Sonic 2 title screen

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, or simply Sonic 2, the sequel of Sonic the Hedgehog, is a platform game made by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It features Sonic the Hedgehog and was the first game in which Super Sonic appeared, as well as being Miles "Tails" Prower's 16-bit debut. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 title screen screenshot. ... Sonic the Hedgehog 2 title screen screenshot. ... A sequel is a work of fiction (e. ... Sonic the Hedgehog Title Screen Sonic the Hedgehog was the platform game that started off the career of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Team. ... Platform games, or platformers, are a very popular genre of video games that originated in the early 1980s. ... This article is about the video game company. ... Sega Mega Drive 2 European version with joypad, game cart + box Sega Mega Drive (Japanese: メガドライブ Mega Doraibu) was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega. ... Sega Genesis 2 The Sega Genesis is a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in North America in 1989. ... Sonic the Hedgehog - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... This page is about the video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. ... A promotional image of Tails from Sonic Heroes. ... In computer science, 16-bit is an adjective used to describe integers that are at most two bytes wide, or to describe CPU architectures based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. ...

Release details

The game was released in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive on November 21, 1992. The Sega Genesis release in the United States came three days later, on November 24. The European Mega Drive release came later in November. It was re-released in the Sonic Jam collection on the Sega Saturn in 1997, for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 as part of Sonic Mega Collection, and on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004 as part of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Sega Mega Drive 2 European version with joypad, game cart + box Sega Mega Drive (Japanese: メガドライブ Mega Doraibu) was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sega Genesis 2 The Sega Genesis is a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in North America in 1989. ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the continent. ... November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... Sonic Jam is a collection of all of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games on the Sega Mega Drive (in PAL territories and Japan) or the Sega Genesis (in North America) that were created by Sonic Team. ... The Sega Saturn video game console The Sega Saturn (Japanese: セガサターン, Sega Saturn), a video game console of the 32-bit era, was released on November 22, 1994, in Japan and May 1995 in the United States; 170,000 machines were sold the first day of the Japanese launch. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the 128-bit era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The main menu screen in Sonic Mega Collection. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, after the PlayStation. ... The Xbox is Microsofts game console, released on November 15, 2001. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A screenshot of the updated main menu in Sonic Mega Collection Plus. ...

Storyline

The story, as told in the instruction booklet, is that Dr. Robotnik, or Dr. Eggman, has again captured all of the animals of the world and it is up to Sonic to free them. He is also planning to use the Chaos Emeralds as a power source for his Death Egg spacecraft. Dr. Eggman as seen on Sonic X. In Sonic the Hedgehog video games, Doctor Eggman (in modern-day and Japanese versions), or Doctor Ivo Robotnik (early United States and European versions), is the archnemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog. ... Chaos 2 should be deleted! Dr. Eggman. ... Sonic the Hedgehog - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A Chaos Emerald is a mystic item that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, allowing the holder of all seven of them to transform into a super form. ... Dr. Eggman as seen on Sonic X. In Sonic the Hedgehog video games, Doctor Eggman (in modern-day and Japanese versions), or Doctor Ivo Robotnik (early United States and European versions), is the archnemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog. ...

More information on the story can be found here (http://ghz.emulationzone.org/sonic/son2/son2.html).

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of Sonic's first adventure. The player collects rings throughout the level. Getting hit when one has rings causes all of the rings to fly out of the character. Getting hit when one has no rings results in death. There are two basic moves: the jump and the spin-dash. In the spin-dash, the character curls up into a ball, prepares to dash, and speeds forward, remaining curled up. Breaking a monitor performs the action shown on it. There are various types of monitors, with contents such as 10 rings, invincibility, a shield, a speed boost, and even taking damage, as if an enemy had hit the player.

Sonic can collect "Chaos Emeralds" by entering into special stages in which he must collect a set amount of the golden rings before the reaching the end of a lap. Once the player has collected seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can transform into "Super Sonic" by collecting 50 rings in the real world and jumping. Super Sonic is a temporary invulnerability mode introduced in Sonic 2 in which Sonic appears golden, runs faster, and jumps higher. As time passes, the number of rings Sonic has decreases by one ring per second unless new rings are collected. When the ring count reaches zero or Super Sonic dies, Sonic will revert to regular Sonic. This page is about the video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. ...

The game can be played as Sonic, Tails, or both. When playing as Sonic and Tails, the screen focuses on Sonic. If Tails remains outside of the screen for an extended period of time, he flies back to meet Sonic. Tails can be played by a human player or can be computer-controlled.

Sonic 2 features a two-player split-screen competition mode. In a two-player game, the players compete on a game level for better performance in five categories: rings, time for level completion, score, boxes opened, and lives lost. The person who wins more categories wins a level. After one player finishes a level, the remaining player has 60 seconds to finish the level.

