The Horrors of Project Shadow - Aftermath
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
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Project Shadow, one of the darkest plotlines in the entire Sonic series, has a bit more to tell than I originally explained. Let's see what more Gerald Robotnik has in store for us by going over the rest of the Project Shadow lore.
---Table of Contents-----
0:00 Intro
1:21 Shadow's Return
2:11 The Gizoid
11:59 The Black Arms
21:44 Conclusion
22:13 Outro
22:54 End Screen
Intro song by Hyper Potions:
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#sonic #sonicthehedgehog #shadowthehedgehog - Hry
Let me know what you think about these additional plot points to Project Shadow? Good additions or do they go off the deep end?
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I really do think these were good additions!
@@SpeederLight yea me too
HEY. THIS CHANNEL IS DOPE. Love the Emerl plot point and was a childhood joy.
I can’t wait for Sonic 3 let’s just say that
They are awesome
Here's the thing. None of the Post-SA2 Shadow Lore directly contradicts anything stated in SA2. Shadow's still the final result of Project Shadow, Gerald still went nuts after Maria was killed, and Shadow still spent 50 years in a sealed chamber on Prison Island. Gerald using Black Doom's genetic material to actually make doesn't change the fact that until Gerald made Shadow, the closest he got was a cancerous laserdragon, and in fact explains how he was able to make the jump between said laserdragon and a four foot immortal hedgehog demigod with apparently no prototypes between them.
It also explains why he designed a FREACKING LASER in the Arc before going nuts.
@@grandevirtude9830 "gonna pull an epik gamer move on em" - Gerald Robotnik
Something that is bugs me till this day is where Gerald got the hedgehog DNA?? Please this question doesn't let me sleep at night til this day
@@Goremasterhelsing Being a Goverment funded Sciencist, going to a place where Hedgehogs live and picking their dna isn't something difficult to do.
@@Goremasterhelsinghe made sonic cum in a bottle
Oodly...i kinda like the idea of Gerald getting so desperate he essentially made a deal with the devil. It's a weird layer, but I like it and how it connects to the GUN raid and Shadow's Last Story.
Me too, it actually makes a lot of sense too, like where a lot of the traits like immortality etc and his biological makeup comes from
And it explains why Gerald went from a gigantic lizard to a Hot Topic hedgehog.
Yeah, it really highlights how desperate the man was to save his granddaughter. Even a selfless humaniterian like Gerald was willing to compromise his morals for the sake of his loved ones (though of course, he did everything in his power to prevent this).
"shadow, it's me, the devil"
This comment aged really, really well
I never get tired of hearing shadows lore. I just wish they do more with him in the games. Here's to hope on the movie🥂
So true
@Red Knight or there's Sonic and Tails R which I believe is actually better than the movies. Or the first one anyway - which I thought was simply fine. Not amazing, not terrible, just fine - as I have not seen the second, but from what I have seen through trailers I will give credit to them seeming to make Knuckles not seem like such a joke as he has been out to be in the 2010s. Especially with Boom doubling down on it as it drags him and the rest of the series through the mud with its self deprecating humor. How else can you explain "Tomatopotamus/Sonic never worked in 3D" to be anything more than, "you think I'm a joke? I know I'm a joke! Oh, please like me, please!" No wonder crap like had Emi Jones when asked by Chaomix himself, "how much of the Meta Era did they try to avoid when writing the radio drama" reply with
"Uh, all of it." Emi Jones
Truly words to live and die by.
@Red Knight you should look at checking out the rest of it, because not only does it bring back Ryan as Sonic, but it also brings back Jason as Shadow too. Plus it's also probably the best the Ultimate Lifeform has been written since 06, given that he actually remembers his promise to Maria, rather than the faker we have now in the 2010s with the whole "friends make you weak" crap and stealing pop corn from Chao because he didn't win a race. I think it'd be fair to say Maria would be turning in her grave at sight of what Shadow became in the Meta Era.
No spoilers! I haven't seen the movie for myself yet. 😡
@@HarmonyBunny the movie been out for a while now and CZcams has lots of spoilers 😒
I had no idea Emerl was related so closely to Shadow's story. Thought he was a random robot Eggman created
Coming from someone who never played Battle, seeing the connections between Gemerl, the echidna clans, and Shadow was so fascinating to learn about. I love this series' lore so much everytime I learn something new about it, I get so excited.
Sonic Battle plays a disproportionately HUGE role in explaining the entire Sonic lore up to now. It's kinda nuts how major that spin-off and Sonic Chronicles are.
Chronicles isn't canon though.
@@dappershinx9234 yeah but all those bits of lore just sitting there for any curious player to read really helps piece together everything
#️⃣Make Sonic Cronicles canon.
@@mitchellhancock7920 sue Penders of his legal rights to Sonic characters first!
the things id do for a long video of you just explaining the entirety of sonic lore like in this one
hi verified profile
You suck!! Upload for once!!
As long as it's canon, I would LOVE that!
Then would they start with sonic underground for sonic as it's the start of his journey with his family
FR
Okay but regardless of the Shadow the Hedgehog game's debatable quality, who else gets chills when Shadow goes super at the end and an instrumental reprise of Live and Learn plays? So perfect.
I also find it interesting that Shadow has a canon parent and who is that parent well blood rated his father is Black Doom if the fact Shadow was created by his blood wasn't obvious enough yes the game confirms that Black Doom is indeed Shadow's real father blood related wise he's a horrible father in every aspect I like Shadow having an evil father it's an interesting contrast to other Sonic characters except Cream who apparently have no canon parents to me Black Doom being Shadow's father perfectly showcases Shadow's heroism he is nothing like his father while Doom seeks to destroy and loathes humanity flaws or none at all Shadow in contrast while his relationship with humans is a bit strained at times he trust them and is willing to fight for their future as Gerald and Maria truly intended for him to become he is The Ultimate Life Form The Black Blur and a Hero With No Fear he's Shadow The Hedgehog Sonic's moral opposite and one of G.U.N's top agents alongside his best friends Rouge The Bat and E-103 Omega no matter how impossible Shadow will always give his all to give humanity a brighter future among all the darkness that comes in the future he's not always nice kinda like our lovable blue spiked hedgehog but he has a loyal and good natured heart a hero who will do what he must to help others against all the darkness and chaos that surrounds his work he has truly found the meaning in his life that he searched for so long so evil better bow their heads because All Hail Shadow
Finally... Shadow gets to Live and Learn, instead of die and get amnesia.
