Wouldn't SRB2 tecnically be a rom hack?

[time gear]

Ah I gotcha now. The “lowest” nickname I’ve ever heard it being called was “The Official Fangame” which is somewhat true, but they’re a talented group of people who make a living off of making games, so I find it kinda rude

Honestly going off this logic, you could call really any game that gets outsourced a fangame, which is pretty far from the truth. Many of the Mania devs who worked on Mania having grown up as fans isn't really all that special in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Icarus]

Ah I gotcha now. The “lowest” nickname I’ve ever heard it being called was “The Official Fangame” which is somewhat true, but they’re a talented group of people who make a living off of making games, so I find it kinda rude

Well it is an official fangame and it's way less insulting (as much as a romhack can be impressive it's still based off an already existing game while a fangame is made from the ground up with an engine).