This article is about the bundle video game. For the Shadow-centered game included in it, see Shadow Generations.

Sonic X Shadow Generations (ソニック × シャドウ ジェネレーションズ, Sonikku Shadō Jenerēshonzu^?) is a 2024 bundle video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It features two games: a remaster of Sonic Generations (2011) and a new game called Shadow Generations, featuring Shadow the Hedgehog as a playable character. The game is part of the "Fearless: Year of Shadow" campaign that ran throughout the year.

The game was first teased during Sony's PlayStation State of Play livestream on 31 January 2024. It was released for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on 25 October 2024, with consumers who bought the Digital Deluxe Edition having obtained access to the game three days earlier.^[1] The game received positive reviews and was a commercial success, having sold over 1 million copies on the first day of its release.

Plot[]

Main articles: Sonic Generations#Plot and Shadow Generations#Plot

Gameplay[]

Main articles: Sonic Generations#Gameplay and Shadow Generations#Gameplay

Sonic X Shadow Generations features two games: a remaster of Sonic Generations, retaining the same gameplay style, and Shadow Generations, incorporating elements from the original Generations and Sonic Frontiers.

Changes to Sonic Generations[]

New characters[]

• Chao
  • NiGHTS Chao
  • Light Chaos Chao
  • Dark Chao
  • Hero Chao
  • Sonic Chao
  • Knuckles Chao
  • Tails Chao
  • Amy Chao
  • Shadow Chao

Skins[]

• Modern Sonic Adventure Legacy Sonic
• Classic Sonic Jam Legacy Sonic

Features[]

• The game now features a save slot system - while the original only had one save file, the remaster has three save slots.
• Entering the Statue Room now requires a single button press instead of holding the button down for a few seconds, and a UI element has been added to show that Sonic can enter it. Codes are no longer required, as all statues are unlocked from the start.
• Modern Sonic's moveset now includes the Drop Dash ability that debuted in Sonic Mania. Classic Sonic has it as a Custom Skill that's equipped by default.^{[2] [3]}
• The player can now set their controls to be based on either Sonic Frontiers or the original game's control scheme (referred to as "Standard" and "Legacy" respectively), with the former being the default setting.^[4] The PC version also includes the ability to remap buttons in-game, and the mouse buttons can be mapped.
• When the controls are set to "Standard":
  • The Boost activation button is mapped to //[SHIFT] instead of //[A].^[5]
  • The Homing Attack is activated by pressing //[LEFT CLICK] in mid-air while an object is locked on. However, pressing //[S] a second time is still possible.^[5]
• The Life system can now be turned on or off by toggling the "Challenge Tries" setting in the options menu.^[6]
  • When turned off, 1-Ups do not appear in Acts. They can still be purchased from the Skill Shop, though.
• In addition to the five Red Star Rings, there is now a "Chao Rescue" feature where there are now three Chao hidden throughout every level in the game, akin to Sonic Advance 3 or the extra missions from Sonic Adventure 2.
  • The Collection Room was updated to include an option to view the rescued Chao, as well as hints describing where the missing Chao are at.

Appearance[]

