Sonic Before the Sequel
From Sonic Retro
| Sonic Before the Sequel |
|---|
| Latest version: SAGE 2012 |
| Latest release date: 2012-08-05 |
| Engine: Sonic Worlds |
| Credits: LakeFeperd |
Sonic Before the Sequel (abbreviated Sonic BTS) is a fan game created by LakeFeperd that serves as a interquel between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The player goes through numerous Zones and alternates between Sonic, who wants to stop Dr. Eggman from launching the Death Egg, and Tails, who tries to keep up with Sonic and eventually teams up with him. During SAGE 2012, an update that included graphical improvements, an original soundtrack, and a bonus boss fight if the player reaches the good ending, was released.
This series of fan games made by LakeFeperd continued with a sequel, Sonic After the Sequel, and an interquel, Sonic Before the Sequel Aftermath (which formed into a different fan game, Sonic Chrono Adventure).
Contents
Story
In the end of Sonic 1, Sonic releases the Chaos Emeralds and is teleported to Hilltop Heights Zone. There, he catches sight of the nearly completed Death Egg and speeds off to stop its impending launch. After duking it out with Eggman, he heads off into Star Shore Zone. There, Tails is looking awkwardly at a Motobug that seems to be asleep and tries to touch it. The Motobug awakes, and just as it is about to attack Tails, Sonic comes out of nowhere, destroys it, and hurries off. Tails, amazed at the sight, sets out to follow the blue blur.
Sometime later, a robot appears and begins to attack Tails, but he is able to defeat it. After a while, Sonic begins to feel that someone is following him. when he turns around, he sees Tails, who is very ecstatic to see him. Sonic tries to run away, but Tails just flies up to the platform Sonic is standing on. In an effort to escape, Sonic jumps into the water. Before Tails can follow him, he is captured by a flying capsule.
Sonic and Tails meet up once again, and Sonic allows Tails to tag along with him. Just as they are about to confront Eggman, Tails gets knocked off of the platform, with Sonic being unable to reach him in time. Tails falls into the clouds nearby and learns how to use his tails to increase his speed. He then fights the orb robot for the last time, scrapping it.
Sonic faces off against Eggman, who is fighting him in a body armor. Before the second phase, the seventh and final Chaos Emerald appears and Sonic is able to transform into Super Sonic. He defeats Dr. Eggman and powers down and starts falling from the sky. But before he reaches the ground, Tails appears and Sonic can land safely on the Tornado, Sonic's biplane. They arrive in Emerald Hill Zone and the events of Sonic 2 begin.
Characters
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic is a 15-year-old blue hedgehog who lives in no particular locale on the planet Earth, instead choosing to travel the world looking for fun and adventure wherever he goes. While he may be a drifter, that doesn't mean he only cares about himself. Sonic is known for his 'attitude', which is shown through his smugness and sarcasm. Sonic sometimes likes to show off in order to 'look cool'. He is often shown posing or adjusting his gloves or shoes. He is also often noted to be impatient and sometimes have a hot temper.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Tails is an 8-year-old orange fox whose most recognizable trait is his twin tails. While he was originally teased for them, he has learned to appreciate and love his tails, especially since they have come in handy once joining Sonic the Hedgehog in defeating Dr. Eggman's plans time and time again. Tails is sweet-natured and humble, not one to grab the spotlight for himself and instead, ready to help out his friend and idol Sonic whenever necessary. While he isn't the bravest, he has become more outgoing since he has met Sonic, becoming the hero when need be. Regardless, Tails hopes to one day be self-sufficient, and not constantly rely on others, and be just as independent as Sonic.
Dr. Eggman: The grandson of Professor Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Eggman was born as Ivo Robotnik. While much of his past remains a mystery, it is known that in his early years Eggman looked up to his grandfather, hoping to one day be as great a scientist as Gerald ever was. It was later on in life that Dr. Robotnik would meet his long-time rival and arch-nemesis Sonic the Hedgehog. While he could be anything, Dr. Eggman has set his sights on the highest prize of them all - global domination. Dreaming of the day he will be able to erect Eggmanland, Eggman tires endlessly at accomplishing this, though his plans are foiled time and again by the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog.
His boss machines in this game are based on the visual style of the Stunt Race FX characters.
