Sonic Heroes hasn't been re-released in North America in nearly 20 years. Let's find out why. Originally titled "You Cannot Legally Play This Sonic Game" Music by @AccelioMusic: open.spotify.com/artist/28JyJ...
To everyone saying "Sonic Heroes sucks, therefore it shouldn't be rereleased", there are actually a lot of people who DON'T think it sucks and would like to play it on Steam and modern consoles. Saying it shouldn't be accessible to others just because you don't like the game is extremely selfish and ignorant.
I recently played Sa1, SA2 Unleashed and Generations with my Xbox one but I couldn't find Sonic Heroes and I was wondering why sega didn't re-release the game.
Those people are entitled asshole to get the newest Call of Duty on no matter what daily basis. Spoiled puny little fucks will never learn what games are to be preserved, saved and valued. We should also consider that some severe reboot will never give back the same vibe and joy of gameplay to us. Backward compatibility however fucking does, except some severe devs sometimes don't give a simple damn about taking care of nostalgiadom, which is one of the most crucial to maintain quality gaming over quantity gaming.
@Covenant_Lazarus OK fine, but you don't have to be rude. Just because you hate Sonic Heroes doesn't mean there not gonna do anything. But how are you in charge of Sega decisions when you don't even work with the company?
@Bossboy8391 **Laughs in Sonic Chronicles** Also, Shadow the Hedgehog for the same reasons as the ones in the video... ...and the Sonic Advance and Rush Trilogies due to THQ having the rights to their western releases...
@@professortrickroom3777 Technically THQ would later be bought and merged with Nordiq to become THQ Nordiq, I think that's how that works. So Sega would have to either partner with them and/or license the games again.
The funny part is that it had an antipiracy software from back then on pc, and to release it into the massive Australian sonic pc collection they removed the antipiracy by using a cracked version from the time of the original release so its technically a pirated legal copy
@@superstunt9997 Not piracy since it's an official legal print, it just happens to use a scene crack because it was the best method. It's kinda like when a developer starts out working on ROM hacks from pirated copies and takes that experience to get a job at the studio that developed the original games.
This was nice and informative, I didn't actually know this about Sonic Heroes. I only know that the PC release is considered Abandon ware by some. I'd say this game definitely deserves to be preserved, whether peeps like the game or not it's one of the games that a lot of Sonic fans grew up with and was the first introduction to Sonic (like myself).
To me if there’s no live sale of it ie steam it’s ok but since they are actually selling in specific regions on specific online stores it’s gets a little murky
First time I played this was at a friends house on the ps2, I just watched the premiere of shark boy and lava girl (I was like 11) and I was blown away by the graphics and music. I must’ve played it the whole time we were there bc I remember crying on the way home bc I wanted to keep playing so bad. It was that insane at the time…man good times
I definitely have to agree because this was my first introduction into sonic as well so I am kinda saddened that this game can’t be rereleased on modern hardware due to a software licensing issue
Sonic Heroes is the first Sonic game I've played. I really adored its voices, animation, music and graphics. I have mixed feelings about how companies behave besides SEGA though...
I wanna say same on that first bit but memory’s fuzzy, it might not be, but I do know it was the most played at the time! Would love to at least see more games try to adopt this styling but ah well
changing the rendering engine for heroes sounds like a nightmare but if they did re-release a more polished version with better physics and controls it would make a lot of people happy.
I just wouldn't trust they'd do any of that well lol it'll probably end up "different but not better, not worse", just different and people wouldn't like that
Not worth. The games are made for Renderware, it wouldn't be a simple engine change, the entire game needs to be re-coded. You can look at all the post-PS2 GTA ports, which ran in different engines because of the same Renderwase legal issue. All of those GTA ports have a number of technical issues.
@@bluestar5812 I do wonder if there may be *some* way to streamline the process of getting Heroes ported to another engine without necessitating the kind of hit-or-miss visual overhaul that Colors Ultimate had (as that game used NintendoWare i.e. the same graphics engine as Brawl etc.). Assuming the source code and intermediate graphics assets are somewhere in Sonic Team's archives hopefully that's a potential starting point.
It would be a lot easier to do a remaster where they start from scratch, that way they could update the graphics at the same times and probably would be less work than porting the original game to a new engine.
This video is perfect. No intro. No bullshit sponsor or message in the beginning. Just straight into the information that truly matters and it’s over in 3:20. It’s very hard to find videos this good and this informative today.
So many great games are permanently stuck in then 6th generation because of the Renderware situation. It is one of the reasons why all the post PS2 era ports of the 3D GTA Trilogy have a lot of technical issues.
Same for Burnout Paradise Remastered. It's the only PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch game that natively runs on RenderWare and the overall problems of the Remaster shows the engine's age, unfortunately.
Maybe if the PS5 had more PS2 games in the PSN Store, they would’ve got improved frame rates and enhanced graphics just like the PCSX2 emulator. So even if the PS2 emulator is already in the PS4 & PS5 cause a working PS2 emulator was built in, it’s very unlikely that we’ll see our favorite PS2 games in the PSN Store or release a PS5 Pro with PS2 backwards compatibly via software emulation that offers both disc or bought digital from the PSN Store. So Sonic Heroes being as PS2 Classic on the PS5 is very unlikely going to happen.
Legacywise, Sonic Heroes deserves some kind of remake. It had lasting effects on the franchise with the team formation types (speed, flight, power) that's still referenced to this day as well as characters bonding with specific team members from that game. Even now you'll see Shadow, Rouge, and Omega cooperating with each other more than other characters in the franchise (more noticeable in the comics).
This was the most important sonic game to my life specifically because it was the first sonic game I ever played. It was set up on a GameCube kiosk at my local McDonald’s and I played it to death every single time my family went there. That game shaped my perception of what this series is, and I definitely believe it should be preserved. Now why unleashed can’t get a pc port when generations, lost world, and forces all could remains a mystery.
This was my family's first 3D Sonic game and one of our main introductions to the franchise. It's my favourite videogame and it's a shame SEGA don't rerelease it like Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
Oh wow, I had no idea that was a real concern for this game in particular. While not my favorite Sonic game, I have such find memories of it, and honestly the gameplay holds up really well for what it is imo.
