black Doom
My first playthrough I was determined to go through the entire thing as pure dark, but the game was gonna make me betray Rouge twice to get it, and I couldn't do that in the end. I love Rouge too much lol.
@@mattymoe2003 Actually she isn't, she doesn't even try to tempt Shadow, despite being just being the two of them during 2 missions, she doesn't try to convince him to do anything but to help her stealing that fucking Emerald, what a waste ! When i hear that song, i imagine her waiting for him in a love hotel's chamber sitting on a red sofa and subdued light, with caviar next to her in a dish, how can you be more romantic ? It's difficult to resist this, even if i must admit that i don't really like caviar, but i do love sexy girls and that kind of ambiance, that be good enough for me^^
This song is odd for this game, but fitting for this level. It feels kinda... Somber? Like humanity has already lost, and you're just there to snuff out their last bit of light. But they're still not going down without a fight.
This level isn't some fun little trip through space or one of Eggman's bases. This is genuinely humanities' last chance. And it fails, hero mission: Shadow destroys everything, Dark: Black Doon takes over.
It gets worse if you consider the other factors at play (like Gerald's voice prior to the stage and Black Doom's true plan for humanity). It backfires for everyone EXCEPT for Shadow, and only HE wins in the end of this route. Do the Dark mission, and that's where Shadow destroys Earth, also leaving the Black Arms to starve. Do the Hero mission, and Shadow opts to conquer the entire universe after overpowering Black Doom.
@Casswury definitely the bass. the bass is just wandering around the root note of the chord, it never actually stays on it for long enough to feel like its clearly 1 chord, it feels like it should be implying other harmony but it isn't. whoever wrote this bassline did an amazing job
I know I'm super late but reading the comments I agree with most of them on the theme of the song but what really hurts my heart is that the true line of defense of that level isn't the G.U.N soldiers but Rouge as the final hero sidekick. The first person close to Shadow ever since Marie's death after he awakens or revived, etc. Given that Shadow is beyond saving at this point, she was the last person well good guy to confront Shadow in hope of helping G.U.N .(knowing that ending is just him betraying Doom for revenge) Even though everyone has given on him, she didn't and before you say Sonic wouldn't either remember that he's a final boss too and he wasn't in for negotiations. But just knowing that it's a losing battle at this point, she still was there for him
I’m super late too but this tells me two things: 1) Rouge’s words and actions are consistent to what she said in 06 - that for good or bad, if the world becomes Shadow’s enemy, she’ll stay by his side no matter what. 2) This tells me that Rouge loves him. Platonic or Romantic, idk (decide for yourself) but Rouge was willing to forgive Shadow or at least attempt to spark his humanity one last time while even Sonic at this point would be like “Nah Shadow, you gotta go, it’s too late now”
@@uzer141 omg that is so true and I'm really glad that someone knows and acknowledge that cause besides her Omega would be second within reason since even in 06 given he knows what happens in the future, he doesn't stop him from assisting Shadow
wow its honestly heartwarming that people are still so passionate about this game, this game gets a lot of hate for being edgy and while it is edgy IMO it is edgy done RIGHT. this game was so mature and consistent with Adventure that i truly hold it close to SA1 and SA2 as my 3 canon Sonic games. that being said, the point your brought up about Rouge is great. The dark ending is tragic really, as a dark ending should be.
Imagine how much Shadow's downfall must hurt Sonic. He's personally witnessed Shadow find peace and be redeemed, having fought side by side with him. Now that same hero and friend feels so lost and angry that the only way to find peace is by killing everyone he once swore to protect. Sonic must've been absolutely heartbroken, but unlike Rouge, he knows deep down that Shadow has to be put down for good this time and by his own hand.
It's actually very similar to the ending of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith which came out in the same year as this game, just think about it: Shadow- Anakin after his fall to the dark side and dark deeds killing the younglings, in this instance trying to assassinate the president. Sonic- Obi-Wan, Shadow's ally who thought side by side with him before but never truly understood his inner conflict with darkness leading to Shadow's fall, after Shadow's deeds at this point he realises Shadow is gone and cannot be redeemed so needs to be stopped. A direct parallel to Obi-Wan when he learns of Anakin's betrayal of the Jedi, Mace Windu and killing of the younglings) Rouge- Padme, she is the last to try and convince Shadow that he needs to turn from his evil ways and believes he can still be redeemed when all others had given up on him. She has hope because she was his closest ally and friend since Maria and the only one who truly understood or tried to understand Shadow. Only for her to be shocked when he reveals his intentions of overthrowing Black Doom and taking charge of the black arms himself. Sounds familiar to Padme finally accepting that everyone was right about Anakin when he expresses the desires about overthrowing Palpatine's and ruling the galaxy... To be honest I always thought this game was inspired by Star Wars, the whole idea of having Chaos Powers and their functions are very similar to the force unleashed with light side and dark side etc. Plus the gun mechanics and the idea of fighting in a war between aliens and soldiers with human weapons, while dealing with space and a weapon that can destroy any star or planet is just literally the death star! I'm happy that Shadow didn't go ultra dark in canon though and instead decided to put his past pain and trauma behind him and decide to work together with Rouge and GUN for the benefit of mankind. Shadow's arc in this game is so well written and it's overlooked in every later game apart from 06.
"Shadow! The black aliens have just broken through. They gotta be after the Chaos Emerald that's hidden in the subterranean GUN base. We can't let them have it!"
This track is easily the best song in the game for me (aside from Westopolis and I Am All of Me). The chill guitar nearly perfectly fits with the "It's over" vibe that Black Doom sets after he says "It's too late to turn back. It is a reflection of what you have done to get to this point.
What I like about this track is that subverts expectations for a level like this, based on the other tracks for the stages. The other tracks were much faster paced and put the player in the mood to blow through enemies but this? It’s quite the melancholy track because it’s basically the point of no return for Shadow. By this point, humanity is at its last stand and Shadow has no good intentions for them. If you side with Black Doom and beat Sonic and the G.U.N. Commander, Shadow reveals his plans to destroy Earth. However, if you side with Rouge and beat Black Doom, Shadow decides he wants to enslave humanity in Black Doom’s place. There really is no good outcome for humanity by this point, no matter what Shadow chooses and the music reflects that perfectly. It’s not loud, fast-paced, or badass. It’s just melancholy.
"Hey, Shadow! You only got 6 stages left in your training! Have you got enough lives left to do it? Remember, once the game is over, it's all the way back to the start. Be extra, extra careful. Anyhow, keep going!"
this is storytelling through music the somber sounds let you know that humanity is doomed either way and the "I am I am everyone, anywhere, anyhow, anyway" from I am all of me at 0:40 could be showing how shadow has finally made his decision and won't turn back
Black Doom doesn't get his way in *either* ending this final level can result in. This level's Dark ending has Shadow decide to destroy the Earth, which would screw over Black Doom because he wanted to use humans as food for the Black Arms. The "Hero" ending has Shadow turn on Black Doom and possibly be *even more* evil.
Fun fact: Not much of a fact but this song has two parts two it, the first half and the second half. The first half is calm and chill but gives an uneasy vibe. The second half that comes after 1:06 is more aggressive as the drums pick up and the bass becomes louder and deeper. This might be to illustrate that shadow may have gone too far at this point. Side note- This songs guitar probably sounds like this to try and invoke some super spy like vibe since Shadow is in the TOP SECRET G.U.N. Facility. It’s also kinda jazzy, something slightly reminiscent of Rouge’s SA2 themes.
i always thought it was super odd how chill this song is despite the context of the level being shadow basically going into and shooting up the planets last line of defense
@@wistfulanthophila9317 That's honestly exactly it. It's not some close battle worthy of an epic orchestra, nor is it some turnaround against the aliens. This is the last level, meaning there's no going back. Humanity's dead at this point. This is just the theme of the last struggle before the aliens (or possibly Shadow) take them altogether.
This is the song version of a sarcastic slow clap. Congratulations, you carried out your evil deeds… but what’s left for you after you’ve destroyed everything? Your heart is now cold and it’s entirely your fault. Your crusade of destruction isn’t fun anymore, it’s empty.
