I’m a huge Metropolis Zone defender in this game, and it might actually be my favorite part of Sonic 2. Every enemy feels like a real threat, placed exactly to test your reflexes and planning. Their fast attacks might toe the line of being cheap, but they all have patterns to efficiently take them out. Just barely brushing past a mechanical starfish’s needle is one of the most satisfying moments of the game. From an aesthetic angle, a completely industrialized theme is always a perfect contrast with Sonic. Everything under Robotnik’s design gives a great deal of urgency to complete your mission. With the best song in the game pushing you on, Metropolis Zone is one of the most challenging but rewarding trials in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.