Overweight = A real problemWell, hey guys, so, I guess I'll (try to) continue on with my Sonic hacks marathon reviews for this month. So, now, we will start entering into some Sonic 2 hacks. Alright, So I'm gonna go ahead and review sonic 2 XL, a sonic hack that I have played before and enjoyed. This game, of course, caught my attention the first time I saw it because of the "XL" part in the title of this Sonic 2 hack and the obese looking classic Sonic in the screenshots which definitely forced me to try this out. XD I hope this review turns out somewhat interesting. Let's get started on the review!
Intro: Uhh... XL? You mean X-large? What does that mean for a Sonic hack?Well, of course, that is probably one of the very first few things that may come up to mind when you try out this Sonic 2 hack for the first time. You will wonder and think a lot about the "XL" part in the title screen until you try out this Sonic 2 hack. That is what pretty much happened to me before and later on, I thought that I should actually go ahead and (attempt to) review it. Now, to answer that question, you guys may think that everything may be quite large somehow from the "XL" in the title of this Sonic 2 hack. If not, then you know that there must be something a bit larger than normal since there must be something related to that "XL" in the title of this hack. Well, if you simply have a look at the screenshots and/or just play this Sonic 2 hack for a while, then you will easily figure out the true answer. And, that true answer is.... Fat. Obesity. Well, that does relate even more to "XL", doesn't it now? Honestly, the last thing I would expect to see in a sonic hack is Sonic being obese. Now, let us find out more about this hack.
Gameplay: A big and fat 9Now, I'm going to explain what the real change is for this Sonic 2 hack. So, now, let us start the game! You notice that Sonic and Tails are standing and prepared for adventure. Everything around you looks very normal and Sonic and Tails also seem both normal. About everything looks normal and original. But now, Sonic and Tails decide to start running and then when you see the rings, they look.... Different. Now, you just continue on, collecting those rings and continue running. Suddenly, Whoa. You start thinking, "Is it me or is Sonic become slightly slower every second?" Then you just continue on and things are getting even more slower and slower for you. Suddenly, you are like, "What?! Whats up with Sonic? He's fat! He's getting even fatter! I can barely even move!" Afterwards, when you collect and few more rings, boom, Sonic can no longer move and he is gigantically fat. You just stand still for a while tapping on the arrow keys to move, but then, Sonic just dies after a while since he is just too fat. He probably got a heart attack. (Not joking, you really lose a life.) So, I basically explained most of the gameplay out of what I just said, but now, let me make things more clear for you, just in case you are confused.
So, basically, everything is normal. Sonic has normal jump height, normal speed, normal physics... etc. All just like original, however, there is one big factor that makes one big change to the gameplay. That big change is, collecting rings. As you may guess or may already know, when you collect rings in this Sonic 2 hack, you will slowly get fatter. Those rings are actually onion rings. The more fatter you get, the slower and more difficult it is to move and jump. You will just keep moving slower and jumping lower as you keep getting fatter. Eventually, if you collect too much rings, you can no longer spin dash or jump, and you will barely be able to move. Later on, you won't be able to move at all and you'll lose a life after a short while. However, there are ways to work around this.
The first way to work around this is to simply collect like 1-3 rings (so you aren't on the risk of losing a life) and avoid the rest as much as you can so you don't get too fat throughout the zone. That is the most common way that everyone would usually do. The 2nd way, is that if you were to accidentally happen to collect way too much rings and you are already somewhat fat, just stop moving and then run around back and forth around the same area without collecting rings. Eventually, Sonic will slowly start to lose weight and become lighter. This is very time consuming but very useful if you can't move in a certain area (Like up a hill due to Sonic's weight). The last way around this is to get a speed shoes monitor and hit it and you'll move extremely fast, regardless of how fat you are. Even if you are way too fat, you'll still run as fast as ever, however, there is one big disadvantage. You may end up collecting lots of rings while running so fast and when you get too fat, you'll no longer be able to move (especially without speed shoes), thus leading to your demise. I recommend to just use the first way of working around this. (I'll also recommend the 2nd way if you are stuck and you have no option but to run around back and forth in the same area). As for everything else, they are mostly the same as original. The badniks and zones are the same... etc. Really, that is all to say for the gameplay.
