You’ve defeated the vile Doctor Robotnik who had once terrorized the land South Island and it seems that peace has returned for the time. You now return to the another peaceful land known as Emerald Island as your animal friends’ watch you perform all kinds of tricks, at that same time your new friend Miles Prower whom is most known by his nickname “Tails” because of his two tails that he has which he can use to fly in the air for a short amount of time, decides to try out the moves that you have been showing such as Sonic’s Spin Dash which is a new move to this game. This is funny because in the manual of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Gen) it states when Tails dashes off in his own unique spin dash
that the manual considers him to be a show-off. However after that peaceful time Sonic shows up on Emerald Hill Island to see that none of his friends are there and that they’ve all been replaced by new badnicks/Robot enemies, He knew immediately at that moment that this was the work of the vile Doctor Robotnik in which this time Robotnik wants to achieve total world domination and the only way he can do that is if he collects the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Looks like it’s time to put our slick kicks on again and prepare for another adventure with our
new sidekick Tails, will Robotnik achieve his goal? Is the fate of Emerald Island doomed? Are the Chaos Emeralds going to fall in the hands of evil or the path of justice? The only way to find out is if we kick this review off!


Graphics: 8.5 out of 10

The graphics for this game have only really improved slightly from its predecessor Sonic the Hedgehog (Gen) so in my point of view I can’t give the graphics a much higher score then I did with my last Sonic Review. Even with that lack of improvement though, the graphics are still very appealing to look at and you can see that Sega still put effort into making the enemies, backgrounds, and bosses look very detailed. Some good examples on how much effort has been put into each of the different levels/areas are: Aquatic Ruin Zone, Metropolis
Zone, and Chemical Plant Zone with all of them having distinctive traits to fit their level name. With Aquatic Ruin Zone having an Aztec type looking scenery with traps that will shoot arrows at you as well as having this level being a water level, NOW DO NOT WORRY it’s not an annoying and troublesome level like Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 and instead it’s actually a level that I really enjoy in this game. Chemical Plant Zone scenery fits its name as it has toxic chemicals that will pop out of certain pipes that harm you if you touch them as well as
having the water look polluted probably with all the toxin flowing throughout the level. Finally Metropolis Zone has a mechanical type scenery having corkscrews where you have to run to the right in order to move up and vice versa to move downward as well as conveyor belts that spin you around in order to reach higher ground or lower ground. Like I said in the beginning though the graphics haven’t improved that much from the first game in the series so I’m going to only give the graphics a 8.5 out of 10.


Sound: 10 out of 10

A ton of games during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s didn’t have as great of graphics compared to games that came in the following years however; the music always found a way to impress us gamers and it made us forget about how the games looked by making us like the games due to their music and replay-ability features. Sonic 2’s music in my opinion is better than the original games music as I feel it fits the well let’s say the feeling and look of destruction caused in each level in the game whether it be the enjoyment and maybe even wacky filled tune of Casino Night Zone to the serious and dangerous tone of Metropolis Zone and even the relaxed and peaceful tune of Hill Top Zone there will surely be a few songs that will pave their way into your heart. My personal favorite song is from a level that was made during the beta of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 but it didn’t make the cut although; the song used in that level did play in the credits after you beat the final boss, from what I recall the song wasn’t in any of the levels in the final cut of the game. If you want to know what I’m talking about you can check out the level Dust Hill in the hack Sonic 2 Long Version on Vizzed, I think the sound in this game is amazing and was used to its full potential so a perfect 10 out of 10 is my rating for sound.


