[Similar to Sonic 1, this game was completed using Sonic 2 Absolute, a fan-made hack that uses the decomp of the mobile game to create a widescreen version with extra QoL changes that make it the best way to play the game. Take this review with a grain of salt, my experience is not the same as someone who played the original. Once again, there will be a tl;dr at the end]

My childhood experience with this game was about the same as it was for Sonic 1—play the first zone, game over at the second, give up and never touch the rest of the game. However, getting to experience this game through using a second controller and hoping desperately that my brother could make it to Death Egg is probably the reason why, even back then, I've always preferred this game over Sonic 1. And there's better reasons for this outside of that as well: the newly added spindash, having 4 more zones than its predecessor while simultaneously lowering the act count to 2, the addition of Tails (who was, at the time, my favorite Sonic character), etc.. After finally getting to play through the entire game from start to finish, there's not much that could be done to make my experience better; it truly does live up to the hype that a lot of classic fans give it. Despite the additional zones and their uniqueness between each other, there's not too much I have to say about many of them because, being honest, there's only a few parts where I really had issues with the game. Nevertheless, I'll run through the 11 zones and group some of the ones together that I have a similar opinion on.

- Emerald Hill is much like Green Hill in that its a perfect starting zone for beginners to test out the game mechanics, while continuing to stay engaging and fast-paced for experienced players. No other notes, it's perfect.

- Chemical Plant, after giving me so much trouble as a kid, is much more fun to play nowadays. It's certainly a bit of a difficulty spike in the second act, but I found it easy to learn and, by the time I had gotten to my latest playthrough, I had no trouble getting past the rising water section or the bossfight.

- Aquatic Ruin, Hill Top, and Mystic Cave are all zones that I have about the same opinion on. They're extremely solid zones with unique theming, fun gameplay, and many different paths to take to reward exploration and skill. Some of the most fun stages out of the entire classic series IMO.

- Casino Night is probably the best zone in the game, its pinball mechanics are really fun to play around with and there's no shortage of slot machines that can either give or take away rings, if you're feeling lucky. The late night aesthetic paired with the smooth soundtrack make this one of the most appealing zones in the game, and one of the most enjoyable.

- I've seen Oil Ocean get a bad rep from other players before, but I find that it's a pretty fun stage much like the previous ones. It does take a bit longer to complete than usual, and I can see why some would find the cannon gimmick annoying, but as someone who usually spends more time on levels than the average person, neither of these points really bother me. I would definitely say it's not too difficult either, even as someone who's not really that great at the game I still found it to be a reasonable level of difficulty that made it challenging enough to be fun.

- Once again parroting the views of those before me, Metropolis is by far my least favorite zone in the entire game, to the point that I dislike it more than even Labyrinth from Sonic 1. Most of the gimmicks I actually have no problem with, though I do think some of them have weird execution (despite my lack of care for time-consuming gimmicks like Oil Ocean's cannons, I don't particularly like twisting a screw upwards for 30 seconds straight). What really drags this zone down for me are the enemy placements, which is understandably the most common complaint I've seen with Metropolis. Some of the badniks are placed in completely awful spots where you not only have to memorize the layouts of these already long stages, but in the case of the Slicers, you have to also make sure you're skilled enough to even avoid the attack in the first place. The Slicers are definitely my least favorite badnik in the game, they're okay in execution but the sheer abundance of them at the most inconvenient times ruins any enjoyment I would've had playing this. Those enemies aside, I've also encountered a few spots where avoiding getting hit is near impossible (there's a Shellcracker in one of the zones that is placed in a narrow gap where it's incredibly hard to jump on top of them without getting hit by the giant claw, as well as a section with so many Asterons exploding while you're being launched by the bumpers that it almost feels like RNG on if you come out unscathed). I haven't mentioned that it's the only zone in the game with 3 acts, and I probably wouldn't have too much of an issue with that if it wasn't a zone that's already decently long and annoying to play. Call it a skill issue if you want, but I can safely say this is the least enjoyable stage in the game, and pretty much the only thing hindering my review score.

- Coming off my extensive ranting about Metropolis, Sky Chase is a pretty standard zone. I had said before that I don't mind time-consuming gimmicks, and this stage being a sidescroller is sort of an extension of that. The badniks aren't difficult by any means, so this stage serves as a pretty nice breather in between the two hardest zones in the game, and a great cinematic piece leading into the next zone.

- Wing Fortress used to be the most intimidating zone for me; it seemed completely insurmountable when I saw it as a kid. In spite of this, I actually found this zone to be quite fun during my playthrough and, honestly, not all that difficult. It's definitely helped by the fact that it's only one act, but I find that really the only difficult parts of the zone are the section with the platforms that pop in and out of the aircraft and the bossfight, but even these can be conquered with enough practice. I'll concede that the section with the launcher that sends you between platforms is a bit confusing for those who aren't prepared for it, but once you've experienced it once it quickly stops being an issue. Overall, a perfect follow-up to Sky Chase and it does its job well as the penultimate zone.

