History YMMV / SonicTheHedgehog2

** F*ck that hang glider stage. It's the second Zone in the game, and the obtuse controls caused many kids to run out of lives before they [[UnexpectedGameplayChange could master it and progress]]. Press the wrong button and you perish.

** Mecha Sonic, the penultimate boss fought aboard the Death Egg. [[OneHitPointWonder Without rings.]] Mecha Sonic has a hitbox that's very small and you get no bounceback from Spin Dashing into it, resulting in a lost life. If the fight goes on for long enough, it starts to shoot spikes during its Spin Dash. Also, you'll have to fight it again if death occurs when fighting the Death Egg Robot.

** Tails iconic ability to fly is used solely as a means for the CPU to catch up with Sonic onscreen in this game. Many players were dumbfounded by the fact they couldn't use flying when playing as Tails themselves. Curiously of all the official releases of ''Sonic 2'', only the 2013 remaster rectifies this by backporting his Sonic 3 mechanics. Not even the ''Jam'' and SEGA AGES'' versions, which add a ton of other quality of life improvements, bother to fix this (the ''SEGA AGES'' version even seems conscious of this and to avoid making Tails a JokeCharacter, instead disables Sonic's Drop Dash in multiplayer).

** Though it's never explicit and largely an assumption made by fans, the bad ending implies that Tails is murdered (or at least still under Eggman's mercy). Several years later, one of the biggest criticisms of some of the later games (in particular ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'') are that their DarkerAndEdgier tone is ''incredibly'' jarring and sometimes frustrating in a series about {{Funny Animal}}s fighting an evil fat man.
** This game introduced Tails as being "weak", as he's easily captured by Robotnik. Fast-forward twenty-five years, and ''VideoGame/SonicForces''' story was criticized for portraying Tails as cowering at threats.

** The 2013 remaster became the gold standard of ''Sonic 2'' ports due to the wide range of features it added, as well as throwing in Hidden Palace Zone as the icing on the cake. As a result, the ''SEGA AGES'' port for Switch ended up being panned by many fans for missing a lot of these features and not being done by the same [[MyRealDaddy Taxman-Stealth partnership]], despite being an otherwise solid port by [=M2=], a studio with an excellent reputation for Sega and shmup ports, that backports in the [[VideoGame/SonicMania Drop Dash]] and retains the option to play as Knuckles.

** The 2013 remaster became the gold standard of ''Sonic 2'' ports due to the wide range of features it added, as well as throwing in Hidden Palace Zone as the icing on the cake. As a result, the ''SEGA AGES'' port for Switch ended up being panned by many fans for missing a lot of these features and not being done by the same Taxman-Stealth partnership, despite being an otherwise solid port by [=M2=], a studio with an excellent reputation for Sega and shmup ports, that backports in the [[VideoGame/SonicMania Drop Dash]] and retains the option to play as Knuckles.

** The 2013 remaster became the gold standard of ''Sonic 2'' ports due to the wide range of features it added, as well as throwing in Hidden Palace Zone as the icing on the cake. As a result, the ''SEGA AGES'' port for Switch ended up being panned by many fans for missing a lot of these features and not being done by the same Taxman-Stealth partnership, despite being an otherwise solid port by [=M2=], a studio with an excellent reputation for Sega and shmup ports, that introduces Drop Dash and retains the option to play as Knuckles.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: While the 2013 remake has received considerable acclaim, some fans have taken it to task for adding in elements that they deride as gimmicks (such as including the elemental shields from ''Sonic 3''), using a slightly modified version of the Simon Wai prototype's Hidden Palace Zone rather than trying to recreate the speculated original vision of it being where Sonic learns how to access his SuperForm after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not using Track 10 for Hidden Palace]].
* ToughActToFollow: The 2013 remaster became the gold standard of ''Sonic 2'' ports due to the wide range of features it added, as well as throwing in Hidden Palace Zone as the icing on the cake. The ''SEGA AGES'' port for Switch ended up being panned by most fans for missing a lot of these features and not being done by the same Taxman-Stealth partnership, despite being an otherwise solid port by [=M2=], a studio with an excellent reputation for Sega and shmup ports, that introduces Drop Dash and retains the option to play as Knuckles.

* {{Fanon}}: A common fan theory is that Mecha Sonic was either a FlawedPrototype for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCd Metal Sonic]] (going by the assumption that Sonic CD takes place at some point after Sonic 2, which per WordOfGod is indeed canon) or, going by the old fan conception that Sonic CD is an {{Interquel}} between ''1'' and ''2'' (which it isn't), that Mecha Sonic was a hastily cobbled together replacement for Metal Sonic [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 after he was abandoned upon defeat at Stardust Speedway.]]

* {{Fanon}}: A common fan theory is that Mecha Sonic was either a FlawedPrototype for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCd Metal Sonic (going by the assumption that Sonic CD takes place at some point after Sonic 2, which per WordOfGod is indeed canon) or, going by the old fan conception that Sonic CD is an {{Interquel}} between ''1'' and ''2'' (which it isn't), that Mecha Sonic was a hastily cobbled together replacement for Metal Sonic [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 after he was abandoned upon defeat at Stardust Speedway.]]

