out of all the characters in the world of Sonic Shadow stands among the rest is the most compelling since his debut in Sonic Adventure 2 the Hedgehog has captivated the attention of millions in 2018 Sega Japan conducted a popularity poll asking people to vote on who their favorite character was in the Sonic franchise Shadow only trailed slightly behind sega's mascot these results reveal the worldwide admiration fans have towards Shadow the love for him is so strong that it even prompted Sega to create a game simply titled Shadow the Hedgehog but what draws people to Shadow it's cause he's cool and edgy that's not wrong but I think we can go further it's easier to dismiss him as a brooding stereotype a shallow attempt at creating a deep character I think what fascinates people about Shadow is that he's a reflection of us as great as Sonic is he's unrealistic Sonic is an ideal of the good triumphing over evil of the resolve to rebel against corrupt oppression Shadow represents struggle the struggle to navigate the complexity days of life whether intentional or not Sega has created one of the best existential characters in video game history Shadow's Journey invites us to look deep within ourselves and ask the big questions of Life who am I and what is my purpose so in this video we'll attempt to explore how he strives to answer these questions and develop an insight into the world view and philosophy of Shadow the Hedgehog [Music] in this analysis I will focus on Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog as the main games for characterizing shadow these two entries provide the most information about his character we'll also look into the lyrics of songs from both of these games specifically we'll look into the songs that are associated with Shadow essay 2's songwriting provides some of the best characterization in the series Shadow the Hedgehog's soundtrack is um very much of the time but still gives us insight into the mind of this character where's that damn fourth Chaos Emerald and we'll see how all this ties into the real-life philosophies of essentialism existentialism and niche's ideal of the Ubermensch so yeah this video is not for the faint of heart as you can tell we're gonna cover a broad range of topics that are so Niche and esoteric that if you do find enjoyment in them you probably need to go outside and touch some grass don't lie to me I know it's been three days I know my premise sounds crazy but I urge you to trust me and stick through the entirety of this video I Promise You by the end of it you'll see where I'm coming from and you might learn something about philosophy along the way so with that being said put on your hazmat suits and let's jump right into it in order to understand Shadow we need to understand his relationship with a girl named Maria in his debut game Sonic Adventure 2 it's revealed to us that Maria is the purpose of Shadow's life everything he does is because of her Shadow and Maria grew up very close seeing each other as family as brother and sister the two were born and raised in the space Colony Ark and shared a dream of one day visiting Earth tragically his dream will remain but a somber memory thank you Maria in the beginning of sa2 Shadow has Amnesia and struggles to remember his past the only memory that lingers is his friend dying at the hands of gun soldiers for the Hedgehog the death of Maria is a terrible reminder of Humanity's cruelty but the death of Maria also serves as the guiding principle in Shadow's life Shadow's sole motivation was to fulfill her dying wish which he believed was to eradicate all of humanity Maria I still remember what I promised you people of this planet I promise you Revenge towards the end of the game it seemed like Shadow was about to achieve this goal he partnered with Dr Eggman to activate the eclipse Cannon a literal World destroying weapon located on the space Colony Ark but in a Twist of events the activation of the Canon instead triggered a protocol this protocol would make the ark descend upon the Earth and Batiste the bomb the entire planet everyone on Earth those aboard the ark and Shadow himself were about to die but Shadow's response toward the apocalypse can be met with one word apathy since the beginning of sa2 Shadow has been on a path towards destruction at the onset it seemed that this journey was to fulfill Maria's dying wish as the game progresses this motive becomes more obscure in his final battle with Sonic the two hedgehogs race on a long stretch of the arc one wants to save the world while the other wants it gone it's a Race Against Time to see who can best the other beside it's being a really cool fight in the game the song that plays in the background during this battle provides us a very sobering picture of Shadow's State of Mind listen to the lyrics of or true story [Music] [Music] YouTuber slick silver did a great job summing up my thoughts in the song