History Fridge / ShadowTheHedgehog

* Why does Shadow starts saying "Damn" whenever there's a problem? It's because of [[https://sonic-forces.tumblr.com/post/159775501799/kujirashonen-this-is-proof-that-shadow-is-just Sonic's influence]]. Sonic has some part in Shadow's [[CharacterDevelopment development]]. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation If you don't die]], Shadow actually doesn't swear until a few levels into the game after hearing Sonic's swear.

* In the intro sequence, Sonic passes out in front of Shadow. Some people suggest that Shadow has just ''shot'' Sonic, despite him not being in a position that really lends any weight to this. In fact Sonic is clearly bruised and battered, despite his determination to keep going. What is much more likely is that Sonic has given it his all, but he's just not strong enough. He collapses, and Shadow is the ''only one left''.
* It took me a while, but I finally realized that the KarmaMeter in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' is a perfect representation of how Chaos Energy works. "Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart." Since he's suffering from amnesia and mind-control, he can't focus his powers as well as he could in [=SA2=], so Shadow's state of mind influences the energy he draws from the Emeralds, and alters his powers, much like in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic and Chaos drew upon completely different "sides" of the Emeralds' powers. When he's full of rage and hatred, he draws on the negative power of the Emeralds and his powers become incredibly violent and destructive, like Chaos was; and when he focuses on rescuing people or destroying evil, he gets the positive energy of the Emeralds, and his powers resemble something closer to Super Sonic: high speed, nigh invincibility, and flight. It just fits so well! -- @/{{Enlong}}

* It took me a while, but I finally realized that the KarmaMeter in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' is a perfect representation of how Chaos Energy works. "Power is enriched by the heart.", "The controller is the one who unifies the chaos." Since he's suffering from amnesia and mind-control, he can't focus his powers as well as he could in [=SA2=], so Shadow's state of mind influences the energy he draws from the Emeralds, and alters his powers, much like in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic and Chaos drew upon completely different "sides" of the Emeralds' powers. When he's full of rage and hatred, he draws on the negative power of the Emeralds and his powers become incredibly violent and destructive, like Chaos was; and when he focuses on rescuing people or destroying evil, he gets the positive energy of the Emeralds, and his powers resemble something closer to Super Sonic: high speed, nigh invincibility, and flight. It just fits so well! -- @/{{Enlong}}

* Why is Black Doom continually demanding things of Shadow? Shadow is the AntiAntiChrist, and Doom is ridiculously Satan-esque. Why do the heroes keep doing it? [[HeartwarmingMoments They have faith in Shadow for redemption, no matter what he does.]]

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', human GUN soldiers are knocked down and paralyzed when hit, rather than outright killed, for a couple of obvious reasons; it'd be a little dark for the "E10" rating, not to mention harder to sympathize with Shadow if he was a murderer. [[spoiler:But at the game's climax, it's revealed that the Black Arms intended to use humans as an "energy source". Food. And if Shadow completes the Dark Mission for almost any stage, he usually ends up aiding the Black Arms in overrunning the given area; thus, all the soldiers he's rendered helpless and immobile are, in all probability, going to be ''eaten alive'' by the conquering aliens.]]

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]

[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]

** Also, why was G.U.N. trying to kill Shadow in [=SA2=]? Even if he wasn't the dangerous Prototype that G.U.N. was at the ARK searching for, they tried killing him anyways. But, you think they would know the difference between a giant fucking lizard and a hedgehog, and you would be right! They did! They went after Shadow because of his appearance: A Hedgehog sporting the Black Arms skin color! -- [[Tropers/Shadowgirl13Chaos Shadowgirl13_chaos]]

