Sonic the Hedgehog 2

***Sonic the Hedgehog 2*** (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ２) is the highly successful sequel of the original ***Sonic the Hedgehog*** for the Sega Mega Drive. Put into development not long after the completion of the first game, the title would go on to become one of the most successful video games of all time, selling millions of units and cementing the franchise as a cultural phenomenon in the west.

Introducing ***Miles "Tails" Prower*** in the role he was created for, the game was released worldwide on November 24th, 1992. Dubbed "Sonic 2sday," the simultaneous release was an unusual move for the time. The game eventually replaced the original ***Sonic the Hedgehog*** as the default pack-in title for the Mega Drive, being bundled with the redesigned Mega Drive II model.

The game is also the first in the "Death Egg Saga", a storyline that would continue in the sequels ***Sonic the Hedgehog 3***, ***Sonic & Knuckles***, and ***Sonic the Hedgehog 4***.

## Story

Some time after stopping Dr. Eggman once again, ***Sonic the Hedgehog*** grows restless, deciding to do what he does best - travel the world, looking for adventure. Climbing into his trusty biplane, the red-and-white Tornado, the blue hedgehog begins flying the skies, looking for places unknown. On nothing more than an impulse, Sonic decides to land on an unassuming island, called West Side Island. Deciding to kick back and explore the isle, Sonic is completely oblivious to the legend connected to the island, and the similarities it has in relation to his adventures on South Island. According to legend, there was once a great and prosperous people who lived on its shores, who achieved their greatness through the use of mysterious, powerful stones. Their peace could have been everlasting if not for a select few who desired to use the stones for their own selfish gains, causing the gods to take away the stones and hide them away on the island...

A few days after landing, Sonic realized that he was being followed by someone. Looking behind him, Sonic spotted a young fox, who immediately hid from the blue hedgehog when he looked his way. Not thinking much of it, Sonic ran off, the fox once again following. The young fox's given name, Miles Prower, was overshadowed by his nickname, "Tails," derived from the fact that he possessed not one but two tails behind him. Often being ridiculed by his peers, "Tails" outlook on life changed immediately once he spotted Sonic running around his home, deciding that he had to follow and emulate his new hero, wanting to be just as cool and confident. No matter where Sonic would go, Miles would try and follow, Sonic eventually accepting the near-constant trailing of the young fox.

Not long after, during a brief moment when "Tails" was exploring the beaches of West Side on his own, he came across the Tornado, glittering in the sun. Spotting it in the distance, he became extremely excited, running as fast as he could towards it. Engrossed in its design, he wondered who the plane belonged to. He didn't have to wait too long when, out of the corner of his eye, the fox spotted the distinct image of Sonic, taking a nap under one of the wings. This newfound knowledge was not given much time to process in "Tails" mind when suddenly a loud explosion echoed through the air, shocking Sonic awake.

Looking beyond the Emerald Hill Zone, a large pillar of fire could be seen, accompanied by a new, yet familiar, army of mechanical robots. It only took a second for Sonic to guess who had caused the explosion, cursing Eggman's name and running into the thick of it. Without hesitation, Miles Prower followed behind, knowing that he had to be right at Sonic's side.

His laugh echoing in the wind, Eggman couldn't help but gloat over his newest plan, being grateful for having the foresight to follow Sonic to West Side Island. Learning of the legend of the island, Eggman came to the realization that the legendary stones talked of could only be the Chaos Emeralds, this island being the true resting place of not only the six from before, but of a seventh as well. Once again wanting the emeralds for himself, Eggman plans on using them to power his latest creation, the Death Egg, a flying fortress orbiting the planet with the potential to be his greatest weapon. With the desire to rule the world fueling the mad doctor, he prepares to once again engage with his greatest enemy, the one force that could possibly spoil his plans.

"The stage is set. Now it's time for you to bring the curtain to a close on this adventure once and for all!"

## Gameplay

Building upon the engine from the first game, ***Sonic the Hedgehog 2*** kept to the same basic formula as the first game: to overcome a series of obstacles and enemies and reach the end of each "Act," all under the span of ten minutes. Many of the elements that made the first Sonic the Hedgehog unique return, such as the loop-de-loops and curved slopes, while introducing new hazards and level elements like the corkscrews in Emerald Hill Zone and the slot machines in Casino Night Zone, placed inside areas taking full advantage of the pinball side of the physics. With the exception of Metropolis Zone (which has three Acts) and the final three zones of the game (which are one act each), each zone only possesses two acts, although each act in this game is larger than the acts found in ***Sonic the Hedgehog***.

The main form of attack for Sonic is the same as the first game, the ever trusty spin attack that Sonic curls into each time he jumps. Able to hit enemies from any angle as long as spikes or some other projectile is not in the way, he can also curl into this spin on the ground in the same way, by the player pressing down on the control pad as he runs along the terrain. However, the game also introduces a new way to gather up speed in this form without having to build it up. The spin dash, which has since become a staple of the series, allows Sonic to rev up in a static location before he fires off, either destroying enemies in his wake or giving him the momentum to slide up steep slopes and reach higher areas of each level. By pressing and holding down while tapping the jump button, letting go of the control pad allows Sonic to zoom ahead, Dr. Eggman's forces being no match for the blue hedgehog.

As both the title screen and the story suggest, a new character is introduced in the game. ***Miles "Tails" Prower***, by default, follows Sonic around automatically, emulating each move you do. Sometimes helpful and sometimes baffling, he is also given an infinite number of lives, so if you're able to just miss a hazard with Sonic but "Tails" is less than fortunate, he will return to the screen, using his namesake to fly from the top of the screen down to where Sonic is standing. He also uses this method to catch up to Sonic if the player is fast enough to lose the two-tailed fox. If a second controller is plugged in, another player can control "Tails," making ***Sonic the Hedgehog 2*** the first game with "1.5 player" play. Although given the flying animation, the other player can not activate "Tails" flying ability, nor can they jump on the various monitors that litter each zone. The infinite lives count, however, remains. In the options menu to the game, having "Tails" follow you can be turned on or off, the game also giving you the option to play as "Tails" by himself. Though he can now break monitors when alone, he still can not fly, and must follow the same rules of extra lives as Sonic does in the main game.

Special Stages and Chaos Emeralds return in this game, although both how you access them and how you play through them are completely different from the first ***Sonic the Hedgehog***. The only way to activate them is by hitting the checkpoints in this game, which are Star Posts instead of Lamp Posts. If the player possesses fifty rings while touching the post, a ring of stars will appear for a short time, jumping into them transporting Sonic and "Tails" into the Special Stage. A three-dimensional-esque half pipe that can feel like a roller coaster, the object is to collect the number of rings the stage announces at the beginning. Each stage is broken up into three parts, and if the player successfully collects rings for all three tries, they will be awarded with one of the Chaos Emeralds. While the last game only had six, ***Sonic 2*** raises the total by one. And while the Chaos Emeralds are not completely necessary to beat the game in a simple run through, they are still needed to view the true ending of the game. As an added incentive, the team behind the game decided to give the players a bonus for collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds. After finding the seventh, and then collecting yet another fifty rings in a zone and jumping up, Sonic will transform into Super Sonic, a golden-hued, buffed out version of the original who is both invincible and super fast. The only downside, though, is the transformation is temporary, and drains Sonic's ring count, returning to his original true blue self once all the rings are gone.