Takashi Iizuka Has Revealed Original Sonic Generations Designers Return for New Content in SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS

Iizuka has also revealed there will be no guns and no Chao Garden in SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS. The interview details further how Iizuka has been involved in shaping Shadow’s character in the third Sonic movie.

Your teaser art features a lot of reference to Chaos, the colourful creatures from the classic Sonic Adventure games. This has led to speculation you could be reviving the Chao Gardens mini-game…

Thank you for bringing this up, because it is something we want properly communicated so that there’s no confusion! There is no Chao Garden in Sonic X Shadow Generations.

There are Chao that appear on the key visual and art work, and the reason is because there’s a Chao Rescue gameplay feature. For those who played Sonic Generations already, there is additional gameplay through this feature. But just to be clear, there’s no Chao Garden in this game.

Will we see Shadow pick up his gun again, or is that a period of history you’re not keen to revisit?

Yeah, in the games Shadow did use a gun. But when we talk about Shadow, he would use whatever he needed in the moment to get the job done. So he would pick up a gun or ride a bike in order to get the job done – he’s that kind of character.

But he’s also extremely powerful on his own and doesn’t really need a gun or anything because he can do it himself – he is a weapon. So as long as there’s no need for Shadow to use a gun, he will probably not use one.

Does he need a gun in Sonic X Shadow Generations?

No. (Laughs)

Shadow will have a starring role in the Sonic 3 movie out later this year. You’ve not officially announced who’s voicing him, but could you tell us what qualities you looked for when you cast that role?

Shadow is in Sonic 3 and when I worked with the movie team to make sure the characters were portrayed appropriately, what I wanted to focus on was the personality and attitude of Shadow.

Even if we’re moving into a different medium, I wanted to make sure that Shadow felt really true to the character. So as a character advisor on the movies, I did want to work with the creators to make sure that Shadow still felt like Shadow in the movie.