Unnamed Orb Robot: The mysterious sphere-shaped robot that attacks Tails throughout the game. It resembles an Eggmobile with a black dome covering the top and triangular eyes. Tails fights him in place of Dr. Eggman during his boss Acts. He is finally scrapped at Cloudy Crowd Zone, or is he...?
Gameplay
The game plays very similarly to the Sega Mega Drive Sonic games. Sonic and Tails have the Spin Dash. Sonic has the Super Peel Out, but not in the form of a figure eight. Tails can fly, much as he did in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. There are 3 Acts per Zone, with the boss having its own separate Act. Bonus Stages can be accessed at the end of Act 3 for Sonic and Tails (these acts only award extra lives, not the Chaos Emeralds). Unique to Sonic BtS is the addition of "Time Points", which determine the ending at the end of the game. If the player fails to complete the game in under 2 hours, they receive the bad ending. If they do beat it in 2 hours or less, they fight a bonus boss and receive the good ending.
Zones
| Hilltop Heights Zone | |
|---|---|
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| The first level of the game, which resembles a combination of Hill Top Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone. Sonic starts off high in the sky and eventually makes his way down to the surface. | |
| Star Shores Zone | |
|
Played as: Tails | |
| Tails' first level, which seems to take inspiration from Palmtree Panic. Fuzzies from Yoshi's Island make an appearance, and touching one makes the screen (and Tails) look like it's on acid. | |
| Rocky Ride Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| Sonic's second level, taking place in a mountainous region. Act 3 has a huge focus on vertical platforming. | |
| Lost Levels Zone | |
|
Played as: Tails | |
| Tails' second level, resembling a mish-mash of scrapped levels from Sonic 2, including Hidden Palace Zone, Wood Zone, and Sand Shower Zone. | |
| Sunset Star Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| Sonic's third level, in a city near Titanic Tower at sunset. Act 2 has 2 exits, leading to 2 different Act 3's. | |
| Metro Madness Zone | |
|
Played as: Tails | |
| Tails' third level, in Sunset Star at night. Act 3 has some underwater areas near the bottom. | |
| Fortress Flow Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| Sonic's main water level. It is unique from other underwater levels in that Sonic receives a permanent Bubble Shield that allows him to perform a double-jump throughout this Zone. | |
| Perilous Paradise Zone | |
|
Played as: Tails | |
| Tails' main water level, taking place in some kind of simulated habitat. In Act 2, the forest is set ablaze, much like Angel Island Zone. | |
| Titanic Tower Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| It is a reverse Terminal Velocity, in that Sonic is running up the tower, not down it. It is very vertically oriented. | |
| Cloudy Crowd Zone | |
|
Played as: Tails | |
| Tails' last level, where he gets his new running animation to be able to run on the clouds. Takes place in the clouds near the Death Egg. | |
| Arcane Altitude Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic (Act 1), Tails (Act 2) | |
| The last full Zone in the game, and the only one without a third Act or a boss. It's also the only Zone where the player controls both Sonic and Tails, alternating between the two characters each Act. The interior parts very much resemble Death Egg Zone from Sonic & Knuckles. | |
| Death Egg Zone | |
|
Played as: Sonic | |
| It all ends here. A duel with the prototype of one of Eggman's strongest creations. |
Hill Top Zone and Starlight Carnival are hidden levels. Hill Top is accessed by pressing U during the cutscene after the Hilltop Heights boss and Starlight Carnival is accessed by spamming the U key in Rocky Ride to rapidly skip through the levels, which should end up taking you to the level after skipping the boss act.
Soundtrack
The SAGE 2012 version included an original soundtrack composed in collaboration between Falk, KgZ, Andy Tunstall and Funk Fiction. It was widely praised as being one of the best parts of the game to the point that even Jun Senoue admitted to like it. However, the music used in the cutscenes and Special Stages still remain intact.
The soundtrack can be downloaded at the SAGE 2012 splash page of Sonic BTS.
Bugs
- The oxygen supply in Perilous Paradise runs out at normal speed, even if the game is lagging. Sonic Worlds beta version 0.5 (the version BTS is built on) uses MMF2's built-in timer which counts the seconds in real time.
- There is a chance that the game will crash if it tries to play a cutscene. This is because they are made in Adobe Flash and require the use of an extension incompatible with most modern setups. Thankfully, the cutscenes can be turned off in the settings.
- Mac users have reported trouble with saving the game. LakeFeperd responded to this by including a level skip button (mapped to the U key) so that Mac users can play all the levels.