Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)

 

The second entry of the Sonic series was the first game I played on the Sega Genesis. Sonic 2 was a major step for the series and for the console itself. The vastly improved graphics and level designs are evidence of greater mastery over the hardware, as well as the general improvement of skill and ability within the Sonic Team. While some of the weaknesses of the first game are half-halfheartedly addressed, Sonic 2's success results from taking everything great in Sonic 1 and making it even better.

Emerald is more green than Green

The biggest addition to the series is the ability to spin-dash. No more getting stuck on little hills. Now Sonic can rev up and shoot out of anything. His new friend can, too. Miles "Tails" Powers is a two-tailed fox who tails Sonic throughout the game. As an NPC, Tails doesn't do much more than die in countless humorous ways, but when a friend takes up a second controller, Sonic 2 becomes a co-op platformer without peer. You and a friend will gleefully bound through colorful worlds much more active and dynamic than those found in Sonic 1. Without a human controlling Tails, you'll find tons of frustration in the new emerald grabbing bonus mode.

Tails: always a few steps behind.

You are in a sort of half-pipe and there are rings and bombs. You avoid the bombs and collect the arbitrary number of rings you need to pass to the next section. Succeed and you get a chaos emerald,  fail and you get booted out- forcing you to collect another 50 rings before the next checkpoint baton. It gets difficult quickly, and there is little margin for error; and then there is Tails.

He jumps nearly a full second after Sonic, he drifts around the course like he is drunk, he will knock into every bomb- everywhere. In the first few courses, it isn't a problem because the rings are clumped well enough for Sonic to get all he needs, but in later levels, you depend on the 20 or so rings Tails picks up to make the quota. Since you can't stop him from crashing into a bomb and losing the entire course for you- well, sometimes you want Tails to die in a fire.  Luckily, that wish will come true in one of the later levels.

You take the high road, and I'll take..

Strangely enough, Sonic 2 also features competitive multiplayer. You can can race against a friend on various abridged levels, attempting to finish a number of laps around the level before your opponent. It's a neat feature for such an old game, and while there are only a few courses, you can squeeze a good fifteen minutes of value out of it- more if you don't happen to be sober.

Altogether, Sonic 2 is the same package as the first game, but its better. The levels are cooler and they only have two acts instead of a monotonous three. The music is more jammin', the worlds are more populated, and there are multiple paths to take. Any Sonic fan who hasn't played this game in the last few years deserves to give it another look. You'll be downing Dr. Robotnik before you know it. And the best part? The series still hasn't reached  its peak.