Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2D platform game released in November 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is a sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Sonic the Hedgehog series continued with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles.

Version differences

As with all the 16-bit Sonic games, the PAL version runs slower than the NTSC version. However, the in-game timer is slowed down by the same amount, so identical times are possible in both versions. PAL players may have a slight advantage due to the slowdown aiding players' reactions, but in general players in all regions can compete equally.

Since the Mega Drive/Genesis version, Sonic 2 has since been re-released several times:

• Sonic Compilation (1995, Sega Mega Drive, Europe) and Sonic Classics 3-in-1 (1997, Sega Genesis, North America)
• Sonic Jam (1997, Sega Saturn)
• Sonic Mega Collection (2002, Nintendo GameCube)
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox).

Sonic Jam

Sonic Jam includes three different modes of playing the game: Normal, Easy and Original. The Normal and Easy settings make small changes to the levels, such as additional rings (particularly noticable in the Death Egg Zone, which originally featured no rings). It also features a Time Attack mode, which tracks times, but uses the same altered level layouts as the Normal difficulty. Players using Sonic Jam should therefore use the Original setting; identical to the original release of the game.

Terminology and tactics

Most Sonic the Hedgehog 2 speedrunning takes place using Sonic alone. In some levels, such as the Death Egg Zone, Tails alone can be useful.

Using Sonic and Tails together allows certain certain sections to be speeded up, such as the screws in the Metropolis Zone.

Ideal spin-dash

Six revs are required to obtain maximum speed from a spindash. However, in some instances it can be beneficial to use a spindash with fewer revs.

Ramp jump

When floors are not level, the angle of the floor affects the angle of the jump. If you are moving up hill, then a ramp jump will give you much more height than usual. Similarly, if you are travelling down hill, you get an increase in speed upon jumping. These are referred to as uphill and downhill ramp jumps respectively.

Loop jump

A variation on the ramp jump, which takes place inside a loop. When you make a jump from the bottom-right or top-left of a loop (assuming entry from the left), you can catch the next corner of the loop and be propelled off at much faster speeds.

Screen wrapping

On levels that wrap vertically, if you duck so the screen scrolls to it's lowest point, then jump off the top of the screen, the game thinks you are below the screen and scrolls downwards in an attempt to catch up. In the time that your character is off screen, sprites do not appear, and so you can pass through all manner of enemies and walls. This ability is only present in the Metropolis Zone.

Gliding

When gliding as Knuckles, some surfaces allow you to continue running after a glide instead of coming to a dead stop.

Superglide

As Knuckles, if you jump and glide just before coming into contact with an enemy or item box, you will gain a large boost of height. Since the speed of the glide increases with distance travelled, it can be used to travel over the top of a level at high speeds, such as Aquatic Ruin Zone Act 2.

Speedruns

The Sonic Center [1] has hosted Sonic the Hedgehog 2 speedrun competition since December 2003.

The Speed Demos Archive hosts a single-segment speedrun of 0:24:23, achieved by Philippe Henry, as well as individual level runs.

Level Strategies

Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 Emerald Hill Zone Act 2 Chemical Plant Zone Act 1 Chemical Plant Zone Act 2 Aquatic Ruin Zone Act 1 Aquatic Ruin Zone Act 2 Casino Night Zone Act 1 Casino Night Zone Act 2

Hill Top Zone Act 1 Hill Top Zone Act 2 Mystic Cave Zone Act 1 Mystic Cave Zone Act 2 Oil Ocean Zone Act 1 Oil Ocean Zone Act 2

Metropolis Zone Act 1 Metropolis Zone Act 2 Metropolis Zone Act 3 Sky Chase Zone Wing Fortress Zone Death Egg Zone

The Sky Chase Zone is a fixed-length auto-scrolling level, and is always completed in the same time. Hence no strategy guide is required.

External Links

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 speedrun (hosted by SDA)
• The Sonic Center
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 rankings
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 record times
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 record scores
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 record ring counts
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 guides
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 videos
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 level maps