LogFAQs > #933945061

#68. Sonic the Hedgehog 2


Sonic the Hedgehog 2 contains probably the very first mind-blowing video game moment for me. Theres a part during the Chemical Plant Zone where Sonic starts running down a very long slope, and he starts running so fast that he literally starts to outrun the screen. Sonic was so fast the game couldnt even keep up with him! As a 6-year-old kid, that was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Now as a 33-year-old, I understand that its designed to function that way on purpose, but its extremely effective and memorable presentation. Every version of Chemical Plant Zone in throwback Sonic games since has included that part because its just that cool.

Sonic 2 is the game in the series I spent the most time playing when I was growing up. For whatever the reason, it was the only one that I actually owned. The others, I would just periodically rent whenever I was in the mood to play them. Most of the zones are really solid. Emerald Hill is a fairly straightforward version of Green Hill, but with superior music. Its a shame Green Hill is the one that gets all the credit! Chemical Plant Zone might be the most popular and well-known Sonic 2 zone. Its the one youll usually see whenever an homage to the game is made in the series, like Generations and Mania. I feel like Aquatic Ruin is kind of underrated, and I love its music. Casino Night is bright and fun. Its easy to get sucked into playing the slots over and over again, quite literally. Hill Top might be the least memorable of the bunch, except for the rising lava escape toward the end. Mystic Cave has a really cool ambience to it, and the beginning of the theme reminds me of the Inspector Gadget theme! Oil Ocean is a fun level, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it get adapted for Sonic Mania. Metropolis is probably the only zone I flat out dont like. I dislike the music. The enemy placement is annoying, and the zones layout can get really confusing. Thankfully, you get a nice breather zone after that with Sky Chase, followed by an epic penultimate zone with Winged Fortress (whose theme I love, but Ive learned a lot of people dont like much!).

I could go on and on, but I wont! Most of the bosses of the regular zones arent very difficult, but they have cool designs. I think the only ones I would consider tough are Casino Night and Oil Ocean. But the Death Egg bosses gave me fits as a kid. There are times as an adult I wonder if I was better at games as a kid than I am now, and then I play the end of Sonic 2, which I could never beat as a kid. I could never decipher Silver Sonics attack patterns as a kid, but its blatantly obvious as an adult. I do like the fact that Sonic 2 makes you beat two pretty tough bosses back to back with no rings. People complain that Sonic is easy because you can just keep grabbing rings to stay alive, but you cant use that excuse here. The game makes you earn it.

One of the cool things about the Sonic & Knuckles lock-on cart is that you can attach it to Sonic 2 and play as Knuckles. It has this weird inverse difficulty curve, where most of the game is absurdly easy as Knuckles. The game isnt equipped to handle his ability to glide and climb. However, the final boss is much harder as Knuckles for one tiny reason: He doesnt jump as high as Sonic. As such, theres literally only one opportunity for him to successfully hit the Death Egg Robot, and thats when his body gets low for that brief moment after jumping down from above. Plus, theres the fact that it takes 12 hits to beat as opposed to the usual 8 hits, and it can be a long drawn out battle as Knuckles where one mistake kills you, and you have to try all over again starting with Silver Sonic. Still, its a fun battle thats really rewarding once you finally pull it off!

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