Sonanoid is based on the simple concept of Arkanoid. Wow. Use a ‘bat’ and ‘ball’ to hit blocks etc in the air. How… Fun… Zzzzzzzzz… I’m being a jerk obviously – actually Sonanoid is quite addictive, and H Hog has produced a rather fun game with a lovely Sonic twist. Gone are the usual blocks from other brick-busting games, and in come original Sonic items.
Of course, any good Sonic game isn’t complete without a story. The story here is that Eggman has captured Sonic, at long last. The blue blur escapes from his clutches, but turns back and goes on the offensive – vowing to stop Eggman’s world domination plans once and for all.
The game isn’t as repetitive as you might think – you’re not exactly doing the same thing in each level. At the start of the game, you just need to reach the goal marker at the top of the screen, but in later levels you need to collect all of the items before completion. And this can make for some evil levels, like Magma Mountain Zone (where the enemies are near the bottom)! But come on, you gotta have some nasties for a game, right?
The reason for the pretty cool diversity in levels is due to the storyline. In one scene, you chat to Knuckles and that leads to a level where your goal is to grab the Master Emerald. Pretty simple stuff, just stages that follow the story really. Goodie wise, there is a password screen, which if you type in the right word can award you with a special event.
And how about this trick, just revealed to me by H Hog himself: if you move to the left instead of following Eggman at the start, and run past Knuckles, you’ll find a secret level select. To be quite honest, that was fairly obvious anyway, but it’s great that H Hog has managed to add in these special little touches, no matter how obvious.
This is the first fan game I have reviewed, and it is very good indeed. H Hog can do well making Sonic games, with these extras he adds to improve the gameplay. Hell, he can even get away with a Sonanoid sequel if he had the right material and more ideas that could better this one. Top game H. Love it.
Developer: H Hog
SFGC Score: 7 out of 10
Tips & Cheats
Level Codes:
To enter these in, just go on Application, then Password. Type in the following codes for the corresponding levels:
Emerald Hill Zone: grassy
Hydrocity Zone: bubble
Magma Mountain Zone: lava
Special Zone: starpost
Ice Cap Zone: icicle
Neo Death Egg Zone: scramble
Secret Level Codes:
Partly because I figured it out accidentally the first time I played it, and also due to H Hog’s release tips that he gave to me, you can indeed skip unwanted levels. At the start, where you see Eggman running off to the right, don’t follow him. Instead, run over to the left, past Knuckles, and now you can click on the relevant bat to play a certain level.
Special Outtakes:
H Hog set up his own special movie of outtakes, he was probably killing time (or Sonic, several times) in this matter. If you want to see it the conventional way, you need to complete the game with at least 10,000 points in the bank, and with the last level losing you 5 points every second you take, you’re not gonna get that using the level select in a hurry. The other way is to type in this password: ‘h hog’ . Obviously without the ” before and after, but make sure you have the space between the two ‘h’s. Now you can laugh yourself silly.