Fan Works

The Countdown Has Ended!

Tonight marks the World Premiere of Sonic 2 HD! For the first time since the project’s technical demonstration in 2008, the curtain has been pulled away to let the world see what Team S2HD has been building up. We hope this answers many of the questions long-time fans of the project have had, and that everyone is just as excited as we are for what’s to come.

For those who haven’t seen S2HD since the Tech Demo, you’ll notice that just about everything has been rebuilt from the ground up. What isn’t as obvious is that everything behind the scenes was scrapped as well: shortly after the Tech Demo’s release, the engine used was thrown away in favor of an even more accurate engine in the works–one capable of far more expansion than was originally imagined. In the year that followed the art direction also saw massive changes, and, from late spring of 2010, the finalized art style brought about the last wave of changes to everything that had been created previously. All of Sonic’s movement frames were redone. All the Badniks were scrapped and redesigned. Many of the level art assets underwent the same treatment. The result of these changes is reflected in what you now see.

By the fans, for the fans, spread the word: the alpha release of Sonic 2 HD will arrive Q1 2011!

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75 Comments

  • Reply

    AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH~~~ =D !!!!

    im happy now 😀

  • Reply

    This…
    Is….
    Beautiful!

  • Reply

    Nice.

  • Reply

    awesome! so the countdown was for this announcement? aw. 
    but still! i can’t wait to see it! super excited 😀

  • Reply

    This must be the year of retro Sega. First a Streets of Rage Remake, and now this!? Mad Gangsta!

  • Reply

    OMG!
    This is so EPIC!!!!
    The ART is epic
    The MUSIC is epic
    The essence Physics

    Ohhhhh sega, look this D:
    I wait Sonic 4 ep2 better this sega, I PAY for sonic 4 ><

  • Reply

    w00t!

  • Reply

    *facepalm*

  • Reply

    We, Sonic Retro and the whole of the Sonic fangaming comunity, waited 2 over hyped and over teased years–

    –For 11 seconds of film.

  • Reply

    ehhh a little disappointed.

  • Reply

    Yay! Sonic2 is one of the Best Sonic games, now in HD, this is Awesome.
    I Can’t wait!!

  • Reply

    Oh boy! A new trailer for Sonic 4!

  • Reply

    I’m with Iceman404 on this one. I got all giddy and worked up for just a teaser of an ALPHA? I hate you Sunday.

  • Reply

    Never seen any of the Sonic 2 HD videos up so..holy fucking that looks gorgeous.

    Ima tell EVERYBODY I know about it.

    ………………………but I don’t wanna hear bitching about Sonic 4 trailers in the future; they came up with a teaser trailer in months and this took 2 years so…………..yeah.

    But that still makes me happy to be seeing it anyways.

  • Reply

    Not disappointed at all btw, even if it’s just the trailer we finally got a look into s2hd’s progress, and a confirmation on a public alpha release

  • Reply

    So not only are we seeing Sonic 2 redone, we’re also seeing a redo of Sonic 4’s marketing campaign?

    Classy.

  • Reply

    Next up Sonic3 and S&K??

    • Reply

      Dude, if they didn’t finish S2HD yet they’re certainly not going to complete Sonic 3 & Knuckles if they did start…

  • Reply

    Soooo…Will this be Sonic 2 in high definition as it is? Or Sonic 2 as it should have been (Hidden Palace zone, Wood, Genocide, Etc.)?

    • Reply

      To answer your question, from test-object:

      “It’ll be Sonic 2 as it is but, should the staff have time and feel like it, have some more added content, such as hidden levels and extra characters. They want to finish the core of the game first. “

      • Reply

        Cool! Lets just hope they leave the cheat codes the same =D

        You said they want to finish the core of the game…does that include the multi-player?

        • Reply

          That appears to be the plan, yes. I think they want to get single player done first before they begin working on multiplayer, especially if it’s to have networking.

  • Reply

    Thank you for proving once again that drawn sprites > prerendered 3D sprites when it comes to HD.

  • Reply

    You can go fuck yourself. I was anticipating this like crazy. Don’t say stuff at the forum like that it will blow us away or whatever if your just going to show,, 11 seconds of gameplay.

    Just look at comments like these. And I quote. “I’m gonna laugh so hard when only 5 hi-res screenshots are released tomorrow!”

    And endri answered: “Oh, please, we are not the SEGA Of America PR people. ”

    And yet it was true. Gtf outta here man. Don’t do that SEGA pr stuff. My respect for you as the leader of this project has gone down the drain. I thought you guys were gonna show us something that would blow away a project like sonic fan remix. Guess not guys.

