Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)

"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and "Sonic 2" redirect here. For the 8-bit version, see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit). For similarly-titled media, see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (disambiguation).

n/a

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team, Sega Technical Institute
ROM size: 1 Megabyte
Genre: 2D Platform
ESRB PEGI OFLC CERO A GRB DJCTQ

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ２) is the highly successful sequel of the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive. Put into development not long after the completion of the first game, the title would go on to become one of the most successful video games of all time, turning the franchise into a cultural phenomenon in the west. Introducing Miles "Tails" Prower in the role he was created for, the game was released worldwide on November 24th, 1992. Dubbed "Sonic 2sday," the simultaneous release was an unusual move for the time. The game eventually replaced the original Sonic the Hedgehog as the default pack-in title for the Mega Drive, being bundled with the redesigned Mega Drive II model. The game is also the first in the "Death Egg Saga", a storyline that would continue in the sequels Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.

Story

File:S2 JP manual 03.jpg

The story to Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Some time after stopping Dr. Eggman once again, Sonic the Hedgehog grows restless, deciding to do what he does best - travel the world, looking for adventure. Climbing into his trusty biplane, the red-and-white Tornado, the blue hedgehog begins flying the skies, looking for places unknown. On nothing more than an impulse, Sonic decides to land on an unassuming island, called West Side Island. Deciding to kick back and explore the isle, Sonic is completely oblivious to the legend connected to the island, and the similarities it has in relation to his adventures on South Island. According to legend, there was once a great and prosperous people who lived on its shores, who achieved their greatness through the use of mysterious, powerful stones. Their peace could have been everlasting if not for a select few who desired to use the stones for their own selfish gains, causing the gods to take away the stones and hide them away on the island...

A few days after landing, Sonic realized that he was being followed by someone. Looking behind him, Sonic spotted a young fox, who immediately hid from the blue hedgehog when he looked his way. Not thinking much of it, Sonic ran off, the fox once again following. The young fox's given name, Miles Prower, was overshadowed by his nickname, "Tails," derived from the fact that he possessed not one but two tails behind him. Often being ridiculed by his peers, "Tails" outlook on life changed immediately once he spotted Sonic running around his home, deciding that he had to follow and emulate his new hero, wanting to be just as cool and confident. No matter where Sonic would go, Miles would try and follow, Sonic eventually accepting the near-constant trailing of the young fox.

Not long after, during a brief moment when "Tails" was exploring the beaches of West Side on his own, he came across the Tornado, glittering in the sun. Spotting it in the distance, he became extremely excited, running as fast as he could towards it. Engrossed in its design, he wondered who the plane belonged to. He didn't have to wait too long when, out of the corner of his eye, the fox spotted the distinct image of Sonic, taking a nap under one of the wings. This newfound knowledge was not given much time to process in "Tails" mind when suddenly a loud explosion echoed through the air, shocking Sonic awake.

Looking beyond the Emerald Hill Zone, a large pillar of fire could be seen, accompanied by a new, yet familiar, army of mechanical robots. It only took a second for Sonic to guess who had caused the explosion, cursing Eggman's name and running into the thick of it. Without hesitation, Miles Prower followed behind, knowing that he had to be right at Sonic's side.

His laugh echoing in the wind, Eggman couldn't help but gloat over his newest plan, being grateful for having the foresight to follow Sonic to West Side Island. Learning of the legend of the island, Eggman came to the realization that the legendary stones talked of could only be the Chaos Emeralds, this island being the true resting place of not only the six from before, but of a seventh as well. Once again wanting the emeralds for himself, Eggman plans on using them to power his latest creation, the Death Egg, a flying fortress orbiting the planet with the potential to be his greatest weapon. With the desire to rule the world fueling the mad doctor, he prepares to once again engage with his greatest enemy, the one force that could possibly spoil his plans.

"The stage is set. Now it's time for you to bring the curtain to a close on this adventure once and for all!"

Game Mechanics

Gameplay

Sonic and "Tails" facing off against Dr. Eggman in his redesigned Eggmobile.

Building upon the engine from the first game, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 kept to the same basic formula as the first game: to overcome a series of obstacles and enemies and reach the end of each "Act," all under the span of ten minutes. Many of the elements that made the first Sonic the Hedgehog unique return, such as the loop-de-loops and curved slopes, while introducing new hazards and level elements like the corkscrews in Emerald Hill Zone and the slot machines in Casino Night Zone, placed inside areas taking full advantage of the pinball side of the physics. With the exception of Metropolis Zone (which has three Acts) and the final three zones of the game (which are one act each), each zone only possesses two acts, although each act in this game is larger than the acts found in Sonic the Hedgehog.

