Fan Game Highlights

[Mike Arcade]

From Sonic Games that were made from the ground up, what are your favorites and most noticeable ones you've played?

[MoKat]

Sonic Fan Games | The Good, The Great, and the Ugly

 

 

[TheRedStranger]

3 hours ago, MoKat said:

Sonic Fan Games | The Good, The Great, and the Ugly

 

 

Played any of these guys? If so, do you have a list favorites?

 

Also, we should probably set up our own YouTube Account and start doing in depth reviews once the studio is finished. @Mike Arcade @Nagol @Wulfsbane

[WarTraveller]

Sonic Dreams Collection is not a Sonic fan game.

I hesitate to call it a game, strictly speaking. All of its content relies on old, outdated fandom stereotypes that do nothing but reinforce the prejudice against Sonic fans, and all for attention-seeking disguised as saying "clever" stuff about the fandom.

[TheRedStranger]

3 hours ago, WarTraveller said:

Sonic Dreams Collection is not a Sonic fan game.

I hesitate to call it a game, strictly speaking. All of its content relies on old, outdated fandom stereotypes that do nothing but reinforce the prejudice against Sonic fans, and all for attention-seeking disguised as saying "clever" stuff about the fandom.

I always thought of it as a social horror game, taking elements of weird things that are indeed on the internet. I think that core idea of a social or meta-fictional horror game could work, and make a good commentary, if played right. And, I am not offended at things so easily because I don’t have a poststructuralist (Which ironically hyper structuralist) communalist perception of my identity. If someone makes a slight at the fandom, it’s not a slight to my special snowflake, Twitter-drone identity. Ironically I would love a horror game that explores that, sort of like a mix between Papers Please and Welcome to The Game, but with a series of social media platforms that affects your fate as a content creator and fate of people around you. You have to both sell out a bit sometimes for patronage and profit, while dealing with offense and crazy interactions with creepy people online. 

The main problem with Sonic Dreams is that is indeed not really a game. It was designed, like many postmodern indie horror games - not to be played but seen played by Let’s Players. It has no exclusive offense in its content, it is in a line of flaccid mushroom-ware that really never gets full thought in development, all because of this pursuit of quick and dirty social media fame. They are not games as much as tools for performance art. The novelty of taking socially taboo and cringy fandom concepts and elevating these indie’s to some form of disturbia is a fresh idea, all with pinches of absurdist comedy. You cannot deny that in a world of cheap Slender knock offs and CreepyPastas like Sonic Exe, there really needs to be more novel chutzpah to our scary stories again, especially to our fandom’s scary stories. The tropes are more than tired. But seeing how Dream’s audience was more Youtubers making reactive content, you can feel an ephemeral whoriness to the thing. It’s ultimately a prop for improv comedy, and that is not exclusive as it’s the domain of several new social-reaction focused indie games, through out the 2010’s. How it’s seen by people is going to be determined by the Youtuber they watched it through. To me that makes it fundamentally hollow, despite grasping in the hard shell of a fertile ideal. I want to see someone make a real horror game tackling weirdness in fandoms. 

[TheRedStranger]

Now, do we have any positives to pluck from that sea positives @WarTraveller ? Or are we training to join the masochism olympics? There is no rationality in seeking to be wounded by rusty needles in fertile haystacks. This is Fandom Highlights after all. 

[Mike Arcade]

...I'm not sure where I can exactly begin.

Obviously I'm the one that started the topic, and I also have an extensive history in playing Sonic fan games since the Early 2000's. I never joined any sort of forums until the 2010's, but I always kept an eye on the Sonic fan community as a lurker. Of course there are all the good games stated in Antdude's video. Plus, I also started the SAGE topic to cover it's appearance every year. Needless to say, I love Sonic Fan Games.

Sonic Before and After the Sequel, Sonic Time Twisted, any sort of 2D game before 2018 or so I've played. I have yet to play the Game Gear Remakes being developed by A+ Start's team or Overbound Games, but I highly await and hope for those games to be completed. I have yet to really dive into 3D fan games due to PC issues over the years and didn't have the horse power to play them yet. But I intend to soon...

I played through 2.0 of SRB2 up above and even reviewed it! But since then the game has updated and I'd like to give it another shot. It is a good game and I highly recommend it, but that one can be quite difficult. Of course I also played Freedom Planet and Spark 1, both great games but Spark 1 I would say has the better game play, yet FP has the better story (it's not perfect, but much better than SEGA's recent outing with Sonic).

Of course, these are all games that have come out in the last decade...I was playing fan games way before that. Back in the era of Ultimate Flash Sonic. Along with games even earlier then that!

I have indeed played the 1st Sonic Robo Blast, and I will say before we get to the kind of games you seen now thanks to the Sonic Worlds Engine and such, previous fan games were a lot more simple in execution for the time.

http://info.sonicretro.org/Omni_Khaos

This game here, but mainly it's sequels known as Thirdscape, was a trip to play back in the day. Thirdscape and it's sequel (Part 2 really) really sparked my young imagination as a kid. With Sonic and Tails teaming up with a strange creature (and author avatar) against these eldrich monsters, an evil Echidna, and eldritch leader Omni Khaos. Pretty standard plot for a fanfic, but not a fan game! If you want to hunt the Thirdscape games yourself or check them out on youtube I'd say give it a look. But it has not aged well at all. Most fan games from the Late 90's to the Early 2000's ever do. SRB2 being an obvious exception of course. XP

http://bluehog.adreos.com/main.php?page=news

Most Klik n' Play Sonic Fan Games are quite quaint to say the least, and nowadays those that have been preserved are more of a time capsule to show just where we come from as a fandom. So props to those at Adreos for preserving their old Sonic Fan Games, known back then as Bluehog. To see such a site preserved in all it's original flavor is a real treat for the eyes. Also, gives me some nostalgia as I played all of these at least once. 