So, you made it to the final level. You've hurt a lot of people, shadow. I know they were your enemies and you feel every right to hurt them. But was it really worth it? Yes, there is a hero mission here, but that won't undo your past actions.
it's done, Shadow made up his mind and cannot go back, mankind will crumble. but he can still decide if he will follow Black Doom or conquer everything on his own. Man, it's my first route and gameplay with this game, everything looks amazing and the game is so much fun. (i wonder why people hate it, maybe i'll find out if keep playing)
There is so much juxtaposition between this song and the level you're actually playing. The level G.U.N. Fortress acts as the final base for the humans to stand up against the Black Arms and Shadow is on their side, and not just that, the humans are getting absolutely battered. They stand so little hope, not even Sonic has that good a fighting chance at helping the humans win. Humanity at this point is facing destruction. I feel the music kind of represents the inevitability of it. This could have easily been a senseless rock sample, like most of the other tracks on this game (and even then only a handful of them are even good), but this is so calm; a pure, clean, acoustic piece. It poses the thought that do you regret for the path you've chosen to take Shadow down, and that it has led to the demise of humanity, particularly if you take the pure dark path.
I disagree. This games OST has quite a few little gems, this one included. I'm with you on the other stuff though. It's as if the last stand is purely ceremonial....Tense desperation is how I'd put it.
@@cinnamoncupcakecaramel9431 I disagree, it will be rather Gun Fortress and Lethal Highway for me, yet, last time i checked, Lethal Highway was in the pure hero path.
I prefer Lost Impact instead of The Doom, which is on Hero path. Lost Impact's music sounds very peaceful but also feels kind of "sad" because Shadow is recalling a past that can't be brought back.
G.U.N. Fortress is the final stage of the Pure Dark path. Here, Shadow can either give in to the resurfaced Gerald's programming and destroy the Earth (Pure Dark - Dark ending) or cling on what remains of his sanity and decide to conquer the entire universe (Pure Dark - Hero ending).
This reminds me of summer nights during high school, when I stayed up late into the night to try to beat this game. I could hardly keep my eyes open… Good, simple times
Sonic Heroes 2 Dialogue: Knuckles - Man, this place has become a war zone. Tails - Those Soldiers are dying. Sonic - Come on guys, we gotta help G.U.N secure their headquarters and make sure the president is safe.
Amy: Those soldiers are risking their lives, we've got to help them.😞 Cream: Why does this have to happened? (Sobbing)😖 Cheese: *Chao* *Chao* 😢 Big: Everything is going to be alright Cream, we promise.😣
There is so much hate that this game gets. I still kind of enjoy it. The multiple endings that lead to the final ending were kind of pointless and the swearing could get a bit much, but I'm game for shooting aliens. Along with GUN soldiers.
If you like it, that's awesome, i wish i liked it as much as some people do, but I can't bring myself to get rid of all the pain i went to finish a lot of it's missions and/or levels, but I can see the good stuff about it, and i will say that the guns are ok, the final story arc is good, some levels and missions are great and i think the music is good, even tho i dislike the game, i can see why some people like it and im jealous of them
@@e-tean-son4146 There’s actually this idea I had a while back that, while not perfect, might have fixed the “start a new story as if nothing happened” issue.
An invasion nearing completion. A species on the brink of total extinction. Even if Shadow knows his actions would make Maria spin dash in her grave, there's no going back. He can never turn back now. What's done is done. Now to finish the job.
This theme is very interesting, having in mind that you are invading the most powerfull defense (and the last) on mankind and it is all just so, paceful...
Jordan Sanabria Garfias It’s more focused on Shadow’s descent into madness than what’s actually happening around him. It sounds peaceful until you get the context. Shadow, who once saved the planet from destruction, has now doomed it to more destruction. For whatever reason, his promise to his best friend and the person he once was are both gone, forever. All that’s left with this song is the hopelessness of humanity and the sadness of Shadow’s downfall. Damn good piece of music though.
Reminder that either GUN Fortress ending has you betray Black Doom, either directly or via destroying the world instead of enslaving it. By the time you get to this point, you're more evil than the Sonic version of Lavos.
Well, if I ever slip into insanity and go too far, I would want this to be the song that plays, whenever I listen to it, I get filled up with regret, fear, sadness, and the idea of "holy crap, I've really gone too far, I can't undo this now, I can't redeem myself" When I was going through I really hard time in year 7 I think it was, I was constantly getting bullied, as a result, I snapped, I turned very violent, very cold, very isolated from people, I had just beat the crap out of the guys who made me behave that way, I was just about done with life, the one thing I remember was listening to this song when I got home that day, and breaking down into tears, after having a very painful talk with my older brother with this song playing in the background, all I remember thinking after the talk was "damn, what have I done, I have f*cked up really badly now" Since that day, I've focused on bettering myself, I got through the violent tendencies, I opened up to people more, I stopped isolating myself from them, that's why I want this song to play if I ever go insane, because maybe I will remember my brother's words "if you ever go as far as trying to kill them, you may think they went to far, but look at yourself and tell yourself you aren't any worse than them in this situation"
........EVEN HUMANS CAN SEEM GOOD IN SOME SOCIETY,AT OVERALL HUMANKIND IS REALLY REALLY TERRIBLE =SO,THE REACTION OF SOMEONE THAT WASNT MAROONED BY HUMANITY AS "KILL EVERYONE" IS UNDERSTANDABLE
Alright the best level in the game. Drivinf in the intro felt cool asf, using the miniguns in the dark route felt SUPREME cool, traveling with rouge felt nice, and the music gives off thay feeling of "damn i really did forget my promise to maria" 10/10 triple s tier imo
nothing like skating through long ass hallways on slippery hover skates fueled by red chaos energy giving me infinite ammo for my 7 ft long Gatling gun.
I've already said something like this in BrawlBRTSM's video, but here goes. "I think this song can fit the Final Haunt as well. There, this song can illustrate that Shadow is fighting for Maria's dream. The melancholic tone can highlight that he still thinks about her as he takes the fight to Black Doom."
This song in GUN Fortress: "It's over. Humanity is doomed and there's nothing that can be done to change that." THis song in Final Haunt: "... y'know I just really miss my friend right now." **shoots an alien dead** "Here I am, pretty much set in stone that I'm gonna win and save everyone, and I just. I really miss Maria right now." **shoots another alien** "I'm sad."
You know, if the story wasn't written in questionable ways this really could be a proper dark sonic game and not an "edgelord" game it turned out to be
![Final Haunt - Shadow the Hedgehog [OST]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wRqZ0KXuNuk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Final Haunt - Shadow the Hedgehog [OST]](/img/tr.png)
![Black Comet - Shadow the Hedgehog [OST]](/img/n.gif)
One small yet often overlooked detail: just imagine what'd be going through Rouge's mind in the """hero""" route. She's smart, so she knows very well shadow's here to destroy whatever is left of mankind's last line of defense
But she still asked for his help, perhaps a desperate attempt for her part to get him to his senses? You can bet she thought it was futile...but he accepts, he actually helps her, he picked her, his friend, over the alien bastard who brought so much pain and death to the planet. And they defeat him together, Black doom now lying on the ground, soon to be killed once and for all.
Mankind, against all odds is saved...
And then she hears Shadow's speech about taking over the world as its new overlord laughing with pure malice in his voice
Her friend didn't help her because he was gone from the start and she didn't realize it until it was too late.
Oh...Oh my word...
Damn, that's sad as hell
This game's story is fantastic if you read between the lines... or fill in the blanks.
He wasn't "gone from the start", he was shaped by Black Doom to be like that, then became rebellious.
One of the points of the game's story is, "the world shapes who you are" and I think that route shows it off the most. Either that or the Full Dark route.
@@neo-didact9285as it should be for a E+10 game that tackles such heavy themes
the music pretty much tells you that: "your deed is done this is just cleanup" makes you feel cold
E
E
E
Y
E
As well as "hey, you can still try to turn around"
I like how even Black Doom in this level acknowledges that Shadow is beyond salvation as one of his quotes if you pass a generator is “It’s too late to turn back now”
=RIGHT AFTER......."YOU DISOBEYED MY ORDERS!!!!".....ONLY SEMI DARK DARK PATH ISNT CONSIDERED AS MUTINY.
=PURE DARK PATH IS ABOUT THE RIGHTFUL EXECUTION OF ALL THE HUMANITY FOR GOOD....SINCE FOR REAL HUMANS ARE BASICALLY AWFUL BECAUSE OF LOVE AND CONSIDER AS HUMANS ONLY "OURS" CORRESPONDING TO SOME "HUMANITY CRITERIA"
=HOW TO PROVE=?????.....NAH,EASILY......FOR EXAMPLE,"CAN YOU SPEAK ON HUMAN LANGUAGE?"....WHERE'S ALWAYS DOES MENTIONED ABOUT THE "HUMAN LANGUAGE" IS ALWAYS NATIVE LANGUAGE FOR A PERSON..........SO ALL OTHERS ARE "NOT HUMAN LANGUAGES",RIGHT??.............SO THEIR BEARERS AREND BEING CONSIDERED AS HUMANS BY PERSON TOO..............
