Highlights

  • Sonic Superstars could be adding Shadow the Hedgehog as an alternate costume for Sonic, rather than a separate playable character.
  • The game is set in the past and features classic versions of the characters, which limits the inclusion of characters from the modern era, like Shadow.
  • The discovery of internal files and translations suggests that the Shadow costume could be Classic Sonic wearing a onesie that resembles Shadow, rather than a fully playable version of Shadow or a complete model change for Sonic.

A Sonic Superstars dataminer claims the game will be getting Shadow the Hedgehog, albeit strictly as an alternate costume instead of a completely different playable character. Sonic Superstars is the latest 2D game in the franchise, which gives fans the ability to play as not only Sonic, but also his friends, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. Not only are these characters fan favorites that many wanted to play as again after a decade of strictly being only able to control Sonic, but they also wanted to use their unique abilities too.

Sonic Superstars takes place exclusively in the past, as indicated by the use and designs of the classic iterations of the characters, set before the events of Sonic Adventure. As such, this immediately put a bar on characters Sonic has met in the modern era, like Shadow the Hedgehog, from appearing in the game. Despite this, elements of the modern Sonic games have been included in Superstars, such as an alternate skin for Classic Amy that has her wearing the same dress she has worn since Sonic Adventure. It seems another modern element is being added to the game based on Shadow, albeit as a skin for Sonic instead of a unique playable character.

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This discovery was made after a new free DLC costume was added to Sonic Superstars. Twitter user Axanery looked through the code after datamining the update for Sonic Superstars to support this costume, finding internal files referring to "Shadow" as well as "IHOP Amy." While they believed it was initially a playable version of Shadow in Superstars, further digging reveals that the name refers to it as "Shadow Costume Sonic" internally.

Further digging of this internal data reveals other translations of this potential DLC costume, which refer to it as Sonic being in a costume modeled after Shadow the Hedgehog. As such, Axanery came to the conclusion that the most likely result of this DLC costume would be Classic Sonic wearing a onesie that makes him look like Shadow instead of being a fully playable Shadow the Hedgehog or changing Sonic's model to be Shadow. This isn't likely to be a surprise, considering Takashi Iizuka's past statements regarding Shadow's absence from Superstars. These costume possibilities, however, should be taken with a grain of salt until Sonic Team and Sega state otherwise.

Despite Shadow's fluctuating characterization and personality, with some changes in recent years that have been divisive among fans, Shadow the Hedgehog remains an ever-popular character in the franchise. Many people want to play as Sonic's red-and-black rival again in a mainline game and many are excited to see him on the big screen, as Shadow will be headlining as the antagonist of the third theatrical Sonic film.