Reminds me of the Kirby lore.
YES
The game is so silly and I don’t like it very much in terms of shadows story but god do I still love that game it’s shadow ofc I still love it
Geez this just reminds me of how ruthless Dr.Eggman can be from threatening to turn Tails into mincemeat in SA1, holding Amy at gunpoint in SA2, outright being responsible for Emerl's death in Battle, taking Emerl's remains to build Gemerl as well as installing copycat software from Emerl into Metal Sonic, etc.
The Robotnik family across all of time and space as well as other dimensions are responsible for so much of the Sonic franchise's lore and cosmic events (Are we REALLY sure they're humans?).
I don't think Emerl's copy software got used in Metal Sonic. Unless I'm forgetting something I'm assuming you're referring to Neo Metal, but Rouge mentions that the remade Gamma looks like Omega during Sonic Battle, so Heroes has already happened when Emerl shows up.
They're human, with the main sonic cast being animals it's part of a simple environmental theme that forms the base of the franchise. The Robotnik's represent the environmentally destructive and in some cases self-destructive aspects of humanity. Who knows how things will develop in the future though.
@@WolforNuva
To be fair the Emerl Clones have the code name E-121 Phi which should logically come before E-123 Omega which could imply that Eggman was already working on them before Heroes happened and he just didn't get around to finalizing them prior to Battle as he was busy with being kidnapped by Metal and Fighting a war against the Black Arms.
@@WolforNuva Battle takes place after Shadow as he has all his memories
And then there’s Robotniks like Maria and Hope Robotnik.
I love Emerl's story so much, tying him into Project Shadow worked out really nice
I also like his legacy in the following games like meeting his creators in Chronicles or Gemerl in Advance 3, I just wish he was used more.
I think the additional lore helps to explain a lot of loose plot threads like why gerald made the eclipse cannon in the first place. None of the added info actually retcons anything from SA2 either, it just elaborates and makes more detail clear.
Some of it definitely does retcon the material since it retroactively adds continuity to past events ( which is what retcon actually means)
I agree. Not sure why he would say it like that, I actually really like all the complicatedness of Shadow’s lore. =)
@@fightingmedialounge519 Yeah, what he means to say is that for the most part it doesn't contradict what was already established.
The issue with retcons usually, is that they don't just introduce new arcs to something, they often change what happened in the original arcs too without adding much context to it. But overall, with expanding on Shadow's backstory, they added all these extra elements to it, without contradicting anything that came before - for the most part.
I think the biggest contradiction was more to do with present-day Shadow rather than what happened in the past, and how he goes from hating weapons in Sonic Battle to toting firearms with glee in Shadow the Hedgehog. But I suppose if you put Sonic Battle in the timeline after Shadow the Hedgehog; You could argue that he began to hate weapons after the events in Shadow the Hedgehog, once his memories about the events with the Gizoid came back to him due to the events of Shadow the Hedgehog.
@@KotCR Is it canon that Shadow the Hedgehog was before sonic battle? which is the canon timeline?
@@The1andonlysharpshooter Not sure officially; Sonic Battle was released before Shadow the Hedgehog, but IIRC they were in development at the same time. The storyline fits better if Sonic Battle comes after Shadow the Hedgehog in the timeline though - because in Sonic Battle, all Shadow's memories appear present and intact. He's also fairly sure of who he is in Sonic Battle. None of that uncertainty he displays in Shadow the Hedgehog.
The scuffle between the Nocturnus Clan and the Knuckles Clan sounds a lot like the clash between the Aztecs and the Incas. Heck, Tikal is the name of an ancient Mayan city.
Funny enough there is plenty of loose inspiration from those civilizations in the mystic ruins iirc (The Echidna race are kinda a composite of both Caribbean and South American culture).
I'm still so upset that Chronicles set that story up with so much potential and because of a lawsuit we'll probably never see it again.
@@Realdeal958 the worst part is the game is stated to be non-canon by SEGA.
@@Tharja-iBW Really? damn that makes it hurt even more. All that lore and Shade just gone.
@@Realdeal958 yeah the official encyclopedia came out officially endorsed by SEGA and it states shade is a non-canon character.
I, personally, think the deep, connected lore of Project Shadow is absolutely awesome. Even if a lot of it became for "plot convenience", it's really amazing how they made it all fit together in a way that still tells one long, interesting story.
I honestly love the idea that Gerald loved his grand-daughter so much he made a Faustian Bargain with an Alien Overlord.
It honestly justifies his insanity. He went that far for the family he loved, and for what?
--------
Amusingly that whole thing about the artificial soul, weird and out of place as it may seem, does a great job of justifying why Shadow was able to break free of Black Doom's mind control.
Faustian bargaining with me own thong, insane lord of all over and for what?
I really wish that Sonic Team would go back to badass plots like this.
I see someone was happy with their video popping off after the release of Sonic Movie 2. Unintended but I'm happy to see the Chaomix channel grow and you made a sequel to one of your best videos.
This video is amazing 😁
I might be the only one ho dosent care about the movie lol!
That scene with the commander realizing Shadow lost as much as he did is my favorite moment in Shadow the Hedgehog! One of the few moments in that game that actually got the point across well and stuck with me for years afterwards.
I think shadow's backstory could use a few updates and re-writes but overall it's solid imo. It's shame his character now is a "shadow" of what it used to be. With this backstory having little impact on him anymore. Let's hope he gets the knuckles treatment here soon.
