Familiar tunes, a surprise character reveal, and a high-flying nod to the games.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is blowing away fans with its Easter eggs.
Here are the best.
Spoilers ahead!
"Sonic 2" begins on the Mushroom Planet glimpsed in the first movie, where Dr. Eggman has been
living out a solitary "Cast Away" existence, right down to his conversations with inanimate
objects.
"My grasp on sanity remains absolute.
Isn't that right, Agent Stone."
The good doctor receives a series of visitors — most significantly, Knuckles the Echidna.
The fact that Knuckles first enters the story on the Mushroom Planet is entirely appropriate,
given that the locale is clearly inspired by the "Sonic & Knuckles" level Mushroom Hill
Zone.
Since "Sonic & Knuckles" is the first game in which the red echidna became a playable
character, and since Mushroom Hill Zone is the first level of that game, the stage can
easily be seen as Knuckles' debut — his Green Hill Zone, if you will.
This introduction includes a couple of other nods to the video games as well.
Knuckles being tricked into working for Dr. Robotnik is a common occurrence in the games.
Even Eggman's little Mushroom machines could be seen as intentional references to the "Sonic
& Knuckles" level, which itself featured various levers, elevators, and other gadgets made
of vines and mushrooms.
"Gross, smelly mushrooms.
I hate mushrooms."
In "Sonic 2," Stone, Dr. Robotnik's loyal assistant, has opened up a coffee shop in
town.
The unassuming storefront actually houses a range of Robotnik's high-tech gear, and
that's not the only secret it holds.
"Mean Bean Coffee Co." is the name of the business — a clear reference for those who
remember one of the most unique "Sonic the Hedgehog" games ever made.
Released on the Sega Genesis in 1993, "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine" is a puzzle
game set in the early "Sonic" universe.
Though it's far from the fastest "Sonic" game available, it's remained a well-remembered
part of the franchise's history, even being brought back for a surprise boss battle in
2017's "Sonic Mania."
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" features multiple scenes of Sonic demonstrating his love of extreme
sports, namely skateboarding and snowboarding.
He turns the house into a skate park as soon as Tom and Maddie leave for Hawaii, and he
puts his skills to the test later while escaping from Dr. Robotnik down a snowy mountain.
Though less of an Easter egg and more of a general reference, Sonic's predilection for
boarding of all types definitely deserves a spot on this list.
In the video games, he often takes breaks from his usual sprinting in favor of some
sort of extreme ride.
The action sequence on the mountain in "Sonic 2" seems to pull most directly from the IceCap
Zone level in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which begins with an extended snowboarding sequence.
Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik has a seemingly endless army of robots and gadgets of all
shapes and sizes, and a number of them are pulled directly from the "Sonic the Hedgehog"
games.
Early on in the movie, after returning to Earth, he acquires a small round hovercraft
that serves as his primary mode of transportation — a clear reference to the famous Egg Mobile,
which the villain has piloted some version of in nearly all of the core "Sonic" games.
Robotnik's giant "final boss" robot is also a clear callback to the games, albeit a slightly
less specific one than his flying pod.
The evil doctor has constructed and piloted all manner of mechanical behemoths through
the series, occasionally showcasing multiple massive robots in a single game.
"Behold my floating masterpiece, the Egg Carrier."
However, the one seen at the end of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" appears most similar to the
final boss of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" the game.
In addition to its design, Robotnik's giant robot harkens back to the series' Sega Genesis
days in another fun way.
While figuring out how to pilot the machine, Stone briefly shows off a paper manual for
it in the style of the Genesis' own instruction booklet, right down to the gridded black and
gray background.
Knuckles's storyline in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" stays pretty loyal to the video games,
and it includes a couple of smaller Easter eggs for dedicated fans.
The general setup of the warrior echidna tribe and their mission of guarding the Master Emerald
was changed a bit, but it's still very similar to the lore of the games.
The Emerald's hiding place is also very similar to its home of Angel Island in the games.
A more specifically evocative moment in Knuckles' quest comes at the very end of "Sonic 2."
Though the Master Emerald is shattered into pieces, Knuckles is able to locate every shard
and reassemble the jewel back into its original form.
Anyone who's played either of the "Sonic Adventure" games should be intimately familiar with this
moment, as Knuckles spends the entirety of both searching for the pieces of the broken
Master Emerald.
"The master emerald and the island have been restored."
Perhaps more than anything else, video game characters are remembered for their special
moves, and there are a lot in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" games.
With Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails all on the big screen together in "Sonic 2," it should
come as no surprise that they each get to show off some of their most famous techniques
from the games.
Most of Sonic's moves were already seen in the first movie, but it's still fun to see
them again.
He employs the spin dash multiple times, appears to use variations of his boost moves from
games like "Sonic Rush" and "Sonic Unleashed," and even seems to use his homing attack — a
core piece of his kit from the 3D "Sonic" games — in his battles against Knuckles
and Robotnik's robots.
Tails shows off his flying powers throughout the film, even carrying Sonic around in the
air a couple times in a manner incredibly similar to the games.
"Uh, did your butt just turn into a helicopter?"
Tails also comes ready with a backpack full of powerful gadgets, from laser blasters and
anti-gravity pads to scanners and translators.
