Sonic 2 - Hidden Palace Zone

[@gospyro]

NOW THIS IS A SERIOUS FLASHBACK!! I was the artist for this level!! I haven't seen it in years and watching it now almost makes me want to cry. The art was done for this level, but three days before the game was meant to ship, they CUT this level due to lack of time to finish the programming and debug it!! Still pisses me off!! It's some of my favorite art work I ever did for a game!!

[@Cr102y]

Can’t believe I found this comment by accident,I guess this is where people cite some info regarding the zone and its history. Thank you for making Hidden Palace Zone.

[@WilliamTheLonelyRobot2]

Small correction: 3 Weeks before the final. But to be fair you could have just misremembered it, so I don’t blame you.

[@Ronnie06spartan]

Favorite song in Sonic 2 since I was a kid. Such a nice melody

[@wawawis]

I always wondered what level this music went to. Glad to finally see it. Thanks for posting!

[@Number1StarSB]

Having this level and taking 1 act away from Metropolis might have actually made me enjoy Sonic 2 more then Sonic 1. This is definitely a great looking stage and the only one I miss that got cut do to time constraints. They should of finished this zone and made it playable with the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge of course that would be to good to be true.

[@Ronnie06spartan]

I've always loved this song.. and pretty much all the music from the classic Sonic The Hedgehog games!

[@HeyLaserLips]

Playing the hack "Sonic Long Version 1.8" was like a dream come true. All the extra levels put into the main game. I know they're not as originally intended but it was still cool. I had a magazine back in '92 with screen shots of both Hidden Palace Zone and Wood Zone and always wished back then I could have played them.

[@CopiaRatIV]

If only sega kept this level. I used to play this song in the sound test (its number 10)

[@brandonzwinglilee2984]

there were going to keep it put the only working version was a beta cart that was stolen and due to time limitations they couldn't recreate it

[@skullapendra]

@CellarDoor06 I cannot agree with you more. This takes me back to some fond memories of my past,to the point of trying not to choke up. I remember being 9 years old,running through the sound test section,coming across this music and wondering where the hell I could find it in the game. Little did I know it would be years later before I found out. It's a moment of years past that I can never get back,but at least these games will still be around for years to come in some way or another.

[@mikeman10]

I remember when I was about 5 I found this song in the sound test menu and I always wondered what it was. I figured it had something to do with the chaos emeralds but I could never find out how to trigger it but now I know how. Can't wait to try it.

[@Sherpaful]

wow, i finally get the see the level this music goes to. pretty cool for a long time sonic fan

[@knucklesfan8]

Hidden Palace Zone is, was, and ever shall be the alpha and omega of amazing cut zones that didn't deserve to be cut.

[@retrofuturex]

I'm just one of the millions who never got to play this level and believed its existence was a hoax. Cool music as usual.

[@Jaydoggy531]

This is in debug mode which allows the player to turn into objects or float around in case the level glitches - it's part of the beta testing process so that the person reports the glitch, but can continue on to see if the rest of the level works.

[@TailsX97]

@myke336 The level was removed but i think some parts of it like the music and maybe some sprites is still there. There is a beta of sonic 2 over at sonicretro. In the Sonic 2 beta hidden palace is a playable level, wood zone too :)

[@pryt86]

@CellarDoor06 i agree i am 25 and ive been through some of those amazing experiences. Its sad gaming does not have the same effect on me anymore. The nostalgia is overwheming when i go back to the ealry 90s days of video games

[@tsherwoodrzero]

The music in this is really good, almost like a forest theme from a SNES-era Final Fantasy game

[@TheLadySamanthaa]

@violet46 You have to download the prototype version of Sonic 2 to be able to play this zone. You can also access the zone on the final version of Sonic 2 with the help of Game Genie, however the zone itself is all garbled and messed up.

[@mrzozelowh]

@blaku69 It's not normally available, you have to use a Game Genie to access it. But the music's in the sound test all the same.

[@knucklesfan8]

0:43 was placed in a magazine article before the game was released as a trailer. That's the reason why Hidden Palace got leaked since no one could find it.

[@GoldmansNephew]

Yeah, I always wondered where the music was from. Its good to see the level at last.

[@RyokoYaksa]

@jonlscott He refers to this soundtrack remaining in the sound test of the retail version of the game.

[@perfecsonic95]

Well I have been playing Sonic games ever since the Genesis era, beaten the first game a million times over and I'm pretty damn good at it, but that Labyrinth zone always gets me eventually XD

[@Irixion]

This is a pretty good level. It's not rumours, it's been confirmed that the level has been scrapped last minute because "at the rate" they were "going, it would have never been finished." The level wasn't touched at all throughout its lifetime, only an auto spin object was added in the final, and that's it.