I had always been wondering why this game wasn't on Steam since the Adventure titles and other older Sonic games are there. This answers a lot. I really wish I could play it myself today since it was one of my first Sonic games and I think it's really good.
I got Sonic Heroes on PS2 back in 2008 along with Sonic Unleashed. I still own my copy to this day. The fact that I cannot own it on my PC now through Steam is criminal. I definitely did not dump my disc and definitely did not get a PC version through the seven seas.
Weird that he didn't mention the Windows PC version of Sonic Heroes, though that version often, but not always, comes with DRM that nowadays Windows itself rejects which means that you'd require a cracked EXE to play the legally bought PC copy.
Same reason the Underground era of Need for Speed games all need to be cracked to be able to play those, the DRM that's on the disc is no longer supported by Windows.
NGL, this is actually the easiest way I can run Sonic Heroes on my Windows 11 laptop because the zipfile I found online for the game didn't have the DRM issue, so I could tell it was the version that was able to bypass that and run just fine on my laptop.
@@jeffreyugochukwu1942 There's also a version without DRM on the Sonic PC Collection (Europe exclusive) but in that case SEGA basically just downloaded the same cracked EXE and only removed the cracker's signature.
@@ABlob Yeah, that was the version I was talking about earlier and that ended up being the one I downloaded, which ended up being the one I used on my Windows 11 laptop
Now that you mention there are a TON of sonic games that aren't available on a majority of modern hardware. I feel like that's part the reason why Sonic may not get the recognition he deserves sometimes, because not a lot of ppl have access to his games they just watched videos of them or have heard things. This is where i see the difference between sonic and other franchises specifically capcom, who are apparently masters at re releasing their old games. Like thank GOD the dmc games were released on modern hardware, otherwise I wouldn't be as huge of a fan as i am now.
I've always found it to be bizarre that there's a PC port of Sonic Heroes and it was never published on Steam. I remember the olden days when it was listed on the Sega of America website as a title available for purchase, and scratching my head as to why Steam wasn't listed amongst the storefronts listed. Fun fact! There's also PC ports of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as well as the original Sonic Riders. As far as I'm aware _neither_ of those games use Renderware (or at least they're not listed on the back of their respective cover artworks.) So that's even more confusing! I'd be fine with a shadow drop of all of the 6th generation Sonic Team PC games on Steam even if they were published as-is, without even being optimized for modern computers. Just having the option available to easily download the incredibly dated PC ports without jumping through hoops to find them would be nice.
steam is a freaking horrible disgrace, good thing that Heroes isn't on it. Do you own these PC ports? If you do, then looking into the files could give you a clue as to what rendering engine they use.
Sonic Heroes is one of the best selling games in the series and very well remembered by a lot of the people who played it 20 years ago, Sega has to do something with it eventually. These Adventure remakes that people speculate about should be Crash and Spyro style trilogies and include Heroes imo.
Facts. Heroes is a direct continuation of the Adventure games' storyline since it goes into Shadow having amnesia after surviving his fall from the Space Colony Arc from Sonic Adventure 2. This is the closest game to being Sonic Adventure 3 and it was supposed to have that title, but Sega changed it to make the game seem more inclusive to other players than just the die-hard Sonic fans at the time.
thanks for the explanation here!! sonic heroes was my favourite game as a kid, and i've always been baffled as to why it never got a re-release or remaster. i will say that i've gotten the PC port working with windows compatibility options and an xbox controller, though it's obviously not the ideal way to run it. i hope the renderware hurdle can be overcome, because if they can fix up those slippery controls, this could be one of the best sonic games in the franchise.
I wanted to play this game for the longest time, and in 2020 I bought a gamecube just for this game. It was worth it for me (I loved it, and got many other lovely games from that era), but this definetly isn't the best solution and something has to be done about this. It's even sadder when you realize that the games built with the havok engine (06, unleashed, generations and forces) might suffer a similar fate in the future. Maybe some remakes? Please?! Eh, we'll see
Generations, Unleashed and Forces aren't going anywhere soon. Xboxes have GREAT backwards compatibility and they don't seem to wanna change that. Now, about 06, I think it's starting to happen.
@@playbossthebest936 Well, at least we can play those legally! Whatever, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PLAY SONIC HEROES LEGALLY?! *downloads the PC version from sketchy websites since apparently it's abandonware*
I remember when I begged my mom to get this game in Walmart on the year it was released, still managed to get it, came home and started playing the game with my brother non stop, over time the disk was scratched and couldn’t play it for like 12 years until I got it repaired, while I couldn’t play it, I always wonder why sega hasn’t port it to steam along with shadow.
Wow, never knew this about heroes. I was playing this last year on my moms gcn, hoping it would get a re-release. But now i know why. Also heroes is a top-tier game. Change my mind.
I really want Sega to release a remake collection of all the Adventure era games (Adventure 1&2 + Heroes) with upgraded graphics and music like Colours Ultimate
Sonic heroes was the first sonic game I got that I didn't finish. Individual levels could take like 30 minutes and it was too frustrating to go through the same levels 4 times each.
Sonic Heroes was my first Sonic game and the gameplay was so different than other Sonic games. I actually kept my PS2 and can still play my original copy! I am so glad I did because sometimes it is so good to let those feelings return and rush in.
Buying an external DVD Drive and the PC version is an option, though that version is a little less polished than the console versions. You could back up your PS2 copy using that DVD drive and it's all good.
Well it's a good thing that nothing bad ever came from the fact that I've been pirating Sonic Heroes during those 2 decades in every PC I've owned since I traded in my original GC copy after beating it back then. I've even recently ran through it again on Dolphin on my current Samsung smartphone just to test the speed. Still as fun as I remember. Just because Emuparadise got raided and wiped out years ago doesn't mean that pirates like myself are shook or deterred.
good, short video and straight to the point. thanks! most youtubers would turn this into a 1 hour video essay, beginning with the origin of sonic back in the 90’s…
It's abandonware. You can locate the PC version online no problem. Buying a copy and an external disc reader won't cost anyone an arm and a leg. Install and use a cracked EXE and you're golden. Has worked for me on any computer I've thrown it at over the years. Even works on Windows 11, it's that simple.
