In 1992 if you weren’t lucky enough to have upgraded to a Sega Mega Drive / Genesis system and still had a humble Master System you might have picked this up. Interestingly the Master System version was released slightly earlier than its 16-bit counterpart so no one can accuse this of being a soulless cash-in at least. Aside from sharing the same title it is a quite different game in how it plays.
In Sonic 2 we get introduced to the character who would become Sonic’s famous sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower. However he is not playable as in the Mega Drive version, instead Dr Robotnik has captured him!
As with the previous game, Sonic is still on the hunt for Chaos Emeralds which are hidden across the various stages. There is lots of variety in stages throughout the game, Sonic now gets to ride mining carts and fly on a hang glider!
Sonic can now pick rings back up when he takes damage unlike the previous Master System game, however in boss fights you do not get a chance to collect any rings which makes them a bit tougher than the Mega Drive games. Also there is no spin dash ability in this game, despite Sonic gaining this ability in the 16-bit version.
Conclusion
On the whole this game is worth a look for Sonic fans who haven’t yet had a chance to become acquainted with his 8-bit antics before. It is sufficiently different from the first Master System game to warrant a look, however it is noticeably easier this time. It probably goes without saying that the Mega Drive version is a much better game all round, but judging what system this was released for it is hard to complain really, it was a solid purchase at the time and is still worth a look for nostalgic Sega fans today.
Comments 8
I just downloaded this game. It's not bad but the lack of bonus zones, spin dash and Tails as a playable character hold it back. This can be a very tough game and the chaos emeralds are not easy to get. You have been warned
Another childhood favourite. Regardless of what people say about it being rather too hard sometimes (the second act of the second zone - the rainy hang-glider one - was a very common sticking point for me), it looked brilliant and played wonderfully. It played the MS's strengths rather than trying to clone what the Maga Drive did. The water level remains, for me at least, one of the best-looking areas in 8-bit history.
Looks much better than the 1st one on SMS
My dad had this on the Game Gear and I loved it, so even though I don't play it much, I still had to get this. Still play it every so often.
I have this on my game gear, I loved the hangglider levels.
Yeah, I have it on my Game Gear and I think this is pretty good for Game Gaer
If you have a choice between this or the Game Gear version; GET THIS INSTEAD. Save yourself some unneeded frustration with cramped screens and blind jumps.
@Cipher: What a coincidence. My dad had a Game Gear (still has it today; doesn't work too well), and this was my first game. I usually played this, Aladdin, and The Lion King. So, when I got my Wii and found out this was available, it didn't take too long to obtain a card and download the sucker. Personally, I like this better than the Genesis version (even if the second Chaos Emerald is insanely hard to obtain), and I'll stand by my opinion.
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