The Horrors of Project Shadow - Sonic's Darkest Lore 

Yeah i missed the Days where Sonic Game was Fun but wasn't afraid to get Semi Serious and Dark. It made me feel like Sonic was Growing up with Me.

Oi, CM, who is your favorite Shadow VA between David Humphrey, Jason Griffith and Kirk Thornton? Personally, I prefer Griffith Shadow because not only he sounds like Sonic at times, but I feel he's more fitting than Kirk and memorable than David

I love it its very complicated with complex layers being enjoyed by casual and hardcore fans alike with hardcore fans being abld to dud through every inch

I belive this and the solaris project are very dark

This plot is good. Gun mistaken Gerald of building weapons before they go on a killing spree.

Like the real governme-OH SHIT I’M SORRY FBI! IM SORRY!!!

@@portal-master-1023 NOOOOOOO!

They literally got what they demanded.

I doubt they're ever going to let themselves put this story into the third film. They did justice to knuckles after years of him being done wrong but I seriously doubt they'd do the same for shadow

Well remember that a major part of the movies is that Sonic has an adopted human family. Meanwhile, Shadow lost his adopted human family. The themes actually fit perfectly and can make for an amazing story in my opinion.

Absolutely. If they’re going to bring Shadow in they gotta give us his whole backstory and do it justice.

@@thetokutickler I’ve never picked up on that. That could play into their rivalry beautifully if done right.

Without perfect chaos, the biolizard wouldn’t make any sense to have so I’m wondering how that’ll work

True, but GUN still gave Gerald his last rites before his execution. If they straight up murdered him immediately, Gerald wouldn't have been able to make that final recording to begin with. That video log was his last will and testiment.

@@MasterJunior93 I’m pretty sure it only happened because they were still using Gerald to work so even after they murdered his Maria they forced him to work for them and then killed him

Mhm

​@@MasterJunior93yeah

Fart crank or the foe jokes dow jones of the Sewcyute

It is horrible, does the Biolizard has any thoughts or consciousness?

no wonder he's so violent

Also, pull me out of the pedestal please, I have chosen you as the third hero of Hyrule

brother i need you to stop trying to hit me brother

Shadow and Sonic basically put the Biolizard out of its misery at that point.

That crowd ruined the series because it should always try to take itself at least somewhat seriously or the stories will fall apart.

That whole argument that sonic shouldn’t take itself seriously kind of falls apart already when you realize that the whole plot of sonic is already taken pretty serious

@@MaddRoxYu Yup all the way back to Sonic 1. What's not serious about some doctor kidnapping and testing on animals as a power source for a robot army whilst destroying an entire island ecosystem just because he can?

@@justcallmekai1554 you kiddin that sounds hilarious

I've always said that "It's an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who runs at the speed of sound, how can you take that seriously?" But the second half of that would be, "Because the series takes itself that seriously: it's a series about environmentalism, showing the inherent dangers of an industrial revolution brought about by a black-hearted narcissist." Like, really, you'd think something like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doesn't take itself seriously because it just SOUNDS stupid, but it does. We know it sounds stupid, but that's half the fun: when they embrace the absurdity, it's not just on the precedent of "but it's fun", but also on the idea that "we're going all the way with this crazy road trip, and we ain't stoppin' for gas!" I mean look at Batman; yeah it's some rich dude who lost his parents going around punching clowns, scarecrows, crazy cat ladies, crocodiles, and plants, but look past the absurdity and you get something that is really brutally dark and savagely honest with itself. Same thing with Sonic; it's a series that knows it's dark, but it also knows it's kinda ridiculous, and just rolls (ha!) with it! I'd be a grumpy old boomer to decry the meta era as "not my Sonic" and call it shit, because honestly? It can be fun sometimes; I love the self-awareness of Sonic Boom as a TV show bringing about S-tier jokes, but I'd much rather the characters be allowed to be characters and not one-note comedy relief archetypes. I'm hoping that we get more of the Adventure style writing in the games to come, but I'm not holding my breath SEGA will be learning their lesson any time soon with the upcoming Sonic Frontiers. Still looking forward to the new Sonic movie, though; we need more of this and less of Boom's meta era.

Thats very beautiful to put together, after watching this unfold in video format this clicked well. SA2 will always be one of my favorite games for its story alone.

He’s still a weapon. But fights on the good side

you wrote this comment like you were it's anime girl lol

Zsw

Dr. Eggman has also tried to use Shadow for that purpose from time to time.

I thought that was because after so long in stasis, his memories got fuzzy.

