Overall 7.7 Graphics 7.5 Sound 9.5 Addictive 7.3 Story 7.3 Depth 6.8 Difficulty 8
8.5
“A mysterious note...The rescue of a friend...The Revival of a Doctor” sonicthehedgeho..
It’s been quite some time since you’d taken down the evil Dr Robotnik. With this peace though Sonic had decided to leave the island to have some fun exploration on foot, hoping that everything would be the same when he had returned to the Island due to that fact that Robotnik hadn’t shown his face for a while and things became far too quiet. But of course this story plot of never ending peace is more of a never gonna happen tale, as when Sonic returned his friends had disappeared like the ashes from an arisen phoenix (no this is not an ace attorney reference). This blue blur knew that something was wrong so he had rushed back to his pad only a note remained from longtime friend and pal Miles Prower (Nicknamed Tails) who was nowhere in sight, Sonic picked up the letter and without a second thought he was up, over, and gone to defeat Robotnik again while collecting the six Chaos Emeralds. What will happen to Tails? Is sonic really going to have to be faster than the speed of sound on this quest? Also what is that look-alike metal contraption that Robotnik has made? Only by reading this review will the answers be shown, so it’s time to speed keed!
Graphics: 7 out of 10
Now before you go downing the score for Sonic the Hedgehog (1 & 2) on game gear, you must remember this was made on an 8 bit system/handheld during the early 1990's so of course it won’t look as great as its genesis predecessor. In all actuality if you research this game in depth you’ll find out that this game came out before Sonic 2 on Genesis so there wasn’t really a standard on how the graphics should look or be and since this game was created for the Game Gear instead of the Genesis or Megadrive (depending on where you live) It’s certainly not the best looking game out on the system but taking a successful game from one console onto a handheld wasn’t a very easy thing during the early 90’s, especially when it’s a well-known mascot as if you make one mistake it could tarnish the character’s reputation including its popularity with gamers. Anyway I don’t wanna go off on a tangent as it’ll just drive me away from focusing with the graphics section on this review, the levels for what the handheld could manage are in my opinion decent and acceptable; however there is one thing I think they could’ve done, which would be to make (even if it wouldn't’t have been hugely different) the graphics look a little different from the first game since it does seem like just a basic recoloring and changing of level area’s from before. Normally I would’ve given this an 8 out of 10 but like I stated above there was only one problem I had with the game which made me tone it down to a 7 out of 10 instead, well now that this part is done let’s move on!
Sound: 9 out of 10
Although the graphics may not meet every fans expectations I’m sure the soundtrack will keep you entertained as it does live up very well to its Genesis roots, even topping some of my personal favorites at various times. My personal favorite songs in this game would have to be: The Green Hill Zone theme because of its mix between mysterious like you’re safe but also in dangers path every minute, then it also gives you and uplifting feeling as well knowing that you’ll see the end if you keep persevering. One more thing to note about Green Hills Zone’s theme is that if you’ve played Sonic CD before and have listened to the theme “You Can Do Anything” then you’ll notice that it’s very remotely similar to Sonic 2’s Game Gear level Green Hills Zone, so I guess we should thank this game for giving us the awesome intro that was received in the Japanese Version of Sonic CD. Moving on though, my 2nd favorite theme is the Underground Zone level as I feel that it gives off a certain vibe which creates a great start for the game and the storyline, with its darkened tone and also mysterious atmosphere. This sense of darkness makes you also know that you’ll eventually get through to the end to see the light that adorns the outside of the cove/ground. The sound effects I’d say are pretty generic for what you’d hear on Sonic games, like *doong* when you blow up badnicks or *wuuu-wiii* when you collect an air bubble. Based on all of this of course being my own personal preference, I think it’s fair to give Sonic 2 on Game Gear a 9 out of 10 for its sound department.
