Shadow the Hedgehog’s TRUE Identity - The Story You Never Knew | Treesicle 

Hope you liked our take on Shadow! Since Spring is finally here, I'd like to know what your favorite OUTDOOR activity is. I know we're super nerds and don't go outside very often (or maybe that's just me...) but I'm sure there's SOMETHING you like to do outside! For mine, I'm gonna pick...walking in nature :3

Unpopular opinion here: I loved shadow the hedgehog the game

"Sometimes, a hedgehog just needs a gun."

I feel bad for Shadow. Not remembering who you are almost all your life and being haunted by your friend's death must take a toll on life.

Fun fact: he doesn't age. Shadow. Being the "ultimate lifeform" physically stays at his prime, as seen in Archie Comics

Adult gamers: waaah! This game is so bad! Kid gamers: Shadow is so epic!

Wouldn't it be a dream come true if Sega announced a game with shadow as the main character and a lot of other sonic characters and the story had depth, was well thought out, and was actually a great game?

I've gotten a lot of flack over Shadow being my favorite Sonic character, because he's the 'edge lord'. Honestly, I adore anti-heros, because of the struggle they face, and the fact that they can be both good and bad, at the same time. Villians and heros are one dimensional, but, anti-heros feel real. That's why I fell in love with Shadows character. Thank you, Treesicle. Hopefully, others will see him for more than a black and red 'edgy version of Sonic' with this video, and understand his character more.

Shadow:"Im the prince of all hedgehogs!!!"lol

Insert Obligatory "Where's that fourth damn chaos emerald!?!" meme here.

I really think that - and hear me out on this one - they should make a new Shadow the Hedgehog game.

Shadow the Hedgehog: The Game was ahead of its time.

I agree it's pointless for shadow to have a motorcycle but come on it's amazing

I like Shadow, IMO he is a metaphor for people who are confused about who they are. He is a character that is nice and friendly but then loses someone really close and watches die infront of him just because people were afraid of a project. G.U.N. barge in the Ark and ruthlessly kill everyone there, except Shadow, who gets sent to Earth. After this he grows a hate to mankind and plans for justice. But deep down, he is still has a big heart but is confused by what he went through and his hatered perspective of mankind, from those good and bad. He then decides to protect the Earth after remembering Maria's last words but theh suffers from amnesia. When he reawakens, he doesn't know whether he is an Android or the real Shadow, which puts him on the journey to find out who/what he is. He then is told of his promise with Doom and plans to keep this promise, if he is told his past. during the journey he finds out more about himself and what happened but still continues his mission. When the mission is complete and he is betrayed, he finds out that he is made from Doom's blood but was also created to save the world. After saving the world, he then lets go of his past and moves on After getting involved in an incident with Eggman, he finds out that humanity fears him and is doomed to be perceived as a villian, he even finds out that he is even betrayed by his friend Omega. But even with all of this he doesn't let this get to him, he decides, quote, " If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have". This is Shadow. He may seem nasty, cold-hearted, edgy and all because of his past but he is actually kind underneath all of that. He has matured who he is and won't let anyone change him. He helps the world out in the shadows and doesn't really care for anything else but he is in his own way a hero.

I actually enjoyed the Shadow the Hedgehog game. One of my favorite games for the gamecube when i was young

If the world chooses to become my enemy, i will fight like I always had! -Shadow The Hedgehog :)

Sonic isn't a one dimensional character. He forces himself to keep a positive outlook because he knows the effect he has on his friends. If he ever gave up or broke down his friends would do the same. Therefore, he always stays happy and upbeat.

I don't think that Shadow the hedgehog the game was so awful. The multiple endings are coherent, as it is a choose your own adventure type of trip. And he is all of him LOL

I'm liking this streak of Sonic content Edit: just to point out that Shadow is the reason that got me into the Sonic franchise

I'm very excited to see him in Sonic The Movie 3.

Shadow wasnt completely alone. Rouge is the closest thing he has to a friend. Back to both of their introductions, he saved her in Adventure Battle 2 when he got a flash back of Maria, in a way reflecting having the same kind of compassion for Rouge as he had with Maria. And their relationship develops in Sonic Heroes, and from what I remember in Shadow's game she was the one most concerned with his safety. I really would like them to develop both of their characters since they both have been somewhat anti-heroes (before we knew Rouge was an undercover agent). But even so she still has a selfish side to her about treasure and what not. They are both the most interesting characters in the Sonic series to me, and if you couldn't tell: my favorites. :P

