History VideoGame / ShadowTheHedgehog

* [[ClusterFBomb Cluster D Bomb]]: Damn damn damn, dadamn damn damn, hell hell damn,` damn damn damn damn damn. ''[[OverlyLongGag Damn]]''. This game is really the only Sonic game with swearing, and boy does it do it a lot.

* PromotedToUnlockable: Maria is playable in The Doom and Lost Impact.

* DarkerAndEdgier: More so than ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. In general tone, anyway. YMMV though.
** To elaborate, for all it's posturing, there really isn't anything in this game as unnervingly morbid as Gerald's diary and execution speech from [=SA2=]. Most of the "darkness" is brought about by a darker colour pallet, environments and the use of mild cursing and guns. The majority of the darkness within the plot (Black Doom's CompleteMonster behaviour and ToServeMan plan notwithstanding) was already present in Sonic Adventure 2.

* BigBadEnsemble: Dr. Eggman and Black Doom.

While the typical controls of the 3D entries in the Sonic series apply to some extent, it is playable as a third-person shooter, a different direction for the franchise. Its DarkerAndEdgier tone, Shadow's constant {{Wangst}}ing, and frequent [[ContemplateOurNavels navel-gazing]] turned many fans of the franchise away, and the game was thoroughly thrashed by critics. On another note, this game marks the debut of the [[FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] cast from ''SonicX'' into the video games. Ironically, they started off doing the Sonic game that's the ''least'' kid-friendly.

** Taking either of the Slight or Pure paths also affects how each side's forces react to your presence. Take [=Slight/Pure=] Hero, and GUN forces will never attack you from the start if they're on the stage; take [=Slight/Pure=] Dark, and the Black Arms will do the same. With the GUN soldiers, you'll even occasionally hear them say things like "Don't touch [[labelnote:the red brute!"]]referring to Shadow[[/labelnote]] whenever you run past them.

** Taking either of the Slight or Pure paths also affects how each side's forces react to your presence. Take [=Slight/Pure=] Hero, and GUN forces will never attack you from the start if they're on the stage; take [=Slight/Pure=] Dark, and the Black Arms will do the same. With the GUN soldiers, you'll even occasionally hear them say things like "Don't touch [[hottip:the red brute!":referring to Shadow]] whenever you run past them.

* NoNameGiven: The GUN Commander, though supplemental material claims his name is Brutus.

* EmptyRoomPsyche: The Doom and Lost Impact have quite a few of these.

* VideoGameCaringPotential: Sure, the Heal Cannon may not be that useful and can't kill anyone, but use it on a downed/injured GUN soldier. Not only will they attack any enemy of yours and not ever aim at you, but you will get quite a few heartwarming thank yous from the soldiers (who will salute you as you pass by).
** It might just be this troper's experience, but taking either of the Slight or Pure paths also affects how each side's forces react to your presence. Take [=Slight/Pure=] Hero, and GUN forces will never attack you from the start if they're on the stage; take [=Slight/Pure=] Dark, and the Black Arms will do the same. With the GUN soldiers, you'll even occasionally hear them say things like "Don't touch [[hottip:the red brute!":referring to Shadow]] whenever you run past them.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the Creepy Castle Stage you'll come to a room full of little Chao. You can beat up all of these Chao and make them bawl their little eyes out.

** It might just be this troper's experience, but taking either of the Slight or Pure paths also affects how each side's forces react to your presence. Take [=Slight/Pure=] Hero, and GUN forces will never attack you from the start if they're on the stage; take [=Slight/Pure=] Dark, and the Black Arms will do the same. With the GUN soldiers, you'll even occasionally hear them say things like [[hottip:"Don't touch the red brute!":referring to Shadow]] whenever you run past them.

* CoolBike: ''All'' of the trailers for this game shamelessly used the fact that Shadow can drive a motorbike in the game as a selling point. In fact, in some of the trailers, that was all he ''did''. In-game, said bike only appeared in Lethal Highway, handled poorly, and is far slower than Shadow's normal running speed.

''Shadow the Hedgehog'' is a 2005 game in the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series that focuses on the AntiHero black hedgehog, Shadow. The game begins with Shadow on the outskirts of Westopolis, just as the sky turns blood red and aliens begin swooping in to invade. Shadow is [[SomebodyElsesProblem about to turn away, uncaring,]] but a strange creature with a terrible voice speaks his name, calling on him to bring the alien leader - by the name of [[ObviouslyEvil Black]] [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doom]] - the [[{{MacGuffin}} Chaos Emeralds]]. Thus begins Shadow's personal quest of self-discovery, which can take any one of 326 (!!!) paths through the game's 22 levels.

