Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
In August 1999, SNK announced that they were collaborating with Sega to develop a "Sonic the Hedgehog" game for their Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld system. The game was developed by SNK, with supervision from Yuji Naka and Sonic Team at Sega. This marked the first time Sega was directly involved in the development of a "Sonic" game for a non-Sega platform. The team planned for "Sonic Pocket Adventure" to be a return to the classic 2D gameplay style found in the "Sonic" games on the Sega Genesis. In particular, many game design and visual elements are borrowed from "Sonic 2". The game's background music tracks are also 8-bit renditions of music from "Sonic 3". "Sonic Pocket Adventure" was released first in North America on December 4, 1999. SNK released a system bundle with the game included for the holiday season. The game was released in Japan two weeks later, and in Europe in February 2000.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Reviewers praised the large levels, colorful graphics and backgrounds, increased characters, enemies, and music. GameSpot stated that "time may have eroded Sega's prominence, but it hasn't done much to diminish how sweet "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is," and, along with other reviewers, commented on how it is still a fun game to play. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" named it the best Genesis game of 1992. In 2000, "Game Informer" ranked "Sonic 2" number 61 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time" list, calling it "the most challenging and finely polished "Sonic the Hedgehog" title." "Mega" placed the game at #36 in their "Top Sega Mega Drive Games of All Time" list. Critics also enjoyed the faster gameplay in comparison to its predecessor, as well as its new features. Lucas Thomas of IGN praised the new "spin dash" ability.