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Did we notice something in here, or are we just trying too hard?
Continue reading Is This a Reference? Sonic 2 Trailer EditionKnuckles’ reveal in the new Sonic Movie 2 trailer was, for many, one of the best moments seen in the trailer. There were very few complaints about how Knuckles looked, acted, and sounded. And thanks to director Jeff Fowler in a new interview, now we know why Sonic Movie’s interpretation of Knuckles ended up this way.
Continue reading Sonic Movie 2 Director Jeff Fowler Says Idris Elba “Absolutely Nailed” Voicing KnucklesAs all but confirmed, the newest Sonic game, now officially titled Sonic Frontiers, had its first proper reveal at The Game Awards. It showcased both CG footage of Sonic running from mysterious robotic enemies, and some seemingly in-game environmental shots which definitely take things to a far more realistic art-style again.
Continue reading Sonic Frontiers officially revealed; out Holiday 2022, To Be Written by Ian Flynn [U]Nearly seven months since it wrapped filming, Sonic 2’s trailer has finally arrived, debuting at The Game Awards. The 2-minute-18-second trailer gives us our first taste of what’s in store for Sonic’s big screen debut.
The trailer has got a lot to offer. There are plenty of references to the games, such as Sonic Adventure. The Master Emerald and its shrine is here, along with the Tornado, Tails, and of course, our first look at Knuckles the Echidna.
Watch it below!
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 features Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. It will debut in the US on April 8, 2022.
If you’ve been paying attention to our streaming schedule you already know about this, but we will be running a react stream for The Game Awards announcements tonight! Join GX and Nuckles87 as they patiently wait for the Sonic announcements!
It will run on our Twitch channel until sometime after both Sonic trailers have debuted. It will also be shown on both our front page and on SSMB. If you’d prefer to watch The Game Awards without our heavenly voices, you can do so here.
Games, the final Frontier.
Continue reading Next Sonic Game Confirmed to be Shown at The Game AwardsFlying in style.
Continue reading Sonic 2 Movie Poster Reveals Sonic’s Biplane, Trailer to be Shown at The Game AwardsTails is going to be getting something that is very rare in Hollywood video game adaptations: the same voice he has in the games. Instead of Tom Holland or Chris Pratt, Tails will instead be voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who has been playing the character in the games since 2014. This was just confirmed by O’Shaughnessey herself via her Twitter account.
Technically, O’Shaughnessey’s has already voiced the character on the big screen, via the first movie’s after credits scene. It was unknown if she would be asked to reprise her role, since it’s not uncommon for Hollywood productions to recast actors when their character is upgraded to a larger role in a subsequent movie. Now that she’s been confirmed, O’Shaughnessey now has the rare distinction of voicing a Sonic character across video games, movies, and television thanks to her role in Sonic Boom.
A trailer for the Sonic 2 movie is widely expected to debut soon. Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for that, and all the latest news!
The Sonic Movie social media channels have been busy this week. After launching a successful/chaotic Discord server, the Paramount marketing team has heavily hinted the appearance of a trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 within the next couple of days.
Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Movie Trailer Teased for Imminent ReleaseA Sonic Announcement has been teased for The Game Awards ceremony on Thursday December 9th… Could it be Sonic Frontiers?
Continue reading Sonic Announcement Teased for The Game AwardsA new official Sonic the Hedgehog website domain for Sonic Frontiers has been discovered, suggesting that a formal reveal could be happening soon.
Continue reading Official Web Domain Appears for ‘Sonic Frontiers’Amongst a host of new figures from the toy retailer JAKKS Pacific comes what all automata-aficionados have been waiting for – an action of the ultimate E-series robot, E-123 Omega!
The figure has been listed on UK retailer Smyths Toys website this week, amongst other figures in this and the next wave (wave 7 and 8) of the line, including Silver the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat.
Other than a figurine contained in the Sonic Battle Racers board game, this is the first action figure fans have seen of this much-loved merciless mecha; images of the (sizable) figure can be seen below:
According to the website, the figures are expected to be available in the UK around March 2022, however this might be earlier for those in the US.
We’ve been preparing for this moment for over a month now, and it finally arrived. The Sonic The Hedgehog balloon made its grand return to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade earlier today.
Continue reading Sonic The Hedgehog Returns To The Macy’s Thanksgiving ParadeAfter months of waiting, and a separate patch that dealt with the rainbow glitch, SEGA and Blind Squirrel have finally released a patch for Sonic Colors Ultimate on all platforms. According to the patch notes, the following issues have been addressed:
The patch isn’t very large: just 1.2 GB on PS5. So you don’t have to worry about this eating into your bandwidth or hard drive space!
Does this fix the wisp music glitch? Or the disappearing pipe textures? Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for future updates (and potentially our Twitch channel, where we will try to give the PS5 version a go shortly).
We’d also like to note that according to the Sonic Social media manager, another patch is on the way, so anything that isn’t fixed now will hopefully be addressed soon!
