All the S@nics - the end

[Heavy Sigh]

Fun Sonic Facts!

Even as tensions rose with the leaders of the project demanding perfection, work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 continued unfettered. With each passing day, the hype behind the project grew, creating immense pressure on the team. As the hype built, Sega wanted to advertise the game in as many ways as possible. Thus, they got in contact with the children's TV network Nickelodeon, and special demo cartridge was hacked together from Sonic 1 to be played on the gameshow Nick Arcade, featuring an early version of Emerald Hill. This prototype, later referred to as the "Nick Arcade prototype," was eventually leaked onto the Internet in 2006.

Sometime after Nick Arcade aired the Sonic 2 episodes, another early demo build was showcased at a New York toy show to help drum up interest. However, security was so lax the cartridge was stolen right at the end of the show. Later to be known as the "Simon Wai" prototype (named after the man who discovered the ROM image on the Internet back in 1999), it was this build that was the source of much prerelease information and many screenshots related to the game.

LEVEL FACTS!

The water effects in Sonic 2 is actually a result of BLAST PROCESSING, but it's not in the way you might think. Due to limitations in how the Genesis/Mega Drive's VDP unit processed graphics and DMA transfers, any calculations made during times where its single transfer line was in use, such as a forced palette shift (such as the transparent water effects) would appear on the screen as a series of flashing dots. This is the reason why all water in Sonic 2 has sprite waves on top of it, to mask away these dots as they only appear at the border of a palette shift.

[Sebby19]

I, don't think rao is going to get all the Chaos Emeralds.
If they were that important to him, maybe he should have done some research ahead of time, to locate all the Save Posts.
It's not like he's playing this blind, so.

[Grounder]

I, don't think rao is going to get all the Chaos Emeralds.
If they were that important to him, maybe he should have done some research ahead of time, to locate all the Save Posts.
It's not like he's playing this blind, so.

he could go super sonic

could

[raocow]

I'm basically trying to get as many as I can while doing a casual run, basically like I've always played the game

[Leet]

We got to see Grounder today!

Also, Fun Sonic Fact: the logs you can run through also appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 for the SNES.

[xnamkcor]

I have never played any Diablo game, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of your clever reference to Diablo II's Amethyst.

[Sebby19]

I'm basically trying to get as many as I can while doing a casual run, basically like I've always played the game

I was given a different impression at the beginning. But thanks for the clarity now.

[AlchemistHohenheim]

I realize that it's probably mostly because of level shuffling that had to be done due to time/cartridge space constraints, but man the level progression in Sonic 2 is so weird compared to the first game.

In Sonic 1 (with the odd exception of Spring Yard Zone as stage 3) you had a pretty consistent, gradual progression from natural environments to more urban ones. Whereas in this game it just kinda yo-yos back and forth between the two with no rhyme or reason to it (

at least until Sky Chase -> Wing Fortress -> Death Egg, which transition pretty directly from one to the next

).

[Crow]

i genuinely don't think i have ever seen the third special stage or beyond in my life. i don't recognize that one at all lol

[Bean]

In Sonic 1 (with the odd exception of Spring Yard Zone as stage 3) you had a pretty consistent, gradual progression from natural environments to more urban ones.

You also had the day to night progression. Morning in Green Hill, midday in Marble, evening in Spring Yard, whatever in Labyrinth, nighttime in Star Light, dawn in Scrap Brain, and back to morning for the ending. Sonic 2 is probably the oddest zone-to-zone progression of the four big Genesis games because of the game's first half.

[CrappyBlueLuigi]

I, don't think rao is going to get all the Chaos Emeralds.
If they were that important to him, maybe he should have done some research ahead of time, to locate all the Save Posts.
It's not like he's playing this blind, so.

he could go super sonic

could

maybe the problem isn't chronic enough

[DinnerSonic]

As far as Sonic development lore goes, Aquatic Ruin Zone is kind of interesting. The original level entry name for it was Neo Green Hill Zone(a name that might ring a bell for some newer fans), and the song features that little Wild West Movie whistle... maybe a leftover of the lost desert level? Maybe total coincidence?

The red mole drill nose robots are called Grounders. If you go into debug mode on the mobile phone remaster of Sonic 2, you'll find a special kind of Grounder who will look familiar to fans of old Sonic cartoons!

[Nast]

You would have been able to get that checkpoint you missed if you used the spin dash to jump off the nearby ramp, like this:




Remember going forward that momentum is one of your greatest assets! You can even skip the infamous chemical ascent in Chemical Plant:

[Whimsical Calamari]

don't forget that one time iizuka said that each game took place in its own dimension or something like that

i could've sworn there was an Official explanation for the Mario series along these lines

As far as Sonic development lore goes, Aquatic Ruin Zone is kind of interesting. The original level entry name for it was Neo Green Hill Zone(a name that might ring a bell for some newer fans), and the song features that little Wild West Movie whistle... maybe a leftover of the lost desert level? Maybe total coincidence?

