Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Beta elements

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This article pertains to the beta elements from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Unused graphics

Characters

Sprite	Character	Description
	Sonic	An animation very similar to one used in Wing Fortress Zone when Sonic grabs the panels on the side of the ship. Compared to the one used the final game, this animation is vertical instead of horizontal.
	Sonic	An alternate black and white death frame, originally from the first Sonic the Hedgehog, but still goes unused.
	Dr. Robotnik	An unused animation of Dr. Robotnik accidentally dropping Mega Mack on his own head in the boss battle of Chemical Plant Zone.
	Dr. Robotnik	Robotnik laughing in the Death Egg Zone when Sonic takes damage during the Mecha Sonic battle. Although it is not entirely unused, it cannot be seen in normal gameplay as Death Egg Zone has no Rings and all animations freeze when Sonic loses a life in the stage. It is possible to see the animation via adding Rings in Debug Mode (or in game modes in rereleases that adds Rings, which would be first seen in Sonic Jam's Easy mode). This does get used in the 2013 version of the game, even when Sonic has no Rings.

Other unused graphics

Sprite	Name	Zone	Description
	Decorative object	Chemical Plant Zone	Unused decorative objects for Chemical Plant Zone. The 2013 version of the game allows the player to place these in Debug Mode.
	Spring Holder	Oil Ocean Zone	A holder for the Oil Ocean Zone ball launcher, which first appeared in the Simon Wai prototype and is still loaded into VRAM in the final game.
	Aquis' oil	Oil Ocean Zone	Unused animations for the Aquis spitting up oil, accompanied by an unused oil spray sprite to go with it.
	Balkiry frame	Sky Chase Zone	An unused frame of the Balkiry with its landing gear engaged.
	Walking Tocky	Sky Chase Zone	A walking animation for the Tockies. The only way to see this sprite is by using Debug Mode to create and destroy a Badnik while the Wing Fortress passes by.
	Picky	Death Egg Zone	Picky from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. There are no Badniks or capsules throughout this level so it is never seen.
	Level Select Icon	Hidden Palace Zone	A Level Select icon for Hidden Palace Zone. A Pro Action Replay code can cause it to replace the Emerald Hill Zone icon in the Stage Select. It is used in the Level Select in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the icon to represent the Bonus Stage.

Unused objects

Artwork	Object Name	Object ID	Zone	Description
N/A	Spinning Spikes	17	Green Hill Zone	A leftover from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. The graphics, however, were deleted.
	Hovering platform	0C	Chemical Plant Zone	Every 1024 frames, this platform will slowly rise up for 128 frames, float in the air, then come back down 128 frames later. The amount of time it floats in the air is 128 frames. The upper four bits can be used to offset when it starts to rise in the air. This object has been around since the Nick Arcade prototype.
	Bubble snakes	00-0F, 10-1F	Chemical Plant Zone	The blue bubble snakes have many subtypes that define their movement pattern and their length, which can be any number of segments between 1 and 16. However, only those that are six segments long are used, leaving all other subtypes unused (00-0F for jumping back and forth and 10-1F for jumping between the floor and ceiling).
N/A	Tipping platform	70	Chemical Plant Zone	The amount of time that these platforms in Chemical Plant Zone can stay flipped is variable. However, the final game for the upper four bits are always set to 70.
	Door	N/A	Aquatic Ruin Zone	An unused door from Aquatic Ruin Zone, similar to doors used in the final version game. It can be placed in Debug Mode and functions like normal.
	Ring platform	73	Mystic Cave Zone	A platform made of Rings which are available to place in Debug Mode. The player is able to stand on them and it moves in a similar motion to the spinning spiked balls in the level.
	Ball launcher	46	Oil Ocean Zone	A ball and spring object, which can be placed in Debug Mode. If a switch is placed near it and pressed, the ball will pop out and start rolling in whichever direction Sonic was facing when the object was placed. This was seen in the Simon Wai version of the game.
	Pressure stopper	N/A	Oil Ocean Zone	The stoppers used in the final version of the game launch the player upwards. It will launch the player right if the object subtype is set to zero. This would have been used in the Simon Wai prototype, but it has no purpose in the final layout. They were later found in Sonic Mania.
N/A	Small platform	6C	Metropolis Zone	Although they are very similar to the small platforms used in the final game, these platforms will usually rise at an angle.
	Turbine fire	B7	Wing Fortress Zone	A platform that shoots a laser when it spins, which can be placed in Debug Mode. The object has no sound effects attached to it.
	Pole Badnik	BF	Wing Fortress	An unused object, which seems to be a spinning pole. It can be placed in Debug Mode. The object acts similarly to a Badnik. It's possible that it was meant for a destructible spinning propellers obstacle as it fits well with the other graphics.
	Blocker	12	Hidden Palace Zone	A crystal which was used in the earliest two prototypes to block off a tube in Hidden Palace Zone. The graphics are no longer present, but the code is, and it functions like normal. It was later reused in the 2013 version of the game.
	Waterfall	13	Hidden Palace Zone	Another Hidden Palace Zone leftover. Its graphics no longer exist. Placing one with a subtype greater than 17 will spawn garbage objects on the right. It was later added in the 2013 version.
	Monitors	00		A static monitor, which is also found in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, can be placed in Debug Mode. Destroying it will harm the player.

