Let’s be real for a minute: the best bits of the Sonic Adventure games have always been the Sonic and Shadow stages (and, of course, the Chao Garden), elements that are beautifully captured in Sonic X Shadow Generations. Longtime fans of the blue hedgehog’s Dreamcast era will be pleased as Sonic X Shadow Generations effectively captures the best moments of Sonic Adventure 2’s stages in a collection that goes beyond a typical remaster.
Sonic Generations
Starting with the slightly less exciting of the two, Sonic Generations is now fully playable on modern consoles outside of Xbox backwards compatibility. In terms of performance, Sonic Generations runs at a steady 60fps, eclipsing the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sub-HD 30fps cap.
Content-wise, Sonic Generations has everything from the base game, including the DLC of the original (Casino Night Pinball), with the only notable omission being that of 3D support, something that likely no one will miss (except for me). In its place, however, is the added Lost Chao collectable bonus missions, with both Modern and Classic Sonic stages now featuring three lost Chao per level. It might not be the return of the Chao Garden proper, but it is great to see SEGA acknowledge the fan-favourite virtual pet once again.
“Ultimately, the Sonic part of Sonic X Shadow Generations is what you’d expect out of a remaster…”
Lives have been completely removed from Sonic Generations, making the game feel much closer to newer Sonic titles. However, it would have been nice if the ability to purchase lives from the in-game vendor had also been replaced with something new, perhaps a Chao radar or even the outright removable of being able to buy lives as Modern Sonic, which, as it stands, are still available for purchase within Omochao’s skill shop.
Ultimately, the Sonic part of Sonic X Shadow Generations is what you’d expect out of a remaster: the ability to play one of Sonic’s better 3D outings on current platforms without (stylishly) jumping through hoops.
Now, on to the main event, Shadow Generations
The Shadow portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations is effectively a brand new take on the Generations formula, now from the perspective of everyone’s favourite brooding foil character. Taking place concurrently with the events of Sonic Generations, Shadow Generations, instead, focuses on the titular character tracking down Black Doom after awakening to a whole host of new abilities.
New abilities give Shadow the Hedgehog alien symbiote-like powers, such as the ability to swim and climb through otherwise inaccessible areas of the map, similar to Splatoon’s Swim Form power. Outside of some other forms and powers, which I won’t spoil, Shadow now has access to both Chaos Control and Chaos Spear projectile attacks, with the latter feeling reminiscent of the lock-on laser mechanic found in both Tails and Eggman stages à la Sonic Adventure 2.
“The Shadow portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations is effectively a brand new take on the Generations formula, now from the perspective of everyone’s favourite brooding foil character.”
Easily, the coolest ability of the bunch is Shadow’s ability to now use Chaos Control freely in both the action stages and the White Space overworld/hub area of the game. Unlike previous iterations of his iconic ability, Chaos Control is now a core ability that can be triggered whenever the gauge on the bottom of the screen fills up from Shadow taking out a set number of enemies or finding a power-up.
Instead of feeling like a tacked-on gimmick or throwaway power-up, using Chaos Control feels great. It often leads to better scores for stages and just that extra bit of time needed to get in your hits or dodge volleys of incoming attacks or hazards. Occasionally, the player encounters Black Doom during the action stages, which often leads to situations where Chaos Control is removed. Instead of feeling cheap, this forces the player to rely on their speedy platforming skills, which makes for a fun challenge and further highlights the utility of the move.
Speaking of challenge, unlike Sonic Generations, which have a middling number of challenge stages that, in my opinion, are actually fun to play. Most, if not all, the challenge bonus levels in the Shadow Generations portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations are genuinely entertaining. Notably, the hard mode challenge levels that unlock at the end of the game are some of the toughest but most satisfying levels in the entire lot.
On the topic of White Space, unlike Sonic Generation’s hub area, the White Space overworld in Shadow Generations is vast, feeling closer to a biome from Sonic Frontiers. The hub is also littered with collectables, mini-challenges, NPCs and other secrets that populate over time as you progress through the roughly 10-hour campaign.
Thankfully and refreshingly, there isn’t a whole lot to say in terms of negatives for both titles in Sonic X Shadow Generations. If I had to nitpick, however, I think an option to restart from checkpoint for both games would have helped a ton, especially for players who like going after collectables.
My only other complaint, this time towards Shadow Generations, is related to some of the verticality and jumps the game throws at the player when using the Doom Surf form. Although doable once you get used to Shadow’s new aquatic form, performing jumps that require the player to go from node to node using the Doom Surf ability, at times, can feel clunky, adding to the frustration when trying to clear a specific challenge or rank.
Despite some minor growing pains, like Sonic’s move set from Frontiers, Shadow’s new Doom abilities help make the black hedgehog feel distinct while still feeling mechanically similar to his Adventure 2 counterpart. Sonic X Shadow Generations is a true blue return to form for the series. As far as remasters go, with two full campaigns, a laundry list of unlockables, distinct gameplay styles and fan service galore, it’s hard not to recommend Sonic X Shadow Generations to fans of the franchise.
- Past meets present in SONIC GENERATIONS! Modern and Classic Sonic team up to defeat Dr. Eggman and the Time Eater to restore their timeline to normal!
- Spin dash through a greatest-hits collection of 3D and 2D versions of iconic stages from past Sonic games, now with updated visuals and reworked cinematics
- Past meets present in SONIC GENERATIONS! Modern and Classic Sonic team up to defeat Dr. Eggman and the Time Eater to restore their timeline to normal!
- Spin dash through a greatest-hits collection of 3D and 2D versions of iconic stages from past Sonic games, now with updated visuals and reworked cinematics
- Past meets present in SONIC GENERATIONS! Modern and Classic Sonic team up to defeat Dr. Eggman and the Time Eater to restore their timeline to normal!
- Spin dash through a greatest-hits collection of 3D and 2D versions of iconic stages from past Sonic games, now with updated visuals and reworked cinematics
