SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS
SEGA/SONIC TEAM 1992
The success of Sonic the Hedgehog solidified SEGA's market presence more specifically their Mega Drive/Genesis console and gamers wanted more Sonic and the logical people over at SEGA started work on a sequel.
With the news of a second Sonic game in development public expectations began to build resulting in some of the biggest hype that would ever surround a console game and in the end, it became a massive success for SEGA, possibly their biggest, and one of the best 100 games of all time frequently in poles.
HISTORY
The Sonic craze that had started in the early 90's with the original Sonic the Hedgehog turned into 'Sonicmania' when the news of the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hit the press. The Mega Drive/Genesis was selling well with the original Sonic which now had become packaged with the console as standard (and many other great games) paving the way ready for a massive Sonic return.
At the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show in July 1992, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was premiered to the worlds press. However, SEGA decided that the version they were showing was too early in it's development stages for press coverage and banned anyone who wanted to point a camera. The demo booth was guarded by bouncers to stop journalists from taking pictures. It was o.k to write about the game, it was not to take any pictures though some partial images were leaked showing Emerald Hill Zone and Robotnik.
It was not until August that the press actually got hold of approved pictures. With a flurry of cover stories and "World Exclusive" headlines the hype surrounding the now famous blue hedgehog began to gain momentum. Actually one magazine was so desperate to say that they managed to get Sonic 2 that they actually modified some screenshots of the first game and wrote a whole in-depth feature about what they thought should be in the game; not what was actually in it.
Sonic 2 was also the first console game to get a simultaneous world-wide release. Dubbed Sonic '2uesday' hedgehog fans all around the world got to enjoy the game on the same day. Massive queues formed outside game shops for people to get their hands on the second Sonic outing.
Michael Jackson Playing Sonic 2 and SEGA HQ
Sonic 2 went on to be the best selling Sonic game, best selling Mega Drive/Genesis game and best selling 16-Bit game with loads of hype and a strong marketing campaign behind it with the likes of endorements from Michael Jackson who had a great relationship with SEGA. You could buy just about anything with Sonic 2 on it, well anything a kid would want to buy anyway. Macdonald's released a range of toys included with Kids Meals. The game spawned loads of colourful platform clones which never matched Sonic but some were noble attempts.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic 2 was the game that introduced the sidekick Miles 'Tails' Prower - a fox with signature two tails who could fly if he used them. He flies around helping Sonic out on his adventure and has a knack for mechanical things.
STORY
Dr Robotnik has started to build his Death Egg, a giant base in orbit, but to finish the job he must have loads more slaves and power. Animals are again starting to disappear and more robots are appearing in their place.
For a source of power Robotnik must harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds. This would give his Death Egg infinite power. They are buried somewhere on the island and you must get to them before he does.
GAMEPLAY
Sonic 2 takes the same simplistic based gameplay of the original and tweaks it slightly to make an even better platform experience. The main addition to the game is the new character Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. By spinning his tails quickly he can take flight. During normal play he merely follows Sonic about onscreen and gets killed though he is able to collect rings and kill Badniks (enemies) for which there are more to deal with.
As previously mentioned the gameplay merely builds upon the original thus creating a traditional Sonic formula: racing from the start to the end of an act collecting rings and special items, destroying enemies in the best time possible (certainly before 9:59) with a side goal of collecting all of the Chaos Emeralds inside the Special Stages. Each zone contains the usual objects like spikes, bridges, tunnels and moving blocks etc as well as new ones such as rotating springs and Mobius Twists.
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Ring - gives 10 rings |
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Invincibility - makes Sonic invincible for a short period. Sonic can still die though by being crushed, drowned or by falling off the screen. |
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Speed boots - gives a speed boost for a short amount of time. |
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Shield - gives Sonic or Tails a personal shield. Protects from a hit. |
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Extra life |
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Extra life |
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Lampposts - these act as both restart points and access to the Special Stages. Simply run past them to activate. |
Sonic and Tails are both playable characters. The default play mode is Sonic with Tails following. This is changed on the options screen. Available options are Sonic alone, Tails alone or Sonic and Tails. Both characters are controlled exactly the same. During normal play Tails can be controlled by a second player although the can not break open monitors, but he is useful for grabbing some rings and defeating Robotnik in some of the more tricky encounters. Tails' flying abilities are not available to the player. They are for show on the screen.
