The blue blur is back on consoles with another game blazing into retail sales in time for the holidays. But does Sonic the Hedgehog pull off another loop-de-loop of grandeur… or is this leaning more towards “trash processing”?
Sonic X Shadow Generations dropped this Friday and we were able to secure a copy for the Nintendo Switch. For those of you not aware, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a re-release / remaster of Sonic Generations that originally came out in 2011 during the days of the Xbox 360, PS3, and 3DS. Sonic Generations was of course a collection of re-imagined elements of previous Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Before we do a final and more thorough review of the game, here are our first impressions of the newest element of this remaster, the Shadow Generations levels.
First off, Shadow Generations is a fun addition to the original collection. Graphically, the upgrades are what you would expect from a current era remaster. We noticed some scenes like the ones with Rouge aren’t as high quality and look more like the original Sonic Generations. The infamous changes to Rouge’s character model seem like they will fly over the head of people aren’t looking for them. Shadow Generations tells a remix version of Shadow’s life with an element called the Time Eater taking players through the greatest hits his story, beginning with Shadow’s origins on Space Colony Ark with Maria and Gerald Robotnik.The soundtracks stands out and appears to be new recordings and orchestrations of the original tracks for each of the levels. In our opinion, they sound a lot better, although you almost can’t compete with the grainy sound of an old tv speaker.
The hub world for the Shadows Generations is called the White Space. In that area you hear a lot of different tracks depending on location. If you’re just traveling around, you may hear a dramatized instrumental version of All Hail Shadow or I Am… All of Me, which should be a fun callback for longtime Sonic fans.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS has already surpassed 1 Million copies sold! Thank you all for your continued and endless support. pic.twitter.com/XuTm4WViJv
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) October 25, 2024
As for the levels themselves, the remasters of zones for multiple Sonic games are amazing. Sonic Team created a good of nostalgia and freshness by incorporating the new Doom Powers mechanic in to Shadow campaign. The gameplay seems to be a combination of Sonic Forces (in a good way), Sonic Generations, and Sonic Frontiers.
Shadow Generations plays as a greatest hits of moments from Shadow games since his debut in 2001. As mentioned before, the campaign starts on Space Colony Ark. After that, players revisit Rail Canyon, incorporating Doom Spears/Blasts to change rails, dodge obstacles, and defeat enemies. A few acts and a boss battle later, you have Kingdom Valley from the much maligned Sonic 06. The addition of the Doom Surf ability and modern era camera controls that make the level even more enjoyable this time around. For Sonic 06 fans, Shadow’s eagle friend, and Eggman robots specific to that game do make an appearance. Yes, despite Sonic ’06 being erased from canon, it somehow makes it into Shadow Generations.
A screenshot from Sonic Frontiers (2022), Sonic Team
We won’t spoil the entire Shadow Generations campaign, but our first impressions are that Shadow Generations is a fun, challenging, and interesting game, that does a good job joining old and new for engaging gameplay, story, and just overall fun. Stay tuned to That Park Place for our final review.
