i've had a rocky relationship with this one to say the least
it may go without saying, but i'm the kind of person who thoroughly adores absolutely everything about this game's initial concept and presentation. i didn't grow out of my 'edgy phase' - it wasn't one. this shit's cool as fuck. it was cool as fuck 20 years ago, it still is today and it will be forever
shadow the hedgehog is a game carried by ideas, but they're executed to mixed results. this permeates the plot, script and gameplay. nothing's completely unscathed
narratively, it's incredibly ambitious - especially for such an obviously rushed game. the route structure is somewhat insane, even if the endings do split into 3-4 similar templates - almost all of which have really awkward line deliveries (shout out to 'journey to nihility' though - that one goes hard)
scriptwise... man, it's a mess. black doom is the biggest issue. he's effectively a caricature of a shounen antagonist who never shuts the fuck up. conversations tend to be pretty stilted across the board, but this dude just amps it to fucking 13. i contemplated dropping a half star here just because of how annoying his presence was during the final episode. in fact, i better stop fucking talking about black doom or else this game might be a 2/10 by the time i'm done
...on the contrary, shadow himself is thankfully as strong of a character as ever and the ability to constantly jump between routes really suits his whole mysterious/badass/what-the-fuck-is-he-thinking demeanor. that said, his stages could easily give you a positive or negative impression depending on which of those paths you end up on
personally, i started with the pure dark route... then after a neutral-only palate cleanser, pure hero - this was a fucking mistake! depending on your whims as a player your first run could consist of varied but mostly straightforward objectives, or menial tasks such as combing through multi-pathed environments for torchs to light and killing exactly specified quantities of enemies (it'll be a cold day in hell when i replay lost impact)
at his best, shadow disappoints as the star of a sonic game but actually excels as a shooter more akin to gamma's role in sa1, boasting faster movement and a solid variety of weapons that all feel fun to shoot - which is especially important because this game wants bullets to rain constantly, as it actively rewards killing enemies of both alignments, encouraging the ambivalent carnage no matter which route you're aiming for
in fact - i feel like this game would've likely gone over better with some fans if its A-ranks were stricter in places. you can basically hold forward and pass any normal mission with flying colors, but beyond that there's tons of room to optimize runs via effective usage of shadow's chaos blast and especially control powers. definitely a missed opportunity here!
with a few more months in the oven, some slower bits axed and some added speed to shadow's spindashing, homing and walljumping, this'd be a classic for sure
as it stands, it's pretty confused. i've come to enjoy the chaos quite a bit, but i'd only recommend it to someone who wished gamma had more of a presence in sa1. if you go in expecting sa3, then everything's all over before it can even start
the soundtrack, however, i can - and will - recommend to literally anyone with or without a pulse
it may go without saying, but i'm the kind of person who thoroughly adores absolutely everything about this game's initial concept and presentation. i didn't grow out of my 'edgy phase' - it wasn't one. this shit's cool as fuck. it was cool as fuck 20 years ago, it still is today and it will be forever
shadow the hedgehog is a game carried by ideas, but they're executed to mixed results. this permeates the plot, script and gameplay. nothing's completely unscathed
narratively, it's incredibly ambitious - especially for such an obviously rushed game. the route structure is somewhat insane, even if the endings do split into 3-4 similar templates - almost all of which have really awkward line deliveries (shout out to 'journey to nihility' though - that one goes hard)
scriptwise... man, it's a mess. black doom is the biggest issue. he's effectively a caricature of a shounen antagonist who never shuts the fuck up. conversations tend to be pretty stilted across the board, but this dude just amps it to fucking 13. i contemplated dropping a half star here just because of how annoying his presence was during the final episode. in fact, i better stop fucking talking about black doom or else this game might be a 2/10 by the time i'm done
...on the contrary, shadow himself is thankfully as strong of a character as ever and the ability to constantly jump between routes really suits his whole mysterious/badass/what-the-fuck-is-he-thinking demeanor. that said, his stages could easily give you a positive or negative impression depending on which of those paths you end up on
personally, i started with the pure dark route... then after a neutral-only palate cleanser, pure hero - this was a fucking mistake! depending on your whims as a player your first run could consist of varied but mostly straightforward objectives, or menial tasks such as combing through multi-pathed environments for torchs to light and killing exactly specified quantities of enemies (it'll be a cold day in hell when i replay lost impact)
at his best, shadow disappoints as the star of a sonic game but actually excels as a shooter more akin to gamma's role in sa1, boasting faster movement and a solid variety of weapons that all feel fun to shoot - which is especially important because this game wants bullets to rain constantly, as it actively rewards killing enemies of both alignments, encouraging the ambivalent carnage no matter which route you're aiming for
in fact - i feel like this game would've likely gone over better with some fans if its A-ranks were stricter in places. you can basically hold forward and pass any normal mission with flying colors, but beyond that there's tons of room to optimize runs via effective usage of shadow's chaos blast and especially control powers. definitely a missed opportunity here!
with a few more months in the oven, some slower bits axed and some added speed to shadow's spindashing, homing and walljumping, this'd be a classic for sure
as it stands, it's pretty confused. i've come to enjoy the chaos quite a bit, but i'd only recommend it to someone who wished gamma had more of a presence in sa1. if you go in expecting sa3, then everything's all over before it can even start
the soundtrack, however, i can - and will - recommend to literally anyone with or without a pulse
11 Comments
the OST fucks and anyone who disagrees should not be trusted
what are your thoughts on the voice acting?
@brockreiher ingame it's good, in cutscenes it's a mixed bag. i like shadow and the stage bantering the hero/dark characters do
the banter is good! the reason I ask is I hate this sonic/shadow VA. I've never beaten it for that reason over everything else.
@brockreiher ah i'm not really picky about the va. i think sonic and shadow have pretty good sounding voices. they aren't always very well directed but that's a whole other issue entirely - and shadow in sa2 was often directed pretty badly too
if you asked me my preference i'd probably say sa2's voice, but i was always equally familiar with this one too so it's whatever
if you asked me my preference i'd probably say sa2's voice, but i was always equally familiar with this one too so it's whatever
Other people playing Westopolis for the tenth time: 😭
Me, playing Westopolis for the 30th time: 🎧🔥
Me, playing Westopolis for the 30th time: 🎧🔥
@exsoldier REAL. i was playing this in a vc stream for a bit and it seemed like everyone was feeling pain on my behalf. but like, aside from a couple annoying stages (mainly ark flashbacks) i was never really bored or particularly unengaged. every fuckin time i fired up the game again i'd immediately get into it - definitely due in no small part to the music, but still
ngl i think shadow the hedgehog just filters out the strictly crush 40 pop/hard rock fans from the general 00s industrial/metal enjoyers
Shadow's OST is so wildly unique, along with the game's gritty urban aesthetic. I eat that shit for breakfast. Was the coolest shit in the world when I was... what, nine?
@exsoldier shit man it's STILL the coolest shit in the world
chandler
1 month ago
this has been roughly a week in the making