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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16 bit)
-- Intro --
And it began, that crazy condition of the early 90's known as "Sonicmania."
Right along with Sonic 2 came the grand marketing blitz that would see Sonic into his own
comic books, cartoons, trading cards, Happy Meals, and everything else you can legally sell to a
minor. In fact, Sonic 2 went on to become the best-selling 16-bit game of its day (I
think it may have been ousted by Donkey Kong Country later on, but I'm not certain of
that). It spawned more clones and rip-offs than any other title in the series, and sired a whole
era of colorful me-too platformers with furry, attitude-heavy protagonists. All things
considered, Sonic 2 was probably the biggest game in Sonic history in terms of hype and
influence.
-- Story --
While cruising the planet in his bi-plane (the Tornado), Sonic happens across
a cluster of islands that are particularly lush with greenery. He moves in for some serious
vacation time, and instead finds an intriguing mystery. What he has discovered are the Illusion
Islands, of which a legend is told of the West Side. As the story has it, an ancient
civilization here used seven mysterious stones for the advancement of their society. But the
stones fell into evil hands, which sorta ticked the gods off. (Those touchy deities, eh?) As
such, they took the stones away from the people and sealed them away on the island.
But no corny legend is going to keep our hedgehog hero from some hardcore
loafing. While exploring the island, Sonic encounters a small fox with two tails. It's none
other than Miles Prower, who has earned the nickname "Tails" because of his unique mutation.
Upon being seen, Tails dashes into the shade of a coconut tree. Sonic ignores him and zooms off,
at which Tails whirls his tails together and takes off right after the blue blur. It wasn't long
before the young fox was following Sonic around all over the place. Moreover, answering to his
mechanical knack, Tails instantly fell in love with the Tornado.
Ah, but all is not well in mudville. Dr. Robotnik is back! (Thus beginning
our lesson in the blissful immortality of history's most enduring videogame villain.) The doc's
cranking on a more grand-scale project this time: he's hunting down the seven Chaos Emeralds on
West Side Island to serve as fuel for the Death Egg, a massive spaceship that could destroy the
planet in one fell swoop. Deciding that it's not a good time of year for global disasters, Sonic
and Tails take off to snatch the Emeralds before Eggman and give him a good spanking to boot.
-- Gameplay Info --
I don't know why I'm explaining this...chances are that if you've played but
one game in your entire life, it was Sonic 2 (or Pokémon). But this wouldn't really be
the one-stop, all-inclusive resource for Sonic info I've strived to make it if I skipped out on
this. Sooo...
For all general purposes, gameplay is idential to Sonic 1. In fact, it's
even a bit more linear. Outside of the Sky Chase Zone, there's not alot going on to
inject variety into the mix, which is undoubtedly the game's biggest shortcoming.
Gone are the third Acts: each Zone is split into two areas, with the boss
being faced at the end of the second. Consequently, the Zones are much shorter than those of
Sonic 1; however, there are twice as many to make up for it.
- Emerald Hill -- Sort of like Green Hill, except it's portrayed more or less like a tropical
resort...which means it's not as "wild." It's a pretty straightforward Zone, if you can't get
through here...just give up on games and look into the music industry or something. Home to
Buzzer (Stinger), Coconuts (Aiai), and Masher (Gabujo).
- Chemical Plant -- It's a massive-ass factory, and a good place to excerise Sonic's
pure speed. The bottom is flooded with Mega Mack, some poisonous gook that works just like water
except there are no air bubbles. Home to Grabber and Spiny (Randaa).
- Aquatic Ruin -- It's the underwater Zone, except it's only about halfway underwater. You're
in some sunken Greek-style ruins, and as long as you can stay above the waterline, it's a breeze.
Otherwise... Home to Whisp (Punpun), Chop Chop (Piranha), and Grounder (Handrill).
- Casino Night -- The birth of the ever-popular casino Zones, although at heart it's a pinball
level in the vein of Spring Yard. Heavy on the glitz, low on obstacles...your biggest enemy is
the clock. Home only to Crawlton (Gaadon).
- Hill Top -- It's the tippy-top of a mountain range, with everything below (including the
clouds). The ground, intrestingly enough, has taken on a sky blue hue. There's lava and alot
of spikes sprinkled around. Home to Rexon (Saura), Spiker (Tsuntsun), and Sol (Ghora).
- Mystic Cave -- You're in a massive cavern, with mining rails set up all over the place.
Home to Flasher and Crawlton (Zakiin).
- Oil Ocean -- It's like a big game of Chutes & Ladders. You can hop around in the oil, but
you sink really fast. Home to Aquis (Tsuudora) and Octus (Octa).