I do think it could use an update to it
Let's hope Keith David voices him
I think what would be cool is if they went deeper into the shadow android plot. Maybe multiple Shadows meet each other, one which survived falling to Earth and now has only one thing left to do, destroy G.U.N, and another one which has amnesia like Heroes and sees G.U.N as home
@@Breakaway-ic5gj That would be super interesting.
Incredible use of the pun.
As a veteran Sonic fan who's acquired his memory issues via age, I appreciate you for the lore content that's so easy to grasp. And for having new info even after a lot of years. Good on you brother
I’ve never been a fan of Sonic to the point where I’d start to think about all the lore that goes into the series. The lore of a singular character is no exception.
After viewing this, I must say that this goes quite deep. SEGA really did put a lot of thought into Shadow’s primary story arc & lore. It’s pretty deep. I knew of the whole story with Maria, but I didn’t know anything else aside from that. The GUN Commander being a witness of the project really threw me off guard as it added a huge layer to that arc. Quite fascinating overall.
Yeah "shocking" a franchise that mostly revolves around an egg shaped mad scientist that turns animals into robots and a blue hedgehog that can't swim but has super speed, can have legit nuance put into it's story, characterisation and world building.
I wish more folks didn't have warped preconceptions (usually appeal to incredulity or reality) when it comes to what franchise's "can" have actual depth to it's lore in a positive light.
This video is so good! 😁
@@lynxfresh5214 it's mostly those people that grew up with the Cartoons/American Game Lore and not the Japanese Canon Lore
Eh, it's more like different creators implemented their different ideas for how shadow could be handled.
@@fightingmedialounge519 Yeah, there was sort of a behind-the-scenes power struggle between two men: Shiro Maekawa’s kawa and Takashi Iizuka. Shadow was pretty much Maekawa’s baby, as he wrote A2, Heroes, and 06. Meanwhile, Iizuka wrote the Shadow game. That explains why Shadow has consistent characteristization in those 3 games, but then it suddenly changes dramatically.
After revisiting games that cover Shadow’s journey post SA2, I’ve come to realize that I disagree that they ruined Shadow or took away any impact from his character. I feel like people haven’t revisited these games and have bias memories against them because I think pretty much everything before the 2010’s have done him justice.
I agree with you, I don't think the shadow the hedgehog game's backstory was smth that ruined shadow.
However, I do think his characterization on the game was really bad and it did start his edgylord phase, like for instance why would shadow ally with the black arms? Why would he literally dismiss humans after Maria's promise? That first cutscene is just dumb
@@henritaas9997 Actually this is exactly what I mean when I say that people need to revisit these games. He doesn’t remember his promise to Maria. The first real memory to fully develop is one of her being murdered with no context. He does NOT remember his promise to her. There’s a scene specifically dedicated to that in the hero route where the memory of his promise to her comes back and he goes full hero mode and fights Black Doom with Sonic.
So him being apathetic to humans actually makes sense in the beginning. His character isn’t ruined. Also, there’s three routes to pick from in the first mission and only one of them consists of him directly helping the Black Arms. And of course, it’s YOUR choice to go through with it. So if you don’t want Shadow to do that, you quite literally have two other options.
@@deathfliez627 well that's fair, it's been a while since I have played the game so I can't really argue against that
@@deathfliez627 I do agree that he doesn't know the promise to Maria, he still helped Sonic and co in Sonic Heroes. In the Hero story of Shadow the Hedgehog he's not very nice towards them even though he helped them in Sonic Heroes. In most cutscenes it looks like he hates Sonic and acts like he doesn't care about Sonic and co. And the conclusion of Shadow is the same as Sonic Heroes. Shadow says at the end of Heroes that it doesn't matter what his past is, he is just Shadow the Hedgehog. The same as in the Shadow game. He leans more to being a good guy because of Sonic Heroes. At the beginning it was for answers, but after he said that it didn't matter, he still helped with defeating Eggman with Sonic and co.
Not really. There have been several videos covering those games that still critize them for how they handled shadow. You just have a different opinion.
Personally, I think the overall true ending of Shadow where he let's go of Maria and Gerald was pretty strong, and imho a fitting ending to that particular era. I think with a different structure and implementing the black arms into the lore a bit better, it would have been a stronger story. The pieces are there, they're just jumbled up out of order in the puzzle.
If I had a nickle for every time Gerald Robotnik gave a being a soul based off of his granddaughter, I'd have two nickles. Which isn't a lot but it's crazy it happened twice.
(Also my girlfriend said that this is apparently a very Grandpa thing for him to do, so that tracks IG)
I understood that reference.
I genuinely want to see more of G.U.N. Commander. He's one of the few living characters besides Shadow with ties to the goings on from 50 years ago and the two have so much in common both being friends with Maria and victims of the old G.U.N. but work for them in the present. I can imagine him and Shadow butting heads while on the job like Commander treating him as a loose cannon who he has to begrudgingly admit gets results.
Rediculous... Saga isn't bringing back such a terrible character and game for a reason.
Actually, the Commander and Shadow became friends after the events of Shadow the Hedgehog. If you play through the games hard mode, you find out that after the Balck Arms are stopped, Shadow decides to go through an advanced training simulation to hone his abilities. And during this training, Commander Tower reaches out to him to apologize for the way he treated Shadow in the past. He even goes as far as to invite Shadow over to see his newly born granddaughter.
Whether Shadow was already working with G.U.N. during his training or not is sort of ambiguous, but regardless, it can be assumed that after speaking with the Commander, he began to work with them in earnest to help make the world a better place.
While some of the additions are bizarre I HAVE to love the continuity. There’s rarely if ever an overarching story from game to game in Sonic games and I love that there’s at least this tying it all together. It’s something I wish there was more of tbh
I like how after everything, Shadow finally lets go of his grief and past and moves on. Staying friends with Sonic and the others, well sort of since Sonic and Shadow are kinda of frienemies, but also working alongside G.U.N the people that took Maria and Gerald away from Shadow as an act of remorse and forgiveness and sore to help protect the earth like he promised.
