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See the original image at racketboy.com

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD Remix May Become Reality

racketboy.com — Remember my post, “If Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Was in HD“? That image got salivary glands working overtime for old-school Sonic fans and turned into one of my most popular posts of all time. Now is turns out that a number of people in the Sonic homebrew community are working on bringing that vision to reality.

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  • haxr, on 04/26/2008, -2/+77Of all the games being remade in HD, this one definitely merits the effort. Hopefully the demand will be there.
    • racketboy, on 04/26/2008, -2/+13No kidding. Maybe it's just because it came with my Genesis when I was a kid and I played it to death, but I absolutely love Sonic 2. Whenever I boot up a Genesis emulator or my Sonic Mega Collection, that's usually my goto game. For some people its the original Super Mario Bros, but for me, it's Sonic 2.
    • joehobbes, on 04/26/2008, -0/+5Yeah -- especially if they can make it looks like that concept screenshot.
      Could you image that running on a huge plasma screen?!
    • KMartSheriff, on 04/26/2008, -2/+3I feel like a little kid all of a sudden. Where do I pay!?
    • dsmx, on 04/26/2008, -0/+2I want sonic 3 with sonic and knuckles to be done in HD just for that final bit zooming through space.
    • PaulOwen, on 04/26/2008, -0/+5Doesn't Sega Incorporated have any issues with this?

      I'd hate for the homebrew developers to go through the effort of re-mapping and rewriting the game for the community only to get a "cease and desist" letter drop onto their doormats. Seriously.
      • jeet404, on 04/27/2008, -0/+5They should hire these guys and sell this on PSN, XBL and Wii network so they can make huge profit out of it. I am willing to buy this the day it comes...not willing but my natural instinct.
    • Livert, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1I still have the developer's code memorised after all these years. 1,9,9,2,1,1,2,4,A,Start.
  • DanielPrimed, on 04/26/2008, -2/+27Sonic 2 is definetly my favourite out of the bunch, its fantastic to know that people are keen to work on such an endevourous project.
    • racketboy, on 04/26/2008, -1/+17Now if Sega would just hire people like this that are passionate about the project, we'd be all set!
      • joehobbes, on 04/26/2008, -0/+6I think they hired some of the emulator programmers a while back for their compilations.
        Maybe they'll be smart in this case as well!
      • KMartSheriff, on 04/26/2008, -2/+9SEGA, are you listening!? Get your ***** together. It's been like 10 years of sucking massive amounts of ***** for you, but this can all change. Pick these guys up! Make them re-make all the old Sonic games (in HD, sure why not) for XBL or PSN. It's a huge step in the right direction to becoming the SEGA we all knew and loved.
  • elephantay, on 04/26/2008, -2/+71Oh *****!

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2010/2084665595_bc8 ...
    • joehobbes, on 04/26/2008, -0/+13Yeah, that screen was on Digg a while back -- about made me pass out from joy overload when I saw it the first time
      • ANT1138, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4I never thought that pic would become a real sonic game. Cool.. It'll probably be even better than that.
    • InuX, on 04/26/2008, -0/+7As soon as I saw that picture I heard the battle song in my head.
    • Dracusis, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Isn't HD meant to be widescreen?
  • mattcoady, on 04/26/2008, -0/+17Hopfully they'll add in Hidden Palace Zone which was in the beta but cut from the final release.
    • cybercircuit1, on 04/26/2008, -0/+3RTA, they plan to.
    • ninja0, on 04/26/2008, -1/+2They said they were going to. But whats the hidden places zone? cut from the final release???? I'm a huge sonic fan and i've beaten sonic 2 tons of times and never heard of this! do tell!!!!
      • SSUK, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4In Sonic 2, go to the options screen, play Sound Test 10 or 11... Forget which one. Remember that tune? No? Well, that was the tune that was meant to be used for a zone Sonic 2 once had called "Hidden Palace Zone". It was designed to be a secret stage you would go to after you met certain criteria. However, was scrapped due to time restraints. Some developers had said you would have gone there to become Super Sonic, but can't be certain that's true.

