Sonic the Hedgehog
1 recomp and 2 ports
Sonic the Hedgehog / Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013, decompilation)
RSDKModding/RSDKv4-Decompilation
A complete decompilation of Retro Engine v4 (RSDKv4) and of the menus from the 2013 versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, released for iOS and Android; it comes from the same author as the Sonic CD and Sonic Mania decompilations. It works with data from the mobile versions, Sega Forever ones included, and partly with Sonic Origins data, which lacks the music and sound effects (Origins doesn’t keep them in those files) and some menu assets, which can be copied over from the mobile versions. Both games’ scripts are decompiled separately, in another repository, and fix bugs in some versions, such as the softlock at the end of certain acts on very wide screens. It adds the RSDKv5U script compiler, a mod loader with its own API, a settings.ini file with every setting, a dev menu with debugging tools, and Sonic Mania Plus’s idle screen dimming, and lets you play Sonic 2’s Egg Gauntlet Zone in Time Attack if your version includes it. It also has a networked 2P VS mode for Sonic 2, with a Python server the project itself calls an unstable proof of concept. The released builds don’t allow the Origins Plus DLC or playing as Amy: for that you have to build it yourself. There are builds for Windows (32- and 64-bit), Linux, and Android; the latest is 1.3.3 (November 2, 2025).
You needThe data from your own official copy of the 2013 Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic the Hedgehog 2: the iOS or Android versions (delisted, but you can redownload them from your purchase history) or Sonic Origins for Windows (Steam or Epic Games Store) or Switch. Origins data has to be used in folder mode or repacked, with the audio from the mobile versions added. Plus Windows, Linux, or Android; on other systems, build it from source.
Sonic the Hedgehog (s1-port)
foreverWIP/s1-port
A C port of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive (revision 1), still a work in progress. The core code (graphics management, object-to-level and object-to-object collision, level-specific code), all game objects, including Sonic’s, and the sound driver, with code from CKDEV’s (used with permission), have been ported. A program generated “nearly-correct” C from the ROM’s code, using a symbol map from a disassembly, and it was then fixed by hand. It runs on Speedshoes, a minimal Mega Drive emulation framework the author wrote, which intercepts the 68000’s subroutine calls and compares the C side’s state with the ROM’s. Horizontal-blank handling is missing, so tile drawing is corrupted when demos are interrupted and when Labyrinth Zone’s water surface is onscreen. The June 23, 2025 test release is a public alpha for Windows x64 with an experimental widescreen mode, playable from start to finish. The repository includes the C code generated from the ROM and fixed by hand (about 2 MB) and an assembly listing of about 7.5 MB (sonic.lst).
You needA ROM from your own copy of Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive), revision 1 (REV01), named sonic1.bin and placed next to the executable, from which the data is read. Plus 64-bit Windows.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive, mstan)
mstan/SonicTheHedgehogRecomp
Static recompilation of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive with segagenesisrecomp: the ROM’s 68000 code is translated to C and runs on a console runtime written from scratch. Green Hill Zone can be completed in full, all three acts and the boss; later zones only partly work. It has a launcher that verifies your ROM, rebindable two-player controls, and an experimental widescreen mode. There’s a Windows build, plus experimental Linux and macOS ones. 66 of its last 100 commits list Claude as a co-author.
You needYour own Sonic the Hedgehog ROM (World version).
Installs with
Questions
Can you play Sonic the Hedgehog natively on PC?
Yes. The catalog has 1 recomp and 2 ports, and one of them is fully playable.
What do I need to play it?
Your own copy of Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive / Genesis). Recompendium only links projects that don’t distribute the game, and each entry says which version or region you need.
Which one is the most popular?
Sonic the Hedgehog / Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013, decompilation), with 1,158 stars on GitHub.