Sonic the Hedgehog platforming of the main levels. The 16-bit "Sonic the Hedgehog " consisted of a giant rotating maze, which many considered a major technical achievement. The most common special stages, however, were segments with the character running through a long tunnel to collect certain items. 3D "collect item" levels, as in "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles", used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the blue-colored orbs on the surface of a giant sphere. Finally, "Sonic Advance 2" employed a 3D ring-collecting stage, and "Sonic Chaos" ("Sonic and Tails" in Japan) used a variety of gimmicks for its levels.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prominence, but it hasn't done much to diminish how sweet "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is," and, along with other reviewers, commented on how it is still a fun game to play. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" named it the best Genesis game of 1992. In 2000, "Game Informer" ranked "Sonic 2" number 61 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time" list, calling it "the most challenging and finely polished "Sonic the Hedgehog" title." "Mega" placed the game at #36 in their "Top Sega Mega Drive Games of All Time" list. Critics also enjoyed the faster gameplay in comparison to its predecessor,