Sonic x Shadow Generations

Game'scover

About the Game

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the top gaming mascots who needs no introduction. The blue hero first appeared in 1991 and to this day it is considered the main face of Sega. No one can dispute the impact and success of the 30-year-old series. Within three decades, there have been various games (including spin offs), various collaborations with other games such as super Mario, various animated series, a successfull comic book series (over 24 years of release), various collectible figures and recently there were two very good Live Action movies with a third one comming later this year. Thats how popular Sonic is.

In February 2024, Sega announced the remaster of Sonic Generations(2011) which is considered one of the blue hero's best games. The icing on the cake was the reveal of Shadow Generations and the fact that the game will have new missions based on the hero. For those who don't know, Generations combines elements from various Sonic games and so, they can celebrate their 2024 campaign Year of Shadow by giving players an original plot that will show Shadow's history and why he is beloved by the audience.

In other worlds, Sega and the Sonic team took a page out of Nintendo and they did the same thing as Super Mario 3D world. They pretty much remastered an old classic to please the fans and to justify the new pricetag they added new portion stories, Shadow Generations and Bowsers Fury. The difference is that Sega didnt charge as much as Nintendo. Needless to say, Sonic had a succesfull run with games like Sonic Frontiers, its remasters like Sonic Colors Ultimate and the succesfull movies. The announcment of the remaster was met with alot of hype and ofcourse alot of positive discussions. Upon its release the game sold over one million copies within 1 day.
the decision to not be nominated in the main Game Awards despite the game

Standard
Includes the game alone and a copy of the handbook
Collector's edition
Includes the game, Certificate of Authenticity, Audio CD, an Artbook, Jewel case, Chao figurines(x3), 3 Keychains(Sonic, Shadow & classic Sonic shoes) and a Sonic/Shadow dreamcast statue

Sonic and friends

Story of the Game

Sonic Part:
The game begins with classic Sonic running around the well known Green hills zone. However, a weird portal open in the sky and a monster makes its appearance infornt of Sonic. The game then cuts to the modern era where Sonic's friends re preparing to celebrate the heroes birthday with a surprise party. Everyone was having fun until the same monster appears infront of everyone, crashing their party and sucking everyone but Sonic into different portals. Sonic then wokes up in a white space with various portals. He decides to investigate them. He first rescues Tails who is also confused as to where they re at as everything looks lifeless. The two heroes run into Eggman and their past self(Classic Sonic & Tails) and realise that the moster that kidnapped Eggman is manipulating Time and Space, thus the old locations. The two Tails and Sonics decide to use Sonic's speed to fix time as it seems to be working. Their Mission to fix time and space begins.
Will they succeed?
Is that monster's goal?
Will Sonic reunite with his friends?

Shadow's part
Shadows adventure takes place at the same time as Sonic's. Whilst everyone was preparing for the party, Shadow was at the Ark. Rouge call him to see whether or not he would join them but he declined as G.U.N noticed some weird signals from the Ark and Shadow wont leave until he makes sure that there is nothing there. While searching around the Ark, a monster attacked him called Doom Eye. Whilst Shadow was chasing it, it claimed that the time aint ready and that it will be back. Shadow then encounter the same monster as Sonic which also absorbed him into its portal. Shadow encounters the two most important figures of his life, Maria and Dr Gerald Robotnink. The Dr is aware that they re brought to this dimension from an alternate dimension and wishes to stay as far away from Shadow as them interacting might cause a time colapse. They also learn that the doctor made a deal with Black Doom when giving birth to Shadow. He pretty much use his power to create Shadow. Black Doom's goal in the past was to let Shadow grow and then take his body as his new vessel but he failed. Now he is back with the same goal. Through out this adventure Shadow discovered multiple new teckniques and the more he continues his quest the more powerful he gets as Doom constantly tests him allowing him to grow in power. All that in order for Doom to take control over Shadow's mind or to simply take his body for his new vessel. Shadow refuses to be a spectator and to allow himself to be taken over by black Doom and vows to stop him. Different enemies from Shadows past return as part of Doom's test including the all mighty Nephiles the Dark.
Will Shadow defeat the ghost from his past?
Will he succeed on stopping Black Doom? or will they become one?
Finally, can Shadow save Maria and Dr Gerald Robotnik?

Shadow pic

Thoughts on the story

When it comes down to it, i found the game's plot perfect. Sure there are some flaws and some weird dialogs here and there but as a plot is perfect. For those unaware Sonic Generations back in 2011 was a way for Sega to celebrate the hero's 20th birthday(anniversarry). The idea was to take different levels and most of the heroes from Sonic's past and put them into a story with two Sonics(Present and Past) working together to stop Dr Eggman and Dr Robotnik. The return of Generations was simply pleasing(especially as someone who considers it among his top 3 Sonic game). On the other hand, the new Shadow story was great. Sega's 2024 campaign is The year of Shadow, their marketing is focusing on the new hero. Generations shows the fans the backstory of the hero, some of his iconic villains, the iconic figures who re responsible for Shadow's personality and ofcourse his character. Again as someone whose favorite Sonic character IS Shadow i found this adventure as one of his best. Its also worth mentionning that games that werent around during Generations also got referenced/cameo in the game such as 2022 Sonic Frontiers.

