Today we look at one of the most memorable games of my life, one which re-defined the way platform games could be executed.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit Megadrive/Genesis version, as opposed to 8-bit Master System version) Developer: Sonic Team Platform: Sega Megadrive/Genesis Release Year: 1992
Basic Plot
As with all Sonic games the plot revolves around stopping the evil Dr. Robotnic. Robotnic is attempting once again to take over the world with his army of animals who he's turned into robots.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to the original Sonic the Hedgehog with some notable tweaks and additions:
Sonic now has a spin dash attack which he can use to gain momentum from a stationary position. It has a really satisfying sound effect and is very useful in the game.
You can play the game as Sonic (like the original), Tails (his sidekick, who is slower but has a "fly" ability to reach high places), or both. In the latter you play as Sonic, and Tails follows you. He has some limited AI and will try and help you, or another player can take over Tails' and control him.
Bonus stages are different than the original game but give you a chaos emerald each time you complete one. If you manage to collect all of the chaos emeralds you gain the ability to turn into Super Sonic during the main game. This requires obtaining 50 rings and jumping into the air. Super Sonic is yellow with larger spikes, is faster than normal sonic, and immune to any damage other than falling or being crushed by terrain. He remains as Super Sonic as long as he as rings, but he slowly drains rings to remain in this form.
Overall the levels are larger and the pace of the game is faster than the original.
If the player also owns a copy of Sonic the Knuckles (released in 1994) they could "lock" that cartridge to the back of this one and play the combined game. This allows you to play the story as Knuckles.
Overall the this is a fast paced and smooth flowing platform game with elements of puzzle solving and using quick reflexes to dodge or engage enemies. A big part of the game is exploration and knowing the levels, so as a player you gain a sense of an improvement in skill as you play; simply because you know where to go to get that extra life, or that power-up, or that short-cut which lets you avoid a lot of danger.
Sonic with Tails following behind.
Positives
The music is amazing, the gameplay is polished and satisfying. The little secrets like Super Sonic make this game very replayable. There is a really satisfying feeling as the game progresses, especially heading into the Sky Chase Zone and Death Egg Zone, and the music really helps with this.
Negatives
This game is pretty difficult if you play it in its original form. When I played it I used an emulator which allowed me to save my progress any time, which was the only reason I was able to obtain Super Sonic and experience the game in its entirety.
Memorable Moments
I remember vividly when I first was shown Super Sonic from a friend of mine. I thought it was pretty darn amazing, and an awesome little secret to put into the game. Along with "event" Pokemon (e.g. "Mew" from the original Pokemon Red/Blue) this is one of those small things which actually defined the game in a big way.
When I watched a friend play this game I loved taking over as Tails as an non-important but semi-playable ally.
My favourite music is Metropolis Zone from this game, but I also love Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic game.
I remember this game. It was amazing, and its why I still love sonic today. I have not played a lot of the most recent games, but I always think of these ones when I think of sonic :D
Oh god I played this game to death when I was in 1st grade. I still have a scar from my dog when I threw the controller at her because she disconnected it from the Genesis on the 2nd to last level. I got to the last level a couple times but could never beat the final Robotnic.
And I had no idea about the Super Sonic feature. I think the most chaos emeralds I was ever able to get was 6 or so.
And the music was epic. I can still remember a bunch of the tunes.
On September 26 2012 06:58 Torte de Lini wrote: You ever play Sonic CD? Was pretty epic.
No, I never did! I've played the original Sonic (but not completed it), Sonic 2 (to the end), Sonic 3 + Knuckles (the combined third game), Sonic 3D, and most recently Sonic Generations which isn't too bad either. Was Sonic CD a 2D scroller? Or was it 3D like Sonic 3D?
Sonic CD is pretty old bro, was my first Sonic game as a kid (I had a CD-I before I jumped to Nintendo 64). It's definitely 2D scroller, but it has two neat parts to it: 1. You can get forward or back in time if you go fast enough and 2. Bonus Gem levels were fucking impossible.
On September 26 2012 07:10 Torte de Lini wrote: Sonic CD is pretty old bro, was my first Sonic game as a kid (I had a CD-I before I jumped to Nintendo 64). It's definitely 2D scroller, but it has two neat parts to it: 1. You can get forward or back in time if you go fast enough and 2. Bonus Gem levels were fucking impossible.
Sonic 2 and CD are easily the two best sonic games out there. I ignore almost all others.
Sonic and knuckles was cool though. I put it at third place.
Sonic 3D blast was also very cool and I liked it as a kid. A 3D isometric view sonic on the Genesis? YES PLEASE!!
I highly recommend playing "Sonic 3 + Knuckles". With the physical cartridge you could slot Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles together to become one GIANT game. You get to play both campaigns right through, ultimately you can obtain both sets of chaos emeralds (the other ones are called something else, can't remember), and you can become "Hyper Sonic" who basically glows white and has sparkling energy all around him. He's SO fast it's almost annoying.
The music isn't as good, but in all other aspects Sonic 3 + Knuckles is the best sonic experience I've ever had.
Sonic 2 and CD are easily the two best sonic games out there. I ignore almost all others.
Sonic and knuckles was cool though. I put it at third place.
Sonic 3D blast was also very cool and I liked it as a kid. A 3D isometric view sonic on the Genesis? YES PLEASE!!
I highly recommend playing "Sonic 3 + Knuckles". With the physical cartridge you could slot Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles together to become one GIANT game. You get to play both campaigns right through, ultimately you can obtain both sets of chaos emeralds (the other ones are called something else, can't remember), and you can become "Hyper Sonic" who basically glows white and has sparkling energy all around him. He's SO fast it's almost annoying.
The music isn't as good, but in all other aspects Sonic 3 + Knuckles is the best sonic experience I've ever had.
S3&K best Sonic game of all time, played the shit out of it when I was a kid .. second favorite game behind SC lol
This and NHL 94 were the only two games I ever played for the SEGA. Tails absolutely ruined this game though. Of course once you get to Eggman's stage tails goes down in a plane and then you're boned. Great music in this game as well.
I thought Tails couldn't fly (under your control) until Sonic 3? Are you sure he could? Also did anyone else find the difficulty curve to be kind of silly? It's relatively easy all game through, and then the last boss is incredibly hard. Still a great game, I love the music
EPT![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MvNmsL_r5gk/TvEdIjz_39I/AAAAAAAAAtE/bXfMRKRgf0I/s320/Sonic2_European_Box.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L6gjUBgVGKQ/TvEdOh1HGBI/AAAAAAAAAtM/jsr_kWgFids/s320/sonic-2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GYb7wzrLj8M/TvEdXhGJq6I/AAAAAAAAAtU/xQ9Ssv3EItA/s320/mzl.ieximobt.320x480-75.jpg)
