I know I'm late but this has been bugging me for weeks; 'Boku' is misinterpreted in the video, which is a shame because the way Shadow refers to himself already reveals a lot about him. So here's clarification of Shadow's use of the word for anyone interested: Besides the formal and gender-neutral 'watashi' (which is used by women more outside of formal context) the two most common masculine ways to refer to oneself are 'ore' and 'boku'. They're both casual, but 'ore' is somewhat crude and associated with the tough guy type--I can see a character like Knuckles using it. 'Boku' is more youthful and boyish, fitting a character like Tails. This is probably why Shadow's use of 'boku' is more popular with women, who most likely find it endearing as it characterizes a sort of innocence and contrasts with his appearances (compared to 'ore', which you'd typically expect someone like Shadow to use and is probably why the team was divided on this), hence the developer justifying his choice by saying Shadow 'is a very subtle and pure character'. I personally find it cute; it nudges him away from the edgelord role, if only by a bit. I don't mean to criticize such an impressively well-researched video, I just like the character as much as most here do and hate to see an interesting tidbit like that lost due to mistranslation! Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the in-depth clarification. I don’t speak Japanese myself so I was basing it off of google definitions and their wonderful inaccuracies. You’re not criticizing at all! I’d rather be told so in the future I don’t make the same mistakes :)) Thanks again and glad to hear you enjoyed the video!
Also kind of weird that despite being advertised heavily, Shadow has the least amount of stages in spite of having arguably the most impact on the story.
I think and I could be wrong about this, but I think he wasn't originally planned to be playable; only sonic, knuckles and eggman were. Which also explains why those three have the most stages and power ups compared to their counterparts because they were worked on first.
@@RiiViiMedia2424 He was teased as a new foe for Sonic, but only Sonic, Eggman and Knuckles were planned to be playable originally. The other 3 got added in later. You can see Sonic going through Sky Rail in early trailers, which also explains why it's the only Shadow stage to not fit his particular style of music.
IMO Shadow and Rouge have the most complex and fascinating relationship in the whole franchise, how they were forced to work together in the beginning even though they hated each other and from there kept teaming up only out of convenience which grew into a genuine friendship. Its like they try to act like theyre just business partners but secretly care for each other. And its also funny how rouge is so flirtatious with all the boys in the franchise and messes with them but not with shadow
Man...with how much love and care was put into making Shadow who he is in his earliest appearances, it's really sad seeing his character get reduced to oW ThE eDgE in modern Sonic games. At this point, they might as well give him the scar he had in his beta designs...because that's what's happened to his reputation.
Idk, in sonic forces some of his edge was kind of gone, and now that I’m thinking about it now, he was never edgy in the first place, even now he still isn’t, think about it, when has he ever actually been edgy? the only game I can think of is his own game, Shadow The Hedgehog, but that’s the only game he’s been Ow ThE eDgE.
@@justjabari6430 Yeah, he became more subdued in Sonic 06, but that was the last game where he was in the spotlight. During the 2010s, Sega flanderized him into a smug, friendship-hating bully who looked down on everyone. Forces brings him back closer to how he was in 06; now we just gotta hope he stays that way.
It’s a shame. Shadow is such a badass concept. It’s the same with metal sonic, but shadow was a step ahead since he was his own true character. Wish the following sonic game stories shined through like the Adventure series. Imagine all the ‘ehh’ game stories if they had time and effort in them.
The cool thing about Beta Rouge's design is the concept that her wings were on her arms similar to irl bats than on her back like how you see in her final design.
That would've been really interesting to see if they went with that design and how it would've looked in the final product with the wings on the arms! Thanks for watching :)
A shadow knuckles would be an interesting concept for sure. Thanks for watching!! Also, I checked out your channel and your animations are gorgeous keep up the great work!!
If there's ever a Knuckles Chaotix 2, my one of my ideas for the story are that the Chaotix track down evil counterparts from Knuckles and a few other characters. Since Sonic, Tails, Amy, Shadow, and many others are busy, they get help from Knuckles. As well Mighty will come back to the team, and they will get the help from Ray. Together they fight against the "Shadow" Knuckles and other "Shadowfied" versions of other characters. My other idea were the Team Chaotix, Mighty, and Knuckles working together to defeat the Team Hooligan, a band of criminals in Mobius.
the name “Nails” was definitely meant to be a mirror of Knuckles’ name since they share the same play style, considering the fact that both names are hand accessories that they use to dig with
Hey thank you! I thought it would be cool delving more into this kinda stuff than more of a typical review style because at this point what more is there really to say about SA1,2 etc ya know?
It's very interesting to see how these two fan-favourites evolved during the time of making the game. That concept art of Shadow could've inspired the creation of Mephiles as both look somewhat similar. Rouge on the other hand doesn't have as much concept art as Shadow but this can be explained by the fact that she was already designed well and unlike Shadow she wasn't created as a same species counterpart.
Thanks so much! And yeah I didn't think of that, Mephiles could've been inspired by shadows concept art especially in how they keep the same relative color palette especially with those Uekawa pieces I showed in the video. I was surprised by Rouge's lack of concept art (that's released to the public at least) but you make a good point in how the designs were relatively similar and streamlined to her final one compared to Shadow's which went all over the place
I mean I think that Mephiles was intented to look like Shadow, so that Sonic and friends would get confused. As well Shadow is the ultimate lifeform so since Mephiles is a god of destruction, he needed to be similar to Shadow
Sonic 3 and knuckles is why shadow exists. He was born based off the painting of super sonic in the ruins of angel island which is where gerald got the idea. Thats why he has super sonic's spines, and why people thought he was sonic. Because they know sonic can transform and saw him when he fought perfect chaos. So they thought this dark sonic is just another form of his.
Hard to believe some people prefer the beta designs for Shadow. I always liked how Shadow had his quills done like Super Sonic in his base form to indicate superiority. His final design actually makes me believe Sonic could be mistaken to be Shadow because at this point Sonic has had 2 separate transformations that caused his quills to spike up (this was before Hyper Sonic was struck from canon). His beta designs also pictured him with a sword which just makes them look even worse to me. I'm glad we got the final Shadow design like this and I could say the same for Rouge.
I LOVE shadows final design and I feel he may have not had the same impact in the franchise if he looked like the concept art. That's a really good point about how is quills were done by super sonic, I never thought of it like that but it makes complete sense now. Interesting! also lol imagine shadow running around with a sword...hope you enjoyed! :)
@@polyman6859 great, im glad to hear! and oh god im gonna have to play it more...earlier this year I was ADDICTED to that game and then got Excaliber sonic and now I need to pick it up again hahaha. I was really impressed with how fun speed battle is also
Not exactly Shadow's final design, but the actual cut scenes Shadow model, with unkempt quills and folded ears (yes, in cut scenes his ear tips bend forward) as well as his healthy look suggest that he is a character that went through a lot in a short amount of time.
Back when i was a kid playing Adventure 2 i didn't believe that Rouge was a bat as the cutscenes say because of her wings are more dragon wings that are on her back rather than a true bat that has it's wings be a thin membrane that connects its extended pinky finger to its feet
thank you for being one of the few Sonic youtubers who don't talk about Sonic games other then the game your reviewing/talking about, its always so jarring to see someone talk crap about 06/about how Sonic sucks now/how bad Sonic boom is/how SA1 and SA2 have not age well/how Sonic was never good in a video thats not about these games.
