A Journey Through Sonic Clones & Rip-Offs
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
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Sonic The Hedgehog. Often imitated, rarely replicated. Let's check out a bunch of games that may have been a little more than inspired by him.
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1:01 years
Hey Gilly, good video, just some feedback for the future: when you talk about audio, especially voice acting, you gotta actually show some of it. I'd love to have listened to a few examples of the "over-acting" or the "cheap mics", but I'd have to look at a longplay of the game of that, but I'm here for YOUR video. You did show an example of the annoying alarm in an earlier game, so this stands out a bit.
Timestamps for your convenience:
2:39 Socket / Time Dominator
7:30 Awesome Possum
12:18 Jazz Jackrabbit series
17:00 Freedom Planet
22:32 Freedom Planet 2
27:30 Spark the Electric Jester
31:38 Spark the Electric Jester 2
36:34 Spark the Electric Jester 3
Thank you :)
It's a shame you never talked about the stories in Freedom Planet or Spark. They're some of the most notable things about those games. Freedom Planet less so, especially since I know almost nothing about the second game, but the first game had a solid plot with suprisingly decent voice acting. The story in Freedom Planet really doesn't deserve the hate. Platformers can be story driven too!
And Spark's story... hoo boy. While the second game is just your average "darker" Sonic plot like SA2, Shadow, 06, Black Knight, or Frontiers, the third game GOES HARD with its insane plot reveals in the endgame. The story literally goes straight into Evangelion-tier existentialist horror with god-like animation with a shocking final stage that pushes EVERYTHING that you learned in all three games to its absolute limit. That's not even to mention the final level's main gimmick.
You know those random seemingly useless "Spark Tokens" you've been collecting for the entire game? And how the game doesn't have a lives system and instead uses a more modern "reset" system for difficulty with infinite lives? Well, the final level DOES have lives, and the lives you are given to clear this one 45+ minute long final stage and an hour long endgame boss and cutscene gauntlet are based on the tokens you've been collecting. And what happens if you run out of lives? YOUR SAVE FILE IS DELETED. Straight up crazy, the second coming of ZeroRanger's final gimmick.
I won't spoil the final twist, but please, play the Spark games and especially Spark 3. You will not be disappointed.
The final twist in Spark 3 is truly something special just because how it basically comes out of nowhere but at the same time makes perfect sense, specially after that final level, considering the nature of Clarity. Also the final few scenes are full of that over the top cheesy charm that the Sonic Adventure games had.
I've beaten Freedom Planet 2 multiple times and the story is way better than the first. The first game was really inconsistent with it's tone, but the second game feels a lot more cohesive. Not to mention the main villain is really compelling, espeically when you get the true ending.
The Freedom Planet games have some amazing worldbuilding, characters and ideas in them, but in my opinion, they aren’t used to their full potential.
So glad someone mention zero ranger too. That game is amazing
@@Blueflag04 Agreed. Best smump of all time.
I forget if I heard this from the GalaxyTrail Discord server or wherever, but apparently Freedom Planet 2 has such a massive difference in looks because they wanted to distance the series from the Sonic comparisons.
I can see that. Honestly, I like it more. The new style really leans into the Asian influence and it makes the world feel so unique
It's a shame the first Spark game didn't really catch your attention all that much. The ending is absolutely bonkers.
Like, not even kidding, the ending turns into a full on anime Super Sonic final boss battle with butt rock playing in the background and it is great. Complete with a fully animated intro showing off Spark's transformation into Not-Super Sonic. And after beating the game, you get a second scenario where you play as Fark so Spark 2 isn't even the first time you play as him. Even the boss fight music for Spark 2 is in Spark 1 for special bosses that only Fark fights during his campaign.
And you also unlock the ability to use any weapons at any moment too
Butt rock is better than most music that plays, not just in video games, but also in society...change my mind.
@@paxhumana2015 I mean, you're not wrong. No mind needs to be changed here.
Yay, Spark the Electric Jester, my favorite Sonic-inspired franchise
Me too!
Can't wait to play Spark The Electric Jester franchise on the Steamdeck (Oled 1 TB model)!
Literally never even hear of it before this for some reason
@@exocolt15 Sadly it's not as well known as it deserves.
And even so, it's not as obscure as other great indie platformers, such as Curse Crackers.
Does anyone know where I can download spark 2 and 3 if anyone knows if I have to pay for it or if it's free I'd appreciate it?.
@@philliprosewood7049its on steam, very cheap too
20:54 - 21:07 where them Freedom Planet 1 speedrunners at?
show this man the speed techniques Milla has!