Gameplay

Sonic Portion:
Sonic's hub world is in 2D. The player controls Sonic(either modern or classic) and they move towards the level's gate. They can select the level and play it. Each level has 2 acts, a 2D and a 3D each made for one of the Sonics. The act is based on which Sonic was in used in Hub world. The player can change Sonic with a quick tap of the button. Both levels need to be cleared in order for the next one to be cleared. The players need to clear three levels in order for the boss gate to appear. When it does the player will require keys in order to unlock the boss gate. With a both the acts cleared new gates will appear around the level and the player will have to clear atleast one to obtain the key. These challenge levels are different for both Sonics.
Shadow pic

Classic Sonic
Classic Sonic is the hero known from the past era of Sonic games. He is a representation of the older days where Sonic used to move only within a 2D environment. Classic Sonic can damage enemies by simply jumping on them. Another way of dealing with enemies is to spin towards an enemy. Spinning is achieved by holding down when sprinting. At the same time if the hero is standing still, the player can hold down and tap a button multiple times to build momentum. There is also a jumping button. Before landing after a Jump pressing another button will build speed for the hero. Further more all the stages made for classic Sonic give the player certain power ups to escort him on his fight. Item such as invisibility, shields, magnets and other.

Modern Sonic
Modern Sonic is played in both 2D and 3D levels. Similar to classic Sonic he has a jumping button and a double jump. The hero is also capable of boosting, doing so on enemies will instatly kill them. The boost meter is built by collecting coins and by defeating foes. In certain levels he is able to wall bounce when jumping on a certain wall. As sonic is moving in the speed of sound, the player can use L1 and R1 to swap between lanes fast. This is known as the Quick step. However in maps where there are bigger circular turns Modern Sonic can drift with L2 and R2. Moreover, Sonic can Crouch in order to slide through obstacles or attack enemies. At the same time the crouch button can be used on air to stomp attack. Can be used to stomp enemies and break surfaces. Further he has a tecknique known as Light speed dash, and allows sonic to dash towards certain shiny coins. Last but not least modern Sonic has a homing attack. Enemies, bounce pads and hoops will be marked with a green circle that indicates that the player can press the attack button in order for Sonic to attack its target by dashing towards it. The ability is not to be abused as certain enemies have spikes on them and they will punish the player. Whilst on a wire or in a straight 3D road (mainly Boss), L1 and R1 one are used to change left to right. Super Sonic is the ability of Sonic turning golden. Super Sonic for those unaware is Sonic absorbing the power of chaos emeralds and gainning super abilities. He turns gold, he is invisible to any enemy attack and has infinite dash . Hitting them will kill them and will magnetise all the coins. Sonic turns Super by, equiping the skill (unlocked from main story) ,collecting 50 Coins in an Act and holding down Triangle. Once Sonic turns super his power will remain active as long as Sonic has rings. The moment he turns gold the ring counter will began to subtrack, when the counter reaches zero he turns back to normal. Rings gathered whilst in the form will extend it's timer.
Shadow pic

Shadow portions
Unlike Sonics portion, the Shadow portion has a 3D hub-world. The world has a decent size and it keeps expanding every time shadow defeats a boss. The world is filled with coins and the level rooms. Shadow doesnt have a past self and thus all levels are played in 2D and 3D with the same hedgehog. Regarding the challenge gates Shadow has none. Instead, there are broken hourglasses that the player can access. Once Shadow walks towards one a new challenge will occur. The challenge will be placed in the hub world and it will have different types. Like collect x ammount of rings, use a power up to gain items or race againts the clock.

Shadow the Hedgehog
As mentioned shadow is playable on both Act1 and Act2. The hero's gameplay is very close to Modern Sonic. He is capable of jumping and double jumping in both Acts in order to reach greater heights. Shadow can dash in order to move faster. Dashing similar to the blue hero is destroying every single enemy in his way. Shadows homing attak is similar to Sonics but a bit more powerful as he teleports to his targets. This allows him to teleport through gates without hitting the jail bars or the lasers. The hero can used his chaos control in order to slow down time. Slowing down time not only makes everything around Shadow slow down but also slows the timer. There are some green/lime sparks that Shadow can once again use chaos control to trigger a special attack. A great addition to Shadow generations is the Doom abilities. Shadows grows in power with new abilities like Doom Surf, Doom Spear, Doom Wings and a new evolution Squid. Overall the new part of the game makes me hopefull for the future of the series. Sonic has been riding a good wave and it doesnt seem to be near its end. Shadow pic

Thoughts on gameplay

Gotta go fast. This was my the first thoughts back then in 2011 and it still is in 2024. Sonic Generations was and is a very fast game as the heroes move extremely fast and the camera is trying to catch up to the hero. This sense of speed is amazing cause this is excactly what to look in a Sonic game. Both the 2D and the 3D levels are well design and they do bring some sense of nostalgia. I do prefer the gameplay of modern Sonic but Classic was also a great experience. NOT the Planet of the Wisps levels, we dont talk about that one.

