Sonic Mania/Unused Graphics

This is a sub-page of Sonic Mania.

General

Unused sprites for the title screen, using an early name of "Sonic the Hedgehog Discovery", most likely left over from the prototype shown to Sega.

The initial menus of early demos. Oddly, it does not have Mirage Saloon or Chemical Plant, both of which were playable at E3 2017.

Ending graphics from early demos.

Different background graphics for the title screen from the Sonic Discovery period of development, with a slightly more geometric island and a sky background that was later reused for the Pinball Bonus Stage in Encore Mode. Most interesting are the graphics of a Model 1 Genesis with a 32X and Model 1 Sega CD emitting a beam of light from the 32X's cartridge slot.

An early title screen shot featuring some of these background graphics, as well as the early Discovery logo, can be seen in a developer diary video published on the official Sonic social medias on July 19, 2018.

(Source: @sonic_hedgehog on Twitter)

Unfinished graphics for Sonic on the title screen, missing several shades on the spines and gloves. Interestingly, these were located as part of a PNG file, as opposed to the GIF format used by most of the game's sprite files.

Early unfinished graphics of the English text, pause menu, and save select/2-player race are in Data\Sprites\UI\.

Sprites for an Act 3 are in the title card graphics. Although the boss arenas of Lava Reef Zone and Titanic Monarch are considered the "Act 3" of those respective zones, the title card still refers to them as "Act 2", rendering this graphic completely unused.

Because none of the Zones' names include these letters, J, K, Q, X and Z all go unused.

An early pause menu, seen in some pre-release footage.

Unused animations for Sonic and Tails looking up and looking straight ahead while piloting the Tornado, akin to Tails piloting the Tornado in Sonic 2. They both stay in their default animation cycle in the final game, akin to Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Some unused sprites that were going to be used for Mini Tails holding Mini Sonic in Metallic Madness Zone Act 2. These go unused, as Sonic cannot do this in his mini form. Also, there are no sprites for Mini Sonic hanging onto something.

All signposts but Sonic's are labeled with the respective character's initial in the sprite sheet. There are two placeholder copies of Sonic's signpost art seemingly labeled "M" and "A". These were originally intended to be signpost sprites for Metal Sonic and Amy, however they were scrapped and eventually replaced after being told by SEGA to replace them with Mighty and Ray for the Sonic Mania Plus DLC. currently do not have access to the full archive of the Q&A, if anyone could find a longer recording of the panel than please replace this link

A "PERFECT" bonus graphic, used in previous games for collecting all rings in an Act or Special Stage. This graphic is found among those for both the normal and Special Stage results.

In Sonic Mania, getting all of the rings in an Act (easiest to do in Sonic and Tails' Mirage Saloon Act 1) will not give this bonus. The devs probably figured that the Acts in the game were far too large to get everything in a reasonable amount of time (or, in some cases, impossible), so they decided to eliminate and replace it with the Cool Bonus.

In the case of Special Stages, it's impossible to get every ring in any Special Stage (the closest is in Special Stage 1, but even then there's one ring floating in the air that's impossible to reach), and the Blue Spheres bonus stages don't have a results screen (the "PERFECT" graphic that shows up when collecting all rings in a Blue Spheres stage is different from this).

Another unused text graphic. Sonic Chaos changed the standard time bonus from operating on certain time thresholds to being expressed as a 1 to 999 km/h speed bonus. Something similar might have been planned here.

Or it could have gone on the HUD and shown the player's speed. Y'know. Plausible.

Blue Spheres

Included in the Blue Sphere bonus stage files are sprites of the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds redone for Mania with two extra frames and a different color palette. According to the sprite sheet, these emerald sprites were polished up versions of the unused classic sprites. This could've meant the Blue Spheres Minigame was meant to be reused as the Special Stage format, rather than the new Special Stage format we see in the final game. If you use an editor to place them into a stage, they function like red spheres by taking you back to the last checkpoint.

Debug Graphics

Sprites meant for a stage editor. As such, they are not used in-game.

Classic Sprites

The original Blue Sphere sprites used in Sonic 3 & Knuckles are present in Objects-Classic.gif. As with other Classic object sprites, these were originally made for the Retro Engine remasters - in this case, the prior proof-of-concept remaster of Sonic 3 which would eventually be completed for Sonic Origins.

Special Stage

An odd message. Maybe it was supposed to be displayed after getting the Chaos Emerald and exiting the stage?

A "HYPER" graphic is present in the result graphics. Considering this and the aforementioned Super Emerald graphics, it seems the return of the Hyper form might have been planned. Strangely, a Sonic 2 variant goes unused in its remastered version.