It was a great honor for Rouge and Shadow to make their debut in SA2, which has a spectacular story. Just compare it to Sonic Forces. Infinite looks so cool and his ability had much possibilities, but he isn't remembered as much as Shadow. Shadow had a complicated past yet he 'grew up' as a hero, saving everyone. Though his motive for revenge was hard to understand or relate for us(I think this is why we tend to think he's an edgelord etc.), he changed in a good way. At the start, he was arrogant. In the end, he was caring. He even took Biolizard himself to let Sonic and Knuckles pass. While fighting the Final Hazard, Shadow says Sonic might be the ultimate life form, accepting him as a true rival but also acknowledging his capability. He sacrificed himself to save everyone. It was surely impressive and moving to many of us. Rouge also grew up, you can find it in the staff role scene. She murmured little pay for too much work, but in the end she says she got something better than jewels, looking at Shadow's limiters. At first, she was only a spy to investigate Shadow, but she came to worry about him as she found more information. She learned how to express gratitude(when she gave Knuckles the pieces of Master Emerald), and worry about someone else other than herself(when she told Shadow about Project Shadow). Since the game had a well-weaved storyline, those two characters were appealing and attractive to us. I really love how Shadow and Rouge still get along since SA2. Because that means the whole storyline from SA2 was not only impactful but also very fascinating and well structured. This is why my favorite characters are Shadow and Rouge, and why I love SA2. Other than the story, the voice actors of those two were very fitting(though I agree that Rouge's voice at that time would not very much fit in the modern Sonic games). That really helped with appreciating the cutscenes.
The more I learn about Shiero Maekawa the more I like him. He's stated once that he'd be interested in writing for Sonic again, but they just aren't interested. A lot of the reason why he was bogged down over time had to do with Sonic 06, sense the game reached poor perception they decided it was the writers and artists fault (the people that were being overworked to finish the game), rather than. The people who rushed the game. so pretty much all the artists were let go or moved to lower and lower positions until they were forced to quit. Not many have spoken publicly about that but if you follow it and look into it, that definitely seems to be the case.
I'd love to see Maekawa return for the upcoming sonic games, while I don't think its realistic I'd love to see it happen. It's ashame as if it was released as Sonic 2007 and another run through/edit of the story happened, he would probably still be here today and 06 would have a whole different opinion on it. Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed!
The "servant" part of boku is interesting. Thinking about it from the perspective of how he first presents himself to Eggman. He says that he will grant him 1 wish, like a genie freed from a bottle. However, like with a genie in a proverb, you should be careful what you wish for, even if you think the genie is serving you.
I agree lol, his final design is perfect, I do hope if we get remakes that they give us unlockable skins that bring these concepts to life in the 3D realm though, just to see how it wouldve translated
Great video dude! some of the OG shadow designed were super wild - it kind of makes sense how the military would've mistaken him for sonic... less so with his final design.
Hey thank you so much I really appreciate it! Shadow's OG designs are crazy! I wonder how they would've translated to 3D though as shadows final was a pretty accurate translation in my opinion
I absolutely love these two, with Shadow being my second fav character (2nd to Cream) and one of the main reasons I got into the franchise in the first place! Rouge is also super underrated! And fun fact, Shadow's color scheme, stripe pattern, and pointer quils make him look a whole lot like a black tenrec, also known as the "lesser hedgehog" or "false hedgehog". I honestly wonder if that was inspiration for his current desgin, or just an odd coincidence. But that makes me kinda wish he really was one (however, we do get a tenrec in the comics, and she's a parallel to silver, named gold).
AYYY A CREAM FAN! YES!!!! I have a really soft spot for Cream since Sonic Advance 3 and the Advance series period was one of my first video games ever (and theyre awesome games)! Thats a really interesting fact about Shadow thank you for sharing :D and with Rouge I agree since the soft Pontac reboot with Colors it feels her whole character has been boiled down to nothing which is unfortunate because she is awesome in this game!
My own personal theory that I've had for a while was that Maekawa probably only knew shadow conceptually as a darker sonic and only saw the prototype designs when writing him. With this idea in mind it would make sense why Sonic gets confused with Shadow and arrested. And when looking at the story boards this idea sorta adds up seeing as he's drawn as a darker Sonic (or this is just me looking too deep into things)
Excellent point that would make alot of sense! It would be a classic SEGA move to give the guy only the concept without any word on the actual design lol. He did a great job... and awesome analysis of the situation there!
I may be wrong about this but I've heard that in the Japanese version of SA2 the GUN agency actually knows it's Shadow but tries to frame Sonic in order to hide Shadow and the old events of the space colony from the public
@@nikolaradulovic5283 That's interesting, have to listen to the transcribed Japanese dialogue to get a better context, nonetheless a good thing to consider.
@@nikolaradulovic5283 I never heard that as "in the Japanese version." I've heard that particular explanation of the events, yes, but *I always heard everyone say it was a fan-theory/headcanon.* Then again, I don't speak Japanese, and I've never looked up fan translations of the game's actual Japanese dialogue before either.
Looking at concept arts is cool . I think shadow with a missing eye would be cooler . And it's great that Tails was in the game because he was a real hero there
I didn’t recall seeing SA2 concept designs! What a cool video 😄 I adored the SA1 art, as it’s my favorite sonic game, but seeing the creators thoughts on Shadow really wanted me to give SA2 a play through.
Thanks so much it really means alot to hear you enjoyed the video! I know right SA2's development is so interesting especially when hearing from the devs :)
@@Eldarin it is! I love seeing behind the scenes of these classic games. Seeing the development process is encouraging for my own creations as well. Keep youtubin’!
Someone posted the Nails the Bat artwork on Facebook a while ago. I developed from it this whole backstory about how she was an Alabama gal who dreamed of making it big in Nashville. And I want to see this developed in some form!!
dear people saying shadow shouldnt use guns or know how to operate vehicles hes a military weapon/unit what compitent military doesnt allow its units to use guns
modern knuckles confirmed to be able to go super in sonic chronicles it was stated in the thingy about the chaos emeralds
I know right?!? That’s also interesting as I could totally see the old Rouge design being inspiration for the girl in Daigasso Band Brothers...good catch on that!
Reading all the comments on this video and seeing everyone respect Shadow and the Story writer of SA2 is giving me a happy, yet melancholy feeling. •́ ‿ ,•̀
Something that I really like about shadow's design, although it might of not been intentional seeing his Early designs is the fact he resembles the hedgehog depicted in Sonic 3's altar when you fight against Knuckles, and this actually makes a lot of sense for the story, seeing as this not only gives shadow more of a connection towards Sonic but it also makes sense with how Gerald robotnik designed the insides of the Arc based on the master emerald altar to use the chaos emerald's power, it's almost as if Shadow was directly based on that, as we know that Gerald also knew about the master emerald altar.
It certainly would be an interesting take on his design! His Boom design just looks weird to me for some reason although I do like everyone else's designs even Sonics lol
@@Eldarin And yet he'd still be just some grouchy jerk in that universe! I learned to tolerate Shadow in the main universe, but Boom Shadow is just a huge jerk because he wants to be.
I find it super ironic that Shadow, a character originally created to serve as a villain, eventually grew into more of a lawful good hero than Sonic ever was. Mind you, this isn't me criticising it, I just find it super funny that an originally antagonistic character wound up having a more heroic personality than the literal hero of the series. lol.
we must somehow bring maekawa back please for great stories and of course shadow and rouge in twitter we have this #Maekawa4Sonic in order to bring him back i hope sega sees this hashtag and please do the hashtag in youtube too maybe sega sees you
Yeah shadow in the SA2-06 era had an awesome character arc imo. Solely focusing on SA2 though, I think that's what made him so likeable as although shadow isnt a true "evil" person he is just trying to do what he thinks is the right thing and as the story continues to evolve, we see he is actually very similar deep down to sonic and his view of "right" was just misguided (in being a good person and doing the right thing). That was my takeaway at least!
Perhaps the appeal lies with how Sonic's type of heroism contrasts with Shadow's. Sonic is a daredevil adventure loving wild card that will always do the right thing but has fun and appears childish while doing it. Sonic is the upbeat, always shining, never say die character that western culture paints a hero should be. Shadow on the other hand represents what heroes really are. Heroes do what's needed to be done, they are conflicted, damaged, psychologically troubled and burdened. There's a reason Shadow's 06 story is the best of the trio, it's more compelling cuz Shadow has much more to lose than simply not saving the world he's going to be hunted and his loved ones (Rouge and Omega) taken from him...again! Yet he chose to still press onward and "fight like I alway have" Which is alot more compelling than saving a princess in my opinion.
This video got me hooked to your channel! You are so underrated, (like jeez only 720?!) Your videos scream quality and I can't wait for more videos! Keep up the great work! 👍
It makes my day hearing this! Thanks so much and also I love your profile picture that's such a cool drawing of Super Shadow. Hope you enjoy the videos to come!
