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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Game Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game published by Sega for Sega Genesis. It’s a sequel that was an improvement upon its predecessor in many aspects.

The plot is rather simplistic once again, though an improvement overall. What I especially liked was the ‘Star Wars’ reference where the Death Egg clearly stood for the Death Star from that universe. That entire space theme worked wonders to make this game different from its predecessor, but still I wanted more cut scenes and the ending felt rushed.

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Dr. Robotnik continues to be highly memorable as the villain of the whole franchise and he is great here while Sonic is reliably cool and very well designed once again. This is the entry in the series where for the first time ever we were introduced to Tails, a wonderful friend of Sonic’s and my favorite character in the entire franchise. Clearly inspired by the many tailed foxes in Japanese mythology, this fox is not only adorable, but he is also genuinely cool in his usage of the tail and his helicopter. It’s a shame that he only stood in the background when not chosen as the main avatar, but at least he was very helpful at collecting the rings.

The gameplay itself is the major improvement upon the original and this is where the game truly shines. They got rid of those very slow levels from the first game where Sonic’s speed became an unnecessary hurdle and instead the game became much faster, which fits this particular character.

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One big addition was the introduction of the Spin Dash attack and it’s fantastic. Basically, Sonic curls in a ball and spins while stationary, and upon release by the player, he is given extra speed. When you do this, you can even destroy rocks and other obstacles on your way, thus making the game much more fun and varied in its gameplay mechanics. The special stages upon getting all the rings were also very entertaining. The 3D design here was groundbreaking. The competitive mode where you are pitted against your friend was also a terrific added element.

Let’s talk about the stages. The game has a high amount of twelve zones, which is a much larger world and consequently longer length than its predecessor. Each zone consists of several levels, after which you fight a boss. Emerald Hill Zone is a classic Sonic zone where it is all lush in greenery and full of those rings which you can fly by with high velocity. It’s easier for sure, but very memorable.

Chemical Plant Zone was much more difficult and also visually striking. It’s by far the most modern and coolest zone in the game while the use of blue and yellow colors made it truly stand out from the rest. The dangerous chemicals underneath made it much harder to finish. Aquatic Ruin Zone looks absolutely gorgeous in its watery visuals, but I continue to find these aquatic levels a poor fit for Sonic himself. I usually love them as I love underwater stuff, but for this franchise not so much.

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Casino Night Zone was a cool idea that didn’t quite pay off in execution. Again, the visuals are fantastic and the concept was original, but it frequently got frustrating getting past those unpredictable pinball areas. Hill Top Zone is familiar in its green aesthetic, but the mountain aspect led to a very interesting gameplay mechanic with a lot of elevation changes.

Mystic Cave Zone could get frustratingly difficult to beat, but it was striking in its cave setting with gorgeous purple and dark green colors. Hidden Palace Zone is okay, if nothing special. Oil Ocean Zone is too similar to the Chemical Plant Zone in my opinion. Metropolis Zone is well designed and particularly memorable in its clockwork mechanic.

Sky Chase Zone is highly authentic for featuring flying. It’s too short for sure, but seeing Tails fly his helicopter was super cute and the level is very well designed. Wing Fortress Zone is quite difficult to beat. In fact, it’s by far the hardest part of the game, discounting the bosses as it takes a lot of replaying and remembering to finish it off.

As for Death Egg Zone, it’s great. The first boss was very easy, but the final Dr. Robotnik encounter was quite difficult and it took me a while to beat it as it requires great timing on your part. Although most of the other bosses in the game were still way too easy to destroy, at least this final one was quite demanding.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 once again features fantastic sound and a great score. The level design is mostly very impressive and the world building continues to improve. The controls are very well implemented and the game is different enough from its predecessor that it’s not too dissimilar, but genuinely improved while retaining its major classic elements. Graphically speaking, the levels are colorful, varied and frequently even gorgeous.