UPDATE: We streamed the patched version on our Youtube, which you can check out below. We’ve got a summary of what we found beneath the video:
What Seems to be Fixed:
What’s Still Broken:
So stuff still needs to be fixed. Personally, I am rather happy the audio glitches have been fixed. In my many hours spent with the game, that was by far the most common and annoying glitch I encountered. Glad to see that it appears to be gone!
Move over Macy’s balloon.
Continue reading Rumor: Is Paramount Implying a Sonic 2 Trailer This Thanksgiving?Numskull Designs have today launched pre-orders for a Sonic-themed scent, as part of a SEGA-themed line of fragrances!
SEGA Shop UK introduces the fragrance:
“A gorgeous, refreshing scent to your everyday life with this invigorating Sonic the Hedgehog ‘Blue Blur’ unisex cologne! Given the seal of approval from the famous speedy hedgehog himself, this cologne boasts an aroma of fresh citrus, a zing of grapefruit zest and exotic lemon and lime, topped with the scene of the ocean breeze and chilled melon fade. Take pleasure in the rich base tones of leather, suede, and cedar.”
SEGA Shop Europe
The fragrance joins a line which also includes Yakuza and Shenmue-themed scents.
The fragrance will hopefully be available in time for December, and is available for pre-order now for £29.99 – a great Christmas gift for any Sonic the Hedgehog fan!
Source: SEGA Shop Europe
Capcom today have confirmed that a update to Monster Hunter Rise which includes a Sonic the Hedgehog collaboration will release on the 26th November, 2021.
The announcement, via trailer, introduces players to some rather hillarious looking layered armour for you and your buddies to give you feline friend the appearance of Sonic, or your huge wolf dressed up in a Tails-themed “Canyne Tails” costume.
It also appears that the Sonic Gear armour has a Super Sonic mode as well.
Additionally, the trailer also features ring collectables, although there are no details on how these will be incorporated into the event quest.
Source: Capcom Youtube Channel
A trio of classic Xbox 360 Sonic the Hedgehog titles – Sonic Generations, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – will be enhanced on next-generation Xbox consoles thanks to the consoles’ ‘FPS Boost’ feature. The updates will take effect on all three games today.
Continue reading Sonic Unleashed, Generations and All-Stars Racing Transformed Gets FPS Boost on Xbox Series X and SSonic Forces lead antagonist, Infinite, looks set to finally feature in the mobile version of his own game. A community datamine of SEGA HARDlight’s Sonic Forces: Speed Battle suggests that the masked villain will be included as a playable character, some four years after the release of the 2017 console platformer.
Continue reading Datamine Suggests Infinite and ‘Christmas Silver’ heading to Sonic Forces MobileMediatonic announced today that a special Knuckles outfit for its manic multiplayer game Fall Guys will be made available for a limited time, ahead of the punchy echidna’s movie debut next year.
Continue reading Fall Guys Gets Limited-Edition ‘Knuckles the Echidna’ CostumeWell well, looks like we’re ever closer to the official reveal of the new Sonic game Sega teased earlier this year if this trademark is anything to go by.
Indeed, Sega has trademarked Sonic Frontiers both in English and Japanese back on October 22nd (you’re getting slow, fandom!), and this has happened a few times before. In the past, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors and Sonic Lost World for example had their trademarks registered and “leaked” not long before each were announced back in the day.
Via Gematsu.
SEGA Shop Europe have announced the latest character to join their TUBBZ rubber duckie line, SUPER SONIC!
The “Swanical” figure joins the Sonic TUBBZ line, which currently includes Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.
The duck is now available to preorder from SEGA Shop Europe for the “poultry” sum of £14.99, and promises to be out for Christmas, along with the incredible Advent Calender at the end of this month.
We already know what we are hoping for in our stockings this year!
Preorder link: Super Sonic TUBBZ
An expansive library for good price and cause.
Continue reading Humble Bundle Offers 11 Sonic games and Ocean Conservation for $10We’ll be the judge of that.
Continue reading Idris Elba’s Knuckles isn’t “Sexy” in Sonic 2 MovieIDW have released the full preview for Sonic the Hedghog #46, and we’re still on the road to the big 5-0. It may still be early on but it looks like our heroines are already hot under the collar! After a forest fire breaks out under mysterious circumstances, Amy, Tangle, Jewel and Belle need to put their heads together to work out how to save the people and animals in time. But can they do it without letting the friction get to them, and will we get more of an idea what’s lurking out of sight? Find out in “Trial by Fire”; part 2.
(W) Evan Stanley (A) Evan Stanley (CA) Ryan Jampole
The ROAD TO #50 continues here! Enjoy a TEN-ISSUE long adventure leading up to the EPIC SHOWDOWN in milestone issue #50.
This is not a drill! In “Trial by Fire,” part two by Evan Stanely, forest fire threatens the ecosystem and the campers-luckily, Amy, Tangle, Jewel, and Belle are there to help! The Heroines must overcome their differences and work together to save the day.