This is more of a Wario Land clone, but Pizza Tower honestly scratched my Sonic itch. Looking forward to that Wario Land clone video next, lol
Are there more than 4 wariolikes though
Thats not a clone, its inspired. Its a completely diffrent thing
@Mewsword I loved the game, I'd even go so far as say it was my goty, but it's clearly just as inspired as the other fan games.
Freedom Planet 1 and 2 were not Sonic clones, nor were they Sonic rip offs, for, in fact, they were actually, as well as originally, fan made Sonic side story games. Thankfully, they ended up being able to become a successful franchise of their own.
because they had a franchise even though their games are not original when the mascots of the 90s such as: Rocky Rodent, Pulsenman, Plok, Mr Nutz, Ristar, Wonder Dog, Wild Woody, Cool Spot, Chester Cheetah, Zool, Billy Hatchet, Alex Kidd and Decap Attack aren't back? the thing is that they are then considered clones and rip-offs of sonic just like this rubbish video has shown us, and then sonic fans think so much about sonic that they only know how to create his games for him and not for the others, ugh why Am I the only one who wants to pray for their return?!!
Spark 3 is outstanding! It feels like a true Sonic Adventure game we needed after all these years. I'm hoping they bring it to console someday
Me too
Yea.... but the plots all over the place and is hard to follow
@@Leightonlaser1And the sonic adventure plot isn't lmao? I find Spark's stories goofy but charming tbh
@@shu7429sonic adventure isn't that confusing
Sa2 is more confusing but mostly because you need to explain the past all the time
@@maxenswlfr1877 I don't think either are hard to follow but they are definitely all over the place in a similar way the stories in spark are
Man, I wish Epic didn't drop the ball with Jazz Jackrabbit. I liked the second game, and the cancelled 3D game looked like it'd do well with auto aiming. Heck, even now on modern systems. Maybe one day, they'll bring him back. (Less said about the Gameboy Advance reboot though, the better.)
The OST for Jazz 3 slaps.
Fun Fact: the guy who voiced Dr. Machino also voices Plankton in Spongebob.
Holy crap, Doug Lawrence?? Hmm, not a bad choice, not gonna lie.
Socket is very much a middle-of-the-road game, something that's par for the course for Vic Tokai as a whole. I'll tell you what, though- its soundtrack is phenomenal. Some underrated gems in there, for sure.
Also I will never think of Awesome Possum without thinking of the legendary Fat Mann review of the game. That video is well over a decade old now and I can still quote chunks of it to this day.
"I'm awesome!"
"And I'm an Abercrombie and Fitch model!"
"AMAZING how all the animals seem to have _perfect white teeth,_ don't you think? The wolf looks like he just took a piss, the leopard's got a hard-on for Possum, and the monkey's doing the right thing by laughing at you for playing this piece of shit!"
God, I miss the Fat Mann.
Yo!! Freedom Planet and Freedom Planet 2 rock!!
I saw Jazz Jackrabbit on the thumbnail and was immediately hooked. I love Jazz
This video is so amazing! Also appreciate reviewing Spark the Electric Jester.
To people who say "I don't like Freedom Planet" I say "may I offer you Spark The Electric Jester as an alternative?"
Interestingly, I love Freedom Planet but I don't like Freedom Planet 2, and I love all Spark games.
@@madengineerkyoumaI'm on the opposite. I don't care for Freedom Planet 1 very much, but I ADORE the sequel!
Millas little floating animation is adorable.
Millia is adorable!
Hey! We respect Jazz jackrabbit in this house!
I played freedom planet 1 around 2015 for the first time and the main thing that made me want to play it was it had unique combat moves for the characters, the soundtrack and some of the levels are top teir for a sonic style game.
Oh boy Gilly talking about Sonic related things is certainly a treat! 😁
Same feeling as Antdude talking Kirby imo
Same as Caddy talking about Crash series
@@Blueflag04cash banooca?
I loved Jazz 2 as a kid and I never know what Jazz 1 looked like.
Jazz jackrabbit 2 is my childhood. I loved it so much. Such a shame Epic hadn't brought it back in some form.
Yeah TimeDominator 1st (I refuse to call it "Socket") isn't as great as Sonic, but I like it a lot more than the blue hedgehog. The music in TD 1ST is so damn great!
Keep making awesome videos like this and no defending a guy with a fraudulent charity next time.
Yeah that's kinda sad, but he's just defending his friend, Jirard is to blame for abusing the trust of his friends.
I going to make a game that has a turtle has a main character and you can jump on enemies and kill him and you can punch the enemies and kill them
A video with ripoff in the title and its not a crossover with the completionist? Massive L Gil
ive been meaning to pick up spark 3, it looks amazing!
