Originally released in 2011, Sonic Generations stood out for not only including both Modern and Classic Sonic but also for its fast-paced gameplay and passion-filled level design. Now, as the game is set to celebrate its 13th anniversary, Sonic X Shadow Generations brings it back and adds one more hedgehog to the mix. Shadow the Hedgehog is being made playable with a completely new solo campaign dubbed "Shadow Generations," which is effectively a game within the game.
There's plenty to be excited about, especially since Shadow Generations plans to dive deep into whom the black-and-red hedgehog is as a character. From re-experiencing an entirely remastered version of Sonic Generations to having a complete Shadow experience, Sonic X Shadow Generations is shaping up to be a title fans won't want to miss. Sonic X Shadow Generations got a new trailer at Summer Game Fest and was part of Summer Game Fest's Play Days experience, where The Best War Games got to try out the game and talk with Sonic Team's leader Takashi Iizuka about what fans can expect from the game when it releases this October. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
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It's Shadow's Time to Shine in Sonic X Shadow Generations
Q: It's a pretty big year for Shadow, with not just Sonic X Shadow Generations but also the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie. I was wondering what your feelings are about everything going on with Shadow?
Iizuka: In the third Sonic movie, Shadow is going to be a featured character with plenty of spotlights on him. We're also going to have brand-new game content for Shadow with Shadow Generations that's going to be found inside Sonic Generations as new gameplay. As someone who's been there with Shadow from the beginning, I'm just very happy to see all of this happening, that he's getting this spotlight and all of this attention.
Q: When it comes to this remaster of Sonic Generations, what does the current generation of gaming offer that couldn't have been done with Generations before?
Iizuka: We've been hearing fans say for a long time that they've really wanted to see Sonic Generations remastered. It's on older platforms, maybe they don't have them anymore, and they want to play it on new hardware. We thought that was a great idea, but when we talked about bringing 2011's Sonic Generations onto new platforms, we wondered, "What's something we can do that we couldn't do before?"
The 30 frames per-second experience was really the best the team could do back in the day. It was still a great-looking game, but the hardware could only handle it at 30 frames per second. With the new hardware we have now, they can get up to 60 FPS, and it looks just as good if not better.
Sonic Team is certain that this change from 30 to 60 frames per second is going to make the game look nicer and feel nicer. If you're someone who has played the game previously, or even if you're new, you're going to jump into the game and get this really smooth, really high-speed action game sensation from that 60 FPS for sure.
Why Sonic X Shadow Generations is a Necessary Remaster
Q: With remastering this fan-favorite game, what's the greatest challenge?
Iizuka: One of the biggest challenges wasn't really for the Sonic Generations side as the game was in a good place originally, so it's the Shadow Generations content that was difficult. Sonic Generations was made with the Hedgehog Engine over 10 years ago, so it's easy to take and format into this newer release.
The difficult part for Shadow Generations is that we needed a different engine. We couldn't just use the Hedgehog Engine from over 10 years ago to make the newer content, so that left us with two different engines running inside our game: one to power Sonic Generations and one for the new Shadow Generations content. However, all of it had to work and feel as if it was made with the same engine.
Q: What are some of the biggest benefits of pairing Shadow Generations with Sonic Generations?
Iizuka: One of the benefits is that Sonic Generations was developed to give first-time players and even older players a walkthrough of the history of Sonic the Hedgehog. You start with Green Hill Zone and you even get to explore Chemical Plant and other original stages as Modern Sonic. It's a playable history and legacy that they get to recreate for themselves and reintroduce to people. That was the fun of Sonic Generations, you know? That's where the benefit of having Shadow Generations comes in as well. We get to do the same thing but for Shadow.
For people who don't know Shadow who are asking, "Who is this hedgehog? Is this like... A Dark Sonic? Is that what's going on?" We're doing the same thing for Shadow by walking through his legacy and history to answer those questions. We get to tell his story. Fans are going to love it because they're going to be like, "Yes. This is everything I love about the character," but first-time players are going to get to walk through all of his history and legacy, so they'll walk away understanding Shadow as well.
In this single package of Sonic X Shadow Generations, you get Modern Sonic, you get Classic Sonic, and now you also have Shadow the Hedgehog in there. You have one complete package with three playable characters, and through this game, you're going to understand the histories of Modern and Classic Sonic as well as Shadow.
Q: Compared to Sonic Generations, how much content can fans expect from Shadow Generations?
Iizuka: For Sonic Generations, a lot of the storytelling and presentation was found in the stages and being able to play them in both 2D and 3D, which was the fun and nostalgic experience you could get through that gameplay. Shadow Generations is made in the same Generations format, but the focus isn't on the fact that these stages are 3D then 2D. It isn't about playing both stages to get both the 2D and 3D experience. We're leaning a bit more into the story side of things, and getting into who Shadow is as a character and some of the things Shadow has experienced.
While you're playing his game, you're getting more of an interactive character element to it, and we're making more cutscenes. We're getting to go a little bit deeper into who Shadow is as opposed to just, "Here's a stage, there's a stage, hey, there are more stages," if that answers the question.
Sonic X Shadow Generations' Twists and Turns
Q: As you know, there are Chao scattered around the levels now, and I was wondering if you could tell me what the purpose of collecting the Chao is.