Addictiveness: 9 out of 10

As if Sonic the Hedgehog wasn’t already addictive enough for you Sega took what made the first game great and multiplied it many times over creating many new additions to the game, both in the normal game as well as the hidden secrets. Probably the main reason why this game has a higher addictiveness value is the fact that it has multiplayer both in the one player mode and in the vs. mode, in the one player mode another person can use a second genesis controller or keyboard configuration in order to control tails and help the first player by destroying enemies and earning rings for Sonic but; that’s not all either as having another person play as tails can help you in the special stage (or it can make it harder to finish depending on the persons experience with beating the special stages). In the vs. mode though you get a choice to race against the second player in 3 different levels and whoever reaches the end first wins, and there is also the special stage that you can play where whoever earns the most rings by the end wins the round which does add a nice variety whether you are playing in the 1 player game or the vs. game with a friend. There is one more thing I would like to add and that is about when I stated that Tails uses his two tails in order to fly, just so that way there isn’t any confusion you can’t fly with tails if you are controlling him as the only way he can fly in this game is if he goes off the screen to where he must helicopter tail his way back to Sonic. Finally this game does something that the previous game lacked greatly and that is by collecting all the emeralds you actually earn something that’s really worth the time and effort, no it’s not the true ending to the game it’s a new form of Sonic known as Super Sonic whom is invincible against any attack (except for getting crushed, drowning, and falling into a bottomless pit). With this addition the addictiveness value is in my opinion higher than the first game so a 9 out of 10 is well deserved.


Story: 10 out of 10

As Sonic you’ve saved the land that was once in peril due to the evil and scientific genius Doctor Robotnik, it seemed like peace had returned to the land of South Island with all of Sonic’s friends back to see his sweet moves once again. But as we all know peace will never last forever and this is especially true for the inhabitants of Emerald Island because Robotnik has once again come back to seek power but this time he’s planning total world domination and to accomplish his goal he must search for the 7 chaos emeralds. So Sonic rushes off to gain the 7 emeralds and crush Robotnik’s plans once and for all however; this time he shall not be going alone as his trusted friend Miles “Tails” Prower joins him on his journey and is willing to help him in any way possible where they must travel over 11 different lands each with almost every zone having 2 acts with the following exceptions though: (Wing Fortress, Metropolis, Sky Chase, and the Death Egg) whether it be over the grass filled lands of Emerald Hill Zone, the colorful and gambling area of Casino Night Zone, or even to the enemy protected area of Wing Fortress Zone, you’re sure to have a long and winding adventure ahead of you. An excellent story if you were to ask me so I feel as though this is deserving of a 10 out of 10 rating!


Depth: 9 out of 10

What I find very funny about the amount of levels/zones in this game is the fact that I has only 1 more zone/level that in the original Sonic The hedgehog which had 7 levels with 6 of them having 3 acts, while Sonic 2 had 11 levels with 7 of them having 3 acts, 1 having 3 acts, and 3 having only 1 act. So basically if you add it together Sonic 1 had 19 levels and Sonic 2 had 20 levels very strange isn’t it? Now when you’re actually playing the game it will take quite a while to finish all the zones and defeat the game especially if you’re going to try collecting all the Chaos Emeralds so if you have a Genesis or are planning on playing a game on Vizzed just to pass the time then Sonic The Hedgehog 2 certainly shall not disappoint you, the player of this game. I described one particular reason why this game had a higher replay value in my addictiveness section of the review and that was the addition of Super Sonic in this game like I’ve stated already you must collect all 7 emeralds in order to be able to use Super Sonic’s power, although; there is another way to achieve his power which I personally do not recommend as it means you won’t be able to get better a beating the special stages anyway I’m going to have to digress and get straight to the point. First you must go into the options menu going down to the sound test option; you must then enter these numbers: 19, 65, 09, and 17 which will unlock the Stage Select menu you’ll then need to return to the title screen and before you select the 1 player game hold down the A on your keyboard (A button on the genesis controller) and you should be at the Stage Select screen, once again go down to the sound test on this screen and this time enter the numbers: 4, 1, 2, and 6 if done correct you shall hear a ring chime then you just have to hold A as you enter a stage once you collect 50 or more  rings you should transform into Super Sonic by jumping into the air. There’s also the debug mode cheat which can be done using the same instructions that I mentioned above except this time when you go into the stage select’s sound test option the numbers you must enter this time are: 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, and 4 then do the same thing you did earlier enter the stage while holding down the A button now whenever you pressed the S key (B button on Genesis) you will change into a ring and can lay down as many as you want by pressing the D key (C button on Genesis). There are many more secrets to be unveiled in this game but I simply can’t tell all of them in this review so I think it’s time to end the depth part by giving it the score I believe is fair that being a 9 out of 10.