Production

Sonic 2 differed from the original Sonic the Hedgehog in that it was produced at the Sega Technical Institute in the United States, and experienced Japanese Sega members such as Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara (the first game's lead programmer and game planner respectively) were brought in to work alongside the American developers. Two artists in particular stand out: Brenda Ross (http://www.shadowsoft-games.com/sonicdatabase/interviews/brenda.htm) and Craig Stitt (http://www.shadowsoft-games.com/sonicdatabase/interviews/craig.htm). Peter Morawiec (http://www.shadowsoft-games.com/sonicdatabase/interviews/peter.htm) and Tim Skelly (http://www.shadowsoft-games.com/sonicdatabase/interviews/tim.htm) also worked on some art for the Special Stages. Yuji Naka with his division, Sonic Teams, logo. ... Hirokazu Yasuhara is the stage designer of several of the early Sonic the Hedgehog videogames. ...

List of zones

Below is a list of zones in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in order of appearance in the game. Each describes the boss section of the zone, in which Robotnik attempts to defeat Sonic.

Emerald Hill Zone

A green island with big fields and beaches and other tropical islands in the distance. The boss in this zone has Dr. Robotnik in a drill-equipped dune buggy. After seven hits, Robotinik shoots the drill bit at Sonic.

Chemical Plant Zone

Dr. Robotnik's chemical plant, full of tubes and floating platforms. He uses a new substance called "Mega-mack" to try to kill Sonic.

Aquatic Ruin Zone

An ancient ruin located in a forest valley partially submerged in water. Dr. Robotnik tries to use the ruin's technology against Sonic between pillars that spit out arrows.

Casino Night Zone

A city that never sleeps, full of pinball rooms, flashing lights, and slot machines. Dr. Robotnik tries to kill Sonic with his neon spike-ball machine.

The slot machines give out different prizes depending on when the reels land:

• 3 Rings: 10 rings
• 3 Bars: 20 rings
• 3 Tails: 25 rings
• 3 Sonics: 30 rings
• 3 Jackpots: 150 rings
• 3 Dr. Robotniks: -100 rings (be careful!)

In addition, a Jackpot or two act can also act as a wild card, rewarding rings even though the other reel(s) are not Jackpots. Sometimes they merely fill in for the missing icon (i.e, 2 Dr. Robotniks and 1 Jackpot is also -100 rings), other times they hand out different prizes:

• 2 Sonics/Tails, 1 Jackpot: 50 rings
• 2 Jackpots, 1 Sonic/Tails: 100 rings

A Bar will also give out rings depending on how many there are:

• 1 Bar: 2 rings
• 2 Bars: 8 rings
• 3 Bars: 20 rings (see above)

Hill Top Zone

A zone on a mountain high above the clouds. The mountain is also an active volcano. Dr. Robotnik uses the volcano's lava to shoot fireballs and set the grass alight in his Lava Submarine.

Mystic Cave Zone

An old, dark abandoned mine inhabited by badniks that attempt to shock or collide into Sonic. Dr. Robotnik tries to stab Sonic with sharp debris as he uses his machines to drill into the ceiling of the mine. A Badnik is a term for an enemy robot in the early North American and European versions of the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. ...

Oil Ocean Zone

A zone polluted by Dr. Robotnik's oil-drilling projects. The viscosity of the oil allows Sonic to run across it, although he can still die in the oil if he is totally submerged in it. The badnik "Aquis" is found in this zone. It is a fast moving and dangerous mechanical seahorse, and is able to float around in the air, never touching the ground. Dr. Robotnik tries to kill Sonic in his submarine again but uses spikes and lasers this time.

Metropolis Zone

An extra-long level, in which Dr. Robotnik resides. There are lots of machines, including the Pipe Teleporter and screw elevators, as well as Badnik stars which explode to puncture Sonic. Dr. Robotnik protects himself against Sonic with spiraling eggs each containing a fake Robotnik.

Metropolis Zone had 3 acts, like Sonic 1. However, all the other zones in Sonic 2 had two or one. This was because Tom Payne (the artist in charge of this level) had also been assigned another level that was finally scrapped due to lack of time, in favor of this third act.

Sky Chase Zone

In order to chase Dr. Robotnik, Tails uses his Tornado plane to fly into the sky to battle Concorde birds and turtle battleships. This is a very short level with one act and no bosses.

Wing Fortress Zone

After Tails's plane is shot down, Sonic jumps onto Dr. Robotnik's sky ship, where he has to avoid falling to his doom and reach the bridge to Dr. Robotnik. Sonic is ambushed and has to dodge a massive laser while the walls narrow. The laser ends up blowing the circuits and Dr. Robotnik tries to escape in his spaceship. Tails comes back with the plane and flies Sonic close to the ship using a rocket booster installed at the bottom of the plane. Sonic grabs on to Dr. Robotnik's ship and gets to the Death Egg.

Death Egg Zone

Sonic must battle against a silver Sonic robot with no rings to help him. After defeating the robot, Sonic chases Robotnik into a giant armoured battle suit, the last boss that Sonic has to destroy. After defeating him, he runs out of the exploding Death Egg and skydives back down, and is caught by Tails's plane (unless one has managed to collect all the Chaos Emeralds; in that case Super Sonic flies alongside the plane). A Chaos Emerald is a mystic item that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, allowing the holder of all seven of them to transform into a super form. ...

