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Difference between revisions of "Dust Hill Zone"

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(Even though this page should be rewritten to some degree, I'm reverting it for now.)
(Undo revision 301563 by David The Lurker (talk) Reason: There is straight evidence. This isn't something we decided overnight, we thought that it may have been the case since 2017.)
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|Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|:Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) scrapped levels|l2=Scrapped Levels|{{PAGENAME}}}}
 
|Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|:Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) scrapped levels|l2=Scrapped Levels|{{PAGENAME}}}}
{{LevelBob
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'''Dust Hill Zone''' is an infamous name featured in several prototype versions of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)]]''.
|name = Dust Hill Zone
 
|levelscreen = DesertlevelCorrectColor.JPG
 
|screenwidth =
 
|levelno = Beta
 
|game = Sonic the Hedgehog 2
 
|acts =
 
|theme1 = desert/western
 
|underwater =
 
|music =
 
}}
 
'''Dust Hill Zone''' is the name of a scrapped level intended to be featured in the [[Sega Mega Drive]] version of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]''. Development of this stage was handled primarily by [[Brenda Ross]] of [[Sega Technical Institute]], and is themed on a desert, similar to those found in Southwest America, complete with cacti and sand.
 
  
==Design==
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==GamePro & Simon Wai==
Dust Hill Zone's origins date back to early stages of ''Sonic 2'' when time travel was still a planned feature for the game, where it existed as part of a "ruined present" timeline{{intref|Game Development:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)#Time travel}}. Devised by [[Hirokazu Yasuhara]], the "planner" of the game, Dust Hill existed at this point by name only, being analogous to present and past versions of a stage, [[Emerald Hill Zone|Green Hill Zone]] (Emerald Hill) and [[Hill Top Zone]], respectively{{intref|Game Development:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)#Time travel}}.
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The name Dust Hill Zone first appeared in GamePro Magazine, in a screenshot featuring an early version of [[Mystic Cave Zone]]. The name was largely forgotten until the discovery of the [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)|Sonic 2 Simon Wai prototype]] in 1999. Dust Hill Zone appeared in the game’s level select screen, and selecting it would take the player to Mystic Cave Zone.
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<gallery widths="320" heights="240" >
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Mag_gamepro_3.jpg|An excerpt from GamePro Magazine, featuring Dust Hill Zone/Mystic Cave Zone.
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Ss.s2bls.png|The [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)|Sonic 2 Simon Wai prototype]]'s level Select screen, featuring Dust Hill Zone's name.
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</gallery>
  
The zone survived the time travel concept and at some point became a desert level. [[Brenda Ross]] was responsible for the levels' artwork, where it was known internally as "砂漠 Zone" (''Sabaku'' Zone, literally "Desert Zone"){{fileref|Sket banper.png}} and similar phrases such as "Desert"{{fileref|S2badnikconcepts3.jpg}}{{fileref|S2enemylevels.jpg}}, "Desert level" and "Desert Zone"{{intref|Brenda Ross interview by Wetflame}}{{intref|Tim Skelly interview by ICEknight (August 2004)}}.
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==Desert Zone & Brenda Ross==
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Because the name "Dust Hill" did not seem to fit a spooky cave level, many fans speculated that the name was not originally intended for Mystic Cave, and that Mystic Cave may have been a replacement for a cut zone. In digging through old magazines, there was found a mockup of a desert level cut from the final game. Speculation ran rampant that this cut desert level may have in fact been Dust Hill, replaced by Mystic Cave after having been cut. The fan community was able to determine that Brenda Ross had been the art designer for the level, managed to track down her email address, and conduct [[Brenda_Ross_interview_by_Deviance_(February_2001)|two]] [[Brenda_Ross_interview_by_Wetflame|interviews]] with her over the years. Some parts of the interviews seemed to confirm that Dust Hill Zone was the desert level, while others made it seem more dubious.
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<gallery widths="320" heights="240" >
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DesertlevelCorrectColor.JPG|The mockup of the cut desert level, often speculated to be Dust Hill Zone.
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</gallery>
  
It is claimed by Brenda Ross that the level's layout was completed before work began on [[Wood Zone]], Ross' second level which was also ultimately scrapped{{intref|Brenda Ross interview by Deviance (February 2001)}}.
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==Hirokazu Yasuhara & Time Travel==
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In May 2017, ''Sonic 2'''s "planner", [[Hirokazu Yasuhara]] detailed some of the earlier stages of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s development as part of a game design presentation at Digital Dragons 2017{{ref|https://twitter.com/necrosofty/status/866702759357292544}}. Of particular note is the idea that ''Sonic 2'' once incorporated a time travelling mechanic - a feature that was never mentioned in public at the time, but found itself in a different guise as part of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog CD]]''.
  
