ShtH is Better Than Heroes (Part 10)

REPLAY

Sonic Heroes tried to do some small things to keep it playable past the story, but it was easy to immediately loose interest. Shadow's unique style guaranteed a difference, though. 

Heroes

A lot of Heroes' extra features come at the cost of emblems or A-Ranks, which are not easy to get. As covered last post, the missions are another alternative option, but there's no real motivation to play them. 

With the different teams and emeralds, finishing the game is a bit more challenging than others. Still, once it's done it's not quite the same. While a fan of the levels and characters will want to return, the complex gameplay elements (fly, make a wind tornado, etc), missions (Chaotix), and length (levels) make it have less appeal. 

Shadow

Shadow's story and mission layout create endless possibilities over 300 combinations. The paths lead to the same six choices, yet the shape of that path can be changed with ease. 

The locations have their challenges, but they aren't forced, either, since the missions are technically optional. There is a large amount of characters, but you don't see them all at once like Heroes. One could play an entire storyline without encountering Rouge, or another without encountering Tails. The only constant characters are Sonic and Black Doom since they both appear in the first level. The simple controls also aid this game in comparison to Heroes. 

Also, since the game has a fast start (alien invasion!) it's easier to return to than Heroes' slower, drawn-out plot. Seeing Shadow's different personalities and actions (such as sparing or eliminating Eggman) is an added bonus. 

Outside of the story, A-Ranks are more realistic and so is expert mode, giving gamers more to do.     

So...

Shadow the Hedgehog has a longer lasting effect than Heroes, or most other Sonic games. 

In the "classic" days level design and different pathways helped keep the game fresh. The transitional era had interesting locations but mainly only one way to go. Shadow used its missions, characters, and story to solve this problem.