Post by Pilgrim John on Jul 25, 2006 18:41:28 GMT -5
As many of you out there already know, Shadow the Hedgehog caused quite a negative buzz from gaming magazines and gaming communities alike since its announcement. I've heard every accusation from "Shadow is desperation in game design" to the very ridiculous "Shadow is racist."
So, I'm gonna be nice here, watch my language, and blow apart the naysayers anyway.
Shadow the Hedgehog is often lashed for one (or all) of the following things:
*He uses guns in a Sonic game
*He cusses
*His theme is too dark
*It's dumb because it tries to be mature
Let's proceed to argument A.
"He uses guns in a Sonic game"
Firstly, let me get this out of the way: Shadow is not the first Sonic-related game to use guns. That title belongs to none other than Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast and Gamecube. Remember the beginning cinematic? The police opened fire, WITH GUNS, on Chaos Zero. Let's also take note that Eggman's robots, the E Series, used guns as weapons. Hell, Gamma's right hand was a gun!
It continued with Sonic Adventure 2. In the cinematic before the Radical Highway level, when Shadow has his flashback, you'll hear a gunshot sound. Hark! The sound of guns in a Sonic game! Oh dread! Let's also take note in this game, a scene where Eggman POINTS A GUN AT AMY'S HEAD (The scene where Sonic attempts to trick Eggman with the fake Emerald).
Then, Sonic Heroes. The only one who uses guns here is Omega. Sure, he uses laser weapons, but... Hey... His original weapons here are BULLETS. How about that. Guns in a Sonic game.
So what does this mean? That people rapped on Shadow for using guns, but they said nothing about it in the other three Sonic 3D games. Sound hypocritical? It should, because it is.
Besides that, anthros using guns doesn't surprise me, because Fox McCloud uses guns in Starfox Assault, which was released before Shadow. So that little detail never perturbed me the way it did everybody else.
Argument B:
"He cusses"
Hey, people! Guess what! E-rated characters who cuss actually existed before Shadow! That's right, E-rated games have had some bad language before. Anyone who has played Goemon or Klonoa should know this by now. If not, then they're just blowing hot air. End of story.
Argument C:
"His theme is too dark"
Oh, so where were you in 1994, when Mega Man X was released? That had the exact same concept as Shadow: put a well-known icon into a darker, unfriendlier world filled with paranoia and despair. The similarities don't end there, though:
*They both booted the "mad scientist" goofy villains for someone much more deserving of the title "bad guy"
*They both had more intricate storylines than the main entries in their spun-from series
*They both featured darker environments to match the themes
*They both featured heavier focuses on violence. When crap blew up, CRAP BLEW UP. They didn't just go "pop" or "burst into bubbles."
With these facts, it kind of makes one wonder why no one saw this before. Could they have blinded themselves to the truth in favor of satisfying their childish egos? Story of the world, folks.
Now, I'm well aware of the differences in quality of the two games. If given the option, of course I'd play Mega Man X instead. But just because Mega Man is better doesn't necessarily make Shadow terrible. So, even Mega Man is covering Shadow.
Argument D:
"He tries to be mature in a kiddie game"
Not really. It's not as exaggerated as they make it sound. There isn't even any blood, for Pete's sake! There is no sex, no nudity, no drug abuse, no booze, no gore, none of that. And why?
Because Sonic Team chose NOT to go that far.
People are exaggerating at CNN level about this topic. Let's see what Game Informer said about it: "As thematicaly appropriate as a special episode of Sesame Street covering Elmo's meth addiction..." Riiiiiight. Like I said, there's nothing like that in the game. More delusion.
When you shoot a robot, it explodes. When you shoot an alien, it dissolves. When you shoot a HUMAN, though, he doesn't die, he gets wounded. So they wouldn't even show Shadow actually KILLING a human being, because Sonic Team KNEW that THAT would be going TOO FAR.
So basically, it does remain in a very Mega Man X-style "darker-more-mature-but-still-kid-friendly" zone. Anyone who exaggerates upon this issue is obviously not well-informed or just a liar.