In Shops: Oct 27, 2021
SRP: $3.99
Sonic the Hedgehog #46 is due out in all good outlets on October 27th. If you want to keep up with the countdown to the showdown, make sure you don’t miss it!
Source: Major Spoilers
Sonic hacks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from character swaps, to whole new games, to things that use the existing physics and levels to do something completely crazy! Drmelon’s SNOLF goes for the latter, offering a very different spin on Sonic 2 as Sonic is now a golf ball. But is this hack a fun spin on Sonic 2, or is it too frustrating? The answer is both.
SNOLF: Tournament Edition basically turns Sonic 2 into a 2D golf game, with the end of the stage acting as the hole. You line Sonic up and take swings to get him through the stages. Each button acts as a different kind of club, so you can get weak to strong swings. Button A is a putter swing for light taps, B is regular, and C is a driver, which offers the strongest swing. To measure, you have a ring that goes left and right and then up and down so you can get the proper angle. You also have some control of the ball when it is rolling, but not in the air. Because of that, the are moments where you can’t get the momentum to go further, whether it’s rolling from the top of a cliff, or going straight up and down on a spring. When this occurs, the trick is to try and get a swing in mid-air to get a bit further. There’s also a multiplayer mode for up to four players in competitive and cooperative play.
Swatting Sonic through the Sonic 2 levels is both novel and frustrating at the same time. It took me a long time to get any good at this hack and I still had to just give up at Chemical Plant Zone Act 2. There are moments when it seems like it’s just near impossible to traverse any further, not to mention many moments where you can get stuck for tens of swings (I still don’t know how I managed to beat Robotnik in Emerald Hill). Many times, I felt like throwing down my controller in defeat. That said, there are some options to make your experience less frustrating. For example, you can set it to only do Act one of each zone so you don’t have to go against Robotnik.
After everything that’s been said, SNOLF is definitely something you should check out at least once. It’s difficult and frustrating as hell to play, but its unique challenge kept me coming back despite the times I wanted to toss the controller. It’s just crazy and unique enough to give it a go.
If you want Tokyo on your phone, get it soon!
Continue reading Sonic at the Olympic Games (Mobile) Online/Purchases Close in DecemberThere are plenty of ambitious mods at this year’s Sonic Hacking Contest, but Dash Adventure 2 is definitely among the more unique ones. This mod seeks to alter all of Sonic Adventure 2, turning it into a hypothetical evolution of what might have happened had SEGA gone with the rabbit character instead of Sonic back when they were searching for a mascot. While the most striking changes may initially appear to be superficial, Dash Adventure 2 has plenty of character and level tweaks that make it a rather unique way of experiencing this twenty-year-old game.
DA2’s most obvious change is, of course, its cast of characters. Instead of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, we’ve got Dash the Rabbit, Jabs the Kangaroo, and Bolt the Maned Wolf. On the villain side of things, Eggman is a professor instead of a doctor, and Dusk the Rabbit and Pikara the Owl replace Shadow and Rouge. All of their designs seek to mimic Yuji Uekawa’s art style, and they not only accomplish this effectively, but they all look great and fit in well as early 2000s mascot characters.
Don’t mistake these characters for mere reskins, though, because they each introduce brand new mechanics that, in some cases, significantly impact how the game is played. Dash can jump much higher then Sonic, has a drop dash in place of a bounce attack, and can double jump with the Y button, giving him a lot of aerial maneuverability. This allows for Dash to move through a level very differently, letting him pull off feats Sonic never could. Dusk, likewise, can also jump higher than Shadow, has an air blast that lets him shoot forward, and even has a unique spindash move that lets him move forward while its charging. Other characters have similar improvements in their jump height and aerial maneuverability, especially Pikara, who can outright fly. As cool as these new abilities are, however, they also give rise to…issues. For one, Pikara’s aforementioned flight ability isn’t really practical to use, since it requires holding both the Y and A buttons, which forces me to contort my hand. The abilities can also kind of…break the level design a little?
Perhaps the most obvious of these issues is the simple fact that Sonic Adventure 2’s levels were not designed with these abilities in mind. This means some levels are easy to break and cheat through, while others (primarily the speed levels) have certain design bits that don’t work as well. For instance, in City Escape, after running down the side of the building and hitting the springs, instead of reliably bouncing into the swing bar, it is now very easy to overshoot. It’s possible to maneuver into it of course, and none of these moments typically result in death or otherwise break the level, but it does interrupt the level’s flow in a way I don’t like.
DA2 is at its best in its handful of fully customized levels. While most of the levels have been significantly altered aesthetically, a few boast some notable design alterations. Metal Harbor (changed into Chemical Plant here) features some pretty major changes, including an opening bit of platforming that encourages heavy use of Dash’s double jump. That, combined with some new paths through areas, make this level among the best experiences currently available in the mod.
