I’m Shocked That Sonic x Shadow Generations Revives Black Doom
When Sonic x Shadow Generations First announced at Sony’s State of Play in January, I was shocked that Black Doom was being revived for the upcoming game. Honestly, I’m still shocked even now, months later. Black Doom has only appeared in one game in the Sonic series before, and that was a spin-off title, Follow the hedgehog. But considering that Black Doom encouraged and coerced Shadow into committing massacres in several timelines, this is one villain I think Sega would want to keep dead and buried.
Back in the early 2000s, Shadow was at the height of its popularity thanks to the success of Sonic Adventure 2. For this reason, Sega Studios USA wanted to create a game that focused on Shadow. They decided to base the game on the events of Sonic Adventure 2. This decision actually makes a lot of sense, since the overall plot of Sonic Adventure 2 has huge potential for expansion and development, including Space Colony ARK, Guardian Unit of Nations (GUN), and the story behind Gerald Robotnik.
Now, everything above sounds perfectly reasonable, right? But anyone who has played Follow the hedgehog Knowing the game is a striking contrast to what we’ve seen in previous games. To explain that oddity, when the initial trailer for Shadow the Hedgehog was released, fans believed it was an elaborate prank, as the story and gameplay seemed far from what we’ve seen in any mainstream game.
The story follows Shadow, who is suffering from amnesia and is unclear about what happened at the Space Colony ARK. An alien race called the Black Arms has landed on Earth, causing chaos and destruction to human civilization. The leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom, approaches Shadow and tells him to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds to fulfill his “promise”. With Black Doom knowing about his past, Shadow decides to collect all the Chaos Emeralds, but how he does this is entirely up to you, as you can choose to be either a hero or a villain in the story.
To complete the level, you can either kill the Black Arms aliens that are attacking Earth or kill the GUN soldiers that are trying to protect the planet. You can even choose the anarchy option and choose to kill everyone you come across. Depending on your actions, it will lead to different timelines, with ten possible endings you can achieve. One of the endings even leads to Shadow defeating Doctor Eggman in what seems to be his downfall. Not exactly what you would expect from a Sonic the Hedgehog game. But that’s not where the weirdness ends, as this is still not the most controversial aspect of the Follow the hedgehog…you can use guns. Yes, you read that right. You can move around the stage and pick up guns to shoot down your opponents.
The first level of Follow the hedgehogWestopolis, in particular, is memorable because it really shows you what the game is about. It starts with you suddenly free-falling from the sky and witnessing devastating explosions that ravage the city as a strange red gas fills the sky. When you finally land on the ground and rush through the level, you see the full extent of the carnage, as city buildings and road structures are reduced to dust. You then have multiple opportunities to pick up weapons from GUN soldiers or Black Arms aliens to take whatever action you see fit. The first level is a great indicator of whether you like the overall atmosphere or not Follow the hedgehog trying to achieve.
While Shadow and the levels are clearly the selling points of the game, Black Doom arguably steals the show. Black Doom is a classic villain with no admirable traits. There is no sacred meaning or symbolism behind his actions. He just wants humans to be livestock for his race and will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. This makes the timelines where Shadow makes bad choices all the more sinister as it leads to the destruction of the Earth. It feels like you are literally succumbing to the dark side whenever you perform an action that pleases him. Follow the hedgehog There will be no such experience if you remove Black Doom.
As you can see at this point, this isn’t the most kid-friendly game and there’s a reason for that. Takashi Iizuka wanted to create a Sonic the Hedgehog The experience is aimed at an older audience, mimicking action movies, which might explain the game’s darkness. In fact, Follow the hedgehog was heavily edited to ensure the film was rated E10+.
When Follow the hedgehog When it first came out, I was a few years out of my teens but had entered my rock music phase (and I still haven’t left it) and had started listening to rock bands like System of the Down and Nine Inch Nails. I was their main audience in theory. So, what did I think of the game? I loved it Follow the hedgehog for all of the above reasons. I found Sonic Hero It was a bit cheesy, so I liked the darker tone, and I liked the concept that I could create my own destiny. I remember my older siblings raising an eyebrow at me while playing the game, wondering why Shadow had a gun, but I completely ignored these concerns because I enjoyed the game so much.
But I also remember clearly the first time I saw Black Doom. It sounds silly, because Black Doom’s voice is kind of funny in some ways because it’s deep, but the younger version of me found it terrifying. His appearance was also terrifying, because he was a floating entity with many red eyes. They did a great job of pulling off the creepy alien look, because he was scary but also cool at the same time. I wanted to know his backstory and his history with Shadow and Gerald Robotnik, which motivated me to complete all ten endings and unlock the true ending.
Looking back, I can appreciate that a few bugs held back its greatness and reluctantly agree with my siblings that the guns were unnecessary, but I still have a strong connection to the game to this day. I’m not the only one, because Follow Hedgehog has built a huge fan base over the years.
But since Follow the hedgehog was released, nearly twenty years ago, Sonic the Hedgehog The franchise has returned to its roots and embraced a more kid-friendly atmosphere (at least as far as the games and television adaptations are concerned, Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic books are a topic for another day.) Recent Hollywood movies have further solidified this tone. It’s a comedic scene, but Jim Carrey’s antics as Doctor Eggman certainly appeal to younger audiences. But it’s because of these movies that Black Doom is back.
Upcoming Movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3, scheduled to be released later this year, will feature the debut of Shadow. To complement the movie, they clearly wanted to bring Shadow back to the forefront of the game in some respects. As a result, Sonic x Shadow Generations – a remake of Sonic Generations with a parallel story featuring Shadow. But one of the best qualities of the first game was the presence of Dark as the main character? Dark apocalypse.
Now, I think Sonic x Shadow Generations Will there be guns and the option to kill human GUN soldiers? Absolutely not. If anything, looking at the gameplay trailer we have so far, it looks like it’s exploiting Sonic Adventure 2 moreover, since the iconic Biolizard boss battle was even included. But I’m still surprised that Sega revived Black Doom. They could have easily created a new villain, but it’s clear that, while they have no desire to imitate Follow the hedgehogWith its dark and gritty tone, they can’t ignore that Black Doom was the main reason for the original game’s success. And I’m glad for a new generation Sonic the Hedgehog Fans will be introduced to Black Doom and his terrifying voice.
What do you think about Sonic x Shadow Generations bring back Black Doom? Let us know in the comments below.
Sonic x Shadow Generations will be release on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One on October 22, 2024.