Another game I'd like to point out is Neo Sonic Godspeed, which I'm not linking due some strong language at the game's opening, but is much like other Klik Fan Games with a story that's a bit too ambitious. Also it's story is rather "edgy" in that Teenage sort of way with a fan character (Shadow's Sister) using an Evanesence song as her theme. It's definitely a game of it's time, but still enjoyable in a cheesy way. Also said fan character, in a massive coincidence, uses the same fur and eye color Blaze would use a year later when Sonic Rush came out. No kidding! XD  

http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog:_Time_Attacked

The previous games I've linked don't really have Sonic gameplay, as in those you'd see in more recent fan games and the Genesis. Time Attacked (no relation to Time Twisted) is one of the first and earliest examples of traditional Sonic gameplay being made and done pretty well for the time it came out! It's plot is much like Back to the Future and Terminator, Robotnik is done with Sonic and uses a time machine to take him out. This leads Sonic to find Robotnik and destroy the Time Machine before he fades from existence and Robotnik rules the world. It's got animated cutscenes, custom bosses, levels, you name it! I'd highly recommend this, plus it's original sprite work is great. Also as a side note, destroying Badniks leads to robot parts shooting out at the screen much like Altered Beast in the Arcade. Really neat stuff!

http://info.sonicretro.org/Retro_Sonic
http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Nexus
http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_XG
http://info.sonicretro.org/Retro_Sonic_Nexus

Now, if you can't tell from the title of some of these links, all but one (Sonic XG) use the same engine to run fan games that play just like the Classic Sonic Games. It began with Retro Sonic, which had it's engine used for Sonic Nexus, and then the three games were all merged to be Retro Sonic Nexus. However, all said projects were canned due to the dev of the Engine known as The Taxman's official project. That being the Android port of Sonic CD.

I don't need to tell you that The Taxman is Christian Whitehead right? Yes, all these fan games led to the best Sonic CD, 1, and 2 ports we've ever had...and eventually lead up to the creation of Sonic Mania. This right here is why I love Sonic Fan Games so much, and why I consider Sonic Mania one of the best games in the series. Best of all, I was there when these demos first came out! So I got to literally watch history in the making!
 
Sonic XG however, has continued development...sort of. It's creators came back in 2012 to work on it again, but vanished due to health issues and such. I hope the creators are doing well, as I'd consider Sonic XG my lost favorite fan game never completed. It's premise and presentation is what got to me, and stands out as one of the best things in fan games I've ever seen. This fan game had the guts to start off literally at a recap of The Doomsday Zone! This game is an alternate continuation of S3&K and it's awesome! Metal Sonic appears and takes the Master Emerald, while Fang breaks in the Hidden Palace to cause trouble. To top it all off, the Death Egg crashes right toward Angel Island and causes it to break apart as it explodes at the very end of the demo!

Such imagination, creativity, and heart is what the Official SEGA teams that make Sonic games is what they need to inspire to. For all Sonic Fan Games of the Past and Present show just what was and could be possible if you get the right people in to just make a great Sonic game. We've seen the fruits of their labor in Sonic Mania, and I can honestly say this part of the fandom is part of the blood that keeps the heart pumping.

I can go on and on, but I just wanted to share with you all some of my history with Sonic fan games, and I hope you guys share some more here as well.

[Mike Arcade]

https://stardropsmh.github.io/sonic-and-the-fallen-star/

Haven't updated this in awhile, but a new and complete Fan Game has recently made headlines. Very much inspired by Lake Feperd's Before and After the Sequel, if you need some new classic gameplay then this is very much what you are looking for. It's been awhile since I've seen a complete fan game, so give it a download and check it out!

[Mike Arcade]

The 16-Bit Remake of Sonic Triple Trouble is out now! From the makers of Sonic Time Twisted, they really upped the ante in terms of quality. Seriously, check this out.

[Mike Arcade]

https://ironrind.angelfire.com/

I've been wondering about this guy's site!

This site, which STILL functions by the way, has several older fan games from back in the day. That being a few concept games, and both Sonic Nebulous 1 and 2.

Now I can't say if the 2nd game is finished, but I'd presume that the first one is anyway. These games play similar to Sonic, with one major difference...

It's the SatAM inspired setting! Not only that, but every Knothole Freedom Fighter is playable, even Rotor! It's even got some characters in a SatAM-like style as well that you can play as. As in, characters that I can guarantee that have never been playable in any sort of fan game, mod, or rom hack. Ever wanted to play as Fiona Fox or Mina Mongoose? They're in the first game! How about Nicole, or even Uncle Chuck? Yes, you can.

It's not exactly the best fan game series in the world, but the custom art and sheer number of playable characters certainly makes it a pair of fan games I highly recommend any SatAM and Archie fan to play.

Apparently the creator of these games, Ironrind, was working on something else or even an update for Nebulous 2, but has not been heard of since 2020. Whoever they are, I hope he's well and in good health.

[Mike Arcade]

...I stand corrected! They are not only doing well, but are still making slow and steady progress with their pet projects.

Yes, the video starts with a team up of Rosie and Espio, and no, this is not a fever dream. XP

Glad to see there's still progress after all these years.