I've had this idea in on my mind for a while. I've changed it from a status update to a blog post. Please tell me what you think, what changes I should make, and if you have any ideas for the it. Thanks!

Game Idea: Sonic Alpha

Style: 2D Side-Scroller/Platformer

Playable Characters:

Sonic the Hedgehog

Note: Sonic Alpha is set in an alternate universe, and takes place eight months after the events of Sonic Adventure 2.

Zones:

1. Emerald Shores Zone (2 Acts)

2. Crystal Plains Zone (2 Acts)

3. Crimson Desert Zone (2 Acts)

4. Mystic Ruins Zone (2 Acts)

5. Speed Hill Zone (2 Acts)

6. Hydro Mountain Zone (2 Acts)

7. Molten Isles Zone (2 Acts)

8. Bio-Mechanical City Zone (2 Acts)

9. Sanctuary Ruins Zone (2 Acts)

10. Death Egg Zone (3 Acts, Act 2 being a boss rush, Act 3 being the final boss, the Death Egg Robot.)

11. Final Blitz Zone (1 Act, All Chaos Emeralds needed, battle against a cloned Shadow. After you beat the cloned Shadow, it goes Super. Shadow comes in at the nick of time to save Sonic.)

Hidden Palace Zone: (1 Act, Secret Zone. All of the Chaos Emeralds must be collected.)

After all of the Chaos Emeralds have been collected, Tails will contact Sonic mid-act about a strange reading. When the act is completed, the option to go to Hidden Palace is unlocked. If chosen, Tails will fly Sonic to Hidden Palace. After Hidden Palace is completed, Super Sonic will be unlocked, and the next act will start.

Special Stages: The special stages are the special stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The half pipe.

Shadow the Hedgehog:

Shadow the Hedgehog, also known as the Ultimate Life Form, was one of Sonic’s rivals. He sacrificed himself to save the Earth, as well as to fulfill his promise to his first friend: The deceased Maria Robotnik. Shadow has been dead for eight months, but there have been apparent sightings of him in the past four months.

Rings:

Rings are scattered across zones. The more rings you have, the faster you go. If Sonic is touched by an enemy while he still has rings, he will lose all of his rings, reverting his speed back to the default. If Sonic is hit without rings, he will die, and the player must start from the last checkpoint they hit. If the player has not hit any checkpoints yet, they will start at the beginning of the act.

Lives and Continues:

Lives are the number of tries Sonic has to complete the level. If Sonic loses all his lives, he will get a game over, and must restart the level, even if they hit a checkpoint. The exception is when Sonic has a continue. Sonic can get continues by completing special stages. Sonic can get extra lives by either getting 100 rings or finding a +1 Lives box.

Playstyle:

Sonic moves are: Jumping, Rolling, Boost, Sliding, Wall Jumping, Stomping, and the Spin Dash (Unlocked after Emerald Shores Act 1). Sonic’s speed will be tracked by an invention created by Tails known as the SpeedTrac. The SpeedTrac’s display will be shown on the bottom-left corner of the screen, and tracks Sonic’s speed. Sonic starts at mach 1, but the more rings he collects, the higher the mach! The highest mach is mach 6, but Sonic can collect more rings; up to 999.

Mach 1: 0 rings

Mach 2: 20 rings

Mach 3: 40 rings

Mach 4: 60 rings

Mach 5: 80 rings

Mach 6: 100 rings

Depending on how fast Sonic makes it to the goal, he will receive a rank. The ranks are:

S Rank

A Rank

B Rank

C Rank

D Rank

The time you need to get for each rank varies from Act to Act. For every S rank you achieve, you are rewarded with one of Tails’ journal entries, viewable from the SpeedTrac.

Each one of these tell a story about apparent sightings of a revived Shadow…

The Skill Ring:

Every time the player completes an act, (with the exceptions of Death Egg Acts 2 & 3 and Final Blitz), they can use Sonic’s SpeedTrac to access the Skill Ring before the next Zone or Act.

Using Red Star Rings scattered across acts (Five in each, with the exceptions of Death Egg Acts 2 & 3 and Final Blitz), the player can purchase additional skills for Sonic! The unlockable skills are:

The Spin Dash from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Granted to the player for free after Emerald Shores Act 1 is completed)

The Insta-Shield from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Costs 15 Red Star Rings)

The Super Peel-Out from Sonic CD (Costs 20 Red Star Rings)

The Drop Dash from Sonic Mania (Costs 20 Red Star Rings)

The Homing Attack from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Costs 20 Red Star Rings)

The Double Jump (Costs 20 Red Star Rings)

The Super Sonic Transformation (Granted to the player for free after Hidden Palace Zone is completed)

Power-Ups:

The power-ups give Sonic an advantage in zones. The power-ups are:

The Shield

The Fire Shield

The Water Shield

The Lighting Shield

The Speed Shoes

+10 Rings

Invincibility

+1 Extra Life