[@eggsbox]

no, it was found in one of the levels on the rom that wasn't in the actual game, but it does feature in S&K.

[@SubconsciousAlive]

The game only registers you getting out of the water when you touch the barrier between it and the air (with the splash you hear in the video). He debugged his way out of the water, and the game still registered him as in the water. This is just an estimation though...

[@ultimaster1]

finally now i know why there was that music in the sound check

[@azzythehero]

@rsconceptions Fun fact: According to Simon Wai's Sonic 2 Beta page, an interview with one of the dudes behind Sonic 2 said the layout of the third act of Metropolis zone was recycled from the planned layout of Genocide City Zone. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

[@AquadiustH]

The third level of Metropolis was originally slated to be the Genocide City (/Cyber City) Zone, and then due to time constraints they took it out and changed it to the third act of Metropolis.

[@S1ndle]

@HeronX111 Look to clarify everything it did exist in the prototype versions of the game it had 1 act finished party though it still exists in the final version but the graphics for it were removed. Ok is everyone happy now!

[@NeoDaOne]

Ive never played this level, didnt even think it existed...I think maybe they took it out later on...but when you got to listen to the music in the menu, this track is still listed

[@Ronnie06spartan]

Not to mention, the nice music in this zone!

[@krizan1]

I'm sure i'm not the only one to notice that the Robotnik battle in Dust Hill Zone, Wood Zone and Hidden Palace Zone is identical (albeit looks different due to background) Emerald Hill Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone and Mystic Cave Zone respecively ! :)

[@ShakeITyEA]

this level and its music are pretty awesome after all..

[@TailsX97]

@myke336 omg! Found this info on sonicretro: Hidden Palace is playable in Sonic 2 by using the GameGenie code ACLA-ATD4, enter the Level Select code in the sound test screen). Go back to the title, and hold a + start . select Death Egg Zone. Most of the artwork is missing in the final game, and collision data is removed, making the zone impossible without enabling debug mode at the level select screen. It is impossible to complete the level without placing a capsule with debug mode.

[@Kenoji8]

@rsconceptions -- Ouch, I got it confused w/ the Sky Sanctuary Zone in S&K where you had to face Metal Sonic 3 times. Shows you how much I've played the stage. I seriously stop after the Oil Ocean Zone each time.

[@NEEDLEFEAST]

Interesting infos for the "Tails Only Level". It looks fun, like a medley of Chemical Plant (with the "speed vents"), Aquatic Ruins and Hill Top (with the bridges) kinda.

[@MrZillas]

this level is beautiful..... damn..... there are some lost levels in "Streets of Rage 3"... but they are only in the japanese version "Bare Knuckles 3".... you can go by motor-cycle and chase a truck where a guy pushes barrels to you.... after finishing the map, the truck has an accident..... really cool

[@tehSARSx]

i can't see why this was never released. it looks so fun

[@rhyleymaster]

What happened was, Sega was originally going to have Sonic 2 and Sonic CD the same game, but the teams split up and what ever was left over was left after the Beta.

[@peterh4u]

I always wondered wtf this tune was in the Sound Test. I soooooo want 2 play this level!

[@wschmrdr]

they use the mystic cave boss because they haven't really programmed anything into the game, maybe a level map, but that's it. All those zones are there in the final game but VERY incomplete, the hacker just completes them, and since each needs a boss, they just take an old one and put in new colors. Wood's boss is Aquatic Ruin, Genocide City AND Death Egg 2 are Chemical Plant (Death Egg 1 and 2 are an exact replica of Chemical Plant), while dust hill I believe is Emerald Hill's one.

[@Wiiolka]

This level is available only in the beta version of Sonic 2. But for this gameplay was used a hacked rom called "Sonic 2: long beta version" I don't know very much but I played the original beta rom and you can't finish it. That's why.

[@TheRealCodeBlack]

@Mcheetah Debug Mode was in the original Genesis version, actually. It's retained in every version since, but it's not something that's added in emulators - it was always there.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

A game genie code got me there on Sonic 2 final but you will find the graphics are just all glitches as they were deleted! You need Sonic 2 BETA to see HPZ including the master emerald. To see that on a real Megadrive/Genesis you need either the Sonic 2 BETA cart (good luck trying to find THAT!!) or a flash cartridge or maybe someone has made it work with a Mega CD

[@AnotherStatsGuy]

This is proof that levels should never be scrapped this late in the process. Sonic 2 has two such levels ALONE (This & Wood Zone) I would much rather a video game developer go: "Listen, we're not satisfied with the product we currently have. So we can either quickly finish by cutting out the unfinished levels and release it now, or we can release it a couple of months later in its full glory." This would avoid trainwrecks like Sonic '06 where too much was attempted in too little time

[@TheLadySamanthaa]

I'm sure there's a version called Sonic 2 Long Version which you can download. If I remember correctly it has all the scrapped levels in.

