Sonic Megathread

[YoshifreakZX]

Which is a worse variant of the original Sonic 1, Sonic 4 Episode 1 or the GBA Sonic 1 Port?
View attachment 185283
View attachment 185285

"I asked ChatGPT to generate a 2D Sonic game" aka Sonic 4 Episode 1 is pretty bad and forgettable, but Genesis is on a completely different league of terrible. Truly one of the worst games and ports that I've ever played, and definitely the worst Sonic game of all time, least IMO.

 

[ThunderBoy]

 

[Ikagura]

I need to redo the Rush games but is there a way for MelonDS to swap screen automatically when Sonic enters the other?

 

[_Axl]

lol

 

[Ikagura]

I don't really like the name Hysteria because it has a negative connotation whereas Mania can have a positive one. I would've gone with something like "Sonic Frenzy" or "Sonic Rage" because they have fewer syllables.

 

[Ikagura]

I liked doing Sonic CD on the actual hardware (sadly I didn't get the good ending with the Time Stones nor the Holo Cages but that doesn't matter

The big downside is that the loading times are longer and the spin dash is really awkward if not useless in most cases compared to the super peelout.

 

[Ikagura]

I have completely skipped the fact that Sonic 3 A.I.R got updated in 2026!

Spoiler: Changelog for the v26.03.28.0

New features and improvements
- Added an integrated file browser (in Options -> System) that allows for importing mod zips on Android and iOS/Web from the file system into S3AIR's app data
- Save data is now stored across multiple files in "storage" inside your save data folder, making it easier to delete or backup individual files if needed
- Added option for a hint on the hidden monitors that you can unveil with the signpost
- Added options for several minor enhancements that have always been part of S3AIR, but could not be turned off before
- A few more skippable cutscenes (end of LBZ 2, start of SSZ, DEZ act transition)
- Performance optimizations for software renderer, specifically for rotated / scaled sprites display

Bug fixes
- More precise ground collision check for spilled rings
- Fix for an issue that could lead to a stuttering frame rate
- Fixed several software renderer bugs
- Fixed a bug that could cause a crash during paused competition mode and in AIZ 2 / MHZ 2 blimp sequences
- Fixes for server communication issues that could randomly break both Ghost Sync and the Update Check
- Fixed that selecting HPZ in Act Select started the Lava Reef 2 boss fight
- Fixed a random emulated soundtrack issue with sped-up music playback
- Fix for emulated S3A versions of mini-boss music and Knuckles theme
- Fixed a bug that could lead to incorrect sprite rendering in mods
- Fixed that pressing Numpad-9 leads to a broken rewind and game freeze if dev mode is disabled
- Using proper animation for Tails carrying Sonic when exhausted underwater
- Corrected render priority for the Egg Mobile after SOZ 2 boss fight
- Fix for first Sonic outro win pose sprite position and rotation
- Fixed that ground did not fade to white after finishing a stage in Blue Sphere game mode
- Fixed a glitch in Act Select when starting a game during a transition of the zone preview slideshow
- Fixed a layering issue inside certain graphics, like Tails' run sprites
- Fix for a glitch when going back to the main menu immediately after entering Data Select (namely while still fading in)
- Fix for a memory leak related to text rendering
- Fixed a crash and errors when a modded font was loaded from a zip file or a path with non-ASCII characters
- Additional checks to prevent the "type is not convertible to string" error when e.g. the active-mods.json is malformed
- A bunch of more fixes for minor glitches and inconsistencies in animations and palettes