Green Hill Zone

This fireball from Hill Top Zone's boss in Sonic 2 was the original graphic for the burning logs in Green Hill Zone. The final game replaces this with a more detailed burning animation with palette that matching the Flame Shield itself. It can be seen in Polygon's GHZ Act 2 gameplay.

The unused totem pole graphics from Sonic 1, updated and still unused.

Chemical Plant Zone

Both Sonic and Knuckles have special intros when entering Chemical Plant Zone, where a drop of purple water falls on their heads and they react to it (with Sonic's in particular being a callback to Sonic Spinball). This happens to Tails as well, however, he previously had no special animation in-game for it. From these sprites it's clear that he was always meant to have one, where he uses his tails to dry himself off.

A slightly different animation was eventually added to the game in the v1.04 update. The new spritesheet in 1.04 overwrites the unused one from earlier versions.

The above sprites, animated.

(Animated GIF: Trunks)

Leftover sprites from the 2013 Retro Engine remake of Sonic 2. Some animation files for objects depicted in this sheet are also present.

Studiopolis Zone

Busted (Used)	Intact (Unused)

An intact version of those blue missiles that the player has to launch at Heavy Gunner. It's obvious that both sprites are the same thing, but the intact sprite is supposed to be used until the player hits it, at which point it would use the busted sprite.

An unused object from Act 2, named "LoveTester" in the code. The player would have to jump into a cage to activate it.

These lights would line up along the sides of the machine.

This monitor would display one of the icons below, depending on what character the player is and what result they get.

Nice hand-drawn graphics for Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The first expression is neutral, the second is for winning, and the third is for losing.

Amy and Eggman icons, along with three hearts; two being small and large red ones and other being broken and purple.

The winning and losing icons depend on what character you're playing as (listed below). When winning, the red hearts would appear and you get 400 points. Losing makes the broken heart appear and doesn't give you points. Getting any other character simply gives you 100 points.

Player	Win	Lose
Sonic	Amy	Eggman
Tails	Sonic	Eggman
Knuckles	Eggman	Sonic

Using the love tester as Mighty or Ray crashes the game.

An unused TV monitor with a background graphic and gradient (found in SPZ2/Objects2.gif) larger than the one seen in the Weather Mobile boss arena (found in SPZ2/WeatherMobile.gif). This is defined in the file SPZ2/GreenScreen.bin. Technically, these sprites are used, but by the also-unused GreenScreen object.

This is how the TV screen looks when everything is layered correctly.

Apparently a boss very similar to Gapsule from Sonic & Knuckles was cut from Act 2, likely named the Egg Janken going by the name it's given in the game's internal object list. Its eyes would represent a game of rock-paper-scissors, likely a reference to Sega's Alex Kidd series (which relies heavily on rock-paper-scissors, typically for boss battles).

Flying Battery Zone

Used	Full

The prongs of the Big Squeeze mini-boss are supposed to light up when it's charging - there are four frames of animation for it in the sprite sheet. Only the first frame is used in-game.

Used	Full

The busted Chopper heads in the Big Squeeze trash pile have eight frames of animation, but only the first frame is used.

The turrets from Wing Fortress Zone were set to reappear here. The tip is a separate sprite and would rotate to track the player in-game.

Another cut object from Wing Fortress. There are many wind tunnel sections in Act 2, but this object isn't in any of them.

The last cut WFZ object is the infamous retracting platform.

This is a larger version of the Spider Mobile's electric bolt that generates those plasma orbs.

In the tileset for Flying Battery are some clouds that look much closer to their Sonic & Knuckles counterparts. This image has been reconstructed to show what they may have looked like in-game.

Press Garden Zone

To do: Try and edit game files to show the original Juggle Saw and Woodrow sprites in game.

Early	Final

Graphics for an earlier version of Juggle Saw are in Sprites/PSZ1/Enemies-Old.gif in v1.03. The early design doesn't have googly eyes and its legs don't move, suggesting it originally stood in place.

Early	Final

An early Woodrow design is in the same file. This version is a lot more hammer-like than the final one, which looks more like a woodpecker.

Two placeholder images for Woodrow can be found in Sprites/PSZ2/Enemies-Temp.gif.

While all of the alphabet blocks have raised animations ready, only A, O, and T are used.

Green versions of the silver and blue and copper crates seen throughout Act 1. Probably a good thing that these were never used - they don't contrast well with the background.

