Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)/Development
From Sonic Retro
Sonic the Hedgehog has gone through several changes over its development process. There are several rejected ideas, levels, and other things that were left on the cutting room floor. The following details several of these things.
Contents
Rejected Characters
Interestingly, one of the first designs of Sonic that was selected for use was that of a rabbit which could pick up objects with his ears and throw them at enemies. It was used in early versions of the game but as the game got faster the character design was dropped and Sonic took on his final form, a hedgehog. Below are several other scrapped character designs.
- S1concept-WARRIOR.jpg
Warrior Design with two outfits.
- S1concept-CLOWNNWOLFBOY.jpg
Clown and Warrior wearing head of a animal.
- S1concept-Human.jpg
Human character with Bart Simpson like hair.
- S1concept-MRHEDGEHOG.jpg
A hedgehog with more human-like features.
- S1concept-WINDUPROBOTROOK.jpg
Robot character and two other characters.
- S1concept-eggman.jpg
Man with strange outfit. Definately a prototype version of Robotnik.
- S1concept-WEIRDCREATURE.jpg
Possibly a porcupine?
- S1concept-Chick.jpg
Chicken with an attitude.
- S1concept-WOLF.gif
Wolf wearing an American flag t-shirt.
- S1concept-BULLDOG.gif
Bulldog character.
Dr. Badvibes
An early name for Robotnik was Dr. Badvibes as discovered by hxc in a short interview with a game tester for Sonic the Hedgehog named Dean Sitton. You can find the discussion thread on Sonic Retro forums
| “ | The game Sonic game in in an early state (just a few levels and some of the characters appeared as garbage chars that flickered. The producer of the US version would be in japan and call in for updates. Like how many rings for a free man...how many rings for a continue etc.. I got to play the game for a week or so and i submitted a document that showed the chararacters in the game that I could see and a few names for each of them. Dr. Badvibes and
many other names were not chosen. I named Ivo Robotnik, Ballhog, and 3-4 more form that game. I helped to flesh out the fiction for Greenhill and Sally/Sandy/whatever the girls name is now..with a guy named Jamie... usually producers of games have only to fill in the blanks..it doesnt always matter how the blanks get filled in. |
„ |
Madonna
This magazine clip describes a blonde female character, whom was supposed Sonic's girlfriend, named Madonna. She was scrapped before development of the game even started. However, concept art of her was created and was included in Sonic Gems Collection photo gallery. The idea of Sonic having a human girlfriend was eventually realized in the 2006 game.
Sonic and Madonna.
Sonic, Madonna, Robotnik, and a strange set of enemies. The city in the background is probably the same as seen in early Green Hill Zone images.
Still more Madonna artwork. The right image shows hearts above her head as she is thinking of Sonic.
Sound Test Band
The game was originally intended to feature a sound test menu, with animated graphics based around Sonic break-dancing to the music of a "Sonic Band" consisting of Sharps Chicken (guitar), Max Monkey, (guitar), Mach Rabbit (drums), and Vector the Crocodile (keyboard/synth).[1] Vector was later re-designed and re-used for the games Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Heroes. The development schedule meant that the feature had to be scrapped, and Yuji Naka decided to replace the test with the "SEGA!" chant used in TV advertisements, which took up 1/8 of the 4-megabit cartridge. A text-only sound test option remained in the final game's level select cheat menu.
Other Concept Art
The following is concept art for the game which doesn't fit in any of the preceeding sections. What is interesting is the image which features Tails. It was found in the Sonic 1 segment of a "History of Sonic" documentary. It is possible that the image was used in the wrong segment as directly preceeding this image is someone flipping through a art book and one page clearly displays a logo for Sonic 2.
Loop art in a level not used in final.
Loop art again in a mountainous level.
Marble Zone.
Water art in another mountainous level.
Sonic art, the text translates to "Mr. Hedgehog".
- S1concept-HEDGEHOG.jpg
More Sonic art.
- S1concept-SCENE.jpg
A scene which seems to feature Tails.
Early Game Design
Various
- S1Title.gif
Titlescreen with a black background similar to the 8-bit game.
- S1SpecialStage.gif
Different layout in special stage.
- S1Debug.jpg
Different debug mode. This can be enabled by using the Game Genie code 2E6T-BCS6.
Final zone not listed and X's are listed after some levels in this level select. Press Start text is visible.
Green Hill Zone
HUD says RING and the flowers are purple.
A city can be seen in the background. Trees and a brown rock can be seen in the foreground. The rocks are bluish purple in the final game. Probably a mockup image.
- GHZ-WelcomeSign.gif
A Welcome Sign with Kanji underneath it. A city can be seen in the background.
A rolling ball. This can still be found in debug mode but is not placeable. The sprite was still used for the levels boss.
The ball again. A magazine says the ball moves when pushed but can also kill the player.
The ball again, but this time it is in the air.
Sonic punching the air. An early end level celebration.
Monitor is not here in final.
Debug statistics are on bottom of screen.
- GHZ-Hurted.gif
Sonic gets knocked back more than in final.
A prototype map, a rolling ball can be seen.
Marble Zone
Area where green smashers come down. Mashers and fire from torch are missing.
These badniks aren't in this level normally, but can be placed with debug. The UFO's in the sky also don't appear in the final version.
- MZ-UFO.jpg
These UFO's were seen in a short clip on Wayne's world during a promotion for Noahs Arcade. They were also found hidden in the Sonic 1 Mobile game.
- MZ-UFO2.gif
UFO's again.
Strange level graphics and falling tiles which can be balanced on.
Sideway spikes. These can be placed with debug also.
This room isn't in the final version.
Spring Yard Zone
- SYZ-Sparkling.gif
Level is called Sparkling Zone and has a different background. The sign behind the counter says good luck.
Unkown area. A sparkle can be seen over the "good luck sign" indicating the sparkles moved around and weren't stars.
Sparkles present.
- SYZ-Sparkling2.gif
Sparkles present.
Sparkles present.
Sparkles present.
Sparkles present.
Sparkles present.
Sparkles present.
Labyrinth Zone
- LZ-BlackBG.gif
Completely black background.
This may be the underwater version of the black background. Sonic's pallete is the same as above water.
- LZ-NewBG.gif
Rock background.
Rock background.
Rock background.
Rock background.
Star Light Zone
- SLZ-Pic.gif
Different layout.
Scrap Brain Zone
Level is called Clockwork Zone, but missing the W. The background is also different.
- SBZ-Pic1.gif
The belts have a steep incline.
Zig-zag tunnel.
This room isn't in the game.
- SBZ-Pic4.gif
Different layout.
Different layout.
