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...     

SthH is better than Heroes (Part 9)

Part 9: Missions

Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Heroes has some similar ideas, but executed them differently. 

In Heroes, most of the teams simply had to make it to the goal in time, but Team Chaotix was cursed with a different outcome: doing random errands for their client. Eggman fully deserved the beating Charmy gave him.

In most of these levels the team would have to collect, interact with, or destroy something. For example, in Mystic Mansion they have to blow out all of the red torches. While the idea of exploration was nice for Knuckles and Rouge in the Adventure series, those two had different gameplay and an area designed differently to take advantage of that. 

Of course Seaside Hill for Chaotix is the same for them as with any other group...except they have to collect crabs! 

While the challenge kept them unique, some stages were better than others.

Additionally each level has an alternate goal for each team. Team Sonic, for example, has to complete the stage in a given time. They aren't very fun and seem tiresome. Except for emblems and A-ranks, there's not a real reason to work on them. 

Things are different in Shadow the Hedgehog. The missions are always optional, though they have to be completed in order to get any ending other than the pure neutral ones. Almost every stage therefore has the possibility to simply get to the goal in time.  

While similar to the Chaotix's style, there is more variety. Sometimes Shadow has to destroy a certain amount of enemies, or in other cases he has to take out a large tank or blimp. Similar to "Find the Lost Chao," Amy asks him to find Cream and then Cheese. Eggman asks Shadow to activate defense systems for him while Maria wants to help injured researchers in The Doom. There are more options and they fit the plot. They don't seem as random or demeaning. 

It also makes for good contrast, like in Central City where he has to either activate or sweep up bombs.  

Not all of them are easy. Both Black Doom and Espio expect a lot in Mad Matrix, and let's not forget finding the computer room with Vector. Still, it's balanced out by other stages. In the Ark Shadow can either shoot down the space colony's defenses or ride a Black Arms bird-thing around. Tails asks for help collecting rings in a stage where ringing a bell gives 50. 

Missions can be interesting and can reflect how well a player knows the game. However I'm a fan of options rather than requirements, and that makes ShtH the batter choice by far.    

Best Charmy VA

Charmy Bee is the Chaotix youngest member. Despite being a boy, all of his voice actors have been female.

Best to Worst

Amy Birnbaum (Sonic X, 2005-2010)

Birnbaum does a perfect job off keeping the character young, boyish, and energetic. A few line of Charmy's lines in Shadow the Hedgehog make me burst out laughing ("Look. It's a WARZONE.")

Emily Corkery (2003)

At a high pitch, her version of Charmy is funny and has a lot of energy, but doesn't sound very boyish. I generally think her performance in Heroes is why some people mistake Charmy for a girl.

Colleen O'Shaughnessey (2010-present)

O'Shaughnessey has Charmy sound young and boyish as well, but in a way a bit too similar to to her Tails voice (though she did not start voicing Tails until 2014). Her voice for Charmy generally seems more annoying than the others.