Your character direction

[Chaotix Prime]

I want to see Sonic at least actually 'try' to kill someone instead of defeating them and say "better luck next time!" and let them go free, like he always does.

I think it'd make him more badass.

The fact that Sonic doesn't try to kill makes him a person you can trust to strive for right. This is a part of being a hero. Have you not WATCHED Batman Begins. Besides, when Blaze tried to kill he showed his perspective. So I'm glad he never will. Doesn't mean I think he shouldn't try to put his enemies in prison.

I'd love to see a "Super Eggman", whether he purely powers up with the Emeralds or- putting his brilliant mind to use- creates a power suit to enhance his speed and strength via the Emeralds' energy. As much as I love the bulky mechs, something more focused on the man himself would be awesome.

Couldn't agree more on how awesome that would be. I always had fantasies about that when I was younger.

Because in his childish mind, no one deserves to rule the world as much as he does. The fact that one of the existing governments wrongfully murdered his grandfather might have something to do with it as well.

I like this, this is quite in-depth. His grandfather has potential to define who he is even more.

I think of Bowser and Eggman as opposites in many ways. For example. Bowser is about brute force and strength in numbers, whereas Eggman is more about intelligent scheming and self-reliance.

If Mario and Sonic were to have a canon crossover game, I think Eggman and Bowser would actually make a great pair because of this.

Actually, I think their opposite behaviors would eventually split them apart. Their pride would probably also get in each other's ways. Eggy would probably find Bowser too incompetent.

As for every attack made to Shadow. I have a Mario and Sonic comic I want to novelize for people to see the hog still has potential. All his inner conflicts that eventually allow him to make his own path.

[Sankai]

I'd balance all the shadowy characters. I mean, look at Metal Sonic and Espio Chameleon. They are SO AWSUM SAUCE. You truly have the feeling that you don't know that much about them... that sense of mystery. And SEGA makes it so obvious that they are trying to make Shadow that character- but they can't resist throwing him into huge parts of everything, and spilling his arrogant wannabe guts.

But can you blame them? I mean, he is the most POPULAR CHARACTER IN THE SERIES. Bleh. He truly is, according to polls. But when SEGA sticks with the polls they ruin everything. God. I hate them.

PROOF

You know, Shadow is the ONLY one with a major canon solo adventure.

BACKUP

That game was fucked up beyond all recognition.

PROOF

In Sonic 06, Silver turned Sonic into a mop. Then Shadow turned Silver into a mop. They've already established a food chain: Shadow > Silver > Sonic.

BACKUP

That game was fucked up beyond all recognition.

PROOF

I believe he's been in every canon game since his first appearance.

BACKUP

Any game after his first appearance was fucked up beyond all recogniton.

Anybody notice a patern?

CONCLUSION

SEGA is fucked up beyond all recognition.

[Sega DogTagz]

In Sonic 06, Silver turned Sonic into a mop. Then Shadow turned Silver into a mop. They've already established a food chain: Shadow > Silver > Sonic.

According to Sonics POV, Silver only won on a cheap shot. Sonic had him beat. Silvers POV does not really contradict this (seeing as how it conveniently skipped how he got Sonic in that position) so we can assume that Sonic did get the best of Silver in that first bout.

Then there is the fact that all hope was immediately lost for defeating Solaris w/o Sonic. Thusly establishing a new pecking order that looked something like.....

Sonic > Everyone else Combined.

[Sankai]

Yeah, but still. Everyone knows that Shadow is a popularity whore. Yet some people hate the Sonic series and are diehard SHADOW fans. Like... I mean, Shadow FAN SITES. It doesn't make fucking sense.

[Sean]

Is Shadow even popular anymore? It's not like anybody really likes him. He's the buttmonkey of the series.

[Sega DogTagz]

Dude sells tickets games. You really cant argue that from a business perspective. You kinda just gotta learn to live with it.

I remember back when Zero came out, and all the kids I know pretty much turned their backs on Megaman. Crap just works out that way. Newer and edgier for the next generation. Main Characters are upstaged by anti-heroes all the time.