    Anyway, enough of my rant. What has been shown is pretty slick ;). But i’m not following this shit anymore. Thanks for ruining that image.

  • Reply

    YES! *Bison.jpg*

  • Reply

    Looks nice, thought the announcement would be something a bit more, but can’t deny that this does look great, and the presentation looks top notch.

    Looking forward to the alpha, providing there is a mac build 🙂

    Great work guys, with this and Sonic Fan Remix its looking good!

  • Reply

    This is truly Sonic 2 as you imagined it.

  • Reply

    Ehh, I kind of liked it better the old way. It looked more original but still kept the feel of the game.
    Don’t get me wrong, it still looks like it’ll play great, but I feel somewhat disappointed with the sudden change.
    Can’t wait to play it though.

  • Reply

    Looks pretty dawg

  • Reply

    O… I thought you were releasing it today… So, this ALPHA, how long is it? Hopefully more than, like, 1 zone…

  • Reply

    lolwait, did Sonic Retro just announce an announcement?

    • Reply

      Yo dawg, we heard you like announcements, so we put an announcement in your announcement so you can wait for the release while you wait for the release.

  • Reply

    Awesome. an announcement for an announcement. way to go.  I was so ready to see some actual progress

  • Reply

    Sorry, I’m going to be totally honest. It looks like a flash game to me.

    It does look nice yes, but I have this nickering doubt in my mind.

  • Reply

    Is it me or does it seem to look a bit ‘flat’ or missing somthing?

    Looks nice and smooth and the animation looks great though.

    Craig

  • Reply

    I agree with everyone saying this looks pretty boss…

    …But I also agree that announcing the release date (barely; the first quarter just STARTED) and calling it something that would “blow you away” was a total dick move 😐

    Honestly, the only change I see to this is one thing: you added sidescrolling.

  • Reply

    THIS… IS… SPA- wait a second… – AMAZING!!!

  • Reply

    Guys!

    Will it have the 2 player mode the Mega Drive game had? Would we do Matches trouh the internet or at least LAN? Could all levels and future characters be included?

    You get my drill…

  • Reply

    I can not wait for midnight to come to see this game. I mean their are a lot of games that has been remake and now this what else are you going to remake sonic cd.

  • Reply

    This is gorgeous work guys.  Ignore the whiners.  You have kept the look of the original art as close as possible and cleaned up the sprite resolution at the same time.  It really works well.  When I think of Sonic in HD this is what I imagine.  Not some awful 3D art like Sega did with Sonic 4.

    Thank you and keep it up.

    • Reply

      Man, when I browse this site as well as the forums/comments I just can’t help but notice the fact that most are really blamming Sega for screwing up Sonic 4…hmm, are people really going to not accept the fact that the design practically can’t be returned back to its original status? Although there are reasons why they CAN do it, it’s — oh, you get the point! (See: Sonic fanbase. Also, don’t blame me for being a so-called “all-rounder” in the fanbase, I didn’t grow up with Sonic – my friend did, and had all 4 original games, but unfortunately had his S3&K sold. Just saying for those who want to know.)

      I just wonder, why does Nintendo always seem to have the upper hand with returning to basics with their franchises? And don’t say “Cause it’s freaking Mario” because I actually want to see a valid reason (and the question applies to a LOT of Nintendo’s franchises, I had just gotten Excitebike: World Challenge on WiiWare and it’s as cool as the original)

      • Reply

        Who would you blame for Sonic 4 then? Nintendo franchises have the upper hand “cause the games are freaking good”.

  • Reply

    Angel Island looks much too small in the background, I would increase its size 3 fold.

    Small assets on the screen do nothing for the games presentation.

  • Reply

    And to all the whiners, read up before blowing a gasket
    Canned Karma: “We wanted to have an alpha release ready for tonight, but due to problems that came up since the countdown was posted that wasn’t a possibility.”
    http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=20754&view=findpost&p=547300

  • Reply

    If you excuse me, I need to change my pants now.

  • Reply

    OK, I agree with most people, Sonic 2 HD looks smexi. The thing I didn’t like was the whole add campaign. You guys were essentially saying this game would make you jizz in your pants the second you looked at it. It was, like I said earlier, smexi, but to the point it was “OMG”, no. The ring leader of the s2hd team misled me and lots of other people into believing this countdown was going to be something so spectacular it would blow my socks off. I was not expecting a demo, after all it took like 2 years to actually come up with a proof to concept, but at least make it worthwhile. Don’t put up a 1 minute video with give or take 11 seconds of gameplay. That is just kick in the pants to the whole community and to the admins who let you use their resources to put hype into this project. In summary, I am truly disappointed.

