The screen’s cold hum resonates softly as the beta test of Sonic Adventure 2 loads. The game cartridge glitters in the overhead light, its silvery surface catching reflections like tiny mirrors. The title screen flickers briefly before the game starts up. Sonic and Tails dash across a blue-tiled stage with glowing emeralds scattered about. Their feet skid smoothly on the ground as they speed through the forested area, leaves crunching softly beneath them. Tails’ tail flaps rapidly to keep him steady at such high speeds.

A section of the screen splits off to show data streaming in. Numbers scroll past in a blur: player statistics, load times, and frame rates. A timer on the upper right corner ticks away as tests are conducted. The game world outside moves quickly, but here inside the console, everything seems to happen at a slower pace.

Occasionally, a glitch pops up—a misshapen hedgehog or floating emerald—but these brief interruptions don’t slow down the developers’ keen eyes. A red alert flashes on screen as one appears; it’s fixed with a quick press of buttons and a few keystrokes. The game glitches back to normal, its world resuming without a hitch.

Sonic pauses briefly at a checkpoint, his image solidifying for a moment before he continues. Tails follows closely behind, both moving fluidly across the screen. As they race onward, the forest gives way to more open terrain, and the tests continue unabated.