* Watching some of the LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries playthroughs of some of the Sonic games, they expressed the view that Shadow being created by the Black Arms (and thus making him a [[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Hedgehog Hybrid]]) was really stupid and not needed... but at the same time, they puzzled over how Professor Gerald, in his experiments to make the Ultimate Life-Form, went from The Biolizard to Shadow, with no other prototypes in the middle. That's when I realised that him being created by the Black Arms was ''actually necessary'' to explain why Gerald made the technological leap that he did: using his own intelligence and resources, the best he could come up with was the Biolizard, a creature which clearly wasn't up to scratch. At that point, he encountered the Black Arms, and they gave him the information and resources he needed to create Shadow -- they actually say in the game that "He needed a little help", so they helped him out. The game VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog basically explains every plot hole from VideoGame/SonicAdventure2, both why the Eclipse cannon was made and how Shadow was made (sorry, LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries - no offence was intended).

** That makes even more sense with those endings - Eggman tells Shadow he's a robot in them.

* How can the ARK's cannon fire [[spoiler:in the Last Story, when Shadow was using the Chaos Emeralds to maintain his Super form, when it was stated in VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 that the Chaos Emeralds were the power source for the cannon? Because ''the cannon never fired in [=SA2=], so it's using the remaining power from when Eggman tried to use the Emeralds to fire the cannon at the end of that game.'']]
* Apparently, the Sonic universe has a ''really'' efficient system for city evacuation. Central City is evacuated in about a day, and Westopolis is evacuated in the time it takes Shadow to run down a hill to it. With all of the evil plots for world domination and other problems throughout the 3D games, of ''course'' they'd have efficient evacuation plans!

** In Sonic Heroes, Omega saw the room full of androids along with Rouge in the team dark ending. Both of them were already aware of the possibility that this Shadow might be a different one. Rouge chose to ignore it entirely, and Omega simply noted that the original had to exist in some form. Bottom line is, neither of them think it's important any more.
* There's a plot hole in [=SA2=] where if Gerald went mad only after everyone else on the station was killed, how could he possibly reconfigure the ARK into a massive cannon on his own, especially with short time left and without a legion of robots? It's answered in this game, as the station was already a giant cannon long before G.U.N.'s interference. He made the Eclipse Cannon once he realized what Black Arms were up to (unless he never trusted them in the first place.) This adds to FridgeHorror below since the cannon was originally made to save the world.
* A lot of people feel that helping the Chaotix is very important in the story thanks to their presence in the Last Story. But there's more than that - the Chaotix is something of a Neutral Party, and that's what Shadow has always tried to be! There are three ways to take the Chaotix path but the most obvious for me is "Wandering's End". Black Doom shows up and tells you to find the Chaos Emeralds. Do that in Westopolis and he complains. Next you end up in Glyphic Canyon (which I feel must be an important location since you can visit it twice). And you encounter Knuckles (Ex-Chaotix member from the old days). You think "Okay, there's an emerald here, I'll get it." He just gets mad AGAIN, so no wonder you turn to the Chaotix! This path neither requires assisting the Blue Blockhead, nor does it require any kind of mass murder on Shadow's part. Flus Shadow gets a flashback!
* Other likely paths involve visiting Black Doom's Sky Temple twice, then ending at the Black Comet and fighting Sonic - you're planning on helping Black Doom run the world but he turns out to just want to eat everybody. Or if you fight Eggman, you decide to go your own way. It makes sense because The Last Way takes place on The Comet but Shadow isn't seen teleporting there. It also doesn't require mass genocide - just the destruction of Eggman's robots. You meet Eggman multiple times, so it makes sense that Eggman would tell you that you're the real Shadow in the fight against Devil Doom. You can also help Amy save Cream without affecting the story too much, which explains why she might be so enthusiastic about Shadow! Helping Amy makes sense because when Black Doom teleports you to the temple, Shadow may have become afraid of him.
** Several of the endings are completely impossible. The Pure Evil ending requires that Shadow decides he, personally wants to see the world destroyed, and not let Black Doom do the job by eating everybody. Another shows Shadow deciding that he doesn't want to rule the world after all. And a third means that Shadow seems to be only willing to serve Black Doom if he's not going to eat people, even though he must surely know by then that he's being used. But actually, Sonic Team is helping you narrow down Shadow's true path.
* In the final story, it always baffled me how Sonic & friends escaped the comet despite pretty much being paralyzed and unable to move, and seemingly no way of escape. Years later, after replaying Sonic Adventure 2, it finally hit me. ''Sonic is able to use Chaos Control. He could've teleported out with everyone.''

