Sonic hacks
From Sonic Retro
Sonic hacks are altered versions of Sonic the Hedgehog games that have been edited through the process of ROM Hacking. From the emergence of Cyan Helkaraxe's Sonic 1 Beta Hoax in 1999, the production of hacks has been a vital part of the Sonic research community and scene. Starting with the early documents penned by Cyan and saxman, to the Nemesis guides, the Sonic Community Hacking Guide, and beyond, researchers have used their understanding of the Sonic games to alter them in various ways. While earlier hacks were simple, such as minor palette changes, a number of hacks today are very complex. Over time, as the scene learns more about the underlying code behind the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the extent of these modifications has expanded. Modifications now include:
- palette changes
- sprite changes
- major art (title screen, HUD, et al.) changes
- level art changes and original level layouts
- music and sound changes
- importation of levels from other games
- changes in movement engines or bosses
- original concepts and gameplay styles
Today, with the assistance of hex editors, disassemblies and specific Sonic Hacking Utilities, fans have been creating more extensive modifications.
Hacks in the Sonic community are now usually distributed as full ROMs. In the past, IPS patches were used, since these are usually much smaller than a full ROM and were, therefore, easier to distribute in a time when dial-up was widely used. It was also believed, that since patches do not contain any copyrighted code, it was not illegal to distribute one. This format fell out of use when split disassemblies became available as a way to edit game data, and when dial-up was being replaced by faster broadband connections. The massive shifts in the ROM that can result from reassembly made IPS patches very large, and they would often contain a good volume of code anyway, thus eliminating the alleged legal advantage. Though saxman's RXL patch format was designed to replace IPS, it quickly faded into obscurity along with its predecessor. Another format, [1], takes shifted data into account, resulting in much smaller patches. (Note that xdelta-1.x used the original format known as xdelta; xdelta-3.x uses the standard VCDIFF format.)
Contents
List of notable Sonic hacks
Sega Mega Drive
The majority of Sonic ROM hacks are modifications of Sega Mega Drive games, since these are smaller and relatively simple compared to the games of later consoles. Also, many ROM hackers in the Sonic scene grew up with the Genesis and its games, so they hold fond memories of these games.
Sonic the Hedgehog
- Eggman the Dictator in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic 1 Beta Hoax
- Sonic Gaiden
- Sonic the Hedgehog Plus
- South Island Adventure
- Sonic the Hedgehog Megamix
- Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
- Sonic 1 Remastered (hack)
- The S Factor: Sonia and Silver
- Sonic 1337
- Sonic 1 Beta Remake
- Sonic 1 The Blue Blur
- Sonic 1 - Metal Sonic Hack
- Sonic - The Lost Land
- ChimpoQ!
- Mighty the Armadillo (hack)
- Sonic And The Mystic Gems
- Sonic 1: Bouncy Edition
- Sonic 1 - Return to the Origin
- Sonic and the Secret Extended Edition
- Sonic 1 Pixel Perfect
- Atomic Sonic
- SoniNeko
- OMG THE RED RINGS
- Sonic in Paynt
- Sonic 1 Easy mode
- Sonic the Hedgehog - Westside Island
- Mobius Adventures
- Sonic 1 With Fries
- Sonic the Hedgehog 32X
- Sonic the Hedgehog GBA
- Sonic - Hyper X
- Sonic the Hedgehog - The Final Showdown
- Sonic Uno
- Sonic the Hedgehog ZX
- Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (Genesis)
- Sonic 1 Brother Trouble
- Mecha Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic 1: The Special Stages
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Revelation
- Sonic 1 Lunacy
- Amy Rose in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic ERaZor
- Sonic: The One Ring
- Motobug the Badnik in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Mr. Needlemouse (hack)
- Sonic 1 Alt
- Sonic - Code Gray
- Sally Acorn in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog 1 @ SAGE 2010
- Yeth
- Flicky Turncoat DX
- Jester's Challenge
