New Sonic 2 beta footage

This might be already seen before but I'm taking my chance.

I was visiting http://www.gametronik.com when I found some video clips of old commercials, shows and even promo tapes.
And I downloaded one which was released in 1992 by Sega of France.

The first game presented was Sonic 2 and obviously images came from a prototype version.
Here is an extract of that video clip showing that Sonic 2 footage:
http://dioxaz.free.fr/download/videos/soni...ootage_1992.avi
(14.1 MB, XVid codec required)

Here are all the things I found interesting:
1. The title screen (beta title screen with options) and of course unanimated Sonic and Tails
2. Slanted corners on Chemical Plant loops (like other well-known footages from commercials)
3. 'Miles' instead of 'Tails' during Special Stage sequence
4. Music and SFX close or identical to final
5. Sonic runs the same way as in the final version (but no spindash is shown here)

Also note that all sequences have in-game music and sounds, thing that we never saw in any known footage of that prototype (more info below).
The video is in hi-resolution (640*480) and long enough so I think it deserves the look than what we saw before.
I hope everybody noticed that Sonic already took a speed power-up during the first Emerald Hill sequence.

Another thing, the prototype used here seems to be the same as the one used for all commercials worldwide during that era (especially the one shown in this topic I think). So this is undiscutably not a hoax.

Even if this footage doesn't bring anything really new, I think it's always good to take and it can give some answers. Note that the speech we hear during the video doesn't bring anything special (it praises the gorgious graphics, the brand new challenges the incredible speed and more exciting stuff of the game).

 

"Je crois aussi que c'est une nouvelle vid?o. Je ne l'ai jamais vue." It was a nice try anyway. :D
And yes, this is the first one to show Metropolis, now that I realize it. For the beta title screen with options, I remember seeing it on some French magazines too (in addtion to the European manual... and the American one too, as I can note it now)

Mince, j'avais pas fait gaff... I mean I didn't notice that! And you're right:

Someone should blame me for forgetting such a well-known difference. ^^

This proves that the prototype used was not as advanced as we could think (at least it would have been released a few months before the official commercial release).

For the special stage, that's possible. I didn't check. But I can certify this proto cart has been the one and only being used by French press and also Sega of France to promote Sonic 2 (I remember seeing that special stage in a French Mega Drive advert, along with 'Miles' instead of 'Tails' on it).

Yes, I forgot to mention that this came from a PAL Mega Drive (this was obvious anyway).
Also note that this proto also has music speed correction (as all musics play at the right speed) unlike what happens with our beta. So the region check was indeed implemented, at least the '50Hz/60Hz' (PAL/NTSC) detection. But partly or completely, one can't tell.
If it was partly implemented, then it would mean that the game assumed the console as a 50Hz PAL Japanese one and showed 'Miles' instead of 'Tails' (yes, the final version shows 'Miles' even in Japanese PAL mode). Unfortunately, I can't remember your theory but if I follow mine, it should do the same even in 2-player mode. It could also be a 50Hz-only proto (but I really doubt it).

And to finish, this proto may also be the one used for European manuals too.

And for the video freezing, it's a common random behaviour. This particular one works fine with me and 'ffdshow' (built 20041210) but some other clips do that with this same codec. But I assume you already know how to overcome this (by moving the position bar cursor).