Sonic X Shadow Generations Review

I consider myself to be a lapsed Sonic the Hedgehog fan. While I was still more of a Mario fan growing up, as a Genesis owner, I spent plenty of time with the original Blue Blur adventures. And while the cracks began to show with them, I enjoyed both Sonic Adventure games. After that, though, I found myself mostly ignoring subsequent entries. A combination of being too gimmicky (Sonic Unleashed) and poor quality (Sonic 06) made the series easy to avoid. However, the excellent Sonic Mania and nostalgia filled compilation Sonic Origins roped me back in a bit. That's part of what pulled me to Sonic X Shadow Generations, which is an expanded release of the one Sonic title I remember hearing good things about back in the day.

Originally released in 2011, Sonic Generations was designed to be a celebration of the series. It split the action between the classic 2D gameplay of the Genesis titles and the shakier 3D stylings of the later releases. It was well received from fans and critics at the time, and it makes sense that Sega would choose to bring it to a new generation of consoles. This is not just a simple, graphically-spiffed up port of the game however. There are new hidden Chao to collect in each level and the Drop Dash maneuver, which was introduced after the original release, has been added to Sonic's arsenal. Of course, the big attraction of this release is Shadow Generations, which is a whole new campaign focused on the bad boy of the franchise.

Taking place alongside the events of Generations, Shadow shows what the titular dark hedgehog was up to during that time. Investigating unusual activity aboard the Space Colony ARK, Shadow is confronted by Black Doom, who was apparently the main enemy of the 2005 Shadow the Hedgehog game. During his battle, he is pulled into the White Space, alongside time-displaced versions of Maria and Gerald Robotnik. While in the White Space, Shadow discovers artifacts that give him unique new skills that augment his power but also strengthen the bond between him and Black Doom. Ultimately, to escape the White Space, and potentially change the fates of Maria and Gerald, Shadow will need to defeat Black Doom for good.

The fun thing about the story here, and with the base Generations experience as well, is how much it incorporates the past. The Sonic portion of the package brings together variants of Sonic, Tails and Robotnik for goofy time travel shenanigans. The less memorable side cast (Cream? Blaze?) are still hanging around, but wisely shunted to background roles. Shadow's side-story goes even further into the lore of the series. I wasn't familiar with the story beats of Shadow the Hedgehog, but it's cool that they decided to call back to it almost 20 years later here. Does that mean the overarching story across both campaigns is great? I'm not sure I would go that far, but I can't deny that it's at least trying to be interesting. Sonic isn't exactly a character filled with pathos, and Shadow's grim backstory can verge on parody at times. Still, returning fans will get a kick out of the callbacks and newcomers can just skip past cutscenes if they find their attention drifting.

If you've picked up any Sonic game over the last 30 years, you'll probably be at least somewhat familiar with how Sonic Generations works. Using either Classic Sonic, who has the 2D stages, or Modern Sonic, who has 3D stages, you'll be speeding from one point to another, collecting rings and bopping enemies on the head. Each of the nine levels of the campaign represents a callback to prior adventures, and each level has two acts: one each for classic and modern. Along the way, you'll encounter boss levels that can be unlocked by acquiring keys. To get these keys, you'll need to complete smaller challenge levels that are found within the hubs of the major levels. These run the gamut from collecting a set number of rings in a stage to using Knuckles to dig up coins. This cycle repeats itself a few times before you eventually wind up at the final showdown against the Robotniks of both classic and modern era.

Perhaps my expectations were set too high coming into Generations, because I found myself disappointed with the gameplay. If there is an area where things shine, it would be the Classic Sonic levels. They are a satisfying return to the classic Genesis entries, and some of the level designs are fantastic twists on the expected. The physics can feel a little too floaty at times, but they never felt bad enough to completely derail a section. It's the Modern Sonic portions that really let me down though. The controls don't feel great, and actions such as the Homing Attack didn't always register properly. Cumbersome camera angles made certain platforming segments a nightmare, which made the issues with the physics more noticeable. Again, the level designs offer up creative and dynamic moments that help alleviate things. But I still felt myself frequently flustered by the poor controls and frustrating camera issues.

Shadow Generations follows the same set-up. Levels that are references to past Sonic games, a mixture of 2D and 3D stages and side areas that need to be completed in order to get boss keys. The difference between him and Sonic, though, is that Shadow has a suite of new abilities. Over the course of the campaign, you'll unlock five different skills to use in his levels. Doom Spears are weapons that can attack enemies and trigger switches, Doom Blast lets him launch enemies and teleport towards them, Doom Surf gives him the ability to ride across water, Doom Morph turns him into a big ball of goop that glides across certain surfaces, and Doom Wing gives him gnarly looking wings. Additionally, using one of the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow can slow down time if need be.

These new abilities both improve and lay bare some of my issues with the overall gameplay of Modern Sonic. Upgraded attacks like Spears and Blast feel much better to use than the standard homing attack, and it's fun to play through levels and see how they open new paths. However, for the Surf, Morph and Wing, the controls continue to be an issue. I found jumping while surfing to be unresponsive more than appreciated, and attempting to grapple with Morph was a pain. The camera angles when flying around in Wing mode make the last batch of levels extremely annoying to finish. I like the inclusion of these wildly different skills, and I think they do ultimately make it a more palatable experience than the regular 3D Sonic levels, but the gameplay here lags behind other modern 3D platformers.

Between the two campaigns and the side stages, there's a good amount of content here for players to sink their teeth into. It took me around 10 or so hours to complete both stories, but I still had a ton of side levels to finish, as well as a majority of the collectibles to find. If you have a love of the franchise, the bonus tracks and artwork would probably be worth snooping around levels to grab.

As something that was built for modern consoles, Shadow Generations does look better than Sonic Generations. The visuals of the levels are splashy displays of light and color, and interactions within them with Black Doom lead to some crazy looking moments. The White Space hub where Shadow spends time outside of the levels isn't the most exciting area to look at, but that's probably a purposeful decision. And while the dialogue they are spouting may be boring, the voice acting of Shadow, Maria and Gerald is great. It may not look quite as splashy, but the remaster of Sonic Generations at least keeps the game looking to an acceptable level. It's colorful and pleasant, which is all you really need from a Sonic game.

Sonic X Shadow Generations does some good things, and I think it could ultimately point to a good direction for the series to take. A blend of creative level design and unique skills could help the series regain its footing as one of the darlings of the genre. However, mechanical problems derail the final product. The controls are mushy and unresponsive in parts, and the camera is just as much an enemy as Robotnik's minions. This may have been considered the gold standard of Sonic games back when it first released, but perhaps that just says more about where the series was back in 2011.