I'm glad I actually watched the whole video before commenting, as I was almost going to mention the idea of only half of the playable characters being playable at first only to hear you say thay same thing. What I do want to mention is that most of your audio of the game seems to be in mono for some reason; I find it really distracting while wearing headphones, but it’s not a big deal, and this video is otherwise great. EDIT: What I find interesting about the design for Shadow shown at 3:29 is that it's clearly based off Metal Sonic, which makes me wonder if Shadow's backstory was different at some point; maybe he was meant to be a new, improved model of Metal Sonic, a la Neo Metal Sonic from Heroes, or even the basis of Metal. Either way, if this is true, it's possible that was the original version of that design, and the one on the bottom left was actually an updated version to accommodate for his new backstory by dropping any resemblance of Metal.
I appreciate the feedback on the audio, I'll certainly work on that for the future. I personally recorded the cutscenes so it must be something to do with my game recording software(thanks nvidia shadowplay lol). Thanks for watching!!
@@Eldarin Shadow & Rouge’s look amazing as it is, hopefully Sega brings back one of shadow’s Older content art design to make a into a character in a future Sonic game
I agree! What i really want to see and honestly surprised they haven’t capitalized on this in past games is unlockable skins like say crash 4. Would be a cool way of doing fan service and lets them put in rather obscure designs that may have never seen the light of day in 3D before
@@icarue993 Its kind of sad that most times the writers are making shadow really seem edgy when he isnt supposed to be "edgy" at all. :/ Edit: nvm I think the scar is fine but I'm good with how shadow looks lmao.
My headcanon: Shadow has a scar- _his fur just grows over it so you can't see it!_ X^D Serious response though: If you like scars, have you tried looking for pictures of Scourge The Hedgehog from the Archie comics? It's a chest wound instead of a face wound though...
Great video, never knew Shadow and Rouge had such a complicated history! Nails the Bat would've been a hilarious name for her, but seeing how her design eventually turned out, it might've been for the better that they changed it to avoid people making inappropiate "nail" jokes...
Great video! Interesting to know the 'behind the scenes' with these characters, had no idea they had so many sketches, must been difficult for the development team back then. Makes me appreciate these designs more
Hey thanks so much for the kind words! I agree looking at the development of these games and characters has really put a whole different appreciation for them in my eyes
SA2 is imo the objective best sonic game (tho 06 is my personal :0), and I think the design, story, and music of this game are fantastic! I feel that tails' and knuckles' (and their counterparts') gameplay style help add the exploration and methodical traditional platforming to the game which are missing from sonic's stages. They are just as fun as sonic's levels imo. A lot of people don't like them, and I didn't the first time around, but every subsequent playthrough they get better and better (and I've played it about 20 times at this point XD). I really hope sega can truly embrace this iteration of sonic and build upon it in the future! I would like to see less linear stages ala Sonic adventure 1 return at the very least.
Yeah I was in the same boat as I am currently 100%ing SA2 right now and on first runs on the story missions the mechs can feel somewhat clunky but as you start using them more and see the idiosyncrasies of it, its incredibly smooth and responsive. I was INCREDIBLY impressed by Eggman's stages, theyre so fun! I was in the camp that SA1 knuckles stages were better but now actually playing both sides there's absolutely no contest as I am in LOVE with Rouge stages..
I remember I recall some artwork of a bat in Tyson Tan's work. He drew a really lovely and super cute anthro bat with wings on her sides. (The artist is responsible for drawing the characters from the game freedom planet I think, which was a game heavily influenced with a sonic-y feel. Correct me if wrong... ). But her clothes was designed to allow her wings to be present. So it had a cut on the sides to do so.. Imagine how Rouge's design would look if they kept her wings like that. Would be kinda interesting. As for Shadow I honestly found his design scary when I was younger but then became very redeeming to the end when he sacrificed himself. After that his design remained very iconic. So it was kinda off-putting to see his beta designs xD
I love this kind of trivia, to think the story got that overhaul in the middle of development and still came out as solid as it did You did good Shiro, You did good
I agree! So much crazy stuff that could've happened to an already crazy game lol! Also I saw your profile pic and Mario 64 is a fantastic game (shocker to literally no one) I just played it for the first time with the 3DAS collection on Switch and it was some of the most fun I had in a video game. Completely off topic I know but thought you'd get a kick out of a "new" 64 fan hahaha
4:37 Honestly, I kind of like these 2 concept designs....Maybe even more then the actual one. The more realistic bat wings which are tucked in rather then sticking out, the combed to the side hair, the footwear, the thinner legs, shorts instead of leggings and the more covered chest. It looks more cool while still keeping that glamorous side of her with the hair and also the eyelashes & earring. And you cannot deny that this design is less sexualised then the final design. I know some people say that it’s odd to say that about a cartoon anthropomorphic bat, but come on, Rouge is a bit more “OUT THERE” then most Sonic characters. I like the final design, but this one I might like even more. Alternative Universe Rouge design (like the Boom Universe), this is what I’d go with
I literally cannot believe that you only have about 2k subs and just started about 6 months ago. The quality of your videos is insane. Instantly subbed. This scenario reminds me of The Game Apologist. He just suddenly existed and it was amazing. I hope you get the recognition and success that this type of stuff warrants.
Hey thanks so much this really made my night reading this, it means a lot for such kind words. I know how cheesy it sounds, but I have a lot of passion for this franchise and just being able to talk about sonic and have open discussions that don’t just devolve into “gaem = good or bad” makes me so happy to see. Thanks for the watch and sub and hope you enjoy the ride!
@@Eldarin I relate to that very much! I have a lot to say about Sonic. I am so glad that you are brave enough to share this for everyone to see. Also, don't be afraid to make content about other franchises. I know that some people are scared that their audience won't like the rest of their content, but we are fans of YOU, not just Sonic. Have a great day, mate. I am so glad that I could improve your day!
"To compare to or shine on" So they literally have a verb that kind of encompasses "to be a foil to"? Right down to the implication of making things shine (like the metaphorical jewel placed on top of the foil)? Fucking neat! I love languages
It would be interesting! I really hope if we ever get remakes they add a skin select for the characters similar to crash 4’s so we can have these concept designs brought to life in the 3D realm. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video dude, and we could do with Shiro Maekawa coming back, now that Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (Pontac and Graff) have been given their marching orders to try and give Sonic stories abit of credibility back 9:19 (me from 2001) Tails not being playable in Sonic game, no way would that happen! (me in 2021) I miss Tails being playable....
Hey thanks so much man, hope your doing well! I'd love to see Maekawa come back as I feel he would steer the franchise back onto what made it awesome imo and you had me laughing quite hard at the Tweedle Dum and Dee analogy to Pontac and Graff
It's weird to think of Shadow as a "boku" character, he feels more like an "ore" one. The ore pronoun is often used by tough independent males who exert confidence, but boku actually makes sense for him given his relationship with Maria and willingness to cooperate with others.
It's an interesting thing to think about. Shadow comes across as an "ore" character at face value and to many people, they can only see him as an "ore" character (like the Colors/Boom era writers) when they're missing all the nuance that comes from him actually being a "boku" character. People seem to confuse his introverted personality for him being a loner with no regard for anyone else, when he has always worked best in a team and genuinely values the people he builds relationships with. The Shadow in the colors era is not the same Shadow who would almost destroy the world for his best friend and end up saving it for the same person. He's not an arrogant, self-absorbed narcissist who thinks he's the greatest being to ever live. The guy goes as far as to put Sonic above him in the finale of SA2 and goes as far as to stand strong with his friends rather than turn on them when he finds out they'd turn on him in the future in Sonic 06. Sorry for going on a tanget, the whole "boku" vs "ore" thing really gave me a new and perfect analogy to help explain Shadow's true character which I really enjoyed elaborating on.
The people designing Shadow must've REALLY wanted him to be missing an eye; out of all the concept arts of him, that's the one injury that's consistently there on most of the pictures (I've seen some of the ones w/ the cape be interpreted as him missing an arm, as well).
