Sonic Unlimited (formerly Sonic 2006 2D)

[Diogenes]

It's like a car crash. Horrible, yet I can't look away.

I've played up through Flame Core, and, well, it's pretty much what I expected: exhaustively accurate, even to the point of recreating '06's flaws. Heavy automation, homing attack spam, slow, flat, boring as fuck. It really is sad, since they clearly have some amount of talent and a hell of a lot of drive, but it's just so terrible. So much time and effort thrown away just to copy some of the worst design decisions the series has made. I can't even imagine what was going on in their heads, how they never took a step back and looked at what they were making, and realized what a fucking waste it is. And I mean, if it was an original work, I could at least shrug and say "well they tried something new and it didn't work, but that's how you learn", but it's fucking '06.

WOW!!! Does it have some kind of bad thing?

No, some antiviruses just freak out over anything that could potentially hold a virus.

[RDNexus]

It's like a car crash. Horrible, yet I can't look away.

I've played up through Flame Core, and, well, it's pretty much what I expected: exhaustively accurate, even to the point of recreating '06's flaws. Heavy automation, homing attack spam, slow, flat, boring as fuck. It really is sad, since they clearly have some amount of talent and a hell of a lot of drive, but it's just so terrible. So much time and effort thrown away just to copy some of the worst design decisions the series has made. I can't even imagine what was going on in their heads, how they never took a step back and looked at what they were making, and realized what a fucking waste it is. And I mean, if it was an original work, I could at least shrug and say "well they tried something new and it didn't work, but that's how you learn", but it's fucking '06.

Does any of those guys frequent this place?

It'd be good if they were to give us their reasons for having done it like that...

No, some antiviruses just freak out over anything that could potentially hold a virus.

Good, I thought so... But having a confirmation is more reassuring.

[OlenJimi]

I played it to the forest level. I can't remember the name. I don't understand why they added a separate button for lightdash, but not fix other things. I give it a 4/5 because I can't taste the salami.

[VO.SUPER]

Oh wah wah wah.

Sheesh, instead of crying foul about how he failed with this first part, why don't you guys offer calm, non-sarcastic advice on how he can improve the Shadow and Silver sections, if the lot of you have the will to avoid such sarcasm through all the foam in your mouths. No use crying over spilled milk, especially when there are two other cartons that can be sweet. It's obvious that this game has really nice presentation and that definitely deserves some praise, though he tried too hard to emulate the original flawed game. He should have taken a step back, looked at the concepts for some of the game and fixed what he could and destroy what couldn't be. \

[Diogenes]

Considering they seem dedicated to reproducing '06 in excruciating detail, I'm really not sure there's anything I can say that they'd listen to.

[Indigo Rush]

Sheesh, instead of crying foul about how he failed with this first part, why don't you guys offer calm, non-sarcastic advice on how he can improve the Shadow and Silver sections

The only way to improve Shadow and Silver from Sonic is to throw a bomb on it and start over from scratch.

No, seriously, these developers are incredibly dead-set on making this game exactly like the original, and to actually improve on this game would be to go against their vision.

No, we aren't being bloody sarcastic, the designers of this game are unbelievable. Telling them to improve the game, as Azukara tried to do, would be no different than tossing pearls before swine.

And we aren't crying over spilled milk, because the milk was sour to begin with.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Holiday Rush

[VO.SUPER]

The only way to improve Shadow and Silver from Sonic is to throw a bomb on it and start over from scratch.

No, seriously, these developers are incredibly dead-set on making this game exactly like the original, and to actually improve on this game would be to go against their vision.

No, we aren't being bloody sarcastic, the designers of this game are unbelievable. Telling them to improve the game, as Azukara tried to do, would be no different than tossing pearls before swine.

And we aren't crying over spilled milk, because the milk was sour to begin with.

Have they even responded to you guys?

[Indigo Rush]

Have they even responded to you guys?

It's not worth trying anymore. Azukara was originally on the development team.

The guy who's making

They rejected his offerings for improvement, and had him leave.

They made it absolutely clear that they're making it as identical to Sonic 2006 as possible, flaws and all.

They are listening to YouTube commenters who like Sonic '06 for positive feedback.

They obviously don't care about making the game good.

It's not worth our time to try to tell them how to develop this; their minds are made up.

Just grab a soda and enjoy the train wreck as it unfolds.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Holiday Rush

[VO.SUPER]

It's not worth trying anymore. Azukara was originally on the development team.

The guy who's making

They rejected his offerings for improvement, and had him leave.

They made it absolutely clear that they're making it as identical to Sonic 2006 as possible, flaws and all.

They are listening to YouTube commenters who like Sonic '06 for positive feedback.

They obviously don't care about making the game good.

It's not worth our time to try to tell them how to develop this; their minds are made up.

Just grab a soda and enjoy the train wreck as it unfolds.

Ah now that makes everything clear...

I take back everything I said before and say that all your complaints are as valid as ever.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

It's not worth trying anymore. Azukara was originally on the development team.

The guy who's making

They rejected his offerings for improvement, and had him leave.

