Shadow
the Hedgehog
Information
Background: Shadow the Hedgehog was released for the GameCube, Xbox,
and Playstation 2 in November of 2005 (in America). Shadow becomes the first
Sonic-related character to star in his own game since Knuckles the Echidna starred
in Knuckles Chaotix for the Sega 32X.
The game also becomes the first to use guns as weapons.
Story: Shadow the Hedgehog has no memory of his past.
Suddenly, a being known as Black Doom appears and tells Shadow that if he
obtains all seven Chaos Emeralds he will learn the truth of his past.
Shadow must now pave his own path as he explores several levels to unlock
his past and reveal his future. Will Shadow choose the path of the
hero? Or will he favor destruction and choose the dark path?
Or perhaps he will do neither?
Levels: There are six stages, and most stages have three
types of missions that can be completed: hero, normal, and dark.
The method of completion for each mission varies, but typically the mission
is to either finish the stage or defeat the GUN soldiers/Black Arms. Missions can be viewed when the game
is paused. The hero and dark missions become available for selection
once Shadow runs into a character in the stage (if there is a normal mission,
it is always available at the start of the stage). The character will
accompany Shadow as he completes the stage and give him hints or make comments.
Only one mission can be completed per stage. Depending on the
mission that Shadow completes, he will access a different stage.
I have developed the following chart to help demonstrate the possible level
progression:
The different stages are listed below. I have added a letter after
the number to most stages to denote that the possible stages for each level
are different:
1.
Westopolis
|
2a.
Digital Circuit
|
3a.
Cryptic Castle
|
|
2b.
Glyphic Canyon
|
3b.
Prison Island
|
|
2c.
Lethal Highway
|
3b.
Circus Park
|
|
|
|
4a.
Central City
|
5a.
The Ark
|
6a.
Gun Fortress
|
4b.
The Doom
|
5b.
Air Fleet
|
6b.
Black Comet
|
4c.
Sky Troops
|
5c.
Iron Jungle
|
6c.
Lava Shelter
|
4d.
Mad Matrix
|
5d.
Space Gadget
|
6d.
Cosmic Fall
|
4e.
Death Ruins
|
5e.
Lost Impact
|
6e.
Final Haunt
|
There are five final stages, and each gives Shadow the opportunity to
complete the dark or hero mission. As a result, there are 10 endings
to the game. Once all 10 endings have been obtained, the “Last Story”
is unlocked so Shadow can explore one last level (which does not have a
dark, hero, or normal mission) and fight the final fight.
As the above chart also indicates, there are numerous ways to beat the
game. There are a total of 326 different ways to beat the game.
The cut scenes for each path are stored in the “Library” so the cut scenes
can be viewed later.
Chaos Emeralds: The Chaos Emeralds will help Shadow solve
the mystery of his past. Shadow will typically obtain the emeralds
by completing stages.
Miscellaneous: While Shadow explores each level, he receives
points for performing certain actions. If these actions are “good,”
he will begin to fill up the blue Hero Gauge. Once the gauge is full,
he can perform Chaos Control. Chaos Control allows Shadow to bypass
a portion of the stage or, in the case of a boss battle, slow down time.
However, if the actions are “bad,” he will fill up the red Dark Gauge.
When the gauge is full, he can perform Chaos Blast to attack nearby enemies.
At the end of each stage (not boss battles), the scores are tallied up using
this formula:
Hero Mission completed:
hero points – dark points + normal points + time
bonus = Hero Score
Dark Mission completed:
dark points – hero points + normal points + time
bonus = Dark Score
Normal Mission completed:
normal points + time bonus = Normal Score
As in previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, each level is given a letter
rank. If all 71 A’s are earned, Expert Mode is unlocked. Expert
Mode is a harder version of the game and all stages (i.e. 22 stages instead
of six) will be played.
There are also five secret keys in each level. Once Shadow finds
all five keys and the secret door, a reward will be obtained, such as a
short cut or a weapon.
Checkpoints serve an additional purpose in Shadow the Hedgehog. Not only
do checkpoints save Shadow’s place if he dies, but they also act as a teleporter.
As long as Shadow touches the checkpoint, he can warp back to that checkpoint.
Weapons can be used in the game, which is up to the player’s discretion.
Shadow can defeat an enemy and take its weapon. He can collect similar
weapons to increase his ammunition or switch to a new weapon when he finds
one. Beating the different endings unlocks a special weapon for Shadow
to use, which can be located in boxes with a Shadow icon.
See Also:
Read a review of Shadow the Hedgehog
Information on Shadow the Hedgehog soundtrack
Information on Shadow the Hedgehog vocal
soundtrack
All 326 paths of Shadow the Hedgehog (in text format, paths created by Rei the
Squirrel)
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