Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode II

Cool. Though I can’t believe I haven’t played this back when I first played Episode 1!

After playing Sonic 4: Episode I, I thought Sonic 4: Episode II would also be a disaster. Well, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. The game still has some bad controls, but they’re not as awful as in Episode I.
The graphics got a huge upgrade, Sonic and the other models don’t look shiny anymore. In this one, they actually look quite nice. The bonus stages to collect the Chaos Emeralds are also much better.
As for the buddy mechanic (where Tails picks you up or you do a fast roll together—I don’t know the exact names), I found them pretty meh. Not very impressed by the idea, and they get quite tiring after using them so many times. After all, the classic games didn’t need any of this to be fun!
The stage design is a bit better than Episode I, but nothing grand. The homing attack does feel more responsive, which is an improvement.
Overall, it’s not terrible like the first episode, but it’s also not good. It’s just very MID.
5/10 is all I could give this game.

the first half of the game is actually pretty good. i particularly like the more original level themes, and the moves you can do with tails.
the second half is awful. oil desert has level design on par with labyrinth zone and hilariously bad music. sky fortress starts with a pale imitation of sky chase that takes far too long to complete, then has a pretty good imitation of another level, then ends with another awful level. death egg mk. ii (wasnt there already a death egg 2 in sonic the fighters?) has some pretty decent level deisgn but also has three terrible boss fights, the last of which made me rage quit.
getting into the special stages is way more of a pain in the ass than it needs to be. you still need to jump into a giant ring at the end of the level (despite how much this game is aping sonic 2), and actually getting into the ring once it's there is way harder than it needs to be. there was a time when sonic's model was literally clipping into the ring's model (i was literally more inside the ring than the normal way one can be inside a ring) and it didnt count.
this game isnt as bad as episode 1 but it still fucking sucks. if you're gonna play this game at all, a: wait for it to go on sale and b: stop playing after white park

Better physics, more original level themes and bosses, the addition of Tails as a partner character, and less whiny instrumentation in the soundtrack all make this game a marked improvement over Episode I. I'd still recommend you wait for a sale before getting it, but it is overall still a fun, serviceable entry in the 2D Sonic series.

i dont know the controls

IT'S AWESOME!!!!!

I definitely think this game is better than Episode 1, which was one of the worst feeling 2D platformers I had ever played. This is just an okay 2D Sonic game. Its levels are fine, its music is whatever. I do actually like the buddy moves you can do with Tails, but it's not enough to save the experience. It's better than Episode 1, but it's still not great, and your money is better spent elsewhere.

Oh and you also get “Episode Metal” if the game detects save date from Episode 1. It’s 4 Sonic 4 Episode 1 levels, but now you play as Metal Sonic, who is just a re-skinned Sonic with no unique skills. It's not worth it; if you want to play as Metal Sonic, just mod one of the other Sonic games.

fuckin rad

this game double blows

It's an "okay" Sonic game - much better than the Episode I for sure.
The musics are disapointing. I appreciate that they introduce new mechanics in this game with the "combos" between Sonic and Tails: refreshing!


---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☑ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☑ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Even if this game is an improvement over Episode I, that's not saying much since the damage is done. But hey, at least the graphics are far better.

The physics are still cumbersome, and the game is a continuation of nostalgia bait. Especially when the levels are from Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, except in a poorly-designed format.
Sylvania Castle is Aquatic Ruin with Marble Garden elements,
White Park mixes Carnival Night and Ice Cap,
Oil Desert is if Oil Ocean and Sandopolis were fused together,
Sky Fortress combines Sky Chase, Wing Fortress, and even with Flying Battery elements.
And Death Egg Mk II is literally another Death Egg, yet shorter than the previous zones. There's varying gravity and Metal Sonic in one act, and the final boss in the next.
You cannot forget about how the Special Stages are like Sonic 2's half pipe, but suffers from the exact same problems.
But at least the bosses are more original.

As Tails returns as a sidekick, his controls and mechanics are a bit off, especially with the Tails copter. Unfortunately, the Red Rings in this game did absolutely nothing.

To be honest, the soundtrack is not 100% botched by the so-called Genesis sound font, which clearly makes it more tolerable than Episode I.

This game ended on a cliffhanger, but the cancellation of Episode III was a blessing in disguise. The Sonic 4 saga failed so badly that Sega rightfully disowned it. Either way, it's still an okay game.

the game is so bad that it didn't even let me beat it
like, bosses just black screen. thanks.

better than the first one but still bad

pee

it is a lot better than episode 1, but that doesnt mean its good

this game is more fun than the recent sonic games man

Game is well made, metal sonic DLC was fun as well

Meh. Game is better than episode 1 for sure, but still just isnt that great of a sonic game

Sega did a really great job on this game back then. I recommend you play it if you havent.

why is special stage 6 and 7 has to be that hard????

This game is, sincerely, surprisingly fun.

Still bad, but better than episode 1.

4/10

This is the example of how u take a bad game and make a good sequel to it! this one fixes everything wrong with episode 1 and made it good! still not an amazing game but a good 2d entry into the series 7.5/10

Far better than episode 1, still not perfect but I had much more fun. Very short but that's fine, got this on sale for very cheap lol.

it's ok

Not AS bad as one, but still not good.

I really hope the game has something better than Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles. But too bad, it is worst than I expected.

delist episode 1 then rename this to sonic the portable and the franchise is saved /j
also the final boss crashed my pc oops

this game is the definition of just mediocre. its not bad buts its not good either

off brand cinnamon toast crunch

Better than episode 1, but also no.

it's terrible that this game is put under the name of sonic 4, this should've been called something other than sonic 4. this game is better than sonic 4 episode 1 and is so much better and good as a game

better then episode 1 but unoriginal

Much better than episode 1!
If you really want to play one of these 2 games, play this one!

