Tails is Taken!
Name: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - All four nations
Other Names (Nicknames): Sonic 2
Release Dates:
October 25th, 1992 - Latin America (Master System)
October 29th, 1992 - Europe
November 17th, 1992 - North America
November 21st, 1992 - Japan
Quality: 8-Bit, Side-Scrolling Platformer
Game System(s): Sega Game Gear; Sega Master System
Also released on:
(1). Nintendo GameCube - Sonic Adventure Deluxe: Director's Cut
(2). PC - Sonic Adventure Deluxe: Director's Cut
(3). Nintendo GameCube - Sonic Gems Collection
(4). Nintendo Wii – Virtual Console
Developer(s): Sonic Team and Aspect
Publisher(s): Sega Corporation
Credits:
Composers: Tomozou Endo, M. Simamura, Ray F.
Programmers: Ko,Ko, Semimaru, Tea Tea, Tosiyan
Art: Jly King, Noborin, Tez, U,D,K
Editing: Raizou, M,Shima, End, Mariyuri
Sound: Masafumi Ogata, Naofumi Hataya, Dawasa
Special Thanks: Hiroshi Aso, Taku. S, Katsuhiro Hasegawa, Thomas Y, Okusan, Lunarian, Hitmen, Aspect All Staff and You.
Character Introductions: Miles "Tails" Prower, Silver Sonic
Region Game Takes Place On: South Island
Concept Introductions: You don't face Eggman until the last boss. Until then, you face his meanest robots, all of which are pretty cheap, so be careful. This is also the first game that requires you to use some type of vehicle every now and again (so no, Shadow wasn't the first). Lastly, you're allowed to pick up lost rings again, but, as if to counter that little convenience, you still don't get any in the last Act. Lovely...
Concept Deductions: You get a bonus depending on what's on the end of act sign's face when it stops spinning: Eggman (nothing), Ring (worth 10 Rings), Sonic (1up), or Tails (Continue), and checkpoints have went from posts to monitors. Finally, just like last time, the Chaos Emeralds are hidden each Zone (just act 2 this time). Well, 5 of them, anyway. You'll have to get those first and beat the 6th one out of Silver Sonic, otherwise you won't be able to play the final zone and you'll get the bad ending, which is quite the bummer.
Main Framework: Straightforward level design with hills, slopes, and loop-de-loops. Higher and lower elevations were added for those who wished to explore the levels. Levels were made smaller to accommodate the hardware.
Storyline:
After all the crap Dr. Robotnik pulled last game, South Island is peaceful. Naturally, that poses a problem for the Blue Blur: What to do now? Luckily for him, a note was left for him by his new best bud, Miles "Tails" Prower. Apparently, the kid's been fox-napped by the Eggman, who in turn is demanding the Chaos Emeralds (6 again, for some reason) as ransom. Sonic just skims through the paper before zooming off to his next adventure, angry at Eggman for taking Tails and grateful to the Doc for ridding the hedgie of his boredom.
Personal Criticism/Opinion (by Ryan the Game Master):
Now, while Sonic 1 on the Game Gear is somewhat worse than this, it had a few bright spots and the bosses were simple. Here, the challenge has been ramped up quite a bit and, since you still get no rings for the cheap bosses, the game's made that much more difficult. And, with most of Sonic's Game Gear outings, you hardly see where you're going half the time.
If you're of the hardcore, then you'll probably welcome this challenge. If not, I doubt you'll have much patience with this one. But, do you know what the worst part is? People would rather play stuff like this over Sonic's new outings. Pathetic.
GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? If you like your Sonic games difficult, you can play this as often as you like. Otherwise, you might not want to even bother.
Graphics? It's a Game Gear game, so don't expect much in this department. Still, there's been a big improvement. The backgrounds are standard Sonic fare, and that's good. It looks overall better than the first one. And Sonic's sprite matches his Master System sprite this time. You could tell they were getting used to the Game Gear by now.
Music & Sound Effects? The music isn't too impressive (I kinda liked the music from the first one better), and the sound effects are borrowed from the previous game. Not much to say.
Storyline? This story is anything but epic. Not much is explained, as in how Sonic & Tails met or even when this took place.