        Old shots: http://sonic-cult.org/dispart.php?catid=1&gameid=2 ...
        What's left in the final game: http://sonic-cult.org/dispart.php?catid=1&gameid=2 ...
        Also, there are a few prototype versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 knocking around the internet. They all have Hidden Palace playable in them. It doesn't seem like HPZ was worked on at all since the first known prototype we have.
        • ninja0, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1thanks, that looks cool. I hope this game becomes reality so bad!
  • Elliottx, on 04/26/2008, -16/+6Ehhhh.....it looks like it was designed by someone who thinks they can draw in flash.
  • Ashkc88, on 04/26/2008, -0/+13This looks like it's going to be awesome, and the fact that they plan to add Knuckles as a playable character makes it even better.

    Hopefully this isn't taken out because of the re-release of Sonic 2 on the Xbox 360 / Nintendo Wii.
  • Conrey, on 04/26/2008, -1/+11I know this is all homebrew, but I would love to have this on xbox live, or anything I dont' have to use a keyboard with

    They released the original on xbl but I still have the cartridge, so it seems pointless
    • khyberkitsune, on 04/26/2008, -0/+8Why not just use a controller hooked up to your PC? Not everything is kbd+mouse
      • Conrey, on 04/26/2008, -4/+3but then I have to buy things, things that aren't games.
        • khyberkitsune, on 04/26/2008, -0/+7You're paying for internet to post here. That's something that isn't a game.
          • HouseCentipede, on 04/27/2008, -1/+4I'm "borrowing" the neighbor's
          • brett717, on 04/27/2008, -0/+2but you bought an xbox.. and xbox controllers
          • Conrey, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2Stop coming at me with logic and reason, it's not fair!
  • psykiv, on 04/26/2008, -0/+18a. If they remake the extended version of sonic 2 in HD, that would be even sweeter
    b. Hopefully this project will not go the way of OoT 2D (where the guy faked his own death to get out of the project)
  • MrM1yagi, on 04/26/2008, -2/+69Do you know one reason why this is already going to be better than every recent Sonic release?
    It's Dr. Robotnik, not Eggman.
    • KMartSheriff, on 04/26/2008, -1/+48And doesn't have Shadow, Cream, or whatever other ***** new characters. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Robotnik. Boom, done.
      • Bulletbillx, on 04/26/2008, -16/+1Only other characters worth a damn besides Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Robotnik are: Metal Sonic, Amy, and MAYBE Fang The Sniper aka Nack the Weasel depending on your region.
        • Ashkc88, on 04/27/2008, -0/+9Amy? Really?
        • hpdarkman525, on 04/27/2008, -1/+10Metal Sonic WAS in Sonic the Hedgehog 2... also: Fang the Sniper? Nack the Weasel? Who?????
          • ehal256, on 04/27/2008, -2/+0I'm pretty sure metal sonic in sonic 2 isn't the same as metal sonic in Sonic CD and Sonic and Knuckles.
          • cerealjynx, on 04/27/2008, -0/+3It was actually Silver Sonic, and Nack/Fang is from Triple Trouble on the Game Gear
          • ehal256, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2yeah, silver sonic..
        • Stevo23, on 04/27/2008, -1/+1Yeah, you're wrong.
          • ehal256, on 04/27/2008, -1/+0me? or him? They're different characters, they have different names even. :| They don't look similar while the later games keep metal sonics' look similar.
      • bagboyrebel, on 04/27/2008, -7/+2dude, shadow was awesome. Silver is the hedgehog that you should complain about.
        • Zarokima, on 04/27/2008, -0/+15Meh. Shadow is the best of the superfluous characters, but really that's kind of like being the coolest kid with down syndrome.
          • bagboyrebel, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1I don't really see why people don't like shadow. I mean they introduced a new character in pretty much every single sonic game ever made, so why the hate for shadow?
        • ParticleMan420, on 04/27/2008, -1/+1i like turtles!
    • Flyfox, on 04/27/2008, -0/+12We could be seeing "Dr. Robotnik" in the upcoming major game:

      http://i28.tinypic.com/qzgqom.jpg
  • tsupersonic, on 04/26/2008, -6/+1sure, it looks good, but nothing can replace the originals.
  • Amadeus2490, on 04/26/2008, -1/+5When are they going to do the original Sonic The Hedgehog in HD? Lemme know.
  • schavira, on 04/26/2008, -0/+10The title screen turned me off, but then when I saw the sprite recreations I was amazed.