Ross also claimed in an interview that the level would have above ground and below ground sections{{intref|Brenda Ross interview by Deviance (February 2001)}}. Alongside Ross, art director [[Tim Skelly]] has suggested that most of the graphic tiles would have been reused (with a different color palette) in a [[winter level]]{{intref|Brenda Ross interview by Deviance (February 2001)}}{{intref|Tim Skelly interview by ICEknight (August 2004)}}.
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However, ''Sonic 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s version of time travel was something very different - time zones would be accessed in a more linear way, and rather than appear as re-skinned and slightly tweaked versions of the same levels, each time period would have an entirely new set of stages.
  
==Mock-up image==
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Yasuhara's presentation featured four slides containing planned time periods, and a rough idea of how they linked together:
Shortly after ''Sonic 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s announcement, Sega distributed three "screenshots" of the game, which were mock-ups constructed out of both completed ''Sonic 2'' assets and holdovers from the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. Alongside what would become [[Emerald Hill Zone]] and [[Hidden Palace Zone]], a desert stage was pictured:
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<gallery widths="320px" heights="240px">
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<gallery widths="320" heights="240" >
Mag compare3a.jpg|{{fileref|EGM US 059.pdf|page=60}}
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Sonic 2 Level Map Concept 01.png|"Now", also known as "present time"
Desert preview.jpg|{{fileref|SegaVisions US 10.pdf|page=5}}
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Sonic 2 Level Map Concept 03.png|"Future"
DesertlevelCorrectColor.JPG|{{fileref|Mega UK 01.pdf|page=29}}
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Sonic 2 Level Map Concept 02.png|"Now 2", the "ruined present time"
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Sonic 2 Level Map Concept 04.png|"Ancient time"
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Sonic 2 Time Travel Document.jpg|"Now, Medieval, Now 2, Ancient, and Future times showed in the diagram"
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
While using Brenda Ross' artwork for the stage, the HUD positioning is incorrect, Sonic is off-center and some graphics (such as the clouds) are borrowed from the original game.
 
  
The level was not named, and may have never been known by the US artists, however when pressed, Hirokazu Yasuhara identified the level as Dust Hill Zone<ref>{{LinkRetro|title=The Truth About Dust Hill Zone|topic=12023}}</ref>.
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Of note are two things: first, where [[Emerald Hill Zone|Green Hill Zone]] appears in "Now", in its place in "Now 2" is featured Dust Hill Zone. This means that Dust Hill Zone, whatever it was, was intended to be the "bad future" of Green Hill Zone. Second, also in "Now" is the name [[Sand Shower Zone]], a name previously unheard of in relation to ''Sonic 2''. While the word "dust" has many meanings and thus could be applied to a variety of locales, Sand Shower Zone is a name that could only realistically apply to a desert or beach level.
  
The crocodile badnik, [[Gator]] was programmed into the game, and in older builds was a placeable debug object in [[Hidden Palace Zone]]. Its artwork does not exist in the final game. Much like the [[Buzzer]]s in this image however, it cannot be confirmed whether it was intended to be seen in Dust Hill, as Brenda Ross did not work on the objects and enemies.
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==Prototypes Unmasked==
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In November 2019, drx unveiled [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_(prototype;_1992-08-21)|two newly]] [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_(prototype;_1992-09-14)|discovered prototypes]] of ''Sonic 2''. As in the Simon Wai prototype, selecting Dust Hill Zone from the level select screen in each prototype takes the player to Mystic Cave Zone. The later September 14 prototype even features a title card for the level, again calling it Dust Hill Zone.
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<gallery widths="320" heights="240" >
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DustHillMysticCaveTitleCard.png|A "Dust Hill Zone" title card, 27 years later.
 +
</gallery>
  
