# What Shadow Generations does for (or to) Shadow's character

This spoiler-heavy essay refers to *Sonic X Shadow Generations* as Shadow Generations since it analyses the character writing for Shadow in his portion of the game's story. The essay also solely focuses on the storytelling and character writing of Shadow's portion of the game; considerations about the gameplay or the story, rewritten or otherwise, for the two Sonics' portion of the game are outside the concern of this essay's arguments.

Ultimately, this essay is to do with analysing storytelling and character writing, which feature primarily in the console titles of the franchise. As a result, the following analysis of Shadow's character also only focuses on how he is characterised in the mainline video games. Mainline excludes spin-off material like Boom. Video games excludes other media forms that feature Shadow, including those that richly characterise him and are also written by Sonic Team, such as *Sonic X* or his Sonic Channel Wallpaper Cover Story.

The essay consists of two parts. Part I covers the core themes of Shadow's character—his existence as an artificial creation and his relationship with Maria Robotnik—and the ways in which he has developed over console games whose narratives spotlight his backstory and growth. Part II conducts an analysis of Shadow Generations' story in light of knowledge of Shadow's character covered in Part I, as well as principles of what narrative arcs are supposed to accomplish.

Consult the left side of the website to access headers to this essay.


# PART I – Shadow's character in the mainline games thus far

## Mainline games that define Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow Generations, with a release date of October 2024, is the first game significantly focusing on Shadow and his story since *Sonic the Hedgehog 2006* (Sonic '06).

Note that I say 'significantly focusing on Shadow'. If we count only mainline console games, then Shadow's most recent outing in *Sonic Forces* had to split the attention pie between the sizable cast of Sonic's friends. Even the extra content of Episode Shadow in Forces, which doesn't controvert Shadow's established character, does not substantially contribute additional understanding to Shadow's character or story in the way that previous games have done. On that note, though Sonic '06 comparably features a large cast, it is also distinct from Forces via the ways it delves into different characters' outlooks and philosophies, including those of Shadow's, to a degree that has stayed in the hearts and minds of fans that appreciate and want to learn about his character.

Of the other titles that define Shadow's characterisation, two stand out to the point of constituting something akin to essential reading for the character: *Sonic Adventure 2* (SA2) as Shadow's debut game with the game's plot revolving around his backstory and *Shadow the Hedgehog 2005* (ShTH) that features him as the titular protagonist with a story recognising player choice in exploring his character and moral decision-making that there is [an eye-watering combination of 326 possible story sequences in the game](https://info.sonicretro.org/List_of_Shadow_the_Hedgehog_Library_sequences), with each one given its own name. Another notable mention is *Sonic Battle*, [whose story features an extended look into Shadow's backstory and creation as a weapon of war](https://youtu.be/i6bN780AyuE) and how that impacts his self-perception, as well as *Sonic Heroes*.

## Two focal themes of Shadow's character

Before we address what the writing of Shadow Generations attempts to accomplish, it is worth covering for the sake of clarity what core elements have been established of Shadow so far in key games that expand on his characterisation.

Of Shadow's traits, backstory, and dispositions, we can identify two prominent themes that drive and affect his growth as a character:

- being an artificial creation with weighty expectations assigned to him;
- his relationship with love, grief, and sense of purpose through Maria;

### Shadow as the artificially created 'Ultimate Lifeform'

Shadow being the Ultimate Lifeform is so well-known of his character that it has long since broken containment from the niches of Sonic fandom and into popular memes and understandings of his character. A less well-known but arguably more critical component to Shadow's identity as the Ultimate Lifeform is the fact that, unlike the other organic, non-ultimate lifeforms in the Sonic cast, Shadow is an artificial creation.

Professor Gerald Robotnik created Shadow to [provide hope for mankind](https://youtu.be/i6bN780AyuE?t=1064), a purpose that was then twisted by [Gerald's desire for revenge](https://youtu.be/BKuMvdbItrA?t=256) following GUN's forcible raid of the Space Colony ARK (ARK for short), in the midst of which an operative murdered his sickly granddaughter Maria Robotnik. As ShTH later established, Gerald used DNA from the malignant extraterrestrial species the Black Arms to create Shadow, whose leader [Black Doom struck a deal with Gerald that promised Shadow to aid the Black Arms](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=3324). The deal, made during Shadow's creation and without his consent, also led Black Doom to see Shadow as [something he can control](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=1493) rather an individual with his own desires. As if learning of these circumstances would not induce enough of an existential crisis, Shadow also reckoned with the distinct possibility that he is in fact an android, and not the real (or original) Shadow that was ejected from the ARK in [Sonic Heroes](https://youtu.be/kOG8xggMMJo?t=629) and the Neutral route in [Shadow the Hedgehog](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=1698).


Shadow being an artificial creation is perhaps the singular, defining driving force for his stories and character growth. It ties into many compelling topics for which stories offer ripe grounds of exploration into identity, purpose, and personhood: of discovering oneself, the meaning to one's life, and the value of one's life as an end in and of itself as opposed to a means for others. Such topics are ones that fans of Shadow and his stories would bear keenly in mind when appraising his outings in other branches of the franchise.

### Shadow's relationship with Maria Robotnik

If there is only one other thing any Sonic fan would know about the Ultimate Lifeform, it is about Maria's impact on him, a character who hardly needs introduction in an essay regarding Shadow's characterisation.

