Sonic The Hedgehog 2 "Alpha"

[alec006]

http://www.stech68k.net/nickarcade.png

$1500 for the Alpha/Beta,now dumped by drx.............FINNALY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS THE NICK ARCADE ALPHA IS HERE! ^^

Download for yourself >>http://www.hidden-palace.org/?news/c/9

[JJNova]

Nice to see this type of stuff going on at DP still.
Thanks for regenerating my faith in the fine folks involved in this community.

[Snapple]

Nice score.

Nick Arcade was some corny fun back in the day.

[agbulls]

Is this the game that is often referred to as "Sonic Crackers"? I don't think I've heard anything about a Sonic 2 alpha. Pictures or info would be appreciated. Oh, and yes...Nick Arcade was corny fun.

[GrandAmChandler]

Is this the game that is often referred to as "Sonic Crackers"? I don't think I've heard anything about a Sonic 2 alpha. Pictures or info would be appreciated. Oh, and yes...Nick Arcade was corny fun.

Nope, Sonic Crackers was an early title to what eventually became Knuckles: Chaotix on the Sega 32x.

[alec006]

Now who wanted pictures ^^

http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_0.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_1.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_2.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_3.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_4.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_5.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_6.png

[MarioMania]

it's funny how tails is in one of the Levels from Sonic 1


Now who wanted pictures ^^

http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_0.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_1.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_2.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_3.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_4.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_5.png
http://www.sonic-cult.org/!trash/s2proto_6.png

[Muscelli]

whats so different about this one compared to the regular sonic 2

[FantasiaWHT]

Yeah, could someone explain to those of us with no clue what's going on? :)

Oh that reminds me, what's the level select code for Sonic 2, and does it work on the PS2 collection?

[alec006]

FROM WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_2_Alpha

This particular prototype was purchased by Łukasz Zapart from a game collector for $1500 (as opposed to the first beta, which was simply downloaded from a Chinese GeoCities website). It was used by a gaming magazine before the game was released, and is very similar, if not identical, to the build shown on Nick Arcade. It is considered to be a much earlier prototype, containing a glitched version of the original Green Hill Zone, and the level select uses Sonic 1 level names. Stages also play Sonic 1 music, and the level layouts are drastically different. The alpha contains a very different ending sign post, and a crash animation that happens when Sonic hits a wall at a high speed. The sprites for this action were found in the original beta.

The two-player mechanic was already implemented and mostly functional in this build, and can be accessed by pressing B + start when starting an Act from level select. Not every Zone has a two-player version.

The developers were generally only working with the first Act of each zone. Starting positions in the other Acts usually leave them unplayable. Labyrinth Zone and Hill Top (Scrap Brain) Zone Act 3 loads very garbled graphics - the player will fall to their death without debug mode, where they can find several objects floating in the air, almost all of which have broken collision data. Similarly, attempting to play Final Zone or will crash the game almost immediately.

[DreamTR]

Interesting.

[Push Upstairs]

I never realized that "Sonic 2" was built upon "Sonic 1".

And reading 40+ pages of discussion about this game, some have speculated that the game could very well be the exact one used on Nick Arcade.

[Nature Boy]

And for those of us who had no idea what Nick Arcade was (since we're not American), also from Wikipedia:


Nick Arcade was a game show hosted by Phil Moore that aired on the Nickelodeon television network in America from 1992 to 1993 (in the first season, the shows were taped in 1991 and aired in early 1992), airing originally during weekend afternoons. The show was the first in America to regularly intermix live action with animation using a bluescreen (Knightmare was the first show worldwide). Two teams of contestants played two initial rounds, with the winner advancing to play todays video game wizard.

[MarioMania]

How do you get the level select on tthis version

[cyberfluxor]

Hehe, Nick Arcade was an awesome show and is actually a rerun on their GAS network at like 3am during the weekdays I believe. As for the different versions, that's wicked odd for $1500. That's a lot of money for a nearly unplayable game but it is a huge piece of gaming history especially for Sega fans. Thanks for the post!

[alec006]

Level Select Code at the title screen is UP,Down Down Down Down,Up A+Start
Debug in GENS is accessed by the Game Genie Code FFFFFA:0001
Debug from the title screen only: C,C,Up,Down,Down,Down,Down,Up Start


And as an added bonus DRX has posted pics of the cart itself

http://www.hidden-palace.org/releases/pix/s2b_cart_case.jpg
http://www.hidden-palace.org/releases/pix/s2b_cart_front.jpg
http://www.hidden-palace.org/releases/pix/s2b_cart_back.jpg

[MarioMania]

I have the Beta Version of Sonic 1 on Gens..But I can't get it to work..It shows a Red Screen

[Wavelflack]

You need to blow on the rom file.

[Celestial Avenger]

http://stech68k.net/s2protohit.gif

[drx]

Interesting.

Indeed.