They made it absolutely clear that they're making it as identical to Sonic 2006 as possible, flaws and all.

They are listening to YouTube commenters who like Sonic '06 for positive feedback.

They obviously don't care about making the game good.

It's not worth our time to try to tell them how to develop this; their minds are made up.

Just grab a soda and enjoy the train wreck as it unfolds.

Worst part is that there will be people who somehow believe that it's now uber amazing because it's in 2D...

Edited November 3, 2012 by Malpercio

[Diogenes]

Ahahaha, wow.

If you die in Radical Train after hitting the first checkpoint, you're fucked. The train spawns at the start of the level, and you can't get back to the first switch.

[Solkia]

I've got to admit, the game looks nice for a 2D fangame. Most of them end up looking like MSPaint crap.

Lol it does look good compared to most fangames, I will give it that.

[Komodin]

Well, I've made it up to Crisis City after spending forever-and-a-half on Dusty Desert and White Acropolis. What I've said about this cruddy game last night still applies, but since I've had the time to vent my initial furage, I'll try to explain my three main issues with this game more rationally this time.

1) Sonic's Controls: I'm not kidding when I say that they're not good. Sonic has a certain slipperiness to him, not unlike that of Luigi, that could really screw you up if you're not careful; even holding backwards doesn't really help you much. Just like in the original game, Sonic's Spin Jump is completely ineffective; I found myself losing more than a few lives because of this muscle memory-screwing juncture. Instead, you have to use the Homing Attack, Spin Dash and Bound Attack to defeat badniks; if you've played previous Sonic games, you can easily see why that can present a problem, especially with some of the badniks having health bars.

2) The Level Design: Just like I said before, it's linear as heck. Now, normally, I wouldn't have much of a problem with this, but the level design is absolutely boring as well. A good chunk of the time, it seems to be set on automatic with all those boosters, rails and springs. When I do get some semblance of control, it almost always seems to throw me into some sort of trap that I couldn't have possibly foreseen Speaking of memorization traps...

3) Fake Difficulty: This game is positively lousy with it. For instance, in Dusty Desert, there are various sandpits that will kill you instantly if you run into them. One big problem with that there's always some booster pad that sends you speeding right into them; coupled with Sonic's slippery controls, if you don't have the foresight to know where you're heading, you will die behind this. Even if you do know what to do, there's still a chance that you'll wind up behind this due to dodgy controls and dodgier enemy placement. What's worse, there are also sandpits that you can run on safely... there are no visual difference between the safe pits and the instant-death pits.

To put it as laconically as possible: this game just isn't good where it really counts, at least in my opinion. Now, if you excuse me, I need to play some Sonic Generations to cleanse my palate before I find myself breaking things.

Ahahaha, wow.

If you die in Radical Train after hitting the first checkpoint, you're fucked. The train spawns at the start of the level, and you can't get back to the first switch.

... What.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Da Khristmas Komo

[The Tenth Doctor]

I thought you guys were joking. i played it and got to Flame Core. No thanks. I was a big fan of trhe original 06 but the Egg Cerberus pissed me off, Dusty Desert was so annoyingly difficult with its death sand and the tornado in Crisis City was monsterous. No thanks, I'm happy with the original.

[TCB]

Hahaha..I can't extract the damn exe. file...but everything else extracted just fine!

[RDNexus]

Hahaha..I can't extract the damn .exe file...but everything else extracted just fine!

To me it all extracted correctly...

Check the file sizes, one of the parts may not have been totally downloaded.

Edited December 11, 2011 by XRick

[goku262002]

Yeah that happened to me too. i would just redownload again it wasn't that hard to.

[Legendary Emerald]

So, I just beat the game. Or at least, the Sonic portion of the game that is completed so far.

I'm still unsure as to the reason this game exists, but I'm glad it does. Overall, I had a very fun time with the game. Probably more than I should have, in fact.

The game is accurate to the original Sonic 2006 to a T. From Sonic's moveset, to graphics, to elements of the level design, a LOT of effort went into reconstructing 2006 from the ground up. It's just odd that 2006, of all games, should be the basis for such an impressive fan game project. It's not a game exactly known for quality, after all.

Graphics are ripped straight from the PS3/360 texture files where applicable, with the original sprites being top-notch. Some environments even have a pseudo 3D look to the backrounds, which looks pretty nice. In general though, the levels are a mixed bag of textures that fit well together, and textures that simply don't. It's a unique look for a Sonic fan game, but rough around the edges.

The gameplay is largly similar to the original game, minus a third dimension. Sonic runs to the right, breakdancing through enemies, and homing attacks like a madman in an attempt to reach the goal as fast as possible. And it actually works pretty well. Controlling Sonic for the most part is simple, and the buttons are usually pretty responsive. The exceptions being whenever Sonic hits a speed booster; you lose all control of Sonic until his speed returns to normal, just as in the 3D version of the game.