I agree that Shadow could use some downtime, if only to regain some of his lost mystery, but at the end of the day he will still be around. Seeing as how unbalanced the forces of good and evil have become these days, the series kinda needs him as a wildcard anyway.

Is Shadow even popular anymore? It's not like anybody really likes him. He's the buttmonkey of the series.

He still has a good deal of supporters out there. His opposition just enjoys a vocal advantage. Its even cooler to bash Shadow these days than it is for IGN to bash 3D Sonic

*shot*

Edited September 20, 2009 by Sega DogTagz

[Badnik Zero]

I really want Shadow to stop being Knuckles 2.0. The problem with that is that Knuckles needs to stop being Tails 2.0 for that to happen. The cast's been expanded a lot in the past decade, and if they want to cut down on that (and Unleashed was a good start) they need to find story roles the characters are fit for. Playable Sonic plus one other playable per game would be fine by me. I think part of the issue is that all characters are playable upon introduction. I don't think Shadow's even been in a game where he wasn't playable. That makes it harder for him to be in a game where he doesn't play some pivotal role. Now we have a cast comprised entirely of main characters. Does anyone know what I mean? Tails becomes a supporting character easy enough because of his sidekick status. Shadow is harder to sideline because he's always played (anti)hero. I think Shadow could shine in a partial-nemesis role, but that means stories need to shift away from him.

As long as they don't give him amnesia again. RAGH, WHO AM I!

[Sankai]

IDKY, but I just frown upon Shadow and those who are big Shadow fans. In my eyes, he's a wannabe thats trying to be something edgy and cool, but SEGA forgets these are DAMN ANTHROMORPHIC HEDGEHOGS AND TEN YEAR OLD GENIUS FOXES WITH MUTATED ASSES.

[-Mark-]

Like I've said before, I'd do away with Knuckles being the guardian of the Master Emerald (it's a long-dead plot point that only gets in the way of his presence these days anyway) and have Chaos assume the role.

Other than that the only thing I really want is for Metal Sonic to actually have a decent moment in the spotlight as a total badass-unstoppable killing machine for one game. In everything he's been in so far, he's never really been done justice. His role in Heroes was a joke and in Sonic CD he died running into a wall. D=

Oh, and the less said about his inclusion in Chaotix, the better. I want the kind of near-unstoppable terminator-esque Metal Sonic that we saw in Sonic the Comic, and to a somewhat lesser extent the OVA/ Movie.

EDIT: And Sankai, Tails is eight.

Edited September 20, 2009 by Mahzes

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

But can you blame them? I mean, he is the most POPULAR CHARACTER IN THE SERIES. Bleh. He truly is, according to polls. But when SEGA sticks with the polls they ruin everything. God. I hate them.

Eh? The hell are you talking about?

Okay, yeah he's a very popular character but you must be kidding yourself to think he is THE most popular character in the series. Sonic has always remained in that position since day one.

As for his appearances in games that are FUBAR'd, that wasn't his fault.

Yeah, but still. Everyone knows that Shadow is a popularity whore.

Anyone who thinks that is really just jealous of Shadow getting positive attention instead of added negative ones. I've seen it at the core, and know exactly why people think him that way. Stuff like that is ALSO adding to his "attention whore" status.

You could say that for other characters namely Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. And people are willing to pull every excuse they can just to keep together rather than worry about if their roles are good or not, with the "Classic Trio" idea that I find ridiculous and chains down their true potential.

And this even more evident especially when it comes to their roles in games like Sonic 06. And Shadow wasn't hogging any spotlight anymore than he was given a role, nor did he do so in SA2 or Heroes. His own game however, yes, for obvious reasons.

Yet some people hate the Sonic series and are diehard SHADOW fans. Like... I mean, Shadow FAN SITES. It doesn't make fucking sense.

Looks like you're taking that a little too seriously. S'not that big a deal...

