- For other uses, see Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (disambiguation).
This page pertains to the beta elements of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
Unused Cutscene[]
An unused audio clip meant for a cutscene possibly for when the player collects all the Chaos Emeralds and Red Star Rings. The cutscene would later be found in a prototype (known as the Beta 2). The buildate for that would be January 26, 2012 (less than three months before the Beta 8 build).
| Clip | Description |
|---|---|
| The unused audio meant for the scrapped cutscene. |
Unused levels[]
Aside E.G.G. Station and the Special Stages, all of the of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I can be found in the game's files. While Act 1 of every zone is used in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal, Acts 2 and 3 all go unused. These levels can only be played in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal.
Unplayable[]
The following levels below remain unplayable in any way as loading them will crash the game.
- Splash Hill Zone Boss
- Casino Street Zone Boss
- Lost Labyrinth Zone Act 2
- Mad Gear Zone Boss
Playable[]
The following levels here are what can be played fully or till the game crashes at some point.
Splash Hill Zone Act 2[]
The vines and the corkscrews do not work as intended. The vine can be swung on swing like in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, but Metal Sonic does not have a swinging animation and thus uses his idle animation instead. The vines also launch the player much higher than intended from its original game. A few spots of the level will make the background disappear. This is also the only level that can be completed.
Splash Hill Zone Act 3[]
The level is missing the lighting missing from the previous game. It almost crashes immediately due to a missing zip-line object.
Casino Street Act 2[]
The dice work like they would in the original game, but play no sound effects when interacted with. This level crashes almost immediately due to the cards not found in the game's files.
Casino Street Act 3[]
This level almost crashes immediately due to a missing cannon object.
Lost Labyrinth Act 3[]
- Some spots of the background disappear.
- The water slides can be interacted with, but does not play any sound effect and has Metal Sonic in his idle animation.
- Inhaling an air bubble softlocks the game as Metal Sonic has no way of losing air, rendering the air bubbles useless and can be avoided, and thus will have him stuck in his idle animation unable for the player to move him.
- The level crashes when the player reaches the part of the level where they tilt their screen.
Lost Labyrinth Boss[]
Though the level almost crashes immediately due to there being no boss for the zone present in the game's files, this is the only level that can be played in some degree. There is also one spot where the background disappears.
Mad Gear Act 2[]
All the gears have messed up collision, but are somewhat working as intended from the original game. The doors that are opened by the large gears close almost immediately. While it is barely possible to get trough the first two doors, getting through the third is impossible. As such, the level can not be completed normally. All these objects are missing their sound effects and the level is fully playable without any crashes.
Mad Gear Act 3[]
The level is missing its specific lighting for the act. The wall that's supposed to be chasing Sonic behind him is missing, The level crashes upon the area with the moving pistons that tries to lock the player in.
Beta 8[]
The Beta 8 build of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II was a prototype of the PC version that was accidentally released on Steam by Sega on April 21, 2012. This would allow people who pre-ordered the game to download and play it the demo three weeks before official release date. The company eventually noticed the error and fixed it the next day. Those who already downloaded the beta build were locked out with a message stating the player should buy the game first which was irreversible without using a cracked build. Despite this though, Sega didn't take down the accounts who played the game early as they stated the accounts downloaded the game legally and it was their mistake.
Unused music from Cutscene 9C[]
Found with an unused text saying "To Be Continued", there is a short track that belongs to a cutscene within the game. The cutscene is named Cutscene 9C while the final cutscene of the game (where Sonic and Tails leave the exploding Death Egg mk.II Zone) is named Cutscene 9A. No reasons are known why the cutscene has been unused.
Instant Rings[]
When pressing the "0" or "LT" button, the player will automatically gain 99 Rings. This only works if there is no other input from the player when the button is pressed and does not work in the Special Stages. This was disabled by the game's target release date and is likely a debug command for testing purposes.
Cutscene 9C[]
An unused cutscene showcases the Master Emerald glowing, silouette of Knuckles the Echidna, and the Death Egg mk.II reactivating above Earth, as it cuts to a white screen with the text "To Be Continued". It would have set up the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode III at the time.[1] The final game still has the audio in the files.
References[]
- ↑ Sonic 4 Episode 2 (Beta 2, 01/27/2012) - To Be Continued Scene. YouTube. Nuclear [NUKELEDGE] (19 April 2025). Retrieved on 19 April 2025.
External links[]
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II on The Cutting Room Floor.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Beta 8 prototype) on The Cutting Room Floor.