Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)

Played this on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on PS3 with save states.

Pros: I like the level variety. One of my big complaints about the first game is that a lot of the levels didn't feel distinct, but this game avoids that by having less acts, but more zones so there's more diverse aesthetics. I like the addition of tails and multiplayer, it's nice to be able to be able to select your character and play with a friend. The spin dash is great addition, no more struggling to build up speed. Sonic felt slow and clunky in the first game, but he really does feel fast in this game. I think one of the best changes is that getting all of the Chaos emeralds gets you an awesome reward. Playing as Super Sonic kind of lets you bypass playing the actual game, which is pretty funny.

Cons: The level design feels cheap sometimes. The increased movement speed comes with the side effect of not being able to properly react to anything. This game loves throwing hazards, pits, and enemies in your way that you can't react to, so it basically necessitates memorizing the levels to go fast. This applies to both the standard and bonus levels. The bonus levels are cruel in this game because they are way harder and a lot easier to miss. I guess the trade off is the potential to access them multiple times in the level and actually being able to understand how to control Sonic. Another issue I had with the game is that enemies do a poor job of telegraphing their attacks, which is a big issue when there are more enemies that fire projectiles in this game. Also, I love the addition of Tails, but he's the embodiment of little brother mode. Playing as Tails in co-op is hard because the camera focuses on Sonic, and playing as Tails solo is like playing as a slow version of Sonic that can't go Super. On the brightside, Tails is so slow it negates the other issue I had with not being able to react to the stage. It just doesn't feel great to feel like you're walking through the levels.

Overall, I like Sonic 2 more than its predecessor mainly because moving faster just feels good. I found myself getting stuck less often since I was able to build up speed and actually progress through obstacles. The trade off is the occasional cheapness, but I think the pros outweighs the cons in this case. Next up will be Sonic CD. I won't be using save states with that one, so I hope I'm able to get through it okay. Thankfully, going forward I'm pretty sure all of the games have in-game saving.

In my quest to consume all the Sonic media we are watching Sonic 2 and I have to say they really should have cut all of the scenes with the principle human characters. They really drag the film down, except for Natasha Rothwell’s character because Rothwell is gold in everything she does. Her scenes are the only ones that justify any of the human characters’ moments.

And god damn I wish anyone other than Carrey was playing Eggman. But I felt that about the first movie.

Replayed Sonic 2 in Sonic Origins. (Got all the Chaos Emeralds, good ending.)

The classic Sonic game that many people say is their favorite. It's surely the one I've played the most over the years, at least... And yeah, it's great. Gameplay is solid, level design is greatly improved, and there's just more of everything to enjoy. More variety in locales, and in turn more great music, more gimmicks for stage variety, and more robots and bosses to deal with. A step up in game length and in challenge -- and also in reward, as collecting all the emeralds now grants you the ability to become Super Sonic.

I'm starting to see just how ingenious that bit of game design is, actually. As Super Sonic, you're invincible and can run faster and jump higher (and that feels awesome) -- but you can only transform after collecting 50 rings, and those rings deplete with each passing moment following the transformation. So in harder levels it's still a challenge to collect 50 rings to become Super Sonic -- and since he's so fast, it's easier to fall to your death in tricky platforming sections. (You can also very easily dash right into a trap that smashes you.) So it's not like the rest of the game becomes a cakewalk once you have all the emeralds -- and chances are that reward will only come about after multiple playthroughs, since the special stages can get challenging. (Sonic Origins does offer the ability to mitigate this significantly though, through the ability to replay the special stages.)

All in all Sonic 2 is a solid platformer and a must-play, but I still hate Metropolis Zone

For about 80 minutes, the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie was just as bad as the first one. Mediocre plot, awful jokes and average CGI... but the third act...

HOLY SHIT!

THE FINAL PART OF THIS MOVIE IS PERFECT! IS EVERYTHING A SONIC FAN DREAMED WATCHING ON THE BIG SCREEN!

You can read my full review of the movie in spanish here.

I'm not gonna say that the last 30-40 minutes of the movie redeem how bad it was until that moment... but I almost wanna say it.

Finished a replay of Sonic 2 recently, this time the Sega Ages release of it on Switch. All in all it's still a really solid game, definitely a step up from Sonic 1. (I still think I prefer Sonic 3 / Sonic and Knuckles though. But I'll play them again some time and see.) Great controls (the spin dash is a big help), great music, great fun.

I like most of the levels, especially Aquatic Ruin and Mystic Cave. But I don't care for Hill Top, and I kind of hate Metropolis. Metropolis has three long acts (why!), and seemingly the most repetitive song of all the classic Sonic games.

The inclusion of Super Sonic was a great idea on Sonic Team's part. It's nice to have a cool reward for collecting all the Chaos Emeralds, and IMO doesn't actually ruin the game since it's still possible to die from pits and traps (which show up more in the later levels, when you're more likely to finish all the special stages).

It was also ingenious of them to include a second character for a little sibling to play as. Tails does not hinder you (except perhaps in the optional special stages), and does not slow the gameplay for player one. But Tails can be very helpful for dealing with enemies -- especially bosses. (Sonic 3 would improve on this concept by making Tails' flying controllable too.)