Knuckles in Sonic 2: object layouts

Just as with Sonic 3 before it, Knuckles in Sonic 2 includes its own object layouts for all the Sonic 2 levels. The reasons for this are varied. Sega made sure to flaunt the extra 1-ups in Chemical Plant Zone, but sometimes the additional item boxes are a little bit more subtle.

Sonic 2's levels weren't designed with Knuckles' climbing ability in mind, and as a result, some walls only extend as far as Sonic can reach. Knuckles in Sonic 2 occasionally patches these through clever use of a level's existing obstacles.

Other solutions aren't as elegant. The underside of Hill Top Zone 1's starting area cuts off abruptly, so they just stacked a bunch of invisible blocks on either side of the bottomless pit. Meanwhile, in Wing Fortress Zone, invisible blocks were placed at the end of the level to prevent Knuckles from gliding over the boss area.

Finally, sometimes less is more. In Sonic 2, there's a breakable column right near the start of Aquatic Ruin Zone. It was removed in the Knuckles in Sonic 2 layout because it'd be a bit stupid to start off the level with an obstacle that's too tall to clear with Knuckles' reduced jump height.

Hm, that water looks kind of funky... Oh yeah, we haven't even talked about the consequences of trying to put Knuckles and his palette into a game that wasn't designed for it. That'll be our subject for the next couple of posts.