None of this was ever a secret, through each of the three games we see him evolve into the more perfect version of himself. Shadow went from just a vengeful perfect lifeform to one that sacrificed himself to defeat gerald robotniks monstrosity on the colony arc. Fighting harder than even Super Sonic as he gets pulled to earth and assumed dead. Then he wakes up with no memories and has lost all hate filled revenge persona as now he tries to reclaim another aspect he has lost of himself, his memories. And with ten different endings we get the perfect way to see how a fragmented being could react. With G.U.N.S. trying to kill him, it would be easy for him to join the invaders. With Robotnik trying to use him by claiming he's just a robot of the actual Shadow who died saving the ARK, you get ptsd of finding out your just a clone and should you just blindly serve him, or take over? With Devil Doom promising to give him his memories back and claiming to be his biological father we get daddy issues and memory lose (even more so). Now there are good people in each point that generally try to pick him up and put him back on track however an invasion doesn't give alot of talk time. So each way we see a soak sponged shell of a hedgehog reacted to his chaotic environment. In the end though being around Sonic enough along with many others (notably Rouge) to find enough of his own core values and interest to stand up and defend the planet against the invaders. Despite the military trying to kill him, Robotnik's army of his clones trying to do the same and his own biological father trying the same thing. Each wanted to control him, use him as a pawn, or out of fear try to outright end him for transgressions of the past he isn't aware of anymore. He fights back against everything that opposes him, while not trying to do what he views is the right thing. Normal people tend to be crushed under such burdens but Shadow didn't. He then learns he isn't a clone, he is the real deal and Gerald Robotnik planned to betray Devil Doom after he got what he needed from him. He just didn't count on G.U.N.'s invasion and Maria's death. Now saving the world a second time he has said good bye to his former self that wanted revenge and his past. He now looks to the future not chain to pass transgressions and joins the military with Rouge as a active counter measure against things that threaten the planet. In '06 (another fantastic story telling game like Shadow the Hedgehog), Shadow fights alongside Sonic and this time traveler known as Silver. where he inadvertly teachs him alittle bit of chaos control and sets him on the path to learn the truth of whats going on and to quit blindly following what others tell you to do. Thus leading Silver on the path to the truth about what destroyed the world in his time. Shadow and Silver then comes across a entity that goes about trying to kill the world. Shadow stops him but his image gets copied by the creature and it causes enough chaos that even though it was trapped in the future now. It tries to get Shadow to help him destroy the world by showing him that eventrually his own military turned on him and although he fought back he was sealed again in a contained frozen state as punishment. Shadow then brings up that he works with the current people in the world right now and he will fight against anyone or anything that turns on him. So if the governments did try to kill him he will fight against them all. So here we learn that Shadow truly is only acting on his own moral decisions and doesn't care what he is labeled as. He defeats the creature again this time removing his limiters to destroy all the clones that are spawning to kill him and his other friends. He then meets up with Sonic and Silver and attack the entity of the Imblis Trigger with all three going to super forms to fight it on three different fronts across all of time and space. This whole game brought Shadow to the closest version of himself to date. One that tries to do good but isn't blinded by or manipulated by others intentions. If that path brings him against the world, so be it. If that makes him idolized by the world like Sonic is, then so be it. However he is always himself first and foremost, no matter what gets in his way. Rather he has to be cruel or kind to do so, he simply is Shadow the Hedgehog.

I honestly liked the concept of multiple “false” endings. Beat the game once, your friend beats it and you talk about the different endings, see different points of view and play it again with a new mind set, getting the ‘truth’ at the very end

Shadow is basically the batman of sonic universe

"Is shadow an android? The answer is no, I found that out over the phone." An Android phone!

His true identity maybe it's in the computer room

"Maybe in the future Shadow can make things more realistic?" Wait til you see him in Sonic Boom😂😂😂

Who's here after watching the end of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie? 👀🦔💙

Each playthrough has you start off in Westopolis because Shadow's game has a big focus on the butterfly effect where you start out from square 1 and your choices throughout the game shape the story and ending. Visual novels are known for doing this. I didn't mind replaying Westopolis 10 times because I knew that I had the power to decide the other 5 levels of my playthough. :P

I would definitely say Shadow is a good guy now, though not quite as clear cut as Sonic. The hero story of Shadow seems to be the "most" canon, with the last story being true canon. I would say Sonic and Shadow's perspective on morality are a little more alike though, Sonic does what he wants and what he believes is right and wont stop to argue and consider the other person's position/give a shit, this is just a lot more obvious with Shadow's more pessimistic nature. Though a thing that bothers me about Shadow the hedgehog is that it seems to contradict Sonic Heroes, Sonic Heroes showed Shadow gaining a friendship with Rouge and Omega and he doesn't seem quite as harsh as he did in the very beginning of ShTH.

This video going to gain a lot of views for information about shadow after seeing him in the end credits scene in sonic 2. I look forward to Sonic 3!

I remember about 10 years ago when I first saw Shadow The Hedgehog. I didn’t know it then, but that was my sexual awakening.

