Sonic Ballistic

by Shblue

A few years after Sonic & Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik returns with a raging yet calculated vengance to conquer Mobius and punish Sonic forever. What seems like an ordinary adventure at first will slowly transform and change everything Sonic knows about being a hero. - Childhood fangame idea reimagined as a hardcore epic, and depicted in text. Finished 2010, uploaded here first.

1. Sonic Ballistic, Introduction

Introduction

Hello

I originally drew Sonic Ballistic as a series of 30 level maps in 2000, which is something I did a lot as a kid. At the time I just got Sonic CD and was inspired by it. I saw every 6 levels I drew as a "CD", or the length of 1 Sonic game. Although, comparing my maps with maps from the official games, each "CD" would actually be a quarter as long as a full Sonic game, but that's besides the point. Anyway, the boss at the end of each "CD" was basically Zelos, from Skies of Arcadia, who would increase in power by stealing Chaos Emeralds after Sonic gets them (instead of the Moon Crystals of SoA). The final boss was naturally Zelos in his final form (although he looked much more like Astro Man from Mega Man 8). There was no story. I just drew what I liked.

In 2009, my Sonic fandom was burning out. I saw Sonic Rush Adventure as the last good Sonic game and I was convinced Sonic would soon die in obscurity. I felt like my childhood values had become meaningless and when I looked to the adult world for hope, I only saw endless work, ignorance, and death. I became cynical and detached from the world, but I was filled with ideas. Using these ideas, I wanted to give Sonic one final hug before we parted ways, in the form of a fangame (in the form of a fanfiction, since I can't program, and wouldn't program something this long anyway). I wanted it to be a testament to my fandom.

I designed the game as I began writing. From the very start, I decided I must focus on two characters over all else: Sonic, and Dr. Robotnik. They are the two polarities that define the Sonic world, and to make the ultimate Sonic game, their characters would have to be explored to the limit. I had to adapt the 2000 version, too, so I turned Zelos into Mechanix. Instead of focusing on Mechanix's character, I pushed his essence as a transforming boss instead to the utmost limit. And in opposition to how most Sonic games feel isolated from the rest, I wanted to deeply explore the origins of almost all of the Sonic world phenomena, such as the Chaos Emeralds. All of this made the story rather long, but that was exactly what I needed to see how far the story of Sonic and Dr. Robotnik can go.

In 2010, after a year and half of daily writing, I finished. This is the first place I've uploaded it.

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Currently, I am slowly re-reading from the start and improving sections Act by Act. I'm not taking anything out, just improving parts that need improving.

Part 1 was in its second draft, but now it's in its third.

Update [7.23.12]: Part 2 is now in its second draft.

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Maturity Warning

NO KIDS ALLOWED. This story is for MATURE readers. It has a lot of cursing and mature themes, and nearly constant mild-to-moderate violence which can become extreme. Specifically, there are some disturbing scenes which are very graphic and I will place [Warnings] before the worst of them. If you are not MATURE, I am not responsible for whatever happens to you if you ignore this warning and continue reading, whether it's parental, psychological, criminal or otherwise. If you are mature, it's probably nothing you haven't 'seen' already.

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The Fangame Fanfic

This fanfiction is a detailed walkthrough of an imaginary video game, including the cutscenes. It should be read as if you are watching a video game being played, because there are 2 types of narration:

- The main type is game-oriented narration which describes gameplay, level design, and what Sonic can or should do. This is when the player controls Sonic in the game. In general, level layouts are not described down to every single thing Sonic encounters. It's up to you, the reader, on how or whether to imagine these parts. It may be easier if you are familiar with a Sonic game.

- The other type is story-oriented narration or cutscenes which transcribes the cutscenes and exactly what Sonic and other characters say and do. This is when the player cannot control Sonic and when Sonic moves on his own.

These two types will generally be separated by two line breaks, which is currently marked by a period as you see here. I'm sorry if it's annoying.

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The text is organized as the game would be. There are 10 parts or chapters to the story, with each part equivalent to the length of an original Sonic game. Like the original games, each part is separated into differently themed zones, about 6 zones per part on average. Each zone is further separated into Acts, which are the individual levels.

You may notice that every zone has a dyad like (x/y). x is the Part number and y is the total zone number. So (4/19) is the 19th zone in the game, in the 4th chapter of the story. They are useful if you want to find a particular zone with your browser's search function (Ctrl+F for Windows).

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All Acts are organized in this document like this:

Zone title [Act 1] (x/y)

description of stage music. comments on gameplay. optional.

game-oriented narration

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story-oriented narration

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[Act 1 Boss]

game-oriented narration: physical description, list of attacks:

- attack 1

- attack 2

game-oriented narration: how to attack boss, additional boss phases

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story-oriented narration

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[Act 2] ... etc.