In many ways, Maria is opposite to Shadow in her frail constitution, but she, like Shadow, spends much of her days aboard the ARK. What Maria's character offers to Shadow that no other character does is deep companionship and emotional connection. Indeed, Shadow shows far more emotional vulnerability with Maria than he does with any other character. He opens up about his insecurities relating to his identity and purpose [when he is alone with her](https://youtu.be/44vrCtIguN8?t=1024). The patience and relative lack of expectation she has in her dynamic with Shadow giving rise to the comfort he feels to be emotionally open with her leads to Shadow being deeply motivated to fulfil requests she makes of him. When [Maria begs him to help protect the ARK from rogue experiments,](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=2846) Shadow looks visibly shaken and speaks with resolve and passion when he says he will protect the ARK. Amidst the more sordid topics of being used as others' means, it is no wonder that Maria offers not only a light in Shadow's life, but also a captivating point of contrast and anchor for not only him as a character, but for the audience invested in Shadow's story.


What cements Maria's importance to Shadow, as well as the audience, well past her death is the tragic, selfless nature of it. In GUN's raid of the ARK, [Maria has only Shadow enter an escape pod in a selfless act to make sure at least he gets to safety, as Shadow cries her name repeatedly and presses against the glass of the escape pod before she sends him to the planet below](https://youtu.be/44vrCtIguN8?t=414). So impactful is her life to Shadow and his care for her that his arc in SA2 revolves around him fulfilling her final wish to her, one he initially misinterprets to be revenge on humanity for the tragedy of the ARK—a morally grey mission that Shadow is willing to carry out without question out of his devotion to Maria.

Maria's importance to Shadow carries on through titles beyond their debut in SA2. In Sonic Battle, in the same moment that it is revealed that Gerald created Shadow for the good of humanity, it is also revealed that Gerald [installed Maria's heart (or soul) into both Shadow and the Gizoid Emerl](https://youtu.be/i6bN780AyuE?t=1078) to ensure that if they were ever to be used as weapons of war, Maria's instilled soul would be the buffer that would have the created weapons themselves resist being used for destruction. Such a moment crystallises the previously implicit symbolism Maria offers as Shadow's tethers to humanity and morality—constituting the weight on the other end of the see-saw of his moral evaluation of the value of humanity that had so wronged him and Maria.

## What do these themes do for Shadow's character?

Of the many literary effects these themes accomplish for Shadow's character, two of the most relevant ones are tying together the motif of existentialism and providing deeply sensitive and potent emotions to his character: those of love and grief.

Shadow's circumstances work in concert to advance in his story the motif of existentialism: a philosophy arguing that, amidst a universe devoid of given purpose or meaning, an individual must fashion their own answer to the meaning of their life. Or, in Sartre's much pithier maxim, existence precedes essence. Existentialism provides fertile narrative grounds on which Shadow's character is buffeted by waves of uncertainty in his throes of self-discovery. In [Sonic Battle,](https://youtu.be/i6bN780AyuE?t=586) Shadow sees himself as a weapon of war that is destined to destroy the world, to which Sonic rebuts by saying that Shadow has a heart. The negative forces surrounding him that have so thoroughly objectified Shadow's existence are so strong, he ended up internalising it for himself. This adds depth to Shadow's character; even with all his physical and chaotic power, he is vulnerable emotionally and mentally—a set-up that may lead to the pay-off of him developing a stronger sense of self.

The powerful set-up for Shadow's potential for growth in his mental and emotional fortitude, for his self-discovery beyond the catalogue of expectations put upon him and shaped his past, is thankfully paid off in the games. The Last Story of ShTH, the true ending for the game, culminates in [Super Shadow casting away the Black Comet, home to the Black Arms, with an open, unwavering renunciation of his past](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=3799) and a final cutscene where, aboard the Space Colony ARK, [Shadow bids farewell to himself as he tosses aside a photo of Maria and Gerald](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?t=3899) while leaving the ARK. It is a powerful moment that, following on the heels of many difficult truths of Shadow's life and creation, Shadow reclaims his own path moving forward from the shackles of his past, even including Maria. All this makes for a moving and satisfying character development for him: an arc that sees Shadow's self-actualisation beyond the traumatic forces of his past, the circumstances of his creation, and even Maria's influence on him.


Despite the ending of ShTH, I argue that we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Maria's impact on Shadow. What her character did was add the depths of love, loss, and grief to Shadow's journey. With all of Shadow's growth in ShTH, the narrative focus was on his self-discovery, free from all influences, negative and positive, including Maria. But his ordeal in achieving self-acceptance and facing the future for what it is does not necessitate that he would be resentful, spiteful, or dismissive of what Maria meant to him as the relentlessly positive light in his life that was the one to instill so much purpose in him that he took on for himself for the first time outside of the ARK, even if it was born out of misinterpretation initially. No matter the ways in which Shadow grows and changes, it is merely respectful to the complex trajectories and feelings that constitute grief to suppose that, through all his struggles, he would not view Maria with aloofness or negativity as some matter of fact.

Above all, it is safe to say that through these events, Shadow forges an admirably strong sense of self that transcends the pressures of others' expectations that have unfairly shaped his creation. Shadow has pride over the title of 'Ultimate Lifeform', often referring to himself as such and [refusing the possibility of defeat](https://youtu.be/i6bN780AyuE?t=1328). We could interpret such an enthusiastic embracing of the expectation of what he was created to be counts as a reclamation for him. Also, one of his most iconic lines comes from an interaction he has with Mephiles—an interaction so relevant to Shadow's growth as a character that it bears quoting in full:

> Mephiles: It's futile. The world will betray you. Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?
> Shadow: If the world chooses to become my enemy, [I will fight like I always have](https://youtu.be/QIuGyj920vw?t=2165)!


## Interim summary: What sets Shadow apart from the rest of the Sonic cast

From the rich narrative background and arcs that Shadow has gone through in the games, we can conclude a few ways in which Shadow stands apart from the rest of the characters in the Sonic franchise: his tragic nature and his growth beyond it.

