When it comes to video game movies, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 now stands with its predecessor as a great video game movie in the eyes of fans. With plenty of video game movies failing to deliver to an audience of moviegoers and gamers alike, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies have managed to fill that niche. Unlike other similar movies that try to grab their audience by doing something different from the games, Paramount's latest box office hit has instead profited from embracing its source material wholeheartedly.

With the trailer shown at the Game Awards last December, it was made rather clear Sonic 2 was going to be more like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles. While Tails had a larger role in the trailer than Knuckles, imagery such as Robotnik piloting a giant robot shaped like him as well as Sonic snowboarding made it rather clear which game the movie would borrow its story from. However, the fans who watched Sonic 2 were treated to more than just references to the Sega Genesis titles.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with Hints of Sonic 2

sonic-the-hedgehog-2-tails-and-knuckles

While the second Sonic movie did lean more into Sonic 3 and Knuckles than Sonic 2, it makes sense that this was the approach the filmmakers took considering Sonic's second title had next to no story. It merely explained how Sonic and Tails met, and that story could be only found in the game's manual. This story was also kept rather short, varied depending on what region players got the game in, or was completely left out of certain manuals entirely. Sonic 3 and Knuckles, meanwhile, had its story within the game itself, making it a good basis for the second Sonic movie.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ended up being a rather faithful, almost note-for-note adaption of Sonic 3 and Knuckles, which excited many fans. Old and new players got to watch Dr. Robotnik lie to Knuckles to claim the Master Emerald, as well as see Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles come together at the end of the movie on the big screen in a thoughtful narrative. Even the robot Jim Carrey's Eggman creates near the end of the movie is very obviously made to resemble the Death Egg Robot. With references to classic stages such as Ice Cap Zone and even Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1, plenty of fan-favorite moments from the Sega Genesis games made it into the film. However, they're not the only games to get the spotlight in the latest Sonic movie.

The Modern Sonic Games in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic eating a chili dog in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Keen-eyed Sonic fans saw references to Sonic Adventure in the movie's trailers, most notably featuring Sonic standing atop a building at night before running down its side. The full scene makes it rather clear to the viewers that the homage to the iconic Dreamcast title was on purpose, and it also wasn't the only one. Sonic 2 revisits the echidna tribe from the first movie and gives fans a closer look at their society, the structure of which strongly resembles how the tribes in Sonic Adventure functioned. Sonic Adventure 2 was also referenced often, as Sonic 2 introduces GUN, and Dr. Robotnik seems to use Chaos Control while harnessing the power of the Master Emerald.

The references don't stop at the older Sonic titles. While Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles teaming up at the end of the movie was a natural conclusion due to how the story of S3&K played out, the way the movie handles it reminded many fans of Sonic Heroes. The translator Tails used in the film was most likely inspired by Sonic Colors' story. There is also a rather unexpected Sonic Riders reference in the film, as the owl statue found in the cave has runes on it that are also used by the Babylon Rogues.

The director of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 said that the movie was full of references before release, and it turns out that was far from an empty promise. The things listed here are only a fraction of the fun details found in Sonic 2, and there is a high chance fans won't catch everything by watching it just once. The Easter eggs are not only fun to spot, but many of them have ended up filling in blanks that the older games never answered, which helps strengthen the movie's narrative and flesh out the cinematic universe.

It would have been very easy for a movie such as this to avoid touching any other Sonic games beyond the Genesis titles, but instead, Sonic 2 paid homage to as many of the series' entries as it possibly could. This spells good things for the cinematic universe Paramount seeks to create with Sonic and will keep viewers interested, since later games hold tons of great material for future films and TV shows to adapt. As a whole, Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog movies are one strong facet of the franchise's bright future.

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