#lost impact

It doesn't make the task of finding the exit that much easier (I blame the two same-looking corridors, one a dead end with wounded scientists and the other with the goal), but it's a neat detail acknowledged in-game.

Still, Lost Impact >>>>>

Yes, it does! There are some rooms solely dedicated to showcase the maps, for example near the beginning.

Also this one, where soldiers burst through at the beginning

If you enter this room with Black Doom, he states that there's a traitor on the ARK, which has baffled me ever since I discovered it. You can't just reveal lore like this in a random ass room, game!

Lost Impact also has an in-built map! There it is at the beginning, you even get a pointer of your position, but the camera doesn't zoom in like in TD:

And this graphic of the ARK, for some reason lol

Right now, he was walking back to the 501st barracks after leaving the bar in a bad mood. Such as he was walking by an alley, someone grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him in.

Quickly relaxing his hand against the person forearm, Impact twisted his wrist, causing the person to let go off him and for him to grab their wrist.

Pulling the person against him and thrusting his knee up to meet their stomach proved futile as the attacker twisted and waved their wrist (who was letting some time of gas) in front of his face. Coughing and becoming blind for a second, Impact let go of them and stubbled back.

However, the mysterious attacker grabbed him and pulled him against them. While trying to get of their (strong) grip, Impact felt something pick at his neck.

Gasping quietly (although he doubts that the person didn't hear him) Impact attempts of getting free became more erratic as the person held him tighter.

Soon enough, the commander started to slow down, to lose strength, to become more sleepy.

First of all, not related to Lost Impact as a stage, but I have a severe pet peeve with the cutscene before it:

This is not Shadow admitting he’s a candy-stealing asshole because he’s Just That Edgy. It’s a translation error! The “which” refers to the implicit “it’s easy like taking candy from a baby”, not to the comparison itself. This was a seriously mangled sentence, but it’s easily comparable with the Japanese version. So yes, mock it all you want for sounding stupid and because Shadow turned off his braincells, but mock it for the right reasons, Shadow has never stolen a candy from a baby nor does he endorse it >:(

(between this and Sonic’s “we’re on our way to the ARK, so I guess that means we’re going too” from the previous cutscene, it looks like the translator had a bad day...)

Anyway, off to the actual level.

This is one of the two stages that have, for lack of a better description, an unbalanced set of missions: there are only a Neutral mission and a Hero mission, with the Dark one missing. It’s the mirror image of The ARK, which only has a Neutral and a Dark mission. Keeping our analysis focused on Lost Impact, it makes perfect sense:

first of all, from a meta standpoint, you reach this point by being mostly/consistently good, so it would be jarring to turn “evil” at the last second;

secondly, unlike The Doom, Shadow’s flashback is natural, therefore his memories and thoughts are for once free from Black Doom’s or Eggman’s influence. This also can be seen as proof that, if Shadow is not corrupted by external forces, he’s a genuinely good guy at heart - even his Neutral mission is described as checking on Prof. Gerald, not escaping. Very heartwarming, and it ties well to how the Last Story, where Shadow is unquestionably a hero, is the canon one.

Lost Impact takes place during an incident with the Artificial Chaos escaping the laboratory and wrecking havok on the colony. While nowhere near as horrible as the G.U.N. raid, it’s still a stressful, potentially dangerous situation... and once again, the music doesn’t fit at all.

However, the vibes are completely different from The Doom’s theme. The latter is cold and clinical, with steady synth drums, representing the ARK as a place where scientists work for the betterment of mankind and that did not deserve to be assaulted; Lost Impact’s music, however, is nostalgic, sweet and melancholic, dominated by a piano, strings and chimes, and with an erratic drumbeat. It’s Maria’s theme: the theme of a sick girl who nonetheless was full of hope and love, that Shadow cared very much for. She’s your only ally here: of course the music is dedicated to her.

Despite the Artificial Chaos supposedly being “on a rampage”, the atmosphere is one of the most tranquil in the game. No lasers, no aliens, no war... in fact, this is one of the only two levels in which the G.U.N. soldiers don’t attack Shadow, the other being Westopolis. Of course they don’t: this flashback takes place during the halcyon days of the ARK, Shadow is not a target yet, and it’s possible that G.U.N. had a friendly working relationship with the scientists aboard the ARK and the Ultimate Life Form. Which just makes The Doom and its extremely aggressive enemies hurt even more...

(it also makes the lack of care in the enemies’ A.I. hurt even more, but that’s another matter)

And to round up the comparisons with The Doom, it's worth pointing out that you can't play both of these stages in one path. If you get to the point where Black Doom forces Shadow to relive the day Maria died, he won't be able to remember the peaceful life with her before tragedy struck, and viceversa. The two flashbacks have vastly different purposes: one was to corrupt (although you can still steer Shadow the right way), the other is to quietly reminisce before the final fight, or before Shadow discovers something he would have rather not known...but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Now, unlike The Doom which shows an event we already saw before, we can't know what really happened during the Artificial Chaos rampage. Did Shadow stay behind to help, or did he prefer to leave matters in the soldiers’ hands and go find Gerald? It's possible that both events happened one after the other, but for gameplay reasons, in the level the missions are mutually exclusive. What’s interesting are the stages, and the endings, both missions send you to.

Shadow can remember that he ignored Maria’s pleads and went straight to the Professor - in gameplay terms, the Goal Ring. By not going the extra mile, Shadow separates himself from Sonic, and has a painful encounter with the G.U.N. commander, who reveals the awful truth: Shadow was created by Black Doom, and the raid in which Maria died happened because he was created in the first place. This is a huge hit to his entire sense of self-worth, and he develops a big guilt complex, as if it was his fault he was born. He’s forced to traverse the collapsing ARK, his old home falling apart like his convictions: depending on who he helps, he either decides to exiliate himself aboard the ARK, or...

There is no good fate for Shadow if he remembers giving in to his callousness.

(side note: this also happens if you lose the race against Sonic in Space Gadget, which I find darkly hilarious. Either you win or you give in to existential dread, Shadow!)

It’s a completely different story if Shadow did, in fact, make the effort to hunt down all 35 Artificial Chaos to make Maria happy (and what an effort it is). He remembers Maria’s death, but for once it’s not in a “the horrible humans hurt me and they shall pay” way: the focus is on how she asked him to make everyone happy, a promise he has held dear ever since the ending of SA2. Shadow sticks with Sonic on landing, and both of them teleport to the Black Comet, with the Black Arms to their last legs and ready to face the big boss Black Doom. No G.U.N. soldiers or mechs in sight, because, aside from the fact that the aliens are losing big time, Shadow is at peace with humanity. Not only that, but he is completely confident in himself and who he is: he hasn’t given in to Black Doom’s manipulation, he did not delude himself to be artificial, and he does not feel guilty for existing. Even the music is oddly vibrant and upbeat for being a final level theme: it’s not about the epic showdown that is going to take place, it’s about Shadow’s state of mind. He’s Shadow the Hedgehog, he has finally accepted it, and he’s going to keep the promise he made to Maria.

... or he can turn into an asshole to flex on Sonic. Everyone has their coping mechanisms I guess :V

Also, random trivia: Maria has a very odd idea of “cute”.