Shadow is a deeply tragic character in the franchise, if not the most. Though there are other characters with tragic backstories, such as Knuckles with the bloody history of the Knuckles clan and the ruined future that Silver came from, Shadow is the character who most obviously wears their tragedy on their sleeve, in a manner of speaking. Shadow's past and circumstances bleed through to the actions and quests he takes in the present day, explaining his reflective, intensely brooding nature even as he works with or against the other members of the cast. Even in '06 with all his development—and still not in spite of it—[Shadow represents the past where Silver represents the future and Sonic represents the present](https://youtu.be/BbfteiFFYkY?t=222).

Shadow is also the character who has grown the most since his iconic debut in SA2. He has received the most exploration to his history than any other Sonic character thus far, his appearances in games consistently accompanied with more emotionally involved stories and character arcs that have facilitated his growth from his tragic roots, [a point that Iizuka reinforces in his Fearless interview](https://youtu.be/OVifye90jQ0?t=114). This has important implications for how future stories featuring Shadow should treat his character—his appearances would need to respect the impressive back upon which he has grown to embrace his unhappy, demanding, and traumatic past by letting it go.

Thus, as the groundwork for our subsequent analysis, we can review the story of Shadow Generations in light of how it does, or does not, respect the richness of Shadow's character and the growth he has underwent in previous game titles.

# PART II – Shadow Generations: Analysing the story with respect to Shadow's established character

Bear in mind that this analysis supposes that the reader has watched the cutscenes for Shadow's story in Shadow Generations.

## Initial comments on the originality of Shadow Generations' plot

Some commentary on Shadow Generations' plot being by and large a retread of ShTH with the Black Arms makes for an apt starting point for this section.

You could call the entire premise of Shadow's plot unoriginal given that it relies heavily on the story elements, such as the Black Arms and Shadow's relationship to Maria and Gerald, that ShTH established and explored. This is not a charge from which Shadow Generations' story can meaningfully escape. Even the original Generations' paper-thin plot (not gameplay, but plot) with the Time Eater scattering Sonic's friends across different zones from Sonic's past was something that previous Sonic games had not done. Even the fact that the Time Eater was actually Classic and Modern Eggman in disguise constitutes a plot twist that only the original Generations story features. In contrast, Black Doom made a wholesale comeback as the main enemy and no such plot twist about his identity is in the story.


All in all, then, the charge that Shadow Generations' story lacks originality holds water. However, other than being somewhat trivial in how obvious it is, the criticism of lacking originality also does not address two relevant considerations.

First, there is the Doylean reality that Sonic is a franchise and Shadow is part of its brand to be marketed.

[*Fearless: The Year of Shadow* and Shadow Generations are both meant to be in lockstep with Shadow's appearance, otherwise debut, in the upcoming Sonic movie](https://youtu.be/OVifye90jQ0?t=155). Since the movies are meant to draw in watchers to buy the games, it is in SEGA and Sonic Team's interest to create media that focuses on Shadow in a way that introduces him to potential newcomers. In other words, they have a task to familiarise and endear Shadow to players that have not delved into the rabbit hole of either his characterisation or the games that featured his story front and centre around two decades ago as of the time of writing.

Second, there is the point that even unoriginal content can be explored in rich ways in a new story. Fanfiction is case in point enough.

In fact, given the first point that Shadow Generations is likely made with the intention of apprising newcomers to Shadow's character but also has a market of long-time players who are more dedicated fans of Shadow, the game provides a ripe opportunity to show the depth of Shadow's character by depicting how he started out and how far he has come. Forcing a developed Shadow to encounter demons and doubts from his past is an effective way to not only provide exposition on his backstory, but also to show to the audience how the developed Shadow now thinks, feels, and acts regarding his own past. That can provide a source of interest for long-time fans who can admire the fruits of Shadow's development, as well as newcomers who can appreciate that Shadow has much depth to him and previous adventures in older games they can explore that led to the character that he is in the present.

It should be said, though, that it is possible to make a game designed to introduce new players to longstanding characters with an original story that touches upon the characters' established backstories. In fact, more than being possible, it already happened in the Sonic franchise prior. Sonic Heroes re-introduced Shadow experiencing partial amnesia after the events of SA2; Heroes also touched upon Shadow's backstory without outright rehashing overt plot points or characters in his past. Given that Shadow Generations is far from the first game in the franchise designed to introduce new players to longstanding characters, it is worth considering exactly how necessary it was for the plot of Shadow Generations to overtly bring back Maria, Gerald, and Black Doom and revolve around them in the same fashion that previous Sonic games have done. One can even argue that bringing back Maria, Gerald and Black Doom undermines the development made in the themes and character growth related to Shadow from past games.


In a nutshell, it is understandable from a marketing perspective why Sonic Team would approve of a story that heavily features elements from Shadow's past and ShTH. An effective execution of the narrative can also make the end result appealing for the franchise's newcomers and regulars alike, even if it is still questionable to what extent obvious rehashes of story beats and characters in previous games iconic to Shadow were really necessary.

Now in comes the million-dollar question: was Shadow Generations' story executed well?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is what you're reading.

## Analysing Shadow Generations' story on an emotional level: thy name is inconsistency

There are two coarse levels of analysis we can enact for the story Shadow Generations tries to tell: one to do with fundamental matters of logical continuity and another to do with emotional beats and characterisation. Let's call them *technical* and *emotional* levels of analysis respectively. These two levels of analysis are not meant to be exhaustive; they are simply convenient for this essay.

