A lot of content was removed before the final release of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." For example, the starting level was going to be the original Green Hill Zone from the first game, with Emerald Hill following. There were several removed levels from the game, including:
Wood Zone: The music for this Zone was reused as the Metropolis Zone music. The reason for removal is unknown. The idea of this level was later reused in Sonic&Knuckles for Mushroom Hill Zone.
Genocide City Zone. There was no official art for this zone. It was originally meant to be a zone following Metropolis Zone, playing the Chemical Plant Zone music. It was later removed, and changed into "Metropolis Zone Act 3"
Dust Hill Zone: This Zone was removed very early, as it wasn't even featured in the well known beta. It was removed due to time constraints, but was later reused for Sonic 3k's 2P mode, though not to exact.
And Finally, Hidden Palace Zone: This level was to be revealed when the player collected all seven emeralds. They would be warped here. Once there, they would gain the ability to use Super Sonic. This idea was scraped, and the ability to morph was given immediately. This level is amongst the most famed, as it is reused in Sonic&Knuckles, and the music for this Zone was never removed, and can still be heard in the sound test section.
Besides unused levels, this game had some unused sprites for running, and pulling. It also had an unused Badnik, and unused save post. Also, music for certain bosses were changed. The beta forms of the boss music and others can be heard online. Another interesting fact, is that Aquatic Rune Zone was originally named Neo Green Hill Zone, a possible future/past version of Green Hill Zone, which may be why it was featured in the game. Another thing that helps support this fact is that Time Travel was going to be used in this game before the final version. This idea was later used in Sonic CD.
So, what is your opinion? Would you have liked SEGA and Sonic Team to keep these features in the game, or are you glad that they were removed? Personally, I would loved to have these in the final version.
A lot of content was removed before the final release of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." For example, the starting level was going to be the original Green Hill Zone from the first game, with Emerald Hill following.
There were several removed levels from the game, including:
Wood Zone: The music for this Zone was reused as the Metropolis Zone music. The reason for removal is unknown. The idea of this level was later reused in Sonic&Knuckles for Mushroom Hill Zone.
Genocide City Zone. There was no official art for this zone. It was originally meant to be a zone following Metropolis Zone, playing the Chemical Plant Zone music. It was later removed, and changed into "Metropolis Zone Act 3"
Dust Hill Zone: This Zone was removed very early, as it wasn't even featured in the well known beta. It was removed due to time constraints, but was later reused for Sonic 3k's 2P mode, though not to exact.
And Finally, Hidden Palace Zone: This level was to be revealed when the player collected all seven emeralds. They would be warped here. Once there, they would gain the ability to use Super Sonic. This idea was scraped, and the ability to morph was given immediately. This level is amongst the most famed, as it is reused in Sonic&Knuckles, and the music for this Zone was never removed, and can still be heard in the sound test section.
Besides unused levels, this game had some unused sprites for running, and pulling. It also had an unused Badnik, and unused save post. Also, music for certain bosses were changed. The beta forms of the boss music and others can be heard online.
Another interesting fact, is that Aquatic Rune Zone was originally named Neo Green Hill Zone, a possible future/past version of Green Hill Zone, which may be why it was featured in the game. Another thing that helps support this fact is that Time Travel was going to be used in this game before the final version. This idea was later used in Sonic CD.
So, what is your opinion? Would you have liked SEGA and Sonic Team to keep these features in the game, or are you glad that they were removed? Personally, I would loved to have these in the final version.