Egel/Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Beta Pirates)

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Prototype pirate cartridges.

A Super Magic Drive

This article covers the prototype pirate versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

With the rising popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 and 1992, piracy was imminent for the highly anticipated sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Using a ROM-copier device called a Super Magic Drive, pirates illegally distributed both the final/retail release, and the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype), which ended up on unlicensed cartridges circulating in Asia and Brazil and eventually Europe. The prototype may have been altered slightly by pirates to hide the SEGA logo from showing when the ROM boots up. As was common practice, the SEGA logo is absent on any of the artwork (box-cover, label) used.

The Sonic 2 prototype pirate carts, and the history behind them

Simon Wai found the prototype ROM on a Chinese Geocities website, the origin of the ROM goes back to early 1992. There were two main theories as to how this prototype became wide spread, although

according to inside knowledge, neither is true:

• Yuji Naka claimed in an IGN interview that it was stolen from a toy fair in New York in 1992.[1].

“	Back in mid-1992 we had taken a demonstration cartridge to a toy show in New York. It wound up being stolen, and although we searched and searched all over, it was never found. So that's probably where the data comes from.	„

So this could very well mean that this stolen original prototype cartridge was the "master cart" used for dumping the prototype ROM.

• The other theory was that, after obtaining the preview cartridge from SEGA, a magazine employee leaked it and tried to make an extra buck by creating pirate cartridges which were passed on as the final version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

There is no way of knowing how the original "Wai" prototype cartridges SEGA made may have looked, although they could well have had a holographic label similar to the Nick Arcade prototype found by drx.

Here's an overview of some of the various pirate cartridges:

Variation 1 (Final version)

Asian type. The artwork screams "Prototype", but it is the final:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Once assumed to be a pirate of the Simon Wai prototype - this pirated cartridge actually contains the final version, albeit with removed SEGA logo and copyright when the ROM boots. The ROM contains no other noteworthy differences. It was found on eBay in 2001 and bought by Tails along with a Sonic the Hedgehog 3 pirate (the same Sonic 3 pirate as LocalH owns). This is in fact the very same cart as shown in the well-known picture at the beginning of this article. The label itself is very glossy, has slightly yellowed over time, and the top part is peeling off. Cart is held together via screws, which are covered by a white label on the backside. The box-cover is in excellent condition - click here[2] for the full scan.

Original case of this pirate.

The previous owner with the unoriginal username "Tails" switched cases in order to protect the cover artwork of this pirate. The frontside of the case has sticker residue on the left-bottom corner. The backside, as pictured above, features a sticker with the following number on it: 610517. "Tails" was asked by Egel what this could mean, but he had no idea, so it is currently unknown what this number means. The inside of the case mentions the word "casette" next to the placeholder where the cartridge originally was kept.

Varation 2 (Prototype)

Asian type. Confirmed to be the Simon Wai prototype:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The super-rare Sonic the Hedgehog Simon Wai prototype, in pirate form. It was once owned by Andre Dirk, one of the founders of the "Secrets of Sonic" community, who was amongst the few that laid the foundations of the website you're currently visiting, Sonic Retro. Andre's father bought it somewhere in Europe while on a holiday in 1992, and upon returning to Australia gave it to him. Years later, in 1999, Andre auctioned it off for $150. The highest bidder was a person with the username "Tails". He has been the owner of both the prototype and the Final version pirate cartridge mentioned above for 13 years, and finally sold them egel. As of 15th of January 2013, Egel is the third person to own both the prototype, and the above mentioned pirate version of Sonic 2. This prototype is also the very same cart as seen in the well-known picture at the beginning of this article. The label is also over 20 years old, it has yellowed a bit, and has a glossy, magazine-like look, features many scuffs and scratches, but is not peeling. The box-cover is in good condition - click here[3] for the full scan.

These two particular pirate versions rank amongst the most highly sought-after pirate games in the world.

Egel's Sonic 2 prototype pirate inserted into a Mega Key.

To play this prototype on a Genesis or Megadrive, either a Game Genie, an Action Replay, or a converter such as a Mega Key is needed. The Mega Key uses a dipswitch on the back of the cart to switch between three regions: Asia, USA, and Brazil.

