On a more subtle note, the sense of flow and progression seen in the first game is pretty much gone. With levels like the second acts of Aqua Park and Scrambled Egg being so frustrating already, this can make them insufferable. The lack of checkpoints exacerbates this problem, forcing you to repeat the entire level if you die at any point. the pipe tunnels in Scrambled Egg, the mine cart rides in Underground), others control very poorly and are plagued by mandatory, obnoxious puzzles (the floating bubbles in Aqua Park, the hang-gliders in Sky High). While some are cleverly designed and used in interesting ways (e.g. New gimmicks have been introduced to keep things varied, but the results are pretty uneven. While this is a trait typical of 2D Sonics, and usually done with the intent of making you memorize things for your next run, the way it’s executed here frequently feels too unfair and it crosses the line from cheeky to irritating. For starters, there’s a tendency to surprise the player with sudden enemies or hazards. However, this doesn’t mean that the level design is improved from the first game for the most part, it’s gotten worse. Pipes similar to those in Chemical Plant Zone can be found in Aqua Park and Scrambled Egg, the spinning wheels in Gimmick Mountain recall those from Scrap Brain Zone in Sonic 1, and there’s even a couple of (very obviously scripted) loop-de-loops. The level designs seek to emulate the Mega Drive games a bit more closely, at least when it comes to visual set-pieces. If you have all five Chaos Emeralds when you beat Scrambled Egg, you’ll get the sixth emerald and can access the final zone – the abstract Crystal Egg Zone. You start off in the mines in the Underground Zone, before heading to the stormy heights of Sky High Zone, followed by the underwater labyrinth of Aqua Lake Zone, Green Hills Zone’s rolling meadows, the mechanized Gimmick Mountain Zone, and the tube-infested maze that is Scrambled Egg Zone. The stages are completely original this time, with none of the 16-bit levels making it over. In fact, he slides a considerable distance along the ground after a jump, which makes it very easy to accidentally careen off the edges of platforms. Sonic also controls a bit differently, having a slower run-up and maintaining a lot of momentum when you try to stop. The shield and checkpoint item boxes are gone too, leaving you with less options and forced to beat the levels in one go.
You still have to find the Chaos Emeralds within the levels (though you only need to find five this time), but the Special Stages are gone. Sonic 2 retains the same style of gameplay seen in its predecessor, with a few tweaks and changes made to the formula. But if he doesn’t, Tails isn’t saved, and his fate is left ambiguous.
This game is well known for having two endings, which hinge on Sonic collecting the Emeralds. It’s up to Sonic to get his best bud back, and to collect the six Chaos Emeralds along the way (the 8-bit Sonic games mostly stuck with six Chaos Emeralds, instead of the standard seven). Despite sharing the name of its Mega Drive counterpart, this version of Sonic 2 has a completely new plot: Tails has been kidnapped by Dr Robotnik and is being held to ransom.
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