Speaking of the levels, the new looks they sport are also pretty nice…for the most part. I’m just not a huge fan of the look of Weapons Bed, which employs a lot of purple for the floor texturing. I also find the usage of classic Sonic level aesthetics in this game to be a bit odd. Why is Marble Zone being used for the Chao Garden? Why has Aquatic Mine been turned into Hydro City? It still looks nice, but given that SA2 was an even bigger visual departure from classic Sonic then SA1 was, I’m not sure why a hypothetical DA2 would utilize retro aesthetics outside of Green Hill Zone (which has been turned into Marble Zone here). This is something that would probably only bug a video game history buff like me, as when I sweep all that aside…I do rather like seeing these classic Sonic level aesthetics in SA2’s visuals!
Dash Adventure 2 was one of the mods I checked out last year, and while I found it curious I ultimately decided not to write about it. It has come a long way since then, and while it still has some issues, the sheer ambition on display here is wild. There’s a brand new soundtrack and new, well done voice work for each character. While it does currently have some issues, the mod as it is is still well worth checking out. I do hope the final mod features more level alterations, and maybe figures out a better way to map Pikara’s flight. But even if it doesn’t, I definitely intend to play the mod’s final release. Anyone who owns SA2 should at least give this a shot!
You can find the mod here. You can learn how to install it here.
To many die-hard Sonic fans, Sonic 4 is a game unworthy of its title, with a physics engine more closely related to Dimps’ DS past than the Genesis/Mega Drive trilogy. But what if Sonic 4 was a Genesis game? CHRdutch gives us a taste of what that might be like in this Sonic 1 hack which covers Splash Hill Zone acts 1-3.
Splash Hill Zone act one mimics the original Sonic 4 level fairly closely. There are some sacrifices made. Gone are the pulleys and rope swings and in their place are rotating platforms. However, it does have much of the original’s poor level design, including the lack of slopes, narrow loops, and completely unnecessary dash-pads. CHRdutch also does an impressive job trying to copy Sonic 4’s game play quirks into this Sonic 1 hack. When rolling into the air off a wall, Sonic will fly up with his arms stretched open and completely defenseless. Sonic also has a forward boost with a double jump. While there is no homing attack in this version, it can hit enemies when used right and works well for a quick boost forward. However, since this is a hack that still relies on Sonic 1 physics in some form, it doesn’t replicate Sonic 4’s physics, so you won’t find things like wall-walking here. That’s a nice improvement in my book, though.
While Splash Hill act one and act three are pretty faithful to the original, Act two offers its own original design. Keep on the upper path, and you can get to the goal quickly. Fall into the lower path, and you’ll be running underwater. Unlike Labyrinth Zone, it doesn’t feel slow and it won’t take too long until you can find your way out. It’s a well-done level. Also impressive is how well the original soundtrack comes over to the Genesis with little sacrifice. Now, from what I recall, Jun Senoue wanted to get the soundtrack as close to the Genesis sound as possible. Still, I’m surprised at how well remix composer LackOfTrack was able to bring over the soundtrack almost perfectly. At times, it’s exact.
Sonic the Hackable: Splash Hill shows both the flaws of Dimps 2D design while showing the strength of the Genesis Sonic’s physics. While not a perfect 1:1 port, the changes made are for the better. If you were wondering if Sonic 4 could work or even be improved on the Genesis, CHRdutch’s Sonic the Hackable seems to be a solid “yes”.
Sonic Hacking Contest has announced the winners for the more than 50 trophies up for grabs this year. The community, the contest’s judges, and the media panel (which included us!) got to vote for their own favorites. You’ll find a few familiar names, as we covered several of these games throughout the week. You can find that coverage here. And while the event may be over, and the winners have been chosen, stick around! We’ll be doing more SHC 2021 coverage over the next few days.
Sonic Hacking Contest has also confirmed its 2022 dates: October 10-16. You can find out more info about this year’s SHC, and what they have planned for next year, in the 2021 Winners newsletter here.
