Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Originally released on: Sega Megadrive (And then on just about every platform ever concieved after Sega stopped making consoles)
Played on: Sega Megadrive and Nintendo Wii.
Release date: 1992
For the first time in this series, I have arrived at a game that I choose to regularly play anyway, and I wondered whether that would affect my review - either in the sense that I will automatically love it, or that I will wonder why on earth I play it so regularly. And do you know what? It's a brilliant game.
It is one of the best 2D platformers of all time, and there's no easier statement for me to make.
Firstly, though, let me explain why I have two consoles listed in the 'played on' description above. I intended to play this through on the Megadrive, the way it is meant to be played. In true 16-bit console style, I then spent about ten minutes trying to make the cartridge load successfully. Eventually it did so, and I played through the whole of Emerald Hill Zone and into the second zone, Chemical Plant Zone. Where it crashed. Then, when I tried to restart the machine, it wouldn't load the cartridge at all, so I gave up and loaded up my Gamecube copy of Sonic Mega Collection into the Wii and played on that instead.
I tend to find it's tough to write about things that I really like, without just saying how great they are over and over again. In many ways it's like a biscuit. (Bear with me, this will make sense... I hope). I like most biscuits. I like custard creams, I like cookies, but my favourite biscuit ever is a double stuff Mint Oreo. With a custard cream I can complain that they're normally quite dry, or there's not enough filling, or with cookies you can complain about the lack of chocolate chips. But with double stuff Mint Oreos? All I can say is that they are extra-tasty and the best biscuit ever.
And that's the problem I have with writing this about Sonic 2. It'sbrilliant great (checks thesaurus for a word I haven't yet used) fabulous - but there's not much else to say! The graphics are wonderful. The gameplay is exceptional. The music is infectious.
The only problem I have with the game is that the final level is frustrating. And not frustrating in the sense that I could get better at playing the game, it's frustrating because you have to jump and grab onto these little pipes hanging off the bottom of the airship, (Incidentally Dr Robotnik, why do you have an airship? You don't need to steal ideas from Bowser, do something unique!) and half the time Sonic fails to grab them, and you fall into a bottomless pit of death. It feels very strange that the final level of a game based on speedy platforming requires you to keep stopping and have to utilise dodgy gaming mechanics.
But that aside, there is no way I can not recommend this game. Even the less-interesting levels (Oil Ocean Zone, I'm looking at you) are ten times better than 99% of platformers out there, and on the zones that are perfect (Emerald Hill, Casino Night, Chemical Plant) it is one of the best gaming experiences of your lives. And I haven't even mentioned the wonderful special stages and the multiple routes through each level.
So whatever current generation console you may have, you need this game. Thanks to Sega's insistence on pimping their games to every possible marketplace, you can download it for Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii or PS3 - and if you have a DS/3DS there's recently been a cartridge release of the 4 original sonic games called Sonic Classic Collection. Hell, there's even an iPhone version (although I have no idea how well the controls work).
So if you don't have this game, buy it. And if you have never played it before? Shame on you - do so immediately!
Rating: 9.5/10 (And that's only because I hate giving anything a perfect score)
Time played: 10 minutes on Megadrive, and then an hour and a bit on Wii.
Would I play it again? Of course. In fact, just the act of writing this article kinda makes me want to go and play it right now.
I tend to find it's tough to write about things that I really like, without just saying how great they are over and over again. In many ways it's like a biscuit. (Bear with me, this will make sense... I hope). I like most biscuits. I like custard creams, I like cookies, but my favourite biscuit ever is a double stuff Mint Oreo. With a custard cream I can complain that they're normally quite dry, or there's not enough filling, or with cookies you can complain about the lack of chocolate chips. But with double stuff Mint Oreos? All I can say is that they are extra-tasty and the best biscuit ever.
And that's the problem I have with writing this about Sonic 2. It's
The only problem I have with the game is that the final level is frustrating. And not frustrating in the sense that I could get better at playing the game, it's frustrating because you have to jump and grab onto these little pipes hanging off the bottom of the airship, (Incidentally Dr Robotnik, why do you have an airship? You don't need to steal ideas from Bowser, do something unique!) and half the time Sonic fails to grab them, and you fall into a bottomless pit of death. It feels very strange that the final level of a game based on speedy platforming requires you to keep stopping and have to utilise dodgy gaming mechanics.
But that aside, there is no way I can not recommend this game. Even the less-interesting levels (Oil Ocean Zone, I'm looking at you) are ten times better than 99% of platformers out there, and on the zones that are perfect (Emerald Hill, Casino Night, Chemical Plant) it is one of the best gaming experiences of your lives. And I haven't even mentioned the wonderful special stages and the multiple routes through each level.
So whatever current generation console you may have, you need this game. Thanks to Sega's insistence on pimping their games to every possible marketplace, you can download it for Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii or PS3 - and if you have a DS/3DS there's recently been a cartridge release of the 4 original sonic games called Sonic Classic Collection. Hell, there's even an iPhone version (although I have no idea how well the controls work).
So if you don't have this game, buy it. And if you have never played it before? Shame on you - do so immediately!
Rating: 9.5/10 (And that's only because I hate giving anything a perfect score)
Time played: 10 minutes on Megadrive, and then an hour and a bit on Wii.
Would I play it again? Of course. In fact, just the act of writing this article kinda makes me want to go and play it right now.
Next time - another game that is already played regularly in our house, it's time for Super Smash Bros Brawl!
1 comment:
Agreed, in every sense of the word. One of my favourite games of all time, and why? Because it's one of the most well constructed games ever made. Level design is fantastic, music is some of the best of any game, and as a long awaited sequel, this is one of the only games ever that did not disappoint.
I have my own review of Sonic 2 on the iPhone - will publish soon.
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