History Trivia / SonicTheHedgehogCD

* ChristmasRushed: Spencer Nilsen's sound team was given a meager ''two months'' to compose an almost entirely new soundtrack for the game's American release. They were so pressed for time that they weren't even able to replace the Past songs; the tracks were directly coded into the game instead of being stored as ordinary CD audio tracks, and sorting that out was too complicated to bother with.

* ChristmasRushed: Soundtrack variation. Spencer Nilsen's sound team was given a meager ''two months'' to compose an almost entirely new soundtrack for the game's American release. They were so pressed for time that they weren't even able to replace the Past songs; the tracks were directly coded into the game instead of being stored as ordinary CD audio tracks, and sorting that out was too complicated to bother with.

** In May 2022, the 2011 port was delisted from the 7th generation platforms and Steam in preparation for ''Sonic Origins''. However, the mobile version is still available.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: A rather persistent rumor states that the infamous "Fun Is Infinite" screen was an [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil anti-piracy measure]], to the point where even ''[=SEGA=] themselves'' [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sega.soniccd.classic&hl=en_US%7C have said so]]. In reality, the game has no anti-piracy measures.

** The French portion of the European manual refers to Sonic himself as “Sonic the Hedgehog CD” at one point.

** Routinely zig-zagged between the several versions of You Can Do Anything. The song, first introduced in the build used for Yuusei Sega World in 1992, used an early version that had Keiko's vocals deeper and more strained. The version found in the final game has Keiko using cleaner and slightly lighter vocals. The original version would, strangely enough, be used just as often if not more so than the final version, being included in the Japanese release of the PC port (and thus the videos found in ''VideoGame/SonicJam'' and the Japanese release of ''Sonic Mega Collection''), the Sonic Team "[=PowerPlay=]" compilation album, as a DLC track in the Dreamcast version of ''VideoGame/SambaDeAmigo'', and eventually ''Sonic Origins''. The finalized version was only used for the final Mega-CD release, the Japanese release of ''Sonic Gems Collection'', the games' Japanese TV commercial, and in the 2011 20th Anniversary Series album. In the 2011 HD release, both versions are cut in favor of an instrumental version.

** Some assume that ''Sonic CD'' was either originally a CD port of ''Sonic 2'' or that both were originally the same game but creative decisions caused it to become separate. However, Naoto Ohshima has stated that ''Sonic CD'' was never meant to be ''Sonic 2'', but rather a CD version of the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. He also states that the team behind ''CD'' may have had more fun with creating the game, as they weren't under the pressure of making ''the'' second ''Sonic'' game.
--->'''Ohshima:''' ''Sonic CD'' wasn't ''Sonic 2''; it was really meant to be more of a CD version of the original ''Sonic''. I can't help but wonder, therefore, if we had more fun making ''CD'' than they did making ''Sonic 2'' [because we didn't have the pressure of making a "numbered sequel"].
** Sega never said that the game was originally supposed to end at Stardust Speedway, despite some fans providing “proof” in the ending cutscene, where the Metallic Madness scene takes place before the Stardust Speedway scene.

** The Sega World 1992 prototype reveals that higher quality versions of the game's Past themes were going to be in the game, utilizing Red Book audio just like all of the Present and Future themes. This was dropped early on, and as such, the Past themes instead use utilize lower quality versions generated by the Sega CD's own PCM audio chip instead.

* InspirationForTheWork: The time travel mechanic was inspired by the ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy.

* TropeNamer:
** BadFuture
** PalmtreePanic

* {{Blooper}}: The French portion of the European manual refers to Sonic himself as “Sonic the Hedgehog CD” at one point.

* FirstAppearance: This game marks the first of many appearances of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.

* ExecutiveMeddling: This is where the US soundtrack for ''Sonic CD'' originated from, as Sega of America felt the original Japanese soundtrack wasn't "musically rich and complex" enough for the American market, resulting in the game's US release being delayed to have Spencer Nilsen score the replacement soundtrack for the region.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: The vocals for the Japanese soundtrack were replaced with instrumentals for the HD remaster due to unforeseen legal issues regarding the rights to them. Fortunately, the port in ''Sonic Origins'' restores the vocals.

