Selbi
From Sonic Retro
Selbi is a German scener and a Tech Member on the Sonic Retro forums. He is most known for creating the explosion-heavy Sonic 1 hack Sonic ERaZor, which won first place at the Sonic Hacking Contest twice.
History
Selbi had an infamously rocky origin story in the Sonic hacking scene. During his first few years his arrogance, poor English skills, and unfamiliarity with internet etiquette led him into hot water several times. Dishonorable achievements of that time include: being banned from Sonic Retro a grand total of nine times and releasing a hack called Sonic 1 Project 255, which was full of stolen content from Sonic 1 Harder Levels and Sonic Megamix. If it weren't for the mercy of a few admins giving Selbi innumerable second chances (primarily courtesy of Qjimbo), he likely wouldn't be here today.
In June 2009, Selbi got validated on Sonic Retro at last and would focus his time in the community on creating more Sonic ROM hacks and tools. Amongst his early works are the tools Sonic 1 - Text Code Generator, its sequel Sonic 2 - Text Code Generator, and Selbi's Parallax Editor. He has since released a complete rewrite of the text code generators titled Sonic Text Code Generator - Mk. II.
The years 2010 and onward can generally be described as the age of Sonic ERaZor, Selbi's primary project. The hack had been polarizing since its inception due to its difficulty, unorthodox game design, and generous usage of explosions. Its earliest releases received a ton of mixed feedback, which is why Selbi continued working on it for years to come. The fourth public release would eventually win first place in the Sonic Hacking Contest 2012, and the sixth public release in 2016 would be the final version for many years.
Feeling pretty disillusioned with the whole scene at the time, Selbi silently stepped away in 2016 to embark on what would become an eight-year-long hiatus.
He formally returned to the scene in 2024 with the release of Sonic ERaZor 7, which would once again win first place in the Sonic Hacking Contest 2024. Only four months later, Sonic ERaZor 8 followed and would finally wrap up the project for good after fifteen years of development (and burnout). In 2025, Selbi got promoted to Tech Member.
Notable Hacks
- Sonic ERaZor (
forum thread) – Full overhaul hack of Sonic 1, winner of the Sonic Hacking Contest 2012 and 2024 - Sonic is alone. ( forum thread) – Creepypasta/horror hack
- Sonic MBV ( forum thread) – Short joke hack
- Hedgehog Abuse Simulator ( forum thread) – Cancelled concept hack
- Desert Bus in Sonic 1 ( forum thread) – Tribute/joke hack
- Special Stage Glitch Heaven – Sandbox hack
- Sonic 1 but your past haunts you – Challenge hack
External Links
- Selbi's YouTube page – Features showcases of his Sonic hacks, developer commentaries, easter eggs, trivia, trailers, and more.
- All Sonic ROM Hacks released by Selbi