Monthly Archives

November 2010

Fan Works, Humor, Music

Walk on the Ceiling – Theme of Sonic the Hedgehog 4

As tribute to Takashi Iizuka’s hallowing vision of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I’ve recrafted the beautiful lyrics of Reach for the Stars, and elevated them to new heights. Brand new, never explored, never walked-on heights, to create a theme song worthy of being called the theme of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. It is truly the Sonic 4 theme song as you imagined it. Real talk.

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Fan Works, Music

Sonic 3 & Knuckles Soundtrack Remade in Famitracker

Have you ever wondered what Sonic 3 & Knuckles might sound like if it were using the NES sound hardware and its expansion chips to produce the music? YouTube user 8BitDanooct1 did; so much so, in fact, that he spent over 200 working hours–that’s about a month and a half–tirelessly making it a reality. The results are a real treat:

Pretty cool, right? Get the full soundtrack in both NSF and MP3 format here.

Game News

Sonic 4 Leaderboards Reset On Xbox 360


It goes without saying that when there are leaderboards, there’s usually going to be people who cheat or use exploits to reach the top of the list, ruining the experience for other players.

This is true for Sonic 4, where people were posting up times of 0’00″00 and scores of 999,999,990. The situation has gotten so out of hand on the Xbox 360 release that Sega has erased all leaderboard scores for the game.

While it shows Sega isn’t too fond of people cheating to the top, this will likely do nothing to stop the problem and no doubt those scores will be immediately posted back up.

Makes you wonder why developers still insist on including them.

Humor, Miscellaneous

Happy Sonic “2sday!” Can YOU beat the 25 ring challenge?!

18 years ago, the destiny of millions of kids (and a few hundred crazy Internet people) was forever changed with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, arguably the hedgehog’s most successful outing to date. For those of us who were there from the beginning, the release of Sonic 2 was a homecoming unlike any we had imagined, and those eleven new zones became burned into our very souls (which is why we still can run through Emerald Hill Zone with our eyes closed).

Now, it’s no secret that Sonic 2 went through its fair share of developmental trouble, and there were plenty of zones that were left on the cutting room floor. Heck, even levels we’ve grown to love had vast changes as it was developed, as proved by the release of the vintage “Simon Wai beta” and the lesser known (but equally important) “Nick Arcade Prototype.”

The latter of those two was made for one purpose – to make fun of Melissa Joan Hart. Now to be fair, she was just a kid (we all were) running through a level she had never seen, and had no idea the spin dash existed (there was a world before 1992, people), but still, the urge to insult her run through the game is so tempting. And yes, she wasn’t the only one who played and failed the game on that show, but it isn’t as fun to make fun of a random girl we know nothing about.

This is where you, the Sonic Retro reader, comes in.
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Game News, Reviews

Sonic Free Riders Single Player Review

This review has actually been a long time coming and I apologize for that.  The reason was simply being unable to try out the VS. modes.  Because of that, I’ve simply decided to make this a two-part affair.  Anywho, hit the jump to learn all about the single player mode of the third (and final?) Sonic Riders title!

freeriderstgs1

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Comics, Game News

Sonic Colors Adaption in Sonic the Hedgehog #219

If you haven’t picked up Sonic Colo(u)rs yet, you honestly should: it’s a pretty boss game and you should encourage Sega to make games that aren’t, oh, Sonic Free Riders. While there are some people who have criticized the tone of Colo(u)rs’ storyline, it’s pretty hard to argue against the fact that it’s really well-written. Therefore, it only makes sense that Archie would adapt the story for the comic series. “It’s true to the source,” says writer Ian Flynn of the comic book adaptation, who worked with artist Tracy Yardley. “We worked out a five page story that introduces our audience to the world of the game and tease a few of the crucial story elements…fans can then play the adventure for themselves by picking up the game.”

“We were provided with some awesome early concept art and rough cuts of some of the gameplay,” continues Flynn, “which offered us the ability to make the transition between comic book and video game much smoother – I think the fans are really gonna dig this one!” Flynn additionally expands a bit more on the adaptation at First Comics News.

Sonic the Hedgehog #219 also features the first installment of “In Service to the King,” which begins the build-up to next year’s 20th anniversary celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog, for those who follow the comic series on a regular basis–and for those of you who do, we can always use your help in our Archie comics articles.

Game Secrets, Miscellaneous

SegaAge Releases First Prototype: Swamp Thing

SegaAge is a new Sega fansite from the people behind NintendoAge, which normally wouldn’t be that big a deal–sites come and go, and while having a new Sega site is always exciting, it’s not exactly something to make any real noise over. What is noteworthy, though, is that the site has released its first Mega Drive prototype: a canceled 1991 game called Swamp Thing.

The game was produced by Nuvision, perhaps best known for the prototype Bean Ball Benny, as well as one published title: Bimini Run, a boat racing game. And honestly, when it comes to that title?

That about says it all. Swamp Thing is pretty legitimately horrible as well; you control the titular character from the Swamp Thing comic book series. I’m not too familiar with the original property, so I can’t say how much is accurate to that world, but if turning into a log and rolling around is part of the action, I’m skeptical. It’s interesting in that this is the first I’ve heard of it, but it’s likely nothing more than a historical footnote in the world of Nuvision. You can grab a copy of the ROM here and try it out yourself.

Check the image gallery past the jump.

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Miscellaneous

Someone Visited SEGA Yesterday [Updated]

Yesterday, SEGA held their first ever “Community Event” at their headquarters, inviting those far and wide to come, check out the place, play a bit of Phantasy Star Portable 2, and talk about Sonic’s other latest outing, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.

Because he simply had nothing better to do, forum member Sammybeany decided to attend, not really interested in playing Phantasy Star but plenty prepared for the “highlight” of the evening, the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 feedback session.

As can be expected, the half-hour alloted was not nearly enough time for proper discussion. Sammy was slightly agitated and how quickly they tried to move things along (almost like the release of Sonic 2006 haha see the joke I made there), but a lot of topics were brought up in the discussion that at least were heard by Aaron Webber and Ken Balough. Is it enough to force SEGA’s hand and change the direction of future installments? Who knows. But hey, at least there were free gourmet sandwiches.

To read his entire report, either go to the thread on the forums, or just click on the jump below. And be sure to keep an eye out for Retro’s own Slingerland give his two cents on The Sonic StadiumUpdate: Slingerland’s report is up.  Check it out.

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Game Secrets

An Easter Egg Fit for Geeks

You may (or may not) remember our joint exclusive sneak preview with Sonic Stadium and Sonic Wrecks of Sonic Colors’ new voice actors a while back. In that clip, Tails mentioned only he can read what his translator says because it’s in Binary.

Those sneaky writers took advantage of that and snuck in a nice little message to those intrepid enough to catch a glimpse of Tails’ PDA.

Slight and minor ending scene spoiler, so view at your own discretion.

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