History Trivia / SonicTheHedgehog2

** The game's own history can be chronicled by the various Alphas, Betas and Deltas made along the way. Rumor had it that it was supposed to utilize TimeTravel, but it proved way too complicated for the simplistic Sega Genesis. Many Zones were planned and removed, including a curiously named stage called Genocide City and the legendary Hidden Palace Zone (which was much later restored as a secret level in the iOS remake). Sega gave Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} a very early version for ''Series/NickArcade''. The game's production, located in Sega Technical Institute's headquarters, was also notorious for language barriers and conflicting work ethics between Japanese Sonic Team members, who Naka brought to the United States to work on the game as he was unhappy with Sega of Japan's policies; and the American STI members, who assisted in the game's development.

* OffModel: While the game introduces the half-pipe Special Stages that provided a clear rear view of Sonic's quills, the corkscrew loops in Emerald Hill Zone instead render them as being razor-thin, similarly to the Western "mohawk" quills, but in three rows rather than one.

* BTeamSequel: A little-known fact, but absolutely true. After the massive success of the first ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]]'' game, Sega started two separate projects to follow it up. Naoto Ōshima (the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog) was in charge of the "real" sequel being developed in Japan, which eventually became ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD.]]'' ''Sonic 2'' was developed by a combination of Sonic Team staff (including Yuji Naka) and Sega of America developers, working at the Sega Technical Institute in California. (Sega, being a Japanese company, always placed more importance on their domestically-made games, at least at the time.) In the end, ''Sonic 2'' ended up coming out an entire year before ''Sonic CD,'' and of course enjoyed far greater success.

* ChristmasRushed: The game had a lot of content cut out so it be released before [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAmerica Black Friday]], most famously the Hidden Palace Zone. There are also some nasty glitches that occasionally pop up, such as triggering Super Sonic at the end of a level, locking the game in place and forcing you to reset it.

* ChristmasRushed: The game had a lot of content cut from it to meet the deadline, most famously the Hidden Palace Zone. There are also some nasty glitches that occasionally pop up, such as triggering Super Sonic at the end of a level, locking the game in place and forcing you to reset it.

** In the 2013 remake, the original concept for [[BossRush Boss Attack Zone]], Egg Gauntlet Zone, is still in the game and can be played in its entirety if you know how to access the dev menu. This would be later patched out in later updates.

** In the 2013 remake, the original concept for [[BossRush Boss Attack Zone]], Egg Gauntlet Zone, is still in the game and can be played in its entirety if you know how to access the dev menu.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Two regarding Hidden Palace Zone, the DummiedOut zone:

** The emerald that appears in Hidden Palace was popularly thought to be an early version of [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles the Master Emerald]], but the aforementioned beta builds indicate that it was just a breakable gimmick that appears multiple times throughout the zone.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda:
** When the Simon Wai prototype was first discovered online, it was speculated that the green emerald that blocks progress partway through Hidden Palace Zone was supposed to be the Master Emerald. In reality, it was supposed to be a destroyable object akin to those blocking the tubes in Chemical Plant Zone.
** The planned desert level wasn't called Dust Hill, it's actually Sand Shower.

** Because it plays in Hidden Palace Zone's remains in the final game, Track #10 is often attributed to Hidden Palace, and was assumed to be its track for the longest time. However, beta builds that leaked years later instead use Mystic Cave's 2P track for Hidden Palace, suggesting that was its intended song (and further supported by the 2013 remake). The demo version of the song released in 2011, which simply has the name [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esMyfcVapMU "Unused Song"]], has a proper ending rather than fading out like other tracks, suggesting it was actually a ''cutscene'' theme.

** The name "Tails" actually came from the American branch of Sega who didn't like the name "Miles". The branches compromised with Tails being his nickname to his true name.

* ImageSource:
** DummiedOut
** FinalBoss (middle-left)

* FirstAppearance:
** Of Tails.[[note]]Well, officially anyway, as he technically first appeared in the 8-bit version as it was released a month prior to the 16-bit version[[/note]] It’s also the first appearance of Sonic’s SuperMode, Super Sonic.

