Guys, "Generations" is one of my favorite Sonic games of all time, so seeing that it's gets a port with a brand new story and levels centered around one of the biggest breakout stars of the franchise has ignited a lot of excitement within me. I remember back when the original game was about to come out, I would always be on forums speculating which levels would make the cut for the game and with the recent trailer and gameplay footage that was released, I decided to make a wishlist for what levels and bosses I'd love to see in the game.
So far here are the confirmed stages and bosses seen:
Radical Highway (Sonic Adventure 2)
Rail Canyon (Sonic Heroes)
The Ark (Shadow The Hedgehog)
Kingdom Valley (Sonic The Hedgehog 2006)
Biolizard (Sonic Adventure 2)
Now before I start the list I want to make clear that I'm basing it off of what I think the criteria Sega is making for picking stages. Because if you paid attention, they simply went with the most popular levels for base Generations, however with Shadow they're actually picking levels that played a crucial part in his story throughout the games. For instance, the reason why they chose Rail Canyon is because that where Team Dark discovered the Shadow androids in "Sonic Heroes". And Kingdom Valley? That's where Shadow first met Mephiles in "Sonic 06". Furthermore I'm going to make the prediction that Sega won't go with the "one level per game" rule they went with in the original game since Shadow wasn't in as many games as Sonic. Therefore I think they'll go with two levels per game (with the exception of Shadow's own self titled one which I'll explain later) in order to fill things out. With that said let's get this list started.
Sonic Adventure 2: White Jungle
Radical Highway is iconic to Shadow just like how City Escape was iconic to Sonic. With that said, there's no way Sonic Team was going to leave that stage out. But since I believe they'll give us more than one representative per game I believe another great choice would be White Jungle. Not only is it the other well known stage associated with Shadow from "Sonic Adventure 2", but it also has a lot of significance in Shadow's story since that's where he fought Sonic for the first time. Add in that memorable song that plays throughout the level and you've got a stage that's worth revisiting.
Sonic Heroes: Final Fortress
"Sonic Heroes" is one of my favorite games in the series so naturally I had a tough time settling on which level I wanted to see remade in addition to Rail Canyon. Especially with the added factor that I wanted to pick levels that were actually significant to Shadow's character development. But ultimately I decided there was only one other level that fit that criteria and that's the Final Fortress. Now the reason I picked this stage is because in the game, after Team Dark discovers the existence of the Shadow androids, Rouge comes a room full of Shadow clones which Omega comes in to destroy. Final Fortress had one of the best atmospheres of any final level in a sonic game. The thunderstorm that the whale shark ship flies through just gave the stage an ominous feeling as the four teams pressed on to end their journeys and while it wouldn't be the first time we saw this stage in HD ("Team Sonic Racing" comes to mind), I would love to get the chance to actually run through this stage again with Shadow.
Shadow The Hedgehog: Westopolis or Black Comet
Now for Shadow's self titled game there's two stages that immediately come to mind, Westopolis and Black Comet. Westopolis is probably the most well known stage from this game as it's the first one we play through (10 times in fact in order to get the final ending), has memorable music (again probably because we had to play through it 10 times) and it holds significance in Shadow's story since this is not only where the Black Arms first began their invasion of earth but it's also where Shadow first met Black Doom. Sega did say they want to go with stages that were the most popular but personally I believe there are way too many city stages in the base generations already. Plus I think Crisis City already has the "destroyed/apocalyptic city" trope covered so that's why I introduced a second option in Black Comet.
Since Black Doom is returning it would make perfect sense for the base of the Black Arms to return not to mention that this is where Shadow finds out that Black Doom is his father. With "Generations" being a time traveling adventure I wouldn't put it past Black Doom to try and find a way to prevent his army from being wiped out like last time. It would be cool to see the black arms in hd and have some features from other levels such as the black hawks that Shadow could fly on or maybe Shadow can try and take down the tank from Lethal Highway in one of the extra missions. I wouldn't even rule out an appearance by the Black Bull, even if it's just a cameo.
Overall these are the two stages from Shadow's game I can definitely see making the cut. And while I'm admittedly more biased towards Black Comet, there's always a chance Sonic Team could use it as the final stage since Black Doom is the main villain.
Sonic 06: Aquatic Base or White Acropolis
Now for Sonic 06, I've seen fans say that other than Kingdom Valley, some stages that can return are Dusty Desert and Flame Core. This is because these are the stages that where Shadow fought Mephiles the Dark, the time traveling villain from Sonic 06 who fans have been wanting to return for years. And in a game that's all about revisiting the past it's not hard to see why people want him in this game. The rmost likely reason why Kingdom Valley was chosen other than being the most recognizable 06 stage after Crisis City, is because that's where Shadow first encountered Mephiles. But the stages I'm proposing hold significance to Shadow's story as well.
Now Flame Core and Dusty Desert I wouldn't want to see since Crisis City and Rail Canyon respectively have the fire and desert level tropes covered. White Acropolis would make for a great choice because not only was that the first stage you play in Shadow's campaign in 06 but that's also where Eggman was storing the scepter of darkness that was containing Mephiles. Plus "Generations" was severely lacking in snow levels so this would add some much needed variety.
While Seaside Hill already has the underwater level trope covered, I still think it would be a meaningful addition to the game because if Kingdom Valley made the cut because that's where Shadow met Mephiles, then this stage is worthy because in 06 it's where Shadow sealed him in the scepter of darkness after traveling to the past with Silver. Sonic 06 might be the most infamous game in the franchise but it did have some cool ideas that needed better execution. With Ian Flynn writing the story this time I hope that potential can finally be fully realized.