** Cut ''segments'' of songs exist, as early prototypes had what appeared to be unused in-game music loop pieces that would apparently inconspicuously play while the CD track ends and re-loads from the beginning. They may have been removed due to time constraints or the inability to perfect this feature. Some of the unused segments were reinstated for the 2011 remaster, but the ''Sonic Origins'' version removes them again, instead matching the versions heard in the coinciding soundtrack album.

** Cut ''segments'' of songs exist, as early prototypes had what appeared to be unused in-game music loop pieces that would apparently inconspicuously play while the CD track ends and re-loads from the beginning. May have been removed due to time or inability to perfect this feature, but it was restored in the 2011 remake. They were later removed in the ''Origins'' release.
** In the pre-release, the title screen and Speed Up tracks were totally different, and the Special Stage song had an extended cut.

* ChristmasRushed: Spencer Nilsen's sound team was given a meager ''two months'' to compose an almost entirely new soundtrack for the game's American release. They were so pressed for time that they weren't even able to replace the Past songs; the tracks were directly coded into the game instead of being stored as ordinary CD audio tracks, and sorting that out was too complicated to bother with.

* DummiedOut: Aside from an eighth Special Stage, which can be accessed with a secret code, the most infamous cut content from ''Sonic CD'' is the elusive "Round 2", which was apparently a [[RuinsForRuinsSake ruins stage]]. To fill in the void, "Desert Dazzle" was supposed to appear in the remake, but Sega declined the content and all that remains of it is a secret teaser picture. Christian Whitehead, the remake's developer, claims that [[http://info.sonicretro.org/File:R2Sprites.png this sprite sheet]] was part of R2, which shows three unused enemies and a unused boss. There's also [[http://info.sonicretro.org/File:SCDconcept-R2RainbowWaterfalls.jpg official concept art]] of the level. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbWeIikEi0c Finally, a semi-complete layout of Desert Dazzle was left over in an updated release of the remake.]] The working Desert Dazzle design appears to have become the inspiration for Mirage Saloon Zone in ''VideoGame/SonicMania''.

* TranslationTrainwreck: Curtesy of [[https://youtu.be/zDTU-c8CVHA Chariii5]], the Spanish section of the European manual has a few:
** Some of the stage names were translated literally, such as Tidal Tempest becoming "Water for Everyone".
** Stardust Speedway was accidentally translated as "Stardust ''Speedometer''.
** Most hilarious of all, the "dash zone"'s that are found in Stardust Speedway are erroneously translated as "zonas de putos", or "fuck/fucker zone".

* NoExportForYou: The Japanese/European version's soundtrack wasn't officially released in North America until the 2011 remake, which has both that soundtrack and the American version's, by members of the Sega Technical Institute. It was long rumored that licensing issues were holding back such a release, but WordOfGod [[http://www.sonicretro.org/2011/08/sega-staffer-speaks-sonic-cd-details-revised-as-sonic-4-prequel/#more-4520 has it that]] the remake almost didn't have the US soundtrack [[{{Irony}} because of licensing issues]].

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: The vocals for the Japanese soundtrack were replaced with instrumentals for the HD remaster due to unforeseen legal issues regarding the rights to them. Fortunately, this doesn't appear to be a problem anymore, as ''Sonic Origins'' adds them back in.

** While ''Sonic CD'' itself has since become more accessible thanks to its PC port in 1996 (which was also included in ''[[CompilationRerelease Sonic Gems Collection]]''), the remastered port by Christian Whitehead in 2011, and the remaster's inclusion in ''Sonic Origins'' in 2022, the original Sega CD version has yet to see an official rerelease on any platform and copies of the original game tend to go up for [[CrackIsCheaper extremely high prices on online stores]]. There were plans to include it in ''Sonic Mega Collection'', however the lack of documentation for the Sega CD led to Creator/SonicTeam cutting it out from the lineup.

--> The programmer has a nap!\\