View source for Sonic ERaZor

{{Hack
| screen=s1erz.png
| date=September 8, 2024
| originalgame=Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
| version=Sonic ERaZor 7
| system=[[sega:Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]]
| romsize=1,062 KB
| credits=[[User:Selbi|Selbi]]
| thanks=[[User:Vladikcomper|vladikcomper]], [[User:MarkeyJester|MarkeyJester]], [[User:DalekSam|DalekSam]], fuzzy, Chaotic SoFa, ajcox
| visualmods=yes
| audiomods=yes
| layoutmods=yes
| basicenginemods=yes
| advenginemods=yes
}}
'''''Sonic ERaZor''''' is a [[Sonic hacks|ROM hack]] of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' created by [[User:Selbi|Selbi]]. This hack is unlike many others, featuring a (bizarre) in-game story line and ridiculous challenges/mechanics, as well a ton of cutscenes, story screens, and easter eggs. Furthermore, while not originally intended as such, the hack is often summarized as "''What if Michael Bay directed Sonic 1?''" due to its rampant use of explosions and focus on action.

The name ''ERaZor'', with its upper- and lowercase letters, is a mix of the word ''eraser'' and the German word ''Scherz'' (meaning "joke" in English). Despite the naming similarities, it has nothing to do with [[Erazor Djinn]] or ''[[Sonic Eraser]]''.

When first released back in early 2010, Selbi stated that this hack had no goal whatsoever, and any ideas he came up with just went in. Today's releases have a lot more structure and thought-out gameplay elements. The difficulty has been steadily balanced with each new release, mostly due to negative feedback regarding the frustrating game design of the earlier ones. However, it deliberately remains tough and has never abandoned its roots as a difficult game.

In 2024, the hack received its first update in over eight years with the release of the '''Seventh Public Release''', which introduced ''Casual/Frantic Mode'' (a unique difficulty selection specifically built around ERaZor's identity).

== Levels ==
''Sonic ERaZor'''s levels are based on those of its source game. The level order, however, deviates a lot.

=== Pre-Game ===
==== ''Intro Sequence'' ====
A short cutscene showcasing [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]] running at high speed through a [[Green Hill Zone]]-based level with a hot palette, while being chased by a [[Buzz Bomber]] which shoots exploding bullets at him. At the end of the sequence, Sonic launches himself into a giant ring trap, which teleports him to ''Uberhub Place'', kicking off the events of the game.

==== Uberhub Place ====
This is the overworld of the hack (which is actually based on [[Spring Yard Zone]] of all things). From here, the player can enter the tutorial and the options menu, or select the level they want to play by jumping into the respective tubes. Each beaten level unlocks a new door and awards a trophy. By default, the player returns to this stage automatically, though this behavior can be disabled in the options.

==== Tutorial Place ====
The optional but recommended first level of this game. It was designed to teach players the various unique aspects of this game. Information monitors are spread around the level, which will display useful tips in a small text box by pressing {{A}}. The level contains guidelines to the controls, the Inhuman Mode, the Hard Part Skippers, Trial-and-Error sections, and Gravity Control. This entire stage can be skipped by jumping into the [[Giant Ring]] to the left of the player as they enter the stage.

=== Main Game ===
==== Night Hill Place / Green Hill Place ====
The ''true'' first level of the ERaZor. It's a darkened version of the source game's [[Green Hill Zone]]. Sonic can't defeat the altered [[Badnik]]s in the waterfall section. The patient player can try to destroy them with the hidden invincibility power-up, or the impatient can simply try to avoid colliding with them. At the end of this level is a boss fight with a [[Crabmeat]], which shoots a lot of exploding balls.

After defeating the Crabmeat, Sonic is launched into the second half of the stage: the original first act of Green Hill Zone. However, the differences are immediately apparent, as all enemies in this section are covered in explosions or related to explosions otherwise. At the end of this level is a boss fight with a hypercharged version of the [[Green Hill Zone boss|GHZ boss battle]] with 3 wrecking balls.