.........THE SAME THING ABOUT FLAT EARTHERS DO SAY....ABOUT "ALL HUMANS BELIEVE THAT EARTH IS FLAT".....AND EVERYTHING LIKE THIS........AND THAT IS TRUE TO LOGICAL SEQUENCE CIRCULATING IN THEIR MIND ABOUT "IF BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH>>>>>THEN THAT PERSON IS HUMAN>>>>ALL HUMANS DO BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH",AND "IF DISBELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH>>>>THEN THAT PERSON ISNT HUMAN>>>>>HUMANS MUST NOT PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT LOWER LIFEFORMS DO SAY>>>>ALL HUMANS DO BELIEVE IN FLAT EARTH"
..........SAME THING WORKS WITH ALL OTHER CRITERIA OF HUMANITY,EVEN YOURS.................................
=EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT UNDERGO SOME "HUMANITY CRITERIA" IS BEING DESCRIBED AS "UNDERHUMAN".....WHAT IS THAT??...GO TO WIKI,ABOUT NAZIST GERMAN DESCRIPTION....OR "SUBHUMAN"...... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untermensch
"The subhuman is a biological creature, crafted by nature, which has hands, legs, eyes and mouth, even the semblance of a brain. Nevertheless, this terrible creature is only a partial human being.Although it has features similar to a human, the subhuman is lower on the spiritual and psychological scale than any animal. Inside of this creature lies wild and unrestrained passions: an incessant need to destroy, filled with the most primitive desires, chaos and coldhearted villainy."
=THE NATURE OF NAZISM IS PRETTY ADEQUATE RELATION OF HUMANS TO "OUTER WORLD" WITHOUT ANY FLICKER OF FEAR.............NAZISTS IS TRUE NATURE OF ANY HUMANS......................................................................EVERY HUMAN IS NAZIST IN RELATION TO EVERYTHING THAT DOESNT UNDERGO CRITERIA OF HUMANITY OF THAT HUMAN.................................................
=YEAH,IT WAS KIND OF PROOF WHY SHADOW WAS BASICALLY LEGITIMATE OF DESTROYING EVERYTHING,BECAUSE OF EVERYONE DESERVED IT..................................
P.S.
.....THOSE WHO FOR "ANTI RACISM" OR "HOMO RIGHTS" ARE BASICALLY THE HUMANS TOO,BECAUSE OF THEIR "HUMAN WORLDS" CAN BE SEPARATED TOO........AND CORRESPONDING SUBHUMANS ALSO...........SO THEY'RE NOT RIGHT TOO.......BECAUSE OF IF YOU'RE *REALLY* RIGHT THERE'LL BE NO SUCH AS SUBHUMANS FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT..........
Master Robotnik uhhhh?????!??!!!
@@robotnikkkk001 Dude you kind of sound like an alien justifying the eradication of humans to his alien friends
@@robotnikkkk001 th-cam.com/video/azVsSRhEpyA/w-d-xo.html
@@Dave_Chrome He's just angry that the baby didn't let him take their candy.
I just love the music in this level. The calm and quiet intensity just exaggerates how much your decisions led you to this point. To me, this is the impact it leaves "Well... Congratulations Shadow. Thanks to you and the Black Arms. Humanity's damned to extinction. The GUN Fortress may be the world's last line of defense and hope. But let's face it; there's nothing else that they can do to stop you. You know it and they know it. . . Is this what she wanted? Is THIS Maria's Will? Or was your thirst for revenge beyond your salvation?"
I enjoy reading comments such as these.
Never thought of it that way when I was younger.
I don't think it's Shadow's thirst for revenge - at least not completely, since Gerald has brainwashed him into initiating the ARK Deorbit plan as a way to take revenge for Maria's death. For what it looks like, those directives just kicked back in.
Actually, that's not true. When Dr. Gerald had wanted to take revenge against the world for Maria's death. Shadow had long since been sent to earth and captured by that time. It's implied that upon awakening in SA2, he had partial memory loss. Hence using Maria as a means to enact revenge, thinking that was her "Wish". When it actuality it was for her wanting Shadow to make the people of earth happy. Since she never got to visit earth.
If anyone did brainwashing on Shadow, it's Black Doom. Who utilized Shadow wanting to know the truth about his past to his own advantage. While planting lies and seeds of doubt into his head. It didn't help that, Black Doom actually legitimately help in creating shadow. But I digress, by the time we reach this point. Shadow has such a deep hatred towards humans. He's basically beyond salvation and total control. To the point where, he's even willing to betray Black Doom and usurp control of the Black Arms Race. Turning into an crazed Omnicidal Maniac.
However, don't forget, that even in the captivity, Gerald has managed to program the deorbit protocols into the control systems of the Space Colony ARK and make sure, that the video of his execution will be played everywhere, when his plan goes into action. I think he could've also brainwashed already-captured Shadow in the meantime. But yeah, it's Black Doom's actions, that make Gerald's programming kick back in.
A repost from BrawlBRTSM video:
"If there’s one thing this game did right, it’s the fantastic parallels between this level and Final Haunt (the final Pure Hero mission).
Both of them have pretty slow, relaxed themes. At least, considering what you’d expect from fast-paced, violent final levels. But it represents the fact that there is no more inner conflict within Shadow. His mind is fully made up. He knows where his heart is.
The difference is, in Final Haunt, Shadow knows who he is. He’s found what he was after. In GUN Fortress, he’s lost everything. What was once Shadow is now a broken, angry shell. But his mind is still made up. He’s found inner peace either way. Except in this case, he lost his identity to do so. In Final Haunt, he finds it. And the music reflects this.
GUN Fortress is somber. Shadow, or whatever is left of him, has taken everything away from the humans: their families, their lives, their hope, and he doesn’t realise he’s lost all of that as well. Because he’s at peace.
Final Haunt is upbeat. Shadow has discovered who he is. His mind is made up, and he’s going to fulfill his best friend’s dying wish. He can finally put the past behind him and move on. Because he’s at peace."
This comment is so amazing!! Can I frame it on my wall?!
Look I get that Shadow The Hedgehog as a game didn't do much right, but at least some of the music is redeemable like in every Sonic game. This comment has made me realise that the morality system could have worked in a sense and in this case details how Shadow's character grows through the game, it was just executed a bit poorly as we never really explicitly saw it.
You can also add that during the Pure Hero pathway that leads to Final Haunt, we see Shadow slowly regaining his memory by doing what he feels is right by those his friends (Sonic and co.) instead of sticking by the one promising him everything (Black Doom). These heroic deeds lead to Shadow regaining the memories of protecting Maria and her dying wish to protect the people of Earth, whilst he's on his way to Space Colony ARK with Sonic. By the time that memory is finished and they reach the Black Comet, Shadow is ready to fulfil that promise by confronting Black Doom and his army.
By contrast, the Pure Dark pathway sees Shadow being manipulated by Black Doom to do his bidding and in return he'll deliver Shadow his past memories back, but obviously this isn't the case cos he just wants to take over the world and exterminate humanity, the complete opposite of what Maria wanted. In fact he even blocks out that dying wish of Maria's to protect humanity on Earth. As a result of this, Shadow's mind is twisted into believing the promise that Black Doom was never going to give him, probably out of desperation in this case (the game never tells us why we should trust Black Doom). In alternate dark path routes that can lead to GUN Fortress (say The Doom level for example), Black Doom tries to show Shadow that memory of the GUN soldier killing Maria to further manipulate him to feel disgusted with the humans, adding that their greed causes the death of those who are unfortunate.
In SA2 we gathered that Maria was accidentally killed when sacrificing herself for Shadow, yet they changed that moment in this game to make it seem the GUN soldier purposefully killed Maria. Even though this is clearly a retcon, it could also be argued that when Shadow remembers this at the start of the game, his memory of it is still fuzzy and when Doom shows him that moment in The Doom's boss fight, it probably swayed Shadow further to join his side because that moment also blocked out Maria's dying wish (it's still up to the player whether they want to go up to GUN Fortress after The Doom however). However we see that dying wish present in the Pure Hero level Lost Impact and as a result Shadow seems ready to keep that promise (also I hate that Pure-Hero Dark ending).
So Shadow goes through reliving different interpretations of the same moment of Maria dying depending on who he helps out.
It's like poetry, it rhymes.
