Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)

This article is about the Sega Genesis game. You may be looking for the 8-bit counterpart.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Are you up 2 it?
Protagonist(s): Sonic the Hedgehog Miles "Tails" Prower Knuckles the Echidna (mobile; Sonic & Knuckles lock-on) Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Sega Genesis Arcade Android iOS Windows Phone Microsoft Windows Apple TV Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Switch Release: Sega Genesis JP: November 21, 1992 NA/EU: November 24, 1992 AU: December 1, 1992 Arcade WW: 1994 Android, iOS WW: December 12, 2013 Windows Phone WW: December 14, 2013 Nintendo 3DS JP: July 22, 2015 WW: October 8, 2015 Nintendo Switch JP: February 13, 2020 WW: February 20, 2020 Developer(s): Sega Technical Institute Publisher(s): Sega Country: United States Series: Sonic the Hedgehog Predecessor: Sonic the Hedgehog Successor: Sonic CD (by release date) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to the original 1991 game. It was initially released on November 1992 for the Sega Genesis. It is the second installment of the Sonic series.

Why We're Up 2 It

1. Even more zones than the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.
2. It introduces Miles "Tails" Prower, a two-tailed fox and sidekick of Sonic, who would eventually become a series staple.
3. The level design is improved from the first game, and most levels have multiple pathways, giving the players plenty of different options to clear the stage.
4. Unforgettable music, composed once again by Masato Nakamura, who also did the soundtrack to the first game.
5. The Spin Dash has been introduced, which allows Sonic or Tails to go really fast, and can make some levels a breeze.
6. It fixes some problems that the original game had: the underwater movement was somewhat spruced up, and Sonic's sprites received some improvement in color and framerate.
7. New plot involved: Dr. Robotnik/Eggman is working on building the Death Egg so he can take over the world.
   • Also, the Death Egg is a very neat Star Wars reference.
8. Pretty good Special Stages that are more fast-paced this time around, and they involve Sonic running through a halfpipe collecting a certain amount of rings to obtain the Chaos Emerald. While they still require the player to have at least 50 rings to enter, the Special Stages are accessed from the checkpoints rather than the goal posts in the first game, giving the player plenty more chances to collect the Chaos Emeralds.
9. Upon collecting all of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic (another cool easter egg, this time being a Dragon Ball Z one), being able to jump higher and run even faster at the cost of using 1 ring per second.
10. Each zone (except for Metropolis Zone and subsequent final zones) now has 2 acts instead of 3, and the acts are much longer than in its predecessor.
11. You also have the option to play as Tails alone or Knuckles the Echidna, the latter can be played in the original game by sticking the Sonic 2 cartridge on top of the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge.
12. In 2022, it will be re-released as part of the Sonic Origins compilations for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. It will also be available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility.

Bad Qualities

1. The ever-infamous spike pit in Mystic Cave Zone. Not even Super Sonic can escape its grasp. Thankfully, this has been reworked as a secret entrance to the Hidden Palace Zone in the mobile port, or a simple bottomless pit if played in Time Attack mode.
2. Just like the last game, the original version has no save feature. This is a major problem considering this game is longer than the first: if you die at Hidden Palace, for example, you’ll go back to Emerald Hill, no expections.
3. Some of the later Special Stages can be annoying if you have CPU-controlled Tails with you on your journey.
4. Two of the zones in the game are quite tedious.
   • Wing Fortress Zone is the most tedious zone in the game, with so many places to fall.
   • Metropolis Zone is also tedious for similar reasons, as unlike every other zone before it, it has 3 acts, and each act can take quite a long time to beat. The acts in this zone are also plagued with cheap enemy placements.
5. The mobile port has always-online DRM and advertisements, intended to making the game freely available while also profiting through ads, although ads can be removed for a fee.
   • Luckily, This Can Be Prevented Through Play Pass Subscription.
6. When playing as Tails, you cannot fly, despite that being his main ability. Fortunately, his flight ability made it into Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.

Trivia

• Sonic 2's release date in the United States and Europe was known as "Sonic 2sday", a pun on Sonic 2 and Tuesday.
  • Sega of America sent out golden versions of the game's cartridge as a gift to people who helped with the "Sonic 2sday" marketing campaign, like Tom Payne and Al Nilsen.
• This was the first Sonic game to have seven Chaos Emeralds, as opposed to six in the original game.
• Much like the first game, Sonic 2 was included as a pack-in game in some SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive bundles.
• The game's 2013 re-release adds the Hidden Palace Zone (which can be accessed by going to the spike pit in Mystic Cave Zone), a zone which was originally cut from the game, as well as an extra boss for that zone.
  • The 2013 re-release is also included in the Sonic Origins compilation for modern consoles.
• The halfpipe-styled Special Stages became a staple in the Sonic series, with variants of the stage appearing in games like the Saturn/PC version of Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rush, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
• This is one of the games to be represented in Sonic Generations. Chemical Plant returns as the second stage of the Classic Era in the home console version, while Casino Night appears as the second stage of the Classic Era in the Nintendo 3DS version. A pinball minigame based on Casino Night is also available in the PC version of the game as a DLC/pre-order bonus.
  • Death Egg Robot is also featured as the main Classic Era boss in the home console version of Sonic Generations.

Reception

Sonic 2 was released to critical acclaim. AllGame gave it 5 stars and a half. Aktueller Software Market gave the game an 11/12, Frank Provo from GameSpot wrote, "Play through it and you'll understand why it helped sell a ton of Genesis consoles back in the day. It's a fun platformer and does everything a sequel is supposed to do. It resolves many of the first game's shortcomings and incorporates a slew of minor upgrades that cumulatively amount to a fresh experience." and so on. Critics praised it for it's expansiveness and gameplay refinements. Justin Towell from GamesRadar+ said that it was "an improvement in every respect" and cited the "improved Special Stage with pseudo-3D shenanigans, a greater emphasis on speed, better graphics, [and] another incredible soundtrack" and it even was well received in later releases.

Sonic 2 has sold over 6 million copies, and is the second best-selling game on the Mega Drive/Genesis, the first being the original Sonic The Hedgehog game.

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