No he does not fulfill his promise to Maria. In the end of the game he is so pissed that everyone says What he is, he has never decided who he want to be. And after hearing What Black doom has to say about his past he hates his past and Will have nothing to do with that. So when he beat Black doom he has like erased his past. And the ending where Shadow says goodbye to himself What that means is the Shadow who wanted to fulfill his promise to Maria is “Gone”. Of Course it the same Shadow from SA2 but that Shadow is gone if you know What i mean. This Shadow does What he wants. In japanease he says “Adios Shadow the hedgehog” which is a callback to SA2 and in the english dub where Sonic says “Sayonerra Shadow the hedgehog” which is fine but because Shadow the hedgehog was awfully translated he says “Goodbye forever Shadow the hedgehog” that dumb. Shadow does not forgive Them he is just not botherd with it
See this is why character driven narratives can be so interesting. I really believe that if the game itself wasn't a complete mess, the story wouldn't have been nearly as criticized as it was. Same goes for 06. Shadow's story was the PERFECT follow up to Shadow's acceptance of who he is. No more wondering, no more pondering, he is Shadow the Hedgehog, and he has a lifelong mission to carry out. And no matter what happens, no matter what obstacles get in his way...in his own words, "If the world chooses to become my enemy...I will fight, like I always have!"
06 gave the final declaration that Shadow knows exactly who he is, and what he was meant to do. It was a brilliant tale displaying all the growth Shadow had gone through during the course of the series. He is now a hero, arguably close to the level of Sonic, and yet he's nothing like Sonic. He's his own person, making his own decisions.
If SEGA wanted to (which I unfortunately suspect they don't), they could easily take another character and dive deep into their psyche and weave fascinating tales which would capture a whole new generation. My friend Xyno76 and I speculated in my own video about what Sonic Frontiers could (but probably won't be) and how it could possibly connect to...Knuckles!
*GASP*
Somewhere Ken Penders is screaming at the idea of echidnas being used narratively again. But fine, don't wanna go into Knuckles' history anymore? How about Silver's future? All we saw was the ruined apocalypse caused by Iblis. But Silver keeps coming back to save the future over and over again. Why? What's going on? Let's dive into Silver's life and see what he goes through as a time traveler.
There's so much potential everywhere and it hurts that they so readily cast it aside. Ugh.
Additionally, Amy Rose. Why is she so obsessed by Sonic? I really want to see an Amy game, since she's the only main character introduced in the MD era that has no backstory before meeting Sonic.
@@YujiUedaFan She read her fate in cards, it said "go to little planet to find true love" or whatever and Sonic was indeed there. I don't remember the specifics, but that is basically the gist. Honestly, I don't even care myself anymore because that trait of her was blown up so big over the years that the series ends up being better off without it.
@@lpfan4491 Yeah but what about BEFORE that? Also we only see it in the manual and it's never explained directly in the games.
@@YujiUedaFan What do you mean "before"? There would be no relevant history, it's like asking what Sonic did before Sonic 1.
And a lot of stuff was just in the manuals back then for all games, we shouldn't expect an ingame-version of the lore unless they make a reimagining of the classics, which they definitly won't because people will then yell about how they ruined those games with story that was already supposed to be in there, lmao.
@@lpfan4491 we know what Tails did before Sonic 1 and we know what Shadow did before Sonic 1.
I personally disagree that the additional stuff ruined or damaged the integrity of the original. in my eyes it only strengthened and added dimension to it in ways that was thematically in sink with the themes of it.
The original story had themes of good vs evil, nature vs nurture. Will vs purpose, the threat of weapons of war , etc and all this stuff is explored in the following games.
In essence, Black Doom represents Shadow's innate dangerous potential much in the same way as Emerl, and his opposing him in the end to be his own person mirrors him not lettings himself be Gerald's revenge tool in SA2.
Gun Commander himself is very much a parallels to Shadow himself, holding a grudge against Shadow and wanting revenge the same way Shadow did.
One thing I will add.
Guys. Why do we keep ignoring the crucial point about Shadow lettings go of his past and forging his own path and identity? I keep seeing this recurring aspect in videos where people just...ignore Shadow's vow to be his own purpose and act of his own will rather than that of others and its...weird
Exactly. Shadow’s arc after SA2 isn’t about revenge and redemption. It’s about finding your purpose. Sonic Heroes establishes that Shadow literally remembers NOTHING. He’s a blank slate. It’s like a rebirth. And because of that his solo game fits perfectly as a sequel to Sonic Heroes. Emphasizing Shadows free agency. Not only that the final ending of his own game still sends the message that he’s supposed to be a hero. So all the complaining about these games is actually pretty stupid and baseless.
The neat thing about that freedom to be his own person is how the majority of Shadow the Hedgehog, he’s being told “you are this, you’re destiny is this,” and one being literally able to command him. And it ends with him fulfilling one of his original purposes, stopping the Black Arms, and finding that freedom (leading to him being willing to work with GUN as we see in 06)
I can understand the complaints regarding the game:s writing as an overall package, but I never thought Black Doom's role in Shadow's backstory was part of the problem. I actually really liked the new context that that particular twist provided the situation with.
Honestly I think that the bigger issue with Shadow the Hedgehog's story lies in execution than in concept. The true ending of Shadow the Hedgehog was a genuinely interesting take on Shadow and Gerald alike that helps flesh both out, but it feels like the game hasn't really had time to set the concepts up or play with them ahead of that point because none of the paths you can take in the normal game really lead towards the true ending specifically. If they had some more time in the oven to bake up ideas like Gerald's will and how it was subverted by G.U.N.'s actions or how Shadow is trying to find his own way even before then I think it would have come together a lot more cleanly. As you said on a thematic level I think the Black Comet and Black Doom actually help build up everyone's favourite black hedgehog.