@@sirkjohno0129 It's not my commentary, just something I've managed to save from back before the BRTSM was still up, and I don't know author, so... do it at your own risk, I guess.
@@sirkjohno0129 Even if you go to Final Haunt through Space Gadget, Shadow still remembers everything. Except he doesn't get the flashback on the way, but Sonic induces one, by racing him on the ARK. If Shadow wins (Hero mission) it works: he remembers the finale of SA2's normal stories, and I assume that the Last Story as well, including the flashback with Maria. I actually think this version might be better, because Sonic is the one to help him remember.
music go brrr
If you take the Evil Route for this level, it means Black Doom's plan succeeded, and he's gotten the perfect weapon for his conquest.
If you take the "Hero" Route for this level, it means Black Doom's plan went right. Horribly, horribly right. Now he's got the Perfect Weapon looking to overthrow him.
You could argue that, in the Evil Route for this level, his plan has also gone horribly, horribly right. I mean, the Semi-Dark evil route is the only one that has him outright express loyalty to Black Doom. In the Evil Route here, he decides he’s going to destroy the planet, which pretty much bones Black Doom’s entire plan to use Earth and its population as a feeding ground for his army. Either way, Black Doom’s kinda fucked in this ending, he either loses his army, or his ultimate goal.
@@ilcapitano648 Is that so? Because while it’s definitely established that Black Doom’s plan is to eat/enslave all humans, several characters (e.g., Shadow/Rouge/Gerald) all state that he also wants to destroy the Earth at some point too.
In the Last Story, Black Doom uses the Black Comet to douse the world in paralyzing gas, presumably so that the Black Arms could imprison all the humans in the Black Comet. But in the Pure Dark Story, there’s no need for the gas since Shadow and the Black Arms have already brought humanity to its knees.
So putting all this lore together, here’s how I see it; Once the last bits of human resistance have been eliminated, the Black Arms swarm the planet, taking rule over the entire human race, while Shadow fights Sonic/Diablon.
Then, after the fight, Black Doom uses Chaos Control to bring the Black Comet down to Earth, loads the defeated humans onto it, and teleports it back into space. And finally, as his own personal reward, Shadow uses the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the very planet he once loved but now despises thanks to Gerald’s reprogramming coupled with Black Doom’s manipulation.
EDIT: I just realized the Black Arms have flying gunships. So, assuming they use those to abduct the humans instead of the Black Comet, Black Doom would have no need to take the Chaos Emeralds from Shadow, therefore giving him even less of a reason to turn on the Black Arms. I could also see Black Doom deliberately leaving Sonic and G.U.N. alive and stranded on Earth, so that when Shadow fires the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the planet, he has the satisfaction of killing off the people he's been trained to hate throughout the Pure Dark Story. This would create as little of a power struggle as possible between Shadow and Black Doom. And while I'm not against the idea of Shadow betraying Black Doom even after committing all these dark deeds, we also have to consider that Shadow's love and affection for the humans is completely dead at this point, meaning that there's nothing protecting him from Black Doom's mind control. Remember, in the Last Story, we learn that Shadow is technically a Black Arms, and that Black Doom can physically control him. It wasn't until Shadow learned of Gerald's good side that he truly forgave the humans and was able to break free from Black Doom's control as a result. But with those variables out of the picture, I don't see that happening. Instead, what I think most likely happens is that Shadow ends up as Black Doom's personal weapon of mass destruction at best and his mind-controlled slave at worst.
@@ljnkrabby that’s a very good argument and fair play to you for it, but my theory against it is that there is a separate ending (specifically the Dark ending of the Semi-Dark path) in which Shadow specifically swears allegiance to Black Doom and accepts his role as his servant.
Because of this, I believe that this ending was supposed to represent Shadow going completely out of control. I mean, he’s supposed to be the embodiment of evil in this ending, it would make sense for him to escape Doom’s control and pursue his mission of destroying Earth with or without his permission. Otherwise, this ending and the one I mentioned previously are essentially the same. And I do like the idea of Doom creating a monster he can’t control and it coming back to bite him.
@@ljnkrabby No, you're mistaken. You say Doom might not have need the gas, but consider: Black Doom created Shadow the Hedgehog 50 years in advance for the express purpose of collecting the Chaos Emeralds to teleport the Comet. You do not demonstrate such a massive degree of forethought only to wing it once it comes time to ennact your plan.
You have to look at the story as just that, a story, rather than a linear plot, because the events contradict too heavily otherwise.
1. Black Doom is a liar, and very little of what he says can be taken at face value. An example is in the Doom, one line has him attempting to agitate Shadow, "Look how the humans have defiled *our* precious home." Then he turns around and says,"This facility is grotesquely large; I am not impressed." Making the first line an obvious manipulation tactic.
2. Details matter, the Black Arms do not wish to simply gorge themselves on humans, they wish to use them as livestock, as in breeding them to keep them as a continuous energy source, which is why even with humanity subdued, the paralyzing gas from is necessary. If the Black Arms are to subdue humanity in the long-term, the gas is necessary.
3. Beyond this, we can actually speculate the Black Doom intends to migrate his species to Earth fully. This is supported by his decision to teleport Glyphic Canyon to Earth. It makes little sense to teleport such an immense structure to Earth millennia ago only to use it as an airbase for a relatively short-lived siege and depart Earth once more. The Black Arms also make attempts to convert Terran foliage to support their environment, as evidenced by the slime conduits to aid in their transit and the plants they grafted all over the place. They even spawn their larvae on Earth to proliferate on the planet. That sounds far more like a relocation than a temporary siege. With all this in mind, we can assume that the Black Comet was meant to stay in place once Doom teleported it to the surface, and there it would remain as a perpetual source of paralytic for their livestock.
4. Further evidence supports Black Doom's plans of resettlement rather than destroying the planet in Cosmic Fall, Black Doom launches an assault on the Ark with the intention of permanently disabling it. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to use the Eclipse Cannon. He also says in the Ark that Earth will cease to be blue. Most players assumes he meant red with destruction, but with all the prior evidence in mind, he likely meant purple and gray, the color of the Comet when its surface is entirely converted.
5. This is something of small point, but I'd argue Shadow begins the game in the same headspace he was in SA2 due to his amnesia. Apathetic to contemptuous of humans. He even disparages and dismisses humanity in the opening scene when the Black Arms first invade. The Hero mission narratives serve as reconnections to humanity throughout the game, as various characters remind him of his heroic acts of SA2, he develops a competitive streak with Sonic in Lethal Highway and Space Gadget and just has fairly wholesome interactions with much of the cast. And of course, the flashback levels to Maria probably dislodged a lot of that bitterness. So all this to say, love and affection for humans isn't necessarily something that stops Doom for controlling him, because he doesn't begin with much in the first place.
Lastly, Black Doom becomes rather irate whenver Shadow disobeys him, but doesn't even attempt to control him until Shadow is literally within striking distance to foil his entire plan. We can thus assume that Doom's ability to control Shadow is limited and wouldn't be able to puppeteer him with anywhere near the same combat effectiveness as Shadow demonstrates when he voluntarily obeys. We can thus assume that Doom planned to use Shadow as his enforcer going forward, leaving him to his own devices in times of order but dispatching him to surpress disturbances when they arrive. He only resorted to mind control when his plan was near fruition and only needed to immobilize Shadow.
@@faded9581 I like how Black Doom’s plan to permanently migrate to Earth is never explicitly stated; it’s the player’s job to piece it together. The initial assumption of “aliens are destroying the world” is shared by the player and a majority of the characters. It’s a favorable assumption to make, since it portrays Black Doom as unambiguously evil and humanity as morally superior. However, when his true plan is revealed, this moral high ground begins to crumble. Black Doom wants to find a new home and protection for his species. He wants to settle the land and cultivate it to suit a growing population. He wants to tame the native inhabitants, ensure their continued survival, and put them to much better use than destroying one another. Sound familiar?
It’s easy to take everything at face value, but with thoughtful consideration and effort, a more nuanced understanding can become available. Assembling the clues rewards the player with a new, morally challenging perspective. Black Doom is simply acting in the best interest of his species. War is just a means to an end, and he even offers a (one-sided) chance at peace. In a way, this humanizes him; but it also poses a crucial question. One that Shadow might be inclined to ask. How is humanity any better?