I hoping Sonic Forces is the true return of Shadow. The world seems a lot more desolate and less bright, so it would be perfect to bring back Shadow

Sometimes a hedgehog needs a gun. -Grant from Treesicle 2017

Oh my gosh I LOVED THIS VIDEO!!! You hit the nail on the head. Truer words could NOT have been spoken. Shadow has always been my favorite character in the series and was extremely interesting in the first few games he was in, and it was SUCH a diservice that he got shafted for being "too gritty and edgy" in favor of the classic, good feeling Sonic games of today. Like, Sonic Colors, Generations, and Mania are all great games, but as for story and characters? Not as interesting. I totally agree with everything you said.

*CAN YOU SEE ALL OF ME WALK INTO MY MYSTERY*

Fun fact The Japanese SA2 strategy guide says that shadow was created a week before G.U.N took down the ark

seeing this video makes me really want a shadow the hedgehog remake

Shadow remembers me vegeta

Serious question tho: Where’s that DAMN fourth chaos emerald?!

9:50 Shadow is France and that's the story you never knew!

I absolutely love this video. I've never seen someone analyze the game in this way and... it makes a lot of sense, actually! Starting to gain more respect for it? Maybe in a story sense, not a gameplay sense. Gotta admit that giving him guns and having a mission where you kill the president is still pretty odd.

I wish they have giving Shadow the lead another attempt. He is unironically my favorite Sonic character and out of all the characters he has the most potential to make a really great game and a really good story, his very character is about breaking the conventions we understand of a Sonic game (i.e. him using guns and vehicles as well as not staying railroaded to a true good or evil path AND using seemingly magical powers that’s not just some Super form). He deserves some more chances to give the Sonic series a finer point of game development and direction alongside the blue blur

Shadow The Hedgehog and Sonic 06 are the two best Sonic games in my opinion. + Shadow is the one who really got me into the Sonic franchise

But in the end, Shadow is the Ultimate Life Form who just wants to find his DAMN FOURTH CHAOS EMERALD.

THANK YOU! Thank you for making this video. I've been waiting for a video delving into Shadow's history.

"Huzzah! I only have to play through Westoplolis 10 TIMES TO FINISH THE GAME!" XD

I loved your take on Shadow. I personally saw each ending as Shadow's mind processing his choices and where they would lead. So by the time he got all the chaos emeralds for the true ending, he had taken a route that felt comfortable for him and would provide less of a struggle so that he could get the answers he wanted.

14:40-15:09 "A shadow of myself just who am I? A tragic mystery.. you could have left me here sealed inside the pod, no-one would ever know the chaos control! My true identity, the power that is me."

It makes me sad how bad of flop this direction was for sega. Their ideas were for the most part fantastic, but just poorly executed due to terrible management.

I guess Shadow and I have a very bit of few things in common.

While I didn't play the game as much as I would have liked, I loved the story and the concept of Shadow discovering his identity. It helped me relate with shadow during a lot of high school where I was asking myself similar questions.

The Story that a true Shadow-fan ALWAYS Knew

lets start a petition to make shadow the hedgehog remake and flesh it out like it was ment to

SHADOW IS MY FAVOURITE SONIC CHARACTER My top 3 favourites r shadow, silver and sonic

In my opinion he’s a good guy he’s like a normal person doing what he thinks is right just like most of us would do he’s just trying to find who he is.

Can you do one about silver, I need more information about him

"Sometimes, a hedgehog just needs a gun." Me: I'm lovin it already..

"Why break the mold?" Because this is the only way to get free.

Shadow: "holds an MP5K and loads a magazine into it" Also Shadow: "proceeds to pump it like a shotgun" me and countless other gun fanatics: *excuse me SEGA, but what the fuck was that supposed to be??*

When you realize that Grant has a tree fetish.

Wait a minute. If Maria is Gerald's grandkid. And Eggman is too Does that mean Eggman and Maria are cousins or possibly brother and sister?.

Honestly before seeing this I always thought Shadow was a clone of Sonic. And I always kind of liked his character seeing as how he was kind of mysterious and I didn't know much about him but now hearing this I kind of have a newfound respect for him I think it's kind of fascinating

I really like Shadow's backstory, as I do relate with his trauma... I seriously hope Paramount and SEGA do Shadow's original story justice. I know and understand that not everything takes place in the same universe, making room for more different variants with different backstories, but I would personally still like to see Shadow's original story in the following threequel... What about y'all?

Just because 06 is wildly considered a bad game doesn't mean you should ignore what it did for Shadow's character development. Most say Shadow had the best story in that game and at the end of his story he had his most badass moment yet, where he finally REALLY accepts himself. I feel like it was meant to be the conclusion of his character arc. You know, until SEGA made everything that happened in the game meaningless. Hell, even Sonic showed some traces of being an actual character in 06.

