Why Shadow’s tantalizing debut just made ‘Sonic 3’ a must-see for me
Until this point, I’ve been an average enjoyer of the Sonic the Hedgehog films. I was skeptical at first, but watched the first one at home during the pandemic and liked it. I watched the second one on a plane and also liked it.
But even before I saw the second film, I became aware that the post-credit sequence teased Shadow for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And I found myself looking forward to Sonic 3 before I’d even seen Sonic 2. I very quickly learned something about myself—I’m a Sonic enjoyer, but I’m a Shadow fan. And a huge one at that.
That hunch was only solidified by the debut of the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. One look at Shadow and Maria together, and my heart exploded. Another look at Shadow doing the Akira motorcycle slide, and I was screaming.
Because of Shadow, and Shadow alone, this franchise just went from an airplane watch to a day-one theater visit.
Why Shadow is my boy
My first Sonic game was Sonic Adventure 2, the one where you can play as Sonic/Tales/Knuckles or Shadow/Rouge/Omega. And while my affinity for the cuteness of Tales made me pick Team Sonic at the time, I was fascinated by Shadow.
The game starts with you surfing down a hilly metropolis to “Escape From the City”—basically the epitome of early 2000s vibes. And part of those early 2000s vibes was emo—the rock genre, the general personal vibe. Shadow is very much “Sonic, but emo,” and this absolutely sends me, both back then and now.
On its face, that simple premise for a character is really funny. SEGA has leaned into Shadow being “edgy Sonic,” and it’s conceptually fantastic even when the games are bad. In 2005, Shadow starred in his own self-titled game, and SEGA gave Shadow a freaking gun.
His edgy, emo vibes exude from all his appearances, gun-toting or no. Years later, I’d go over to my friend’s house and play Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, a beautiful mess of a game. I’d always pick Shadow. Whenever someone hit Shadow with an item, he’d menacingly growl, “Why, you.” Incredible.
But what makes Shadow truly great is that there’s heart to his story. He’s the richest character in the entire Sonic franchise, which—you know, the Sonic series isn’t exactly known for its intense character development. But the Sonic 3 trailer teased Shadow’s companion, Maria, so you’ll see what I mean soon enough.
Still, I wasn’t aware exactly how much Shadow means to me, how much of a game-changer he is for me, until I saw that teaser at the end of Sonic 2. It’s like someone flipped a switch in my brain. Even my partner is confused about how I suddenly really care about the next Sonic movie.
And they got KEANU?! My literal dream cast for Shadow?! Sonic 3 is for me. Shadow forever, Shadow for life.
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