** Meanwhile, you can help Rouge twice, and whenever you meet her, all the dark path entails is getting to the Goal Ring - ie, helping her get that lovely emerald anyway. Not to mention ''not'' helping her that second time 'punishes' you with the most hideous level in the game - Space Gadget.

* Why does Shadow yell "Damn, not here"? He's not done yet, but he, similar to when he doesn't live the ARK in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', doesn't care if he dies after he's done.

** Black Doom [[spoiler:sees mankind as a great food source.]] Given [[LackOfEmpathy how utterly ruthless he is]] and seemed to be trying to xenoform the Earth, mankind wouldn't just be wiped out. [[spoiler:[[FateWorseThanDeath They'd be reduced to a cattle race, raised for the slaughter until the Black Arms find a new foodsource]] ]]
* Slightly Hero -- Hero Ending made it sound like [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Shadow really WAS sorry for the carnage he committed]]. A little ''too'' sorry. Vector's "DON'T GO THERE!" comment made it sound like Shadow was going to [[DrivenToSuicide commit SUICIDE!]]''''' And what's worse, it was IMPLIED that he DID!''''' Along with the emeralds... yeah, next time Sonic is down, the world is screwed...

* The video you see in the last story reveals that [[spoiler:Professor Gerald]] was a good person who had genuinely understandable reasons for doing the things he did. However, the video becomes quite horrifying when you realise that [[spoiler:it was made before Maria died (as she appears at the end) and therefore, it was made long before the video shown in VideoGame/SonicAdventure2. It's just scary to see that he went from a good man to a psychopath who wanted to destroy the earth using the weapons he'd created to SAVE it.]]
* [[TheChessmaster Black Doom]] has been [[ParanoiaFuel visiting our planet for over 2000 years]], given how long Glyphic Canyon has been there. Black Doom's goal is [[spoiler:ToServeMan to the Black Arms.]] [[TheManBehindTheMan Black Doom]] has likely [[AncientConspiracy been playing a hand in history]] [[spoiler:so there'd plenty of humans to devour.]]

* Really, no one thought about Rouge in all this? Think about it. She is Shadow's best friend, probably only best friend aside from Omega. Rouge works for G.U.N.. G.U.N. are trying to hunt Shadow down. This would most likely make the bat feel very uncomfortable. Sure, she teams up with Shadow in some hero levels, but if not, she may have to be dragged into the loop to finish him off... ouch...

* In the intro sequence, Sonic passes out in front of Shadow. Some people suggest that Shadow has just ''shot'' Sonic, despite him not being in a position that really lends any weight to this. In fact Sonic is clearly bruised and battered, despite his determination to keep going. What is much more likely is that Sonic has tried to fight these hideous aliens, but he's just not strong enough. He collapses, and Shadow is the ''only one left''.

* One of the things people complain about most in the whole game is the way there's so many pits and you're so likely to die in them. But that's ''brilliant.'' In Sonic games, water was a huge obstacle and became a canon fear for him. Shadow can swim though. And fear is no use when you're being made into a living weapon. On the other hand, he has fallen from space TWICE by now, and had horrible, horrible things happen to him high up in space. The easiest way to die in Shadow's game is in falling to your death. So what is Shadow's fear? ACROPHOBIA, the fear of heights. A total flip on Sonic's fear, which takes place in the depths. Just as there was no way out of running into water in many Sonic games, for Shadow the more lucrative path is always high up and he has to confront his fear to get there.

