Jump to main content (press Enter)

Nharox - Front-End Developer

Blog

Fan Games

Published on

First things first, what exactly are fan games? Fan games are often developed as standalone games with their own engine and are based on the design, gameplay, and characters of an original game (e.g. Sonic the Hedgehog). They often feel like a remake or a reimagination of the game they’re based on, with new content and features sprinkled on top. The needed assets, like music, sound effects, or graphics, are borrowed, overhauled, made from scratch, or mixed together in a way that works.

Also to be noted is that a ROM hack is not a fan game and should not be confused as one. ROM hacks are patches to modify the ROM file/image of a game. But I’ll save that topic for another blog post.

With this out of the way, here are some of my all-time favourites with brief impressions:

AM2R

Logo of the game Another Metroid 2 Remake

  • Genre: Action Adventure
  • Platforms: Windows, Linux, Android
  • Modes: Singleplayer
  • Release date: 2016

I already wrote about this game in my Metroid blog post, so I’ll just borrow my impressions from there:

AM2R is an unofficial remake of Metroid II and the game captures the spirit of the official titles perfectly and feels authentic. It also added some excellent quality of life improvements, like curling into the morph ball with a button press instead of having to press down twice. Or various options to tweak the controls to resemble them like the SNES or GBA titles.

One thing to nitpick is that the fights against the various Metroid species can feel a little bit wonky because of their hitbox.

Please note that it received a DMCA takedown from Nintendo just a few days after its release, but if you know your way around Google, a download can be easily found.

🔗 Website

Final Fight LNS Ultimate

Logo of the game Final Fight LNS Ultimate

  • Genre: Beat ‘em up
  • Platforms: Windows, Linux, Android
  • Modes: Singleplayer, Multiplayer (local)
  • Release date: 2019

Are you getting bored with the regular Final Fight? Fear no more, Final Fight LNS Ultimate is here to save the day. This game was created with OpenBOR, an engine for 2D side-scrolling games, featuring a ton of playable characters from Capcom’s beat ‘em up and fighting games, including Street Fighter, Captain Commando, or Battle Circuit for example. The same goes for the enemies as well!

Something a bit unusual compared to other beat ‘em ups is the fact that special moves require motion input, similar to fighting games. But all the commands for the special moves are easily accessible within the game, and once you get used to them, it’s a blast.

🔗 Website

Mega Man: Rock N Roll

Logo of the game Mega Man: Rock N Roll

  • Genre: Platformer
  • Platforms: Windows, Linux
  • Modes: Singleplayer
  • Release date: 2019

If you are a fan of the classic Mega Man games (1-6, 9 and 10), this one is a must-play. It feels and plays like an official Capcom release. The game features two playable characters, Mega Man and Roll, and comes with a few quality of life features, including a separate slide button or a weapon wheel, just like in Mega Man 11!

There are also unlockables such as a boss mode or time attack, for example. Be aware that the game is difficult and more tailored toward experienced players.

🔗 Website

Power Bomberman

Logo of the game Power Bomberman

  • Genre: Action
  • Platforms: Windows, Mac
  • Modes: Singleplayer, Multiplayer (local and online)
  • Release date: 2013

While this game is still in development, it has felt like a finished product for a few years now. It features a staggering amount of content. There are over 70 stages, each of which can have its own variants; over 600 unlockable characters; 6 different battle mode rules; and many different settings to fine tune to your heart’s content.

Unfortunately, the game does not seem to be very well-known because there are barely any active servers. It’s great to play with friends though. I just wish there would be an option to enable CPUs while playing online, just like in local mode.

🔗 Website

Rayman Redemption

Logo of the game Rayman Redemption

  • Genre: Platformer
  • Platforms: Windows
  • Modes: Singleplayer
  • Release date: 2020

If you want to revisit Rayman’s first adventure, then this is a great way to do it. It’s still a fantastic platformer after all these years, albeit being a tad slower than what you’d expect from this genre. It now supports 16:9 resolutions and comes with new worlds, levels, and minigames. The creator made the game more accessible as well, with a lot of tweaking to the level design and the ability to purchase permanent upgrades.

🔗 Website

Sonic and the Fallen Star

Logo of the game Sonic and the Fallen Star

  • Genre: Platformer
  • Platforms: Windows
  • Modes: Singleplayer
  • Release date: 2022

I just beat this one last week! I was thoroughly impressed with this one, as it could easily fit into Sega’s catalogue with some final touches added. It comes with a completely new art style and all assets were made from scratch. It also comes with its own banging soundtrack. You can listen to it on SoundCloud. I think the only thing the team reused were a few classic sound effects.

What soured me a bit were only minor bugs. The game seems to hate ultrawide resolutions and won’t scale properly in fullscreen mode. Also, at the beginning of a stage, the music will sometimes cut out for a second.

It’s a shame that Sega will not cooperate more with the fans to pump out amazing 2D Sonic games as they did with Sonic Mania.

🔗 Website

Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart

Logo of the game Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart

  • Genre: Racing
  • Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
  • Modes: Singleplayer (Time Attack), Multiplayer (local and online)
  • Release date: 2018

There are not enough fun racing games that can keep up with the Mario Kart series. Well, Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart to the rescue! SRB2Kart is a mod for another fangame, called Sonic Robo Blast 2 (duh), which is a 3D Sonic game built using a modified version of Doom Legacy. This might sound totally strange, but it works and adds to its charm.

The game nailed the driving part (like the sense of speed) and the drifting mechanic is very well executed. Just like Power Bomberman, there’s a huge selection of levels, plenty of different characters, and three different game modes: Time Attack, Race, and Battle. And if that’s not enough, there’s even more content available thanks to the community.

The dev team is currently working on a sequel called Dr. Robotnik’s Ring Racers, which will have some major additions like new items, bots for the new Grand Prix mode (but also online), collectable rings which can be consumed for a boost, and of course more content.

🔗 Website

Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit

Logo of the game Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit

  • Genre: Platformer
  • Platforms: Windows
  • Modes: Singleplayer
  • Release date: 2022

Sonic Triple Trouble is a Sonic game exclusive to the Game Gear. While it was not comparable to the Genesis counterparts, it was still one of the most well-regarded games for Sega’s handheld.

I played both games back to back and the developer did a fantastic job of creating a mostly faithful remake. The level design and gimmicks are similar, with new twists on top. There’s new content coming in the form of a few secrets, new special stages, and two unlockable characters.

I really enjoyed the ability to swap between Sonic and Tails in real-time and would’ve loved that feature in the original trilogy.

🔗 Website

Streets of Rage Remake

Logo of the game Streets of Rage Remake

  • Genre: Beat ‘em up
  • Platforms: Windows
  • Modes: Singleplayer, Multiplayer (local)
  • Release date: 2011

While all of the games on this list are absolutely fantastic, this one is easily my number one. Saving the best for last, eh? SoRR was possibly the first fangame I ever discovered, and I closely followed its development blog, eagerly awaiting a full release and testing the beta releases. It doesn’t help that I just have huge nostalgia for Streets of Rage 2 and you can’t even imagine how excited I was once they announced Streets of Rage 4 (which turned out to be super good).

Anyway, this remake combines the original trilogy into one whole package, resulting in a lot of replayability. There are multiple paths, an in-game shop for all kinds of unlockables, the option to play with a CPU partner, extra modes, and a plethora of options to tweak the game to your liking, be it more like the original games or with a new remixed spin. You are also able to choose between the original soundtrack or new, remixed tracks.

Despite a copyright takedown by Sega, the game still received a few fan-made updates that contained bug fixes, tweaks, and new features to make the game even better.

🔗 Website