INFO BURST

Format: Sega Mega Drive game
Initial Release Date: 21 November 1992
Feature characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower
Villain: Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik
Other Characters: Badniks (Buzzer, Coconuts, Masher, Grabber, Spiny, Grounder, Whisp, Chop Chop, Crawl, Rexon, Sol, Spiker, Crawlton, Flasher, Octus, Aquis, Asteron, Shellcracker, Slicer, Balkiry, Nebula, Turtloids, Clucker), Animal Friends (Flicky, Ricky, Locky, Pocky, Pecky, Becky, Wocky, Cucky, Micky, Rocky, Tocky)
Boss Fights: Egg Mobile (Egg Drillster, Egg Poison, Egg Hammer, Egg Claw, Egg Scorcher Mk. II, Egg Digger, Eggmarine, Egg Bouncer), Laser Prison, Robo Sonic, Death Egg Robot
Locations: West Side Island (Emerald Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone, Casino Night Zone, Hill Top Zone, Mystic Cave Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Metropolis Zone, Sky Chase Zone, Wing Fortress Zone), Death Egg, Special Stage
Items: Ring, Item Box (Super Ring, Shield, Power Sneakers, Invincibility, One-Up, Teleporter, Eggman Mark, ? Monitor), Starpost, Sign Post, Prison Egg Capsule, Chaos Emerald
Continuity: Video games
Synopsis: Doctor Eggman turns his sights to West Side Island, a beautiful island with all manner of geographical and topographical terrain. Eggman is able to set up shop on the island, creating or conquering factories and refineries to pollute the atmosphere as well as causing damage to the natural world in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman intends to launch his space station, the Death Egg, from which he would be able to rain terror down upon Sonic’s world. Luckily, Sonic and Tails are more than up to the task of taking the fight to Eggman. The two chase the diabolical doctor across West Side Island before chasing him through the skies to his Wing Fortress Zone, a huge warplane. From here, Sonic pursues Eggman into space and the Death Egg Zone where he must do battle with Robo Sonic and Robotnik’s battle armour, the giant Death Egg Robot. On collecting all seven Chaos Emerald, Sonic finds he can transform into a glowing yellow-gold form with increased speed and practical invulnerability- Super Sonic.
Notes: Features the first two-player race mode in the series, as well as the first appearance of the Death Egg and the Death Egg Robot. The first time Sonic could transform into Super Sonic. NB: This site refers to the penultimate boss of the game as Robo Sonic in keeping with the name given to him in Lego Dimensions. This is to avoid the decades-long naming confusion between this character, Silver Sonic and Mecha Sonic. We appreciate Sega have deprecated the Robo Sonic name but believe consistency and clarity are important.

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Hayao Nakayama
Producer: Shinobu Toyoda
Director: Masaharu Yoshii
Chief Programmer: Yuji Naka
Game Planner: Hirokazu Yasuhara
Character Designer and Chief Artist: Yasushi Yamaguchi
Music Composer: Masato Nakamura

Review

With the first game in the series a rousing success, Sega knew their follow-up had to be good. Sonic had enjoyed two strong games on the company’s 8-bit consoles, but the Mega Drive follow-up had to be a winner if Sonic was going to have real legs. A handful of Sonic Team members, including Yuji Naka, worked alongside America’s Sega Technical Institute to create what would be seen by many as the first “true” sequel in the series. Despite the game’s contentious development, including huge swathes of the game being reworked or scrapped entirely, what hit shelves in November of 1992 on what the company dubbed Sonic 2sday was an instant classic beloved ever since its launch.

The first thing a player notices when beginning the game is Sonic’s friend Tails has now officially joined the action! This game marked the first time Tails was playable, though players still couldn’t control his flight so he’s effectively identical to Sonic from a gameplay stance. Nevertheless, the addition of Tails is in many ways the missing ingredient for the series as Sonic having a friend to back him up on his adventures helps make the world of the game feel that bit more alive. Tails would also prove to be absolutely invaluable for the impending western adaptations of the series as he provided someone for Sonic to converse with naturally. Aside from much else, though, Tails being the “kid” character proved beneficial in many ways. You never have to look too hard or for too long in Sonic communities to find anecdotes of players who had to share a Mega Drive with their younger sibling. With Tails and a second controller plugged into the system, suddenly both siblings get to play the game at the same time without trading off the controller. There are countless tales out there of brothers and sisters who grew closer to their sibling by being able to play Sonic 2 with one another and bonding, meaning Tails is an addition of almost unparalleled importance to the series.

Almost equally important is another new addition, the Spin Dash. These days it would be almost unthinkable to release a 2D Sonic game (and even some of the 3D ones) without the Spin Dash and it’s easy to forget what a revolution it was when first introduced in this title. The mechanic fits the established momentum-based gameplay of the first game perfectly with a balanced trade-off. By charging up a Spin Dash, players can get Sonic to top speed in an instant, but he will launch off in a ball, meaning players must sacrifice an element of control. The Spin Dash is perfect for overcoming steep inclines in a flash, but players have to be careful not to abuse it lest they fall into a particularly nasty trap in the levels.

