Sonic Hack Database

It's a single space where you can easily find any available Sonic hack. It's a timeline in which you can see how Sonic hacks have evolved over the years. It's a place where you and a friend can quickly find multiplayer-capable Sonic hacks. It's a list of links which don't have a 9 in 10 chance of being broken. It's a document where you can quickly check whether a hack works on real hardware before you add it to your Everdrive. It's a directory where you can find out who created your favorite Sonic hack and discover their other works. It's an index in which you can find hacks that people have deemed notable in particular areas. It's the setting for discovery. It's the...

Sonic Hack Database​

The document is available for anyone to edit. If you ever need something productive to do, why not contribute?

Spoiler: And now for a breakdown of every column:

• Sonic: - To make hacks easier to find by name, I separated the title. The actual name of the hack is ultimately going to be more memorable than whether it has "the Hedgehog" or a colon, etc.
• Title - The rest of the title.
• Creator(s) - The name of either the team or the main person/people responsible for the hack.
• System - As follows:

• GBA - Nintendo Game Boy Advance
• NES - Nintendo Entertainment System
  
• NGPC - Neo Geo Pocket Color
  
• S32X - Sega 32X
• SCD - Sega CD
  
• SGG - Sega Game Gear
• SMD - Sega Mega Drive aka Sega Genesis
• SMS - Sega Master System
• SNES - Super Nintendo Entertainment System

​

• Base Game - The game the hack is built off of. If there is no game, then it's "Homebrew".
• Type - The focus of the game's modifications:
  • Aesthetic - No gameplay or level modifications are made.
  • Boss - The levels are either kept in tact or removed, and the main focus is the bosses.
  • Character - A special type of gameplay or aesthetic hack in which Sonic's sprites are replaced with a different character's.
  • Gameplay - The levels are kept in tact for the most part, but the way the game is played is different.
  • Homebrew - Either no game is used as a base, or the game is modified to the point that, aside from possibly art and music assets, it is unrecognizable as a Sonic game.
    
  • Level - Anything from layout modifications to brand new zones. Can envelope the traits of all other types of hacks
  • Port - Meant to recreate the experience of playing a game on a console it was never available for.
  • Special Stage - The focus of the hack is on the modified special stages.
    
  • Utility - When the hack isn't meant to be used for entertainment.
• Last Release - In Year/Month/Day format so that sorting by date is chronological.
  
• Multiplayer - The multiplayer is "Unchanged" when no changes have been made to the multiplayer mode and second player co-op. Generally the split screen multiplayer in these hacks is untested and buggy if playable at all. If either type of multiplayer is removed, then it is specified. If multiplayer has significant changes and/or is a focus in the hack then it is either "Co-op" or "Versus" depending on if the players are working with or against one another.
  
• Works on Hardware - Same terminology as redhotsonic's series. If the glitches from using real hardware are significant enough to affect normal gameplay, then it's "Partially". If the game is impossible to play normally on real hardware, then it's a "No".
• Status - If the hack is still being worked on, it's "Active". If it was abandoned before reaching a complete state, then it's "Inactive". Otherwise, it's "Complete".
  
• SHC Trophies - Each award given to the hack by the Sonic Hacking Contest followed by the contest year(s) that it was given in.
• Download - A hyperlink to either a downloadable file or a page with links to downloadable files (such as Sonic Retro's wiki). Ideally, there would be a link to download every version of the hack ever released. The text is the name of the website the link goes to.
  
• Release Page - A web page with a description of the hack, often including features, credits, and a forum discussion about the hack. The text is the name of the website the link goes to.
  
• L̶o̶n̶g̶p̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶-̶ ̶A̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶u̶n̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶T̶u̶b̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶i̶s̶h̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶x̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶T̶u̶b̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶n̶e̶l̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶.̶
  
• S̶h̶o̶w̶c̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶-̶ ̶A̶n̶ ̶u̶n̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶T̶u̶b̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶c̶r̶i̶b̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶o̶r̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶x̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶T̶u̶b̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶n̶e̶l̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶.̶
• Review - Either a scripted YouTube video or some kind of text which is meant to criticize the hack.

It's nebulous what can really be considered a "Sonic hack". I'd go with anything that could feasibly be submitted into the Sonic Hacking Contest and would fit under the "Retro" category. Alternately, you could define it as any unofficial game that is related to Sonic in some way, doesn't require you to own a particular game in order for you to play it, and isn't made with the intent of selling it (so bootlegs don't count).

Also check out the Sonic Hack Database Companion, a place for lost and found hacks.

(cross-post from SSRG)