I'm beginning to think that they just wanted to hate Shadow without even playing it for one reason: because they want to believe that Sonic is declining, of which he isn't. The only thing that can kill his series is universal consumer disinterest, and that is not happening. The Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes, Shadow, and even Sonic Riders sold a lot of copies upon their releases, reeling in some very impressive numbers. Sonic Rush was even able to silence many of Sonic's critics.
Why, most people who criticize the current-gen Sonic games haven't even played very many of them. Let's take a look at what one pathetic loser (Who, because I'm nice, shall remain nameless) said about Sonic Rush:
"It sucks because it's a f**k**g racing game" (HIS words, not mine)
Had he actually played the game he would have known that it was an action-platformer, and that it didn't suck.
Do you see what I mean? By criticizing not just Shadow, but Sonic the Hedgehog as a whole, we're just ignoring a few facts here:
*That the notion that Shadow or current-gen Sonics sucks is an OPINION, not a FACT, and can be disagreed with at any time, on any grounds, for any reason (So long as it's informed, intelligent, and logical).
*That Sonic is NOT declining, so dictates the sales numbers.
*That Shadow was basically Sonic's answer to Mega Man's MMX.
*That Sonic was always more of a homage to popular culture than a children's cartoon.
*That anthropomorphic animals are capable of much more than being child-level comedic entertainment, as the likes of Starfox and Animal Farm have proven.
*And that, well, the sick reality of it all is that the people with this ideology are in the minority. The majority buys his games, loves them, and ignores the minority. That's just the way things go. The majority does not give a carp about any opinion the minority may have. The minority, in this instance, live in their own little realities, attempting to weave opinions into facts (Despite that being impossible), so as not to be disturbed by reality. On the other side of the looking glass, however, the blue hedgehog is laughing, and his fans laugh with him.
In the end, my message is this: Shadow didn't deserve the bashing he recieved, both as a character and as a game because everything "controversial" in his games has already been done by other IPs. And the Sonic games just aren't declining when it comes down to overall popularity. The people who can't see this are only the most egotistical and immature of man's lower nature.
So, I'm gonna be nice here, watch my language, and blow apart the naysayers anyway.
Shadow the Hedgehog is often lashed for one (or all) of the following things:
*He uses guns in a Sonic game
*He cusses
*His theme is too dark
*It's dumb because it tries to be mature
Let's proceed to argument A.
"He uses guns in a Sonic game"
Firstly, let me get this out of the way: Shadow is not the first Sonic-related game to use guns. That title belongs to none other than Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast and Gamecube. Remember the beginning cinematic? The police opened fire, WITH GUNS, on Chaos Zero. Let's also take note that Eggman's robots, the E Series, used guns as weapons. Hell, Gamma's right hand was a gun!
It continued with Sonic Adventure 2. In the cinematic before the Radical Highway level, when Shadow has his flashback, you'll hear a gunshot sound. Hark! The sound of guns in a Sonic game! Oh dread! Let's also take note in this game, a scene where Eggman POINTS A GUN AT AMY'S HEAD (The scene where Sonic attempts to trick Eggman with the fake Emerald).
Then, Sonic Heroes. The only one who uses guns here is Omega. Sure, he uses laser weapons, but... Hey... His original weapons here are BULLETS. How about that. Guns in a Sonic game.
So what does this mean? That people rapped on Shadow for using guns, but they said nothing about it in the other three Sonic 3D games. Sound hypocritical? It should, because it is.
Besides that, anthros using guns doesn't surprise me, because Fox McCloud uses guns in Starfox Assault, which was released before Shadow. So that little detail never perturbed me the way it did everybody else.
Argument B:
"He cusses"
Hey, people! Guess what! E-rated characters who cuss actually existed before Shadow! That's right, E-rated games have had some bad language before. Anyone who has played Goemon or Klonoa should know this by now. If not, then they're just blowing hot air. End of story.
