Sonic The Hedgehog KawariNo

Discussion in 'Showroom' started by MrLordSith, Jul 6, 2021.

  1. MrLordSith

    MrLordSith Has an obsession with Sonic 1 Alpha Member

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    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Sonic The Hedgehog KawariNo

    Sonic 1 KawariNo is a ROMHack for Sonic The Hedgehog that incorporates many content such as elements from our prototype, concept art, sketches, scrapped ideas, etc.

    Previously known as Sonic 1 Delta, the decision was made to make the hack stand out more from other Delta hacks and make it more unique, ending up in an entire and complete restart from scratch. This made the hack transform into a game that wasn't just adding prototype content, but also creating new ideas to make a (hopefully) new and fun experience for everyone.

    And after 6 months of development, the hack is ready to take the world by storm.

    Zones
    To start off, emeralds are no longer obtained via Special Stages, more on that later.
    Each act has unique art, not only to be able to incorporate different versions of that zone in different stages of development, but to also add a feeling of progression. Each act also has it's own music edits.

    The zones in this hack go as follows:
    Green Hill Zone is the perfect example of what I've explained earlier. It combines our prototype's version, a more earlier, conceptual version, and finally, TTS'.
    Act 1 starts off with the infamous Ball, of course.
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    After this, things begin to change. Act 1 is an extension of the original act 1 to use chunks from our prototype, and some new ones as well, to give a new experience.

    Act 2 expands this by adding even more prototype content, such as roulette monitors, Ball Hogs, foreground trees, brighter background, you name it.
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    Act 3 presents a more simple overall layout to match with TTS' very simple layout, but adds things like the enemy seen in magazines:
    [​IMG]
    Labyrinth Zone is now the second zone in the game. However, worry not, as it's been made easier. Not only that, though, check this little new feature out:
    [​IMG]
    Running out of air? Enter these air pockets, and your worries will be gone in an instant.
    This little rodent no longer needs air bubbles to avoid drowning. This means that Labyrinth Zone is now based less on waiting and more on actually being able to get through the level.
    Act 1 is pretty much a "revamp" of the prototype with some new layout bits to make things easier and better.

    Act 2 takes on a more conceptual version of Labyrinth with some new things here and there:
    [​IMG]
    Act 3 brings some new things to the table and mixes the prototype background with final's to end things off.
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    Welcome to Marble Zone. Watch your step if you want to keep your feet from being burnt, or if you want to keep your head from being smashed. The difficulty has ramped up since last time, Sonic will have to get through new elements such as the sided spike chandeliers from prototypes of the game, a concept enemy from the Nightmare World, the mockup platforms, you name it.
    The UFOs, the prototype lava, the prototype temples...
    Act 1 is basically our prototype's and WCES' Marble Zone, but changed up to feel different and new.
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    Act 2 represents an earlier and more conceptual Marble Zone:
    [​IMG]
    I also hope you like some speed, because act 2 has a bit of it.
    Act 3 is mostly new ideas, with a night background to end things off.
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    Star Land Zone is a revamp of our prototype's Star Light Zone, with improved layouts to have a better flow.
    Once again, act 1 is our prototype's Star Light but with some changes to make it a better experience and feel new.
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    Act 2 takes on the concept Star Light:
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    Jump on bubbles to get to new paths!
    Act 3 adds some bits from the next zone, Sparkling Zone, and uses more springs, speed and platforming from normal Sonic 1's Star Light.
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    Welcome to the Sparkling Zone. Lots of speed here, but be careful with what you touch, or you could run into a big wall of spikes. Featuring a lot of prototype content, such as the 'Let's Go' signs, the hand enemy seen in concept art, the infamous prototype background, and new things as well.
    Act 1 begins with a mix of our prototype's, WCES' layout and some new bits as well to make them all fit.
    [​IMG]
    Act 2, of course, takes on a conceptual version of the zone, featuring the hand enemy:
    [​IMG]
    Act 3 creates the transition between Sparkling Zone and Clock Work Zone.
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    Welcome to Clock Work Zone. I hope you're prepared, because things only get harder from here.
    Using a mix of our prototype's and final game's layout, Clock Work is an alternate version of normal Sonic 1's.
    Act 1 is dominated by Ball Hogs and Orbinauts, so be careful with bombs or spikes.
    [​IMG]
    Act 2 follows more closely early documents that showed Burrobots being in Clock Work. The background is also a nod to the prototype placeholder background, but with a bit of parallax to make things less boring.
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    Make your way out of Scrap Brain Zone! A different way to beat Labyrinth Zone 4, with bubbles being out of the way and air pockets being the focus here, you'll have to be fast enough to find one to save yourself.
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    The final stretch. Be careful with your step, destroy the alarms, and don't get crushed. There are now only 3 pillars instead of 4, as the concepts only had 3, but the pillars move much faster.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
    As I said earlier, emeralds are no longer obtained in Special Stages (you gotta find them in the levels themselves!). The Special Stages are now Bonus Stages! Get as many rings and lives as you can until the timer runs out!

