An Unofficial Guide On SRB2 2.1

Sonic Robo Blast 2 has been through a lot of versions, that’s one thing for sure, ever since Sonic Team Junior started its development back in 1998. But in this document, I’ll cover one of my most favorite versions of Sonic Robo Blast 2, on March 15, 2014 an update that had practically defined SRB2, Version 2.1. This update brought massive changes to the single-player campaign, added NiGHTS-based special stages, implementing Lua scripting for modding, and improving physics. In this document I will also be comparing different versions of SRB2 such as 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2. I will be comparing 2.0 & 2.2 with 2.1 mostly.

The 2.1 Characters

I’ll start with the playable characters in 2.1, in this version there were only 3 characters and 1 duo. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic & Tails. Amy, Fang, and Metal Sonic were introduced as playable characters in 2.2 which was released on December 7, 2019.

The characters had the same abilities in 2.2 as in 2.1, Sonic has his Thok, Tails can Fly, and Knuckles can glide, the two main differences in 2.1 is the button mapping to start flying with Tails as Sonic & Tails, in 2.2 you stand close to Tails and jump when the arrow appears to start flying, in 2.1 it was different and more complex, but 2.2 had refined it to make it easier for new players, the 2nd difference was Knuckles' gliding, in 2.1, camera movement was restricted while climbing, in 2.2 his glide now scales with momentum and he can move the camera while climbing.

The 2.1 Zones

The available zones in this update were Greenflower Zone, Techno Hill Zone, Deep Sea Zone, Castle Eggman Zone, Arid Canyon Zone, Red Volcano Zone, Egg Rock Zone, and Egg Rock Core Zone. In this version, Egg Rock had 3 Acts instead of 2 in 2.2, and it was a Metal Sonic Race combined with his Boss Fight. This was later changed to Metal Sonic being in Black Core, and his race and boss fight being separated into 2 Acts.

The 2.1 Bosses

The bosses in this game are somewhat similar to 2.2, Egg-Mobile still has its lasers except its “Pinch Mode” is it having Spiky Balls to protect itself while charging towards the player, Egg Slimer is still the same since 2.1, except for the color change from purple to blue in 2.2, the Deep Sea Boss has some noticeable changes such as the arena being flat instead of having it being very complex like it was in 2.1, Eggscalibur still does its regular patterns except you don’t press buttons to open the cage that Eggman is in, the cage opens itself, the maces also move by themselves in 2.1, Arid Canyon didn’t have a boss yet nor did Red Volcano either, Egg Rock Act 3 has a Metal Sonic Race combined with his Boss Fight. As stated earlier this was later changed to Metal Sonic being in Black Core, and his race and boss fight being separated into 2 Acts.

The Final Boss (Brak Eggman) was introduced as a placeholder in 2.0 in Egg Rock Zone Act 3, but was changed in 2.1 and was put in a new zone called Egg Rock Core Zone, the 2.0 version of Brak Eggman was referred to as Brak Eggman (Old) to separate it from its 2.1 counterpart; the bossfight was kept in 2.2 with some changes, involving Brak Eggman being put in Black Core Act 3, his defeat animation being a dramatic fall off of the arena when defeated instead of falling like in 2.1, and also changing the lava to acid.

The 2.1 Unlockables

The system for unlockables in 2.1 is similar in 2.2, you get emblems then you unlock the secrets. The difference here is what you unlock and the amount of emblems there are. In 2.1, there are a total of 160 Emblems, in 2.2 there are a total of 200 Emblems. The unlockable levels in 2.1 are Aerial Garden Zone, Azure Temple Zone, Black Hole Zone, Pipe Towers, Spring Hill Zone, and even a whole SRB1 Remake. The item that is unlocked after getting all 160 Emblems is the Pandora’s Box, which is a whole cheat menu built in the game.

A Comparison Between 2.0 & 2.1

2.1 compared to 2.0, are somewhat similar, but they have their differences. I’ll start from Greenflower Zone, then all the way to Egg Rock Zone.

Greenflower Zone Differences

Greenflower Zone hasn’t exactly changed over the years that much, as its Act 1 in 2.1 looks somewhat similar to its introduction back in Demo 1. A good difference is a new area being added in 2.1 with a shield, it also added a new tunnel. Act 2 was no different throughout until the end. In the end of Act 2, it takes place inside, but in 2.1, it changed it so you go outside. The boss barely had any differences just like Act 2, the only difference here is that the A.I is different, and when the Boss gets knocked back it doesn’t get knocked back a lot like it did in 2.1. Pinch Mode is a bit different too, giving Eggman some Spiky Balls to protect himself while also charging towards you.