Graphics: 8Alright, now, to move on to the graphics. So, majority of the things in this Sonic 2 hack for the graphics is really not changed. But I'll try to describe stuff anyways. So, let's start of with the rings since it is something that has been modified. The rings, do not look like how it was like in the original. It is more darker, crispier and more like.... onion rings. Though, they are really not that noticeable from the original rings, they do look pretty well done since they do look like how real onion rings in real life would look like. Mmm... Uhh... Tasty? Maybe for some of you? Well, I used to eat onion rings and they aren't.... So bad, but not really my favorite food to eat of all time though. Now, the next real funny thing to talk about for the graphics is.... Sonic's fat sprites! XD Now, for that, that is something I would give some good credit for. It was really well done. I definitely got impressed at how sonic's sprites look perfect as he was getting fatter! Normally, in cases like that, I would expect some glitchy sprites with a random mix of tiles and other sprites at times which would ruin things, but for this sonic 2 hack, I haven't even seen a single thing like that happen. (Though, it did happen when fat Sonic would go super. but, going super in this Sonic 2 hack with all chaos emeralds is something a bit hard to attempt for this hack) But I must say, well done. Not only it is of decent quality, it is just perfect in all ways. Sonic gives the perfect expression on his face as he gets fatter! Like, when he is slowly getting stuffed, he starts off with getting this somewhat panicking feeling on his face with more open eyes showing that he is noticing something wrong. As he continues to get fatter, he starts getting a tired expression on his face showing that he can no longer take his own weight. Perfect! Also, when Sonic gets fatter, he slowly gets fat, not all at once, which is also a good thing making the graphics a bit more accurate. As for everything else, the zones are bright and happy, vivid, eye catching, and decent quality.
Sound: 9Well, nothing much changed here, except for one thing. Collecting rings, or should I say, onion rings? When you actually collect onion rings, they don't do the normal ring sound effects like the original Sonic games, they do this munching and crunching sound instead. Well, I must say, that sound effect was indeed well done. It's really funny and it really fits Sonic eating onion rings and getting fatter. As for the other sound effects and background musics, they are original. But, the original tends to be the best. The background music for each zone is really fitting and catchy. Something you would want to hear while playing a fun game. Same thing for the sound effects, the jumping sound is just perfect, something you want to hear when you jump, collecting onion rings is also a perfect sound.... etc. To basically sum that up, the sounds are fitting, of decent quality, and something retro gamers would want to hear while playing a game.
Addictiveness: 9Ahh... Yes. Now, here comes another really fun and funny thing about this Sonic 1 hack, this is indeed a very addictive Sonic hack alright. Well, let me explain why, firstly, it is fairly challenging and unique in terms of gameplay compared to other Sonic games. You just want to play this Sonic 2 hack once again and attempt to avoid all the onion rings and attempt to complete the zone without getting fat. It is also sort of fun and funny to see yourself get accidentally fat in the game, which helps makes this game even more addictive. Also, there no other sonic hack like this. I don't remember seeing any other Sonic hacks with the same challenge, which therefore makes you want to specifically play this Sonic 2 hack again and again since no other Sonic hack gives you any better challenge like this in gameplay. Sometimes even, you just want to play this Sonic 2 hack just to fool around and just keep getting Sonic fatter and laugh at him, then attempt to complete the zone by getting even more fatter. Really, it is mostly the unique gameplay and unique challenge that makes this game addictive.
Story: 6Well, here comes that old, simple, boring, and overused story again. Sonic and Tails are simply on an adventure together in defeating Dr. Eggman, however, will the onion rings stop Sonic the hedgehog before he gets too fat to stop Dr. Eggman? Okay, I'll admit it, that makes me somewhat chuckle a bit, but still, it is an overused and simple story after all, except that there is some onion rings in Sonic's way or actually, loads of onion rings in his way. There isn't really much to talk about here.
Depth: 9Alright, now, this game does have a decent amount of depth indeed! Mainly due to the unique challenge of onion rings and obesity. Well, to be honest here, the only real reason this game has good depth is because of the onion rings challenge. It is really a big and deep challenge in having to be forced to not get yourself too fat from eating too much onion rings. Also, like original, there is the level
select screen, loads of original Sonic 2 zones, bosses, and special stages with chaos emaralds. Thats basically multiple factors right there that gives this game some depth in addition to the onion rings and Sonic getting fat. Which, therefore, gives this Sonic 2 hack a decent amount of depth.
Difficulty: 9(Hopefully I didn't forget to put this section this time) Now, I must say, this is a very hard sonic hack. The main reason is because you will encounter zones that have loads of onion rings everywhere, so, there is barely any escape from becoming very fat. Like, in chemical plant zone, you move very fast and go through the loops fast, but, some of the loops have onion rings on them! And, how are we supposed to dodge that while moving in an extreme speed? It's almost impossible to avoid onion rings in Sonic areas, therefore, you are forced to get fatter at times, making things a bit harder for you. To basically sum it up, some zones have loads of onion rings everywhere, in other words, it is very hard to not get too fat.
OVERALL: 9Well, thats about it for my review guys! I hope you enjoyed reading it and have a nice day on vizzed! :)
Graphics
8 Sound
9 Addictive
9 Depth
9 Story
6 Difficulty
9
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