• The game's cutscenes have been reworked in numerous ways:^[7]
  • The English script was rewritten by Ian Flynn, replacing Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, who wrote the original game's story. The Japanese script and both scripts' non-cutscene dialogue remain mostly unchanged, with the exception of new lines by Modern Sonic and one by Modern Tails in the Japanese-voiced cutscenes.
    • The rewritten dialogue contains more references during specific scenes, such as Modern Tails mentioning South Island and West Side Island while in Green Hill and Chemical Plant respectively, and Modern Sonic mentioning the Time Stones when the Tails' reveal their traveling through time.
    • Modern Sonic now verbally responds to his friends after saving them rather than staying silent like in the original game. However, Classic Sonic maintains his silence.
    • Amy and Knuckles' dialogue when saved by Modern Sonic is rewritten to make them less self-centered, instead ensuring Sonic that they will help him take down the Time Eater.
    • When saved by Classic Sonic, Knuckles now asks where the rest of his island is, rather than if he gained weight. However, Classic Sonic's reaction to the original line, where he self-consciously feels his stomach, is maintained.
    • Characters who described the feeling of being trapped in limbo, namely Tails, Cream, and Espio (when saved by Classic Sonic), do not specifically describe such feeling anymore.
    • Modern Eggman now explicitly mentions how his plans started after Sonic ruined his Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park during the events of Sonic Colors, something that was only implied as his "most recent setback".
    • In the final cutscene, Modern Tails speaks to Classic Tails on what happens once the timeline is restored. In the original game, Classic Tails asks his Modern counterpart where Sonic keeps all of his Rings, to which he is unsure.
  • Several Chao can now be seen in the first and last cutscenes of the game celebrating Sonic's birthday alongside his friends.
  • In the first cutscene, Amy is now seen presenting and offering cupcakes to Sonic instead of him shoving his hand in her face to keep her away.
  • Classic Eggman is now visible when he is kidnapped by the Time Eater. In the original game, while the orb that contains him is seen, Classic Eggman himself is completely obscured.
  • In the ending cutscene, Silver is seen with a chili dog in his hand, while he was not holding anything in the original game.
  • In the same cutscene, Amy simply pushes Knuckles back instead of comically smacking him into the tree when he says that Sonic "wasn't half bad". Knuckles’ reaction was also altered, and he instead looks at her surprised before giving a smug grin rather than sliding down the tree in a dizzy state.
  • The Time Hole in the same cutscene no longer depicts an image of Green Hill.

• Amy's profile in the Collection Room was rewritten to reflect her current interpretation, while also mentioning her Piko Piko Hammer and her Fortune Cards.
• The font of the text used in the introductory cards for both the rival and boss battles is different.
• The subtitles now mention the name of the character who's currently speaking.
• The opening cutscene now has sound effects added to it, such as Sonic running, jumping, and Boosting.
• Due to the game's release on multiple consoles, as well as the ability to customize controls, Omochao's tutorial dialogue has been rewritten so that he no longer mentions any console button by name.
  • This also applies to the final boss and Challenge Acts where Sonic's friends help him, where they simply tell the player to "press the button" without mentioning it by name.
• A new HUD element has been added to track Red Star Rings - it appears when one is collected, and lists them in the order that they appear in the level, akin to the HUD element from Sonic Colors. In the original game, the number of Red Star Rings found could only be viewed in White Space, which simply showed how many the player had collected regardless of their position.
• Some character models were changed:
  • Classic Sonic's quills have been updated to resemble his appearance in Sonic Superstars. However, in some cutscenes, the quills from the original game are left intact.
  • Rouge's outfit has been slightly altered apparently to match her new model in Shadow Generations. This outfit is slightly less revealing, with more clothing to cover her back and having the heart-shaped center cover more of her cleavage, which has been made slightly smaller.^[8]
• A new button prompt has been added to showcase how to enter the Statue Room via the Collection Room.
• The game now supports Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean and Thai localizations.
• The Collection Room had a slight change:
  • The television, that was originally located close to the photo frames, was moved more to the left closer to the wall.
  • The chair that was at the left of the television was also moved alongside it.
  • The red pillow that was originally on the chair aside the television was removed.
  • The bookshelf that was originally empty and was at the left of the television was moved to the right, closer to the photo frames, and was given books.

Cast and voice direction[]