Difficulty: 7 out of 10

In my opinion this game is a lot easier than its predecessor especially considering that its underwater levels are more forgiving this time around and having a partner (Tails) to help you out in these levels also lower the risk of losing a life in certain areas, even with these benefits though the game still isn’t a stroll through the baseball park either as it still retains the challenge of remembering which path you’ve taken and making sure you don’t rush to far ahead and end up getting attacked or losing a life by getting crushed. The only level in this game that I find very and I mean VERY unforgiving is the Mystic Cave Zone Act 2 as there is a certain part in the level where if you don’t catch the grassy switch to activate the bridge and you fall into the pit below you are basically stuck there even if you were already using Super Sonic before you fell into the pit as he still can’t jump high enough, so it’s basically a death pit if you want to refer to it as that by which the only way to exit the pit normally is to die and then restart the level again and there is only one other way to exit the pit without dying if you don’t know what I mean by now..well...it’s the debug mode. Besides that section of the zone I don’t find a lot of the levels in this game to be all that difficult but because of that one flaw I’m raising the difficulty and making  this section known as difficulty a 7 out of 10.


It seems like after this long and perilous journey we’ve made it to the end of the line, the final stronghold to the evil that we’ve been chasing after known as the Death Egg. You must defeat whatever engineered machine Robotnik has laid ahead to destroy you in order to have your final showdown with the mad scientist and make sure his reign of terror shall come to an end by using any means necessary, the evil doctor may doubt your powers and not think highly of you but that has been his mistake from the very beginning however; the same lesson applies to you as well don’t mistake his powers either as even though he is crazy he still has high intelligence. Don’t lose your cool now and use your resolve in order to make sure you don’t lose, as our blue hedgehog would say: “Yeah, Bring it on!” Are you prepared to bring it on though, brave gamer?

sonicthehedgehog57 : Whoa. . . Um. . . This is one heck of a very long review. . . I'm not sure what else to say, I have really gone speechless this time. . .

Awesome job my friend and PLEASE make more reviews! I really enjoyed reading this review!

heh heh heh...Yeah I try to fit as much imagination as I can in my reviews to make them more entertaining and this review did take a while to finish but I'm glad that it's finally complete. Don't worry I will be writing more and more reviews because I have to write 2 every month so you'll certainly be seeing more of me, don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing hahaha.

I hated Sonic 2 so much when I first played it; I was never able to get passed moving platforms in Chemical plant 2. 

However, overall, it's a good game, with nice graphics, excellent music and acceptable challenges. But I preferred playing it with Knuckles

janus : yeah those moving platforms were annoying in chemical plant zone, and Sonic 2 definitely isn't my favorite genesis sonic game. 

The title to all your reviews are always great, some fill you with wonder, like "what is he talking about? Let's read to find out more." to just crafty titles that grab your attention. I can rarely create titles like you do lol. 

The examples and back round info you add in your review help the reader understand more of what you are trying to say, rather than spitting out all you have to say and the reader asking if he/she agrees. But the evidence makes your review much more solid...meat rather than milk. 

And again, going with the idea of evidence, your elaboration is fantastic as well. You give a lot of information as well, without giving big spoilers and such, and again, that adds more meat rather than milk. 

I have read quite a few of your reviews, and I don't see many reviews like this, except for some masters at reviews. 
I do enjoy reading them, and I'd really honestly like to see more, whenever you have the chance. 

Sidewinder : Even though this review is quite a few months old I'm glad you enjoyed reading it, I always think the purpose of a review is to attract a person towards it while not giving details that may ruin or change their experience by playing the game.  If you'd like me to summon you to my latest as well as my reviews planned for this coming year then I'll gladly do that for you. Have a nice night and a great holiday season too!