(There's also a fifth zone where the final boss battle takes place.) These zones employ motifs that reference the levels from the first Sonic the Hedgehog: There's a cheery zone set among green hills and lovely waterfalls a zone set against a backdrop of neon-lit casinos a zone set in an ancient temple, much of it underwater and a zone set among spinning gears and cold machinery. The levels in Sonic 4 are spread out across four main zones, each with three normal stages and a boss stage. But it's still a powerful and satisfying inclusion in Sonic's arsenal that is often put to good use, as in sections where homing into one enemy, then the next, and then another is the only way to cross wide chasms. Many of these foes have retracting spikes, which forces you to use careful timing. However, you can't just use it to effortlessly defeat every Eggman machine standing between you and the end of each stage. In addition to the running, jumping, and spin-dashing moves Sonic had in his repertoire way back when Sonic & Knuckles was released, Sonic 4 lets him perform an airborne homing attack that immediately changes his trajectory to send him spinning directly into a nearby enemy, spring, switch, or other important object. And that's fine the game doesn't need a rich narrative to support its side-scrolling platforming action. Eggman and collect the chaos emeralds yourself.

There's essentially no story in Sonic 4 beyond the basic idea that as Sonic, you're trying to defeat Dr. Once again, the despicable mad scientist is searching for chaos emeralds and cruelly imprisoning bluebirds, bunny rabbits, and other adorable creatures in his deadly machines. The homing attack is a cool and useful addition to Sonic's 2D repertoire. Unfortunately, it doesn't manage to do this consistently, and too many dull and frustrating moments keep this from being a worthy successor to those classic games. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is, for the most part, a faithful follow-up to Sonic's earliest games, and in its best moments, it captures the joy and exhilaration that a good Sonic game is capable of delivering. Finally, the first official sequel to those games in 16 years is here. Sonic the Hedgehog hasn't exactly been absent from the realm of video games since his debut on the Sega Genesis, but there hasn't been a proper entry in the original series of Sonic games since 1994's Sonic & Knuckles.

Sonic 4 episode 2 final boss