• Due to the rewritten script, the voices for the cutscenes have been rerecorded from scratch. However, many characters who keep their voice actor from the original game maintain their gameplay voice lines from that game.
• In all language dubs (except for French), many characters have different voice actors than the original game, due to cast changes that have happened since the original game's release.
  • English dub cast changes:^[9]
    • Colleen O'Shaughnessey replaces Kate Higgins as Classic and Modern Tails.
    • Dave B. Mitchell replaces Travis Willingham as Knuckles.
    • Matthew Mercer replaces Troy Baker as Espio.
    • Erica Lindbeck replaces Laura Bailey as Blaze and Omochao.
    • Bryce Papenbrook replaces Quinton Flynn as Silver.
  • Japanese dub cast changes:^[9]
    • Due to Chikao Ōtsuka's death in 2015, Kotaro Nakamura replaces him as both Eggmen.
  • Italian dub cast changes:^[9]
    • Claudio Moneta replaces Riccardo Lombardo and Maurizio Merluzzo as Shadow.
    • Ilaria Silvestri, reprising her role from Sonic Prime, replaces Jasmine Laurenti as Rouge.
    • Due to Diego Sabre's retirement in 2022, Matteo Brusamonti replaces him as Vector.
  • German dub cast changes:^[9]
    • Paulina Weiner replaces Anke Kortemeier as Classic and Modern Tails.
    • Anna Gamburg replaces Shandra Schadt as Amy.
    • Due to Hartmut Neugebauer's death in 2017, Johannes Oliver Hamm replaces him as Classic and Modern Eggman.
    • Due to Klaus Lochthove's death in 2023, Felix Spieß, who reprised his role from Sonic Prime, replaces him as Shadow.
  • Spanish dub cast changes:^[9]
    • Because Jonatán López retired in 2016 and died in 2020, Ángel de Gracia replaces him as Modern Sonic.
    • Masumi Mutsuda replaces Ángel de Gracia as Silver.
    • Anna Orra replaces Graciela Molina as Charmy.

Others[]

• The playable unlockable port of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) from the console version is no longer included.
• The PC version no longer uses an external configuration tool - all settings can now be manually changed in-game. The PC version's stereoscopic 3D feature has also been removed.
• The 30 Second Trial mode has been removed.
• The Casino Night DLC from the console/PC version is included in the base game rather than as a separate download.
• "Right There, Ride On" is replaced by the theme of Westopolis in the Collection Room, likely due to legalities involving it.
• Twenty-four out of the original forty-nine achievements from the original Sonic Generations were not included.
• The Quick Step makes a sound whenever Sonic activates it.

Controls[]

The Sonic Generations remaster now uses a new control scheme similar to Sonic Frontiers, though there is an option for the player to use the old control scheme known as "Legacy Controls". For the PC version, it is also possible to customize the button mapping in player's favor.

The controls shown below are for the "Standard" control scheme.

Button formation				Movement
PS4/PS5	Nintendo Switch	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S	PC	Classic	Modern
left/right			[A] left/ [D] right	Move	Move/Grind Step
up			[W] up	Look up
down			[S] down	Look down/Crouch
/	/	/	[SPACE]	Spin Jump
Move + / down	Move + / down	Move + / down	Move + [LEFT CLICK]/[S] down	Spin Attack	N/A
/Crouch +	/Crouch +	/Crouch +	[LEFT CLICK]/Crouch + [SPACE]	Spin Dash
/ (mid air)	/ (mid air)	/ (mid air)	[SPACE] (mid air)	Drop Dash
Jump Dash > hold /	Jump Dash > hold /	Jump Dash > hold /	Jump Dash > hold [SPACE]	N/A	Jump Dash
/ (x2)	/ (x2)	/ (x2)	[SPACE] (x2)		Homing Attack
/ (mid air)	/ (mid air)	/ (mid air)	[LEFT CLICK] (mid air)		Boost/Air Boost
			[SHIFT]		Quick Step
/	/	/	[Q]/[E]		Slide
			[CTRL]		Stomp
(mid air)	(mid air)	(mid air)	[CTRL] (mid air)		Light Speed Dash
			[Z]		Wall Jump
(on wall)	(on wall)	(on wall)	[SPACE] (on wall)		Drift
			[F]
OPTIONS			[P]	Pause
				Accessing the Statue Room (Collection Room only)

Achievements[]

These are the achievements and trophies for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Steam versions of Sonic X Shadow Generations.