    Sonic has a new ability, which is pretty much a double jump.
    Gather enough speed, and you'll be able to jump again while in the air. However, you'll have to use it carefully, as you'll uncurl from a ball.

    Sonic can also swim if you press jump while underwater with the goggles.

    This hack also uses sounds from the recently found prototype.

    Credits
    I want to thank everyone who's helped with the hack and make it possible:​

    Sleekflash-16
    (testing, art, feedback, making sure the hack worked on real hardware, music)
    Facey (testing)
    BladeOfChaos (testing, art help)
    ManiacShard (testing)
    Rivet (testing and coding help, feedback)
    Inferno (testing and coding help, feedback)
    TwoTailedNeppy (testing)
    MCTravisYT (testing)
    Trickster (art help and feedback)
    Dio ZX (testing, feedback)
    somario360 (testing)
    TheInvisibleSun (help with air pockets and changing Sonic's palette in them)
    ValleyBell (help with music about the UFO catcher)
    vladikcomper's MegaPCM
    Cinossu's smps2asm
    flamewing's music pack
    MainMemory's SonLVL
    snkenjoi's Flex2
    Sonic Retro & SSRG for all the guides
    (Removing Sonic's speed cap, Dynamic Special Stage art, Different Level Headers per act, Fixing camera problems, Fixing death boundary bugs, Fixing Level Select bugs, Fixing drowning bugs, and many more.)
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Nov 18, 2022
  2. Sleekflash-16

    Sleekflash-16 Also known as Original Chris Member

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    Beta testing this hack on the Genesis Model 1 and the Nomad was a lot of fun. Doing assets for it was also enjoyable, even if they were minor things. I like the idea of bringing back concept stuff and beta assets and making them into a full blown game. The new mechanics are some of my favorite things about this. This hack feels like a perfect balance between concept and final. It feels unique but familiar, which I really admire. I also feel like this has a better flow than the original game. Thanks to MrLordSith for letting me be a part of this since early 2020. We've come so far since then. Its been a thrill helping out. :D
     
  3. DeltaWooloo

    DeltaWooloo The noob next door Member

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    Oh yes, FUCK YES!
    82a.gif
    Finally, the 2nd completed hack in SSRG in 2021 (the first being Blastless) and looks so perfect and clean.

    I'll list out some of the highlights I saw:

    I love the art here, sure it looks like the original but minor changes can be major and this is what I'm seeing. The SEGA screen is pretty cute and it questions me why Naka used a stock SEGA screen rather than this early in development. It's also nice to hear the ending theme and how Masa's notes played, a really neat addition. The level design is perfect, sure there are some minor issues such as the breakable walls and loops next to each other in GHZ2, but I have covered this in a DM.

    Overall, I feel like this should have been Sonic 1 all along and it's a shame a lot of things were cut into development. Seeing the beta elements make a revival gave me a smile. Excellent job team and I cannot wait for the next release! :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2021
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  4. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    I'm not gonna lie, I've not been a huge fan of a lot of the 'Sonic 1 Beta Revival' stuff as of late, but I really had a great time with this one! Despite a couple of rough edges few and far between, there's a certain charm to it that's hard for me to articulate. The art in a lot of places kind of reminds me of old Disney games of that time (which sorta works in a funny way, given Sonic's Micky Mouse design inspiration). I played through the whole thing just now (although I didn't find a single emerald), and here are a few of my errant thoughts:

    • I'm not too keen on the double-jump, as it's hard to know if you're going fast enough to use it. (Full disclosure, I didn't fully understand how it worked at first, as I had missed that part of the post) Maybe Sonic could flash white when he can use it (or use a different jump animation a la drop dash), so it's a bit more intuitive?
    • On the other hand, I absolutely adore the Goggles Monitor's double-jump ability, as it has great movement utility but adds some risk as it uncurls Sonic. It's a subtle move, but it's well measured and calculated. It did go away after leaving a bonus stage , however, and I'm not sure if that's intentional (there was also a visual glitch with the Giant Ring upon return as well).
    • I appreciate that the level design encourages and rewards curiosity with new paths, and things like the Goggles powerup; there was an area in the 1st act that I was sure was going to be a bottomless pit, and it actually opened up a new path (unfortunately some of the later levels like Star Land Zone keep the bottomless pits on the lower path, although I guess being later in the game it's a little forgivable). I also appreciate that the nods to the original game's level design felt minimized. as there was enough modified to at least feel fresh. When there are major changes to the level design, they're quite enjoyable!
    • That said, I do feel that GHZ was the weakest of the bunch in terms of level design; some chunks, (like the ones similar to that unused one in the final game) aren't integrated as well into the level as they could be.
    • The ending palette is a little rough imo (is it another reference to the beta?); it might be cool to go for a genuine nighttime palette using purple/bluish shades and whatnot.
    • I like the music in some places (SLZ 3 track is pretty cool), although the new drums can be a bit jarring at times (especially on tracks like the extra life jingle), and some songs tend to drone on a bit..
    • The new animations are neat, but some of them, like the 'looking up' animation in particular, don't quite match with Sonic's art yet.
    • Marble Zone is much more fun, but it still feels like Marble Zone, and I appreciate that! Although, I will say that I'm not a huge fan of how that pillar gimmick currently works at the moment, as it doesn't seem very responsive to Sonic jumping on it. Perhaps you could give it a rumble or some sort of sound effect?
    • While I'm at it, Labyrinth Zone is much more fun as well (not that I dislike the underloved original). You made it a touch more 'labyrinthine' with a few branching paths, but it still felt like a fun Sonic 1 level at it's core. The air pockets (great job on that btw!) and the Goggles powerup kept things very engaging.
    • I love that SZ3 has bits of Clock Work Zone's art in it. Really nails the transition. Speaking of that, the indoor/outdoor transition for CWZ is cool, although you can see the seams of the background transition in some places. I also like the little mini-act before the FZ boss, although it's a little flat looking. Perhaps you could spice it up and give it a sense of urgency, by making the level fade to red and back or something (a la Sonic Boom's third act) to coincide with the alarms?