Addictiveness: 7 out of 10
I’ll be the first to admit that when I first played this game I wasn’t as addicted to it as I was when I played Sonic 1 & 2 on Genesis. However I still did and do enjoy this game to a certain extent, since I did appreciate the story in this game more so than the Sonic 2 that came out later on the Genesis as that version just felt like the same story as the original game but just with tails included. In the means of gameplay I’d say that there are some problems with controls at times where I know I’ve hit the jump button and Sonic just rolls off the cliff instead of jumping, which gets really aggravating especially if you’re trying to collect the Chaos Emeralds. The levels themselves I do find to be quite entertaining each with their own unique features such as: having hang-gliders in the level Sky High Zone which are used to glide across the zone to reach higher platforms and even sometimes gaining higher distance, as well as the bubbles in Aquatic Lake Zone which not only do some of them give you air to help you breath but some of them will also cover itself around you in order to help you raise up from the water while moving left or right inside the bubble. Lastly the only other thing I dislike which doesn’t make this game as addictive is how you retrieve/collect the chaos emeralds, because instead of entering a Special Stage and completing it in order to gain the emerald you now have to search for them in the 2nd act of each level which can be difficult in specific area’s which may require you to make accurate and long jumps, even having to reach enough height while in the air. It may be a turn on for other gamers who prefer it that way and I’m not saying that it’s a horrible idea, I just prefer the original way of beating a special world/stage in order to gain the item or in this case the emeralds, enough of my rambling though as looking back at everything I don’t think the addictiveness is horribly bad or terrifically great either as it’s sort of a game that you play every once in a while but not that often which in turn makes me give the addictiveness a 7 out of 10.
Story: 10+ out of 10
As funny as this may sound to a lot of fans out there I actually appreciate the story in this version of Sonic 2 better due to the fact that it took a different and even darker tone that Sonic 1 & 2 on the Megadrive (Genesis) because instead of just having Dr. Robotnik turning the animals on the island into robots while trying to take over the land, the evil doctor schemes his next plan by remaining hidden after his first defeat leaving Sonic to become curious as he knew that Robotnik couldn't’t have been taken down so easily and in turns decides to head out of the land to seek new adventures. By the time the hedgehog’s quills had left the inhabitants of South Island, our the villain hiding within the shadows of the world came onto the island and not only took all of the animals to be made into robots but he had Miles Prower (Tails) taken hostage and locked away inside a secret area. But before he took the furry fox away he made him write a letter to that blue rodent as Robotnik would say telling Sonic to collect the Chaos Emeralds in order to save his friend, surely enough our hero with a need for speed reads the letter and speeds off faster than he can eat 10 chili dogs as he searches for the emeralds once more to bring the evil doctor’s plans down again! It was a lot more of a threat to Sonic that we’d seen from this madman scientist so far and maybe even to this day which makes me give the story a perfect 10+ out of 10.....Alright I said I was going to move on but there is one last is one last issue I wish to address and that is the theory of what happens when you get that bad ending to the game, many people will say that Tails dies because you see an image of him in the sky. I believe that this is false for 1 very specific reason and that is why does having his face in the sky mean he’s deceased but if your face is there with him then it means he’s alive? All this means in my opinion is that you failed to save him and you have no idea where to find him, alright now let’s move on.
Depth: 8 out of 10
Believe it or not but this game actually has 7 levels with 3 acts compared to the 6 levels with 3 acts and a final stage found in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, which in turn will probably take you longer to beat this game not only for how long it is but also because the difficulty is higher as well. On the matter of depth I’d say on your first time playing this game it might take you a couple hours to beat it due to some off the traps that you’ll encounter throughout some levels that are hard to avoid the first time and are kind of like a beginners trap, but once you get the hang of it you’ll probably be able to beat the game in about an hour or two if you just plan on defeating the game normally without the Chaos Emeralds. Also you must get all the emeralds in order to reach the final level known as the Crystal Egg Zone and to receive the good ending to this game as well, the only thing I think this game is lacking is a multiplayer setting although; I guess they really couldn't’t do that with the game gear at the time so maybe I shouldn't’t be too hard on it only having a 1-player mode. So all in all I’d give the depth an 8 out of 10, not much else to say here so let’s move on!
