Sonic 2 is a great followup to Sonic 1 on Sega Genesis, it was an even bigger success for the SEGA company for this time. Let’s take a look at Sonic 2. But before we do that we gotta quickly tell history. In 1992 the creator of the first sonic game, Yuji Naka, and other Japanese developers left the SEGA company in Japan and went to the American branch of SEGA to work on Sonic 2 while the Japanese branch worked on Sonic CD for the add-on to the SEGA Genesis, the SEGA CD. Sonic 2 had some issues during development because of the language barrier and a bit of a tight deadline which led to a couple of zones being cut.
Moving on from that, Sonic 2 made several changes. The graphics of the game are now more colorful. There is now a two player versus mode and two player multiplayer in the form of Tails. The most important addition is the Spindash which allows the player to pick up the pace at any point and speed up the game. Combined with Zones (Levels) usually having 2 acts instead of 3, the game’s pacing is a lot better. They also moved the bosses to the second act.
Onto the Zones, Emerald Hill Zone might be just a more colorful Green Hill Zone, but it does an equally good job as Green Hill Zone. It has the high and low paths for repeatability and the loop de loops for the cool factor.
Chemical Plant Zone is so much better than Sonic 1’s Marble Zone. It’s a bit more difficult than the previous, however it still keeps the speed of the previous zone. Act 2 introduces water and water physics as a gimmick that they would be reusing later in the game.
Aquatic Ruin Zone is an actually good level compared to Sonic 1’s Labyrinth Zone. They used the high and low paths as the splitting point for the water. If the player is skilled, then they get to stay away from the water and its slow water physics. However, there are a few minor issues such as the hidden enemies that just pop out, that is a bit annoying. In Act 2, it has this awful parallax scrolling with the foreground graphic. The boss is also a bit mediocre but other than that, this is a good level.
Casino Night Zone showcases its gimmick of gambling. Gamble rings by getting into the slot and gamble all of it for more. This zone really reminds the player that 99% of people quit before they hit it big. Jokes aside, this zone is worse than the previous one but the setting carries it. The bounce pads are a bit annoying however, and the zone doesn’t carry the amount of speed as the previous. This boss specifically is actually a bit fun with the player going to hit Dr. Eggman and the bumpers are actually pretty fun for that fight.
Hilltop Zone is pretty alright if a bit off in execution. This zone has platforms on zip lines but this gimmick is uninteresting. The gimmick of launching the player from a seesaw from Sonic 1 returns. It’s pretty fun and a bit of a nice break. Near the end of both acts, after you go into the hill the lava rises up and the player has to get to the exit. This set piece of excitement is executed with less grace in Act 2 while in the first act, it goes a lot more smoothly. This still has a high quality despite the questionable execution.
Mystic Cave Zone is pretty alright. It has crushing walls, which will be iterated upon further into Sonic 2. Act 1 is largely alright, it Introduces the vines that Sonic can grab onto for going lower or higher yet still largely uninteresting. Act 2 does a bit more with the gimmicks but overall, it’s only alright.
Oil Ocean Zone is the part of Sonic 2 where it starts to go downhill. The setting of an oil ocean and oil rigs is uninteresting and the acts are mediocre. This zone has a slower pace, not a complete stop like Sonic 1, but a noticeable one. The gimmicks of pushable springs are uninteresting and spikes on rails are okay but underutilized. The zone has elevators and cannons to shoot Sonic out to slow the pace but it at least has oil slides for speed and cool factor. So this is a pretty average zone.
Metropolis Zone is the only zone with 3 acts and the worst one in this game. The quick pacing of the previous 2 act zones is kinda ruined and the gimmicks it brings to the table aren’t interesting enough to go on for 3 acts. The acts are also long and the gimmicks of running on a screw to go up and jumping on moving gears are okay. The enemies of this zone are awful. The robot starfish enemies are pretty annoying and the big claw robot crab has hitboxes that don’t make sense. This zone is pretty bad.
Sky Chase Zone is uninteresting, it’s just a transition to the next zone which is why it is 1 act. Wing Fortress Zone is a 1 act zone. It’s short and has a few waiting platform gimmicks but because of the length, it’s alright. The boss is short which is important for the final zone.
Death Egg Zone is a zone with no rings. Sonic has to fight 2 bosses with no rings. Rings are pretty important because having even 1 is enough to basically stay alive forever. The Mecha Sonic boss is short if a bit difficult, but the big Eggman mech is not short and the hitboxes of this mech are wack. You have to hit it at the low half of it and it sometimes just kills you because the hitboxes are just strange. Overall a pretty bad zone to end on considering the rest of the game.
This game has 7 special stages and a new reward besides a good ending. The first introduction of Super Sonic, a powerful form that depends on rings, but it basically makes you invincible. However, these special stages are pretty bad because it’s basically trial and error and you need to know the layout. Also, Tails is not helpful in the special stages because he has his own ring counter and he has bad AI, further ruining the enjoyment of these stages. The bosses are still mostly the same quality as Sonic 1 but it really doesn’t diminish the quality of the rest.
Overall, while the game gets worse near the end, the game is good. You should play it because it’s on mobile phones, PC, consoles and SEGA Genesis’ if you have that. You should play it because it is a major improvement over Sonic 1.