The main form of attack for Sonic is the same as the first game, the ever trusty spin attack that Sonic curls into each time he jumps. Able to hit enemies from any angle as long as spikes or some other projectile is not in the way, he can also curl into this spin on the ground in the same way, by the player pressing down on the control pad as he runs along the terrain. However, the game also introduces a new way to gather up speed in this form without having to build it up. The spin dash, which has since become a staple of the series, allows Sonic to rev up in a static location before he fires off, either destroying enemies in his wake or giving him the momentum to slide up steep slopes and reach higher areas of each level. By pressing and holding down while tapping the jump button, letting go of the control pad allows Sonic to zoom ahead, Dr. Eggman's forces being no match for the blue hedgehog.

Sonic and "Tails" caught up in the Casino Night Zone.

As both the title screen and the story suggest, a new character is introduced in the game. Miles "Tails" Prower, by default, follows Sonic around automatically, emulating each move you do. Sometimes helpful and sometimes baffling, he is also given an infinite amount of lives, so if you're able to just miss a hazard with Sonic but "Tails" is less than fortunate, he will return to the screen, using his namesake to fly from the top of the screen down to where Sonic is standing. He also uses this method to catch up to Sonic if the player is fast enough to lose the two-tailed fox. If a second controller is plugged in, another player can control "Tails," making Sonic the Hedgehog 2 the first game with "1.5 player" play. Although given the flying animation, the other player can not activate "Tails" flying ability, nor can they jump on the various monitors that litter each zone. The infinite lives count, however, remains. In the options menu to the game, having "Tails" follow you can be turned on or off, the game also giving you the option to play as "Tails" by himself. Though he can now break monitors when alone, he still can not fly, and must follow the same rules of extra lives as Sonic does in the main game.

Special Stags and Chaos Emeralds return in this game, although both how you access them and how you play through them are completely different from the first Sonic the Hedgehog. The only way to activate them is by hitting the checkpoints in this game, which are Star Posts instead of Lamp Posts. If the player possesses fifty rings while touching the post, a ring of stars will appear for a short time, jumping into them transporting Sonic and "Tails" into the Special Stage. A three-dimensional-esque half pipe that can feel like a roller coaster, the object is to collect the amount of rings the stage announces at the beginning. Each stage is broken up into three parts, and if the player successfully collects rings for all three tries, they will be awarded with one of the Chaos Emeralds. While the last game only had six, Sonic 2 raises the total by one. And while the Chaos Emeralds are not completely necessary to beat the game in a simple run through, they are still needed to view the true ending of the game. As an added incentive, the team behind the game decided to give the players a bonus for collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds. After finding the seventh, and then collecting yet another fifty rings in a zone and jumping up, Sonic will transform into Super Sonic, a golden-hued, buffed out version of the original who is both invincible and super fast. The only downside, though, is the transformation is temporary, and drains Sonic's ring count, returning to his original true blue self once all the rings are gone.

Two Player Mode

The classic two-player mode.

Being the second in the series, the team behind the game decided they would try their hand at a competitive, two player mode. Taking the Emerald Hill Zone, Casino Night Zone, Mystic Cave Zone and throwing in the Special Stages, each player controls one of the main characters to the game as they traverse a split-screen form of these classic levels. With Sonic on top and "Tails" on the bottom, they are graded on five criteria for each act: Score, Time, Ring count at the end of the act, Total Ring count (including those lost by being hit), and number of Item Box's popped open. The player that wins the most out of those five takes the round. Though the standard item boxes from the game are present, there are two that are unique to this mode. The first is a teleportation box, which will switch Sonic and "Tails" position on the map. The second is an Eggman monitor, that will cause whoever pops it open to take a hit. As every monitor on-screen is only static, it is always random as to what will be found inside each monitor. Also of note is that the extra lives in the item boxes are not determined by which character opens it, but by which character's face shows up, so it is entirely possible for the player being Sonic to give "Tails" an extra life, and vice versa.

As each zone only contains two acts, if a tie occurs it will be decided by the competitors in a Special Stage. As these play different from the rest of the game, the only criteria that is graded is the ring count at the end of each segment, the stage still split up into three "rounds." The best two out of three takes the special stage, and subsequently the zone. Even if there are no ties during a run through the two player mode, the Special Stage is still one of the four levels to be chosen during the mode, the same rules applying to it as the other Special Stages. The player who wins the most out of everything is, naturally, the winner.

For those who want their two-player encounters to be even crazier, an option is available to change every monitor in the game to a teleportation monitor.

Scoring

The following is an explanation on how the scoring process works in the game:

Hitting bumpers: 10 points for each of the first ten hits on any given bumper; after that no more points can be gained from that bumper.