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Nearly every Act ends in a cutscene, and most have a Boss after the Act. The Boss may start with a cutscene, too.

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General Game Information

Sonic Ballistic retains most of the mechanics of the previous games, but it removes a few and adds some new ones. The most significant difference, besides the overall length and the cutscenes, is the much stronger difficulty curve. The game starts as easy as the first Sonic games, but the difficulty grows far beyond anything like them. In short, it becomes a platformer slightly above the difficulty of a bullet hell shoot-em-up. This is a 'hardcore gamer's Sonic game'.

Due to the game's vast amount of data from all of the levels and cutscenes, it would best be released for gaming computers and consoles past 2008. The instruction manual would cover this document's introduction, the story background, this section, and the outroduction. (Don't read it yet, it has spoilers!) It would be filled with screenshots and concept art. It is questionable to do, but it could also potentially be a full strategy guide, essentially being this whole document with illustrations.

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Before getting into the details, I will specify various terms that will be used often throughout the document for the reader's sake.

the game/this game: Sonic Ballistic as a game rather than as a text, story, or fanfiction

the previous games: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles

the reader: you!

the player: the typical person playing the game

the screen: the 2-dimensional rectangular surface on which the game's visuals are displayed

the camera: the viewpoint of the screen 'into' the game world

Sonic: the main character, and the controllable avatar of the player in the game world

level: the current map which Sonic travels through, containing the background, foreground, and all objects

level theme/BGM: a level's background music. Every level has a separate and unique BGM.

zone/stage: an episode in the story, marked by a stage name (e.g. Blue Hill). It contains Acts and Act Bosses.

Act: a level. Shares similar visuals, objects, gameplay, and music to other Acts in a stage. Usually ends with a Boss level

Boss/Act Boss/Boss level: a very small level only meant to be a battlefield between Sonic and the boss

boss (lower case): a powerful enemy located only in Boss levels that must be defeated before the Boss level is completed.

death: when Sonic is hurt without rings to protect him, he dies and the player cannot control him until the player restarts the level

Part: a chapter in the story, marked by a number. It contains stages. There are 10 Parts in the entire game.

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Controls

Direction-pad (D-Pad)/Analog stick: Used for the following four directions.

Up: Moves up on a menu. Makes Sonic look up if he is stationary, causing the screen to slide up about a half-screen's height until Sonic moves again.

Down: Moves down on a menu. Makes Sonic crouch down if he is stationary, causing the screen to slide down about a half-screen's height until Sonic moves again. Makes Sonic tuck into a rolling spinball if he is running. If Down is released while charging a spindash, Sonic will spindash in the direction he is facing in with the impulse from how many times he charged it.

Left: Moves left on a menu. Makes Sonic move left. Sonic will start at a jog and accelerate to his top speed if nothing gets in the way. If something is in the way, Sonic will push himself against it.

Right: Moves right on a menu. Makes Sonic move right. Sonic will start at a jog and accelerate to his top speed if nothing gets in the way. If something is in the way, Sonic will push himself against it.

Diagonals: Move Sonic diagonally if he is flying.

Button 1/Start button: Skips opening credit screens. Skips Title Screen opening. Goes to File Select at the Title Screen. Selects an option on a menu or a file in File Select. Skips a cutscene if it was already watched once. Pauses the game during gameplay.

Button 2/Action button/A Button/C Button: Selects an option on a menu. Makes Sonic jump if he is not crouched down. Makes Sonic charge his spindash with one charge if he is crouched down. Makes Sonic air-shield if he is already in the air. Makes Sonic transform if he is in the air and has the required Emeralds.

Button 3/Cancel button/B button: Cancels at a confirmation. Returns the player to File Select if in Demos List, or to the Title Screen if in File Select.

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Title Screen

When the player starts the game (after setting up video settings if it's on PC), thanks and copyright information for Sega/Sonic Team fades in on a black screen. That fades out and then an opening credit for me fades in, also on black, and fades out similarly. The player can press any button to skip through these screens.

The title screen then fades in and the title theme starts playing. The 'camera' is in the sky halfway between the clouds and ground. It very rapidly scans across the surface of Mobius, revealing levels from afar that the player will eventually play through. After a few seconds, it slows down to be above whichever level the player last played (for a new game, it will be above Blue Hill). Although most levels can be shown, a few aren't within the camera's 'scope' so the last level that is, will be shown. It slowly revolves in the air facing the center of the level. This happens in about 5 seconds.

Once the 'camera' is settled, a ring with square sides spins out of thin-air with golden sparkles. As it does so, a red-and-white striped ribbon comes out and spins with it, although more slowly. As the ring slows to face the screen and the ribbon settles beneath it, somewhat realistic white wings open from both sides of the ring and the circular hollow space within it quickly fades to shadow.

