Sonic Adventure 2/Beta elements

This article pertains to the beta elements of Sonic Adventure 2.

Rouge Radar
There appears to be different graphics for the Emerald Radar in the game files, this would have most likely been used as a radar in the Egg Quarters to detect the Egg Beetle, but the idea was ultimately scrapped.

Random Rings
There is an Item Box image of a Ring with a question mark on it in the game files. According to the original file name, this would have given the player a random amount of Rings.

Character icons
All of the Dreamcast version's unlockable multiplayer characters (Amy, Metal Sonic, Chao Walker, Big, Tikal, and Chaos) have their own life icons, but are left unused due to said mode not using the life system.

Multiplayer screen
There are two graphics in the ROM of the Dreamcast disk. It is implied via their file names in the game that they were meant to be used in the multiplayer menu.

Early menu graphics
There are a variety of unused texts related to various aspects of the game, such as Chao Races or the scrapped World Ranking from the Dreamcast version, which uses Japanese texts.

Stage maps
In the game files for both the demo and final versions of the game, there are maps of several stages. These were not used in the final game.

Tutorial screens
There are videos for explaining Level Up Items and special attacks that do not appear in the final game, though they can still be found inside the characters' files.

Scene select icon
The Dark story's scene select has the option to start the game during the second Sonic boss battle. However, the player must complete a stage before they can access the equivalent part in the Hero story, as its scene select does not include the corresponding boss battle. The icon for the option does exist though, and it is slightly different compared to the icon that was used for the Dark story's scene select.

Afterimage model
When Sonic performs his own version of Light Dash, an afterimage model can be seen for the duration of the technique. However, Shadow does not use his afterimage model when performing the move despite having an afterimage model stored in the game's files.

Monitor screen texture
The screen on the left was meant to appear on Dr. Eggman's monitor during the cutscene where he realizes that Sonic's group made it to the Space Colony ARK from the pyramid base, but it has never been shown and was instead replaced.

On this screen, it is also worth noting that the Emerald Tails is holding is white instead of being yellow.

TV setting title graphics
There are two sets of 'TV settings' graphics that go unused in the final version. They would have been placed in the upper-left hand corner of the menu like all other graphic mechanics.

Unused objects
There are some unused objects in the stages on the Dreamcast version, often in inaccessible places. Some can still be interacted with, but are simply invisible.

Iron Gate
After the first locked door in Iron Gate, there is a room with an elevator that leads to a tight tunnel. Before the room that the tunnel leads into, there is a Dash Panel inside the wall on the right.

White Jungle
White Jungle includes a number of leftovers from a early version of Green Forest. The attributes of some objects are broken, but if the object files for Green Forest are replaced with the ones from White Jungle, the out-of-bounds objects match the stage perfectly.

Near the start of the stage, there is a misplaced Dash Panel right below the starting tunnel. Additionally, there are two additional Dash Panels slightly below the one Shadow uses at the beginning of the starting tunnel, rendering them useless. These are both present in the GameCube version as well.

There are more objects out of view that suggest this stage went through significant changes during development. These objects include floating platforms, a couple of Ring trails, more Dash Panels, two Invincibility Item Boxes, a weird spinning object, and numerous Beetle Series enemies. These objects do not seem to have much connection to anything and outside the player's reach without cheat codes.

These objects have been rearranged on the GameCube version. They contain the same kind of format, but the Item Boxes and the odd spinning objects are gone, along with the Beetle Series enemies performing different actions. After Shadow touches the stage's Goal Ring, four rings appear off-screen. These Rings are in an uneven layout for some reason, and cannot be collected before the game ends.

Meteor Herd
By hacking to play as either Sonic or Shadow in Meteor Herd, a hidden Grind Rail can be found. One end begins at the central tower, leads sharply downwards through two successive loops, and ends near the starting point of the stage.

Final Chase
If the player turns Shadow around and grinds backwards on the starting Grind Rail, he will eventually encounter an off-screen Spring that bounces him into a bottomless pit.

Multiplayer City Escape
The game files of the Dreamcast version contain an unused object layout for City Escape in the multiplayer mode that is very different from both the normal version and multiplayer version in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Since the incomplete City Escape is never used in multiplayer, this layout goes completely unused. It should be noted that this layout resembles the version of City Escape from the Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial more than the one in the final version of the game.

