Everybody remembers Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as one of the best games, if not the best, in the franchise. It introduced the world to Tails, Super Sonic and that awesome music of Chemical Plant Zone. Now it’s back and better than ever thanks to some restoration work.
Sega announced today that it’s relaunching Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on mobile devices today. The publisher had previously released a port on iOS and Android, but it was kind of shoddy. This new port was made by the same guys who made the excellent Sonic CD port on consoles and mobile. Not only did they improve the base game, but they also restored a lost level that was never included in the original game – Hidden Palace Zone.
The history behind Hidden Palace Zone is a little complicated, but this great piece at Sonic Retro helps to explain what fans have dug up on it over the years. In short, the level was originally intended to be where players would warp to upon collecting all seven chaos emeralds.
While Hidden Palace Zone has been restored, many of the other cut levels, like Dust Hill Zone, from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are still missing. These levels will probably never see the light of day as many weren’t in the almost complete form that Hidden Palace Zone was.
Here’s a trailer that features some footage of Hidden Palace Zone:
The newly updated Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is available on both iOS and Android. There’s no word yet on if the updated version of Sonic 2 will ever make its way to consoles, but it’s unlikely.
[Image: SEGAEurope/YouTube]