Here we see Shadow's reductionist and materialist view of reality stars don't twinkle they're actually just balls of plasma suspended in space words don't sing it's just a way for their species to communicate to the pure body to the perfect existence this lyric is referring to Shadow himself he's not really a humble guy I'm the coolest to him all the beauty that we see in nature can be Stripped Away by scientific explanation and in the final verse we hear him struggling against despair against nihilism in summary nihilism is the rejection of all objective truth that life is ultimately meaningless for Without Beauty there can be no meaning in life the lyrics of four true story reveal that shadow doesn't really believe in anything it makes us wonder whether his search for vengeance is for Maria or for himself maybe he's just angry at the world and wants to get back at it and that defeating Sonic is a way to prove his superiority his fight against the blue Hedgehog isn't just physical battle but a fight against the lack of purpose he feels in his life to Shadow whether the world dies or the people in it it doesn't matter if he perishes along with Humanity so be it minutes before everyone's imminent Doom Amy runs up to Shadow reminding him that Humanity deserves to be saved and that they need him as Amy speaks Shadow no longer hears her voice but Maria's the words uttered by Amy echoed Maria's true wish Maria didn't want Humanity to perish but to thrive and have hope Maria desired for the world to live the life that she and Shadow always longed for with a new reason to fight and a single manly tear Shadow races to fulfill his promise to Amy and through that Maria notice how I didn't say to help save the world or to team up with Sonic in the gang even though Shadow does both of these things I'd argue that these actions are just the consequences of keeping his word to Maria look I'm sure he has a newfound love for the world and its people but in my opinion Shadow's motivation in saving the world is less about right or wrong it's about fulfilling Maria's wish in the end Shadow sacrifices himself for Humanity but what's really telling of his character are his final words Maria this is what you wanna right this is my promise I made to you [Music] in the end of essay 2 Shadow was able to subdue his ownism by submitting to a new higher purpose Maria's wish for Humanity to thrive and have hope [Music] you can view Shadow's entire character Journey as him struggling with his Essence so what is Essence well back in ancient Greece philosophers Plato and Aristotle defined Essence as a certain set of core attributes that are necessary for a thing to be what it is if these properties were absent then that thing would be something else entirely this may not be a perfect example but think of a drinking cup a drinking cup could be made out of glass or metal it doesn't really matter but if the cup didn't have some kind of basin to drink out of it would cease to be a drinking cup because it failed to serve its function its Essence Plato and Aristotle believed that everyone and everything had an Essence a function a purpose and to be a good human would be to adhere to our Essence these tenets would eventually be known in philosophy as essentialism at his heart Shadow has conflicting Essences sncs Essences I don't know it's a fun word to say anyways his origin emerged from clashing ideologies 50 years before the events of sa2 Shadow was born as the product of a government research program called project Shadow those assembling Shadow imbued within him their own desires and goals the financiers of this operation the United Federation government wanted to develop a weapon of mass destruction while the lead scientists of the project Dr Gerald Robotnik hoped to create Shadow as the ultimate life form the original intent of the research was to obtain immortality for mankind but the doctor believed the project could lead to a cure for his terminally ill granddaughter Maria before Shadow was even born everyone had been defining his life for him I mean just think about his name a shadow is amorphous and can take on different forms likewise Shadow was seen as a malleable project that could fit into his Creator's motives like how I'm trying to shoehorn Shadow's character to fit into my crazy video idea in Sonic Adventure 2 Shadow struggles to remember his origin and clings onto Maria's dying wish is the purpose of his creation but over the course of his life he'll eventually let go from my perspective I see Shadow's character Arc as transitioning from essentialism to existentialism Shadow's character development is a reflection of how our Collective perception of reality has changed for a very long time essentialism dominated as the standard world view of interpreting the universe but in the late 1800s more thinkers decided to challenge the philosophy of essentialism by the mid-20th century French