  • Reply

    I was, like really searching for a whole 5 minutes or so for a demo or something, just for realising that the teaser is your announcement =D

  • Reply

    On http://www.s2hd.sonicretro.org/, the 1024×768 version of the second wallpaper at the very bottom of the page links to the wrong one: the higher def version, S2HDSonic_1920.png, when it should link to S2HDSonic_1024.png.

    Wasn’t sure where to put this, but I thought I’d say so.

  • Reply

    I like how people are complaining they weren’t impressed.

    What, just because people told you you would be, it’s their fault you’re not? I find it impressive, and so does a lot of people. So welcome to the range of opinions!

    Lol @ “I didn’t like it so I feel entitled to complain.”

    • Reply

      I think your missing the point. People are not disappointed at the workmanship of the game. It is very high quality, but the reason people are disappointed is because the hype was to much for so little delivered. The S2hd team gave everybody some kind of hope of a play through or just maybe, with the Lord’s blessing, a demo of the one level they’ve been working on for 3 YEARS. They put up all this hype like its gonna blow our socks off. What’s next? A countdown to what enemies will be in the game. Come on, this is not Sonic 4.

      • Reply

        That actually not completely off where I started from. So the point of all the hating is people were expecting more? Did they really say they were “going to release the game”? I read that fucking giant wall of text, and it, besides saying we would get something that would “blow our minds”, also gave everyone a little anvil in the head that apparently missed the mark, because all the bitching is starting again.

        And if the comparisons to Sonic Team handling are so gratuitous, shouldn’t everyone have some experience from this? You guys learned nothing, really? You still fall for hype?

        And I don’t count that as “3 years”, really. They remade everything from scratch 2 years ago for a better engine, and quite later even had to take the game away from the public eye because it was rotting from all the bickering on “which Flicky is the best looking?”.

        • Reply

          I agree with you to an extent quint. Some people were expecting more, like a demo. I myself was not for obvious reason.(getting to far into a hype is never a good thing) But what ticked off lots of people was the whole idea of taking the project out of public eye. Yes, once again I agree with you about how stupid some of the squabbling over stupid crap like flickies and the like. The whole reason for a s2hd for having it’s own forum group at retro is for everyone to get involved and know what the progress is. The changes made to the game comes quite drastic compared to the tech demo from 2009(?) But it was that decision that angered people that night, because
          1. Nobody knew of this sudden engine change, it was a surprise to people. Nobody but a handful of people knew since it was never told.
          2. The new art direction, sexy but yet once again a surprise, was once again unknown but to a handful.Not once was at least one screen shot was shown albeit for the new logos.
          3. With these reasons, why wouldn’t people who probably contributed work would be ticked for not being told of these changes on the topic of the forums.
          IT is, or was anyway, a community project and a lot of people were hyped to see the fruits of their labor, instead they got a 1 min video with give or take 11 seconds of game play. Also the hype was way to much and over published for nothing. That’s why it grew so large, hell even the admins were pissed about it.

  • Reply

    2 years…for an alpha release instead of the final build? *is going back to playing Mario Galaxy 2* See yallz later.

    • Reply

      WOW, I never would have seen this comment coming.

      Final build, for some reason I’m thinking that’s going to see a fate similar to Half-Life 2: Episode 3 due to you people complaining about the little offer with so much hype…

      • Reply

        I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m not even going to download this game. I have enough ports of Sonic 2, I don’t need another one. It’s the irony of the fact that this project was in the works for over 2 years and all is offered is an alpha release meaning its not QUITE done. It’s just hilarious all the hype was being brought into the light for a demo instead of the whole thing in one shot. :/

  • Reply

    Yeah, this is p. lame kids.

    I haven’t been following the project in quite some time; it was all looking kind of cool but slow-moving then Vincent named this CannedKarma douche as the project leader and I stopped caring nearly entirely.

    LOs1’s failure-tastic engine test didn’t help matters, but I can’t place when that was. I’ve -been- ready to call this project a waste of everyone’s time, but I met Gambit on the IRC and he’s a bro; I stopped dissin’ on S2HD out of respect for him and as it looked like this was going to be a newer revision of the engine I was willing to give it a chance – who knows, maybe this time around it’ll be better?

    I forgot about the countdown entirely within a day or so of its announcement, and now that it’s done with… a video’s all you’ve got to show? That’s kinda lame dude.
    Wake me when you’ve got an engine running this game, but until then I’ll keep ignoring the project.

    • Reply

      Read the forums – they wanted to have the alpha ready for the end of the countdown, but they unfortunately could not actually get it done on time due to certain problems. I don’t need to link to it as I’m not really following the project that much, and there’s already a link above your comment.

