Right off the bat when first starting the game Sonic 2 explodes onto the scene in an impactful way Sonic 1 couldn’t, the levels are much faster, the colors are more vibrant, the music is absolutely going off the charts, on a surface level it does a great job at showing off the good things it has in store more than Sonic 1. Unfortunately the more you delve into the game, the more cracks start to show I feel. The overly speed focused design tends to leave a lot of setpieces blend together, the enemy and obstacle placement gets extremely dickish not even 3 zones into the game, the game has a forced 2 minute autoscroller, you get so caught up in the dazzling spectacle that you start to look past a lot of Sonic 2’s flaws. While I still prefer Sonic 1 over 2, I would be crazy to not mention the things it did get right: the creative stage themes and gimmicks (casino night in particular is responsible for so many would be gambling addictions out there lol), the introduction of the spindash and the speed cap removal, fantastic presentation and music, the climactic final boss and the subsequent satisfying ending, mfin SUPER SONIC. Still though, when it comes down to which classic game I prefer, 1 will always be my go-to