Shadow the Hedgehog's voice actor, Jason Griffith, revealed that Sega once considered an M-rated version of the 2005 game "Shadow the Hedgehog," featuring hours of recordings with Shadow using the F-bomb. These recordings were made during the game's development, but ultimately, the game launched with an E10+ rating. Griffith shared the anecdote at MomoCon, describing how he recorded lines with explicit language as Sega was exploring different content ratings. Although the final game contains some milder curse words, the explicit recordings remain unreleased, and their existence remains unconfirmed.

Did Sega originally intend for Shadow the Hedgehog to have an M-rating?n

Yes, Sega initially considered an M-rating for Shadow the Hedgehog and had voice actor Jason Griffith record explicit versions of the character’s lines. However, the final game was released with an E10+ rating.

Shadow the Hedgehog, released in 2005 for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, deviates from the typical Sonic series by introducing darker themes and more mature content. The game allows players to use firearms and navigate a branching storyline, resulting in multiple endings. Despite its mixed reception, Shadow, first introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, remains a popular character. Recently, Sega has increased focus on Shadow, signaling his appearance in the upcoming "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" movie and additional game content, making 2024 the "year of Shadow."