Chaos Powers

[ultim8life4rm]

So, I've noticed a few recent topics regarding the Super forms. That got me thinking, what happened to the chaos powers that Shadow is supposed to have?

Shadow had Chaos Blast and Chaos Control in his game, but that was it. In 06' he had a Chaos Spear, but it was useless. All it did was stun the enemy so you could Homing Attack it (even though you could have just done that in the first place). He also had Chaos Snap (a version of chaos control) that he could use in his Kaio Ken Chaos Boost mode, but it usually just ended up hurting or killing you.

I think that when Sega decides to make Shadow a playable character again, they need to give him some cool, unique Chaos Powers; ones that work well and are implemented well in the gameplay.

Any ideas on new or old Chaos Powers and how they should be used in-game? Because without Chaos Powers, Shadow is just another Sonic Re-color with a darker personality.

Personally, I think that Chaos Spear should be added as a quick ground attack that can destroy an enemy. Like if you're running skating through a level and you see the targeting cursor pop up on an enemy/enemies, you can just press the B button to zap him/them with Chaos Energy and skate away. Whereas with Sonic, you jump up, use the Homing Attack, then wait for the cursor to show up on the next one, then use the Homing attack again, and so on.

However, that could easily become Gamma/Tails Mech/Egg Walker with faster projectiles, and I sure don't want that...

[Endy]

Lazy writing.

what happened to the chaos powers that Shadow is supposed to have?

Solo Sonic and lazy writers not wanting to write characters other than Sonic and Tails.

Edited October 18, 2012 by Enderwoman

[BlazingTales]

Lazy writing.

Lazy writers not wanting to write characters other than Sonic and Tails.

More like developers who hesitate to include characters other than Sonic and Tails in fear of being lynched by the collective internet gaming community.

[Kuzu]

Chaos powers are a real double edged sword in this series; On one hand they expand on the Chaos Emerlalds, and give Shadow a unique moveset from Sonic's....on the other hand, they've developed to the point of being less Sonic powers and more "ZOMG UBER-DBZ POWERZ".

[Autosaver]

More like developers who hesitate to include characters other than Sonic and Tails in fear of being lynched by the collective internet gaming community.

Well, they had enough courage to use Green Eyes.

[Soniman]

They never matched the level of DBZ.

[Kuzu]

They never matched the level of DBZ.

Chaos Spear=Generic Energy wave

Chaos Control=Instant Transmission

Chaos Blast= Generic Explosion wave

That's not even getting into the other shit

[Diogenes]

Because without Chaos Powers, Shadow is just another Sonic Re-color with a darker personality.

He doesn't need to be. Even limited to roughly the same core powers, there's ways to differentiate them. Even though they're supposed to be about the same speed, that doesn't mean they need to have identical stats in gameplay. Different accelerations, different top speeds, more or less affected by terrain, etc. And other stats, too, like jump height and turning radius. They could also have different attacks, even aside from Shadow's Chaos powers.

Anyway, what sort of chaos powers to give Shadow depends on how the game is designed, so there's only so much to say without designing an entire game along with it. Personally I think they should hold back a bit, though; Chaos Control's expanding far beyond its initial scope and it's edging on being some DBZ shit. Better to tighten the focus rather than have it do anything that sounds cool. So ditch Chaos Blast, ditch Chaos Boost. Go back to maybe just Chaos Control and Spear. The latter being a projectile of some sort, and the former...I dunno, slowing time I guess.

[Soniman]

Chaos Spear=Generic Energy wave

Chaos Control=Instant Transmission

Chaos Blast= Generic Explosion wave

That's not even getting into the other shit

Because no other forms of media ever use energy blasts/waves and teleportation.

[Naysu]

Personally, I think that Chaos Spear should be added as a quick ground attack that can destroy an enemy. Like if you're running skating through a level and you see the targeting cursor pop up on an enemy/enemies, you can just press the B button to zap him/them with Chaos Energy and skate away. Whereas with Sonic, you jump up, use the Homing Attack, then wait for the cursor to show up on the next one, then use the Homing attack again, and so on.

I really like that idea, and it would suit shadow, as well as making a new playstyle, a bit like metal gear, a sneak/destroy type of character, and sega has officially made him work for G.U.N now so that would be interesting to see him perform missions. then again, I would miss the speed aspect and sonic rivalry...

[Kuzu]

Because no other forms of media ever use energy blasts/waves and teleportation.

Not to the degree of where it's blatantly like DBZ.