Youtube video of Egel playing both the final version and the Wai prototype pirate.[4]

Varation 3 (Possible Prototype)

Brazillian type. This could be rented in certain videostores (note the rental sticker on the side of the cartridge):

• 
• 

In 2010, this possible Wai prototype was for sale on MercadoLivre. Shoemanbundy, a well respected member of the community, tried to buy it from the seller, but to no avail. Here's an excerpt from his story hunting down this version:

“	I found that very first pic up there from the auction. I messaged the seller asking to buy it, he said it will cost R$145 to ship it to me in the US. So I go to a guy named Wendelp2002 on eBay who is a brazillian reseller, ask him to try to get it. After a whole lot of miscommunication with him I tell him off because I thought he was way overcharging me. Next day I look at the auction and see wendel has asked the seller how much shipping costs to his area. I immediately get suspicious. Suddenly the auction is taken down and it says "Vendidos: 0". So I immediately suspected that this wendel guy bought it for himself and is keeping it a secret from me, requesting to the seller that he shut the auction early or something and sell it in private, so as to avoid having to leave feedback and showing me that he bought it. So still in doubt I tell him to message the seller and ask what happened. Wendel messages me back and says that the seller told him that the game was sold. I point out that it says there were 0 Vendidos, he says the seller just says that it was sold, that's it. Weird, very weird. So the next day, sure enough the auction is suddenly back up. So I ask some other guy to help me bid. Just as I'm finally getting him to bid on it for me, the auction is suddenly taken down again! Now I go into this guys others auctions and ask him what the heck is going on, and I get my friend to also do the same. We both pester him. Not surprisingly the guy just gets very ambiguous. He tells the friend that it was sold. In one message he tells me he can't find the game anymore. Then in another he tells me it was sold. Good god I just want a simple game, why all of this playing around with me? I ask the seller, if you supposedly sold it the first time why put it up for auction again? I mean, putting up an auction is NOT an automatic process, you do it manually on your own. He says it was a mistake, he forgot he got rid of it. Sure... So the NEXT day comes. Day 3. The auction is up AGAIN FOR THE 3RD DAMN TIME. No mistake here, you do not have an auction accidently go up 3 times, let alone do it manually yourself a 3rd time when you just told someone you had sold thing thing. So now I bid myself, instead of waiting for the friend. From here on the seller doesn't even acknowledge a single thing that happened with the game supposedly being sold or anything. I pay my friend to buy it etc.., more nonsense with him getting him to grasp the concept that my friend is paying not me. Anyways, the game arrived at his house today. Well he tells me that sadly what he got is not what was pictured in the auction at all. The horror when I look at the pics. A Japanese Sonic 2 box plus an American Sonic 2 cart. The guy just mixed and matched whatever he had, just for the sake of selling Sonic 2.	„

Let that be a warning to those wanting to buy on Mercado...

Varation 4 (Prototype)

Brazillian type. Found and owned by Thom Muller.

• 
• 
• 

“	I was spending my vacation at my hometown and, while walking around with my dad, I found the cart. It was on the ground, beneath some scrubs in a former record and sound store (which carried old systems and games sometimes) that was being reformed. I found it earlier this month, but only could play it today, because my Genesis was lacking the power supply. After some hassle trying to get it to work (some idiot GLUED the pcb BACKWARDS on the cart!!), it came to be one of those pirate Simon Wai betas sold as the final Sonic 2 here in Brazil. I was so happy, 'cause I'd never come across one of those. It's awesome to finally go through Hidden Palace Zone on my actual genny and TV!!	„

Varation 5 (Possible Prototype)

Brazillian type. Owned by HyperKnucles.

Pirate using official artwork.

A more recent pirate containing the Wai prototype, unconfirmed.

Varation 6 (Prototype)

Russian type. Owned by TmEE.

• 
• 
• 
• 

“	The cart is having my Sonic1 shell, original shell had the label using an image that's titled OMAKE.BMP in Saturn Sonic Jam CD, cart style is same though, and I did the marker stuff and some soldering experiments on the PCB.	„

Also a recent pirate cart, confirmed to contain the Simon Wai prototype.