The D-Pad LEFT or RIGHT held in either direction will give some speed. Sonic will sprint and Tails' tails will begin to rotate. Holding UP or DOWN whilst stationary will make your character crouch and lookup and the screen scroll slightly. The Spin Attack returns and is performed whilst running and pressing DOWN to make your character roll across the ground a.k.a Spin Attack which can be used for attacking and getting some more speed especially round the loops.
The new move is the Spin Dash done by holding down and tapping the jump buttons. Sonic and/or Tails revs up on the spot. Release down to zoom off. The faster you press the jump buttons during revving up the quicker you’ll fly off. This move is great for whizzing around loops and destroying enemies.
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The maximum running speed of Sonic has been greatly increased. The top speed is blazingly fast compared to the first game where there was a limit (unless rolling) but even this comes no where near as fast as Sonic 2. Rolling can further still bring a speed increase to the point where you can not see what is happening because the level is scrolling too fast. An excellent demonstration of this is Chemical Plant Zone. Tails can move quite swiftly also.
In Sonic 2 each zone now has only 2 acts with a contraption containing Robotnik appearing at the end of act 2. In total there are 11 zones, 7 of which have 2 acts whilst Metropolis Zone has 3 acts and Sky Chase, Wing Fortress and Death Egg Zone all have only 1 act. To signify the end of an act the majority of them have the spinning sign post with your character. No bonus points are hidden around here this time although you can stay on screen instead of running off for some reason.
THE ZONES
Click on a name for more info... |
The Chaos Emeralds are again located in the Special Stages. This time round you can enter the Special Stage multiple times during an act by means of the star lampposts rather than a single opportunity at the end. There is usually at least 3 star lampposts in each act. With 50 rings or more, activate one simply by running past. A circle of stars will begin to rotate above the post. Jump inside to be transported.
The Special Stage is basically described as a 3D half pipe. The object is simple, collect a target amount of rings in each section of the stage. Sonic and/or Tails runs along with the ability to move left, right, loop the entire 360o if you want to which is sometimes necessary. The stage contains two objects; rings and mines. Rings you collect and mines you avoid. There are 3 or 4 sections to each Special Stage and the amount of target rings and difficulty increasing with each section completed. Both Sonic and Tails can collect rings and be hit. If you get hit by a mine then you loose 10 rings. This can be really irritating should Tails have collected some rings and both of you get hit as he will also loose 10 rings making your total loss being 20. When Tails is copying Sonic there is a slight delay in the time between Sonic moving and Tails moving. With practice this can be adjusted for.
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A guide for completing the Special Stages can be viewed on the Special Stage Guide Page.
If you manage to complete all the targets then you are rewarded with one of the precious Chaos Emeralds.
By playing as Sonic and managing to obtain all seven Chaos Emeralds, with 50 rings or more and jumping Sonic will transform into Super Sonic turning glowing yellow with double speed and acceleration and pretty much invincible (apart from being crushed). As Super Sonic you can rocket through each of the acts and reach some of the more difficult locations. This comes with a price though. All the time you are Super Sonic your ring count is on the decline. When your rings equals zero it's back to standard blue Sonic. Beware because you have no rings. Whether you have all of the Chaos Emeralds in your possession or not alters the ending sequence of the game slightly.
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There are 3 endings to Sonic 2 all very similar; Sonic with all the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic without all the Chaos Emeralds and Tails. Not much difference between the three but the story is complete with all the emeralds in Sonic's possession.
A great addition to Sonic 2 is the inclusion of the 2 Player Vs Mode. At the time is was the first game to ever perform a split screen play which was quite a feat of programming. This is basically the same game playing in two fully scrollable windows on the screen. Player one controls the top half of the screen and player 2 controls the bottom. There is a slight speed drop when things get a little busy but this is hardly noticeable.
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In 2 Player mode you must complete Emerald Hill Zone, Casino Night Zone, Mystic Cave Zone and a Special Stage. You can choose the zones to play but must complete all. The goal is basically win the race to the end of the act. Each act plays exactly the same as during a normal game with two additional monitors.
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the transport monitor swaps the positions of the opponents. |
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instantly kills you and returns you to the last star post you activated. |
The boxes containing Special Items can be tweaked with for a 2 player game on the Options screen. Choices are for transport only and all types items. The transport only option makes for an interesting game as all monitors are transport whereas all kinds items allows all Special Items.
