History Trivia / ShadowTheHedgehog

** First and foremost, the game was going to be even edgier. Sega wanted the game to be one age rating up from previous ''Sonic'' games, which at the time development started was T for Teen. However, when the ESRB introduced the Everyone 10+ rating between Everyone and Teen, Sega toned down the game to fit the new rating. The changes made as a result of this included
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jjxFpclbnM The original intro was slightly different and actually showed a soldier getting shot.]] The finalized intro cut away from the soldier being shot down. The reflection of Maria in Shadow's eyes at the start was also removed.

*** There was a lot more swearing, including Shadow saying "Just what the hell was that all about?" in the opening cutscene[[note]]changed to "Just what was that all about?" in the final version, but the lip-sync is still for the original line[[/note]] and Sonic saying "I'd hate to ''piss'' off G.U.N."[[note]]changed to "I'd hate to ''tick'' off G.U.N." in the final version[[/note]] In the final game, Sonic only swears once.

* CreatorKiller: This is the last platforming ''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]]'' game to involve Creator/YujiNaka, who departed Sega a few months after the game hit store shelves. Both it and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' worsened the issues confronting ''Sonic'' and led to Creator/{{Dimps}} taking over partial control of the franchise, and Naka has remained in the background in his career since.

* FollowTheLeader: The primary reason ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' exists is because of the changing landscape of video games in the era it debuted in. UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames saw shooters on console ''explode'' in popularity between games like ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', and the first ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty1''. Shifting demographics also meant gamers had largely turned against the mascot platformers of the [=90s=], demanding more "mature" games (often with guns) over brightly colored, lighthearted affairs. Sega even got letters outright asking them to let Sonic shoot things in his games. They were naturally hesitant to give their mascot a gun, and compromised by letting his rival use one. Ultimately, the game received mixed reviews as some fans found the game [[{{Narm}} utterly hilarious]], [[CriticProof though it did sell pretty well]].

** Creator/{{Sega}} is really not fond of referencing this game, with it mostly getting passing mentions in supplementary material. Only three games, ''VideoGame/SonicRivals'', ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' and ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'', reference the events of the game, but the first two were made around the same time (2008) and in the west, and ''Frontiers'' only mentions the Black Arms in optional message logs. That said, Sega appears to hold the soundtrack in nice regard, with a remix of Westopolis and the menu select theme appearing in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' and the main theme being played as part of the ''Sonic'' 30th Anniversary concert.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Fans will often cite that the Japanese version of the game is uncensored, complete with Maria's original death scene in the intro and enemies spewing red blood. That isn't true; Japan received the same version other countries did.