Poll: What Score Would You Give The Year Of Shadow? Go On, Tell Us

It was excellent for sure! SEGA had a great year!

SEGA really drove this one through to completion. It was nice to see the character get some real focus.

I was already pleasantly surprised that Shadow Generations turned out to be a full game and not a simple level pack - not to mention that it was additionally the better half of an already excellent gaming package.

However, Keanu as Shadow in the third Sonic movie sealed the deal. An excellent threequal and a very worthy adaption of my favourite 3D Sonic title.

Take notes, Nintendo.

Shadow is always 10/10.

It beat year of Luigi easy! and honestly it should get extra points for Sega successfully making a bold marketing move which doesn't happen all too often.

Overall it was a pretty good year for sega and shadow as sonic 3 was actually the best flim in the franchise (so far) and shadow generations was really cool and the dlc was kinda neat and the dark beginnings shorts were freaking fantastic. This is just all of the stuff that I experienced during the year of shadow as I'm not sure how everything else was.

I didn't know really anything about Shadow other than thinking he's an overrated cringe edge lord with a crappy game from a time when Sega was at the pinnacle of mediocrity. I certainly didn't think he deserved a place in Smash when everyone was clamoring for him--even as an Echo Fighter--and thought he'd be a bottom-of-the-barrel pick akin to putting Bubsy in Smash. Just the cliché 2000's trope of giving the hero a dark counterpart, nothing more.

But having now watched the Sonic 3 movie and played Shadow Generations, I understand his motivations, and they aren't as hokey as I thought they would be. I knew about the death of Maria but always just thought it sounded so ridiculous and over-the-top for a kid's game about talking hedgehogs. I don't know how well it was executed back in 2005, and I suspect it was probably as cheesy as I think it is. But in these more contemporary adaptations, I thought it was handled well. Dare I say, the endings of both definitely hit in the feels.

I guess I can say I care about him as a character now and wouldn't oppose him getting into Smash anymore. In fact, I might would even be a little excited if he came to the roster. So, I think that says something. I guess that indicates SEGA succeeded at what they were trying to accomplish last year.

It was who in the what now?

In my opinion, it was the best "Year Of" event I've encountered. We got Shadow Generations, Sonic Movie 3, and mulitple cool animations (Dark Beginnings, TerminalMontage, and Tyson Hesse's Shadow Batman). SEGA did a great job. I hope it was financially successful for them.

No Shadow of a doubt...
It was a great year. he was not a Shadow of his former self! 😉

bow YOUR HEADS LOW, ALL HAIL SHADOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately I'm a buzzkillington, I have to give this a 1. I don't have any interest in the movies or any sonic games. I think I've played some on GameCube and wii and never went back. The Genesis games were just awful to me.
I think i played generations a long time ago, with a bunch of rail grinding and jank and I've been turned off ever since.

Are Sonic fans re-litigating the quality of Shadow the Hedgehog on GameCube yet? They do that a lot. Like "Sonic Unleashed is akshewly good, guys." I'm guessing some YouTuber's fault.

@Sonicka eh, problem is that Sonic fans would be saying that anyway. The work put in to Generations should be commemorated for sure, if you agree with the practice of putting more boost Sonic into the world. You Sonic types are sickos.

@LikelySatan Nah, I'm pretty sure most still think it sucks. At least I haven't heard a lot of positive thoughts about it. The game is hilarious though.

Peak year. Nuff said.

Honestly it was one of the best years the Sonic franchise has had in recent years.

Shadow Generations was my personal GOTY so I guess the 'year of shadow' was pretty good.

More like over-shadowed, by literally everything else.

Yep, I have not heard of a better "The Year of". An easy 10. Please keep going on like this Sega.

I am starting to really like Shadow.

It kinda felt more like the last few months of shadow instead of the entire year, but it was pretty good otherwise!

As a long time Sonic fan, I'm not that excited. The new version of Sonic Generations was more of a lazy port. The included Shadow Generations is not bad, the stages are made well and even play better than the main game. But this white world around is annoying.
I didn't watch the movie yet, I guess I will wait for the disc release.

