Sonic Retrospective III - Sonic the Hedgehog 2(8-bit)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 actually came out on the Master System and Game Gear before the Genesis game. This makes the 8-bit release the first game with Tails in it, even if he isn't playable. He does, however, make cameo appearances on the title screen and all of the images for the various zones. This is because Robotnik kidnapped Tails and Sonic has to rescue him. So he appears at the end of the game as well. The game is also features Mecha Sonic, which is the same silver robotic Sonic at the end of the 16-bit release (Not to be confused with Metal Sonic fromSonic CD). These are the only real similarities between the 8-bit game made by Aspect Co. (who would go on to make further Sonic games for the Master System and Game Gear) and its more popular 16-bit brother. 

Sonic 2 8-bit is very different from other Sonic games and is nothing at all like its 16-bit counterpart. However, these differences work for the game and make it one of the better early Sonic titles. The biggest oddity of the game is its bosses, which are all animal robots. Rather than Robotnik putting on some weird exoskeleton, you fight a seal, a pig, a goose, and several other animals. This isn't bad so much as odd, and makes it feel very different from the other Sonic games released so far and those that would be released after it. The bosses continue the tradition of the first game of not giving you rings for the fights, but the bosses are easier than the first game, making it less noticeable.

Unlike Sonic 2 on the Genesis, there is no spindash in this game, but there are some differences from the first Master System title. When you are hit, you drop six rings now. No longer are all rings lost forever upon taking damage, only most of them are lost forever upon taking damage. Also there are vehicular sections. Yes, three games into the series and we are seeing signs of what horror is to come. However, these aren't too bad as far as vehicular sections go, and are fairly short.

The first zone breaks from Sonic tradition and starts not in a rolling field with loops and high speed, but in a mine, with minecarts to ride. The minecarts move along a set track and will sometimes shoot into lava, meaning jumping off before that happens is usually a good idea. Surprisingly, I had no problem with the minecart sections and actually enjoyed them. What I did not enjoy as much was a later level's hang-glider sections. They aren't bad, but the controls are unintuitive and make the level frustrating until you get a good grasp of them.

The interesting thing about the zones in Sonic 2 is that they don't fit into the standard Sonic level order. There is a zone called Green Hills which is very easy and full of loops and 1-ups, but it appears halfway through the game as a welcome reprieve and easy way to restock your lives. The zones are very well made and have really fun gimmicks in them, such as being able to skip across the water in Aqua Lake zone by spin rolling onto it. Like the first game, you find the chaos emeralds within the levels. Unlike the first game, they are very difficult to find without actively looking for them. I played the game twice and never found more than two. 

The reason I played this game once on each system was because I found it much easier than the first time I played it, and upon my second playthrough I realized why. The Master System version is the only version of this game you should ever play. The game was not modified at all for the Game Gear release, meaning they just made the screen smaller and left you to deal with how broken the game would be because of this. Jumps are often almost impossible to judge, bosses have weapons outside of your vision, and you just can't see anything coming. While the first game was better on the Master System, they did modify the design and add warning signs for the Game Gear release, compensating for the lower resolution. No such effort was put forth for Sonic 2, making the Game Gear release one of the most unfairly difficult games I've ever played.

Despite this horrendous Game Gear release, the Master System version is a wonderful game. The level design keeps the game interesting and varied, the gimmicks each zone adds keeps the game fun and from getting stale. It's easily one of my favorite early Sonic games and is well worth playing if you have not yet, and if you have horrible memories of the Game Gear version, trust me, the Master System makes it all better.

Next time - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the SEGA Genesis.