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guys. murder of sonic the hedgehog is really good

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finally finished up this redraw of a WTFuture drawing i did last year :) i’m much happier with it now!

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thank you sonic team this was an awesome prank i am so normal abt it

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for some reason i spent my weekend drawing the sonic cast playing basketball

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The Murder Of Sonic The Hedgehog but it’s with my human designs

Ah fuck he’s fucking dead!

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I think about him a normal amount

(The jukebox is fun. I had sonic wake up from nearly dying and ‘Sonic Heroes’ was playing during it)

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There’s nothing in the trash bin…

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Miles “Tails” Prower from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Pt. 1

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The Murder Of Sonic The Hedgehog was a very fun game! It was so charming and full of great laughs, sweet moments and surprisingly very interesting lore. One of my fav modern sonic games.

There’s so much I want to talk about, but I’ll wait a month till I draw anything with heavy spoilers from i. I really suggest playing it for yourself

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Miles “Tails” Prower from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Pt. 2

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Another animatic/PMV for the PIB AU. My favourite scene of the movie. This took a heck of some time to complete

Three bonus fav drawings of the bunch

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Best Shadow ever

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (real game I promise) is on Steam NOW

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DETONATOR ORGUN (Mega CD) review

Exactly on March 31st, 2023, SEGA silently released (then announced on their Sonic social media) one of the best April Fool's jokes ever. They released a point-and-click adventure/visual novel game exclusively on PC, titled The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog with a mystery theme, starring an unnamed quokka (whom the player is prompted to name themselves) who must help figure out who "killed" Sonic the Hedgehog in a murder mystery game.

Admittedly, I have watched a whole longplay of the game, and I though the game had solid things going for it. That being said though, I thought to myself "Sega might have taken a thing or two from many video games I've played as a kid." The point-and-click elements seem heavily inspired by the likes of Dynamix's Rise of the Dragon, but there is a game I never really talked about completely. So, after a lot of brainstorming, including possible inspirations from the likes of Snatcher, Policenauts (which is actually a point-and-click), and the like, I thought of something. Could it be that they took inspiration from one game I loved playing as a kid - a Mega CD game based on an OVA called DETONATOR ORGUN?

On July 31, 1992, precisely 1 year and 5 days after the Japanese Mega Drive release of the very first Sonic the Hedgehog (July 26, 1991), a little-known developer called HOT-B Co. Ltd. (you may know them under their American alias "Sage's Creation") released DETONATOR ORGUN exclusively in Japan as a Sega Mega CD exclusive. Thanks to being attached to the license behind the Detonator Orgun OVA by Anime International Company [AIC] and Artmic, this Mega CD visual novel did sell quite a bit, though reviews were above average. I recall getting this game from a friend when I ordered the three Detonator Orgun OVA DVD's at Speedy DVD back in 2011. For some reason I accidentally got the Mega CD disc of DETONATOR ORGUN along with my order. It wasn't until Christmas of 2012 (I was 12 years old) where I finally scored myself a Japanese Model 1 Mega Drive and Mega CD as a gift from my mother after acing the national exams. So, is this game way past cool? Or is it no good? Let's do it to it!

STORY

Somewhere in space a battle is going on. Mechanized knights of unknown origin battle each other, ending up on the Moon, where a fight to the death takes place. Apparently Orgun has been marked for death by his own kind, the Evoluders, a bloodthirsty race of machine-cyborgs bent on conquering and destruction.

Meanwhile back on Earth in City No. 5, a college student named Tomoru Shindo is somehow contacted by Orgun as he is dying on the Moon. Orgun has also been sending instructions to Earth received by the Earth Defense Force, for building a new Orgun, one which Tomoru is now destined to meet.

This is the story to Mega CD DETONATOR ORGUN. Quite lacking in some obscure areas, but the story is cobbled together well. Narrative-wise, it seems to be a joined-up story of both Detonator Orgun OVA 1 & 2. The story concludes with this: "This story will be continued in 'Detonator Organ III'." I give the story an A.

GAMEPLAY

Gameplay-wise, DETONATOR ORGUN is quite simple. There will be four buttons on the top right, and most of the gameplay consists of clicking on decisions from a menu, such as Look, Think, Talk, Move, etc. This simplicity of controls makes it quite easy to learn, though obviously, being a visual novel, some critical thinking is required. Unlike many modern-day visual novels that have flooded the market these days, such as the aforementioned The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, this game will not support any mouse or keyboard. Sega Mouse compatibility is not present, however it does support the Mega CD Backup Ram Cartridge which is very handy for saving the game. Internal battery backups don't last forever.

One of my main gripes with the game is that while the main four buttons are in English initially, the rest of the game is completely unplayable if you are one of those people that can't understand Kanji at a native level, or don't have some sort of understanding of the language. So many great underappreciated Mega CD games fall victim to this, while all the U.S. seemed to get were sub-par digitized FMV efforts, which had severely compromised gameplay. It's a crying shame that games like this never even got an English translation. Hence why the gameplay gets a B- from me.

GRAPHICS & SOUND

I really love the animation for this game. You can definitely tell that there are some AIC touches, especially in the animation department. The video moves so smoothly, and doesn't look too grainy. Also, I really like the soundtrack for this game. From the CD soundtrack and super-clear voice samples in the intro, opening, mid-game and ending cutscenes, to the YM2612-generated chip-tune in-game music, the songs in this game are great. I give it a solid A. 

CONCLUSION

To conclude, this game is fine. It had a good idea of what it was trying to accomplish but, like most great Mega CD games, it just wasn't destined to be released in the west. What saves this game is its amazing music. I give it a 7/10.

AT A GLANCE: DETONATOR ORGUN

SUMMARY: Mechanized knights of unknown origin end up on the Moon, where a fight to the death takes place. Tomoru Shindo is somehow contacted by Orgun as he is dying on the Moon.

Platform: Sega Mega CD

Developer / Publisher: HOT-B Co. Ltd.

Release Date: 31 July, 1992 (Japan)

Genre: Visual Novel / Digital Comic

Number of Players: 1

Catalogue Code: T-28014

Initial Retail Price: ¥7,800 (¥8,603 adjusted for inflation in 2023)

Rating: 7/10

#detonator orgun #sega cd #game review

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Take a look at The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a playable visual novel developed by the @sonicthehedgehog social media team.

Just in time for this year's April Fools celebrations, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog give the player the ability to "interrogate some of your favorite characters as you figure out what happened to Sonic."

It's Amy Rose's birthday, and she's hosting a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express! When Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the game's victim, everyone is off to get to the bottom of things. However, something feels a bit off - is this really an innocent game or is something more sinister afoot? New & familiar faces Interrogate some of your favorite characters as you figure out what happened to Sonic. Play as a new character who is starting their first day working on the Mirage Express, and meet the kind Conductor who is finally retiring from his long run with the train!

All aboard! Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the Mirage Express, featuring fully hand-drawn landscapes and characters. Canon or Headcanon? You know what they say: everything is canon*. *This is not a Sonic Team title, but we strongly believe in the power of headcanon!

The game was written by Ian Mutchler, with credits to Justin Thormann and executive producer Katie Chrzanowski. Greg Batha was the lead designer and programmer. Art was directed by Ellen Alsop. Character art directed by Min Ho Kim. Michal Shafrir was the producer and project manager.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is available now on Steam for free.

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This was my favorite exchange in the entire game.

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THE MURDER OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2023) dev. SEGA

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They’re just the biggest dorks ever and I love them so god damn much <3