    I hope they can do the same thing to Sonic 3 and Knuckles. In fact, if they could combine all of the 2D Sonics (CD/Sonic and Knuckles included) into one piece like this that would be amazing.
    • SANiK, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1The title screen was just thrown in randomly. It's not the "final" one at all. So yes, it will be fixed up

      According to Tweaker,
      "Yeah, that picture was never anything official. I don't know why it's been spread everywhere, but I suggest racketboy removes it from his blog post or whatever to avoid any further confusions. For example, Taxman is not one of the lead programmers, and I'm not one of the project leaders—I'm simply contributing feedback and music.

      I think clearing up these misconceptions will make things much smoother for newcomers and observers alike."
  • UltX, on 04/26/2008, -0/+3And they're adding hidden palace zone aswell?

    I can't wait to play this.
  • Ramble, on 04/26/2008, -1/+22Don't let them touch the music, the original stuff is so good and addictive.
    • dext3r, on 04/26/2008, -0/+8Either leave it or use the Sonic 2 soundtrack from OC Remix
      • deltageek, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4They're already getting permissions from some of the OC Remiixers
  • SonicTweaker, on 04/26/2008, -3/+14All this digging has done is successfully prevented us from using the forum for which this project is being developed.

    Great one, guys.
    • Ramble, on 04/26/2008, -11/+2Then don't submit it to Digg you moron.
      if the developers are all this pissy and anal then I won't bother with the game.
      • SonicTweaker, on 04/26/2008, -2/+12I didn't submit it to Digg. racketboy did, and did it with incorrect information about the project, for that matter.