@@chrizzel28 @chrizzel28 Is that him? Long time no see my guy! Haven't seen your username in a dragons age!
Personally I feel the reason the game is set up the way it is is it's trying to show you all the paths Shadow could take if he just followed the whims of others. The reason the Last Story doesn't specify where it comes from is, thematically fitting of the game and the series, it doesn't matter. In the end, with whatever soup of info Shadow has, he chooses to go his own path and be his own person, acting on his own volition instead, and the previous paths show us what he is giving up by choosing this path.
Game is far from perfect, but if I had to get a bit preachy, I very much believe this is in part a case of people simply being anchored towards not giving it a fair shake. (Though some of that is very much at the fault of the game)
I wish more people understood how well the themes of each part of Shadow’s backstory connect together and tell a cohesive story of tragedy, rather than just dismissing it as “ew aliens bad guns goofy”
God I miss when Sonic lore was so complex and even convoluted at times... those were the days
So, what are your thoughts on Sonic Frontiers then?
@@johnnygyro2295After a decade of staleness. Frontiers made a HUGE improvement. It’s not perfect, but it’s a massive step in the right direction. Let’s hope it keeps going.
@@FujiMezu
Well, the IDW Comics are apparently also canon if that helps?
@@johnnygyro2295 Truth be told, until a few months ago I never knew Sonic had a comic series made by lan Flynn, lead writer for frontiers so that explains the improvement. As for the IDW series, I’m aware that there were prologue chapters connecting to Frontiers, which does make it canon.
On a side note, can you please tell me where I can find and start reading the IDW comics or anything canon related to Sonic?
@FujiMezu
Are my replies showing up by any chance?
Literally just wrote up the entirety of Shadow's lore for a passion project of mine hours before this video. Shadow is awesome.
Love the inclusion of the Sonic Chronicles lore, even if that game's plot has been confirmed non-canon by the Sonic Encyclo-Speed-ia, I still like to think elements of its backstory are still canon, 'cause it had some really cool ideas about Emerl / the Gizoids and such.
I really want Sonic Chronicles' lore to be canon. Was it ever said to be non-canon by the book, or specifically just the game's events?
@@RyanSonic It was in the non-canon section of the lorebook where the game was considered no longer canon. Poor Shade tho.
@@lynxfresh5214 Dang, entirely? The backstory will live on in our hearts.😔
@@RyanSonic As a matter of fact the moment in the book were Chronicles is declared Non-canon is during Emerl's Character description talking about how his Chronicles backstory is no longer canon and so his origin is a mystery again.
So yes Chronicles Gizoid lore was been removed from canon entirely.
@Caleb Vela
They actually did as I said in the officially "Sonic Encylo-Speed-ia" that was proved read and approved by Sega editors that was printed at the tail end of last year was it clearly stated during Emerl's Character description that Sonic Chronicles is officially non- canon.
The Black Arms arc was my favorite addition to the story. I mean with the real reason for the Eclipse Cannon and stuff, I believe it was a great conclusion to the story.
Can't wait to see Shadow on the big screen
NO SPOILERS!
Thank you so much for talking about Emerl's story!! He's so underrated and like nobody talks or even knows about him. 😭
I want a remake of Shadow the Hedgehog. That game had ambition and I'd love to see the full story in canon because it's hard to piece it all together. Imagine a Sonic 3D Collection with a Project Shadow story, you play the events of SA2, Heroes, and Shadow in order
yes!!!! but minus the guns..
@@bigd1ckjeff why are guns a problem?
@@bigd1ckjeff And then we are making Unleashed without Werehog and Colors without the Wisps?
Not the "ambition" card...
Shadow is my favorite character in all of the franchise (At least is Adventure 2 - 06 and in some parts of his game, the less edgelord moments the better, I mean, he can be cool and dark but not to the level as he has been recently) I am REALLY hoping they get his character right in the following Sonic movies
Honestly I don't think he's that bad in the newer games. In sonic boom, yeah he's terrible honestly. But he didn't really appear much in the colors/boost/meta era to be "ruined".
Also, the Twitter takeovers that have shadow are great. Sure there are some parts that are a bit "edgy" (which I attribute to him being a teenager) but there are also nice genuine moments (in the latest one, he reveals that Sonic tried to save him from falling to Earth, but knowing that Sonic would most likely perish along side him, he pushed him away. However he was still impressed and grateful for the gesture.)
His own game mainly didn’t do him any justice
Honestly, I just think the execution of the game itself is what turned a lot of people away. It was an incredibly ambitious project, but needed more time to be refined. The lore itself actually makes sense when explained in such a way. Shadow is still my favorite Sonic character, though recent SEGA interpretations have their limits.
Man, Gerald was a whole secret anti-hero until G.U.N stepped in
I do personally wish shadow after sa2 turned out to be a clone, I think it would of led to really interesting plot points. Like Him dealing with an even bigger exstential/ identity crisis like what metal sonic potentially went through in heroes. and it might even made team dark's bond look even stronger.
I mean, a variation of this is basically what I have been saying for years now. It's even just in the concept, "Dude who inherited the original Shadow's memories has to carry on his legacy" is just more inspiring and also respectful towards SA2 than "lol, he sorta survived even tho it was previously stated that he couldn't have survived and he was somehow in this robotpot for unknown reasons and and..."
@@lpfan4491 i agree 100%. it also barely makes sense how he could not only survive re entering earths atmosphere without his super form but tanking the potential crash landing.