- Metropolis -- It's big and...well, it's big. You're on the inside of this giant factory or
something, and there's alot of lava around (again)... Home to Asteron (Teru Star), Slicer
(Kamakiraa), and Shellcracker (Kani Punch).
- Sky Chase -- To the moon, Alice! ...or to the clouds, anyway. There's not much of a Zone
here, it's more like a bonus stage with Sonic on the Tornado. You're flying against various
formations of Badniks. Home to: Turtloid (Doosun), Balkiry (Barukiin), and Nebula (Potosu).
- Wing Fortress -- You're on the deck of a huge battleship, and you're not in A class.
Falling to your doom is the biggest threat here. Home only to Clucker (Koke Koo).
- Death Egg -- Like the Final Zone, this isn't really a level, just the boss match. You're up
against Silver Sonic followed by Robotnik in his Eggman mech. The catch, of course, is that you
don't get a single Ring to fight them with...
The big new move of the game is Sonic's Spin Dash, with which the player
can go from zero to full speed in just a couple of seconds. Actually, a whole "blast
processing" gimmick was developed out of this...but we'll just be nice and nevermind that.
Tails' function was to follow Sonic around, sometimes helping by grabbing a couple of extra Rings
or something, but mostly just showing off the processing power required to have two characters
moving individually at such speeds. The new 2-player versus mode was also meant to show off the
"split-screen" feature: player one controls Sonic on the top half, while player 2 controls Tails
on the bottom. Unfortunately, both screens look as though they've been compacted under a
steamroller driven by a rogue elephant. Distortion aside, three regular Zones serve as the
versus race courses: Emerald Hill, Casino Night, and Mystic Cave. You can also race for the
Rings in the Special Stages...the screen's regular size, but it consequently turns into nothing
but a battle over who gets to run in front (everytime the player in back jumps, he leaps up to
the front). The winner of the races is determined on five criteria: score, time, number of
Rings at the exit, number of Rings obtained over the entire race, and the number of Item Boxes
opened. Versus mode items include all the ones found in a regular game, plus:
- Sonic head -- Sonic gets an extra life, regardless of who opens the monitor
- Tails head -- Tails gets an extra life, regardless of who opens the monitor
- Arrows -- Both players switch positions
Tails is also a playable character, although he controls no differently from
Sonic. The character choices include: Sonic & Tails (player one controls Sonic; Tails is
controlled by a second player or the computer), Sonic alone, or Tails alone.
Easily the most touted feature of Sonic 2 were its "3D" Special Stages, which
feature Sonic (and Tails) running through giant half-pipes. Split into three rounds, the object
is to collect the specified amount of Rings by the end of each while avoiding Bombs, which smack
some of the Rings you've collected right off your total count. If you can meet the price by the
end of the third round, you're rewarded with a Chaos Emerald. Sweet! Ah, but this time
something actually happens if you nab all seven stones. Not only do you get to see the
good ending, but grab 50 Rings in any Zone and jump into the air...aaand boom, you get the debut
of Super Sonic. As Super Sonic, you are three things: invincible to attack, alot faster, and a
shining stab at Dragon Ball Z. You're also stuck with a severe case of the Ring
runs...keep a steady supply flowin' in or it's back to blue boy.
Special Stages are also entered quite differently. Forget the giant Rings at
the end of each Act, your ticket to the Emerald-snatching challenges come every time you hit a
Star Post with at least 50 Rings in the bank. A Star Circle appears above the post...jump into
it, and it's away to Emerald land!
The usual assortment of goodies can be obtained from monitors:
- Power Sneakers -- Temporarily raise your speed
- Super Ring -- Worth 10 Rings
- One-Up -- Gives you an extra chance
- Invincible -- Makes you invincible for a short time
- Shield -- Protects you from one hit
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Information
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Review By:
Green Gibbon
Debut:
November 24, 1992 (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
Players:
2
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
The Sonic Team
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Codes & Cheats
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Bonus Points
For extra points, pass any zone in a certain amount of time. For the best bonus, enter the Debug Mode code. The clock will freeze and you'll always score a 50,000 bonus!
Time Points
0:30 50,000
0:45 10,000
1:00 5,000
1:30 4,000
2:00 3,000
3:00 2,000
4:00 1,000
5:00 500
Debug Mode
To enter Debug Mode, play these sounds from the level select screen: 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4. Press Start and hold A.
To start debugging, press B, then you can select any sprite in that level and put it on the screen. To select a different sprite, press A, and to place it on the screen, press C. Note that sprite selection is different from Zone to Zone. Also, instead of displaying the time elapsed, it displays the number of sprites currently on the screen.