IDKY, but I just frown upon Shadow and those who are big Shadow fans.

I'm a big Shadow fan. You're gonna look down on me just for simply being one? Because just so ya know, not everyone who is a big Shadow fan act like children.

EDIT: And just to add on, most Shadow fans ARE in fact children. And we know how children are when it comes to what they like.

And frankly, you can see similar attitudes when it comes to other character fans as well. Shadow just somehow ends up with either the most vocal fanbase, or the fanbase that have other more vocal ANTI-fanbases watching their every move just so they can make a reason to dislike them.

In my eyes, he's a wannabe thats trying to be something edgy and cool,

As is Sonic. Both characters were designed to be that, with Shadow being the more sinister and darker of the two.

EDIT: Except they're not trying to be wannabes of any sort.

but SEGA forgets these are DAMN ANTHROMORPHIC HEDGEHOGS AND TEN YEAR OLD GENIUS FOXES WITH MUTATED ASSES.

Chill out, geez. Not trying to offend you, but for someone who hate's die-hard Shadow fans, you sure do share the same attitude when it comes to that right there...

Is Shadow even popular anymore? It's not like anybody really likes him. He's the buttmonkey of the series.

Last I checked, yeah he still is...

Quit being silly, Jake. You know as well as every other person on the forums that he is still a popular character. He's been so since SA2 (of course every knew that), and he was still popular during his own game despite the equally negative reception he got.

But seriously tho, you really need to look outside your perspective of the character. It's not the best judgement in knowing how popular a character is.

Plus, you got the buttmonkey part wrong...

Edited September 21, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Dr. Mechano]

Character direction, eh?

I'd make Eggman even more sympathetically developed, then. SA2 gave us some good ideas, but I'd like to expand on those ideas and flesh them out a bit more. SA2 gave us some really good insight into Eggman's personality, and I'd like to go back to that sort of insight, delving deeper and deeper into his psyche and making the character all the more likable.

Maybe expand on his backstory too- We know the gist, that he idolized his childhood hero and grandfather, Professor Gerald. But things like his turn to supervillainy could be very interesting to expand upon.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I know people might not like it, but I think it would be really cool if Eggman somehow lost weight and became more athletic. I'd think he'd be even more badass in appearance, while still remaining the way he's been over these years.

I wonder what Eggman would look like as a child...

[Dr. Mechano]

I know people might not like it, but I think it would be really cool if Eggman somehow lost weight and became more athletic. I'd think he'd be even more badass in appearance, while still remaining the way he's been over these years.

2K6 sorta did that. And for what it's worth, I thought the slimmed-down look worked for him, though it lacked that cartoonish charm I'm so fond of. Still, that's more because of 2K6's realistic style rather than Eggman's thinness. Thin cartoony Eggman could work, but then his alias would make less sense.

Maybe I'm overthinking this.

[Sega DogTagz]

2K6 sorta did that. And for what it's worth, I thought the slimmed-down look worked for him, though it lacked that cartoonish charm I'm so fond of.

Sure it was different, but I LOVED Eggy in 06. A lot of people will disagree, but one of the reasons why I was so seriously disappointed with the game was because I knew I would never see realistic Egg-Head again.

[Sankai]

Eh? The hell are you talking about?

Okay, yeah he's a very popular character but you must be kidding yourself to think he is THE most popular character in the series. Sonic has always remained in that position since day one.

As for his appearances in games that are FUBAR'd, that wasn't his fault.

Anyone who thinks that is really just jealous of Shadow getting positive attention instead of added negative ones. I've seen it at the core, and know exactly why people think him that way. Stuff like that is ALSO adding to his "attention whore" status.

You could say that for other characters namely Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. And people are willing to pull every excuse they can just to keep together rather than worry about if their roles are good or not, with the "Classic Trio" idea that I find ridiculous and chains down their true potential.

And this even more evident especially when it comes to their roles in games like Sonic 06. And Shadow wasn't hogging any spotlight anymore than he was given a role, nor did he do so in SA2 or Heroes. His own game however, yes, for obvious reasons.