Iizuka: The Chao Rescue feature was added to make sure that our players who love Sonic Generations and who have played it for even hundreds of hours still have something fun and fresh to do as they're playing a game they already know. It's to make them notice the Chao and go, "Hey, there's a Chao over there! I'm going to try and get it." Giving them something to do while having them be surprised by the Chao being in all of these places was one way that the team could really make sure that when they're buying this game that they already know and love, they're still getting something new and exciting.
Everyone loves Chao after all, right?
Iizuka: I definitely want to make sure everyone knows that this feature does not tie into a Chao Garden at all, though.
Q: Understood. Back to Shadow, though. I'm curious if you could tell us about the development of some of Shadow's new Doom Powers.
Iizuka: Shadow, as you know, has Chaos Control, which is very iconic for him, and it's an ability that comes naturally to him. Having Shadow be able to use it in gameplay is great, but the core of it would still be very similar to what Sonic can do. Running fast, jumping from platform to platform, and when you think about putting the Shadow Generations content alongside Sonic Generations in one complete package, it might feel too similar.
The team wanted to make Shadow Generations' action more unique and have things that only Shadow can do as the heart of Shadow Generations. It had to be more than just jumping and running fast, so we needed something new and the actions that they started brainstorming when it came to that were these Doom Powers. If you've played the Shadow portion of the demo, you've encountered the Doom Spears. It's very similar to Chaos Spear, but with more spears, and the team definitely wanted to make sure Chaos and Doom Spear were there.
In the trailer, you also saw the wings Shadow had, right? There's going to be more content on that and more Doom Powers that we'll be announcing later, so do stay tuned for that. All in all, we're really making sure that Shadow's gameplay feels different, even though it's in the same format as the original Sonic Generations.
How Shadow is Going to Steal the Show in Sonic X Shadow Generations
Q: Going off of that, besides the obvious aesthetic differences, how do the stage designs between Sonic Generations and Shadow Generations differ?
Iizuka: We can't talk much about Doom Powers at this point, so we can't get into too much about what's different, but the team did want to make sure that the Doom Powers, as unique abilities, have to be used in the level design. A lot of the level design will include those because, well, Sonic doesn't have them. We're including these places where the Doom Powers can be used inside of the Shadow content, but, you know, even the core design when you think about it outside the Doom Powers, it's very similar to Sonic Generations, but it's also a little bit different.
We have the high speed that's going to be the same as Sonic; it's part of the core design philosophy. It needs to be a high-speed level to run through, but being able to use Chaos Control in the Shadow levels is also a core part of Shadow Generations' core fundamental design process. When we're making the levels, there have to be Chaos Control moments in them.
Q: The Biolizard boss fight was a ton of fun, so I'm just wondering, what's at the core of the boss design for Shadow Generations?
Iizuka: The design for the Biolizard boss fight comes back to how we're dealing with Sonic Generations' format and part of that format is the nostalgia: the things people remember that make the Generations format fun. We wanted to bring in bosses people have experienced before and have the boss maybe start out in a very familiar way. When a veteran fan is playing, they're like, "Oh my god, it's the Biolizard. Oh my god, it's the Biolizard, I remember the Biolizard," so then they'll start doing what they already know to try and attack it. But they want to surprise the players as well.
Yes, it's fun to relive the past, but it's also fun to experience these new things as you're attacking the boss and maybe that boss is going to start doing different movements and actions that you don't remember it doing. Then you'll realize you're in the second stage of the boss fight, and you think, "I don't remember this even existing!" It didn't because it's new.
It makes sure that you get both that nostalgic fun, you feel comfortable, but you also get that fun, surprising delight as the boss battle kind of turns into a Shadow Generations boss fight. A boss fight where Doom Powers can be used as well, so can Chaos Control. All the things that make it Shadow Generations are put into that nostalgia to make something different.
Q: The Sonic community is rather passionate, so with this game coming out, is there anything you'd like to say to these fans?
Iizuka: Our fans have been with us for over 30 years. They've been supporting us and really enjoying our content, and we're really thankful for everything they've done to allow us to continue bringing content back to the fans.
This year is the Year of Shadow. We have Shadow in Sonic X Shadow Generations. It's got brand-new gameplay with lots of really great story moments, things that people who love Shadow as a character will appreciate. We also have Sonic the Hedgehog 3 coming up with Shadow starring in it as well.
Up until now, I know we've had lots of Shadow fans that really, really want more of him specifically, but we haven't been able to provide as much content for Shadow as they wanted. This is the year where Shadow's getting the spotlight, not only in the next movie but in Sonic X Shadow Generations as well. We really hope they enjoy getting to look at all this content, and that they really enjoy how cool Shadow is as a character because this is the Year of Shadow.
[END]
Sonic X Shadow Generations
- Released
- October 25, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
THE RETURN OF SHADOW
In this new standalone campaign, Shadow's nemesis, Black Doom, has reemerged and threatens to take over the world once again. Shadow must journey into his past, confront his painful memories, and unlock new dark powers to save the world.
SHADOW EVOLVED
Harness Shadow's new Doom Powers to battle hordes of enemies and tackle platforming challenges like never before. Surf on water, fly over obstacles, and stop time with the return of Chaos Control!
A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND DIMENSIONS
Experience the ultimate showdown between Shadow and Black Doom in a new boss battle that will test your skills and reflexes. Use all of Shadow's abilities to defeat Black Doom and save the world!
EXPLORE THE NEW WHITE SPACE
Stretch your legs in an all-new hub world inspired by the open-zone gameplay of Sonic Frontiers. As Shadow gains new powers, he can explore further and uncover the secrets hidden throughout!
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Franchise
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
