Sand Shower Zone

It has been suggested that this page or section be merged with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) scrapped levels. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)

»

Scrapped Levels

»

Sand Shower Zone

Sand Shower Zone
Beta level, Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Level theme: desert/western

This scrapped level, possibly named Sand Shower Zone by the development team, was 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

Sand Shower 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 the present timeline with a past timeline counterpart known as "Rock World Zone" and "Rock Zone". Devised by Hirokazu Yasuhara, the "planner" of the game, Sand Shower existed at this point by name only.

Brenda Ross was responsible for the levels' artwork, where it was known internally as "砂漠 Zone" (Sabaku Zone, literally "Desert Zone") and similar phrases such as "Desert", "Desert level" and "Desert Zone".

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.

Ross also claimed in an interview that the level would have above ground and below ground sections. 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.

Mock-up image

Shortly after Sonic 2'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:

• 

• 

• 

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 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 Buzzers in this image however, it cannot be confirmed whether it was intended to be seen in Sand Shower, as Brenda Ross did not work on the objects and enemies.

Legacy

Sand Shower 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.

Desert levels have since proved common in Sonic games, the first being the Competition mode stage Desert Palace in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, followed by Sandopolis Zone in Sonic & Knuckles. The 2011 version of Sonic the Hedgehog CD was planned to feature a new Round, Desert Dazzle, with a similar look to Sand Shower, but it was ultimately scrapped. The Sonic Mania stage Mirage Saloon Zone also draws heavy inspiration from Sand Shower Zone and Desert Dazzle.

Name speculation

For some time (and disregarding the magazines and prototypes always attributing the name Dust Hill to Mystic Cave), it was speculated by Sonic communities that the name belonged to the scrapped desert level, but the early concepts for the game and the discovery of the Pre-Beta prototype confirmed that Dust Hill was simply an early name for Mystic Cave Zone.