Sonic the Hedgehog 2

aka: 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sega Ages: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 2
Moby ID: 6611
Genesis Specs
See Also

Description official descriptions

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a side-scrolling platformer based around speed, and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog. Like the original, players run through different worlds called "zones", which each have their own specific theme. There are two Acts in nearly all of the 10 Zones, and at the end of each Zone's last Act is a machine that Robotnik controls, which you must defeat to progress. The evil Dr. Robotnik wants to conquer the world. In order to do that, he imprisons and transforms all animals into robots called "Badniks". This way they can build his powerful weapon, the Death Egg. Only Sonic the Hedgehog, and his new tagalong partner, Miles 'Tails' Prower, can stop Robotnik and his army of Badniks from taking over the world.

Sonic and Tails can collect rings which are scattered throughout all of the levels. As with most platformers, when the player collects 100 rings, they earn an extra life. However, the rings also act as protection; if Sonic is hurt when he is carrying rings, they scatter everywhere and he is briefly invincible. If he is hit again when he has no rings, he'll lose a life. If the player reaches a continue point lamppost with 50 or more rings, they'll be able to access the Special Stage. In this stage, you must gather a set amount of rings in a halfpipe-like stage before you reach a checkpoint. Complete all the checkpoints and you'll earn one of the seven Chaos Emeralds.

New to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the ability to play the game co-op with a friend - at any time, a player can plug in a second controller and take over the AI-controlled Tails. Tails has infinite lives and the camera remains focused on Sonic, meaning that Tails will not hinder play. Sonic (and Tails) can now also get speed from a standing start by holding down and repeatedly pressing the jump button for a "spin dash". This is useful when stuck near steep slopes or other areas where you need some momentum. The game also features a 2-player versus mode. This mode is a horizontally split-screen race through levels based on three of the zones in the single-player game.

The mobile version (iOS/Android) contains ten new levels in a new environment called Hidden Palace Zone, a boss attack mode, upgraded graphics, faster frame rate, a re-mastered soundtrack, and Knuckles as a third playable character.

Spellings

  • SEGA AGES ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ2 - Japanese Nintendo Switch spelling
  • ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ2 - Japanese spelling
  • 바람돌이 소닉 2 - Korean spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Genesis version)

48 People (38 developers, 10 thanks) · View all

Executive Producer
Producer
Director
Chief Programmer
Game Planner
Character Design
Chief Artist
Assistant Programmers
Object Placement
Special Stage Object Placement
Zone Artists
Special Stage Art and CG
Music Composer
Sound Programmer
Sound Assistants
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 91% (based on 41 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 309 ratings with 7 reviews)

Probably the best Genesis game

The Good
The music is some of the best in all of videogamedom. I downloaded a winamp plugin and ripped the music to mp3s to play on my i-pod. Each level offers something new - new music, new obstacles, new environs, new bosses. It's a rather lengthy game, and there is so much to do, making it very rewarding to beat.

The Bad
Metropolis Zone didn't really need to have 3 Acts. After playing Sonic 3 and being able to save one's game, it makes one wish that Sonic 2 would allow such opportunities.

The Bottom Line
It's a fast-paced, side-scrolling platform game. You play as a blue hedgehog named Sonic, for his ability to run fast, and in this game, ball up on the ground and dash forward by spinning. At times you feel like sonic is just a free-moving pinball in a vast pinball world (hence why Sega came out with Sonic Spinball), but the game is so well constructed, Sonic never goes out of control. You must learn to use the speed and the unique mechanics of the game to your advantage, especially in the boss fights, which are always a good fun challenge without being aggravating. When one tries to think of an old 2D platform game that sort of defines the genre, Sonic 2 (even more than the other Sonic games) is conjured by far the most.

Genesis · by Feem (30) · 2005

The best Sega game ever produced!

The Good
What's not to like? This game is fast, colourful and frenetic!

The game introduces Tails the fox and although this doesn't have much impact on the gameplay (except in 2 player mode) it does make the screen busier and more interesting. The game also introduced the "standing spin" (i.e. down and jump to charge a spin along the ground), which was necessary after having areas in the first game where you could quite easily get stuck.

Where gameplay is concerned, you should know what to expect from a Sonic game :- progress from the left to right as fast as possible, then repeat!

I believe this is the best game in the series for the following reasons:

  • Faster and bigger than Sonic 1
  • Still new enough to be fresh
  • Highlight / Shadow Genesis VDP features used to great effect, i.e. gorgeous graphics!
  • All the features of the sequels but none of the fluff

This game sold more copies than the bible, and rightly so; it's arguably the best game Sega produced for a console!

The Bad
There's not much to dislike, but I've always thought it was a touch on the easy side!

