Now this, this is what Sonic 1 should've been. This is a pretty good high speed platformer, with fun new ideas and mechanics.

I'd say they took everything that worked from the first game and brought it back for this one, but even better. Levels are more like Green Hill Zone and less like Marble Zone, there is a better sense of progression in difficulty, collecting Chaos Emeralds is not that much of a pain in the ass anymore, the music is really really good and Sonic finally has the spindash.

I also played the Sonic Origins version, so I don't know how different it is, other than the fact that they fixed the half pipe bonus minigame.

This game still has issues tho, case in point, some of the last few levels are still Sonic 1 levels of bad. Metropolis Zone is slow, tedious and annoying, full of cheap enemies and traps that will slow you down all the goddamn time, and Sky Chase Zone is just fucking awful.

The final boss is also pretty annoying because you have to fight it with 0 rings, which....I get it, but, there had to be a better workaround than letting him insta kill me by just touching me once.

Overall, this is a really good Sonic game, not perfect, but certainly miles better than both Sonic 1 and CD. Honestly, you can probably skip those two and just start with Sonic 2, you are not missing much.

By just about every metric Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a superior game to it's predecessor. This is the game where SEGA leaned-into Sonic's speed. Thanks to the new, genius spin dash mechanic and the vast, sprawling levels (with lots of thrilling ramps and loop-de-loops that aid in building momentum), the game feels satisfyingly fast to blast through. The run of levels, starting with Emerald Hill and ending with Mystic Cave, is unbelievably fun.

The brighter, bolder graphics feel like a step up from the first game and I think the soundtrack is better too. There are no misses, every tune is great. The addition of some little extras (a second playable character, a nice little competition mode, a treat for collecting all of the chaos emeralds) is just the cherry on top.

Played this on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on PS3 with save states.

Pros: I like the level variety. One of my big complaints about the first game is that a lot of the levels didn't feel distinct, but this game avoids that by having less acts, but more zones so there's more diverse aesthetics. I like the addition of tails and multiplayer, it's nice to be able to be able to select your character and play with a friend. The spin dash is great addition, no more struggling to build up speed. Sonic felt slow and clunky in the first game, but he really does feel fast in this game. I think one of the best changes is that getting all of the Chaos emeralds gets you an awesome reward. Playing as Super Sonic kind of lets you bypass playing the actual game, which is pretty funny.

Cons: The level design feels cheap sometimes. The increased movement speed comes with the side effect of not being able to properly react to anything. This game loves throwing hazards, pits, and enemies in your way that you can't react to, so it basically necessitates memorizing the levels to go fast. This applies to both the standard and bonus levels. The bonus levels are cruel in this game because they are way harder and a lot easier to miss. I guess the trade off is the potential to access them multiple times in the level and actually being able to understand how to control Sonic. Another issue I had with the game is that enemies do a poor job of telegraphing their attacks, which is a big issue when there are more enemies that fire projectiles in this game. Also, I love the addition of Tails, but he's the embodiment of little brother mode. Playing as Tails in co-op is hard because the camera focuses on Sonic, and playing as Tails solo is like playing as a slow version of Sonic that can't go Super. On the brightside, Tails is so slow it negates the other issue I had with not being able to react to the stage. It just doesn't feel great to feel like you're walking through the levels.

Overall, I like Sonic 2 more than its predecessor mainly because moving faster just feels good. I found myself getting stuck less often since I was able to build up speed and actually progress through obstacles. The trade off is the occasional cheapness, but I think the pros outweighs the cons in this case. Next up will be Sonic CD. I won't be using save states with that one, so I hope I'm able to get through it okay. Thankfully, going forward I'm pretty sure all of the games have in-game saving.

I play this game like once a month




Better than mario 3

A big improvement on its predecessor!

It’s colourful, controls perfectly and is very, very fun!

A big step up in level variety and more mechanics, enemies and surprises are added. Less stages but making them longer and more interesting is a welcome improvement.

It’s not difficult but the difficulty ramps up by the end. There’s a lot of luck needed due to the pace of the game.

I especially enjoyed the egg man boss battles, especially the pinball stage. And the final 2 stages and the surprises within them are epic.

In all honesty, this game is a 4 star title, because some of the level design, especially near the end, skews too closely to some arcadey BS and the game often punishes you for going too fast. Additionally, any game that sticks spikes at the bottom of an inescapable pit you’ll likely hit after grabbing the invincibility power-up cannot be perfect.

However, this was not only the first video game I saw in my life, it’s probably the game I’ve played the most in terms of playing it all the way through. I’ve played this game to completion while very drunk. I’ve played this game while very stoned - less successfully. It’s not the best action game on the Genesis, and the sequel is a significant improvement, but I cannot deny the genuine love I have for this game. The music, the graphics, Sonic’s jump, everything about this game is just correct.