The game looks shockingly pretty; comparing this art style with Episode I is like night and day. The level design is actually inventive and fun. There are more branching paths to explore, and red rings to collect that add extra challenge and replay value. The new combo moves with Tails grant you so much room to experiment - too bad I need to wait through a 3-second animation any time I activate one of them. Sonic still moves too slowly from a standstill, making precise platforming tougher than it should be. The soundtrack is an improvement for sure, but I'll never understand why they brought back the grating Episode I boss theme for one of the boss fights.

Sonic 4: Episode II ain't too shabby. It's polished, it's breezy, it's a decent time. Just be aware the adventure is short (2-4 hours) and there are better 2D Sonic games out there.

The sequel to the utterly abominable Sonic 4: Episode 1 is a significant step up from it's predecessor to the point of being somewhat fun and playable, but it's biggest pitfalls still remain.

Firstly, while the physics are improved, a lot still feels very off compared to the Genesis games; then again, it feels like that whenever they do 2D in the modern games too, so points for consistency? The other major flaw is the continues emphasis on using the homing attack every 5 seconds to progress further or take a shortcut - half the time, the targeting reticle disappears as soon as I hit A, instantly resulting in damage and/or death. Crappy design still plagues the levels, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before.

The graphics are way nicer, and the stages are definitely a step above the boring rehashes of Episode 1...for the most part, that is. The biggest addition that Episode 2 makes is Tails, adding in the functionality for Co-Op, which is certainly nice (though, it's not like I could really test it). It also adds a bunch of these "buddy moves" or whatever - basically you do this overly long high-five animation and either Tails helps Sonic fly, swim, or do a combined spindash of destruction - all 3 of which kinda make most of the game way easier than it should be, as you can trigger them anytime you're not taking damage.

Overall it's honestly worth a shot if you find it cheap, but it's also hardly a must-play. Just settles for average, which is still better than a lot of the Blue Blurs escapades since 1998...

Hey, i found a sonic game that i hate more than sonic 1...great

Boring visual, boring music, horrible level design, even when they try new thing, broken physics, sonic as way too much weight and cant take speed for the life of him and jump like if he was on the moon, useless mechanic ..this game is just Bad

The only redeeming quality are the boss, but even then, they are way too easy and the music, but gave me a single sonic game with Bad music, i would wait

Playing this following my replay of the first episode, I can definitely say this game is an improvement, and actually can make for a decent, fun time.

The physics and movement are definitely better than the first episode. I do still have problems with the roll and spin dash, but in general I still felt like I had a better sense of speed, especially considering that Sonic tends to build it up quicker both with and without the air dash, and moves like the homing attack feel better integrated with the level design.

On that note, the levels in this game definitely feel more interesting compared to the first when it comes to both visuals/themes and design. While there are themes reused here (Sylvania Castle basically being Aquatic Ruin, Oil Desert being Oil Ocean), even in those cases, the better visuals and added design elements actually make them feel more unique compared to Episode 1's, and in addition to that, the level design definitely feels more dynamic and less flash game-y than the first episode.

That said, it still isn't particularly great. The added moves with Tails are kind of just a mixed bag overall - sometimes they can be fun to use in levels that integrate them well, but most of the time, they sort of just break the pace of the game and don't really add a lot to the experience.

Tails' flight ability feels hella weak, which is especially noticeable in Oil Desert (particularly towards the end of Act 1) when you have to use it over distances and making the slightest mistake can screw you over. The Sonic/Tails spin can also be pretty OP, in some cases allowing you to speed right through large areas of the level especially where the design is pretty flat.

However, I can at least say I had a decent time with this game. I would still recommend Sonic Mania over this in a heartbeat, but I would say compared to Episode 1, this game is at least worth a shot, especially if on sale.

Sure enough this one is better. The physics suck less, the visuals are tolerable now. There are co-op mechanics with Tails to sort of give it a little mechanical identity even if it's not super interesting. The levels have less bullshit in them but the bosses, while more interesting visually, are incredibly tedious. This is still just "hey remember those old games" but it's decently fun.

Really though this is a look at a very specific period of small games, especially the ones that were not indies. There is a red ring in each level to collect but they don't do anything except award an achievement if you get them all. This was a little baby budget title from Sega in the heady days of Xbox Live. With the refinements from the first game it's probably exactly what they set out to do.

Again, this game was recommended by radicalraisin and Mellorine, but recommended in the way that you would recommend someone do something about the roaches in their house

Basically we've gone from an abysmal Sonic game to a "pretty bad but mostly mid" Sonic game. What a glow up! I mean, for one thing the game doesn't look like total ass anymore. Still sounds like it, but the one thing I'll say this soundtrack has over Sonic 4 is that it's actually willing to reference older Sonic tracks. I was legit shocked when the song for one of the Metal Sonic fights actually referenced Stardust Speedway, even thought it's the obvious thing to do. I just didn't expect this game to, you know, pay tribute to the older Sonic games, something you would think it would do more often.

It also actually plays a lot better too. Sonic's momentum still isn't ideal but it's a lot better than the boulder I was controlling in Episode 1. Honestly I was genuinely enjoying a lot of the first stage, as the addition of Tails allows for more exploration and traversing different paths. It actually reminded me of things I actually liked about classic Sonic, but none of the other stages hit this level of fun and Dimps goes back to their evil ways. I meant to ask this in the Episode 1 review, but do we really need three acts? I get that it's because the first one was a Sonic 1...tribute(?) and also because there was only 4 stages, but these stages run out of steam in the first two acts. Honestly the boss fights last long enough to feel like their own acts.

So the final boss in Episode 1 was a nightmare, mostly due to how long it went on, and every boss in Episode 2 is now this. Each one has several cutscenes that go on for too long and are unskippable, make you wait way too long in order to get a hit in, and have way too many hits. That's right, it's a Dimps game! Each also usually has some move that exists entirely to throw you off and knock you back to the very beginning, as there's almost no way you can see it coming.

I was honestly kind of ready to leave this game at a 2.5, but these bosses were so rancid I had to knock it back down into the below average zone. Still, we went from a 1 to a 2, that's improvement! Theoretically, by the time we get to Episode V we'll have a perfect game, looking forward to it!

I also meant to bring this up in Episode 1, but I fucking hate the face Sonic is making in that game's cover and this one as well. It's supposed to be a smirk but it looks more like he's trying really hard not to laugh at you. Hate this man's lips with my life.

This game isn't as miserable as episode 1 but God it is still far from good. It has a lot of similar issues to episode 1 so there's not as much to cover. But this game does improve some things, the game looks better, some early stages are actually kinda fun, the controls aren't as terrible but it's still a lot of stop and go garbage, and the team up mechanic between sonic & tails is actually kind of neat if a little overused in some instances. The problems lie within the second half and the boss fights. I don't know whose bright idea was it to make most of the boss fights have minute long unskippable intros but they're and they make dying to them all the worse especially since the into isn't the only thing that is long and boring about them. These bossfights take so long, every single one them have multiple phases and if you die once you have to start from the beginning and did I mention the fact they all have like minute long intros? And then there's the second half, who thought bringing back sky chase was a good idea? And then who decided to make the stage 7 MINUTES LONG, JESUS CHRIST. It's better than episode 1 but that's not saying much don't bother with this one either unless like episode 1 you want to see how bad it is. Just play the genesis games or mania for some good 2D sonic platforming.