Modding
- New dev mode menu system (toggle by pressing F1 when dev mode is enabled)
- Dev mode can now be toggled in the options menu's system tab (requiring a manual restart afterwards)
- Both Act Select and the Pause Menu are now implemented in scripts, making them fully moddable
- Lemonscript now supports arrays - for details, see page 11 of the Oxygen Handbook
- Added support for constant arrays of types float and double
- Local variables are now generally preferred over globals with the same name
- Reworked persistent data functions, so you can store data in individual files and optionally in a local folder for your mod
- You can now declare unresolvable mod conflicts with other mods as errors in your mod.json, using "IsConflict" in the "OtherMods" section - see pages 5/6 of the Modding.pdf
- Support for mods to use up to four players (see "UsesFeatures" section in Modding.pdf)
- Removed the hard limit for number of sprites
- Increased the maximum supported number of lines and colors per line in custom palettes from 64 to 256
- "Renderer.enableSecondaryPalette" now supports screen heights over 254
- F10 now also reloads modded audio
- Fixed that "Volume" property in audio_replacements.json was ignored in most cases
- On desktop platforms, config.json will now be preferred over settings.json for all properties that are defined in both
- Script compile error if a constant or global variable default value is too large for the data
- Fixed a script compile crash when using floating point values with bitwise operations
- Fixed a crash when retrying a previously failed mod script compilation
- Added stringformat support for float and double data types (using "%f")
- Added variants of "System.getGlobalVariableValueByName" for float, double, string types
- Revised random number generation and added new script functions "System.randomFloat" and "System.randRange" variants
- Added "makeCallable" function to get a u32 address for script functions to be used in calls
- Added "System.removePersistentData"
- Support for custom palettes in sprite rendering via new SpriteHandle functions "setPalette", "setPrimaryPalette", "setSecondaryPalette"
- Added alternative script function variants of SpriteHandle methods "setRotation", "setScale", "setTintColor", "setAddedColor"
- Added BlendMode constants to cpp_core_functions.lemon
- Added convenience script functions "getScreenCenterX" and "getScreenCenterY"
- "Log" and "LogDec" can now also be used with float, double, and string values
- Added "System.isDevModeActive" script function to check whether dev mode is enabled
- Oxygen Handbook now includes a documentation for how to use automatic font effects like outlines and shadows

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

I have to ask this question here, I'm I the only one who considers themselves a Sega
fanboy ( I own a modded Dreamcast and SEGAGAGA for heaven's sake) that thinks sonic
Sucks and have never liked one game. Thank god my Genesis was packed with Altered Beast,
so I never had to own a cart of this blue abortion.


View attachment 184258

THIS is peak sonic game play? Or is it one of the the other games where you just press one button over and over and move nothing else? Sonic blows so bad I could never finish my Sega tower of Power . I ain't spending not one cent on sonic and knuckles.

who on earth told you sonic 06 was peak sonic gameplay we need to call them an exorcist pronto.

 

[Ikagura]

who on earth told you sonic 06 was peak sonic gameplay we need to call them an exorcist pronto.

No need to bring that convo back.

On the other hand I still hope we'll finally get an update for P-06 with all bosses (the Hub side missions can go to hell I don't care about them).

I also hope Sonic Advance will get their recomps very soon.

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

No need to bring that convo back.

On the other hand I still hope we'll finally get an update for P-06 with all bosses (the Hub side missions can go to hell I don't care about them).

I also hope Sonic Advance will get their recomps very soon.

ah sorry i was just trying to make a light hearted joke with that person i didn't realize that would bring an unwanted conversation back i sincerely apologize Ikagura

 

[Ikagura]

ah sorry i was just trying to make a light hearted joke with that person i didn't realize that would bring an unwanted conversation back i sincerely apologize Ikagura

No problem.

Which game or mod have you played recently? I plan on trying "Vanilla+" romhacks for Sonic 1 and 2 even if there are PC ports made by fans.

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

No problem.

Which game or mod have you played recently? I plan on trying "Vanilla+" romhacks for Sonic 1 and 2 even if there are PC ports made by fans.

the last one i played recently is sonic adventure on redream emulator with someone so i could show them one of my favorite childhood games it was awesome and hilarious there was a moment knuckles just stopped moving and wasn't reacting to my inputs for some reason idk what happened there lol and i jokingly exited the tab like nope i am not seeing sonic.exe tonight and it got a laugh

 

[Ikagura]

the last one i played recently is sonic adventure on redream emulator with someone so i could show them one of my favorite childhood games it was awesome and hilarious there was a moment knuckles just stopped moving and wasn't reacting to my inputs for some reason idk what happened there lol and i jokingly exited the tab like nope i am not seeing sonic.exe tonight and it got a laugh

I prefer the visuals of the Dreamcast game over the DX version but I still prefer playing at 60 FPS with skippable cutscenes.

At least there's BetterSADX which gives us the best experience (as the Steam release is really bad).

No wide-screen but ugly looking borders when they could've done it better.

