- Sonic Crackers
Infobox VG
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title= Sonic Crackers
caption= A screenshot of the Techno Tower Zone level in Sonic Crackers, showing the band of rings which forms its essential gameplay element.
developer=Sonic Team
publisher=Sega
distributor=
designer=
series=
engine= Early engine test
version=
released= Cancelled
genre=Platform game
modes=Single player
ratings=
platforms= Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
media= 1MB ROM dump (2MB dump from dev cart with TMNT prototype data in the upper 1MB also exists)
requirements=
input=Control pad "Sonic Crackers", also known by the name in the ROM header, "Sonic Studium", is an early "Sonic the Hedgehog"
prototype game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is believed to have been an engine test, containing essentially multiple different game engines, swapped out in realtime using code written into RAM. The concepts, engine and various other materials in the prototype was subsequently implemented in theSega 32X game "Knuckles' Chaotix ".Gameplay
The game has Sonic and Tails joined together by a band of rings. This would later become the idea for "Knuckles' Chaotix" for the Sega 32X.
The ROM has two "adventure" levels, one of which appears multiple times with a different palette each time, and two "field" levels. One is highly reminiscent of the Techno Tower Zone level in "Knuckles' Chaotix", the objective being to make it to the top of the screen; if this is done or three full minutes elapses on the clock, the "Sonic 1" "game over" music plays and the player is brought to the first field level, featuring a clouded background and a waterfall.
The "field" levels are only half-complete; there is no collision set, and Sonic can walk anywhere on the field with impunity. If the player pauses and hits a button, the game goes to a carnival-like level reminiscent of Chaotix' Speed Slider Zone that goes around in an infinite loop. After one minute has elapsed, the circus level ends and another "field" level begins. After the player pauses and hits another button, he or she is brought back to the Techno Tower Zone level with a different palette, four in all.
External links
* [http://sonicology.fateback.com/beta/crackers/index.html Sonicology's "Sonic Crackers" Page]
* [http://sost.emulationzone.org/sonic_crackers/index.htm Secrets of Sonic Team info page.]
* [http://www.randomsonicnet.org/srz/index.php?page=sonicc/index.htm Sonic Research Zone's "Sonic Crackers" Page]
* [http://www.sonic-cult.org/dispgame.php?catid=6&gameid=4 Sonic Crackers section on the Sonic Cult]References
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