I think part of the reason why a lot was retconned was because Sonic Team never intended to bring back Shadow. He was supposed to die in Adventure 2 and that would be the end of his story. So when people wanted him back, they had to come up with something
The Gizoid lore is so fucking good
First, thank you for giving my boy Emerl some attention
Second, while I'm indifferent towards the Black Arms, I never hated the plot they tried to tell. Rather the way they told it was..not ideal in certain aspects. But overall the idea of Shadow getting lore added to him even after his initial creation is something I miss
FUN FACT: Dr Gerald Robotnik character was inspired by Dr Gerard K. O’Neill (An American Physicists) who proposed colonisation of space using materials extracted from the moon and asteroid. [Just like Space Colony Ark] His theory on Cylinders and counter rotating cylinders would provide artificial gravity and atmosphere. Lizuka really done his research on developing Professor Gerald!!
That “Last time on Chaomix Z” was pretty cool, unexpected but I love it, also I love the new haircut Chaomix, looking spiffy!
I personally really liked the extented lore to project shadow, sure some parts a but shoe horned but the sonic lore has never been very precise, clear cut, or consistent since well the beginning and thats ok
Your retelling of Shadow The Hedgehog game made the story sounds fantastic, i really wished it was the case..
And the Emerl and Gizoids story is amazing, and a really cool adiction
_"My God, Project Shadow!"_
I will never get over on how G.U.N.'s whole thing is protecting earth and the lives on it, but all that they have done is ruin everything. (I like how it's the same in the movies as well it's kinda funny)
I think that if you bring back a popular character who died and had his resolution, then no matter what cannonical reason you make, it's going to feel shoehorned in for plot convinience. So to that extent I agree with you. However, seeing as Shadow is one of the most popular Sonic characters of all time, it'd be kinda stupid not to bring him back for more games. Given this, I think they did an EXCELLENT job at furthering his story after SA2! Thank you so much for making this video. You've just answered so many burning questions I've had about Shadow for years.
Not if bringing them back was always the plan.
@@fightingmedialounge519 Maybe someone else knows this better than me, but considering SA2's ending, I highly doubt that was the plan.
@@tails-spin0139 you seem to be confused here. I'm saying unlike sa2, If writers know their bringing a character back, then they can avoid it coming across as contrived or shoehorned.
@@fightingmedialounge519 This is why I said "had their resolution". If the plan is to bring the character back in the future, writers are supposed to keep the possibilities open. That way there's no reason for it to feel contrived.
@@tails-spin0139 not really. You can resolve a charcters current arc while still planning to do more with them. Planning to bring them back from the dead just means the writers know how their going come back and don't have come a reason at the last minute like sa2.
The Gizoid stuff along with the Nocturnus Clan fits perfectly within the Adventure lore, although like you said, the addition of the black arms was quite unorthodox.
"unorthodox"... Man I hate Sonic sucks ups...
Between Omega, Emerl, Metal Sonic and Shadow i feel like there could have been an amazing story developed regarding how "human" robots can become. Hell make a callback to Gamma too.
This channel is so underrated and should have more recognition
I honestly think that, if Sega had a bit more respect towards their first depiction of the character, Shadow would've eventually turned into a better hero than Sonic, a hero who is determined on protecting the happiness of the world to fulfill Maria's wish, and takes said task as a full-time job.
Sonic is a lot less serious about being a hero because his personality is more relaxed; he lives the moment and helps when the world is literally going to hell.
Maybe that's the reason why SEGA didn't take the consistent approach towards Shadow's character: he was so good it would make Sonic look too simple.
Here's the thing though... why can't there be multiple heroes? I don't get the focus on only Sonic and some random OC being the stars.
Shadow 05 is always the part where things get weird.
I fail to see how Shadow the Hedgehog retcons Project Shadow. The term is often used to refer to a new piece of information breaking the continuity with a new perspective, but who says that's what's happening here? All Black Doom did was provide his blood as blueprint so this new creature wouldn't turn out an unstable mess like the Biolizard. How does the professor needing outside assistance break the continuity?
Because people somehow assume that just changing the blueprint from perfect chaos to super sonic would automatically magic away the biological instability. Which is sorta not how that works in any universe, it is imo believable that the Black Arms-DNA just happened to be a valid stabilizer.
Heck, the game actually gives the missing link for the transition too because the Artificial Chaos in it are actually mutants created with Black Arms-samples.(Which would have been elaborated in a cut plotpoint, but the idea is still very much canon due to the evidence that did make it into the final game. This is where a potential remake would step in to reintroduce the cut context for clarity.)
@@lpfan4491 Wait, the Artificial Chaos are partly Black Arm? I never even knew that!
@@StylusShade I didn't too, until I saw a video that highlighted the details referencing it. Knowing it certainly explains why they look slightly diffrent from those in SA2(Because those would be the original model that is purely based on Chaos.).
@@lpfan4491 People believe that because it allows Sonic being able to use Chaos Control even with a fake emerald (something that Shadow didn't even think was possible) after only seeing it once to make sense. If hedgehogs were more in-tune with natural chaos energy, then making something based off that would naturally lead to a hedgehog.
Using alien DNA is a quick fix to things that didn't have time to be ironed out (like Chaos and chaos energy and sci-fi themes).
@@weridplusho Ok, but why don't we see Amy do anything with this? Unless you want to narrow it down to "Male hedgehog" and...no? Please don't?
How is it that Shadow has more depth as a character than the actual main character of the franchise?
Antagonists generally have more thought put into them than protagonists. Mainly because antagonists are meant to be the antithesis of the protagonists.
This is why Heroes through Black Knight all need to be completely remade from the ground up into like UNREAL 5 Engine! Put their entire hearts and souls into the game....the story, the artwork, the animations, Keep the OSTs but even remix them too and make them better too. Add or finish scrapped stages. Go all out and in with everything.
Man remember when Eggman basically killed Sonic's kid and then brought him back as a murder-robot and then it was just never mentioned again?
The thumbnail art is exceptional. They're pretty good normally, but this one is REALLY amazing. Good job, Chaomix
What a crazy story! Man I have so much more love for Shadow after watching this! As a child, I was too lazy to do all endings of Shadow The Hedgehog, if I had played more of that and owned Sonic Battle for GBA, I'd have a better insight. Nonetheless, great coverage on Shadow's story, one of my favourite videos of all time!