It's annoying how Sega fumbled the game more and more with each new port... I always preferred to play SADX via the original Windows release from 2004 over the vanilla Steam port (or emulating through Dolphin since it's a great emulator).

 

[Ikagura]

Playing Sonic Heroes on Dolphin with the wide-screen hack and an actual Gamecube controller is a nice experience (since the game was made with that gamepad in mind, especially with X and Y for the character swapping).

While I'm glad it got back the two Acts structure for the levels like the Classic games on the Genesis (and Adventure 1 to a lesser extent since there's no real level transition between each sections) and that there's the return of the Special Stages to get the Chaos Emeralds (to get to the true final boss) I find it bad that you'll have to redo the game four times to get to the Last Story...

Also to get to the Special Stages you must get a key (like the Chao Boxes in SA2) without getting hit once which makes it tedious when you're reaching the level's end and get hit by a random thing...

I used savestates especially for that reason as much as it could be seen as cheating but I don't want to redo levels just so I could get those emeralds.

At least I'm using the undub mod which finally allows me to hear their Japanese voices (as I always did for the first two Adventure games). I find it baffling how that's only for the PS2 port (which doesn't run as well as the Gamecube one). The Xbox version apparently has higher quality FMVs but I don't care that much.

There are mods on the PC version (obviously) but apparently this version of the game is badly optimised (it won't run correctly even if you have a powerful machine) and there are glitches not present on other platforms...

Do you think Sega hasn't released Heroes on Steam despite the game having a PC port because of RenderWare? This game, Mega Collection Plus and Riders are the three remaining Sonic games that got a PC port to not have gotten any Steam re-release (I could count Sonic CD 1996, Sonic & Knuckles Collection and Sonic 3D Blast since technically we got the 2011 remaster of the former and emulation of the Genesis versions of the other two so they're already on Steam in a way).

 

[JellyjamLu]

I prefer the visuals of the Dreamcast game over the DX version but I still prefer playing at 60 FPS with skippable cutscenes.

At least there's BetterSADX which gives us the best experience (as the Steam release is really bad).

No wide-screen but ugly looking borders when they could've done it better.
View attachment 190522

It's annoying how Sega fumbled the game more and more with each new port... I always preferred to play SADX via the original Windows release from 2004 over the vanilla Steam port (or emulating through Dolphin since it's a great emulator).

Hello, just to be clear your using a mod now to fill the screen right?

 

[Ikagura]

Hello, just to be clear your using a mod now to fill the screen right?

Unfortunately it's like that natively
Either on Steam or the PSN/XBLA

Buy Sonic Adventure | Xbox

Join Sonic and friends as they embark on their first truly epic quest to stop Dr, Eggman’s most villainous scheme in the hit Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure™ now available on Xbox®LIVE Arcade.

www.xbox.com

They're not able to make a wide-screen support for their "HD re-release" (yet SA2B has one).

Come to think of it I'm surprised Sonic Adventure 2 never got any physical PC port back when it was new (despite that SADX and Heroes had one), we had to wait Steam to finally get one.

I could understand Shadow TH and Sonic 2006 not having a PC port (I think the later is because of the low sales, same reason why they avoided a PC port of Unleashed and Colors).

PC gamers used to get many ports thanks to the Sega PC brand yet they got ignored hard during the mid-to-late 2000's (Sonic Riders from 2006 barely counts as it's a spin-off and Zero Gravity never saw any PC release) until Generations in 2011...

 

[JellyjamLu]

Ah ok I see,

Well it's just I grabbed the Steam version and added a mod to make it 16:9 and removed the bars.

 

[Ikagura]

Ah ok I see,

Well it's just I grabbed the Steam version and added a mod to make it 16:9 and removed the bars.
View attachment 191473

Is it in sales?

Personally I think it's almost insulting that Sega are asking us to mod the game to add widescreen but that's just me.

While Steam SADX is great for BetterSADX I'd rather emulate the Dreamcast or Gamecube version with a 16:9 cheat code (Flycast even has a widescreen hack option).

The only downside is that there's now way to include the DC models (and textures) without modding the iso itself.

By the way I just finished Heroes' Team Sonic with all 7 Chaos Emeralds.

The Special Stages themselves weren't that hard but carrying the key (which disappears once you get hit) to the end of the level is the most tedious task, no wonders why Team Rose is much more convenient for that.

