The Supreme Topic of 'Other' Knowledge.

Did you try it on the real thing? I could never duplicate it in an emulator because I would always get the vertical screen lock.

 

It's not an emulation issue. The screen always locks. And even when you manually unlock it, there are no rings there.

 

All revisions? Weird. I'm gonna hit some yard sales and get as many Sonic 2 carts as possible. Also Sonic & Knuckles lock-on carts. And the system; the model with the clicky buttons that's kinda small (model 2?). I've only ever got these rings a few times.
For now, you're right, as I've stated this "fact" without proof.
EDIT: I meant to quote DigitalDuck and hit the wrong quote button by accident. Stupid mobile phone and stupid me.

 

IIRC there are rings in the Sonic Jam easy mode edition, but none in the Mega Drive cart(s). The revision of Sonic 2 shouldn't matter - it's code within Sonic & Knuckles which dictates where the extra content should be. Likewise the console hardware wouldn't affect anything.


Although in fairness I don't know how much of those changes are written down, save for the extra monitors in Chemical Plant Zone. Perhaps you're getting confused with another stage?

 

I didn't know that there were changes were in the S&K cartridge besides sticking Knuckles in there. But I'm definitely not confused about what stage it is. Definitely was Death Egg in Sonic 2 when locked on to Sonic & Knuckles.

 

Hey, for what it's worth I'm not saying you're lying - I think you're just misremembering.

Given that I misremembered Mushroom Hill having three acts it's not the biggest mistake made. :v:

 

I see... Maybe I am, but I remember it happening a few times. But then I replayed it years later during my high school years (different model, new cartridges) and couldn't do it. I was frustrated, disappointed and confused as to how I could do it before but not later.
And by the way, DigitalDuck, I don't mean to get off-topic, but I remember you from YouTube as bovineprogrammer. Long time no see...

 

I'm with you there. I used to think angel island had 3 acts as well.

 

If you think about it, Angel Island does have three distinct parts. The green part, the part leading up to the miniboss, and the rest of the level.

 

Knuckles' act 2 is almost an "act 3". Almost.

 

Long time no see! Weird how things work out. :v:


Angel Island having three acts makes sense because there is a divide where the game internally switches to Act 2 as well as the actual Act 2 itself; you could probably make a similar case for Lava Reef (the boss is a separate Act internally) or Death Egg (ditto), but I have no idea where the Mushroom Hill thing came from.

 

Hidden Palace seems to count as an act of Lava Reef as well, though it's clearly a different level. Also contains Lava Reef's Act 2 music. I do wonder why they used that instead of trying to recycle the unused Hidden Palace music from Sonic 2. They used the level...

 

Probably from the three color palettes the level has (Green > Autumn/Orange > White leaves/grass).

 

Retromags has just released a scan of EGM #32, which means you can download a high resolution version of a Quartermann article hinting at the scrapped SegaSonic Bros.

Alternatively you can read our lower resolution mirror. It's a riveting sentence if ever there was one.

 

Yeah, I figured it was just a reference to that, but if VS2 was released after Megamix...hmm...maybe it was in development at the time?

 

I don't think they reused any of the art, either. They pretty much took the name, and that's it.

 

Correct - the name's the only direct steal from the original Sonic 2 Zone, and IIRC even that wasn't in place at the start - pretty sure one of the prototypes from drx's haul has it as "Sky Sanctuary Zone Act 1", complete with SSZ's music!

If that had stayed its name through the rest of development, I do wonder if they'd have done a remix of SSZ's theme for it, or if both acts would have just had the same music? Probably the latter - weirdly enough, even in the final it's the only Zone or Act without its own unique music track! Would love to hear someone do a slower-paced 'underground' remix of the SSZ music for it one day - wonder if it'd be possible to work Sonic 2's HPZ theme in there too somehow, haha. XD

 

I don't know why you guys are saying Hidden Palace reuses Lava Reef 2's music.

From where I'm standing, it's the other way around. The music fits Hidden Palace, but not Lava Reef 2.

 

• The music appears in Lava Reef before it's used in Hidden Palace - chronologically this means Hidden Palace is the one reusing the music
• The music is a heavily remixed Lava Reef theme (slower and more methodical, fitting the changes in setting and layout for the 'cooled-off' Act 2), rather than a completely original composition as a new Zone's music would have been
• For a bonus in-development reason: the earliest Sonic 3C prototype we have access to refers to Hidden Palace as "Sky Sanctuary Act 1" and has it using Sky Sanctuary's music - thus the theme we're discussing is unique to Lava Reef 2 at that stage of development, and it was only later that the theme was reused in Hidden Palace

I do completely agree that the song fits Hidden Palace perfectly, though - can see why they used it rather than Sky Sanctuary's theme. Would still love to see an alternate-universe version where they remixed the Sky Sanctuary theme for "Act 1", though...! = )