Humans have done and will continue to do these same things to each other, so why should Shadow defend them? Why risk his life for a planet that hates him? That tried to enslave him? That took everything from him? Because of hope. Because despite the darkness of the world, Maria had hope for a brighter future. She begged Shadow to give them a chance - a chance for growth, for redemption, for happiness. There may be a lot of bad in this world, but there’s still so much good that needs to be saved. Maria’s dying wish became Shadow’s true purpose. Not to be a weapon for GUN, nor a servant for Black Doom, nor an experiment for Professor Gerald, nor a cure for Maria. But to be a hope for humanity. Darkness is always alone, but Light is accompanied by Shadow.
The sadness in the guitar inspires me to believe that no matter what you do now, the damage done is too great to be fixed so there's no way for mankind to be reborn, even though right here, when drums and bass kick on makes me feel like a sudden last change of heart for Shadow, like he'd do the hero mission, stop his bloodlust and think twice about what to do, like if the flame of hope would spark again as an ember and keep there fragile but active...
this comment is underrated
@@DeltaBlazin He got THAT corrupted before hand.
@@DeltaBlazin but you're not "changing your ways". You're either head lackey or a usurper.
The mood is "destroy mankind" or "Black Arms civil war, then destroy mankind". New regime, same apocalypse.
It's either, take over the world with help, or take over the world by my damn self
Yeah from this point you either destroy humanity or subjugate it. There is no going back
Did no one mentioned here yet that before this level starts, Shadow hears Gerald's voice asking him to take revenge on humanity? That was a REALLY chilling moment to me. Shadow sees Gerald in Black Doom... ultimately fulfilling mad scientist's wishes.
I remember. It was honestly chilling to me. Thanks for bringing it up.
In fact, I'd argue Pure Dark Shadow is pushed further towards Gerald's dying prophecy than Black Doom's.
Remember, Doom reveals in the end that he wants to preserve humanity and subjugate them into being the Black Arms' livestock.
In the Pure Dark - Dark ending, Shadow claims he'll destroy the world. I wonder who else wanted to destroy the world(?)
@@sirkjohno0129 This implies that Gerald’s madness led him to become more evil than Black Doom. It’s disturbing, but also sad. He must have loved Maria immensely for her death to affect him so much. It shattered him, and he chose to reassemble the broken pieces into something monstrous and unrecognizable. And now Shadow may be heading down the same path…
No, I am aware. What wou;d be an extra helping of heebie jeebies would be if shadow's quote on finishing the level was "Finally.... all of you ungrateful humans will feel my loss and despair..." as if gerald was possessing him
'This is it, Shadow. It's time to fulfill your purpose. Destroy these foolish humans who've imprisoned you. Humiliated you. Demoralized you. You've fallen too far from grace to be redeemed now. Infiltrate, and exterminate the Commander and your blue copycat.'
Damn, this song is powerful.
OW THE EDGE
Where is this quote from? I don't remember it in the game.
@@sorex9986 me neither.
@@sorex9986 I think it was just meant to be a description of the vibe
Or "You see what you have to do now, don't you? The humans are weakened, the Black Arms are preoccupied. One last mission. One last place to go through. Now, as you make your way to your so called "master" with your old "friend" aiding you, none the wiser and barely even noticed by you anymore, the world and even the universe must prepare itself for the imminent reign of its new master... Now... Proceed."
Friendly reminder that whether you decide to do the hero mission or dark mission, humanity is still doomed here regardless of your decision.
All that’s left is to decide where you will stand when the world falls.
And there's Rouge just there to make out like a bandit with the remaining emerald. Maybe for last rally.
@@greasemonk4576 it's pretty much in character for her. she's blatantly selfish, to the point where she's asking for help from a "friend" who she's not even sure if still is her friend to protect a thing she likes so much.
but honestly that's why i love her
That kind of depends on the route you took to get here, take route 284 for example(westopolis hero, lethal highway hero, circus park dark, sky troops dark, air fleet dark, and gun fortress hero) by this point things aren’t actually looking too bad for humanity(at least compared to other dark path routes) the president is alive, eggman’s forces are crippled, same for the black arms, and the ark’s defences are still intact, granted shadow himself may be an issue but he’d likely be easier for gun to manage than a massive alien army(and who knows, maybe rouge can talk him out of that whole world domination thing)
10 endings and the last story but there were 326 different storylines. Imagine if this game came out in the times of Achievements systems. Achieving every possible storyline would literally be the ultra rarest trophy. It could literally be made into a Platinum Trophy if that was possible.
Challenge accepted.
I’ve been at it for a while tbh, all A-Ranks all 326 paths, all keys, I’ve done almost everything.
@@Josh-The_Spooky_Bastard- You are on the path to becoming the Ultimate Life Form
Jesus Christ that would be a nightmare to get.
@@Josh-The_Spooky_Bastard- done about 100 endings myself, but then I started work lol
I've done it. About 3 years ago or so.
I love this music, it for some reason gives off a vibe of uncertainty, which worked perfectly with the game's theme, of Shadow wondering who to trust.
that's true
When he’s that committed to destroying humanity, right before destroying GUN’S HQ, he should know what he’s chosen at that point haha
The outcome lies in that humanity is doomed regardless of what happens and they just have to take it in.
It's either he helps black doom and goes on to aid in conquering the earth with the species.
OR
Turns his back on them and does it his damn self with all of the power he was able to acquire.
A lot of people emphasize how the music reflects Shadow's somber fall from grace, and I certainly agree with that, but I think it also reflect the feelings of GUN at this moment, as they know they're doomed but are determined to make one last stand, trying to hold the line against their doom if only for a minute longer.
Here’s a comment that someone left on BrawlBRSTMs3 X’s upload that deserves a repost here. (R.I.P. BrawlBRSTMs3 X.)
“This song not only reflects that Shadow's actions are irredeemable, but also how he's not really himself anymore. Shadow already resorted to putting his past behind him before this game - but when Black Doom came around, he just filled his head with toxic dreams of hatred and revenge, corrupting Shadow into someone that wasn't even recognizable as himself anymore. Not only are his actions irredeemable, but he is, too. He's gone.”
I loved his extended versions of the videogames songs.
SONIC DASH So did I. I loved listening to video game music for long periods of time. But now BrawlBRSTMs3 X is no more.
Thanks a lot, Nintendo. 🖕😠🖕
Mark Cabaniss
That reminds me of star wars 3. With the whole mind twisting, toxic revenge shit
This sums it up perfectly. I can’t add anything more.
GUN Soldiers: Everyone who can still move, grab a weapon and take your positions! Familiar terrain gives us an advantage! This is our last stand!
Sayanara Earth.
Fighting against the army of a single hedgehog.
Mr yuji naka is alright!
This stage gives much such a Half-Life vibe. Aliens are attacking an underground base, and the military is putting up a fight and losing hopelessly. Except in this game, you're on the aliens' side.
The music, though, feels almost calm. The decision is made for you now; humanity is doomed. Your only choice left is whether you'll destroy the world or take it for yourself. Interestingly, neither ending has you helping Black Doom. Shadow is too consumed with hatred to follow anyone at this point.
When I played Half-Life, it quickly reminds me of Shadow The Hedgehog (this game of course).
But if you go full dark, you do end up seeing Black Doom's plan through. The only variable that changes is whether or not you cause an internal power struggle
Precisely. In Black Comet, he explicitly says in the dark ending that he was born to serve black doom, who he refers to as “dark lord”. In the Hero ending, he goes out on his own, fully independent. He doesn’t explicitly despise humanity in semi-dark, he just can’t trust the heroes due to their connection to GUN, so he’s either resigned to his fate, or striking out on his own.
@@maxrichards3881 it makes me wish that black comet had a normal mission instead of a hero one with knuckles
I disagree. Black Doom needs Earth and humanity alive in order for his Black Arms colony to thrive. Shadow stands in opposition to this by directly intending to kill everyone on Earth (assumidly with the Eclipse Cannon). Black Doom and Shadow want to destroy humanity, but the ways they want to do so will lead to conflict.
Anyone else realise that in the pure evil ending - Shadow declares that he'll blow up the entire planet? Which is what Black Doom never even wanted. Literally nobody wins in the pure evil ending.
iPhoon thank you but i don’t think anybody asked
Jay Kore okay 👌🏿
Technically he says he's gonna "destroy this damn planet" which, to be fair, if the Black Arms harvested us, would be exactly that
But we did win.
We got what we wanted to destroy the planet.
Only Shadow wins
I used to think I was alone in loving this game. Everyone on the internet criticized it, but now as I'm an adult with new friends in new places, I'm realizing this game was actually really popular in some urban communities. I love Shadow the Hedgehog
I'm really happy there are lots of people who enjoyed this game, I felt like I was alone in liking it because of how much hate it gets for being "too edgy". It's a fun game with a lot of heart and effort put into it.