Icon	Name	Description	Trophy Class	Gamescore
	All Trophies Collected!	Collect all Trophies.		N/A
	GREEN HILL Restored!	Restore the GREEN HILL Stage Gate.		10
	CHEMICAL PLANT Restored!	Restore the CHEMICAL PLANT Stage Gate.		10
	SKY SANCTUARY Restored!	Restore the SKY SANCTUARY Stage Gate.		10
	SPEED HIGHWAY Restored!	Restore the SPEED HIGHWAY Stage Gate.		10
	CITY ESCAPE Restored!	Restore the CITY ESCAPE Stage Gate.		10
	SEASIDE HILL Restored!	Restore the SEASIDE HILL Stage Gate.		10
	CRISIS CITY Restored!	Restore the CRISIS CITY Stage Gate.		10
	ROOFTOP RUN Restored!	Restore the ROOFTOP RUN Stage Gate.		10
	PLANET WISP Restored!	Restore the PLANET WISP Stage Gate.		10
	Sunny Side Up	Defeat Death Egg Robot.		10
	Perfect Punisher	Defeat Perfect Chaos.		10
	Boom Boom Dragoon	Defeat Egg Dragoon.		10
	Scrap Metal	Defeat Metal Sonic.		10
	Shadow Boxing	Defeat Shadow.		10
	Silver Got Served	Defeat Silver.		10
	Treasure Hunter	Collect all the Chaos Emeralds.		10
	Sonic Generations: All Stages Cleared!	Clear Sonic Generations.		40
	Can't Touch This	Take no damage from the final boss and clear the stage in Sonic Generations.		40
	Big Bang	Get Rank S in all Acts in Sonic Generations.		85
	Sonic Generations: Mission Accomplished!	Clear all the Challenge Acts in Sonic Generations.		85
	Mad Skillz	Unlock all custom skills.		10
	Rescue Professional	Rescue all Chao.		40
	Red Ring Collector	Get all Red Star Rings.		40
	Sonic Generations: (Hedge)Hogging It All Up!	Get all collectibles in Sonic Generations.		40
	SPACE COLONY ARK Restored!	Restore the SPACE COLONY ARK Stage Gate.		10
	RAIL CANYON Restored!	Restore the RAIL CANYON Stage Gate.		10
	KINGDOM VALLEY Restored!	Restore the KINGDOM VALLEY Stage Gate.		10
	SUNSET HEIGHTS Restored!	Restore the SUNSET HEIGHTS Stage Gate.		10
	CHAOS ISLAND Restored!	Restore the CHAOS ISLAND Stage Gate.		10
	RADICAL HIGHWAY Act 2 Cleared!	Clear RADICAL HIGHWAY Act 2.		10
	Vanquished Biolizard	Defeat Biolizard.		10
	Vanquished Metal Overlord	Defeat Metal Overlord.		10
	Vanquished Mephiles	Defeat Mephiles.		10
	Shadow Generations: All Stages Cleared!	Clear Shadow Generations.		40
	Untouchable	Take no damage from the final boss and clear the stage in Shadow Generations.		40
	Ultimate Life Form	Get Rank S in all Acts in Shadow Generations.		85
	Shadow Generations: Mission Accomplished!	Clear all the Challenge Acts in Shadow Generations.		85
	Rocket has been completed...?	Deliver all the rocket parts to Orbot and Cubot.		40
	All Collection Boxes Collected!	Open all Collection Boxes in White Space.		40
	Shadow Generations: (Hedge)Hogging It All Up!	Get all collectibles in Shadow Generations.		40

Cast[]

This section is about the cast of the rewritten and re-recorded remaster of Sonic Generations. For the cast section in Shadow Generations, see Shadow Generations#Cast.

In the Japanese dub of the game, the only characters with newly added voice lines are Sonic, Modern Tails, both Eggmen, and Omochao. All other characters reuse their portrayals from the original Sonic Generations.

