Sonic Robo Blast
| Sonic Robo Blast | |
|---|---|
 An in-game screenshot of Knothole Base Zone, the first level in Sonic Robo Blast. | |
| Developer(s) | Sonikku |
| Engine | Klik & Play, The Games Factory |
| Latest version | 1.3f |
| Release date(s) | February 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player; splitscreen multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| System requirements | 486SX2/33; Windows 3.x; 256 color display; 640×480 display size; 4 MB RAM; 7 MB free disk space |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse, gamepad |
Sonic Robo Blast (often retroactively abbreviated as SRB1) is a computer fangame based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a 2D platformer developed by Johnny Wallbank, aka Sonikku, using the game-making tool Klik & Play (its successor, The Games Factory, was used for compiling). Sonic Robo Blast was developed in 1997 and its final version was released in February 1998, making it one of the earliest Sonic fangames. While it was very primitive by today's standards, with crudely drawn graphics, rudimentary gameplay, and many serious bugs, it was nonetheless popular in the Sonic fangaming community due to the large amount of levels and secrets it contained.
Shortly after the release of Sonic Robo Blast, Sonikku formed a game development team called Sonic Team Junior and began working on a sequel, Sonic Robo Blast 2. It was originally intended to be another 2D platformer, made with The Games Factory. However, he quickly ran into problems when the software did not support his increasingly ambitious ideas. With the help of SSNTails, the creator of a Sonic-themed Doom modification called Sonic Doom 2, SRB2 was moved to the 3D Doom Legacy engine. While both Sonikku and SSNTails have since retired from SRB2 development, Sonic Team Junior continues working on the game to this day.
A remake of Sonic Robo Blast was included as a secret in SRB2 v2.0 and v2.1, although it was incomplete, as it lacked all bosses as well as Space Chase Zone. A full-out update to SRB1 approved by Sonikku, labeled as version 1.4, is presently being worked on by Earless Team, and remakes the entire game from the ground up with the same general level ideas and premise.
Levels
Sonic Robo Blast consists of 12 two-act zones, plus two final boss levels and six additional one-act zones. Each two-act zone features two bosses: a miniboss at the end of the first act and a proper boss at the end of the second act. Echidnapolis Zone and Sky Lab Zone are played as Knuckles instead of Sonic. Space Chase Zone features Sonic controlling a spaceship and destroying enemies in a shoot 'em up style. Lift Zone is a fight against some of the previous bosses in the game, while Last Land Zone is the fight against the final boss.
- Knothole Base Zone
- Great Forest Zone
- Lake Zone
- Ice Palace Zone
- Volcano Zone
- Echidnapolis Zone
- Sky Lab Zone
- Mechanical Madness Zone
- Robotopolis Zone
- Robo Base Zone
- Space Chase Zone
- Ringsattalite[sic] Zone
- Lift Zone
- Last Land Zone
After completing Last Land Zone, the player is given the password to access the super levels. Void Zone can only be accessed through a hidden exit in Great Unknown Zone.
- Athenos Zone
- Great Unknown Zone
- Void Zone
After completing Void Zone, the player is given the password to access the hyper levels. Hidden Palace Zone can only be accessed through a hidden exit in Rocky Mountain Zone.
- Woodland Hill Zone
- Rocky Mountain Zone
- Hidden Palace Zone
Secrets
Sonic Robo Blast was renowned for having a lot of secrets, including hidden levels, a cheat menu, and the minigame Sonic Pong, a Sonic-themed version of Breakout.
Level passwords
- Lake Zone – tezdiesca
- Volcano Zone – nokenulak
- Sky Lab Zone – susonoir
- Robotopolis Zone – chevalson
- Space Chase Zone – droodaher
- Lift Zone – cashrida
- Super levels – iamhard
- Hyper levels – iamsonic
Extra passwords
- Outtakes – whatda??
- Anime sound clips – sonikku
- SatAM sound clips – waypast
- Sonic Pong – hitmehard
- Beta ending screen – flatonneh
- Music Test – musiczon
On the title screen, click near the upper right corner of the screen to access the cheat menu. The cheat menu contains options to start the game with 99 lives, 999 rings or one life, as well as the "Ultimate Cheat", a joke option that simply closes the game. After choosing one of the cheat options, it is still possible to use a password to skip to a different level; the effect of the cheat will carry over to that level.
External links
- Sonic Robo-Blast – SFGHQ – Information and download (Archive)
- Archived Versions – srb2.org – Information and download