Birds? In the trees?

[Green Gibbon!]

Maybe I'm the only one who didn't know about this. In Sonic 2 on Game Gear, y'know that 1up Item Box at the top-left corner of the stage in Sky High Act 1? Under the pine trees? If you run against it from the left side (don't spin it), little yellow birds hop out of the trees.

[Shadow Hog]

Yeah, I knew about this, albeit forgot about it. I don't remember - do the birds hurt you, or are they just there for decoration?...

[Neo]

This was all over the cheat/hint guides I ever read back when the game was still somewhat recent. If I recall correctly, it only happens on one of the versions (either the GG one or the MS one, probably the former, might be pulling this out of my ass).

[Green Gibbon!]

I tried it with the Game Gear rom. The birds don't hurt you, they just fly on by. It's kind of unnerving.

[The Doc]

I tried it with the Game Gear rom. The birds don't hurt you, they just fly on by. It's kind of unnerving.

They probably had to take Spin Dash out of that game solely to put that stupid little Easter egg in the game.

[Dasher]

The emerald on that level was a pain to get.

[DackAttac]

Don't get me started on that damned emerald.

[Cuckooguy]

There were Emeralds in Sonic 2 outside of the first stage?

[DackAttac]

You had to actually survive the gangbang that was Scrambled Egg Zone to actually use them, but yeah, they opened up Crystal Egg Zone, the final boss and of course, the "good ending". I think they were in act 2 of every zone with some stupid exception. If memory serves, Act 2 was always the ballbreaker.

[FlashTHD]

You had to actually survive the gangbang that was Scrambled Egg Zone to actually use them, but yeah, they opened up Crystal Egg Zone, the final boss and of course, the "good ending". I think they were in act 2 of every zone with some stupid exception. If memory serves, Act 2 was always the ballbreaker.

The first 5 are all in the act 2's, you get the sixth one from Mecha Sonic in Scrambled Egg if you got all the others.

Long while back, when I was first playing the Game Gear version, I happened upon a great shortcut that lets you endure at least one less grueling pipe trip of SE2. You still have to do that bullshit with the moving platform at the end, but using the shortcut, and taking into account the truckloads of rings they throw at you in that level, i'd almost (almost) argue act 2 is easier than 1. 1 has no shortcuts and the lower risk of cheap death's offset by the tedium of those cruel quickfire pipe branches. Anyway for those didn't catch it, the shortcut is this:


This is at the start, right after that terrible bit with the platforms over spikes. You end up here after being spat out of the pipe. That little rise to the left that's almost offscreen? You can get a running start and easily jump from there all the way to the ledge on the top-right.

[FlashTHD]

Also, the mystery of Sonic 1 8-bit's Special Bonus solved?