philosopher Jean-Paul sarte coined the motto that will represent a new philosophical outlook on the world it existence precedes essence this aphorism acts as the foundation for a philosophy called existentialism for existentialists the saying existence precedes essence means that our existence our birth happens first and then our purpose or Essence occurs later and is determined by us now if only there was a song that perfectly encapsulated all of this [Music] [Applause] foreign there was one song that perfectly describes Shadow it is I am all of me it's edgy cringy thrash is hard but it's oddly fitting it almost works too well for our purposes if you listen to the lyrics it echoes sart's motto of existence preceding Essence before any given purpose or moral skew Shadow exists first and then throughout his life chooses his own destiny as long I self-decided morality also fits perfectly with Nietzsche's ideal of the ubermesh which we'll explore later in this video existentialism asks us a question that we must all answer if our purpose is undefined how are we to live this dilemma is All Too Human but also all too Hedgehog I'm sorry guys Shadow's struggle of what to do and who to be leads us to an important existential concept angst and being the edgy emo he is Shadow is full of it so what is angst this word introduces us to what many consider to be the founder of existentialism the emo Godfather himself Soren Kierkegaard Kierkegaard dedicated his life teaching people how to Grapple with the absurdity of existence in his work the concept of anxiety Kierkegaard describes angst as the overwhelming anxiety one feels when choosing from a multitude of possibilities to Kierkegaard freedom is a terrifying way to be Must ALL bear and Shadow understands his weight all too well unlike the others in the Sonic cast Shadow's path is undefined and as you can imagine this ambiguity this Crush Freedom causes the Hedgehog to have angst in essay 2 we see Shadows angst in action as he struggles with these existential questions but never does Shadow's angst consume him more than in his own starring game Shadow the Hedgehog this entry Dives deeper into the Labyrinth of his life as players are given 10 different paths for shadow to explore with each path and identity to assume and a destiny to manifest as a caveat I have to say that the Shadow the Hedgehog video game is a Cartesian mess it's unnecessarily complicated this game does a poor job characterizing the Sonic cast it pretty much undo all of Shadow's growth in Sonic Adventure 2. they also portray Sonic as a compliant fed you know the guy that's all about breaking the rules and is supposed to be anti-authoritarian yeah he's a cop now you're going to jail also we don't even know if the shadow in the game is the real Shadow the game reveals that he survived the finale of sa2 but the story obscures this by hinting that this Shadow could be a clone a robot or something else entirely it's only during the final boss fight from Dr eggman's dialogue not even a cut scene where we learned this is the real shadow it was all alive you really are the ultimate life form my grandfather created apparently the doctor wanted to add fuel to Shadow's existential crisis by making him think he could be a robot or a clone you know just for the fun of it I guess I don't know man this game is weird also Shadow has Amnesia again yay despite the game's flawed Story the paths the player can take to explore Shadow's past and potential future is crucial to understanding Shadow as a character what's interesting about these paths is how they're divided into three categories neutral dark and hero this mechanic reveals how the game categorizes morality the choices the player makes in each level will place Shadow on a route toward the good the bad or somewhere in between this gameplay Choice takes the hero and dart story routes from sa2 and blows it up until the paths look like a sad pile of boarhead style spaghetti now I know some of you who have played the game are probably thinking right now Randy you're being misleading these 10 pads you keep talking about don't even matter they're non-canonical and to those who say that you're right in case you're unaware all the choices you would have made a shadow are invalid these 10 routes are just distortions of the truth in Shadow of the Hedgehog there are actually a total of 11 paths with the last story only being unlocked after completing the previous 10. this final path is the true canonical story of Shadow the Hedgehog you could view this gameplay Choice as a waste of time why would Sega Force us to play through 10 routes only for our choices to be discarded in the end that's a valid point I don't think it's far-fetched to believe that Sega tried forcing this storyline mechanic without thinking it through if it's any consolation I agree with how YouTuber Pariah views this gameplay Choice like him I see these 10 paths