@@Shadamyfan-rs8xc No. in the original Japanese, in Gerald’s diary he says “his memories are completely under my control”

@@abelmoreno4836 that is creepy

@@abelmoreno4836 and in the English dub he said he "designed his mind to be perfect. pure". could give the same context if you think about it

@@autobotproductions1244 eh that’s reaching

Nice

Hell yeah man, subbed

Sonic X did it pretty good

Still I found it satisfying when Chris got punched in the gut by Shadow. The fact he literally stopped Sonic from returning to his world and he knew that if he didn't both their worlds would be destroyed and yet still did it anyway made me appreciate the punch more.

​@@Dustfiredi don't know if that was fanservice (and very welcome since we all hate the brat). Shadow was cool with Amy but he lashed out toward rlthe brat in the very same context. I would have liked better the total absence of Chris and with Amy instead, like in Adventure 2, with Shadow maybe having some physical pain when his memories come back (headache and such).

For me the whole story of the Project Shadow is quite creppy and complex. If they ever do a remake of the adventures they will probably simplify and soften the tone of this story.

@@matiosmenta they better not. the story was dark, but that what made the Adventure 2 game have its charm

@@Mima_the_vengeful_spirit honestly I don't mind softening the tone, it's just knowing how to balance it well, and still keep the narrative for all ages. Secret Rings, Black Knight and Unleashed do this very well.

@@matiosmenta I agreed. 저 역시 그렇게 생각합니다. 어드벤처 2보다 Unleashed의 시나리오가 이상적입니다.

In Sonic X (Japanese Version), that did happen. The soldier asks "Is that all?" to which Gerald says "yes" and then he commands the soldiers to Aim. Then camera turns towards Eggman and a gunfire is heard

Happends a lot with Sonic, people would rather dismiss everything the series can be and has been in favor of their narrow view of what they think it should be.

@@inendlesspain4724 this. The perfect comment that basically represents how outsiders dismiss any story the games try to offer, even some fans do it(not to mention people who go "haha cheesy cause it hedgehog animal trying to be the serious".)

Yeah it's like those people forget that Sonic 3 onwards tried to make Sonic be more than just cartoon animal saves little animals

@@littenfire3563 even then sonic games still had deeper meanings with the environmental themes of CD and the first game lol, even Sonic 3 had a dense story really, so I don't understand those kinds of "purists" in the fanbase

wait shadow cant die?

I know Chaomix decided to leave out the lore of following games because of the muddiness and retcons , but I actually really enjoy that part of the lore added with shadow the hedgehog. That and the fact that that game confirmed that shadow IS the real shadow (from sa2) and not a copy or clone made by eggman I remember when that game came out everyone was like "aLiEnS iN SoNiC? ThAtS fUcKiNg StUpId" Yet those same people didnt bat an eyelash at Sonic Colors or Lost World Yeah . The game has a lot of flaws, but I've always love the final ending of Shadow the Hedgehog. I feel like it really added to the overall narrative.

​@@shinigamisway1645 same here, I think the Black Arms were a complelty necessary and worthwhile addition to his backstory. It makes a lot more sense, idk how tf it contradicts anything to his lore

​@@shinigamisway1645I think Shadow being part alien was what people found was weird.

I thought BD wanted the Emeralds

@AyoCali you didn’t see Sonic 2 did you?

@AyoCali ...You didn't stay for the after credits?

@AyoCali then ur brain doesn't have the ability to think

@AyoCali Clearly, you did not watch Sonic 2’s post-credits scene.

I so hope they get him right

Yeah, if Pokemon and Ratchet can tell serious stories why can't Sonic? People can be hypocritical sometimes.

@@chi-wind8593 When it's Pokemon it's badass, when it's Sonic it's cringey. What the hell, man.

@@TailsGuy72 Critics and some internet personalities have it against the Sonic series and will find faults in it that they won't even comment on for other series. I keep saying this and a lot of the times I get shit from fans of the newer games but it's true.

@@TailsGuy72 when you realize critics are willing to allow a piece of paper to take itself seriously but not Sonic

@@inendlesspain4724 Exactly. I always see it, especially back in the early 2010s when Game Grumps was still big. Sonic was just a thing to shit on, and the fanbase was much younger and more immature. Kinda reminds me of the Persona fanbase. I bet in 10 years time they'll be more like how the Sonic fanbase is now.

The way his voice distorts and echoes as he wheezes out the last part of that line will always stick with me. Like, just reading it, I can hear him saying it in game.

I can't quite remember the quote, but it goes along the lines of 'never incur a gentle mans wrath'. That's basically what GUN did with Gerald; he wanted to make advancements for the betterment of humanity, so him being a kind and gentle person can be inferred. Ripping away his chances of doing so along with his granddaughter pushed him to a breaking point.

