Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog is a character appearing in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, in addition to debuted in Sonic Adventure 2 2001. Although this was described to be his only appearance, Shadow proved so popular among fans that developer Sonic Team decided to include him in Sonic Heroes 2003. Shadow has since presents in many entries in the franchise, including the spin-off Shadow the Hedgehog 2005. He also appears in Sonic film and television adaptations, comics, and merchandise.

Within the Sonic franchise's fictional universe, Shadow is an immortal, anthropomorphic black hedgehog created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of series antagonist Doctor Eggman. After witnessing the murder of his best friend Maria, Shadow vows to keep his promise to her that he would protect the world from danger. As an antihero, Shadow has service intentions but will hold whatever it takes tohis goals, putting him at odds with series protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog, thus serving as one of the eponymous label character's greatest rivals, if non the greatest. Shadow shares numerous attributes with Sonic and thus controls similarly in games, but is distinguished by his ownership of vehicles and firearms.

The theory for Shadow originated during the coding of the original Sonic Adventure in 1998, with Iizuka and Maekawa ensuring he would be a subtle, "cool" consultation players could care about. Although Shadow is one of the series' most popular characters and was named one of the greatest video game characters by Guinness World Records in 2011, he has proven divisive among video game journalists. Some develope praised his role in Sonic Adventure 2 and his levels' preservation of the Sonic theme, but others have criticized his dark and over-the-top characterization. The Shadow game sold well, but received loosely unfavorable reviews.

Description

Shadow is an anthropomorphic black hedgehog appearing in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series of platform games and its various spin-offs. He number one appeared in the 2001 installment Sonic Adventure 2, theSonic game released for a Sega video game console. His roles in the games vary. Some, such(a) as the leading series games Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes 2003, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 feature him as a major playable character, and he is the protagonist of the spin-off Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 and a downloadable content DLC package for Sonic Forces 2017. Others, such(a) as the anniversary game Sonic Generations 2011, limit him to a non-playable role.

In the games, Shadow is depicted as a mysterious, sharp-witted, and brooding antihero. While his ultimate goal is to protect the world from danger, he dislikes humanity, and one time he has quality a goal, he does whatever it takes toit. This often causes him to take risks without thinking them through and puts him at odds with series protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog. Although a loner, Shadow collaborates with treasure hunter Rouge the Bat and renegade robot E-123 Omega in games such(a) as Sonic Heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Forces. Shadow allies with Sonic in some games, but also does so with Doctor Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog.

Shadow shares many similarities with Sonic. Visually, GamesRadar+'s Justin Leeper said that if Sonic was "Super" form giving him special powers.