Role	Voice actor(s)
	English	Japanese	French	Italian	German	Spanish
Modern Sonic	Roger Craig Smith	Jun'ichi Kanemaru	Alexandre Gillet	Renato Novara	Marc Stachel	Ángel de Gracia
Modern Tails Classic Tails	Colleen O'Shaughnessey	Ryō Hirohashi Takuto Yoshinaga	Marie-Eugénie Maréchal	Benedetta Ponticelli	Paulina Weiner	Graciela Molina
Amy Rose	Cindy Robinson	Taeko Kawata	Naïké Fauveau	Serena Clerici	Anna Gamburg	Meritxell Ribera
Knuckles the Echidna	Dave B. Mitchell	Nobutoshi Canna	Sébastien Desjours	Maurizio Merluzzo	Claus-Peter Damitz	Sergio Mesa
Modern Eggman Classic Eggman	Mike Pollock	Kotaro Nakamura	Marc Bretonnière	Aldo Stella	Johannes Oliver Hamm	Francesc Belda
Cream the Rabbit	Michelle Ruff	Sayaka Aoki	Marie Millet	Sabrina Bonfitto	Nicole Hannak	Geni Rey
Rouge the Bat	Karen Strassman	Rumi Ochiai	Marie Lenoir	Ilaria Silvestri	Marianne Graffam	Ana Vidal
Shadow the Hedgehog	Kirk Thornton	Kōji Yusa	Benoît DuPac	Claudio Moneta	Felix Spieß	Manuel Gimeno
Espio the Chameleon	Matthew Mercer	Yūki Masuda	Antoine Nouel	Silvio Pandolfi	Andreas Hofer	Dani Albiac
Blaze the Cat	Erica Lindbeck	Nao Takamori	Delphine Braillon	Tania De Domenico	Greta Galisch	Carmen Ambrós
Omochao		Etsuko Kozakura		Sabrina Bonfitto	Tabea Börner	Sofía García
Silver the Hedgehog	Bryce Papenbrook	Daisuke Ono	Hervé Grull	Davide Albano	Roland Wolf	Masumi Mutsuda
Vector the Crocodile	Keith Silverstein	Kenta Miyake	Philippe Roullier	Matteo Brusamonti	Andi Krösing	Alfonso Vallés
Charmy Bee	Colleen O'Shaughnessey	Yōko Teppōzuka	Marie Millet	Emanuela Pacotto	Luisa Wietzorek	Anna Orra
Wisp announcer	Roger Craig Smith	Fumihiko Tachiki	Roger Craig Smith

Promotion[]

On 31 January 2024, Sonic X Shadow Generations was first announced during Sony's State of Play.

On 8 June 2024, a trailer on Summer Game Fest was shown which was instantly released on YouTube.^[10] With it, it was announced that there would be a pre-order bonus, as well as a Digital Deluxe version. The pre-order bonus will give the buyer a skin for Modern Sonic based on Sonic's appearance from the original Sonic Adventure game with all his Level Up Items. Physical pre-orders will also include a reversible cover and a physical replica of Gerald Robotnik's journal.

The Digital Deluxe Edition contains a set of Skill Points for Sonic Generations, a bonus skin for Shadow based on his "Terios" beta design, an extra BGM pack, a digital art book and soundtrack, and the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack (which contains an extra skin and level based on the upcoming third Sonic movie). Pre-orders of this version also include three-day early access on all consoles but Nintendo Switch, allowing it to be played on October 22nd as opposed to the 25th. The Terios skin was described in interviews as having a few differences in comparison to Shadow, making him feel like a completely different character.^[11]

On 1 July 2024, it was revealed that those who sign up for the website's newsletter will receive a free legacy skin for Classic Sonic based on Sonic Jam, his first 3D appearance. When the game launched, the skin was listed separately on each store's marketplace as a paid DLC.

On 19 July 2024, it was announced on their social media that, thanks to fan feedback, all pre-orders from the physical release will have the Japanese box art as a reversible cover.

On 8 August, 2024, it was announced that a brand new serialized manga by CoroCoro Comic would be releasing in October to promote and adapt the game, dubbed The Jet Black Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog. During the same day, it was announced that a demo of the game would be shown in Gamescom 2024, from August 22 to August 25, where Sonic will be in attendance posing for photos with fans, as well showing off the custom-built Shadow-inspired motorcycle.

