Sonic The Hedgehog 2: Hill Top Zone Freeze Glitch

[RedYellowBlueCR]

So, here we are yet again, in the midst of what seems to be a glitch epidemic for me. This time I found a rather irritating glitch in STH2. Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8buRLsXWH5g

It freezes the entire game when you pop the Rexon that's right up the large ramp in the begging of Act 2., and nothing can be done about it!

Yeah, not fun at all. The truth is, I came across this glitch a long time ago when I was a kid, but since the Genesis I had was a little screwy, I blamed it on the system. Well tonight, I decided to boot up the Genesis I just bought and play some STH2 before I hit the sack. Low and behold, as soon as I get to Hill Top Zone it freezes, right there in the same spot as I remembered when I was a kid. So obviously there's something more to it, its the game. Has anyone ever experienced this? Dose anyone even know what causes it to do this?

[Blue Blood]

It's a very well known glitch, but I'm not sure in the specifics of it. What I do know however is that it's not fixed in any version of S2, only S2&K. The same applies to lots of other glitches.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Blue Blood

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

I never encountered this glitch in Sonic Jam, but then that was the only time the games were actually ported rather than emulated. What with SEGA claiming to have lost the source code, they may never port the games again either.

At any rate, it looks like something that can't be fixed without directly modifying the code so you're out of luck. :/

[-Mark-]

Somehow I don't think I've ever actually come across this. D:

Makes me with Classic Collection still had the Sonic 2 level select (ironically it's practically the only one on there where you still can't in some way) to check it on there.

And really, JAM was the only time they were ported? And if they really have lost the source code, what about the iPod version? I could have sworn that was a port rather than an emulation, if only because it was a 60Mb+ file, whereas the actual game itself should barely be a couple of Mb. No way does one tiny game and an emulator take over 60MB.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Mahzes

[Badnik Mechanic]

I had Sonic 2 on my Megadrive, I never once encountered this. Are you sure it's not your cart?

[Blue Blood]

No, it's a common glitch, Cas. Look here.

[Tornado]

This is a well-known glitch with the level. Sonic Retro has some information about it.

Edit: Doh!

And really, JAM was the only time they were ported? And if they really have lost the source code, what about the iPod version?

"We lost the source code" was just an excuse that Sega trumped out when Sonic Genesis started becoming known for being completely awful. They never lost the source code, because Sega modified Sonic 1 when they made Mega Collection.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Tornado

[RedYellowBlueCR]

I was going to say, how do you loose the source code to the games that made you who you are today, Sega? lol

[eXtaticus]

Well, it can't be all that common; in none of the countless copies of Sonic 2 that I own have I ever come across this bug, and I don't recall ever hearing about it before now...

Now, if you want common glitches, then try a full-speed spin-dash through the final loop on Chemical Plant Zone Act 2...

[Blue Blood]

Well, it can't be all that common; in none of the countless copies of Sonic 2 that I own have I ever come across this bug, and I don't recall ever hearing about it before now...

Now, if you want common glitches, then try a full-speed spin-dash through the final loop on Chemical Plant Zone Act 2...

Common as in someone 'discovers' it a few times a year, not common as in "Carnival Night Act 2 ruined my childhood" stories.

[eXtaticus]

Common as in someone 'discovers' it a few times a year, not common as in "Carnival Night Act 2 ruined my childhood" stories.

Well, I "discover" it a few times a month, and Carnival Night Act 2 never "ruined my childhood" - besides, that barrel wasn't anywhere near as much of a bitch as everyone makes it out to be, and it wasn't really a "glitch" as such; rather a minor failure in level design.

[Blue Blood]

I was just making a joke...

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

A related side-note:

Sonic Jam added multiple difficulty settings to the games (Easy, Normal, Original) which changed the object placement in the levels and also adjusted the mechanics of the special stages. For Sonic 3, unless you played on the Original setting, the Barrel of Doom was replaced with a red spring.

More details under the spoiler tag as this is off-topic. I haven't played any modes on Jam other than Original Mode in a very long time, especially Easy Mode, so my memory is going to be fuzzy.

Easy Mode meant that only one act from each zone was playable, and should you encounter a boss they only took three hits to defeat. The object placement was generally the same as in Normal Mode - my memory is a little hazy but it might have on occassion been even more forgiving than on Normal Mode. I recall several crushing death traps becoming simple empty pits.

Normal Mode was in short the original full game except with significantly more forgiving object placement (usually less spikes, sometimes extra 1-Ups, 10 ring monitors and shields) and the occassional spot of hand-holding in the toughest sections of the level. Highlights I remember off the top of my head include adding stable floating platforms across the Chemical Plant Zone 2 End of Act gauntlet above the section of pipe made entirely of unsafe rotating sections, generally removing half the sudden death traps from every level in every game (in particular Marble Garden's crushers were often removed), and the aforementioned Barrel of Doom removal. As for the special stages, whilst I don't remember much of the specifics, one thing I will always remember in Sonic 3&K was the nasty surprise I got playing the special stages in Original Mode - in Normal Mode Sonic never speeds up. Relearning the special stages was a pain in the arse.