Apparently in the Archie comics series, anthro-animals in Sonic's world can breed with other "species" of anthro-animals. Maybe she's part chihuahua on her father's side or something.
After watching the other most recent SA2, I watched a few others, and I have to say, this is actually pretty solid content my dude. I’m quite surprised. This is very informative, and interesting. Keep this up, I’m sure once people find this channel they’ll like it! I’d love to see more.
Thank you so much and welcome aboard! More is on the way dont worry! I am also doing other games than just the Sonic franchise (obvious key focus though dw) so if you have any suggestions I'll 100% take a look!
@@Eldarin I'm a big Sonic fan, and while I have many other interests, but they're not the most interesting to discuss. And games I like, like Hollow Knight have had almost all content already stated. But yeah, I'll be excited to see the other things!
I agree! I wouldn’t have been surprised they went into the vault and took some of these Shadow concepts to base infinite off of. Certainly an interesting topic to think about
It wouldn't be the first time old art got used to inspire a new character concept. For starters, *Vector The Crocodile* is actually a scrapped character from Sonic's original 1991 game. (He was gonna be the keyboardist in Sonic's rock band: sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Band )
I love shadow, I met him when I was 9 and I fell in love with him for everything, the design, the history, the personality hard on the outside but soft on the inside, now I'm 22 and my love for him is not even a little,faltered I can say with certainty that I follow the series only for him and the dark team, I also buy only the games in which shadow appears if there is no shadow in a game I do not buy it, hahaha
Aw thats so sweet, thanks for sharing as it really made my day reading that! Shadow is such an awesome and well written character in my opinion. Hopefully we get more of him this upcoming year with the new games...one thing I have always wanted was Shadow in a advance like 2D game for some reason lol
WOW, Thank God that the algorithm put this video for me. Wow, where have you been all this time? Haha, love your channel and your content, you totally earned a subscriber. Keep going, man, peace ✌🏻
@@hugoflores1093 no actually, he can be a great director, but since things he did shows that he is incompetent. Look at Splash Dashes video on sonic boom.
I find it curious how Shadow's concept versions look a lot like Scourge the hedgehog and even Infinite. I figure the Scourge comparison is just coincidental, but I wonder if Sega dug up this old concept art for Shadow when they were trying to make Infinite. Specifically the gray one with the white tipped quills and the red eyes. Fuse that with the one beside it with the one red eye, and then put a mask on it, and it really gives me Infinite vibes.
That is a very good point! That is a very plausible idea about Infinite as they did the same with Blaze originally since her concept art was based off of Shadow. I hope they start to drop all the stuff about Forces because I am genuinely curious as to what happened during development in that game
I know I'm late but this has been bugging me for weeks; 'Boku' is misinterpreted in the video, which is a shame because the way Shadow refers to himself already reveals a lot about him. So here's clarification of Shadow's use of the word for anyone interested: Besides the formal and gender-neutral 'watashi' (which is used by women more outside of formal context) the two most common masculine ways to refer to oneself are 'ore' and 'boku'. They're both casual, but 'ore' is somewhat crude and associated with the tough guy type--I can see a character like Knuckles using it. 'Boku' is more youthful and boyish, fitting a character like Tails. This is probably why Shadow's use of 'boku' is more popular with women, who most likely find it endearing as it characterizes a sort of innocence and contrasts with his appearances (compared to 'ore', which you'd typically expect someone like Shadow to use and is probably why the team was divided on this), hence the developer justifying his choice by saying Shadow 'is a very subtle and pure character'. I personally find it cute; it nudges him away from the edgelord role, if only by a bit. I don't mean to criticize such an impressively well-researched video, I just like the character as much as most here do and hate to see an interesting tidbit like that lost due to mistranslation! Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the in-depth clarification. I don’t speak Japanese myself so I was basing it off of google definitions and their wonderful inaccuracies. You’re not criticizing at all! I’d rather be told so in the future I don’t make the same mistakes :)) Thanks again and glad to hear you enjoyed the video!
Essentially it's "gap moe"
@@MsMvsc Exactly! That's a perfect way to put it.
@@MsMvsc Gap moe shadow the hedgehog, never through i see that
Also kind of weird that despite being advertised heavily, Shadow has the least amount of stages in spite of having arguably the most impact on the story.
I agree its very weird but I have a feeling its just a classic case of Sonic Team rushing dev time and cutting stuff...who knows
I think and I could be wrong about this, but I think he wasn't originally planned to be playable; only sonic, knuckles and eggman were. Which also explains why those three have the most stages and power ups compared to their counterparts because they were worked on first.
@@LavenderAyane Is that based on the trailer? Don't forget that Shadow was teased in that very trailer.
Yeah, but that's part of what made him so mysterious, at the time
@@RiiViiMedia2424 He was teased as a new foe for Sonic, but only Sonic, Eggman and Knuckles were planned to be playable originally. The other 3 got added in later. You can see Sonic going through Sky Rail in early trailers, which also explains why it's the only Shadow stage to not fit his particular style of music.
IMO Shadow and Rouge have the most complex and fascinating relationship in the whole franchise, how they were forced to work together in the beginning even though they hated each other and from there kept teaming up only out of convenience which grew into a genuine friendship. Its like they try to act like theyre just business partners but secretly care for each other. And its also funny how rouge is so flirtatious with all the boys in the franchise and messes with them but not with shadow
I 100% agree, I absolutely ADORE their dynamic! Its one of the best parts of the series in my opinion. Thanks for watching :)
Whoever decided to have Shadow's quills mirror Super Sonic was a genius.
@Zero Bullet's Somehow I never made that connection but holy shit.
rouge the bat is such an underrated character. she deserves so much more. she’s super cool.
I 100% agree! Thanks for watching
A lot of characters deserve so much more. All of the characters honestly.
@@espurrseyes42 yes like silver and blaze too they got overshadowed by the reception 06 got :/
@@groove.mp4Chaotix
Yea
Man...with how much love and care was put into making Shadow who he is in his earliest appearances, it's really sad seeing his character get reduced to oW ThE eDgE in modern Sonic games. At this point, they might as well give him the scar he had in his beta designs...because that's what's happened to his reputation.
The scar would be way cooler.
Idk, in sonic forces some of his edge was kind of gone, and now that I’m thinking about it now, he was never edgy in the first place, even now he still isn’t, think about it, when has he ever actually been edgy? the only game I can think of is his own game, Shadow The Hedgehog, but that’s the only game he’s been Ow ThE eDgE.
@@justjabari6430 Yeah, he became more subdued in Sonic 06, but that was the last game where he was in the spotlight. During the 2010s, Sega flanderized him into a smug, friendship-hating bully who looked down on everyone. Forces brings him back closer to how he was in 06; now we just gotta hope he stays that way.
@@ZachaRicO yep
It’s a shame. Shadow is such a badass concept. It’s the same with metal sonic, but shadow was a step ahead since he was his own true character. Wish the following sonic game stories shined through like the Adventure series. Imagine all the ‘ehh’ game stories if they had time and effort in them.
The cool thing about Beta Rouge's design is the concept that her wings were on her arms similar to irl bats than on her back like how you see in her final design.
That would've been really interesting to see if they went with that design and how it would've looked in the final product with the wings on the arms! Thanks for watching :)
@@Eldarin Yeah, I can see why they changed it tho as I can easily see it being a pain to animate. No problem, I enjoyed the video!
It's funny that the early concept art for Shadow and Rouge was very 90's before they finally became more 00's.
Original Shadow looks more like Knuckles. That would be kinda cool to have a shadow version of Knuckles.
A shadow knuckles would be an interesting concept for sure. Thanks for watching!! Also, I checked out your channel and your animations are gorgeous keep up the great work!!
Ankles?
That's Rouge
If there's ever a Knuckles Chaotix 2, my one of my ideas for the story are that the Chaotix track down evil counterparts from Knuckles and a few other characters. Since Sonic, Tails, Amy, Shadow, and many others are busy, they get help from Knuckles. As well Mighty will come back to the team, and they will get the help from Ray. Together they fight against the "Shadow" Knuckles and other "Shadowfied" versions of other characters.
