Sonic the Hedgehog 2, along with Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, was the very first “real” video game I ever owned – I don’t include Coleco or pre-DOS computer games. Despite my lack of dexterity in the Chemical Plant, which I could never go through on my own, the game was still enjoyable.

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics are a nice improvement from Sonic the Hedgehog 1. They are more colorful and better-drawn. The backgrounds have better drawings that Sonic 1 and sometimes have “moving” backgrounds (street lights in Casino Night and clouds in Hill Top, among others).

At last, Sonic deserves his name with the introduction of the spin dash, which helps him pick up a lot of speed. Unlike Sonic 1, this little improvement can help reach “sonic speeds” with a simple tap of your controller (down+jump). Before that you could only reach those speeds when you were running fast enough/ going down tunnels or loops. In fact, your speed is sometimes such that YOU move faster than the screen, which can be annoying when you want to avoid spikes or getting squished.

The main characters are also well-drawn; Sonic’s blue color looks more authentic and his signs of impatience are even more elaborate than in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – he lies down on the group tapping his fingers in boredom. The game also features the introduction of a new character: Miles Prower (get it?), a.k.a. Tails. His tails do show up clearly and his and Sonic’s move are very fluid. Slight downside: he only has one lack-of-balance animation, whereas Sonic has three. He also simply cries when he waits for too long.

Finally, the enemies are also better-moving and better-drawn. The piranha fish jump up and down at a regular pace, the “blue blurb” inside Chemical Plant can be a challenge to avoid and the flying enemies in Sky Chase are flying/floating as they should – the “thunderbirds” can even surprise you sometimes. They also come with more defense: you will get hurt if you try jumping of the “fireflies” in Mystic Cave when they light up or if you’re not careful enough with the grasshoppers throwing their blades or with the exploding star fish in Metropolis.

Robotnik’s designs are also very varied. From a tank with a spike to a few floating machines that hit columns spewing arrows or white fire, he will be quite a challenge. His final form is impressively big for Genesis graphs – I though the design was better than the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (with the claw hands). It moved realistically slow, showing Robotnik’s difficulty to maneuver such a huge machine.

However, the graphics are lagging, especially in the two-player vs option. You will often find yourself walking at a much slower pace because the chip couldn't’t handle that much data. The same thing goes for the special stage. Yes, they are in fully 3-D half-pipes that show quite an advance in graphics. But as with the 2-player option, there can be lags which turns to be very frustrating when you try avoiding those circular mines popping here and there.

Music: 10/10

Despite graphics in need of improvement, the music is excellent.

Each one of the zones has a distinctive track that I feel is appropriate. Emerald Hill reflects the beauty of the hills, Chemical Plant is more high-tech sounding, Aquatic Ruin sounds majestic and superior to Labyrinth Zone in Sonic 1 and Casino Night’s ambiance adds to the neons sparkling around, better than Spring Yard. Hill Top has a strangely groovy theme that’s an improvement from Marble Zone, Mystic Cave sounds like a horror-movie theme, Oil Ocean reflects the desolation around, Metropolis sounds like it’s using pistons in its track, Sky Chase sounds very relaxing – as if you were floating, Wing Fortress sounds very military and epic, and the Death Egg (although you don’t hear much of it in the game) sounds even more dramatic than the MC.

Finally, the Special Stage sounds much more “racy” than the dreamy music from the Special Stage in Sonic 1 and the Hidden Palace (available through the sound test) has a mysterious/magic beat I just can’t get enough of. Robotnik’s theme sounds more dramatic and military, and his final form, although not as good as Sonic the Hedgehog 3, sounds better than the Final Zone (which sounded too dramatic for my taste).

Sound effects are also better and more varied than Sonic 1 (you can even hear them all in the sound test). The spin dash sounds like real acceleration, the “blue blurb” has a goofy transfer sound, the various bouncing “things” inside Casino Night all have different bouncy sounds (and the slot machine sounds like a real one) and the breaking bridges inside Mystic Cave sound like they are truly crumbling. Finally, Oil Ocean features realistic metal clinging and a, er, bouncing green top with a sound different from regular springs.

Oh, and the 2-player vs mode play different tracks. They are lighter, less dramatic (especially for Mystic Cave). I thought Casino Night sounds better there.