Looks like you're taking that a little too seriously. S'not that big a deal...

I'm a big Shadow fan. You're gonna look down on me just for simply being one? Because just so ya know, not everyone who is a big Shadow fan act like children.

EDIT: And just to add on, most Shadow fans ARE in fact children. And we know how children are when it comes to what they like.

And frankly, you can see similar attitudes when it comes to other character fans as well. Shadow just somehow ends up with either the most vocal fanbase, or the fanbase that have other more vocal ANTI-fanbases watching their every move just so they can make a reason to dislike them.

As is Sonic. Both characters were designed to be that, with Shadow being the more sinister and darker of the two.

EDIT: Except they're not trying to be wannabes of any sort.

Chill out, geez. Not trying to offend you, but for someone who hate's die-hard Shadow fans, you sure do share the same attitude when it comes to that right there...

Last I checked, yeah he still is...

Quit being silly, Jake. You know as well as every other person on the forums that he is still a popular character. He's been so since SA2 (of course every knew that), and he was still popular during his own game despite the equally negative reception he got.

But seriously tho, you really need to look outside your perspective of the character. It's not the best judgement in knowing how popular a character is.

Plus, you got the buttmonkey part wrong...

Ok, maybe I DID make a big deal... but, well, the point is, Shadow IS a POPULARITY WHORE, SEGA has put him in every canon game since his first appearance! And THAT's why I dont like him. They're going for an enigma character, but he's in every damn thing resulting in a character YOU JUST KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT, yet SEGA keeeeps trying to make him an enigma just ruining that reputation even more every try. Then, the characters like Metal Sonic that really ARE shadowy and cool and could be great enigmas aren't in things ENOUGH! He's stealing the attention from everybody else.

And--- I think you just called SONIC the same thing, and lets not forget HE'S THE TITULAR CHARACTER OF THE FRANCHISE AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE CHARACTER WAS INTRODUCED.

[Indigo Rush]

SEGA has put him in every canon game since his first appearance!

Sonic Advance.

Sonic Advance 2.

Sonic Advance 3.

Sonic Rush.

Sonic Rush Adventure.

Sonic Unleashed.

Something I wrote a while back in regards to Shadow.

I don't hate Shadow, I'm just annoyed at the fans who are humping his leg, or the fans that are hacking away at it with a axe.

Extremists, in both lights, always find a way to take something and ruin it. This "Shadow should have stayed dead," or "I want Shadow to have my babies," is a complete crock of Chao droppings. He's angsty, his past is solved, and now he works for GUN alongside Rouge and Omega and goes out on adventures when needed. He's a reserved character that doesn't need to be shoe-horned in every title (and hasn't, not in Secret Rings, Unleashed or the Advance and Rush series) and by no means fits the definition of an "emo." Emos sit at home, cry to their Linkin Park posters and cut themselves with the leftover plastic spoons their mothers (or lack thereof, hence the emo) left in their lunchbox. They don't do anything about their problems.

Shadow was by no means emo. I'd be pretty messed up if my closest friend was murdered right in front of me, and I was sealed in a capsule for half a century. Also, learning that I'm not natural, but a freak of nature and completely bioengineered by a scientist that later turned mad and alien blood, and learning that my special power, the one power that was unique to me, Chaos Control and insane speed was also harbored by a hyper blue hedgehog that hangs around a little fox and casts out corny lines involving pieces of cake, I'd be a little sad myself. The thing is, Shadow goes a step beyond and fulfills his duties (or whatever he thinks it is) and follows through to the best of his ability. Also, the fact that he can control time and space with the energy of one Chaos Emerald and is called the Ultimate Lifeform adds to his cockiness. Because of his twisted history, which he later turns his back on, he's also a little far from earth. He holds what can be referred to as the dark side of Sonic's attitude. He has one, but it has more of a bark and bite to it. Plus, Shadow has no problem riding vehicles when he can't get past certain obstacles with his general abilities, and is certainly content with packing heat.