When a player reaches the end of the act the second player then has 60 seconds in which to reach the end before they are disqualified by means of death. If both players should reach the end then the winner is determined by the following criteria; score, time, item boxes, rings at the present and the total amount of rings collected.
The competition ends when all rounds have been played and a winner determined by the winner of the most rounds.
CHEATS AND TIPS
Level Select
Go to Options from the title screen and then select the Music option. Then select the following tunes; 19; 65; 09; 17. You don't need to listen to the whole tune just start it. You should here a ring sound. Press Start to exit back to the title screen. When Sonic and Tails appear on the screen hold down A and press START. The screen will fade to the cheat menu. You can choose any level as well as a Special Stage if you wish.
You still have access to the sound test which you can use for further cheats.
Super Sonic
If the Special Stages are giving you real problems and you have no patience to practice until you can get them on your own, then there is a shortcut.
Enter the level select cheat and move down to the sound test option. Play tunes 04; 01; 02; 06. Will hear a Chaos Emerald Sound. Now you will instantly have ALL of the Chaos Emeralds. Choose your act and start playing.
This can only be done on the Zone Select Screen.
Debug Mode
Sonic 2 also has the same debug mode as the previous game allowing you to transform and place any object through out the game.
Enter the level select cheat and select the sound test option and play the following tunes 01; 09; 09; 02; 01; 01; 02; 04 Choose the stage you want and start playing. You should notice that your score has changed. Now the game is in debug mode.
By pressing Button A you can change Sonic or Tails into any of the objects in the game. Pressing Button C places that object on the screen while Button B changes you back to your character.
The numbers in the test sequence release to the games release date.
14 Continues
On the Options Screen play tunes 01; 01; 02; 04. Hightlight the character select and press START. The game will start with 14 continues, however the drawback is that the Oil Ocean Zone music will play throughout the whole game and there will be no SFX either.
Play Hidden Palace Zone - er sort of
You can access the incomplete Hidden Palace Zone with an Action Replay Pro cartridge. Use the codes:
000080322F
FFFE100001
Press start on the title screen as normal. The level will start and Sonic will fall and die. Not much to see really but this might be different depending on what version you have. For more information about Hidden Palace Zone check out the Secrets of Sonic 2 Feature.
Glitch: Give Stars to Tails
With Zone Select, Debug and Super Sonic Cheats activated, begin an act and collect 50 rings. Jump to transform into Super Sonic. Enter object selection (Button B) and place a transport monitor somewhere. Break it open. When the game finds your location Tails will have gained the stars!
EMERALD HILL ZONE
Emerald Hill Zone is the tropical zone as with the first game; filled with waterfalls, palm trees and plenty of green on the floor. This first zone shows how fast Sonic can go. There are the more familiar loops which tend to be in doubles for that extra speed as well as the new twisting ramps. Run at these fast enough and Sonic will twist his way around them.
There are plenty of Badniks around. Monkeys climbing up and down trees tend to be everywhere and the buzzards seem to be in just the right places. The piranha fish under the wooden bridges make a return. Emerald Hill has it's fair share of secret sections also.
Robotnik on this stage does not pose much of a challenge. He hovers down in his pod and attaches to a truck with a huge drill at the front of it. He drives around the screen trying to drill apart our blue hero.
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CHEMICAL PLANT ZONE
Without a doubt this is the fastest zone in the entire game. From the start you run along bending conduits very fast while the rest of the landscape just flies by. Mega speed is gained from fans sitting on these paths blasting you along a platform then down a loop then another and another going insanely fast!
As this is a plant there are plenty of industrial goings on around. There is a series of pipes throughout the level. Break the block onto and jump in. You'll be sent around at speed and will be able to select your route should you press a direction of the controller at the junction.
Some of Chemical Plant Zone is submerged therefore breathing rules apply once more. The water is purple suggesting a chemical tinge to it.
Not many enemies on this stage but some will catch you out. There are some bizarre chemical creations that pose a threat.
Robotnik has you between two rotating platforms. He sucks up the chemicals from the pool below you and tries to dump them on you. Best bet is to get him while he's filling up.
