All are agreed that these toys are shadows of their former selves, for they have permanently lost their spark. Not even the Dream Turtles can help restore them again. They wander the realms of the Toy Box, seeking out the light which they can no longer possess. They are especially drawn to toys that are temporarily invulnerable due to the array of sparks surrounding them, as well as the ISOs, due to the spark reagent infused in the Crystallization process. The single touch of a Shadow toy brings instant nullification. The defeated toy re-assembles at the active Checkpoint, and yet the Shadow toy somehow defeats itself, never to return. Some theorize that this allows them to finally release their last pieces of system resource back to the virtual world of the Toy Box and that their nullification can be seen reflected in a subtle change to the Toy Box Meter.
Game mechanics:
Lots of RPGs have shadow monsters. The Crystal backstory helps explain Crystal action figures, and although the ISO nod to Tron: Legacy fits well on its own, it would make a good game mechanic to have the antithesis. Crystal figures seen white in the game, after being permanently infused with additional sparks, are contrasted with a shadow version of enemies (perhaps even characters) with no spark at all. It re-emphasizes the overall theme that the Toy Box is all about the spark of imagination, and it's fun to imagine the various ways it could be used in the game mechanics. It extends the idea of a single-hit defeat, offering another pseudo-boss to add into combat strategies. Adding all of these variants to the characters, Cast Members, & Enemies is somewhat similar to the customization of sky & terrain - they would be visually striking and help tell the story of a particular Toy Box. I'm not sure if it's possible on the current game consoles, but hopefully it's a consideration for Xbox One / PS4
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