        This project is an extremely early state--I have no idea why it was being publicized. Regardless, it doesn't help when my website is flooded with hundreds of of people who will likely be disappointed with what they see.
  • copypasta, on 04/26/2008, -33/+1Sonic has always sucked.
  • cerealjynx, on 04/26/2008, -4/+7Why Sonic 2? Why not the vastly superior Sonic 3 + Knuckles (Via awesome lock on technology!!)
    • DarkJesus, on 04/26/2008, -1/+2Definitely. After megaman 2, Sonic 3 + Knuckles is the best 2D platformer.
    • Diderotten, on 04/27/2008, -3/+1imao Megaman 5 was better than 2, Sonic 2 was better than 3 and knuckles, and Super Mario Morld kicks the ***** out of everything.
      • daRoach, on 04/27/2008, -0/+3imao = "in my asinine opinion"?
        • Diderotten, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1arrogant opinion. I guess I shouldn't have looked into urban dictionary for socially acceptable abbreviations.
      • Stevo23, on 04/27/2008, -0/+5Mario Morld was the *****!
    • fandyboy, on 04/29/2008, -0/+1Mario World > Sonic 2 > Sonic 3 > Sonic 1
      • Rethcir, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1F You, mario 3 is way better than Mario World.
  • Versh, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4Maybe now I'll finally be able to get all of the chaos emeralds-- (without debug menu codes).
    I hope Sega allows this, maybe even officially publish it... I'd pay to play this.
  • son1k, on 04/26/2008, -0/+1They chose the best of the series. I really hope this gets finished.
  • wontstoptalking, on 04/26/2008, -2/+3Mr.BabyMan!!!!
  • solid12345, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4I wish they would remake Sonic CD in HD, that is superior to both Sonic 2 and I think even 3.
  • ryan926, on 04/26/2008, -0/+2Sonic 2 was my favorite game when growing up, I still have the Genesis cartridge of it, in fact, it's the only reason why I love Sonic. I play the new-gen Sonic games hoping, pleading that the same satisfaction will be there....but no.
    This is truly a blessing.
  • snareguy17, on 04/26/2008, -0/+1brb, gotta go change my boxers out.
  • muellator, on 04/26/2008, -13/+4Fail. Mario Bros. 3 in HD would have been the correct choice.
    • Owwmykneecap, on 04/26/2008, -5/+2that was done on the Snes :P
      • Spaceomega, on 04/26/2008, -3/+8HD? I don't seem to remember the component attachment for my SNES.
        • Owwmykneecap, on 04/26/2008, -2/+6Its a reference to the fact the Super Mario 1, Japanese 2, and 3 had their graphics redone on Super Mario All stars on the snes.
        • Zap2, on 04/27/2008, -1/+3his was a comment on that fact it hasn't HD
    • theNolander, on 04/26/2008, -3/+8oh wow! a nintendo fanboy! don't see those everyday.
  • ItalianCasual, on 04/26/2008, -6/+1CRASH BANDICOOT !!!
  • Bender1001, on 04/26/2008, -0/+4GAHHHh, someone invent the time machine so I can skip past all this point of no Sonic 2 HD to the point when it arrives!
    • jgclark123, on 04/27/2008, -0/+4Uh... traveling forward through time isn't that difficult. In fact, you're doing it right now.
      • kevir, on 04/27/2008, -0/+0I have a time machine, but it only goes forward at normal speed.
        It was Demetri Martin.
    • richIsBored, on 04/27/2008, -0/+6You'll need more than a time machine. You'll also have to travel to some parallel universe where SEGA doesn't stomp this project into the dirt.
  • dagamer34, on 04/26/2008, -0/+23Everything's better in HD, except porn.
    • YellowSnowDemon, on 04/26/2008, -0/+3I wouldn't care if this project was in HD or not. New sprites is all that matters.
    • arobicha, on 04/26/2008, -1/+0Good porn is like vodka. The more you drink, the less you care about the fine details.
    • 1randomguyO8, on 04/26/2008, -0/+2Thats a good motto for an electronics store.
  • samsonlonghair, on 04/26/2008, -0/+55Here's my magical prediction: Sega will threaten legal action. In response to legal action, this project will be shutdown or forced under the radar. After seeing the profits other companies make from creating HD remixes of popular 2D games, Sega will rush to cobble together a HD remix four years later. Sega's official HD remix will stink. When Investors demand to know why the S2HD remix game sold less than expected, Sega will point back to this and claim that "piracy" is the reason their HD remix sold so poorly.

    Call me cynical.
    • toastgodsupreme, on 04/26/2008, -0/+22It's as if you can see the future!
    • 1randomguyO8, on 04/26/2008, -3/+4Cynical
    • 00monkey, on 04/27/2008, -2/+1wow you should change your name to samsonlonghair nastradamus
  • fudged71, on 04/26/2008, -3/+2YAAY ! BabyMan saves the daaaaay !
    *claps. sits down*
  • gaijintendo, on 04/26/2008, -0/+2You have to try your best to work back from the concept art on a project like this. That way you are avoiding using too much interpretation on the little blocky characters. We all know how sonic looks, but just looking at some of the enemies it would probably help to have the original concepts to work from.