So, why is it that Shadow has such a bad rap?

It's because of the gothic, punk and emo Sonic fans (or not) who like Shadow because of his horrid past, his black and red color scheme and his wicked attitude. And I've hung around these people before. Trust me, they're rebellious and don't listen very well, and whine about their problems to anyone who happens to say "Hi" to them. So don't be surprised that Shadow fangirls or fanboys are willing to defend this character above all others. It's really messed up, and it's because of these insane fans that the older or more sane fans hate Shadow, because he brought these guys into the fanbase. Now, getting more people to enjoy Sonic games isn't a bad thing, but what is bad is that these fans try to get involved more than they should. They want more Shadow, more darkness, more sad and twisted plots, because for many of the Shadow fans, Sonic Adventure 2 was their first foray into the Sonic franchise. To some, that's all Sonic is. It's like a Sasuke fanboy/fangirl who thinks the anime/manga Naruto is about Sasuke's sad past.

Plus his starring game was sub-par to many. That also hurt his reputation.

So, to those who hate Shadow, I suggest you look into "why" you hate him. It's silly to hate a character because of their color or their character development, but perfectly reasonable to harbor some contempt against those that would love nothing more than to raise a family with him as the father figure. Or those that want to take a gun to his face because he's "not classic Sonic."

Blame the extremists, not the character.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Guybrush Threepwood

[Sankai]

I said CANON game. None of the handhelds are canon.

[Badnik Zero]

Most of the handheld games are canon. Look at Advance 2 or Sonic Rush, both introduced a character that's gone on to star in main console games. Main series and canon aren't the same thing. But we're going off subject here.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Ezra the Badnik

[Dr. Mechano]

I said CANON game. None of the handhelds are canon.

Says who?

This is a baseless fan assumption. Sega themselves have never officially said that the handheld games are non-canon. Unless they say so, the burden of proof is on the one claiming they're not canon, i.e. you.

[Indigo Rush]

I said CANON game. None of the handhelds are canon.

They are as canon as any of the classics are. Just another adventure for Sonic and friends, and Sonic Advance 3 even has back references to Sonic Battle, another canon adventure.

Sonic Rush is canon, introducing Blaze the Cat and Eggman Nega, and in the same light Sonic Rush Adventure is canon, being the sequel to the former. Heck, Marine the Raccoon has her own Sonic Channel profile, essentially solidifying her into the series canon.

And then comes Sonic Unleashed, which is most certainly part of the series canon, and Shadow wasn't around to mess that game up at all.

Your argument is flawed. Better luck next time.

[Phos]

Character direction, eh?

I'd make Eggman even more sympathetically developed, then. SA2 gave us some good ideas, but I'd like to expand on those ideas and flesh them out a bit more. SA2 gave us some really good insight into Eggman's personality, and I'd like to go back to that sort of insight, delving deeper and deeper into his psyche and making the character all the more likable.

Maybe expand on his backstory too- We know the gist, that he idolized his childhood hero and grandfather, Professor Gerald. But things like his turn to supervillainy could be very interesting to expand upon.

So basically, those parts where you play as that troublesome blue rodent would be brief interludes between the MGS4 length cut scenes of Eggman reminiscing about his growing up and the spark that got him interested in science and why he likes eggs so much, excreta.

But seriously, if Eggman got much more sympathetic it would come to the point were it would seem like Sonic is just breaking his things to be a jerk.

2K6 sorta did that. And for what it's worth, I thought the slimmed-down look worked for him, though it lacked that cartoonish charm I'm so fond of. Still, that's more because of 2K6's realistic style rather than Eggman's thinness. Thin cartoony Eggman could work, but then his alias would make less sense.

Maybe I'm overthinking this.

Eggman in Sonic 06 was weird looking, like he had a distinct abdomen and thorax or something. Oh, and maybe adult diapers. Regardless, it was still lacking the way classic Robotnik seemed to be

A character who behaves like a balloon has been done from time to time before, but never as a villain to my knowledge.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Ok, maybe I DID make a big deal...