Freedom Planet and Freedom Planet 2 is Goat !!!
Came for Sonic, Stayed for the Smurfs Ad
I'm so glad Gilly liked Freedom Planet 2. I was kinda mixed on the first game, but I ADORE the secord game. I actually like it more than any of the Classic Sonic games. Also, it's a shame that it just flew under everyone's radar. But I guess years of silent development would do that.
Besides gameplay, the story is also so much better. It's a lot more tonally consistent then the first game was, while still being really charming and compelling. The main villain, Merga, is also really good. When I got the true ending, I genuinely felt really bad for her. The only thing that isn't as good is the soundtrack. There's a couple stand out tracks, but overall not as good as I had hoped.
I've been trying to get my freinds to buy this game for like almost a year now. So if you're reading this and are interested, but haven't picked it up, PLEASE do. The devs deserve so much better for this game.
Oh God, I remember Awesome Possum, thanks for dragging that memory out of me
I'm gonna check out the Freedom Planet games. I've been looking for a retro inspired indie game to scratch the old school Sonic itch and that one resonated with me for some reason
For FP2's character playstyles: I'd say Lilac is the only one that really played the same. Carol got a MASSIVE (and very much needed overhaul) to her motorcycle, as well as her ground gameplay. I ended up playing most of the game off the bike, and I couldn't even finish half of her playthrough in FP1. Milla's kit is more versatile now, and she can actually beat Lilac's times in some levels due to her how mechanics work.
Currently working on Milla as my last playthrough, and all of the characters have noticeable advantages and disadvantages against various bosses and levels. I didn't really teach myself to get good at the Guard mechanic until Carol's story, so Lilac ended up being the hardest playthrough by a mile. (I also cleared the game pre-nerf, including Weapons Core with her via an accidental glitch lol.)
One thing I'd like to mention is that FP2 has a huge internal supporting for challenge and speedrunning gameplay via the Brave Stones, ranks, and achievements. It's pretty wild how fast people can get some of the levels.
Looks like Sonic has a bunch of people to race in a marathon.
Awesome video! Next time you should cover Banjo-Kazooie clones, like Yooka-Laylee or Ty the Tasmanian Tiger.
Wow perfect timing for a video I’ve been replaying a lot of sonic games recently so this is great
Freedom Planet is Sonic but good
Freedom Planet is one of my favourite games ever and I've been really wanting to play the sequel ever since it came out, but they just keep delaying the console ports.
26:38 why is out of place to have voice acting?
Just in my opinion I personally think it looks kinda awkward having sprites talk, that’s all.
Awesome was one of my favs
Already! need to improve his game or have a series of comics, the game wasn't great just for the frames but I say the mascot brings a lot of beauty and charm in our eyes🐭♻️🚮🐝🦏🐟
I played an aweful lot of Jazz Jackrabbit 2. Loved the level editor, spent hours and hours on it!
Gil, pleeeeeeease play Jazz Jackrabbit 2. It plays so much better, and the music is god-tier.
Hey man, just want to say I'm always happy to see you upload. Your videos are great. Interesting, well written, and well produced. Keep it up. ✌️
Man, I remember Jazz, I had a lot of fun with it. While cleaning a couple of years ago, I found my old copy.
1993 + 20= 2013 oh oh 😂
Freedom Planet is not sonic clone. Sure, it took a lot inspiration from Sonic, but ever noticed how much effort it has been put to sequel to look less Sonic rip-off?
Finnaly someone talks about freedom planet and freedom planet two!
12:45 I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought back the rabbit for a skin for Fortnite😂😂😂 especially after this video gets super popular
I need mor rocket knight adventures in my life :(
Came here for Jazz Jackrabbit, which is possibly the first game I ever played. In the context of what PC gaming was in the early-mid 90s, it was just about the fastest-moving game on the platform. Sure it hasn't aged well, but I think all it needs to be enjoyable now is a larger field of view - that'd allow you to see what's coming when you're moving fast.
Freedom Planet voice acting has interesting story because even though it rough (it was the first work of many of them), many of their voice actor grew to be well know in the gaming and anime voice acting industry, Dawn M. Bennet for example is had roles in My Hero Academia and her lates work was as Aegis in P3 Reloaded, then there is Alejandro Saab (Major Zhao's voice) that now has voices many characters in Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, besides alves having a role in Persona 3 reload.
Oh and the guy that voice the panda brothers also had roles in Zelda and other Nintendo games.
