The stop-motion duo Wallace and Gromit are one of the UK’s finest exports and, even if it’s been 15 years since A Matter of Loaf and Death, remain as beloved as ever. Wallace is a semi-bumbling inventor who loves cheese, while Gromit is his dog and the real brains of the operation. And now, for reasons known only to the mod’s creator, Wallace is in Sonic Adventure 2 (among others).
The Wallace mod replaces the character model for Dr. Robotnik / Eggman and, as you can see, the walking gait is a very good fit for everyone’s favourite Yorkshireman. The modder created this about seven months ago, and I came across it thanks to the Garbage Day newsletter and this video showing the limitless possibilities.
I don’t know why either. I asked the mod’s creator, who goes by the handle Hell Inspector, who wrote back: “Just something funny I wanted to do, I kind of [have] a thing for making strange character mods for certain games”.
Hell Inspector’s other work includes Wallace in The Simpsons Hit & Run, Wallace in Mario Kart, and Wallace as a fighter in Smash Bros.
I’m not sure what makes me more nostalgic here: Wallace tootling about, or the throwback to the Sonic Adventure years. The series would go on to produce some true 3D disasters but the Adventure games, Sonic’s first true 3D outings, were both pretty good (and the recent Frontiers had a similar vibe: something to love despite the messy bits). The Wallace & Gromit films, meanwhile, still knock any Hollywood CG hedgehog into a cocked hat.