==== Special Place ====
This mini-stage is based off the [[Special Stages]], with the major difference that this one doesn't rotate. Instead, the player is required to carefully move Sonic through the stage and avoid the many, many GOAL blocks. If Sonic touches one of these, the stage won't end though, but he will be teleported to the last checkpoint he collected.

==== Ruined Place ====
Half-way through this level, which is based on [[Marble Zone]], Sonic is forced to activate an S-monitor. This enables ''Inhuman Mode'', which allows Sonic to propel himself into the air by firing exploding bullets when pressing {{A}}. From there, the player must navigate through a maze with spiked walls, ceilings and floors, which will teleport Sonic back on contact. Furthermore (in Frantic Mode only), standing on the ground also causes rings to be drained incredibly fast. Think of the movie ''Speed'', but with a [[hedgehog]], because the player dies upon reaching zero.

==== Labyrinthy Place ====
This level takes the claustrophic atmosphere of [[Labyrinth Zone]] to the extreme. Thematically, the stage is about the ''camera crew'' taking revenge of the player after the previous level. The camera behaves like [[Jungle Zone#Act 2|Jungle Zone Act 2]] from the [[sega:Sega Master System|Sega Master System]] version of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)|Sonic 1]]'': as soon as Sonic lands on higher ground, the screen will rise and lock; if he then hits the new bottom of the screen, he will die. At a few points in the stage, this behavior is disabled to allow the player to drop down. The stage ends with a helpless [[Jaws]] badnik.

==== Unreal Place ====
The second [[Special Stage]] also follows the same idea as the first one, being a non-rotating labyrinth the player must navigate through. This one stage has a different direction though: upon touching a certain block, Sonic will automatically float, restricting the player to only the {{left}} and {{right}} buttons. The movement can be reversed by touching an UP or DOWN block, and checkpoints are scattered around the level. At the end of the stage, the remaining 2 Chaos Emeralds need to be collected.

==== Scar Night Place / Star Agony Place ====
In ''Frantic Mode'' only, before the actual level starts, a cutscene plays. It shows Dr. Eggman activating a machine to mass-produce [[Bigbom|Bigboms]], which will then appear all over both acts.

The actual level is based on [[Star Light Zone]], and it mirrors the hybrid design of Night Hill Place / Green Hill Place. It starts off with a short section where rings can be collected. After that comes a unique boss fight against the [[Bomb (enemy)|Walking Bomb]], which cannot be attacked and requires the player to carefully wait for it to destroy itself. Each explosion exposes increasingly more shrapnel flying in random directions.

The second section begins right after the bomb boss has been defeated. Pressing a switch will cause the walls to start blinking red, as they are now harmful and must be avoided. Sonic is granted the ability he has been taught in the Tutorial Place: controlling his gravity by pressing {{A}} or {{C}}. In a similar manner as the stages before, the player must carefully navigate Sonic through this huge maze and do some mini-challenges from time to time. This essentially turns Star Agony Place into a giant [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_loop_game Buzz-Wire Game] featuring Sonic.

==== Finalor Place ====
This is the [[Final Zone|final boss]]. It's a significantly harder and faster version of the original boss fight, as the crushers are moving at the same time the energy balls are falling down, which will explode once they hit the ground. To make up for this, it's possible to score multiple hits in a single cycle. After defeating the boss, the player is faced with the final challenge of escaping the facility, leading through a familiar stage.