[@meowkie]

I LOVED this track in the sound test mode...I must have tried beating the game a THOUSAND times as a little girl to find out "which level had this music". -_____- Only to find out it was never in the game at all... well, not unless you do the whole code to get the beta levels, anyway. XD I liked the ditched zones!

[@eagc7]

not actually acordign to Yuji Naka later revealed that Hidden Palace Zone was originally intended to be a level where the player would be warped to after collecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Once there, they would receive the power to morph into Super Sonic. The idea was ultimately killed and the ability was given to the player immediately.

[@travelsonic]

"some people will just try to make levels and name them after unfinished ones." ? Hidden Palace, unlike Genocide/Cyber City Zone, made it a great distance into production, 2 prototypes leaked online have the graphics, etc, the music and graphics are real, just edited into the game. :D

[@nkzeroG]

This is the Sonic 2 Delta hack, my favorite Sonic 2 beta hack. Search for it in google or something and you should find it.

[@KatelynJewel]

You can! Just enable debug mode! There's a code you have to use by playing the numbers to the code in the sound test in order which unlocks the level select. In the level select, it has a sound test and you do the same thing only with a different code. I would tell you what the code numbers are but I can't remember them right now.

[@KatelynJewel]

Oh! lol! That would be funny actually seeing someone in real life using debug mode even though they weren't in a video game. XD

[@chaosruins]

Yeah, what you are seeing in this video is a hacked version of Sonic 2 using art and sprites form the Sonic 2 beta qhere hidden palace's sprites and data can be found, the hacker here added a few things to this to make it a little more playable.

[@zyriuz2]

@shadowfang64 lol just got a great idea for the sonic 2 HD project, what if you get all the chaos emeralds before hidden palace zone and then you get to the master emerald and instead of breaking it you push it aside to get to a last special stage in order to become hyper sonic ^.^

[@iblobtouch]

This is the in development version of sonic 2. This level is accesable in this version but was later removed.

[@Erebus494]

@TheBetaFox Oh, nevermind. I thought that they cut it out in the DS version, but these are in extended version

[@dajamsteryo]

For a later sonic game they should do a stage with this layout and a good remix of this music, probably even call it what it was gonna be "Hidden Palace Zone"

[@wurmi32]

Unused or beta things are always so interesting and this music is... *sleeps*

[@Audi134]

@kyzelf1 I meant the stage was inaccessible. I could've gotten the music. Sorry about the mixup...

[@nintendocollectable]

One thing's for sure: This level lives up to its title. It really is a HIDDEN (palace) zone.

[@Smurfman256]

Why didn't a full version of this make it into the final game??!?!?!?!? This is awesome!

[@coolhwhip49]

That's a pretty impressive score you have there, bro.

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

If I recall correctly, Hidden Palace was removed because they scrapped all the levels they thought weren't "fun enough" Anyways, the music is there probably because removing data from a game isn't as simple as it sounds.

[@JonnySpec]

In the beta Tails didn't have any flying sprites, there was a Tails 1-up monitor at the place Sonic was at at 0:18, the big green jewel in the stage isn't breakable and the tube under it leads to nowhere. This video is not of the beta.

[@ishmaboy]

@kalpavrksa1 They're already in every Sonic 2 cartridge. You need a Sega Genesis developer's kit to access them, or a Sega Genesis emulator on your computer. They're not very fun though, since most of them are nowhere near complete.

[@slickwilly9684]

o, the old drowning music, i love it!!

[@ohiopower]

It's in the options under sound test. I forget which one it is though.

[@AfroJacc]

@kemiboy11 go to sound test and click 10 and youll here this song. its unused in-game

[@madvillain7]

it's very obvious that the ideas for this stage were directly used in later sonic games, especially the Marble Gardens Zone of Sonic 3 and the Lava Reef Zone of Sonic and Knuckles... In my opinion, there will never be another video game that has the feel and gameplay of the Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog series, as games are more focused on graphics these days...

[@RandomAvatarFan]

actually it was supossed to be a more complex version of the S3&K Hidden Palace minus the Master Emerald. It was here that Sonic was supposed to gain his Super Sonic abiliteis once he collected all the Chaos Emeralds

[@ValVenusaur]

Now we know where the bridges in Sonic 3 came form.

[@Boxanadu]

@devastator44 not a hidden level, deleted level. its code is still in the retail release but is only playable (barely) with a game genie.

[@Sharkba1t]

Sounds like someone deflating a balloon every time you break one of those blocks.