My other idea were the Team Chaotix, Mighty, and Knuckles working together to defeat the Team Hooligan, a band of criminals in Mobius.
the closest we ever got to that is probably Shade from Sonic Chronicles, but we'll probably never see her again which is a shame.
the name “Nails” was definitely meant to be a mirror of Knuckles’ name since they share the same play style, considering the fact that both names are hand accessories that they use to dig with
It could also kinda be a mirror to "Tails", too, since they're both able to fly (and also they both have kart-racer levels)
This is the sort of content growing 30 year olds crave.
Hey thank you! I thought it would be cool delving more into this kinda stuff than more of a typical review style because at this point what more is there really to say about SA1,2 etc ya know?
Im 30 this year
@@nojolie happy early birthday!
Hey hey now, we're still young at heart. Don't put us 30 yos out like that!
ayo chill i just turned 20 !
It's very interesting to see how these two fan-favourites evolved during the time of making the game. That concept art of Shadow could've inspired the creation of Mephiles as both look somewhat similar. Rouge on the other hand doesn't have as much concept art as Shadow but this can be explained by the fact that she was already designed well and unlike Shadow she wasn't created as a same species counterpart.
Thanks so much! And yeah I didn't think of that, Mephiles could've been inspired by shadows concept art especially in how they keep the same relative color palette especially with those Uekawa pieces I showed in the video. I was surprised by Rouge's lack of concept art (that's released to the public at least) but you make a good point in how the designs were relatively similar and streamlined to her final one compared to Shadow's which went all over the place
I mean I think that Mephiles was intented to look like Shadow, so that Sonic and friends would get confused. As well Shadow is the ultimate lifeform so since Mephiles is a god of destruction, he needed to be similar to Shadow
Zimmerg 08 ok well obviously he's a genetic duplicate, he was talking about how prototype shadow (the over designed one) looks like crystal mephiles
Nails the Bat and Terios the Hedgehog were the newcomers in Sonic Adventure 2
imagine if those were the names that stuck lol
I actually kinda like Nails. Kinda reminds me of Knives from Scott Pilgrim
alright alright
who tf decided 'nails' would be a good name?
*W H O 👏 T H E 👏 F U C K 👏*
@@pretzeldragon2975
GIRL I-
@@Eldarin Tails and Nails having similar names would cause _so much confusion._ X^D
Sonic 3 and knuckles is why shadow exists. He was born based off the painting of super sonic in the ruins of angel island which is where gerald got the idea. Thats why he has super sonic's spines, and why people thought he was sonic. Because they know sonic can transform and saw him when he fought perfect chaos. So they thought this dark sonic is just another form of his.
I like how Lara craft prototype rouge was like a punk Laura craft
Thats a good point she does look really similar to the old Laura designs. Nice catch!
Doesn't Croft spell her first name without the U? Like *Lara?*
_-Yes I know I'm nitpicking! Shush!-_ X^D
@@ChaosRayZero im not a big tomb raider fan
@@razminfox1787 Me either. _I don't know why I knew how her name was spelled._
Hard to believe some people prefer the beta designs for Shadow. I always liked how Shadow had his quills done like Super Sonic in his base form to indicate superiority. His final design actually makes me believe Sonic could be mistaken to be Shadow because at this point Sonic has had 2 separate transformations that caused his quills to spike up (this was before Hyper Sonic was struck from canon). His beta designs also pictured him with a sword which just makes them look even worse to me. I'm glad we got the final Shadow design like this and I could say the same for Rouge.
I LOVE shadows final design and I feel he may have not had the same impact in the franchise if he looked like the concept art. That's a really good point about how is quills were done by super sonic, I never thought of it like that but it makes complete sense now. Interesting! also lol imagine shadow running around with a sword...hope you enjoyed! :)
@@Eldarin I definitely enjoyed the video thanks, also we have Lancelot who actually came out in speed battle like yesterday lmaooo.
@@polyman6859 great, im glad to hear! and oh god im gonna have to play it more...earlier this year I was ADDICTED to that game and then got Excaliber sonic and now I need to pick it up again hahaha. I was really impressed with how fun speed battle is also
I love the low Polly model for shadow in sa2. It’s my favorite, next to the rush models.
@@brodino1590 Shadow's sa2 model and skating animations are very neat.
If Knuckles is the Piccolo of the Sonic-verse, Shadow is its Vegeta.
oh 100%
Ah yes, Double Vegeta Mickey Mouse
Not exactly Shadow's final design, but the actual cut scenes Shadow model, with unkempt quills and folded ears (yes, in cut scenes his ear tips bend forward) as well as his healthy look suggest that he is a character that went through a lot in a short amount of time.
This vid was so good! Yeah I agree that it’s a shame that there isn’t more rouge info out there but your analysis was still awesome!!
thank u sm
I said it once and I’ll gladly say it again- WE DIDN’T DESERVE Shiro Maekawa. What a legend
Amen to that!
Indeed we didn't.
He kinda ruined the franchise abit.
He’s the GOAT
That infinite edit is amazing
thank you so much! im happy to hear you found it funny :)
i like rouge and knuckles dynamic as he was stated to be shy around women, while rouge literally has a massive heart on her chest
Really enjoying these short little dives into the hyper-specific topics. Great work!
thanks so much im really happy to hear your enjoying the new form of videos, stay tuned! :)
Back when i was a kid playing Adventure 2 i didn't believe that Rouge was a bat as the cutscenes say because of her wings are more dragon wings that are on her back rather than a true bat that has it's wings be a thin membrane that connects its extended pinky finger to its feet
I think this is great. Rouge is a dragon now.
@@quonit37 "Yaw a GIRL dragon!"
...that would actually fit really well w/ her obsession w/ jewels, tbh :O @@quonit37
3:46 i just love this design of Terios, he just looks so menacing lol. his pose reminds me of frieza
thank you for being one of the few Sonic youtubers who don't talk about Sonic games other then the game your reviewing/talking about, its always so jarring to see someone talk crap about 06/about how Sonic sucks now/how bad Sonic boom is/how SA1 and SA2 have not age well/how Sonic was never good in a video thats not about these games.
It was a great honor for Rouge and Shadow to make their debut in SA2, which has a spectacular story. Just compare it to Sonic Forces. Infinite looks so cool and his ability had much possibilities, but he isn't remembered as much as Shadow.
Shadow had a complicated past yet he 'grew up' as a hero, saving everyone. Though his motive for revenge was hard to understand or relate for us(I think this is why we tend to think he's an edgelord etc.), he changed in a good way. At the start, he was arrogant. In the end, he was caring. He even took Biolizard himself to let Sonic and Knuckles pass. While fighting the Final Hazard, Shadow says Sonic might be the ultimate life form, accepting him as a true rival but also acknowledging his capability. He sacrificed himself to save everyone. It was surely impressive and moving to many of us.
Rouge also grew up, you can find it in the staff role scene. She murmured little pay for too much work, but in the end she says she got something better than jewels, looking at Shadow's limiters. At first, she was only a spy to investigate Shadow, but she came to worry about him as she found more information. She learned how to express gratitude(when she gave Knuckles the pieces of Master Emerald), and worry about someone else other than herself(when she told Shadow about Project Shadow).
Since the game had a well-weaved storyline, those two characters were appealing and attractive to us. I really love how Shadow and Rouge still get along since SA2. Because that means the whole storyline from SA2 was not only impactful but also very fascinating and well structured. This is why my favorite characters are Shadow and Rouge, and why I love SA2. Other than the story, the voice actors of those two were very fitting(though I agree that Rouge's voice at that time would not very much fit in the modern Sonic games). That really helped with appreciating the cutscenes.
I thought her voice was alright.
The more I learn about Shiero Maekawa the more I like him.
He's stated once that he'd be interested in writing for Sonic again, but they just aren't interested. A lot of the reason why he was bogged down over time had to do with Sonic 06, sense the game reached poor perception they decided it was the writers and artists fault (the people that were being overworked to finish the game), rather than. The people who rushed the game. so pretty much all the artists were let go or moved to lower and lower positions until they were forced to quit. Not many have spoken publicly about that but if you follow it and look into it, that definitely seems to be the case.