Joker:”All it takes is one bad day”

Ikr!? The only other line in a sonic game that immediately comes to mind is eggman telling tails to run along before he “makes minced meat” out of him(SA1 final boss fight at the end of Tail’s story) Both of these lines leave an imprint on my brain but Gerald’s will always break my heart a bit 💔 SA1 had E-102’s story and death… SA2 had Gerald/Maria’s/Shadows story and deaths… both of which left imprints on our minds and still make us feel a little something each time

I feel so bad for him :(

Yupp :)

Same to me!

Exactly

Yep lmaoo

facts

Do you think it would be too dark for a kids movie?

@@adrianlopez7934 they didn't think it was too dark for a kid's game

@@adrianlopez7934 Kids like death, destruction and disaster.

@@scarletnight4554 or kid's show, though I don't remember how much of it was included in Sonic X.

in this era and based on the previous movies, i think they will shy away or ruin itt 😢

I feel the same, you are not alone

Well said

Big agreement there!

Because those games were serious and the stories were exciting. There's even plot details you may not of noticed for a long time. The games nowadays are just hollow and empty. There is no story, there are no real stakes at hand, it's just..meta as people are saying..

I agree but I see why they can’t. Nowadays some parents will act insane if they sense even a hint of a serious story in their child’s video games. Which is pretty annoying because it ruins franchises like sonic. I still find the games fun to play but still

Well said.

DMC has helped fill some of the void left by the Adventure era Sonic games for me. I just feel like the Sonic series needs to get comfortable again with the kind of fun edginess it was known for when it started. Cheesiness can work out perfectly fine if you just lean into it and have fun with it. Infinite's theme song was awesome because it basically did just that. I feel like Forces' music team is like the smart kid in the group project who shows up with his part done, then realizes the rest of his group slacked off all week and didn't do anything 🤣

@@phootaphan9166 That's actually a pretty good analogy for current Sonic, lmao

Sonic didn't carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain sometime After Sonic heroes.

Yeah considering how self sabotaging and egotistical the heads of Sega are. Which I always felt that Sonic should be owned by people who just want to make good Sonic games without any of that shit from the top.

Interesting catch.

reverse ratio

@@MyDude._. non failed ratio

Except that he was never ment to be kind, caring or heroic like Sonic in first place. He's always been selfish to an extent, feels conflicted (his promise vs experience with humans, as seen in Battle) & doesnt see himself as a hero nor wants to be one (as he says in Battle, X & his Sonic channel story last year) The point of his character is, that despite all the bad/questionable things he does (for the right/understandable reasons) & starting off as/ looking like a selfish, intimidating villain/bad guy who could easily kill you, he is a good guy deep down, if you look under the surface. That's why I also think fans misunderstand Shadow too, especially when it comes to STH (& act like Battle, X & many other games/media dont exist). The game, while being a mess & kinda "ruining" SA2, explains so much about Shadow's character & his feelings towards humans ! (especially in the recaps (also in SA2) & the japanese version; and Battle too) It seems to me that the very same fans do the same thing with STH, like Sega & the people who know nothing about Shadow. Just look at the cover, take things out of context cuz Shadow doesnt like humans (for good reasons) & go "Ah yes. Guns, aliens, swearing, explosions. Edgelord ! Jerk !" STH Shadow is not nearly as bad as modern Shadow ! (& while I hate modern Shadow, I still dont 100% agree on everything fans say)

@@tigerlowe5002 he was meant to be kind and to some extent heroic you can clearly see his personality before it becomes corrupted after Maria's death

@@tigerlowe5002 he was never meant to emulate Sonic because he came decades before him. But Shadow was always meant to be a good-coded character in lore. Maria even named him Shadow because “a shadow shows you the way to the light.” Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 was the beginning of his character assassination because that game forgot about his whole arc from SA2 to Heroes. Sonic Heroes has him questioning if he’s real or a copy and by the end of the game he comes to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter if he’s real or not because his ideals and beliefs are real and that’s all that matters. So why in STH are we going right back to him questioning his past and asking if he’s real when he literally decides that doesn’t matter the game before? Why is he calling humans pathetic when his whole arc in SA2 was to be a guardian of humanity? Sonic 06 did him extreme justice but unfortunately that was eclipsed by the game itself.