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
This is probably one of the hardest 2-D sonic games I’ve ever played, I mean like it’s not impossible but dang is it harder than the Genesis version and even the Master System version in my opinion. One thing that really makes the game hard compared to the Megadrive is that during the 3rd act of each level there are NO RINGS TO COLLECT meaning that you have to do the entire boss of each level in one shot otherwise you’re going to lose a life which makes both the game and bosses harder to defeat, so be prepared to lose a few Sonic’s here and there. Once you figure out the pattern for each boss you shouldn't’t have that hard of a time defeating them, unless like I’ve stated many times before if you plan on collecting all the emeralds...if so then you might have a very difficult time defeating the bosses with the spare lives you have from your attempts at collecting each of them. If anyone was/is going to ask me which emerald is the hardest to get in the game then at least to me it would be the 2nd one which is located in the level Sky High Zone where you must fly on a hang-glider to almost reach the top of the screen where you’ll find the emerald, easy right? Well the only problem with that is the fact that you have to dodge all of the enemies in your way while maintaining your height to make sure you’re not too low and not too high where you touch the top of the screen and lose the hang-glider. In my opinion if you want a harder version of Sonic 2 then definitely play Sonic 2 on Game Gear which makes me give the difficulty an 8 out of 10.
It’s finally almost over, you’re at the ending stretch of your journey as you take a long look at your surroundings and your newest opponent that lays ahead of you whom is simply known as Silver Sonic. You must prevail victorious over this robotic doppelganger and face off against the vilest person on this planet, you must remember the freedom of your innocent friend tails is in your hands. At this very moment it’s imperative that you abandon all your fear/fears and focus simply on the fact of winning this battle, your resolve must be as sharp as your spiny blue quills! If you’re ready then let’s kick that Robuttnik into shape. Once again as our hero would say “C’mon step it up!” So let’s step up to the plate and save our friend...MILES PROWER (TAILS)!
Graphics 7 Sound 9 Addictive 7 Story 10 Depth 8 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4.7/5
Submitted: 09-01-13
Updated: 09-01-13
Review Replies: 12
7.8
Sonic 2 for the Sega Game Gear luigi25
This has been one game I've been looking forward to reviewing for some time. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear and also the more well known Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis are two games I have been wanting to write about for some time. This game for the handheld Game Gear (and Master System) was released on November 17, 1992, only days before Sonic 2 on Genesis was released. It is quite different from the first Sonic the Hedgehog for the Game Gear/Master System. That game was mostly just a port of the original Sonic game re-done for the Game Gear with new stages that had the same themes.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear is an original game with new ideas with the storyline, soundtrack, and graphics. However, all of these cool new concepts are ruined by some of the most frustratingly difficult gameplay I have ever seen! I plan on discussing the pros and cons of this lesser known Sonic game for Sega's rare handheld Game Gear console.
Graphics 9/10: For starters, Sonic actually looks like Sonic in this game! His sprite looks closer to what it looked like in the 16-bit game and so do the sprites of the other characters. The backgrounds look decent in this Sonic game too, but they are a little dated looking. The characters and sprites look amazing. The backgrounds aren't perfect looking, but that's forgivable considering this is an 8-bit handheld game. Not to mention a game that was released in the early '90s. Other than that, Sonic 2 on Game Gear is nearly flawless looking aside from some fuzzy looking backgrounds.
Music 10/10: Sonic 2 for Game Gear has some really great classic Sonic music. Every track in this game sounds wonderful. There are no dull or boring songs in this game. The game sounds like it was made in 1992 and has a very nostalgic style to it. The Green Hill theme is my favorite, and it is not the Green Hill that we are used to hearing. It is a completely new track especially made for this game. The title song is also pretty cool, and you get to hear it again on the Scrambled Egg Zone. The game has a decent amount of variety, but it's mainly just the quality of these songs that get me. All of them are catchy and memorable.
Gameplay 3/10: The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the same as in any other Sonic game. You have to get to the end of the level under 10 mins while avoiding enemies, bottomless pits, spikes, etc. Sonic collects rings along the way that give him an extra hit, but on some levels there are no rings in this game. There are also no bonus games at the end of the stages like in the first Game Gear/Master System Sonic game. Extra lives are pretty scarce in Sonic 2, and that is a big problem in this game. Sonic 2 is very difficult to play because of this, and to make matters worse you're ringless for all the boss fights! You don't even get a shield box in this game either!
