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Hidden Palace Zone

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Revision as of 03:11, 24 April 2013 by High Flying Fox (talk | contribs) (In the Final Release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
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Hidden Palace Zone

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Hidden Palace Zone
Beta level, Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Number of Acts: 2, later 1 (incomplete)
Level theme: underground/cave
Underwater areas: Yes
For the Sonic & Knuckles level, see Hidden Palace Zone (S&K). For drx's website, see Hidden Palace.

Hidden Palace Zone is a scrapped level from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It is an underground zone with purple water, featuring sparkling gems and dinosaur-esque badniks. Hidden Palace Zone is perhaps the most infamous of the scrapped Sonic 2 levels due to its widespread appearance in gaming media before the game was released. The majority of the art in the level was created by Craig Stitt.

Hidden Palace Zone was never completed; however, a good portion of the first act is playable in the Sonic 2 Nick Arcade prototype and the Sonic 2 Simon Wai prototype. It was one of the first levels to be worked on, however progress stopped early during production. It was nevertheless kept in the game throughout most of Sonic 2's development cycle, with its removal being a last minute decision. This is contrary to Wood Zone and Genocide City Zone, which, culled much sooner, were largely kept a secret.

Notable features of Hidden Palace include green bridges which glow if Sonic or Tails walk on them. This is actually the same object as the bridge in Emerald Hill Zone, but is set to glow if the level number is that of Hidden Palace's. Glowing bridges were reused in Sonic 3's IceCap Zone. Also featured is a large ramp towards the end of the level the level, whose collision means it cannot be climbed without positioning Sonic on it with debug mode. Moving up this ramp will lead to the top of the screen, however using debug mode again will show that it continues at the bottom of the level, leading to a bridge covered in waterfalls and inevitably a platform to nowhere.

Unlike other scrapped levels in Sonic 2, Hidden Palace Zone still remains in a corrupted form on the final version of the cartridge, though can only be accessed through game enhancers such as Game Genie. The level plays the unused track 10 in the final game, but opted for the Mystic Cave Zone 2-player music track in the Simon Wai prototype. A second act can also be accessed, but it is a barren version of the first act in all versions of the game. The zone has an icon, intended for the level select screen, but is never seen in normal play. Oddly it does appear in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 however, as this game recycles Sonic 2's level select with minimal alterations.

An interview with Yuji Naka revealed that Hidden Palace Zone was originally intended to be a level where the player would be warped to after collecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Once there, they would receive the power to morph into Super Sonic. The idea was ultimately killed and the ability was given to the player immediately[1]. Craig Stitt, in an interview with ICEknight, mentioned that Hidden Palace Zone started as two acts but then switched to a single act before being canceled[2].

Early mockups of the level circulated across magazines back in the day.

Many parts of the level were once grounds for debate, such as the so called "Master Emerald" which blocks a pipe. In actuality, this was meant to be just a breakable object similar to the ones found in Hill Top Zone and Chemical Plant Zone[3]. The Tails 1-up monitor was once thought to be a sign that the level was a Tails-exclusive zone, though we now know it exists due to art mapping changes.

Some hacks, like Sonic 2 Delta, have attempted to restore the level using the graphics from the prototype version and level map and object data from the graphic-less version in the final release.

Hidden Palace was removed but not forgotten. The name was recycled in Sonic & Knuckles for use in an unrelated level, and some of the background art was re-used in Sonic Spinball's Toxic Caves, also designed by Craig Stitt. Some elements like the glowing bridges and spheres were used later in Sonic 3's IceCap Zone as well.

Misplaced Monitors

When Hidden Palace Zone was first made accessible to the public, there was much speculation about the existence of a Tails 1-up monitor at the start of the stage. Sonic 2 was built off Sonic 1, and early in development monitor designations were reassigned. The object subtype number for the Tails 1-up monitor was orignally the object subtype number of a Sonic 1-up monitor. The early Nick Arcade prototype places Tails 1-up monitors in Green Hill Zone where the Sonic monitor should be.

The shield monitor in the beginning was also presumably meant to be a 10 rings monitor, based on the changes in object subtype numbers.

Some say the complexity of having both water and vertical wrap-around may have led to the level being scrapped.

Enemies

Unlike other scrapped levels, Hidden Palace contained enemies, none of which were seen in the final build. Some enemies were not given official names. It is also the only level in any of the Mega Drive Sonic games where enemies re-spawn if not on-screen.

  • Redz - Dinosaur badnik, A little red dinosaur to be jumped on.
  • BBat - Bat badnik, Attacks in a U- shaped pattern.

The Nick Arcade prototype also includes Stego, another dinosaur badnik which will charge at Sonic and Tails if they come too close.

A number of other badniks are rumoured to have been designed for Hidden Palace:

  • BFish - Fish badnik, Acts like the Masher, except it attacks in an arc like motion instead of a straignt line.
  • Bubbler - Air bubble badnik, Explodes when Sonic approaches. Or the Bubbler's Mother drops it in the water.
  • Bubbler's Mother - Sometimes it drops the Bubbler. Or it acts like the Chop Chop badnik.
  • Gator - a crocodile badnik which simply moves back and forth, similar to Redz. This badnik was actually seen in a mockup shot of Dust Hill Zone.

In the Final Release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Hidden Palace is accessible in the final version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by using the Game Genie code ACLA-ATD4. From here, enter the Level Select code (19, 65, 09, 17 with C in the sound test screen). Go back to the title, and hold A+Start to access the level select screen. Then select Death Egg Zone.

Almost all of the artwork is gone in the final game, and with this goes collision data, making the zone virtually unplayable without enabling debug mode (1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4 with C at the level select screen). It is impossible to complete the level without placing a capsule with debug mode. All the item in debug mode that you place are from Oil Ocean Zone. "Beating" both acts will take the player to Oil Ocean Zone.


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