10 EXACT Moments Video Games Lost The Plot
2. Shadow Gets A Gun? - Shadow The Hedgehog
If ever there was an example of a mega-successful video game franchise struggling to make the jump from 2D to 3D gaming, it's the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Going from a series that was right up there with Super Mario, the demise of Sonic the Hedgehog series began with the likes of Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R on the Sega Genesis and Saturn but hit rock-bottom with 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog.
The moody rival introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog was designed to be a more mature, gritty entry to the series. Given that the series was built off of plenty of bright colours and a cute blue hedgehog, it was a strange departure for Sega to make, but quite how far they were willing to go in order to hammer these themes home shocked the entire gaming world.
Right from the opening cutscene, players can tell this was something where Sega had taken their creative brains too far, with Shadow slowly walking into the shot like a wannabe John Wick bizarrely cocking an MP5.
Shadow the Hedgehogs's use of literal submachine guns in a series primarily known for its family-friendly accessibility was one of the most controversial decisions Sega have ever made, and the game's poor reception would kickstart the lowest point in Sonic's history.