So just what the hell was the deal with Sonic 2 8-bit

About those music oddities - 16 bit Sonic 2 music was composed by Dreams Come True, while the GG/SMS version different composers, some the same same as PAL Sonic CD (Ogata & Hayata). Basically the sound teams were completely different and at the time I don't think anyone figured Green Hills music track would eventually be famous and become Sonic CD's main theme.

For oddball Green Hills placement, it might be due to that nasty trial-and-error act 3. Taking that part into account it's actually not an easy stage - it becomes all about collecting (frequent) 1ups in the first two acts order to even reach the boss in 3 via trial-and-error. Besides, if it were the "logical" way around, you'd have two green levels at the beginning and two consequential underground levels later on - might make more common sense setting-wise, except the game would have looked much more repetitive (since Green Hills reuses foreground tiles from Sky High and Gimmick Mt reuses background tiles from Underground).

Sky High 1 ducks are a real mystery! My guess is that someone had designed them as trapped animals for the level (the boss is a giant duck, after all), but they just didn't look good enough, so they were used for testing purposes. It's weird how far back this mystery goes, I was like in 6th grade when I first saw that at my schoolmate's; even back then nobody knew what it was all about, though the consensus was it's simply there to spice up the otherwise very short and uneventful level.

The game has even more mysteries - Sonic has a top running speed which can be broken by rolling full-speed into a loop; after passing it, he will be running above his speed cap and will destroy any badnik he runs into. He also has a secret double bounce thing - bounce 8? times in a row (keep holding the jump button, best tried on a set of breakable floor blocks) and his next bounce will be in mid-air. Speaking of air moves, the absence of spin-jump direction lock apparently results in springs tossing you MUCH higher and further if you spin before leaping onto them. (Try it in Green Hills 3. The stage actually has two possible routes in which you hold right, the second one is quicker but more complex at the second part of the level ... at which you ought to hold back just a little or miss the final set of springs.)

I'm beginning to think the game's title cards were outsourced to people working on 16 bit Sonic 2 at a very early stage, back at a point where Tails was still planned to be playable; they use Sonic 1 sprites for Sonic and the Underground even uses foreground material from that desert zone pic. The game might be a development branch-off scenario using concept and graphics designated for a really early 16 bit Sonic 2...which would explain why there are no revis(it)ed 16 bit Sonic 2 levels and how the title screen looks suspiciously like the 16 bit prototype one...this might have made more sense if if weren't for the fact that early version Aqua Lake featured a blue sky, while the title card makes it the same color as the final version. I dunno. I'm reluctant to discuss this as there is no way of proving it and little point in doing so.

Back to secrets, there are higher risk shortcuts to defeating certain bosses beyond the "hit them as soon as they're open" strategy. For example, the Aqua Lake seal - after you hit him and he recovers, he will slowly head toward you, catch you on his nose after you jump or leap and strike you with his tail when he's near. At this point, don't jump, but rather back away, pick up your speed and roll into him, if you're heading fast enough he should leap over you and immediately start inflating his nose, skipping the useless bouncing part (if you mistime, though, his tail will most likely kill you). Gimmick Mt boss can be stopped in his tracks by rolling to his nose, though it still produces falling stones, so it's kinda pointless. As for the dreaded 1st boss, it might not be common knowledge that he is perfectly harmless to touch as long as you're rolling, which means you can keep bouncing off him to avoid the leaping balls, with some luck and careful timing.

This certanly is a weird game, and yeah, there is a lot of stuff you neve even get to see (like the continue monitor or the antlion and metal duck bodies). There are also a lot genuine secrets in it (like the duck easter egg or level-skipping shortcuts all over Aqua Lake 2 or emerald hunting in Gimmick Mountain). "Unfair" deaths aside, I love this game even on the Game Gear (...really, how is trial end error unfair when you get practically unlimited lives to make up for it? Outside 3rd acts there are only two points in the entire game where a single mistake will force you to restart.) I don't miss the mid-stage markers, the levels are short enough as they are. But yeah, where did the special stages go?

 

Most of the oddness might come from the fact that this was Aspect's first time making a Sonic game (the 8-bit Sonic 1 was handled by Ancient), so they were still figuring out what could be done. Their later games (Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble) feel a lot more polished, because they had the experience.

 

Most of the complaints levied at Sonic 2 8-bit mostly stem from the Game Gear and its cropped screen. Playing it on a Master System is markedly easier. I think the biggest ones are you can see the pits in Green Hills 3, and the Underground Zone boss has a set ball bounce height and larger viewing area, whereas the Game Gear boss is much more zoomed in and has a randomized bounce pattern.

