Sonic Robo Blast 2

Sonic Robo Blast 2

Latest version: 2.2.14
Latest release date: 2025-01-17
Engine: Doom Legacy
Credits: Sonic Team Junior
Development status: Active
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer

Sonic Robo Blast 2, abbreviated as SRB2, is a fan game developed by Sonic Team Junior that has been in development since 1998. It uses a modified version of the Doom Legacy source port of Doom that allows for optional analog control and true room-over-room gameplay (something not possible in the standard Doom engine), as well as the standard gameplay elements Sonic games are known for.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 is a 3D platformer heavily inspired by the original 2D Sonic games for the Mega Drive, though it also borrows elements from the current Sonic games, such as Sonic's signature Air Spin Attack. Entirely original to this game is its Multiplayer mode, a variation of classic first-person shooter games with Sonic elements. Due to being built with a modified Doom Legacy engine, the game is also very easily customizable. Custom levels, characters and even source code modifications can be created with the help of external editors.

Storyline

Months after Dr. Eggman's defeat in Sonic Robo Blast, the mad doctor took an interest in harnessing energy from a mysterious asteroid that hovers over the planet once every five years. After claiming it as his own battleship, Eggman chose Greenflower Mountain as his first target for obliteration.

Sonic was enjoying a long overdue vacation when he was suddenly alerted by the presence of Eggman's massive fleet. Sonic gazed at the giant battleship aimed toward the mountain, and had already bolted towards it in a blink of an eye. Even though Sonic rushed to save the mountain as quickly as possible, it had already been destroyed by the time he arrived. After a quick reunion with the evil doctor, Sonic and friends journey off onto another quest to save the world from Dr. Eggman.

Playable characters

There are six playable characters in SRB2, three of which can be unlocked through various methods. Each character has their own set of advantages and drawbacks in the various game modes. Custom characters can be added through addons.

Starting characters

	Sonic the Hedgehog
	Sonic can outrun the rest of the cast on ground, but suffers from difficulty getting around hazards. His double-jump ability is the Speed Thok, named after the characteristic sound it makes and gives the player a forward burst of speed, which is useful for clearing wide gaps, redirecting momentum, and automatically giving acceleration. Because he cannot gain any height aside from jumping, some areas will be inaccessible to him, so he must find other routes around them. Due to his speed, Sonic is more difficult to control than the other characters, but when used correctly, he is able to find his way across stages rapidly.
	Miles "Tails" Prower
	Tails is the most accessible character due to his flight ability, which allows him to clear long jumps, skip over obstacles, and reach areas that no other character can reach. He is very easy to control due to his relatively low speed and comfortable handling, making him ideal for beginners. He can still reach great speeds, however, if a player has mastered how to combine his Spin Dash and flight.
	Knuckles the Echidna
	Knuckles can't jump as high as the other characters, but his gliding and climbing ability allows him to scale large gaps and get to areas others cannot. Because of his low jump height, Knuckles is sometimes forced to take harder, alternative routes hidden behind breakable walls where his skills are put to test. Knuckles can destroy breakable walls just by walking into them rather than having to spindash, and can destroy some breakable walls that are impossible for Sonic and Tails to destroy.

