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The character of Shadow was conceived by Takashi Iizuka,[1] director of Sonic Adventure 2, the game in which Shadow was first introduced.[7] The character was first shown to the public in a game trailer; however, his name was not revealed.[8] GameSpot described what little was shown as an "evil version of Sonic himself - similar in appearance, but with darker skin, more angled eyes, and a fearsome snarl instead of Sonic's trademark grin."[8] Takashi Iizuka said that they maintained the mystery around the character of Shadow the Hedgehog and had wanted to feature him in his own game since he was introduced.[9] After feeling that it would be inappropriate to give Sonic's character a gun as fans had requested in mailings,[10] Yuji Naka believed that by focusing on Shadow for his own game, they could use his different identity from Sonic to build upon the Sonic brand.[11] The character was featured as a guest announcer and performed other promotional work for the game's release during a wrestling show set up by the Japanese league, Pancrase, in December 2005.[10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu^?) is a supersonic hedgehog that can move faster than the speed of sound, with lightning reflexes to match (hence the name Sonic) and loves adventure. He acknowledges the fact that the Earth is just as cool and blue as he is. He is 15 years old, stands at 100 centimeters (3 ft 3 in), weighs 35 kilograms (77 lbs) and was born on Christmas Island. Artist Naoto Ōshima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character, a blue-furred, blue and-peach-skinned, green-eyed, anthropomorphic African pygmy hedgehog, who has the ability to move faster than the speed of sound and possesses the ability curl up into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series.

Sonic seems to have a holy or avatar-like position (despite, on most occasions, being unaware about his involvement in the future of the world he's saving), as many of his adventures in the series coincide with the fulfillment of ancient prophecies, specifically his involvement in Echidna legends (such as: the mural on Angel Island that depicts Super Sonic fighting Eggman/Ivo Robotnik for the Master Emerald).

STORY Rouge the Bat is always on the hunt for riches and she knows full well that if Dr. Eggman and Sonic are gearing up for a fight, there must be chaos emeralds at stake. This time she plans to beat them both to the treasure and when she receives a hot tip on where the glittering jewels might be stashed, she speeds to the site with a few beats of her powerful wings. She is disappointed to find the jewels gone, but she discovers a mysterious capsule that holds the likeness of Shadow. Could it be? Everyone thought he was dead. It turns out to be Shadow after all, only he is unconscious. Rouge switches on the power to revive him and unwittingly brings E-123 Omega to life. This final E-Series Omega robot is furious at being shut down by his evil maker and he immediately attacks Shadow, who has completely lost his memory. Rouge pulls them apart and reminds them that Dr. Eggman is the real enemy and Team Dark is quickly formed.