Sonic the Hedeghog 2
Wrongly forgotten sequel #7
Type of Game
This game is the perfect reminder of just how poorly I treated my beloved little Master System.
Release date on our machines
November 1992, just like on the Mega Drive, just to confuse everyone.
Developer
Aspect Co., Ltd., which hasn't released a game since 2016. The studio has certainly lasted a long time.
Publisher
SEGA Enterprises Ltd. hadn't forgotten about their little Master System in Europe after all. Thanks, snife.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: last seen on the Wii and Nintendo 3DS. The ultimate disgrace! A disgrace on a hang glider!
I was such a huge fan of Sonic on the Mega Drive that I remember pretty much pestering my dad to buy the Master System version, just so I could get my fix of the supersonic hedgehog whenever I was hanging out at his place. He agreed, though I do recall some grumbling and reluctance on his part. He would have bought every airplane game out there, depriving me of Asterix, Bonanza Bros., and Alex Kidd in Shinobi World. Well, sorry about that! Sorry I didn’t ask for “grown-up” cartridges when I was six, oh! Nah, come on, I was lucky that Dad was willing to buy me so many age-appropriate games. On the other hand, I’m really sorry about Dynamite Düx—I went too far on that one. Still, when Sonic 2 came out, I didn’t dare push it and ask for the 8-bit port too. It probably would’ve just caused a few more grumbles, but I chickened out anyway. So just like with Castle of Illusion—for which I didn’t ask for Land of Illusion either—I let Sonic 2 slip by. Too bad, even though later on, I got my revenge by getting Sonic Triple Trouble on Game Gear, so it’s all good. Except that it left me with a little gap that’s been bugging me.
You can't have it all
The thought that I missed out on a few titles from the golden age of the Sonic franchise bugs me every now and then. Let’s say once a year; usually in November, when the gray skies and chilly weather start to get me down and remind me of the bad decisions I’ve made in my life. And no, this isn’t just about the misses on Master System, but on a site dedicated to video game nostalgia, I’m not going to bring up my erratic student days or my daily failings as an adult, am I? No, no—instead, let’s make amends for the wrong done to Sonic 2 by giving it a nice, completely unsubstantiated article based on absolutely no practical experience.
The Master System breaks free
First off, this game isn’t from Ancient, the studio founded by Yuzo Koshiro that developed the first 8-bit Sonic. It’s being handled by a company called Aspect—the same one that would go on to work on Sonic Chaos and Triple Trouble, so I guess things turned out pretty well. Why am I even mentioning this, based on my hazy memories of Sonic 1? Not much, really. It just adds to the general knowledge, especially mine, actually. Anyway, the evil Robotnik has captured Tails, and we have to go free him. Does this take place before the 16-bit game, or after? Both cartridges hit the stores on the same day, November 24, 1992, so it’s up to us to decide, really. Hence the pangs of regret every year around this time, even though I’m really just making stuff up to come up with anecdotes. In any case, nothing plays out the same way, since the games come from two completely different teams. So, what’s the 8-bit version like?
First off, some iconic mechanics from the original Sonic on the Mega Drive are finally making their way to its big sister: the famous loops, destructible walls, and the ability to collect a few rings that drop when you get hit. When I first played Sonic 1 on the Master System, I was furious for a long time whenever a single ring disappeared without any chance of retrieving it, and my ring count stayed at 0! But I didn’t get too mad, or else my dad might have taken it as ingratitude. And I could have forgotten about getting any more cartridges. But there’s plenty of other stuff in here. And I mean real new features. If I’m not mistaken, we’re hopping into the carts for the first time. Pretty handy for catching a breather, and smashing those little groups of deadly spikes that we’ve learned to hate so much since 1991. Learning that there’s now a way to destroy them felt so good! Haha!
One less nemesis in my life. There’s still my stepdad, but probably not for much longer. Not that I’m dreaming of running him over while hurtling down a hill in a cart, but… come to think of it, why not! Come on, stepdad! Come play a round of Sonic 2 with me—you’ll be the spikes, okay? Anyway, um, he threw me off track, that jerk. Yeah, the big bubbles, too—a nice addition to the gameplay. They not only let you breathe underwater, but also move around in them. I like it; it makes the underwater world less scary. And of course, the hang glider! THE big innovation of the game, a selling point all on its own; it’s even on the cover, the thing. Tails too, mind you, even though he doesn’t get any screen time. Is this cover art lying to us or what? Like Bomber Raid? Apparently the hang glider got a pretty mixed reception, partly because of its weird handling and how little time you actually get to use it. I believe you guys, I just watched a video, after all.
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That leaves the stages! The biomes, as testers—who are undoubtedly far more competent than I am—would say today. I understand that the developers at Aspect made it a point of honor not to draw inspiration from existing levels, perhaps to put their own stamp on the game. A very commendable project that benefits everyone. Well, it gets off to a bad start with Green Hills Zone. A simple “S” that avoids being a straight-up clone of the Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, on both the Mega Drive and the Master System. They could have been a bit more subtle, especially since we start the adventure in a mountainous area, and not in the same old grassy meadows we know all too well. As for the other levels, things are already going much better. OK, the lava and the carved stone underground areas are very Marble Zone, but hey, everything looks like everything else at this point. At least it’s not called Marbles Zone.