Unlockable characters

	Amy Rose
	Amy does not have a Spin Dash, so she can't roll under small gaps and instead uses her hammer to attack enemies. Her hammer has other uses outside of attacking, including breaking through strong walls, floors, and spikes, which allows her to access areas that nobody else can. She can also hit a spring with her hammer to gain some extra height or be launched farther. Out of all the characters, Amy has the highest jump, allowing her to reach areas others can't reach with a normal jump. Amy also appears as an NPC in the unlockable Frozen Hillside Zone (FHZ) near the zone's goal post, where she will relentlessly chase and try to latch onto the player when spotting them, similarly to her behavior in Sonic CD's Palmtree Panic Zone 1.
	Fang the Sniper
	Fang, like Amy, doesn't have a Spin Dash and can't roll under small gaps, but his skillset more than makes up for it. He can lock on to enemies and shoot them with his pop gun by pressing Spin, as long as he is standing still. His Tail Bounce ability allows him to easily reach higher areas, bounce on harmful surfaces without a scratch, and destroy breakable floors. Fang also has a very high jump, only falling short of Amy by a minuscule 8 Fracunits, although his Tail Bounce can launch him over double that high anyway.
	Metal Sonic
	Metal Sonic's speed rivals that of Sonic's due to his special ability, Boost Mode; so long as Metal Sonic has enough momentum built up, his speed and jump height will increase and he will be able to break through spikes at full speed. However, he isn't fully invincible in this mode, and he can still take damage from certain hazards; additionally, Metal Sonic will exit boost mode if he loses too much momentum. While his speed makes him harder to handle, he has less difficulty with platforming thanks to his Hover ability, which allows him stay in the air as long as he has some momentum.

Gameplay

Single player

SRB2's main focus lies in its single player campaign. In its final state, it is supposed to span at least 7 zones, each consisting of three acts. Zones are organized similarly to Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, with the first two acts being typical Sonic levels with a start, and end, and obstacles in-between, and Act 3 containing a boss. The levels are similar to the classic Sonic games, with each zone having its own theme, featuring distinct enemies and obstacles. Contrary to official 3D Sonic titles like Sonic Adventure, the levels feature multiple paths and are designed openly, with several hidden items encouraging exploration. Unlike official Sonic titles (past and present), SRB2 does not feature loops due to engine limitations, which leads to a different visual and gameplay style. Slopes were added in version 2.1.15, and most of the stages have been updated accordingly as of Version 2.2.

Greenflower Zone (abbreviated GFZ) is the first zone. It is stylistically very similar to Green Hill Zone, and is a very basic starting stage, for players to get the grasp of the controls and gameplay mechanisms.
Techno Hill Zone (abbreviated THZ) is the second zone in the game. It takes place in one of Eggman's factories and its surrounding outside area. All water is replaced with buoyant slime, similar to the slime found in Chemical Plant Zone, but will not damage players on contact, instead making them slowly rise from the bottom. The zone also introduces the player to obstacles such as electrified floors and gas jets.
Deep Sea Zone (abbreviated DSZ) is the third zone in the game. Placing a lot of emphasis on puzzles, players work their way through flooded ancient ruins and need to stop for air periodically.
Castle Eggman Zone (abbreviated CEZ) is the fourth zone in the game. The first act takes place in a dense forest that leads to Eggman's castle, which the player enters in Act 2.
Arid Canyon Zone (abbreviated ACZ) is the fifth zone in the game, set in a wide canyon. Players must navigate avoid deep pits, hang on to rope pulleys, wade through slippery oil, and avoid sinking into quicksand in order to clear the stage. Act 2 takes place somewhere deep in the canyon, and Act 3 takes place in a train where the player will be fighting Fang the Sniper.
Red Volcano Zone (abbreviated RVZ) is the sixth zone in the game, set in a volcano full of dangerous lava. Players have to cross crumbling rocks and avoid suddenly rising lava. Only the first act is included in the most recent version. The second act was once planned to take place on the frozen top of the volcano and be called "Blue Mountain Zone", but the concept was scrapped and act 2 will take place in the volcano as well. A very early version of Blue Mountain Zone is included in version 2.0, but has since been removed in version 2.1.
Dark City Zone (abbreviated DCZ) is the planned seventh zone in the game. None of it has been released as of now. If it is made, it will not have a corresponding Special Stage.
Grand Eggship Zone (abbreviated GEZ) is the planned eighth zone in the game. None of it has been released as of now, and it might be canned in the future. If it is made, it will not have a corresponding Special Stage.
Egg Rock Zone (abbreviated ERZ) is the penultimate zone in the game. Similar to many final zones, various unique obstacles will impede progress in this space station.
Black Core Zone (abbreviated BCZ) is the final zone in the game. In it, the player has to defeat both Metal Sonic and Black Eggman in order to complete the game. The ending that occurs afterwards will depend on whether or not all 7 Chaos Emeralds were collected.