The levels, then, are hugely impressive, at least on the whole. The graphics are striking with vibrant colour palettes chosen and bold sprite work creating a clearly defined art style which stands apart from Sonic 1. On the most surface-level inspection, one would be forgiven for thinking Emerald Hill Zone is a retread of the now-familiar Green Hill Zone. However, between the bumpy terrain, the brighter colours and the hidden paths, the Zone has a distinct identity which allows it to stand out from its forebear. Similarly, though both are factories, there is absolutely no confusing Chemical Plant Zone for Scrap Brain Zone. It’s here that the Sonic series begins to commit to using level archetypes rather than simply reusing and rehashing familiar locales (though that’s not to say the series hadn’t, doesn’t and won’t do that all the same!).

As with the first game, each level is accompanied by wonderful and memorable soundtrack, with many of the series most iconic tracks making their debut here. The tunes take inspiration from different genres and styles, from the jazz of Casino Night Zone to the blues of Hill Top Zone to the funk of the Mystic Cave Zone and beyond, creating an eclectic mixture of music. The returning Masato Nakamura excelled himself with the compositions of this game, and some of the themes on display here are among the catchiest in the franchise’s illustrious history, which long-time fans will know is high praise indeed.

Not every level is a winner, unfortunately. If a player is skilled enough to stay dry in the Aquatic Ruin Zone, they’ll find themselves blasting through it in a minute or two. Wing Fortress Zone also seems to want you to get through it as fast as you can, perhaps so you don’t spot the sections which were seemingly rushed or unfinished before the game was released. And just about every fan of Sonic can tell you that three Acts for Metropolis Zone is one Act two many, especially as the stage ends with one of the most brutally difficult boss fights of the Sonic series’ classic era. That said, every stage manages to have a distinct identity (despite a couple of recoloured sprites here and there) and that, coupled with the music, mean the stages of this game all end up being unforgettable.

The bosses themselves, then, once again see Doctor Eggman in the pilot’s seat of the Egg Mobile, with a series of largely very good bosses. Whereas in the first Sonic game, Eggman’s Egg Mobile was itself unaltered in each fight but had different weapons attached to it or dropped from it, the Egg Mobile in Sonic 2 begins the tradition that would remain a mainstay of the series to this day- the Egg Mobile ends up being the cockpit of the boss fights, but with the weaponry being larger and modular to give each a visual identity all its own. This is exemplified nowhere better than at the end of Emerald Hill Zone where Robotnik lands the Egg Mobile inside the infamous drill car itself before escaping in the Egg Mobile once the car parts are blown to smithereens. This helps keep the fights fresh and there’s no wonder this ended up being the model used going forward. Most of the bosses are great and often challenging, though at least two can be beaten by jumping on them once and bouncing repeatedly in place, which undermines the difficulty enormously.

The Badniks are also greatly freshened up here as this is the first game in the series to have entirely new Badniks (though some clearly riff on earlier models, with Buzzer functioning largely as Buzz Bomber did and Sol being an Orbinaut variant). Unlike in previous games in the series, each Badnik only appears in one Zone of the game. This means each Zone has unique Badnik threats, which contributes further to every stage in the game having its own flavour. This is something later Sonic games would sometimes forget, leading to a lot of enemies becoming bland, forgettable or over-familiar. And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out two of the Badniks debuting in this title would go on to have starring roles in one of 1993’s Sonic cartoons…

The Special Stage is back but it’s been changed up once again. This time, Sonic and Tails find themselves in a giant half-pipe, chasing towards the Chaos Emerald and having to collect enough Rings to pass checkpoint gates along the way to reach the precious gem at the end. It’s arguably the series’ most iconic Special Stage but, unfortunately, it’s also one of the most frustrating. Unprepared players will find it hard to react in a timely manner to hazards during these stages, meaning it’s often difficult to collect the required number of Rings to finish the stages successfully, particularly on the later stages and even more so if the player is playing as Sonic and Tails together as the Ring requirements are then raised! Further, to enter a Special Stage, players must collect 50 rings and pass a Starpost checkpoint, which is no easy feat. Given any Starpost passed also deactivates any Starpost before it in the level, you also can’t go back to any you’ve missed, only further compounding the challenge!

But persevere and collect all the Chaos Emeralds and you’ll be glad you did. With a full set of seven Chaos Emeralds and fifty Rings in hand, Sonic will find himself able to transform into Super Sonic, an amazing, invincible, even speedier version of himself. It’s a lovely nod to Dragon Ball in a series that has many and is perhaps the best known example. As Super Sonic, getting through levels is a breeze, but chances are you won’t get all seven Chaos Emeralds on your first play through anyway, so it’s a worthy reward for players willing to put in the time and practice.

The game reaches its climax on the Death Egg, a short level with two tricky bosses. Robo Sonic arguably does a better job of being Sonic’s robot doppelganger than Silver Sonic did and is significantly more intimidating to boot, complete with a piercing screech as his sawblade spines whirr as he stares you down. Defeating this difficult robotic foe is only the preamble to the final boss, however, with the now iconic Death Egg Robot battle suit being the final encounter that tests the nerve of any player lucky enough to make it to the very end of the game. The Death Egg itself may be short but it’s a tremendous cap to the game.

Sonic 2 serves as a statement of intent. Sonic the Hedgehog was going nowhere. Though the game is arguably a little on the breezy side, it’s a fun time all the same and rewards mastery for any player dedicated enough to give it a go.