Development:Sonic the Hedgehog CD (2011)

This page details development materials of Sonic the Hedgehog CD (2011).

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

R2 Zone (Desert Dazzle)

To do: Desert Dazzle seems to be removed from the Sega Forever rerelease, as the level entry for it in dev menu was removed.

Sound Test Image	Alt Version	In-Game

According to Christian Whitehead, Desert Dazzle was a new level he was working on that ended up being cut for time and authenticity reasons. The level's graphical design was heavily influenced by the well-known desert mockup image that was sent to magazines to promote Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in the early 1990s. The image on the left can be accessed by entering the Sound Test code PCM: 32, DA: 8. After viewing the image, you'll be taken to the Stage Select with Tails as your character.

Oh man, that was not meant to be in there!

What you're seeing is basically all that was playable (although the wonky palette cycling must be because you've hacked it in over Palmtree Panic). The level design isn't anywhere near done, it's only a test to see what structures look nice / what ideas are worth pursuing. Same goes with the music - it's only playing the D.A. Garden track because there's nothing else to use.

Had it been done, Desert Dazzle would have been full length Round with time zones and new music. I'm quite fond of the art I made for it actually, it was somewhat of a happy accident coming up with those patterns and colours.

— Christian Whitehead

(Source: Sonic Retro)

I think I've mentioned it before a while back, but I had put together some early demo tracks for Desert Dazzle.

— Christian Whitehead

(Source: Sonic Retro)

In the 1.0.2 update of iOS version, stage assets for both Desert Dazzle and Final Fever were discovered, complete with full-level maps. The video above is a mod of the PC version, which replaces Palmtree Panic's tiles and level layout with Desert Dazzle's. Because the stage was never finalized, no Badniks or gimmicks were ever implemented. The default background music for both soundtracks is the Time Attack theme (track 33).

Desert Dazzle would finally see the light of day in Sonic Mania, with its tiles reused/revised for Mirage Saloon Zone.

R9 Zone (Final Fever)

Final Fever was another original level Whitehead worked on, before being scrapped for the same reasons as above. It was intended to be a boss rush for players who had collected every Time Stone.

The level was to use the Final Fever boss music track from Metallic Madness 3. The Metallic Madness 3 boss would then use the normal boss music if all the Time Stones were collected.

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Yeah, it's colourful since it was intended to be an all Time Stones boss (good future only). Time flows freely, and Eggman's machine is essentially invincible. The idea being Sonic can reach warp speed at any opportunity (instead of getting the warp posts) and must do so to "wind back the clock" to damage the boss. Some parts are running, some areas the screen is locked. I was slightly worried the idea of running to warp might not be self evident (no warp screen, the level and boss would change in real time with some neato effects).

— Christian Whitehead

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Final Fever used the "Final Fever" track from Metallic Madness 3, with the MM3 boss taking on the regular boss tune when played with 7 time stones.

This is of course, ignoring the fact that we managed to have both the US and JP soundtrack in the end so if Sonic CD was ever expanded, the music situation would be interesting to say the least. In a dream world, Naofumi Hataya, Masafumi Ogata and Spencer Neilson would create some wonderful new tracks for it all.

— Christian Whitehead

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Some elements would later be re-used in Sonic Mania, such as the interior of Titanic Monarch Zone and the time warping arena in Egg Reverie Zone.