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AQUATIC RUIN ZONE
Aquatic Ruin Zone is, as the name suggests, mostly under water. There are plenty of ancient obstacles around; falling pillars, collapsing platforms and arrows launching whenever you walk past them.
This zone contains some of the irritating enemies as they tend to appear from no where. Indeed the grounders break out of walls when you least expect them right when your rocketing around a full loop blazingly fast.
Robotnik uses the aforementioned arrows against you when he shows up. Two tall ancient pillars emerge from the ground each containing four arrow launchers. Robotnik hovers above them in his pod with a giant mallet attached to the front. When he bangs one of these pillars an arrow is launched. Jump on the arrows to get the hits in.
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CASINO NIGHT ZONE
Casino Night Zone is the most colourful section of the game. Old fans of the Spring Yard Zone with all of the pinball machine mechanics will be pleased as practically the entire landscape is one. Plenty of flippers and bumpers are at your disposal.
Giant fruit machines are available to enjoy. When jumped into the symbols rotate. These are random; however, time it right and you can control the stops by pressing JUMP. Any symbols usually win you some rings but the Robotnik’s rob you of them. Don't push your luck with the rewards otherwise you'll end up with nothing leaving you vulnerable.
There are some loops on this stage but you get launched into them via a pressure spring. With enough force this spring for you to be propelled around a loop or a massive pinball machine.
Robotnik has decorated his pod for this encounter. Inside a pinball machine arena he appears dropping mines on the floor. The sides are grooved letting you run all the way around if you so wish. Easy hits can be done while he is heading towards the sides and timing running up the groove and jumping off and onto him.
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HILL TOP ZONE
Set way above the clouds, this zone is a hot bed of tectonic activity. Huge blocks of rock suddenly move around, earthquakes are common and lava flows in some places.
Outside you have the fast tunnels of Green Hill Zone. Given enough speed from one of these you can run up a flip at the end taking you high into the air where many secret items are hiding. For hiking up the hillsides there are seesaws. An active mine is at one end which you trade places with each jump and which a from will make you loose you rings should you be hit.
Some of Hill Top takes place inside the hills themselves. You smash though several layers of rock when you go around a loop. Inside here are all the lava flows and earthquakes at your peril.
Robotnik's pod has been shielded from the lava allowing him to freely travel through it. He has you on three islands; two really small ones and a slightly larger one in the centre.
Damaging Robotnik is easy. Just hit him when he appears but while he submerges below he'll either get you with the flame thrower or set fire the island you're on.
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MYSTIC CAVE ZONE
This zone looks to be an abandoned mine rather than a cave. Still this area can be pretty tricky. The music to this stage is quite catchy too. There's plenty of spikes around for you to fall on and plenty of collapsing platforms leading to the inevitable. Spikes come out of walls on large pillars.
Plenty of bridges need to be pulled down for you to progress through the level. This is done from jumping on a lever around where you need to get across. Also, vines are used for lifting and lowering Sonic up and down large shafts. Spikes are plentiful and spiked barricades emerge from the walls.
The enemies on this stage are pretty nasty. Vipers lunge at you from the walls taking you by surprise and floating bugs that when flash are invulnerable are sporadically and awkwardly places and frequently appear in pairs.
Robotnik is busy drilling on this level. He's equipped his pod with two diamond drills and grinds his way through the ceiling. Rubble falls and is harmless except the spikes as they will kill you.
As a side note, this zone used to go by the title Dust Hill Zone.
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OIL OCEAN ZONE
Oil Ocean Zone is a huge oil refinery, so huge in fact the water has turned black from all the pollution of the machinery. You will need to take it easy as it is loaded with dangers either from the machinery or the Badniks.
Gas ovens surrounded by spikes pop their lids which momentarily land. Should you be underneath one of these you die. Be on top of one and you will probably end up being pushed inside a machine with a spring inside. This will then send you through a series of balloon type cannons throwing you from one to the next.
Plenty of collapsing bridges are around to send you into that black water. Fans litter the levels providing force against where you want to go and for not falling into the water. These can be tricky should they be in a series over a large gap.
Oil flows down small channels offer a rapid ride should you touch it. This can build you up some speed. Pressure springs return here, but only a few though.
The Badniks on this stage come are everywhere though the water itself will be the main hazard. The sea horses move around quickly as you go to jump on them and launch a projectile. The octopuses pose a minor challenge.