@@henry1531 Shadow the hedgehog truly had a lot of effort put into it, which is why playing it will almost certainly leave anyone with a strong opinion - you'll either love this game or hate it, no inbetween.
Before then people used to be like "LORE WITH GOOD PLOT BAD, DARKNESS BAD, BALDY MCNOSE HAIR GOOD" but now people are liking the Dark Era Games and making justice with them.
This is kind of a comfort game to me in a way, even the plotholes make for interesting implications to me,and i find the gameplay fun,and in my view its kind of a sad tale of someone who tried to reject all outside forces only to end up accepting a fixed identity as Shadow Android or as an irreparably bad force in most endings.
@@xamp_exclammark This is one of those games where it's mostly a vibe that's fairly engaging. Plus the run and gun is actually kinda cool for a sonic game tbh
I really like how this game doesn't portray the Hero and Dark sides of two parts of Shadow's mind, but actual understandable paths in life. It's not his conscious or goodwill versus his greed or selfishness, but rather what he chooses to do decided on everything that's happened.
In the evil route, he decides to fight against humanity because they took away everything from him. They murdered Maria, they still hunt him down. He wants revenge, and he believes they deserve this. In the evil route, he literally became a person who only wants revenge. In most games, when you can choose to be good or bad, it's usually on a moral scale. But here, it's just about what Shadow decides to do
........AND LET'S BE HONEST,HUMANITY IS ALL THAT BAD,UNFORTUNATELY
=................IF NOT GETTING ALONG--THEN YOU'RE NOBODY,A TRASH,AND IF YOU'RE PERSIST YOU MUST B ELIMINATED....ISNT THAT?????HUMAN SOCIETIES ARE ABSOLUTELY TOXIC TO ANY "OUTSIDER"......
I sadly have this mental state for those who wronged me it’s messed up how ppl look at me as a bad person but I try to be nice as possible but it doesn’t matter to them ppl either don’t want to have anything to do with me or vise versa or they want to break me and some of those ppl did during the pandemic
I’m sorry I’m just going off on my perspective on how my life was the past few years and I kinda sympathize with shadow in that mindset I know some will say it’s wrong to get revenge but my goal and thing is those who wronged me I try to get even with them
@@WarVeteran213 same
@@WarVeteran213 Same here pal, Especially as Someone with adhd who uas suffered at the hands of Very Unforgiving Teachers attitude.
It’s also important to note that it’s not framed as good and evil, or right and wrong. Following a dark path doesn’t make you evil, and there’s more to being good than just heroism. The complexity of Shadow’s life means that he experiences both Dark and Hero, regardless of which path he chooses. It’s not an either/or, it’s a spectrum; the game demonstrates this by providing multiple paths between the pure extremes. The Last Story even rejects this dichotomous format entirely. In the end, Shadow knows who he is, and resolves to create his own path in life. He is more than the product of his circumstances, more than the sum of his choices. To Shadow, Dark and Hero are decisions, not definitions.
Shadow barely utters Maria's name towards the pure evil ending, even if you pass through The Doom.
His thirst for Vengeance was his only motivation at this point
Well he did hear Gerald's voice at the beginning of the level. So he basically reverted to his preconditioned phase from SA2
I think what makes this level and by extension this ending impactful is that Shadow had multiple chances to seek the light or side with humanity, Sonic, or Rouge. At this point, he choose to not only side with the black arms, but be a agent of destruction in his own way. He’s so corrupted by hatred that he’d even betray Black Doom
Even if he does side with Rouge in this level it's only a means to an end, to take over the world and the rest of the universe for himself.
Shadow: "I SHALL RULE THE UNIVERSE!"
Rouge in the background: "Aight but I can keep the Emeralds yeah?"
Shadow: Reign with me Rouge, together we shall rule the universe in glory!
Shadow: Yeah, sure. Why not?
My first playthrough I was determined to go through the entire thing as pure dark, but the game was gonna make me betray Rouge twice to get it, and I couldn't do that in the end. I love Rouge too much lol.
Megan Wilson lol doesnt everyone? 😂😂😂
but they betray rouge the second time anyway xD
@@mattymoe2003 Actually she isn't, she doesn't even try to tempt Shadow, despite being just being the two of them during 2 missions, she doesn't try to convince him to do anything but to help her stealing that fucking Emerald, what a waste ! When i hear that song, i imagine her waiting for him in a love hotel's chamber sitting on a red sofa and subdued light, with caviar next to her in a dish, how can you be more romantic ? It's difficult to resist this, even if i must admit that i don't really like caviar, but i do love sexy girls and that kind of ambiance, that be good enough for me^^
@@anthonybegyn6123 that was a joke and this is a kids series so good luck having those fantasies come true
betrayal requires you to be loyal
This song is odd for this game, but fitting for this level. It feels kinda... Somber? Like humanity has already lost, and you're just there to snuff out their last bit of light.
But they're still not going down without a fight.
This level isn't some fun little trip through space or one of Eggman's bases. This is genuinely humanities' last chance. And it fails, hero mission: Shadow destroys everything, Dark: Black Doon takes over.
It gets worse if you consider the other factors at play (like Gerald's voice prior to the stage and Black Doom's true plan for humanity). It backfires for everyone EXCEPT for Shadow, and only HE wins in the end of this route. Do the Dark mission, and that's where Shadow destroys Earth, also leaving the Black Arms to starve. Do the Hero mission, and Shadow opts to conquer the entire universe after overpowering Black Doom.
This game's soundtrack was underrated.
'Aint that the truth.
Proof that a song with only 1 chord can work.
@Casswury definitely the bass. the bass is just wandering around the root note of the chord, it never actually stays on it for long enough to feel like its clearly 1 chord, it feels like it should be implying other harmony but it isn't. whoever wrote this bassline did an amazing job
I know I'm super late but reading the comments I agree with most of them on the theme of the song but what really hurts my heart is that the true line of defense of that level isn't the G.U.N soldiers but Rouge as the final hero sidekick. The first person close to Shadow ever since Marie's death after he awakens or revived, etc. Given that Shadow is beyond saving at this point, she was the last person well good guy to confront Shadow in hope of helping G.U.N .(knowing that ending is just him betraying Doom for revenge) Even though everyone has given on him, she didn't and before you say Sonic wouldn't either remember that he's a final boss too and he wasn't in for negotiations. But just knowing that it's a losing battle at this point, she still was there for him
I’m super late too but this tells me two things:
1) Rouge’s words and actions are consistent to what she said in 06 - that for good or bad, if the world becomes Shadow’s enemy, she’ll stay by his side no matter what.
2) This tells me that Rouge loves him. Platonic or Romantic, idk (decide for yourself) but Rouge was willing to forgive Shadow or at least attempt to spark his humanity one last time while even Sonic at this point would be like “Nah Shadow, you gotta go, it’s too late now”
@@uzer141 omg that is so true and I'm really glad that someone knows and acknowledge that cause besides her Omega would be second within reason since even in 06 given he knows what happens in the future, he doesn't stop him from assisting Shadow
wow its honestly heartwarming that people are still so passionate about this game, this game gets a lot of hate for being edgy and while it is edgy IMO it is edgy done RIGHT. this game was so mature and consistent with Adventure that i truly hold it close to SA1 and SA2 as my 3 canon Sonic games.
that being said, the point your brought up about Rouge is great. The dark ending is tragic really, as a dark ending should be.
Imagine how much Shadow's downfall must hurt Sonic. He's personally witnessed Shadow find peace and be redeemed, having fought side by side with him. Now that same hero and friend feels so lost and angry that the only way to find peace is by killing everyone he once swore to protect. Sonic must've been absolutely heartbroken, but unlike Rouge, he knows deep down that Shadow has to be put down for good this time and by his own hand.
It's actually very similar to the ending of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith which came out in the same year as this game, just think about it:
Shadow- Anakin after his fall to the dark side and dark deeds killing the younglings, in this instance trying to assassinate the president.
Sonic- Obi-Wan, Shadow's ally who thought side by side with him before but never truly understood his inner conflict with darkness leading to Shadow's fall, after Shadow's deeds at this point he realises Shadow is gone and cannot be redeemed so needs to be stopped. A direct parallel to Obi-Wan when he learns of Anakin's betrayal of the Jedi, Mace Windu and killing of the younglings)
Rouge- Padme, she is the last to try and convince Shadow that he needs to turn from his evil ways and believes he can still be redeemed when all others had given up on him. She has hope because she was his closest ally and friend since Maria and the only one who truly understood or tried to understand Shadow. Only for her to be shocked when he reveals his intentions of overthrowing Black Doom and taking charge of the black arms himself. Sounds familiar to Padme finally accepting that everyone was right about Anakin when he expresses the desires about overthrowing Palpatine's and ruling the galaxy...