Basically, this game has less lives and continues than the previous handheld Sonic game and the Genesis game. Even after a lot of trial and error, I still kept finding myself re-playing the first 2 zones of the game over and over again because I would Game Over on one of the first 2 bosses. The third zone (Aqua Lake Zone) gave me more trouble, and by the time I got to Act 3 of Green Hill Zone (Zone 4), I would often lose all my lives and continues and have to re-start the game again! I did beat this version of Sonic 2 eventually, but the hell I had to go through was almost too much. As you can see it took many playthroughs to beat the regular game, so it is a game that can be beat, if you're not trying to get the Emeralds that is!
These things are an absolute nightmare to try and collect! A few of them are easy to reach, like the ones in the Aqua Lake and Gimmick Mountain Zones, but the ones on the Green Hill and (especially) Sky High Zones are almost impossible to get to. The Chaos Emeralds are well hidden, and they are placed in parts of the levels that are very difficult to reach. You'll use up all of your lives trying to get the things and have to restart the game. The thing I hate the most is that you can't go back to a level once you have missed one. You might as well restart the game and try again! I say screw the Emeralds and just play the game like normal!
The only thing bad about playing Sonic 2 like that is that you'll miss out on playing the final Crystal Egg Zone, fighting Dr. Robotnik, rescuing Tails, and finishing the game properly. You need all 6 of the Chaos Emeralds in order to beat this game! If you fail to get the 5 Emeralds, the game stops after Sonic defeats Silver Sonic at the end of the Scrambled Egg Zone and rolls the credits. If you do get the 5 Emeralds in the stages, the 6th Chaos Emerald is rewarded to Sonic after defeating Silver Sonic, and you can keep playing. Although, without the 6 Chaos Emeralds, the game ends, and Sonic looks up into the sky to see Tails out there somewhere still waiting to be rescued.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Sega Game Gear is an almost unplayably difficult game, and I find it an impossible task of collecting the Chaos Emeralds and getting the proper ending. I don't feel like it can be done, and just trying to get the bad ending is hard enough! This is a game that almost falls into the same category as the first Mega Man game. I give the gameplay of this Sonic game a big thumbs down! It is impossible to finish properly. The screen crunch, poor controls, ringless boss fights, lack of extra lives and continues make me dread playing this game. It is not fun to play, it's just plain hard and frustrating and feels unnecessary.
Story 10/10: Like some of the other people who have already reviewed this game, I happen to like the story of the Game Gear version better than the one for the Sega Genesis game. Sonic receives a note informing him that an old friend of his by the name of Miles Prower "Tails" has been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear brings in a new character to the Sonic trilogy named "Tails" and explains how he entered into the Sonic series. Prior to this game, Tails was a lonely, depressed type of character until he became friends with Sonic. Tails found a companion, and Sonic found a sidekick.
It is a touching backstory and makes you really want the best ending for the game. Sonic goes to rescue Tails after getting all 6 Chaos Emeralds if you are an expert at this game. Anyway, I liked how this plot was played out a lot in the Sonic cartoons that would come on in the afternoon after school. It was something different instead of Sonic just fighting Eggman and saving South Island. He now has to rescue his best friend/sidekick, save South Island, and go onto another adventure with Tails on the Sega Genesis. It is a perfect setup for things to come.
Content 7/10: If you are able to get through this complete game without many deaths Sonic 2 only takes about 45 mins. The whole game consists of: The Underground Zone, Sky High Zone, Aqua Lake Zone, Green Hill Zone, Gimmick Mountain, Scrambled Egg Zone, and The Crystal Egg Zone. The final Crystal Egg Zone can only be played by getting the 5 Chaos Emeralds hidden in the first 5 zones and defeating Silver Sonic. If you fail to do this, you can only play 6 of the 7 zones which is still a reasonable amount of content. These levels are hard and feel like they are designed more for experts.
