is a 1992
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed by
Sega Technical Institute
Sega Technical Institute (STI) was an American video game developer owned by Sega. Founded by the Atari veteran Mark Cerny in 1990, STI sought to combine elite Japanese developers, including the Sonic Team programmer Yuji Naka and his team, wit ...
(STI) for the
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
. It follows
Sonic
Sonic or Sonics may refer to:
Companies
*Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain
*Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities
*Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...
as he attempts to stop
Doctor Eggman
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, ...
from stealing the
Chaos Emeralds
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
to power his
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
named The Death Egg. Like the first ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' (1991), players traverse
side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting
rings
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
, defeating enemies, and fighting
bosses. ''Sonic 2'' introduces Sonic's sidekick
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a fictional character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Tails also appears in his own spin-off series, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's side ...
, new island West-Side Island and features faster gameplay, larger levels, a
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode, and
special stages featuring
pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typic ...
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the ...
.
Though the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' greatly increased the popularity of the Genesis in North America,
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
was slow to approve a sequel before directing STI founder
Mark Cerny
Mark Evan Cerny (born August 24, 1964) is an American video game designer, programmer, producer and media proprietor.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cerny attended UC Berkeley before dropping out to pursue a career in video games. In hi ...
to start ''Sonic 2'' in November 1991. Members of the original development team—including programmer
Yuji Naka
, credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game programmer, video game designer, designer and video game producer, producer. He is the former head of the Sega studio Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original ''Sonic t ...
and designer
Hirokazu Yasuhara
(also credited as Carol Yas) is a Japanese video game designer. He is best known for designing the gameplay and stages of the initial '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video games for Sega Genesis in the 1990s, based on technical demos and engines program ...
—moved from Japan to California to join the project. ''Sonic 2'' was intended to be faster and more ambitious than the first game. The development suffered setbacks, including language and cultural differences between the Japanese and American staff, and numerous levels were cut due to time constraints and quality concerns. As with the first game,
Dreams Come True member
Masato Nakamura
is a Japanese musician, bass guitarist, and record producer. He is a member of the J-pop band Dreams Come True, which was formed in 1988 and went on to sell over 50million CDs. He also composed the soundtracks for the video games ''Sonic the H ...
composed the soundtrack.
''Sonic 2'' was widely anticipated, and Sega backed it with a marketing campaign. It was released in November 1992 to acclaim and received numerous year-end accolades. Critics considered ''Sonic 2'' an improvement over the first game and praised the visuals, level design, gameplay, and music. The implementation of Tails and the multiplayer mode received criticism, while the special stages divided opinion. ''Sonic 2'' broke video game
sales records and grossed over in 1992. With six million copies sold worldwide, it is the
second-bestselling Genesis game behind the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog''.
''Sonic 2'' played a major role in keeping Sega competitive during the
console wars
In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and ...
of the
fourth generation of video game consoles
In the history of video games, the fourth generation of game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North Amer ...
in the early 1990s. It continues to receive acclaim, often cited as one of the
greatest video games of all time
This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...
. ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. Like previous '' Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retri ...
'' and ''
Sonic & Knuckles
is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to prevent Doctor Robotnik from relaunching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, ...
'' followed in 1994. ''Sonic 2'' has been rereleased on various platforms via
compilations and
emulation
Emulation may refer to:
*Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system
:*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles
*Gaussian process em ...
, and a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and
Android devices, developed using the
Retro Engine
The Retro Engine is a multiplatform game engine developed by Australian programmer Christian Whitehead, best known for its use in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series.
Overview
Unlike most modern game engines, the Retro Engine is primarily tail ...
, and made by
Christian Whitehead
Christian Whitehead, also known by his alias The Taxman, is an Australian video game programmer and designer. He is most recognized for his work creating updated ports of early games in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, as well as being the ...
and was released in December 2013. A number of ''Sonic 2''
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s have leaked since the release.
Gameplay
''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' is a
side-scrolling platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
.
It features a story similar to the first ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' (1991):
Doctor Robotnik
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshi ...
, a
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...
, seeks the
Chaos Emeralds
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
to power his
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
, the Death Egg,
and traps the animal inhabitants of West Island in aggressive robots. As
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
, the player embarks on a journey to collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Robotnik. The
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
can run, jump, crouch, and attack by curling into a ball. ''Sonic 2'' introduces the spin dash, which allows the player to curl while stationary for a speed boost,
and
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a fictional character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Tails also appears in his own spin-off series, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's side ...
, a fox with two tails who acts as Sonic's
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
. By default, the
single-player
A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...
controls both Sonic and Tails simultaneously; a second player can join in at any time and control Tails separately.
The player can also choose to play as Sonic or Tails individually.
The game takes place across 11 zones with 20
levels ("acts"). The acts are larger than the first game's,
and the player navigates them at high speeds while jumping between platforms, defeating robot enemies, and avoiding obstacles.
Springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and
vertical loop
The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted.
History
The vertical ...
s populate acts, as do hazards like water and spikes. The player passes
checkpoints
Checkpoint may refer to:
Places
* Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected
* Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary cont ...
to save progress. The last act of each zone ends with a
boss battle
In video games, a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the player has faced up to that ...
against Robotnik. The player collects
rings
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
as a form of
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
: if they have at least one ring when they collide with an enemy or obstacle, they will survive, but their rings will scatter and blink before disappearing.
The player starts with three
lives
Lives may refer to:
* The plural form of a '' life''
* Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran
* The number of lives in a video game
* '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...
, which they lose if they are hit without a ring, fall down a pit, get crushed, drown, or reach the 10-minute
time limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...
; they receive a
game over if they run out.
Power-up
In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...
s like shields and