Addictiveness: 8/10

Despite its difficulty (see below), Sonic 2 still got many features that hooked you to the game.

My favorite one was the 2-player vs mode. Despite the lag, I enjoyed playing around Emerald Hill, Casino Night and Mystic Cave and try to beat my opponent. And should there be a tie after both acts, you go down the half-pipe Special Stages (the same ones where you get the emeralds) – who’s in front DOES matter this time.

The two-player option in regular gameplay was also a big plus since some bosses like Metropolis can be hard without a little help.

Finally, as a video game music freak – I have over 1600 tracks – I enjoyed the sound test, which can be accessed at any time.

And since I had such a hard time going through Chemical Plant, I enjoyed the classical cheat code allowing the choice or your starting level. You could even go through special stages and accumulate them by simply resetting the console; you could also enter a Super Sonic code and start at Emerald Hill with your powers.

Story: 5/10

Yes, I put that feature here because finally Sonic 2 shows (only towards the end, but still) zones that follow each other rather than regular zones coming in succession without any link between them whatsoever. Starting from Sky Chase and until of the end of Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic’s adventure is just one long, continuous zone.

After pursuing Robotnik in the Sky Chase, Sonic narrowly jumps on the Flying Fortress after Tails’ plane got hit by laser beam. After foiling the evil doctor’s plan, Sonic chases Robotnik’s spaceship thanks to Tails’ newly repaired plane. He finds a grip on the spaceship, which lands at Robotnik’s doomsday weapon: the Death Egg, which is fueled by the Chaos Emeralds Sonic collected. Fortunately, Sonic is able to stop the machine, which then crashes on the Floating Island.

Depth: 8/10

The zones are very massive. Not only are there one-ups everywhere (and well-hidden), there are also hard-to-reach lampposts where you can access the Special Stages if you have 50 rings. In zones like Chemical Plant and Metropolis, there are various roads you can take. Even though they ultimately lead towards the end of the act, some can prove to be much more challenging. Should you play with Knuckles, you will have access to even MORE hidden spots thanks to his gliding/wall-climbing ability; you will also be able to better avoid those holes.

Also, the Chaos Emeralds are finally an integral part of the plot. Collecting them all is not merely a supplementary challenge you do for fun as in Sonic 1 or the Sonic games for Game Gear. Getting those means you become Super Sonic, i.e. invincible to enemy attacks as long as you have rings fueling your powers. Getting them all (with Sonic at least) will create a slightly different ending; you will also see Robotnik getting mad if you succeed in getting all the emeralds.

Difficulty: 9/10

This is the part that made me abandon the game early on.

In Chemical Plant Act 2, there are moving platforms on water I could NEVER go over without falling back into the water until about 3 years ago. After many tries, I dropped the game when my big sister couldn't’t help me get through.

And even after I got through CP, the other zones weren’t much easier. Aquatic Ruins is mostly underwater, considerably slowing your movements and stressing you out to find air bubbles to breathe. You absolutely need to find an Invincibility box in Hill Top to avoid the boiling lava that tries to trap you. The Wing Fortress, unless you are Super Sonic, is excessively challenging with its numerous gaps you must jump over – there are alternating platforms you need to synchronize your jumping with. Finally, you can’t get ANY rings inside Death Egg. While the Metal Sonic can be beaten, Robotnik’s final form is a nightmare.

In addition, when you get in a Special Stage (it doesn’t matter if you get the emerald or not), you return to your original zone without ANY rings – fortunately it was corrected with Knuckles the Echidnae in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (although he loses his shield too). And if you play Tails solo, getting the emeralds makes no difference in your appearance which I thought sucked.

However, playing with someone else can truly help especially against Robotnik. Since Tails can’t die – he respaws if he gets squished/drowns – you can have someone else take the lead against the Big Boss or difficult enemies. It was very useful for the Metropolis boss with its swirling bubbles on himself protecting him.

So if you don’t mind hard challenges but like colorful graphics, huge zones and addictive music, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the game for you. Make sure you enable a second player so the game is a little easier. Also make sure that this player has good dexterity since Tails’ rings do count in Special Stages; if he loses too many you will fail.