Argument C:
"His theme is too dark"
Oh, so where were you in 1994, when Mega Man X was released? That had the exact same concept as Shadow: put a well-known icon into a darker, unfriendlier world filled with paranoia and despair. The similarities don't end there, though:
*They both booted the "mad scientist" goofy villains for someone much more deserving of the title "bad guy"
*They both had more intricate storylines than the main entries in their spun-from series
*They both featured darker environments to match the themes
*They both featured heavier focuses on violence. When crap blew up, CRAP BLEW UP. They didn't just go "pop" or "burst into bubbles."
With these facts, it kind of makes one wonder why no one saw this before. Could they have blinded themselves to the truth in favor of satisfying their childish egos? Story of the world, folks.
Now, I'm well aware of the differences in quality of the two games. If given the option, of course I'd play Mega Man X instead. But just because Mega Man is better doesn't necessarily make Shadow terrible. So, even Mega Man is covering Shadow.
Argument D:
"He tries to be mature in a kiddie game"
Not really. It's not as exaggerated as they make it sound. There isn't even any blood, for Pete's sake! There is no sex, no nudity, no drug abuse, no booze, no gore, none of that. And why?
Because Sonic Team chose NOT to go that far.
People are exaggerating at CNN level about this topic. Let's see what Game Informer said about it: "As thematicaly appropriate as a special episode of Sesame Street covering Elmo's meth addiction..." Riiiiiight. Like I said, there's nothing like that in the game. More delusion.
When you shoot a robot, it explodes. When you shoot an alien, it dissolves. When you shoot a HUMAN, though, he doesn't die, he gets wounded. So they wouldn't even show Shadow actually KILLING a human being, because Sonic Team KNEW that THAT would be going TOO FAR.
So basically, it does remain in a very Mega Man X-style "darker-more-mature-but-still-kid-friendly" zone. Anyone who exaggerates upon this issue is obviously not well-informed or just a liar.
I'm beginning to think that they just wanted to hate Shadow without even playing it for one reason: because they want to believe that Sonic is declining, of which he isn't. The only thing that can kill his series is universal consumer disinterest, and that is not happening. The Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes, Shadow, and even Sonic Riders sold a lot of copies upon their releases, reeling in some very impressive numbers. Sonic Rush was even able to silence many of Sonic's critics.
Why, most people who criticize the current-gen Sonic games haven't even played very many of them. Let's take a look at what one pathetic loser (Who, because I'm nice, shall remain nameless) said about Sonic Rush:
"It sucks because it's a f**k**g racing game" (HIS words, not mine)
Had he actually played the game he would have known that it was an action-platformer, and that it didn't suck.
Do you see what I mean? By criticizing not just Shadow, but Sonic the Hedgehog as a whole, we're just ignoring a few facts here:
*That the notion that Shadow or current-gen Sonics sucks is an OPINION, not a FACT, and can be disagreed with at any time, on any grounds, for any reason (So long as it's informed, intelligent, and logical).
*That Sonic is NOT declining, so dictates the sales numbers.
*That Shadow was basically Sonic's answer to Mega Man's MMX.
*That Sonic was always more of a homage to popular culture than a children's cartoon.
*That anthropomorphic animals are capable of much more than being child-level comedic entertainment, as the likes of Starfox and Animal Farm have proven.
*And that, well, the sick reality of it all is that the people with this ideology are in the minority. The majority buys his games, loves them, and ignores the minority. That's just the way things go. The majority does not give a carp about any opinion the minority may have. The minority, in this instance, live in their own little realities, attempting to weave opinions into facts (Despite that being impossible), so as not to be disturbed by reality. On the other side of the looking glass, however, the blue hedgehog is laughing, and his fans laugh with him.
In the end, my message is this: Shadow didn't deserve the bashing he recieved, both as a character and as a game because everything "controversial" in his games has already been done by other IPs. And the Sonic games just aren't declining when it comes down to overall popularity. The people who can't see this are only the most egotistical and immature of man's lower nature.