I'd love to see Maekawa return for the upcoming sonic games, while I don't think its realistic I'd love to see it happen. It's ashame as if it was released as Sonic 2007 and another run through/edit of the story happened, he would probably still be here today and 06 would have a whole different opinion on it. Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed!
The "servant" part of boku is interesting. Thinking about it from the perspective of how he first presents himself to Eggman. He says that he will grant him 1 wish, like a genie freed from a bottle. However, like with a genie in a proverb, you should be careful what you wish for, even if you think the genie is serving you.
That's a really good assessment/analysis of that line. Thanks for watching!
Shadow's first designs straight up look like fanmade Sonic OCs, especially the whole missing eye thing. glad they didn't keep much from those lol
I agree lol, his final design is perfect, I do hope if we get remakes that they give us unlockable skins that bring these concepts to life in the 3D realm though, just to see how it wouldve translated
Shadow's concept art looks like Sonic's edgier, older brother while Rouge's concept art looks like Amy's older, edgier sister. XD
They edgy twins lmaoo, thanks for watching!
the definitions of shadow are insanely perfect to describing Shadow 🤯 i cant think of any character in any media with a more perfectly fitting name
I 100% agree they really hit it out of the park on every aspect with him in SA2
Great video dude! some of the OG shadow designed were super wild - it kind of makes sense how the military would've mistaken him for sonic... less so with his final design.
Hey thank you so much I really appreciate it! Shadow's OG designs are crazy! I wonder how they would've translated to 3D though as shadows final was a pretty accurate translation in my opinion
Yeah it wouldve been pretty interesting to see some cutscenes with them! Though i do think they went with the best design in the end xD
I absolutely love these two, with Shadow being my second fav character (2nd to Cream) and one of the main reasons I got into the franchise in the first place! Rouge is also super underrated!
And fun fact, Shadow's color scheme, stripe pattern, and pointer quils make him look a whole lot like a black tenrec, also known as the "lesser hedgehog" or "false hedgehog". I honestly wonder if that was inspiration for his current desgin, or just an odd coincidence. But that makes me kinda wish he really was one (however, we do get a tenrec in the comics, and she's a parallel to silver, named gold).
AYYY A CREAM FAN! YES!!!! I have a really soft spot for Cream since Sonic Advance 3 and the Advance series period was one of my first video games ever (and theyre awesome games)! Thats a really interesting fact about Shadow thank you for sharing :D and with Rouge I agree since the soft Pontac reboot with Colors it feels her whole character has been boiled down to nothing which is unfortunate because she is awesome in this game!
My own personal theory that I've had for a while was that Maekawa probably only knew shadow conceptually as a darker sonic and only saw the prototype designs when writing him. With this idea in mind it would make sense why Sonic gets confused with Shadow and arrested. And when looking at the story boards this idea sorta adds up seeing as he's drawn as a darker Sonic (or this is just me looking too deep into things)
Excellent point that would make alot of sense! It would be a classic SEGA move to give the guy only the concept without any word on the actual design lol. He did a great job... and awesome analysis of the situation there!
@@Eldarin @Eldarin thanks lol, also great video didn't know alot of the background info regarding the characters.
I may be wrong about this but I've heard that in the Japanese version of SA2 the GUN agency actually knows it's Shadow but tries to frame Sonic in order to hide Shadow and the old events of the space colony from the public
@@nikolaradulovic5283 That's interesting, have to listen to the transcribed Japanese dialogue to get a better context, nonetheless a good thing to consider.
@@nikolaradulovic5283 I never heard that as "in the Japanese version." I've heard that particular explanation of the events, yes, but *I always heard everyone say it was a fan-theory/headcanon.*
Then again, I don't speak Japanese, and I've never looked up fan translations of the game's actual Japanese dialogue before either.
Rouge and Shadow have such a great friendship that I didn’t see them as shipped as others, that i feel they should get dived into more.
Looking at concept arts is cool .
I think shadow with a missing eye would be cooler .
And it's great that Tails was in the game because he was a real hero there
I didn’t recall seeing SA2 concept designs! What a cool video 😄 I adored the SA1 art, as it’s my favorite sonic game, but seeing the creators thoughts on Shadow really wanted me to give SA2 a play through.
Thanks so much it really means alot to hear you enjoyed the video! I know right SA2's development is so interesting especially when hearing from the devs :)
@@Eldarin it is! I love seeing behind the scenes of these classic games. Seeing the development process is encouraging for my own creations as well. Keep youtubin’!
Someone posted the Nails the Bat artwork on Facebook a while ago. I developed from it this whole backstory about how she was an Alabama gal who dreamed of making it big in Nashville. And I want to see this developed in some form!!
Man am I glad I found you
great content dude, keep it up!
Hey thanks so much! Welcome and I hope you enjoy the content😺
dear people saying shadow shouldnt use guns or know how to operate vehicles
hes a military weapon/unit what compitent military doesnt allow its units to use guns
modern knuckles confirmed to be able to go super in sonic chronicles it was stated in the thingy about the chaos emeralds
Always wondered if that older design of Rouge was carried into that bat in Daigasso Band Brothers,
Would be nice to say Nintendo copied Sega for once.
I know right?!? That’s also interesting as I could totally see the old Rouge design being inspiration for the girl in Daigasso Band Brothers...good catch on that!
Reading all the comments on this video and seeing everyone respect Shadow and the Story writer of SA2 is giving me a happy, yet melancholy feeling.
•́ ‿ ,•̀
As characters introduced in the game, the designs of these two characters really embody the atmosphere of SA2.
I 100% agree! Thanks for watching
Great videos man, this channel will definitely blow up and I will be there to see all the greatness this channel has to offer 😊
aw thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it. Buckle in for the ride!
Great video! Love anyone who gives the franchise attention matched with good research. Instant subscription. Keep up the good work!
Hey! Thanks so much really means alot to hear that! Stay tuned as I have some new stuff coming very soon :)
Something that I really like about shadow's design, although it might of not been intentional seeing his Early designs is the fact he resembles the hedgehog depicted in Sonic 3's altar when you fight against Knuckles, and this actually makes a lot of sense for the story, seeing as this not only gives shadow more of a connection towards Sonic but it also makes sense with how Gerald robotnik designed the insides of the Arc based on the master emerald altar to use the chaos emerald's power, it's almost as if Shadow was directly based on that, as we know that Gerald also knew about the master emerald altar.
Now that we think about it, Boom Shadow would look cool with a scar on one side of his face and an eyepatch on his non-scarred part
It certainly would be an interesting take on his design! His Boom design just looks weird to me for some reason although I do like everyone else's designs even Sonics lol
@@Eldarin And yet he'd still be just some grouchy jerk in that universe! I learned to tolerate Shadow in the main universe, but Boom Shadow is just a huge jerk because he wants to be.
I find it super ironic that Shadow, a character originally created to serve as a villain, eventually grew into more of a lawful good hero than Sonic ever was. Mind you, this isn't me criticising it, I just find it super funny that an originally antagonistic character wound up having a more heroic personality than the literal hero of the series. lol.
we must somehow bring maekawa back please for great stories and of course shadow and rouge in twitter we have this #Maekawa4Sonic in order to bring him back i hope sega sees this hashtag and please do the hashtag in youtube too maybe sega sees you
in term of sonic heroic things he just a guy that LOVE adventure nothing more nothing less he just help others on adventure
Yeah shadow in the SA2-06 era had an awesome character arc imo. Solely focusing on SA2 though, I think that's what made him so likeable as although shadow isnt a true "evil" person he is just trying to do what he thinks is the right thing and as the story continues to evolve, we see he is actually very similar deep down to sonic and his view of "right" was just misguided (in being a good person and doing the right thing). That was my takeaway at least!
amen!
