The majority of gamers will only be able to see and play the finished product of their favorite games, with prototypes often being lost or barred from public viewing. One prototype that was thought to be lost was one of the originalSonic the Hedgehogprototypes first seen in gaming magazines. However, this build was recently found.
There are many out there who look to find and archive pieces of lost media, with theSonic the Hedgehogmagazine prototype build being a famous one. After finally being found by Twitch user HiddenPalace, the streamer began to stream live footage of this prototype for all to see. The livestream can be foundhere.
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While many of the mechanics found in the originalSonic the Hedgehogare available and implemented in this prototype, the build is far rougher than the completed game. HiddenPalace’s stream show multiple instances of Sonic being stuck in 360-degree spins, objects being trapped stuck in walls, and variousunfinished art assetsmeant as placeholder graphics.
As the build is a prototype, variousdebugging toolsare available to HiddenPalace, which they use to experiment with the levels in the previously lost piece of media. This has revealed a number of possibly cut mechanics such as Sonic being able to push spheres through tunnels that he can spin dash through. These spheres will gain velocity similar to how Sonic gains velocity in these tunnels.
In addition to game mechanics not being completely finalized, there are also artistic differences compared to the retail release ofSonic the Hedgehog. One of the most obvious of these changes can be seen at the start of Marble Zone, where thesky is filled with UFOsthat are absent in the final game.
The stream shows what seems to be an alternate night mode ofGreen Hills Zonewhere the sky is dark and the level itself has a dark overlay. Many have speculated this to mean that the game was to originally have a day-night cycle of some kind that was later removed.
As more of this prototype is explored, there will likely be more to be found involving the development of the originalSonic the Hedgehog. This includes more cut assets, enemies, and parts of the development that seemed to cause more trouble for the team earlier on in development. Either way, this recovery of this piece of lost media means a lot forvideo game historiansandSonicfans alike.
The livestream of theSonic the Hedgehogprototype can be found on HiddenPalace’s channel on Twitch.