The Bosses
"Sonic Generations" wasn't just a celebration of the best stages in the franchise, it also brought back some of the most memorable boss fights as well. With Shadow's portion of the game already confirming Biolizards return, it's time I showed y'all my most wanted boss fights for this game. And since Black Doom is the main villain I think it's safe to say he's a lock for a boss fight so I left him off of this list.
Sonic Adventure 2: Sonic The Hedgehog
Oh come on, did you guys really think anyone else was going to make this list? Sonic and Shadow's rivalry is iconic and since Sega has confirmed that Shadow's story will run parallel to Sonic's it makes perfect sense to have the rival battle on the Ark take place from Shadow's perspective just like in Sonic Adventure 2. And since "Generations" won't have a barebones plot this time around, we can hopefully get a good reason to why the two hedgehogs are fighting now.
Sonic Heroes: Metal Madness
Throughout the 2000's, Sonic games had a habit of having the final boss being a giant monster that needed to be taken down. Perfect Chaos, The Final Hazard, Solaris, you name it. So I think it's time for another notable monster to get the HD facelift, that being Metal Madness. Oh yes, since classic Metal Sonic is already in the base game it's only fair that modern Metal Sonic get some love as well. Now while this inclusion may come off as strange to some since Metal's beef is with Sonic, it's still important to Shadow's history.
In "Sonic Heroes", Metal Sonic copies Shadow's bio data in Rail Canyon along with the data of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Chaos (via Chocola and Froggy). Plus Shadow helped fight Metal Madness along with the other four teams so that Team Super Sonic could finish him off in his Metal Overlord form. Now obviously this fight would have to be heavily reworked from the original since Rouge and Omega won't be there to assist Shadow this time. Nevertheless Metal would still keep the player on their toes with attacks such as his flamethrower, missiles with crystals that immobilize, spikes, and the ability to use chaos control, so I'm sure Sonic Team can come up with an amazing way to reimagine this battle. Oh and speaking of battle.
Sonic Battle: Emerl
How's this for a wildcard pick? Emerl would be a great way to surprise fans as many have fond memories of "Sonic Battle" for the GameBoy Advance. For those of you who don't know, Emerl is a robot known as a gizoid which has the ability to copy the powers and abilities of those they fight. This even extends to weapons the person they're fighting may posses (ex: Emerl can summon Amy's Piko Piko Hammer). Emerl would be a perfect rival battle for Shadow because of the sheer unpredictability potential. Emerl could probably use things such as Sonic's boost, Amy's Hammer, or Knuckles' punches. And since we know from the trailers that Shadow will have new creative ways to use chaos control to outright new abilities such as wings from his Black Arms DNA, a fight with Emerl would really have the players on the edge of their seat as he can use Shadow's new abilities against him.
There's also great story potential since in "Battle" it's revealed that Gerald Robotnik (Shadow's creator and Eggman's grandfather for those who don't know) discovered Emerl in a warehouse while Project: Shadow was going on and did extensive studies on it, so right there Shadow has a major connection to Emerl. While Shadow was weary of Emerl at first he did grow to respect him over the course of the game. And I think it would be incredible to see the two duke it out once again. This time in HD.
Sonic 06: Mephiles The Dark
Oh hell yes. As I've stated before, "Sonic Generations" is a game that's all about revisiting the past. In addition to that, we know the Time Eater can summon stages from aborted timelines, thus justifying the inclusion of Crisis City. With that said there’s no excuse to not bring back Mephiles. He’s one of Shadows biggest enemies as he showed Shadow that humanity would turn against him in (a possible) future and seal him away, getting his close ally E-123 Omega to do so. Not to mention he did something that Eggman could never do: Kill Sonic the Hedgehog (even though Sonic inevitably got revived later).
Mephiles also has the ability to time travel to any period of his choosing, and since this a game where time travel is the main focus of the plot is it any wonder why fans want him back? And honestly I think Mephiles might have a shot of making the cut in this game. This is because when Ian Flynn was writing the Archie Sonic comics he initially wanted to use both Black Doom and Mephiles for the story arc called “Shadow Fall”, but for some reason Sega forbade him from using them. Which lead to the creation of Black Death and Eclipse the Darkling.
But now that Ian Flynn is writing the story for this game, and assuming that Sega gives him the go ahead, Flynn might finally be able to tell the story the way he initially intended to. Personally I think it would be sick to see a team up between Mephiles and Black Doom, especially since Flynn also had a theory that the Time Eater is made up of remnants of Mephiles so who's to say that Flynn won't get the chance to finally make his age old theory canon? As for the boss fight itself, I think it most definitely has to take place in Flame Core since that's where his boss fight in 06 took place along with him telling Shadow about the future.
With all that said, I really hope one of the most infamous villains in the franchise gets to make a comeback this fall.
Conclusion
Guys I really can't express how hyped I am for this game without sounding repetitive. Shadow Generations is looking like it could be the best outing for the ultimate life form in a long time and the fact that his new adventure is running parallel to one of my favorite Sonic games is the cherry on top. And even if some of my picks of levels and bosses don't show up in the game I nonetheless believe we're going to be in for a treat this fall. And by all means, feel free to tell me what levels and bosses from some of Shadow's previous adventures that you would like to see in the game! Until then, see y'all in October.
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