The longer you play videogames, the more memories you make and the more that fade away. Those memories that stick tend to be from the most special games and/or from certain times in our lives. For me, one such game is Sonic The Hedgehog 2 that I played faithfully on my Sega Genesis in the mid 90s. I remember coming home from school to make another run through the game, enjoying the heck out of it every time. This was the game that really launched Sonic into the culture icon he is today. He’s no Mario, but that’s ok — he’s obviously got a special place in a lot of people’s hearts as far as videogame characters go.
I recently watched the new movie and enjoyed it, and the timing of the Sega Ages release of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was no mistake. Pleased to receive a review code, I eagerly started up Sonic 2, something I had not done in many years despite still owning my original boxed copy and the game having been released many times on many platforms over the years (including already on the Switch in a Sega games compilation). I knew, though, that with the devs at M2 putting their passionate skills to work, that this was going to be the best version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 ever released — and I believe that’s precisely what is available to all Switch owners now via the eShop for the very fair price of just $8. Indeed, there was a 3DS port several years ago that I still intend to check out because of the ‘3D’ visuals added, but I never got around to getting that. So this Sega Ages version is really the first time I have revisited this game in over twenty years.
All that said, what can you really say about Sonic The Hedgehog 2? Most people have probably played it by now, similar to how pervasive the old Mario games are, so there is little reason to go in depth to the core game, but there are several things to point out about this Sega Ages release that you should be aware of. One of those is the inclusion of the Drop Dash mechanic that was introduced in Sonic Mania, and also optionally incorporated into both the Sonic 2 release I’m reviewing here, and in the original Sonic The Hedgehog release by M2 (also on the Switch for $8). This additional mechanic allows you to land jumps in a rolling spinball, the Spin Dash, which helps the flow of movement as well as gives players extra protection upon landing. It’s a nice addition for speed run enthusiasts as well as newcomers.
Ring Keep Mode is another nice, optional, mode that gives players ten rings to start each act and the amount of rings that you lose for each hit is halved, making it an easier and more accessible game. I’m not opposed to this, especially considering it’s an optional mode you can toggle. This doesn’t help with falling deaths or drowning, but it does make the average hazard encounters in the game easier to manage.
One of the coolest features of this release is the inclusion of Knuckles as a playable character. For some reason I only vaguely, at best, recall stacking my Sonic 2 cart into the Sonic & Knuckles cart and playing with Knuckles. This was a pretty incredible thing for those folks who owned both games back in the day. Playing as Knuckles across the same stages gives you an really neat alternate way to play given that Knuckles can glide and also attach and climb walls (although getting him to attach to walls can be a little finicky). He also looks cool, and I like his character a lot more than Tails, and just as much as Sonic. Replaying the game through to be Knuckles is well worth the time.
Knuckles is also featured in one of the two Challenge Modes that are included. These Challenge Modes are great — the idea is to collect 100 rings on any stage as quickly as you can. Online leaderboards with quick downloads of the leaders’ replay videos are available, and it’s amazing to see the ‘pros’ attention to detail. One Challenge Mode is for Sonic, the other is for Knuckles, given how the gameplay changes dramatically between the two.
Like most Sega Ages releases, a variety of display filters are included, from the default Scanline+Smoothing, which looks great, although the brightness is a little low in this mode. Background imagery spruces up the 4:3 game area, though you can optionally stretch the game area to fit the full screen real estate, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, new and cool to this release is the inclusion of HD Rumble effects, giving the game a welcomed boost to its immersion and robustness. Lastly, the ability to utilize multiple save slots for save states is a beautiful thing, and I appreciate M2 including that. A Stage Select feature is also available from the get go.
Team M2 has done another masterful job with this Sega Ages release and it’s another must-have as far as I’m concerned. Sure, Sonic 2 has been released numerous times over the years on all kinds of platforms, and you may have had your fill, but if you’re like me and it’s been many years since you’ve played this old classic, there is simply no better way to play it than on the Switch.
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