ShtH is Better than Heroes (Conclusion)

I like Sonic Heroes. It's a good character driven game and introduced some fascinating concepts. Unfortunately while it easily snags the title of "fan-favorite," Shadow the Hedgehog is teased. 

Heores was good, but it was not without it's flaws. ShtH had it's own problems, but overall it was a better game than Heroes: 

• Part 1--Attitude
• Part 2--Gameplay
• Part 3--Conflict
• Part 4--Scoring
• Part 5--Music
• Part 6--Levels
• Part 7--2-player
• Part 8--Main Character
• Part 9--Missions
• Part 10--Replay

Shadow was more experimental. It was character driven, but in a different way. Instead of focusing on the power of team work, its themes expanded to identity, revenge vs justice, and right vs wrong. 

Best way to use a keyboard.

I don't think ShtH was perfect, but it does not deserve to be treated like a big joke. They went overboard with the "edgy" qualities and over-dramatized the guns. No one complained about the GUNS in Sonic Forces because they were unrealistic and called a silly name (Wispon). The guns in ShtH were not realistic in the slightest: oversized, alien, and...whatever the heck the Omachao gun is. They were fun and helped differ the game from a typical Sonic one (though as a reminder, Gamma!). The game is not nearly as over-the-top as the intro.  

HUGE, CARTOONISH GUN

Between the two, there were many parts I felt tied. Graphics are practically the same. The plot varies--while the end twist was better in Heroes I'm not sure that applies to the whole game (a letter from Eggman saying he's taking over the world, seriously? Alien invasion was an epic way to start in comparison). Voice Acting also varied--for many of the original cast Heroes was their best game and for the 4kids ShtH was maybe their worst. However Charmy's voice in ShtH was still better than his original voice, and the same could be said about many other characters. Most notably with Shadow...David Humphrey was great, but Jason Griffith immediately matched the character perfect. Ryan Drummond was doing his best take on Sonic at that point, though. So those were all debatable points that I felt neither "won."

  

Shadow the Hedgehog still beat Heroes in many other categories, with replay value being the most notable. Again, while I don't hate Heroes, I don't think it quite deserves the credit it gets. Meanwhile ShtH deserves a lot more. 

A step farther: Shadow the Hedgehog deserves a sequel. Tails and Knuckles are good characters but to have them go solo would be out of character nowadays. Silver's backstory(s) are too unclear. I'd like to see a Blaze spin-off maybe the most, but she lacks the popularity and is not as easily recognized. 

Shadow can go off on his own, has clear origins, and is "the 2nd most popular character in the canon." Sonic 06 improved from Shadow the Hedgehog, and Forces showed there's still a chance for the character. If he were to star in his own title they could fix their mistakes while keeping what made the game fun. Unfortunately, Sega no longer takes risks, and a spin-off starring another character, Shadow or otherwise, WILL NEVER HAPPEN. We can hope for another "episode/story," though...     

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. 

ShtH is Better than Heroes (Part 8)

 Part 8: The Main Character

Sonic Heroes was a game that highlighted the benefits of trusting one another and teamwork while the less clear-cut Shadow the Hedgehog explored the trust's good and bad consequences. 

While Heroes did a great job with balancing the amount of characters fit into the game, Sonic himself was mostly just another Team leader. Shadow the Hedgehog, as the title suggests, was more focused on Shadow despite the inclusion of many other characters. 

The story for Team Hero is pretty simple. The rapport between Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails is the main attraction, perhaps highlighted best during the actual stages. In the story, though, there's little difference to make Sonic's role stand out. 

This is the first time he's taken his role-model position to the next level, actually leading Tails and Knuckles. Unfortunately the shift seems to go unnoticed. 

There is a moment of interest where Sonic admits he might not have made it to the end without Tails and Knuckles, but it's quickly replaced with in the Last Story with cheesy comments about the powers of team work and being "Sonic Heroes!"    

The Last Story was a great opportunity to contrast Sonic with his Metal double. That can be done with voice acting, appearance, and even "What I'm Made Of." But it's just not apart of the script or story. 

In Shadow the Hedgehog any path taken is about character development. Now, this game doesn't get too much weight for this because most of it is not CANON. Even if it's not all "real," it was still an important step forward.

In Heroes, Shadow worked with Omega and Rouge to track Eggman. Then he even suggested helping Team Hero in the ending. However, the game left many unresolved questions and used amnesia as an excuse to avoid them.  

The first cutscene establishes some important changes since Sonic Heroes. Mainly that he remembers a variation of Maria's death, but also that now (alone/no purpose) he's haunted and needs answers. Suspiciously Black Doom shows up at this exact moment and tells Shadow to go get the Chaos Emeralds.  

Shadow starts as neutral as possible. He's not aligned with a any character yet, not even Black Doom ("like it or not I have to believe him"). The reason he calls the humans pathetic is because his promise to Maria is lost in his head, replaced with GUN soldiers shooting her. He has no obligation to them--or hatred for them, at the start.

The game takes some unique twists, but mainly Shadow is good, bad, or neutral. 