The controls are a lot better, still not as great as the classic 2d Sonic games, but managable.
The stages are better designed and look beautiful, but it still has a lot of flaws on the gameplay side of things.

In this game you play as both Sonic and Tails and got a lot of places you need to use their combined power to get through the level. While this may seem fun at first, it only slows you down and its always the same few abilities... like flying (obviously, cuz Tails) and rolling together to be able to get through stuff you otherwise couldn't or to just build speed.

The special stages in this game, are much better, though you constantly have to live with the fact that you gotta try to get all the rings yourself and don't let Tails collect any ever. He will copy your moves, but he jumps later, so he constantly gets hit by bombs you gotta jump over. It is quiete a hassle to complete, but not as annoying as the special stages from the previous game.

The game itself isn't that long either and since you can actually control Sonic a little better this time, you will get through the levels a bit easier and be done with it quicker. Personally I wasn't annoyed that much, if Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 was released like this game and Episode 2 would have gotten as much better, as this got to the first one, it could have actually been a really good experience.

As it stands, its simply an okay Sonic game. There are many which are better, but if you're craving more Sonic, you could actually play this and have a bit of fun.

Much better than episode 1, that's saying something

saying this is the sequel to sonic 3 is such a joke to this game. not great imo

If you hate your ears, play this game.

buggy

i mean.. its better than episode 1?

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ

Better than Episode I. Runs perfectly on steam deck.

I’m not even mad. I’m just confused as to why they made a second episode. Speaking of that, this whole episodic thing is really stupid. It unnecessarily gatekeeps content, and both episodes lack any substantial substance. I’m questioning why it was episodic at all, considering that if they bundled both of these together, it would’ve been a better value proposition. I guess that doesn’t really matter since both games suck anyway.

With that out of the way, let’s actually talk about this game. It’s basically Episode 1 with some tweaks to make it “better.” For example, the zones are actually somewhat (not entirely) original this time around. Episode 1 just picked some random stages from Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 and gave them different names—Splash Hill literally being Green Hill, Casino Street being Casino Night, and Mad Gear being Metropolis, just to name a few. In Episode 2, the zones aren’t just straight rip-offs of previous ones. The levels aren’t entirely original, but they’re a step up, I guess. For example, Oil Desert takes the aesthetics from Oil Ocean and Sandopolis and merges them together.

The visuals also got a slight upgrade in this game. Episode 1 had weird, plastic-like visuals, and it looked really bad. Environments and characters looked overly reflective, giving them an unnatural, toy-like appearance. Episode 2, while still not looking amazing, at least fixes a lot of the visual problems Episode 1 had. The character models don’t have a plastic look anymore, and the animations are smoother and more expressive.

Gameplay is also better than Episode 1, with less automation and a better balance of speed and platforming. The physics were touched up a bit, making things like rolling down slopes feel slightly more natural, but still not to the level of the Genesis games. This game also introduces new moves you can perform with Tails. You can fly, swim, and combine into a spinning ball that can bulldoze through enemies and obstacles. However, activating these moves breaks the pacing, since you come to a full stop when you use them.

Overall, while still not great, it’s 100% better than Episode 1, that’s for sure. But even with that “compliment,” it’s still an extremely forgettable entry and doesn’t deserve the title of Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

it was ok, some fun moment, some frustrating one. The game bug after the 4th boss. I'm not restarting over

the game is short they tried to make it like classic sonic but failed and its just a good game
i guarantee this game wont even be on ur top 10 fav sonic games

The game itself is okay, some musics are my fav like Sky Fortress 1-3
It's interesting to see modern Sonic in a 2D game before and experience new Sonic games for a while. The Running animation for Sonic is good in my opinion.
I would rate Sonic 4 episode 2
6/10

This is a game that's BARELY ok and functional at best. With a game in the long-running Sonic series especially with the slapped on "Sonic 4" and implied sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, just being functional is not ok when there's so many better games to choose from even in the modern ones.

The sad part is the game has legitimate good or even great ideas I wish the modern games adapted. For example Tails being added as an X button for super rolling and flying for single player is great. I actually the implementation of using homing attack to increase forward momentum. I think in some ways these aspects make gameplay better than the ungodly overrated 2D sections of Sonic Colors and Generations.

However Sonic 4 Ep 2, sadly represents how simultaneously desperate yet arrogant SEGA was in the early 2010s. This is game that has completely forgettable level design, boring mechanics that make levels de-motivating to replay which is part of the point of Sonic games, and worst aspect: the extremely boring music that overdoes the "Genesis bops" but does not have ANY catchy melodies.

For every really cool design choice, there's a level or boss that's just exhausting to go through making gameplay feeling like a chore and only sometimes actually "fun".

Ultimately that's why I can't recommend this game despite being a slight technical upgrade of Sonic 4 Ep 1, which I wasnt super big on to begin with. Sadly I'm so done with 2010+ Sonic I still think this game is better than titles like Secret Rings, Black Knight, and Colors.

Better than Episode 1
...Though, the Sky Fortress Metal Sonic boss made me lose my mind.

Still, good game.

What a waste of money, game crashes after 2 hours, game is too short, terrible graphics, mods make this game better, 10 dollars for nothing, episode 3 cancelled for no reason!!

Tails You Fat Turd Lift Me Higher!

its trash