Shadow is an anthropomorphic black hedgehog appearing in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series of platform games and its various spin-offs. He first appeared in the 2001 installment Sonic Adventure 2,[4] the final Sonic game released for a Sega video game console.[5] His roles in the games vary. Some, such as the main series games Sonic Adventure 2,[5] Sonic Heroes (2003),[6] and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) feature him as a major playable character,[7] and he is the protagonist of the spin-off Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) and a downloadable content (DLC) package for Sonic Forces (2017).[8][9] Others, such as the anniversary game Sonic Generations (2011), limit him to a non-playable role.[10]
In the games, Shadow is depicted as a mysterious, sharp-witted, and brooding antihero.[11][12][13] While his ultimate goal is to protect the world from danger,[11] he dislikes humanity,[14] and once he has set a goal, he does whatever it takes to accomplish it.[11] This often causes him to take risks without thinking them through and puts him at odds with series protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog.[15] Although a loner, Shadow collaborates with treasure hunter Rouge the Bat and robot E-123 Omega in games such as Sonic Heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sonic Forces.[6][16] Shadow allies with Sonic in some games,[12] but also does so with Doctor Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog.[8][17]
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