Easy Chaos Emeralds
Start the game as you normally would. Get a Chaos Emerald, reset the game, and start the game from the options menu. You will keep the emeralds you have gained so far each time you start from the options menu.
Emerald Hill Music
To hear the Emerald Hill melody (at the title screen), go to sound test selection in the Options menu and listen to songs 1, 1, 2 and 4. Then highlight Player Select and press start. You will hear Oil Ocean at the beginning of the first level. Reset the game, and you will hear Emerald Hill!
Emerald Hill Shortcut
To breeze through Emerald Hill 1 and 2, connect Sonic & Knuckles with Sonic 2 and play as Knuckles. Climb as high as you can and glide to the right. You'll reach the end of the level in seconds!
Extra Lives in the Chemical Plant
If you have Sonic & Knuckles, hook it onto Sonic 2. Play until Chemical Plant Act 1. When you get to the wall with the Spiny badnik and the warp tube on the floor. Break open the tube and go through it. When you come out you will see a Ring Box next to a tower. Climb up the tower and on the top you will find one 1-up. Glide left and you will find another 1-up. Glide to the left one more time and you will find yet one more 1-up. Since you won't want to go through the level again just glide to the right until you get to the tower you started from. Get on that first tower and glide to the right. The Act will be over and you will have 3 lives more that how much you started the act with.
Green Sonic Glitch
To get green sonic you must enter the level select and debug code. Then you must choose one of the emerald hill zone levels because the code only works in emerald hill zone (1 or 2.) When you start the level press B, you will be a ring,then press a four times,you will be four rings in a row going up or down,you then hold c and right for about 5 seconds,then you go back to the begining, keep pressing a until your the top of a waterfall. You may not see yourself but you're there. Now do the same thing as before, hold c and right for about five seconds. Then press b and you'll be green.
Level Select
From the main screen, select Options. Select Sound Select and play sounds 19, 65, 9, 17, then push C. Press Start to return to the main screen, and when Sonic and Tails appear, hold A and press Start.
More Continues
First enable the level select. Then, at the options screen, play these sounds in this order: 1, 1, 2, 4. Now move the highlight to the "Player Select" field of the options screen and press Start.
No Boss Music Glitch
Enter the level select code and go to a boss. Next push start then push and hold B. You should be playing in slow motion. When the boss enters the screen get a hit on the boss then let go of B and the screen should be paused. Then press start and there should be no boss music.
Oil Ocean Music
Here's a way to play the Oil Ocean music through the whole game. Go to the OPTIONS screen and enter sounds 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4. You should hear the Oil Ocean music. Next, hold A + Start and you should return to the SEGA screen with the Oil Ocean music still playing.
Play at Night
To play at night, enter the Debug code, then hold C and press Start to begin a level.
Shielded Tails
To give tails a sheild, enter debug mode and hit a shield. Then place a teleport box down and hit that. Now tails has a permenant sheild.
Slow Motion
First enable Level Select. While playing, you can pause the game and use A to restart, B for slow motion, and C for frame advance.
Super Sonic
To become Super Sonic without getting all the Chaos Emeralds, first enable the level select. At the level select menu, go to the sound test item, and play sounds in this order: 4, 1, 2, 6. You should hear the music you get when you win a chaos emerald. Now select any level, get 50 rings, and jump.
Super Tails
While in Debug Mode, create and position a "Transfer Box" monitor. When you hit it and you are Super Sonic, you lose all your powers but stay yellow. Tails looks the same but has invincibility (little stars flashing around him.)
To regain Super Sonic, let yourself get hit, then turn into a ring (press B) and place at least 50 rings on Tails. Exit debug mode (press B) and jump to become Super Sonic with Super Tails as a follower.
Tails/Miles Mode
At the title screen press Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Up or Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up. A chime will sound and Tails will be called Miles or vice versa.
Two Tails
Enter the level select and debug codes, then go to the Sky Chase level. Using debug mode, create a transfer box and break it open. When you hear Sonic die press B to enter debug mode again. Move the cursor up until you see Tails and exit debug mode. To finish, jump and you'll have two Tails.
Wing Fortress Shortcut
In Wing Fortress, go as far as you can to the right without climbing. Make sure you have some rings. When you see blades blocking your way, go ahead and hit them. As soon as you are invincible, walk through them. Jump on the platforms to the right and half the level will be finished.
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Music |
Emerald Hill Zone
Chemical Plant Zone
Aquatic Ruin Zone
Casino Night Zone
Mystic Cave Zone
Hill Top Zone
Oil Ocean Zone
Metropolis Zone
Sky Chase Zone
Wing Fortress Zone
Death Egg Zone
Special Stage
Hidden Palace
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Pictures
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