Multiplayer Cosmic Wall
For whatever reason, most of the objects and some of the geometry for Cosmic Wall are loaded in the stage's two-player version in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which ordinarily consists of one platform with three tiers. It is ordinarily never seen, but can be reached using moon-jump codes.

Multiplayer Green Hill
The full list of graphics for two-player locations in the Dreamcast version includes Green Hill. This implies Green Hill was going to be playable with two people, but even when it is unlocked, it is only one-player. Moreover, digging reveals that the stage is actually an option in the game's multiplayer stage select, but it is hidden and impossible to unlock.

Despite that, the stage works normally in the multiplayer mode if activated through hacking, and even includes proper pose and start points for both characters.

Hidden Rings
There are hidden Rings that can be found in bizarre locations in certain stages, usually below the starting point. It is impossible to obtain them normally without dying or having a Thunder Shield to draw them in.

Black Market
The Black Market was going to appear in the Dreamcast version of the game before it was scrapped and only put in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

Playground
Game files in the game show that a playground was going to be included in the Chao Garden.

Library
There was at one point going to be a Chao library, which the player would have been able to access from the Chao Kindergarten. In the library, the player could have downloaded or created new stories for Chao Adventure 2. While this was never fully implemented, Chao Adventure 2 still has the modular design needed to support multiple stories. The disc has one file (OSAMPO2S) representing a blank Chao Adventure 2 VMU program with no Chao or stories loaded, which is combined with the Chao data and story files. It is possible to run the blank program on a VMU without crashing, and it displays a message that no Chao is available. The disc has ten story files, with two files for each language.

Models
There are several unused models for the Chao and some models for Chao Garden-related objects remaining in the game files.

Unobtainable Chao
Sonic Adventure 2 contains twenty unique types of Chao. However, only ten of these, including downloadable Chao, are able to be obtained by the player. The majority of unobtainable breeds in the game are normally only seen through certain Chao races, but can be seen in the garden through cheats.

In Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the majority of unused Chao from the Dreamcast version were removed, and more unused Chao were then added in their place.

Chao Eggs
Along with the unobtainable Chao in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, are the unique types of eggs for them. The only Chao without a corresponding egg is the Moon Chao.

Alongside the unobtainable Chao's eggs, there is a set of eggs that can be found as well. The Chao associated with these eggs are only able to be obtained through breeding, in which a normal egg is produced, so these eggs never appear. Just like most of the other eggs in the game, shiny variations of each egg can be found.

World Rankings
As mentioned above in the Unused Graphics section, there was a World Ranking system functionality that was going to be implemented into the Dreamcast version, but ultimately remained unused in the final game. Its files, however, are still intact within the game's disk. There are also flags from several countries in the real world that still exist in the game's files.

Cutscenes
These lines come after the cutscene before Mission Street and have no English equivalent. They appear to be part of an early script, as Tails uses the President's limo to locate Dr. Eggman in the final game.

Japanese idle lines
In Sonic Adventure 2, the characters have two unique idle lines per stage. However, in the Japanese voice files of the game, Sonic and Knuckles each have a third unique quote for Final Rush and Meteor Herd, respectively.

Menu themes
There are a few lines that the default menu voice never says in Sonic Adventure 2:

Secretary Variant
The Secretary theme has a variant of all the lines where the player is referred to as "Mr. President":

Omochao
There were many lines said by Omochao that were made for the game, but were left unused.

Stages
In the Dreamcast version, it is not possible to clear a stage while holding Omochao, but in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle some stages have added Omochao by the Goal Ring. The player can pick him up and complete the level with him, resulting in these voice lines. These require the "moonjump" action replay code to complete the specified level. These lines, however, are found in both versions' game files.

Chao Doctor
In Sonic Adventure 2 the Chao Doctor in the Chao Kindergarten would have described the player's Chao with a variety of lines, which were removed in subsequent ports. Among these lines are those that describe the player character's relationship with the Chao. Surprisingly, when viewing the game's files, it can be seen that the Chao Doctor also has lines for Amy:
 * "Looks like this Chao likes Amy a lot."
 * "Looks like this Chao likes Amy."
 * "Looks like this Chao wants to be friends with Amy."
 * "Looks like this Chao does not like Amy."
 * "Looks like this Chao hates Amy."

