🔵 Sonic: Reimagined

This is my review of "Sonic: Reimagined" - a mash-up of classic sonic games that lives only in the head of my 10-year old self.

There are several original characters as well as a brand new zone added to the classic sonic games.

Drawing Sonic the Hedgehog

When I was around 10 years old, I got Sonic 2 for the Sega Genesis. The game was a bit difficult, but I had already cut my teeth on the original Sonic The Hedgehog and I was ready for the challenge.

My original Sonic 2 Poster from the game cartridge box

While playing the game, I became enchanted by the beautiful detailed environments and the dynamic poses of the characters. The graphics were absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to learn how to re-create what I saw on screen. So what did I do? I paused the game and tried to draw it!

What follows is a list of hand-drawn screenshots from Sonic 2.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 title screen

The word hedgehog is misspelled.

Emerald Hill Zone

Robotnik is driving a drill-car towards Sonic.

Chemical Plant Zone

The words of the title screen didn't quite fit on the page.

Aquatic Ruin Zone

Sonic is breaking through a pillar.

Casino Night Zone

Sonic and Tails are fighting Robotnik.

Hill Top Zone

Sonic is launching from a see-saw.

Mystic Cave Zone

Sonic is hanging from a vine over a crevasse while Tails waits on the other side.

Oil Ocean Zone

Sonic and tails are jumping across a gap.

Metropolis Zone

The words of the title screen just barely fit this time.

Winged Fortress Zone

Sonic is standing on the giant tail wing facing backwards.

Death Egg Zone

Sonic is confronting Metal Sonic. He looks so happy! 😄

A few interesting notes:

• In the title screen, the word Hedgehog is misspelled, however we can see from the eraser mark that I tried to correct the spelling by adding a "D".
• I drew exactly one picture from each zone (not counting the short Sky Chase Zone).
• The title for Chemical Plant doesn't fit on the page. I did a much better job with the title of Metropolis Zone later on.
• I started off freehanding the characters, but later moved on to using stencils to have more control over the shapes. This gives the characters a very geometric look that I haven't seen in any other Sonic Game.

I also drew sonic from a few other games. Here's a screen from sonic 1 where sonic has just picked up a shield.

Sonic standing with a shield near a swinging platform in Green Hill zone

Here are a couple screenshots that I believe are from sonic CD. Interestingly I've never played sonic CD so I must have drawn these from screenshots in a magazine.

Sonic CD

Sonic is jumping through a goal post that reads 'past'.

Special Effects

Sonic and tails are breaking through a vertical tube in the ground.

And finally here's one screen from Sonic 3 Ice Cap Zone (Still one of my favorite zones from any sonic game).

Sonic running up a snowy quarter-pipe in Ice Cap Zone

Mash-Up

For the purpose of this review, I'll be assuming that "Sonic: Reimagined" cherry picks a few zones from the classic sonic games and then adds in some brand new content, in the style of Sonic Mania.

I'm also imagining that this game has the charming stencil-drawn aesthetic of my childhood sketches, because that would be adorable to see animated on screen. 😂

New Characters!

What's better than having one fox in the sonic franchise? How about 3?!

Spikes the Fox

This is my character design for Spikes the Fox! He's just like Tails, but has spikes on his ears for some reason.

Spikes the fox

He is posing on a platform surrounded by lava under a banner that reads 'Spikes the Fox'. In the background, Robotnik and a team of robots are fighting with each other like the 3 stooges.

Gills the Fox

The second addition is Gills the Fox! He has gills so he can't drown in those annoying water levels! Also he probably swims faster than Tails. He is the only character who has an actual head of hair, sporting a luxurious mullet. ✨

Gills the fox

He is posing on a platform surrounded by lava under a banner that reads 'Gills the Fox'. Robotnik and 2 other robots are nearby.

Note: It looks like I might have scribbled over the drawing of Gills. Maybe my 10 year old self became embarrassed of the drawing and wanted to remove him from the game? Or maybe my 2 year old brother just got a hold of my colored pencils. But in hindsight, I think Gills adds to the quirky charm of the design and deserves to be included in the game. Long live Gills the Fox! 🦊

New Zone(s)

Lava Island Zone

I could only find artwork for one new zone called "Lava Island". This appears to be a water level that features erupting volcanoes spilling lava into ocean.

Lava Island Zone Act 1 Title Screen

Gills the fox is getting ready to take the plunge into the water below. Watch out gills! You're not immune to lava! 🔥🔥🔥

Sonic in a canoe paddling between volcanoes

Maybe this was supposed to be an animated sequence?

Sonic running towards a loop

This is an underwater section reminiscent of Sonic 3's Hydrocity Zone. In the background there seems to be a locked door that can only be opened by acquiring all 6 chaos emeralds. 💎

Conclusion

I think "Sonic: Reimagined" would be fun to play. After all, it's a classic sonic game! So even if there was only a few new characters and levels, it would still have the amazing gameplay we've come to know and love from the first 3 games.

My main criticism would have to be the lack of new content. Only having one new Zone isn't really enough to justify an entirely new game. We do get 2 new characters, but they're both foxes which I'm sure would make Tails feel jealous.

I do think Lava Island Zone would be a pretty cool place to explore. The dynamic background of exploding volcanoes looks awesome! And having to deal with both lava and water in a single zone would pose an interesting challenge for the player.

I imagine that Gills would be a controversial character. On the one hand, he would make water levels trivial to traverse and some would say that this ruins the intended gameplay of these Zones. On the other hand, water levels suck. Giving the player the option to skip these slow-moving sections would be a relief for players who are not averse to tweaking the difficulty. But on the other-other hand, the only new level is a water level. Maybe Gills would make water levels actually fun to play? I sure hope so!

Overall, I enjoyed seeing a fresh take on the classic sonic games. I wish there was more new content, but the inclusion of levels from the classic games would ensure it has strong gameplay regardless.

Rating

"Sonic: Reimagined": 7/10

There's only one new Zone, but seeing Sonic through the eyes of a 10 year old: priceless! 😄