Shadow saved humans in SA2 for Maria, NOT because he cared about the very same people, he almost destroyed all of sudden. He was hellbent to fulfill Maria's promise. Whatever it might be. - And almost died doing so. That's it. And WHEN the heck did he let go of the past in Heroes ? He went after Eggman because he wanted answers. I hear everyone say it lately. Let me guess. You all saw Character In Dephs video & now take it as THE prime example how Shadow should be ? He did NOT say "screw the past, I dont care who I am anymore." He said: "You're going to regret this doctor. Even if I am not real, I am still the ultimate life form, Shadow the hedgehog." He said that whatever the truth is, robot or not, he is still the same Shadow, it's still him. I really dont know why fans love to interprete things & just want to hear what they want ? While ignoring so many other things. Shadow remembered some things in Heroes. Of course he'd remember more & want to know who he is. People also act like he doesnt have amnesia in Sth & HAS TO help humans, there & always. Oh boy, where do I even start ? That's one of the many things why people misunderstand him in Sth. Fans love to take things ouf of context. They are like the people who only saw the cover art & go "haha edgy hedgy." Shadow has his reasons for all his actions, the game explains SO MUCH, he has his heroic, selfless moments too. And is not nearly as "edgy" in the japanese version or the recaps. People just dont like when Shadow does not always care & help everyone & isnt the hero they want him to be 24/7. There's SO MUCH I could say about Sth but I've been already to the moon & back Sometimes I wish nowadays he stayed dead or still had amnesia. Maybe then fans woudnt yell every 5 mins "But Maria ! It's his "duty" !" Shadow is not Knuckles or Blaze ! Can fans actually talk about Sth for once & stop acting like Shadow only appeared in 4 games & is his kind, selfless gentleman who can do no wrong ?

@@tigerlowe5002 you ignored me point.

Ahh Real Time Fandub, I love that so much

Tetris dick

lol 😂

Nah more like: His grandson:*got drunk, puss in boots on the moon, cursed on Obama and tried to wipe out humanity in 24 hours before the puss in boots DROPLLEETTT hit the Earth.*

Also his Grandson: HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL BEING COCKED BY A HEDGEHOG?!?!

I know right! ;D

Trying to harness a power beyond your control and end up making everything worse, is a very reoccurring theme the franchise has.

A message that Eggman will clearly never understand

I mean, if you think about it, it wasn't the power of chaos itself that caused the tragedy, just some bad guys (the government). If GUN didn't step in, chances are nobody would have died. There is still the issue of the Black Arms though.

Jeremiah 10:23 "man cannot direct his own steps" makes for great tv & games though ✌😎

Maria is his cousin not sister

@@LostFilms32 Ohh my bad. Either way, my point still stands

eggman probably was told about a research experiment gone wrong but knew something was up due to knowing how smart and cautions Gerald is with his experiments and also eggman having a similar iq and likely did went snooping -as usual- around g.u.n databases and Geralds old diaries for an explanation however never found a complete explanation but knew there was a coverup of sorts and went to take revenge on the world for taking gerald and maria from him whilst combing through multiple sources to gain any insight on what it may be that caused the incident 50 years ago and to gein potential ideas for world domination which lead him to go into researching chaos and kicking off adventure 1 and eventually finding the ultimate lifeform at the end of the diaries and starting off adventure 2

It would explain Eggman.

That just blew my mind, holy moly.

Yess

GUESS WHAT-

@@Ummmmm12712what

Shadow in the Sonic movie universe would be so cool! I would love to see my favorite character on the big screen. (Especially if they do it right)

I have a feeling more might be retained than we might think. It's clear that the people behind these movies love Sonic and there are people old enough to have played Sonic Adventure 2 and work in the industry. Whichever movie Shadow appears in, I think we might be in for a fantastic treat!

I mean, it kinda seems like we going to mostly cover Sonic lore of 2, 3, and Sonic+Knuckles. So we have to basically be getting to that point off of film 3, though I think we'd see like metal sonic first and maybe something else, some way to introduce another character like Amy (or my preferred wish Sally acorn because she's not annoying tbh). I think a film about Shadow as a spin-off just like there was the game might be the best way to go, and THEN go full on with him in a sonic film. I feel like it's a lot to dump into one film without being forced or having to cut too much out. So maybe we have a spin-off and a Sonic 4. Maybe they stop after that given they'd have covered most of the best, OR we get some kind of continuation that basically fixes Sonic 06 into "Sonic Adventure 3" but in film form minus the eh, final fantasy type stuff. So of course enter Silver and Mephiles. They might never touch that last one though, or use time travel and silver but use one fo the other villains they seem to love to tease is some form of mephilles but not directly constantly just "chaos in another form over and over." Maybe the film franchise ends saying they can not truly elimate chaos, but they can always fight on to stop it.