Holy mother of pearl, HE'S RIGHT. Life is just like that, we all have our own destinations in our journeys, and in that sense, we all have the power to CHOOSE our own ENDING. Wow, SEGA has really outdone itself, and we didn't even know that this game was TRYING to send us the message of what choices life gives us, how we make them, and where it takes us. Bravo SEGA, 12,000 thumbs up from me to you and to Treesicle for helping me see it.

Man this was a great video! I also found that part with Shadow's actions and identity very inspiring! Great job and thank you Tressicle!

YOUR KIDDING ME... IS SHADOW SLEEPING BEAUTY AND EGG MAN PRINCE CHARMING???

I swear I just played throw sonic adventures 2 and sonic said the following "goodbye shadow the hedgehog" same as shadow quincidence I think NOT

Silver The Hedgehog please

Undertale: can I copy your homework? Sega: sure but change it up a bit do nobody notices Undertale: **sans phonecall**

He's basically the Sasuke of the Sonic Universe😂

Despite his flaws, Shadow will always be my favorite Sonic character

i hope Shadow makes an appearance in Sonic Forces!

I keep thinking of...DEADPOOL, another famous anti-hero.

This is one of the BIG reasons Shadow is my Fav

Don't you mean *_EDGY THE EDGEHOG?_* Edit: Nice suggestions, OW THE EDGE and EDGY THE HEDGY work as well.

You actually make shadow the hedgehogs story sound good!

I expected some weird conspiracy theory but instead got a nice analysis of my favourite Sonic character.

It's been a year but tysvm for making a video on this. It's my favorite Sonic game and this video explains EXACTLY why it's my favorite Sonic game.

You left out information in Sonic Heroes

Tell me about it. I imagined myself a character so I can be closer to Shadow, and so I can be related to him and Sonic.

Sonic 06 was amazing wth great mechanics, Good gameplay, beautiful cinematics.

I my opinion the ending was really perfect.

Honestly the series as a whole wouldn't be struggling so much if they put as much thought into developing sonic characters as you did putting together this video. The sonic adventure era of storytelling needs to come back because the boost formula sonic is mediocre in gameplay but would feel better with a unique story. I get the feeling that sonic team has forgotten the strength of SONICS TEAM which they consistently half use to half explain why sonics (traveling planets and helixs in the sky) instead of just agreeing upon whether or not his planet does or doesn't contain human life. I digress, it's like they make him run fast and put a few levels and bosses in his way for the sake of saying yay sonic had another adventure. Knowing full well we still want sonic adventure 3. i admit I'm a sonic fan who's been spoiled by his early rise and watching his separate but equal fan base tear each game to shreds. I just want the characters to be characters and not colored talking animals that do things with powers sometimes.

DO SILVER THE HEDGEHOG!

I gotta give it to ya man your editing skills are THRU DA TOP

God dammit, the intro already won me over lol

Blaze is the most realistic and relatable character Imo.(Irony much)

tbh I think Shadow's story was the best in Sonic 06. His story introduced the most amazing villain the sonic universe ever had imo and I hope in future games he will be playable as a character telling a story where we have no damn clue if what he is doing is right or wrong in the end.

What if Shadow was Sonic in an alternate universe? Muahaha! >:)

1:00 *I aM tHe mOsT pOwEeRfUl EdGeHoG iN zA wArUdO*

I've personally never been bothered by the endings. In fact, part of the reason I loved the game was for the replayability! Though I disagree with some of the opinions regarding the endings, it's nice to see others who see the point behind them! This game was great because each of those endings (heck, even some of the cutscenes between levels) were a great way to convey all aspects of Shadow's character. "I am... All of Me..." is the perfect song for the game. Your wrap up near the end was also amazing and I just appreciate having serious discussion about Shadow that doesn't just devolve into memes. Great video man!

Honestly, I like "Shadow the Hedgehog" the game. I'm not saying it's a good game, but it's not as bad as everybody says, even dough the way to unlock last story is teribble, but regardless, I think that you still can enjoy this game. 😉

"Snacks on: Anything but chili dogs" - you just killed me XD It was worth of watching for the second time. Thanks. I still love him.

I love a lot of the cast, but Sonic and Shadow have always had a special place in my heart.

The love for France is real. #PeaceforParis

I love this channel. Do Pokemon theories on the creation trio+ Arcues. Or ya'know something on LoZ:BotW. And more breaking trees, love that show dammit.

The way shadow was done in the 2006 game was probably one of my most favorite ones. Mature and awesome.

The story you never knew was the Japanese dub of Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow did remember his past, but he didn't like it. he buried his past and leaves it all behind for a new life. A new Shadow the Hedgehog, who now follows his own decisions and do things by his own choices and not because of others.