Secrets

Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a game activated by locking Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to a passthru cartridge that was released later by Sega. The resulting game is almost identical to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, except that one plays as Knuckles the Echidna. Although some fans believe that Sonic 2 was created with foreknowledge that such an add-on device would be made later, this is incorrect. The majority of the changes to Sonic 2 are actually contained in the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge and loaded at boot if a Sonic 2 cartridge is found in the pass-through slot; the actual Sonic 2 data is accessed very rarely. Knuckles the Echidna is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, television shows and comics. ...

Time restrictions necessitated dropping some features and levels from the final game. Remnants of these like incomplete levels and unused sounds and graphics have been revealed through study of the internals of the game using emulators along with a debug mode. In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, map or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ... Debugging is a methodical process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware thus making it behave as expected. ...

The game's level select code, activated by playing music within the game, is 19, 65, 09, 17; Sonic programmer Yuji Naka's birthday is September 17, 1965. Its debug code is 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4; Sonic 2's U.S. release date. Yuji Naka with his division, Sonic Teams, logo. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Beta version

On the Internet, a widely distributed prototype of the game, better known as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 beta, has been discovered, which features several incomplete zones. Only four levels 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 empty, causing Sonic and Tails to fall to their doom immediately after beginning the level. The beta is frequently examined by hackers to determine how Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was developed. Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ... In software engineering, development stage terminology expresses how far through the development sequence things have progressed and how much further development a product may require. ... Hacker is a term used to describe different types of computer experts. ...

In Asia and Brazil, the beta version was put on cartridges and passed off as the final version by pirates who are believed to have altered it slightly to stop the Sega logo from showing when the game boots up, as was common practice. World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... The copyright infringement of software is often called software piracy by those seeking to reduce its incidence. ...

A mock-up picture exists which suggests that at one stage in development, a desert-like zone was planned in a Sonic 2 prototype, which until recently was believed to be named Dust Hill Zone. However, there is nothing to suggest that the level has ever existed in a playable format. The only official name we actually have for this zone is "Sabaku", or "Desert", zone.

In addition to the renamed zones, such as Green Hill Zone which became the Emerald Hill Zone, and Dust Hill Zone, which became the Mystic Cave Zone, these levels exist in the beta version of the game:

Wood Zone

A dense forest zone with a lot of empty spaces in the map, which is often glitchy. The music is the same as that in the Metropolis Zone. There are no enemies present in the Wood Zone. Without the debug mode activated, this level is cut very short due to the fact that it is impossible get past the first ramp, the characters hit the floor above instead. However, using debug, it can be further explored. The stage suddenly ends halfway through an animated (though not active) conveyor belt. Glitch City, a Pokémon programming error that creates a jumble of pixels A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. ...

Genocide City Zone

This level's data has either been removed, or not yet coded, and the player falls and dies immediately upon entering the level.

Hidden Palace Zone

The Hidden Palace Zone appears to be an underwater cavern with large crystals in it. It contains badniks never seen in the released version, such as a red dinosaur badnik. The large emerald found in this stage has at times been suggested to be the Master Emerald, however those who worked on the zone have said it was just another block to break through. At one point in the zone is a long shaft which appears as if it was intended to loop from the top to the bottom of the map, but even if one navigates to the other end, there is not much left to the stage besides an animated (but as in the Wood Zone, not working) water slide. The Hidden Palace Zone refers to two levels in Sonic games, one being an unfinished level in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the other being a level in Sonic & Knuckles. ...

Some suggest that music 10 in the sound Test, which was unused, was intended for this level. In addition, while the art was removed from the final game, the collision data remains, and the level itself can be accessed by entering the Game Genie code ACLA-ATD4 and using the Level Select to go to Death Egg Zone. This has led some researchers to believe that Hidden Palace Zone was intended to be in the final game as a "hidden" level that could be accessed only through a cheat code.

External links

• The Sonic 2 page (http://ghz.emulationzone.org/sonic/son2/son2.html) of The GHZ (http://ghz.emulationzone.org), a general Sonic Team fansite
• Simon Wai's website on the Sonic 2 Beta (http://www.sws2b.com/)
• The Sonic Cult page on Sonic 2 (http://www.sonic-cult.net/dispgame.php?catid=1&gameid=2)
• Secrets of Sonic Team's Sonic 2 page (http://sost.emulationzone.org/sonic_2/index.htm)
• Sonic Database (http://sonicdatabase.shadowsoft-games.com/) Includes interviews with some of the Sonic 2 staff.
• Sonic 2: Long Version (http://www.shadowsoft-games.com/s2long/) A modified version of the game
• Esrael Home Page Site (http://www.projectnemesis.ibforums.com/esrael/) The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Beta hack - Sonic 2 Delta
• Concept sketches drawn during the design phase (http://sonicdatabase.shadowsoft-games.com/S2PS/s2ps.html)