Sonic the Hedgehog 2

The blue hedgehog breaks into a run, curls into a ball, and in a cloud of speed shoots up through a loop. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the game that defined what speed means in video games. SEGA took everything good from the first installment and added more pace, bigger levels, a new sidekick, and the famous spin dash. The result was one of the best-selling games of the entire Mega Drive era.

Sonic 2 came out in 1992 and was created in collaboration between the Japanese Sonic Team and the American studio Sega Technical Institute. This is where the fox Miles Tails Prower first appeared, following Sonic and enabling cooperative play by a second player. The spin dash was also added, a charged spin on the spot that became an indispensable part of the entire series.

The gameplay is built on huge, winding levels full of loops, springs, and hidden paths through which you hurtle at maximum speed. You collect rings as insurance against death and strive for the Chaos Emeralds in special pseudo-3D bonus stages, where you race down a half-pipe. The battle against the evil Doctor Robotnik culminates in the space fortress Death Egg in one of the most thrilling finales of its time.

Culturally, Sonic 2 represented the cutting edge of the console war between SEGA and Nintendo. SEGA turned the hedgehog into a mascot capable of competing with Mario, and Sonic 2 was the title that convinced millions of players to buy a Mega Drive. Its marketing and Masato Nakamura's music etched themselves into the memory of an entire generation.

The game is among the best-selling titles on the console and to this day is reissued in countless collections, compilations, and remasters. For many players Sonic 2 remains the best the blue hedgehog ever offered.

Why play it: A fast, brilliantly designed platformer with the sidekick Tails and the spin dash, one of the defining games of the sixteen-bit era.