Difficulty 10/10: This has been the hardest Sonic game I have ever reviewed up to this point. It is similar in difficulty to the original Mega Man on NES, and I found it only slightly easier than that game. The game has very limited continues and doesn't start giving you many lives until the Green Hill Zone. The final act in this zone was (and is still) a nightmare to get through. You had to jump on these springs in order to cross large bottomless pits with spikes, and you were also ringless during this part because it was a boss level. You also couldn't see where you were going due to the camera being so zoomed in. There was no way of knowing where Sonic was going to land. You didn't know where the springs were unless you played this part many times and had it memorized.
All the lives you collected in the first 2 acts would be gone after this part, and you'd only have a few to beat the rest of the game with. In the first 3 zones, getting a Game Over wasn't as big of a deal because you didn't have to go back that far, but by the time you got to Green Hill, you'd have to spend another 30 minutes trying to get back to this part not knowing if you were just going to Game Over and do it again! To make it even more worse, you couldn't earn any more than 9 lives! By now, this game should have been a little more reasonable with its difficulty. Sonic 2 on Game Gear gets a big thumbs down and has very unbalanced difficulty due to poor visibility and no room for error!
Overall 7.8/10: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear/Master System is a game that takes an intense amount of memorization. It amounts to the player just replaying the levels (especially the bosses) again and again, and even then, it is still difficult. The other ideas and concepts are a welcome improvement over the first Game Gear game, but they only do so much due to the poor gameplay and difficulty. When you think about it, this game isn't much better. It is a better game overall, but I hated the controls and difficulty even more in this Sonic game.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 3 Story 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 08-31-17
Updated: 12-14-18
Review Replies: 1
9.8
Sonic the hedgehog 2 GG/SMS kanta
Dr.Eggman:"Don't kick me and next game now".Oh yes thank you Eggman Sonic two GG/SMS so first up is graphics are not bad some as Sonic one for GG/SMS.The music is great awesome kick drums music is awesome in this game.Dr.Eggman:"What am I meant to do".Go read the list of games doctor.Back to the game I like this game to be honest i play this a lot but you don't see me playing this I buy it and then sell it get's too bad not seeing me.I like tails is in it but you can't play as him but that being said he's everywhere he's in the title screen,the pecs for the levels and he's in the ending.The bad ending is creepy it makes me cry to sadness.The game dos't have much things bosses are short but fun the first boss I died a lot of times because you can't roll spheres are falling from nowhere.This game is very hard what I have said about it lets not make fun of the game so lets say the first zone has lava a lot of pits could they be big in a cave if you said this game is easy fine by me.So Dr.Eggman what's up next?Dr.Eggman:"As you wish the great reviewer".What The Great reviewer me?Dr.Eggman:"Yes you".Oh well so Sonic two for genesis will be good and if you are one of these people that say Why I review on Friday and the weekends I have school on Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday and Friday (No homework on Friday)and that is why I have time Friday so bye.
Graphics 6 Sound 9 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 2.8/5
Submitted: 03-15-13
Review Replies: 0
9
A great Sonic game. kelton
This is a great game. I will be breaking this up into sections.
Graphics: Gave 'em a 8 because it's not too special for the Game Gear. Still, they're somewhat impressive for the time. Compared to other games on the Game Gear (that I've played, of course) it's pretty similar. The color pallet is cool though, and really fits this game in general. Also the background for the Underground Zone is pretty advanced for the Game Gear.
Sound: Really pumps me up! Really good compared to most soundtracks on the Game Gear! It adds to the fun of the game and uses the Game Gear technology at it's best use.
Addictiveness: Really fun the first time, and all times! There really isn't any replay value, but it never gets old playing this masterpiece over and over and over!!! Also the diversity of zones makes you want to never stop playing, adding to the rating.
Story: It's lucky to get a 1. It has a story so simple it should get marked as no story. Tails gets kidnapped. THAT'S IT!! At least add something cool like: Tails gets kidnapped and Amy is also kidnapped and they get in a fight in their cell.... well you know where this is going.
Depth: It's a Super Mario ripoff as far as depth goes. Has many stages, but it doesn't have much variety. Nothing much else to say.
Difficulty: Pretty easy, but it's still ok with controls, etc. Still it's pretty fun for the difficulty.
Overall: It's not the best Sonic game ever, but it still ranks with the tops.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 1 Depth 6 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 2.7/5
Submitted: 12-19-12
Review Replies: 1
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