(commonly known as Shadow ‘05) is a 2005 platform game developed by Sega Studios USA and published by Sega. It is a spinoff from the Sonic the Hedgehog series starring the character Shadow. It follows the amnesiac Shadow's attempts to learn about his past during an alien invasion. Gameplay is similar to previous Sonic games, featuring fast-paced platforming and ring collecting, but introduces third-person shooter and nonlinear elements. Shadow uses a variety of weapons to defeat enemies and complete missions that determine the plot and playable levels.

Sega Studios USA chose to make a game featuring Shadow to capitalize on his popularity and resolve plot mysteries that began with his introduction in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). Shadow the Hedgehog was written and directed by Takashi Iizuka and produced by Yuji Naka, with music by Jun Senoue. Iizuka strove to attract an older audience; Shadow's character allowed the team to use a darker tone and elements otherwise considered inappropriate for the series.

Shadow the Hedgehog was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game event. It was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in North America and Europe in November 2005 and in Japan in December. It received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, who criticized its controls, mature themes, level design, and addition of guns and other weapons to traditional Sonic gameplay. However, some praised its replay value, and the game was commercially successful, selling 2.06 million copies by March 2007. Over time, the game has developed a cult following.

Gameplay Shadow the Hedgehog is a platformer that incorporates elements from the third-person shooter genre and elements from the action-adventure genre. Like previous games in the Sonic series, basic gameplay involves running quickly, collecting rings, tricky platforming and destroying enemies. Shadow collects rings as a form of health; when he is attacked by an enemy or takes damage from the environment, ten of his rings bounce away from and form into a circle around him. When Shadow has no rings and takes damage from an enemy he dies, loses a life and goes back to the last checkpoint, which also serve as teleportation devices, allowing Shadow to return to different sections of the current level. Each level is completed by undertaking a mission, and each mission is labelled "Hero," "Dark," or "Normal". The "Hero" missions involve completing tasks for the Sonic series' heroic characters, or Doctor Eggman on one occasion, and the "Dark" missions involve completing tasks for either Black Doom or Doctor Eggman. The "Normal" missions involve reaching the Chaos Emerald or Goal Ring at the end of the stage. Examples of non-neutral mission objectives include killing all enemies in the stages, destroying an aircraft flying to the end of the level, or activating or destroying objects in the stage. All enemies attack Shadow regardless of the mission chosen. The mission types selected affect the plot, the levels played, and the ending received out of ten possibilities. Each level features cutscenes that advance the story, and seven levels also feature boss battles. There are 326 possible paths to take in Shadow the Hedgehog, and each pathway is individually named.

New gameplay features distinguish Shadow the Hedgehog from previous Sonic games. For example, Shadow can pick up and use guns to fight enemies. Parts of the scenery, like traffic signs, can also be used as weapons. Another new feature is the ability to drive vehicles, such as motorcycles and an alien aircraft. Although Shadow can outrun the game's vehicles, the latter have unique capabilities, such as crushing enemies and traversing otherwise impassable acid-covered areas.

As in most Sonic series games, the Chaos Emeralds play a major role; they help Shadow remember his past and allow him to perform Chaos Control and Chaos Blast. Chaos Control allows Shadow to move more quickly in levels and slows time in boss battles, and Chaos Blast creates an explosion that destroys or severely damages all nearby enemies. Shadow can perform Chaos Control after the player fills the Hero Gauge by defeating Black Arms soldiers (or by doing other heroic acts such as; putting out fires and healing wounded soldiers), and he can perform Chaos Blast after filling the Dark Gauge by defeating GUN soldiers (or other evil acts such as; healing the enemies or destroying scenery).

The game includes a multiplayer mode that retains the single-player mechanics but is set in one of three specially designed stages and uses a vertically split screen to separate each player's view. Each player chooses one of the available characters—Shadow, two metallic versions of him, and palette-swapped variants of each. The combatants attack each other and steal each other's rings until one is eliminated. Additionally, in single-player mode, a second player may take control of Shadow's hero sidekick characters in the stages, though Dooms Eye, Dr. Eggman, and Charmy remain uncontrollable. This feature is omitted entirely in the Xbox version.

Synopsis Characters

Shadow the Hedgehog, the protagonist, was created fifty years before the game's events by Professor Gerald Robotnik in an orbital military research space colony known as the ARK. Robotnik was trying to unlock the secrets of eternal life on the government's orders and create the "Ultimate Life Form." To that end, Robotnik designed Shadow to harness the powers of the Chaos Emeralds. To his horror, Shadow witnessed GUN raid the ARK and shoot his best friend and granddaughter of Gerald, Maria Robotnik, killing her. Shadow was presumed dead at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), his first in-game appearance, but he returned to life in Sonic Heroes (2003) and suffers amnesia.

The Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) is the military of Earth's government, the United Federation, and is directed by the GUN Commander, who harbors a personal hatred of Shadow. When completing "Hero" missions, Shadow usually helps GUN and heroic characters from the Sonic series, including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Vector, Charmy, and Espio. Their aim is to protect Earth from both Doctor Eggman and the Black Arms, an army of various related alien species that invade Earth from the Black Comet. Black Doom, the leader of the Black Arms, sends an extension of himself called "Doom's Eye" to watch Shadow and help him complete missions. When completing "Dark" missions, Shadow helps either Black Doom or Doctor Eggman, each of whom wants the Chaos Emeralds for himself. In one "Hero" mission of Sky Troops, Shadow assists Doctor Eggman in battling the Black Arms.

Plot

Shadow still suffers from amnesia, only able to remember two things: his name and his attempt to escape the Space Colony ARK with his creator Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter Maria, who was killed by GUN soldiers. While Shadow is trying to remember what happened in his past outside the city of Westopolis, an alien race called the Black Arms drops out of the sky and invades the city. Black Doom, the Black Arms' leader, contacts Shadow and tells him of an old promise made to bring the Chaos Emeralds to him. Stunned that Black Doom knows his name, Shadow searches for the Chaos Emeralds to learn about his past.

The game progresses through the Westopolis level and five more levels from the different paths Shadow may take. As missions are completed, Shadow learns more about his past and regains memories. He can choose to help Doctor Eggman, the Black Arms, or GUN and the series' heroic characters, or he can choose to help neither and keep the Chaos Emeralds for himself. The missions completed determine which one of ten possible endings will be seen after Shadow collects all the Chaos Emeralds and defeats one of the game's final bosses. The possible ending events range from helping the heroes destroy the Black Arms to planning to destroy the planet.

Completing all ten endings unlocks the game's true ending. After collecting all the Chaos Emeralds, Black Doom uses Chaos Control to bring the Black Comet to the Earth's surface. Black Doom explains that the Black Arms intend to use humans as an energy source, and the Black Comet begins to release a nerve gas into the Earth's atmosphere that causes total paralysis to those who inhale it. Black Doom sends a swarm of Black Arms larvae to eat Sonic, his friends and Dr. Eggman once they become paralyzed by the gas. Immune to the paralysis, Shadow confronts Black Doom, who reveals Gerald had promised him the Chaos Emeralds to complete his plan in exchange for his blood, which Gerald used to create Shadow. He attempts to use this physical connection to mind control Shadow. The Chaotix discover and play a message Gerald recorded for Shadow, revealing he created the ARK's Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet as atonement for working with Black Doom, asking Shadow to stop the Black Arms. Shadow resists Black Doom's mind control, and Black Doom transforms into a giant beast form called Devil Doom; in response, Shadow uses the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Shadow and confronts Devil Doom. During the battle, Doctor Eggman confirms to Shadow that he is the original and not an android. Shadow kills Devil Doom and uses Chaos Control to teleport the Black Comet back into Earth's orbit, where he obliterates it using the Eclipse Cannon. His friends are elated, as are people at GUN headquarters. Shadow is then seen in the ARK's observation deck holding up a photograph of Maria and Gerald. Recalling Maria's last words to him, "Goodbye forever... Shadow the Hedgehog", Shadow discards the photograph and walks away.

Development

After the success of the character's debut in Sonic Adventure 2, and following the release of the 2003 game Sonic Heroes, Sega Studios USA began developing a spin-off Sonic game starring the most liked character, Shadow, the game was titled Shadow the Hedgehog. The now-defunct United States division of Sega's Sonic Team, published the game by Sega. Sega first revealed the game and its tagline ("Hero or villain? You decide.") at the March 8, 2005, inauguration of Sonic the Hedgehog into the Walk of Game. Sega formally announced development of the game for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles on March 23, 2005. The same year, Sega released the game in North America on November 15, 2005, in Europe on November 18, 2005, and Japan on December 15, 2005.

Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka and series co-creator Yuji Naka led development, with Iizuka serving as writer and director and Naka as producer. Iizuka, who had worked on the Sonic the Hedgehog series since 1993, targeted a younger audience with previous Sonic games and wanted to attract an older audience with Shadow the Hedgehog. The game's development team wanted to make a game featuring Shadow to resolve plot mysteries that began with the character's introduction in Sonic Adventure 2. The team felt that Shadow's design—inspired by films such as Underworld (2003), Constantine (2005) and the Terminator franchise—would make the story darker and allow for elements, such as vehicles and weapons, otherwise considered inappropriate for a Sonic game. Naka stated in an interview with GameSpy that he wanted to use Shadow as the game's main character due to his popularity among fans and being the best fit for a "gun action" game.