==Mystic Cave Zone connection and leftovers==
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==Why Dust Hill?==
[[Image:Ss.s2bls.png|thumb|right|200px|The [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)|Sonic 2 Simon Wai prototype]]'s level Select screen, featuring Dust Hill Zone's name.]]
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As stated, the name "Dust Hill Zone" doesn't seem to fit the image of an underground cavern, but [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(16-bit)|Sonic 1]]'s oddly on-the-nose [[Final Zone]] and ''Sonic 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s inappropriate [[Genocide City Zone]] show that the team may not have had a handle on great level names. However, if Mystic Cave Zone was intended to be a "bad future" variant of Emerald Hill Zone, then the name makes some sense. Perhaps Dr. Eggman "dusted" Emerald Hill Zone with bombs, and the cavernous underground sections were all that remained? Then, when the time travel gimmick was dropped from the game's plot, the team simply changed the level's name.
Prototype versions of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' list a level called "Dust Hill Zone". When selected in the [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Simon Wai prototype)|"Simon Wai" prototype]], the player is taken to an unfinished [[Mystic Cave Zone]]. This prototype and some later builds were sent to the gaming press, and as a result, Mystic Cave Zone was often referred to as "Dust Hill Zone"{{fileref|EGM US 040.pdf|page=205}}{{fileref|GamePro US 040.pdf|page=48}}.
 
  
It is not known whether this was an overlooked error, the result of levels being re-arranged or overwritten, or the name being recycled for Mystic Cave for a short period. As many levels were scrapped in ''Sonic 2'' at various stages of development, it cannot be confirmed or denied that the two stages were linked in any way.
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==Conclusion (For Now)==
[[File:DHZBetaLeftovers.PNG|thumb|right|200px||Possible Dust Hill Zone leftovers, as shown in the Simon Wai prototype.]]
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At the time of this writing, the most reasonable conclusion seems to be that Dust Hill Zone was a bizarre early name for Mystic Cave Zone, and that the cut desert level was this Sand Shower Zone.
Other possible remnants of Dust Hill include an empty level slot, accessed in this prototype by entering the [[Game Genie]] code '''AA7A-AGGY''' and choosing [[Emerald Hill Zone|Green Hill Zone]] Act 1 in the stage select. Like [[Genocide City Zone]], [[Death Egg Zone]], and the second Act of [[Wood Zone]], the stage is entirely empty, with the default background music being the tune used in [[Oil Ocean Zone]] in the final game.
 
[[File:DHZFinalLeftovers.PNG|thumb|right|200px||Possible Dust Hill Zone leftovers, as they appear in the final.]]
 
These leftovers can also be accessed in the final game by entering the Game Genie Code '''ACLA-AGD8''' ('''AB6X-AGBR''' in ''[[Knuckles in Sonic 2]]''), and pressing start on "Sound Test" (or in ''[[Knuckles in Sonic 2]]'', the [[Special Stage (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 16-bit)|Special Stage]]). This version of the stage is also comparable to the Genocide City Zone, as they both use broken Emerald Hill Zone tiles, have little collision data, and no objects, making the stages impossible to finish by any means.
 
  
In both cases there is no definitive proof that the slot was intended for Dust Hill, but with most other levels from the era being accounted for and Dust Hill being reportedly complete on paper, the stage was a likely candidate for the slot. However, there is also a distinct chance that the slot was intended for a different desert level known as "Sand Shower" instead; the game's internal level order is very similar to the level order shown in early concepts which mention both Dust Hill and Sand Shower, and the empty slot with the Oil Ocean music lines up with Sand Shower's location in that old level order.
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References:
 
 
==Legacy==
 
Dust Hill Zone continues to be a topic of speculation, being the only Sonic 2 level to be shown to the public that has yet to be found in a playable form. It is not functional in any preserved prototype of the game, and only Hirokazu Yasuhara has ever reliably linked the name to an image.
 
