Sonic 2 for Sega Genesis
I can still remember how thrilling it was when my mother gave me a Sega Genesis. It was the first video game console I ever owned, and I played it for years until it wouldn't go any more. Sonic the Hedgeog 2 was the first Sega game I played, and I loved it. The game was bright, colorful, fast, and had fun music.
Sonic 2 was released in 1992. Sonic is of course the star of this game, but this is the first time we meet Sonic's sidekick: Miles "Tails" Prower, the two-tailed fox.
You have the option of playing Sonic alone, Tails alone, or Sonic and Tails together. Apart from the cuteness factor, Tails doesn't really add much to the game. He can't fly yet, and he just tags along for the ride when you play Sonic and Tails together.
Just like the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, you have to complete several levels by moving from left to right. That of course involves dodging or destroying baddies along the way. Each level or zone consists of two acts; by the end of act 2, you get to fight a boss... usually Robotnik himself.
Sonic 2 was released in 1992. Sonic is of course the star of this game, but this is the first time we meet Sonic's sidekick: Miles "Tails" Prower, the two-tailed fox.
You have the option of playing Sonic alone, Tails alone, or Sonic and Tails together. Apart from the cuteness factor, Tails doesn't really add much to the game. He can't fly yet, and he just tags along for the ride when you play Sonic and Tails together.
Just like the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, you have to complete several levels by moving from left to right. That of course involves dodging or destroying baddies along the way. Each level or zone consists of two acts; by the end of act 2, you get to fight a boss... usually Robotnik himself.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
What I like about Sonic 2:- Very colorful and bright. In stark contrast with many modern games that are either too shadowy or strive for realism to the point of blandness.
- Cute characters. Come on, it's a rolly-polly blue hedgehog and his little fox sidekick.
- Fun to play. Most of the levels are interesting and not too frustrating.
- No blood or gore. Not that I'm opposed to games with grit and gore, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
- Lively music. For the time, the music was pretty good. The tunes are energetic and catchy, although there are a few that bug me.
What I DON'T like:
- Tails can't fly. Sure, he's cute and all, but he plays just like Sonic. You'll sometimes see Tails fly on his own to catch up with Sonic, but you can't make him do it.
- Can't save the game. You have to play it straight through in order to win. Sucks when you run out of lives and continues when you're on the last level. Then again, I reckon that's part of the arcade game tradition.
- Metropolis Zone. I hate this level. It's longer than the others and keeps hurling you into monsters. But then it IS one of the last levels.
The Story
Dr. Robotnik is all set to take over the world. But in order to set his plans in motion, he needs to collect a bunch of Chaos Emeralds to fuel his Death Egg... which is basically some kind of warship. Please don't ask why Dr. Robotnik decided to give it such a silly name.In the meantime, Sonic is chilling out on West Side Island. This is where Sonic meets Tails, a little fox who looks up to him and wants to be just like his hero. Tails starts following him everywhere.
Sonic's vacation is cut short when Robotnik attacks the island and transforms all the cute, furry critters into robots. Now it's up to Sonic and Tails to defeat Robotnik and keep him from finding those Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Amazon
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Amazon Price: (as of 01/05/2010)
If you still have a Sega Genesis that works, you can easily find Sonic 2 online for cheap. There are quite a few being sold second-hand on Amazon.
Power Rings
Large gold rings are scattered around each level. Sonic can collect them, and the more he has at the end of each level, the more points you get.More importantly, the rings can keep you from dying. If Sonic runs into a baddie or lands on a bed of spikes, he won't be an ex-hedgehog; he'll just lose all his rings. Unfortunately it's not proof against all dangers: Sonic can drown or get squashed by falling objects even with power rings.
Oh, and once you collect all the chaos emeralds, Sonic can turn into Super Sonic anytime he has 50 or more rings.
Collecting Chaos Emeralds
Special Stages in Sonic 2
There are special stages in the game where you can try to win Chaos Emeralds. There are seven Chaos Emeralds altogether. It's a good idea to get them all, because then Sonic will have the ability to turn into a golden Super Sonic. Super Sonic is ultra speedy and nearly invincible. (I say "nearly" because he can still drown or get squashed.)If Sonic has 50 rings when he hits a star post, you'll see a bunch of stars start circling the top of the post. Sonic will be transported to a special stage if he jumps up into the stars.
In each special stage, you have to run down a twisting, curving half-tunnel littered with rings and bombs. The idea is to collect as many rings as you can and avoid hitting the bombs, which take rings away. If you have enough rings at the end of the special stage, you get a Chaos Emerald.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Video
Want to see how it's played? Here's a 4-minute video clip of someone playing the first levels in Sonic 2. Looks like there's been a cheat, though, since Sonic can turn into Super Sonic here...
curated content from YouTube
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Sonic Mega Collection
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 01/05/2010)
You can play Sonic 2 and some of the other old Sonic games if you want to, even if you don't have a video game console. The Sonic Mega Collection has most of the classics. Amazon has it available for PC, PlayStation2, Xbox, and Gamecube.
Badniks
You can run into all sorts of nasty critters in Sonic 2. All of them are cute, furry animals that Robotnik turned into robots. They can attack Sonic and kill him if he doesn't have any rings.Sonic can defeat most of these badniks by jumping or spinballing into them, freeing the cute critter inside.
Playing Sonic 2 as Knuckles
When the Sonic & Knuckles game came out in 1994, it had a special feature: You could "lock" it on to some of the other Sonic games.This meant that if you locked Sonic 2 on the Sonic & Knuckles game, you could play Sonic 2 as Knuckles the Echidna. This makes the game play slightly different, since Knuckles comes with his own set of unique abilities such as gliding and climbing.
Mysterious Music and a Deleted Zone
In Sonic 2, there's a screen where you can listen to all the music and sound effects for the game. However, there's one piece of music that isn't heard anywhere else in the game. The music had a slow and somewhat mysterious air.The music itself is for a level that was planned but deleted from the game. It was the Hidden Palace zone, and it was supposed to be a vast crystalline chamber. A remnant of it remained, but it could only be accessed with the Game Genie. Ironically, it is probably the most famous zone in Sonic 2.
The Hidden Palace makes its debut in Sonic 3, but it was much shorter than the Hidden Palace zone originally planned for Sonic 2.
Nintendo Wii
Wii
Amazon Price: $199.99 (as of 01/05/2010)
I'm pretty sure there isn't a Sonic Mega Collection for the Nintendo Wii. The good news is, there doesn't have to be one! The Wii is backwards-compatible with GameCube games.
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Play Sonic Games for Free
If you don't have your own game console, it's possible to play Sonic games for free online. However, the ones I've found so far are just variations of the old games. A lot of times they use the old music and sprites, but give you completely new zones to play through.Go play Sonic games...
Sonic Guestbook
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- junebugco junebugco Aug 5, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
- Very good Sonic lens.
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- TheGreenerMe TheGreenerMe Dec 6, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
- I loved Sonic 2, it was much better than the first one. I could never get all of the Chaos Emeralds. This makes me want to go play it right now! I still have a Genesis. Great work!
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- Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Aug 28, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
- My youngest son loves the game. I'm e-mailing this one to him.
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- RichLeigh RichLeigh May 13, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
- Ah wow, my first games console was a Sega system also; mine was the Master System II. I never had a Mega Drive, I love Sonic though and really enjoyed reading through this lens. Buying Sonic Mega Collection on the Gamecube was the best investment I ever made!
by Victoria_Neely
I read, write, bake, and make Squidoo lenses. I like rubber ducks, old PC games, journals, animated films, Squidoo, and other neat stuff like that. (more)
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