- Vector the Crocodile in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Charmy Bee in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Mighty the Armadillo in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Super Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Chip McCallahan in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic for MegaCD
- Sonic the Hedgehog Mega Blitz
- Pana Der Hejhog
- Sonic the Hedgehog OmoChao Edition
- Sonic 1 with Redbook Audio
- Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Metal Sonic Hyperdrive
- Doctor Robotnik's Creature Capture
- Ray the Flying Squirrel in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic 1 No-Name
- Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Stella the Cat
- Sonic 1 Color Contrast
- Dustin Wyatt's Epic Adventure
- Sonic the Hedgehog 1 for SegaCD
- Kirby in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic-Into the void
- Robotnik Returns
- Sonic 1: WTF LAME
- BakaSonic
- Sonic 1: Painto Edition 2
- Bunnie Rabbot in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Somari the Adventurer
- Mobius Evolution
- Sonic Green Snake
- Sonic 1 Special Version
- Sonic 1 Open World Experiment
- Sonic Bash
- Sonic the Hedgehog Remix
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Plus Edition
- Sonic: Scorched Quest
- CrazySonic
- Sonic 1 Dragon Edition
- Sonic 1 - Over 9000
- Ray in Sonic 1
- Sonic 1 - The Next Level
- Sonic: North Island
- Sonic The Hedgehog: Character Pak
- Luigi in Sonic 1
- Sonic & Johnny
- Cream and Cheese in Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2: Advanced Edit
- Sonic 2 Delta
- Sonic 2 Long Version
- Tohaka
- Sonic 2 - The Hybridization Project
- Sonic 2 SMTP
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2Z
- Sonic 2 Millennium Edition
- Sonic 2 Armageddon Game
- Project Shadow 2
- Sonic 2 EX
- Sonic 2 Megamix
- Sonic - The Lost Land 2
- Sonic 2: Aluminium Edition
- Rockman Chaos
- Sonic and Tals in Paynt
- Sonic 2 Recreation
- Red Hot Sonic 2
- Sonic Zeta Overdrive
- Sonic 2 Revamped
- Robotnik's Revenge
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (colourised ending hack)
- Fly with Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2: S3 Edition
- Sonic the Hedgehog - The Lost Worlds
- Sonic Boom (hack)
- Homing attack and jumpdash in Sonic 2
- Not-so-Super Sonic 2
- Sonic the Hedgehog Thrash
- Sonic 2 Retro Remix
- More Than a Memory: A Perfect Existence
- Sonic 2 Secret Rings Edition
- Sonic 2 XL
- Sonic 2 Dimps Edition
- Amy Rose in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2 Heroes
- Sonic for MegaCD
- Chip McCallahan in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2 Secret Rings Control
- Sonic VR
- Sonic: Super Deformed
- Sonic 2 Adventure Control
- Sonic 2 Adventure Edition
- Sonic 2 Time Attack
- Sally Acorn in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition
- Sonic Classic Heroes
- Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2: Battle Race
- Knuckles' Emerald Hunt
- Kirby in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 2: Return of Shadow
- Metal Sonic Rebooted
- Big's Fishing Derby
- Sonic 1 and 2
- Sonic Delta
- Coastal Valley
- Sonic Timezones
- Bunnie Rabbot in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
- Sonic 3 Complete
- Sonic's Fun and Easy Adventure
- Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles: The Challenges
- Sonic 3 and Amy Rose
- Sonic 3 Cz
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles - No Ring Challenge
- Sonic 3 and Sally Acorn
- Dr. Yùndòng
- Sonic Delta
Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island
Sega Game Gear
Sonic Drift 2
Sonic Triple Trouble
Sega Mega-CD
Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Nintendo GameCube
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Research and modifications of Sonic Adventure DX have been made much easier by the game's availability on PC. Dude, MainMemory and Endri are considered pioneers in modifying this game.
Other
Unofficial ports
- Sonic Drift 2 SMS
- Sonic Triple Trouble SMS
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD
- Sonic the Hedgehog 32X
- Sonic the Hedgehog GBA
- Sonic the Hedgehog 1 for SegaCD
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 PC
- Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited