I will get right to the point because this is a Sonic review: After some time, Sonic X Shadow Generations has grown to be one of my all-time favorite Sonic games. It is a great blend of one of the Blue Blur’s classics with a fresh batch of cleverly created Shadow levels centered around his talents. In a big update to a beloved game, Sega and Sonic Team have learned from their recent attempts, Frontiers, and Superstars, and have discovered ingenious methods to include the greatest elements of those titles. Furthermore, this is unquestionably Shadow the Hedgehog’s best game.
Remastered content from 2011’s Sonic Generations, which we rated an 8.5 on in our review at the time, makes up half of Sonic X Shadow Generations. Although it has some new features, such as the cute Chao that is concealed in both 2D and 3D stages, the level designs are largely unaltered because they are still quite good. For now, they are merely a lovely tribute, but I would like to think that the Chao is a clue that the Chao Garden from Sonic Adventure 2 may make a comeback in a later Sonic game.
It is well worth taking the time to play the original if you have not already: Sonic Generations is a fantastic blend of 2D and 3D gameplay that honored the game’s 20-year heritage by selecting and re-creating some of the greatest and most recognizable Sonic levels from its past. Shadow Generations quickly demonstrates its inventiveness with several noteworthy moments. The initial phase, for example, changes into fractals and resembles the parallel realities we have seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dr. Strange.
The newest generation of consoles also gives Sonic Generations’ levels a minor but obvious visual boost: environments are more polished and the colors are more vivid, making adversaries, dangers, and springs slightly more noticeable when you are going quickly. Therefore, even though the difference is not that great, this is by default the greatest method to play it.
Even though there is not much of a difference, this is the ideal way to play Generations.
The brand-new campaign, which features imaginative reimaginings of Shadow’s stages from his previous appearances in the Sonic series, is the true reason you should play Sonic X Shadow Generations. Although Shadow’s five-hour campaign is distinct from the Generations plot, it follows a similar format, with each stage consisting of two 2D and three-dimensional sections. Like when new paths appear when replaying a stage after Sonic has acquired the light dash ability, Shadow’s stages contain all the fast-paced appeal you would anticipate from playing as Sonic.
When returning to stages, Shadow uses skills like the Doom Wings, which allow you to fly short distances and skip entire sections of levels, to create even more passageways. Shadow begins with a similar power called the Chaos Dash.
Additionally, Shadow’s Chaos Control ability produces amazing moments, like as a flashy short cutscene in which he freezes time to destroy a missile that is flying toward him. Additionally, Shadow retains all of his skills for his 2D portions, making them feel as quick as his 3D stages, in contrast to the 2D Sonic courses, which play like traditional Sonic without a boost gauge or homing attack.
In addition to the main levels, there are several challenge stages with goals like finishing a level full with hazards with a single ring to unlock bosses and the following set of stages or needing you to destroy enough targets before reaching the goal. The primary distinction between it and Sonic Generations is that you must finish every challenge rather than simply one to obtain the necessary keys.
Since Sonic is collecting the Chaos Emeralds in his part of the story, it would not make much sense for Shadow to be collecting them concurrently in his. However, I do miss the fun rival boss battles that some of the Chaos Emeralds had against characters like Metal Sonic and Silver in Sonic Generations.
Water levels are much more enjoyable with Doom Surf.
A metallic dragon that requires you to chase him on the water, knock debris into him, and charge up so you can unleash Chaos Control and deal some actual damage with a homing attack is one of the most imaginative and entertaining new boss fights. The ones that are present are great additions to the collection of egg robots and other bosses from Sonic history, and they all make great use of the most recent Doom powers. I only wish there were more of those.
The Sonic Frontiers 3D stage was the only one that stopped me in my tracks and made me think of the shortcomings of contemporary Sonic games. It has an over-reliance on a new sludge-based upgrade for Shadow that reminded me of one of my least favorite Wisp powers from Sonic Colors, and it feels empty in comparison to the majority of Sonic X Shadow Generations. But aside from that, I liked going over each stage again to figure out the best routes, collect keys to uncover hub world mysteries, and get better runs until I achieved the coveted S-rankings.
The all-white hub world of Sonic Generations is similarly transformed in Sonic X Shadow Generations, moving from a 2D plane to a 3D one that enlarges when you finish each stage in a segment and its boss. I would explore the hub world between stages to see what chests I could open with the keys I had gathered. I would also finish optional tasks like gathering 100 rings in a short period to unlock multiple rewards like music, artwork, or journal entries about characters and Shadow’s life events.
Shadow features stages that are completely fixed to traditional 2D perspective, just like his blue counterpart, and they seem perfectly at home as he sprints to the goal. This is the first time we have seen numerous full-2D Shadow stages, aside from a 2003 McDonald’s toy named Shadow Grinder and a DLC stage in Sonic Forces: Episode Shadow. It was intriguing to observe how his extended move set affected their designs. In Doom Surf, I was able to surf directly on top of the sea until I reached land, eliminating the need to deal with the underwater portions of Sonic games that many people dislike. Other abilities, like Chaos Spears, allowed me to press switches from a distance to open up new paths.
Verdict
By doubling the campaign length, adding amazing bosses, lots of treasures, imaginative level design, and a noticeable graphics update, Sonic X Shadow Generations takes an already great game and spring springs it to new heights at a breakneck rate. A thrilling new story is revealed as you explore the overworld for collectibles, activities, and challenges. The brand-new Shadow content, while not particularly lengthy on its own, offers a welcome change of pace to the collection of the greatest Sonic stages Generations already had. When Sega decides to bring back additional Sonic titles from the past, this bulked-up remaster will ideally be the benchmark by which all subsequent upgraded versions of the Sonic franchise are measured.