* AscendedFanon: When Hidden Palace Zone was restored in the 2013, [[https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/sonic-1-and-2-getting-the-sonic-cd-treatment-by-taxman-and-stealth.31061/page-87#post-772599 Effexor from Sonic Retro]] coined the term "Brass Eggman" for the unnamed boss, in reference to the original Japanese naming scheme ([name] Eggman), which was given a nod of approval in 2021's ''Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia''.

* AscendedFanon: Hidden Palace Zone, a once DummiedOut level in the original game and the basis of many rumors, was added as a secret level in the 2013 remaster. [[spoiler:It can be accessed by jumping down the infamous KaizoTrap pit in Act 2 of Mystic Cave Zone. The zone features a completely reworked layout (with elements inspired by how it appeared in prototype builds), and ends with a brand-new boss]]. The original level, as it appeared in the "Simon Wai" prototype, can be accessed by entering a code on the level select menu.

** A couple of Zones met this fate, most notably the Hidden Palace Zone, of which you can find its rather somber BGM (track 10) in the final version. Hidden Palace Zone finally appears ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]''. However, the ''Sonic & Knuckles'' version of Hidden Palace looks completely different. [[http://www.joystiq.com/2013/12/11/remastered-sonic-the-hedgehog-2-hits-android-ios-tomorrow-with/ The planned Zone was reimagined on the iOS and Android versions as part of a December 2013 update]], although the 2P Mystic Cave Zone music plays instead, except in SecretLevel Proto Palace Zone.

* FanNickname:
** "The Drill Car" for the game's opening boss, the Egg Mobile-D/Drill Eggman, a truck with a drill attached to its front. As a result of its inclusion in ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'', it's also referred to as the "Stupid Little Drill Tank".
** "The Unholy Trio" for the Metropolis Zone [[GoddamnedBats badniks]], due to all of them being considered uniquely tough and part of the reason the zone is so difficult.
** "Silver Sonic" or "Robo Sonic" for the Sonic robot fought in Death Egg Zone. Its official name is "Mecha Sonic", but this creates confusion with the distinct robot in ''Sonic & Knuckles'' that shares the same name. "Silver Sonic" is taken from the 8-bit ''Sonic 2'' manual (which actually describes yet ''another'' distinct bot from that version of the game) and was used in the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie comics]], while "Robo Sonic" was used in its non-canon ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' appearance.

** "The Drill Car" for the game's opening boss, the Egg Mobile-D/Drill Eggman, a truck with a drill attached to its front. As a result of its inclusion in ''VideoGame/MUGEN'', it's also referred to as the "Stupid Little Drill Tank".

** "The Drill Car" for the game's opening boss, the Egg Mobile-D/Drill Eggman, a truck with a drill attached to its front.

For tropes pertaining to the 8-bit version, go [[Trivia/SonicTheHedgehog28Bit here]]

* MilestoneCelebration: In honor of the game's 25th anniversary, Sega made special Tails-themed TheMerch exclusive to the Sega Shop, on top of giving Tails [[https://pm1.narvii.com/6654/f9910db448b3dd9ca69cdcbadd894e7471f273ca_hq.jpg his own anniversary logo]] in the style of the franchise's 25th anniversary logo. They would do later the same thing for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Amy and Metal Sonic]] in 2018 and [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Knuckles in 2019]]. Signifying the 25th anniversaries of their debut games.

* MilestoneCelebration: In honor of the game's 25th anniversary, Sega made special Tails-themed TheMerch exclusive to the Sega Shop, on top of giving Tails [[https://pm1.narvii.com/6654/f9910db448b3dd9ca69cdcbadd894e7471f273ca_hq.jpg his own anniversary logo]] in the style of the franchise's 25th anniversary logo. They would do later the same thing for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Amy and Metal]] in 2018 and [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Knuckles in 2019]]. Signifying the 25th anniversaries of their debut games.