OVERALL RATING? I give Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear a
Other Names (Nicknames): Sonic 2
Release Dates:
October 25th, 1992 - Latin America (Master System)
October 29th, 1992 - Europe
November 17th, 1992 - North America
November 21st, 1992 - Japan
Quality: 8-Bit, Side-Scrolling Platformer
Game System(s): Sega Game Gear; Sega Master System
Also released on:
(1). Nintendo GameCube - Sonic Adventure Deluxe: Director's Cut
(2). PC - Sonic Adventure Deluxe: Director's Cut
(3). Nintendo GameCube - Sonic Gems Collection
(4). Nintendo Wii – Virtual Console
Developer(s): Sonic Team and Aspect
Publisher(s): Sega Corporation
Credits:
Composers: Tomozou Endo, M. Simamura, Ray F.
Programmers: Ko,Ko, Semimaru, Tea Tea, Tosiyan
Art: Jly King, Noborin, Tez, U,D,K
Editing: Raizou, M,Shima, End, Mariyuri
Sound: Masafumi Ogata, Naofumi Hataya, Dawasa
Special Thanks: Hiroshi Aso, Taku. S, Katsuhiro Hasegawa, Thomas Y, Okusan, Lunarian, Hitmen, Aspect All Staff and You.
Character Introductions: Miles "Tails" Prower, Silver Sonic
Region Game Takes Place On: South Island
Concept Introductions: You don't face Eggman until the last boss. Until then, you face his meanest robots, all of which are pretty cheap, so be careful. This is also the first game that requires you to use some type of vehicle every now and again (so no, Shadow wasn't the first). Lastly, you're allowed to pick up lost rings again, but, as if to counter that little convenience, you still don't get any in the last Act. Lovely...
Concept Deductions: You get a bonus depending on what's on the end of act sign's face when it stops spinning: Eggman (nothing), Ring (worth 10 Rings), Sonic (1up), or Tails (Continue), and checkpoints have went from posts to monitors. Finally, just like last time, the Chaos Emeralds are hidden each Zone (just act 2 this time). Well, 5 of them, anyway. You'll have to get those first and beat the 6th one out of Silver Sonic, otherwise you won't be able to play the final zone and you'll get the bad ending, which is quite the bummer.
Main Framework: Straightforward level design with hills, slopes, and loop-de-loops. Higher and lower elevations were added for those who wished to explore the levels. Levels were made smaller to accommodate the hardware.
Storyline:
After all the crap Dr. Robotnik pulled last game, South Island is peaceful. Naturally, that poses a problem for the Blue Blur: What to do now? Luckily for him, a note was left for him by his new best bud, Miles "Tails" Prower. Apparently, the kid's been fox-napped by the Eggman, who in turn is demanding the Chaos Emeralds (6 again, for some reason) as ransom. Sonic just skims through the paper before zooming off to his next adventure, angry at Eggman for taking Tails and grateful to the Doc for ridding the hedgie of his boredom.
Personal Criticism/Opinion (by Ryan the Game Master):
Now, while Sonic 1 on the Game Gear is somewhat worse than this, it had a few bright spots and the bosses were simple. Here, the challenge has been ramped up quite a bit and, since you still get no rings for the cheap bosses, the game's made that much more difficult. And, with most of Sonic's Game Gear outings, you hardly see where you're going half the time.
If you're of the hardcore, then you'll probably welcome this challenge. If not, I doubt you'll have much patience with this one. But, do you know what the worst part is? People would rather play stuff like this over Sonic's new outings. Pathetic.
GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? If you like your Sonic games difficult, you can play this as often as you like. Otherwise, you might not want to even bother.
Graphics? It's a Game Gear game, so don't expect much in this department. Still, there's been a big improvement. The backgrounds are standard Sonic fare, and that's good. It looks overall better than the first one. And Sonic's sprite matches his Master System sprite this time. You could tell they were getting used to the Game Gear by now.
Music & Sound Effects? The music isn't too impressive (I kinda liked the music from the first one better), and the sound effects are borrowed from the previous game. Not much to say.
Storyline? This story is anything but epic. Not much is explained, as in how Sonic & Tails met or even when this took place.
OVERALL RATING? I give Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Game Gear a