Sally In Sonic 2

[Neon Black]

Very cool indeed, and welcome back!

I'm really enjoying how Sally's vulnerability by being unable to roll, coupled with the new shooting mechanic alters the game's pace and dynamic, and it's a good fit for Sally as a character too. Your sprite work on Sally too, as always, is pretty much second to none.

I'd probably say it's balanced rather nicely at the moment - when firing, you can't jump and are left in the open, so you have to be considerate about when you're shooting - it lends to a more measured pace for the game. I also appreciate the amount of cooldown on the shots too so you can't just try rushing in Contra-style and attempting to spam your way through.

If I had to critique, I'd just say the spindash seems a bit hokey coming out of Sally, but I also can't think of any way that you'd be able to resolve that easily considering it's such a vital move for navigating many sections of the game, in particular the underwater parts of Aquatic. Perhaps some kind of grappling move could do it, or even modifications of some of the level designs to lessen the necessity of the move - I do of course realise though that these are not simple things to implement in a ROM hack and you still have to keep your scope realistic.

[E-122 Psi]

Very cool indeed, and welcome back!

I'm really enjoying how Sally's vulnerability by being unable to roll, coupled with the new shooting mechanic alters the game's pace and dynamic, and it's a good fit for Sally as a character too. Your sprite work on Sally too, as always, is pretty much second to none.

I'd probably say it's balanced rather nicely at the moment - when firing, you can't jump and are left in the open, so you have to be considerate about when you're shooting - it lends to a more measured pace for the game. I also appreciate the amount of cooldown on the shots too so you can't just try rushing in Contra-style and attempting to spam your way through.

If I had to critique, I'd just say the spindash seems a bit hokey coming out of Sally, but I also can't think of any way that you'd be able to resolve that easily considering it's such a vital move for navigating many sections of the game, in particular the underwater parts of Aquatic. Perhaps some kind of grappling move could do it, or even modifications of some of the level designs to lessen the necessity of the move - I do of course realise though that these are not simple things to implement in a ROM hack and you still have to keep your scope realistic.

Thanx very much. Glad you feel it fits Sal, that was the sort of direction I wanted to go for, a more tactical gameplay than Sonic's that suits her personality and direction. You have to put more thought and foresight into it than with Sonic's spontaneous speeding and spin attacks, otherwise you're a goner much quicker, but if done properly she can hopefully have as many perks.

I admit the upward dash is an odd choice for Sally, as you rightly assumed, it was there mostly for maneuvering issues (and to give her more of a chance in VS mode). I want to keep as much of the game 'as is' as possible (at least no more than what the Knuckles add on got away with). I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to implement grappling, I needed someone else to do most of the projectile coding already, it could be an interesting gimmick in the future I suppose, maybe for Bunnie (wasn't that her planned gimmick for Mars?).

Just to note, there's another update added to the Retro wiki, she now has a downward shot ability (down and A while airborne) and can shoot most (but not all) obstacles with her laser now. Super Sal looks a whole lot better too.