• In "good" cutscenes Shadow doesn't like to admit weakness or friendship, but he shows respect where it's due. 
• The "neutral" cutscenes range from complete confidence to total depression. 
• The "bad" ones reveal that while Shadow can be loyal, he can also be a dangerous rebel. Either way he runs on ambition and a desire for revenge. 

The true end reveals a Shadow that's tired of being manipulated and just wants to move on. So he says goodbye to who ever he used to be and decides to "Never Turn Back." 

In Shadow the Hedgehog the supporting cast was the supporting cast. That was it. Sonic Heroes could have been Vector Heroes or Rouge Heroes or Amy Heroes because the attention was so divided. If it were a spin-off, it'd probably fine. But, again, it's a main game. In fellow multi-story main games like Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, or even Sonic 06, Sonic seemed to get the last moment to reveal something about his own character, like running off instead of taking credit, like saying goodbye to his than-dead rival, or even carefully watching a hint of a another life drift away.  

More centric, Shadow the Hedgehog was about Shadow. It showed sides to the character never seen before and sometimes never seen again, all while aiming to reestablish Shadow's role.      

Shth is better than Sonic Heroes (Part 3)

Problems create a story. If there is not threat, there is no story. Overall, there was more at stake in Shadow the Hedgehog than Sonic Heroes.  

Conflict

Main Villain and Side Villains

Though I'm not a huge fan of Metal Sonic, he makes a better villain. Metal Sonic is shown to be cunning, cruel, and clever. The unexpected twist--that Metal Sonic had overthrown his own creator--was one of the highlights of Sonic Heroes. With a new edgier look, he creepily wants to prove he is "the real Sonic."

Black Doom is an evil creature, constantly asking for destruction and showing no sign of compassion whatsoever. Still, Black Doom lacks something I can't quite figure out...or maybe it's just his constant nagging throughout the game...I'm not sure, but he's more along the "Erazor Djinn" level of villainy rather than the "Mephiles" level (he comes across as lame).

Though Eggman was perceived as the villain in Heroes, he really did nothing. Metal's "fake" version of Eggman is uninteresting. Not very threatening, even in all that armor.

Shadow the game also had Eggman in a more neutral position than usual (though he behind was many of the bosses). Still seemed like in Heroes...somehow hard to take serious in comparison to his Adventure or Genesis days.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, there was also the Commander. Though he is contradictory (and lacks a real name), I was content with his inclusion. It gave a different point of view and helped explain GUN's actions in SA2 (imagine: "sir, a hedgehog stole a Chaos Emerald." "A HEDGEHOG? DEPLOY THE TROOPS NOW!") 

Even though Black Doom isn't as good as Metal Sonic, the multiple villains helped Shadow the Hedgehog and it's many storylines.  

Enemies

Heroes relies many on Egg Pawns, which are kinda' boring in design. There are bigger robots with sleeker or bulkier designs, but none really stand out.

Shth also used the lackluster Egg pawns, but there were others to fight as well...

• I much prefer the  Black Arms--villainous aliens--to the useless wisps of Sonic Colors. They were threatening in appearance and I like the laser/ray-gun type of weapons they have. 
• GUN is a little annoying because they keep attacking even if there is no one there or if Shadow is "on their side." It was still interesting to see GUN actually use their men instead of robots for once (though they have plenty "Flying Mantis Dog Whatever" robots, too).

I would have liked it better with nicer graphics, but Shadow the Hedgehog has cooler enemies to fight. 

Main Conflicts

The situation in Shadow the game was huge from the start: an alien invasion. Though Shadow wanted to avoid getting involved, soon he was dropping right into the middle of it.

Heroes was divided into several smaller problems: Team Hero needed to stop Eggman, Team Rose wanted to find their missing friends, Team Chaotix was trying to please their client, and Team Dark wanted revenge on/answers from/treasure from Eggman. This was fun and light-hearted, but it doesn't have the immediate urgency of that massive attack on Earth. 

In the end the Teams must band together to stop "Neo" Metal Sonic, who was behind everything. This a nice reward for finding all of the Chaos Emeralds. However, I've always felt that the absence of Super Tails/Knuckles was very anti-climatic (they just get shinny bubbles?).

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow has to stop Black Doom for once and for all. What gives the end an extra punch is Maria, who appears on an old video. Shadow's connection to Black Doom is also revealed--a little cliche, but it makes the situation all the more personal. This also gets points for redeeming Professor Gerald Robontik and revealing the true purpose behind the Eclipse Canon.

The trouble met in Sonic Heroes was not bad, but it didn't seem like the stakes were as high.   

Personal Conflicts

Shadow the Hedgehog out does Heroes by a far in this category. Using the different paths for different outcomes, the game was able to address the different conflicts Shadow has. He lost his memory and his purpose. The struggle between good and evil is a prevalent theme, as well as identity and the relevance of the past.

The Last Way tries to unite the stories and step up the game. By the end, everything literally is on Shadow's shoulders. To resolve the conflict, Shadow does what is right but decides the past is the past.

To it's credit, Heroes has some personal conflicts. For the most part it's about getting along with each other. But Team Dark's story took it a step further when it showed that the "Shadow might be a robot" plot affected the entire team. Still, it's weaker compared to Shadow the Hedgehog.

"The original must exist somewhere."