- Death Egg is in the same boat as Final Zone from Sonic 1 where it's pretty much just dedicated to the final boss, but this boss(es) is alright for what it is. The Mecha Sonic fight might honestly be harder than the Death Egg Robot, but I wouldn't know for sure because I always do the cheap strategy of spindashing when the fight starts to take off half the health bar. It's an intimidating fight with no rings, but a pretty nice boss overall. As for the Death Egg Robot, I think the boss could have done with taking less hits to defeat. As I alluded to before in my Sonic 1 review, I don't find this bossfight as engaging as the one in Final Zone, and that's simply because the strategy used to defeat him is pretty much only impeded by your nerve control. Perhaps it's on me for not picking a more engaging way to attack (such as experimenting with going behind him and attacking that way), but it's hard to blame me for wanting to play it safe in a fight where you have no rings, in addition to having to beat another boss before even getting the chance to try this one again. That being said, the design of the boss is iconic for good reason, the game tries its best to make the fight feel epic and the music accompanying it works well to this effect. Speaking of music, I always thought it might have been cool to split this zone into two acts so that you could have a standard gameplay section before the bosses to experience the actual zone theme that was created for it. I think it's a really cool piece and it's a shame that you realistically only hear it for a few seconds.

And with the final boss defeated, the game comes to a close. I always found the ending cutscene of the game to be done better than the first game's (though the first game's ending certainly has its own strong points as well), partially thanks to the music that plays that unironically has made me tear up before. Overall, the gameplay experience of this game was much more consistent and enjoyable than that of its predecessor, just with one very big glaring blemish in it. As with the previous game, the fun factor of the zones make up almost all of my review score, but its other factors are just as successful. In terms of visuals, Sonic 2 manages to be even more vibrant than the first, boasting even more iconic set pieces and having striking color palettes throughout. As for the soundtrack, I think it's yet another perfect score that accompanies the game very well, if I hadn't made that obvious yet. The ending theme is probably my favorite track, but any song here could be a contender as well, even the multiplayer themes.

It's safe to say that this review has gone on for much longer than it has any right to (so much for making it shorter than the Sonic 1 review LMAO), so I'll just give my closing thoughts here. Sonic 2 is a game that I've been fascinated with ever since I was born, and finally getting to see the whole game for myself has made me finally be able to appreciate it for what it is. This game stands as a testament to the consistent quality of the Genesis games, and how the series only kept getting better as it went on. I haven't finished 3&K yet so I can't necessarily say how much better it got, but when I do finish it I look forward to reviewing it and ending off the classic era of the series (okay, maybe I'll get to CD at some point too). But as it stands, Sonic 2 was an immensely enjoyable experience for me, and I hope to have the same (or even better) enjoyment with future playthroughs.

tl;dr - Remove Metropolis and this game is an easy 10/10, but otherwise it's Sonic 1 but better in every way imaginable.

[I beat the game using Sonic 1 Forever, a fan-made hack that uses the mobile port's decomp and adds extra QoL changes to make it pretty much the best way to play the game. That being said, take this review with a grain of salt as my experience is definitely different than if I had played the original on the Genesis. Also, mucho texto so there will be a tl;dr at the bottom.]

I had always had a mixed experience with this game as a kid, as I was so bad at it that, even with level select, I couldn't get past Marble Zone and ended up taking a hatred towards that stage for the longest time. Returning to the game now, however, I've found that my experience in Sonic's first outing was much more enjoyable. I have a lot to say as it's a game I've studied time and time again over the years, but I'll give quick summaries of the zones so as to not make this long review even longer.

- Green Hill is a perfect starting zone, giving new players the chance to adapt to the fast-paced mechanics of the game while managing to stay an engaging and fun experience for those who already have a lot of skill with the game. One of the most iconic starting zones, and with good reason.

- Some say Marble Zone is an immediate nosedive in quality, and I would have agreed with this opinion had I not revisited the game, but after my last playthrough I can safely say it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Perhaps a little slow, but Sonic 1 in general is a lot more of a traditional platformer than the other games in the series, and some of the sections can be passed a lot quicker once you're familiar with the layout (this is most apparent with the sections with the blocks floating over lava, most of them can be essentially skipped by just building up speed and jumping between the platforms). A solid second stage overall, though I find Act 3 to still be a bit of a slog.