I'm here for the Jazz love!!
my mind was blown that Jazz Jackrabbit didn't pedate sonic. Maybe I'm just getting it confused with Commander Keen.
it's Gilliam!
Spark the Electric Jester gives me Rayman vibes with how the first game was a 2d platformer, but then the sequel is 3D and is darker in tone
27:00 I played it on my Deck and yeah it seems to be a CPU intensive game or something. Not so much that I couldn't record it though. You are using the latest Proton version, yes? That should help.
7:02 Basically Sonic Forces
27:42 true, spark the electric jester 1 is labeled as just playable on the deck, spark 1 is the first game i played on the deck & i for me it only lagged a little near the end of stage 3 right before the boss, as well as most of stage 8, but considering how much i played spark 1, it wasn't to bad for me & i could play fine with it
I'd say that in desktop mode if you're having the game cover the whole screen but are not in full screen mode, it's even less of an issue
Tbh, spark the electric jester 1 is for me personally not only my most favorite sonic inspired game, but my most favorite in general & i think it's not on consoles because of it's engine which is not so simple sonic worlds, a 0retty common engine for sonic & sonic.exe fangames
Awesome Possum's framerate makes it look like an MS-DOS game, which is something that you seriously don't want with a Sonic clone.
Like oscar
I loved JJ2. I played the shareware demo over and over again as a kid.
aw man i had a jazz jackrabbit shareware floppy disk; i played those 2 or 3 levels so many times that i still have the layouts memorized lol
What about Skunny??!!!
You too Remember skunny hardnut?!
7:58 20 years after 1993 is 2013, not this year.
When I think of Sonic "clones and rip offs" I definitely think of High Seas Havoc. You get to play as a Pirate Seal and the game has a lot of visual charm and good music. Honestly, for alot of people the biggest criticism for it was that people just thought it was too much like a Sonic game.
41:21 what game was that?
Freedom planet
Epic, yall, get an indie studio and finish jazz the jackrabbit 3 aka 3d, please.
YES! Jazz Jackrabbit! I loved that game but it seems no one else remembers it!
damn spark 2 and 3 look swanky!!
People ripping off sonic is just stupid. Being inspired and not downright taking it is fine.
Is no one going to mention Sonic is a Mickey Mouse clone? And Mickey is a Felix the Cat clone ?
3:06 So sonic copied dragon ball and then dragon ball copied Socket
Oh snap. Channel Pup actually got someone to pay for his editing services!
Always good to see another youtuber with a good amount of subs spread the word about Freedom Planet 2! That game is Criminally overlooked for how amazing it is!
dude but that is literally a perfect clone of sonic how can he not be criminally underrated and obscure?💀💀💀
I like how the text in the thumbnail is similar to Sonic & Knuckles
there is a game called Armillo and it is kinda good for a wii u eshop game also it has a free steam game
The original sonic games were incredible too. Music too
How the hell did they get away with Socket? I’m amazed Segas lawyers didn’t come knocking.
Freedom planet was supposed to be the victim of this matter, even if socket was too much like sonic the hedgehog due to the linear levels and the character's speed at least had many things that distinguished him from it such as: collecting lightning, giving electric kicks, having a coffin of electricity! it doesn't roll, it doesn't transform, it doesn't collect emeralds, and it doesn't have a 2-tailed assistant, instead freedom planet and literally sonic when you change the characters the levels and the plot of it: it rolls, it runs fast just like sonic! how come socket gets insulted and panned and spat on just because it looks like sonic even though that game doesn't steal so many elements of sonic and Freedom Planet gets praised like that by others getting 2 more fucking sequels even though that game is actually a real clone of sonic and socket 1 game?! THERE IS NO JUSTICE HERE!!!!😡😡😡
At first, I was dismissive of Sonic clones, then I got into Freedom Planet because of the music cause I thought much of the music of Freedom Planet was very good and I may have a good time because of it. And then I saw Freedom Planet having the potential of creating a new sub-genre that the passionate indie devs are going to make like how we have many Boomer Shooter games like Dusk, Ultrakill, and Turbo Overkill since the release of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal.
Sonic-like indie games like Freedom Planet and Spark the Electric Jester can excite it. No disrespect to SEGA and Sonic Team, but nowadays indie devs does what SEGA (and Takashi Iizuka) (Ninten)don't do with Sonic anymore.
Most of them are from sonic CD
Freedom planet was actually pretty good.
Jazz jackrabbit is great. The first game is the worst one (well, maybe except for the 3d one, but that's a matter of preference(honestly its not hard to get your hands on it) also the Christmas stages are the best imo
29:42 Thank you for saying Hydro City
38:46 also, the driving stages are taken from his other cancelled racing game
Vic Tokai did Socket?
