Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review (Sega Game Gear, 1992)

Sonic the Hedgehog was an institution on the Sega Genesis. Odds are if you think of the console these are going to be the first games that pop into your head. I’ve always found it interesting that despite Sonic debuting on the 16-bit console Sega actually released new installments in this series on their older hardware. I’m speaking specifically about the Sega Master System. Because their handheld console the Game Gear had similar hardware they were able to port these 8-bit releases to it. Today we’re going to be talking about Sonic the Hedgehog 2. This isn’t like the 16-bit version. This is an entirely original game and for some reason Sega didn’t bother changing the name. Does this handheld iteration live up to the franchise’s standards? Let’s find out.

This iteration is a direct follow up from the last Game Gear title. This time around Tails has been kidnapped, as well as the chaos emeralds. Sonic has to save both, and defeat Dr. Robotnik to save the day. Yeah it’s your typical fare for this kind of game. What’s disappointing is the fact that the developers didn’t include Tails here as a playable character. It’s pretty obvious the scenario was designed around this. I suppose the game engine just wouldn’t have been able to handle it and the character’s trademark ability. It’s a bit shame because when I hear ‘Sonic 2’ I picture Tails, and he’s notably absent in this iteration.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a pretty traditional platformer in the same vein as the other Sonic titles. The game is all about running fast, collecting rings, and jumping on enemy heads. Unfortunately there are some limitations. I’m assuming it’s because of the less powerful hardware. For one thing Sonic’s trademark loop-de-loops are nowhere to be found. I’ll be the first to admit that these were always just gameplay fluff. They did contribute to the sense of speed though. Speaking of which Sonic is also much slower in this game than in the console iterations. While he still runs faster than pretty much all other mascots it’s hard to call him the blue blur this time around. Speed was always the gimmick in this franchise so I imagine fans were disappointed when this one hit the market.

A couple of other things were changed as well. In the original Game Gear iteration you couldn’t re-collect Sonic’s rings when he took damage. Here you can, but there are limitations. For one thing only one or two of these fall out of him when you’re hit. You can re-collect these, but when you’ve got fifty and can only recover one it’s hardly worth it. Once again I think this had more to do with the hardware restrictions than anything. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is also lacking in terms of bonus games and areas. The biggest problem I have though is that the view is too restricted. The Game Gear had a small screen and Sega opted for oversized sprites. Sonic may be slower, but he still gets going pretty fast, and I feel like there’s never enough time to properly react.

Sega actually did implement a few new ideas into this title. Sonic gets some new modes of transportation which are used exclusively here. The first of these is the minecart. This simply rolls Sonic downhill and he can jump out at any time. Next, and more significantly, is the hang glider. It’s pictured on the boxart after all. This allows Sonic to cover distances over chasms or fly across stages thus bypassing certain ground level hazards. While the minecart is fine the hang glider is not. The problem is that the controls aren’t easy to grasp. At first I kept simply falling to the ground in this because I would hold forward. I attempted to hold back but this simply caused him to slowly fall in place. What the game actually wants you to do is tap the back button in order to gain small amounts of elevation.

It would be fine if this was self explanatory, but it’s not. That’s one of the problems with Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Too many gameplay elements are overly cryptic. Another example is the bubbles. In some underwater stages you have to encase Sonic inside bubbles to float upwards. You can move him left to right, and exit using the jump button. The problem is I found these break for no reason sometimes. Or, at least, I couldn’t figure it out. Sometimes pressing left or right several times caused them to burst. Other times it would happen when I wasn’t doing anything. At least Sonic gets his air replenished while inside of them, but I still found this aspect of the game irritating.

While many of the level designs are decent I found several that were really underwhelming. The developers tried to implement the multiple paths aspect of past Sonic titles, but in several instances it doesn’t work very well. That’s because many of the stages are too empty. You’ll find only the occasional hazard or enemy. This may have been in order to accommodate Sonic’s speed, or the size of the screen, but regardless the game feels kind of incomplete. You also have too many sections with spikes all over the floor. This felt like filler to me in many instances. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a mildly fun romp. I would even say this is one of the best Game Gear games of all time. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 just doesn’t quite stack up when compared to other offerings in the franchise.

The boss battles are also largely underwhelming. There’s one in particular with falling rocks down a hill where your only objective is to dodge. The hazard takes care of the boss waiting at the bottom. Another is a simple lizard that shoots a lone fireball at Sonic. The only difficulty whatsoever that comes from this encounter is that when you damage the enemy you’re thrown backward and have the potential to hit the projectile. I don’t know if it’s the intended design but for almost all of these encounters I went in with no rings on my recent playthrough. This means that a single hit and I was dead. They’re so simple that it wasn’t a big deal, but it did feel a bit unforgiving. The franchise never really excelled when it came to its boss fights, but it has never been so noticeable as in this entry.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 looks like its predecessor. For better or worse. Let me start by saying that I’m a big fan of the character render. Sonic looks and animates really well. They managed to carry over his attitude even with less pixels. Most of the enemies are directly carried over from the 16-bit titles, and are easily recognizable. The color palette borders on surreal with many of the stages using clashing tones, but somehow it works. This kind of reminded me of something like the original Dragon Ball. It’s the stage graphics that I found disappointing. Too often the background is just composed of a single color with no detail. The water, with its fake transparency, actually hurt my eyes. The graphics are a mixed bag but all in all the game looks decent. The soundtrack is mostly original, and sounds pretty good as well.