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Somari

From Sonic Retro

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Somari FC title.png
Somari
System(s): Famicom
Developer:
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Famicom
TW
1994  ? ?
Famicom
RU
1994[1]  ? ?
Famicom
TH
199x  ? ?
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Somari or Somari the Adventurer is an unlicensed port of Sega's flagship Sega Mega Drive video game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Nintendo Famicom. It was released by Hummer Team in 1994.

Somari is notorious not for featuring Sonic the Hedgehog as its starring character, but Nintendo's mascot Mario, who in this game shares Sonic's abilities.

Gameplay

Somari is an attempt to bring the original Sonic the Hedgehog to the 8-bit Famicom. Mario (or "Somari") can run and jump like Sonic, spinning into enemies, collecting rings and running around loops, with the spin dash technique included from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for good measure. The game attempts to mimic the Mega Drive game as closely as possible, though its special stages are based on those found in the 8-bit version of the game (meaning there are no chaos emeralds), presumably due to hardware limitations. Scrap Brain Zone is also missing, though remnants of it exist in the ROM.

There is no ending sequence should the player manage to complete the game - just a single screen showing Dr. Eggman juggling chaos emeralds and some text claiming he will return.

As a very early attempt at getting Sonic to run on simpler hardware, Somari is riddled with issues, from poor collision detection and unresponsive controls to game-breaking glitches. Like many unlicensed titles of its kind, the game is very difficult to play, but is infamous, particularly after being rediscovered on the internet, for its low quality presentation and obvious novelty value.

History

Origins

The true history of Somari is not known, being first spotted by news outlets during the mid-1990s. Cover art seems to suggest a release date of 1994, though whether Somari was the first incarnation of the game is yet to be established.

As with most unlicensed Famicom titles, Somari can be traced back to mainland Asia, being initially spread across Taiwan, Hong Kong and presumably parts of China. It spread into regions that were known from high piracy level of Famicom consoles, that is most of the Asia, Former USSR, Eastern Europe, South America and Africa, though saw very limited distribution in more developed markets due to stricter copyright laws.

In addition to being released as a stand-alone product, Somari was included in many unlicensed Famicom multi-carts, a practise that continues with ever greater numbers of games to this day.

Legacy

Many years later, a hack which improves various aspects of the game was released to attempt to turn Somari into something more playable.

Screenshots

Hidden content

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Somari/Hidden content

Magazine articles

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Somari/Magazine articles

Physical scans

Famicom, TW, 1994
Somari TW Box Front.png
Cover
Somaricart3.jpg
Cart
Famicom, RU, 1994 (Steepler)

Famicom, 1996 (NT-616)

Somari Cart NT-616.jpg
Cart
Famicom, 1998 (VT2022)

Somaricart2.jpg
Cart
Famicom, Hi-Game 1999 (KT-3049)

Somari Mario 4 KT3049 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU, 1999 (1043)

Somari RU 1043 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, (N-S1)

Somaricart1.jpg
Cart
Famicom, (K1249)

Somari cart.jpg
Cart
Famicom, (K01-015)

SomariSonic4 K01-015 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU

Somari RU cart.png
Cart
Famicom, ???

Somari Famicom Cart 1.jpg
Cart
Famicom, ???

Somari cart alt.png
Cart
Famicom, ???

Somari cart alt.png
Cart
Famicom, ???

Somari star bigcart.png
Cart
Famicom, ???

Somari Sonic&Mario cart.png
Cart

Multicarts

Famicom, AS, 2 in 1, 1997 Super Hik Gold Gard (NT-803)

Somari2in1 NT803 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, AS, 7 in 1

Somari7in1 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU, 360 in 1

Somari360in1 RU cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1997, 3 in 1 (YH-308)

Somari3in1 YH308 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1997, 5 in 1 (YH-012)

Somari5in1 YH012 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 2000, 4 in 1 (YH447)

Somari4in1 YH447 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 2 in 1 Trum Golden Card (XC002)

Somari2in1 XC002 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super 3 in 1 (NT8003)

SomariSuper3in1 NT8003 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super 3 in 1 (NT8064)

Somari3in1 NT8064 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 4 in 1, Latest Wonderful Card (FY123)

Somari4in1 FY123 Cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 5 in 1 (K5201)

Somari5in1 K5201 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super 5 in 1 (NT 8034)

SomariSuper5in1 NT8034 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Golden 5 in 1 (ML300)

SomariGolden5 RU ML300 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super Hik 6 in 1 (AR123)

Somari6in1 AR123 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Gold 7 in 1 HK (AR466)

Somari7in1 AR466 cart.png
Cart

Variants

Somari has been released multiple times, often modified, under different titles:

Sonic & Knuckles 5

Title screen

Similar to the above but with a Sonic & Knuckles title screen and theme tune. Sonic is the only playable charater in this game (despite Knuckles is on the title screen). No evidence currently suggests the game was released before 1997.

Physical scans

Famicom, 1997, (NT-875)

SuperSonic51997 Famicom Cart NT-875.jpg
Cart
Famicom, 1997 (NT 325)

Famicom, 1997, 3 in 1 (NT-946)

Sonic3in1 NT946 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU, 3 in 1 (VT 114)

Sonic3in1 RU VT114 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super 6 in 1 (NT8020)

Sonic5 6in1 NT8020 cart.png
Cart

Sonic 3D Blast 6

Title screen

Similar to above one, but with another different title screen and Marble Zone being set as the first level. This uses the Sonic & Knuckles theme and has an extra "start" screen similar to Sonic 3D. No evidence currently suggests the game was released before 1997.