My argument takes as the greatest offence the failures that Shadow Generations' story commits on *emotional* level, i.e. to do with the characterisation and emotional resonance of the story. I still note technical slip-ups or points of confusion in ShGens storytelling, but since those criticisms are overall not as important to my point as the one I am making on the emotional level, I cover those observations in an [appendix document](https://hackmd.io/@blurredblu/shadowgens-appendix) that I also link at the bottom of this essay.

Above all, what I intend to show is that the emotional beats of Shadow Generations' story not only fails to respect basic principles of continuity, but also commits flagrant disrespect to the rich characterisation and development Shadow has gone through.

## A word on creative writing: narrative arcs and writing as communication

Shadow, as mentioned before, stands out from other characters in the cast due to the deeper, more emotional themes of his stories. In many ways, the darker tones to his narratives consequently adjust an audience's expectations of what to expect of his character compared to the other, more lighthearted ones in the cast. As a result, it is reasonable to say there is a greater narrative import that Shadow's character and story be executed with a detectable consistency and cohesion so that the themes and messages of his stories hit home for the audience effectively.

To that end, before we get into some analysis proper, some principles of effective creative writing bear mentioning.

Consider the following definitions of what a narrative arc (or story arc) accomplishes:

> [guides the flow of events, creates compelling conflict, and provides a clear and engaging path for a story](https://blog.reedsy.com/narrative-arc/)

> [provides coherence, allowing a story to unfold in a logical and engaging manner [where] writers can shape characters, build tension, and deliver impactful moments that resonate with readers or viewers long after the story has ended.](https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-story-arc-definition/)

Keep these functions of narrative arcs in mind as I state something I will repeat: **writing is communication**.

Creative writing does not happen in a vacuum, nor even in only the sandbox of the writer's mind, answering to the whims of none other than the writer themselves. It is not enough for an author to know their character and their idiosyncrasies through and through; anyone who has ever tried their hand at establishing a new character, piece of world-building, or any new element to a story, written or illustrated, will be intimately aware of the reality that *knowing* your story and *communicating* it effectively, compellingly, engagingly with your reader are two entirely separate deeds.

Writing is communication. A published piece of writing has its audience to think about. The audience does not start out on the same page as the writer. It is on the writer to get the audience on the same page as them, both in terms of understanding character motivations and behaviours as well as getting the audience to care about their endeavours. **It is on the writer to communicate with the reader.**

A game like Shadow Generations, one based on an iconic character with pre-existing stories, is not exempt from this task of communication. In fact, as I have mentioned before, it is an admirable challenge to write a character as iconic as Shadow and a story featuring him in a way that respects the knowledge of long-time fans of his games and stories and remains accessible for newcomers in the same stroke.

Unfortunately, if clarity and coherence are the bread and butter of story arcs—the key means through which a story and its characters can stay with their audience long after their end—then Shadow Generations seems to be missing a kitchen.


## The influence of Black Doom's powers on Shadow's moods

In an early cutscene, Shadow declares that he will make the sudden and forcible manifestations of Black Doom's power overtaking his body his own.

It could be argued that this would make for satisfying pay-off at the end of a developmental arc for Shadow reckoning with his newfound, unasked for abilities. But that argument is really nothing more than a rhetorical sidebar, since it is more productive to evaluate the story based on what it does versus what it does not. Perhaps the only thing worth noting is that it seems like an oversight to have Shadow be unconcerned that his body is being taken over by powers originating from innate parts of himself that he did not choose, essentially robbing him of his agency.

Overall, as things stand, Shadow's declaration about making Black Doom's powers his own, complete with a balled fist of determination, sets the tone for what the audience can expect regarding Shadow's attitude towards his powers. In other words, we should expect Shadow to reasonably show some measure of disappointment or frustration if his powers escape his mastery or overcome him.


In the cutscenes that follow, Shadow evidently shows no developing mastery over the Doom-related powers so much as they show mastery over him.

A minor example is when he inexplicably tries to use his Doom powers on Sonic from behind him and fails to. A more relevant example is when he succumbs to his temper and accompanying powers after Black Doom confronts him once more, this time in front of Maria and Gerald, where his powers are about to flare up alongside his swelling anger.

The expectation that Shadow would show frustration or disappointment at his inability to master his Black Doom powers—quite a modest and reasonable one as far as what his earlier declaration establishes—goes unfulfilled.

In the instance where he tries and fails to use his Doom powers on Sonic and loses to him, Shadow says to Rouge that if he is to beat Sonic, it will be on equal terms or not at all. This line is baffling, to say the least. Shadow trying to use his newfound powers on Sonic in secret and failing to—or even the less likely but possible alternative where he considered using his powers but decided against it—countervails the supposed integrity his line to Rouge conveys. Even for the less likely interpretation of his actions, it is surprising to see him convey no sense of shame at his personal code having been shaken for a moment. Simply put, he is being hypocritical there, and it goes unchallenged by the narrative.


As for the instance where Black Doom confronts him and partly threatens Maria and Gerald, there are multiple points to cash out.

Perhaps the most noticeable question that arises is why Shadow bubbles over with uncontrollable anger only then. In his previous encounters with Black Doom, Shadow is much calmer, even with his dislike or annoyance towards the alien leader. The only explanation I could come up with is that that was the only time Black Doom was confronting Shadow while Gerald and Maria were around. While this is plausible enough, if the two Robotniks were actually a factor into Shadow rapidly losing his temper as well as control over his powers, it is certainly not conveyed in Shadow's behaviour, dialogue, or even facial expressions—there is no clear sign on his part that he has added concern for their well-being in front of Black Doom.

Of course there is such thing as leaving things up to interpretation for the reader, but it is deeply confusing that character motivations and emotional states for Shadow on this basic level would accomplish anything meaningful or artistic by being left unaddressed. Unless there is some compelling reason to the contrary, Shadow's volatile nature is simply left unexplained to the audience to the detriment of the story's believability. I have no reason to suppose my earlier explanation about the Robotniks' presence is any better than a guess. Put another way, there is a lack of clarity on the writer's part as to why Shadow experiences a sudden, diminished ability to emotionally regulate himself in a situation he has observably been in just a few scenes prior.


How about the expectations set up by Shadow's declaration of making Black Doom's powers his own? I would say that the cutscenes after that moment still do not fulfil them.

The only acknowledgement Shadow gives to his emotional outburst and the associated loss of control of his powers is a later cutscene before he goes to confront Devil Doom, where he tells Maria, who he stops from approaching him with an outstretched palm, that she does not need to worry about him since he has let go of his destructive anger—a statement he delivers with full calmness and acceptance. Whatever emotional progression Shadow has gone through to go from being consumed by anger then running away in shame and an overwhelm in emotion to a zen-like detachment from said overwhelm is entirely absent.


All in all, the end result of the thread set up by Shadow's declaration—that he will make Black Doom's powers his own—is confused in the inconsistencies and unexplained, jerky progression of Shadow's emotional states over the course of the story. As much as the player does defeat Devil Doom and his Neo form, that triumph baked into the gameplay is not reinforced by the narrative surrounding it.

## The selective, infrequent attention Shadow pays to Maria

I have already elaborated at length the impacts that Maria has on Shadow; it would be no exaggeration to say that those impacts are irrevocable and defining for his character even amidst the great strides with which it has developed. As a result, Shadow's interactions with Maria make for a highly informative basis off of which we can evaluate the efficacy of Shadow Generations' character writing.

### Maria being alive as a dream for Shadow

There is a technical-level confusion that contributes to the emotional resonance, or interruption thereof, of how much Maria affects Shadow in [his vacillating ability to recognise her from afar](https://hackmd.io/7FfQz4m1SaKUw9GBoIje0g#Shadows-fluctuating-ability-to-notice-Maria). At the very least, however, an early cutscene establishes that Shadow is so emotionally moved at glimpsing the faintest silhouette of Maria from a distance, he audibly convinces himself to stay on task and, in his words, not chase dreams. The idea, then, that Maria being alive again would be a dream come true for him—a deep enough desire in his heart to shake him from his characteristic task-focus intensity.


#### The audience's expectations for Shadow's behaviour towards Maria

In terms of Shadow's emotional characterisation, or how he would act, what are the expectations Maria's appearance sets up for the audience?

Though multiple answers are possible given enough work done by the writer, a reasonable expectation is that Shadow would treat Maria with some kind of deference if they were to meet. Most of all, no matter what specific emotions Shadow may go through—elation, apprehension, tentative hope—we would expect that he would naturally pay considerable attention to Maria. Even in the event that he would want to not pay attention to her for some reason (e.g. to prevent the possibility of overwhelming her with his attention or sentimentality) we would expect some signs of him trying to suppress his desire to pay attention to Maria or interact with her. Again, it would be possible to show this in multiple ways, through perhaps glances her way he forcibly cuts off, or clutching at his arm when she speaks to him, or exhibiting some forms or variants of avoidant traits.

The point remains, though, that Shadow should pay a fair bit of attention to Maria. Or be seen as resisting the urge to in some way.

By that same token, there are equally expectations we would have of the ways in which Shadow would *not* treat Maria. Shadow Generations' audience is given the context of how he and Maria originally parted in a flashback, bringing even newcomers to the franchise up to speed. As a result, it is very reasonable to suppose that Shadow would want to avoid acting in ways that would trigger regrets for him in the way he and Maria parted, as well as ways that would have Maria feel neglected, upset, or concerned for him.

It is disappointing, then, that Shadow Generations' writing has Shadow act against reasonable expectations without explanation.

### Shadow's attention towards Maria: lulls of disregard between temperamental spikes

One of the most questionable decisions made in Shadow's character is how much more attention he pays to Gerald than to Maria.

It is bizarre to see that in cutscenes where despite Maria, Shadow, and Gerald all being present, Maria is ignored. In one cutscene where Gerald talks to Shadow about plot-relevant details to Black Doom's reappearance, Maria hovers and the others pay little to no attention to her after Maria asks whether Shadow is in pain. As Shadow says no and supposes it matches the powers from Black Doom's Eyes floating up in White Space, he shows a slight preoccupation with the source of his new powers and basically no noteworthy reaction to the prospect of talking to Maria. This is somewhat concerning writing, considering that it seems like a sorely missed opportunity to have Shadow, the story's protagonist, show signs or behaviours that help to characterise him or set-up emotional investment in the plot beats to follow.

In the latter part of that cutscene, where Gerald discloses that Shadow was made to be Black Doom's perfect soldier, Maria's reaction is highlighted quite strongly. She gasps with wavering eyes in wordless shock-horror at the information.


There are a couple of points here. First of all, there is the logical question of whether the information would be such a horrific revelation to Maria that would warrant such a pointed reaction from her [considering her awareness of Shadow being created from Black Arms DNA](https://youtu.be/3D_1oJn-h5Y?si=NLf4PYr_Jx9EMdiQ&t=3673)—even if she were not aware that he were created to specifically be Black Doom's soldier, the depth of her shown horror in the cutscene, complete with a close-up of her terrified expression, could plausibly be described as overblown given what she should already know of Shadow. Granted, it is possible that this Maria is unaware of Shadow's creation from Black Arms DNA entirely. Though Gerald's NPC dialogue saying he has a hunch of what's coming next could suggest that him and Maria in White Space are from a time soon before GUN's raid of the ARK, there is no outright confirmation of what time period the two of them are from other than that Maria has already met Shadow.


