This is another Tool-Assisted Speedrun created by myself on a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Rom Hack for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive "Sonic Classic Heroes"
About the Hack:
Sonic Classic Heroes is a ROM hack for the Sega Mega Drive that is the result of a collaboration between flamewing and ColinC10, combining their respective hacks Sonic 2 Heroes and Sonic 1 and 2. It therefore is a single ROM that offers the entire campaigns of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, either alone or together; and enables the player to play as many characters such as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The hack is named due to the ability to control a team of characters, which is reminiscent of the more recent 3D game Sonic Heroes.
The hack is built on Sonic 2’s engine, which has been enhanced by both flamewing and ColinC10 to have new features. These include: multiple gameplay elements from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, such as element shields and character-specific abilities; the ability to save progress, scores, etc. to SRAM (something rarely implemented in Sonic 2, with the other notable example being Esrael’s Sonic 2 Delta); various bug-fixes and improvements to the mechanics of the original games; and many more features, both implemented and planned.
I try to complete the game in the shortest time possible, with any percentage, that means, losing the Chaos Emeralds, receiving damage, or even making brakes, all with Team Sonic.
arkiandruski: First off, the hack is acceptable for publication on the site. It look to me like many of the mechanics were changed, which opens the possibility for different routes even if the levels are unchanged. We have dropped the requirement that romhacks must be complete or abandoned, so that is not a consideration in this case.
As for the run itself, WST
said the run was very improveable. I don't doubt her, but I have yet to get an estimate of how much time-save there is or solid proof in the form of a userfile or other run that shows the improvement, so I'm going to have to go based on what I see.
Would the layperson, seeing this run, find obvious mistakes in the gameplay? I don't think so. While I question some of the decisions the author made, the run is not sloppy. Also, based off the
forum thread where this hack is released and updated, the physics of the game have been changed to fit the team dynamic, and many well known bugs were removed, so I can't judge it on the absense of certain techniques without doing a deep dive.
I do have some feedback on the run. As the main draw of the hack is playing as teams like in Sonic Heroes, I loved have loved to see a lot more examples of teamwork. I am not convinced the team mechanic can't be used to provide unexpected strategies and routes. Towards the beginning, there seems to be an abundance of Knuckles running through the level solo. This is a shame, since we alread have
[2521] Genesis Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog by marzojr & WST in 13:05.29. Also, I would be much more interested in seeing a run of Team Chaotix to provide more contrast from the base game.
That said I'm accepting this as a fastest completion. I'm interested in seeing future developments of this run. If any run of a later version of the hack with comparable gameplay is made, it will obsolete this one.
