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Sonic the Hedgehog 2^[a] is a platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console, released worldwide in November 1992. It is the second main entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and introduced Sonic the Hedgehog’s sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower, controllable by a second player. In the story, Sonic and Tails must stop series antagonist Dr. Ivo Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space station, the Death Egg.

Development of the game began in November 1991. Both the American and Japanese Sonic Team staff contributed to developing the game; art director Tim Skelly designed the appearance of the game’s new 3D special stages, which were based on an earlier tech demo created by Yuji Naka. The staff increased the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in comparison to its predecessor. As with the first installment, the soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sold over six million copies, making it the second-best-selling Genesis game behind the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It received highly positive reviews from critics, who commended the game’s level design and visuals, although its multiplayer mode was criticized. It has been re-released on various platforms; a remastered version developed using the Retro Engine released on iOS and Android in December 2013. Two direct sequels, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, were released in 1994.