Perhaps the appeal lies with how Sonic's type of heroism contrasts with Shadow's. Sonic is a daredevil adventure loving wild card that will always do the right thing but has fun and appears childish while doing it. Sonic is the upbeat, always shining, never say die character that western culture paints a hero should be. Shadow on the other hand represents what heroes really are. Heroes do what's needed to be done, they are conflicted, damaged, psychologically troubled and burdened. There's a reason Shadow's 06 story is the best of the trio, it's more compelling cuz Shadow has much more to lose than simply not saving the world he's going to be hunted and his loved ones (Rouge and Omega) taken from him...again! Yet he chose to still press onward and "fight like I alway have" Which is alot more compelling than saving a princess in my opinion.
but why never answered the most demanding question: Why the huge badonkers?
Ballast to keep her level when she flies?
wow so glad i found (i mean pop up in my recommendations) your channel, this video was super well done !! cant wait for future videos :D
Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy what’s to come :)
Awesome stuff!! Really enjoyed learning more about my favourite Sonic game! :)
This video got me hooked to your channel! You are so underrated, (like jeez only 720?!) Your videos scream quality and I can't wait for more videos! Keep up the great work! 👍
It makes my day hearing this! Thanks so much and also I love your profile picture that's such a cool drawing of Super Shadow. Hope you enjoy the videos to come!
I'm glad I actually watched the whole video before commenting, as I was almost going to mention the idea of only half of the playable characters being playable at first only to hear you say thay same thing. What I do want to mention is that most of your audio of the game seems to be in mono for some reason; I find it really distracting while wearing headphones, but it’s not a big deal, and this video is otherwise great.
EDIT: What I find interesting about the design for Shadow shown at 3:29 is that it's clearly based off Metal Sonic, which makes me wonder if Shadow's backstory was different at some point; maybe he was meant to be a new, improved model of Metal Sonic, a la Neo Metal Sonic from Heroes, or even the basis of Metal. Either way, if this is true, it's possible that was the original version of that design, and the one on the bottom left was actually an updated version to accommodate for his new backstory by dropping any resemblance of Metal.
I appreciate the feedback on the audio, I'll certainly work on that for the future. I personally recorded the cutscenes so it must be something to do with my game recording software(thanks nvidia shadowplay lol). Thanks for watching!!
See SA2 I click💯
a person of culture I see... thanks for watching!
well I learn something today Never knew Shadow & Rouge had different content art from now
Do you prefer the originals or the final?
@@Eldarin Shadow & Rouge’s look amazing as it is, hopefully Sega brings back one of shadow’s Older content art design to make a into a character in a future Sonic game
I agree! What i really want to see and honestly surprised they haven’t capitalized on this in past games is unlockable skins like say crash 4. Would be a cool way of doing fan service and lets them put in rather obscure designs that may have never seen the light of day in 3D before
I wish Shadow had a scar still. Imagine how cool that would look when he went Super....
_T_ *H*_ I_ *S* _I_ *S* _W_ *H* _O_ *I* _A_ *M*
too edgy... I'm surprised they managed even edgier designs and went with the least edgy
@@icarue993 Its kind of sad that most times the writers are making shadow really seem edgy when he isnt supposed to be "edgy" at all. :/
Edit: nvm I think the scar is fine but I'm good with how shadow looks lmao.
My headcanon: Shadow has a scar- _his fur just grows over it so you can't see it!_ X^D
Serious response though: If you like scars, have you tried looking for pictures of Scourge The Hedgehog from the Archie comics? It's a chest wound instead of a face wound though...
5:47 Don’t worry, Infinite. I will make you better.
Great video, never knew Shadow and Rouge had such a complicated history!
Nails the Bat would've been a hilarious name for her, but seeing how her design eventually turned out, it might've been for the better that they changed it to avoid people making inappropiate "nail" jokes...
Great video! Interesting to know the 'behind the scenes' with these characters, had no idea they had so many sketches, must been difficult for the development team back then. Makes me appreciate these designs more
Hey thanks so much for the kind words! I agree looking at the development of these games and characters has really put a whole different appreciation for them in my eyes
8:32 sky rail is really beautiful always. Reminds me of the fall. The pumpkins Shadow and Rouge are so Halloween-esque My favorite.
"Ore" is the rude boisterous counterpart to "Boku"
Ore wa
Boku no
I didn't know that! Thanks so much for the added info on that as thats really interesting to me. Thanks for watching :)
SA2 is imo the objective best sonic game (tho 06 is my personal :0), and I think the design, story, and music of this game are fantastic! I feel that tails' and knuckles' (and their counterparts') gameplay style help add the exploration and methodical traditional platforming to the game which are missing from sonic's stages. They are just as fun as sonic's levels imo. A lot of people don't like them, and I didn't the first time around, but every subsequent playthrough they get better and better (and I've played it about 20 times at this point XD). I really hope sega can truly embrace this iteration of sonic and build upon it in the future! I would like to see less linear stages ala Sonic adventure 1 return at the very least.
Yeah I was in the same boat as I am currently 100%ing SA2 right now and on first runs on the story missions the mechs can feel somewhat clunky but as you start using them more and see the idiosyncrasies of it, its incredibly smooth and responsive. I was INCREDIBLY impressed by Eggman's stages, theyre so fun! I was in the camp that SA1 knuckles stages were better but now actually playing both sides there's absolutely no contest as I am in LOVE with Rouge stages..
@@Eldarin how does the music for these stages make play it more like how you feel when you hear the music in sa2
and when p-06 project is FULLY finished for pc play it more
I remember I recall some artwork of a bat in Tyson Tan's work. He drew a really lovely and super cute anthro bat with wings on her sides. (The artist is responsible for drawing the characters from the game freedom planet I think, which was a game heavily influenced with a sonic-y feel. Correct me if wrong... ). But her clothes was designed to allow her wings to be present. So it had a cut on the sides to do so.. Imagine how Rouge's design would look if they kept her wings like that. Would be kinda interesting. As for Shadow I honestly found his design scary when I was younger but then became very redeeming to the end when he sacrificed himself. After that his design remained very iconic. So it was kinda off-putting to see his beta designs xD
That alternate Rouge skin is making me question things...
Awesome video!
lmao, and thanks so much really happy you enjoyed it :)
Great Video Man! Hope to see more like it, keep up the good work!
I really appreciate it thank you! Stay tuned for more
Bruh i just found your channel and I love it, You’re personality and content is amazing hopefully more great comes to you. ❤️
Awesome vid, loved it
ay thank you for watching! thats awesome you enjoyed the video, it makes me happy to hear
Super great vid.
I honestly can't wait to see your channel grow man
Thank you so much it really means a lot to hear that. Hope you enjoy what’s to come!
I love this kind of trivia, to think the story got that overhaul in the middle of development and still came out as solid as it did
You did good Shiro, You did good
Shiro is the man we need but don't deserve..happy to hear you enjoyed the video!
Great video! Honestly some of the Rouge concept art looked like Amy!
Thank you :) and now that you say that I totally see it... her art does look like Amy! Great eye!
@@Eldarin thanks!
Amazing video dude! I love SA2 and it's amazing to think of what we could've had if different decisions were made.
I agree! So much crazy stuff that could've happened to an already crazy game lol! Also I saw your profile pic and Mario 64 is a fantastic game (shocker to literally no one) I just played it for the first time with the 3DAS collection on Switch and it was some of the most fun I had in a video game. Completely off topic I know but thought you'd get a kick out of a "new" 64 fan hahaha
When I was a kid, and saw this games trailer on sonic mega collection, I thought his name was Turbo
_my name is Turbo the Hedgehog...and to the people of this planet...I promise you _*_REVENGE!_*
4:37 Honestly, I kind of like these 2 concept designs....Maybe even more then the actual one. The more realistic bat wings which are tucked in rather then sticking out, the combed to the side hair, the footwear, the thinner legs, shorts instead of leggings and the more covered chest. It looks more cool while still keeping that glamorous side of her with the hair and also the eyelashes & earring. And you cannot deny that this design is less sexualised then the final design. I know some people say that it’s odd to say that about a cartoon anthropomorphic bat, but come on, Rouge is a bit more “OUT THERE” then most Sonic characters.
I like the final design, but this one I might like even more. Alternative Universe Rouge design (like the Boom Universe), this is what I’d go with
this video was amazing man, absolutely amazing analysis.
