Sonic Jam commentaries tell all~

I'm wondering if those screen images are simulated. You'd think that at lease one of the two monitors would have a scan line visible, but it was a professional photographer, so I wouldn't count it out on that alone.

Keep in mind, the majority of gamers back then were much younger than they are now, so magazines seldom checked their facts. If you really want to know, surely there's an author listed for the article, you could try contacting them. Sure, it's been a while, but I doubt that someone would forget whether a game did or did not exist (I'm not convinced there ever was a Sonic 2 CD). And I can't ell exactly, but I think that sprite of Sonic is from the Sonic CD save screen. Also, I don't recognize the Zone from the picture, but my knowledge of Sonic is hardly encyclopedic. Does anyone recognize the zone from the picture?

 

I would remove the Sonic 2 CD article. It states that Sonic 2 CD is a canceled game for the Sega CD, and that's a ridiculous statement to make, especially at this point.

 

Couldn't you mark it as 'under investigation' or something similar (Kind of like how Wikipedia does citation needed) and just add a line to the article saying something along the lines of:

'Recent evidence suggests these articles could have been confusing work taking place of Sonic CD for enhanced material for Sonic 2. However, we have reserved this article due to conflicting evidence of what these screens were created for and what happened to them. This article should, therefore, be taken with a pinch of salt until clarified.'

As the screens were created for something but never used in anything and we've got no actual evidence of what they were actually for. It would be better to mark articles that change based on new evidence like this than to remove them with a note. You never know, someone might come to the forum fresh with those images, look in the Wiki, can't find them where he expects and posts about them again.

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As daft as it sounds, after looking at the screens, I was reminded of the various Mario playschool games... o_O

 

Theres too many mentions of Sonic 2 CD in magazines to just get rid of the article. Also, this article I just found:

http://info.sonicretro.org/Image:Segavisio...aka2Cropped.jpg

Is from Sega visions, and they mention they got the info about Sonic 2 cd from their visit to STI, the ones that were working on Sonic 2. The special stages being described are the same as the ones used in the final version of Sonic 2.

There is a mention of sonic 2 CD possibly being non-existant in the article itself Aecaris.

Edit: Even Sega of America's then president Al Nilsen mentions the sega cd version of Sonic 2 cd in the below article: "A totally new edition of Sonic 2 for the Sega CD is also in development...."

http://www.sonic-cult.org/imagebin/sgmakingof3.jpg

I think it's unlikely he's mixing up sonic 2 with sonic cd as he'd have to be ignorant of his companies biggest project at that time.

 

"A totally new edition of Sonic 2"?

Wait a second... Just like Sonic 2 SMS wasn't anything like Sonic 2 MD, perhaps Sonic 2 CD was also supposed to be completely different (ie., our Sonic CD). I'm starting to think their intentions were indeed to (more or less simultaneously) release three different Sonic 2 games instead of two, but then the CD version took too long.

EDIT: Quoting the article:

Hmm.

 

New tricks and zones could be referring to the extra levels which were supposed to be in the the sonic 2 cd version. Hidden palace had "new enemies".

 

That doesn't necessarily mean it's referring to the scrapped levels.

 

True, but they already had some work done on the scrapped levels, why waste it?

 

Time constraints. Lots of levels in games are scrapped, usually due to unplayability, space limits, or time limits. In Sonic 2's case, there wasn't enough time to finish all the levels before the game's release date.

 

Or perhaps the scrapped work just didn't look good enough (Wood Zone).

 

I don't know if this has been brought before (feel free to slap me if otherwise), but:

This sounds to me like GCZ/ciber city/whatever zone was intended to be a graphics patch to MPZ at some point, hilltop-a-like. Otherwise I don't see how could they have designed the layout for what was supossed to be a different zone and reuse it for MPZ. Makes sense, there were also other "recolors" thought such as the desert-winter thing. Plus, being a recolor/patch also fits considering the level designer was the same for both zones, in the same way brenda was assigned for the desert and the winter level.

 

*Slaps JoseTB* XD I'm afraid that's where this whole topic started. So yes, it has indeed been mentioned.

Also

http://info.sonicretro.org/Image:Segavisio...aka2Cropped.jpg

which was posted by someone in the topic (I'm sorry, forgot who) mentions "It has more levels, with a secret zone you'll have to work hard to find..." Sounds like Hidden Palace to me. =P Also the special stages it mentions for "Sonic 2 CD" are kind of strange...

This sound like it would be an enhanced version of the Sonic 2 Genesis levels really. The half-pipe part is certainly accurate, and enemies, but I don't recall a Sonic 2 special stage that was mentioned to have "traps", "dead-ends", and being "first person".

EDIT: One last thing to mention about that article, I think it's interesting that it refers to Emerald Hill as "The new Green Hill Zone" yet also makes mention of what Death Egg is going to be like. Could just be that the developers described it but if it was from playing the game, then Emerald Hill might've been called Green Hill for quite a while. Or the reporter is just calling it "the new Green Hill Zone" just based on how similar the levels are. *shrugs* Just a thought.

 

I think actually Jose was talking about it being a palette swap and a few extra tiles rather just reiterating what was in the first post. No one before him has mentioned it possibly being a palette swap as far as I've read.

The bonus levels sound to me like the octagonal ones with the sections of floor missing and things (can't remember if it's Chaotix or not but I think it is). *shrugs* lots of things have sounded like other things to me, so... *sigh*

 

But it mentions half pipes and being in first person. Doesn't seem like the Chaotix/Crackers level to me.

 

The Octagonal bits are like half-pipes... and I'd personally not take the first-person bit too literally, I don't see SEGA as the kind of company that hides their mascot behind the camera lens.

 

Well all the more reason why they would dump the idea I suppose. But I think this really was either suppose to be an enhanced half-pipe special stage or some other special stage we've never really seen and just happens to also use half-pipes (which wouldn't surprise me given how well they seem to work for Sonic.)

 

I remember reading that somewhere years ago.....I think it's more information that was out there that we just happened to forget about.

Those inbetween level "Bonus Stage" despcriptions don't sound like anything out of Sonic CD.

 

I think those special stages being described for sonic 2 cd was just a description of the normal ones you find in sonic 2. Traps and enemies can both refer to those spiked balls that you hit. Dead ends could mean not enough rings were collected by the end of the round. First person view, that's behind them isn't it?

 

No, Third person is 'they', First person is 'I'.

I, you, they/it, we, you, them.

In terms of games, the person is the character, so first person is viewing it from the characters perspective, third is from someone (or something) other than the character.