Shadow the Hedgehog is “not Vegeta in any way,” and is “not friends with Sonic,” his creator says

Shadow the Hedgehog’s creator, Takashi Iizuka, has shut down the comparisons of his dark hero and Dragon Ball’s Vegeta, noting that he’s “not that kind of character,” and he doesn’t want him to be.

At Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to sit down with Sonic creative officer Iizuka – as well as Sonic x Shadow Generations game director Katsuyuki Shigihara and producer Shun Nakamura – to talk about all things Shadow, as well as Sega‘s upcoming high-speed platform game. Via interpreter, Iizuka tells me Shadow is his favorite Sonic character, largely because of his “tragic backstory” which makes him “interesting and compelling,” but I was curious to find out if, as his creator, he felt fans have interpreted Shadow in a different way over the years than how he originally expected or intended. The answer? A resounding ‘yes.’