Sonic X Shadow Generations: A Fan Boy's Review

This is the ultimate power!

Sonic Generations, originally released in 2011, is my favourite of the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games since Sonic Adventure all the way back in 1999. While others in the series are undoubtedly great (Colours, Frontiers, Adventure 2) none provided the simple joy of speeding through levels that Generations - or the first Adventure before it - did.

Now, in the lead up to the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie, SEGA have released Sonic X Shadow Generations, a slightly updated version of the original with an all-new Shadow campaign.

Set at the same time as the original Generations, Shadow’s story sees him investigating reports of activity at the decommissioned Space Station ARK rather than attending Sonic’s birthday party. On the ARK, he finds an old enemy, Doom Eye, waiting for him. After a brief tussle, Doom Eye retreats, but it’s not long before the Time Eater shows up, dragging Shadow into White Space, the void into which all time displaced places and people are sent.

Just like the original Generations, Shadow’s campaign features levels and enemies from Shadow’s past for the player to overcome. We have Space Colony ARK from Sonic Adventure 2¹, Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes, Kingdom Valley from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sunset Heights from Sonic Forces, Chaos Island from Sonic Frontiers, and Radical Highway also from Sonic Adventure 2. As for bosses, there is Sonic Adventure 2’s BioLizard, Heros’ Metal Overloard, Sonic 06’s Mephiles the Dark and Devil Doom from Shadow the Hedgehog.

It’s interesting to note that there is not a specific level from Shadow the Hedgehog represented here. Shadow notoriously used guns in that game, and while he hasn’t been shown using guns since then, perhaps SEGA is trying to completely retcon that away?

As with Generations, each level here is a remix of the original. While each level and boss is clearly recognisable as the location/ character it is based upon, differences to the originals in regards to the paths, gimmicks and attack patterns are present. None of this makes them any less a joy to play through, however. Indeed, it is easy to argue that these are the best versions of these stages and battles you could experience.

Speaking of gameplay, Shadow Generations has the snappiest play of any 3D Sonic game thus far. There is no being launched off rails at weird angles, no homing attacks locking on to the wrong thing; it all just works. While recent Sonic games had mostly fixed these issues, there were still the odd times they would crop up. I never experienced them once during my time with Shadow Generations, each accident or death being because I was too slow on the controls or hit the wrong button in the more panic-inducing moments. All of the game’s levels are wonderfully designed, with multiple paths containing heaps of cool shortcuts to find. Zipping along rails, diving through speed rings, blasting through a group of enemies with your Boost; it all feels amazing to do.

That is not to say the game “plays itself” though, a criticism regularly leveled at Sonic Forces. Sonic games have never been hard per se, but here you need to be reactive in order to ge through levels well, especially if you want to achieve an S-Rank. Simply holding down the Boost button isn’t going to get you very far in Shadow Generations.

Due to being the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow has some awesome abilities that Sonic doesn’t. These are mostly unlocked over the course of the adventure, but arguably the best is available right from the start - Chaos Control! This ability allows Shadow to pause time for about five seconds, allowing for some incredibly fun gameplay. The way this ability has been worked into the game is wonderful, as it allows access to paths and areas that would otherwise be unavailable. For example, in the first level the armaments of Space Colony ARK are trying to take you down. In one section a series of explosive rockets are fired your way. You can easily dodge these normally, but why not use Chaos Control to stop time and use the motionless rockets as stepping stones to a new, faster path? There are many such instances throughout Shadow Generations, thus knowing when to use Chaos Control can be the difference between a good run and a great run.

Something that much really be mentioned is Shadow Generations’ version of White Space. In Sonic Generations, White Space was presented as a 2D environment, explorable in the same way the the Classic Sonic levels were. In Shadow Generations, however, White Space is a fully 3D environment. Based on the same design ideas behind the “open Zones” of Sonic Frontiers. Although much smaller than any of the island Zones of that game, what results is an infinitely more interactive area that is essentially its own level rather than just the hub of the original Generations. It seems that Sonic Team has been listening to feedback as well, as all the Sonic-y gimmicks like grind rails, springs, loop-the-loops and so on are much better integrated into the environment here than they were in Fronteris. It actually makes me quite excited to see what the follow up to Frontiers will be given how much better that style of gameplay feels here.