== Music ==
{|class="prettytable" style="width:auto;"
!ID||Usage in ''Sonic ERaZor''||Song Name||Original Game||Ported by
|-
|$81||Night Hill Place||Hockenheim-Ring||''F1: Pole Position'' (SNES)||[[User:DalekSam|DalekSam]]
|-
|$82||Labyrinthy Place||Dr. Cossack Stage 2||''Mega Man 4''||DalekSam
|-
|$83||Ruined Place||Blade's Theme||''[[sega:Eternal Champions|Eternal Champions]]''||[[User:Spanner|Spanner]]
|-
|$84||Scar Night Place||Title Screen||''Mega Man IV'' (GB)||DalekSam
|-
|$85||Uberhub Place||Freeze Man Stage||''Mega Man 7''||DalekSam
|-
|$86||Green Hill Place and Options Menu||Spark Mandrill||''Mega Man X''||DalekSam
|-
|$87||Tutorial Place||Stage 4-2||''Ninja Gaiden''||Spanner
|-
|$88||Special Stage clear||Special Stage clear||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$89||Special Place||Hidden Track||''Tecmo Wrestling''||Spanner
|-
|$8A||Title Screen||Opening Sequence||''Super Street Fighter II Turbo''||DalekSam
|-
|$8B||=P Monitor in Labyrinthy Place||Ending (Troll Remix)||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||Selbi
|-
|$8C||Green Hill Place boss||Chaos Angel - Act 1||''[[Sonic Advance 3]]''||DalekSam
|-
|$8D||Finalor Place||Shutdown||''[[sega:Pulseman|Pulseman]]''||DalekSam
|-
|$8E||''Unused''||Act Clear||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$8F||''Unused''||Game Over||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$90||The Great Escape||Opening Stage||''Mega Man X3''||DalekSam
|-
|$91||Invincibility||Ending Theme||''[[sega:Dangerous Seed|Dangerous Seed]]''||Spanner
|-
|$92||Drowning||Drowning||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$93||''Unused''||1-Up||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$94||Green Hill Place||Green Hill Zone||''Sonic the Hedgehog''||-
|-
|$95||Intro Cutscene||Ken's Theme||''Street Fighter II''||DalekSam
|-
|$96||Star Agony Place||Stage 7: Orn Base||''[[sega:Thunder Force III|Thunder Force III]]''||Spanner
|-
|$97||Credits||Opening / Rhythm Emotion||''Gundam Wing: Endless Duel''||DalekSam
|-
|$98||Crabmeat boss||Boss (Pinch)||''Sonic Advance 3''||Eduardo Knuckles
|-
|$99||Game Introduction||Dark Man/Proto Man Stages||''Mega Man 5''||Eduardo Knuckles
|-
|$9A||Unreal Place||Whirlwind||''[[sega:Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master|Shinobi III]]''||DalekSam
|-
|$9B||Walking Bomb boss||Boss (Pinch) - Alternate||''Sonic Advance 3''||Eduardo Knuckles
|-
|$9C||''??? Unused ???''||Shutdown - Dark Remix||''Pulseman''||Selbi
|-
|$9D||Ending Sequence||Push!||''Zillion Push''||Eduardo Knuckles
|-
|$9E||Final Boss||Final Boss||''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]''||Spanner
|-
|$9F||Inhuman Mode||Straight Ahead||''Mega Man Zero 4''||DalekSam
|}

==Downloads==
{{download|version=Seventh Public Release (2024)|file=s1erz_Release7.zip|filesize=573kB}}

===Prior versions===
* {{file|s1erz_Release6.zip|[2016] Sonic ERaZor - Sixth Public Release}}
* {{file|s1erz_Release5.zip|[2014] Sonic ERaZor - Fifth Public Release}}
* {{file|s1erz_Release4.zip|[2012] Sonic ERaZor - Fourth Public Release}}
* {{file|s1erz_Release3.zip|[2011] Sonic ERaZor - Third Public Release}}
* {{file|s1erz_Release2.zip|[2010] Sonic ERaZor - Second Public Release}}
* {{file|s1erz_Release1.zip|[2010] Sonic ERaZor - First Public Release}}

==External links==
* {{LinkRetro|topic=25477|title=Sonic ERaZor forum thread}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/selbi182 Video footage on Selbi's YouTube channel]

==References==
<references />