Looping back to the point at hand, though, what is more eyebrow-raising is that neither Shadow nor Gerald show any reaction—significant, subtle, or otherwise—to Maria's audible gasp and show of emotion. The bizarreness settles in again. Even if Gerald is preoccupied with delivering the information to show an emotional reaction of some kind, why does Shadow not give any significant reaction towards Maria? Shadow shows an internal one to himself, but the fact that he isn't acknowledging Maria's presence or reaction is strange given what we know of his character, even if it we only go off of the minimal point that the earlier cutscenes says that Shadow views Maria being alive as akin to a dream he experiences the urge to chase.

One final point of interest on the matter of how much more attention Shadow pays to Gerald than Maria is the way in which Shadow and Gerald's dynamic is cast in a subtly yet inexplicably different light to what is established in the games. As stated beforehand in Part I, Gerald has played a significant part in the burdens that Shadow has had to deal with since his creation. The cutscenes do put some work into trying to establish a fatherly attitude from Gerald towards Shadow by way of a couple lines of dialogue. Though it does not explore the way in which Shadow would react to this information, a missed opportunity seeing as Shadow has not historically shown affection or vulnerability towards Gerald as he has with Maria, it is also confusing why such attention be paid to developing this attitude from Gerald to Shadow when Maria, one of the fundamental cornerstones to Shadow's character and emotional core, is given less narrative attention than she is validly due.


### Boy fights and girl soothes: tired gender norms when Shadow does pay attention to Maria

Of course, it isn't the case that Shadow entirely ignores Maria's existence in Shadow Generation; the issues with his characterisation towards her aren't so extreme. However, and fairly unfortunately, that does not mean that the times Shadow does interact with Maria are so effective that they make up for the odd times Shadow does not acknowledge her.

The only notable scenes where Shadow shows concern for Maria is when she's struggling physically in some way. In those scenes, Maria supplies the emotional support and thinking that, tenably, Shadow should be the one doing for himself.

The first time that they properly interact is when Shadow defeats three Black Arms aliens that are chasing after her. It is debatable how much this is informed by Maria's presence because Shadow visibly only notices that it is Maria he saved after defeating the aliens. Afterwards, though, as Maria talks to him and asks into his well-being and where he learned to fight like that, Shadow noticeably clams up. Though this would have been a good opportunity to flesh out some of his feeling at finally being able to talk to Maria again, no such development is done for him in that meeting. The only significant development showing some sense of Shadow's attachment to Maria and Gerald is his thought to himself that he could divert their fates, but that is a goal that he does nothing to work towards through the story, and thus a plot point that doesn't meaningfully go anywhere. In either case, that thought to himself that never meaningfully materialised still cannot count towards anything resembling some informative, character-building, emotionally modulating interaction or dynamic between him and Maria.


Combined with the fact that Shadow essentially ignores Maria's presence multiple interactions afterwards, it casts his attention and care towards her as both noticeably selective and somewhat self-centred. Insofar as the audience has an inkling of his care for Maria, it is only in flashbacks of their past accompanying Shadow's perspective and murmurs or thoughts to himself that he does not take any time to communicate, be it through words or gestures, to Maria herself.

The next significant interaction the two have is when Black Doom taunts Shadow while around Gerald and Maria. In this scene, after Black Doom leaves, Shadow visibly has his powers flare up with his volatile, fast-rising anger. I have already written earlier the unexplained inconsistency in Shadow's emotional states regarding this; what is of interest to us here is Maria. Unlike how Shadow did not react to Maria's upset state, Maria noticed Shadow's flaring anger and powers with a keen, clearly telegraphed worry. She is then the one to talk him down from his anger, saying that this isn't like him.


The fact that Maria is the main reason Shadow stops being angry and subsequently regains control over his Doom powers is weak character writing at best and objectionable at worst. Character agency is removed and swapped and in places where it shouldn't be.

Shadow's sense of pride and shame, for one, is entirely missing. His earlier declaration regarding mastering Black Doom's power as his own is completely undermined by his bout of emotional weakness and lack of control—an episode spurred on by Black Doom's threats, no less. Yet Shadow does not meaningfully or satisfyingly address this on his own terms in this cutscene nor in a following cutscene where he does refer to his own outburst to Maria (more on this later). There is no sense of apology for his actions or some detectable processing of the confusing and self-defeating emotions he went through; whatever reckonings, development, or conclusions he has come to is a complete mystery to the audience, nor is it conveyed to any of the other characters present.

Shadow's missing sense of pride also ties into the fact that Maria did the emotional work of regulating his temper where he, as an autonomous individual and a character whose identity is driven by being one, should have done, or would have wanted to do, on his own terms.

Make no mistake: in the scene where Shadow inexplicably lost his temper, he showed weakness not only to himself, but in front of Maria. He exercised no agency in getting his own temper and powers under control. Maria was the one who did that for him via intervention.


It is not lost on me that there is a pattern here visible even in the NPC conversations Shadow is able to have with Rouge and Maria respectively in his White Space hub world. In those conversations and in this interaction with Maria, the female characters are doing the emotional processing that Shadow the male character ought to be doing on his own terms and to advance his own character development. In the cutscene, Shadow is unable to regulate his anger—an emotional trait traditionally seen as masculine—without Maria talking him down and making him see reason.