Point is, if you're shrouded by some shameful curse that Sonic 2 GG kicked your ass, go conquer it on the Master System. That's the main version anyway.

 

I think for the longest of times Green Hills was the first stage (or at least, the first stage to be started), as it's by far the most common zone to turn up in prototype screenshots. Why the level order was altered is anyone's guess... although maybe it was to help differentiate the game from the 8-bit version of Sonic 1?

It's one of those games where it's very difficult to speculate what they were thinking. There are levels which are horrendously short (Sky High 1) and those which are painfully long (Aqua Lake 2).

 

I just checked, my fingers remember this game well. Took me 22 minutes with a single death.

I'm not saying this to brag, it took me a year and a half to beat the game for the first time when I was younger (stupid third acts). Memorizing those Scrambled Egg tube routes was a blast, though. Game Gear with its smaller screen size produces exploits where it's possible to respawn monitors if you manage to leave the screen before the explosion disappears. It can be done in Sky High act 2 to get unlimited lives by just going back and forth (running, rolling, collecting the 1up, bouncing off at nearby 45° spring and returning). Running through Green Hills, smashing monitors? Do head back after clearing some land, chances are those 1ups will be there again. I like to think the designers knew what they were doing, littering the game with so many extra lives like that. You die in the Game Gear version before winning. A lot. But damn, the music's cool. Speaking of which, the autoplay demo features Green Hills and - no music. So you get to see all those colorful rolling hills and you're like, whoa, I wanna play this level! And hear its tune! And then, 6 months later, you're like whoa I finally reached this level! The music is awesome! Rolling hills! Tunnels! Velocity! It's almost like 16 bit Sonic 1! I am running past everything, oh shit it's act 3 already? Welp, I die.

...wait, there are no waterfalls in these green hills? Bummer. =(

Also the box and manual cover promises a bridge across water it never delivers, so be forewarned: this is game does not feature a bridge across water. I find this undelivered promise slighly displeasing.

I guess the GG version is hard mode then? Relax, you can still learn the game on your piddly 'Master' Systems since the level layouts are almost exactly the same. Then you can test your muscle memory - just have faith in upcoming level geometry staying consistent with what you expect to be there. :P And the action seems somewhat quicker, so be prepared for that.

(Then after beating this, imagine getting Sonic Chaos and beating it in a single afternoon. Damn that game felt like a waste of gaming after the purgatory of Sonic 2.)

 

I definitely agree that Chaos wasn't nearly as much of an investing platformer as 2, shame because it had the potential to trounce it (better graphics, slightly better engine, fully playable Tails, special stages). Sonic 2 was cheap in difficulty at times, but at least the levels were somewhat deep and plausible in level and structure. Green Hills and Crystal Egg were fun, memorable experiences, even considering how hard they were. You had to kinda slow down and search for the fun unique bits of Chaos, otherwise it was over in a flash (it says something when I'm actually searching for water in an aquatic zone just to relieve the monotonous ease of it).

Chaos is one of the games I'd like to see a level hack for, simply because it could potentially utilize the decency of everything else of the game with good level structure and make a pretty fun game.

 

Truthfully, isn't Triple Trouble exactly what you're asking for? People never give enough credit to that game, for whatever reason. Given all the new stuff it addded, I'd basically call say it's like the best game on the system, to be honest.

 

The Master System version of Triple Trouble is actually a hack done by a member here. I think his name was Glitch.

http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Triple_Trouble_SMS

I wonder if work on it will continue.

 

By the way, does someone knows how to make it work on real hardware? I've failed two times already (I get a "software error")

 

A shame TecToy never had a go at it.

I agree most of the games feel better on the Master System due to the more wide open resolution. The only downside was some of the downgrades such as color limitations and bad attempts at high res artwork (Sonic Chaos is hit and miss with this, though I like MS Gigalopolis theme and the larger boss hit counts).

 

You forgot about the hidden BGM in Sonic 2 8-bit as well. I put it in my hack, but it was sitting there unused in the original code. Maybe a special stage tune?

youtube

 

I'm not saying Chaos is a bad game or anything, but I did feel ripped off over how easy it was. After the super-tease of 2, it was only natural that I'd pick Tails for my first run. He couldn't enter special stages, but the levels were really easy to explore with flight, so it was over quickly. Then I picked Sonic and just stormed through scenery I was already familiar with. The hardest part of that game was memorizing the special stages and that's only beacuse of the time limit and limited access to tries. So don't get me wrong, I still find the game fun to play, just not nearly as satisfying as 2.

Triple Trouble was better, but good God are Sonic's sprite and the first level hideous. It makes up for it by some great level design though (those railroad, jungle, water and final levels are amazing).