^Shadow is the most popular character in the franchise after Sonic, They be idiots not to include him in the next one after sonic 2 the movie.

@@sonicsucks20 Exactly they would also be idiots to put a boring ass robot in movie 3 like Metal Sonic instead of Shadow

I noticed that as well

It's easily one of my favourite touches that they added to reference his research of the island. I love when people realize this.

I'm sure that some of Gerald's experiments, like the Biolizard were based on the Perfect Chaos mural in Lost World.

@@InfernoCleric384 Yup and Shadow was inspired by the Super Sonic mural and possibly the sculptures that seemingly predict Sonic’s exact appearance. Looks like Shadow really is the faker.

He is also an anthropologist... At least when it came to Echidna.

So Black Doom was the true antagonist of SA2 LOL 😂

It's trippy that Shadow is debatably a Sonic copy but was made before Sonic was born.

Well said!

@@kimberlyyancey4303 I actually like the 06 story

@@JoeMama-uv3ee So do I in some degree.

@@JoeMama-uv3ee same also liked mephiles

I've said before, 06 would be better if you took out the romance or made Elise an animal, that's the only issue I have witht the story

And those angles are what makes him edgy! *does fingerguns as he walks out*

@@Keegstar True...

@@Christmascliffe what how? His own game was epic!!

@@gabrielaj2066 No it was cringe

@@brwntwn123 the only thing about the game I hate is that it has a lot of chapters and it’s really annoying

Also they're could have been origin story for Sonic to with the whole "ultimate life theory".

That would perfectly tie in to the theory that Sonic is the true ultimate life form. Shadow’s line in the final hazard boss admitting that Sonic may be the actual ultimate life form would make sense.

@@undeadbatman9762 But then if that's true what is Sonic the Hedgehog's true Origin?

@@mastercontrO He’s either a naturally born avatar of chaos (the force, not the god of destruction) or the descendant of an ancient alien hedgehog species who happen to have good skill with chaos energy.

Dairy

I hope they give it the care it deserves. If they can make swear puns and imply bikini waxes, they can absolutely make this work.

While I did know how dark it was, this video showed something I didn't know: the whole thing with Sonic 3 mural.

They better, it's one of the better stories in the entire franchise

@@semekiizuio the real question will they adapt the horror backstory of shadow and Maria in the next movie because it may be to dark for kids

@@Daviyah_yisrael that's a good point. They havent shown anyone like die yet. And Maria is also a preteen so it might be more reason not to kill her off. Hm I dont think they will then. They may bring Shadow in a different story

@@semekiizuio maybe, but they did show knuckles backstory and his entire race being eviscerated for the most part

I’d like to see shadow have a flashback to this but they might not well other things for kids have been dark I just want a dark grim movie that would be sick

"Sonic games are not like Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny". Yeah, tell that to the modern games...

@@jerzydomza3310 I’m praying that frontiers does better and Sega learns but I don’t know. I’m not trusting them until their actions prove me wrong

Sonic Adventure 1 had a girl watch as the creature that she had become best friends with, committed genocide against her race in response to the actions of her father. All in addition to Sonic & Tails failing their overarching goal throughout the entire game in that last story as Chaos destroyed Station Square in its perfect form. Besides Project Shadow gets much darker when the stuff from Shadow's Game is added to it. Sonic was supposed to be Shonen Anime not the silly cartoon series it has been treated as during the entire 2010s Decade.

Sonic X had many a tear jerking moment (especially the japanese airing). From, the SA2 retelling, to the death of Emerl (yes, there was a Sonic Battle saga, and yes Cream crying is a painful sight), to that one random female gun soldier dying in front of Shadow and Rouge, and... *the big moment of season 3* .

@@woobgamer5210 Cosmo and Tails at the end made me cry. That's one of most heartbreaking scenes in the franchise.

Kids like death, destruction and disaster. Gerry Anderson understood this and this is why his shows like Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds are still enjoyable to this day. SEGA and Sonic Team would do very well to understand this.

Take avatar the last airbender as an example, it was a kids show with many mature and darker elements but they managed to handle it well. It was enjoyable for both younger and older audiences.

I still can’t believe this was actually in the movie

That's basically what I thought but idk exactly what the guy means when he says that the game retconned stuff from SA2

@@lugiamastero13 I don't think he knew what he was talking about with that one

@@prufan He might not have seen the true ending to Shadow the Hedgehog.

Didn’t he make his plan to defeat the aliens before GUN messed everything up? If I recall, Maria was still alive when he made the recording for Shadow. Seems to line up just fine with his change. He was still kind when he did that but when GUN destroyed his life and family that all went out the window.

