Sonic The Hedgehog 2

After the amazing success of Sonic 1 on the Megadrive, SEGA decided that it would capitalize on the success of Sonic 1 and create a better, faster, stronger version of the first title in what has become a long-running franchise. This game turned out to be Sonic 2, and any gamer old enough will remember it’s launch day being dubbed as Sonic Twos-day (as it was released on a Tuesday). Many gamers will also remember the t-shirts that they were giving away for free, which were our protagonists on the Special Zone.

Yes, protagonists. In Sonic 2, Doctor Robotnik has come back with vengeance, but it’s also with his Death Egg ship that floats in space as well. As Robotnik has got a new thing to keep him going, Sonic manages to find a friend by the name of Miles Prowers, aka Tails. This tan fox has the ability to fly in the sky, and is a welcome companion against Sonic’s rivals.

The premise is essentially the same as Sonic 1: go right and jump over things. However, the gameplay has actually developed and the spin dash from the first game has been upgraded so Sonic and Tails are now able to “charge” their spin dashes from standing still. This allowed for much speedier completion of levels and a much more enjoyable time. It also allowed for a few secret places to be attained, but only if the player was fast enough and jumped at the right moment.

The level design has also changed. Whereas Sonic 1 had three levels per Zone, Sonic 2 only has 2 levels per Zone. At first one could argue that this meant that there was less Sonic playing time, but this would be wrong as the levels are actually a lot longer in Sonic 2 than in Sonic 1 and there are more Zones as well. There are eleven Zones in Sonic 2: seven of them have two levels each, one has three levels and the final two aren’t really Zones as such, but part of the continuing game experience.

The level design has also improved, although speed is still the name of the game, and in many levels the player is actually able to see the Megadrive struggle to keep up, it’s no longer just hit the right button and jump. Although there are no puzzles to figure out, or blocks to move out of the way, the route of each level requires some foresight. The further on in the game the player progresses, the more pitfalls and springs that require a left turn in the air to get to the next platform appear.

Whereas in Sonic 1 the level design was great, in Sonic 2, the level design is superb. Not only that, but the graphics have been kicked up a notch as well and Sonic is not only slightly bigger, but he’s also much more defined, as are the enemies. As with the first iteration of this franchise, the colours are all vibrant and distinct.

Not only that, but the music in Sonic 2 is much better than the first. Although some of the sound effects have been taken along for the second game, such as the noises of the springs and the music for dying, the general background music will burn its way into the skull, much like the first game and The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES.

With the advent of Tails comes the advent of multiplayer Sonic. Sonic 2’s multiplayer options are pretty expansive considering the age of the game. There are time trial modes and "who can win first" modes. It’s all done on split screens, but at the same time as being on a split screen, Sonic and Tails can, if they so choose, attack one another.

However, the game does slow down significantly when playing in multiplayer mode, to the point where it’s very noticeable. This is something that’s only noticeable to the trained eye -- as a child this was something that never appeared to me. As with almost all games on the Megadrive, there is no save feature, which is a great shame considering The Legend of Zelda, several years earlier, had this, and on more primitive hardware. But the Virtual Console does make up for this fact, as it does on all Mega Drive Virtual Console games.

The Special Zone, or Bonus Stage, is brilliant in Sonic 2, as well. If you collect more than 50 Rings and go through a “Save Point” some stars will appear around in. Jump in and Sonic and Tails have become 3D. It’s time to navigate the duo through a race to the finish, where there are bombs coming from all angles, and as many rings as possible need to be collected in the quickest time frame possible, otherwise, the Chaos Emerald is lost.

However, unlike in Sonic 1, these things actually serve a purpose. Once all of the Chaos Emeralds are collected, when Sonic has more than 50 rings and jumps, he can become Super Sonic, and this will allow him to basically fly across the entire level killing everything he touches. Although it does sap all the rings down to zero in the long run.

Buy It!

Sonic 2 is the best Sonic game on the Megadrive, and at only 800 Wii Points it’s most certainly worth adding to your Virtual Console collection. The game is much better than the first, and much better than the third, as well.