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| Note the "Not for Resale" stickers |
When Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the company offered a great deal: you could get the game free by mail if you bought a new Sega Genesis. As I'm always on the lookout for a good deal, I decided that was the time to get a new system.
My Sega Genesis Model 1 came from Target back when Richmond, Indiana, actually had one (my mother still mourns the store's departure to this day). Sonic the Hedgehog was the pack-in game. A few weeks after I bought the system, Sonic 2 arrived in the mail.
Williamsburg, Indiana, is a small town. For a long time, my house didn't even have a street address and all mail went to the local post office. No one delivered our mail; we had to pick it up every day ourselves. Even the street number assigned to our house wasn't our legal address; it was there simply so first responders could find us in case of an emergency. Our legal address is our P.O. box, which has caused all kinds of problems over the years, wreaking havoc on my mother's ability to order things online.
But one day, a package arrived for me in the mail. There are few things more exciting as a kid than anticipating the arrival of something in "four to six" or "six to eight" weeks. As an avid G.I. Joe collector in my youth, I'd gotten plenty of action figures after mailing in Flag Points. And when Sonic 2 arrived in a cardboard box, it was pretty darn cool.
A confession: I've never finished a Sonic game. I've almost finished one a few times, but many levels exist that I've never seen. If the game had a password or save function when I was a kid, this probably wouldn't be the case. I played both games a lot and probably preferred Sonic 2 because of the spin dash and the Casino Night Zone, which I thought was a blast.
I made it as far as the Star Light Zone in Sonic 1 and the Metropolis Zone in Sonic 2. I definitely have an affection for the Sonic games, although I never bought Sonic 3 or any of the spinoffs until Sonic Mania came out a few years ago. I also had Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 for the Game Gear, although those were entirely different games from their 16-bit counterparts.
To the great shock of many Sega CD fans, I never owned Sonic CD and only played the mobile version once. While I liked platformers and enjoyed playing as Sonic, sports and action games were more my style, and I played them with such great enthusiasm that the Sonic series got left behind.
That said, sometimes the theme from the Chemical Zone pops into my head. On another day, it may be the Star Light Zone theme. Maybe it's time to go back and give it another try...
