Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Director's Cut

This WIP hack aims to implement all scrapped Sonic 2 levels and recreate the original planned storyline with time travel, among other things. I'm basing my work on available information on Sonic 2's development and early concepts.

I've been mainly working on the art. The hack is still at a very early stage -- only two zones have been (partially) implemented so far. I'll be posting screens of these, and well as quick mockups of some of the still unimplemented zones, using the intended art. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind, however, that the mockups aren't intended to be pixel-accurate depictions of what the levels will look like once implemented. For instance, some parts weren't drawn with the tile-based system used by the game's graphics in mind, some colors may be off, etc. They're just meant to give a general idea of the levels.

For comparison, I'll also be posting the original concept art, which I based the zones on. I tried to be faithful, whether I succeeded or not is up to you.

Screens and mockups:

Spoiler

Tropical Sun Zone:



Madness Mountain Zone:

Outdoor sections are also planned.

Ocean Wind Zone:

There will also be a few underwater areas:


Genocide City Zone/Cyber City Zone:

Based on the graphics of The Machine from Sonic Spinball, as we all know that stage used recycled GCZ graphics. I also based the palette and floor on this:
https://info.sonicretro.org/images/c/c5/Sonic2_MD_TomPayne_GCZ_Chunks2.jpg

Update July 21th:
The desert zone (controversially known as Dust Hill Zone):

It's not based on any prior fan recreations. The art isn't final, some parts still need work. The colors should look a bit different in the actual hack.

In terms of story and structure, the game will closely follow the concept documents, keeping the level order and taking place across multiple time zones and timelines. Time travel won't be a gameplay mechanic in itself, but a plot element.
The order of the playable time zones will be the following: Present, Past, Ruined Present, Ravaged Past, and Bad Present*.

However, as many have previously noted, some zones are present in more than one time zone/timeline. All of the Ravaged Past stages seem to be shared with the original Past, for instance. This implies that there will be repeated levels within the same playthrough, which would make for dreadful padding. To avoid this problem, my hack will handle most Past zones this way: you'll visit their first acts in the original Past, and the second acts in the Ravaged Past.
Due to this, in some instances, the second acts will have slightly different backgrounds, matching the current state of the island. For instance, the mountain from the first screen will only be present in the second act of Tropical Sun Zone, which will take place in the Ravaged Past. The reason for this is that the TSZ concept art seems to be depicting the mountain that is next to it in the Ravaged Past. However, it wasn't next to it in the original Past, which the first act will take place in.

* Many believe the last map to be a Bad Future. However, I personally think otherwise. If you look at this document, said map is placed on the same horizontal position as previous Presents in the timeline. This implies that it's actually another altered Present.



A planned feature is a high degree of customization. Since there are gaps in available information about Sonic Team's original plans for Sonic 2, some guesswork will be needed on my part. But many will disagree with my personal guesses and interpretations. For instance, there are debates among fans regarding the identity of zones like Dust Hill or Rock World. I'll deal with that by including a lot of customization options. For example, you will be able to change:

• The level order
• The zones' names (ie: custom level names)
• What BGM is played in each zone

And other similar options, to allow the player to customize the hack to better fit their vision of what Sonic 2 would have been if Sonic Team had been able to implement all of their ideas.


To recap, here's a list of planned features:

• Implementation of all known scrapped zones, and most scrapped badniks.
• A new storyline based on the orginal time travel plot. There will be cutscenes ala S3K, but most of them will take place between levels, rather than mid-level.
• Restoration of Hidden Palace Zone's original function as a secret level accessible upon collecting all Chaos Emeralds, where you'll be given access to Super Sonic.
• High degree of customization.
• Map of the island displayed before each zone (ala Sonic 1 SMS/GG), indicating the current location. It will be based on the maps from the concept documents, and will reflect the island's current state.
• Optional "bonus" features such as playable Knuckles, Sonic and Tails' moves from S3K and other games, elemental shields, etc. These will be disabled by default, being accessed through a secret cheat code.

Of course, it will be a while before most of these features are implemented. Lots of coding will be needed, and right now, the priority is recreating the scrapped zones.

 

Thanks for the feedback and the kind words. I'll be addressing the criticism and concerns raised.

Yeah, I was also unsure about using that mountain and island in the same background. But I rather liked the individual look of each, so I guess I told myself that it would be all right for the mountain to stand out and even look out of place, since you're actually looking at the edge of another zone -- at least going by my interpretation that it's the foot of the mountain where Blue Lake Zone is located in the Ravaged Past.

Anyway, would you people prefer a more abstract mountain in the style of the Palmtree Panic background? Here's a quick edit of the first screen I whipped up, showing both the current mountain and the proposed mountain for comparison:


As for the OWZ grass, I'll see what I can do about it.

I understand your concern. The future is always uncertain, so I cannot promise for sure that I'll get to fully finish the hack. But I can say that I'll be refraining from attempting to do too many things at once. I'll be working simulatenously on a few stages, and finish them before moving on to the next ones. I won't be rushing things. Every now and then I'll release a new version showcasing current progress. That way, even if fate decides that I don't get to finish the project, what work was done won't go to waste. And who knows, perhaps others will even pick up the slack, if the project proves popular enough.

Make no mistake, though. I have no intentions of abandoning it. I'm not opposed to accepting help or contributions while it's still in development either.