9 Video Game Sequels That Took Away Your Favourite Character

5. Shadow The Hedgehog - Sonic The Hedgehog

A Sonic the Hedgehog game without Sonic the Hedgehog?

Well, when the whole world was trying "gritty sequels" and all-round Matrix-inspired twin pistol action, Sega had to try somehow.

Sonic certainly wasn't going to work in this realm of mid-2000s 'tude, so Sega created "Shadow the Hedgehog".

Did It Work?

To some, who were the right age to respond to this marketed middle finger in the right way, yes. A black and red-skinned Sonic just looks cool in a surface-level kinda way, and better yet, he could fire machine guns.

What's really bizarre outside of a company cashing in on trends though, is this remains the most story-heavy Sonic game ever. We're talking Shadow as an amnesiac protagonist, flashbacks to kidnappings and government agents firing guns at targets you'd only identify later on. There are 326 branching story points here, with a ton of different endings depending on choices made at every turn.

If you grew up with Sonic and had matured past the age of 13, Shadow likely fell flat. However, for an entire generation looking for gritty mature experiences that got them, man, Shadow was pretty special.