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 can 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 making 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 Tails to land and they crash into 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 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
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II plays similar to the previous episode, but with several enhancements. Sonic is now accompanied by Tails, either controlled by the computer or a second player via local or online co-operative play. Unlike in the 16-bit titles, Tails cannot be played in single player and likewise Sonic can't be played on his own here are also new various combination moves that can be performed together, such as Tails lifting Sonic up to places he would be unable to reach otherwise, and the two can roll into a ball to perform a fast and powerful spin attack.[11 ]

Special Stages in Episode II, also accessed the same way they are in Episode I, are based on the half-pipe style format introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in which the player is required to collect a certain number of rings before the goal in order to obtain a Chaos Emerald.Also returning are the Red Star Rings that have previously appeared in Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations. One Red Ring is hidden per act, and an achievement is unlocked after collecting them all.There is also cross-compatibility planned for the XBLA and Windows Phone 7 versions, allowing players to alternate their games between them using Cloud Saving

Owners of both Episode I and II (provided they are both on the same system) will unlock free Episode Metal content in Episode II. Episode Metal explains how Metal Sonic came back to life after being defeated in Sonic CD. Players play as Metal Sonic through four acts, all of which are reworked zones from Episode I, explaining the significance of those zones to the story as well.

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 Ring (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 and rings if you score enough, by pressing the jump button repetadly.)

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 increases 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, there is a timer, used for Time Attack scores.

Development
In February 2011, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II was confirmed to be in early development. Sega Brand Manager Ken Balough has mentioned that "the idea is to introduce new zones with things you haven't seen." He has also hinted that Episode II may have a larger budget than Episode I, due to the latter being received very well commercially. Balough also mentioned that many ideas for Episode II were planned while the first episode was being developed. [17 ] Sega of America Community Manager Aaron Webber also hinted that Tails may appear in Episode II as well.[18 ] On August 23, 2011, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka stated that “this year, 2011, is the anniversary, so we’re focusing on the celebration title, but moving forward to 2012, Sonic will still be going, so I’d hope to provide Episode 2 then.” He also said that Sonic Team “knew about the anniversary year," and that "Generations was planned way in advance," therefore "it was always our plan to release Episode 2 after Generations.”[19 ] In preparation for Episode II's release, Sega re-released Sonic the Hedgehog CD to digital platforms in Winter 2011, billing it as a 'prequel' to Sonic 4 as the events of Episode II would rely heavily on what occurred in CD.

On December 29, some new information on Episode II was revealed along with a teaser trailer, including the return of both Metal Sonic and Tails, and an updated graphics and physics engine. Platforms confirmed for release are Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and PC.[20 ] [21 ] It has also been confirmed that no Wii version of Episode II will be released due to hardware constraints.[22 ] [23 ]

On April 21, 2012, an early beta version of Episode II was accidentally made temporarily available to people who pre-ordered the game on Steam before Sega removed it.[24 ]

Future Episodes
As of March 2012, Sega currently has no plans for Sonic 4 beyond Episode II. Takashi Iizuka says that Sega is looking forward to user feedback and wants to see how users accept this episode. During the PAX East 2012, Cheat Code Central spoke with Sega representatives who informed that the company would be taking Sonic games "one at a time". It was said that if Episode II sells well, an Episode III will likely be developed, as well as a possible Episode IV if that does well in turn.

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. However, unlike Sonic CD, Little Planet only appears in space.
 * 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.
 * The warning signs from Sonic Generations are also back.
 * 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.
 * 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 3D cutscenes. An example of this is once you beat the final boss (The Egg Heart) a cutscene shows with Sonic and Tails fleeing the Death Egg Mk.II in escape pods.
 * 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.
 * Super Sonic's physics remain unchanged from Episode 1 because Sonic Team didn't see any problem with them, according to Ken Balough.
 * 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.
 * The in-game description refers to the Tornado as Tails' plane. This is incorrect as the original Tornado model airplane belongs to Sonic.