Sonic the Hedgehog 2, or simply Sonic 2, is a platform published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1992 and in North America and Europe three days later on November 24, 1992. The game introduces Miles "Tails" Prower as a new playable character.
The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and his new partner Tails on their mission to stop the evil Dr. Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his Death Egg. Sonic and Tails must defeat Robotnik's army and free their friends.
As of June 2006, it has sold six million copies. The game was compatible with Sonic & Knuckles lock-on feature which allowed the player to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2. It has been included in a number of compilation packages on a range of platforms.
Storyline:
While cruising over the ocean in his antique biplane, the Tornado, Sonic notices a small island particularly lush with greenery. He flies down for a bit of vacation time, closely followed by an unseen figure that lands on the opposite end of the island... The tiny resort turns out to be West Side Island, which, as the folklore goes, was once the home of a flourishing civilization. The people of the island utilized the power of seven mysterious stones for the advancement of their society. However, their prosperity lead to avarice, which did not sit well with the gods. The displeased deities reclaimed the stones and sealed them away.
After a few days on the island, it occurs to Sonic that he's being followed. His pursuer is a young fox with two tails who, upon being discovered, dashes into the shade of a nearby tree. Sonic ignores him and zooms off, but the fox whirls his two tails like a propeller and follows the blue stranger at full speed. Sonic is impressed both with the fox's tenacity and his ability to keep up, so he decides to let him tag along. He learns that his new companion is named Miles Prower, though the animals of the island call him "Tails" after his unique mutation.
Early one afternoon, Tails discovers the Tornado sitting on a beach. Being fascinated by all things mechanical, the young fox eagerly runs up to the machine for a thorough investigation, but shyly pulls back when he spots Sonic snoozing in the shade of a wing. His awkward moment is interrupted by a huge explosion from the island's interior. Sonic snaps up to see the forest ablaze and robots scouring the area. It doesn't take the blue hero three guesses to figure out who's behind the disruption: Dr. Robotnik, who had discreetly followed Sonic onto West Side Island, is now tearing the place apart in search of the seven Chaos Emeralds. He needs fuel for his Death Egg, a planet-sized space station with unthinkable power. Sonic and Tails take off to locate the Emeralds before Robotnik and squash his evil ambition once more.
Gameplay:
Single Player
The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 builds upon the basic set-up of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game. The player finishes each level, generally moving from left to right, within a time limit of 10 minutes (Sonic dies one second after the timer reaches 9:59, though it does not actually click up to 10:00). Along the way, rings are collected and Badniks are defeated. Star posts serve as checkpoints, where if the player were to lose a life then he or she would return to one. When the player has collected at least 50 rings, star posts can be run past for an optional Special Stage. At the end of act 2 of each zone, Sonic confronts Dr. Robotnik, although there is an exception in the Metropolis level in which there are 3 acts. In addition, both Sky Chase Zone and Wing Fortress Zone have one act, and Sky Chase Zone does not have a boss.
The game contains a total of 11 zones. These include: Emerald Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone, Casino Night Zone, Hill Top Zone, Mystic Cave Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Metropolis Zone, Sky Chase Zone, Wing Fortress Zone and Death Egg Zone. Although zones have grown significantly in size since Sonic the Hedgehog, they now consist of two acts instead of three (with the exception of the Metropolis Zone, which has three acts, and the final three zones, which each have one), and there is greater emphasis on variety between levels. The gameplay has also become even faster; to that end, Sonic is able to perform a new special move referred to as the Super Spin Dash Attack. The Super Spin Dash attack allows Sonic to spin in place, as if revving up an engine, before taking off at high speeds from a stationary start. Sonic's running motion also features longer strides.
From the options menu, players can select to either play as Sonic alone, Tails alone or Sonic and Tails. By default, players control Sonic while Tails tags along unhindered. However, a second player may control Tails separately. He can collect rings and attack badniks, but can't break open item boxes. Should Tails move off-screen, he will eventually return. Every time Tails dies (except when playing as Tails alone), he returns to Sonic by flying down to the ground.
Super Sonic
Obtaining all seven Chaos Emeralds by clearing all of the special stages will unlock a new feature; Sonic's ability to change into Super Sonic. Sonic changes into his Super Form when he has collected at least 50 rings and jumps into the air. At this point, he glows yellow and is virtually invincible, although he can still get killed by drowning, getting crushed, falling off the screen, running off the screen, or running out of time. His speed, acceleration, and jump height are all increased as well. This means that it is much more difficult to control Sonic in this form, especially when the player needs to make precise jumps. However, his Spin Dash Attack is decreased in effectiveness as the initial velocity is decreased rapidly. Super Sonic consumes one ring per second and when he has no rings left or he reaches the end of the act, he reverts to his normal state. This severely cripples the player if the former happens as they are left with no rings; if the latter happens the player's level bonus is reduced due to not having as many rings as they could have had.
Two Player
In two player versus mode, players compete against each other or together to fight Dr. Robotnik - either as Sonic or Tails - in a split-screen race through three regular zones and one special stage. Regular zones include Emerald Hill, Casino Night and Mystic Cave and have different music from their one player counterparts, while the Special Stage is similar to the Emerald Stage in single player. In the regular levels, players are ranked in five areas (score, time, rings held at the end of the level, total rings collected, and number of item boxes broken), with the player scoring highest in the most levels winning the round, while in the Special Stage, players compete to obtain the most rings. Once one player finishes one of the regular levels, the other player must finish the zone within 60 seconds or lose a life.
In case of a tie, an additional Special Stage round must be completed. Also, to heighten the stakes, there are two unique items in versus-mode: a teleport item that instantly switches positions between players in a zone, and a Robotnik item that damages the unlucky player. Furthermore, an optional setting allows that all item boxes in two-player mode are only teleports.
Special Stages
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, there are 7 special stages. When Sonic has collected at least 50 rings and he hits a Star Post, a red halo of stars will briefly float above it, which Sonic can then jump through to get to a special stage.
Special Stages track Sonic from behind while he runs through a three-dimensional half-pipe course filled with rings and bombs. A set amount of rings must be collected to pass through three checkpoints and eventually obtain the emerald itself. When nearing a checkpoint a reminder will appear to inform the player how many more rings are required to pass the point. Should Sonic run into a bomb he will lose several rings and will be immobilized for a brief moment. The order of stages is fixed in rising difficulty, and Sonic cannot enter the next stage without passing the previous (unlike Sonic 1). Whether the player is able to obtain the emerald or not, Sonic is transported back to the last star post he hit in the zone when the special stage is over and has zero rings. However, any rings obtained prior to entering the Special Stage will be replaced on the level as if they were never collected.
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