I remember being afraid to tell someone that my favorite sonic game was (at the time) sonic heroes, due to in part that the person in question was a very vocal sonic adventures 2 fan and was a bit aggressive about it
This was actually my very first 3D sonic game (well if you ignore sonic 3D blast) and luckely I live in europe. ANd while the game has it's flaw likes its very slippery controls, there is still a lot I love about the game and honestly kinda would wish for a sequel or at least this gameplay style making somehow a return
If my memory is right Sonic Team used RenderWare for Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Riders (maybe Zero Gravity too). So all of those games are stuck in technical/legal limbo thanks to EA buying Criterion and discontinuing the engine. It's the same thing that happened to the PS2 era GTA games, al three were made with RenderWare, and part of the reason why the remasters had to switch engine and ended up being a mess. In short, all of these games can probably be updated or patched to run on modern Windows without too many headaches, but there's no way to release them in modern consoles without porting them to a new engine or rebuilding them from the ground up.
I made the mistake of playing this one before SA and SA2, the dialog and story kept implying something happened prior the current story, I found out there were 2 games prior this one and so I bought and played the other 2 and suddenly it all made sense. I was lucky to get it when the game was only about 2 years old.
As a kid i remember thinking that if they ever make a sonic heroes sequel they should add a team with silver, blaze and gmerl and after completing aall the campaing you unlock a final one where you play with sonic, shadow and silver and face off the final boss with the 3 going super like in the 06 videogame.
This game is one of my favorites in the franchise. I would love for it to have some sort of sequel. It was uniquely special, and the concept deserves revisiting, in my opinion.
Very cool video on one of my favourite games. I have to correct You though, there is a PC version of Sonic Heroes, sold on discs. I have played it back in days, on my Windows XP computer. I belive it is playable now, one just have to turn on the compatibility mode. Anyway great video, i subbed. Any patreon or join options to support You?
the value of an engine that can just port games to all the systems with no trouble is so good. Maybe its time someone make a new engine that can do that again
According to the ESRB's website, there was going to be a North American PS3 re-release, presumably exclusive on the Playstation store. Shame that didn't happen...
Honestly, I hope they do a Sonic Adventure Collection where they HD remake Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, in a similar fashion to Crash's or Spyro's remakes. They won't but I can hope. (also include the Advanced games + Battle as ported minigames)
Such a shame. I feel like the general public looks back on these old games more forgiving now, appreciating them more. I take it that the same issue applies to Shadow The Hedgehog. I really would have liked getting both of these Renderware games on Steam. It's more than childhood to me, they are genuinely great games made with passion.
I remember playing a demo of this game every time I went to electronic store like Circult City, Best Buy, and heck, even Walmart, when they still had those GameCube, PS2, and Xbox demo kiosks. Nowadays I have a pirated copy of the PC version still sitting on my hard drive, in my Linux installation, maybe I should try and see if it runs on WINE in Linux
A friend of mine bought _Sonic Heroes_ when it first came out and... well, I liked it more for the aesthetics than the game. In fact, it was the first Sonic game I played back when I was 8. I don't recall it leaving much of an impact, but I'm still all for preserving middle-of-the-road games. There's a whole rake of games made with *Renderware* that I either own or knew about, but it had some surprising games under its belt - most of the _Burnout_ games, _Max Payne 2,_ _Bully/Canis Canem Edit,_ the _GTA_ PS2 trilogy, along with heaps of license games, this thing was used everywhere! Most bizarrely (and maybe appropriately), I only discovered recently that _Killer7_ is a *Renderware* game. I don't know why, but I find it a bit mind-blowing that the same engine that powers _that_ was also used for _Scooby-Doo: Night Of 100 Frights._
I love Sonic Heroes so much. Replayed it recently, completely legally, and the foundation of the gameplay loop just felt so natural to play ❤ Sure, some things were wonky, but it never stopped me from having fun with it.
Instead of having to re-release it with some weird hoop jumping with different software... theoretically they could just.. make another game with the formula.. they could make a team involving Blaze and Silver, could even have the teams play more different than Heroes with Silver having his telekinesis and stuff..
Wow, I knew NONE of this information. I really liked Sonic Heroes and I recently bought a copy on the X-Box to let my son experience the game. Too bad we won't see a re-release of this.
its fuckin nuts being born right at the beginning of the early 2000s and having all these old ass games that are considered retro now and go for like $200 per for physical copies 😭😭😭 so glad i kept all my games man
At least the Sonic fans made mods for the PC version to basically make an fan made remaster at least. By adding high res textures, Bug fixes, restoring small things that were missing from the PS2, X-Box and Game Cube versions, modern controller support and wide screen support. I would like if SEGA could re-released Sonic Heroes to Steam and modern Consoles, along with Sonic Unleashed, Sonic the Fighters (PSN and XBLA versions to Steam), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Sonic Free Riders (without the kinect controls) and other Sonic games that are stuck on older hardware.
I have a copy of the PC version, and happened on this video looking for a work-around to play it again. That was my first introduction to "modern" sonic; all I knew was the side-scrollers. You're darn right I would pay for a Steam release!
Oh wow, I never knew that. But I'd rather have an actual remake than a rerelease, tbh. Or hell, just bring back the team gameplay for a new game. Look, I _have_ the GameCube version on disc, but if Heroes got a proper Switch remake I'd buy it in a goddamn heartbeat.
It can still be downloaded on the PS3 PSN but only in Europe and Asia. Also, a new RenderWare game did come out with Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, which still had a lot of RenderWare code inside, with Unreal Engine 4 helping with the graphics.
That is more like renderware code rewritten into unreal engine 4. They basically used the mobile ports which have somewhat custom code and then ported that into UE4. It's not actually Renderware anymore, it just code reprogrammed into UE4, since they actually had some of the original code from that trilogy sitting around.
I actually wanted to add that another modern way to play Sonic Heroes on Windows 10/11 computers would be to hunt down a zipfile of the original PC version online, download that and run the Launcher.exe file (it should be called that when you download the zipfile) and then you should be able to play the game. This is how I currently play Sonic Heroes in this day and age because I actually originally owned the PS2 version of the game and wanted to play the game again for nostalgia reasons. I can confirm that the game works on my Windows 11 laptop well and importing the game as a non-Steam game to my Steam library made it easier to map button inputs from my Xbox Series controller to have the best controller support for the game. Not only that, you get to play this game at a fairly high resolution above 720p where on my 1080p 240hz laptop screen, I can play this up to 1280x960 (essentially 960p) at 60fps (highest framerate the game supports) when you cap the refresh rate to that, but it's still in a 4:3 aspect ratio natively. Another way would be to import a disk drive via a USB port for your laptop/PC and buy a physical copy of the PC version online, but you have to really make sure the disk itself is in good condition to avoid the game crashing on your computer.
