Sonic the Hedgehog on the C64

Yes, the title is correct, this is a review of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Commodore 64. It was released on 19th December 2021. The fan base is so loyal, that the best selling computer of all time, continues to have new games made for it decades after its discontinuation.

TL;DR

This game is AWESOME, you have to play it

Grab it here:
Sonic the Hedgehog (C64) V1.2
Sonic the Hedgehog (C64) V1.1
Sonic the Hedgehog (C64) V1.0

Game play

The best thing about this game is that it feels just like the original Sonic the Hedgehog. From the moment the game starts up it's 1991 all over again, except it's 30 years later and you're on a C64!

The intro music is perfect, and that isn't even the best part. I have played many C64 games, take Impossible Mission for example. I remember being blown away, watching the secret agent jump and flip smoothly across the screen, but Sonic on the C64 takes it to a whole new level.

Anyone who has played the original Sonic on the Megadrive, knows what a fast paced game it is, as Sonic spins, bounces and jumps his way through the levels. This C64 port captures the speed and physics of that original game extremely well, given the system limitations.

This port is actually based on Sonic on the Master System, and it's very true to the original game giving a very nostalgic feel. So far I have played though roughly half the game and have been enjoying every minute of it.

It's amazing to think all of this is possible on an 8-bit computer when the original Sonic was designed to run on the Master System console made 3 years after the release of the Commodore 64! If a game like this had been released back in 1982 it would have been the killer release, that would have made the C64 even more successful than it was. It is a MUST play.

Installation

Given the limitations of the C64, this game requires use of extended memory in the form of the "RAM Expansion Unit" (REU). If you want to run this on original hardware you need to already have one of these, or dig it out of your storage locker, or try eBay.

Today many people of course choose to play C64 games in other ways, from emulators to re-engineered hardware. I've listed a few of the options below and how to enable the REU functionality.

Emulator

VICE is the most popular C64 emulator. It has an option to enable the REU, just turn it, load the disk and enjoy!

BMC64

BMC64 is a bare metal fork of VICE made to run directly on Raspberry Pi3's. Currently it's user interface doesn't support activating the REU but as it's based on vice you can configure it in the "vice.ini" file found in the root folder on the SD card. Add the line below to the end of the file:

REU=1

Then simply load the disk and enjoy!

Ultimate 64

The Ultimate 64 is a FPGA re-implementation of C64 hardware. The Ultimate 64 has an option within it's system menu to activate the REU. Just turn this on, save the settings, load the disk and enjoy!