Imagine your younger self back in 2006. It is almost time for the holiday season, and the new next-gen consoles are about to be released –  the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

With these consoles, there was also a new Sonic game making its way to release, and it was going to create a fresh revolutionary start for the blue blur. That game is none other than the one and only “Sonic the Hedgehog (2006),” otherwise known as “Sonic ‘06” by the majority. The game features new content such as more realistic environments, multiple playable characters with their own gameplay style, and an introduction to a new character, Silver the Hedgehog. 

The hype was building up, and you couldn’t wait to get your hands on the new Sonic game, only to realize that you were immersing yourself in a glitch palooza while playing. Now Sonic ‘06 has left a permanent negative mark on Sonic’s reputation, and SEGA struggled in recovering from their mistakes. 

So what went wrong? Why did Sonic ‘06 become a massive flop? Let’s just say that SEGA felt very competitive then, and they were desperate to make Sonic return to its former glory after their failed attempt with “Shadow the Hedgehog.” During their development, a lot of problems occurred. Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic, left Sonic Team and build his own video game studio, Prope. Additionally, SEGA also tried to implement the game on the Wii, but the Wii didn’t have high-definition hardware. So, the team decided to split themselves into two: one side working on Sonic ‘06 and the other side working on the Sonic Wii game (“Sonic and the Secret Rings”).

This situation built a lot of pressure on SEGA and they were urging themselves to release Sonic ‘06 by their intended deadline. The game was then released on the Xbox 360 in North America on Nov. 14, 2006 (eight days before the Xbox 360 console was released) and the PS3 version released two months later on Jan. 30, 2007.

Fans received a flop that could not be undone.

A few years after Sonic ‘06’s release, the company decided they needed to do something else for Sonic. They stopped making games that play or have a similar tone to the “Sonic Adventure” series and decided to play it safe. Nowadays, Sonic games have a more simplistic and kid-friendly atmosphere with their stories, and that disappointed older fans.

Believe it or not, Sonic ‘06 is now getting a fair amount of praise since it had a darker and more complex story, an actual threatening villain, and a variety of playable characters that serve a purpose throughout the game. However, the game’s massive failure means SEGA will never again make a game resembling any content of Sonic ‘06.

While Sonic ‘06 is known to be the worst game in the franchise today, several fans decided to create their own unofficial remakes. There is a mod you can download for “Sonic Generations” called the “STH2006 Project” created by brianuuuSonic, where you can play a more definitive version of Sonic ‘06 under the influence of Sonic Generations. You can also download a mod with an Xbox 360 or PS3 ROM of Sonic ‘06 called “Legacy of Solaris,” created by JotaroPowered. This mod improves many of Sonic ‘06’s flaws, such as framerate issues, long loading times, and poor physics.

But there is one project I would like to give the most prominent highlight: “Sonic P-06,” created by Argentinian programmer Ian Moris, otherwise known by his gamer name, “ChaosX.” This project gets the most praise amongst all the other fan remakes of Sonic ‘06. The graphics are enhanced, the gameplay feels so well-polished, and a bunch of new content is being implemented, like newer move sets for the characters and in-game cutscenes during the levels. 

P-06 is also much easier to download since it is not a mod. Instead of running the game under the influence of another game, you can simply download it from this link, extract the file, and you are good to go. 

The project is still under development since ChaosX is recreating everything from scratch. He uses the Unity Engine to recreate Sonic ‘06 by enhancing the atmosphere and giving the characters new animations. He recently released Silver’s story to be playable with all his levels, and more content is yet to come.

Let’s take a moment and discuss where the project has gotten so far and what new additions have been added. 

When the project made its first demo release in 2019, you were only allowed to play Sonic’s story at the time. ChaosX gave us two levels to try, Wave Ocean and Kingdom Valley, along with three playable characters: Sonic, Tails and Silver. After fans tried out the project, they were impressed with what they have seen, and they are definitely looking forward to what will come next in future updates. 

As time passes, more levels are being remade and more characters are now playable. ChaosX has also tweaked every character so they feel more fun to play as. For instance, in the original version, Tails couldn’t perform a tail-swipe attack as he did in “Sonic Adventure,” but ChaosX decided to implement the move, and Tails feels more tolerable to play. Rouge also had a similar issue. She couldn’t perform any melee attacks as in “Sonic Adventure 2,” but now she can in P-06.

Aside from those characters, I’d say the ones who improved the most are Silver, E-123 Omega and Amy. Many fans, including myself, did not enjoy playing those characters. I never understood why Amy could turn invisible because she has never done that in any previous Sonic game. Her double-jump ability was slow and clunky. Players also had trouble using Silver’s psychokinesis ability since the game had extremely poor physics, and Omega’s abilities were poorly executed. 

Still, ChaosX remarkably brought out the true potential of these characters by giving them new abilities. Amy doesn’t have her invisibility anymore, but she feels much better playing since she is faster, her double jump is fixed, and she can perform multiple moves with her hammer. Omega’s abilities have also been improved, and as an added bonus, he can now go into first-person mode and use his miniguns from the cutscenes. Silver now has a ranged attack where he can shock enemies from a distance.

Additionally, after the Episode Silver release, Silver was given more upgrades which you can unlock by collecting them from certain levels. The same applies to Sonic and Shadow since these three hedgehogs are the principal characters of Sonic ‘06. Each hedgehog gets rewarded a compelling ability once you achieve an S-rank in all their levels. Sonic unlocks the Rainbow Gem, which can be found in Kingdom Valley, allowing him to become Super Sonic. Shadow unlocks the Light Memory Shard in Dusty Desert, allowing him to remove his inhibitor rings and unleash his full power. And lastly, Silver unlocks the Sigil of Awakening in Flame Clore, allowing him to perform a final blow on any group of enemies he is nearby.

These new features truly bring out the unique nature of ChaosX’s project and show the inner potential of what Sonic ‘06 could have been if the developers had taken more time to work on the game. Sonic P-06 broke the barriers of Sonic ‘06’s flaws, allowing fans to realize how outstanding Sonic ‘06 could have been.

Of course, this is only a fan project and not an official game created by SEGA. SEGA has never commented on any specific underground projects. However, SEGA did voice their approval on Sonic fan projects, in general, just as long as they are not being used for profit or contain any illegal content.

If you want to play a free Sonic game, Sonic P-06 is my top choice. You can play various characters, use different abilities, explore immersive worlds, and experience a better version of one of your childhood games. There is still more to come in later updates and who knows what additional content ChaosX will put into the game. You can also check out ChaosX’s Twitter Page to follow up on patch notes and announcements for P-06.

I also recommend checking out Stelmo98 on YouTube. He makes a lot of content regarding P-06 with its mods and features, showing everyone how players can have the ultimate experience when playing.

I thank ChaosX and his team for going all the way to recreate a game that could have ruined Sonic’s reputation. I feel like they have opened the eyes of those who have been overly disliking Sonic ‘06 and never understood the potential of the game being one of the most revolutionary titles in the franchise. 

To all Sonic fans out there, please try this fan project. You won’t regret it!