Magazine Preview Scans
From Sonic Retro
Magazine Previews
Before Sonic 2 went gold, many preview pictures of Sonic 2 appeared in magazines. Here we'll examine some of those pictures and see if there's any discrepancy with the final Sonic 2 or the prototype we have.
Each picture is examined and then declared as mock-up, earlier prototype, or newer prototype. Screenshots that appear to be from the same prototype as the one we have are not listed here because they're not particularly interesting.
Click on a thumbnail for a detail analysis.
# | Screenshot | Description | Conclusion |
---|---|---|---|
M01 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/01!</iimg> | A Hidden Palace picture that showed up on various magazines. | Mock-up |
M02 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/02!</iimg> | Another Hidden Palace picture, this time showing Sonic zipping through a green tube. | Newer Prototype |
M03 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/03!</iimg> | The only picture featuring a desert level in Sonic 2. | Mock-up |
M04 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/04!</iimg> | An off-centered Sonic in Emerald Hill. | Mock-up |
M05 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/05!90px</iimg> | Mystic Cave Zone. | Newer Prototype |
M06 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/06!</iimg> | Sonic and Tails spindashing up a slope in Casino Night Zone. | Newer Prototype |
M07 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/07!90px</iimg> | Sonic and Tails in a later Hidden Palace | Newer Prototype |
M08 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/08!90px</iimg> | Prototype title screen right in your Sonic 2 manual. | Beta 4 |
M09 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/09!</iimg> | Hill Top Zone featuring green balls on the seesaws. | Nick Arcade Prototype |
M10 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/10!</iimg> | Level select with some zones added and removed. | Beta 4 |
M11 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/11!</iimg> | Sonic lying down in Wood Zone. | Newer Prototype |
M12 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/12!</iimg> | Neo Green H-something Zone. | Newer Prototype |
M13 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/13!</iimg> | A newer Hidden Palace. | Newer Prototype |
M14 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/14!</iimg> | Two-player split-screen in Emerald Hill. Tails has hybrid icon. | Newer Prototype |
M15 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/15!</iimg> | Boss landing straight down as Tails flies. From the same prototype as above. | Newer Prototype |
M16 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/16!</iimg> | Sonic displaying final ledge animation. From the same prototype as above. | Newer Prototype |
M17 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/17!</iimg> | Sonic displaying final running animation. From the same prototype as above. | Newer Prototype |
M18 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/18!</iimg> | Newer Aquatic Ruins Zone. | Newer Prototype |
M19 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/19!</iimg> | Prototype Special Stage. | Newer Prototype |
M20 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/20!90px</iimg> | Title screen for the GamePro prototype. | Newer Prototype |
M21 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/21!</iimg> | 2P mode of the GamePro prototype, showing Tails having Sonic's icon. | Newer Prototype |
M22 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/22!</iimg> | Sonic in a spinning net. | Newer Prototype |
M23 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/23!</iimg> | Exploding prototype EHZ boss. | Newer Prototype |
M24 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/24!</iimg> | Final Sonic sprites in the GamePro prototype. | Newer Prototype |
M25 | <iimg>S2Beta:Magazine Previews/25!90px</iimg> | Extra score counters and linked ring counts in manual shot. | Newer Prototype |
Putting all the little pieces together, we can construct a timeline showing which prototypes come first.