I almost skipped out on this one (this franchise has hurt my heart one too many times and I wasn't doing well enough financially this year to just drop fifty dollars on a "remaster"), but oh my god I am so glad I didn't.

The very concept behind this game confused me at first - Is it a new game? Is it just like 2 short levels duct-taped onto the original? I understood that they were essentially trying to imitate Nintendo with their release of Bowser's Fury, but for what purpose?

And then it hit me. The genius behind this game's foundation.

Every single 3D Sonic game to date has fodder, filler content meant to prevent players from beating the game in less than an hour. There was always some kind of gimmick, some kind of other slow-paced gameplay style that artificially extended the runtime. Sometimes it was tolerable, sometimes it was downright terrible, but every single 3D Sonic game had it. But what if...

The fodder was one of the greatest Sonic games of them all?

That's right. The "remaster" of Sonic Generations isn't really a remaster, in fact they barely touched a thing and for the most part, that's a good thing. There ARE changes if you look close enough, for example every cutscene has been rerecorded often with new dialogue (which is *a* decision, not necessarily a good one, but it doesn't really impact the game either way since the story in Sonic Generations was less than secondary already), but the main goal of bringing the game back wasn't to make it any better, as it already was nearly perfect.

It was to make the main course of this package able to realise its' full potential.

Shadow Generations is, for all intents and purposes, a new 3D Sonic game. From a story and themes perspective, it's a sequel to Sonic Generations. From a mechanical perspective, it's a sequel to Sonic Frontiers. It's the newest Sonic game. And, for the first time, for the first time since the original Sonic Generations, the game is FANTASTIC.

That's right, for the first time in almost 15 years, and for the maybe third time ever - we got a 3D Sonic game that's just plain old good. No strings attached, no coping necessary to make it enjoyable. This is a game you can show to somebody who isn't a Sonic fan, and they will enjoy it, just like Sonic Generations.

But that's not the whole story. Shadow Generations isn't just good, it isn't just on the same level of quality as Sonic Generations. It's *better*. I could go into detail about every single stage but honestly I don't want to spoil it for anybody who hasn't tried it yet.

This game is as much of a love letter to the "dreamcast era/dark age" fans as the original was to the entire franchise. If you're a fan of 3D Sonic, hell, if you're a fan of 3D platformers in general, do not skip this one. I promise you it's worth the price for Shadow Generations alone. And if you haven't played either of these games, few better deals exist right now. I've beaten each of them twice already and I don't think I'll stop replaying the levels anytime soon.

I almost skipped out on this one (this franchise has hurt my heart one too many times and I wasn't doing well enough financially this year to just drop fifty dollars on a "remaster"), but oh my god I am so glad I didn't. The very concept behind this game confused me at first - Is it a new game? Is it just like 2 short levels duct-taped onto the original? I understood that they were essentially trying to imitate Nintendo with their release of Bowser's Fury, but for what purpose? And then it hit me. The genius behind this game's foundation. Every single 3D Sonic game to date has fodder, filler content meant to prevent players from beating the game in less than an hour. There was always some kind of gimmick, some kind of other slow-paced gameplay style that artificially extended the runtime. Sometimes it was tolerable, sometimes it was downright terrible, but every single 3D Sonic game had it. But what if... The fodder was one of the greatest Sonic games of them all? That's right. The "remaster" of Sonic Generations isn't really a remaster, in fact they barely touched a thing and for the most part, that's a good thing. There ARE changes if you look close enough, for example every cutscene has been rerecorded often with new dialogue (which is *a* decision, not necessarily a good one, but it doesn't really impact the game either way since the story in Sonic Generations was less than secondary already), but the main goal of bringing the game back wasn't to make it any better, as it already was nearly perfect. It was to make the main course of this package able to realise its' full potential. Shadow Generations is, for all intents and purposes, a new 3D Sonic game. From a story and themes perspective, it's a sequel to Sonic Generations. From a mechanical perspective, it's a sequel to Sonic Frontiers. It's the newest Sonic game. And, for the first time, for the first time since the original Sonic Generations, the game is FANTASTIC. That's right, for the first time in almost 15 years, and for the maybe third time ever - we got a 3D Sonic game that's just plain old good. No strings attached, no coping necessary to make it enjoyable. This is a game you can show to somebody who isn't a Sonic fan, and they will enjoy it, just like Sonic Generations. But that's not the whole story. Shadow Generations isn't just good, it isn't just on the same level of quality as Sonic Generations. It's *better*. I could go into detail about every single stage but honestly I don't want to spoil it for anybody who hasn't tried it yet. This game is as much of a love letter to the "dreamcast era/dark age" fans as the original was to the entire franchise. If you're a fan of 3D Sonic, hell, if you're a fan of 3D platformers in general, do not skip this one. I promise you it's worth the price for Shadow Generations alone. And if you haven't played either of these games, few better deals exist right now. I've beaten each of them twice already and I don't think I'll stop replaying the levels anytime soon.