Sonic Robo Blast 2
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''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' (often abbreviated SRB2) is a
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
made within
id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...
's ''Doom'' engine. It is a free ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' fan game inspired by the original Sega Genesis games that "attempts to recreate their design in 3D", and was the first fan-made 3D ''Sonic'' game created. The game has received consistent support throughout its development of over 25 years, which has been attributed to a large
modding Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...
community. The game's predecessor, ''Sonic the Hedgehog Robo-blast!'', bears little resemblance to ''Sonic Robo Blast 2'', and was released on February 11, 1998. ''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' started development later on in 1998, and has received updates since then, culminating in the release of version 2.2 in 2019. , its development is ongoing.


Gameplay

''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' is a 3D
platformer A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
that makes use of the Doom Legacy engine's ability to implement floors over other floors, a feature not present in several contemporary ''Doom'' ports. Players control one of several characters,
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
,
Miles "Tails" Prower Miles "Tails" Prower is a character created by the Japanese game designer Yasushi Yamaguchi. He is a major character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Tails is an anthropomorphic fox cub with two tails (hence his nickname) who serv ...
,
Knuckles the Echidna is a character from Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's secondary best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he fights his enemies using bru ...
,
Amy Rose The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman ( ...
, Fang the Sniper, or
Metal Sonic The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or ...
and aim to reach the end of each zone and defeat
Doctor Eggman Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Naoto Ohshima. He is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman is a mad scientist who seeks to steal the mystical Cha ...
. Each zone, divided into two acts, requires the player to run and jump through obstacles, making use of the terrain and one's own momentum to reach the signpost at the end of the act. Each character has unique abilities that allow them to fight Eggman's robots, and in contrast to contemporary 3D Sonic games, the design of each level encourages open-ended exploration and discovery. Multiplayer is made possible either via
local area network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, campus, or building, and has its network equipment and interconnects locally managed. LANs facilitate the distribution of da ...
or Internet connection, with players racing or cooperating to reach the end of a stage, or battling in a
first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
mode.


Development and releases


''Sonic the Hedgehog Robo-blast!''

''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' was preceded by ''Sonic the Hedgehog Robo-blast!'', a 2D platforming game developed by Johnny “Sonikku” Wallbank in 1998. It was initially created in
Clickteam Clickteam is a French software development company based in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. Founded by Francis Poulain, François Lionet and Yves Lamoureux, Clickteam is best known for the creation of Clickteam Fusion, a script-free progr ...
's Klik & Play program, but the final game was built with Clickteam's The Games Factory. The game was described as "glitchy and primitive", but provided a conceptual foundation for the sequel, ''Sonic Robo Blast 2''.


''Sonic Robo Blast 2''

The first versions of ''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' were developed by Wallbank in April 1998 using The Games Factory, which was quickly determined to be inadequate. Several years prior in 1996, Jeff Read, a ''Doom'' modder, had released ''Sonic the Hedgehog Doom'', a mod that replaced the music and main character of ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...
'' with Sonic. Artist and programmer AJ "SSNTails" Freda would develop a modification building upon Read's release with ''Sonic Doom 2'', which inspired the use of a ''Doom'' source port as the basis for ''Sonic Robo Blast 2''. Subsequent demos and releases were built off of the Doom Legacy engine, the first of which was released in October 1999. Parallels were drawn to the cancelled game ''
Sonic X-treme ''Sonic X-treme'' was a platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute from 1994 until its cancellation in 1996. It was planned as the first fully 3D ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game, taking Sonic into the 3D era of video games, and the firs ...
'' due to the style of the 3D platformer and the time frame of the demo's release, which was shortly after the launch of the
Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
and ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
''. Demo releases continued steadily throughout the 2000s, encouraged by an active
modding Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...
community, some members of which would end up joining Sonic Team Junior. Among them was character animator Chrispy Pixels, who described the development process in 2007 as "cursed and rushed", though he continues to work on the game ever since, arguing that " 'SRB2''represents an alternate path the Sonic series could've taken when transitioning to 3D that's more true to the classic Sonic formula." Wallbank would eventually step down from the development team in 2002. On July 25, 2009, a major update titled Version 2.0 was released, signifying the end of demo releases. The release marked the official departure of Freda from the development team, though work on subsequent releases would be continued by the rest of Sonic Team Junior's staff.


''Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart''

In 2018, a group of developers collaborating through the SRB2 Message Boards known as Kart Krew Dev released ''Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart'', a
kart racing game A kart racing game, also known as cart racing game or go-kart racing game, is a subgenre of Racing game, racing games. Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while including unusual racetrack designs, obstacles, and Vehicular combat ...
built off of the ''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' engine, on
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
, and
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
systems. The gameplay is similar to ''
Mario Kart 64 is a 1996 kart racing game for the Nintendo 64 (N64). Developed and published by Nintendo, it is the second installment in the ''Mario Kart'' series after 1992's '' Super Mario Kart''. The game retains the gameplay of its predecessor: the play ...
'' and similar
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
kart racing games such as ''
Diddy Kong Racing ''Diddy Kong Racing'' is a 1997 kart racing game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game revolves around Diddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizard pig named Wizpig, through win ...
'', ''
Lego Racers ''Lego Racers'' is a 1999 Lego-themed kart racing video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by Lego Media for Microsoft Windows, followed by console ports to Nintendo 64 and PlayStation (console), PlayStation. Set in the ficti ...
'', and ''
Mickey's Speedway USA ''Mickey's Speedway USA'' is a kart racing game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. It is Rare and Nintendo's second collaboration with Disney Interactive following '' Mickey's Racing Adventure'' (1 ...
''. SRB2Kart has characters, powerups and maps based on ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and other
SEGA is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
franchises. Additionally, players can create their own characters, maps and gametypes. A sequel, ''Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers'', formerly known as "Version 2.0", was released on April 24, 2024. Treated as a separate game, it was positively received, though the game's lengthy
tutorial In education, a tutorial is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...
was criticized. Changes from previous versions of ''Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart'' include a full single player grand prix campaign, the addition of new characters, stages, and items, and game mechanics, notably "trick pads" that allow for the use of different boosts and rings as a currency used for boosts.


Community

''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' is highly dependent on its community as a consistent source of feedback, and the development team of Sonic Team Junior is formed entirely from volunteers, many of whom were at one point part of the fanbase. Members of the development team have hosted
level design In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, mission, stage, course, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively incre ...
competitions, titled the "Official Level Design Contest", annually since 2003, with a break from 2015 to 2020; after this break, the title was changed from "contest" to "collab" to emphasize the collaborative aspect of the event.


Reception

''Sonic Robo Blast 2'' has been the subject of multiple short-form reviews and received positive reception in various video game publications, including
1Up.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conte ...
, Kombo, Wireframe,
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
,
PC Zone ''PC Zone'', founded in 1993, was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as '' PC Leisure'', '' PC Format'' and '' PC Plus'' had covered games b ...
, and
Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...
. The game was covered most frequently as a novelty during its early stages of development, though it drew additional attention after the release of 2.2 in 2019. The update was recognized by Doomworld with an award for the "released project with the longest "development time"". The game has been noted most prominently for its longevity, with Dominic Tarason of
Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...
calling it "A real slow-burning labour of love". The slow, over 20-year development period has allowed for the growth of a community that has been described as "utopic", compared to those of other online gaming forums.


References


External links


Official website
{{Doom series Sonic the Hedgehog fan games Doom mods Platformers Windows games MacOS games Linux games Android (operating system) games Video games with 2.5D graphics Video game mods Multiplayer and single-player video games Doom engine games