      Overall, great job! Other than the rare cheap shot (the first time I unknowingly hit one of the 'cycling monitors', I landed on the Eggman monitor and died. Maybe you could have it just knock you back rather than kill you if you're out of rings?), I had a great time. Looking forward to any updates in the future.
     
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  5. Selbi

    Selbi The Euphonic Mess Member

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    This right here might be the single most gorgeous rendition of Labyrinth Zone I've ever seen. This is no exaggeration.
     
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  6. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Adding to this, I forgot to mention the new Scrap Brain variant of this art, which adds Eggman faces in the stone. Thought that was a neat touch!
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2021
  7. DeltaWooloo

    DeltaWooloo The noob next door Member

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    Just for clarification, it is referencing the unused night palette seen in the prototype. For reference:
    S1ProtoNightPalette_Screenshot.png
    Sure it didn't look great in the prototype, but at the end, it's a nice reference all in all.
     
  8. Stdh

    Stdh Active Member Member

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    This hack is so fun to play, I've always loved hacks that bring back prototype and concept elements to the final sonic 1 this hack also has changed since sonic 1 delta that is a good thing yes i like sonic 1 delta but this is way better than that the airpocket's are a great bew gimmik! the only thing i think should be fixed is the random monitors when you break one it uses the static icon instead of the item you get but i dont really have any other complians
    Great hack!!
     
  9. nineko

    nineko I am the Holy Cat Member

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    Of course the one time I can't use my computer for two days, a promising hack appears, I won't be able to try it and make a video of it for at least another day :(
     
  10. VAdaPEGA

    VAdaPEGA whom belongs the red cat, complaints appreciated Member

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    GIF 08-07-2021 14-50-29.gif
    Air pockets don't do anything when Sonic's invulnerable
    Also I love the fact you added the prototype debug text on the bottom right, that's a cute little touch.
     
  11. Monitor

    Monitor Custom Title Member

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    nice chaotix reference
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  12. Deactivated Account

    Deactivated Account Well-Known Member Exiled

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    This is an example about the work team can make a playable game, all can make it, the learn and effort play the roles here.
    While the music, to my liking is a bit nice, you should fix some things guys, but in general, this hack is very impressive.
    I want to emphasize that teamwork is the main goal here, despite the mistakes and demands that are presented in context.
    This you are doing is the beginning guys, of a hack that will go further if you want to work very hard and extensively, of all the hacks that have been presented here, this is good and it is very nice. The hacks that have been seen so far, most have great potential, and I know that many are going to advance over time, but you saw gentlemen, this is what the original team has felt in part to work on the game, as does everyone those of us who are here.
     
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  13. MrLordSith

    MrLordSith Has an obsession with Sonic 1 Alpha Member

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    Hello everyone,
    I haven't responded to this thread until now since I wanted to hear as many feedback, criticisms and responses as possible about the hack before saying anything. Me and the team are really happy that the hack is being enjoyed by a lot of people, and we weren't actually expecting the hack to go this far.
    I also really wanted to say thank you. All of this means a lot to us; we put a lot of effort into creating this hack, so we're really glad the efforts paid off.

    Lastly, I wanted to talk about bugs and such; There might be a build released at SHC that will have as many bugs fixed as possible, as well as visual improvements, since I know there's more to be done, and also more level design improvements since I'm not satisfied with a few parts here and there (and I've also received feedback about things that should be changed).
    I've been getting many suggestions about things to add, so I will try to add as many as possible.

    Thank you all, this has been amazing, and I hope we're able to improve the hack even more soon.
     
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  14. Ronald Rose

    Ronald Rose Newcomer In Limbo

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    This ROM hack is so fun to play. It really does feature lots of scrapped, unused, unseen, and unfound content, Enemies, and elements SEGA tried to use. Beaten it with all Emeralds cause I'm a pro at getting them all. I hope I can get the goggles object to load cause I can't find it on the internet or anywhere else. Since it's a cosmetic graphic I do need some help on how to add it in.
     
  15. nineko

    nineko I am the Holy Cat Member

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    Crimson Neo, ProjectFM and MrLordSith like this.