Shadow generations for me was great. I believe the developers took notes of Frontiers and outdone themselves here. For example the devs created a good size hub world and was filled with alot of things to do than just being a collectathon. It also expands based on Shadows new abilities and open new paths for more to collect. It also has nice challenges for the players to test themselves. The level design of Shadows part are also amazing in both 2D and 3D and the new mechanics are done well. The heros new abilities are interesting and there are some good boss fights. Overall the fast gameplay and the good hero handling made for a great experience.

Shadow pic

Side Content

Sonic Games especially during 2011, followed the same formula when it came down to the post game content. The first thing that everybody can do after completing the game is to go into an S-Rank run. At the end of the each level, the player receives feedback based on the time it took them to complete a level and how many rings they held at the end. S rank is the top rank somebody can achieve, so achieving S in every act would be a nice challenge. The game also consist of the bonus levels. The bonus levels are introduced after before the first boss encounter. The players are task to complete atleast one gate per level in order to receive the key to open the boss door. Once the game is complete the players can go and clear all the bonus levels. Its worth mentionning that these challenges are different for both Classic and Modern Sonic. Its worth mentioning that these levels can also be S-ranked. Upon completing the gate, a shiny bell will appear on top indicating that it was cleared. The heroes can hit the bell which will release a music note that will fly around. Capturing the note before its time limit will reward the player with a collectable art. After capturing it, the bell will no longer be shiny. The art and Music re unlocked from the notes and from the high ranks. Additionally, the players can collect the Red rings. Each Act has five red rings scattered around the level. The players can collect all 90 of them for a new power up. A red ring captured in one run will remained captured during the other(once captured always captured). Last but not least, the players can rescue Chaos. Each act has a number of Chaos that needs rescue. Theres a total of fifty four Chaos.

Most of the collectables are the same to Shadows story with small changes and without including the Chaos rescue. Shadows hub world is a bigger open space area. So there are no bonus levels. Instead there are challenges in the hub world. The rewards once again being different art/audio files from past entires. Around the world there are hourglasses that shadow can interact with. This spawn a challenge, such as collect all the rings before time, complete x course before the time is out etc.
Simply put theres a perfect ammount of post game content to keep players invested. Last but not least theres an online mode that can keep people competing with others online for the best time.

Shadow pic

Sound and Graphics

A big feature of the series is its epic music. There are various iconic songs thoughout the game. Whether we re refering to the Greenhills zone ost or even the more vocal song such as Infinite. Sonic Generations is a game that celebrates the hero's legacy with some of the best levels taken directly from their sources. Music was also included in this remaster. Songs like Greenhills and ofcourse City Escape make an upgraded return proving why the Hedgehogs developers know how to match their music with their gameplay and level design. Shadows portion also borrows songs from the past entries from previous Sonic entries like such as Shadow and Sonic 06. I would like to mention that the player can change the music within the hub world. Before entering the stage you can put the original OST or keep the new/recent one.

The graphics of the game look fantastic. There are plenty of iconic levels taken from multiple sources, whether it was taken from an entry like Sonic 06 or from the most recent entry Sonic Frontiers. Dont get it twisted, games from low poly graphics still exist but they only look bad if you stop the gameplay to look them. For example in City Escape or Seaside Hills are levels taken from the PS2 era. If the player stops and looks at omething like the flowers, then they will see the Polygons. However Sonic games are meant to be fast and follow the momentum. Its not an excuse for them but they never said they ll remake the levels with the new engine. Despite that, the levels are multidimensional both in 2D and in 3D. There is usually plenty of paths to take and some of them have their own gimmic such as skating, hanging of a helicopter and even go-karting.

Shadow pic

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Sonic x Generations is a fantastc remaster of the game. Sonic generations was considered one of the greatest amongs the fans and once again it is establishing itself at the top. Especially now that is on the PS5 hardware levels load faster and the particle effects do not cause any frame drops like they did in the past. As for the Shadow portion of the game, the developers did not dissapoint. They developed both 2D and 3D levels to match the austhetic of the Generation Formula. The way they combined the hub world with custcenes and the gameplay was perfect. It shows that the Sonic team is evolving and gets better and better. The level design and the hub world design does an excellent job on allowing people to take multiple paths to reach the goal. The hub world has a decent size and is filled with activities and collectables to keep the player invested in. My minor complain regarding the game is how easy it feels to get S. I believe the developers should ve done the S ranking a bit harder to obtain. It does have a good ammount of collectables and post game content to keep everyone invested. If Sega and the Sonic team take the fundamentals built in Sonic Frontiers and their new knowledge gained from Shadow Generations, the next game has the potential of being the new ultimate Sonic experience.

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