The next day, the social media team announced that the original Sonic Generations would be delisted from Steam, Xbox, and Playstation stores, with existing owners still being able to download and play the game. However, in an effort to preserve the game per the fan's wishes, it will still be included in Sonic game bundles on Steam and Xbox, also noting that mods made for the Steam version will not be affected by the change.^[12]

On 19 August, 2024, it was announced that players could pre-order a special “Collector's Edition” through Limited Run Games, which includes the game, an artbook, the official soundtrack, an individually numbered certificate of authentication, Chao figurines, keychains, a steelbook, a comparative Dreamcast jewel case, a Sonic and Shadow Dreamcast statue, and all other pre-order bonuses. It is available to pre-order from 19 August to 6 October 2024 and is due to be shipped in July 2025.^[13]

On 20 August 2024, a trailer for the game showcasing Shadow's new abilities (named "Doom Powers") was released, also showcasing levels that will be featured in the Shadow portion of the game, like Chaos Island from Sonic Frontiers, and the Metal Overlord from Sonic Heroes.

On 11 September 2024, a new piece of key art for the game was released revealing the Black Moon.

A demo of the game was playable during the Thailand Game Show 2024, held between 18 and 20 October 2024.^[14]

Reception[]

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	80% (PS5)[15]
Review scores
Publication	Score

The bundle received high praise, both for the original game's remaster and Shadow's campaign.

Shacknews praised the game for its tight and polished action.^[16] Video Games Chronicle praised the game for its abundance of lore information as well replay value.^[17]

One major criticism of the bundle was that Sonic Generations did not fit in with Shadow Generations and felt outdated by comparison, creating a stark contrast between the two games. Gamespot opined that Shadow lacked innovation, and enjoyment may vary based on nostalgia.^[18] Multiple sources also criticized the Doom Powers for not going together with game's flow and pace naturally,^[18] while VGC anticipated the 3D design of White Space in Shadow would prove divisive.^[17]

Trivia[]

For the trivia section in Shadow Generations, see Shadow Generations#Trivia.

• This is the first console Sonic game where the logo uses a different font for "Sonic". The font originates from Sonic Unleashed for the "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic the Werehog" logos in the status screen.
• To coincide with the announcement of the game, Sonic Superstars also received a Shadow costume as free DLC on 15 February 2024.^[19]
  • The game's website URL was leaked on Twitter two days prior to its announce trailer.^[20]

• The announcement trailer uses an edited version of the shot from the original Sonic Generations trailer where both Sonics jump into the air in slow-motion. The shot was extended with the addition of Shadow flying past Modern Sonic (with Classic Sonic falling out of the way, befuddled), causing the hedgehogs to strike the same poses from both the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle opening and the cutscene before the Rival battle with Shadow in the original Sonic Generations, although mirrored and with Sonic having a startled expression.
  • Immediately after in that same trailer, the pose Shadow does when he lands in Green Hill is the same as a pose he does in artwork for Shadow the Hedgehog, albeit without a gun.
• The background music used in the announcement trailer is "Smash Your Enemies", by Tomas Herudek.
• Sonic's actual first appearance in 3D was in Sonic the Fighters, despite the website calling Sonic Jam his first 3D appearance.
• The title screen that switches the game bears resemblance to Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury.
• The Digital Deluxe edition was released on the same day as Graciela Molina's 47th birthday.
• Despite the dialogue being rewritten and re-recorded, much of the animation does not lip-sync to the new rewritten dialogue itself, instead lip-syncing to the original dialogue.
• This bundle is the first time the console version of Sonic Generations became available on a Nintendo console, as the 3DS version was a different game with unique levels.
• The tagline for this bundle is similar to the original Sonic Generations; 3 Eras, 2 Sonics, 1 Epic Adventure!

Videos[]

Trailers[]

Miscellaneous[]

Advertisements/TV Spots[]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• English website
• Japanese website
• Steam page