18 years ago, the destiny of millions of kids (and a few hundred crazy Internet people) was forever changed with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, arguably the hedgehog’s most successful outing to date. For those of us who were there from the beginning, the release of Sonic 2 was a homecoming unlike any we had imagined, and those eleven new zones became burned into our very souls (which is why we still can run through Emerald Hill Zone with our eyes closed).
Now, it’s no secret that Sonic 2 went through its fair share of developmental trouble, and there were plenty of zones that were left on the cutting room floor. Heck, even levels we’ve grown to love had vast changes as it was developed, as proved by the release of the vintage “Simon Wai beta” and the lesser known (but equally important) “Nick Arcade Prototype.”
The latter of those two was made for one purpose – to make fun of Melissa Joan Hart. Now to be fair, she was just a kid (we all were) running through a level she had never seen, and had no idea the spin dash existed (there was a world before 1992, people), but still, the urge to insult her run through the game is so tempting. And yes, she wasn’t the only one who played and failed the game on that show, but it isn’t as fun to make fun of a random girl we know nothing about.
This is where you, the Sonic Retro reader, comes in.
No, it’s not a contest to make fun of Mellisa Joan Hart. But! In honor of Sonic 2sday, Sonic Retro is proud to present “The Sonic 2 Nick Arcade 25 Ring Challenge.” The rules are simple enough – get 25 rings in the first act of Sonic 2 in under 30 seconds. However, it has to be using the earliest prototype known to the Internet – the Nick Arcade ROM (which can be found right here). From there, try to get those rings before the 30 seconds hit their end. The less time spent, the better. In the case of a tie, the winner will be chosen by a committee of your peers, based on score achieved, style, and hedgehog-ness. What’s hedgehog-ness? Something we all have, deep inside our heart.
All entries shall have to be submitted via YouTube, so fire up those Unregistered HyperCam 2’s, and get playing!
…oh, you want to know what you’ll win? The grand prize is knowing deep down, that you’re better than Melissa Joan Hart. And really, what else would you need? (ok maybe there will be something “real” but no promises)
You have until November 29th, 11:59 P.M. to e-mail your YouTube to [email protected]. Because you should spend time with family during Thanksgiving! Unless you hate them. Then go ahead and play Sonic the Hedgehog. I’m sure Scratch and Grounder would approve.
15 Comments
Oh, I thought it was FINISH Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 in 30 seconds and get 25 rings.
I just found an extra life I’ve never seen before in Emerald Hill.
18 years and I’m still finding new stuff…
<3
Just a note that cool kids shun HyperCam and would use oh, Gens Rerecording: http://segaretro.org/Gens_Rerecording
Gens Recording, is of course, quite accurate… There is no doubt it is better than Kega Fusion 3.64’s Video system, which messes up badly if you don’t have the codec. Gens has accurate video recording as it uses uncompressed data, and doesn’t stall the OS badly (call laaaaaaag for Kega Fusion 3.64 Video Compression), but of course… you know that already.
With regards,
HaHa The Sweet
@Scarred Sun or Kega Fusion’s recording š
All I can think of when I see that video was Sonic 2 Special Edition
I was thinking of that too. XD
Ah, this shall be a real challenge. Since the Nick Arcade beta had vastly different physics (ok, probably not that vastly), it’ll certainly be tough.
Sent my video. Poor kid.
I’m entering this with gens and fraps.
They work on my computer so whatever.
I will be having a go now
I’m only getting 14 seconds. I’m not gonna bother with a video yet.
I’ve gotten it down to 10 seconds, but i don’t know how much lower I can get than that.
Registered 11 seconds.
I got 17 seconds…not gonna do another run. Physics are rough; I triedĀ