Forum topic: http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=11861

Another fantastic technical achievement from the creator of Sonic: Project Mettrix, the E02 engine, and former co-leader of Team Megamix, Sonic hacking ninja extraordinaire Stealth breaks the barriers with another mindblowing breakthrough–a TRUE port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis to the Game Boy Advance!

As many know, there was an “official” attempt to “port” Sonic 1 to the GBA under the name “Sonic Genesis.” However, this version of the game was, quite frankly, horrible–it was less a port and more a disgustingly inaccurate recreation. The physics were completely fucked, Sonic would go through walls, the music was ear-rapingly dreadful, among other things. It was a gigantic mess–probably the worst Sega product ever, and a disgrace to the Sonic brand.

However, Stealth seeks to redeem the Sonic name by taking it upon himself–and I mean a one man job–to do what Sega’s paid 3rd party lackies could not: create a respectable, accurate, and true to the original version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Game Boy Advance. As this video shows, the project was an absolute success!

Building on the concept of “anniversary mode,” Stealth includes the acceleration system from Sonic 2, the spindash technique, and two additional characters–Tails and Knuckles–to enrich the Sonic experience on the new platform.

All music is using recordings of the original Genesis tunes, so accuracy is a high as it can get–none of that horrible Mircosoft Synth sound! The sound quality is a bit scratchy at points, both in sound effects and music, but that’s a technical limitation of the GBA sound hardware itself. Aside from that, it delivers a very faithful representation of the music from the original game–after all, it’s hard to go wrong with a recording, isn’t it? =P

So far, the current build sports Green Hill Zone with all three of the characters, along with at least one working special stage. I’m not sure if any future work will be done beyond this proof of concept, but if it will, it’s sure to exert the same amount of quality that this release does.

Sega, eat your heart out!

The first episode of the Sonic Retro Podcast is available for download!

Here’s a little summary of what to expect from Episode 0 - Slamma Lamma Ding Dong!

• Community Hacking Project - We take a look at progress being made on Sonic AX and The S Factor.
• Main Topic - Naka’s Sonic vs. Oshima’s Sonic - The original Sonic the Hedgehog was a combined effort of Oshima (the creator of Sonic as a character) and Naka (the lead programmer of the game). However, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD was lead almost completely separate from each other. Each game was lead by Naka (Sonic 2) and Oshima (Sonic CD) with individual teams and visions of Sonic. We take an in-depth discussion on both styles and discuss where Sonic would be now had it taken the way of Sonic CD.
• Spam Mail Reading - All work and no play makes Tails a dull fox. It’s not all facts and hacks, right? So for the sake of humor we reach into our spam folders to pull out some emails that are funny, nonsensical, and even a little poetic.

I hope you all enjoy this first podcast. However, remember it’s pretty experimental and unpolished. The quality isn’t really top-notch and we did this spur-of-the-moment around 4 AM. By all means though, give us feed back so we can make the show better.

 

 Sonic Retro Podcast - 0 - Slamma Lamma Ding Dong [63:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1245)