Sonic x Shadow Generations

[Dani.]

Sonic games these days, should be taken with a grain of salt most titles featuring Sega's blue sneaker style hedgehog are actually pretty inedible. The hardcore fans who have stuck with it until now can cheer and pop the champagne corks and go for it!

In Sonic Generations you can experience familiar classics like the Chemical Plant in a new way​

What is Sonic Generations anyway? The Game from the Year 2011 is roughly speaking a collection of classic Sonic levels that you tackle alternately as 2D and 3D Sonic or rather run into, since Sonic is known for his nimble footwork. While 2D Sonic zips through quasi 16-bit levels from a side view which occasionally change perspective and offer all sorts of graphic gimmicks but 3D Sonic primarily roars through three dimensional sections from a back perspective.

Meeting of the generations​

The Story of Sonic Generations is pretty negligible: Sonic is celebrating his birthday with his friends but the evil Time Eater interrupts the party and sucks everything that isn't nailed down. Sonic finds himself in an empty and colorless world and must master successive levels to bring back the colors and his friends. You must repeatedly switch between modern and classic Sonic at the touch of a button and playing sections customized for each character and progressing within the hub.

While Sonic runs through a 2D hub, Shadow rages in a 3D overworld​

The title Generations has a deeper meaning than just the two playable versions of the main character. Each stage reflects an era of the Sega time. The game begins with the Green Hill Zone from the first game in the series then you visit the Chemical Plant and pays tribute to Sonic & Knuckles before moving on to the Sonic Adventures from the Dreamcast era and other modern titles. The levels are tailored to the two protagonists but meaning that you sprint through 2D and 3D versions of the originals. Sonic learned a new move for the remaster: The Drop Dash is familiar from other games which turns you into a speeding ball in the mid-air. Of course there are also boss fights between the Levels but before you can fight them you have to master the stages. Rivals like Metal Sonic and Shadow await you and bigger opponents like the Death Egg robot too.

Using Chaos Control Shadow can briefly stop time which is vital for survival in some situations​

The Heroes in a colorless worlds​

Enough about the old hedgehog for now sure you want to know what the Shadow Bonus is all about. The basic story is similar to that of Sonic Generations: The Time Eater completely absorbs Shadow's world and leaves him in a colorless hub. He also has to contend with his archenemy Black Doom. After completing levels that pay a homage to sections from games like Sonic Adventure or Sonic Heroes the Color and inhabitants gradually return. Shadow also has to master sections from earlier adventures from alternate between 2D and 3D versions of Sonic games. You unlock boss fights by collecting keys through completing additional levels with preset victory conditions. Shadow gradually gains new Doom powers in the Levels which he can then use it in the hub world. For example to glide over water but the powers also play an important role in the regular levels. For example the energy projectiles he can fire are enormously helpful in fighting robots. A lot of enemies can also be grabbed and slammed against brittle walls to open passageways.

The levels are basically a collection of movement points that you have to use to get some real speed​

At high speed over the barrier through the finish​

Sonic is created by Sega as an answer of Nintendo's Super Mario but it uses completely different gameplay mechanics. Instead of hopping precisely through levels like a plumber the Blue hedgehog races through them at supersonic speed. Sonic Generations is true to this principle. You blast through levels at insane speed and grinding on rails speeding through loops and blasting from one spring to the next. Shadow Generations is true to this principle but refines the mechanics with Doom's powers and making it a bit more interesting than a blue counterpart's adventure.

My Conclusion​

I have to admit it I haven't touched a Sonic game in ages. The most of what Sega has been delivering lately is simply been garbage but someone at Sega had the brilliant idea of using one of the last good games featuring the Turbo powered hedgehog as the template for a brand new Shadow adventure. Yes Sonic X Shadow Generations is perfectly playable for beginners with no Sonic background knowledge.