The topic not only circles back to character agency here, but broaches the territory of tired, heteronormative gender roles in stories—the male characters are physically capable and emotionally inept and the female characters are physically weak and emotionally mature. Interactions between male and female characters end up locking into unoriginal, stereotypical, stale, and predictable dynamics of saviour-man and therapist-woman as opposed to anything that resembles compelling, creative, and context-sensitive character writing.

As things stand, Shadow's character development and maturity established in previous games has gone down the drain. After years of trying to develop his own sense of self and right and wrong, in the miracle of seeing Maria alive again, what ends up happening her having to talk him out of his anger with worry and confusion. If any work were done to establish the conflicting emotions that Shadow feels towards Maria's reappearance in any sort of detail, this event could have been believable or contribute towards his character or the plot in a convincing or compelling way. No work was done to communicate this to the audience.

If the pattern of a stereotypical gendered norms genericising these characters and robbing them of agency is building up by this point, another cutscene only helps to reinforce it. One of the next times that Shadow interacts with Maria is the cutscene before he confronts Devil Doom. At first, she tries to go to him and he holds a hand up, symbolically keeping her away before telling her not to worry, he has let go of his destructive anger from when Black Doom taunted him with the Robotniks present. The interaction meant to be a reassurance comes off as stand-offish and is no actual apology, closer to showing some sense of detached enlightenment Shadow has reached as opposed to anything resembling remorse for the way he acted in front of Maria, whose emotional well-being means so much to him (or is supposed to).

The moment that Shadow does go to Maria? Is after she stumbles from a miniature earthquake.

After that is when they hold hands and Shadow makes a vow that he will fight for Maria's wish. Though it is meant to be emotionally resonant with the way they hold each others' hands and maintain each other's gaze with a smile, on the back of the varying and paltry attention Shadow has paid to Maria and with an anti-climactic acknowledgement of his emotional outburst, there is no real sense of a pay-off nor a clear narrative arc where Shadow has attempted to re-establish an emotional connection to Maria that the hand-holding tries to achieve. And this isn't to mention the question of why this Maria knows of what wish of hers, the one she made while dying, that Shadow is talking about.


Before I continue on significant ways in which Shadow's emotional core is characterised or not, you may have noticed that as much as I have elaborated on the scene where Maria talks Shadow out of his anger, I did not note the moment Shadow runs away after.

I cover Shadow running away in the next section of this essay. And then some.

### Character assassination: the finishing move Shadow Generations delivers his character – Shadow's emotional cowardice

What does it mean to depict grief? Bereavement? Acceptance?

How would any of us who have lost a loved one act if, after being ripped away from one another too soon, they returned to life, to an earlier version of themselves, and had no idea of their fate—all they know that they are somewhere new, you are with them, and they love you as much as you love them?

Technical-level slip-ups in the plot are [a dime a dozen](https://hackmd.io/@blurredblu/shadowgens-appendix) in Shadow Generations. Even then, plot is a different story element to characterisation, the latter of which I was more interested in appraising.

But the moment that really, deeply shattered my respect for anything the game's story was trying to accomplish was when the writer had Shadow run away from Maria. Twice.


The only sign of Shadow expressing any modicum of regret, if his actions could even be called so emotive a word, is localised to the first time after he ran away from her, after returning from the brink of losing his temper from Maria's intervention—when he puts a hand out when Maria tries to approach him. His aloof remark and non-apology—all too clearly conveyed in his flat tone of voice, his impersonal facial expression, and above all the outstretched hand he puts out as a symbolic barrier to stop Maria from coming any closer—is only in regards to Maria having to talk him down from his temper. It pays no acknowledgement to how he ran away from her.

And then, they had Shadow run away from her again. When she and Gerald were disappearing, presumably, forever.


Think back, if you somehow forgot, to Shadow's last moments with Maria aboard the ARK.

Shadow is punching at the fortified glass in an escape pod, trying desperately to help Maria, be with her when she's at her weakest, as she sends him away so that he may live even as she dies. The last moments that Shadow ever got to be with the one source of unconditional, pure love he had experienced in his life thus far was of her pushing him away when all he wanted was to be with her. To be with someone who has irrevocably shaped his existence and outlook on life. Someone who has haunted him ever since. Someone, if we are to take Dark Beginnings with any amount of seriousness, who he dreams of being with on Earth, a place that she so dearly wanted to see, at peace as they are simply by each other's side. And the last thing he remembers of her was that she sent him away out of nothing but love for him when all he wanted was to try and get out and be with her.


Think now again of grief. Of bereavement. Of the feeling of those final moments with your loved one who leaves this world—the pressing, haunting, unspeakable loop of emotion rooting the bone-deep desire to see them again, to be with them again, one last, miraculous, impossible time. All those regrets you had while they were alive, all the ways in which you would do things differently, if they were ever to be by your side again. Of all the ways in which grief happens in manifold ways, I would wager good money that for most of those who bereave, not a day goes by where they do not think of the people they lost, even as time stretches neverendingly on.

Read me well: most any story event or element could be written believably—even the ones that feature in Shadow Generations as-is.

Grief is a motley of mixed, conflicting emotions—emotions and experiences antithetical to a one-size-fits-all understanding. It could have been possible that, faced with such an impossible scenario, Shadow's sense of acceptance of Maria's death is shaken and he is at a loss of what to do or how to act in front of her flesh-and-blood self. Maybe seeing her again was not at all the dream or fantasy he envisaged it to be, but an opportunity merely to disappoint her again, to fail her again. Perhaps there could be a believable, characteristic way of building up to Shadow running away from Maria when she sincerely attempts to speak to him on an emotional level.

But, as I have stressed before, writing is communication. Development, in the realm of storytelling, is a deliberate process, made gradual and observable to the audience. Story events are only believable if the writer takes the time to write out the development that leads up to them. A writer who does not take the time to do this—particularly for moments intended to be emotionally resonant to the audience—is an inexperienced, clumsy, or lazy one.