as 10 possibilities what if scenarios for shadow to explore these choices and the results that followed may not be Canon but could have still happened if Shadow had chosen a different trajectory in life the last story is the path Shadow ultimately decides to embark on in a typical Sonic fashion it involves the end of the world the whole Grand Finale is a physical representation of what shadow has endured since his creation he's literally caught in the middle of battling ideologies commanding him what to do telling him what he should be but this time things are gonna be different Shadow is ready to unshackle himself and confront the literal monster of his past an alien called black Doom so who is Black Doom when Dr Gerald Robotnik was developing the ultimate life form he partnered with black Doom the leader of a hive mind alien species called black arms as a contribution to Dr Gerald's research black Doom agreed to provide his DNA in the creation of shadow in exchange Dr Gerald will deliver to seven Chaos Emeralds to Black Doom 50 years later these emeralds will be used by black Doom to warp his Comet and his alien Army onto Earth beginning his invasion of the plan I guess Dr Gerald was desperate because I don't know about you guys but the name black Doom does not Inspire trust in me also can we talk about the fact that Dr Gerald literally made a deal with space Satan to try to obtain eternal life bad idea so yeah shadow moves forward to fight his space Daddy I don't know man his family tree is really messed up and while confronting the evil Overlord black Doom literally uses mind control to stop shadow in his tracks shadow gets up this act of defiance shows that he will no longer be held captive by his past the two eventually duke it out DBZ Style with Shadow defeating black Doom the world is saved once again by Shadow the Hedgehog past behind me Chaos Control with a black Doom defeated and his Comet destroyed our heroes on Earth celebrate Shadow's Victory however the final scene of the game reveals a more somber tone whether the intention of this moment was planned or just serendipitous this scene is an amazing depiction of Shadow's Newfound Independence foreign goodbye forever Shadow the Hedgehog [Music] in Sonic Adventure 2 Maria's farewell was Shadows first goodbye her wish his purpose her voice is conscience but this time it's Shadow bidding Maria farewell and not only her or the doctor but ultimately himself with a picture of Maria and Dr Gerald in his hand Shadow tosses the photograph aside letting go of his past on the ark his birthplace a new Shadow emerges the one that has always been there but has been caged by Fate's voice this Shadow is ready to embark on a new adventure a journey where he will Forge his own path and be guided by his own voice the Shadow the Hedgehog video game and its finale bolsters by current philosophical view of shadow in my opinion nothing encapsulates Shadow's character and philosophy better than Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was known as the philosopher with the hammer he earned this title through his incredible skill being able to break down well-established philosophies World Views and religions in Nietzsche's famous book beyond good and evil the philosopher goes over our need to move past the binary view of Good and Evil to Nietzsche right and wrong is really just a culture's opinion of how a person should behave rather than it being some kind of axiomatic truth we should all follow I'm gonna be honest with you guys I Tried reading the book for myself and I nearly had a stroke trying to understand what I just read but this book among his other works is regarded by many as crucial to understanding Western philosophy and modernity so if you want to check out the book for yourself which I highly recommend the link to that will be in the description below Yes dear Tunica human existence is less of a matter of doing what's right or wrong it's about pursuing and achieving Excellence Excellence above all is the goal Humanity should strive toward Society wants to pull people into mediocrity with its moral codes it's not about whether we should do it or not it's about whether we can do it or not Nietzsche urges us to rise above the norm and become something greater to become what he calls the Overman or the Ubermensch and Shadow the Hedgehog is this ubermensch it sounds crazy but trust me it'll all make sense hopefully in Nietzsche's philosophy the Ubermensch is the grounded ideal Humanity should strive toward to the philosopher religion especially Christianity had dulled the human Spirit the church has distracted the masses from reality but promising them an afterlife in heaven the Ubermensch rejects this otherworldly thinking he Embraces the present reality of Life fully with all its Joys and dangers instead of abiding by the moral standards of the herd or in gen Z terms the normies the Ubermensch creates his