Unused continue music
The Continue music for Sonic Adventure was carried over to Sonic Adventure 2. However, due to the latter game not having the "Continue" system, the music was unused.

Unused missions texts
Originally, there were three test levels known as "BASIC TEST", "KNUCKLES TEST", and "SONIC TEST." Although "BASIC TEST" would later be included in the GameCube version, all three levels are absent from the Dreamcast version. However, the mission text and some textures for the levels are still found in the game files:

BASIC TEST

 * Level 0
 * 1st Mission: Make sure we debug this!
 * 2nd Mission: Find 100 bugs!
 * 3rd Mission: Find bugs that you could not find!
 * 4th Mission: Debugged in 2 minutes!
 * Last Mission: Try bug 0!

SONIC TEST

 * Level 2
 * 1st Mission: This stage is cool!

KNUCKLES TEST
A Japanese hint for "KNUCKLES TEST" can be found in the game files. It contains the following string repeated five times:
 * "このメッセージはテストナリよ. " (Kono messēji wa tesutonari yo.) which, when translated, means "This message is for a test".

Super Sonic and Super Shadow
Within the game's text, there are lines indicating that Super Sonic and Super Shadow were meant to be unlockable characters in the game's 2P mode, and could be accessed through the same method as the alternate costumes:
 * "Congratulations! You've cleared Green Hill with Rank A. Strongest characters are now available to use in Sonic and Shadow 2P versus mode."

They also had profiles that read "SUPER SONIC/SUPER SHADOW Powered by the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Amazing speed and moves, but dies if rings are lost." When they are selected, a total of six stars are displayed for both characters instead of five. However, these costumes are incomplete; while they display animations unique to them when selected (animations which are seen while they are switching places during the FinalHazard's boss battle), the game will only load the regular Sonic and/or Shadow for the race.

Unused Sonic Adventure 2: Battle intro
The files for the original intro event from the Dreamcast version of the game can be found unused in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle ' s event directory. The scene can be accessed from the Event Test in the debug menu, but it does not play.

Despite this, there seems to have been some work done on it prior to having been scrapped for the port's Radical Highway sequence. Accessing the textures for the scene reveals that they are slightly different to the ones used in the original game.

Missing effects
When the intro of the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle port ends, the logo of the port appears. This logo is portrayed in 3D and therefore, there are two versions of it - one using the Japanese logo and one using the English logo. However, due to an oversight, the video file that stores the special glowing effects for the English logo is left unused and the video file that stores the special effects for the Japanese logo is used for both the English and the Japanese logos. As a result, the glowing effect does not match with the English text of the logo.

In the Sonic Adventure 2 2012 re-release, this issue was fixed.

Unused menu themes
Character menu themes for the game were originally meant to be downloaded online. However, the Shadow, Amy, Omochao, Maria, and Secretary themes were never made available, therefore making their audio and graphics unused. The themes are still available in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, being unlockable in the game.

Early level and boss list
In the game files, specifically located under "TEXT_E.prs", is an early level and boss list which lacks several stages from in the final game and features different boss names:
 * The list contains several test stages for several characters.
 * An unknown level/boss listed as "No Name".
 * The Egg Golem is just named "Golem", and the Biolizard is named "The Biohazard".

Cannon's Core hint files
Inside of the game files of Cannon's Core, there exist hint files for both Knuckles and Rouge, however, their contents appear to be just copies of Wild Canyon and Dry Lagoon's Japanese hints.

E3 2000 Trailer

 * Judging by the first screenshots of the game, Sonic was going to be playable in Sky Rail.
 * In early screenshots, the GUN Military Truck had a design different from the final version.
 * In the trailers of the game, Sonic is seen breathing heavily in Green Forest. For some reason his torso is heavily darkened.
 * Sonic is seen talking in an unknown cutscene, this is the first time it is show off that Sonic has separate fingers along with his new mouth position. It also looks quite blurred and like a texture, unlike the final version.
 * There is also a second cutscene where Sonic points at something. This camera is different in the final version, where he uses a similar animation to call out Shadow. The area where it is shot in is different from the boss battle area.
 * Sand Ocean's music is changed between the alpha and final versions of the game.
 * Early pictures showing that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was going to work without a Chao Transporter Machine were distributed for a short while after the game was announced. From this version to the final there are a lot of cosmetic changes:
 * The Game Boy Advance in the prototype is red, and has the 'GAMEBOY ADVANCE' bootup screen plastered on the front. In the final game, the Game Boy Advance is white and has a parody of the bootup screen with "CHAO ADVENTURE" written on it.
 * Another cosmetic change was the color of the booth. The prototype is yellow with green, but the final is blue with orange.

Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial
A trial version of Sonic Adventure 2 was released in late 2000/early 2001 with Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast as a bonus disc. The only playable stage is City Escape with a slightly different instrumental version of the song playing as the background music. In this version Sonic wears his traditional shoes instead of his 2G Hi-Speed Shoes, and his shade of blue is lighter than in the final version of the game. The cutscene's subtitles and some of the sound effects are different as well. Some of the posters in City Escape are different and are promoting Phantasy Star Online.

Sonic Adventure 2 [Preview]
Sonic Adventure 2: [Preview] is a prototype version of Sonic Adventure 2 that was sent to the press as a sneak preview, with the build date being 18 March 2001. One of the most notable differences from the final version is the menu screen, which allows the player to choose between the Hero or Dark side. Upon selecting a side, the player can choose to play with any of the side's corresponding characters. The Hero story has four stages available; with Sonic playing City Escape and Green Forest, Tails playing Prison Lane, and Knuckles in Wild Canyon. The Dark story only features three stages; with Shadow in Radical Highway, Eggman in Sand Ocean, and Rouge in Dry Lagoon.

There is also a 2P vs. mode in this release, where the player can choose between three battles: Sonic vs. Shadow in Green Forest, Tails vs. Eggman on Prison Island, or Knuckles vs. Rouge in Wild Canyon. The special attack's names do not show up in 2P mode. The player can still use them, but the only way to tell is if the character grunts. There are some other differences from the final version, such as different sound effects, music tracks and voices. This version seems to lack proper sound programming, with various sounds and voice clips from both English and Japanese tracks sporadically playing in random order, overlapping each other.

General

 * The title screen is very close to the one used in the final version, although [PREVIEW] has been added underneath and there is a glow effect behind it.
 * Big the Cat does not make any cameos here.
 * There are no icons displayed on the VMU.
 * The font from Sonic Adventure is used for text, rather than the final's Comic Sans.
 * Every Level Up Item is included in the game files, but only a handful of them are actually used.
 * The Mystic Melody is called the "Ancient Melody".

Cutscenes

 * The flashback scenes with Maria are cut from the preview in Shadow's Radical Highway cutscene, leaving the scene much shorter.
 * Sonic's Light Speed Shoes use the earlier model from Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial in his cutscenes.
 * Knuckles' upgrades cannot be seen normally in the game, but his Sunglasses have a different cutscene model. His Hammer Gloves were also removed from cutscenes in the final version.

Stages

 * After completing any stage, the player will go back to the title screen. The only exception to this is City Escape, which will send the player to Green Forest.
 * The area where Sonic obtains the Ancient Light is completely empty, but the path to it still exists.
 * When jumping off a ramp at the beginning of City Escape at slow speed, Sonic does a backflip instead of a 180 rotation.
 * There are no pipes at the end of City Escape.
 * The platforms before the first Point Marker in City Escape are the same as those in Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial.
 * The posters in City Escape use the same textures as in the final version of the game, with the exception of the Chao in Space and Pizza posters, which use the textures from Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial.
 * When the Flame Ring Level Up Item in Radical Highway is collected, it does not lock the player into place and describe the item. Instead, gameplay continued as normal, while the text explaining the item being displayed on the bottom of the screen.
 * Shadow's aura when jumping is quite different.
 * The Hint Boxes for Rouge and Knuckles are functional, but there is no text programmed in them at this point.
 * The Warp Walls in the hunting stages looks slightly different in this version.


 * The rockets are placed too high on their platforms, and can be seen even when the platform is inactive.
 * The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th missions are in the game, but the 5th mission (Hard mode) does not yet have a unique layout.
 * There are no Extra Life Item Boxes in the lost Chao locations.

