The GHZ Forum

Hari Hari recently found these in-development screen shots of CD Sonic in the 1992 Sega Summer Catalogue:


The catalogue also had the following intriguing story for Sonic 2:
---------------
Dr.Eggman is burning with the ambition of the world conquest. The peaceful world fell into chaos by Dr.Eggman and his army corps.
Super hero Sonic acquired the time travel ability and he stood up to regain peace.
What is ultimate weapon "DEATH EGG" ? ...
What is the weak point of Dr.Eggman ? ...
From the dinosaur-age to the future，Sonic and sidekick (Debut!) begin the adventure which transcended time.
---------------

Apparently the catalogue also names the sidekick as ‘Tail’ (no ‘s’).

If posting this information on other websites, make sure you credit Hari Hari.
^_^

Looks as though development of Sonic 2 and Sonic CD were closer tied than we imagined. It's a shame those rotating maze Special Stages didn't make a return, I grew to like those a lot in the original Sonic, although they'd probably work better if they weren't necessary to get the Chaos Emeralds/Time Stones.

The '93 release date on the scan seems to suggest that Sega always intended to release Sonic CD well after Sonic 2, even though the graphics of the game appear to hint at it being in development before Sonic 2.

^_^

although they'd probably work better if they weren't necessary to get the Chaos Emeralds/Time Stones.

Yes, they work much better when they are totally pointless.

G.Silver wrote:

although they'd probably work better if they weren't necessary to get the Chaos Emeralds/Time Stones.

Yes, they work much better when they are totally pointless.

I think they're too "love them or hate them" to be necessary for completing the game properly. Sonic 3 & Knuckles had 3 Bonus Stages and they worked out alright.

The rotating maze in Sonic 3&K was surely the worst of the bunch. The rotation effect, for one thing, was way choppier than in Sonic 1 for some reason, and it wasn't even a maze--all you did was go straight for the center to get into the slot machine. There was nothing you could get out of it besides the rings, and being that it was based entirely on random chance, it seemed like you picked up more rings by going into one of the other bonus stages, grabbing an electric shield, and running through a level. It might have been something if it actually were a "course" to clear, there would have at least been some satisfaction in getting through it (like the static ball stage), but as it is it's utterly pointless. I think it had the worst music in the game (the only music in any "important" Sonic game that I would actually say I do not like). Everytime I got that bonus stage I would make straight for the exit and curse the time wasted in getting there--if not for the ability to win shields in the other games (and the fact that I really enjoyed the static ball stage) I would never even go into the any bonus stages, so great is my dislike for that particular bonus level. I think it damages the memory of Sonic 1's rotating maze just by its very existance.

"Love it or hate it," I think everyone would agree that it would have made a better special stage than the ones in Sonic Heroes. Actually, since typically the 2D Sonic Special Stages aimed for 3D, it would have made sense to do something like that once the games were in 3D, and especially for Heroes, since it seemed to have been aiming for a vaguely "classic Sonic" feel in the first place.

Why am I drawing a blank on a rotating slot machine bonus stage in Sonic 3&K? All I remember is the gotcha gotcha-type bonus stage (with excessive spring noises) and the blue spheres special stage.

G.Silver wrote:The rotating maze in Sonic 3&K was surely the worst of the bunch. The rotation effect, for one thing, was way choppier than in Sonic 1 for some reason, and it wasn't even a maze--all you did was go straight for the center to get into the slot machine. There was nothing you could get out of it besides the rings, and being that it was based entirely on random chance, it seemed like you picked up more rings by going into one of the other bonus stages, grabbing an electric shield, and running through a level. It might have been something if it actually were a "course" to clear, there would have at least been some satisfaction in getting through it (like the static ball stage), but as it is it's utterly pointless. I think it had the worst music in the game (the only music in any "important" Sonic game that I would actually say I do not like). Everytime I got that bonus stage I would make straight for the exit and curse the time wasted in getting there--if not for the ability to win shields in the other games (and the fact that I really enjoyed the static ball stage) I would never even go into the any bonus stages, so great is my dislike for that particular bonus level. I think it damages the memory of Sonic 1's rotating maze just by its very existance.

Yeah, that Bonus Stage sucked a lot, but I think that Bonus Stages and Special Stages could still co-exist. The Special Stages could be between levels (like Sonic 1, CD and Chaotix) and the Bonus Stages could be in hidden Special Rings (like Sonic 3 & Knuckles' Special Stages and Chaotix's Bonus Stages). The latter could even replace Sonic Advance 3's hidden Chao game if each ring lead to a different maze - of course there'd be the usual bonuses to collect along the way to the Chao.