own values to live by these values serve the ubermench's pursuit of self-actualization of Excellence the Ubermensch recognizes that to live is to contend with life he's willing to confront and overcome the barriers within himself and the world in order to achieve his own goals it's generally agreed upon that Nietzsche defined this ability to overcome life's obstacles as the will to power it's in fully expressing this will to power that the Ubermensch is able to combat nihilism and give his own life meaning Shadow's main theme song and Sonic Adventure 2 shows us how he applies the will to power in his own life just listen to the lyrics Shadow is willing to subdue anyone and anything that gets in the way of his goals and it's in this pursuit of Excellence he'll find his untapped potential this journey of overcoming is a long road for him but he understands that by continually pushing himself he'll reach a new height of greatness that few will ever see in the song All Hail Shadow we see how Shadow views himself as someone to be worshiped besides being a self-gratifying title the verb Hale identifies Shadow as some kind of King someone of this status is known to have power and rulership he's described as a sort of higher being an ubermensch and that's just the title guys check out some of these lyrics foreign [Music] in typical ubermensch fashion Shadow believes that it is only through embracing suffering can we be truly free and find strength it is only through the will of the strong can there be meaning in life like Nietzsche Shadow doesn't believe in society's binary definition of Good and Evil it has no rules No Boundaries he doesn't Flinch at torture human trafficking or genocide not loyal to a flag or a country or any set of ideals the dude is literally called the ultimate life form an immortal being constructed by man but an ideal that man also hopes to obtain kinda like how Nietzsche hopes for Humanity to become the Ubermensch this is what shadow is or at least what he hopes to become with all that being said I don't want you guys thinking that this video is supporting Nietzsche's philosophy there are definitely some great takeaways but in my opinion there are flaws in this world view his criticism of Christianity makes some valid points but as a Christian myself I obviously disagree with some of his claims and yeah it can sound epic and cool to live life by your own rules but it's dangerous for most people being the Ubermensch is a sad attempt at fulfilling a power fantasy rather than it being an obtainable reality and despite Shadow being the ultimate life form his own pride and ego is his biggest weakness he's blinded by his own power and often finds himself playing into someone else's hand all I have to say is go read dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment and you'll see the dangers of living life by your own rules Yes dear now I know some of you guys watching this video are like is your brain a frog because the lapes of logic you made is something to be admired yeah fair enough and if chat GPT is any indication the whole premise of trying to fit Shadow into anichian box is fun but misleading defining Shadow is difficult because it seems that Sega doesn't even know how to do it with each game entry following Sonic Adventure 2 it seems that shadow Falls further away from what made him great for example in Sonic 06 Shadow out of All Peoples now working for gun the guys that killed Maria really Shadows potential among the rest of the Sonic cast has been squandered for a very long time he's been reduced to an edgy stereotype that lacks Direction and fails to live up to the amazing potential of what he could be of what he should be the character is a shadow of his former self but in a meta sort of way the mischaracterization of Shadow can actually give us greater insight into who he is or maybe I'm coping I don't know in the end at the root of his character Shadow will fight for what he believes in whether he's an experiment gone wrong a hero a villain good or evil in the end it doesn't matter he will always stay true to himself he will always be Shadow the Hedgehog it's beautiful the world will betray you Wi-Fi and all why risk your life for those who will persecute you later if the world chooses to become my enemy I will fight like I always have [Music] so what do you guys think of my analysis of Shadow have I totally misunderstood that philosophical Concepts in this video let me know your thoughts in the comments below I'd love to continue the conversation trust me there was a lot more to unpack with Shadow and I only touched the surface with my analysis so if you want to see more videos like this give this video a like and help support the channel and lets me know you guys are interested subscribe and hit that Bell icon if you want to be notified of when my next video comes out thank you guys again for watching until next time peace out