Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is a 2.5D platformer for next-gen consoles, and marks the second episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. It was announced saying it will have new zones and new bosses and many other things we haven't seen before, plus it was said that thanks to the sales of the prior game, the game will likely have a bigger budget.

Plot
A few months after the events of Episode I, Little Planet, where Sonic CD took place, approaches once more. Doctor Eggman, who was defeated in the previous installment, knew that was only the beginning of his big scheme that he had been planning in secrecy. Dr. Eggman planned the entire plan from the very beginning of Episode I.

Hearing that Little Planet has finally returned, Eggman eagerly hops back into action, the next phase of his scheme will begin to unfold. Elsewhere, Sonic's old robot rival Metal Sonic has survived his defeat back in CD, though was left on Little Planet when it disappeared before. Eggman finds the Metal hedgehog and has made him even more powerful than before, to make Sonic no match for him.

Meanwhile, Sonic has found out about the Doctor and Metal Sonic being back, so he recruits his buddy Tails to help him face this new threat and speed around the Little Planet once more and save it from destruction.

What was Dr. Eggman searching for in the Lost Labyrinth? What was Mad Gear built for? They were all a mere puzzle piece of a grandiose project schemed by Dr. Eggman. When Little Planet reappears, Dr. Eggman’s whole scheme will be revealed! Will Sonic and Tails stop Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic's plan once and for all?

Description
Metal Sonic has returned to form a formidable alliance with Dr. Eggman. To face this new threat, Sonic will have to call upon an old friend to help him save the day. Joined by Tails, they utilize ingenious combination moves and race across four brand new Zones, in order to put an end to their evil plans. Play alone, or with a friend locally (and online), in an evolution of Sonic 2's collaborative gameplay! Unleash Sonic and Tails’ devastating joint attacks and combination moves to fight the united force of Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman. Episode II features an all new game engine, bringing you updated physics and an original graphical style as you race through 4 unique Zones and a new Special Stage based on the one from Sonic 2.

Episode Metal
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal is an extra downloadable Episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in which the player plays through some of Sonic 4 as Metal Sonic. It's story likely ties in to Episode 2's story, much like Knuckles' story in Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

Gameplay
Considerably changed from Episode I, Episode II will have a brand new physics and graphics engine, promising physics that are closer to how it was on the Mega Drive/Genesis. Ken Balough, brand manager of Sonic 4, said that fans gave bad reviews over the physics in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I as well as a brand new graphics engine, which is why it has been reworked.

Like Episode 1, the game is a 2.5D sidescrolling platformer, though it plays similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with the addition of Tails. During regular gameplay, Tails follows Sonic around like he did in Sonic 2 and 3. A co-op mode has also been added, allowing one player to play as Sonic and the other as Tails. One of the game's most outstanding gimmicks is that Sonic and Tails can team up and do power combo moves allowing them to spin, fly, and swim. Homing Attack has also been added, just as it was in Episode I. Tails can also do the Homing Attack.

Playable

 * Sonic the Hedgehog/Super Sonic
 * Miles "Tails" Prower

Non-Playable

 * Doctor Eggman
 * Metal Sonic

Bosses

 * Egg Serpentleaf
 * Metal Sonic
 * Egg Scrap Mech
 * Metal Sonic (airship)
 * Dr. Eggman & Metal Sonic
 * Metal Sonic (race)
 * Egg Heart

Badniks

 * Spikes
 * Fullboar
 * Steelion
 * Scarabesque
 * Sandworm
 * Chop Chop
 * Snowy
 * Bubbles
 * Zoomer
 * Orbinaut
 * Mantis
 * Balkiry
 * Turtloid
 * Clucker

Zones

 * Sylvania Castle Zone
 * White Park Zone
 * Oil Desert Zone
 * Sky Fortress Zone
 * Death Egg Mk.II Zone