Yeah it doesn't retcon anything Gerald just got mad after Maria death, before her death the eclipse canon was going to be used to take out the black arms but he changed his mind it just makes perfect sense, and also it's kinda foreshadowed with Eggman quote at the end of sa2

And they called it progect shadow

The video had 185k views befor the movie came out Edit: Before*

The video he made in Shadows game was BEFORE Gerald went insane, not after. How did Shadows game retcon anything.

I mean, contacting hostile aliens for help was pretty sketch

​@Moleoflands It is, though, if Gerald had explained that was what the Eclipse Cannon was for, a lot of tragedy might've been prevented.

Shadow needs or at some point will need therapy let's be honest here he has had his whole world turned upside-down in less than 24-hours. Also he is never going to die so he will never see meria again or when the time comes Sonic ,Tails...ect when they die he will just have to keep on living. Sonic's personality/presents may be annoying to Shadow but I can't see him going a million years with out missing him at least a little bit.

His ability to cope with trauma and moving on is what makes him admirable.

@@jayjalloh3631 truly even if he doesn’t show it in his emotions you can see his actions

Him and E102 have the best character development within the series.

@@jayjalloh3631 he never copes after Maria's death as hes still a dick to sonic.

@@lovleybones1921 true that

They definitely will, at least, use certain elements of it like they mentioned Gerald in the movie and we already got GUN, i doubt they would ignore this. Other than that, they will probably censor Maria's death.

The post credits scene already confirmed the name Project Shadow, so it certainly will be interesting to see what aspects we get in the movie.

“This game! It’s non-fiction! It’s telling the story of Shadow’s life!” “It’s time you knew the truth.. *I’m Shadow the Hedgehog.”*

@@redinahedge3073 That line hit harder than it ever should have.

You don't say? 🤔

I thought Shadow The Hedgehog was developed for GameCube the entire time & then PS2 got a poorly made port of it, while Xbox got a somewhat decent port. The same thing happened with Sonic Heroes. Almost makes you wonder if Sonic 06 would have played best on GameCube had it not been rushed onto 7th Gen Hardware?

@@WaterKirby1994 it wasnt rushed on to it..sega decided that they wanted profit over quality..rushed development

They somehow managed to tie the seriousness of the plot to the quality of the game.

I don’t get it either…

it's not like any other child friendly video game franchise was trying to have a serious story am i right? kirby and megaman so why not sonic do this too?

Honestly, a lot of both the Adventure and Dark Era products were amazing imo. Of course, not all of them are equally as good due to problems inside the company after the disappearance of the console market for SEGA, but in general the plot of most of them not only brought memorable and deep characters to the franchise, but also gave some incredible stories too! Blaze, Silver, Chip... As everything, it wasn't perfect, but if it was changed to be done with the time and love that the games required, all would've been masterpieces...

"most of the fans want the series to stay a light-hearted platformer, and feel as though Sonic going darker was a mistake." you couldn't be more wrong, the fans love the darker sonic stories, it just needs to be written well. I bet you loved the meta era

I definitely agree

Shth retconned alot of stuff and it shall not be talked about.

@@justasimplemanworkinghiswa1569 shth...honestly I like the ideas it had, I just wish they pulled it off better than what they did. JUSTICE FOR BLACK ARMS!

Shth is the after of sonic heroes, in heroes is where his memories start to appear, you can even see at the start of Shth that his memories are coming back since before, it was never a retcon because it was implied to be like that since the beginning

@@jersont.3339 But, Shadow the Hedgehog didn't need to exist at all. You can retcon it, and then just say Shadow's friends fucking told him what happened, and segway perfectly into sonic 06. Shadow the hedgehog only brings most inconsistencies, like why the hell is Shadow acting so edgy, he was chill in sonic heroes. Like from the very first dialogue in the game they've broken character "Pathetic humans." And then Shadow is willing to deal with a literal devil, but not ask Sonic or Rouge, Rouge he was clearly friends with. From the very first few lines of dialogue, Shadow the Hedgehog's plot is completely torn apart, logically it should not exist within the universe. But I do know how that can be fixed