So, with Shadow Generations firing on all cylinders, what of the other half of the collection? I said at the start of this review that Sonic Generations was one of my top three 3D Sonic games, but I have to say, going back to it after Shadow Generations, the game really shows its age. The controls don’t feel as tight, there isn’t quite as much going on in each level in regards to gimmicks and alternate paths, and the story bookends each stage rather than being integrated into in as in Shadow - something that really impressed me, I must say.

Don’t get me wrong, Sonic Generations is still a wonderful game. One could sensibly expect a thirteen year old game to feel a little dusty, but really this helps highlight just how good the Shadow half of the package is.

For the most part, Sonic Generations has been left untouched from its original release. The graphics have received a slight bump in quality, although you’d be hard pressed to notice. The dialogue has been re-written a little to better fit in with the now-established cannon (the biggest alteration is Sonic no longer face palms Amy during the opening cinematic) and several Chao have been added to each Zone to rescue. Gameplay wise things are mostly unchanged, although the Drop Dash from Sonic Mania has been added. Strangely, this only seemed available for Modern Sonic and is activated via holding the jump button down. I found this caused issue a few times as you need to hold the jump button down to make longer jumps, but holding it too long would cause Sonic to Drop Dash, sometimes sending him off the edge of a pit. This this only happened a few times, it was enough to be a little annoying and I could not find a way to turn it off. It’s strange, too, that there was no way (at least that I could find) for Classic Sonic to pull of the move as it was with Classic Sonic that it originated.

I noticed a few little issues with Sonic - either version - getting stuck in or under scenery that I don’t recall happening in either the PC or X-Box release of the original Generations. In my roughly 15 hours of the Sonic portion of Sonic X Shadow I can count on one hand how many times this happened, although it didn’t happen at all during Shadow’s campaign.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a brilliant set of campaigns. Depending on how you like to play, each will take you between six (just the story) to 15 (all S-Ranks and collectables) to complete².

If you’ve never played a Soinc the Hedgehog game or just want to get caught up on the main points of Sonic and/or Shadow’s stories then this is well worth picking up. If you’re a Sonic fan than you’ll probably have already bought this. If not, you should. I’ve you’ve tried some Sonic games and not enjoyed them, this will probably not change your mind (unless you’ve only played something like Unleashed or the Boom games). If you’re indifferent to the hedgehog, then try this; it might surprise you.

In my fanboy oppinion³, Sonic X Shadow Generations surpases the original Generations. Despite the very odd time things were a little off in the original Generations, Shadow’s campaign is a wonderful time from start to finish. It’s easily one of the highlights of the series thus far.

I had an absolutely wonderful time with Sonic X Shadow Generations, and it makes me excited for what might come next in the series.

1. The level also appears in Shadow the Hedgehog, but the game leans more into the Adventure 2 iteration.

2. I was going to get everything, but I ended up quitting while I was ahead. Some of the S-Ranks in Shadow’s camaign are crazy hard, and there are so many collectables I just wanted to move on. I’d also forgotten how precise you need to be with the S-Ranks in Sonic’s campaige so, seeing as I have already 100%ed it twice, I decided I didn’t really neeed to do it again. 😅

Here’s a full breakdown of my playtime for those interested;

• Shadow’s story - 6.5 hrs

• Shadow S-Ranks (all Zones, Bosses and Challenges, minus the two I couldn’’t manage) - 6hrs

• Shadow Collectables ( those missed during “regular” play. I didn’t get them all) - 3 hrs

• Sonic Story - 6 hrs

• S-Ranks (all levels, challenges and bosses) - 6 hrs

3. While I consider myself a big Sonic fan, I’m not without the ability to see that not every game in the series is brilliant.