2 Awesome Games Combined!Well, hey guys, so today, I found another awesome Sonic hack to review! Sadly, this Sonic hack is great, but not very known on vizzed, so I thought I'd go ahead and review it! Anyways, let's go ahead and start on this review!
Intro: Anything Special About This Sonic hack?Anyways, to introduce this Sonic hack, it is basically more of a Sonic 2 hack that actually joins in the Sonic 1 levels and Sonic 2 levels in order! I must say, this is a very awesome Sonic hack. As in, if you love playing both Sonic the hedgehog 1 and Sonic the hedgehog 2, which are both awesome games, then just imagine how awesome it would be to play the both of them in one game, in perfect order, and some somewhat enhanced physics! It's one heck of a long and fun adventure that both Sonic and Tails must take together in defeating that evil fat Dr. Eggman! Also, if you are not sure how the order of zones goes for this game, it starts off with green hill zone from Sonic 1 and then goes in normal order of all the Sonic 1 zones, after you reach final zone, (which got renamed to scrap brain zone since it is technically no longer a "final" zone), when you defeat Dr. Eggman in final zone, you right away continue on with emerald zone and all other sonic 2 levels in normal order! Doesn't it just sound awesome? (Maybe for some of you at least). Anyways, let's dive in right to the review!
Gameplay: 9Well, really, nothing much was changed here, but it is still mostly like the good old and enjoyable original sonic 2. Though, from the looks of it after I played it for a while, the physics seems to have some bit of change. Anyways, how about we dive in to the 3 important things of gameplay for a Sonic game? (Physics, special moves, and zone and badniks)
Physics: Mostly Original, but somewhat alteredWell, what I just said about the physics mostly sums up what I was about to say, but anyways, to explain even further, the gravity, jump height... etc is about the same as Sonic 1 and 2. As for the running speed, it is not like Sonic 1 at all since you can move faster and faster in steep areas without rolling, it is a bit similar to Sonic 2, but, you can notice a significant difference in speed than the original at times. Which is definitely awesome since having a feeling in restriction for max speed in Sonic games is definitely something that doesn't make sonic gamers smile at, but, having the ability to run faster without any feeling of restrictions and yet very controllable is definitely something that would make a Sonic gamer smile. Now, don't take me wrong, the original Sonic 2 game does not have any speed restrictions at all. Sonic 1 does sort of have one though, even if you run down a hill without rolling. Though, the reason why this feels somewhat altered than the original Sonic 2 physics is because Sonic moves unusually faster in even small and barely steep hills, while, in Sonic 2, it doesn't do that as much. Though, one thing I have to say is that a sonic game where the main character can run very fast but yet in a very controllable manner is definitely the best thing for a Sonic game with the most enjoyable gameplay. That is what this Sonic hack somewhat has based off what I have seen when I played this Sonic hack for a while.
Special Moves: Very OriginalNow, we move on to the special moves! So, really, there isn't any changes from the original Sonic the hedgehog 2 here. Sonic has no special moves but running, jumping, (obviously), and spin dashing (by standing on the ground while holding down and tapping the jump button.) Same thing goes for tails and unfortunately, he can not fly, just like the original Sonic 2. (Unless Tails gets lost while he is with Sonic and automatically flies back to him). but still, I am happy that I can at least spin dash in this Sonic hack. Well, better than nothing. The spin dash is usually a very fun and useful move in several cases where you need a fast starting boost while destroying everything in your way. Really, not so much to talk about.
The zones and the badniks:Well, they are of course, original just like Sonic the hedgehog 1 and 2. Anyways, the badniks aren't really that much of a threat and not so violent in most cases, though, they can get annoying if they are everywhere while you are running without rolling or jumping, which then results into a big loss of rings, possibly a loss of one life if you run off without no rings. As for the zones, they are a fun adventure. Some zones can be your favorite and some zones can be a zone that you dislike. Some easy, some hard. Not much else to say. Now, we are done with the huge gameplay portion of my review, let's move on with the other things!
Graphics: 8Well, as you can guess, they are of course original, well, mostly. The title screen is a bit modified to say "1 and 2" under "Sonic the hedgehog". Of course, this Sonic hack was not meant for graphic changes anyways since it's purpose was to play all the Sonic 1 and 2 levels into one big game and adventure. Though, I'll try to describe the original graphics anyways. The original graphics for the zones are mostly, bright, kind of happy, somewhat vivid and contrasting with the background, and of decent quality for a sega genesis. As for classic Sonic and classic Tails, they both look very cool. They both look young and prepared for adventure. They do definitely look like how heroes should look like. They are kind of fitting to the zones in some way actually. Sonic and Tails both have a fairly bright fur color, similar to the zones, which is kind of cool, but doesn't really matter much. To basically sum it up, the graphics are very eye catching and clear, which is definitely something that a retro gamer would want to have a look at. I wouldn't say that the graphics are literally the best graphics around for a sega genesis, but they are pretty good compared to other games though. Thats about it for the graphics portion in my review.