- Spring Yard feels like a solid middle ground between Green Hill and Marble, containing more fast-paced sections than the previous zone while still having a few areas where it's recommended to take it slower to avoid the traps. The block elevators don't bother me too much, but overall this is where the game starts to ramp up a little in difficulty with more tight jumps and enemies than before. I found this stage to be very fun through and through with only a few annoyances here and there.

- It should come as no surprise to anyone that Labyrinth is my least favorite zone in the game. I never cared to learn the actual route of the zone, instead opting to take the skips in Acts 1 and 3, but at the least the bits of the level that I did play, most notably Act 2, weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. For whatever reason, however, I find that the underwater sections control worse than they do in Sonic 2 or 3&K, maybe it has to do with the actual level design making it feel claustrophobic and less forgiving. Maybe not as bad as some would say, but still far from my favorite.

- Star Light is a refreshing change of pace, holding what is personally my favorite track in the game and showcasing the most enjoyable and fast gameplay since Green Hill. I always found the difficulty balancing in this game to be pretty strange, as this zone was around the same difficulty as Spring Yard for me (and both of these stages are easier than even Marble Act 3 for me), but I won't complain about getting a quick breather before reaching the last (and hardest) zone. The gimmick with the seesaws is fun to play with and I love that you can chain together multiple launches to get a bigger height boost, and for the most part the gameplay is very fair. I haven't spoken too much on the bosses because they're pretty standard, but I do like that the seesaws were incorporated into this zone's boss, allowing for multiple ways to deal damage. This one is tied with Green Hill for being my favorite zone in the game, and it makes the trip through Labyrinth more than worth it.

- Scrap Brain is a very intimidating zone, filled to the brim with death traps and even a few bottomless pits to keep the player on their toes as they make their way through the mechanical dystopia. I ended up with a lot of deaths at this zone, and while most of them can be chalked up to a skill issue, there were a few places where the enemy locations felt a bit unfair, and some traps are just unnecessarily hard to avoid. The third act being essentially a 4th Labyrinth act honestly didn't bother me too much, but this is probably due to the skip at the beginning that greatly cuts out the time it takes to reach Final Zone. Given that the game specifically nerfs bubble spawns in this level, I imagine I would have thought much lesser of the zone had I not known about the skip. Overall, this zone was nerve-wracking for me to the point where I can't necessarily say I enjoyed it, but it is a good challenge, especially for anyone with more skill than me, so I can't say I dislike it either.

- There's not too much to talk about with Final Zone, it's solely dedicated to the final boss and, for what that boss is, it's a pretty decent ending to the game. The mechanic of different crushers coming out in a random order is enough of a challenge to make it worthy of being your last obstacle, and as far as final bosses go I will say I found it more engaging than the Death Egg Robot from 2 (spoilers for that review in the future, I guess). The electric balls don't require too much thought to avoid, but they're a fair addition that can spice up the gameplay, potentially even changing where you choose to wait for the next cycle (unless you just play it safe and camp the edge of the screen). Overall, an enjoyable final boss that I can safely say gave me a rush of dopamine when I managed to beat it.

All in all, the zones in this game are pretty fun with only a few sore thumbs here and there, and that factors into a majority of my review score. However, there is also a lot to talk about in terms of the aesthetics and the presentation. The visual style of the game is absolutely gorgeous, to this day I still find that the vibrant, colorful 16-bit graphics look just as good as they did in 1991. I also appreciate some of the more abstract designs the game uses; the purple, mountainous skyline of Spring Yard and the psychedelic background of the special stage are a few examples. Presentation-wise, the theme of the game is easy to follow along with and I love the use of visual design to effectively tell the story (This is a point I'd heard somebody else make before, but as a concept, Scrap Brain Act 3 being a palette swap of Labyrinth is a really cool way of showing Eggman's desecration of the island that he plots to take over, and that's only one of the many details that this game makes use of with its levels). Story aside, the soundtrack in this game is full of bangers, with each track fitting its zone's style and tone perfectly. I had already stated that Star Light is my favorite song in the game, but that is in no way a dismissal of the quality of any of the other songs here. These aspects of the game show that Sonic doesn't need to rely on just its gameplay to stand out, and this is a trend that would continue to follow for the rest of series.

This is easily my longest review and I'm hoping that the one for Sonic 2 will be shorter (no promises), but I felt the need to write a whole essay for this game as it's one of the most significant pieces of media in my life. Getting to finally beat this game was a childhood dream come true, even if I did have to abuse save files with the aforementioned fan port, and while it definitely still has its flaws, this iconic game still stands the test of time in my eyes.

tl;dr - Most of the zones are fun, though some of them are a little annoying in a few areas. I found Labyrinth in particular to be especially lacking, to nobody's surprise. Overall, however, the game looks, sounds, and plays great.