One edge that the newly released Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has over its predecessor is that it's more influenced by the source material. The film is full of fun references to video games, whether they're obvious or hidden away.
There are some huge pulls from the game, such as Sonic transforming into Super Sonic and the introduction of Tornado, the propellor plane that Sonic and Tails have used time and again in the series. But there are other nods to the games in the movie that are much harder to spot, and only true fans of the blue hedgehog will catch them. Between references to forgotten games in the series, references to things as niche as game manuals, and references to Sonic's dance movies, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a treasure trove of Easter eggs.
The Labyrinth And Water Slide
When Sonic, Knuckles, and Dr. Robotnik are all racing to reach Master Emerald first, they have to make their way through a giant labyrinth. While most of the newly-released movie is influenced by the second and third games in the video game series, this sequence heavily pulls from the first game's level, Labyrinth Zone.
One of the ways Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is better than the first movie is that it looks more like the video games, as it's set in these fantastical locations as opposed to just San Francisco. There's no more obvious example than this sequence, as the sequence even sees Sonic fall down a waterslide, which is by far the most thrilling and memorable moment of the first game.
Tails' Voice Actor
There are loads of prolific voice actors in animation, but these days, most high-profile animated films feature A-list movie stars, as they pull more viewers into movie theatres. That isn't too different from the casting in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as Knuckles is voiced by one of the most bankable stars working today, Idris Elba.
However, fans of the franchise might recognize Tails' voice, as the two-tailed fox is voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey, the professional voice actor who originally voiced Tails. It isn't just a fun nod to the old games and a fun Easter egg for fans, but it's a huge leap for voice actors too.
The Mean Bean
In the new movie, Agent Stone now runs a coffee shop called The Mean Bean. The name makes sense, as Stone worked for one of the meanest people in the universe, and he is a connoisseur when it comes to coffee beans. However, there's another reason for the coffee shop's name. In 1993, a spin-off game was released, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, which was essentially Tetris with a Sonic skin.
Mean Bean Machine is a deep cut in the Sonic games catalog, an impressive pull from the writers, and they incorporated it into the movie in an ingenious way. As Agent Stone was a barista in the first movie, the writers could very well have intentionally teed up this gag and Easter egg years ago, and it massively paid off.
The Round Suit
Though Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) looked nothing like the video game character in the first movie, he does resemble him much more in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The character now has the bushy mustache, the bald head, and the outfit, but there's still something missing. Carrey wanted the round suit for the sequel, but while he fought valiantly for what fans would love, the studio quickly shot the idea down.
However, if Carrey returns for the third film, Robotnik could appear in his full form and it'd fully complete the transition into the Eggman that fans know. But audiences can still see the round suit in the new movie if they watch carefully. When Stone is designing new suits for the villain on his supercomputer, one of the outfits he swipes past is the iconic one that he's best known for.
The Air Bubbles
It's hard to get underwater levels in video games right, but Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequels have some of the best underwater stages ever. The levels are referenced in the final act of the movie when Sonic is close to death but catches an air bubble just in time, which helps him live for a few seconds longer.
The air bubble is something fans know all too well, but they don't remember it fondly. Some are still traumatized from struggling to find the air bubble only to die and restart the level from the very beginning. The only thing missing from the scene in the movie is the intense music that gets faster, almost like the Jaws theme, as fans come closer to dying.
G.U.N.
Few people would have had a clue that G.U.N. is a reference to the video games, as there are so few human characters in the game series. When it's revealed that the whole wedding in Hawaii is an undercover operation to catch Sonic, Commander Walters explains the operation is called Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N. for short. This was a branch of the U.S. Military in Sonic Adventure 2, which had the same motives.
The movie references the same game later on in the movie too, as one of the helicopters has "SA-2" written on it. It's hardly a surprise that the new movie is heavily influenced by Adventure 2, as it's one of the best Sonic games ever.
Knuckles' Mention Of Grapes
At the end of the movie, after Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have defeated Robotnik and are playing baseball, they decide to pick up some ice cream. Knuckles hilariously has no idea what ice cream is, but he strangely asks if it has grapes in it. The line will leave a lot of viewers scratching their heads, as it comes off like a bad joke, but it's a reference to Knuckle's favorite food.
While Sonic has a love for chili dogs, Knuckles has much healthier cravings. In the franchise, the echidna has an obsession with grapes. Knuckles is known to enjoy all sorts of different fruits, but Grapes, more than any other, are his absolute favorite.
Sonic Adventure Cover
While there are tons of great dance movies, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 lowkey has one of the best dance sequences of the past few years. It's a bizarre and out-of-place sequence, but it's still one of the most hilarious, as Sonic and Tails find themselves in a dance-off with a tattooed troupe in the middle of Siberia.
One of the dance moves Sonic pulls off is the very cover of Sonic Adventure. It's one of the hardest to catch Easter eggs in the whole movie, as it only lasts for a split second, but Sonic throws his arm underneath his body, just like in the above cover, and it's an achievement if any fan spots it.
Snowboarding Down Mountains
Midway through the movie, after Sonic wins a dance battle and finds one of the clues to Master Emerald in a mountain, he escapes by snowboarding down the snowy peak. It isn't hard to believe that this scene can be found in a video game, as it's so filled with action and gives off such a sense of speed that it must have been influenced by one of the games.
However, it isn't just one game that the sequence can be found in, but two. The scene in the movie looks a lot like the Ice Cap Action Stage in Sonic Adventure, but fans also got to play Sonic snowboarding down snowy mountains as early as Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the game where he also met Knuckles for the first time.
Sega Genesis Game Manual
Agent Stone isn't just a sidekick to the Eggman, but he's the scapegoat in the Smithers and Burns-like relationship he has with Robotnik too. Anything Robotnik does wrong, he will immediately blame it on Stone, and because of the way the evil genius berates him, Stone will do anything for Robotnik to acknowledge him, and that includes reading through the Death Egg operation manual.
However, the manual that Stone holds up looks familiar, and it has the same design as the game manual for the Sega Genesis, the console on which the blue hedgehog first appeared. Though game manuals are a thing of the past, it's a design that every 90s kid will recognize.