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A five year project, the original Shenmue on Sega Dreamcast created an entirely new genre for itself (quite boastingly, we might add) - FREE (or Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment if you will). As a game, it was truly quite stunning - just like a movie, but the perfect game for it also. It's not surprising then, that SimSonic was equally inspired by the gallivanting of Ryo Hazuki - and made a Fan Game from it, adding a special Sonic spice to it. You are Sonic Hezuki. Your father was killed by a man named Robo-Di asking for a mirror, and now you want revenge on this guy. What is very nice is that most of the guff has been cut out - and the action left in. Many points are skipped or shortened down to make the game less tedious. And the functions you have at the control of Sonic is not limited either. You can interact with many objects and people, with a clock timing your activities during the day. You also have access to a menu screen, in which you can listen to bought music tapes, view your gumball collection and use any items you have bought from the shop. Oh yes, pretty much every aspect of Shenmue has been converted to 2D for this game - and all the more for it. You can buy food, drinks and all sorts of crazy items down at Tomato Mart still, those gumballs are back with a vengeance, and the YOU Arcade is still in business. Some of the mini-games that you can play at the Arcade have been tweaked - the Snake style game is now passable in playability, and the Tails and Knuckles game is better than in the demos released. However, most of these still feel like they've been tacked on - a little more care into these games would have made them the perfect time passer. As it goes though, you'll only be playing them to get high scores or times onto the Official ShenSonic Website. Even the fighting's still there - although this aspect is quite disappointing, considering that your character moves so slow, there are no combos and it's hard to determine how much longer you gotta keep pummelling the bad guys before they falter. In our preview of ShenSonic Demo 2, we talked about the possibility of having the ability to skip text throughout the game. This has been adhered to in some respects - you can skip most text thrown at you by pressing the 'Return' key. What we now wonder is: why is the text skip button so ludicrously away from the left Shift and Control keys? And you still can't skip some of the text - including the important scenes, which is understandable, but still a bit of a drag. We also mentioned the possibility of a Notebook, in order to remember where you're supposed to be going. Unfortunately, there's no sign of one in the now-complete game - players can get along alright without it, but it'll hurt most in the end when they come back to the game the next day. Overall, this is a tidy adventure that shadows Shenmue in almost every respect - you'll love all the bits you loved in it from Shenmue, and you'll also hate all the bits you hated from Shenmue. For the most part, this is a very enjoyable game with only a few errors in development to prevent it from being top-notch. Sonic Fan Game Club Score: 8/10 View full story

One of the most ambitious titles on show at SAGE, this. Promising a 2D version world of Shenmue, but with Sonic at the forefront rather than Ryo Hazuki. It's certainly an interesting project, and the Sonic Fan Club checks on its progress... Developed by SimSonic, from Magitek Software, this game is looking pretty sweet indeed. This is going to be a massive undertaking to develop and complete this game, no doubt about it. And because of that, it should be a fan game that doesn't go unnoticed. Come on! Sonic as Ryo Hazuki! Who could have thunk it?? The graphics are great, with impressive use of the Sonic Crackers sprites and a hilarious Robotnik version of Lan Di (you gotta see him run. Wheeee!). Much of the Shenmue world has been recreated as best as possible in 2D, however not all the aspects or dialogue of the Dreamcast game has made the transition into ShenSonic. This may be because they'd make the game too boring, or maybe it merely couldn't be done. This is understandable at the moment, it is the first 2D RPG of its kind after all. The demo is pretty expansive, and lasts until you get to "that nightclub where you throw that guy over the top of the bar". You'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen or played Shenmue. So, it's a big demo, and the controls are simple to get to grips with. The 'Shift' key is your action button, and 'CTRL' is your 'Y Menu' from Shenmue. Some events require use of other letters on the keyboard though - in the fights you come across, for example. Just like in Shenmue, there's more to it then just fannying about the town (although you could do this to your heart's content if you really wanted to in the Dreamcast original). There are QTE fights, the YOU Arcade, as well as other little bits like collectible cassettes that you can buy in Tomato, and Gumball machines containing Sonic game boxes. A very cool break from all that super-sleuthing you gotta do in the main game. There are a few things which would be nice to be sort out before its final release. A terrible glitch bug is apparent in the demo. When in the YOU Arcade, if you switch to your menu to see how many Gumballs you have, then come back out, you find yourself past a wall at your house - which is pretty aggravating. Also, it would be great to have the ability to skip text - you won't believe how bored we got trying to wait ten minutes for one text block to disappear; you cannot move while someone is talking. An 'Escape Conversation' button would be nice too. Finally, it's be great to have a kind of 'Notebook' (ala Shenmue), where findings or info can be stored, so that you do not forget where to go next. These things need to be sorted if ShenSonic is to be extremely enjoyable. At the moment, you'll find yourself falling asleep at the speed of the text boxes... we persevered though, and found an admirable game in development. We Like Just like Shenmue Lots to do Expansive world Worth Considering Unforgivable glitches Pleeeeease let us skip the dialogue! Information save feature that one can refer to? View full story

