Video Game / Sonic CD: VHS Tapes

"YOUR SEGA CD IS MINE."

Sonic CD: VHS Tapes (also under the name soniccd.mp4) is an Analog Horror series and game by Alivia's Archives, depicting unsettling happenings occurring between copies of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

The series can be watched here, while its game adaptation by NotSoDevy and Israel Games, made for the Luigikid EX3 Challenge, that covers the entire first season can be played here.

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This series and game contain the following examples:

• Acceptable Breaks from Canon: The gameplay itself is mostly a recreation of the events happening in the tapes, which use proper Sonic CD footage. However, it's understandable that it would take even longer to program in anything that doesn't contribute to the events, so stuff like most of the Badniks are left out for convenience.
• Adaptational Villainy: In canon, no-one is quite sure what alignment Majin Sonic is on, despite looking really creepy. Here, though, he's outwardly antagonistic and the mastermind of the whole ARG, and the corrupted game seems to be responsible for the demise of Emily Stacy.
• Ambiguous Situation: With SEGA fully aware of the incidents caused by their game, they do hold Emily Stacy and her family in their hearts as they try to resolve the issue, though deny any direct responsibility for whatever is inside the games and is leading to the deaths of several beta-testers. For now, though, it's unclear whether the company is being truthful about it or not.
• Anti-Frustration Features: The v1.5 update to the game adds these:
  • The Video 3 segment of the game can be skipped straight to the big moment by pressing "I" upon accessing the level. This can also be done later with the final error screen.
  • The VHS filter can be toggled upon startup of the game for the first time, which helps for anyone who may not really like it.
• Copy Protection: A pair of in-universe examples.
  • At the end of the first run in Video 1, a copy protection screen, accompanied by the MC Sonic art, is shown on-screen.
  • A second one is shown towards the end of Video 2, this time with the "See You Next Game" image. However, this one bugs out and the game restarts on its own.
• Dead All Along: Tails, in this story, is outright gone, and his appearance in Mountain Mount Zone 0 was merely an hallucination Sonic underwent.
• Easter Egg:
  • At the beginning of the game, all the Sound Test codes are actually fully functional, and lead to a variety of secrets. However, they take on a Darker and Edgier nature this time...
    • PCM 03 DA 01: MC Sonic and Eggman are absent, and Metal Sonic's eyes are framed in shadow.
    • PCM 12 DA 25: Instead of the original "Fun is Infinite" screen, you are instead met with Sonic with his back to the screen, proclaiming that you hit a roadblock.
    • PCM 11 DA 09: The Anime Sonic image starts out as normal, but after a few seconds, it changes to look a bit like Majin, with new Japanese text present this time. Returning to the Main Menu will have the music muted until you either start the game, try another Sound Test code or view the credits.
    • PCM 12 DA 11: The "See You Next Game" image starts out as normal, but suddenly takes a turn for the worse when it starts glitching out, the text changes to "Or Not...", and Tails outright vanishes. The main menu this time will play the sombre theme heard at the very end of the game, alongside making the main menu Deliberately Monochrome.
    • Entering the Batman Sonic or Secret Special Stage codes will instead get you softlocked on the regular "Fun is Infinite" screen, until you use X to go back.
  • Of course, three of these codes are exclusive to the game.
    • PCM 09 DA 10: A goofy image of Majin Sonic will be shown on screen, which can be toggled out of with X.
    • PCM 66 DA 06: A short animation plays, which quickly becomes disturbing. Like with the Tails secret, this triggers the sombre music on the main menu and turns it Deliberately Monochrome.
    • PCM 99 DA 99: This simply takes you to Stardust Speedway Zone 1, which is unplayable like Video 3's level. Sonic performs the "I'm Outta Here" trick shortly after, leaving the game to close after a Game Over. A text document lampshades the absurdness of this secret, though does admit the music's nice.
  • Added in the 1.5 update:
    • PCM 19 DA 93: A game of Sonic CD is attempted to be played, only to be met with a RAM error. However, this quickly escalates into horror. Afterwards, the main menu lacks music for that run.
    • PCM 24 DA 09: A taunting message from the Greater-Scope Villain of the series is presented, accompanied by a creepy male opera. Closing out of this with X won't stop the music until you choose another option on the Main Menu, which is given an inverted color filter upon return.
  • Aside from the "I'm Outta Here" anomaly in the Video 3 portion, the regular trick can be triggered at any playable point in the game, including Mountain Mount Zone.
  • As a Freeze-Frame Bonus during the Season 1 finale, Sonic.exe can briefly be seen in the second SEGA screen. He has no overarching role in the story, though.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The game seems to be sentient if boiling down to how it ended the life of one of its beta-testers when the police arrived on the scene. In the game itself, the window shakes violently twice (the second time having the user's mouse cursor move everywhere), and text files are created at random points.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: SEGA, as varied as the quality of their games are, are generally all friendly in real life, even supportive of fans' works. In this series, however, one division was highly aware of the twisted secrets of one of their games and resorted to cowardice, refusing to do anything about it. It's this ignorance that had claimed at least five victims.
• Madness Mantra: In the Season 1 finale; Number 9, Number 9, Number 9...
• Oh, Crap!: The SEGA Staff member on the phone has this reaction when Emily reports on the Majin Sonic error screen, soon after being disconnected.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: The anomalies occurring are full of these, some outright bordering on a Game-Breaking Bug.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Not a whole sentence, per se, but Majin sends out one word before breaking the CD that signifies just how screwed over Victim #5 is.
  "FOOL"
• Time Skip: "soniccd.mp4(4)" seems to take place around 2005, when Sonic Gems Collection was released. However, this length of time hasn't gotten rid of the anomalies found in CD, which seem to have remained intact over the years.