Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (MD, 1992)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-9.5 Control-8.5 Challenge-7.5
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-7 Fun-9 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-9
+
Semi 2-player coop (the camera focuses on player 1 only)
Fast and intense
Good bonus levels (except for the lack of jump height control)
Spin-dash makes things a lot smoother (helps keeping a good flow going),
Branching paths within levels (Sonic 1) and a few shortcuts (Chemical Plant Zone Act 2, Wing Fortress if you use a damage boost)
Unlockable Super Sonic form (get all chaos emeralds then jump and hold the button down to activate it once you have 50 rings, a timer starts and during the transformation you're invulnerable (besides from being crushed or falling into pits) and you move faster)
Great variety overall (mixes in one auto-scrolling level where you're stuck to Tails' plane)
Better jump control (less of a Contra-style jump if done without built up momentum)
Choose to play with Sonic or Tails alone or with an AI controlled buddy (pretty useless but still a nice touch and he's invincible, stops following you after sky chase zone though)
Some nice level transitions (sky chase to wing fortress)
Good final boss
Good art direction
Various hidden items (1-ups, rings, invincibility, shield)
Sonic 2 Absolute (PC fan remaster):
Widescreen
Various gameplay options (drop dash as Sonic, flight cancel as Tails, random item containers/monitors, infinite lives, time limits, speed caps, elemental shields, instashield, peelout, super form cancel) and minor audiovisual options,
Extra modes (arcade mode (1 life mode really), time attack mode, Nick Arcade version - short timed alternate version of EHZ where you try to collect 25+ rings, gamble scramble mode - gamble until you get 1000 rings (meh), )
Updated bonus levels with 3D tubes, longer draw distance and smoother scaling
Separate SFX and music volume sliders
Mod support (Hidden Palace zone restored)
Play as Knuckles
Don't start with zero rings after a bonus level
+/-
You start out with zero rings after a bonus level (on the other hand all rings in the level respawn)
Can't fly when playing as Tails - changed in a hack
-
No difficulty options
Some trial & error (bonus levels, some cheap hits/deaths in mystic cave+aquatic ruin+wing fortress and metropolis zone if you're not prepared)
Can't duck into a roll when moving off a ledge or bouncing off a spring or jumping off a hook (leads to trial & error and occasionally worse flow)
Mostly simple bosses
Somewhat bland competitive 2-player game (simpler and shorter levels)
Tails screws up the bonus rounds if you play alone and have the AI control him
Somewhat shorter than the prequel (unfinished levels are left in the rom)
Sonic moves a bit too close to the edge of the screen when running at full speed (rarely happens)
Minor physics/control bugs in slopes
Hit detection is a bit off on final boss (fall through his body into the claws if you don't wait extra long between attacks)
Difficulty spike at final stage (no rings!)
Some tedious level design (large blocks in your way in Casino and Mystic Cave zones, springs that bounce you backwards in the level, a few points of no return),
Before fighting a boss the screen locks you in so you can't go back - it sometimes does this right after checkpoints so it's fairly easy to miss a bonus round if you don't know the level
Some non-interactive elements (the tubes in some zones, the barrels in oil ocean zone - Sonic 3 developed on the latter by letting you control the launch and direction)
No more hidden bonus points at the end of levels
Fewer destructible walls than in the other MD games - none actually (just a few breakable floors in aquatic ruin, hilltop and mystic cave)
No jump height control in the bonus levels
Could've had one more checkpoint/bonus level entrance in some zones after EHZ
Sonic 2 Absolute:
Doesn't explain the new modes or the gameplay options
Can't switch characters or to Sonic/Tails alone for a save file
Can't add a ring or shield to the final zone
Doesn't let you roll after hitting a spring, flying, etc.
Can't skip the score countdown screen after a bonus level even if you failed
Entering the bonus level via a checkpoint later in a level deactivates entrances placed before that one
Some enemy placements could've been improved
Comment:
This is where the series peaked for me as it struck a good balance between speed and exploration, while removing some of the stuff that didn't quite work in the first game and increasing the overall game flow (by implementing the spin dash and better taking Sonic's abilites into consideration). The halfpipe bonus stage is my favourite of the lot, which is kind of a big deal since beating the games without collecting the emeralds leaves me with an empty feeling inside. On the artsy side, the relationship between Sonic and Tails here is the most gripping depiction of unrequited love since Sweeney Todd.
