We bought this game when I was little, I was so into sonic. Before doing the story mode my brother and I tried the multiplayer. We accidently picked characters without looking and I didn't end up playing as sonic. I cried for like an hour.
One time my brother released his first chao ever on acident while playing around with the big game boy thing. We both cried all day.
One time my brother released his first chao ever on acident while playing around with the big game boy thing. We both cried all day.
I have never been so conflicted about a game before. I know this is a long review nobody wants to read, so you can skip to the end if you want.
The rouge and knuckles levels are physically painful.
The tails and Eggman levels are WAY TOO LONG and consist of pressing forward and spamming the shooting button.
And boss battles are terrible, it's either the flying robot thing OR a 1v1 that doesn't work. Not to mention, I never figured out how to beat the camera.
SA2 has so much bullshit, and I don't think the problem comes from it aging poorly, in fact, SA2 is way ahead of its time.
Just like Unleashed, the only good part, which is the sonic and shadow stages, consists of about 10% of playtime. Not to mention, crazy gadget served as inspiration for eggmanland.
And yet... I can't help but love this game:
-City escape
-Metal harbor
-White jungle
THIS is what 3d sonic SHOULD BE. The sense of freedom and speed these stages give me makes me stop and wonder... The formula for 3d Sonic was right here.
What I meant in the beginning is: Is this game good?
No
Do I like it
Yes
Please don't mess with us Sonic fans, we don't even like our games
The rouge and knuckles levels are physically painful.
The tails and Eggman levels are WAY TOO LONG and consist of pressing forward and spamming the shooting button.
And boss battles are terrible, it's either the flying robot thing OR a 1v1 that doesn't work. Not to mention, I never figured out how to beat the camera.
SA2 has so much bullshit, and I don't think the problem comes from it aging poorly, in fact, SA2 is way ahead of its time.
Just like Unleashed, the only good part, which is the sonic and shadow stages, consists of about 10% of playtime. Not to mention, crazy gadget served as inspiration for eggmanland.
And yet... I can't help but love this game:
-City escape
-Metal harbor
-White jungle
THIS is what 3d sonic SHOULD BE. The sense of freedom and speed these stages give me makes me stop and wonder... The formula for 3d Sonic was right here.
What I meant in the beginning is: Is this game good?
No
Do I like it
Yes
Please don't mess with us Sonic fans, we don't even like our games
Picked it up and played it back in summer and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had with a video game. The soundtrack is immaculate, gameplay is great (sometimes, we'll get back to that later), the plot is absolutely exceptional, and the battle mode is a blast with friends. As great as everything about this game is, there's one thing about it that i'm sure everyone dreads, that being the treasure hunting levels. They're very tedious, slow, and extremely difficult if you try to A rank the later ones like Mad Space. So yeah, this game is peak, but it has some flaws. Even with said flaws, I think this is a great game that more people should try out.
I had a lot of fun with this game as a kid and I return to it every now and again. I loved the Sonic and Shadow levels. The Tails and Eggman levels were alright. I never was a fan of the Knuckles and Rouge levels though. I spent most of my time on this game in the Chao Garden though trying to get myself an all S rank chaos Chao. I never got it but it was a fun time.
SA2B is a game I really wanted to like when I picked it back up years later. Instead, I found out the reason I had so many fond memories of this game was solely because of the Chao Garden. The garden could’ve genuinely been its own game and it would’ve been awesome. The game outside the garden, however, is incredibly clunky to play. 3/5 for the Chao Garden and the music, but otherwise I think this title is a bit overrated.
This game encapsulates what I love the most about the Sonic franchise. It is so overwhelmingly genuine and emotionally sincere and takes itself fully serious. It takes a silly premise and explores it in the most meaningful way it could. Banger soundtrack as well. If it weren't for the controls and camera causing serious problems in several levels then it would be 5/5 in my eyes.
I first played this when I was 16... and it was my first real sonic game. As a complacent enjoyer of b movies, it's entirely on brand that I love this cheesy "b movie" of a game. It doesn't exactly stand up to what Mario and other franchises were doing at the time, but regardless it boasts a fun (at times, very broken) and unique gameplay structure, introduces iconic characters, and has one of the best video game soundtracks ever. There's tons to do in this game after beating the main stories, too.
Nothing deserves a full-fledged remake quite like SA1 & 2 do.
Nothing deserves a full-fledged remake quite like SA1 & 2 do.