Sonic 2: 18 Years On

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a platform game by SEGA, the sequel to the debut Sonic game of 1991. Unlike the first Sonic game which was programmed in Japan, Sonic 2 was developed in the United States at the Sega Technical Institute. Released on November 24, 1992, it was the fastest- and highest-selling video game of its time, and continued to hold that title for years.

The combined Japanese/American design team would certainly influence the game's graphical style and give it a look and feel distinct to its predecessor, as the screenshots below show.

The verdict: 18 years on, it's still a winner!

The title screen, and a new playable character – Tails the Fox, created by Yasushi Yamaguchi, who drew and animated just about everything in the game.

Emerald Hill Zone, level 1. Its best feature is the checkered 3D 'barrel roll'. Tim Skelly, the Art Director, had to work on this 3D feature until the checks lined up exactly.

Chemical Plant Zone, level 2. This level is infamous for allegedly triggering seizures in some players (what the press termed 'photo-epilepsy'). This was supposedly brought on by the bright background combined with the high speed sections. Beats me – I had no problems with it.

Aquatic Ruin Zone, level 3, the obligatory 'underwater' level.

Casino Night Zone, level 4. An amazingly fun level; Sega got so much positive feedback about it that they decided to develop Sonic Spinball, a pinball game, soon after. This level was Yamaguchi's and it looks very different from how it looks in prototype versions. I should add that the music in this level really adds to the atmosphere.

Hill Top Zone, level 5. Basically a simple reworking of Emerald Hill.

Mystic Cave Zone, level 6. Sometimes after Sonic jumps off the vine, Tails continues to hang there.

Oil Ocean Zone, level 7. The foreground art is by level artist Craig Stitt, the background is by Yamaguchi. This screenshot is from a hack. There's now an extensive Sonic hacking scene; most hacks are too buggy and not worth playing, but a few are done by scarily talented people. I took this screenshot from a hack to show the 'checkered ball' which was in earlier versions, but later taken out. You hit a switch, the ball comes out from the ground and...you can stand on it. And that's about it.

Wing Fortress Zone. After the 8th level, Metropolis Zone, there's a short plane level (Sky Chase), then you get this. Tails is the one who normally flies the plane.

Death Egg Zone, and the final boss.

The ending sequence.

The Special Stage. Tim Skelly drew the 3D half-pipe. He says he could have done a full 360˚ vertical loop, but they ran out of space (the game was an 8-megabit [1MB] cartridge).

Sonic fans know what Sonic 2 was like in unfinished form thanks to a ROM of an earlier version (the 'beta version') which appeared online in 1998. The level select revealed some levels which later got scrapped. One of these was Wood Zone, which was set in a forest and done by Brenda Ross. It's unplayable without debug mode and is very glitchy, as you can see.

A level set in a desert (also by Brenda Ross) was also scrapped, but it's not even in the beta version. All that exists is a screenshot that Brenda mocked up for the press (however, she has said that this level was up and running, but they didn't have time to add it to the game). Hackers have put together this whole level based on the art style seen in that one screenshot (like I said, scarily talented) by finding unused artwork buried in the ROM. There have been endless debates over the level's name. Most people call it Dust Hill Zone, including Brenda Ross.

Brenda said the desert level was designed to have a palette change, so the yellow sand became white snow, and the cacti became Christmas trees. This hack screenshot shows what it might have looked like.

The most famous lost level is called Hidden Palace Zone, done by Craig Stitt. It was supposed to be a 'secret' level, and it appeared in so many pre-release screenshots, but was not in the final game, most likely due to time constraints and additional design work being required. Hidden Palace is in the beta version, and it's a great looking level – unlike the other scrapped levels, it has rings, enemies and most platforms implemented – but cannot be completed. The fully complete version in the hacks is fun to play, and it still remains a shame the level was cut. The music it had was very moody and eerie and fit the visuals really well.

A large Emerald in Hidden Palace. For a while, there was all this speculation that this was the 'Master Emerald' (as seen in 1994's Sonic & Knuckles, the follow-up to Sonic 3, which also had a level called Hidden Palace, totally unlike this one). Craig Stitt said much later that it was just there to stop up the tube – Sonic would break it open like he would any other smashable object. The Emerald in the beta version is unbreakable, though.

All images © SEGA/Sonic Team 1992.