Overall 7.7 Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 8 Depth 9.5 Difficulty 7.5
9
Sonic 2 Retro Remix (Sonic 2 Hack, Sega Genesis) Review Eddy88
Can't believe it's only a Demo!Hacks... Hacks are modifications of a certain game, those are done with the purpose of making a new game. Depending of the Hacker ambition, there can be two results: A simple attempt, which is just the same game but with different graphics and music, or, a totally different game. With new details and extras that make it superior over the original one. Sounds sad, but, actually, there aren't many of these kind of hacks. Luckily, there's ever an exception. And this exception is named "Sonic 2, Retro Remix", which is, perhaps, one of the best hacks of one of the best games of the blue Hedgehog... Today, I'm going to review this hack, which is (of course) for the Sega Genesis, so, take sit and enjoy reading.
Story: Apparently, there's not a story yet... That's the one of the few bad details of the game. But, since it's only a Demo... It's Forgivable. Anyways, I suppose that involves Robotnik trying to take over the world (again). :P (N/A)
Graphics: Let's see what's new here... About Sprites: The same of Sonic 2. However, during the gameplay you can see some totally new sprites. About Backgrounds: There are some differences here... While some of these are just a recolor of the original game's zones, some are totally new, Like the Cascade Valley and the Frosty Peak ones. (By the way, the decoration of the same are totally new. Which is just great.) (8/10)
Sound: Ahhh... Perhaps the best part of the game! All the soundtrack of the original game has been replaced with new tracks... Most part of these are from other Sonic titles, or from other games. Some of these are remixed to fit better with the act/zone. There's nothing new at the SFX... The same of all the other 16-Bits Sonic games. (8/10)
Addictiveness: Let's be honest here: This game is really addictive... The concept of the same, length and the challenges you find through every one of the acts or zones can hook you to the game for a long time, until you finish the game, or, until you get tired of playing it. (8/10)
Depth: The game destaques here: This Demo includes 6 zones: Mystic Woods, Cascade Valley, Chemical Plant, Frosty Peak, Casino Night and Metropolis. Now, here's the fun part of the game: On every zone you must collect the Chaos Emeralds, which are more than 7... These are hidden through the acts at the Zone's overworld... Yes, Overworld. Every zone has one. On these you can access the acts via the Giant Rings (also, if you want, you can exit the zone by pausing the game and then pressing A) . Every act includes a great variety of challenges that you must complete to get one of the Emeralds. Some consist on finding the emerald, which is hidden at some hard to access point, or to accomplish some objective, like finishing the stage on the shortest time possible, solve a puzzle or Getting a determined score at the end of it... On this hack, we count with some new moves (besides the Spin Dash) like the Homing attack, Jump Dash, Wall kick and the Midair Boost... We can even spin after hitting a Spring! (by pressing A after hitting one). To unlock the next zone you must get a determined number of Emeralds, so, better look up for these!... Now, I bet you are not going to disagree with me here... This game has a really big depth. (10/10)
Difficulty: Well, this hack can be really hard some times, there are many situations in where you need to think before acting, because you don't know what will happen next. (8/10)
Final Rating: 9Sonic hacks like this one aren't seen often... This is (or it will be) , perhaps, the best Sonic hack. Every zone has new surprises and secrets waiting for you. So, what are you waiting for? Go and play it!
-Eddy Out-
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 08-20-12
Review Replies: 2
6.7
Retro Review Zone BlueBlur93
mnixon's BlueBlur score = 40/60
Rank = B-
Overall Rating = 6.7/10
Sonic 2 Retro Remix, made by Thorn and DNXdelta, is a hack from the 1992 game Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which includes new original levels, lost levels from Sonic 2, and beta version of levels. It also includes a Special Stage but of the creators own design with a whole new palette and level layout. The aim is to complete all acts, and defeat the boss at the end of act 2, also finding hidden chaos emeralds in all acts, which you need to collect a certain amount to progress to the next zone. There are also hidden levels throughout the game, but I'm not going to go in any more detail about that as it is a SPOILER!
My 1st impressions of the game from playing the 1st zone are, nice clear background, retro looking tileset, well chosen music, sleek level design. So let's get this in a bit more detail. :P
Graphics 8/10
Zone 1 Mystic Woods Zone 9/10
Wow, this looks amazing, the tileset and background both fit really well and does live up to the zone's name. It looks and feels like a dark mystical woods. The grass looks well shaded, and looks very realistic and professional for a 16 BIT system. The ground beneath the grass is also well shaded and well coloured. The whole palette of the zone is very true to the original classics and creates a well represented atmosphere.The creators haven't over done it or under done the job, it looks good as it is, so in future builds I hope they don't alter the graphics. The level layout as well is very smooth and well thought out, ramps, loops and floating platforms don't seem randomly placed. So overall I give this zone a score of a very impressive 9/10.
Zone 2 Cascade Valley Zone 10/10
This looks even better than Mystic Woods Zone and that was impressive. Lots of colours, but not horribly clashing, advanced looking scenery, again not overly decorated. In my own opinion, this is one of my favorite fan game zones out of all the ones I have played, which is the majority of the hacks from sonicretro.org, as well as my favorite looking zone in the game. It uses the same tileset from Mystic Woods Zone, but with a subtle palette change, however it also suits and blends in with the background very well creating a well thought out atmosphere. This zone is meant for speed, non stop running, and again the level layout it so smooth and sleek, which means I can proudly give this zone the best score 10/10 for its inspired theme and level layout as well as the graphics.