Unused sounds

Leftovers

Seven leftover sounds from Sonic the Hedgehog are present in the game's files.

Clip	Sound ID	Description
	$29	The sound of when the player hits the R, UP, or DOWN blocks in the Special Stage.
	$31	The electricity from Scrap Brain Zone.
	$38	An unused sound from the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
	$3A	Hitting the colored diamonds in the Special Stage.
	$43	The warp noise made by a Giant Ring when Sonic enters it.
	$47	Chain pulling sound from the Marble Zone.
	$49	Bonus point tag appearing at the end of an act.

Unused

Clip	Sound ID	Description
	$51	Unknown sound.
	$52	A low siren which is used in the 2-Player mode.
	$68	Seems to be a slightly shorter version of Mystic Cave Zone's bridges stopping in place.

Unused music

Two clips of Hidden Palace are found within the game's files.

Clip	Description
	This song can be played in the Sound Test of #10.
	This song can be heard in Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 Soundtrack album. This is from an earlier demo version of the game. However, instead of looping, this version of the song has a proper ending.

Scrapped level remains

Six corrupted levels are found buried in the game's files that can be accessed via hacking.

Image	Level name	ID number	Description
	Ocean Wind Zone	ID 01	This stage is an objectless version of Emerald Hill Zone Act 1, along with the life counter having a Tails icon instead of Sonic's. Finishing Act 1 by hacking in an animal capsule will send the player to Emerald Hill Zone Act 1. It reuses Emerald Hill Zone's animals, Ricky and Flicky. The level also contains remnants of Labyrinth Zone from the Nick Arcade prototype.
	Wood Zone	ID 02	Containing the original sprites from the prototype versions, this is another objectless level of another remnant to Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 but with Wood Zone's palettes, Metropolis Zone's music, and some glitched collision. The life counter is Tails' icon. Hacking a capsule into this Zone sends the player to Metropolis Zone.
	Sand Shower Zone	ID 03	Another empty stage and again takes place in Emerald Hill Zone Act 1. The Zone uses Oil Ocean Zone as its default music theme. Badnik sprites from Metropolis Zone and Emerald Hill Zone can be loaded, and finishing the level will send the player to Emerald Hill Zone Act 1.
	Hidden Palace Zone	ID08	The stage is heavily corrupted as all that remains is the main act logo and the use of track #10 from the Sound Test. When the player spawns, they immediately die as there is no collision in the level.
	Rock World Zone	ID 09	Another empty Zone using Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 again. This version of the stage uses garbled Emerald Hill Zone tiles. Badnik sprites from Oil Ocean Zone are loaded, has very little collision data. No objects are present within the debug menu, making it impossible to finish by any means. By hacking in an animal capsule, the player will go to Emerald Hill Zone Act 1.
N/A	Removed Zone	ID 11	Attempting to load this stage will cause the game to crash on the title card as no other code references it. It does reuse Sky Chase Zone's animals, Tocky and Cucky.

Unused score tally

The unused score tally

A score tally showing the words, "Sonic/Tails got through Zone". The final game shows the text of "Sonic/Tails got through Act 1/Act 2" instead. This would later be used in Hidden Palace Zone in the 2013 re-release of the game.

External links

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) on The Cutting Room Floor

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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Main article (Knuckles in Sonic 2) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (Nick Arcade, Simon Wai) · Re-releases (2006, Dash!, Crash!, 2013, 3D, Sega Ages)

*Appears only in prototype versions · **Appears only in re-releases
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