Interesting video. Another one with seemingly less reason behind it is Knuckles Chaotix. No reason for SEGA to keep holding that one back, far as I can tell.
Pretty sure they pretend it never happened outside of OST-listings. We either get a retroengine remake in upcoming Origins-DLC or the game will vanish forever, that's how it is probably going to go.
A few years ago, I actually got the game on PC, ripped it, and it's been my favorite way to play the game. I still do have the Gamecube ISO backed up, but I don't play it often anymore.
There was a PC release too, though sadly didn't get a digital release, only physical. Australia and New Zealand got a big collection which included Heroes and Riders in 2009 and it was released without DRM, so may the seven seas treat you well. The PC port was pretty buggy but modders have fixed quite a lot of the problems. Now if only Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg's PC port was fixed in this way (or even available, since it was pulled off Amazon). Poor optimization and only runs correctly in 50fps because it was only released on PC in Europe.
I remember I tried installing it on PC but was not really getting anywhere. Then I heard the Xbox 360 can play original Xbox games through backwards compatibility and I bought the game off eBay
Tbh, the best way to play it nowadays is a modded version of the PC release. The physics mods basically make it the GameCube version on crack, and that makes it WAY more fun to master and optimize. Plus, you can add stuff like the uncompressed Xbox FMVs. It is a bit more quirky than any of the Sonic Steam game set-ups(and that is WITH SA2 in mind), and for some reason I have to play it windowed to prevent slowdown, but that's honestly not a big deal for a game I love. Just a shame that TH-cam took down the tutorial with links for all of the mods, cause it was really handy.
i do have nostalgia for the game. i do think it's got some absolutely terrible game design mechanics, casino levels are awful, chaos emerald zones are awful, the slapped together story with no one questioning how Shadow is back is awful. the platforming and combat being so clunky that you'll kill yourself repeatedly on accident is awful. the forced replays of the same levels with multiple characters is padding. the new character designs are unappealing... But it should still be Rereleased. and perhaps given the opportunity to improve on many of these mechanics.
I would absolutely love to see it being rereleased. It's one of my favorite Sonic games as well as one of my first 3D games back then. The game itself is very engaging, with different teams reflecting different difficulties as well as the seemingly unrestricted path towards the end of which level, since the gameplay can be adapted to the player's content and skills.
This was the first Sonic game I ever played. I grew up with it on PS2, and then later got the Xbox version (play it in the 360). Still play it now. I love this game. It helps keep my happy childhood memories alive now being in my mid 20s
The GTA series kept getting rereleases in the form of both ports and remasters, and those games also used Renderware. I think it's more because of a lack of interest on Sega's part.
Those were released before the RenderWare shut down. That’s why the GTA trilogy used a different engine. That lead the trilogy to become a glitchy mess.
Actually, no. Seeing that it was ported to somewhere in 2012 but only in Japan and Europe, that may be correct but i legally played it. I remember being in Grand Metropolis playing it during 2016 or so on a XBOX.
To everyone saying "Sonic Heroes sucks, therefore it shouldn't be rereleased", there are actually a lot of people who DON'T think it sucks and would like to play it on Steam and modern consoles. Saying it shouldn't be accessible to others just because you don't like the game is extremely selfish and ignorant.
Well those people should get better taste then 🥱
@@FutureSlacker917 "You have the palate of a cow's backside"- Gordon Ramsay
I recently played Sa1, SA2 Unleashed and Generations with my Xbox one but I couldn't find Sonic Heroes and I was wondering why sega didn't re-release the game.
Those people are entitled asshole to get the newest Call of Duty on no matter what daily basis. Spoiled puny little fucks will never learn what games are to be preserved, saved and valued. We should also consider that some severe reboot will never give back the same vibe and joy of gameplay to us. Backward compatibility however fucking does, except some severe devs sometimes don't give a simple damn about taking care of nostalgiadom, which is one of the most crucial to maintain quality gaming over quantity gaming.
@Covenant_Lazarus OK fine, but you don't have to be rude. Just because you hate Sonic Heroes doesn't mean there not gonna do anything. But how are you in charge of Sega decisions when you don't even work with the company?
Huh, a Sonic game with a complex legal history. Interesting.
Sonic sells drugs. Very illegal. (Gone wrong) (3AM SPOOKY)
That’s a first, I mean all other Sonic games are easily rereleased
Edit: I didn’t wanna have to make this but, everyone thinks I’m serious? I’m not??
@Bossboy8391 **Laughs in Sonic Chronicles**
Also, Shadow the Hedgehog for the same reasons as the ones in the video...
...and the Sonic Advance and Rush Trilogies due to THQ having the rights to their western releases...
@@professortrickroom3777 Technically THQ would later be bought and merged with Nordiq to become THQ Nordiq, I think that's how that works. So Sega would have to either partner with them and/or license the games again.
**Sonic 3 & Knuckles OST has entered the chat**
So EA is destroying sports games and Sonic.
Where's my pitchfork?
Pitchfork? I think you mean the Egg Fleet
@@tailsfan10 Egg fleet? We need the Black Arms.
@@coolsteve3214 black arms? I need the metal virus
Metal Virus? I think you mean the phantom ruby.
Phantom ruby? That a funny way spelling Solaris.
The funny part is that it had an antipiracy software from back then on pc, and to release it into the massive Australian sonic pc collection they removed the antipiracy by using a cracked version from the time of the original release so its technically a pirated legal copy
So the pc collection I own is technically a pirated copy?
@@superstunt9997 Not piracy since it's an official legal print, it just happens to use a scene crack because it was the best method. It's kinda like when a developer starts out working on ROM hacks from pirated copies and takes that experience to get a job at the studio that developed the original games.
