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 with new levels, and due to the success of the first game, was developed with a higher budget. Notably, this game features Tails as Sonic's sidekick, able to perform moves together with him and be controlled by either the CPU or second player.

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 the Hedgehog'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 Miles "Tails" Prower to help him face this new threat and set off to stop Eggman's latest scheme.

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?

Storyline
After the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, Sonic and Tails are riding the Tornado through the clouds. Sonic orders them to land and they crash into the Sylvania Castle Zone. They then make their way to the end of the castle and defeat Doctor Eggman in his new contraption: the Egg Serpentleaf. They then defeat him.

They then head into the snow mountains of White Park Zone where they head into Eggman's amusement park, where he is transforming Little Planet. They then come face to face with Metal Sonic on Tails' Rocket. He hops off and they battle. Sonic and Tails are victorious and they head to Eggman's newest base, the Oil Desert Zone. They then defeat Eggman's new Egg Scrap Mech and pursue him into the air on the Tornado, but are suddenly attacked by Metal Sonic in the new Metal Carrier. They land on the Sky Fortress Zone and manage to defeat Metal Sonic.

Eggman and Metal Sonic then flee to the Death Egg mk.II Zone, metallized around Little Planet. Sonic and Tails then defeat Metal Sonic and Eggman, pursuing Metal Sonic. They race him and he is wrecked upon being electrocuted on a door. They make it to the center, where they defeat Eggman's new Egg Heart. The battle causes the Death Egg mk.II to be destroyed, but Sonic and Tails manage to escape in two escape pods and land down to Earth, while the Death Egg mk.II is drained of it's power and is left helpless above Earth.

Description (Official Website)
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 Episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in which the player plays through some of Sonic 4 as Metal Sonic. It's story ties in with Episode 2's story, much like Knuckles' story in Sonic 3 and Knuckles. It shows how Eggman restored Metal Sonic to power, how Metal Sonic received even more power by absorbing an energy orb in the Lost Labyrinth, and that Metal Sonic found Tails's rocket ship at the end of Splash Hill Zone. Unlike as previously thought, this Episode is actually not downloaded separately; the data is part of Episode 2, and if the game detects Episode 1, the content is unlocked. All the player must do is complete Sylvania Castle Zone, Act 1 and back out of the level select, and then go back into level select. This is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and iOS.

Gameplay
Considerably changed from Episode I, Episode II has brand new physics and graphics engines, recreating physics that are closer to those of the Mega Drive/Genesis games. Ken Balough, brand manager of Sonic 4, said that fans gave bad reviews over the physics in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I which is why it was reworked.

Like Episode 1, the game is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer, though it plays more 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 perform a special ability known as a Tag Action. The player can perform special combo moves allowing them to spin, fly, and swim. Homing Attack has also been added, just as it was in Episode I. Tails can fly instead of doing a 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 Carrier
 * Metal Sonic and Eggmobile
 * Metal Sonic (race)
 * Egg Heart

Badniks

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

Animal Friends

 * Flicky
 * Cucky
 * Pocky
 * Pecky
 * Picky

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
 * Star Post
 * Item box
 * Egg Capsule
 * Red Star Rings

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)

Special Stages
Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II play akin to the Sonic 2 Special Stages. Like in Sonic 2 Sonic and Tails must collect a certain amount of rings, the amount increasing after hitting a checkpoint, however, unlike Sonic 2, Tails can collect rings, but will not lose his share if he touches any bombs, although this is only true for Single Player. Also, unlike Sonic 2, the player can boost by holding the Tag Action button, and while there is no time limit, but there is a timer, used for Time Attack scores.

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

Beta Elements
Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II/Beta Elements

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.
 * 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 Rush, and Sonic Colors (DS 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 was rumored that remix would be in the game, but it was nowhere to be found.
 * Red Star Rings make a return, though they only exist for the achievement/trophy in game.
 * In the gameplay trailer the warning signs from Sonic Generations that mark bottomless pits are back and the image shows Classic Sonic.
 * Super Sonic is playable in ordinary boss fights, which is the first time since Sonic 3 & Knuckles to do so.
 * According to the world map of Episode II and Episode Metal, Sylvania Castle Zone, White Park Zone, and Oil Desert Zone are adjacent and are on the same island of the world map of Episode I.
 * Metal Sonic's artwork is extremely similar to his Sonic Generations artwork, except in his Modern design.
 * The stages appearances seem to be a hybrid between two stages from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (&amp; Knuckles). Sylvania Castle's appearance is a hybrid between Sonic 2's Aquatic Ruin Zone' and Sonic 3 & Knuckles' Marble Garden Zone. White Park's appearance is a hybrid of Ice Cap Zone and Carnival Night Zone, both from Sonic 3. Oil Desert's appearance is a hybrid of Sonic 2's Oil Ocean Zone and Sandopolis Zone from Sonic & Knuckles. Sky Fortress' apprentice 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 Mk.II in escape pods. It is shown that the Death Egg Mk.II is still there (It just simply powered down for now).
 * Unlike Episode 1's Special Stages, this Episode's Special Stages do not contain a time limit; rather, a Time Bonus is rewarded at the end of the stage depending on how long it takes the player to finish.
 * Oddly, the Chaos Emeralds in this game seem to be bigger than Sonic's head.
 * The Special Stages have a feature that is also included in Sonic Rush, and Sonic Colors which is jumping at the end of the right and left sides of the track.
 * Oddly, Super Sonic's physics remain unchanged.
 * On the icon for the trophy/achievement for getting all the Chaos Emeralds, the order of the Chaos Emeralds is flipped vertically from the order in Episode 1.
 * Episode 1 did not feature any kind of Retina support. Episode 2 features Retina support for the iPhone 4 and iPod touch (4G), but not for the iPad 3.
 * A comic adaptation was made for the game, and was put into Sonic Super Special Magazine Issue 3.
 * The victory poses of Sonic after a boss battle are the same as his stance in Sonic Advance.
 * There is an error in the game where they say the Tornado used in this game is Tails' although this is the original Tornado which belongs to Sonic, as indicated on the side of the plane.