Hey thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed the video, means alot hearing such kind words
@@Eldarin
:)
I literally cannot believe that you only have about 2k subs and just started about 6 months ago. The quality of your videos is insane. Instantly subbed. This scenario reminds me of The Game Apologist. He just suddenly existed and it was amazing. I hope you get the recognition and success that this type of stuff warrants.
Hey thanks so much this really made my night reading this, it means a lot for such kind words. I know how cheesy it sounds, but I have a lot of passion for this franchise and just being able to talk about sonic and have open discussions that don’t just devolve into “gaem = good or bad” makes me so happy to see. Thanks for the watch and sub and hope you enjoy the ride!
@@Eldarin I relate to that very much! I have a lot to say about Sonic. I am so glad that you are brave enough to share this for everyone to see. Also, don't be afraid to make content about other franchises. I know that some people are scared that their audience won't like the rest of their content, but we are fans of YOU, not just Sonic. Have a great day, mate. I am so glad that I could improve your day!
8:49 also in "the trail" sonic has his classic shoes! instead of soap shoes.
"To compare to or shine on"
So they literally have a verb that kind of encompasses "to be a foil to"? Right down to the implication of making things shine (like the metaphorical jewel placed on top of the foil)? Fucking neat! I love languages
I agree its so cool! Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed :)
Another SA2 appreciator bless you friend
Bless you too my friend! Thanks for watching :)
Part of me wish they still used the old "mouthless" Shadow design with the red eye for something.
It would be interesting! I really hope if we ever get remakes they add a skin select for the characters similar to crash 4’s so we can have these concept designs brought to life in the 3D realm. Thanks for watching!
@@Eldarin No problem. Thanks for making the video.
Looking at Rouge’s concept art, I don't see shorts and a tank top, i see a one piece 80s/early-90s style workout outfit with a belt
Legit need a Rouge tomb raiding spin off lol
That would be so awesome! Having a linear adventure(not like the sub series lol) like game would be cool as heck
Awesome Video
Awesome video dude, and we could do with Shiro Maekawa coming back, now that Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (Pontac and Graff) have been given their marching orders to try and give Sonic stories abit of credibility back
9:19
(me from 2001) Tails not being playable in Sonic game, no way would that happen!
(me in 2021) I miss Tails being playable....
Hey thanks so much man, hope your doing well! I'd love to see Maekawa come back as I feel he would steer the franchise back onto what made it awesome imo and you had me laughing quite hard at the Tweedle Dum and Dee analogy to Pontac and Graff
It's weird to think of Shadow as a "boku" character, he feels more like an "ore" one. The ore pronoun is often used by tough independent males who exert confidence, but boku actually makes sense for him given his relationship with Maria and willingness to cooperate with others.
It's an interesting thing to think about. Shadow comes across as an "ore" character at face value and to many people, they can only see him as an "ore" character (like the Colors/Boom era writers) when they're missing all the nuance that comes from him actually being a "boku" character. People seem to confuse his introverted personality for him being a loner with no regard for anyone else, when he has always worked best in a team and genuinely values the people he builds relationships with. The Shadow in the colors era is not the same Shadow who would almost destroy the world for his best friend and end up saving it for the same person. He's not an arrogant, self-absorbed narcissist who thinks he's the greatest being to ever live. The guy goes as far as to put Sonic above him in the finale of SA2 and goes as far as to stand strong with his friends rather than turn on them when he finds out they'd turn on him in the future in Sonic 06.
Sorry for going on a tanget, the whole "boku" vs "ore" thing really gave me a new and perfect analogy to help explain Shadow's true character which I really enjoyed elaborating on.
The people designing Shadow must've REALLY wanted him to be missing an eye; out of all the concept arts of him, that's the one injury that's consistently there on most of the pictures (I've seen some of the ones w/ the cape be interpreted as him missing an arm, as well).
Dude your videos never dissapoint.
thank you so much! it means alot to hear you guys are enjoying them :)
@@Eldarin No problem dude! :)
I had always heard that Rouge was created by Dawn Best, in a contest SEGA held to create a new character.
Anyone notice that rogue has the skull shape of an applehead chihuahua?
LMAO I laughed too hard at this, now I can’t unsee it hahahaha
Lol
Apparently in the Archie comics series, anthro-animals in Sonic's world can breed with other "species" of anthro-animals. Maybe she's part chihuahua on her father's side or something.
i like that his scar makes him very Wolf O'Donnell pilled. i think Keanu Reeves suits Shadow super duper well
bro trying to slide past saying wolf o'donnell pilled
After watching the other most recent SA2, I watched a few others, and I have to say, this is actually pretty solid content my dude. I’m quite surprised. This is very informative, and interesting. Keep this up, I’m sure once people find this channel they’ll like it! I’d love to see more.
Thank you so much and welcome aboard! More is on the way dont worry! I am also doing other games than just the Sonic franchise (obvious key focus though dw) so if you have any suggestions I'll 100% take a look!
@@Eldarin I'm a big Sonic fan, and while I have many other interests, but they're not the most interesting to discuss. And games I like, like Hollow Knight have had almost all content already stated. But yeah, I'll be excited to see the other things!
2:58
Wow, I’m getting some serious Infinite vibes from that one in the bottom-middle
I agree! I wouldn’t have been surprised they went into the vault and took some of these Shadow concepts to base infinite off of. Certainly an interesting topic to think about
It wouldn't be the first time old art got used to inspire a new character concept.
For starters, *Vector The Crocodile* is actually a scrapped character from Sonic's original 1991 game. (He was gonna be the keyboardist in Sonic's rock band: sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Band )
"great story" [citation needed]
Underrated TH-camr
Thank you so much, it seriously means a lot to hear that :D
I love shadow, I met him when I was 9 and I fell in love with him for everything, the design, the history, the personality hard on the outside but soft on the inside, now I'm 22 and my love for him is not even a little,faltered I can say with certainty that I follow the series only for him and the dark team, I also buy only the games in which shadow appears if there is no shadow in a game I do not buy it, hahaha
Aw thats so sweet, thanks for sharing as it really made my day reading that! Shadow is such an awesome and well written character in my opinion. Hopefully we get more of him this upcoming year with the new games...one thing I have always wanted was Shadow in a advance like 2D game for some reason lol
@@Eldarin I would really like it if they did a tv series or a game where the dark team does GUN missions, it would be interesting for me
That would be amazing! Also that piece from the sonic Twitter (sonic channel or whatever they call it nowadays) is so awesome with shadow and Maria!
WOW, Thank God that the algorithm put this video for me. Wow, where have you been all this time? Haha, love your channel and your content, you totally earned a subscriber. Keep going, man, peace ✌🏻
Thanks so much and welcome aboard! im so happy to hear you are enjoying the content! stay tuned for more ^_^
Damn this was one of the last times illzuka was competent 😔👊
id love to see what goes through that guys mind on a daily basis...so many crazy good and bad ideas he's had
Iizuka can be a great director, but SEGA of America keeps screwing him over
Shadow The Hedgehog (Game) is so much better in the japanese script
@@hugoflores1093 no actually, he can be a great director, but since things he did shows that he is incompetent. Look at Splash Dashes video on sonic boom.
@@jefferysmith6740
You mean LS Mark?
@@SteveCrafts2k yeah, that’s his friend
The memories I got from watching this…thank you🥲
For nearly 600 subs this channel higher quality then some youtubers with 10k so props
Thanks so much I really appreciate the kind words!! Also, great taste...Die Lit is one of my favorite albums!!!
I find it curious how Shadow's concept versions look a lot like Scourge the hedgehog and even Infinite. I figure the Scourge comparison is just coincidental, but I wonder if Sega dug up this old concept art for Shadow when they were trying to make Infinite. Specifically the gray one with the white tipped quills and the red eyes. Fuse that with the one beside it with the one red eye, and then put a mask on it, and it really gives me Infinite vibes.
That is a very good point! That is a very plausible idea about Infinite as they did the same with Blaze originally since her concept art was based off of Shadow. I hope they start to drop all the stuff about Forces because I am genuinely curious as to what happened during development in that game