Sonic The Hedgehog 2If you're read my review on the first Sonic The Hedgehog game, there isn't much to say that hasn't been said there. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a true sequel, where it takes the core gameplay of the original, and improves it, as well as adding in some stuff, and removing the blemishes of the original. Yeah, that's how all sequels should be, though when I say sequels, I mean the second and possibly third games in a series, because when you get to game #4, you may want to change it up significantly, yet keep it familiar to some extent so fans don't *bleep*ing piss and moan about change and boycott the series because of it... or just have a long release gap, whatever suits you. The point I'm making here is that this is a damn good sequel to a damn good game, and you should freaking play it!
The concept is largely the same - Dr Robotnik turns all of the animals of Mobius into robots as he plots to take all the Chaos Emeralds and plans to use them to power up a machine that should destroy the world. The only difference is that Sonic has Tails by his side. Since nobody gave a crap about stories back when this was made, I suppose this is okay.
Gameplay is also about the same, or at least, the platforming and level designs - just improved. Sonic can still run at the speed of light, use various powerups that he finds in TVs, and collect rings to stay alive. The main difference is the ability for the second player to control Tails, which is nice as he can act either as your shield or as somebody who can get more rings for you, though if he's off screen for too long or if he falls off into a pit, he'll float right down towards you. Anyway, if you manage to collect 50 rings and hit a checkpoint, wait a bit for some particles to rotate on top of it, and then jump into it to enter the bonus stages. I felt that it was a bit easier than waiting until the end of the level, since it's easy to lose all the rings out of cockiness, though the actual stages themselves... ehh...
I must be the only person on the face of the earth who cannot stand the bonus stages. If you're playing this with a friend, it's not as frustrating. At least Tails will have more control than if it's just you playing. See, both Sonic and Tails can collect rings, and if Tails gets hit by any of the obstacles, he loses some of his rings, and when, for some strange reason, he's holding a decent amount of your rings and he hits an obstacle, and then it turns out you're a few rings shy of getting a Chaos Emerald, World War 3 will be waged. Seriously, this got frustrating since you lose rings because Tails reacts after Sonic does, meaning unless you can see into the future, make sure Tails stays away from most of the rings. Goddamn, this got annoying as you made your way through all of the shit it throws your way. By the time I got Emerald #7, I cheered like a cockatoo on crack. I'm sure it had good intentions, but it just got annoying. But like I said, if you got a friend by your side, things may not be so bad. Your friend might actually have some reflexes, for one!
It's no surprise that the levels are better designed. The entirety of the first two levels manage to give you the feel of super speed as you blaze through largely linear paths. There is the occasional slow bit where you have to do some precision jumping, but it's not as bad as it gets with some of the later levels, which sort of feels like an everyday platformer, which Sonic wasn't really meant to be. There are moments of that throughout the later levels, though you still get opportunities to blaze through. Some levels, like the Casino Zone, have some nice little quirks, like having to bounce around quite a bit, getting the angle of the drop to match the angle of the object you're bouncing off so you can bounce towards where you're meant to bounce. There are times where you're even underwater, and the gravity underwater is realistic, with slower movement and floaty jumping controls, sort of like being a rocky frog underwater. It's moments like those that give the levels that extra bit of flavor. There are even moments of non linearity, but you need to look hard and do some experimenting for that, and all you really get are some free lives and power ups, which is cool.
Another slick addition is the increase in difficulty. As well as the fact that there are more levels, there's a bit more challenge to experience. Each act of each zone definitely has their quirk and their tricky bits that require a little practise to get through, and the bosses require a fair bit of strategy to defeat, especially towards the end. Again, it's a case of figuring out the pattern and making your move when Robotnik exposes the weak spot of his machines, but they seem to be harder this time around. Not at first, but get through a few zones, and you'll notice a bit of a jump in difficulty.
There are some other additions, but these will be explained briefly as there's not much to say. You can execute a spin dash by holding down on the d-pad while stationery, and pressing any of the buttons. Letting go will let it rip. This makes it easy to slice through some grounded enemies without any trouble and get some pretty good speed if you don't have a slope nearby to get some momentum off of. Another addition is Super Sonic. If you have all 7 Chaos Emeralds and 50 rings, then jump. You'll be a yellow blur, even more indistinguishable than the blue blur he was. The only real upside, however, is invincibility to enemies... that's it. He controls like shit, so it makes me think "come on, what is this!?", especially since it's a stronger form. The last addition is the 2 Player VS mode, which is pretty *bleep*ing lame. Basically, you and a friend race from start to finish, collecting rings and whatnot. It tries to increase replay value, but it's not really all that fun when you think about it.
Once again, Sonic boasts some excellently vibrant looking environments... well, given that the Sega Genesis has some limitations regarding colorful visuals, especially in comparison to the Super Nintendo, hey, make do with what you got... Sonic Team did here, that's for sure! There's a bigger variety of enemies, and the details put into them, Sonic, Tails, and each and every machine Robotnik has at his disposal, sports some pretty damn detailed artwork for the time. One standout feature would be the bonus stages. For the time, they looked pretty nice, sporting some 3D-ish visuals that doesn't exactly give the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 a run for its money, but it at least provides some slick looking visuals nonetheless.
The soundtrack is 100% on the money. Upbeat tunes that exudes the feeling of speed goes very well with the speedy gameplay, and/or suits the look of the levels. The Chemical Plant Zone tune isn't loved by everybody just because they can; it's a *bleep*ing catchy tune, definitely one I can't get enough of. It might just be the nostalgia... I mean, even when I was like 4 years old, this was a tune I couldn't get out of my head (and this was back when Disney's cartoons with the ever so goddamn catchy theme songs aired every Saturday morning, and I was up for them... not the case these days, but still). Every other tune deserves to be put on a best of Sega Genesis soundtrack for being catchy, memorable, awesome, etc, even the slower song, like the Aquatic Ruin song (it's mid-paced, which isn't as fast as the other songs). Whatever. It's all good, guys.
Although most of the core gameplay is improved and the presentation side of things is even better than before, some of the additions and redos aren't without their issues. Super Sonic controls like a trainwreck, and the bonus stages get pretty damn annoying as you progress through them. That's terrible, since the rest of the game is appropriately paced, and the feel of the game overall is above what we got from the first game. I'm sorry, but nostalgia can't force me to suck this game's dick and expect me to ignore some deficiencies.
"I must be the only person on the face of the earth who cannot stand the bonus stages"
Nope I hated them too. But nothing worth dragging the mark down for tho. Can't wait for your Sonic 3 review, unless you're saving that for review #100.
Actually, yes it was. Not that the first game's was perfect either, but that one, you can adjust. Here, it's ridiculous, unless you got a second player. What's the reward? A form that's almost impossible to control correctly. I thought that was bullshit, to be honest with you, and that's sad, because the rest of the game felt better than the first one.
Sonic 3 will probably be review #75, though I need to get to that stage first.
Nope I hated them too. But nothing worth dragging the mark down for tho. Can't wait for your Sonic 3 review, unless you're saving that for review #100.
Sonic 3 will probably be review #75, though I need to get to that stage first.