Description This hack aims to be a different take on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with new power ups to be used for each zone. Since this is a demo only Emerald Hill Zone is playable, but there will be more levels added in later releases. Features - "New" power ups added with improvements (Pogo Spring, Rocket Shoes, and Snowboard) - Some tutorial boxes added guide players with the usage of the powerups - Pause menu added - "Pinch" mode added to the boss - New palettes for the levels (with the player's palettes adjusting to the mode of the level) - New stage layout recreated from scratch - New music added to Emerald Hill's and Invincibility's themes - Lives system changed to be based off of rings Screenshots and Media Spoiler: Screenshots Tools and Assets Used - SonLvl by MainMemory - xm3smps by Nineko - Sonic 2 Clone Driver v2 by Clownacy - Sonic 2 2007 disassembly and SonMapED by Xenowhirl - S3K custom item box sprite sheet and the Chaotix sprite sheet rips by Doc Melonhead and Techokami - Sonic Rush misc items sprite sheet by Flare - Sea Gate midi by Keoro Download
This was executed pretty well, but from a game design standpoint I'm not much of a fan of the power-ups. The spring completely changes Sonic's move set into something I find less fun and less capable of interesting gameplay as Sonic's base move set. The physics which Sonic is bound by and the option to roll are what gives the Genesis Sonic games depth and the spring replaces that with just basic platforming. The option to do a higher jump isn't complicated in the way the option to roll is. You just jump higher when you see a high ledge you can't reach, whereas the choice to roll has a number of advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation. What makes it worse is that the choice is made for you because of the indicators telling you when to use the high jump. They make sense during the tutorial, but otherwise it should be up to the player. Sonic 4 Episode 2 does the thing where there are indicators everywhere the team moves are needed, and it felt patronizing in those instances and removed the sense of freedom to use those moves. The rocket shoes have the same issue of lacking depth. The snowboard is something I see more potential in because it works with physics the same way base Sonic does. I can imagine it adding being used for an auto-run obstacle avoiding section where it can give Sonic the speed to reach new places at the cost of that speed making enemies more difficult to dodge. I only encountered the snowboard once so I don't know exactly how it works as it is now. I know these power-ups originate in Sonic Chaos, but I feel like the limits of the Game Gear made Sonic's base gameplay simpler anyway and there were less options for spectacle, so the power-ups were useful for changing up the gameplay. The boss pinch feels like a "leap of faith" type of situation where it's easy to do a high jump into the boss because a lot of it is off screen. Aesthetically, this is pretty good. I like the new sprites, especially the rolling rocket shoes animation. The spring bouncing animation could be edited to look more accurate the game's other springs. The music isn't too great and I think there's a note in the melody that is the wrong pitch. The palette is nice, and it would be cool if the lighting of the level influenced Sonic's palette in every level. I can't really judge the level design because I don't think the power-ups allow for the sense of flow that characterizes good level design.
