Another classic for today. Story time. Over a decade ago I got a plug n play Sega machine which had Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, and Dr. Robotnik mean bean machine. I used to play it so much until the batteries died since it didn’t used an adapter to plug in the outlet. Two of the games I played the most was Dr. Robotnik and Sonic 2. Just like the original sonic the hedgehog game I didn’t play the actual cartridge of sonic 2 until years later when I got the games at a garage sale and I’m proud to present this review. Sonic the hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis. 

Story: 8

Dr. Robotnik has returned to capture the chaos emeralds to dominate the world for his nefarious purposes. Taking animals as hostages and turning them into robot minions once again, creating an egg shaped space station and placing obstacles against his nemesis, it’s up to Sonic the Hedgehog and his new pal Miles “Tails” Prower to stop the evil doctor and save the planet from his evil plans. 

The story is basically the same as the first game but with higher stakes and a new partner. Nothing new but it’s still a pretty straightforward story. I wouldn’t call it dull but hopefully Sega wouldn’t be rehashing this plot. A good 8 out of 10. 

Graphics: 8

The visuals are a great update to the previous game. The palettes are more colorful, sonic seems more well done, the stages and enemies are quite detailed for its time. Everything about it just looks marvelous. From the colorful green scenery of Emerald Hill zone to the more dark hues of mystic caves. 

The thing that got me was the special stages. Pseudo 3D graphics and collecting rings in a half pipe is an amazing idea to get the chaos emeralds. This was mind blowing that the Sega Genesis could handle that kind of graphics in 1992. Simply gorgeous. 

For a Sega Genesis game for 1992, this is quite beautiful. A solid 8 out of 10. 

Sound: 9

The soundtrack is a classic. From the upbeat cheery sound of stage 1 to a more rock n roll from chemical plant or even a dark rock tone of mystic cave, the music is one of my favorites from the series. The sound effects of the game are pretty good, nothing too annoying or scratchy. No muffled sounds or missing bits here and there. Going to the sound test you can easily analyze each song and sound effect the game has to offer and was surprised that there were some unused songs. Track 10 is unused (confirmed to be hidden palace from developers and all.) Also, there is a very scratchy Sega start up sounding like it’s meant for the Master system, Sega’s last gen console of the time. Overall the rating is a blossoming 9 out of 10. 

Depth: 7 

The game has a few updates. Sonic can now spin dash his way through the levels. The levels don’t feel dragged out and has a bit of enemies in each zone which is welcoming. The variety of each stage keeps you on your toes and allows a trial and error making the game’s replayability welcoming. Instead of having three zones per stage they reduced it to only two zones per stage (except metropolis. Final three stages only consists of one zone). To me that’s a better deal to great more environments for the game. 

The biggest introduction of the game is… SUPER SONIC! Collecting emeralds actually have its merits this game. With one new emerald added to the game, collecting all seven will not only grant you the good ending of the game, but also super sonic after collecting fifty rings. 

Other than the campaign the game also offers a simple multiplayer vs mode. Three stages being races and the last one is collecting the most rings in a special stage, it’s not much but it’s honest work. 

One nitpick though is metropolis zone. Only zone I felt is dragged out by the nuts and bolts. Then the cheap deaths or loss of rings from enemy placement is also an issue. Another is Sky Chase zone…. Nothing special just stuck on a plane jumping at enemies… boring pace. 

Overall it’s a 7 out of 10. 

Addictive: 8 

The game like any other sonic game, is addicting. It’s a trial and error game, learning how to platform through the zones and finding ways to finish the game. Super sonic gives the game a bit more variety to completing zones but… with the game being fun and all the first few times it lacked some fun, but what kept me playing the game for a bit longer was the debug mode. Messing around with the cheat for hours and enjoying the bugged out zones. The multiplayer is nothing special, just against two players and nothing else. 

Addictive is 8 out of 10 with debug mode set on after completing the game. 

Difficulty: 8

The game itself balanced itself with difficulty with traps and enemy placements instead of long dragged out levels (except metropolis but already mentioned). The special zones aren’t that hard but again, the main issue is obstacles that will prevent you from collecting the required rings to get the chaos emerald. 

The last few stages is what the difficulty becomes less tolerable. (Spoilers) from up in the sky jumping from alternating platforms that come in and out every few seconds on death wing zone or battling the final boss with no rings… it takes a bit of trial and error to get the hand of it and finally beat the game and be satisfied of the ending, whether you collected all the emeralds or not. 

The difficulty is a good 8/10. 


Overall the game was one of the sonic games I played so much during my youth. It’s a good classic game and honestly made the franchise proud being the sequel to the first sonic game. With the edition of super sonic, an ongoing story and a new character, it helps build the world of sonic the hedgehog and what will become for years to come. For a Sega Genesis game, this helped make the console be more relevant for its time vs the Super Nintendo. 

Next time I’ll review another sonic game but for now here’s the rating 

My rating : 9/10 

Review rating : 8/10

I remember this game when it came out. It was a lot of fun, but I died a lot in this game. In my opinion this game is one of the more difficult ones in the Sonic Series. I also think this game really put the Sonic series on the map. As it introduced Super Sonic a staple that has continued to this day.