Oh yes, you made quite a BIG deal over that, son. And this particular forum has since tried to get over this kind of junk, with varying success.

but, well, the point is, Shadow IS a POPULARITY WHORE, SEGA has put him in every canon game since his first appearance!

Hahah...no, he's not.

Like I said, all of that is really just jealousy on your part and adding onto his so called "popularity whore" status.

They've done the same with Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge by bringing them in almost every canon game since their introductions becoming the major supporting cast. By that definition, they too are popularity whores, and yet you gave no attention to them.

On top of that Shadow was left out of Sonic Unleashed, which is a canon game I might add.

And THAT's why I dont like him.

You hate him because he some how gets more attention from other people than other characters? That's not making any sense to me when you can just not worry about that attention, and especially when it's not even true.

People give Tails and Knuckles equal attention and in some ways are slightly more "popularity whores" than Shadow ever could seeing as how people refer to them as the Main Characters who should be in every game, despite them really being more Supporting characters like all other characters after them and aren't really necessary.

They're going for an enigma character, but he's in every damn thing resulting in a character YOU JUST KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT, yet SEGA keeeeps trying to make him an enigma just ruining that reputation even more every try.

Don't know where you get that from, but all I can say is that you're overexaggerating it.

Sega can ruin any game with or without Shadow, just like they can make a great game with or without Shadow. I don't know what you're making of all that.

Then, the characters like Metal Sonic that really ARE shadowy and cool

Since when does appearing in four games make a character "shadowy and cool"?

and could be great enigmas aren't in things ENOUGH!

Or Metal Sonic could be another shitty character just like Tails, Knuckles and all the other characters. Things aren't always a guarantee.

He's stealing the attention from everybody else.

You really gotta get over that jealous feeling of yours, because you're just making it look like that way and ADDING to the attention. Can't you see?

And--- I think you just called SONIC the same thing, and lets not forget HE'S THE TITULAR CHARACTER OF THE FRANCHISE AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE CHARACTER WAS INTRODUCED.

Well no shit.

But what you said was that he was trying to be a wannabe cool character, and Sonic (among other popular characters) as the TITULAR CHARACTER is doing the same thing in the same shitty fashion. You're really just getting pissy at something you could really pay no mind to, or better yet, be realistic about.

Sonic and Shadow were both designed to be cool characters, with Shadow being the darker and sinister of the two. Both characters are fairly popular, as are Tails, Knuckles, Blaze, and to an extent Silver (as well as any other character I may have missed). All those I have listed are the popular characters, not "whores" and most certainly not "popularity whores", but popular characters. And each one has fans that anyone can find annoying. I'd even go so far as to put Big the Cat on the list as his fandom is growing incredibly fast.

Shadow's fans are either more vocal than others, or has jealous Anti-fans who fuss at every little detail they can dig up on them. But also mind that the more vocal people are likely to be young children who are not as mature as adults are...or adults who act like know-it-all assholes...

Edited September 21, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Sankai]

I still dont think you're grasping my point- You can consider Knuckles and Tails main characters, even Amy Rose, they've been there since the legacy titles. But you see- Shadow came in and just started stealing everyone else's thunder! It isn't jealousy, I'm not jealous of Shadow in any way- I just think he's more interesting when he isn't in everything- like for example, if maybe they took him out after SA2 and threw him back in a few years later with "The Grand Reintroduction of Shadow the Hedgehog" instead of putting him in every canon game except for Unleashed which sucked anyway, he might actually have the image SEGA is blatantly going for for him.

(By the way, I think you also misunderstood my "But thats ruining that repuation" as meaning Shadow is ruining SEGA's reputation by appearing in everything, but it meant Shadow being in everything is ruining his shadowy reputation.)

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I still dont think you're grasping my point

Oh I grasp you're point, but you continue not to grasp mine.