Physical scans

Famicom, 1997 (NT 318)

Famicom, Hi-Game 1999

Famicom, Hi-Game 1999, 76 in 1 (PS5021)

Sonic76in1 PS5021 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 7 in 1 (SA04)

Sonic7in1 SA04 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 8 in 1 (N34)

Sonic8in N34 cart.png
Cart

Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic (3D Blast) 5

Title screen

A version of Somari that changes most of the graphics "back" to Sonic the Hedgehog. The player starts off in Spring Yard Zone rather than in Green Hill Zone, though users have created an IPS file to restore the original level order[2].

The game often refers to itself as Sonic 5 (音速小子5) on packaging. No evidence currently suggests the game was released before 1998.

Physical scans

Famicom, 1998, (VT2018B)

Sonic5 Famicom Cart VT2018B Alt.jpg
Cart
Famicom, 1998, (VT-515)

Sonic VT515 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1999, (VT2018B)

Sonic5 Famicom Cart VT2018B.jpg
Cart
Famicom, 1999, (BV2018)

Sonic BV2018 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Hi-Game 1999, (KT2122)

Sonic KT2122 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Hi-Game 1999, (KT2192)

Sonic KT2192 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, VE (Nintendo C.A)
Sonic5 VE Box Front.png
Cover
Famicom, RU (TSC Dandyk)

Sonic 5 RU YH2012 TSC Dandyk cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU (K&S)

Sonic RU K&S cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU (K&S) alt

Sonic RU K&S cart alt.png
Cart
Famicom, RU (New Game)

Sonic RU NewGame cart.png
Cart
Famicom, BG (Wen-BC)

Famicom, (K01-016)

Sonic K01016 cart.png
Cart
Famicom,

Sonic5 Famicom Cart.jpg
Cart
Famicom,

Sonic3D Famicom Cart.jpg
Cart
Famicom,

Sonic Famicom cart.png
Cart
Multicarts
Famicom, 1998, 2 in 1 (VT4066)

Sonic2in1 VT4066 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1998, 2 in 1 (VT4102)

Sonic2in1 VT4102 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1998, 2 in 1 (VT4111)

Sonic2in1 VT4111 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1998, 3 in 1 (VT4076)

Sonic3in1 VT4076 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 1999, 6 in 1 (YH613)

Sonic6in1 YH613 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, RU, 4 in 1 (KT-8136)

Sonic4in1 RU KT8136 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 2 in 1 (VT4166)

Sonic2in1 VT4166 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 2 in 1 (YH205)

Sonic2in1 YH205 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 3 in 1 (YH346)

Sonic3in1 YH346 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, Super 3 in 1 (YH346)

Sonic3in1 YH346 cart alt.png
Cart
Famicom, 3 in 1 (K3009)

Sonic3in1 K3009 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 4 in 1 (K4027)

Sonic4in1 K4027 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 6 in 1 (K6001)

Sonic6in1 K6001 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 178 in 1 (FK029)

Sonic178in1 FK029 cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 178 in 1 (FK029), alt

Sonic178in1 FK029 cart alt.png
Cart

Family Kid

Title screen

A version of Somari for Thai market, promoted by Family TSI Ltd., company known for releasing famiclones brand called "Family", which was very popular in the region. The starting level is Green Hill Zone, just like in Somari.

Physical scans

Famicom, TH

FamilyKid TH cart.png
Cart
Famicom, 2 in 1

Doraemon

Title screen

A almost a complete graphical overhaul of Somari featuring the Japanese character Doraemon. It was made by "Waixing Computer Science & Technology Co, Ltd.". It introduces brand new levels and music though gameplay is identical.

Physical scans

Famicom, TW

Famicom, TW (970563)

Famicom, TW (newer)

Doraemon Famicom cart3.png
Cart

The Hummer

Title screen

Part of a Super New Year Cart 15 in 1 multi-cart by Hummer Team. It was later insert to a 60 in 1 plug and play from Hummer Team.

Physical scans

Famicom, Super New Year 15 in 1

Downloads

Download.svg

Download Somari
Multiple downloads available

Somari (127 kB) (info)
Doraemon (120 kB) (info)

References


Somari
Somari FC title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Video coverage


Unlicensed Sonic the Hedgehog games
Famicom
Somari (1994) |
Famicom
World Heroes 2 (1994) |
MSX2
Game Boy Advance
Sonyc (1995) |
Sega Mega Drive
Sonic Jam 6 (1998) |
Nintendo Game Boy
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Sonic 3D Blast 5 (199x) |
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Chaoji Yinsu Xiaozi: Super Sonik II (200x) |
Game Boy Advance
Sonic 3 Fighter Sonic (200x)
Amstrad CPC
Ball Bearing (1993) |
Famicom
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Jurassic Boy 2 (1994) | Sonic Dragon (1995)
Unlicensed Sonic the Hedgehog hacks of licensed games
Famicom
Sonic |
Famicom
Super Mario & Sonic 2 |
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Sonic the Hedgehog (1996) |
Nintendo Game Boy
Sonic 6 (1998)