my Harsh-But-Factually-Correct take is that sonic fan games are basically unplayable by proxy of sonic fans being youtube theorycrafter maniacs with no grasp on actual game design - let alone how to make a good platformer level. and that's fine, cause the real thing is this meticulously-crafted wonderdrug that functions entirely on millions of little gameplay details being laser-sharp and tangentially optimized - and also not giving a fuck in spots where it didn't need to. It's a testament to the classics that even the most dedicated, autism-powered creatives on the internet can't box with the O.G..

But Triple Trouble 16-bit? It comes pretty damn close. For one, the level design is generally solid! Still worse than 2 and 3, and generally too boxy and horizontal for my tastes, but it has that genesis blend of platforming, autopilot and gimmick sections that spring back and forth into each other. It understands and respects that Sonic is both a speed game AND a platform game, and that you should orchestrate a relationship between your character physics and stage design that reflects that. Besides that, it's like, got every fan favorite trimming you'd think of - cutscenes, all the elemental shields and moves, new setpiece moments, CD's [a e s t h e t i c] menus and unlockables - the package speaks for itself, it's very Mania-core.

Music is hit or miss, mostly by way of missing layering on some lead instruments or other midi-flipper shenanigans. Y'know how you can tell when a Genesis song sounds 'flat'? You know it when you hear it - it's missing a fade into vibrato or an echo, and so you hear the same tone for too long and it sounds like bad midi. There's some of that here. The composers all GET how to make good Genesis music, but not like, GREAT music, and you don't get there without sitting your ass down in a real Genny tracker and learning its limitations and deeper features. John Tay's remixes shit on everyone else's contributions because of this, to be brutally honest.

If you're like me and dodged most sonic fan games for not feeling like the originals, this is like, 85% of the way there. Definitely worth your time.

Reviewed on Aug 12, 2022


4 Comments


1 year ago

Things like this an AIR I wish I could just slap on my Retropie so I can play it on the couch, but I still need to check this out.

1 year ago

Yeah I never got the hype around Sonic fangames generally - most fanbases (but particularly Sonic) don't understand the object of their fandom and it ends up showing in fan stuff a lot. I detest the "let the fans make the games" mentality a lot of people parrot with Sonic in particular.

Really great review, this makes me actually interested in playing this.

1 year ago

as someone who doesnt care for most sonic fangames and isnt fond of stuff like fallen star and after the sequel, im glad tt16b really gets classic sonic level design so well

1 year ago

@atomicoldman yeah I wish this was a genesis romhack tbh so the physics were just a bit closer and it could run on everdrive

@archagent

@thx arch. I'm all for fan content, i just think it's easy to get overzealous and go 'i can do it better' without seeing the obstacles that hampered the original in the first place. Coverage of the game development process is basically non-existent, for lack of care and bc suits actively benefit from layppl not knowing what it takes to make games lmao

@silverus I played a bit of fallen star before this actually and the difference gameplaywise is night and day. There's definitely still a place for games like FS tho, esp with how distinctly dreamlike its art and sound is. Kinda wish fans were comfortable with tempering their gameplay goals, keeping things simpler like the master system games, and then putting more stake into art and periphery content like that