After a bunch of teasers from various Sonic influencers talking about yesterday's eclipse using Shadow's shadow, a new marketing campaign's just been announced called Fearless Year of Shadow. With this trailer being posted on Twitter. They also linked a website in the replies but it doesn't seem to be up just yet (As of 5 minutes of it being posted). Pretty obviously this is about the Shadow related content releasing this year such as Sonic x Shadow Generations and Sonic Movie 3. Edit: First part of this campaign's also been announced, as you'll be able to unlock most (if not all, I'm not a religious player) of Shadow's variants in Sonic Forces mobile. Hardlight's Tweet. Which also provides a proper look at the Fearless Year of Shadow logo, as the trailer just uses a sketch thing. Edit 2: Site is now up. And has a new render of Shadow, and there's also some sort of race hosted by Red Bull in Austin Texas that'll have a Shadow themed motorcycle. Edit 3: The Japanese Sonic Twitter account released a different trailer, rather than some cringey kids on bikes it has a CG animation of Shadow breaking through something and seemingly waking up?
A full art piece has been released using the explosion background from the Japanese trailer, and the new render. Also Sonic is here, hi Sonic. Edit: Sonic Forces also has new loading screens for the event. While one of the renders has been around for a while it seems to have a new render as well that's got a very nice and dynamic pose. Spoiler: Large Although the lighting is the same as the other 2010s renders which is a little disappointing, but I'll take posing over lighting any day.
This is speculation, obviously, but I find it interesting and a little funny how Sega is fully aware of how memed and one-note Shadow's "doom and gloom" personality is, so they decided to lighten up his face expression a little. But they didn't fully commit to it, possibly so that he wouldn't look like Sonic, leaving him with this weird Schrödinger's smile
The smug smirk is iconic and Sonic Team should be ashamed for giving him that blank scowl for so long.
Pajamas, Movie 3 and Shadow Generations. We're picking up the slack after Classic fumbled the ball last year. It's a good year for us Shadies.
I'll be completely honest, I thought that this whole thing - the name, the trailer, the website - was an ironic parody at first
I'm not a Shadow hater or anything I just think it's funny that people are acting like Shadow was some kind of neglected or forgotten character, I feel like he's found his way into most Sonic games since SA2. Shadow fans have been eating well for like 20 years lol
Except no, he's been neglected for over half of his existence. In the past 14 years, Shadow wasn't present in Colors, only another cheerleader/rival with nothing to do in Generations, wasn't present for Lost World, was an actual parody of himself in Boom, and wasn't present in Frontiers. The most he's done in over a decade was Episode Shadow in Forces, which was a massive nothing burger which last minute retconned Infinite as Eggman's creation into a whiny bitch that can't take a loss. His personality in the comics was reduced to "Friends make you weak and pathetic" too for a good while. The last real time he mattered was Sonic 06. I think it's more than fair that he gets a year to course correct.
What do you mean, most Sonic games since Sonic Adventure 2? Now you pushed my list-making button! Here's the list of games where Shadow is not present: Sonic Advance Sonic Advance 2 Sonic Advance 3 Sonic Rush Sonic Rush Adventure Sonic Unleashed Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Sonic Colors Sonic Lost World Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Sonic Mania Sonic Frontiers Sonic Superstars Sonic Dream Team
Huh. Well. Good for him? I don't care for Shadow, but as long as we keep getting games like Superstars, I won't have anything to complain about!
I probably should've narrowed it down to mainline games, now I've made a fool of myself. Okay I was wrong! Year of Shadow let's go! (shadow came to my house and did this to me because I insulted him... he won't leave...)
i'm not clever enough to make a year of luigi joke out of that (ok tbh didnt see that the image was responding to another message about the year of luigi, that makes this post rather redundant. oops. feel free to trash)