The winners for each of these votes are as follows:
TOP THREE RETRO (JUDGED)
1st – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
2nd – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
3rd – Sonic The Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell
TOP THREE RETRO (COMMUNITY)
1st – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
2nd – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
3rd – Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team
Best Retro Voted by Media Panel
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team and Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team
TOP THREE 3D (JUDGED)
1st – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
2nd – Sonic ’06 – Emerald Coast by Nonami
3rd – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj
TOP THREE 3D (COMMUNITY)
1st – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
2nd – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
3rd – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj
Best 3D Voted by Media Panel
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honorable Mention: Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
TOP THREE 2DPC (JUDGED)
1st – Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcNuggie
2nd – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
3rd – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
TOP THREE 2DPC (COMMUNITY)
1st – Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcNuggie
2nd – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
3rd – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Best Voted by Media Panel
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honorable Mention: Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Of course, there are far more SHC categories than just the best overall games. Games were competing in a variety of categories. For the complete list of winners for each available Sonic Hacking Contest trophy, look at the list below:
RETRO CATEGORY
Best Visual – Judged
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Best Visual – Community
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Best Audio – Judged
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell
Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Best Audio – Community
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Best Technical – Judged
Sonic 1 Blastless DX by vladikcomper
Best Technical – Community
Sonic 1 Blastless DX by vladikcomper
Best Level Design – Judged
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Best Level Design – Community
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Most Entertaining – Judged
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Most Entertaining – Community
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Most “WTF?!” – Judged
VTuber in Sonic 1 by ProjectFM
Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Most “WTF?!” – Community
SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Honourable Mention – VTuber in Sonic 1 by ProjectFM
Best Team Entry – Judged
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Best Team Entry – Community
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Best Multiplayer Entry – Judged
SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Best Multiplayer Entry – Community
SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Best Character Implementation – Judged
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition by E-122-Psi
Best Character Implementation – Community
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition by E-122-Psi
Honourable Mention – Big the Cat in Sonic the Hedgehog by E-122-Psi
Best Boss Design – Judged
Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Best Boss Design – Community
Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon
Most Potential – Judged
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Most Potential – Community
Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch
Most Improved – Judged
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch
Most Improved – Community
Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch
3D CATEGORY
Best Visual – Judged
Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Honourable Mention – Sonic ’06 – Emerald Coast by Nonami
Best Visual – Community
Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir
Best Audio – Judged
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Best Audio – Community
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Best Technical – Judged
Yoshi’s Island Zone DLC Restoration by DeaTh
Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Best Technical – Community
Yoshi’s Island Zone DLC Restoration by DeaTh
Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Best Level Design – Judged
Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Best Level Design – Community
Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Most Entertaining – Judged
Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Most Entertaining – Community
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Most “WTF?!” – Judged
Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir
Most “WTF?!” – Community
Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Best Team Entry – Judged
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs
Best Team Entry – Community
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir
Best Multiplayer Entry – Judged
Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs
Best Multiplayer Entry – Community
Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs
Best Character Implementation – Judged
Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Best Character Implementation – Community
Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir
Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu
Best Boss Design – Not Awarded in Judged or Community
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged
MISSION REPLACEMENT: SA1 Gamma-Timer Variant over Kill X Many Missions by Twilord
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community
MISSION REPLACEMENT: SA1 Gamma-Timer Variant over Kill X Many Missions by Twilord
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Most Potential – Judged
Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj
Honourable Mention – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27
Most Potential – Community
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj
Most Improved – Judged
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj
Most Improved – Community
Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer
Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir
2DPC CATEGORY
Best Visual – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Best Visual – Community
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Best Audio – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Best Audio – Community
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Best Technical – Judged
Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Best Technical – Community
Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Honourable Mention – SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa
Best Level Design – Judged
Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22
Best Level Design – Community
Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22
Most Entertaining – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Most Entertaining – Community
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Most “WTF?!” – Not Awarded in Judged or Community
Best Team Entry – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Best Team Entry – Community
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever
Best Multiplayer Entry – Not Awarded in Judged or Community
Best Character Implementation – Judged
SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa
Best Character Implementation – Community
SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa
Best Boss Design – Judged – Not Awarded
Best Boss Design – Community
Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged
Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community
Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic
Most Potential – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22
Most Potential – Community
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22
Most Improved – Judged
Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie
Sonic Mania… mania wasn’t as pronounced this year as it was previous years, but that hasn’t stopped many fans from bending this engine in cool, entertaining ways. The contest and expo have a handful of entries this year using the Mania base, and here’s how they stack up.
Submitted by campbellsonic
Mod Download Page
Mania as a game wasn’t merely about bringing back Classic Sonic. It felt fresh, surprising, and hard to match without a good eye for detail and willingness to add to the experience. Mystic Cave Zone achieves feeling like an actual Mania stage ripped from some fictional director’s cut, and it does so as a reskin of Press Garden.
MCZ Mania-fied captures the claustrophobic, winding, and threatening feel of the Sonic 2 original while speeding it up with some remixed sections and more opportunities to play with ramps and curves. The stage uses the classic icons of the level such as the lever doors, the spinning boxes, narrow moving platforms, and plenty of spikes, but reinterprets a few Mania elements in novel ways.
The best example of this is in Act 2. Where Press Garden has sprayers that freeze Sonic & company, MCZ Mania-fied has minecart dispensers that take you for a ride until you hit a wall or forcibly break it. Splats, the bouncing rubber stamp that emerge from inkwells, are now burrowbot spawning locations complete with warning sign. Finally, the boss at the end pits you against a giant burrowbot (graphically remixed from Eggman’s octopus robot from Oil Ocean) but with falling stalactite hazard above in place of the sinking floor below.
As a thorough reskin, MCZ Mania-fied is a fantastic remix on the source material and captures the Mania spirit. If you’ve got nostalgia for those purple and green depths, be sure to check it out. Also, hey, it has an Encore version too!
Submitted by CartoonsAnimate22
Mod Download Page
Lost Island builds an original game on top of the Mania framework, fully reskinning levels and characters. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have modified spritework, while Ray and Mighty have been fully replaced with Sonic X-treme’s Tiara (outfitted with Sonic 2 GG’s hang glider) and an original character, Millie, who resembles a Minnie Mouse take on Tails (if I’m wrong and this is some sort of established character I’m not familiar with, I’m sure the comments will correct me). The demo spans 7 zones, with 10 acts total among them.