Big jars of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink, larger than the ones that the Splats enemies spawn from. When Tails or Knuckles enters the jar, they'll be tinted cyan/magenta/yellow. Because of the way Sonic's palette is set up, he's unaffected by the ink jars.

(Source: codenamegamma)

The graphic on the right is supposed to combine with the jars...

...something like this. The actual blending in-game looks better, obviously.

Splash graphics for those three ink jars. Entering and exiting the jars should produce this effect, but they're conspicuously absent from the actual game.

(Source: codenamegamma)

A high-speed ink wiper. These would presumably clean the ink off, but it doesn't seem to do anything as-is.

(Source: codenamegamma)

Big printers on rails. The first, worn-out-looking printer is in Sprites/PSZ1/Objects.gif, while the newer, shinier printer is in Sprites/PSZ1/Objects2.gif. The game lists these as "SP500" and "SP500MkII" in the code.

The first printer has an opening at the top. If the player tries to go inside normally, they're rejected and fall out the bottom. If they're covered in ink, the printer drops down and tries to put the player...somewhere. It's likely that where it would have sent the player would have depended on the color of the ink, but it doesn't look like the behavior was ever fully coded.

The second printer has a button at the top that the player has to step on to operate. The printer will pause a bit, then go from one side of the rail to the next. The printer and rail will then either go up or down, depending on the object's subtype.

The printers and their "SEGA SP-500" labeling are likely a reference to the 4 Color Plotter Printer for the SC-3000, except its product number was SP-400; the SP-500 was the Sports Pad. Oops.

(Source: codenamegamma)

On/off lights for both printers. The brighter lights are for the Mk II printer.

This strange object is labeled as a sprayer in Sprites/PSZ1/Acetone.bin, making that thing on the right a spray of acetone. When placed, it removes any ink off the player.

An Act 1 version of the swinging platforms seen in Act 2.

Graphics for the wood chippers and wall shuriken shooters from Act 2 are also present within Act 1's assets.

Within the "Objects-Temp" sheet in Act 2's folder are a bunch of placeholder graphics for what would become the level's objects and gimmickry. A lot of them are ripped straight from IceCap Zone from Sonic 3, in addition to Aquatic Ruin Zone's Eggman-face shooters from Sonic 2, which were probably adapted into the wall shuriken shooters. Interestingly, the Aquatic Ruin sprites are taken from the unused Egg Gauntlet Zone's sprite sheet from Sonic 2 2013, rather than using their original sprites.

Stardust Speedway Zone

Comedy and tragedy mask constellations meant to be seen in the skies of Act 1.

Graphics for a Marble Garden-esque spiked crusher. Doesn't really fit in with the high-speed pace of the rest of Act 1, so it makes sense that it was never put anywhere.

The spinning signposts seen throughout the Sonic CD version of Stardust Speedway make no appearance here. There's a signpost object in edit mode, but it uses old graphics from the Sonic CD remaster and it isn't attached to anything.

A smaller version of the large dirt piles that the vines sprout out of.

A whole lot of frames for the annoying Hotaru badniks go unused, as they only ever point their bottoms directly downwards. These correspond to the original version of this enemy in Sonic CD's Stardust Speedway, which can be placed in debug mode and behaves accordingly. However, like the signpost, it still uses the old graphics from Sonic CD instead of this updated set.

Hydrocity Zone

Early	Final

Early hook graphics are left in the HCZ/Objects.gif file. The early graphics have the useful hook in the foreground and the useless hook darkened in the background, while the final version changes this so they're both in the foreground but the useful hook is flipped, fatter, and green.

Mirage Saloon Zone

Early	Final

It seems that the first design for the piñatas was of a Ball Hog, which looks similar to a design seen in early footage of Sonic 1. A more traditional star-shaped design is used in-game.

The Cactinauts on the seesaws were supposed to flash like the Sols in Hill Top Zone, and have a surprised animation when they're launched in the air, but in the final game they're completely static.

Early	Final

The tileset used in the Mirage Saloon inter-stage cutscene for Sonic and Tails in the Switch version of Sonic Mania is an early version of the one used in the rest of the Zone. These include some major differences such as wooden quarter ramps and a barrel in place of decoration tiles, but also minor changes like the palette of the background having a darker darkest shade of blue and slightly different decorations.

Oil Ocean Zone

A horizontal version of the booster objects that propel the player into those ball launcher things. Unused in Sonic 2, and also unused here.

An unused gold variant of the silver switches seen in Act 2.

Lava Reef Zone

A separate foreground layer of embers, meant to fall in Lava Reef Zone. Could have given the Zone a hotter, more volcanic feeling.