    • Reply

      Wait whaaat, isn’t Vincent the project leader anymore?

      Fuck that.

      • Reply

        No, he is. He’s still doing a lot of the character art since it’s his favorite thing to do.

  • Reply

    As I have not followed this project at all until now, I didn’t have any expectations for you to dash. After seeing the video, I was impressed; it seems to be of excellent workmanship. For one thing, Sonic doesn’t have green eyes in this game, so that’s one less thing for the grognards (look it up) to bitch about. I really could care less about his eye color, but the less infighting in the fanbase, the better. The pace seems about the same as the original, but my main concern is with the gameplay and design.

    I’ve been playing the same game for the past 19-odd years, and I am getting sick of the music and layouts. The hacks have worked somewhat, but in the end, they don’t change enough to truly stand out. Since this is an HD remake of the original game, just how far can you deviate from the source material without wrecking the game entirely? One idea would be to add the beta levels, as others have mentioned, or to perhaps include Knuckles as a hidden character (only him, though; none of that Silver shit!)

    • Reply

      Sorry, technical difficulty.

      Anyway, I hope you can get this game somewhat finished in the next 2 years or so, and I hope it succeds when it comes out. Cheerio!

  • Reply

    Oh damn, I was so expecting a release and to be playing it today, owell one can only hope eh. Perhaps it wont be too much longer of a wait :).

  • Reply

    Pretty slick! I hope it runs on Mac.

  • Reply

    Guys, you have done an excellent job, you are genius. It causes me great joy to play again, after 18 years of playing Sonic 2, my first game in my old megadrive. With this new HD version reborn again, beautiful and pleasant moments, with my brothers and friends.

    Thank you very much for giving us this beautiful and nostalgic “classic”.
    My congratulations and much success in his future projects.

    Greetings from Patagonia Argentina.
    Sorry for my rusty english.

    *Btw, as anecdotal personally, I tell them that my birthday coincides with that of our beloved “hedgehog”. 😀

    Viva Sonic!

  • Reply

    Well, I’m disappointed that all we got is a video, but I guess delays happen..

    However, I think it’s laughable that this is still classed as a “community” project when the community need a trailer to see what’s going on behind closed doors…

  • Reply

    It looks awesome, but I’ve figured out why it looks kinda sluggish and it feels life Sonic is dragging: the high speed running sprite animation is too slow when compared to the original, so he looks like he’s moving faster than his legs are.

    I hope this gets fixed soon, the timing of the animated frames is as important as the sprite moving speed!

    Otherwise, great work guys, keep it up!

  • Reply

    =D well I’m happy. I knew they weren’t going to release anything huge today, mainly because the said nothing about it. I got a taste of what I am going to get Q1 of 2011, and I anticipate that. Now i just got to figure out if I should stop playing my Sega Genesis for a bit, or should I continue to play sonic 2 to get ready for the coming alpha.

    I also hope Sega sees the progress and the reviews of this game, maybe they can learn from it. XD

  • Reply

    Graphics are HD, sure. But they are not so beautiful ! Sonic 2 seems awful that way…

    • Reply

      If you have no real constructive criticism or advice rather than your flawed opinion, just shut up.

  • Reply

    I cant believe the game is getting haters all ready. Well that’s Sonic Fandom, they would rather watch Indiana Jones 4 rather than the first 3 on blu-ray apparently. Judging by their response. I guess good Physics graphics and gameplay are meaningless, kind of how a good story is an inconvenience for Hollywood

    • Reply

      obviously you haven’t read like half the comment. A good majority of people don’t hate the game, it’s just the people who made it are where the hate is directing to. I see more love for this game design and idea than hate.

      • Reply

        Actually, it’s more like hate towards the action of making the huge “surprise” a release date and footage of what we’ve already seen in side-scrolling form. 😛

  • Reply

    The drama in the Sonic 2 HD forums is impressive. 

    I don’t have any thing to say about this unexpected delay. The only thing I can say is… put more effort on it, S2HD Staff 😉

  • Reply

    This game looks amazing. That people would put so much time into making something to me, not only says something good about them, but says something good about how the Internet and technology can be utilized for good purposes. For whatever reason, SEGA has been putting out underwhelming Sonic games for over a decade. I’m very glad that this game is in the works, as based off of the teaser, it looks like exactly what I and others have been waiting for for a long, long, long time. I was more excited when I saw this trailer than I was when I saw the Sonic 4 trailer.

    Here’s hoping that the team can keep up their good work and put this game out without any kind of shit from Sega.

  • Reply

    Seventy-nine freakin’ comments. We are truly in the midst of something earth-shattering.

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