Key Items

 * Chaos Emeralds
 * Rings
 * Sign Posts
 * Item box

Item boxes

 * Super Rings (Holds 10 rings)
 * 1-UP (Extra life)
 * Power Sneaker (Makes you run faster for a limited time)
 * Invinciblity (Makes you invincible for a limited time)
 * Shield (Protects you from a single hit)
 * Combo Attack (A golden item box that makes Sonic and Tails attack all enemies on-screen and gives you points or rings if you score enough)

Gallery
For a robust of Concepts, Screenshot and more, please see: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II/Gallery

Trivia

 * This is the first game since Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (or Sonic 06 in the mainstream games) to promote Tails as a playable character (not counting the digital re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog CD).
 * Also in creativity for promoting Tails, the art and styling for the game's beta box art represents Tails' two tails in place of the Number 2. This is also featured in the game's teaser trailer.
 * Also in the Teaser Trailer, Sonic and Tails performed a combined Spin Attack; which caused some fans to wonder if it in fact was a new move or not. With the recently released screenshots it is revealed that it is a move named Rolling Attack.
 * The color of Sandworm looks very similar to its iteration, Caterkiller.
 * This is the first Sonic game to promote Tails carrying Sonic underwater. The first to feature it was Sonic Advance 3 with Tails' mid air tag action.
 * This game celebrates the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. As well as the title card paying homage to said game (which is similar to Episode I which pays homage to Sonic 1), the Special stages are given a Sonic 2 style. This style of special stage was also previously used in Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rush, Sonic Colors (DS version) and Sonic Generations (3DS version).
 * This game also celebrates the 20th anniversary of Tails' first appearance.
 * One of the level screenshots strongly resembles the snowboarding segment from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Adventure, in Ice Cap Zone.
 * It appears that Metal Sonic has stolen the rocket Tails made, the one that is used to get to the Final Zone in Sonic 4 Episode I.
 * This game marks the return of Little Planet from Sonic CD.
 * The music in the 2nd trailer is a remix of the menu music from Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. It's rumored that remix will be in the game.
 * Red Star Rings make a return, though what they'll unlock in the game has yet to be confirmed.This is also the first 2D console Sonic game to feature Red Rings.
 * In the gameplay trailer the warning signs from Sonic Generations that mark bottomless pits are back and the image shows Classic Sonic.
 * Super Sonic will be playable in ordinary boss fights, which is the first time since Sonic 3 & Knuckles to do so.
 * In Episode I people saw something on the right of the world map causing them to wonder if it was to Episode II. According to the world map of Episode II, it connects to Episode I.
 * Metal Sonic's artwork is extremely similar to his Sonic Generations artwork, except in his Modern design.
 * The stages appearences seem to be a hybrid between two stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (&amp; Knuckles). Sylvania Castle's appearence is a hybrid between Sonic 2's Aquatic Ruin Zone' and Sonic 3 & Knuckles' Marble Garden Zone. White Park's appearence is a hybrid of Ice Cap Zone and Carnival Night Zone, both from Sonic 3. Oil Desert's appearence is a hybrid of Sonic 2's Oil Ocean Zone and Sandopolis Zone from Sonic & Knuckles. Sky Fortress' appearence is a mix of Sky Chase, Wing Fortress and Death Egg Zone. The Death Egg Mk.II is based on Sonic 2's Death Egg Zone, but as a full act, much like the Sonic & Knuckles version.
 * Apparently, by the end shown, it appears that Sonic 4 Saga continues, perhaps the attempt to revive Dr. Eggman's Death Egg Mk.II for world domination.
 * Due to a glitch on Steam, very few lucky gamers who bought Sonic 4 Episode 2 were able to play through the beta version of the whole game and Episode Metal (and keep it) on April 14th. The glitch was quickly fixed.
 * Unlike Episode I, Episode II contains non-2D cutscenes. An example of this is once you beat the final boss ( The Egg Heart) a cutscene shows (after the 2D cutscene, the 3D cutscene is right before the credits) with Sonic and Tails escaping the Death Egg MKII in escape pods. It is shown that the Death Egg MKII is still there (It just simply powered down for now). This may hint at a Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode III.