Among the really, really great surprises: Act 2 of Sky High, set against a storm and rain—the perfect atmosphere for letting loose and having a blast. Aqua Lake? A totally crazy mix of blue, pink, and beige—I absolutely loved it. The splashes on the water, the waterfalls, fountains, geysers… it’s beautiful, just beautiful! Good old Master System. You sure had a nice palette, my dear (red flag). There’s also the pretty stylish Scrambled Egg. Why the English breakfast name, though? No idea. And Crystal Egg, which offers another take on cooked eggs, all transparent, with shades similar to Aqua Lake, its cacti growing right out of the ice… okay! I’ll take this super-cute “WTF” moment. Sometimes you can’t help but notice that forced desire to create ultra-mega-original backgrounds, but hey, it works. Still, there are quite a few things that bug me about all this. Starting with the absence of the Spin Dash.
When, on the same day, Sonic 2 for the Mega Drive comes out with the Spin Dash, well, yeah, it gets hard not to prefer the latter. Just my personal opinion, mind you, but since I used the Spin Dash about 79% of the time, I have a hard time staying objective. I’d also like to point out the absence of Miles “Tails” Prower. Nothing, nada! Not even playable for a second! He’s just a plot device, since you have to go save him. You free him, and then he follows Sonic around like a little puppy in the final cutscene. See you later, buddy, in Sonic Chaos, which I haven’t played, nor Sonic 3 / Sonic & Knuckles. SHAME! Consequently, there’s no two-player mode either. Mind you, I can’t even imagine the mess if they’d offered split-screen, given what we were already going through with 16-bit under the hood. Poor Master System, gone too soon, burned out by a game mode far too complicated for it.
Finally, let’s add to that the changes in scenery between two acts within the same area. Awesome, right? Yeah, except that only happens twice (Sky High and Aqua Lake). So, you start expecting it to happen again later on, and it never does. Sigh. Maybe the cartridge was already a few kilobytes over capacity. And yet, couldn’t we have had a few less massive stages in return? And less empty ones, too. Sometimes, the little hedgehog just walks straight down a long corridor without encountering a single enemy, or even a single ring. Way too weird. Speaking of enemies, by the way—they’re all straight out of Sonic 1, aren’t they? No big deal, but not exactly thrilling. On the other hand, the bosses—seriously, are they that easy to beat? Well, “we”—the guy doing the longplay, anyway. He didn’t struggle for a single second to take them down.
Master (sound) System
Naofumi Hataya? Where have I seen that name before? Oh right, Golden Axe III, that’s it. He’s got other cool titles on his resume, like Sonic CD (Japanese version) and Ristar. Well, I’ve had those soundtracks on my to-listen list for ages. Masafumi Ogata? Same credits on the same projects, except for Golden Axe III. So, I’m diving in without too much fear for my ears. And honestly, it sounds way better than a lot of stuff I’ve heard on the Master System. I’ve only skimmed through it so far, but the more I dive into it, the more I appreciate it. It really feels like “Sonic.” A little cocky, half-cheerful, half-dark, with hip-hop-style rhythms (okay, I’m exaggerating—it’s not every track) that actually fit perfectly with our hedgehog buddy’s lightning-fast speed. Despite the graphics being totally different from the classic cute, flowery zone, the music for Green Hills sounds more or less like a green hill/plain level, with the upbeat vibe of the first stage that you’d naturally expect to hear. And it works—strangely enough, it really gets you in the mood. I really like the laid-back groove that comes through in Sky High, and in Aqua Lake too, though maybe a little less so for the latter. But my favorite, despite a pretty jarring start, is the Crystal Egg theme. Skip straight to 18 seconds if you want to spare your eardrums some pain (note that it loops at 1:10, so skip to 1:28 as well). I love the sense of adventure that comes through in the melody. It feels like you’re in a great little RPG or a Wonder Boy game, and even for a platformer, that’s meant as a compliment. If I’d heard this track when I was seven or eight, well… my chronic, endless bout of introspective nostalgia would have been even more hopeless.
You can't have it all, but can you steal it all?
Despite my mixed feelings about the features in this version of Sonic, I actually think it’s really cool overall. I knew the 16-bit cartridges for Sonic 1 and Castle of Illusion by heart before trying the 8-bit versions, but that didn’t stop me from loving these games like never before. It’s a different kind of love, but just as intense and timeless. It would have been exactly the same for me with Sonic 2; I’m absolutely, indisputably, and… and irrevocably certain of that. I would have brushed those flaws aside with my childlike sense of wonder.
I would have turned those messed-up things into pure gems of positive, concentrated melancholy. Childhood was as simple as that. At least as far as I was concerned, and in that specific situation. No shortcuts or generalizations, right ? The Master System deserved better than the relative admiration I gave it. I let the Mega Drive shamelessly steal the spotlight, and I often regret it today (way more than once a year, actually). I had it coming, though. All I had to do was snatch it from my dad during a certain move back in 1996. He wouldn’t have noticed a thing, would have kept playing Taipei on his old computer, and that would have been that. Making me regret not having robbed my dad when I was eleven—that’s what nostalgia is for! I keep telling everyone around me that this feeling can convey plenty of things other than regret and emotional stagnation! I found the perfect example, didn’t I? OK, maybe not.
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