To be honest I always thought this game was inspired by Star Wars, the whole idea of having Chaos Powers and their functions are very similar to the force unleashed with light side and dark side etc.
Plus the gun mechanics and the idea of fighting in a war between aliens and soldiers with human weapons, while dealing with space and a weapon that can destroy any star or planet is just literally the death star!
I'm happy that Shadow didn't go ultra dark in canon though and instead decided to put his past pain and trauma behind him and decide to work together with Rouge and GUN for the benefit of mankind. Shadow's arc in this game is so well written and it's overlooked in every later game apart from 06.
"Shadow! The black aliens have just broken through. They gotta be after the Chaos Emerald that's hidden in the subterranean GUN base. We can't let them have it!"
Proceeds to take said emerald for himself
Me doing the Dark Mission:
This track is easily the best song in the game for me (aside from Westopolis and I Am All of Me). The chill guitar nearly perfectly fits with the "It's over" vibe that Black Doom sets after he says "It's too late to turn back. It is a reflection of what you have done to get to this point.
That bass groove, though.
Smooth af.
What I like about this track is that subverts expectations for a level like this, based on the other tracks for the stages. The other tracks were much faster paced and put the player in the mood to blow through enemies but this?
It’s quite the melancholy track because it’s basically the point of no return for Shadow. By this point, humanity is at its last stand and Shadow has no good intentions for them. If you side with Black Doom and beat Sonic and the G.U.N. Commander, Shadow reveals his plans to destroy Earth. However, if you side with Rouge and beat Black Doom, Shadow decides he wants to enslave humanity in Black Doom’s place.
There really is no good outcome for humanity by this point, no matter what Shadow chooses and the music reflects that perfectly. It’s not loud, fast-paced, or badass. It’s just melancholy.
Funny how says Shadow ends the level intro with “I know what I have to do”
Yet you still have a choice in your allegiance, even at this juncture
1:06 Holy FUCKING SHIT this part hits so good! I hate how this wasn't used in the game at all.
"Hey, Shadow! You only got 6 stages left in your training! Have you got enough lives left to do it? Remember, once the game is over, it's all the way back to the start. Be extra, extra careful. Anyhow, keep going!"
This is perfect for a level like this. It literally screams "You've made your fate with the bad guys, but you still have a choice."
this is storytelling through music
the somber sounds let you know that humanity is doomed either way
and the "I am I am everyone, anywhere, anyhow, anyway" from I am all of me at 0:40 could be showing how shadow has finally made his decision and won't turn back
Black Doom doesn't get his way in *either* ending this final level can result in. This level's Dark ending has Shadow decide to destroy the Earth, which would screw over Black Doom because he wanted to use humans as food for the Black Arms. The "Hero" ending has Shadow turn on Black Doom and possibly be *even more* evil.
Man i absolutely love how calm this track is, wouldn't have expected a calm track from the g.u.n fortress but okay then
I mean shadow is literally far gone at this point so that’s why the track is so calm. It’s basically almost over for humanity.
Fun fact:
Not much of a fact but this song has two parts two it, the first half and the second half.
The first half is calm and chill but gives an uneasy vibe.
The second half that comes after 1:06 is more aggressive as the drums pick up and the bass becomes louder and deeper.
This might be to illustrate that shadow may have gone too far at this point.
Side note-
This songs guitar probably sounds like this to try and invoke some super spy like vibe since Shadow is in the TOP SECRET G.U.N. Facility. It’s also kinda jazzy, something slightly reminiscent of Rouge’s SA2 themes.
It's like a fusion of Shadow & Rouge music in one. Dark vibe for Shadow and Jazzy for Rouge.
This song always stuck with me.
It's soo calm yet at the same time serious.
Honestly perfect since you chosen the Dark
Route.
Dark: 0:00
Hero: 1:09
i always thought it was super odd how chill this song is despite the context of the level being shadow basically going into and shooting up the planets last line of defense
@@wistfulanthophila9317 That's honestly exactly it. It's not some close battle worthy of an epic orchestra, nor is it some turnaround against the aliens. This is the last level, meaning there's no going back. Humanity's dead at this point. This is just the theme of the last struggle before the aliens (or possibly Shadow) take them altogether.
This stage is my favorite in the game especially the music man!!! So Badass
Cute_charm_9834 same!
Kenton Wilson That is so awesome💯
When Shadow is confirmed as an assist trophy in SSBU.
This is the song version of a sarcastic slow clap. Congratulations, you carried out your evil deeds… but what’s left for you after you’ve destroyed everything? Your heart is now cold and it’s entirely your fault.
Your crusade of destruction isn’t fun anymore, it’s empty.
So, you made it to the final level. You've hurt a lot of people, shadow. I know they were your enemies and you feel every right to hurt them. But was it really worth it? Yes, there is a hero mission here, but that won't undo your past actions.
This is both relaxing and ominous. I love it!
I remember listening to this during the winter time on the bus ride to school.
This one is my favorite of the whole OST. Has lived rent free in my head for years. Gives you that James Shadow Bond feeling.
it's done, Shadow made up his mind and cannot go back, mankind will crumble.
but he can still decide if he will follow Black Doom or conquer everything on his own.
Man, it's my first route and gameplay with this game, everything looks amazing and the game is so much fun.
(i wonder why people hate it, maybe i'll find out if keep playing)
i finished playing...
ans now i understand :^
If he chooses the dark mission in this stage, he will end up "destroying the world" without the permission of Black Doom, so he betrays him either way
@@D00DM00D i don't think so
Doom still follows you there, and Shadow didn't made it clear he's became selfish, he just said to punish humanity
Wow. Never realised how this music felt so "cool" yet so "cold" at the same time (if that makes sense). Strange isn't it?
There is so much juxtaposition between this song and the level you're actually playing. The level G.U.N. Fortress acts as the final base for the humans to stand up against the Black Arms and Shadow is on their side, and not just that, the humans are getting absolutely battered. They stand so little hope, not even Sonic has that good a fighting chance at helping the humans win. Humanity at this point is facing destruction.
I feel the music kind of represents the inevitability of it. This could have easily been a senseless rock sample, like most of the other tracks on this game (and even then only a handful of them are even good), but this is so calm; a pure, clean, acoustic piece. It poses the thought that do you regret for the path you've chosen to take Shadow down, and that it has led to the demise of humanity, particularly if you take the pure dark path.
I disagree. This games OST has quite a few little gems, this one included. I'm with you on the other stuff though. It's as if the last stand is purely ceremonial....Tense desperation is how I'd put it.
I find it very satisfyingly ironic that the 2 most calm (but still somewhat uneasy) stage themes are on the darkest path available.
@@cinnamoncupcakecaramel9431 I disagree, it will be rather Gun Fortress and Lethal Highway for me, yet, last time i checked, Lethal Highway was in the pure hero path.
I prefer Lost Impact instead of The Doom, which is on Hero path. Lost Impact's music sounds very peaceful but also feels kind of "sad" because Shadow is recalling a past that can't be brought back.
POV: You're a G.U.N. soldier surrounded by the swarm of aliens with no reinforcement behind, since you're the last line of defence
I would start running for my life.
*"Mr Yuji Naka is alright"*
-G.U.N Soldier
@@ariannagorbet6674 you can't do that either.
Love this.
Such sad music. Like all hope is lost.
All hope IS lost. If I remember correctly, GUN Fortress is one of the options for the pure Dark path.
G.U.N. Fortress is the final stage of the Pure Dark path. Here, Shadow can either give in to the resurfaced Gerald's programming and destroy the Earth (Pure Dark - Dark ending) or cling on what remains of his sanity and decide to conquer the entire universe (Pure Dark - Hero ending).
This reminds me of summer nights during high school, when I stayed up late into the night to try to beat this game. I could hardly keep my eyes open… Good, simple times
One of the best tracks in the game.
Tfzsdddtddt
Tttttszttttztztztzttzttztztztztztztzttztztzttzztzztttttttttttzttstzttstssttssttststsstststtsstsstztstststtssttsststststztzttzztztzztztztztzztztztztzttzztztztztztzztzztztztztztztztzztztztztztztztztztzutz
Tryr
Sassazstr
I last played this game over a decade ago and can't believe I forgot about most if it's awesome soundtrack. Glad I rediscovered this OST.
