Sonic the Hedgehog 2

"I'm running and I won't touch ground..."

Dr. Robotnik is back. And this time, it's personal. After getting his ass kicked by Sonic and his friends, he's out for some serious revenge. Instead of falling back on his usual plot of kidnapping animal and turning them into his mindless robotic slaves, the evil doctor does something far more direct and to the point: kidnapping Tails, the secondary hero of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic's best friend. Instead of torturing the little fox and turning him into a cybernetic drone, Dr. Robotnik has merely imprisoned Tails and everyone else in his Crystal Egg fortress. In order to get his pals back, Sonic has to pay a ransom of the six Chaos Emeralds spread across our hero's homeland. With his buddy's life hanging in the balance, Sonic ventures forth the save the day yet again.

Despite the slight alteration in the plot, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 operates identically to earlier Sonic games. Our hero must traverse various levels in his attempt to locate the hidden Chaos Emeralds. This will involve dashing through passageways, jumping along ledges and platforms, and avoiding all sorts of hazards and obstacles that will hinder Sonic's progress. You'll have to dodge falling spikes, carefully jump over flaming lava pits, ride on to of rickety mine carts, and even hang-glide through a thunderstorm. Robotnik has also sent out his legions of robotic baddies to get in your way, forcing you to take down miniature enemy crabs, motorized bugs, floating piranha, and plenty of other foes. Sonic's only form of protection comes in the form of golden rings that are scattered throughout the level. Should our hero get hit by some unfriendly fire, all his rings will scatter out of his possession, forcing him to make a mad scramble to save himself from death.

If you've played previous Sonic titles, this should sound fairly familiar to you. You shouldn't compare this with the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, however. Unlike the previous titles, this game focuses more on simplistic platforming as opposed to extensive level designs. You'll find that Sonic survival will rely more on executing a perfect jump at the just right time, lest he fall into a bottomless pit or get himself crushed. In doesn't help that Sonic is unable to do his charged spinning maneuvers; instead of spinning in place and letting loose at full speed, he's forced to sprint throughout the levels in order to gain momentum. Since the Game Gear screen is a fraction of the size of your television, you'll have little time to react once enemies appear on the screen and have difficulty navigating through steeper terrain and smaller levels. Given that this is a handheld game, this shouldn't be an issue. But combined with some slightly slippery controls, these aspects make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 one of the most difficult Sonic games to date.

Despite its unusually high level of challenge, the game is still fun to experience. Though Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is nowhere near as beautiful as its big brother on the Genesis, it still makes wonderful use of the Game Gear's graphical capabilities. You'll be treated to brightly colored levels and decent details. You'll get to see rocky brown outcroppings contrasted against a pale blue sky, dodge fireballs as you jump over glowing lava pits, fly through clouds, skip across light green pools of water, and even traverse old haunts like the green Hill Zone. Sonic is rendered fairly well, complete with pixilated fur and running animation. Even Dr. Robotnik retains much of his console counterpart's style; you can see the various colors of his floating crafts, his bright red shirt and inhumanly round body. It may not be as pretty as its console predecessors, but Sonic the Hedgehog 2 still looks wonderful in the palm of your hand.

This game has a lot of things going for it. It's got a decent (if not slightly unoriginal) plot that focuses more on the collection of the Chaos Emeralds as opposed to just zooming through the game's incredibly brief levels. The basic platforming and ring-collecting mechanics are still present and accounted for. The only problem lies with the screen and controls; these factors combine to make the game change from a great handheld Sonic title into a horribly difficult and headache-inducing romp. At least the graphics are good enough to keep you peering down at your Game Gear even as you die for the umpteenth time. It may not be the greatest Sonic game ever conceived, but it's still worthy of its parent franchise.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/07