"Last time on choamix Ball Z"
was that intentional or just a typo?
A typo I believe, I saw some ppl joking about it on his discord lol
sonic : a heroic character
tails : a person who depended on sonic but now does his own things
knuckles : the guardian
chaotix team : the secret spys
amy : a girl who tries to help and give happiness to others
cream : a young go to a big adventure
big the cat : a person who likes to fish with his only buddy
rouge : an helper for the goverment who was okay to see half the moon get destoryed
omega : a robot becomes himself
emerl : the last gizoid but dies sadly.
chaos : a person who misunderstood everything but now is happy
shadow : a character who forgot his true past but now fixes things and help humanity
eggman : the villain who is the grand child of gerald
blaze : a character a princess
silver : a person who saw the worst on the futrue but now lives alone but comes when troubles are happening
It kind of Hinted that Rouge the Bat is the One that Hired Team Chaotix to discover Shadow Past. As each one of there mission takes place in a G.u.n Base, Eggman Computer, and Abroad The Ark. Rouge who has worked with G.u.n, Eggman and had acces to The Ark Computer would be the only one to be able to tell Team Chaotix to Investigate these Locations to help Shadow uncover the Truth. We never do find out the Mysterious Client that hired them in game. But for me I going to assume it was Rouge doing what she can to help out her friend. And as a Nice bonus for me in the IDW Comics Rouge had Hired Team Chaotix to investigate Mr. Tinkerer but kept her identity a secret. COINCIDENCE! maybe.
Honestly, I really don’t mind these additions. However, I wish Shadow 2005 presented better of how the story was told that It was not self parody. The lore really makes sonic world very interesting. I feel bad for Gerald and Maria man.Gun really is an important factor I. since it shows had dark and corrupt people can really be and what also trying to used great power for to help people will always come at a cost.
Shadow’s story is the most developed and interesting in the series. And has world building that I really wish we had something like this nowadays . We barely get anything from Sega like this anymore. Sonic movie 3 is going to be interesting since I wonder how they are going to tell Shadow’s story.
i was not expecting the mention of the Nocturnus Clan but i love it
but is it really a retcon if the specific details of his creation were left ambiguous?
I love the “Last Time on Chaiomix Ball Z…”
Sonic battle needs more love as well as Emerl
Never realized how much went into the lore of Project Shadow…it’s amazing
Well, to clarify as to why Black Doom needed the Chaos Emeralds. It was in order to teleport the Black Comet into Earth's atmosphere because if it were to enter Earth's atmosphere directly it would break apart.
MemeHawk12 approves! Love the content. Keep it up big dawg!
21:30 That's not why he did what he did.
As Shadow says towards the end of the game multiple times, he's putting the past behind him. Him killing Black Doom and destroying the Black Comet, even though it happened to have been what Gerald and Maria wanted him to do, was to bury what remained of his past once and for all. He even says so himself before chasing after Black Doom. "I'm not doing this for anyone else, and I'm bound by nothing." He says the same thing later on before transforming into Super Shadow. "Today's the day I will fulfill the the Professor's wish, and part with the past!"
After being told what to do by Gerald, Maria, Black Doom, Eggman, Sonic & Co time and time again, Shadow basically says 'I am done with everything.' Shadow proceding to throw away the picture of Gerald and Maria after saying "Adios, Shadow the Hedgehog." also makes that clear; Going back to Sonic's last words in SA2, that line was used to say farewell to Shadow. Going by an earlier script for SA2, Shadow was seemingly meant to say that after his first confrontation with Sonic who was about to be locked up; Shadow never thought he'd see Sonic again.
And here he is saying that himself; He's saying farewell to the old Shadow.
In fact, Shadow saying 'Screw it all' makes it a lot easier to believe he'd be comfortable with joining G.U.N; He simply doesn't care anymore.
This video not only pointed out things i never realized about the project and emerl's origins, but it reinvigorated my passion for continuity and sonic lore as a whole.
Its been so long since sonic has had an official story where anything felt like it mattered or was taken seriously...so long infact that i almost forgot what those old stories even felt like. This video, and the scope of the sonic 2 movie both really make me hope that frontiers gets allowed to tackle these kinda themes and stories again. I grew up following sonic lore and loving all the little bits of world building those days offered.
It would be such a gift to have those feelings back :(
A genius, ancient technology, aliens..so many had a hand in Shadow's story. So much lore and he's merely become a 2nd to Sonic, much like Vegeta to Goku ect..
This might be a hot take but, this is the best chaomix vid I think chaomix has ever made, I just love the amount of indept detail that was put into this.
As an old fart who dropped off the Sonic Game Lore wagon after Sonic Heroes, this was extremely insightful and interesting to watch. Thank you so much and kudos!
thank you for compiling all of shadows backstory like this. it means a lot to me.
17:45
Gun Commander:
Blames Shadow for Maria's Death--
Then willingly works for G.U.N. who ruthlessly killed her in the 1st place as an adult.
also the way shadow uses guns despide his best friend being killed by one
I love the black arms lore and especially love emerls lore.
New haircut lookin clean!
Even though Sonic's Uncle Sir Charles (Chuck) The Hedgehog is an animation/comic original character and not in the games, I was kind of under the impression that it was HIS DNA that was used to create Shadow as a basis for his general form, hence why he looks like Sonic in the first place instead of just another of the black arms; what with their many grotesque and varied appearances.
And Black Doom's DNA would simply be used to make Shadow capable of everything else in terms of chaos powers and may also maybe explain why Shadow is a black Hedgehog instead of blue like Charles in this theory. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was one of the very first lines of the show that had Sonic explain that rings themselves were Charle's inventions for Sonic! He'd already been researching the power of chaos and so may have been enlisted by Gerald to assist him in this research; eventually providing his own DNA after the previous failed attempts with Bio Lizard and the mini Chaos enemies you'd encounter.