"Love it or hate it," I think everyone would agree that it would have made a better special stage than the ones in Sonic Heroes. Actually, since typically the 2D Sonic Special Stages aimed for 3D, it would have made sense to do something like that once the games were in 3D, and especially for Heroes, since it seemed to have been aiming for a vaguely "classic Sonic" feel in the first place.

A sledgehammer to the groin would make a better Special Stage than the ones in Sonic Heroes - the physics were all over the place. The Advance series' were infamously bad too with a lot to owe to poor depth perception.

Most of the bad ones tried too hard to be Sonic 2's Special Stages with a twist - the twist sucking all of the fun from them. They should either go for something completely different or just be very faithful to Sonic 2's Special Stage formula (like Sonic 3D Saturn's Special Stages).

Double-S- wrote:Why am I drawing a blank on a rotating slot machine bonus stage in Sonic 3&K? All I remember is the gotcha gotcha-type bonus stage (with excessive spring noises) and the blue spheres special stage.

There were three bonus stages in S3&K. The rotating slot machine that was sort of like the special stages in Sonic 1, in that you could end it by hitting the certain part of the wall. Then there was the column wiith yellow springs that disappeared after you hit them and a bubble gum type machine at the top that dropped rings and shields and stuff. Also there was the weird one that I never figured out, you had to keep moving up by jumping off these spheres that you spun around at the right time to get to the next sphere. If you fell to the end thing that was slowly moving up it was game over. I never figured out the bonus in that one.

Anyway, those are the three, go play your Genesis again.

In that third one there were smaller glowing spheres. When you hit one, it turned into a "gumball" item and then if you managed to touch it again, you got to keep it. As you progressed upward, the ring gumballs increased in value from 10 up to 100. Near the top where the exit was there was always at least one 1up gumball or a 100 ring gumball.

G.Silver wrote:The rotating maze in Sonic 3&K was surely the worst of the bunch... Everytime I got that bonus stage I would make straight for the exit and curse the time wasted in getting there.

You do know that the coloured stars in the circle indicate which bonus stage it will lead to, right?

The glowing spheres stage was badass. The ring gumballs were worth more and more the higher you went... I loved how it was possible to leave that stage with six or seven extra lives once you got good at it. :)

You do know that the coloured stars in the circle indicate which bonus stage it will lead to, right?

There were different colored stars? O_o

If I recall correctly, the orange stars warped you to the slot bonus, the red stars warped you to the glowing spheres bonus, and the white stars warped you to the gumball bonus. Wasn't it determined based on how many Rings you had?


How could you miss that, dipshit?

Even I remembered the different colored rings, and I couldn't remember 2 of the bonus stages.

Green Gibbon! wrote:If I recall correctly, the orange stars warped you to the slot bonus, the red stars warped you to the glowing spheres bonus, and the white stars warped you to the gumball bonus. Wasn't it determined based on how many Rings you had?

Yeah. You need at least 20 rings in Sonic 3 & Knuckles to get into a bonus stage; I've gotten into all 3 stages with only 20 before. In Sonic 3, you need 50, and you only go to the gumball one (which you can't go to if you only play Sonic & Knuckles by itself).

I thought the ring of stars slowly changed colors while it was open. I always just jumped in blindly though.

The ever benevolent Hari Hari of Act Select has unearthed another fascinatingly curious prototype photograph to share with us, this time of Sonic Drift:


The image comes from the Sega 1993 autumn catalogue.

(Make sure to credit Hari Hari if posting the picture else where). ^_^

...where's the buttons on that Game Gear?

That's just the screen and the screen cover.

Flicky! =D

Would the inclusion of Flicky as a playable character have really made Sonic Drift more playable?

It is a shame though. Flicky hasnt appeared in a game as a playable character since... well, since Flicky

Cypher wrote:Would the inclusion of Flicky as a playable character have really made Sonic Drift more playable?

It is a shame though. Flicky hasnt appeared in a game as a playable character since... well, since Flicky

Yeah, since Sonic 3D blast they became useless birds easy to capture. That’s a shame...I want the dead Flicky of Doom!

Nova, you're starting to make less sense than Cara.

Has Nova ever made much sense? He makes me think of someone typing while somewhat high.

....somewhat?