 
 
Desert levels have since proved common in ''Sonic'' games, the first appearing as the 2P zone [[Desert Palace Zone]] in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' and as a full zone [[Sandopolis]] in ''[[Sonic & Knuckles]]''. ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog CD]]'' has also been speculated to have its own scrapped desert stage (nearly re-imagined in the 2011 release as [[Desert Dazzle]], with a similar look to Dust Hill). The ''[[Sonic Mania]]'' stage [[Mirage Saloon]] also draws heavy inspiration from the stage.
 
 
 
==References==
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 
 
{{S2MDOmni}}
 
{{S2MDOmni}}
 
[[Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) levels]]
 
[[Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) scrapped levels]]
 

Revision as of 00:46, 13 November 2019

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
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Scrapped Levels
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Dust Hill Zone

Dust Hill Zone is an infamous name featured in several prototype versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit).

GamePro & Simon Wai

The name Dust Hill Zone first appeared in GamePro Magazine, in a screenshot featuring an early version of Mystic Cave Zone. The name was largely forgotten until the discovery of the Sonic 2 Simon Wai prototype in 1999. Dust Hill Zone appeared in the game’s level select screen, and selecting it would take the player to Mystic Cave Zone.

Desert Zone & Brenda Ross

Because the name "Dust Hill" did not seem to fit a spooky cave level, many fans speculated that the name was not originally intended for Mystic Cave, and that Mystic Cave may have been a replacement for a cut zone. In digging through old magazines, there was found a mockup of a desert level cut from the final game. Speculation ran rampant that this cut desert level may have in fact been Dust Hill, replaced by Mystic Cave after having been cut. The fan community was able to determine that Brenda Ross had been the art designer for the level, managed to track down her email address, and conduct two interviews with her over the years. Some parts of the interviews seemed to confirm that Dust Hill Zone was the desert level, while others made it seem more dubious.

Hirokazu Yasuhara & Time Travel

In May 2017, Sonic 2's "planner", Hirokazu Yasuhara detailed some of the earlier stages of Sonic the Hedgehog 2's development as part of a game design presentation at Digital Dragons 2017[1]. Of particular note is the idea that Sonic 2 once incorporated a time travelling mechanic - a feature that was never mentioned in public at the time, but found itself in a different guise as part of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

However, Sonic 2's version of time travel was something very different - time zones would be accessed in a more linear way, and rather than appear as re-skinned and slightly tweaked versions of the same levels, each time period would have an entirely new set of stages.

Yasuhara's presentation featured four slides containing planned time periods, and a rough idea of how they linked together:

Of note are two things: first, where Green Hill Zone appears in "Now", in its place in "Now 2" is featured Dust Hill Zone. This means that Dust Hill Zone, whatever it was, was intended to be the "bad future" of Green Hill Zone. Second, also in "Now" is the name Sand Shower Zone, a name previously unheard of in relation to Sonic 2. While the word "dust" has many meanings and thus could be applied to a variety of locales, Sand Shower Zone is a name that could only realistically apply to a desert or beach level.

Prototypes Unmasked

In November 2019, drx unveiled two newly discovered prototypes of Sonic 2. As in the Simon Wai prototype, selecting Dust Hill Zone from the level select screen in each prototype takes the player to Mystic Cave Zone. The later September 14 prototype even features a title card for the level, again calling it Dust Hill Zone.

Why Dust Hill?

As stated, the name "Dust Hill Zone" doesn't seem to fit the image of an underground cavern, but Sonic 1's oddly on-the-nose Final Zone and Sonic 2's inappropriate Genocide City Zone show that the team may not have had a handle on great level names. However, if Mystic Cave Zone was intended to be a "bad future" variant of Emerald Hill Zone, then the name makes some sense. Perhaps Dr. Eggman "dusted" Emerald Hill Zone with bombs, and the cavernous underground sections were all that remained? Then, when the time travel gimmick was dropped from the game's plot, the team simply changed the level's name.

Conclusion (For Now)

At the time of this writing, the most reasonable conclusion seems to be that Dust Hill Zone was a bizarre early name for Mystic Cave Zone, and that the cut desert level was this Sand Shower Zone.

References:

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