I never realized it but Sonic 2 on Game Gear is hard and painful as nails.

[QuickSciFi]

Yup. The game's hard.

[joyeux]

For the GG they did reprogram the first boss, but for harder and worse. In SMS version you can see the whole screen and the balls speed and jump height are always the same. Except for the first boss, if you are used to the SMS version you will easily beat the GG one since you will be aware of the traps you can't see in the last.

GG version doesn't have the Speed Shoes in Acqua Lake, it has a 10 ring monitor instead.

Soundwise the GG has additional music for good ending, and some differences in the intro. Acqua Lake has a nice blue water effect while the SMS uses no effect. I would really like to see this version running in SMS with some palette tweaks, as well as the more polished GG Sonic 1.

A curiosity is that stage select for Sonic 2 SMS won't work in the SMS Converter for the Genesis. It will not work even in the Everdrives or Neoflash MD.

[goldenband]

I used to play this on my brother's Game Gear a fair bit when I was a kid. I wasn't 100% sure but evilevoix's comment about the blink clinched it, as I definitely remember working to get the timing down for that.

Sonic 2 GG is pretty much the only Sonic game I've ever spent much time on, since I'm not a fan of the series.

[English Invader]

I got this game for Christmas 1992 and it took me ages to beat it. I've only ever completed the game with all the emeralds once and I've no inclination to do it again because that kind of mental exhaustion just isn't Sonic.

[evilevoix]

I used to play this on my brother's Game Gear a fair bit when I was a kid. I wasn't 100% sure but evilevoix's comment about the blink clinched it, as I definitely remember working to get the timing down for that.

Sonic 2 GG is pretty much the only Sonic game I've ever spent much time on, since I'm not a fan of the series.

That Third Blink secret is a PITA!!! But when I was a kid I could do it almost the first time, certainly the second time. SO much nostalgia!!!

[vintagegamecrazy]

I always found this to be one of the more difficult Sonic games but not in a punishing way. I almost beat this game back then and can beat the SMS one too. The emeralds are another story though.

[Blades]

Nostalgia indeed. The rage while dying during the first boss fight is unmatched.

Who decided not putting rings in the boss stages was a good idea?!

[Nightwolf]

To make the game last longer.

[Obviously]

As others have said it's better on the Master System and the level design seems tailored to the large screen. It's still inferior to the first game though. It started the trend of 8-bit Sonic's focusing on trying to emulate the Genesis instead of just trying to be good platformers that worked with the hardware they had.

Sonic Chaos swung the difficulty needle in the other direction probably in response to Sonic 2, since you can beat that game in your sleep in about 15 minutes.

[o.pwuaioc]

Did this really need to get bumped? But yeah, as everyone knows, Sonic 2 on the GG was too hard. Unfortunately, it was what I got as a pack-in back in the day. I played and died against that first boss more than any other boss in any video game. Mortal Kombat II was easier.

It was much easier once I got it on Master System.

[KnightWarrior]

I can't see the damn pits underground, Even know I played Sonic 2 GG alot, I like the Master System version better

[Daria]

I loved my gamegear, but in hindsight I owned a lot of games for it that just weren't very good: Sonic 2 was one of these. I would picked it up and play it for a bit, get frustrated, and move onto something else. I don't think I ever managed to make any significant progress in the game.

[Dr Robotnik]

I used to love sonic 2 on my game-gear. I thought it was vastly superior to the master system game because of it's speed and difficulty.

I guess our parameters of what makes a game good these days has changed. When I was a kid I'd only get a few games each year, so difficult was good because they'd last longer. These days we've got collections of 100's or 1000's of games, so the master system version probably ages better because it's much easier to pick up and play.

[sull56ivan2010]

Nostalgia indeed. The rage while dying during the first boss fight is unmatched.

Who decided not putting rings in the boss stages was a good idea?!

That's how it was in the first game. Following what made the first game do well. That doesn't excuse them though.

As others said, screen size. Really hurts the game.

[stika]

I've always hated the gamegear version of Sonic 2 because of those hand gliders. I can't be the only one who never got past the second world because of them. Every time I try to play Sonic 2 I get stuck because of them and end up giving up.