L O O K I N G A L O T M O R E L I K E S A N D H I L L

If the idea that Green Hill and Labyrinth are connected (based on the original level order for S1) was clearer, that name could make a lot of sense (especially with the "time travel" plot that originally accompanied the game). Aquatic Ruin could easily have functioned as a medium between the two stages. But in a separate game, it feels really odd.

[muuma]

Hey mr Cow, you are not playing Sonic with a true Sonic spirit! Go fast! Run! Action! Don't think, act! The game is made for you to run. I know you want to get all the emeralds but with your difficulty trying to learn patterns, the Tails handicap, and the fact the game in gonna get harder soon, keeping your rings while doing a blind run is a bad idea. I know you want to show us Super Sonic but seeing you blindly play this game like a Mario game doesn't look good for me. You can't change old habits, but I just wanted to say it.

[KobaBeach]

As far as Sonic development lore goes, Aquatic Ruin Zone is kind of interesting. The original level entry name for it was Neo Green Hill Zone(a name that might ring a bell for some newer fans), and the song features that little Wild West Movie whistle... maybe a leftover of the lost desert level? Maybe total coincidence?

L O O K I N G A L O T M O R E L I K E S A N D H I L L

It's often theorized that (Sonic 2 spoilers. Dunno if anyone cares but)

the theme of "Dust Hill" (what I'll call the Desert Zone for the sake of waxing nostalgic) may have snuck into the final game as Oil Ocean's theme which, bizarrely, sounds a lot more in line with what you'd expect from a desert stage.



A lot of people like to theorize that Casino Night 2P is what the actual Oil Ocean theme was going to be, but again, these are all grasping at straws.



Related, there have been a lot of nods that Mystic Cave 2P was going to be the standard Hidden Palace theme, with the infamous unused track (not the recent Club Scene one, the one included in the cartridge) being intended for a cutscene that would play after you get all the emeralds and unlocked Super Sonic. Indeed the former was how it was in the Simon Wai prototype and the Taxman port, with the exception of Proto Palace (a recreation of HPZ as it was in Simon Wai, to go along the full HPZ included in the Taxman port) using the Unused Cutscene track.

[Ashan]

don't forget that one time iizuka said that each game took place in its own dimension or something like that

i could've sworn there was an Official explanation for the Mario series along these lines

Last I heard, Nintendo now considers all the Mario characters to be actors, so in the games where Bowser kidnaps Peach and Mario saves her, that's all basically just a stage performance they're putting on. This is their excuse for why they play tennis and do go kart racing together and whatnot.

I personally don't care for that idea in my headcanon, but I have imagined that there are different Marios. Like, the Mario that talks in full sentences with a deep Brooklyn accent is not the same Mario as the modern Charles Martinet one. And I also separate the Mario & Luigi RPG versions of the characters from the other modern Mario games just cause the art style and the way they act is so inconsistent with every other game. And most importantly, in all of the official artwork, Luigi's overalls come up high on his leg, revealing his white and red striped socks, which is not the case in any of the other games.


Clearly, the only explanation is that this is not the same Mario Bros we're familiar with from the other games. Checkmate.

[Grounder]

and, much like smash bros, it's more fun to ignore the official explanation

[Leet]

Last I heard, Nintendo now considers all the Mario characters to be actors, so in the games where Bowser kidnaps Peach and Mario saves her, that's all basically just a stage performance they're putting on. This is their excuse for why they play tennis and do go kart racing together and whatnot.

Twitter threads are not nintendo. This is an observation based on the way the games are presented, not an official statement.

[Ashan]

I don't remember where I heard it

[BobisOnlyBob]

It's a little early, but since it's already the 23rd in Japan...

Happy 28th Birthday, Sonic!

[kitikami]

The Mario/actor thing comes from a comment Miyamoto made in an interview, but I never got the impression Mario canon is something Nintendo takes seriously anyway.

[Leet]

The Mario/actor thing comes from a comment Miyamoto made in an interview, but I never got the impression Mario canon is something Nintendo takes seriously anyway.

Well yes but that's referring to how they create the games' stories, it's not supposed to be taken as a literal in-universe explanation.

[FourteenthOrder]

The Mario/actor thing comes from a comment Miyamoto made in an interview, but I never got the impression Mario canon is something Nintendo takes seriously anyway.

i can't believe Mario got his MD from a diploma mill

[Sebby19]

The Mario/actor thing comes from a comment Miyamoto made in an interview, but I never got the impression Mario canon is something Nintendo takes seriously anyway.

i can't believe Mario got his MD from a diploma mill

Especially funny considering they are just throwing doctorates at everybody now, when looking at the upcoming Dr. Mario mobile game.