Even if you don't think of it as jealousy, the fact of the matter is that Shadow isn't the most popular character in the series. He's popular, but not THE most popular, and certainly not a "popularity whore".

You can consider Knuckles and Tails main characters, even Amy Rose, they've been there since the legacy titles.

No offense, but that sorry ass excuse for those characters has been done to death and holds no water at all.

They're still supporting characters, not main ones. It doesn't matter that they've been around since the so called "legacy" titles. They're not the most important characters, the only important characters are Sonic and Eggman. Everyone else is secondary.

They do what all other characters after them have done, and that is to support the main cast of Sonic and Eggman.

But you see- Shadow came in and just started stealing everyone else's thunder!

How long is it going to take you to realize that that isn't true? Shadow's among my favorite characters, and even I know that's not true. The only time he got more attention was in his own game.

SA2 treated every character equally as important leading up to the final scene of things. Heroes treated every character like shit, and Shadow barely did anything in the game, and Sonic 06 was more about Silver the Hedgehog than it was any other character. And yet he's somehow a "popularity whore" when he hasn't done much of anything except in his own game compared to other characters. That does not compute, my friend.

It isn't jealousy, I'm not jealous of Shadow in any way

Well with you complaining how he's "stealling everyone's thunder" and "being in everything" I'm having a hard time believing otherwise, as only jealousy makes people think that to be true and make a fuss out of it, all while being unrealistic of what's truly going on.

I just think he's more interesting when he isn't in everything

He isn't in everything.

like for example, if maybe they took him out after SA2 and threw him back in a few years later with "The Grand Reintroduction of Shadow the Hedgehog" instead of putting him in every canon game

I would agree somewhat. But even so, it doesn't mean much of anything just because he's in a lot of canon games.

(By the way, I think you also misunderstood my "But thats ruining that repuation" as meaning Shadow is ruining SEGA's reputation by appearing in everything, but it meant Shadow being in everything is ruining his shadowy reputation.)

No I understood it clearly. And that's still not the case. Knowing everything about the character's past doesn't shave off anything shadowy about the character.

A shadowy character is a something with mysterious feeling of not knowing what's going on in the character's mind or the way a character operates with few characters knowing what he's up to.

A developed character is a character with lots of material on their past leading up to how they are now. You're confusing "shadowy" with "developed". And even disregarding that, just because he's in everything (which he's not) doesn't ruin the character. People directing the actions of the character and mucking up the character, i.e. the game developers, are what ruins the character.

Edited September 21, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Phos]

Right, I've got a new complaint with Shadow, this one has a lot to do with themes in play during his back story. Shadow's backstory largely deals with his creation, some vague information about a conversation, and then skips to a rather confusing chain of events that leads to him sealed inside of GUN's base. Basically, Shadow was presumably in a chemically induced coma for the majority of "his" back story. It really has more of a science fiction flavor to it, it seems more concerned with explaining how he came to be rather than setting him up as a character. The problem with that is they're expecting me to take him 100% seriously, that the genetically engineered super being is a hedgehog. And it really only got worse from there.

In contrast, Tails was a two tailed fox (maybe a Kitsune?*) with a bit of an inventive spark who is picked on by a bunch of hoodlums. He sees Sonic as a sort of inspiration and as a hero, and his ability to fly and repair aircraft and ability to keep up gets Sonic to take him under his wing. Tails's backstory is much more based on who the characters are, and focuses less on things that ultimately doesn't come in to play and makes the story more "clumsy", it's harder to have something happen without contradicting something else. Simplistic charm? Perhaps, but more importantly, it has a sort of innocent charm to it. Think "Spirited Away" versus "Inuyasha".

Seriously, if they hadn't related Shadow to Gerald, that would have freed Shadow from so much baggage. Rather than being some kind of research experiment that involves fusing alien DNA to a hedgehog to make some kind of super being, Shadow is simply someone dangerous enough to warrant sealing inside of a big metal tube.

*Yeah, "kitsune" is just Japanese for "fox", but it carries somewhat different connotations, especially when multiple tails are involved.