* One of the things people complain about most in the whole game is the way there's so many pits and you're so likely to die in them. But that's ''brilliant.'' In Sonic games, water was a huge obstacle and became a canon fear for him. Shadow can swim though. And fear is no use when you're being made into a living weapon. On the other hand, he has fallen from space TWICE by now, and had horrible, horrible things happen to him high up in space. So what is Shadow's fear? ACROPHOBIA, the fear of heights. A total flip on Sonic's fear, which takes place in the depths. Just as there was no way out of running into water in many Sonic games, for Shadow the more lucrative path is always high up and he has to confront his fear to get there.

* Believe or not, the uses of "damn" and "hell" have meaning in the game. Since the Black Arms serve as a parallel to Hell, there are plenty of tropes in this game that concern the underworld. Two words often used to often describe the underworld: damn and hell.
* ''Shadow's'' DarkerAndEdgier leanings are the most-ridiculed thing about the game--the image of Shadow riding a motorcycle in particular. From that image comes the mechanic of using firearms and hopping into and out of vehicles in real-time...Shadow's pretty much committing ''GrandTheftAuto'', which was, for a time, shorthand for "an adult's game." Couple that with the trend of the NinetiesAntiHero, which concerned itself with making childhood heroes violent and edgy and more acceptable in mainstream discussion, and you have ''Shadow the Hedgehog''.]
** And although a lot of people call it a ''Call of Duty'' ripoff now, the mainstream FPS at the time of the game's release was ''Halo''. The Black Arm's weapons are pretty much direct Covenant weapons, with plasma weaponry and energy swords dominating. And although their basic troops don't resemble Grunts too much, there are enemies with armor very reminiscent of the Elites, and turrets that resemble the main guns of Wraiths.
** The problem is, Sonic and his pals are still very popular with kids. ''Shadow'' therefore has to force ''Grand Theft Auto'' to comply with ''Sonic The Hedgehog''. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realize that the game is deliberately DarkerAndEdgier to the point of absurdity. Better still, the game knows that it's absurd, but still plays it straight: it has a weapon called the "Omochao Gun" that makes a sound like a toy pop-gun, but it's one of the more powerful weapons in the game.
** I always saw it as a StealthParody that managed to play itself straight at times. -Riley1sCool

** Several of the endings are completely impossible. The Full Evil ending requires that Shadow decides he, personally wants to see the world destroyed, and not let Black Doom do the job by eating everybody. Another shows Shadow deciding that he doesn't want to rule the world after all. And a third means that Shadow seems to be only willing to serve Black Doom if he's not going to eat people, even though he must surely know by then that he's being used. But actually, Sonic Team is helping you narrow down Shadow's true path.

** You can only meet Amy if you ''don't'' help Rouge in Digital Circuit. If you so much as meet Amy in the Cryptic Castle, it is impossible to take a path that assists Rouge. Also, helping Amy is the last point at which you can turn full hero, and to do so you must always be heroic. You can't meet Amy if you help Sonic (because you're too good friends to split them up, right?)
** Meanwhile, you can help Rouge twice, and whenever you meet her, all the dark path entails is getting to the Goal Ring - ie, helping her get that lovely emerald. Not to mention ''not'' helping her that second time 'punishes' you with the most hideous level in the game - Space Gadget.
* A lot of people question why Shadow never [[FridgeLogic bothered to ask anyone]] about his past. But it makes perfect sense when you realize that Shadow's biggest flaw is his arrogance, which is on full display at times, with his attitude of not thinking things through, and carelessly killing. While asking Eggman about his identity before a fight is no issue to him, and going on a badass quest to acquire all the Chaos Emeralds is great, asking Team Sonic about it is a ''huge'' problem for him, he'd be embarrassed as hell about it.