The Single Player mode also features Record Attack, where players are awarded with Score, Time, and Ring Emblems after completing the specified requirements for each stage, except for Act 3, where the player can only get Time Emblems. The Special Stages also have Record Attack, but the player can only get the Score and Rank Emblems.

Record Attack also comes with the ability for players to save their previous runs as ghosts, where they can share them with others.

Throughout the game, the player will come across several monitors that can help them. These being:

Super Ring Monitor - Grants players 10 rings upon breaking.
Attraction Shield - A shield that pulls in nearby rings. The player can also perform the "Attraction Shot", a Homing Attack-styled move, by pressing the spin button whilst jumping.
Force Shield - A shield that gives the player two stages of protection. By pressing the spin button whilst jumping, the player can halt their momentum using "Force Stop".
Armageddon Shield - A shield that, when detonated, destroys every enemy in the radius. In Ringslinger gametypes, this damages nearby players.
Whirlwind Shield - A shield that grants the player an extra jump when they press the spin button whilst jumping or pressing the Jump button just after leaving a platform.
Elemental Shield - A unique shield that protects the player from fire hazards, harmful slime, asphyxiation, and drowning. By pressing the spin button whilst jumping, the player can perform the "Elemental Stomp", which makes the player quickly dash towards the ground. The shield also allows the player to leave behind a fire trail after spinning, which can destroy enemies or burn opponents in Ringslinger gametypes.
Super Sneakers - Doubles the player's speed for 20 seconds.
Invincibility - Makes the player invulnerable to all obstacles, except for getting crushed or bottomless pits, for 20 seconds.
Golden Monitor - A monitor that contains a specific item, this monitor can not be destroyed, and will re-add the item after hitting it.

Additionally, the Thunder, Fire and Water Shields from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are also available in select levels, functioning similarly to their original appearance, all of which can be performed by pressing the spin button whilst jumping.

Multiplayer

SRB2 features several multiplayer modes that can be played either via splitscreen or over network connection. An official Master Server is provided at the game's homepage to organize netplay. Multiplayer modes include Co-Op (which is basically the single player campaign with multiple players allowed), Race and Competition and the gametypes within the "Ringslinger" game mode; Match, Team Match, Capture The Flag, Tag and Hide & Seek.

There are some monitors that are exclusive to this mode. These being:

Teleporter - Based on the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 monitor of the same name, it switches around every player's position.
Recycler - Swaps the amount of Rings and Weapon Rings held by players with another.

Race

Race is a simple race to the finish, either on the single player levels or on external Circuit levels designed for the gametype. These are short tracks with a circular layout, in which the player have to complete four rounds. There were official circuit levels until version 2.1, where they were removed. Alternatively, Competition is available, in which points are awarded for collecting the most items, destroying the most enemies, and Item Monitors, as well as finishing quickly, á la Sonic 2. Here, the player with the most points wins.

Match

Match is a variation of a typical first-person shooter Deathmatch game with Sonic elements. Match is played in first person on a set of nine maps designed specifically for that gametype. The players shoot rings at each other, and each shot removes one ring from the ring counter. Since rings fly considerably slower than projectiles, and players are much faster than in regular Match games, rings must be aimed ahead of the opponents to hit them. Hitting a player awards 50 points and drop all of their equipments, hitting an unequipped player awards 100 points and kills them.

In every new round, when players enter the game, they get a Pity Shield, which protects them from one hit. They can also get one if they've been hit too many times.

Team Match is simply a Match game with two teams. The team that scores the most points in total win.

