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Sonic the Hedgehog is the phenomenon of the nineties. A legend in his spiky blue lifetime. A creature so far removed from the norm that he just couldn't help but become something huge. A blue hedgehog that travels at speeds in excess of a hundred miles per hour? Yet the mania surrounding Sega's video game superstar has exceeded the limits that surely, even Sega themselves imagined. In the sequel to the 3.7million selling game that made him what he is today, Sonic is joined by a two and a half years old fox with two tails named Miles. Miles worships Sonic and longs to be the same as him when he grows up. So the heroic 'hog is pursued by this toddling apprentice wherever he goes, even following him into the very face of death as Sonic aims to rid the planet of the evil Dr. Robotnik once more. Are you fast enough to keep up?

Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's biggest star. His previous games sold 3.7million copies - how many will this sell?

Take control of Sonic and defeat the evil Robotnik. In the two-player game, compete for the most points.

In Sonic's first outing on the Megadrive, he was required to collect six precious gems known as Chaos Emeralds, but he could only obtain these by entering special zones that were reached upon collecting more than fifty rings per stage. The special zones, strange, rotating psychedelic affairs, have been replaced in Sonic II by high speed races between Sonic and Miles down brightly coloured chutes. They are entered if Sonic has fifty rings in his possession when he touches a Star Post. Here Sonic aims to collect enough rings to pass three checkpoints, avoid bombs and eventually earn the Chaos Emerald that awaits at the end of the passage.

Sonic is such a hero that the next generation of kids in Sonic's hometown all aspire to be like him someday. None more so than a two and a half year old fox with two tails named Miles. This wildlife wannabe, nicknamed 'Tails', follows Sonic around hoping to learn something from the maestro.

In the one player game, Miles has been allowed to accompany Sonic on his mission to defeat Dr. Robotnik, so long as he doesn't get in the way too much and hands over any rings that he should find. In return, Sonic agrees to lead the way, keeping an eye out for danger so that none befalls Tails.

When Sonic and Miles aren't chasing the evil Robotnik all around the world, they enjoy a spot of healthy competition between themselves. Player one controls Sonic while player two directs Miles in a race for the most rings, highest amount of bonuses and quickest time to complete the level. Excitement is raised by the fact that all the bonus monitors display question marks; this means that every bonus is a mystery until the monitor is smashed open.

Will it be invincibility or Dr. Robotnik? Joy or despair? Nobody knows. There is a choice of four different areas to choose from for the challenge, one of which is the special zone. Unlike the one player special zones, Sonic and Miles now race for the most rings as they avoid the bombs and leap to get the advantage.

In the two-player competitive mode, Sega have added yet another new feature for Sonic and Tails to fall out over, namely the vice-versa icon. Represented by a plus and minus sign, this nasty piece of work assures a sooner than expected win or an unlikely loss for whoever picks it up.

Basically, the positions of Sonic and Miles are exchanged. Somebody floundering on a bed of spikes may end up sprinting across the finishing line as their opponent gets quite a nasty shock!

Sega have bust a guy making this game as special as they could, and the end result is staggering. Sonic II is a blinding stonker! None of the criticisms of the original apply here: Sonic II is faster, slicker, more colourful, louder, bigger and much, much tougher than the original. There's no way even Sonic experts could call this easy!

The perfectly graduated difficulty eases you into the game, and once in you're hooked. Bye bye dinner. Cheerio bedtime. So long weekend. I was hooked... and how! It's packed with features, had loads of secrets, and rounds it all up with a superlative two-player mode that'll have your friends queuing round the block to play.

Brilliant! If you miss Sonic II you should be committed to a loony bin!

Take it or leave it, there really is nothing else like Sonic on the Megadrive with his immediate appeal and simplistic, yet exciting, gameplay. Though he hasn't escaped completely unscathed from those intent on finding faults, Sega have obviously listened hard to many of the criticisms made about the first game, mainly that it was too easy.

The result is that they've produced a very jolly sequel indeed. Apart from being twice the size of the original, Sonic II has lots more features, in particular the two-player competition game option. Sonic himself sports many new frames of animation that all add to his character and give the game a much slicker appearance than its predecessor.

Sonic is also much, much faster. At least twice as fast as before in some places. The all-new special zones are a riot and cannot fail to leave most mouths gaping. Sonic II has certainly impressed me enough to be named the most impressive roller coaster, pinball, one-armed-bandit, platform game to date on the Megadrive - and you just gotta get it.

Presentation 89%
P. Sonic is joined by Miles on the intro screen and the whole thing looks daisy.

Graphics 97%
P. Astounding! Breathtaking! Wow! Cor!
N. They're so good you may need to take a little rest to recover...

Sound 89%
P. Loads of high speed crashing sound effects and energetic music to spice the images.

Playability 94%
P. Sonic's crowning glory is that he is easy to get to know. The controls are dead simple and the gameplay is mega addictive.

Lastability 97%
P. Superbly challenging with one player and utterly brill with two, this is a game you'll be glued to for months.

Overall 96%
Sonic has outdone himself. An absolute gem of a game which your Megadrive will be screaming out for.