DAY 106 / GAME 106
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog was the first game I ever owned for the first console I ever owned. So you can only imagine how absolutely ecstatic my brother and I were at age 10 and 12 when Sonic 2 was released.
Released just before Christmas of '92, for my brother and I Sonic 2 was highly anticipated. So of course, it was no question that we had asked for this for Christmas. I remember, my brother discovering the secret hidden location of this gift before the holidays hit and we ended up driving our Grandmother nuts until she let us open it early. I think we may have beat the game by the time Christmas morning actually rolled around.
Sonic 2 was everything we wanted and then some. Not only was it a more polished take on the Sonic series, but it added a two-player element that was a big deal for someone with a close-aged brother. There were two 2-player portions to this game. First off, while playing the single player mode a second player can join in as Tails. The screen camera only followed Sonic, so it was easy to get lost off-screen, but Tails couldn't be killed and could assist Sonic by airlifting him short distances. Kind of a casual second player mode that was nice enough to appease a little brother.
Then there was another neat two-player mode that was quite smart. The developers designed a special set of levels just for this mode which was split-screen and pegged Sonic and Tails against each other in a race from start to finish. Even the levels felt like the were built to be viewed in that wide split-screen mode, which I think was even squashed a bit to fit more on-screen.
Sonic 2 also added some great new levels. It starts with a classic 'green hill zone' but added a ton of new ones. Rather than 3 levels per zone there are 2 which means there are more zones total and a larger variety in level types, 13 different ones to be exact. Everything from the Mystic Cave, Oil Ocean, Hilltop and Wing Fortress.
Sonic 2 also added a new take on the 'special stage'. When you collect enough rings and hit a mid level post you can take a stab at the special stage. Also available for two players at once, it was a kind of pseudo-3D that had you barreling down a half-pipe chasing rings. If you got enough you were rewarded with a chaos emerald.
Sonic 2 also added a very important feature found in every Sonic game after part 1, the Sonic spin dash. Where you can spin-up and shoot off at high speed which really helps you maintain the high-speed of the game more often, especially after hitting an enemy or getting jammed up.
I'd say this my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game, but it's not. But the nice thing with the older Sonic games is that they are all great. Each of them have their own personality especially defined by their unique set of levels. And Sonic 2 really showed that Sonic Team and Sega knew how to take it in the right direction.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Released just before Christmas of '92, for my brother and I Sonic 2 was highly anticipated. So of course, it was no question that we had asked for this for Christmas. I remember, my brother discovering the secret hidden location of this gift before the holidays hit and we ended up driving our Grandmother nuts until she let us open it early. I think we may have beat the game by the time Christmas morning actually rolled around.
Sonic 2 was everything we wanted and then some. Not only was it a more polished take on the Sonic series, but it added a two-player element that was a big deal for someone with a close-aged brother. There were two 2-player portions to this game. First off, while playing the single player mode a second player can join in as Tails. The screen camera only followed Sonic, so it was easy to get lost off-screen, but Tails couldn't be killed and could assist Sonic by airlifting him short distances. Kind of a casual second player mode that was nice enough to appease a little brother.
Then there was another neat two-player mode that was quite smart. The developers designed a special set of levels just for this mode which was split-screen and pegged Sonic and Tails against each other in a race from start to finish. Even the levels felt like the were built to be viewed in that wide split-screen mode, which I think was even squashed a bit to fit more on-screen.
Sonic 2 also added some great new levels. It starts with a classic 'green hill zone' but added a ton of new ones. Rather than 3 levels per zone there are 2 which means there are more zones total and a larger variety in level types, 13 different ones to be exact. Everything from the Mystic Cave, Oil Ocean, Hilltop and Wing Fortress.
Sonic 2 also added a new take on the 'special stage'. When you collect enough rings and hit a mid level post you can take a stab at the special stage. Also available for two players at once, it was a kind of pseudo-3D that had you barreling down a half-pipe chasing rings. If you got enough you were rewarded with a chaos emerald.
Sonic 2 also added a very important feature found in every Sonic game after part 1, the Sonic spin dash. Where you can spin-up and shoot off at high speed which really helps you maintain the high-speed of the game more often, especially after hitting an enemy or getting jammed up.
I'd say this my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game, but it's not. But the nice thing with the older Sonic games is that they are all great. Each of them have their own personality especially defined by their unique set of levels. And Sonic 2 really showed that Sonic Team and Sega knew how to take it in the right direction.
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