This was nice and informative, I didn't actually know this about Sonic Heroes. I only know that the PC release is considered Abandon ware by some. I'd say this game definitely deserves to be preserved, whether peeps like the game or not it's one of the games that a lot of Sonic fans grew up with and was the first introduction to Sonic (like myself).
Now speaking of which, how legal would using MyAbandonware be?
@@Handepsilon It's still piracy, but no one will really care to take it down or something
To me if there’s no live sale of it ie steam it’s ok but since they are actually selling in specific regions on specific online stores it’s gets a little murky
First time I played this was at a friends house on the ps2, I just watched the premiere of shark boy and lava girl (I was like 11) and I was blown away by the graphics and music. I must’ve played it the whole time we were there bc I remember crying on the way home bc I wanted to keep playing so bad. It was that insane at the time…man good times
I definitely have to agree because this was my first introduction into sonic as well so I am kinda saddened that this game can’t be rereleased on modern hardware due to a software licensing issue
Sonic Heroes is the first Sonic game I've played. I really adored its voices, animation, music and graphics. I have mixed feelings about how companies behave besides SEGA though...
I wanna say same on that first bit but memory’s fuzzy, it might not be, but I do know it was the most played at the time!
Would love to at least see more games try to adopt this styling but ah well
changing the rendering engine for heroes sounds like a nightmare but if they did re-release a more polished version with better physics and controls it would make a lot of people happy.
I just wouldn't trust they'd do any of that well lol it'll probably end up "different but not better, not worse", just different and people wouldn't like that
Not worth. The games are made for Renderware, it wouldn't be a simple engine change, the entire game needs to be re-coded. You can look at all the post-PS2 GTA ports, which ran in different engines because of the same Renderwase legal issue. All of those GTA ports have a number of technical issues.
@@bluestar5812 I do wonder if there may be *some* way to streamline the process of getting Heroes ported to another engine without necessitating the kind of hit-or-miss visual overhaul that Colors Ultimate had (as that game used NintendoWare i.e. the same graphics engine as Brawl etc.). Assuming the source code and intermediate graphics assets are somewhere in Sonic Team's archives hopefully that's a potential starting point.
like a sonic heroes ultimate? but honestly i would love to play another sonic heroes styled gameplay title.
It would be a lot easier to do a remaster where they start from scratch, that way they could update the graphics at the same times and probably would be less work than porting the original game to a new engine.
This video is perfect. No intro. No bullshit sponsor or message in the beginning. Just straight into the information that truly matters and it’s over in 3:20.
It’s very hard to find videos this good and this informative today.
Okay, but like from thumbnail to title, to the actual content of the video, this one was an absolute banger. 0:
why do you have my profile picture and username?
So many great games are permanently stuck in then 6th generation because of the Renderware situation. It is one of the reasons why all the post PS2 era ports of the 3D GTA Trilogy have a lot of technical issues.
Same for Burnout Paradise Remastered. It's the only PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch game that natively runs on RenderWare and the overall problems of the Remaster shows the engine's age, unfortunately.
Maybe if the PS5 had more PS2 games in the PSN Store, they would’ve got improved frame rates and enhanced graphics just like the PCSX2 emulator. So even if the PS2 emulator is already in the PS4 & PS5 cause a working PS2 emulator was built in, it’s very unlikely that we’ll see our favorite PS2 games in the PSN Store or release a PS5 Pro with PS2 backwards compatibly via software emulation that offers both disc or bought digital from the PSN Store. So Sonic Heroes being as PS2 Classic on the PS5 is very unlikely going to happen.
Legacywise, Sonic Heroes deserves some kind of remake. It had lasting effects on the franchise with the team formation types (speed, flight, power) that's still referenced to this day as well as characters bonding with specific team members from that game. Even now you'll see Shadow, Rouge, and Omega cooperating with each other more than other characters in the franchise (more noticeable in the comics).
I think Sonic Heroes should be remade on a newer engine where the controls are actually good
Sonic Heroes is one of those games that was better than I remembered it when I revisited the game.
2:37 If you ask me, ALL games are worth preserving no matter if they're bad or not.
This was the most important sonic game to my life specifically because it was the first sonic game I ever played. It was set up on a GameCube kiosk at my local McDonald’s and I played it to death every single time my family went there. That game shaped my perception of what this series is, and I definitely believe it should be preserved. Now why unleashed can’t get a pc port when generations, lost world, and forces all could remains a mystery.
I still play it till this day on a ps3
This was my family's first 3D Sonic game and one of our main introductions to the franchise. It's my favourite videogame and it's a shame SEGA don't rerelease it like Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
I love the game
Oh wow, I had no idea that was a real concern for this game in particular. While not my favorite Sonic game, I have such find memories of it, and honestly the gameplay holds up really well for what it is imo.
I had always been wondering why this game wasn't on Steam since the Adventure titles and other older Sonic games are there. This answers a lot. I really wish I could play it myself today since it was one of my first Sonic games and I think it's really good.
At this point just find an iso and play it.on Dolphin or find the PC version (which is decent with mods)
I still own my original gamecube copy and I AM going to emulate it. No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!
I emulate most games I play.
I got Sonic Heroes on PS2 back in 2008 along with Sonic Unleashed. I still own my copy to this day. The fact that I cannot own it on my PC now through Steam is criminal. I definitely did not dump my disc and definitely did not get a PC version through the seven seas.
ps2... oh you poor fucking soul
If you dumped your disc to the computer, then you haven't sailed. That's all fair.
@@TheSilvershadow200 I definitely did for the PC version where I can install mods though
Weird that he didn't mention the Windows PC version of Sonic Heroes, though that version often, but not always, comes with DRM that nowadays Windows itself rejects which means that you'd require a cracked EXE to play the legally bought PC copy.
Same reason the Underground era of Need for Speed games all need to be cracked to be able to play those, the DRM that's on the disc is no longer supported by Windows.
NGL, this is actually the easiest way I can run Sonic Heroes on my Windows 11 laptop because the zipfile I found online for the game didn't have the DRM issue, so I could tell it was the version that was able to bypass that and run just fine on my laptop.
@@jeffreyugochukwu1942 There's also a version without DRM on the Sonic PC Collection (Europe exclusive) but in that case SEGA basically just downloaded the same cracked EXE and only removed the cracker's signature.
