Sonic Retrospective Part XIII - Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

The Neo Geo Pocket was one of the many short-lived handhelds that fell to Nintendo's domination of the handheld market and there was a Sonic game for it. Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure is almost like a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 using Sonic 3 music. It is also the first Sonic game made by Dimps, who would go on to make almost every other portable Sonic game.

The levels all correspond to Sonic 2 levels, but shuffled up a bit. The level design is even much the same in some stages. Here is the level map of Pocket Adventure's Aquatic Reflex Zone and here is a level map of Sonic 2's Aquatic Ruin for comparison. While they are not exactly the same, they are very similar. 

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Sonic Retrospective IV - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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Soon after Sonic the Hedgehog became a success, its creator, Yuji Naka, left SEGA due to issues with management. However, a new initiative in SEGA of America called Sega Technical Institute was attracting Japanese as well as American developers and with persuasion from a friend and the promise of greater control, higher pay, and a ferrari, Yuji Naka joined STI. 

STI began work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and one of the main features they wanted to incorporate was a new main character for a 2-player mode. There were several ideas suggested, including a turtle, but the two-tailed fox design was chosen and Miles "Tails" Prower was born. Despite plans to name him simply "Tails," his creator liked the Miles Prower name so much he snuck it into various parts of the game, forcing the full name he has now. 

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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. 

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