For all general purposes, gameplay is idential to Sonic 1. In fact, it's even a bit more linear. Outside of the Sky Chase Zone, there's not alot going on to inject variety into the mix, which is undoubtedly the game's biggest shortcoming.

   Gone are the third Acts: each Zone is split into two areas, with the boss being faced at the end of the second. Consequently, the Zones are much shorter than those of Sonic 1; however, there are twice as many to make up for it.

• Emerald Hill -- Sort of like Green Hill, except it's portrayed more or less like a tropical resort...which means it's not as "wild." It's a pretty straightforward Zone, if you can't get through here...just give up on games and look into the music industry or something. Home to Buzzer (Stinger), Coconuts (Aiai), and Masher (Gabujo).
• Chemical Plant -- It's a massive-ass factory, and a good place to excerise Sonic's pure speed. The bottom is flooded with Mega Mack, some poisonous gook that works just like water except there are no air bubbles. Home to Grabber and Spiny (Randaa).
• Aquatic Ruin -- It's the underwater Zone, except it's only about halfway underwater. You're in some sunken Greek-style ruins, and as long as you can stay above the waterline, it's a breeze. Otherwise... Home to Whisp (Punpun), Chop Chop (Piranha), and Grounder (Handrill).
• Casino Night -- The birth of the ever-popular casino Zones, although at heart it's a pinball level in the vein of Spring Yard. Heavy on the glitz, low on obstacles...your biggest enemy is the clock. Home only to Crawlton (Gaadon).
• Hill Top -- It's the tippy-top of a mountain range, with everything below (including the clouds). The ground, intrestingly enough, has taken on a sky blue hue. There's lava and alot of spikes sprinkled around. Home to Rexon (Saura), Spiker (Tsuntsun), and Sol (Ghora).
• Mystic Cave -- You're in a massive cavern, with mining rails set up all over the place. Home to Flasher and Crawlton (Zakiin).
• Oil Ocean -- It's like a big game of Chutes & Ladders. You can hop around in the oil, but you sink really fast. Home to Aquis (Tsuudora) and Octus (Octa).
• Metropolis -- It's big and...well, it's big. You're on the inside of this giant factory or something, and there's alot of lava around (again)... Home to Asteron (Teru Star), Slicer (Kamakiraa), and Shellcracker (Kani Punch).
• Sky Chase -- To the moon, Alice! ...or to the clouds, anyway. There's not much of a Zone here, it's more like a bonus stage with Sonic on the Tornado. You're flying against various formations of Badniks. Home to: Turtloid (Doosun), Balkiry (Barukiin), and Nebula (Potosu).
• Wing Fortress -- You're on the deck of a huge battleship, and you're not in A class. Falling to your doom is the biggest threat here. Home only to Clucker (Koke Koo).
• Death Egg -- Like the Final Zone, this isn't really a level, just the boss match. You're up against Silver Sonic followed by Robotnik in his Eggman mech. The catch, of course, is that you don't get a single Ring to fight them with...

   The big new move of the game is Sonic's Spin Dash, with which the player can go from zero to full speed in just a couple of seconds. Actually, a whole "blast processing" gimmick was developed out of this...but we'll just be nice and nevermind that. Tails' function was to follow Sonic around, sometimes helping by grabbing a couple of extra Rings or something, but mostly just showing off the processing power required to have two characters moving individually at such speeds. The new 2-player versus mode was also meant to show off the "split-screen" feature: player one controls Sonic on the top half, while player 2 controls Tails on the bottom. Unfortunately, both screens look as though they've been compacted under a steamroller driven by a rogue elephant. Distortion aside, three regular Zones serve as the versus race courses: Emerald Hill, Casino Night, and Mystic Cave. You can also race for the Rings in the Special Stages...the screen's regular size, but it consequently turns into nothing but a battle over who gets to run in front (everytime the player in back jumps, he leaps up to the front). The winner of the races is determined on five criteria: score, time, number of Rings at the exit, number of Rings obtained over the entire race, and the number of Item Boxes opened. Versus mode items include all the ones found in a regular game, plus:

• Sonic head -- Sonic gets an extra life, regardless of who opens the monitor
• Tails head -- Tails gets an extra life, regardless of who opens the monitor
• Arrows -- Both players switch positions

   Tails is also a playable character, although he controls no differently from Sonic. The character choices include: Sonic & Tails (player one controls Sonic; Tails is controlled by a second player or the computer), Sonic alone, or Tails alone.