So, if Shth wanted to have an actual logical premise, such as Shadow looking for his memories, I know how that can be fixed. Two Shadows. The one from Sonic Heroes remains, he acts like the way he did and is part of the group, although quieter (but not grumpy) and acts like a constrast to Sonic. Sonic being more reckless and not thinking through, and pissing off enemies with his one liners, while Shadow is quiet and thinks more logically. They don't antagonize each other aside from friendly roasts. Then there's the other Shadow, the one from SA2, make him a seperate character and have Black Doom rebuild him, showing empathy for his blood. Then this design can be as edgy as you want to be, cyborg, eyepatch, demonic and resembling black doom. And this Shadow would act like the game, he starts with Black Doom, but Black Doom has little control over him. An inconsistency solved, and more potential. Since there are two Shadows, maybe one of them canonically dies. I liked the ending where Shadow committed suicide after learning because of him GUN raided the Ark and killed the commanders family, maybe make that canon but the Sonic Heroes Shadow remains because he wasn't on the arc

bruh this dark backstory already makes you hate the government

Oh the sonic show😳😳

The #1 source of sonic news

@@StaySwaggin theres some other channels that dig deeper in the lore

Same

@@sebastianperezboeff985 that’s not the lore channel, it’s the news channel

This is the comment that I was looking for! I watched it to and I was super excited at the fact of introducing more new characters and more details of the story. But with Jim carry going into retirement idk how they’re gonna use him in the 3rd movie unless they make some tweaks.

I just finally watched and finished both movies today. They got me back into Sonic since 2004 😂

I love that game shamelessly, it’s pretty fun

@@rankrodent2772 me too man

I guess. The execution plan was more dark. Just has a creeper feel to it.

It's officially confirmed that Shadow's backstory was cut short because the game was rushed. So maybe.

Sa 1 too need remastered

@@doomdabot392 remake*

Sonic Adventure 2 is the apex of everything Sonic in my eyes tbh, SEGA raised the bar so high they won't get there so easily anymore 😢

Yeah and ian Flynn is writing the next sonic story

I really hope Ian takes this direction again with the newest Sonic game, and it turns out great. If it does and people end up loving it, I'm certain it would encourage Sega and the higher ups to continue to pursue more Sonic games down the line with this manner of storytelling. Sonic's core demographic will always be for kids, but they also have to acknowledge that there are many fans who have grown up with the series, and appreciated the darker plot lines that games from Sonic Adventure 1 to Sonic 06/Unleashed told. Reaching a middle ground for both demographics would be a recipe for success for the series.

Thankfully Sonic and Tails R remembered who Shadow really is, with Jason back voicing him. It was easily the best Shadow has been written and sounded in years, being more than some bad Vegeta parody.

@@DemonDethchase I miss Jason so much. He was the superior voice for both Shadow and Sonic. I didn’t know Sonic and Tails R existed, so imma go watch it.

@@sansic9387 dude get on it! It's got Ryan back voicing Sonic and Mike at the top of his game voicing Eggman, unhindered by those talking geometric pieces of junk he's had since the start of the Meta Era. Also speaking of the Meta Era, it doesn't exist here. Black Knight is far along the time it goes because when Emi Jones, one of the top people behind the radio drama and the voice of Tails, was asked by Chaomix: Anything from the meta era writing you try to avoid when writing for Sonic & Tails R? This was her answer "Uh, all of it." Emi Jones Sunset City podcast episode 21

@@DemonDethchase You are so right! I’m already on episode 6 and I feel like I’m in heaven. Shadow is done right! Eggman is goofy yet threatening. JASON AND RYAN ARE VOICING SHADOW AND SONIC AGAIN. All of it has me bouncing off the walls. The writing is prime. The only thing I have a slight issue with is how cocky Silver is. Sure he’s cocky, but he also is way over his head, and usually is a bit nervous when doing it, like in his first saga in Sonic Universe.

@@sansic9387 I thought Silver seemed abit dorky with his cockiness, as if unlike Sonic, it wasn't something that came as natural to him, but he could still totally back it up. Also I think it's fair to say that within the first 30 seconds of the first episode, Tails does more than he did in the whole of Forces, unshackled by that bad tribute act with barely enough personality to fill a sandwich and even less of a reason for being there. Also I did like his speech about fighting Eggman at Station Square, when Sonic was no where to be found, showing that there is no courage without fear, but that's only the beginning for what's in store for him.

y u p

That part is from Sonic Battle I think.

The purpose of it is to both establish Shadow as closer to us than to the other anthro-characters and to reflect his storyline in the game itself. In a way, Emerl is to Shadow what he was to Maria. Just that who dies at the end of the story is reversed.

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, Shadow coming back was done really respectfully to his character too, with him having his memories removed. His memories he was toiling over in SA2 were all fakes ones programmed into his head by Gerald to send him on a murderous rampage, him being free from those nightmares gave him the chance to restart his life as his own person, instead of the weapon Gerald tried to make him into last minute. It's the nicest thing to do for his character at that point, and we got the more complete and developed Agent Shadow and Team Dark out of it.

