Frank Provo of "GameSpot" wrote "Play through it and you'll understand why it helped sell a ton of Genesis consoles back in the day. It's a fun platformer and does everything a sequel is supposed to do. It resolves many of the first game's shortcomings and incorporates a slew of minor upgrades that cumulatively amount to a fresh experience." Justin Towell of "GamesRadar+" called the sequel "an improvement in every respect", citing the "improved Special Stage with pseudo-3D shenanigans, a greater emphasis on speed, better graphics, another incredible soundtrack" as examples. Tom East of "Official Nintendo Magazine" called the game "arguably the best game in the series and easily one of the best platform games ever".