SimSonic is a member of Magitek Software, but has his own solo project with ShenSonic - a Sonic 'spin' on Ryo Hazuki's Dreamcast outing. He also contributed to our SAGE Compo prize. Nice chap. TSS: SimSonic, a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to you. SS: The pleasure's all mine. ^_^ TSS: What is your Fan Game all about? SS: Well, it is simply a Sonic-styled version of Shenmue, made with Multimedia Express. TSS: Obviously, as the name suggests ShenSonic is basically a rip off, Sonic version of Shenmue. Why did you feel the need to do this? Was it just funny at the time, or do you feel there are aspects in Shenmue that a Sonic Fan Game could benefit from? SS: Umm... I was at my friend's place and we were playing Shenmue. Then I had an idea of what would it be like if it wasn't Ryo you were playing as... but Sonic! My friend said that was a funny idea, and I thought so too. The upside here is that there isn't that many Sonic RPG's around, I think I've already made something new. TSS: When did you first get the idea for ShenSonic? SS: As I said, at my friend's place while playing Shenmue. TSS: What kind of feel are you trying to create with this game in particular? SS: The 'funny' feel of playing Shenmue that has Sonic characters in it... and the feel of something new in fan-gaming. TSS: How will the different features work exactly? In Shenmue, Ryo Hazuki has special events such as fighting scenes and Quick Timer Events. How will you be able to replicate these in a 2D RPG, or are you planning to feature unique elements, and not bother with QTEs or fighting? SS: Demo 2 already has two simple QTEs. So QTEs will defenitely be big part of ShenSonic, like they are in Shenmue. The free fighting... I don't know yet. Maybe there will be something Sonic styled in it... but Sonic would be pretty fun to fight with using his fists, wouldn't he? TSS: I've noticed one of the mini games on offer was a race between Sonic and Knuckles. How many mini games will there be in the final version, and will they take on a different style to standard RPG gameplay? For example, the race between Sonic & Knuckles could be a 2D platformer, whereas the normal game as 'Sonic Hazuki' is 2D RPG. SS: There are four mini-games in Demo 2. And more are coming! I don't know the exact number yet though... and yes, they will be a bit different in gameplay style from the normal game. TSS: Are there any special features that make your game special or different from other games on show at SAGE? What about features that you are especially proud of? SS: Well, the simple fact that it is an RPG already makes it different. Almost all of the others are platformers. The only competitor is MAD2 and it's a... you know, not so serious RPG... and others don't have shops, collectibles, save/load and so on. TSS: Shenmue on the Dreamcast was very interactive. As ShenSonic is a 2D version of this, how interactive will the game be? Will you be able to 'play' your DC in Hazuki's home (obviously not any replicated DC games, mock up ones, such as a very small Sonic Adventure 2D or something) for example? SS: You can at this time switch the lights off/on and such. But the only place in Shenmue which is fully interactive is the Hazuki Residence. So the 2D shouldn't be a problem... And maybe you can play DC later on... TSS: How long has development taken so far - hopefully not as long as the real Shenmue. ^_^ SS: No it sure hasn't... yet. Well, it has taken a bit further than the Demo 2... not much though. But I have now made almost all of the basic things. TSS: Any major hitches you have encountered? Spill on your biggest development problem so far. Go on, please? SS: The first one was Save/Load... and then all the rest like QTEs. But I have managed to make all of them in the end. TSS: How well do you think ShenSonic is progressing? SS: It could be processing a bit faster. But I'm lazy... And I have to have inspiration, you can't make it good without it. TSS: Can you exclusively reveal to The Sonic Stadium when ShenSonic may be finished by? SS: Even I don't know it yet... but let's see later. TSS: How do you see your chances winning the booth polling, against other entries here at SAGE? SS: It will be hard against all those great games... and the fact that it's a Sonic RPG, how will people react? Most of the other games on show are platformers, so hopefully mine might stand out. TSS: Finally, what's the best game at SAGE on show, in your opinion? SS: Sonic Madventure 2 and Thirdscape are good, but Demo 2 is the game that I would want to play. But, it is made by me... TSS: SimSonic, developer of ShenSonic, thank you for your time to take this exclusive interview. SS: No problem. I'm a bit flattered you know. Long live Sonic! View full story