The Bottom Line
Why are you reading this? Go and play it!

Genesis · by Tibes80 (1543) · 2002

A huge improvement over the original

The Good
Well the thing to like about this is that it dosen't radically change the sonic formula. Sonics still fast, the levels are still fun, but the thing is everything SEGA did to this game to make it better. They could have just made some new stages and say"That's it" But they didn't. They introduced a lot of cool things such as spin dash, super sonic and tails, which didn't make it feel like Sonic the Hedgehog Directors cut. The music in it, is top class, with bouncy tunes, slow tunes which just makes the experience a lot better. The special stages are fun and the best in all of Sonic and there are more zones (Although, most only have two acts opposed to the original's three). Plus the two player modes are a nice addition, as they are fun and allow two people to go through the adventure (and versus each other) together.

The Bad
My only bad point? Tails is useless. He can't fly in single player so what's the point of putting him in in the first place? Also, the two player versus mode only has three zones and the special stage.

The Bottom Line
This is the definite sonic experience. If you've never played it, play it now. And I mean NOW.

Genesis · by colm52 (107) · 2009

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Mega Drive version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cut content

The Hidden Palace Zone, which is in the beta, but not the final release, was used extensively in previews. One controversial topic among Sonic fans is a mysterious screenshot of what appeared to be a desert that popped up in various gaming magazines prior to the game's release. While many believe it to be a mock-up or a clever hoax, there are others who note elements of the screenshot do in fact appear in the beta, and some conceptual drawings imply that a desert level did, in fact, exist at one point. (One title of a drawing even says "Desert Level" in Japanese.) Still, there are those who insist this is nonsense.

Inspiration

Sonic collects all seven Chaos Emeralds and transforms from a blue rodent into a fiery yellow powerhouse with insane speed. Merely a cheesy plot device pulled out of Yasuhara's ass? Possibly, but the connection is more likely a parody of Dragon Ball, the insanely popular flagship work of manga artist Akira Toriyama. In the manga, which was serialized in Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, the hero Son Goku (the Monkey King) searches for the seven legendary Dragon Balls. Eventually he is able to transform into a "Super Saiyan", a form in which he gains immense power along with spiky golden hair.

References

The Death Egg is based on the Death Star from Star Wars.

Release

Sonic 2 had a worldwide release date, which was uncommon at the time. November 24, 1992 was dubbed Sonic 2sday (a pun of the fact that it was a Tuesday), and the game was released across all markets. This is referenced in the game by the order in which you need to play the sound effects to activate the debug mode.

Sonic CD

Due to the fact that Sonic CD was starting development around the same time that Sonic 2 was finishing up, the early buzz about the two games often got confused, leading to predictions that Sonic 2 would involve time travel.

Tails

Just like Sonic, Tails's real name, Miles Prower, is a reference to speed (miles per hour).

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • December 1992 (Issue 41) - Game of the Month
    • 1993 Buyer's Guide - Best Genesis Game of the Year
    • 1993 Buyer's Guide - Hottest New Character in a Videogame (Tails)
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #71 (Best 100 Games of All Time) (Genesis version)
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue 100) - #61 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • Retro Gamer
    • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #42 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
    • April 2007 (Issue #37) – #5 Top Platformer Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Marquerite Richardson, MegaMegaMan; PCGamer77 and Tiago Jacques

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Sonic the Hedgehog
Released 2006 on Game Boy Advance, 2010 on Windows, 2018 on Linux...
Sonic CD
Released 1993 on SEGA CD, Windows
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Released 1994 on Genesis, Windows, 2009 on Xbox 360
Sonic the Hedgehog
Released 1991 on SEGA Master System, Game Gear, 2003 on Palm OS...
Sonic Blast
Released 1996 on Game Gear, 1997 on SEGA Master System, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
Released 1994 on Game Gear, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS
Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Released 1999 on Neo Geo Pocket Color
Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos
Released 1993 on Game Gear, SEGA Master System, 2009 on Wii
Sonic: Very Hard Sonic Missions
Released 2007 on PlayStation 3

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6611
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Bahz.

PlayStation 3 added by Charly2.0. Arcade, Nintendo 3DS, DoJa added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. tvOS, BlackBerry added by Sciere. Xbox One added by Artzei. Macintosh, Linux added by Foxhack. Wii added by gamewarrior. iPhone added by Deleted. Windows added by lights out party. Xbox 360 added by Ben K.

Additional contributors: chirinea, Matt Keller, Kohler 86, Alaka, Patrick Bregger, Starbuck the Third, Thomas Thompson, Rik Hideto, FatherJack, Harmony♡, Sgoc.

Game added June 7, 2002. Last modified March 4, 2024.