Sonic 2 Bonus Video Lecture

Overview

• There are multiple endings: Regular and Tails ending (same as regular).
• Upcoming bonus video covering cut content from Sonic 2.
• Clarification on the delay and significance of the Sonic 2 bonus video which has been awaited for many years.

Cut Content in Sonic 2

Level Select and Debug Mode

• Activate Level Select: Options menu, play sounds 19, 65, 9, 17 (Yuji Naka's birthday).
• Hold A and press Start at title screen.
• Debug Mode: Enter sound test code 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4 (North American release date).
• ProAction Replay code: FFFFFF:FA:00001.

Hidden Palace Zone

• Background music track #10 unused in final game.
• Unplayable and glitchy in the original game but accessible with Game Genie/debug mode.
• Further exploration through early prototypes: Nick Arcade and Simon Wai builds.

Nick Arcade Prototype

• Earliest known version used in Nick Arcade show episodes.
• Significant differences: Title screen, Sonic’s sprite, Spin Dash mechanics, etc.
• Tails’ AI and glitches highlighted.
• Emerald Hill Zone modifications, prototype differences with cut Badniks.
• Features like Green Hill Zone with broken collision and marble tiles as hidden palace.
• Playable Hidden Palace Zone with dinosaurs, accessible items using debug mode.

Simon Wai Prototype

• Discovered and dumped online in 1998, originated from a stolen demonstration cartridge.
• General gameplay differences maintained from Nick Arcade prototype.
• Specific unique glitches like 100 rings playing Death Egg music.

Levels in Prototypes

• Green Hill Zone: Early Emerald Hill Zone with minor differences.
• Wood Zone: Unplayable, small portion available with glitches.
• Metropolis Zone: Different layouts, incomplete mechanisms.
• Hilltop Zone: Improvements from Nick Arcade but still in development.
• Hidden Palace Zone: Slight changes, background music still missing.
• Oil Ocean: Different palette, rolling checkered balls mechanic.
• Dust Hill Zone: Early Mystic Cave with a testing patch.
• Casino Night: Early design before final pink card motif.
• Genocide City: Empty, mechanical themed with an unused concept.
• Neo Green Hill: Early aquatic ruin with incomplete sections.
• Death Egg Zone: Mostly absent content.

Trivia and Oddities

• Perfect Bonus Concept: Collect all rings in an act for a 50,000-point bonus.
• Level Specific Trivia: Inaccessible ring locations that correlate with prototype coordinates.
• Unused Sprites and Glitches: Debug mode exploration revealing incomplete elements.
• Strange cheat codes: Entering specific sound test codes unlocking obscure features such as Tails being renamed to Miles.

Conclusion

• The struggle of completing the