Hitting enemies: (a chain refers to all enemies destroyed until the next time Sonic lands on some form of ground, or releases from a Spin Dash)

• First enemy in a chain = 100
• Second enemy in a chain = 200
• Third enemy in a chain = 500
• Fourth through 15th enemies in a chain = 1000 each
• 16th and all subsequent enemies in a chain = 10,000 each

Destroying a Dr. Eggman boss robot: 1000 points

Ring bonus at end of level: 100 points for each ring held

Perfect Bonus at end of level: The game stores a list of how many rings are present in each level. Each time you get a lone ring, the game subtracts one from this value (debug rings and Super Ring boxes do not affect this counter). If this value is 0 when you pass the endpost, you receive a 50,000 point bonus. As long as you get all the actual rings in the level, you don't need to get any Super Ring boxes to receive this bonus - you can even get hit and still be eligible.

Time bonus at end of level:

• Game clock reads 0:29 or less = 50,000
• Game clock reads 0:30 to 0:44 = 10,000
• Game clock reads 0:45 to 0:59 = 5000
• Game clock reads 1:00 to 1:29 = 4000
• Game clock reads 1:30 to 1:59 = 3000
• Game clock reads 2:00 to 2:59 = 2000
• Game clock reads 3:00 to 3:59 = 1000
• Game clock reads 4:00 to 4:59 = 500
• Game clock reads 5:00 or more = 0

Special scoring in Casino Night Zone:

• There are certain slots which aren't connected to Slot Machine Reels. Upon entering the slot from above, you receive 8 sequential 100 point additions to your score. (At one point in act 2, there are five such slots placed directly above one another, so landing in one triggers the rest in sequence for 4000 points.)
• There are also green, yellow, and red bumpers in sets of three. Hitting one is worth 10 points and causes the bumper to change color (green -> yellow -> red -> disappear). Destroying the third red bumper in each set of 3 is worth 500 points instead of 10.

Special stage: 100 points for each ring held (Sonic's rings as well as Tails', if applicable, both count in this total. An additional 10,000-point bonus is awarded by getting enough rings for the Emerald.

Sound Test

The sound test in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Below is a listing of the songs available to played through the sound test within the game, accessible through the level select code. For the songs themselves, visit the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 OSV.

• 01: Two Player VS. Results Screen
• 02: Emerald Hill Zone
• 03: Two Player VS. Mystic Cave Zone
• 04: Oil Ocean Zone
• 05: Metropolis Zone
• 06: Hill Top Zone
• 07: Aquatic Ruins Zone
• 08: Two Player VS. Casino Night Zone
• 09: Casino Night Zone
• 0A: Death Egg Zone
• 0B: Mystic Cave Zone
• 0C: Two Player VS. Emerald Hill Zone
• 0D: Sky Chase Zone
• 0E: Chemical Plant Zone
• 0F: Wing Fortress Zone
• 10: Hidden Palace Zone (lost level)
• 11: Options Screen
• 12: Special Stage
• 13: Boss
• 14: Final Boss
• 15: Ending
• 16: Super Sonic
• 17: Invincibility
• 18: Extra Life
• 19: Title Screen
• 1A: Act Completion
• 1B: Game Over
• 1C: Continue Screen
• 1D: Emerald Collection
• 1E: Credits
• 1F: Drowning Warning

Production Credits

Executive Producer: Hayao Nakayama
Producer: Shinobu Toyoda
Director: Masaharu Yoshii
Chief Programmer: Yuji Naka
Game Planner: Hirokazu Yasuhara
Programmer: Mark Cerny
Character Design and Chief Artist: Yasushi Yamaguchi
Assistant Programmers: Bill Willis, Masanobu Yamamoto
Object Placement: Hirokazu Yasuhara, Takahiro Anto, Yutaka Sugano
Special Stage Object Placement: Yutaka Sugano
Zone Artists: Yasushi Yamaguchi, Craig Stitt, Brenda Ross, Jina Ishiwatari, Tom Payne, Rieko Kodama (as "Phenix Rie")
Special Stage Art and CG: Tim Skelly, Peter Morawiec
Music Composer: Masato Nakamura
Sound Programmer: Tomoyuki Shimada
Sound Assistants: Yukifumi Makino (as "Macky"), Hiroshi Kubota (as "Jimita"), "Milpo", Izuho Takeuchi (as "Ippo"), "S.O", "OYZ", Naofumi Hataya (as "N.Gee")
Project Assistants: Syuichi Katagi, Takahiro Hamano, Yoshiki Ooka, Steve Woita
Game Manual: Youichi Takahashi, Carol Ann Hanshaw
Executive Supporters: Daizaburou Sakurai, Hisashi Suzuki, Tom Kalinske (as "Thomas Kalinkse"), Fujio Minegishi, Takaharu Utsunomiya
Special Thanks To: Cindy Claveran, France Tantiado, Daisuke Saito, Kunitake Aoki, Tsuneko Aoki, Deborah McCracken, Tatsuo Yamada, Broderick Macaraeg (as "Rick Macaraeg"), "Locky P", Masaaki Kawamura