 

[JellyjamLu]

I got it on sale months ago, so don't recall how much it was, but it was literally peanuts.

honestly right now, it's a very low price

and i absolutely agree with your stance on having to mod it to match a decent experience, but when you do, it's worth the time sink to tinker with the SAModManager, it's actually fun to do.

Playable Super Sonic in regular stages, Sunset version of Emerald Coast

Hyper Knuckles & Dreamcast seasonal events randomized at Station Square everytime you boot up.


Also the randomizer can be pretty funny

Hyper Tails & Tag mode in single player adventure

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

Adventure style is where its at for me i would love if Sega gave it one more chance with refinement and well obviously, an actually reasonable development time.

 

[Ikagura]

I got it on sale months ago, so don't recall how much it was, but it was literally peanuts.

honestly right now, it's a very low price
View attachment 191660

Right now it's not in sales but I'm glad Sega had the decency of not selling their old games at a higher price. I hope they'd update the game but I think it's too late for them...

I have no idea why Adventure 2 had a DLC for the Battle content though.

And I absolutely agree with your stance on having to mod it to match a decent experience, but when you do, it's worth the time sink to tinker with the SAModManager, it's actually fun to do.

It's one of the biggest advantage with the PC version of SADX and SA2B (but also Sonic Generations since many good mods were made in this game since it was the only boost game available on that platform for many years).

Even today there aren't many mods for Lost World, Forces, Colors Ultimate nor Frontiers...

My favourite mods are character swaps.

Adventure style is where its at for me I would love if Sega gave it one more chance with refinement and well obviously, an actually reasonable development time.

I wish Frontiers was the template for a hybrid style of gameplay but I also wish them for not shoehorning stuff we don't need to have, mostly focusing on Sonic with his gameplay in big enough stages and no random roadblocks.

Have your tried Spark the Electric Jester (especially the third entry)?

 

[-------]

Yeah, Sonic always worth a look!

 

[Ikagura]

Finished Team Dark's story

It's harder yet it's cool to destroy horde of enemies in the game. Using the Fly character's Thunder Shot then the Power one's attack is such a deadly combo that it's effective with 90% of the enemy roster.

I don't know if I want to do Team Rose or go for Chaotix since the mission-based gameplay will make it feel more different than just playing "Easy Mode".

 

[Ikagura]

I did Team Chaotix third because I wanted a different way of playing. Some missions were fine, some were annoying (like in Grand Metropolis where you'll have to destroy every enemies in the level or that one in Mystic Mansion with all 60 torches to turn off) but thankfully there are more things than necessary in those levels (unlike Shadow the Hedgehog where all Artificial Chaos are needed to advance):

The most fun missions to me are the stealth ones in Frog Forest (don't get noticed by the frogs) and Egg Fleet since those are making use of Espio's ability to turn invisible, too bad they're only two levels and you could "cheese" sections as their field of view is quite narrow.

Here's my save file (remove 20 minutes because I've been idling in one section):

(Ignore the 00:00:00 save with all 7 Chaos Emeralds because I cheated this one to check if the cheat works).

Finishing with Team Rose made the experience less tedious as those levels are very short but I think this team could've been optional.

 

[Ikagura]

Remember when Sega made several packs for their PC Sonic games? I would've loved to have had them when I was younger (with Sonic 2 included on the Smash Pack 2)

Released in 2000 then 2001 (although the emulation in the Sega Smash Pack is questionnable sadly). I just wish they replaced Sonic R by 3D Blast but I guess they wanted some more variety.

This could be called the Traveller's Tale or the Sega Saturn Sonic pack:

Or that more recent pack which includes two mainline modern Sonic games, a racing spinoff and a compilation of several of the previous games (quite similar to the 4 Pack in a way)

Funfact: Sonic Heroes in this pack is apparently using a cracked version of the .exe since the original DRM was no longer used.

There's also that re-release made for the 20th anniversary in 2011 to go with Sonic Generations (since it was the first mainline Sonic game to be on PC since Heroes):

I kinda miss when Sega re-released Sonic games that weren't just the Genesis titles again and again in various compilations... At least Steam got the majority of the franchise yet I still feel like outside of the most recent mainline games there are many missing...