When Sonic the Hedgehog arrived on Sega's Genesis system in 1991, the fluidity and speed of the game seemed to mark an end to the more sedate platformers of the previous decade. Sonic was all about the future.

And yet, this demake of the game — for the Atari 2600 — marries the rolling, leaping ring collector with an earlier era. Created by "Sprybug" on the Atari Age forums, Zippy the Porcupine is a work-in-progress that seems to give the old Atari console new legs. It's just a single level at present but plans are in place to add more gameplay and a soundtrack.

"I know there's still a few small bugs to resolve, but it's playable," stated Sprybug in a forum post. "This is Hill Zone 1. Now just 15 more levels to make, the overhead map selection, the boss battles, and a few other things. I hope I have enough ROM space to pull it off."