While the typical controls of the 3D entries in the Sonic series apply to some extent, it is playable as a third-person shooter, a different direction for the franchise. Its DarkerAndEdgier tone, Shadow's constant {{Wangst}}ing, and frequent [[ContemplateOurNavels navel-gazing]] turned many fans of the franchise away, and the game was thoroughly thrashed by critics. On another note, this game marks the debut of the [[FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] cast from ''SonicX'' into the video games. Ironically, they started off doing the Sonic game that's the ''least'' kid-friendly.

* AllThereInTheManual: Expert Mode reveals that the GUN Commander recently became a Grandfather.
* AllPowerfulBystander: [[spoiler:Shadow becomes this at the end of the Slightly Hero - Dark Ending]].

** The game did get a T rating before it was edited down to an E10.

* CallBack:

* DarkerAndEdgier: More so than ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. In general tone, anyway. YMMV though.

* GravityScrew: Space Gadget is full of green... [[BuffySpeak blocky things]] that shift the gravity around. There are several points throughout the stage where Shadow is standing on the ceiling.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Shadow was the bad guy in ''[=SA2=]'', but became good at the end. He remained essentially neutral through ''Sonic Heroes''. In this game, for some of the routes you can take, you can switch sides up to six times.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The Blue Falcon/Heavy Dog has a number of attached guns. Knock one off, and you can pick up the Bazooka weapon, which also has lock-on capabilities. Once you've done that, you can do serious damage, and knock off more of the bazookas, making this a pretty quick fight. Similarly, while there are guns provided in the arena for the Egg Dealer, it's much quicker to simply home in on its slot-machine style buttons, which can either result in instantly filling your Chaos Blast gauge or turning the robot's Missile Fever or Bomb Fever techniques against it.

** Its an issue when there are no other ways to get weapons or to open up springs.

* PragmaticVillainy: Eggman, in response to the Black Arms' assault on Westopolis.

* [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Ridiculously Hedgehog Robots]]: In the Iron Jungle and Lava Shelter levels, [[MadScientist Eggman]] Robots that look exactly like Shadow appear as enemies, and Shadow is uncertain if he is a robot too. If you stick around in the fight against Devil Doom long enough, however, Robotnik will contact Shadow and [[spoiler:explain that he rescued Shadow with his robots and chucked him into a pod while he healed, and Robotnik just let him think he was a 'bot to screw with his head.]] Most people who find out about this tend to treat it as canon, although this very important piece of information has a very good chance of not being heard in-game by many players.

* ShoutOut: Two enemies are called "Blue Falcon" and "Black Bull", the names of two of the racing vehicles in the ''{{F-Zero}}'' series. It probably helps that Sega developed ''F-Zero GX''.

* TronLines: Used in the layouts for Digital Circuit and Mad Matrix.

* WastedSong: The game contains a rather neat remix of ''E.G.G.M.A.N'' by Paul Shortino. Unfortunately, the segment used in the game is less than 30 seconds long, only used in one cutscene and is buried in the {{sound test}} behind the anonymous "Event" title. The full version of the track did eventually appear on the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H34JxbKDCYA "Lost And Found"]] soundtrack CD, however.

* YourMindMakesItReal: The Doom and Lost Impact takes place in Shadow's memory.

** Continuity can be achieved in some instances. For instance, help Charmy find the Discs in one level and Shadow will be with Espio in the next level. Buddy up with him, and Shadow will find himself with Vector in the next level. Also, the Discs have significance in the Last Story.

* TheDayOfRecoking: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Black Doom: "Shadow... As you can see, the day of reckoning will soon be here. Find the seven Chaos Emeralds and bring them to me as promised."

** "Not here!" when he dies. As if there's a good place to die...

->'"[[AvoidTheDreadedGRating Damn]], not here..."
--->'''Shadow''', every single time the player loses a life

* MoodWhiplash: The game as a whole can be considered this to the entire Sonic series, considering it came out after the incredibly kiddy and bright [[spoiler:(ending notwithstanding)]] ''SonicHeroes''.

** It ''does'' explain why, at the start of ''SonicHeroes'', he was in a tank hidden deep underground, in the same place where Omega was abandoned, while the other Shadow 'bots seemed to come from huge cloning facilities with dozens of tanks side-by-side.