Early	Final

Earlier, more primitive versions of the fireballs in Act 1 were left in LRZ1/Objects.gif.

Spiked platforms on conveyor belts, seen in Act 2 of the original Lava Reef but not in Sonic Mania. It was seemingly intended to be used; corrupted remnants of the platform conveyor can still be found in the low layer in Act 2.

An updated version of the crystalline boulder that Knuckles chucks at Sonic and Tails in Act 2 of the original Zone. Not sure what it would have done here.

This giant chain link is in Heavy Rider's sprite sheet. As the Little Planet is in the background of the stage, and the following Zone is Metallic Madness, perhaps this was part of a cut exit sequence for Sonic and Tails based on the animated intro to Sonic CD? It can even be found in a BG layer, which lines up perfectly with Little Planet's location.

Active version of the Super Emeralds in Knuckles' boss area (Hidden Palace's Emerald shrine) - the final game seems to use stone relics instead. This is not taken directly from Sonic 3 & Knuckles - the graphics have been touched up a bit here, which could be seen as further proof Hyper forms were planned to return.

Two icons for a stage editor can be found in LRZ2/Objects.gif. The "CVYR" graphic shows up in edit mode, but for some reason the white text isn't displayed, so it's just a black circle. The "DROP" graphic doesn't appear at all.

Metallic Madness Zone

A spinning version of the cylinders in Metallic Madness, labeled as "Barrel" in MMZ/Platform.bin. Probably for the best that the devs didn't bring back Carnival Night Zone's most infamous aspect.

Egg Reverie Zone

To do: Try and edit game files to add Egg Reverie Zone to Stage Select.

A big chunk of tiles in the Egg Reverie tileset go unused, suggesting that the original plans for the zone might have been quite different. For instance, these support structures that hold up the platforms in the boss area are too far below the camera for the player to see.

Slopes that don't show up anywhere in the stage proper, but can be seen outside the boss area.

There are even quarter-pipes, both normal and crystallized. Note that the normal versions of the slopes and quarter-pipes are actually just palette swaps of tiles seen in Titanic Monarch Zone.

In Data/Sprites/UI/SaveSelectEN.gif, there's an unused Save Select icon for Egg Reverie Zone. Maybe you were originally able to start at Egg Reverie Zone instead of having to play through all of Titanic Monarch Zone, just like Doomsday Zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Scrap Brain Zone

Leftover sprites were found in the game's sprite folder, showing sprites for Scrap Brain Zone. These sprites are leftovers from Sonic 1 on iOS and Android, as the layout of the sheet is identical. It's worth noting Metallic Madness Act 1's boss is a rematch against Sonic 1's final boss, so this sheet may have been used as a reference. Working animation files for the Bomb, Ball Hog, Caterkiller, Conveyor Wheel, Eletric Orb, Flamethrower, Junction Wheel, Orbinaut, and trapdoor objects are also all present and pull sprites from this sheet.

These sprites were removed in a subsequent update.

Hidden Palace Zone

Sprites of the remade Hidden Palace Zone from the mobile remake of Sonic 2. Of all of these assets, only the Jellygnite badnik would be chosen to be updated; namely for Hydrocity Zone. Animation files for the Batbot, Jellygnite, Redz, and Segways also exist in the folder. Interestingly, these all exist in the HPZ folder, separate from that of the Sonic 3 Hidden Palace, which is in the LRZ3 folder.

D.A. Garden

Graphics with buttons and screens, suggesting an interface resembling the Sega CD's actual UI (specifically the US Sega CD 1 one). The final game uses a more generic interface.

Miscellaneous

Various leftover sprites from the mobile ports of Sonic 1, 2, and the failed mobile Sonic 3 pitch located in Blueprints of the game's sprites folder. The sprite sheet is based on the objects sheet for the unused Egg Gauntlet Zone boss rush level. Additionally, there is also a scaled-up springboard sprite added, possibly as a test for Studiopolis' clapperboard object.

Straight from The Taxman's keyboard-mouth:

The Blueprints thing isn't special at all really. "Blueprint Zone" was something that existed very early on while I was developing RSDKv5. We just ported a bunch of stuff from the remasters to test the tools out, and simply forgot to delete the sprite sheet when it wasn't needed anymore.

As of v1.03.0831, the folder and image file no longer exist in the data.

A few icons for a stage editor can be found in Editor/Icons.gif. The "B" and icons similar to "BG" and the arrows can be found in Debug Mode of the Sonic Origins version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, particularly when activated on the Special Stage results screen where it shouldn't be.