Robotnik on this stage poses quite a threat though the biggest in this battle is the water. You have two platforms with a section of water in the middle. The first time he appears he'll be venerable. Jump on him as many times as possible, just make sure you have enough bounce to get you back on the platform. He'll submerge and then send up a homing claw. A good timed jump will avoid this. Next to appear will be his wondering laser. This will fire a few shots in the air which is not really a problem. When it reaches level with the platform it will fire an unexpected shot that will scorch the surface so be prepared for an evasive jump. The next time it appears instead a shot will be fired when level with your head so duck or jump.
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METROPOLIS ZONE
Metropolis Zone is the only zone to have three acts and marks the end of the regular zones. Set inside a huge factory it contains loads of manufacturing processes. Rotating cages, stream engines and nut shafts are some of them. The rapid transport tunnels similar to those seen in Scrap Brain make a return. Some of them have an exit to a shaft of springs ricocheting you around.
From act 2 plenty of mouton metal is around to avoid. Above this is generally loads of blocks with spike sticking out or rotating platforms so the theme here would be to go slow.
Some really nasty Badniks litter this zone. Crabs with punching arms seem to get you all the time as well as the Mantis what will throw blades at you are on the floor and ceiling. Mines populate the walls. There is hardly ever any on their own. They see you and move towards you and then explode sending spikes in all directions. One of them is easily enough avoided but clusters of 5 or 6 make for some trick manoeuvring.
Robotnik will easily make you loose all your rings on this occasion. He'll appear in his pod with balls orbiting him. Should you get a hit on one of the balls it will detach and generate another Robotnik. Hit these and they disappear.
Once you've destroyed all his extras he'll fire a large laser at you from one side of the screen. One more hit will finish him.
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SKY CHASE ZONE
After defeat, Robotnik takes off to his Wing Fortress - the base in the sky - and is pretty well defended by an armada of flying Badnik's. Sonic stands on the wing of Tails' plane ready to fight whatever comes on.
Be careful not to make any sudden moves which can lead to falling off and plummeting to your doom.
The flight is over Wing Fortress giving a preview of what's coming next...
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WING FORTRESS ZONE
This zone is Robotnik's massive flying base. Should you fall off anywhere in this zone you die. As you approach lasers are fired at you damaging you plane. Jump off here immediately otherwise down you go with Tails to your death.
From the start retractors will be trying to through you off. Watch out for these as they are everywhere.
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DEATH EGG ZONE
This is the giant base in orbit. With this he intends to take over the world!
With zero rings, the first engagement will be with the Mecha Sonic. Robotnik watches in the background. Not a very good resemblance to yourself, however, a little challenging. He will be vulnerable when he stands rotating the blades on his back. Hit him as close to the face as you can. Touch the blades and you die. Should you spend a long time on this Robotnik will start to throw clusters of blades into the fight.
After defeating Mecha Sonic, Robotnik is on the run once again. Chase him to his final resort, the EGG - a huge robot (compared to Sonic anyway) that looks very much like Robotnik himself this is quite tricky to defeat. You can only damage it in the mid-section. You can get in a few hits while he's walking but watch the spikes on the arms. They detach from him and fly at you. Good timed jumps avoid these.
When he disappears up into the air he'll begin to target you. Prepare a spin dash. When he locks on let go. He'll come crashing down and throw his stomach out. Hit him now only once and then back off. Try not to get anywhere behind him. Loads of cluster bombs are dropped.
Should you die the zone resets so you'll meet up with Mecha Sonic.
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SPECIAL STAGE GUIDE
To win each of the seven Chaos Emeralds you must complete a Special Stage with the required amount of rings. You can have more than one attempt at each Chaos Emerald as there are numerous Star Posts scattered through out the game which send you to the Special Stages as long as you have 50 rings or more. Be sure to remember that once you have completed a Special Stage your rings go to 0. Try to use all of the Star Post on each level but take note of the time.
Each Time you collect a Chaos Emerald you get 10000 points and points for your rings.
Both Sonic and Tails are playable in the Special Stages. During normal play, that is Sonic and Tails on screen, the second player can control Tails. To improve your chances of collecting the rings in the Special Stage it's recommended that at the options screen you select just Sonic. There is a slight delay time in Tails following Sonic and during the complicated sections Tails often gets hits which takes rings from your combined total. It's not impossible to complete all seven Special Stages with Tails though.