Manuals

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) JP Manual
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) US Manual
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) EU Manual
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) AS Manual

=Miscellaneous

GoodGen Version Index

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Beta) - Beta version of Sonic 2.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (W) [!] - Revision 01 of Sonic 2.
• Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (W) (REV SC02) - Probable revision 02 of Sonic 2, extracted from Sonic Compilation.

Note: A fourth version, Sonic 2 Rev. 00, was recently dumped by Rika Chou, though it has not been recognized in the GoodGen library yet.

Rereleases

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (arcade game) for Mega-Tech and Mega Play
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Tiger LCD (1992)
• Sonic Classics for the Sega Genesis (1995)
• Sonic Jam for the Sega Saturn (1997)
• Sega Smash Pack Vol. 2 for the PC (2000)
• Sega Archives from USA Vol. 3 for the PC (2000)
• Sonic Action 4 Pack for the PC (2001)
• Sonic Mega Collection for the Nintendo GameCube (2002)
• Sega PC Mega Pack for the PC (2003)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox (2004)
• Sega Genesis Collection Volume 2 for the Play TV Legends (2004)
• Super Sonic Gold for the Play TV Legends (2004)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sonic Cafe) for iMode 900 series phones on the Sonic Cafe service
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Super Monkey Ball Deluxe for the Microsoft Xbox (2005)
• Sega Genesis Collection on Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable (2006)
• Virtual Console on Nintendo Wii (2007)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Microsoft Live Arcade) for the Microsoft Xbox 360's Microsoft Live Arcade (2007)
• Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Shadow the Hedgehog for the Sony PlayStation 2 (2009)
• Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (2009)
• Sonic PC Collection for the PC (2009)
• Sonic Classic Collection for the Nintendo DS (2010)
• Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection Volume 2 (2010)

Resources

ROM Modification

Disassemblies

• Complete list of Sonic 2 disassemblies
• View the disassembly on the SVN

Hacking Guides

• Sonic Community Hacking Guide/Sonic 2
• Nemesis' Sonic 2 Hacking Guide
• Nemesis' Sonic 2 Savestate Hacking Guide

Image Galleries

Physical Scans

• 

  US cover

• 

  US cart

• 

  US 'Not for Resale' cover

• 

  US 'Not for Resale' cart

• 

  EU/AU cover

• 

  AU 'Gold Collection' cover

• 

  EU cart

• 

  JP cover

• 

  JP cart

• 

  BR cover

• 

  BR alternate cover

• 

  BR cart

• 

  Asian cover

Artwork

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

See Also

• Sonic 2 JP Strategy Guide - Contains a short comic based on the story to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, drawn by one of the artists for the manga Sonic the Hedgehog.

External Links

• http://www.theghz.com/sonic/son2/son2.html - The page for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on The Green Hill Zone.
• http://soniczone0.com/games/sonic2/backgroundinfo/ - A detailed look at the game Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the site Zone: 0.

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems

1991  Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Eraser     1992  Sonic the Hedgehog 2     1993  Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sonic Spinball     1994  Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Sonic & Knuckles     1995  Chaotix | Sonic Classics     1996  Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island      Prototypes  Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Sonic Spinball | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Sonic & Knuckles | Knuckles in Sonic 2 | Chaotix | Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island  Unreleased  Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega-CD) | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 CD | Sister Sonic | Treasure Tails | Sonic-16 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Limited Edition | Sonic Sports | Sonic Mars | Sonic X-treme

	2006  Sonic the Hedgehog | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine     2007  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Sonic Spinball | Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island     2008  Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit) | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)     2009  Sonic Chaos | Sonic & Knuckles     2010  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I      Prototypes  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I (WiiWare JP prototype)

filler

2010  Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Spinball | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island | Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing     2011  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles | Sonic Adventure | Sonic Generations     2012  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I | Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II | Sonic Adventure 2     2013  Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed     2015  Sonic Lost World     2017  Sonic Mania | Sonic Forces     2019  Team Sonic Racing     2022  Sonic Origins | Sonic Frontiers     2023  Sonic Colours: Ultimate | The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Superstars     2024  Sonic X Shadow Generations      Prototypes  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II (Beta 8)