Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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