Sonic's 2D classics re-reviewed

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Nine vintage side-scrollers. Ten definitive verdicts. Yes, we can count

The Neo Geo Pocket was a great little machine, offering graphics of a quality somewhere between Master System and Mega Drive (or NES and SNES, depending). And this Sonic title combined the best of 16-bit Sonic 1 and 2 to create a very fun handheld Sonic.

The bonus stages of Sonic 2 made a welcome return, now with improved scaling. The regular zones were simplified versions of Sonic 2's for the most part, with Aquatic Ruin, Chemical Plant and Casino Night all looking pretty close to their bigger siblings, albeit without the multi-layered backgrounds.

If you can find a copy on eBay and love Sonic enough to buy an obsolete console just to play this, it is worth picking up. But be warned: it is quite basic compared to modern handheld offerings or full-fat 2D Sonic, so we can't really give it an 'essential' recommendation. It's better than Sonic Chaos, though.

Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.