Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 platform game developed by Sega Studios USA, the former United States division of Sonic Team, and published by Sega. It is a spin-off from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and follows Shadow the Hedgehog, a creation of Doctor Eggman's grandfather, Prof. Gerald Robotnik, as he attempts to learn about his past while suffering from amnesia. Shadow the Hedgehog introduces third-person shooter elements and nonlinear gameplay to the Sonic franchise. To defeat enemies, Shadow can use various weapons and special attacks, and most levels have three possible missions that the player may choose to complete. The missions completed determine the game's plot and subsequently playable levels. The development team wanted to make a game featuring Shadow to capitalize on the character's popularity and resolve plot mysteries that began with his introduction in Sonic Adventure 2. It was written and directed by Takashi Iizuka, produced by Yuji Naka, and scored by Jun Senoue. Iizuka, who targeted a younger audience with previous Sonic games, strove to attract an older audience with Shadow the Hedgehog; Shadow's character also allowed the team to use elements otherwise inappropriate for the series. It received a E10+ rating from the ESRB for its mild use of profanity and fantasy action violence, becoming the first game in the series to have the rating. It is also the first game in the series to use the 4Kids voice actors from Sonic X. The game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game event, and it was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in North America and in Europe in November 2005 and in Japan the following month. Shadow the Hedgehog 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. Despite negative reviews, the game was commercially successful, selling 2.06 million copies by March 2007.
Shadow The Hedgehog (Video Game)
Influence(s)
for Influence(s) in Cyber Spawn
Suggested by tzekuanng
When a mysterious surge of dark energy tears open a rift between realms, heroes from many worlds are drawn together: Gregory and Cassie, the now-legendary Glamrock animatronics, powerful Genshins, and hardened Kombatants. The disturbance originates from a ruined laboratory where forbidden technology is attempting to fuse demonic power with advanced cybernetics. At the center of the chaos is Spawn, the hell-forged antihero whose necroplasmic powers once made him a terrifying champion between Heaven and Hell. But this time, something has gone terribly wrong. A secret faction seeking ultimate power captures Spawn and begins a brutal experiment—forcing cybernetic enhancements into his living hell-armor, attempting to control his supernatural abilities through machines. The procedure fractures Spawn’s mind and body, transforming him into Cyber Spawn—a hybrid of demonic necro-energy and ruthless cybernetic weaponry. His new form is stronger, faster, and nearly unstoppable, but the technology slowly overrides his will, turning him into a weapon capable of tearing apart entire realms. Sensing the danger, the powerful alliance forms. Gregory and Cassie guide the team through the abandoned facility while the Glamrocks, now heroic protectors, use their mechanical expertise to counter the cybernetic systems. The Genshins wield elemental power to stabilize the collapsing rift, while the Kombatants battle waves of mechanized demons unleashed by the experiment. As Cyber Spawn rampages across the battlefield, the heroes realize destroying him would only unleash catastrophic necro-energy. Instead, they must reach the man within the machine. In the final confrontation, the combined efforts of technology, elemental power, and martial mastery allow them to sever the control systems corrupting Spawn. But the damage is done—his body can no longer return to its original form. Spawn awakens as Cyber Spawn, a being caught between demon and machine. Though forever changed, he regains his will and chooses to stand with the alliance as a guardian against threats that could endanger every world. Now reborn in steel and shadow, Cyber Spawn becomes a new legend—proof that even when humanity is buried beneath metal and darkness, the will to fight for others can still survive.
