[Adamis]

Taken from french magazine "Consoles +" #11 from July/august 1992:



Gimmick Mountain boss with Robotnik in a Green Hills-like level?

[GT Koopa]

And rings to boot. If little rocks didn't fly down when he hit...that boss is easy. Almost like a FIRST BOSS.


Also check out those trees. They aren't like that in the final, right?

[Eddo]

I think the life icon is changed, too.

[MathUser]

Epic new scan. It's a suprise to see a boss of a mechanical level in that level instead. Also the trees are different.

[Sparks]

I'd like to note the HUD size compare to the actual sprite size.

Mock ups anyone?

[TheDarkArchon]

I think the life icon is changed, too.

Definitely: The final versions life icon is based off the 16-bit versions life icon.

One other thing I noticed is that the death sprite in the picture with the boss is from Sonic 1 MS, rather than the one used in the final version.

[GoldS]

Other crap:

*Note that the ring counter is formatted like the timer (0:00). There's no ring graphic like in the final.
*All of the screens have the same ring count (0:00), time (1:33), and lives (3).

[Malgra]

Mockups imo. Interesting though, that they experimented with a different life icon and unusual looking GHZ trees. The bosses wouldn't be much of a challenge if they'd kept the idea of having rings in third acts. I wonder if they were going to keep Robotnik present during the boss fights...

And rings to boot. If little rocks didn't fly down when he hit...that boss is easy. Almost like a FIRST BOSS.


Also check out those trees. They aren't like that in the final, right?

Interesting theory. Clearly GHZ was one of the earlier stages they worked on, I wonder if it was ever going to be the first zone.

[Spanner]

Interesting scan, Adamis.
I wonder, maybe Robotnik was present at other boss battles as well?

[Mikel]

Pretty interesting scan, Adamis.
And I'm surprised that no one mentioned the Laughing Eggman sprite at all, since that sprite was never in the final version.

One other thing I noticed is that the death sprite in the picture with the boss is from Sonic 1 MS, rather than the one used in the final version.

Well, most of the Sonic sprites in Sonic 2 GG/MS are exactly the same as the Sonic 1 MS sprites, except for the Death Sprite which you already mentioned, and Sonic 2 GG/MS added a couple of new sprites using the Sonic sprites from Sonic 1 MS as a base specifically for zones like Sky High, and Aqua Lake.

[Endri]

This is so interesting. It's actually the first time I've ever seem any reference to early developments of the 8 bits version of Sonic 2.

Unfortunately, much like Sonic 2's Dust Hill Zone's "screenshot", these are just mockup images, cleary evidenced by the size of the numbers in the HUD, the obvious appearence of the 'time 0:00, rings 1:33, lives 3' in every "screenshot", and the incorrect positioning of the sprite of Sonic's object, way aways to the left and far from the center. About the Green Hillishy image, Granted, in the boss fights, the screen locks, so that could be real, but in that image, Sonic is dying while the rings are still on screen. There's a delay between getting hurt and been able to be killed (well, unless you are playing Sonic Adventure, but that's another story). The Sky High Zone image is the one that looks more authentic to me, but the HUD gives it away.

A nice finding nonetheless.

[MathUser]

The beta maps of green hill zone show the palm trees also.
Game Development:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)

[Mobiethian]

Also in the Underground Zone screen, the Sonic sprite in the cart is not seen in the actual game.

[Techokami]

Also in the Underground Zone screen, the Sonic sprite in the cart is not seen in the actual game.

Ever try holding down while in a minecart?

e: fuck me it is different

This post has been edited by Techokami: 18 October 2009 - 09:10 PM

[Sparks]

Also in the Underground Zone screen, the Sonic sprite in the cart is not seen in the actual game.

And I don't recall the wheels sparking in the final version.