Game Discussion of the Week: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

As I said in other threads, nowadays I prefer Sonic 3&K, but for a long time Sonic 2 was my favourite one. The reason is because the level design is just spot on: it's complex enough without ever being confusing, it just keeps a good momentum; also, I far prefer the half-pipe bonus levels over the blueballs (hehe) from 3&K, and I prefer the bonus levels being entered through checkpoints instead of the few-and-well-hidden giant rings. I find it too aggravating having to find the very limited giant rings just to get a shot at a vomit inducing bonus level that I'll probably lose at - the half-pipes may be hard too, but you get many more shots at them - so many that, once you get good at it, it's possible to get all the emeralds by Chemical Zone and breeze through the rest of the game as Super Sonic, it's awesome.

But in this respect, I agree with Armored Core Raven: in SMS/GG Sonic 2, the emeralds are hidden in the levels themselves and discovered through exploration, so the bonus rounds are just bonus rounds. I prefer that approach (Sonic R surprisingly does that too).

So those are the things that I prefer in Sonic 2. But then, 3&K is massively improved in every other way, and once you play the levels a few times to understand their layouts, they get even better than those in 2. The different paths for Tails/Knuckles, impressive graphics and setpieces, creative bosses and nice gimmicks in some levels, all that makes me prefer 3&K nowadays - though I still appreciate the simplicity of Sonic 2, which makes it ideal for a quick playthrough.

What I really can't get into is Sonic CD, the levels are too confusing and with too many springs. I also think the "labyrinthine levels" mentality went a bit overboard in Sonic Mania, but except for that, it's among the best of the series.

That said, Sonic 2 gets a 5/5 from me. Not as absolutely fantastic as 3&K, but it was the best at its time.