This article was published to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog and the announcement of his new games. What better way to celebrate his recent success than via retro reviews?
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 released a little over a year after the original and Sega intended to, once again, show off the power of ‘blast processing’ and the attitude and speed of their little blue blur. It received high praise upon release and Sonic, once more, captured the hearts of gamers everywhere. With an intense marketing campaign, a passionate and established audience, and great organization in ensuring that Sonic 2 was available at stores everywhere at its release, Sonic 2 sold 400,000 copies within its first seven days – and over six million copies during the lifespan of the Sega Genesis. In the original an icon was born, but in the sequel his potential was being not only realized but also recognized.
Sonic 2 is one of the greatest sequels of all time in that it retained all that made the original great, addressed all of the criticisms the original received, and also improved in every single area. It’s almost impossible for me not to gush when talking about Sonic 2 because this was one of my favorite games growing up, along with millions of other people. Sonic 2 is a critically acclaimed masterpiece and it does so many things perfectly in every area to earn the praise it received.
The gameplay of Sonic 2 is beyond polished and is only rivaled by the level design. Sega KNEW exactly what to do when they designed this game. I doubt there are that many games that are developed with this much confidence both in their direction and design. The original was already a classic and beloved by many, but there was still a bit of criticism that came with the love. Sega listened to all of it and also ensured it was all addressed in the development process. Sonic 2 was a masterpiece in all that it achieved and it started with zooming through Emerald Hill Zone. Levels had even more layers to them and more secrets to explore while remaining just as easy to fly right through if you wanted to just go really fast. Both gameplay styles were adhered to by Sega. Levels were just as fun to replay and explore during repeat playthroughs as they were to fly through the first time. The difficulty spikes were even addressed; sure, there are still some hard sections but with more checkpoints and with them being more evenly spread out, Sonic 2 never felt too hard.
Checkpoints really added a lot to this game. The original had them but Sonic 2, just like many of the other aspects of the game, completely nailed them. There were a few more and they were placed in perfect spots. There were many times in the original Sonic that I would have to repeat sections that I worked so hard to get past just because of later areas that bested me. This was no longer the case and it felt absolutely wonderful. Sonic 2 is beautiful from more than just a design standpoint though, it’s also an absolute blast to play (unlike Sonic 3D Blast but that’s a conversation for a future review).
Sonic 2 has one of the most memorable soundtracks of the ’90s and I know it’s not just me that feels that way. It appears on various lists on gaming publications and many different Youtube channels. It greatly earns this title and it starts off incredibly. Right on the intro screen you know exactly what you’re getting into; power, attitude, and top notch quality. Sonic 2 absolutely delivers on every promise that Sega made leading up to its release. The music alone helps set the scene. It provides the atmosphere, attitude, and quality to the canvas that Sega would paint Sonic on. Green Hill Zone (from the original) may be one of the most memorable songs in the series but if you stack the games up overall, Sonic 2 is certainly at, or near, the top. Chemical Plant Zone is one of my personal favorites because the beat helps drive the gameplay forward while also setting the mysterious and anxious tone that the level design suggests. Mystic Cave and Metropolis are also two standout favorites of mine. I guarantee that if you haven’t played Sonic 2 at all, or even in long time, these tunes will make you want to hook up a Genesis or hand Sega some money over Steam. Masato Nakamura will forever be considered one of the greats for his contributions to the 16-Bit era of music.
Sonic 2 controls like a dream, which is a blessing considering all that you will need to outmaneuver as you progress through the game. Emerald Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone are more forgiving than later worlds. The next few worlds are in the middle in terms of difficulty. They are more difficult, but not incredibly so. The difficulty ramps up gradually, which is a nice improvement over the original game and is a criticism I always had with it. I felt that the original had inconsistent and sporadic jumps in difficulty, which isn’t as fun and it’s also very frustrating. Be warned though, once you get to Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone all bets are off. You will die more but you will have received all of the training you needed over the last few worlds. You won’t be able to blame the controls and you won’t be able to blame it on a difficulty spike. No, Sonic 2 addresses all of these things for you so all you’ll have to blame is yourself. Be prepared to see the ‘Continue’ screen a lot more than earlier in the game, but just remember – you can blaze through the earlier levels with even more ease and speed with all that you will have learned. And you’re going to have a blast the whole time.
Sonic 2 is beautiful. The original looked wonderful and it looks just as great here. It’s hard to really compare them because they do look similar but I do think that Sonic 2 shines even brighter with more colors, more impressive effects, and just overall better level design to help show off that Sega Genesis blast processing that you’ve no doubt heard all about – especially if you grew up in the ’90s.
Sonic’s second outing on the Genesis is a dream come true. The original brought so much to the table but this time there were things that you didn’t even know you ordered. Sega addressed every bit of criticism while also just making a hell of a great game – even though we were perfectly satisfied with the original. It’s available on numerous platforms for a very low price. Pick it up on PSN, XBLA, Steam or even on mobile platforms for a low price and a wonderful bit of gaming history and bliss. It will also be great to experience before Sonic Mania is released next year! Be sure to keep up here at BagoGames for all your Sonic news, reviews and coverage!
This article was published to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog and the announcement of his new games. What better way to celebrate his recent success than via retro reviews?