Here are the moves required to obtain all of the Chaos Emeralds. Follow these and you should have little problems in collecting all of them.
Emerald 1
Target 30
The first set of rings appear in the centre so stay still. The next set appears to the upper right then the following sequence - upper left, upper right, centre, right, upper left. You should be able to get more than 30.
Target 70
Move to the centre for the next batch of rings, then to the centre left as you go around the corner., then to the centre of the lane and then stay there to avoid the mines. More rings appear in the centre and then - centre left, centre left again, as you take the corner, right for two more sets then as you take he next corner, centre right, centre again.
Target 130
The next two sets of rings come from the centre left, avoid or leap over the mines and move down to the centre to collect the next set of rings then the rings appear as follows - centre right, centre, upper right as you go around a corner then centre again.
A shiny blue emerald should be yours!
Emerald 2
Target 50
You will go around a left bend. Position yourself in the middle of the left lane for the first three sets of rings. As you collect the third set you will go into another bend; ease upto the left for more rings. You will then go through another left bend with more rings in the upper left and the rest as follows - upper right, upper left, upper left again.
Target 100
Move slightly to the left to avoid the mines that appear in the middle of the lane, then drop down to the middle to collect rings to wither side of you. Rings appear all around the tube so you can choose either side. Mines appear to the upper left and right so you must stay in the centre. As you pass move to the left slightly to avoid mines coming down the centre. Then quickly move to the upper left for some rings and follow the line down to the centre slightly across to the right and then back to the centre again. Drift to the upper left and then back to the lower right to avoid the mines.
Target 140
Stay in the middle for the next set of rings, then move over to the left to avoid mines coming down the centre. Move to the upper left to collect rings as you go around a corner and stay here if you can because loads of mines come down the middle. Follow the bends around to the left and right, then move to he middle.
A purple emerald should now be yours!
Emerald 3
Target 50
The lane will run into a left bend and the first rings appear as you are in it. The second and thirds sets are in the middle of the lane and you then have to jump over a set of mines. Rings appear in the middle of the lane, followed by mines, rings, mines again then rings again. Move upper rights for rings, then avoid mines there. Rings appear upper left followed by mines then avoid mines to the lower left. Collect rings arching to the upper right, the keep away from the mines to the lower right.
The sequence goes as follows: rings arc to the upper right, mines to the lower left, rings to the lower left arching to the upper right, mines to the lower right, then rings to the lower right, mines arching to the upper rights and then left, rings arching to the right and then left.
Target 110
You will go round a bend to the left to find rings in the centre of the lane and mines to the upper left arching down to the centre. You then enter another bend and rings run through the centre with mines to the upper left arcing through to the upper right - be sure to jump over them. Rings appear in the centre again with mines arcing through from the upper left to the upper right: jump over them. You go round a bend to the left and masses of mines appear form the upper left and right. Avoid mines to the upper left and right. You will find rings in the centre of the lane as you go around a bend to the right, more mines to the upper right and left then rings in the centre again. As you come out of the bend to your right you will bee a full circle of mines and you must quickly jump through the centre of the ring.
Target 160
Stay in the middle of the lane and you will see masses of rings in the centre. Go around a bend to the left and as you come out jump through the middle of a full circle of mines. The lanes goes up and down with rings arcing from the bottom right to top right, then down and you have to jump through another ring of mines. Rings arc from the bottom right again and as you go down the lane jump through another ring of mines. As you land move to the left of the lane and pick up the rings as they arc from bottom left to upper left.
At the top left jump quickly to avoid another full circle of mines, then go to the lower right and collect rings arcing low left to high left. Mines will appear top left and arc down to lower right.
A red emerald should now be yours!
Emerald 4
Target 40
Rings appear in the centre of the lane, then to the upper left. You will go around a bend to the right and rings appear in the middle of the lane. The lane will go up and then down and bear to the left, and rings appear to the upper right, then mines in the middle of the lane. You'll find more rings in the middle, then the lane will bear to the right with rings to the upper left.
The lane goes down and you will have to jump through a circle of mines, then avoid an almost complete ring by staying in the middle of the lane. You will go round a bend to the right with rings appearing to the upper left.