I was wondering if someone here had made that reference

Oh, that would be wonderful! I would love to have a glimpse into Shadow's happier days, and I agree, maybe it would help fans to see this complicated character under a different angle.

Well SaltyDKDan made a cute comic about it. That counts for something

Man DSH was the best.

*Scrap Brain Zone. And yeah I agree with everything you say.

@@TailsGuy72 Oops, fixed it. Thanks!

Sonic2:"The seventh Chaos Emerald was sealed away by divine entities because their combined power made a tribe vanish basically overnight." People:"Sonic is not meant to have serious lore!"

@@lpfan4491 Wait really? What's the source on that? I wanna learn more!

@@dcvmu Japanese manual, according to people. I can't read japanese myself, so I just trust everyone's word on it. It also technically states that all emeralds were sealed in the special stages of the area iirc, but the other ones were in Sonic1, so yesn't.

"Sonic X" had no such implication. The ultimate life form is Shadow, period. The theory about Sonic being the ultimate life form is purely fan made and has no proof in canon. Check on "Shadow the Hedgehog" game and "Sonic Battle".

No, shadow is still the ultimate lifeform. They both use chaos as their source of power but shadow is more in sync with it, it's why he can do so much with just a single emerald. Albeit, sonic learns how to do chaos control with a single emerald he's still not as powerful outright

Damn Dr Robotnik has depth. Man do i need to play these games again?

Sonic and Shadow dance off

@@Ritton. DANCE FIGHT

Honestly Unleashed to me has a nice balanced tone between being lighthearted and serious. Colors and onwards is when they took the kid friendliness too far.

I had that happen to me I played the classic games then sa2 was my first game on gamecube.

Ngl I always hated that theory. It conveniently ignored a lot of canon lore about sonic himself in favor of making shadow's character arc even more tragic than it already is. I believe that Sonic the "real" ultimate lifeform in that he's the naturally born creature shown in the echidna prophecies, but i don't see how exactly one could come to the conclusion that he was created on the ARK.

@@melon6444 I think that idea came from certain dialogue like Shadow's line during the final boss and the game keeping it ambiguous on who the ULF really is. Shadow says it alot but this is from a guy who's mind was manipulated and not right. Sonic X had 2 Capsules release from the Ark as well. I personally dont subscribe to that theory in particular cause for it to work, we have to ignore entries after Sa2 and redo or recontextualize events during and before Sa2. With reworking, it can be a nice orgin story for Sonic since he rarely has anything noteworthy to mention. But as it stands, it's a bit of a stretch to think Gerald created Sonic or something.

Honestly I more or less subscribe to the theory that Sonic may be the descendant of an alien hedgehog species from another place that could harness chaos energy very greatly. This would explain Sonic’s natural proficiency with chaos energy, why a hedgehog was chosen to replace the “ultimate life form” (Gerald probably theorized that hedgehogs are “sacred” by seeing the murals of Sonic and his super form, which is why he modeled Shadow after a hedgehog) and why other hedgehogs like Amy and Silver have special powers. Amy is explained with a different reason but I won’t go there. There’s an entire Reddit post about it.

I believe Sonic is the Natural Ultimate Life form and Shadow is the Artificial Ultimate Life Form. Shadow says himself as the end of SA2 "Sonic... I think I've figured out who the Ultimate Life form is... It's you!"

@@justcallmekai1554 well the sonic movie technically gave him a good backstory the echidna tribe learned Sonic had the ability to naturally harness Chaos energy, hunted him and killed his caretaker

I'm kinda assuming they're gonna make a less violent version of this plot, if possible but maybe I'll be surprised

I remember someone saying AIDS but, I don’t recall

@@chi-wind8593 Yes it's based off of AIDS

Aids. Not joking. Even the words that make up the acronym are similar. Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome Neuro Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

Yeah I don't really have a problem with the addition to the lore added by other games. The game the details are from suck but the idea that Gerald made a deal with evil aliens to make Shadow and set them up to be shot by the eclipse cannon never bothered me. It felt kinda weird omitting those details. The second one even makes the eclipse cannon make more sense to me.

Justice for black arms! They deserve better than what sega gave them!

@@t.dmattocks6119 yeah makes you think why would gerald want a giant laser beam?

I really want to know if G-Emerl has any memories of his time on the Ark and if he feels bad for what happened to Shadow as a result...

@@michaelcarlton1484 i doubt it even when he was emerld he barely had any kind of memories and only when all his powers were unlocked at the final battle, and g-emerl is just a reconstruction with some of the original parts

Mario Galaxy was sort of dark, as well as Superstar Saga.

If you want dark Mario content, then play the Mario & Luigi RPGs