"Shadow, this is the last stronghold of the human army. Destroy the core of the base and then this planet will be completely defenceless"!
It's a fun stage especially when we go on a rampage with a minigun.
I always loved the areas with vehicles to shoot up
Oh this stage, there was such fun to be had if you were playing for evil or good... such fun...
Sonic Heroes 2 Dialogue:
Knuckles - Man, this place has become a war zone.
Tails - Those Soldiers are dying.
Sonic - Come on guys, we gotta help G.U.N secure their headquarters and make sure the president is safe.
Vector: C'mon the President should be just through here.
Espio: since when did we do escort missions?
Charmy: I hope those soldiers will be alright.😟
Amy: Those soldiers are risking their lives, we've got to help them.😞
Cream: Why does this have to happened? (Sobbing)😖
Cheese: *Chao* *Chao* 😢
Big: Everything is going to be alright Cream, we promise.😣
Black Mesa vibes. Could also fit in the original Half-Life perfectly!
There is so much hate that this game gets. I still kind of enjoy it. The multiple endings that lead to the final ending were kind of pointless and the swearing could get a bit much, but I'm game for shooting aliens. Along with GUN soldiers.
and yet, everyone seems to get pissed off because of that same reason, also shadow in guns or motorcycles seems to be so bad that is good
So many people are willing to harp on the bad, but not enough are willing to appreciate the good
But but but...... Ow the edge :(
If you like it, that's awesome, i wish i liked it as much as some people do, but I can't bring myself to get rid of all the pain i went to finish a lot of it's missions and/or levels, but I can see the good stuff about it, and i will say that the guns are ok, the final story arc is good, some levels and missions are great and i think the music is good, even tho i dislike the game, i can see why some people like it and im jealous of them
@@e-tean-son4146 There’s actually this idea I had a while back that, while not perfect, might have fixed the “start a new story as if nothing happened” issue.
I still can't believe we let him get away with this, I pass this guy in the friggin office everyday.
this music is a good reminder of how fucked up you have become because you have chosen all the dark paths
One of my favorite songs in the game and G.U.N Fortess is also a super fun level. Grab a gattling gun and destroy everything! This is for Maria!
That's how I felt
Poor Shadow, brainwashed beyond salvation
An invasion nearing completion. A species on the brink of total extinction. Even if Shadow knows his actions would make Maria spin dash in her grave, there's no going back. He can never turn back now. What's done is done.
Now to finish the job.
This theme is very interesting, having in mind that you are invading the most powerfull defense (and the last) on mankind and it is all just so, paceful...
Jordan Sanabria Garfias It’s more focused on Shadow’s descent into madness than what’s actually happening around him.
It sounds peaceful until you get the context. Shadow, who once saved the planet from destruction, has now doomed it to more destruction. For whatever reason, his promise to his best friend and the person he once was are both gone, forever. All that’s left with this song is the hopelessness of humanity and the sadness of Shadow’s downfall. Damn good piece of music though.
Reminder that either GUN Fortress ending has you betray Black Doom, either directly or via destroying the world instead of enslaving it.
By the time you get to this point, you're more evil than the Sonic version of Lavos.
This is the finale. Shadow has lost himself, but GUN is done for. Destroy the final resistance of this worthless planet.
Not that I could explain at all how this song made me feel when I was 14 but this has an Undertale Genocide feeling to it.
Honestly this music makes me think of a character going through a redemption arc and he\she's almost done for
This sounds like nice, relaxing music you would hear in a elevator going to work and in the department store shopping for clothes.
+Nile river I always thought so too lol
If so I'd probably be in the elevator all pressing the top floor and bottom floor buttons for hours on end.
This game is 15 years old now ,sadly my console crapped out so I’m hear for the old music
there's always the seven seas
I just realized there's terribly haunting howl of wind in the background thorough half of this theme and I can't unhear it.
War has changed..
1:08からかっこよすぎる
Add a few saxophones and it becomes a Rouge level theme from SA2.
That and some scat singing
@@ElijahW2003 Shooby doo bah shaboomah
Well, if I ever slip into insanity and go too far, I would want this to be the song that plays, whenever I listen to it, I get filled up with regret, fear, sadness, and the idea of "holy crap, I've really gone too far, I can't undo this now, I can't redeem myself"
When I was going through I really hard time in year 7 I think it was, I was constantly getting bullied, as a result, I snapped, I turned very violent, very cold, very isolated from people, I had just beat the crap out of the guys who made me behave that way, I was just about done with life, the one thing I remember was listening to this song when I got home that day, and breaking down into tears, after having a very painful talk with my older brother with this song playing in the background, all I remember thinking after the talk was "damn, what have I done, I have f*cked up really badly now"
Since that day, I've focused on bettering myself, I got through the violent tendencies, I opened up to people more, I stopped isolating myself from them, that's why I want this song to play if I ever go insane, because maybe I will remember my brother's words "if you ever go as far as trying to kill them, you may think they went to far, but look at yourself and tell yourself you aren't any worse than them in this situation"
........EVEN HUMANS CAN SEEM GOOD IN SOME SOCIETY,AT OVERALL HUMANKIND IS REALLY REALLY TERRIBLE
=SO,THE REACTION OF SOMEONE THAT WASNT MAROONED BY HUMANITY AS "KILL EVERYONE" IS UNDERSTANDABLE
When drums hit wow eargasum
can't help but feel dread after that cannon scene and having soundtrack like this... (especially when you go on dark way...)
My favorite stage song in the game.
Same, at first the song is sad and calm but when the drums kick in it becomes badass
these are my top 5 soundtracks from this game:
1-Egg Dealer
2-Lethal Highway
3-Lava Shelter
4-The Doom
5-Gun Fortress
Alright the best level in the game. Drivinf in the intro felt cool asf, using the miniguns in the dark route felt SUPREME cool, traveling with rouge felt nice, and the music gives off thay feeling of "damn i really did forget my promise to maria"
10/10 triple s tier imo
This must be a CD version or something. There was never a pause after 1:06 in the game nor on TH-cam before I found it here.
EyezOpen The Young God King that's probably where it loops in the game
Yup, the CD version of Lethal Highway is different too: you can hear motorcycle sounds at the beginning.
That's why it says [OST] in the title
@@rotundmonibuv5103 Just now getting these notifications 3 years later wtf .-.
nothing like skating through long ass hallways on slippery hover skates fueled by red chaos energy giving me infinite ammo for my 7 ft long Gatling gun.
#JustShadowThings
I'd like to hear a purely acoustic version of this, it'd be a lot sadder
This song is awesome, yet it also makes me think of a smug and suave secret agent doin' secret agent things. Also makes me think of Inteleon X3
The moment Shadow sided with the Black Arms, he knew that there was no going back. This song is literally saying that he broke his promise to Maria.
Nobody tells me what to do
(black hedgehog after doing absolutely everything he's been told to do)
I mean, he could go Sky Troops, Air Fleet, GUN Fortress, Black Doom.
I've already said something like this in BrawlBRTSM's video, but here goes.
"I think this song can fit the Final Haunt as well. There, this song can illustrate that Shadow is fighting for Maria's dream. The melancholic tone can highlight that he still thinks about her as he takes the fight to Black Doom."
This song in GUN Fortress: "It's over. Humanity is doomed and there's nothing that can be done to change that."
THis song in Final Haunt: "... y'know I just really miss my friend right now." **shoots an alien dead** "Here I am, pretty much set in stone that I'm gonna win and save everyone, and I just. I really miss Maria right now." **shoots another alien** "I'm sad."
I like that rift ain’t gonna lie
I've no idea why Humankind can't be reborn after this if Shadow decides to Conquer.
Underrated song. It is much more simple than many of the other tracks, but it sounds great!
the original Genocide Route.
eat your heart out Toby Fox
Agreed!
10 years before Undertale
"It's too late to Turn Back now".
No it isn't.
(2023 may 30)
Never mind, it is, The humans are done for pretty much.
This song has some parts that sound like super Metroid when you first arrive on crateria (like 0:15)
The "I'm about to commit several war crimes on american soil" theme
You know, if the story wasn't written in questionable ways this really could be a proper dark sonic game and not an "edgelord" game it turned out to be
This game was 2 Dope
This sounds like something that would be in The Last of Us🗿
Imagine my shock/cope when I opened the last music chest and saw "Mad Matrix" of all tracks. I really hope we get an update with 10 more tracks.