Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits Switch
The Sega Ages train shows no sign of slowing.
Sorry, Nauties - I don't like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 very much. Not compared to its predecessor and follow-up, anyway. I know this is akin to sacrilege. Many of my friends consider it the best in the series. But c'mon. C'maaaahn!! It's just kind of a slog! Even with only two "acts" per stage compared to Sonic the Hedgehog's three (Metropolis Zone excepted), it somehow manages to have the individual environments outstay their welcome and get samey. Even the first level is basically just Green Hill Zone again, but worse. All the exploration of Sonic 1's inaugural stage has been removed in favour of springboards that actively fire you into 1-ups.
Tails is useless, despite being "totes adorbs", and the first thing I do when I boot up the game is switch him off. The only meaningful new feature in Sonic 2 and I beeline for its off switch. Not a great look. I pretty much lose interest in the game from the Hill Top Zone - a recolour of Emerald Hill - through to Wing Fortress. You'll note that I don't include the widely-praised Sky Chase Zone in this, because I can't abide it. It's awful, boring sludge. You barely even do anything. It's not a Sonic level. It's barely even a level.
But, that doesn't matter. Everyone loves Sonic 2. I merely like it okay. The important thing is it's coming to Switch as part of the excellent Sega Ages line, and as such will be packing some pretty cool extras. You'll be able to use the drop dash from Sonic Mania, as well as play the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & Knuckles lock-on game. There's also access to Super Sonic from the start, which is ideal because the special stages in Sonic 2 are appalling crap fit for the bin.
Look, don't get upset. I know I'm an outlier on Sonic's sophomore adventure. And we're talking an 8/10 compared to Sonic 1 and 3's top marks. But I don't normally get to talk about not liking stuff. Let me have this. I'm always having to write about how much I love Aero the Acro-bat (I DO!), so I'm going to enjoy slagging off a popular game for once. It takes me back to the olden days of the message boards.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is hitting Switch on February 20th, along with Puyo Puyo 2, a game I have no knowledge of but will gladly leave you in the capable hands of our very own GSK.