The visuals and level design spark inspiration from a number of other Sonic games, though the strongest point of comparison is probably Sonic 1 for Master System/Game Gear. It even directly pulls the 8-bit exclusive Sky Base into its roster. The level reskins have a basic but still attractive aesthetic. Simple patterns make it feel a bit more flat than you’d expect from a 16-bit game. Not bad, but also not especially iconic or embellished.
I found Lost Island to be a cute but light experience. It trades Mania’s branching, frenetic action for an experience that’s very straightforward. I have a specific nostalgia for the sort of B-tier platformers that dotted the early 90’s landscape, stuff like Bonk and Cool Spot. Lost Island seems to scratch that itch: platforming that is pleasant, even if it’s not fancy or exciting.
Submitted by AChickMcNuggie
Mod Download Page
Sometimes a mod is just straightforward enough that you don’t have to explain much. Sonic 2 Mania is simply an attempt at recreating Sonic 2 within the Sonic Mania framework, and in that goal, it’s pretty faithful with a handful of additional visual flourishes, and only a couple places where you can see the seams of how X was reskinned to be Y.
The demo features both acts of Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruin, Hill Top, and in interpretation of the beta Wood Zone, Secret Woods. However, this demo does not include any bosses (new or old). Certain elements could not be fully reproduced, such as the growing pillars in Aquatic Ruin, but in the very few places it falters, it makes up in added background animations and remixed music. And you can play as Mania-perfect Mighty and Ray!
Submitted by ZachmanAwesomeness
Mod Download Page
Each year it gets harder and harder to stand out as a project whose aim is to reproduce classic Sonic’s preview and beta build elements. Sonic Vintage takes inspiration from other ROM hacks and attempts to bring some of these obscure beta elements to the Mania engine, offering a slightly different take on Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Flying Battery, and Stardust Speedway.
…Sort of. Of the four Mania mods I played this year, this is the only one that gave me technical trouble, and I was only able to play two of the four listed zones without issue. Flying Battery Act 1 would only load if I went to Act 2 (where my character died immediately after the stage loaded), and Stardust Speedway would cause Flying Battery Act 2 to load. I don’t know if this issue is unique to me, but I attempted a number of times in a number of ways, and was unable to access Stardust Speedway at all.
The mod has a couple of neat touches. Most notably, the level design of Chemical Plant was expanded. However, this isn’t a project about immediate noticeable changes. If you’re deep into research on Sonic pre-release builds, this might strike your fancy as a chimera of demos, prototypes, and Nick Arcade variants. But between the technical issues and generally subtle changes, it might be worth waiting another year to see how this develops.
Sonic 1’s earliest tech demo is something that has only been preserved in screenshots from game magazines, and was only ever shown publicly at some events in 1990. This demo featured many different backgrounds, enemies, and visual elements. Fans have long wanted to get a taste of what this old demo was like, and MCTravisYT and crew’s hack, Sonic Debut, gives us all a chance to live out that fantasy, by giving us a glimpse of what could have been if Sonic 1 had been produced with its earliest concepts intact.
The first thing of note is that Sonic looks and feels just a bit different here. MCTravisYT has put in new sprite animation to better represent the artwork of early screenshots. Also, Sonic is now more vulnerable in the way he jumps. One button press gets him to jump while a second rolls him into a ball. It’s not bad, but a little hard to get used to. I tend to forget that I can’t attack an enemy from below and end up getting hurt.
Speaking of getting hurt, there is a new life and damage system in Sonic Debut. Rings are now just coins. Fifty coins get you a new life represented by a star on the bottom-left screen. When you get hit, coins don’t explode out of you, but rather, you gain health by hitting monitors with hearts on them. The hearts are also numbered on the bottom left screen. On the plus side, this results in you not losing your coins when hit, so getting enough coins for an extra life is easy. However, it’s much easier to lose track of how many times you’ve been hit. Thirty years of losing rings when damaged is in my muscle memory, so it feels strange that one ring won’t save you anymore.
Besides new sprite work for Sonic, there are new Badniks about. One is a robot pig who shuffles to the side and drops bombs out of his belly while the other is a blue, gremlin-looking thing that looks more like a tooth-shaped monster than a Badnik. I call him a “Cavity-Creep”. The two returning Badniks include Buzz Bombers and yellow Choppers. The only other new obstacle is a large ball that rolls along, though it’s more in the way than a threat.
The level layout is very different, as it’s now more linear and a bit larger. That said, neither the upper or lower path seems to offer the player any advantage. The level design leaves a bit to be desired as there are a few instances where going too fast can lead to your death. There’s one spot that always seems to get me where I’m rolling and a spike trap comes up and bounces Sonic back and forth until he runs out of health and dies. It becomes a case of studying the level rather than having fun with it. Robotnik’s boss fight is different as well. There’s still a large wrecking ball on a chain, but now it’s separated from him. The boss fight is a bit more vertical and you have to use elevated platforms to attack him. It’s a fun change as it requires a bit more skill to finish Robotnik off.
