Sonic the Hedgehog: Part 2

I really don't know whether to call Sonic the Hedgehog 2 my favorite in the series or not. If Sonic 3 and Knuckles together are considered one game, than THAT is the best, but separate, they are too short. Plus, Sonic 2 has some great levels, and some great music...

Sonic 2 is the first game in the series to do away with 3 act Zones - it's a blessing and a curse, in my opinion. There are far more zones in this game than in the first, but you only get two levels of each (besides Metropolis Zone and the later levels), which is good for zones that suck (such as Labyrinth Zone from the first Sonic, or Oil Ocean Zone from this one) but bad for zones that are amazing (Casino Night Zone could be ten levels long and I wouldn't get enough of it).

Anyway, the game starts out with Emerald Hill Zone, which, like in all Genesis Sonic games, is grassy, green, and easy. There are a lot of loops, hills, and jumps, which make for good Sonic levels, in my opinion. Probably the only complaint I have about this zone is the annoying monkeys who always throw coconuts at the exact height you always are hitting them at. But, you get used to it and know when to attack, so they quickly stop being a problem.

The easy, rolling hills of emerald are gone for the second area, Chemical Plant Zone. I have mixed feelings about this zone - the first act is great, with plenty of loops and not a ton of those annoying tunnel things that take too long. The second act has a ton of those annoying tunnels, and a section near the end that consists of climbing up these rotating blocks - while underwater, with no air bubbles in sight. Immediately after this is a section where you must make a tricky jump, and if you miss, you have to do the underwater block climb again, but you're more likely to drown at this point because the water is higher.

Allow me to break it down for anyone who hasn't caught on to my point yet: UNDERWATER AREAS IN SONIC GAMES SUCK BALLS.

And if you are already sick of water? Too bad: next up, Aquatic Ruin Zone! Half of the zone is underwater, and half is not - the first act isn't bad because other than one short part, the underwater section is entirely optional. The second act has a tricky jump at the beginning, which, if you miss, means you must spend pretty much the rest of the level underwater, grabbing air bubbles along the way and dodging underwater arrows. You can get through the level while staying above water for most of the time, though, which makes this zone one of the better Sonic water levels.

After a decent boss fight, you get to enter what may very well be my favorite Sonic zone of all time: Casino Night Zone. There are pinball flippers, bumpers, neon lights, springs, springs that you have to hold the jump button down to send Sonic flying really high, and slot machines that can give Sonic a ton of rings. Both acts in this zone are fantastic - they are great to navigate and allow for some amusing distractions. It's really too bad you are limited to 9:59, because I have spent more than that in both of those zones, just playing slots and bouncing around before. God, what a great zone. I finished the first act with 237 rings, and the second one with 247. And that was just playing the slots a few times - I could've kept playing, but knew I was going to beat the game, so I moved on. (As an aside, it's too bad the Sonic pinball game they made, Sonic Spinball, controlled like shit - if it controlled like in Sonic 2, that game would've been infinitely more playable.)

After the Casino Night, we return to the great outdoors for the Hill Top Zone. I'm not quite sure why, but this zone has always seemed weird to me - it's too easy to be this late in the game. I think it and Aquatic Ruin could be switched, and it would make more sense. Oh well. It isn't a bad zone, not at all. There are some areas where there are earthquakes, and they could prove challenging to some people, I guess.

Next we enter the Mystic Cave Zone. I would just like to say that the music for this level may be some of my favorite in the game - although Metropolis Zone is awesome as well. This level has these little firefly bastards who are probably the most annoying enemy in the game - they become invulnerable just when Sonic is about to reach them, causing the player to lose all his rings. There is also a glitchy spike pit near the end of Act 2 that I've died in many times. What happens is that you pull this switch so a bridge comes down, but when you jump off the switch, Sonic just drops straight down sometimes, right into the goddamn inescapable pit. Also, if you die on the boss, you get to fight him with no rings until you beat him - they put the continue pole at the bottom of a jump where theres no rings - fun!

Next we enter the most bland, boring zone in the game - Oil Ocean Zone. The level is like a huge, boring ass maze. Sonic barely builds up speed in this zone - except for when he is shot about by the cannons, but the player doesn't control those anyway so they are pointless to me, and holy shit are there plenty of cannons. There are also these annoying floating sea horses that shoot bullets sometimes rapidly at you, which annoy the piss out of me as well.

Next up, the three act long Metropolis Zone. I would just like to say that I appreciate the reference to Fritz Lang's 1927 silent movie, Metropolis. After having seen the movie in a recent class, parts of Metropolis Zone remind me of the worker's section of the city from the movie. The Sonic zone, though, isn't quite perfect - the exploding star fish are annoying as fucking hell, and the parts where you have to run up and down these goofy screw things take forever. The boss of this zone is difficult as well, and you will get hit plenty of times trying to defeat him. Overall, though, the 3 acts don't disappoint.

I guess at this point Tails remembers he has a plane, so he and Sonic take to the skies to chase down Robotnik in the Sky Chase Zone. Why they didn't just fly over the previous levels to chase Robotnik, I don't know, but whatever. This zone is only one act long (although I consider the next zone to be an extension of it), but that is good because the plane gimmick gets annoying about halfway through the level. It is slow paced and boring, so I guess the programmers decided to just move on and make a regular Sonic level.

Which is a good thing too, because Wing Fortress Zone is fantastic. You are climbing the outside of this huge airship to get to the cockpit to fight Robotnik, and there is this huge sense of height to the level since there are plenty of parts where you can fall to an instant death. Once you beat Robotnik, Sonic chases him to his space station, the Death Egg (a reference to the Death Star, which it even looks like in later games).

I would just like to point out that Sonic can drown while underwater, but he can ride on the outside of a ship all the way into a space station without choking - what the fuck is up with that? I should at least get the drowning 5 second counter right before he docks, just to keep accurate.

Anyway, you have to fight two bosses, Metal Sonic, and a giant robot that looks like Robotnik to beat the game. Like in the last Sonic game, you get no rings to do it, which is quite difficult given the task.

Regardless, I would say that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a solid improvement on the first Sonic game, which was already pretty good to begin with. Hopefully within the next couple of days, I'll play through Sonic 3, so I'll see you then.