In Shadow's last moments with Maria, she sent him away for his sake. The one person who showed him what it meant to care and be cared for sent him away when he wanted so desperately to stay with her.

So remains the question: why on Earth, on the miraculous occasion that she were brought to life again, made true in this game, would Shadow ever run away from Maria?

*Ever?*

Perhaps if he were a self-centred, cowardly, repressed husk of himself that never took the time to express his care for Maria, nor consider that Maria would value his presence in an unfamiliar place, nor how she would feel to see him run away from her when all she is trying to do is talk to him.

That's the only version of Shadow who I could think of believably running away from Maria before she's gone again. For good.


# Concluding remarks

## Shadow Generations as vaguely story-shaped

Shadow Generations' writing is, in a word, mercurial. In four words: all over the place.

By all accounts, the text *seems* authoritative. The guise of a warm, resonant, cutting story in Shadow Generations is duly strong. There is fighting. There is yelling. There is vowing. There is a moment where Shadow and Maria hold hands, looking into each other's eyes with a smile. There is, at the very end, Shadow running away with a lone tear flying from his eye after he parts from Maria and Gerald once again.

The story is delivered with confidence. The semblance of coherence is strong, too. Shadow Generations' plot follows one event after the other while staying broadly on topic; no seeming mistakes. If all you are looking for is a decent-seeming story, there's nothing more you could ask for.

But when you start looking for logical consistency and accuracy in Shadow Generations' story, questions start to pop up.

That moment where Shadow and Maria hold hands and smile at one another follows from Shadow saying that he will fulfil her wish. Specifically, the dying wish she made to him before ejecting him to Earth. [How does this Maria, who has no knowledge of how she will die, know what Shadow is referring to?](https://hackmd.io/7FfQz4m1SaKUw9GBoIje0g#Marias-lack-of-surprise-to-Shadow-saying-hell-continue-to-fight-for-her-dying-wish)

Shadow thinks to himself after meeting Maria and Gerald in White Space that he could save them from their fate. Is this in-character for what he has gone through before? On a more technical level, [why does he not make any moves towards this goal throughout the story](https://hackmd.io/7FfQz4m1SaKUw9GBoIje0g#Shadow-thinking-to-himself-he-can-try-to-divert-Maria-and-Geralds-fates)?

Why would Shadow run away from Maria?

There are many features about the human brain—such as schema, the law of closure, or information satisficing—that lead us to naturally prioritise efficient information processing than accuracy or logical consistency. [We are cognitively prone to completing a picture and constructing stories from incomplete, hazy suggestions that point towards a possible, story-shaped puzzle piece that will fill in the gaps](https://youtu.be/TAdkzxB4WFo?list=PL2QuSfnT0hGEhtXZpC_y374kVRzIIB4Wq&t=180).

Shadow Generations' story is a collection of moments that, if taken individually and out of context, give suggestions towards greater themes, arcs, or character development. The suggestion of a story is not the same as a story, much less a good one. That also does not stop players from appreciating the gist of what those scenes are trying to accomplish—even if their brain fills in the blanks for sounds like a plausible, pretty-sounding answer.

In that same vein, I am not surprised that many players may think Shadow Generations' story to be good, or even moving. But I would sooner chalk that up to their ability to appreciate the potential of a story more so than sincerely think that Shadow Generations' story delivered them a cogent, well-written one.

## This analysis as a eulogy to Shadow's emotional core

I used to be respectful but overall indifferent to Shadow's character, aware of his backstory and traits but not preferential towards him as I am towards Sonic. Watching the cutscenes for Shadow Generations, I noticed the technical-level inconsistencies and the emotional starts-and-stops in the writing. They caught my interest, but none of them were enough to tilt my analytical perspective on the story into full-blown distaste.

What sealed my contempt towards this story was Shadow's treatment towards Maria.

Shadow disregarding Maria while talking shop with Gerald multiple times confused me. Shadow showing an emotionally weak, lost side of himself to Maria after all his development worried me. Shadow running away from Maria shocked me.

I have made a multitude of arguments as to why Shadow Generations' story writing is lacking, to the point of having an appendix of technical-level clumsiness in its script of all things. Yet nigh on every other critique I have given here amounts to window-dressing for the staggering, honestly appalling cowardice, self-centredness, and lack of care Shadow shows to Maria in running away from her. Twice.

That Shadow Generations' script ever made it out of the editors' room is astonishing—it belongs in nothing but the scraps of the cutting room floor for not even spitting on, but so thoroughly spewing vomit all over any scrap of history, emotion, and development built up for Shadow over all this time in the care he has for Maria and the significance she has to him as a character. Shadow in this game is an emotionally regressed, butchered, inscrutable shell of the character that games like SA2, ShTH, '06, and Sonic Battle established with coherent, poignant vision for him as a character who valiantly struggled to find his own footing, his own purpose, in a world that shunned as much as it shaped him.

If this essay were not in writing but on YouTube, the genre-appropriate clickbait title would be *Shadow Generations made me a fan of Shadow (and not in the way you think)*. Shadow Generations made me a Shadow fan because its writing is so detestable in his cowardly selfishness towards Maria that it made me appreciate what previous games had established about him in a new light. Sometimes, you only really appreciate what you have till it's gone.


# Appendices
- [Technical points of confusion in Shadow Generations](/7FfQz4m1SaKUw9GBoIje0g)
- [FAQ: Anticipating rebuttals to my analysis on Shadow Generations' story](/sx__B6zEQc23JNBBpEE9Jw)