Levels are mostly straight line affairs, though they contains pronounced high and low routes. The trick to success is use of the spin-kick, which allows you to defeat enemies without pausing. Most of the interaction is twitch based, with the player having to slide at opportune moments, homing attack incoming enemies, and dash across paths of rings at a moment's notice. While not expansive, the levels are at least engaging, when they aren't simply pushes the player along automatically. The only real moments of annoyance come from Dusty Desert, where the sand inexplicably kills you, just as in the original game. Jumping off the flower vines in Tropical Jungle is also more of a chore than it should be, and the final ball bouncing segment in Aquatic Base is far too unforgiving. Thankfully, extra lives are abundant, and the game saves after completing each level or boss.

Speaking of boss battles, they are simple, but also a bit impressive in how accurately they translate the original fights to 2D. Egg Genesis in particular works wonderfully. Meanwhile, the Silver battle is as frustrating as you remember it to be in the original, and is definitely a sore spot on the entire game. But again, this is all part of the fangame's plan to recreate both the good and the bad of the original.

Speaking of the good, the soundtrack is taken straight from the original, which means it's of high quality. Not much else to say about sound, other than that Sonic has some dialogue during the boss fights, also taken from the original game.

Overall, I don't know how to rate this game. I had a fun time with its twitch based gameplay and nods to the original game, and I didn't encounter any glitches (though I'm not saying none exist). But on the other hand, its nothing like what a 2D Sonic game theoretically "should" be. However, I think that is besides the point. The game should be judged on its own merits, and I'd say this conversion to 2D was a success, despite the simple and at times annoying level and boss design.

This is by no means a great game. Neither is it an example of what most Sonic fan games should strive to be. But, I got a kick out of it anyways. And for a free game made by a few fans with a wacky idea and a lot of time on their hands, that's good enough for me.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Legendary Pine Tree

[Ferno]

We could liek, I dunno, ignore this game if it's that bad and just wait for all the other good fangames to suddenly be completed......

........

Some day. *trewlfaec*

Translation: this may suck but this fangame has gone farther than most I've seen. Most fangames I see besides a few are either never close to being completed or just stay in the testing stages forever before their given up on.

...I have no idea how to make this not sound like I'm defending the game, but I hope I got my point across.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Jingle Ferno

[Kuzu]

We could liek, I dunno, ignore this game if it's that bad and just wait for all the other good fangames to suddenly be completed......

........

Some day. *trewlfaec*

Translation: this may suck but this fangame has gone farther than most I've seen. Most fangames I see besides a few are either never close to being completed or just stay in the testing stages forever before their given up on.

...I have no idea how to make this not sound like I'm defending the game, but I hope I got my point across.

Why is it that the sucky fangames are the ones that are usually finished? Why god, WHY?

[Diogenes]

So I finished it, and I think I found the one and only attempt to improve '06, besides simply making it less buggy: in the final boss battle, there's an off-screen bubble kinda thing leading you towards the nearest...whatever it is you run into to damage him the first few times. It makes it reasonable to actually find them (especially necessary due to the limited view of 2D, though it's plenty hard to find them in the original too) and gives you a hint as to what the fuck you're actually supposed to be doing.

This is a legitimate improvement, and it's an addition beyond what the original game had.

So.

What the fuck happened with everything else?!

I also noticed that you don't actually stop when you run into a wall. You don't go through it, but you don't stop running, either; you just keep running in place until you either press the other direction or stop and let "friction" slow you down. This makes those (oh-so-slow) doors kind of annoying, as it's easy to get impatient and "push" against them, then lurch forward once there's room for you.

Overall this is better than the original '06...but not by much.

Why is it that the sucky fangames are the ones that are usually finished? Why god, WHY?

Quality takes more time and effort. Edited December 12, 2011 by Diogenes

[goku262002]

Well there is sonic classic guys. the fangame made by hez over at retro that was pretty awesome and it followed through.

In fact hes already greenlighted a sequal.

But hes the exception in the rare clause. games like Sonic Adventure Remix were just made to toy with our souls...

[Ferno]

Quality takes more time and effort.

Looks like alot of effort went into this to me. Maybe misguided effort, but it's there. Not saying they would, but I'll bet that if these guys really put everything they had into a game that replicated the classic physics and all that, they'd probably actually finish it, like they finished this; animations, effects, enemies and all. They seem to have the drive to not only complete a project, but to complete it quickly enough that people don't forget about their project before it's done as well. Alot of others seem to have this drive at first but then it just sorta dies halfway through. The makers of this game just used this drive and these talents in all the wrong ways, as this game shows.

Well there is sonic classic guys. the fangame made by hez over at retro that was pretty awesome and it followed through.

Ah, thanks for that. I knew there were some finished ones out there but I couldn't remember which.

[Diogenes]

Looks like alot of effort went into this to me.

In some areas. Not in gameplay design. It was ripped wholesale from '06, without considering how it should be modified for 2D or if it's even good to start with. Level design, too.

[VO.SUPER]

In some areas. Not in gameplay design. It was ripped wholesale from '06, without considering how it should be modified for 2D or if it's even good to start with. Level design, too.

Copying can take a lot of effort, please don't mix up stupid decisions with lack of effort, that is a silly presumption.