Did Shadow contribute to the downfall of the community during 2001-4?

It all used to be so simple back in the day eh guys? Sonic Team would dish out the goods, we’d enjoy it greatly. We had almost 4 cartoons to keep our Sonic tastebuds pleased, and to top it off, two or three comic books. We could do no wrong. We were the first generation of Sonic fans, the 90s were our utopia. We are known for our uncanny ability to stay loyal to a fandom. It was about 1995 when we realized that Sonic had somehow vanished, a blue streak of timeless classics with a few oddballs (perhaps, SpinBalls XD) were all that we were left with. For the next few years I began to branch out to new games and systems, becoming much more learned of the Video Gaming biz. I found classics like Legend of Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, ect… and to quench my thirst for Sonic I sought out little bits of memorabilia and lesser known games. A few PC compilations here, a rare Sega tips video there, I even managed to find a Sonic “Where’s Waldo?” (Find Freddy for you Brits) book but nothing like that is as satisfying as a new game.

That’s when the turn of the century came round. With the 90s almost over it seemed Sonic would never speedy onto our little TVs ever again. That’s when I saw the first Dreamcast commercial. The commercials they stated out with were a tad confusing (perhaps even irrelevant) but it got to the point where millions of SEGA characters were inside this machine (no Heroes jokes please) and one vaguely familiar blue thing with gloves and red shoes and green eyes appeared. What the hell… wait… is that? It couldn’t be! It could, because that’s the only blue rodent sporting tennis shoes I knew of that could run on the ceiling at the speed of sound! Sonic had returned with a vengeance! With the release of Sonic Adventure the Sonic fans were back once more, and with the internet now available more than ever, communities of fans sprung up and everyone was into the craze again.

I really wish I could say “And they all played happily ever after” but as we all know, even the once mighty SEGA is not invincible. Sonic Adventure 2 was our last great ‘all SEGA’ Sonic outing. Ask any old school fan and he’ll tell you it was a game to be remembered. I think was just after Sega announced the end of the Dreamcast and the beginning of their third party status was when the Sonic community knew something bad was going to happen. This omen came in the wave of newcomers to the series. Oh it never started out a bad thing, how can a new generation of Sonic fans be bad right? They loved the Sonic games…except…it was not the same. They loved the NEW games for one reason. Shadow (a little ironic isn’t it?).

Shadow was never initially hated by us old-schoolers. In fact, he did many things that aided us: He started the copy craze all over again (except this time it wasn’t in the form of a new Metal Sonic…that came later ;)), and with his backstory he helped us finally prove that Dr. Robotnik’s real name IS Dr. Robotnik (score one for the boys in North America XD). Shadow showed us that the Chaos Emeralds had more power than just making you turn super, and ultimately wins the contest for best character background in the Sonic series.

The new kiddies loved him, but loved him a bit too much. Within minutes of “Sonic Adventure 2: Battle” being released, message boards were filled with “oMg LiK the SAHdOW iSd AEwsSSoME!!!111 CsoINC iS DUmB!!111” and perhaps my least favorite “Who should go out with who?” *shudders*. The kiddies wanted - wrong word… more like - DEMANDED Shadow be put in all future Sonic games or else they would not buy it. Perhaps they didn’t realise that he kinda DIED in the end of SA2.

They argued, “No, he was Super, he won’t die from it”. Or “He used Chaos Control, he is alive!” First off all I want to point out that at the end of the game Shadow was sacrificing himself to save the planet in the name of Maria. In other words, He WANTED to die. How many people commit suicide by teleporting to safety? Exactly. Next, Shadow was in Super Shadow form so he is invincible. Fair enough. However, invincible and immortal are two different things. Shadow could still feel pain, and if you can feel yourself ram into the ground faster than lightning after burning up in the atmosphere, chances are you won’t live from it. I’m not making an angry rant, I’m just proving my point.

The kids would take none of it, (lets face it, Sonic fans haven’t been known for their striking intelligence) and with the Sonic fandom on the rise, Sonic Team was left with little choice. Sonic Heroes came round and sure enough, Mr. Evil NeedleMouse was there. Amnesia no doubt. As Dreadknux already stated, this took away almost all the lustre and charm of SA2. It’s as if the Grim Reaper said, “Yeah yeah, nice try pal but Maria is still combing her hair, so why don’t you come back in a few years okay?”

Shadow as a character was destroyed. It’s not to say that we old-schoolers didn’t mind seeing him again that much. Most of us hoped he’d get the ehem… “NiGHTS” treatment (a few subtle references in the next few games, maybe a cameo here or there, and maybe a secret unlockable character in 2 Player modes). That’s where I feel Sonic Battle hit the jackpot. In Sonic Battle, Shadow had all his memory and played a key part in the story, but I still consider him to be an extra. What’s great for him is that unlike the 3D games they focused on his ability to use Chaos Emeralds rather than “Let’s see how close we can get him to being Sonic without anyone noticing”. I felt Sonic Battle was the best tribute Shadow could get.

Nowadays it’s not just Shadow, but everything about Shadow that’s being pumped out of proportion. Chaos Control has been used so many times now with completely different results that it has lost all meaning. All of his aspects are now nothing special. Just because a few kids wanted to see him again. Don’t get me wrong; I love newcomers to the series. They one day will take our place when we all get carpel tunnel syndrome and ramble in nursing homes about speedy rodents and foxes attacking robots. I do not blame them entirely for ruining the series as the series is not ruined; its just another Sonic Spinball has been thrown into the mix.

We were once like them, spelling incorrectly, demanding Nack the Weasel comes back (its been 10 YEARS and it only took the Shadow fans a few months!!), and hey, we got the Chaotix back (sans Mighty but that’s not bad). It’s just the cycle repeating itself, except with us we had no-one to p-off with our decisions. Soon it will be the same for them, even newer guys wanting something they can’t have, and then Sonic Team giving it to them. Sonic Team is like that, they like to surprise you.

As for me? I’m just glad that the Sonic fandom is not dying off. We’ve split in a few directions from our differences and none knows what’s next in the future of Sega. So I’m gonna exercise that loyalty of ours, play some classic games, and ride the metaphorical roller coaster ride that is the gaming world.