* There's a plot hole in [=SA2=] where if Gerald went mad only after everyone else on the station was killed, how could he possibly reconfigure the ARK into a massive cannon on his own, especially with short time left and without a legion of robots? It's answered in this game, as the station was already a giant cannon long before G.U.N.'s interference; all Gerald had to do was change the firing coordinates.

** Even better, it may have been there for Eggman to try and break his mind by inducing PhlebotniumOverload, spiking his negative Chaos powers so that he becomes blinded with negativity and easier to deal with. Being as this is [[PersonOfMassDestruction Shadow that we're dealing with]], it was probably going to fail anyway, but still a clever tactic.

* A touch of Fridge Romance for Shadamy vs Shadouge fans - you can only meet Amy if you don't help Rouge in Digital Circuit. To help Amy in the Cryptic Castle, it is impossible to take a path that assists Rouge.
** Helping Amy is the last point at which you can turn full hero. Meanwhile, you can help Rouge twice - but whenever you meet her, all the dark path entails is getting to the Goal Ring - ie, helping her get that lovely emerald. Not to mention ''not'' helping her that second time 'punishes' you with the most hideous level in the game - Space Gadget.

** ...So, Black Doom is [[ChronoTrigger Lavos]]?

* In the final story, it always baffled me how Sonic & friends escaped the comet despite pretty much being paralyzed and unable to me. Years later, it finally hit me... ''Sonic used Chaos Control to teleport everyone out.''

** ...So, Black Doom is [[ChronoTrigger Lavos]]?

* It took me a while, but I finally realized that the KarmaMeter in ''ShadowTheHedgehog'' is a perfect representation of how Chaos Energy works. "Power is enriched by the heart.", "The controller is the one who unifies the chaos." Since he's suffering from amnesia and mind-control, he can't focus his powers as well as he could in [=SA2=], so Shadow's state of mind influences the energy he draws from the Emeralds, and alters his powers, much like in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic and Chaos drew upon completely different "sides" of the Emeralds' powers. When he's full of rage and hatred, he draws on the negative power of the Emeralds and his powers become incredibly violent and destructive, like Chaos was; and when he focuses on rescuing people or destroying evil, he gets the positive energy of the Emeralds, and his powers resemble something closer to Super Sonic: high speed, nigh invincibility, and flight. It just fits so well! -- @/{{Enlong}}

* Watching some of the LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries playthroughs of some of the Sonic games, they expressed the view that Shadow being created by the Black Arms (and thus making him a [[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Hedgehog Hybrid]]) was really stupid and not needed... but at the same time, they puzzled over how Professor Gerald, in his experiments to make the Ultimate Life-Form, went from The Biolizard to Shadow, with no other prototypes in the middle. That's when I realised that him being created by the Black Arms was ''actually necessary'' to explain why Gerald made the technological leap that he did: using his own intelligence and resources, the best he could come up with was the Biolizard, a creature which clearly wasn't up to scratch. At that point, he encountered the Black Arms, and they gave him the information and resources he needed to create Shadow -- they actually say in the game that "He needed a little help", so they helped him out. The game ShadowTheHedgehog basically explains every plot hole from VideoGame/SonicAdventure2, both why the Eclipse cannon was made and how Shadow was made (sorry, LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries - no offence was intended).

* In ''ShadowTheHedgehog'', human GUN soldiers are knocked down and paralyzed when hit, rather than outright killed, for a couple of obvious reasons; it'd be a little dark for the "E10" rating, not to mention harder to sympathize with Shadow if he was a murderer. [[spoiler:But at the game's climax, it's revealed that the Black Arms intended to use humans as an "energy source". Food. And if Shadow completes the Dark Mission for almost any stage, he usually ends up aiding the Black Arms in overrunning the given area; thus, all the soldiers he's rendered helpless and immobile are, in all probability, going to be ''eaten alive'' by the conquering aliens.]]

** One of the Slightly Hero -- Hero paths is even named "Shadow’s Second Death...?"