The following tropes appmy to the 16-bit [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Mega Drive]] version and 8-bit [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Master System]][=/=]UsefulNotes/GameGear version:

** [[spoiler:Hidden Palace Zone]] in the remake.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The music written for Hidden Palace Zone and Oil Ocean Zone in the beta became those of Mystic Cave Zone 2P and Casino Night 2P, respectively, in the final version. In turn, a unused song present in betas was used as the final music for Oil Ocean, with the dropped Hidden Palace getting a song intended for an unmade cutscene before being cut. One further unreleased song was used for Emerald Hill Zone 2P. Fan speculation is that the Oil Ocean and Emerald Hill 2P music were intended for planned levels never implemented in the game, though this has never been confirmed.

!! The [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Mega Drive]] version:

!! The [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Master System]]/UsefulNotes/GameGear version:

** Similar to the ''Sonic 1'' rerelease, the ''SEGA AGES'' version isn't nearly on the same caliber as the Android remake, but is still an enjoyable package, adding Drop Dash and rumble feature as well as including the ''Sonic and Knuckles'' lock-on rendition to play as Knuckles.

* PolishedPort: The iOS/Android versions has Knuckles integrated in without needing ''Sonic & Knuckles'', a Boss Rush mode, an extended vs. mode, an updated soundtrack, and both a finished version and a secret beta version of Hidden Palace. The game also has a couple new visual effects (most evidently the Special Stage, which has a very smooth framerate). This is due to being built on a new, custom engine designed to port classic ''Sonic'' games.

* FanNickname: "The Unholy Trio" for the Metropolis Zone [[GoddamnedBats badniks]].

** There's no canon indication that [[http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111219152401/sonic/images/7/7a/1Silver_Sonic.png this game's Mecha Sonic]] is the same [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091121095828/sonic/images/3/34/SQM3-SilverSonic.png Mecha Sonic from the Genesis game]], but the fandom treats them as the same robot out of simplicity.

** Though it's never explicit and largely an assumption made by fans, the bad ending implies that Tails is murdered. Several years later, one of the biggest criticisms of some of the later games (in particular ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'') are that their DarkerAndEdgier tone is ''incredibly'' jarring and sometimes frustrating in a series about {{Funny Animal}}s fighting an evil fat man.

** Chemical Plant Zone (Its 2nd Act to be precise). You know it's a wake-up call when Sonic Team themselves (or at least, the members who developed the ''Sonic Gems Collection'') [[http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic2/chemicalplant/#miscnotes had trouble with this level]]. Aside from being a water level (without any air bubbles), there's one segment where you must climb up a series of rotating stair blocks as water rises. You can potentially get crushed, or (heaven forbid) fall back down into the water and have to do it all over again.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The music written for Hidden Palace Zone and Oil Ocean Zone in the beta became those of Mystic Cave Zone 2P and Casino Night 2P respectively in the final. In turn, a unused song present in betas was used as the final music for Oil Ocean, with the dropped Hidden Palace getting a song intended for an unmade cutscene before being cut. One further unreleased song was used for Emerald Hill Zone 2P. Fan speculation is that the Oil Ocean and Emerald Hill 2P music were intended for planned levels never implemented in the game, though this has never been confirmed.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The music written for Hidden Palace Zone and Oil Ocean Zone in the beta became those of Mystic Cave Zone 2P and Casino Night 2P respectively in the final. In turn, a unused song present in betas was used as the final music for Oil Ocean, with the dropped Hidden Palace getting a song intended for an unmade cutscene before being cut. One further unreleased song was used for Emerald Hill Zone 2P. Fan speculation is that the Oil Ocean and Emerald Hill 2P music were intended for planned levels never implemented in the game, though this has never been confirmed.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: While the 2013 remake has received considerable acclaim, a select VocalMinority of fans have taken it to task for adding in elements that they deride as gimmicks (such as including the elemental shields from ''Sonic 3''), using a slightly modified version of the Simon Wai prototype's Hidden Palace Zone rather than trying to recreate the speculated original vision of it being where Sonic learns how to access his SuperForm after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not using Track 10 for Hidden Palace]].

* AntiClimaxBoss: Silver Sonic, the penultimate boss (and, if you haven't gotten all of the chaos emeralds, the final boss) is probably second easiest boss next the the seal boss. He mainly just jumps around, and if you bump into him you just both go flying back without harm. His only other attacks include simply charging at you (at which point he is completely vulnerable to hits) and attacking with a claw like appendage (which ''may'' kill you if you're unlucky or haven't fought him before, but is still pretty easy to avoid as it's reach is very short.)

* GameBreaker:
** If you plug in the second controller, Tails can be used to defeat Eggman's machines easily because of his invincibility.
** If you can get all the Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic makes most of the game a cakewalk thanks to the increased speed and his invincibility. The only level it won't help with is of course, the Death Egg because it has no rings.