Console: Mega Drive / Genesis
Cost: 800 Wii Points
As the biggest selling game released for the Mega Drive, as well as Sega's most successful game ever, Sonic 2 should be familiar to just about everyone. it should be no surprise this game continues to remain popular as one of the top selling games for the Virtual Console, despite being on just about every currently supported console out there.
Once again your job is to guide Sonic through each level, beat up Robotnik, collect the Chaos Emeralds and free the captured animals who are being trapped inside the robots that attack Sonic. This time our hero is joined by a companion, in the form of Miles "Tails" Prower, and you're given the option of playing as either Sonic, Tails, or Sonic with Tails tagging along. Sadly, there's no major differences to the gameplay regardless of which character you pick, making this a bit of wasted opportunity. Tails can fly, but you never get to use that ability during the game (that ability was saved for Sonic 3).
There are eleven zones in the game, most of which now have two acts each (one zone has three acts, the last three are one act each). This time around the level design is more open and spacious, clearly focused on allowing for plenty of speed. Once again the Chaos Emeralds must be retrieved from special stages, this time taking the form of a half-pipe where you travel forward and attempt to collect the required number of rings in each section. The game is noticeably easier than the original, but should provide a sufficient challenge. The graphics are fine, this time featuring a more diverse colour palette. Once again the PAL version of the game sadly runs slower than its NTSC counterpart, and with a series like Sonic it's not hard to notice when comparing the two. There's still the odd bit of slowdown too. The soundtrack remains as catchy as ever, featuring plenty of songs you'll probably end up humming while doing something else.
Introduced in Sonic 2 is for the first time in the series is a two-player mode, where you and a friend can race to the end of the level. Unfortunately it's something of a let-down, suffering from slowdown and a lack of levels (only three of the zones, plus a special stage where the objective is to collect more rings than your opponent, are on offer in this mode). This game also features the first appearance of Sonic's super form. Collecting all the Chaos Emeralds and then collecting 50 rings in a level allows Sonic (though not Tails) to undergo a transformation into Super Sonic, making him invulnerable to damage by enemies and most hazards. However, while in this form he steadily loses rings, and if they return to zero Sonic will revert to his normal state.
Sonic 2 is a fine platformer, one of the best in the series in fact. But it still lacks the depth of the rival Mario series, something which would not really be addressed until the release of its follow ups (Sonic CD, Sonic 3 and Knuckles). Another problem is that it doesn't really add a lot to the franchise. With Tails largely playing more or less the same as Sonic, and no major new ideas to add, Sonic 2 doesn't do a lot to differentiate itself from the first Sonic game. Nonetheless, the original was a great game, and thus so is one.
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Lifespan: 5/10
Rating: 8/10