[Pawn]

I'd rather that Shadow's Chaos Powers were limited to moves like Chaos Spear and Control. As cool as it was to use Chaos Blast the first few times, attacks like that just make him virtually invincible. Sonic's arguably overpowered these days without these additional abilities, so I don't see why Shadow needs to have much more.

[WarioBone]

I'd rather that Shadow's Chaos Powers were limited to moves like Chaos Spear and Control. As cool as it was to use Chaos Blast the first few times, attacks like that just make him virtually invincible. Sonic's arguably overpowered these days without these additional abilities, so I don't see why Shadow needs to have much more.

Cause it's "hip" and "now"!

[Kuzu]

I'd rather that Shadow's Chaos Powers were limited to moves like Chaos Spear and Control. As cool as it was to use Chaos Blast the first few times, attacks like that just make him virtually invincible. Sonic's arguably overpowered these days without these additional abilities, so I don't see why Shadow needs to have much more.

Cuz he iz da ultimate life form, and deservz to be the bestest character evar, and so making moar powurful will make him a bettur charactur. /fanboy logic.

Couldn't Shadow's abilities be used in a way similar to Meta Knight from Super Star Ultra? I mean he has three different "Fuck everything" moves, and he plays no better than Kirby. I mean I guess they could get rid of most of his abilities that are too similar to Sonic's.

[Sparky]

Have the Chaos Spear as a generic ground move, replacing the slide. The Chaos Control could be used with the Homing Attack, and could be the Y/Triangle action along with the Lightspeed Dash. The Chaos Blast could be used when the Boost Bar is overfull or something. Actually, I would love to see every character get their own ultimate move when the gauge is filledfilled filled. Sonic can have his Lightspeed Attack, Knuckles could have the Hammer Punch, Tails could have a Tornado plane/Bomb thing, etc.

[Blacklightning]

Go back to maybe just Chaos Control and Spear. The latter being a projectile of some sort, and the former...I dunno, slowing time I guess.

I dunno, I feel as though character abilities are something that should benefit from the level design to some extent... how much can slowing time really do from a level design perspective? It sounds like it'd be simpler just to give him a teleport move instead. Movement in a time stop might as well look instantaneous to the naked eye anyway.

[Kuzu]

I dunno, I feel as though character abilities are something that should benefit from the level design to some extent... how much can slowing time really do from a level design perspective? It sounds like it'd be simpler just to give him a teleport move instead. Movement in a time stop might as well look instantaneous to the naked eye anyway.

Maybe certain hazards can only be crossed if they're slowed down?

[Diogenes]

Teleporting might work, depends on how you go about it. I think you could do some interesting things with time slowing/stopping, though. Secret Rings did some stuff with Time Break...

[ultim8life4rm]

Have the Chaos Spear as a generic ground move, replacing the slide. The Chaos Control could be used with the Homing Attack, and could be the Y/Triangle action along with the Lightspeed Dash. The Chaos Blast could be used when the Boost Bar is overfull or something. Actually, I would love to see every character get their own ultimate move when the gauge is filledfilled filled. Sonic can have his Lightspeed Attack, Knuckles could have the Hammer Punch, Tails could have a Tornado plane/Bomb thing, etc.

Well said, sir! I like the idea of "ultimate moves" for everyone. Kinda like a final smash.

[Diogenes]

But in what situation is something like that really going to be useful? Sonic games aren't combat-heavy. You've usually only got a few enemies, easily dispatched with basic attacks. Much more than that and you bog down the gameplay.

[Kuzu]

Well said, sir! I like the idea of "ultimate moves" for everyone. Kinda like a final smash.

Yeah, maybe in a fighting game, don't know what use it'd be in a platformer.

[Blacklightning]

It could work if they double as a movement benefit as well as an attack. Like giving Sonic Unleashed style boost but requiring you to fill the entire meter before you can use it for a certain length. Likewise you could give Shadow his level-skipping ability ala ShTH, Amy could home in on multiple enemies and give them all a great big whack ala SatBK, Knux could go underground and stay there as long as it takes to get from one point to another, and so on and so forth. It's hardly a necessity, but it'd be nice to see characters that can benefit from a gauge the same way Sonic can, and all the associated risks/rewards by proxy.

Edited October 19, 2012 by The Chivalrous Cheese

[Diogenes]

Likewise you could give Shadow his level-skipping ability ala ShTH,

Whyyyy. Why would I want a move that lets me not play the game.

[ultim8life4rm]

True.

[UltDevilDoom]

I like the chaos powers. They were somewhat limited in Shadow the Hedgehog in terms of playability, but '06, as awful as it was, introduced more chaos powers for Shadow. Sega really built on chaos powers up until Unleashed. I'd like to see more chaos powers again sometime in the near future.