"Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I" must've been an initial success, because it was able to inspire Sega to go along further with its ambitious episodic format plan. Two years later, "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II" made its way out as the second installment in a planned trilogy...that never got finished. It seems the lukewarm reception to these two games (and perhaps a decline in sales) may have dissuaded Sega from ever getting to finish off the trilogy. I could be completely off on that, but regardless, I enjoyed my time with "Episode I" originally, and my revisit was pretty solid, too. However, in my youth, I was less crazy about "Episode II," so I had worries about revisiting it. As it turns out, I didn't dislike it as much as before, but I wasn't as enthralled by it.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II" carries a lot of what made the first game solid, what with its colorful visual design, fun platforming gameplay, smooth controls, and strong mix of the old and new styles of play. What I really appreciated was the nice changes and improvements that "Episode II" made this time around. Adding Tails gave room for some fun co-op play, and I'm glad he made it into the game because he's one of my favorite "Sonic" characters. Unlike the first episode, the levels in this game were more unique, as opposed to being pulled from the previous 2D games, giving the game a bit more of an identity. Finally, the physics feel much improved from the first episode, moving a lot closer to the classic Genesis games and making them a bit better for players who were burned by what "Episode I" offered.
Sadly, while the game does a decent amount to improve on "Episode I," it does bring with it some issues that I couldn't really get over. While I'm glad they finally went with new levels here, the overall design of them doesn't grab me quite as much as the first entry did. As happy as I am that unique levels were added, it doesn't mean they're all interesting. I also felt like the Special Stages were pretty bland; while I'm glad they were in 3D, they almost felt like weaker versions of what we saw in a game like "Sonic Heroes." Most disappointingly, I found it hard to enjoy a lot of the boss fights here; many of them were boring, and I often found myself just wanting them to end.
Overall, "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II" takes three steps forward and then four steps backward. The effort shows, and the developers did genuinely care about improving features and gameplay ideas from the first games. Sadly, other elements of the gameplay felt held back, and it made "Episode II" feel like a disappointment. It's a shame we didn't get to see "Episode III" happen, as it would've been interesting to see how the games wrapped up and what that would've learned from the first two. Ah well, at least we have "Sonic Mania" that's been able to keep us satisfied. As for "Sonic the Hedgehog 4," these two episodic "Sonic" titles are hardly essential, but if you can find them at decent prices, they could be worth looking into.
Final rating: 6 out of 10 "Decent"