#but this is the sentiment that leads remakes to be hyped as better than original games

[beevean]

I didn't comment on the short because I found little reason, but this sentiment feels highly disrespectful

I'm not even a huge SA2 fan, but you can't deny that it was leaps and bounds above its predecessor in terms of cinematography and storytelling. I can assure you that everyone understood since the beginning how nightmarish the ARK incident was. If it wasn't because of the sporadic flashbacks Shadow got, or thinga like Lost Colony being shrouded in complete darkness... how about Gerald's diary? Him telling in fear that he's losing his mind? Culminating in the way he turning Shadow into a tool for the sake of his insane revenge?

There was no need for a flashy short to "get" Shadow's past. Its effects on him are visible.

Similarly, ShTH does a pretty good job in showing Shadow and Maria's relationship! In The Doom we see the day of the raid, and Shadow can help Maria rescuing the researchers! Maria mentions running on slopes with him! In Lost Impact Maria asks Shadow for help against Artificial Chaos on the loose! Don't you think it's enough? Did you need to see her caress his cheek as confirmation that they cared about each other?

Shadow's story was already cemented. He already went forward. The short was cool, but aside from adding Emerl into the vision (whether it was real or BD's hallucination we don't know yet), it didn't do anything new that 20 yo games didn't already do.

I don't like this sentiment at all. SXSG will be a nice treat, but it was never necessary for Shadow's character, by far the most fleshed out in the cast precisely due to the heavy lifting of old games like SA2, ShTH and '06.