   Easily the most touted feature of Sonic 2 were its "3D" Special Stages, which feature Sonic (and Tails) running through giant half-pipes. Split into three rounds, the object is to collect the specified amount of Rings by the end of each while avoiding Bombs, which smack some of the Rings you've collected right off your total count. If you can meet the price by the end of the third round, you're rewarded with a Chaos Emerald. Sweet! Ah, but this time something actually happens if you nab all seven stones. Not only do you get to see the good ending, but grab 50 Rings in any Zone and jump into the air...aaand boom, you get the debut of Super Sonic. As Super Sonic, you are three things: invincible to attack, alot faster, and a shining stab at Dragon Ball Z. You're also stuck with a severe case of the Ring runs...keep a steady supply flowin' in or it's back to blue boy.

   Special Stages are also entered quite differently. Forget the giant Rings at the end of each Act, your ticket to the Emerald-snatching challenges come every time you hit a Star Post with at least 50 Rings in the bank. A Star Circle appears above the post...jump into it, and it's away to Emerald land!

   The usual assortment of goodies can be obtained from monitors:

• Power Sneakers -- Temporarily raise your speed
• Super Ring -- Worth 10 Rings
• One-Up -- Gives you an extra chance
• Invincible -- Makes you invincible for a short time
• Shield -- Protects you from one hit

   As magazines and other news sources strived to get info on the hottest game of 1992, many early screenshots were printed...screenshots of a version of the game that never made it to market. This "ghost" Sonic 2 changed drastically, to the point where the final version was unrecognizable from early screenshots: different Zones, different Badniks, different character models, and different level-design. For years, the beta Sonic 2 was shrouded in mystery, with unclear rumor as the only source of info. But now, thanks to the dark art of emulation, the myth can be beaten into reality. Here's some screenshots of the beta build:

   The Green Hill Zone is actually the Emerald Hill Zone, the only difference being that strange snail Badnik, which speeds up as soon as it spots you. The Wood Zone isn't worth writing home about...nothing to see except some unfamiliar graphics. No Rings, no Badniks, and about three screens worth of level before you're blocked off. The Metropolis Zone sports some drastically different level-design, an example being the scene depicted in the screens above. That razor thingie chases you through the pointy tunnel. The Hidden Palace Zone is, without a doubt, the most complete of the "cancelled" levels in the demo. Note the Master Emerald, which didn't make its official appearance until Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The Oil Ocean Zone sports those weird checkered spheres. Step on the button, and they pop up and roll down the oily slides. You could paste these items in the Sonic 2 Construction Mode, but there weren't any in the final design. Dust Hill, schmust-hill. What that is is nothing more than a very nasty Mystic Cave. The layout seems to be the same, but object placement is totally different and downright merciless. Casino Night seems to be quite early and incomplete at the beta stage. For the most part, the Chemical Plant Zone is in its completed form (sans Badniks & certain obstacles). The Genocide City and Death Egg Zones don't work in this beta version, and the Neo Green Hill Zone is what we know as the Aquatic Ruin Zone.

Change "Tails" to "Miles": In the area where your remaining lives are displayed, playing as Tails will have the name "Tails" in that space, of course. This can be changed to read "Miles" (Miles Prower is Tails' real name) by inputting the following sequence at the title screen: Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Up. You should hear a Ring chime if you've done it correctly. This is useless, but it's cute.

Level-Select: Go to the Sound Test and play the following tracks in the following order: 19, 65, 09, 17. (August 17, 1965 was Yuji Naka's birthday.) You should hear a Ring chime. Go back to the title screen. Hold down A and press START.

Construction Mode: Input the level-select code. Go to the new Sound Test and play the following tracks in the following order: 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4. (November 24, 1992 was "Sonic Twosday," the game's US release.) Now, hold down A and select your level. Controls are as follows:

Auto Super Sonic: Input the level-select code. At the new Sound Test, play the following tracks in the following order: 4, 1, 2, 6. You should hear the Chaos Emerald sound. Now select your Zone. Once you have obtained 50 Rings, jump in the air.

• The ending theme everyone loves so much is based on an actual Dreams Come True song, "Sweet Dreams." And yes, it is beautiful.
• Song #10 in the sound test was from the Hidden Palace Zone, which never made it into the final version of the game. You really gotta wonder why, the level is almost complete in the beta build and it's really cool, too.