[@miamivicepastels83]

"Hill Top is just a blue Emerald Hill " ive always said that too...truly most of the zones for sonic are just updated and recycled for each new game (for the first 3)

[@beItway]

3:25 eggman won his first signpost

[@beItway]

***** What the...!!! BTW I HATE APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@beItway]

***** Apple is horrible all they do is copy MS and Google since Jobs left, 'cause they don't have their own ideas, yet they call them innovations. So now it is like 'Cupertino, start your photocopiers!'

[@beItway]

***** I don't know!

[@wiigamer024]

@pikakoo64 Ok thank you. I wasn't sure either lol. I'll have to ask my sister, i think she's got Sonic 2 and a Game Genie.

[@Lbeno]

argh i h8 that music, 8 years ago wen i had sonic 2, this msuic was on the sound test, i always wanted to know wat it was!

[@TheOCAShow]

This is not the original game or beta. It has been edited in some way, since the TV at 0:19 is supposed to be a Tails 1-Up, but it is a super ring.

[@JustDataReviews]

@MrRenard7785 The reason Knuckles attacked Sonic was because Robotnik lied and said that he was coming to steal the chaos emeralds that kept the floating island afloat.

[@S1ndle]

I also have a theory of the use of Hidden Palace and Green Hill Zone. Both levels have a tails monitor and tails was the orginal guardian of the master emerald thus the location of Hidden Palace is near Green Hill Zone. In conclusion the two levels are tails only levels no sonic.

[@NightbladeNotty]

if this level did make it into the final game....where would they have fit it? the game is already built so well

[@peterbarton99]

I the beta version I think you've got to spindash on top of the fake master emerald to break it if its breakable at all. Even if you get past it in the beta version there's just a pit bellow instead of a speed pipe like there is in the complete version

[@pimps1986]

Jordem are you going to reveal your secret on how you got in these stages b/c I'm been trying to get in Hidden Palace for the longest! The soundtrack and the zone is so beautiful!

[@psycoteck0808]

awesome stage!

[@Almanich94]

@UmbraBlaze People that were involved in the making of Sonic 2 (Sorry, I don't exacly remember who) said on a website that it actually was a random rock

[@Disastorm]

I've been wondering about this level. I remember seeing an image of this level in a magazine before Sonic 2 came out... if i remember correctly I could have sworn sonic was fighting a boss which was a really big dragon...

[@SolidSnake684]

So sad. :( this is probably my favorite zone in Sonic 2 and it was scrapped. The art, the music, its all so cool and, dare i say, magical! It breaks my heart that this level was left out. *sigh* oh well. At least its music is in the sound test!

[@subaruanon]

Because you can't use game genie or pro action replay on mega collection and it would only have the shape of it, not the tan rocks you see here,it's glitched up, and because hidden palace is only on the beta. only on level select debug is1,9,9,2,1,1,2,4, and all emeralds is 4,1,2,6.

[@GTMango]

ZOMG YOU BROKE THE MASTER EMERALD!Continuously

[@xt3rm1nat3z]

I'm going to try to make this on Minecraft. thanks for the inspiration!

[@Aggort]

@Putmalk Actually sir, the BETA has full access to the fully functional version of this level, no hack required!

[@segasonic623]

the difference between sonic 2 delta's version and sonic 2 long version's version?

[@Urserer]

I remember playing this in the beta but never getting to the boss. Well if it wasn't for them taking this level out, it seems like we wouldn't have Mystic Cave. I know I prefer Mystic Cave but not everyone may agree.

[@Kingofeurope]

If this level was finished, it would've been awesome.

[@alexwootton4027]

3:17 *Sonic runs by* *It doesn't change* Sonic: Ah, fuck it.

[@SkittleFist]

Actually no my friend. This level was an unused level left in the game data of the rom. Look it up. Hidden Palace Zone, Genocide City, Wood Zone, and Dust Hill Zone.

[@RayneBeauRhode]

i tried so effing hard 2 get this on debug but i needed a Game Genie. Damn you for being so awesome sonic! damn yoooouuuu!!! lmao

[@FreshFromThaDeli]

how come sega still included the music for this level in the sound test.Why?

[@sonicadv27]

they wanted to do something like Sonic CD, where you travel through time. Hidden Palace would be the past, and Oil Ocean would be its future... There are many lost stages like Wood Zone and Genocide City that can be conected with some stages that actually were included in the game... But they just hadn't enough time to complete the project or the cartridge would be able to carry on so many levels. So they left that idea out of the project and used it in Sonic CD.

[@Madis08]

This level should've had a little more time, cuz this was actually pretty cool. But where would it be placed? Probably before Metropolis Zone or before Oil Ocean zone. oh well