That said, MCTravisYT’s Sonic Debut isn’t about its level design as much as it’s giving us a bit of a “What if?” in terms of looking at Sonic in his earliest form. When it comes to early Sonic, we only have screenshots to go by and Sonic Debut is a very interesting look at what might have been. If this was what Sega put out, would it still have been a huge hit? It’s hard to say. Still, it’s compelling to see someone try their hand at filling in the blanks with this entertaining Sonic hack. I’d recommend this to anyone curious about Sonic’s roots, or those who would enjoy a different take on a classic game.
You can download the mod here. Go to the Sonic Hacking Contest website for information on how to install the mod.
It seems like any Sonic Forces mods seeking to improve the base game’s content had hit on two solutions: increase level length, and up the fan service. If today’s entry proves anything, it’s that this is definitely a winning formula. Sonic Forces Re-imagined, a mod by Brandonj, significantly alters Arsenal Pyramid and Sunset Heights.
My biggest issue with Sonic Forces has always been rooted in the length of individual levels. Levels often felt like they ended just as they were getting going, which kept them from leaving much of an impression. Because the levels are so short, the levels themselves often didn’t have time to mix up or add variety to their design, or to iterate on game play ideas. Reimagined fixes this by doubling the length of these levels, giving them more room to breath, and they’ve never felt better!
Arsenal Pyramid significantly expands on the area outside of the pyramid itself. There are way more opportunities to mix and match Sonic and the avatar’s abilities to both move through the stage and deal with enemies. Quickly figuring out whether to use Sonic or the avatar’s abilities in certain situations felt great, and the way the level used both Sonic and the avatar to provide multiple paths and traversal options lends some nice depth to the stage that was missing before.
Sunset Heights got an even cooler makeover. While the start of the stage is largely unaltered, a whole additional portion has been added at the place where it typically ended. What follows is a series of side-stepping chase sequences as airborne Badniks try to bomb you. Then, you get to face Infinite’s Shadow apparition, as he pops up in several parts of the stage and tries to do damage to you. Finally, there’s an awesome and challenging rail grinding sequence, before the stage finally ends. Not only is Sunset Heights more satisfying to blast through now, but it also gives us the showdown with fake Shadow that the original game failed to deliver on.
This mod does currently have a few issues, unfortunately. The altered levels appear to be poorly optimized, resulting in a lot of frame rate issues on higher settings, something I don’t usually see on my PC. Arsenal Pyramid has a few spots in boost areas where I can accidentally get caught on geography or miss springs, though this is an issue can be avoided by remaining towards the center of the path while boosting. The gear platforms inside the pyramid itself also seem to be slow to move to allow progression.
These minor issues aside, Sonic Forces Re-imagined is pretty great. These level alterations are quite natural, and make them feel far more complete. I didn’t finish these levels wanting something longer or more substantive. I’m happy to see Sonic Forces becoming more popular in the modding scene, and I’m excited to see where this project (and Overclocked, which I wrote about earlier in the week) go. Superb work!
You can download the mod here. Go to the Sonic Hacking Contest website for information on how to install the mod.
I’m relatively new to the world of PC Sonic hacks. As I’ve never been much of a PC gamer, I never had much inclination to check out PC-only Sonic hacks until I decided to help cover last year’s Sonic Hacking Contest. Sonic ROM hacks are a different story, however. I’ve been exploring those for nearly a decade now, on my actual SEGA Genesis, through my Mega Everdrive or SEGA CD, as I’ve always loved the novelty of seeing these games running on my actual, ancient gaming hardware. I’ve played some true technical marvels over the years, but I don’t think any have impressed me quite as much as Vladikcomper’s Sonic the Hedgehog Blastless DX. An improved version of an April Fools hack released earlier this year, Blastless DX is a technological showcase with a fun premise: Sonic 1 has “lost” its blast processing, and the player needs to restore it.
Before getting into the game, I’ll explain exactly what “blast processing” is, in case you don’t know. It was a fancy marketing term SEGA of America used to highlight the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive’s CPU speed, which was faster than the Super Nintendo, making speedy games like Sonic easier to make on the machine (SNES devs did eventually figure out how to get around this limitation, but it did plague early games like Gradius 3). Faster CPU aside, however, blast processing was little more than a marketing buzzword, and a key part of this game’s joke.
So, what does Sonic 1 look like without “blast processing”? An 8-bit demake, apparently. The central goal of the hack is to restore “blast processing” by filling up a blast processing bar in the bottom right of the screen, and keep it from emptying until the end of the level. Doing this successfully will “restore” an act, and essentially replaces the chaos emeralds, which can’t be gathered here. The bar can be filled up by gathering rings, destroying enemies, and smashing breakable walls. The bar is emptied whenever damage is taken, downgrading the game’s visuals to less powerful hardware. It’s here where this hack truly shines.