Audio

 * All in-action voices are in English, except for Sonic's jumping noises, which are in Japanese.
 * The option for Japanese text and voices is in the game, but English is the default.
 * The music played while using Speed Up has some different notes.
 * City Escape has no vocals, and while the general tune remains pretty much the same, many of the notes and riffs are completely different. Overall, it is quite different sounding than its final counterpart.
 * This is the same instrumental featured in Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial.
 * Dry Lagoon's music is muted, and there are crickets prominently chirping during gameplay, different sounding ones that are louder than in the final.
 * Knuckles and Rouge's climbing noises are very loud and incredibly different.
 * Different sounds are played for the snowboarding in City Escape, G.U.N. robots activating and being deployed, connecting with Grind Rails, Tails and Eggman]'s [[Lock-on, whistling, swinging on vines, and finding Animals.
 * When the rank is displayed at the end of a stage, it plays the same sound as when getting an emblem.

Cutscene subtitles
A scrapped conversation is found in the game files, which was mostly going to be used in the cutscene where Sonic first meets Shadow. It has no voice clips or English equivalent. None of this exists in the final version of the game, but Shadow's first line and Sonic's response do make it into the Green Forest confrontation scene. Oddly enough, Shadow's second and last comments were partially used in the episode "Shadow Knows" of the anime series, Sonic X.


 * Sonic: "で、そのエメラルド！どーするつもりだ. このニセモノが！" (So, what are you planning to do with that Emerald? You impostor!)
 * Shadow: "ニセモノ？　フッ、フェイクは君のほうじゃないのか？いや…フェイクと呼ぶには…レベルが違いすぎるか？" (Impostor? Heh, aren't you the fake one here? No... aren't you on a completely different level... to be called a fake?)
 * Sonic: "いわせておけば！！" (That's the last straw!!)
 * Sonic: "消えた！？どこだ…" (He disappeared?! Where is he...)
 * Shadow: "なるほど確かに…姿形は似ているようだ. 鏡に映る…影のようにな…. " (I see... We really do seem to look alike. A reflection in a mirror... you're like my shadow...)
 * Sonic: "チッ！　なんてスピードだ！！いや、スピードじゃないな…. ワープ！？" (Tch! That speed!! No, that doesn't seem to be his speed... Warp?!)
 * Sonic: "カオスエメラルドの力を使って、時空をコントロールしているのか！？何者だコイツ…！！" (Is he controlling time and space by using the Chaos Emerald's power?! Who is he, anyway...!!)
 * Shadow: "僕の名はシャドウ. Ｐｒ．ジェラルドからカオスコントロールの力を与えられた唯一にして究極の存在. 今は先を急ぐ. 遊びは終わりだ. " (My name is Shadow. The greatest ultimate life form who was given the power of Chaos Control from Prof. Gerald. I'm in a hurry right now. Playtime is over.)

Sonic Adventure 2: Trial Version
Sonic Adventure 2: Trial Version is a prototype version of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast. It was given to certain stores in Japan to generate publicity, and is the equivalent to the western Sonic Adventure 2: Preview. It includes the same levels as the aforementioned demo, except the only playable characters in the main stages are Sonic and Shadow. There is also a multiplayer option present in the Trial Version.

Due to its build date of 3 May 2001, there are few differences from the final game in this demo, as well as several changes made specifically for this version. These differences give some insight into the last month of the game's development. Sonic Adventure: Trial Version also included Jump Pack support.

Differences

 * Sonic and Shadow's Level Up Items have been replaced with Extra Life Item Boxes.
 * The dialogue at the start of City Escape is missing.
 * Like in previous demos, the area where Sonic obtains the Magic Hands is different compared to the final game, with this version also including a Wooden Container there.
 * The trail of Rings in Radical Highway that leads to the Flame Ring is missing.
 * The rocket in the Flame Ring area has already been activated, as opposed to the player having to first break a Steel Container and press a switch.
 * The area with the third collapsing pillar in Sand Ocean is similar to the layout seen in Sonic Adventure 2: Preview, except it has three single springs instead of one large one.

Space World demo
The coming soon banner and select menu from the Space World version are also present in the final version's game files. The select menu for the demo could give the player the option to play either Green Forest or City Escape in single player or multiplayer.

Tokyo Game Show
The leftover sprites from the Tokyo Game Show demo also exist in the final version's files. They are extremely similar to the ones of the Space World demo version, and the only difference between them is that a Japanese Sonic Adventure 2: Battle logo is shown in place of the original English Sonic Adventure 2 one.