Sound: 9Well, I'll have to say that they are also obviously unchanged and exactly the same as original. The sound effects are not changed and both original to Sonic 1 and 2, as for the background music, the Sonic 1 zones has the original Sonic 1 background musics and the Sonic 2 zones also has the original Sonic 2 background musics. Though, once again, the purpose of this hack wasn't to have a change in the sound since it is supposed to be one game with the original Sonic 1 and 2 levels combined. Anyways, I always thought of the original Sound effects and the original background musics as the best sonic game sounds I have heard. They are really the most fitting, both fitting for the zone and fitting for the mood of the game, also, they are definitely things you would want to hear, not something that hurts your ears or disgust you in anyway. I always found most of the background musics catchy and I enjoy listening to them while playing the game. Also, unlike other sonic hacks with modified background musics, they are not very repetitive, unless you have been listening to the same background music for hours, which usually doesn't happen while you are playing a sonic game since an act obviously doesn't take that long to complete. To basically sum that up, the background music gives you this feeling of playing the game while your ears are enjoying it and it just motivates you to continue playing the game, the same thing with the sound effects. You just want to continuously hear those ring sounds and jump sounds which makes you continuously jump and collect rings. Thats about it for the sound.
Addictiveness: 9Well, how likely am I gonna play this game..... Again? Very likely indeed! Now, let me explain why. If you are a Sonic retro gamer, you probably already know why, but if you want me to explain it, it's simply because you want to continuously play lots of zones and acts again and again. I'm addicted to playing Sonic the hedgehog 1 and 2. But this game has an awesome combination of both which makes me want to keep playing it often. Not only that, it's a long journey with lots of zones after each other so you just want to see how far can you go until you either get bored or get a gameover, or even complete the whole game at once if you are a very crazy Sonic gamer. (Sadly, I'm not crazy enough to do it, the farthest I went was from green hill zone to chemical plant zone, afterwards, I just got tired.) Also, one thing I forgot to mention is that you can
select arena mode in the title screen and try out time challenges in certain zones. That makes the game even more addictive because you would want to get the highest rank and beat your own records. Definitely something that helps keeps you attached to this Sonic hack. So, to sum that up, the awesome zones and time challenges won't let you get away from this game that easily. After you take a break, when you get bored again, you may want to play this Sonic hack once more.
Story: 6Ehh... Bleh. Way to ruin the fun of my reviewing now. As you guys probably already know, it is that simple, overused, and boring story again. This is basically the story, "Dr. Eggman has evil plans! Will Sonic the Hedgehog and his little friend, Tails the fox, stop Dr. Eggman?" Yea, nothing is changed other than their journey being a lot longer since it combines both all the Sonic the hedgehog 1 zones and all of the Sonic the hedgehog 2 zones in order for this game. But still, simple and very overused for sonic games. And again, this is very insignificant for Sonic games anyways so it doesn't hurt the game, much.
Depth: 10Now, this game is HUGE. This game got a LOT to offer indeed. It literally has all of the zones from Sonic the hedgehog 1 in order and all of the zones from sonic the hedgehog 2 in order, all with their bosses, badniks... etc. It also includes both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 special stages and they can be accessed normally like the original games. (Sonic the hedgehog 1 special stages are accessed from the big ring at the end of each zones and Sonic the hedgehog 2 special stages are accessed from the checkpoint with the stars on top of it.) Not only that, you can also turn into super sonic if you collect all chaos emeralds from all special stages from both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 special stages. Which is a bit of a challenge, but still, it is fun! That does offer quite a lot! Also, don't forget the time challenges! And the options menu where you can choose to play as either Sonic or tails! Also, there is a save data to continue from where you left off in your long journey! And a sound test! And last but not least, the level
select screen! Just hold a in the title screen then press enter and there you go! Just imagine all of that. All of those options and all of those zones! This offers way too much, which makes this game addictive and very awesome.
OVERALL: 9.5Of course, this is an awesome Sonic hack. I hope you enjoyed reading my review and any feedback appreciated. Thanks for reading and have an awesome vizzed day! :)
Graphics
8 Sound
9 Addictive
9 Depth
10 Story
6 Difficulty
8