In addition to the 8-bit Master System visuals, there are two lower rungs of visual fidelity, which are reached after taking damage. Getting hit in Master System mode will downgrade visuals to “Atari.” Not the Atari 2600/VCS you’re probably familiar with, but an Atari 8-bit computer (at least, I think, because I know VCS games never looked this good.) Get hit in Atari mode, and visuals are downgraded further, to the colorless, green scale Game Boy. If these visual changes weren’t enough, each graphics mode also has its own music track and sound effects.
These changes are instantaneous, which makes it all the more wild that this actually works on real hardware. I’m used to the more impressive hacks requiring PC emulators, and so the fact that this is all being done with a stock SEGA Genesis absolutely astounds me. And what’s even wilder? This is actually fun to play. It’s more than just a gimmick. It changes how I play the game, and it’s fun.
Because chaos emeralds are no longer in play and I have incentive to seek out enemies and breakable objects, I actively seek that stuff out in the level. The blast processing bar is constantly draining, so I’m incentivized to both try to get through a level quickly, and also clear that level out as thoroughly as possible. Taking damage also carries different penalties, since it can result in multiple visual downgrades, which makes filling the blast processing bar before the end more difficult.
And the visual modes themselves look and sound really cool. The 8-bit mode looks like an 8-bit demake of Sonic 1 that’s graphically taxing the hardware, with accurate looking sprite art and loads of sprite flicker for moving background objects. The accompanying music tracks sound like genuine downgrades, but are also kind of catchy in their own ways. The Atari mode is probably the least impressive of the graphical modes to me, though that might be because I’m not very familiar with how those games looked and sounded, but it at least looks noticeably different and less advanced visually. Game Boy mode is thoroughly impressive, bringing Sonic 1 down to something that does kind of look like something from the platform, albeit without much in the way of music.
Perhaps my only real issue with all this is that these modes do include some graphical issues that may or may not be intentional. The sprite flicker might be a little much, and I do wonder if that’s just the Genesis buckling under everything it’s being asked to do. In Game Boy mode, there are brief moments where Sonic himself will disappear. And with every downgrade, in-game text becomes more and more indecipherable. I didn’t find these issues to affect playability much, but if things like sprite flicker bothers you, this hack might not be for you.
On my Tuesday SHC stream, someone in chat told me Vlad is a magician when it comes to coding for the Genesis. It’s kind of impossible for me to disagree on that front. I don’t know how he did it, whether he really managed to get it to switch between multiple kinds of graphics, or if he employed some sort of visual distorter or filter. But regardless of whatever tricks he used, I find them truly impressive, and Blastless DX is easily one of my favorite retro hacks to come out of Sonic Hacking Contest 2021. Check it out!
Christmas has come early for Sonic fans!
SEGA Shop UK have announced pre-orders for a Sonic the Hedgehog Countdown advent calendar!
Designed by Numskull, the calendar allows sonic fans to construct a high-quality Sonic the Hedgehog figurine of Sonic sonwboarding his way through the Ice Cap Zone over the course of 24 days, with each door every day revealing a new part of the model.
If the images are anything to go by, this figurine looks absolutely phenomenal!
Pre-orders have now gone up on the SEGA Shop website, and you might want to hurry as we suspect this will be a very popular calendar indeed!
The calendars are expected to ship by the end of November.
To pre-order, follow this link: https://www.segashop.co.uk/collections/sonic/products/official-sonic-the-hedgehog-countdown-character
IDW have released the full preview for Sonic the Hedgehog #45, and we’re on the road to a big milestone for the comic…quite literally in this case! Amy is taking Tangle, Jewel and Belle on a well-needed girls-only break. But peace and tranquillity aren’t on the cards as tensions run high, and a tarot reading from Amy only exacerbates the situation with some very unsettling outcomes. Can the girls settle things down before this fiery situation gets out of hand? This is “Trial by Fire”; part 1.
(W) Evan Stanley (A/CA) Evan Stanley
The ROAD TO #50 starts here! Enjoy a TEN-ISSUE long adventure leading up to the EPIC SHOWDOWN in milestone issue #50.
ROAD TRIP!!! The girls; Amy, Jewel, Tangle, and Belle, are heading off on a well-deserved camping trip. Between Dr. Eggman, Dr. Starline, and the Deadly Six, life has been a bit stressful, so they hope rest and relaxation will bring them some peace. Unfortunately… tensions are high and Amy’s fortune card readings leave everyone feeling confused. Can the girls extinguish the awkwardness before it burns out of control? Find out in “TRIAL BY FIRE,” part one by Evan Stanley.
In Shops: Oct 13, 2021
SRP: $3.99
Sonic the Hedgehog #45 is out October 13th at all good digital and physical comic suppliers. Pack your bags, because we’re officially on the road to #50!
Source: Previews World
![Sonic Frontiers officially revealed; out Holiday 2022, To Be Written by Ian Flynn [U]](https://archive.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sonic-Frontiers-Video-Title-Banner-1080p-895x375.png)