Target 110
An almost complete ring of mines appears so remain in the centre of the lane. Rings appear to the upper right quickly followed by another almost complete ring of mines. The lane bears round to the rights with rings in the upper left corner, then dips down and another ring of mines appears - stay in the lower left corner or leap through it. The lane then goes to the right with rings to the lower left. Mines appear in the middle of the lane so collect the rings to the upper right. Rings appear upper left in the left-hand bend; avoid mines in the middle. More mines appear in the centre of the lane, rings to the upper right, then upper left, then upper right again, with mines in the middle and sides as you go. the lane will dip down with mines in the middle, jump to the left and then to the right for rings.
Target 150
The lane bends to the right and then you'll see mines in the centre of the lane with rings in the centre after them followed by more mines. The lane bends to the left. Go upper right for rings, then the lane goes up and to the left with mines in the centre of the lane. As you go round the bend, get the rings to the upper right, then avoid mines in the middle and the lane bends to the left. There are rings to the upper right, then the lane goes down with rings in the middle of the lane and bends to the right this time with mines in the middle. Collect rings in the lower left, then jump through a ring of mines and stay in the lower left corner. The lane bends to the left and there are masses of rings in the middle of the lane.
A pink Chaos Emerald should now be yours!
Emerald 5
Target 50
The lane bends to the left and rings appear in the centre. The rings appear to the upper right and left, then directly over your head on the ceiling. Go to the middle of the lane as their are mines to the upper right and left, followed by more mines to the upper right and left again. There are rings in the centre of the lane followed by mines. Then the sequence is as follows: rings appear to the upper right and left, mines in the centre, rings to the upper left and the lane bends to the right, with rings in the centre. The lane then dips down with more rings in the middle then it bends to the right with mines in the centre, then it up then down and rings appear to the upper right and then in the centre. The lane goes down, then bends to the left with rings to the lower right.
You should now get a thumbs up for hitting 50 rings and you are given the next ring target of 90.
Target 90
Rings appear in the centre of the lane, in the centre again, then arcing to the left and right at the same time in crossed loops. Watch out for mines in the centre. The lane then bends to the right with rings to the upper left and mines in the middle, the it bends to the left with ring to the lower right, Mines appear in the centre, the rings to the upper left as the lane bends to the right.
You should get a thumbs up for hitting 90 and given the final target of 160 rings.
Target 160
Rings appear in the centre, then mines in the centre, the rings again. The lane bends to the left with rings to the upper right, the rings in the centre, then rings to the upper left as it bends to the right. The lane bends down and there are there are more rings in the middle then it bends to the left with rings to the upper right. The lane it bends down with rings in the centre, then to the right with rings to the upper left. Rings appear in the centre, then there's a left-hand bend with rings to the upper right, then rings on the ceiling, rings on the ceiling again, then rings arcing in crossed loops to the left and right. You should have 160 rings and will be given the yellow Chaos Emerald.
For the sixth and seventh emeralds the pace quickens and you will zoom along the track so sharpen your reflexes! Because it all happens so fast, the instructions for these two emeralds just give you the sequence in which the rings and mines appear - you won’t have the time to notice anything else.
Emerald 6
Target 80
The track bears to the right. Rings are in the middle, with mines either side, then rings in the middle again. Then the sequence is as follows: rings upper left, upper right, in the middle, upper left, mines upper right. The road dips down, and you will find rings to the upper right, mines upper left, rings upper right, mines upper left, mines upper right, upper left, rings arcing upper left and right between mines, then a ring of mines to jump through and rings in the middle. Now you're ready for the target of 140.
Target 140
Mines in the middle, rings upper right, mines in the middle, rings upper left, mines in the middle. rings upper left, rings arcing left and right, a ring to jump through, mines in the middle, rings upper left, mines upper right, rings upper right, mines upper left, rings upper right. Next target of 210 is for the Emerald.
Target 210
Rings in the middle, then the lane bends right and the sequence is as follows: mines in the middle, rings in the middle, rings upper left and right, ring to jump through, rings in the middle, ring to jump through, rings immediately after, ring to jump through, rings upper right, ring to jump through, rings upper left, ring to jump through, rings in middle, ring to jump through, rings in middle, go around a bend, ring to jump through, rings in middle, ring to jump through.
You should have hit 210 rings and be given the Green Emerald.
Emerald 7
Target 100
There's a bend to the right, the following sequence: rings in middle, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper right, upper left, upper left, upper right, upper right, upper left, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left.
