Difference between revisions of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)"

Latest revision as of 12:05, 15 January 2024

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)

Prerelease of: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
System: Sega Mega Drive
Build date: 1992
ROM size: 1 MB
Source: Pirate cartridge
Found by: Simon Wai

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 "Simon Wai" prototype is a prototype build of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive. It is a relatively early build of the game, thought to have been created around the middle of 1992.

This particular prototype is named after Simon Wai, who found the ROM on a Chinese website and subsequently brought it to the attention of the Western Sonic the Hedgehog fan community. It was the first prototype to be found of Sonic 2, and for many years was simply referred to as "Sonic 2 Beta".

The Simon Wai prototype is more advanced than the earlier "Nick Arcade" prototype, though is still very much incomplete. Only four Zones can be played during normal gameplay; Aquatic Ruin Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Hill Top Zone and Emerald Hill Zone (in that order). A further nine can be accessed through a level select code, though none of these Zones can be finished, and three are entirely empty stages.

History

This Simon Wai prototype was presented to the Western Sonic the Hedgehog fan community in 1999^[1], though had been distributed in various forms for many years prior to this date. Its release was pivotal in cultivating research into the development of Sonic the Hedgehog games in the years that followed. Sonic Retro's origins partly date back to Simon's initial documentation of the ROM in the form of the now-defunct The Sonic 2 Beta Page.