And of course, Knuckles shows off his own classic moves in "Sonic 2" — most notably
his incredible strength, his ability to climb stone walls with his knuckles, and his gruff
attitude.
"Your society is full of soft and undisciplined weaklings."
If you're a longtime "Sonic the Hedgehog" fan, expect to have your ears perk up a lot
over the course of "Sonic 2" for some audio Easter eggs.
Tom's cellphone ringtone is a variant of the Green Hill Zone theme, for example.
"So help me, Thomas."
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails all have game-appropriate sound effects associated with their various
moves, and of course, Sonic drops his internet-famous line:
"Gotta go fast."
One particularly fun thing about "Sonic 2" for fans of the games is that Colleen O'Shaughnessey,
the voice actor who's played Tails for years in the video games, actually returns to voice
him in the movie.
"Hope I'm not too late."
Given that Sonic and Knuckles were both recast with big-name Hollywood stars, it's really
nice to see O'Shaughnessey get some cinematic recognition for her contributions to the franchise.
She's fantastic as Tails in "Sonic 2," just as she always is in the games.
One of the big narrative twists in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" comes in the middle of the
movie, when it's revealed that Rachel's fiancé Randall is actually an agent of the Guardian
Units of Nations, or GUN.
In fact, their whole wedding turns out to be a giant sting operation, with the goal
of capturing Sonic.
GUN fills a multipurpose role in the franchise, and their representation in the movie is pretty
accurate to how they've been portrayed in the past.
Tom Butler reprises his Commander Walters role from the first movie, but this time he's
established as the leader of GUN.
Given how he's styled and his positioning the story, it seems that he's meant to evoke
the unnamed, grizzled GUN commander from the video games.
Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik gets a lot closer to the character's video game look in "Sonic
the Hedgehog 2."
The ridiculous mustache, bald head, and beady-eyed goggles are a big part of that transformation,
but Robotnik also gets to rock some of his classic clothes throughout the film.
His main outfit is a red and black jacket that evokes his look from the more modern
"Sonic" games, but there are also some fun touches for fans of the series' time in the
'90s.
In one scene, audiences also get a very quick glimpse of a costume on a computer that looks
incredibly similar to the villain's old-school outfit.
Sonic the Hedgehog can't swim — a trope that "Sonic 2" plays on heavily.
Early on, Sonic and Tom go fishing on a lake in Green Hills, where Sonic emphasizes his
hatred of water and his inability to survive in it.
That moment sets up a far more dangerous encounter later on in the movie, when Sonic dives underwater
to save Knuckles.
In the old games, Sonic could run underwater for a certain amount of time, but he'd eventually
run out of air.
The only ways to re-up on oxygen and keep going were to either breach the surface or
find a spot where air bubbles would appear and float to the surface.
The air bubbles released by Knuckles and consumed by Sonic in the movie are clearly meant as
an homage to this feature of the games.
For a Sonic player, there is no more welcome sight than an air bubble, and there is no
greater frustration than drowning before you can find one.
In the final act of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," Tails gets to fly a plane, and not just any
plane — a red biplane meant to evoke the one he frequently flies in the video games.
Sonic even perches on the top wing of the plane as they fly into battle against Eggman's
giant robot, just as he does repeatedly throughout the series.
In later installments, Tails modifies the plane with all kinds of gadgets and gizmos,
including missile launchers, different wing positions, and even the ability to transform
into a walking mech suit.
He doesn't have much time to tinker with the plane in "Sonic 2," but he at least adds on
a little bit of firepower for good measure.
It's also worth noting that while the plane isn't named in the movie, the first scene
in which Tails flies it features a massive tornado – because in the games, the plane
is called the Tornado.
"That wasn't too bad.
Haha."
At the climax of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," Sonic finally unlocks the powers of the seven Chaos
Emeralds and transforms into Super Sonic — the glowing, golden form that lets him fly around
at even faster speeds and blatantly rip off "Dragon Ball Z" without violating copyright.
It's a great moment for fans of the games, as most of them end with similar battles between
Super Sonic and some giant enemy.
The nature of Super Sonic is changed a bit in the movie, but not in any really major
ways.
In the games, the heightened form rapidly drains energy from Sonic, often rings, which
doesn't happen in the movie.
The film's Super Sonic design is spot-on, however, and the ensuing battle very much
reads like classic showdowns from the games.
Of course, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" wouldn't be a modern adventure film without at least
one post-credits scene to set up the next installment, and this film reveals a secret
black ops site and an initiative called Project Shadow.
"Shadow.
It's you?"
The way in which Shadow is introduced also hints at some smaller details for the franchise's
future, which many viewers may miss.
Invoking the "Project Shadow" name suggests that the movies are sticking pretty close
to the storyline of "Sonic Adventure 2," which was Shadow's debut.
In that game, he's discovered by Dr. Eggman in the depths of a GUN research facility called
Prison Island, where he's been frozen for decades.
That could be the same location glimpsed in the "Sonic 2" post-credits scene.
Of course, it's unlikely that the family-friendly "Sonic" films will ever dive too deep down
Shadow's edgy side, but there are a lot of interesting possibilities.
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