On top of the regular red rings, there are seven weapon rings, each with different effects. To shoot a weapon ring, one must collect the corresponding panels and have enough ammunition for that weapon. Shooting any ring will also take out one ring from the player's ring count. Ammunition pickups are also scattered throughout the stage. The weapon rings include:

Infinity Ring - Allows players to throw mobius strip-shaped Rings at other players without depleting Rings from their current amount.
Rail Ring - A very powerful single-shot weapon with a very slow firing rate. It has high knockback.
Automatic Ring - Allows the player to fire a constant stream of Rings as long as the Fire button is held. True to its name, it has a high firing rate.
Bounce Ring - A weapon ring that bounces off walls, making it hard for players to escape from tight corridors. If it doesn't bounce on anything after it's thrown, it will fizzle out.
Scatter Ring - A spread-like weapon ring that fires five Scatter Rings in a plus formation, which spreads out the farther it goes. If it hits an opponent at very close range, the opponent will be shot back farther than usual.
Grenade Ring - A proximity-based ring that explodes when a player gets near it or is left alone after a few moments. If a player is hit by a Grenade Ring, their knockback distance is determined on how close they were to it.
Explosion Ring - A bomb-shaped ring that explodes when it comes in contact with a player, the ground, or a wall. If a player is directly hit by the item, they will be knocked back. Anyone caught within the explosion radius will also be hit.

Additionally, Chaos Emeralds spawn in Match games on random spots, and collecting all seven grants the player free speed shoes and invincibility for 20 seconds.

CTF

Capture The Flag works just like traditional CTF games in first-person shooters, such as Unreal Tournament. The players are divided into two teams, and each team has a base that contains a flag. The players must try to steal the flag of the opposing team and bring it to their base to score a point (as long as their own flag is in their own base). Apart from that, the setup works like a regular Match game, but is played on its own set of eleven maps.

Tag/Hide & Seek

Tag and Hide & Seek are two closely related gametypes, both played on the Match maps. In Tag, one player is IT and much chases the other players. Once they hit another player, that player becomes IT as well. As long as a player is not IT, their score increases per second, and for every player that is tagged, the Tagger receives 100 points. Hide & Seek works similarly. At the beginning, the players who are not IT have time to hide. Once the hiding time is over, they can't move anymore, and the player who is IT must shoot them. Scoring works exactly as in Tag.

Unlockable content

SRB2 features a lot of additional content that can be unlocked by various means. This includes several bonus stages, some of which emulate the style and gameplay of other video games. To get a full list of unlockables, one must beat the single player campaign. Bonus content can be unlocked primarily by two things: Collecting either emblems or the Chaos Emeralds.

The seven Chaos Emeralds can be acquired by collecting Special Stage Tokens that are hidden in all non-boss acts. When the player exits a level after collecting these, they are sent to a Special Stage where they originally had to collect a certain number of rings in a certain time to collect an emerald. As of Version 2.1, these special stages have been replaced with stages inspired by the Sega game NiGHTS Into Dreams, similar to the zone the token was found in.

There are 200 Emblems, which are winged logos, in all non-boss act levels that the player has to collect to unlock the bonus content. Other emblems can only be earned by completing certain tasks, and in both Record and NiGHTS Mode.

Customization

Because it is built on top of the Doom engine, SRB2 is easily customizable, and the multitude of user-created addons is a source for the game's popularity. It uses Doom's WAD file format, which allows for custom levels and characters to be made with the help of a WAD Editor. SOCs are a type of text script that allow to change many settings of the game. Source code modifications can also easily be made by altering the openly distributed source code and compiling it. As of version 2.1, Lua scripting is now supported in addons.

Screenshots

(These screenshots are currently outdated. When possible, please update these with screenshots from v2.2 of this game.) (EXTRA INFO: All 3 Mario Koopa Blast stages have been replaced with Pipe Towers as of Version 2.1 of the game, and the SRB1 Remake is no longer in the game. There are also now 3 new NiGHTS stages, with Spring Hill being renamed to Christmas Chime and getting a Christmas-themed redesign. Remove this message when all screenshots are updated.)