Sonic 2 Advance edit

[zetastrike]

Have you guys heard of this? I had no idea it existed. It looks pretty awsome.

[JDB]

Hmm, that looks like a hack to me. The level design is barren It uses the Sonic 3 sprites for a start.

[TmEE]

Its a good hack

[FlackoWeasel]

Awesome! Looks sweet but why Tails is in wrong colour :C

[Elusive]

The person playing the edited ROM obviously knows what they're doing - not sure I quite like the level design. *grabs Big Red Pen and notebook*

0:19 - Spindash to start off a level? Guy forgot he was guiding people through the game already. I like the 'islands' in the parallax background though.

0:23 - Ugh, Sonic 3 Sonic & Tails and item box sprites, Game Gear badniks? Mish-mash.

Right now I'm thinking it's a Sonic 2 -> Sonic 1 Advance sort of thing.

0:34 - yep, I'm right, Sonic 1 only Advance! Still not sure about the music.

0:38 - Bad design #1, the gigantic cliff jump breaks up the flow of the level. I'd suggest maybe putting down a spike trap, or a badnik, with a spring to get up there - not just facing the player with a rock and saying 'NOW MAKE A BLIND JUMP HERE'.

0:41 - couldn't port the collapsing cliffs to Sonic 2?

0:49 - the '!' signs were in the Game Gear game because of the limited resolution. On a higher TV resolution, the danger should be obvious without needing to be pointed out.

0:56 - rock out of nowhere, again breaking up the flow of the level - the player had built up enough speed to make the loop-de-loop anyway, why bother with the rock&spring combo?

1:04 - Unnecessary spring means the player misses something, as evidenced at 1:06 when he goes back for a couple of Rings.

1:10 - Speed shoes next to a solid rock that would stop you dead in your tracks. What?

1:16 - one platform falls, taking you to a lower section of the level, the player will then assume the same of the platform he lands on. It doesn't, though! You're not teaching the player the rules of your level!

1:20 - hidden springs out of nowhere. I'm sensing a pattern here. The rings are a nice touch to keep the player moving on the right path, though.

1:26 - spike trap, but one that's floating in the air...

1:30 ... that segues into a springing section. Again, the springs are hidden out of the view of the player, so you don't know where you will end up.

1:35 - floating platforms that fall, again. Seems lazy, especially going into the 'in one way, out the other' loop-de-loops (like Hydrocity's).

1:42 - That bloody rock out of nowhere, again!

1:47 - Why all those red springs, when you know where the player will hit the wall? Once you hit the springs, you're given the chance to go left at the top of your bounce. Confusing.

1:51 - probably the most appropriate location for the '!' sign, but it still shouldn't need to be there.

2:13 - what's that wall there for, if Sonic can't break it? If it's a Knuckles wall, I'd put it higher up - so only Knuckles could reach it with his wall-climb ability, or something.

2:22 - unfair level design, having a badnik block your way like that in a confined space. The player has to wait two more bounces before the badnik flies away and he can proceed.

2:28 - there it is again. The player can't even jump over and destroy it, as that would knock him back and remove his shield. I don't think the music has changed one bit up to now, either. Dum dum dum, dum-dumdum dum dum dum...

2:39: No-jump section. I do kind of see how it's supposed to go into the loop-de-loop, but then you miss a bit of level!

2:46 - Robotnik box, next to a Ring box. What? There's no risk-reward there. Pointless, all sunk into the ground like that.

2:56 - THIS is how you do bouncy-spring sections. You can see and predict where you will end up!

...and that's just Act 1. It's obvious the designer was going for something 'really cool and challenging', but it just comes off as a mess. There's absolutely no way to get lost in Green Hill Zone Act 1, as the game guides you to the end - it doesn't need '!' signs because it's self-explanatory.

Listening to the developers' commentary in Portal, for example, reveals exactly how much you're unconsciously 'taught' how the rules of the game work - cubes go on buttons which make things happen, and you don't even get to use both portals until you're certain what they do. If you want a product that's fun to play, it has to almost play itself. This mod is technically impressive, yes, but I don't think it'd be fun to play.

[SEGA.GENESIS1989]

I will break my silence for once. I believe the designer did a spendid job on the level design. I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of the level design.

The hidden springs, multiple warning signs, and rock obstructions forces the player to memorize the stage and slow down as necessary.

Whoever the designer is, excellent job!