Turtle sprites in Sonic 2

Tom41 · Jan 6, 2009

You know the turtles that you free from the badniks in Sonic 2's Sky Chase Zone, but they fall off the screen before they can hit any ground? I'm sure you all remember how someone managed to extract the 'going along ground' sprites and animate them, and how they also animate if you put ground at the bottom of Sky Chase through ROM editing.

I was fooling about with debug on Sonic 2 for the Wii VC, and discovered that there is a solid area in Sky Chase that you can use to see the turtles - no hacking needed. It's best if you're Super Sonic for this, so you can defeat the enemies without spinning when you turn back into Sonic.

Wait until the screen starts scrolling down and left past the bit of Wing Fortress. At that point, go into debug and move upwards. You'll find the badniks have respawned and are now scrolling down and left with the screen. Turn back into Super Sonic and defeat them so the animals come out. If you get a turtle, follow it down with debug until it lands on a solid part of WFZ. When it lands, it'll run along the ground and animate just like when it's hacked in.

It seems that although Sonic can't normally stand on those parts of WFZ during the Sky Chase, the animals consider that ground as 'solid' and bounce along. It also seems that if the animal goes off the bottom of the screen, it'll disappear - even if there is solid ground a little further underneath.

AeonicB · Jan 7, 2009

That is interesting, but why would they put in sprites for something so small? I mean, it makes sense, but if it's for two seconds of screentime, what was the point?

Sik · Jan 7, 2009

Well, it can be one of these things:

We have no idea what they were thinking in before making the stages. Maybe it used to have floor.

Maybe some badnik from Wing Fortress was meant to release it.

Or most likely, the artist made them just for the sake of completeness =P (gray Sonic death sprite, anyone?)

Spexfox · Jan 7, 2009

I think they were just made for completeness as SiK said. It makes sense that any animals that pop out of badniks probably had a standard that they should be able to go on the ground. After all you never really know if they would put animals in a different level at a given time or if a revision in the level design would allow them to go on the ground. Plus you never know if it would cause and error if there was no ground animation when the turtle hit the ground. It might look for an animation that doesn't exists and THEN WHAT? WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRECIOUS GAME THEN! HUH?!

Overlord · Jan 7, 2009

Spexfox said:

I think they were just made for completeness as SiK said. It makes sense that any animals that pop out of badniks probably had a standard that they should be able to go on the ground. After all you never really know if they would put animals in a different level at a given time or if a revision in the level design would allow them to go on the ground. Plus you never know if it would cause and error if there was no ground animation when the turtle hit the ground. It might look for an animation that doesn't exists and THEN WHAT? WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRECIOUS GAME THEN! HUH?!
Click to expand...

Then the animal evolves into Missingno ;P

*runs*

AeonicB · Jan 8, 2009

*catches Overlord with a Masterball and watches my game corrupt*

Hehhehheh. XD

Matwek · Jan 8, 2009

Tom41 said:

Wait until the screen starts scrolling down and left past the bit of Wing Fortress. At that point, go into debug and move upwards. You'll find the badniks have respawned and are now scrolling down and left with the screen. Turn back into Super Sonic and defeat them so the animals come out. If you get a turtle, follow it down with debug until it lands on a solid part of WFZ. When it lands, it'll run along the ground and animate just like when it's hacked in.
Click to expand...

This happened to me at least twice before without the whole super sonic/debug mode method. It was purely by accident that I waited till the last minute before killing the badnik and the turtle even dropped off the bottom of the screen, then as I passed the part of the ground you mentioned the turtle was walking along it to the left.
Seen as I don't really know much about the ins and outs of how the game works I didn't think anything of it till I read your topic and had a look round the forums to see why it was so strange it had happened.

Tom41 said:

It also seems that if the animal goes off the bottom of the screen, it'll disappear - even if there is solid ground a little further underneath.
Click to expand...

Again, like I said I know very little about this stuff but would it make a differance depending on which version of sonic 2 I was playing (sonic 1/sonic 2/mean bean compilation)? as Im sure the animal dropped below the screen and still made it to the ground.

Overlord · Jan 8, 2009

Matwek said:

Tom41 said:

It also seems that if the animal goes off the bottom of the screen, it'll disappear - even if there is solid ground a little further underneath.
Click to expand...

Again, like I said I know very little about this stuff but would it make a differance depending on which version of sonic 2 I was playing (sonic 1/sonic 2/mean bean compilation)? as Im sure the animal dropped below the screen and still made it to the ground.
Click to expand...

iirc the version of Sonic 2 in that compilation is the standard one so no, it shouldn't make a difference.

Sik · Jan 8, 2009

Matwek said:

This happened to me at least twice before without the whole super sonic/debug mode method. It was purely by accident that I waited till the last minute before killing the badnik and the turtle even dropped off the bottom of the screen, then as I passed the part of the ground you mentioned the turtle was walking along it to the left.
Click to expand...

If those sprites weren't programmed we would have seen some serious crash or garbage there =/

ninjajuice66 · Jan 8, 2009

I'm pretty sure SpexFox hit the nail on the head here. It may also be possible that Sky Chase and Wing fortress were meant to be a single zone, with solid ground extending into act 1. After all, they're the only single act stages in the whole game.

Overlord · Jan 8, 2009

ninjajuice66 said:

I'm pretty sure SpexFox hit the nail on the head here. It may also be possible that Sky Chase and Wing fortress were meant to be a single zone, with solid ground extending into act 1. After all, they're the only single act stages in the whole game.
Click to expand...

Death Egg? =P

muteKi · Jan 8, 2009

Meh, as far as I'm concerned, Sky Chase is Wing Fortress Act 1 -- much like in Pocket Adventure. (Yes, I know they didn't CALL it that, but they treated it like it was.)

Sik · Jan 8, 2009

Only data-wise, I think they're separate zones...

...which makes no sense. But a 2-act Wing Fortress in a hack would be cool =P

Turtle sprites in Sonic 2

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