@@ABlob Yeah, that was the version I was talking about earlier and that ended up being the one I downloaded, which ended up being the one I used on my Windows 11 laptop
Now that you mention there are a TON of sonic games that aren't available on a majority of modern hardware. I feel like that's part the reason why Sonic may not get the recognition he deserves sometimes, because not a lot of ppl have access to his games they just watched videos of them or have heard things.
This is where i see the difference between sonic and other franchises specifically capcom, who are apparently masters at re releasing their old games. Like thank GOD the dmc games were released on modern hardware, otherwise I wouldn't be as huge of a fan as i am now.
I've always found it to be bizarre that there's a PC port of Sonic Heroes and it was never published on Steam. I remember the olden days when it was listed on the Sega of America website as a title available for purchase, and scratching my head as to why Steam wasn't listed amongst the storefronts listed.
Fun fact! There's also PC ports of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as well as the original Sonic Riders. As far as I'm aware _neither_ of those games use Renderware (or at least they're not listed on the back of their respective cover artworks.) So that's even more confusing!
I'd be fine with a shadow drop of all of the 6th generation Sonic Team PC games on Steam even if they were published as-is, without even being optimized for modern computers. Just having the option available to easily download the incredibly dated PC ports without jumping through hoops to find them would be nice.
steam is a freaking horrible disgrace, good thing that Heroes isn't on it.
Do you own these PC ports? If you do, then looking into the files could give you a clue as to what rendering engine they use.
Sonic Heroes is one of the best selling games in the series and very well remembered by a lot of the people who played it 20 years ago, Sega has to do something with it eventually.
These Adventure remakes that people speculate about should be Crash and Spyro style trilogies and include Heroes imo.
Facts. Heroes is a direct continuation of the Adventure games' storyline since it goes into Shadow having amnesia after surviving his fall from the Space Colony Arc from Sonic Adventure 2. This is the closest game to being Sonic Adventure 3 and it was supposed to have that title, but Sega changed it to make the game seem more inclusive to other players than just the die-hard Sonic fans at the time.
The best sellers for some reason always get demonized to get buried intentionally by later generations of games to make newer games have supremacy
thanks for the explanation here!! sonic heroes was my favourite game as a kid, and i've always been baffled as to why it never got a re-release or remaster. i will say that i've gotten the PC port working with windows compatibility options and an xbox controller, though it's obviously not the ideal way to run it. i hope the renderware hurdle can be overcome, because if they can fix up those slippery controls, this could be one of the best sonic games in the franchise.
I wanted to play this game for the longest time, and in 2020 I bought a gamecube just for this game. It was worth it for me (I loved it, and got many other lovely games from that era), but this definetly isn't the best solution and something has to be done about this. It's even sadder when you realize that the games built with the havok engine (06, unleashed, generations and forces) might suffer a similar fate in the future. Maybe some remakes? Please?! Eh, we'll see
Generations, Unleashed and Forces aren't going anywhere soon. Xboxes have GREAT backwards compatibility and they don't seem to wanna change that. Now, about 06, I think it's starting to happen.
@@SamuelDoesThings2011 I'm an Xbox player and I don't have to worry about gens, but it's already a problem for PS players
@@playbossthebest936 Don't forget about Unleashed and Forces (not too old, but still)!
@@SamuelDoesThings2011 yeah, those too ofc
@@playbossthebest936 Well, at least we can play those legally! Whatever, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PLAY SONIC HEROES LEGALLY?! *downloads the PC version from sketchy websites since apparently it's abandonware*
In this case, I think Heroes would need a remake more than the Adventure games.
This game is still one of the best and it deserves to be on a modern console like ps4 and xbox 1
Wow, thanks for the information about this situation. Who knew that one company buyout would prevent a good Sonic Video game from being rereleased.
Glad I got the GameCube version but I would love a remake from the ground up.
Man. Played this one a lot as a kid and still have the physical copy.
Didn’t know there was that much going on in the background.
I actually didnt know about this lol, maybe ill play heroes some day
Awesome vid as always
I remember when I begged my mom to get this game in Walmart on the year it was released, still managed to get it, came home and started playing the game with my brother non stop, over time the disk was scratched and couldn’t play it for like 12 years until I got it repaired, while I couldn’t play it, I always wonder why sega hasn’t port it to steam along with shadow.
Wow, never knew this about heroes. I was playing this last year on my moms gcn, hoping it would get a re-release. But now i know why.
Also heroes is a top-tier game. Change my mind.
I really want Sega to release a remake collection of all the Adventure era games (Adventure 1&2 + Heroes) with upgraded graphics and music like Colours Ultimate
Sonic heroes was the first sonic game I got that I didn't finish. Individual levels could take like 30 minutes and it was too frustrating to go through the same levels 4 times each.
Sonic Heroes was my first Sonic game and the gameplay was so different than other Sonic games. I actually kept my PS2 and can still play my original copy! I am so glad I did because sometimes it is so good to let those feelings return and rush in.
Buying an external DVD Drive and the PC version is an option, though that version is a little less polished than the console versions. You could back up your PS2 copy using that DVD drive and it's all good.
Well it's a good thing that nothing bad ever came from the fact that I've been pirating Sonic Heroes during those 2 decades in every PC I've owned since I traded in my original GC copy after beating it back then. I've even recently ran through it again on Dolphin on my current Samsung smartphone just to test the speed. Still as fun as I remember. Just because Emuparadise got raided and wiped out years ago doesn't mean that pirates like myself are shook or deterred.
good, short video and straight to the point. thanks!
most youtubers would turn this into a 1 hour video essay, beginning with the origin of sonic back in the 90’s…
I miss this game. I had the xbox version and wasn't on xbox backwards compatibility. I still think it had one of the best OST in the series.
Yep the ost is god tier
It's abandonware. You can locate the PC version online no problem.
Buying a copy and an external disc reader won't cost anyone an arm and a leg.
Install and use a cracked EXE and you're golden.
Has worked for me on any computer I've thrown it at over the years.
Even works on Windows 11, it's that simple.
