Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Besides six new zones, this Sonic sequel added a few new features to spice things up. Sonic can now do a super dash attack, an extremely useful move which allows him to rev up and dash from one spot (he doesn't need a running start). The bonus screens feature some extremely fun 3D action as Sonic runs and collects rings in a huge, winding half-pipe. Then we have the new character named Tails, a two-tailed fox. Tails can be played in two ways. You can challenge Sonic to some split-screen action, but this mode looks distorted (everything is half as tall). A second player can control Tails in the normal game, but most of the time he can't keep up and goes off of the screen. The new zones feature more hidden areas and corkscrews in addition to loops. I did encounter a bug in this game that caused me to get stuck in the scenery (was this rushed for Christmas?). But overall, Sonic 2 is just more of a good thing.

Voilà 15 ans que je joue à Sonic, comme beaucoup d’entre vous sans doute, ses aventures m’ont apportés beaucoup de bonheur sur 16-bits, un peu moins après, et même si Sonic premier du nom a eu le mérite d’introduire le hérisson dans le monde du jeu-video, sa suite est pour moi la référence de la série sur Mega Drive, de par ses nouveautés et le fun qu’il procure aujourd‘hui encore. Se replonger dans Sonic 2, c’est revenu à l’époque de mes 14 ans (les boutons d’acné en moins), dans un rêve, un rêve bleu, le tête dans les loopings, et les piques au vent… ne me manque plus que la deuxième queue pour être au top, mais seul Tails pourrait nous dire si c’est vraiment utile…

Auch Sonic 2 ist absolute Pflicht für das Mega Drive. Mehr gibt es da nicht zu sagen.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ends absolutely beautifully. There's a perfect, aesthetic catharsis here, to be felt when you watch the heroic pair wind through the figure-eight tubes in the Chemical Plant Zone, or when you go so fast that the checkerboard motifs start flying past in beautiful blurs. Sonic flips and rebounds, and when you see his adventure through to its inspiring conclusion, his stylish lines are forever traced into the backs of your eyes.

This is a timeless classic, which you need to get if you're a Sonic fan . If you don't already have this title, I highly recommend it. The good far outweighs the bad. If you want a real five star classic for your Genesis, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the way to go.

I've been drooling for this one ever since part 1 and Sega came through! Sonic 2 is amazing, faster and nastier than ever, spinning through awesome new zones that will make your eyes bug out! Running so fast I thought my monitor would explode. The creativity and attention to detail is remarkable and to finish with all the chaos emeralds is a worthy challenge for even the best players. I won't even mention the BIG surprise...You'll see.

The game's level deisgn was near flawless, with countless hidden areas and rings. You could blow through them in under a minute, or take five times that exploring. Stages included a jungle, a pinball casino, and a futuristic, watery level. Gameplay was sublime, though Sonic's jumping could be messed up if he was on a hill. This blockbuster made the score Sega 2, Nintendo 1.

This game was Sega's faster, hipper answer to Nintendo's popular Super Mario series. Released as a pack-in with the Genesis, Sonic the Hedgehog established the blue hedgehog with an attitude as Sega's mascot. He went on to appear in numerous sequels and spinoffs, including Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Adventure and many more.

And believe me, the fun of this game is playing through all the stages and watching Sonic as he sprints across collapsing walkways, catapults up to distant ledges and defies gravity by sprinting up ramps at 90-degree angles. All those tricks and many more help set Sonic apart from the overpopulated world of platforming characters and ensure that taking his cause will seem more like a joyous experience than merely another game.

Der Sega Mega Drive war meine erste Konsole und Sonic 2 war mein erstes Spiel, immer, wenn ich dieses Spiel spiele, fühle ich mich wieder wie der kleine Junge von damals. Ich habe es als 7 jähriger geliebt und liebe es heute noch, Sonic 2 ist ein zeitloser Klassiker, der nie langweilig wird und extrem hohen Wiederspielwert besitzt. Jeder, der diesen Titel noch nicht gespielt hat, sollte nicht lange überlegen und bei dem sehr günstigen Preis von 400 MS Points zuschlagen.

So it's more, more and more. That's Sonic the Hedgehog 2, all summed up. It's a true sequel to an established hit game – taking the characters, gameplay and overall feel of the original and enhancing each one. Sonic 2 became even more of a hit than its predecessor, probably thanks to word of mouth praising the first game and converted fans wanting to get in on the ground floor once the sequel hit. And because this one was such a big seller in its original release, it's since been included in a wealth of retro re-releases and classics compilations. This Virtual Console version is an easy thumbs-up, as the game itself is spectacular. But check to make sure you don't already own this same game in five other ways first – because, if so, you may want to use those 800 Wii Points for another purpose.

Sonic 2 amazed and disappointed me all at the same time. The game itself was awesome--much better than even the first. But, the programing was pretty poor. Slowdown and flicker problems plagued the two-player mode (split screen) incredibly--and the two-player "cooperative" was almost impossible for Tails. As one-player, errors were minimized, but still apparent. Other than these program faults, Sonic 2 is still an incredible success. No Genesis owner can live without this game. Even with slow down and flicker problems, two-player split screen is done up real nice. Very fun.

Assuming you haven't already had your fill of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on other systems, you won't do yourself wrong by spending 400 points to download the Xbox Live Arcade rendition of it. The addition of achievements injects an extra layer of purpose into the already superb single-player mode, while the ability to compete against other people online in the multiplayer mode offers a lot of replay value that other renditions of the game lack.

Ultimately, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a classic retro title with much more content than the first in the series. It's a shame there's no online co-op element included, but there's still hours of fun to be had here at a very reasonable 400 points. For younger players who've never played a Sonic game, this is a great place to start. For fans of the series from years gone by, the slightly disappointing online options still won't detract from the addictively fun gameplay. With its bright and colorful graphics looking as good today as they did all those years ago, this is a fantastic addition to Sega's XBLA collection.

Time may have eroded Sega's prominence, but it hasn't done much to diminish how sweet Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is. Play through it and you'll understand why it helped sell a ton of Genesis consoles back in the day. It's a fun platformer and does everything a sequel is supposed to do. It resolves many of the first game's shortcomings and incorporates a slew of minor upgrades that cumulatively amount to a fresh experience. The 800 Wii points ($8) price tag may seem steep considering Sega has included Sonic 2 with a number of multigame collections over the years, but that's a totally justifiable price to pay for a game that'll take you a few solid play sessions to beat and keep you coming back for more.