It doesn't bug me, but the whole 'Shadow being a spitting image of Sonic' thing doesn't really align or even feel right if it's JUST a coincidence. And I think it's entirely plausible for Shadow to have more than one genetic code within him. It'd be just like how Connor Kent from Young Justice not only has the DNA of Superman, but also Lex Luthor.
I do imagine of that's the case however, given how old Charles is depicted to be when ever he's present, and the fact Shadow was created over 50 years before, Charles may have been close in age to Sonic when he met Shadow, hence why Shadow looks not only similar in appearance, but also in age to Sonic in the events of Adventure 2. Depending on how old Charles really is, it may be a bit of a stretch. And how or why Charles would do this? Well, Charles is depicted to be a renowned scientist and in the Archie comics, he was actually the one studying the remnants of Dark Gaia when it was a threat and the planet broke apart. He may have been an upcoming talent at the time. And as for why; maybe was out of empathy for Gerald trying to save his granddaughter.
And with all that in mind, that would essentially make Sonic and Shadow relatives (even though Sega doesn't want any of the game characters to have any relatives, that'd still be cool).
Give the obsession Gerald seems to have had with ancient civilisations, Shadow seems to have been based on a mural of Super-Sonic the Echidnas had created.
Then we add the colour scheme of the Black Arms.
His entire design in-universe seems to be... well... designed.
I actually really like the Shadow The Hedgehog game from a story perspective, if you were to take certain levels and cutscenes from different routes and splice them together in one linear playthrough it would actually be a pretty good game story wise. The gameplay of course has many flaws but I think the story and a lot of the concepts are very strong, Shadow has probly the best character arch's in the series. Never played sonic battle and never finished sonic chronicles because I couldn't stand the stylus controls so it was cool to learn about their story connections.
This is some way past cool information on Shadows character arc
I’m hoping Sonic 3 at least implies some of this, imagine the reactions.
I really enjoyed this. I forgot how complex the lore is for shadow
All this extra stuff is amazing. The only thing I might've changed was that the Shadow in his game was actually the original that Gerald created but the SA2 Shadow was a copy that Gerald made since it wasn't confirmed that he found the OG that Maria saved Like Rouge exclaims to that shadow in SA2. I'll say that I hate that ppl misunderstand the point of Shadows game saying that its just a repeat of SA2 when that's incorrect. SA2 Shadow saved the world as a promise to someone else, STH Shadow saved the world cause it was what he wanted to do for himself and nothing/no-one else including Maria because this Shadow is moving from his past. Love these vids. I think doin a vid on the Riders games be it for the Art or lore would be cool to see u do
He IS THE Shadow the Hedgehog. Dr Eggman rescued him after SA2 with one of his robots. He was sealed inside the pod in Sonic Heroes, rediscovered and awakened by Rouge. He just had a case of amnesia, that's all.
@@mitchellhancock7920 Everyone knows that
ye I don't get that either lol
Shadow lore goes deep
Shadow the Hedgehog has by far the Largest Character Exploration in the Franchise that if you first Learn from the Ultimate Lifeform is both Dark and Complicated,in all Honesty in my Opinion Sonic Adventure 2,Sonic Battle,Shadow the Hedgehog,and Sonic 06 explore the Character Perfectly since the Point of Project Shadow is a Tale about Tragedy and Lost while Facing the Past and Moving Forward and On with Your Life,when you think about it it's really Deep and Emotional so Yeah I Love how Things turn out and since I wouldn't Change the Events of Project Shadow since it makes Him Unique,I would love this those Events on Future Games and Sonic 3.
This video remembers me why I Love Shadow the hedgehog
The game, the character, or both?
@@jamiegioca9448 Just the character, the game is crap
the entire robotnik bloodline when they hear about a barely controllable ancient power capable of world destruction:
Plot twist: There still is one Black Arms creature left, and his name is Shadow the Hedgehog.
I honestly don't care if what was added later plot convenience, I like how it all fit together. Shadow's entire arc is interesting. Unfortunately the some of the latter half of it was just portrayed poorly in subsequent games following SA2 & after Sonic 06, Shadow became an edge lord. I hope that Shadow gets the respect he deserves soon. Imo Shadow in 06 was the best portrayal of Shadow.
I love how he calls the Echidna Clan the "Knuckles Clan."
Believe it or not, that is literally the name of the Clan. No ideas why or when it happened, but I guess it technically helps to differenciate them from the Nocturnis.(Even tho those people are noncanon, so oof.)
How often does Eggman trick someone into being evil??? Gah damn
(39) i love shadow as a character, a lot of people see him as a basic edgy character, but he has a lot behind the hot topic mask
With Shadow The Hedgehog being my favorite Sonic game, I really hope it gets a remake at some point to iron out the plot points for Project Shadow, like Chaomix said it's arguably the most lore heavy aspect of Sonic in it's entirety and I'd love to see a more polished retelling of it all.
Terrible game, terrible taste, terrible fan...
Stfu gravity falls
The way I've come to see the events of the Shadow game, is that it's some kind of coma induced nightmare. That's why the dialogue and continuity is so fragmented. Doom is just a representation of the anger and vengeance inside shadow, while his friends represent the qualities and humanity he's come to relearn. The different endings are all just broken convulsions his mind is coming to, while healing inside that large tank as seen in Sonic Heroes. Not the best fan theory but it helps me contextualize everything in a semi-continuous way
Dude, the video turned out so good!!! I agree that some of these things take away from Shadow's story but the Nocturnes, Gizoids, and Black Doom did add some neat things to the lore, even if the Encyclospeedia says Chronicles isn't canon. The new haircut looks good, man, and congrats on going to the Sonic 2 premiere!
Okay, when we were hoping for a video covering the extensions to Shadow's story in subsequent games, I wasn't hoping for covering of just straight-up non-canon Sonic games, as good as Dark Brotherhood was.