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-7 Fun-9 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-9
+
Semi 2-player coop (the camera focuses on player 1 only)
Fast and intense
Good bonus levels (except for the lack of jump height control)
Spin-dash makes things a lot smoother (helps keeping a good flow going),
Branching paths within levels (Sonic 1) and a few shortcuts (Chemical Plant Zone Act 2, Wing Fortress if you use a damage boost)
Unlockable Super Sonic form (get all chaos emeralds then jump and hold the button down to activate it once you have 50 rings, a timer starts and during the transformation you're invulnerable (besides from being crushed or falling into pits) and you move faster)
Great variety overall (mixes in one auto-scrolling level where you're stuck to Tails' plane)
Better jump control (less of a Contra-style jump if done without built up momentum)
Choose to play with Sonic or Tails alone or with an AI controlled buddy (pretty useless but still a nice touch and he's invincible, stops following you after sky chase zone though)
Some nice level transitions (sky chase to wing fortress)
Good final boss
Good art direction
Various hidden items (1-ups, rings, invincibility, shield)
Sonic 2 Absolute (PC fan remaster):
Widescreen
Various gameplay options (drop dash as Sonic, flight cancel as Tails, random item containers/monitors, infinite lives, time limits, speed caps, elemental shields, instashield, peelout, super form cancel) and minor audiovisual options,
Extra modes (arcade mode (1 life mode really), time attack mode, Nick Arcade version - short timed alternate version of EHZ where you try to collect 25+ rings, gamble scramble mode - gamble until you get 1000 rings (meh), )
Updated bonus levels with 3D tubes, longer draw distance and smoother scaling
Separate SFX and music volume sliders
Mod support (Hidden Palace zone restored)
Play as Knuckles
Don't start with zero rings after a bonus level
+/-
You start out with zero rings after a bonus level (on the other hand all rings in the level respawn)
Can't fly when playing as Tails - changed in a hack
-
No difficulty options
Some trial & error (bonus levels, some cheap hits/deaths in mystic cave+aquatic ruin+wing fortress and metropolis zone if you're not prepared)
Can't duck into a roll when moving off a ledge or bouncing off a spring or jumping off a hook (leads to trial & error and occasionally worse flow)
Mostly simple bosses
Somewhat bland competitive 2-player game (simpler and shorter levels)
Tails screws up the bonus rounds if you play alone and have the AI control him
Somewhat shorter than the prequel (unfinished levels are left in the rom)
Sonic moves a bit too close to the edge of the screen when running at full speed (rarely happens)
Minor physics/control bugs in slopes
Hit detection is a bit off on final boss (fall through his body into the claws if you don't wait extra long between attacks)
Difficulty spike at final stage (no rings!)
Some tedious level design (large blocks in your way in Casino and Mystic Cave zones, springs that bounce you backwards in the level, a few points of no return),
Before fighting a boss the screen locks you in so you can't go back - it sometimes does this right after checkpoints so it's fairly easy to miss a bonus round if you don't know the level
Some non-interactive elements (the tubes in some zones, the barrels in oil ocean zone - Sonic 3 developed on the latter by letting you control the launch and direction)
No more hidden bonus points at the end of levels
Fewer destructible walls than in the other MD games - none actually (just a few breakable floors in aquatic ruin, hilltop and mystic cave)
No jump height control in the bonus levels
Could've had one more checkpoint/bonus level entrance in some zones after EHZ
Sonic 2 Absolute:
Doesn't explain the new modes or the gameplay options
Can't switch characters or to Sonic/Tails alone for a save file
Can't add a ring or shield to the final zone
Doesn't let you roll after hitting a spring, flying, etc.
Can't skip the score countdown screen after a bonus level even if you failed
Entering the bonus level via a checkpoint later in a level deactivates entrances placed before that one
Some enemy placements could've been improved
Comment:
This is where the series peaked for me as it struck a good balance between speed and exploration, while removing some of the stuff that didn't quite work in the first game and increasing the overall game flow (by implementing the spin dash and better taking Sonic's abilites into consideration). The halfpipe bonus stage is my favourite of the lot, which is kind of a big deal since beating the games without collecting the emeralds leaves me with an empty feeling inside. On the artsy side, the relationship between Sonic and Tails here is the most gripping depiction of unrequited love since Sweeney Todd.