Target 150
The sequence is as follows: rings upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper left, upper left, upper left, upper left, upper right, upper left, upper right.
You should get the thumbs up and go on to your next target for the Emerald.
Target 190
Scattered rings, scattered mines, ring of mines, scattered rings, scattered mines, scattered rings.
You will hit 190 and be given the Grey Emerald - the seventh and last one.
Back in the normal game, collect 50 rings and jump. Sonic will then become Super Sonic.
This guide was ripped from the Sonic 2 Solid Gold Guide.
SECRETS
Sonic 2 maybe one of the most famous games to have serious chunks of it left on the cutting room floor such as the mysterious Hidden Palace Zone. Checkout the Secrets of Sonic 2 Feature.
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Hidden Palace Zone |
Wood Zone |
EMULATOR COMPATIBILITY
Sonic 2 works perfectly with Kega Fusion, Gens and Gens32. You can download these from the Mega Drive/Genesis Emulators Page.
SOUNDTRACK
You can download the soundtrack to the game in either FLAC or MP3 format on the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Soundtrack page.
XBOX LIVE ARCADE VERSION
The release of Sonic 2 on Xbox Live Arcade is a natural extension of the first release. The download package is essentially the same as Sonic [The Hedgehog]. It uses the same emulation system as the other titles and costs the usual 400 Microsoft Points.
Single players can choose to play as Sonic and Tails (default), Sonic only or Tails Only. The 2-Player split screen mode can be played locally or via Xbox Live. There is no way to play the pseudo-co-op where a second player controls Tails.
As well as the ability to save and uploads scores to a leaderboard there is a total of 200 Gamer Points for collection via the Achievements.
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For more information checkout the official websites
http://xboxlivearcade.sega-europe.com/en/index.html
Achievements
Achievement |
Description |
Gamer Points |
Emerald Hill |
Clear the Emerald Hill Zone 1 |
5 |
Fast Emerald |
Beat Emerald Hill Zone 1 in under 35 seconds in single-player or co-op mode |
15 |
Fast Chemical |
Beat Chemical Plant Zone 1 in under 45 seconds |
20 |
Casino |
Get to the Casino Night Zone |
10 |
Super Sonic |
Become Super Sonic |
20 |
Extended Super |
Stay in Super Sonic mode for one minute |
20 |
Chaos Emerald |
Get one Chaos Emerald |
10 |
Chaos Master |
Get all the Chaos Emeralds |
40 |
Conquering Time |
Beat the game in under an hour |
10 |
All Multiplayer |
Play all four multiplayer zones |
5 |
Xbox Live Racer |
Win 10 versus zones on Xbox Live |
10 |
Win |
Beat the game |
35 |
- No cheats can be input since there is no access to the options screen.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (2013 REMAKE)
This a remake of the original Sonic 2 with a few new features included. It is available for several Android devices and iOS released in 2013. It also is known by the unofficial name of Sonic 2 Remastered.
Sonic 2 (2013)/Remastered
The general improvements are:
- HD Graphics running at 60FPS and 16x9 aspect ratio
- Remastered soundtrack
- An eighth special stage
- Fully playable Hidden Palace Zone (fan re-created)
- Knuckles is playable
It is all wrapped up in a pretty interface with the international artwork, leaderboards and supports game saves.
There are also a few other easter eggs to find and the cheats of the original game work for those wishing to explore.
It is a very high quality product and plays exactly as the original and thankfully can be found very cheaply now.
It is a little confusing as to why there was no Xbox version considering it was developed by the same group who bought the much [improved Sonic CD].
As an aside, I managed to get a version working flawlessly on my Amazon Firestick even though it is unsupported.
SONIC 2 HD
Sonic 2 HD is a community project to recreate Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive/Genesis) with modern high definition graphics and music at least. It also aims to add new features like Knuckles playable, extra levels and especially online gaming.
It is being produced for play on the PC (Windows XP/Vista and WINE). At the time of writing the project has advanced to having a demo available.
This is truly an exciting project and is a perfect example of how Sonic gamers have taken it upon themselves (again) to create superior products compared to what SEGA themselves can achieve or are at least willing to!
As of 2016 the project has been resurrected and now has an official website detailing progress http://sonic2hd.blogspot.co.uk/
Related
Sonic 2 Long Edition Screenshots
