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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to the
16-bit video game in the
Sonic the Hedgehog
video game series.
The video game was released in
Japan for the
Sega Megadrive on
November 21,
1992. The
Sega Genesis release in the
United States came three days later, on
November 24,
1992. The
European Megadrive release came later in
November 1992. Re-released for the
Nintendo
GameCube in 2002 as part of the
Sonic Mega Collection.
The storyline is as follows:
Dr. Robotnik (Dr.
Eggman in Japan) has captured all of the animals of the world and it
is up to Sonic to free them. Initial information from Sega stated that
time travel would be involved. This was not a part of the game when it was
released, and this could have been a mix-up with
Sonic the Hedgehog CD or the concept was simply passed on into it. The
most noticeable addition to this game is appearance of Tails, Sonic's
sidekick, and a two player competitive mode. It was also possible for
Sonic to become Super Sonic, turning his fur yellow and spikier, an
obvious homage to the
Dragon Ball Z "Super
Saiyan" effect.
Apparently, time restrictions necessitated dropping some features from
the final game. Study by fans of the internals of the game using emulators
and a debug mode revealed hidden incomplete levels and unused sounds and
graphics. Some of these resurfaced in
Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Here is a list of zones that the game has:
- Emerald Hill Zone
- Chemical Plant Zone
- Aquatic Ruin Zone
- Casino Night Zone
- Hill Top Zone
- Mystic Cave Zone
- Oil Ocean Zone
- Metropolis Zone
- Sky Chase Zone
- Wing Fortress Zone
- Death Egg Zone
- Hidden Palace Zone (incomplete, NOT accessible from normal gameplay,
can only be accessed through cheating devices or savestates for Sonic 2
ROMs - graphics are garbled)
Kuckles the
Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a game
created by locking "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" to a passthru cartridge that was
released by Sega later, called
Sonic & Knuckles (this being the only passthru cartridge ever). The
resulting game is identical to "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", with the exception
that you play as Knuckles the Echidna throughout it. Some fans believe
that Sonic 2 was created with foreknowledge that such an add-on device
would be added later and that the unfinished levels were somehow connected
with this fact, but this seems unlikely. While there are some similarities
in the hidden level data to other Sonic games, a more likely explanation
is that unfinished work from Sonic 2 was used in an inevitable sequel
game.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 beta
A widely distributed beta version of the game, Sonic the
Hedgehog
prototype
v1.54, better known as Sonic the Hedgehog 2
beta, has arrays of incomplete zones.
In the beta copy, only 4 of them can be played in normal gameplay. The
rest have to be accessed through the level select code. Many are not
playable, so the
debug code is used to explore the acts. Some of the acts are blank,
therefore causing
Sonic and
Tails to fall to their
deaths in the act. The widely distributed beta version may have been
altered slightly by
pirates to stop the
SEGA logo from showing when the ROM boots up. The game was put on
pirate cartridges in
Asia and
Brazil and passed on as the final version. The beta is frequently
examined by
hackers to determine how Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Megadrive was
developed.
Zones accessible through normal play in the prototype:
- Neo Green Hill Zone (Aquatic Ruin Zone in the final)
- Chemical Plant Zone
- Hill Top Zone
- Green Hill Zone (Emerald Hill Zone in the final, only zone with a
boss - game is rebooted with the SEGA logo after
Doctor Eggman is defeated)
Zones accessible only through level select:
- Wood Zone (1st act incomplete, 2nd act empty - both are not in final
version)
- Metropolis Zone (incomplete)
- Hidden Palace Zone (incomplete, Beta has graphics and objects -
final version has garbled graphics, no enemies, and has the auto spins,
but is otherwise the same)
- Oil Ocean Zone (incomplete)
- Dust Hill Zone (actual level scrapped, likely early on - selecting
this in the level select brings the player to an incomplete Mystic Mine
Zone)
- Casino Night Zone (incomplete)
- Genocide City Zone (empty, not in final version)
- Death Egg Zone (Empty, shortened to 1 act from 2 in the final
version)
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