Just as that inner space turns pitch-black, Sonic leaps out of the void towards the screen with an outstretched fist, and the black turns to a frenetic tie-dye-like rainbow energy. At the same time, the word "Sonic" glows white on the top of the ribbon before taking a sleek, shiny blue color. Sonic leans back from his leap, pulling his fist back but keeping it clenched. At the end of the 'snapback', the word "Ballistic" burns an even brighter white below "Sonic" on the ribbon, before cooling down to a hot, glowing orange. Sonic puffs up his chest which isn't as squat as before, and smirks confidently with a narrowed brow, as if ready to fight and win. He coolly rests his other arm on the side of the ring, and he bobs his head and slightly moves his body to the beat of the title theme. Naturally he blinks, but also every 4-5 seconds he opens his fist and stretches out his four fingers in a quick flick before tightening his grip again. As a neat effect, the light from the sun (or moon, or light from the ground) will shine off the ring, Sonic, and the letters on the ribbon as the 'camera' revolves around its position.

After "Sonic Ballistic" appears on the ribbon, the words "Game Start" appear letter by letter after very brief flashes of light in a smaller font size. Every 2 seconds a pulse of bright color goes through the letters.

The opening sequence can be skipped by pressing Start, bringing the player to the finished Title Screen. Another press of Start brings the player to the File Select.

If the player waits for about 30 seconds, the screen fades out and then fades into a 60 second demo reel of gameplay. On the first play, it will be a pre-recorded demo of Blue Hill. But once the player plays, demos are recorded from the player's playthrough! The demo played is chosen from a random level, and for every level there will be 3 types of demos and 3 recordings of each type that is randomly chosen to play. The 3 types are: a normal demo, a demo showing the player dying, and a demo from the fastest run for that level so far.

File Select

This game saves the player's progress, like Sonic 3. Unlike Sonic 3, which saved every new Zone, this game saves at every Act and Boss. It also saves the best time of each Act and Boss, and demos of playthroughs. The player can press the Cancel button to return to the Title Screen.

There are 10 files lined up as vertical rectangles. At the top of each is a square showing a visual depiction of the last-played stage, and below is the stage's name, the Act number or the Act's Boss with the number, and the Part. A new or unsaved file will simply be blank and white. There are 5 files showed on screen, and the screen moves to show the next file as the player moves left or right. At the very right of the File Select beyond the last file is a No-Save file, a Delete rectangle, and a Demos rectangle.

If the Delete rectangle is selected, the player can then choose any file to delete except for the No-Save file. By choosing with Start or the Action button, there is a confirmation, "Press again to delete." The player can move off of the file or press the Cancel button to cancel the confirmation, but if the delete is confirmed with Start or Action, a stripe of light sheens across the file, replacing it with an unsaved file for that file.

If the Demos rectangle is selected, the screen fades to the Demos List.

Demos List

This new menu vertically lists all of the Demos for each level with their File number, time and ring count. At the top, under the words "Demos List", is a horizontal series of images (thumbnails of what would be shown on a file back in File Select) for each Act and Boss of each Stage that has been played so far. Between that series and the list of Demos is an option to return to File Select, although pressing the Cancel button does the same thing. At the bottom of each level's list of demos is an option to "Play all for this stage", "Play all for this Part", and "Play all for the whole game". After selecting any of these, the player can then choose to "Play demos on this playthrough" or "Play fastest demos".

Once a demo is selected, it plays the recording. If a "Play all" option is confirmed, all of the individual demos are composed into one single demo. The recording perfectly follows the recorded playthrough from the start of the [first] level to the end of the [last] level.

During a demo being played, the Cancel button returns the player to the Demos List. The Start or Action Button pauses the playthrough on that very frame. When paused, if the player holds left the recording rewinds at normal speed, and if the player holds right the recording fast-forwards at double speed. If the player only taps left or right, the recording moves backwards or forward only by one frame at a time.

If the player taps down, the recording skips backward 1 second, and if the player taps up, the recording skips forward 1 second. If the player holds down, the recording reverses 10 seconds every second, and if the player holds up, the recording fast-forwards 10 seconds every second.

If the player presses Start or Cancel while holding left, right, down, or up, the recording will return to its paused state. If the player presses Action, the recording will continue according to what direction is pressed such that the player can stop holding the direction and let the recording run along as it would hands-free.

Diagonals are interpreted as their horizontal components (left or right) on a D-Pad. On an analog stick, the diagonal is interpreted as whichever directional component the diagonal is closest to.

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Gameplay Elements

Score

There is no score counter, and no score.

