Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Scrapped Zones: Dust Hill Zone

Dust Hill Zone is one of the 4 levels that was scrapped in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

A hacker known as "Sonic Hachelle-Bee" created In "Sonic 2 Long Version" to change this. He revived Dust Hill and built it up into what he believed the level would be like had it been completed officially.

Despite being called "Dust Hill", its visual gimmick is to change from a desert to an arctic or winter-like zone, and vice versa. The only changes to this are the different colors and certain graphics. This zone also shows off some scrapped Badniks.

Act 1 and 2 can be confusing, as there are some one-way routes that may throw you back to a place you were in earlier. I was stumped on Act 1, so I had to repeat a part of that level to get to the goal.

Act 2 is a little better, but it has a couple loops, too. There's an interesting part of this Act where you have to activate a switch to release more sand into the ground. Sonic & Tails can advance by moving back and forth with springs as the sand rises under them and carries them upwards to continue through the zone.

The boss for this "Long Version" hack is just a harder version of Emerald Hill's incredibly easy boss. What makes this fight different are the harmful ribcages on the ground. They shouldn't matter to you at all if you're Super Sonic, though.

This stage may have had some relationship to Mystic Cave during development. This makes having that zone's 2 Player music as its own accurate. One of Sonic's creators, Hirokazu Yasuhara, wanted to keep the level in, but Sega wanted Sonic 2 to be released before Christmas, so he had to cut it.

Sonic 2 was released near the end of November, mind you.

Wood Zone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1cUkByL7u8

Genocide City Zone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwC405QKdg

Hidden Palace Zone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfhgwkl5_3A

UPDATE: Some of us probably already knew that Sonic CD had a scrapped level that also took place in the desert. According to its HD remake, this is true, and the zone was going to be called Desert Dazzle.

It looks a lot like Dust Hill in its theme and similar graphics. I'm guessing the idea of this zone was thought up during the time Sonic CD was still originally planned to just be a Sega CD port of Sonic 2.

Here's the one, sole pic of what this zone would look like:
http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Sonic-CD-Desert-Dazzle...

Unfortunately since the HD XBL/PSN version of Sonic CD is just a port, too much couldn't be added to it, such as this zone and everything it requires to be a Sonic CD zone.

Let me go into detail:

- Desert Dazzle Zone would need 10 different layouts: 4 time frames for Act 1, 4 for Act 2, and 2 for Act 3.
- Desert Dazzle would also need 7 songs: 1 Past song, and a Japanese and American version for its Present, Bad Future, and Good Future songs.
- Last but not least, it would need a boss.

Many of us would want to see this zone come to life in Sonic CD, but as a port it would probably be a bit unfair in a way. From all of this necessary stuff, adding another character like Tails looks easier to do in comparison.

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[areoblast43o9]

Its funny its new name is Desert Dazzle found in sonic cd post to be realesed and its dust hill zone i jawwed when i saw it :)

[Carls493]

@areoblast43o9 I've now posted the pic of DD here, show your friends this video so they can compare Dust Hill to Desert Dazzle.

[Carls493]

Like I said, I think it was a visual gimmick where the climate of the stage can change.

Everything's blue to make it more like a Winter Hill.

[FunnyAndRandomStuff]

@Carls493 On sonic retro (I think) I read a quote from a developer which stated the alternate palette for Dust Hill was to be used in a different nameless winter level, and it would be far enough away from Dust Hill so that the player wouldn't notice the recycling. He said it was like Emerald Hill and Hill Top zone had the same sprites. Also I think I read somewhere the Alligator enemy was only a place holder and wasn't planned for this level.

[KawaiiDesuNekoBCSK]

Except it's not a port, it's a full-blown remake. Sonic Team forbade it because "it would deviate from the original".

Bull shit, it's featured in the friggin ending sequence.

[areoblast43o9]

@Carls493 Alredy doing it Youre a Physic XD

[Gambito99100]

Ice in the desert?

[SuperYoshiBaka]

It reminds me of a combination of Mushroom Hill, Sandopolis, and Ice Cap. The sandy Sandopolis, with the transitions like Mushroom Hill, and then the icy Ice cap after....