Video Game / Sonic the Very Useful Engine

Something's wrong here...

"Thomas was EVERYWHERE."

Sonic the Very Useful Engine is a ROM hack of Sonic the Hedgehog by VAdaPEGA, released in 2014. It quickly became a hit amongst the Sonic hacking community due to its quirks.

Simply put, the game is mostly unaltered... aside from the little fact that grabbing a ring (or coin, as they now appear to be) causes the Thomas & Friends theme to start playing. Constantly. And there's a few other subtle alterations as well... saying anything more would spoil the surprise.

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Tropes:

• Arc Words: "Thomas was everywhere". It replaces the SEGA choir in the beginning, and it also appears when you get all the Thomas Emeralds.
• Big Bad: The Fat Controller replaces Dr. Eggman.
• Creator In-Joke: Almost the entire thing is an in-joke. For example, the use of "Have You Ever" during Labyrinth Zone's looping slide is a reference to a joke hack which was entirely dedicated to that.
• Downer Ending: The good ending could be interpreted this way — the Thomas Emeralds change the entire landscape into Thomas, leaving all the animals to fall and presumably perish. Sonic isn't affected at all, though — which could just make it worse.
• Easter Egg: First, you need to perform the level select code. Then, instead of using it, let the demo play — but make sure to hold down all three buttons (the "Drunk Sonic" code). When it loops back, a brief screen will display. Once the title reappears, head into the level select and play song 9F. This will start the game with all Thomas Emeralds — and replace the Green Hill Zone boss with a reference to "Wrecking Ball".
• Off with His Head!: The Fat Controller suffers this if you decide to jump into him as he escapes the Final Zone fight. His head subsequently cameos in The Stinger if you get all the Thomas Emeralds.
• Perpetual Smiler: Part of what makes the Thomas faces so creepy. Most notable with Sonic himself.
• Shout-Out: Aside from the obvious:
  • The Arc Words are a reference to this short YouTube Poop. In particular, the SEGA choir is replaced by that exact sound clip.
  • The looping slide in Labyrinth Zone Act 3 changes the music into "Have You Ever" by The Offspring.
  • Star Light Zone Act 2 uses "The Lonely Man" for its background music.
  • The drowning music segues into the Mos Eisley Catina band's song near the end.
  • The signifier for performing the Easter Egg correctly is a screen depicting Pantufa the Cat (star of an infamous Platform Hell hack) eagerly watching a cockroach run by.
  • The Easter Egg itself is a reference to Miley Cyrus's infamous "Wrecking Ball" video.
  • An updated version available on Steam Workshop has the first level from a fangame called Sonic Overture.
• Sigil Spam: Thomas is indeed everywhere. Including Sonic himself, once you get all the emeralds.
• Surprisingly Creepy Moment: The Thomas faces everywhere are intentionally unnerving. Particularly once Sonic himself gets in on it.

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