Yuji Naka claimed in an IGN interview that this prototype was originally stolen from a toy fair in New York in 1992^[2], despite this event taking place in February. Copies were then mass-produced by software pirates (via the Super Magic Drive) and distributed on unlicensed Mega Drive cartridges across Asia and South America, passed on as the final version of the game. As a result of this theft, Sega temporarily changed their stance on journalists accessing pre-release versions of their games, forcing them to travel to a location of their choosing so as to ensure no further leakages could occur^[3].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{ProtoBob
+| bobscreen=s2b_title.png
+| final=Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
+| system=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
+| date=1992
+| romsize=1 MB
+| source=Pirate cartridge
+| foundby=[[Simon Wai]]
+}}
+The '''''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' "Simon Wai" prototype''' is a [[prototype]] build of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'' for the [[Sega Mega Drive]]. It is a relatively early build of the game, thought to have been created around the middle of 1992.
-The '''Sonic the Hedgehog 2 beta''' is a widely distributed [[prototype]] of Sonic The Hedgehog, which features arrays of incomplete zones. It was found by [[Simon Wai]] on a Chinese website.
+This particular prototype is named after [[Simon Wai]], who found the ROM on a Chinese website and subsequently brought it to the attention of the Western ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' fan community. It was the first prototype to be found of ''Sonic 2'', and for many years was simply referred to as "''Sonic 2 Beta''".
-In the beta copy, only four levels can be played in "normal" gameplay (though technically this is a prerelease to test some features and so there is no real level order). The rest have to be accessed through the [[level select]] code. Many are not playable, so the [[debug]] code is used to explore the acts. Genocide City Zone and Death Egg Zone are blank, causing Sonic and Tails to fall to their deaths as soon as the Act begins.
+The Simon Wai prototype is more advanced than the earlier [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Nick Arcade prototype)|"Nick Arcade" prototype]], though is still very much incomplete. Only four [[Zone]]s can be played during normal gameplay; [[Aquatic Ruin Zone]], [[Chemical Plant Zone]], [[Hill Top Zone]] and [[Emerald Hill Zone]] (in that order). A further nine can be accessed through a [[level select]] code, though none of these Zones can be finished, and three are entirely empty stages.
-The widely distributed beta version may have been altered slightly by pirates to stop the SEGA logo from showing when the ROM boots up. The game was put on pirate cartridges with the help of a [[Super Magic Drive]] in Asia and Brazil and was then passed on as the final version. The beta is frequently examined by hackers to determine how Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for the Megadrive was developed.
+==History==
+This Simon Wai prototype was presented to the Western ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' fan community in 1999{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20220525010420/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog/c/CeMZWlDEo34/m/BUOTtjU_YM4J}}, though had been distributed in various forms for many years prior to this date. Its release was pivotal in cultivating research into the development of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games in the years that followed. Sonic Retro's origins partly date back to Simon's initial documentation of the ROM in the form of the now-defunct [[The Sonic 2 Beta Page]].
-=== Levels ===
+[[Yuji Naka]] claimed in an IGN interview that this prototype was originally stolen from a toy fair in New York in 1992{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104100754/http://xbox.gamespy.com/articles/654/654750p4.html}}, despite this event taking place in February. Copies were then mass-produced by software pirates (via the [[Super Magic Drive]]) and distributed on unlicensed Mega Drive cartridges across Asia and South America, passed on as the final version of the game. As a result of this theft, Sega temporarily changed their stance on journalists accessing pre-release versions of their games, forcing them to travel to a location of their choosing so as to ensure no further leakages could occur{{fileref|MeanMachinesSega05UK.pdf|page=6}}.
+The ROM is thought to have been hacked to hide the Sega logo from showing when the game boots up (though it was not removed entirely).
+==Comparisons==
+{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Comparisons}}
+== Levels ==
 *[[Aquatic Ruin Zone|Neo Green Hill Zone]] (playable) (renamed to Aquatic Ruin Zone)
-*[[Chemical Plant Zone]] (playable)
+*[[Chemical Plant Zone]] (playable) (incomplete)
 *[[Hill Top Zone]] (playable)
 *[[Emerald Hill Zone|Green Hill Zone]] (playable) (renamed to Emerald Hill Zone)
-*[[Wood Zone]] (cut)
+*[[Wood Zone]] (incomplete) (cut)
-*[[Metropolis Zone]] (incomplete)
+*[[Metropolis Zone]] (playable) (incomplete)
 *[[Hidden Palace Zone (S2)|Hidden Palace Zone]] (cut)
 *[[Oil Ocean Zone]] (incomplete)
-*[[Mystic Cave Zone|Dust Hill Zone]] (incomplete, origin of the beta name is unknown)
+*[[Mystic Cave Zone|Dust Hill Zone]] (incomplete) (renamed to Mystic Cave Zone)
 *[[Casino Night Zone]] (incomplete)
 *[[Genocide City Zone]] (empty) (cut)
 *[[Death Egg Zone]] (empty)
+*[[Special Stage]] (void)
-=== "Lost" Levels ===
+==Hidden content==
+{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Hidden content}}
-[[Hidden Palace Zone (S2)|Hidden Palace Zone]] is probably the most-loved level in the Sonic 2 beta. It got cut shortly before release, apparantly due to size issues.
-[[Genocide City Zone]] was dropped before it was even started in favor of the third act of Metropolis, according to its artist, [[Tom Payne]].
-The [[desert level]] has always been an enigma. It is a constant source of debate. A mock-up picture exists which proves that at one stage in development, a desert-like zone complete with cacti was planned in a Sonic 2 prototype before the dumped version. This zone is often believed to be named [[Dust Hill Zone]]. However, this is not the case in the available beta ROM and we have nothing to suggest that the level has ever existed in a playable format.
-The [[winter level]] would have been a separate zone from the desert level, but shared most of its graphics.
+==Downloads==
+{{Download|file=Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai Prototype) -!-.zip|filesize=627KB}}
-The official word on the beta, from [[Yuji Naka]] in an IGN interview, is that it was stolen from a toy fair in New York in 1992.
+==References==
+<references/>
-[[Category:Genesis Games]]
+{{S2SWOmni}}
-[[Category:Prereleases]]
+{{S2MDOmni|4}}
+[[Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) prereleases]]

Difference between revisions of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)"

From Sonic Retro

Latest revision as of 12:05, 15 January 2024

Contents

History

Comparisons

Levels

Hidden content

Downloads

References