Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Proto Palace Level Discovered: How to Unlock it, with Hands-On Video

Sonic the Hedgehog 2's remastered version is especially notable for its recreation of Hidden Palace Zone, once only accessible in leaked beta versions. Well, it's recently been discovered by the Sonic hacking community that this original beta version of the level still exists.

To access it, go to No Save Mode. Access the level select by tapping S-E-G-A on the SEGA logo in that order, then tapping and holding with two fingers on the title screen. Go to the Sound Test, and play tracks 01,09,09,02,01,01,02,04 to unlock debug mode. Then, play 03,03,03,0B,10,10,10,04 in order to unlock Proto Palace, which is accessible by playing the Hidden Palace Zone from the level select. You only get one life and the level eventually warps out as it is incomplete, but now you can explore this beta level for yourself -- and with the advanced exploration abilities of Tails and Knuckles. We also have hands-on video of how to enter the code and unlock the level below.