Shadow the Hedgehog. Hero or villain? Or maybe both? Since he made the first appearance of him in Sonic Adventure 2Shadow has been one of Sonic’s main rivals and allies. He has appeared in such iconic games as Sonic Battle o Sonic Heroesin addition to being present in many other titles of the hedgehog franchise.
However, today we are here to talk about one of the most peculiar games with the most personality in the Sonic franchise. A spin-off starring this enigmatic character, who gave a lot to talk about. Today we will talk about Shadow the Hedgehog.
The game that Shadow deserved
As with other successful characters in the franchise – such as Tails o Knuckles -, SEGA wanted to develop a game starring this popular Sonic character. With this goal in mind, he developed un spin-off which would end up culminating in the creation of one of the most frantic and particular titles of the entire franchise.
Shadow the Hedgehog was the result of an experiment known as shadow project. We already have an article talking about this character, so we will only tell you that he has one of the most interesting backgrounds in the world. sonic universe. And that’s saying something, considering the large number of characters that exist within SEGA’s most popular franchise. Perhaps for this reason, it should not surprise us that Shadow be one of the few characters to have a game dedicated exclusively to him.
Finally, Shadow the Hedgehog was released in 2005 for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 y Xbox. Later, the versions of Wii, PlayStation 3 y Xbox 360.
Despite not being developed by the Sonic TeamShadow the Hedgehog was under the supervision of Tkashi Iizuka – one of the main producers and designers of the Sonic games. On this occasion, the study chosen to develop this game was Sega Studio USA. It was thanks to them that we were able to enjoy this spin-off that mixed classic elements of sonic games in 3d with some typical elements action games and third person shooter.
Aliens, shots and several secrets to discover
The first thing that catches your eye Shadow the Hedgehog It is its aesthetic, much darker than what Sonic games had us used to until then. And it is that, this title of the franchise was the first to obtain a GO +12. A higher rating than other games like Sonic Unleashed. But why this qualification?
The answer is easy and we can see it even without having even tried the game. Just look at the cover. In it we can see Shadow holding a machine gun. And this was not any kind of bait, because in the game we could use various firearms while moving at full speed across the stage.
But, let us start at the beginning… Shadow the Hedgehog he put us in the shoes of this mysterious character, who does not remember much of his past. In the introductory scene we are shown some fragments of his memories. These show us Shadow escaping from a military base with a young woman named María. But who is Maria? What relationship does Shadow have with this one? Why were those soldiers chasing them?
While our protagonist ponders these questions that seem to have no answers, the city of Westopolis is attacked by an alien race led by Black Doom. He communicates with Shadow to ask him to take him the 7 Chaos Emeralds, which the latter apparently promised him. So, our protagonist, intrigued by this strange entity and motivated by his desire to find answers; he decides to embark on an exciting adventure in order to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds and uncover the secrets of his past.
During our trip – which will be divided into different stages depending on the path we choose -, we will face these aliens, also known as Black Arms. At the same time, we will also have to face GUN soldiers; a military organization led by a mysterious man known as Commander. However, during our adventure we will also have some allies and familiar faces from the franchise such as Sonic himself, Rogue the Bat or Dr. Eggman himself.
Shadow the Hedgehog and his frenetic action
Despite its pluses and minuses, it must be admitted that Shadow the Hedgehog It is a highly recommended action game. especially if you are fans of the Shadow.
The title has a History mode that can be played alone or in cooperative way for two players. The latter, being available in the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions. In any case, this title had a great variety of scenarios and a total of 10 different endings; so the replayability was more than assured.
However, the most striking thing about this game was its weapon combat system. The player had at his disposal a wide arsenal of weapons ranging from pistols, machine guns and bazookas; even melee weapons like swords or even traffic signals. To this, we must add all the original movements and attacks of the character, such as el Spin Dash, el Light Dash o el Homing Attack.
Finally, we have to emphasize that Shadow the Hedgehog It allowed us to interact with a large number of elements of the environment. Among the most notable are the vehicles both land and air; which we could drive Free on some levels. All these elements added, created quite a varied and frenetic gaming experience.