Wow. The only games I've played from them were both of the Golgo 13 NES games
Ooo fun😊
I need Freedom Planet 2 on the Switch ( I finished the first game on the Wii U and loved ), play on PC it’s not really my thing.
I'll add a couple extra titles that weren't covered.
Kamikaze Squirrel
Aero the Acro-Bat
Punky Skunk
Bubsy the Bobcat
Rocket Knight
Blaze
Wiz N' Liz
Zool
I don't count Wild Woody, Buck Bumble, Kao the Kangaroo, Croc or Gex in this category though.
So glad you covered these, I kinda suspected there were clones, but never actually knew any except awesome possum and freedom planet
Don’t forget about the Tiny Toon Adventures Genesis game!!!
You should check out Chirpy the Penguin, it’s actually really good!
Displate, Datplate, Deezplates 😂
I’m glad you enjoyed both Freedom Planet games. I wish I could say the same, but I found less joy playing FP1 in recent years and, I’m sorry to say, I was disappointed with how FP2 turned out.
I’m wondering how far you got into the game? The first few levels in FP2 are pretty good, but eventually they become more maze like and start introducing pace breaking gimmicks and puzzles, making them overstay their welcome. I almost find it baffling that you think the game is fast and kinetic, because from what I played, it’s the opposite for a large portion of its runtime, especially when you’re forced to talk to people in hub areas.
I know you didn’t touch on story much, but I will say this: don’t even bother. The story isn’t horrible, but it’s definitely not well written. Characters make cringey jokes one moment and then become melodramatic the next. At the end, it ends up coming off a preachy with its message.
I have a different opinion on the bosses as well. They’re not really well designed, being basically damage sponges that spam projectiles everywhere like a bullet hell. They can also be cheesed pretty easily by spamming Lilac’s boost and boost cancel combo. I didn’t even bother with the parry mechanic, cuz it barely works.
Speaking of parrying, I don’t think this game’s combat is all that great. Sure, it’s a cool idea on paper, but you realize pretty quickly that killing enemies is pointless, since they don’t deal contact damage, allowing you to run right past them. They also don’t drop anything worthwhile either, meaning that combat is only really useful during boss fights, which again aren’t that great. Enemies also have a bad habit of being placed randomly and either dogpiling on you or blindsighting you as you go fast. Would you have liked Sonic 2 if it had the same combat and enemy design as FP2? Sonic games keep enemies simple by letting you kill them with a single jump or spindash and even serving as a springboard to carry your momentum during a jump. You can’t do the same with FP’s enemies. Rather you either ignore them completely or stop dead in your tracks to kill them.
I have other issues with the game, like the music not being as good or the art style not being appealing to me, but I’d be nitpicking at this point. While I’m happy you liked both FP games, I honestly wouldn’t recommend them over Sonic Mania.
Bottom line, Freedom Planet overcomplicates a simple gameplay formula with unnecessary additions and filler. Bigger isn’t always better. Less is more.
Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that PETA was involved with that Awesome Possum game, I can smell their footprint on that game.
Spark 1's awful frame pacing has been a massive issue since it launched. Those of us who like it just kinda deal with it.
Looking at everything it looks like it's supposed to be like a hardcoded vsync but the frame times are only consistent at 60fps and they go all over the freaking place at its other target framerates (30, 20, and 15fps). I think Feperd did a great job with design but I absolutely see why he switched to Unity, and not just because he wanted to take the series 3D.
Don`t know if this was intentional or not, but as a fellow metalhead who loves the classics, I really gotta take a second to appreciate the bit showcasing the collections for Iron Maiden, Ghost, Moorhead, and Judas Priest, during the displate ad. Never thought I`d be complimenting an ad read, but here we are.... Good stuff...
Freedom Planet 2's highs are incredibly high, but Freedom Planet 2's lows are Neera. She is the clunkiest mistake of a first playthrough somebody could pick. Her trap based combat soured my entire outlook on the game and turned it from "hey, this game's really pretty!" to "oh holy shit how am I even supposed to hit you?"
You forgot Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure, which is a game for the Sega Genesis. It's also a Sonic clone, too.
Saying "Treasure games look too busy" seems a bit of a harsh generalisation. I mean, I can see it with the likes of Dynamite Headdy and Guardian Heroes, but on the other end of the spectrum we have Ikaruga... okay, maybe a bad example - but it's *supposed* to be busy seeing as it's a danmaku shooter, so I'd still say it isn't *too* busy. Point is, Treasure has as many games that are exactly as busy as they should be as ones like Dynamite Headdy.