Time

There is no time counter (on a story playthrough), and no time outs.

However, when replaying a stage (from stage select), there is a timer displayed below the ring counter. The timer is set to the current time record, which will be the one set during the story playthrough, and counts down from there. "A new record!" will display on-screen and a jingle will sound when the act is finished before the timer reaches or passes "0:00". If the timer does pass "0:00", it will change color to red and count up to, and from, "-0:01".

Rings

The only counter overlaid on-screen is the ring counter.

In this game, Power Rings, or 'rings' for short, are the sole collectible and are equivalent to health. The exact position and amount of rings in an act will generally not be specified because of their near-ubiquitous nature. Whenever Sonic is hit by an enemy attack or environmental hazard, he will lose rings, be knocked back, and flash invincible for 1.25 seconds. In this game, he will only lose so many rings as the level of damage done to him. The weakest hit will make Sonic drop 5 rings, but stronger hits will make him drop 10, 15, 20, etc. If the damage is greater than or equivalent to his number of rings, all of his rings will escape his grasp. Most of these rings are not gone forever; in fact, if he is quick enough, Sonic can recollect his rings and effectively regain his health.

However, a percentage of the rings he loses will fly far away from him and disappear with a sparkle. This percentage of surely-lost rings is dependent on how many rings he has; in general, the more rings he has the more he will completely lose.

Unlike previous games, Sonic will keep all of the rings he has through every Act and Boss, UP UNTIL the Part is completed. Then he will lose them all. This keeps novice players safe in the beginning of new levels. It also gives expert players bragging rights for their All-of-Part Demos. However, Sonic cannot hold any more than 10,000 rings. In most Parts, he won't come anywhere close to that maximum limit.

Life

There is no life counter, as there are no lives. Likewise, there are no game overs or continues.

[Warning: Following paragraph explains dying and may be disturbing.]

Unlike previous games, Sonic will no longer simply jump into the foreground and fall off-screen when he dies. Sonic will die more 'realistically'. That is, he will be knocked according to the direction and power of what attacks him, losing blood and possibly breaking bones in the process. If he hits anything in the way, those impacts will also be animated. Wherever he stops moving, he will lie there dead, bleeding out if he is bleeding until he is pale from complete exsanguination. Even then his body can be beaten and tossed around. If he is squished to death, he will be squished in a gory splash of blood and guts. The screen will stay centered on Sonic's corpse forever unless the player presses Start.

Whenever the player presses Start, even if it's right when Sonic dies, the screen quickly fades out to black and fades in to Sonic at where he restarts in 2 seconds. The title card does not reappear after the fade-in, unlike previous games. Like previous games, he restarts at the last passed starpost or the act's beginning if he did not activate any.

Starposts exist in nearly every level and have the same in function as in Sonic 1. They are located at the calm points between the distinct sections of the level. They are activated when Sonic runs past them on foot. If he jumps over them or passes the horizontal points above or below them, they are not activated. Whenever Sonic dies, he restarts at the last starpost he activated. If the player quits the game before beating a level, Sonic will restart at the level's start and all starposts after that are deactivated. Starposts have no other function, such as forming a star-lined portal to the Special Zone as in Sonic 2, 3, and S&K.

Objects

Sonic will almost always be slightly left-of-center on the screen. The screen follows him as he runs and jumps. Strong impulses, such as from spindashes, will cause the screen to stay stationary until Sonic is a certain amount of pixels from the edge of screen, when it then catches up and stays pinned on him. This helps boost the illusion of speed in such cases. However, while in previous games extreme impulses and speeds could send Sonic off-screen, that will never happen in this game. This is important, as in previous games when this happens, while the screen tries to catch up, Sonic loses collision detection and could 'teleport' into places he shouldn't physically be.

The ring counter will always be in the upper-left hand corner of the screen.

There are inanimate hazards of various sorts, most commonly being projectiles shot from enemies and bosses.

There are inanimate objects which Sonic can interact with. These include breakable obstacles, rings and starposts.

There are enemies and bosses with programmed AI's. Unlike previous games, their positions and actions are always in memory as long as Sonic is in the same Act or Act Boss with them. This is necessary as some enemies and bosses will traverse large sections of levels, sometimes even following Sonic.

There are animate characters with programmed AI's that may interact with hazards, objects, enemies, bosses, and other animate characters. Sonic CANNOT interact with them, however.

There are no Special Rings.

There are no springs or speed boosters.

There are no item boxes. This includes ring boxes, speed-up boxes, invincibility boxes, power shield boxes, elemental shield boxes, and Robotnik damage boxes.

There are no end-level signposts, roboticizer capsules, or score checks. When the end of an Act is reached, the following cutscene, Boss, or Act begins immediately.