Sonic Heroes was my first 3D Sonic game I played and loved it. Shame I can't "play it officially" any more.
your content reminds me a lot of Demolition D, but for Sonic games... and that's awesome :) you got my sub keep doing what you're doing
Dude, you can't just drop a picture of that Hotwheels computer into my life and move on without saying anything
I haven't played this game in ages. I'm sure they could find some workaround to bring it back.
I actually still own this game and it is still great
I felt bad not keeping Sonic Heroes when I used to have it legally otherwise I would have sold it at a good price
You can still buy it on PS3's store in EU as a PS2 Classic and I think Shadow the Hedgehog is on the PS3's Japan store too.
Interesting video! New sub. An issue as well would be that it’s released on consoles that are very old which are more rare to find + those discs lol
I remember being afraid to tell someone that my favorite sonic game was (at the time) sonic heroes, due to in part that the person in question was a very vocal sonic adventures 2 fan and was a bit aggressive about it
This was actually my very first 3D sonic game (well if you ignore sonic 3D blast) and luckely I live in europe. ANd while the game has it's flaw likes its very slippery controls, there is still a lot I love about the game and honestly kinda would wish for a sequel or at least this gameplay style making somehow a return
The "slippery controls" don't matter when you know how to play the game.
If my memory is right Sonic Team used RenderWare for Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Riders (maybe Zero Gravity too). So all of those games are stuck in technical/legal limbo thanks to EA buying Criterion and discontinuing the engine.
It's the same thing that happened to the PS2 era GTA games, al three were made with RenderWare, and part of the reason why the remasters had to switch engine and ended up being a mess.
In short, all of these games can probably be updated or patched to run on modern Windows without too many headaches, but there's no way to release them in modern consoles without porting them to a new engine or rebuilding them from the ground up.
I made the mistake of playing this one before SA and SA2, the dialog and story kept implying something happened prior the current story, I found out there were 2 games prior this one and so I bought and played the other 2 and suddenly it all made sense. I was lucky to get it when the game was only about 2 years old.
I've always been waiting for Sonic Heroes 2, or a sequel of some sort.
Sonic Heroes was my first GameCube game
Thank god I still own this game on PS2 and PC
I’m pretty sure I still have my GameCube copy somewhere
Great Review, love the mellow dnb in the background too!
As a kid i remember thinking that if they ever make a sonic heroes sequel they should add a team with silver, blaze and gmerl and after completing aall the campaing you unlock a final one where you play with sonic, shadow and silver and face off the final boss with the 3 going super like in the 06 videogame.
same, even have a team when you can pick who you want on your team and combinations would actually matter more in gameplay and levels.
@@WildKamuran I like that idea a lot. Sort of like one of the Sonic Advance games that lets you do that
@@nashi._.7563 Advance 3 yeah i nearly forgot about that game. that was a good game too.
This game really needs a steam Port.
Or a little remaster.
This game is one of my favorites in the franchise. I would love for it to have some sort of sequel. It was uniquely special, and the concept deserves revisiting, in my opinion.
Very cool video on one of my favourite games. I have to correct You though, there is a PC version of Sonic Heroes, sold on discs. I have played it back in days, on my Windows XP computer. I belive it is playable now, one just have to turn on the compatibility mode. Anyway great video, i subbed. Any patreon or join options to support You?
the value of an engine that can just port games to all the systems with no trouble is so good. Maybe its time someone make a new engine that can do that again
I managed to get the PC Disc here in the USA. But I freaking lost it. The box and everything
EA killing renderware actually explains quite a bit about the state of the industry for the last 15 or so years.
According to the ESRB's website, there was going to be a North American PS3 re-release, presumably exclusive on the Playstation store. Shame that didn't happen...
Honestly, I hope they do a Sonic Adventure Collection where they HD remake Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, in a similar fashion to Crash's or Spyro's remakes. They won't but I can hope.
(also include the Advanced games + Battle as ported minigames)
Still have the game’s disk on the gamecube!
Sonic Heroes Is Such A Underrated Game, Definitely One Of My Favorite Titles In The Series.
Such a shame. I feel like the general public looks back on these old games more forgiving now, appreciating them more. I take it that the same issue applies to Shadow The Hedgehog. I really would have liked getting both of these Renderware games on Steam. It's more than childhood to me, they are genuinely great games made with passion.
I remember playing a demo of this game every time I went to electronic store like Circult City, Best Buy, and heck, even Walmart, when they still had those GameCube, PS2, and Xbox demo kiosks.
Nowadays I have a pirated copy of the PC version still sitting on my hard drive, in my Linux installation, maybe I should try and see if it runs on WINE in Linux
A friend of mine bought _Sonic Heroes_ when it first came out and... well, I liked it more for the aesthetics than the game. In fact, it was the first Sonic game I played back when I was 8. I don't recall it leaving much of an impact, but I'm still all for preserving middle-of-the-road games.
There's a whole rake of games made with *Renderware* that I either own or knew about, but it had some surprising games under its belt - most of the _Burnout_ games, _Max Payne 2,_ _Bully/Canis Canem Edit,_ the _GTA_ PS2 trilogy, along with heaps of license games, this thing was used everywhere!
Most bizarrely (and maybe appropriately), I only discovered recently that _Killer7_ is a *Renderware* game. I don't know why, but I find it a bit mind-blowing that the same engine that powers _that_ was also used for _Scooby-Doo: Night Of 100 Frights._
I love Sonic Heroes so much. Replayed it recently, completely legally, and the foundation of the gameplay loop just felt so natural to play ❤
Sure, some things were wonky, but it never stopped me from having fun with it.
What did you play it on? Just curious
Is there a way to get more information on the "in house engine" that was used for SA1 & SA2? I would like to know more about that
Instead of having to re-release it with some weird hoop jumping with different software... theoretically they could just.. make another game with the formula.. they could make a team involving Blaze and Silver, could even have the teams play more different than Heroes with Silver having his telekinesis and stuff..
Wow, I knew NONE of this information. I really liked Sonic Heroes and I recently bought a copy on the X-Box to let my son experience the game. Too bad we won't see a re-release of this.
its fuckin nuts being born right at the beginning of the early 2000s and having all these old ass games that are considered retro now and go for like $200 per for physical copies 😭😭😭 so glad i kept all my games man
At least the Sonic fans made mods for the PC version to basically make an fan made remaster at least.