@rvcolem1 buzzkillington the third to be precise. (|;^)3 (yes that's peter griffin)

Tbh I really had no idea 2024 was the year of Shadow this article is my first time hearing about it

@LikelySatan different strokes for different folks.

When the boost formula works, it’s great fun - Shadow Generations for me takes it further with his additional abilities which is why I enjoyed it more.

Not all Sonic fans like the same Sonic games though. We ain’t no hive mind and can hate on the trash Sega put out just as much.

I’m personally much more interested to see what they achieve with Frontiers 2. I enjoyed the first, and if it’s as quality controlled as the level design and open world structure from Shadow Generations then we could be in for a very good time.

Not interested personally. I just never liked Shadow as a character. He's just a design by committee character that was meant to be even edgier than Sonic, who was already an "edgy" character. And I say this as someone who bought and enjoyed Sonic Adventure 2 on day one back in the day with the Sonic 10th anniversary preorder bonus.

@Sonicka I don't actually begrudge anyone digging boost games. I don't like em for a lot of reasons, but I'm happy Sonic is doing well.

@LikelySatan unleashed is fun! Though based on your comments im seeing here you dont really care for the boost formula so i cant blame you for not liking the game in that case. I feel like sonic games get REALLY good if you can indoctrinate yourself in the world and vibes of sonic (duh, if you like something its good, but i digress). Like i totally get not liking a majority or even every sonic game, but there's this vibe about them in the music, gameplay, and level design that just has me hook line and sinker more times than not. There's still definitely some realll stinkers (looking at YOU forces and original 06), but there's some really great stuff too! The classic era titles and mania are some of my favorite 2d platformers, the adventure era stuff is dripping with jank (but also personality, style, and this gamecube era nostalgic vibe i just cannot get enough of), and the boost era has some of the most roller-coastery blood-pumpin music and levels in ANY game ive ever played! I still havent played shadow yet, though i do plan on trying it in the future. Im so deep in the series at this point i might as well play them all LOL

@Sonicka frontiers 2 both excites and worries me. If we can get an expansion and improvement of the open zones like in frontiers but with cyberspace both a: built in naturally into the environment and b: with level design on par with what we saw in shadow gens, its practically a done deal for me. My biggest wish for it though has to be for us not to see it officially announced for a few years please i need this to not be another under baked mess "see, sonic was never good" kind of game lets keep the good games coming please sega i beg of you

@Not_Soos You should play Sonic Adventure 2 if you enjoyed the 3rd Sonic Movie. It is the origin of Shadow after all and while the movie honored SA2, it took things in their own unique direction. As for Shadow's 2005 outing, things were definitely hammed up. Ironically, some of Shadow's best character moments come from his part in Sonic 06.

Better Than Year of Luigi/10

Shadow is legit one of my least liked characters in all of fiction. Casting Keanu Reeves is the only way I didn't find the character abhorrently cringey in the movie, because that was the only way they were able to make the manufactured edginess of the character come across as somewhat self-aware and humorous.

@epicgamner it's pretty much everything with Sonic now. It used to be the tone. Mario asks the player to accept some pretty bizarre things, but Sonic seems to want me to take it all seriously. Which...no, lol. Even when I was 12 or 13, I thought the whole "tude" thing was silly, but it felt a lot more tongue in cheek back then.
Anyway, like I said, it's pretty much everything now. The games are always half baked, I can't stand the idiotic singing in the music, the games barely require interaction at times, the characters make me cringe...the series has nothing for me anymore.

Sega gave one of their very best characters a year to never forget, a year that essentially restored his entire identity. Frankly its been the best year to be a Sonic fan since the 2000s.

I think you missed the option í missed the year entirely'/... evn though i bought sonic x shadow on the ps5, which was kind of nice...

cant imagine watching the films though

It was a great year for Shadow. 2027 should be The year of Amy with Amy getting her own game with Rouge, Cream and Blaze as playable characters too. Tail, Knuckles, Shadow and Bean have all had spinoff games. It is time for Amy to get one too and they can use it to give the other female characters some focus too. 😀