Zone 3 Chemical Plant Zone 6/10
Ok, I can't honestly give this zone high marks for graphics as the tileset and background is directly from Sonic 2, but because of the palette changes I can give 2 marks for the contribution of effort towards the graphics. Now the level layout, the creators have made this zone their own, like the original version of Chemical Plant Zone it's level design is a form of speedway, however, Thorn and DNXdelta have greatly enhanced the speedway feeling with even more loops, twisting routes, several alternate routes, loops in different sizes. I love these types of levels, because the fun of the level is the fact you have to keep up with sonic of how fast he goes when in twisting routes and loops. The creators have also made the level design again very smooth and well linked, so there isn't any uneven paths, that will randomly slow you down when going at full speed, and so that's why I have given a not too bad 6/10 for this zone.
Zone 4 Frosty Peak Zone 9/10
This is probably one of the most beautiful looking zones I've seen so far. The use of calm colours such as light baby blue, light pink and light purple greatly enhance the feel of a calm snow level. The cleverly drawn background looks really appealing to the theme and I can just imagine myself there when I am in the level. The brilliantly detailed pieces of ice below the snow just looks so awesome. The level layout is cleverly designed in a way you'd expect it, some areas where there's a bit of running but more "blocky" platforms, which even more so increases the feeling of a snow level. This is another of one of my favorite levels, and I am happy to give this zone a 9/10, for it's art and beauty. :D
Zone 5 Casino Night Zone 7/10
Yes I have given a high score to the zone, even though they have not used their own creation of background and tileset, however because it's the background and tileset is not from the official released version of Sonic 2, I do class it as custom art, and frankly I do prefer this art from Sonic 2 prototypes from the final released version from Sonic 2, because of the bright colours and the symbols from cards such as clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds. The level layout is also well thought out, lots of drops, springs, bumpers, and creates a very good images of a pinball machine. So all in all for this zone I can give zone a generous 7/10.
Zone 6 Metropolis Zone 6/10
This game's Metropolis zone has only 1 act, but is a twice as long act as it is in 2 parts. The graphics are exactly the same as they are in sonic 2, but with I think a couple of tweaks here and there. The level design is totally different compared to the original, but redesigned in a similar way, like never-ending falls, sharp angled platform to give a metal platform atmosphere, except in a handful of areas, the players has to use Sonic's new abilities, such as wall jump to get further into Metropolis zone. I'm afraid I can't say there's anything special about this level, except it's a good reworked and updated version of Metropolis Zone, which I can only give an average 6/10 for this zone.
Sound and Music 8/10
Throughout the game I like all the music that's played. All the music blends in with all themes of each zone and act provided in the game. Yeah some of the music is from the original version of Sonic 2 and also Prototype version, like the Casino Night Zone, but some are remixes from the original and the rest of the music are from different games such as Ristar. With the choices of music, I can happily give the rating of music and sound a very decent 8/10.
Addictiveness 8/10
This game is fairly addictive, because of its unique style of gameplay, music, zones. As mentioned before to progress you need to collect a certain amount of Chaos Emeralds, which there are 6 in each act and 1 or 2 in the overworld depending on if there is a hidden act somewhere, unlike how sonic games are usually progressed, the player has to get from start to end post. The overworld is like a mini act to the zone where you get a taste of what to expect in the actual acts. The music is well chosen and the levels and their designs are well thought out. So new and unique implementations can make games addictive and this game has exactly that, so I'm giving the game a very nice 8/10 for addictiveness.
Story 0/10
I'm sorry I can't give the story any points as there isn't one but for this hack it seems more intentional to have no story.
Depth 9/10
This game offers so much of gameplay for the player to do, collect loads of chaos emeralds find hidden acts, get fastest times, get a high score, defeat bosses, maneuver through the overworld to following acts. There are 5 zones containing 2 long acts and a 6th zone containing 1 very long act split over to 2 parts, which is also the end game. So yes this game does have a lot to do and can take a long time to 100% complete the WHOLE game, which means I can give the depth for this game a very impressive 9/10.
Difficulty 7/10
This game is at the difficulty of how a sonic game should be, challenging without being impossible. With the feature of infinite lives at first I thought "This is going to be too easy", I was stood corrected, there aren't any checkpoints so if the player dies the player ends up back to the overworld and has to re enter the stage at the beginning again. The bosses are also remarkably harder and faster. So the difficulty is 7/10 which I think is the ideal difficulty for a sonic game.
Overall, I think this is one of the best sonic hacks I have ever played, it's got its own style of gameplay, very nice chosen music, the graphics are really good for the 16-BIT system, and it can be really addictive to play. So that's why I have given this game a rank of B-, which is pretty impressive for its current state!
I honestly can't see many improvements needed, except for creating a possible storyline, creating own art of tileset and background for Chemical Plant Zone and Metropolis, and possibly an updated version for the art of Casino Night zone, maybe alter the boss's to make them unique. If those possible improvements were implemented then I could easily give the game the ranking of at least A-, even the rating of at least 8, and will give the game hack an even brighter future. So Good Luck guys!
Thanks for reading my review!
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 8 Depth 9 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3.8/5
Submitted: 06-25-13
Review Replies: 2
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