By adding high res textures, Bug fixes, restoring small things that were missing from the PS2, X-Box and Game Cube versions, modern controller support and wide screen support.
I would like if SEGA could re-released Sonic Heroes to Steam and modern Consoles, along with Sonic Unleashed, Sonic the Fighters (PSN and XBLA versions to Steam), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Sonic Free Riders (without the kinect controls) and other Sonic games that are stuck on older hardware.
Sonic Heros is my baby.
I love it.
It was my 1st sonic game.
I LOVE IT AND I WANT IT BACK ALONG WITH MY GAMECUBE
I have a copy of the PC version, and happened on this video looking for a work-around to play it again.
That was my first introduction to "modern" sonic; all I knew was the side-scrollers.
You're darn right I would pay for a Steam release!
Oh wow, I never knew that.
But I'd rather have an actual remake than a rerelease, tbh. Or hell, just bring back the team gameplay for a new game.
Look, I _have_ the GameCube version on disc, but if Heroes got a proper Switch remake I'd buy it in a goddamn heartbeat.
It can still be downloaded on the PS3 PSN but only in Europe and Asia.
Also, a new RenderWare game did come out with Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, which still had a lot of RenderWare code inside, with Unreal Engine 4 helping with the graphics.
That is more like renderware code rewritten into unreal engine 4. They basically used the mobile ports which have somewhat custom code and then ported that into UE4.
It's not actually Renderware anymore, it just code reprogrammed into UE4, since they actually had some of the original code from that trilogy sitting around.
And now they are remaking it in unreal engine, the way this aged
Yeah, this video did not age well. I'm kinda looking forward for the remake.
I actually wanted to add that another modern way to play Sonic Heroes on Windows 10/11 computers would be to hunt down a zipfile of the original PC version online, download that and run the Launcher.exe file (it should be called that when you download the zipfile) and then you should be able to play the game. This is how I currently play Sonic Heroes in this day and age because I actually originally owned the PS2 version of the game and wanted to play the game again for nostalgia reasons. I can confirm that the game works on my Windows 11 laptop well and importing the game as a non-Steam game to my Steam library made it easier to map button inputs from my Xbox Series controller to have the best controller support for the game. Not only that, you get to play this game at a fairly high resolution above 720p where on my 1080p 240hz laptop screen, I can play this up to 1280x960 (essentially 960p) at 60fps (highest framerate the game supports) when you cap the refresh rate to that, but it's still in a 4:3 aspect ratio natively. Another way would be to import a disk drive via a USB port for your laptop/PC and buy a physical copy of the PC version online, but you have to really make sure the disk itself is in good condition to avoid the game crashing on your computer.
gonna be onest when I read the title I thought that If I play sonic heroes on PS2 I would get arrested
Interesting video. Another one with seemingly less reason behind it is Knuckles Chaotix. No reason for SEGA to keep holding that one back, far as I can tell.
Pretty sure they pretend it never happened outside of OST-listings. We either get a retroengine remake in upcoming Origins-DLC or the game will vanish forever, that's how it is probably going to go.
A few years ago, I actually got the game on PC, ripped it, and it's been my favorite way to play the game.
I still do have the Gamecube ISO backed up, but I don't play it often anymore.
There was a PC release too, though sadly didn't get a digital release, only physical. Australia and New Zealand got a big collection which included Heroes and Riders in 2009 and it was released without DRM, so may the seven seas treat you well. The PC port was pretty buggy but modders have fixed quite a lot of the problems.
Now if only Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg's PC port was fixed in this way (or even available, since it was pulled off Amazon). Poor optimization and only runs correctly in 50fps because it was only released on PC in Europe.
Thanks for answering, I always wondered this!
I remember I tried installing it on PC but was not really getting anywhere. Then I heard the Xbox 360 can play original Xbox games through backwards compatibility and I bought the game off eBay
Tbh, the best way to play it nowadays is a modded version of the PC release. The physics mods basically make it the GameCube version on crack, and that makes it WAY more fun to master and optimize. Plus, you can add stuff like the uncompressed Xbox FMVs. It is a bit more quirky than any of the Sonic Steam game set-ups(and that is WITH SA2 in mind), and for some reason I have to play it windowed to prevent slowdown, but that's honestly not a big deal for a game I love.
Just a shame that TH-cam took down the tutorial with links for all of the mods, cause it was really handy.
i do have nostalgia for the game. i do think it's got some absolutely terrible game design mechanics, casino levels are awful, chaos emerald zones are awful, the slapped together story with no one questioning how Shadow is back is awful. the platforming and combat being so clunky that you'll kill yourself repeatedly on accident is awful. the forced replays of the same levels with multiple characters is padding. the new character designs are unappealing... But it should still be Rereleased. and perhaps given the opportunity to improve on many of these mechanics.
What's the version seen in the video? It looks like the GameCube version, but the character type textures look wrong. And why is it in 16:9?
my gamecube is a little quirky
Grew up with the PS2 version and got the Xbox version later to play on my 360, still enjoy the game
I would absolutely love to see it being rereleased. It's one of my favorite Sonic games as well as one of my first 3D games back then. The game itself is very engaging, with different teams reflecting different difficulties as well as the seemingly unrestricted path towards the end of which level, since the gameplay can be adapted to the player's content and skills.
Hope you get to 1000 Subscribers soon
This was the first Sonic game I ever played. I grew up with it on PS2, and then later got the Xbox version (play it in the 360). Still play it now. I love this game. It helps keep my happy childhood memories alive now being in my mid 20s
Torrent:
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just doing what comes naturally
The GTA series kept getting rereleases in the form of both ports and remasters, and those games also used Renderware. I think it's more because of a lack of interest on Sega's part.
Those were released before the RenderWare shut down.
That’s why the GTA trilogy used a different engine. That lead the trilogy to become a glitchy mess.
@@derpydino17The Trilogy still used RenderWare, albeit in a hybrid form with Unreal Engine 4.
@@HydraSpectre1138 Really? I had no idea it was possible to combine two very different game engines.
THIS GAME IS MY CHILDHOOD. i miss playing it :(
Actually, no. Seeing that it was ported to somewhere in 2012 but only in Japan and Europe, that may be correct but i legally played it. I remember being in Grand Metropolis playing it during 2016 or so on a XBOX.