    The thing is, 2d isn't dead. It is a great media for gameplay. I stopped playing Sonic, after being left cold by sonic adventure. I really think Hi-Def would bring something to the back-catalog. Beats the hell out of scale2x ;)
  • TheWriteGuy, on 04/26/2008, -0/+14The safest way for them to avoid being shut down is to not make and release a self-standing game. Instead, one of the Genesis emulators could be modified to allow for these fan-made high-res sprites to be loaded when one loads a ROM for Sonic 1 or Sonic 2.
    • krenzo, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1They discuss this in the forum links on their site.
  • highlyhigh, on 04/26/2008, -3/+0sweet job, dude. now go make a post about mario HD.
  • ninja0, on 04/26/2008, -1/+4so.... unless i missed something in the article, is this being made for PC? Will it come to linux if so?
  • scottperezfox, on 04/26/2008, -1/+2Sonic 2 is my fave of the series, I am looking forward to this. Of course, someone needs to re-record the score so we have actual instrumented music instead of that early-90s midi. And of course this needs to be ported for Mac.
  • 1randomguyO8, on 04/26/2008, -0/+2Anyone know were I can streetfighter2 in HD?
    • richard2, on 04/27/2008, -0/+4The X-Box Live Arcade, I think.
      • 1randomguyO8, on 04/27/2008, -2/+1Yep you're right. I think it might be on Wii aswell.
        • cerealjynx, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1Hah, people digging down your sarcasm. SF2 HD isn't out yet you guys. The XBox live arcade version is (currently) regular ol' SF2Turbo online
  • sgxyay, on 04/27/2008, -4/+4Cool...but I don't really understand why these talented groups of people go and remake old games....why not use your time and talents on something original and interesting? Copying a game and upgrading it to HD graphics is basically just a technical exercise, nothing creative. Make a whole new game if you have the skills and the time....also you won't get shut down and you can possibly actually legally MAKE MONEY with your own property.
    • AppleGeorge, on 04/27/2008, -2/+2Because new games will never be as great as the classics. I'm assuming you're not old enough to appreciate Sonic when it was released, and now hopefully playing it in HD is just for nostalgia purposes.
  • buggu, on 04/27/2008, -0/+5This is a Sonic fan's dream come true. Hopefully they won't be served with the C&D letter from SEGA like those guys who were making the Chrono remake, thus ending a brilliant project.
    • n0c0ntr0l, on 04/27/2008, -1/+1they won't get stopped if they stick to 'Rom Hacking'
      • ehal256, on 04/27/2008, -0/+0All the assets they're using will be completely new.
  • D14BL0, on 04/27/2008, -1/+1This is amazing.

    This was easily the best Sonic game ever, in the history of Sonic games. Seeing this is just mind-blowing.
    • ehal256, on 04/27/2008, -0/+0Well, actually, in most people's opinions, Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the culmination of the 2d series, but they're all fantastic.
  • Culyt, on 04/27/2008, -0/+2This is too cool.
    Lawyer'd in 5... 4... 3...
  • JanusX, on 04/27/2008, -1/+3What? this isn't a GTAIV story, can't have this posted for at least another week.
  • Louis11, on 04/27/2008, -0/+14Anyone know how to get in contact with the developers? I own http://www.Sonic2HD.com and would love to donate it to the project!
  • karran, on 04/27/2008, -0/+0while awesomely awesome, the art still needs some work
  • Cyberen, on 04/27/2008, -0/+2I think they deserve a prrrrrrrrromotion!
  • katanaswordfish, on 04/27/2008, -1/+1Hats off to these guys, but one thing sticks out in my mind as of now. It seems to me that their sprites have far too many color tones. Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix had huge problems during development because their original concepts for the sprites included too many color tones (keep in mind that they were are a professional team, working with a skilled group of professional animators). If it was too difficult for backbone + UDON, it will most likely be too difficult for this small independent team. However, if they cut down on the amount of tones per color i think it would be much more realistic for them.
  • SaladCactusKing, on 04/27/2008, -0/+1from the developer's forums. "so I just noticed we're on the front page of digg with 800 diggs. *****."

    lollll Digg effect is working in reverse. Keep bugging them and it'll never get done.
  • PKO17, on 04/27/2008, -0/+2Very cool; but I think half the charm of the old games came from the somewhat grainy graphics which left a little to the imagination.
  • Qasmus7, on 04/27/2008, -0/+0Now we just need a HD remix of Super Mario World but I guess it will take about 10 years before Nintendo decide to do something like that.
  • dustinjr1993, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1best old school game ever made
  • Makiyura, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1awesome! i really would love to play this game! this is going to be krazy!
  • vta2311, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1This was the game that came along with my Genesis/Mega Drive when I first got mine more than 14 years ago. Good times. Looking forward to this one.
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