Techno Hill Zones Differences

The key difference between 2.1 and 2.0 is the goo. In 2.0-Demo 3, it had Toxic Goo, in 2.1 it makes it a bouncy-like slime. 2.1 also gave a new atmosphere to Techno Hill, giving it an industrial look, in 2.0 it looked like another act of Greenflower, 2.1 added another enemy too, the Spring Shell. 2.1 as well completely revamped Techno Hill Act 2, giving it an all new level design.  2.1 also changed the boss to make it much easier, 2.1 added barriers so you don’t fall off the arena and die. 2.1 also made the boss easier by making it a bit slower to make it more fair, which made the boss a lot easier for newcomers.

Deep Sea Zone Differences

Deep Sea Zone was one of the zones that barely got any changes in general, since 2.1 was mostly focusing on overhauling the earlier things, although this version does feature some visible changes. For example, some new paths, the addition of more emblems, and the ending of Act 1 are different. Act 2 also barely got any differences as well. Both Act 1 & 2 got the addition of more emblems, new paths, reworked Emerald Token locations, and the removal of some things. The part that got the most changes was the Boss, specifically in its “Pinch Mode”, in 2.0, the Boss would attempt to drown you as a last attempt. 2.1 scrapped that idea and instead gave the boss clones, which was also kept in 2.2.

Castle Eggman Zone Differences

The key difference between 2.0 & 2.1 in Castle Eggman, is the texture changes. 2.1 also featured new emblems, reworked Emerald Token locations, and reworked the level design a little bit. The change in the Act 2 ending was part of a larger, sweeping change to make the level flow better for 2.1. Another key difference here is that 2.1 featured a Castle Eggman Boss, which was missing in 2.0.

Arid Canyon Zone Differences

The key difference here is the removal of the introduction to the zone, in 2.0 you went on a spring and launched into the beginning, but in 2.1 it removed that intro. It also fixed the palette and texture glitches. 2.1 added a new, lower path in the final room of Arid Canyon Act 1, and that was pretty much it.

Red Volcano Zone Differences

This zone was remade quite a bit, giving new textures, altering level design, a new enemy called the Unidus, and even giving the zone an outside portion which would be kept in 2.2. The goal post location was slightly altered in this version, as well as the ending. In 2.0 the platform would rise because of the rising lava, 2.1 removed the "rising lava room" at the start and altered the transition to Egg Rock to be more direct. 2.1 also made it harder by making rings that fall into lava melt instantly, making recovery impossible and adding rotating flamethrowers and upside-down springs.

Egg Rock Zone Differences

This zone was infamously known for its massive difficulty spike from Red Volcano and its lack of polish, which made it quite a challenge to complete. The level design remained mostly the same in 2.1, although 2.1 added new enemies into the mix, and also altered the level design for Act 1 & 2. Act 3 in 2.0 was different from 2.1, in 2.0 Act 3 was the placeholder final boss, which is actually still here. But the arena as stated earlier, was very different, instead of a flat arena, this arena was more complex, and Brak Eggman (Old) was specifically supposed to be hit at the top, which was very complicated. 2.1 revamped the boss, giving it the arena that 2.2 made bigger.

2.1 also removed some boss attacks, such as Brak Eggman having his sticky substance, cannon balls, and missiles removed. This was replaced with Brak Eggman using fire, and shooting bombs. The way to defeat Brak Eggman was also changed, instead of hitting him in the head, you had to bring Brak Eggman into lava, which was changed into acid in 2.2, and you could hit him in the belly instead of the head, overall making it easier. The key difference though, is Metal Sonic being the boss of Act 3, and Brak Eggman being moved to Egg Rock Core Zone.

A Summary Of 2.1

2.1 was definitely a big overhaul from 2.0, it was considered one of the biggest SRB2 updates before 2.2 was announced. 2.1 changed and fixed many things that 2.0 did. SRB2 has definitely come a long way, and it is at Version 2.2 at the time of making this. I decided to cover this version because it was one of the most important updates in the history of SRB2, so it was worth covering such an update.

If you would like to play this version of SRB2, you can find it in the Archived Versions section of the Official SRB2 Website, where they have mostly every version of SRB2. I hope this guide helped you a lot, and I hope you enjoy this version as much as I did!