All the Hidden Easter Eggs in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’

As for video game characters, Sonic the Hedgehog has had a long career. Over 30 years! Does that make him a millennial now?

From video games to cartoons and even anime, there are tons of legends and lots of references to choose from when it comes to bringing the color blue to a cinematic treatment, which for the first time happened with 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog—A film that grossed over $300 million.

The predecessor had his fair share of easter eggs, a term used to describe hidden messages or images intended for scavenger hunted fans. Very much expected Sonic the Hedgehog 2, now in theaters and the new movie has so many of them, you might have to watch it twice to get the hang of it.

To the best of my ability, here’s a list of easter eggs you can find Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Have fun hunting!

(Warning: Vandals lie ahead!)

Mushroom hill area

Set directly after the events of its predecessor, the film opens with Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) stranded on a planet surrounded by mushrooms. This terrain is directly inspired by the first region from Sonic & Knuckles: Mushroom Hills. This area is where Sonic fans can play as Knuckles the Echidna for the first time. (In the film, Knuckles is voiced by Idris Elba.) It’s only fitting that Knuckles was introduced in the film with a similar setting. In the film’s pixel-art-style credits, the animators recreate the design of the Mushroom Hills as it shows Knuckles finding Robotnik there as well.

Introduction of Sonic Adventure

Sonic’s trailer in this movie features him standing atop a Seattle building, at night, watching a robbery in progress as the police drive past. He went into full alert mode and quickly got into action. This entrance is very reminiscent of the beginnings of the classic Dreamcast starter title Sonic Adventure. The scene layout is smart, it’s almost note to note, beat to beat. Instead of stopping a crime and in Seattle, he confronts the game’s main antagonist, Chaos, the God of Destruction, the game’s first boss.

“The Woooooorst” by Jean-Ralphio

Sonic gears up for movie night with the Wachowskis’ dog while adoptive parents Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) are away in Hawaii. He asked the dog what they should watch and said, “I don’t watch Snow dog Again. That movie is a horror movie,” as he brings his gloved hand to his mouth, close to the dog’s ear, in full-bodied Jean-Ralphio style.

This is a direct reference to the iconic character of Sonic’s Ben Schwartz voice actor Jean-Ralphio from Amusement park.

In the underrated and short-lived Cartoon Network series OK KO: Be a hero, there is a crossover episode called “Meet Sonic”. The episode was released in 2019, before the first movie. Voice actor Roger Craig Smith, who voices Sonic in the series, Jean-Ralphio “he’s a disappointment” when describing his nemesis, Dr. Eggman.

Ben Schwartz, the originator of the “worst” jingle, but the second Sonic to do so.

The Mean Bean Café

In the sequel, Dr. Robotnik’s right-hand man/secret admirer Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub) owns a coffee shop in Green Hills, Montana. When setting up the scenes, you can see the cafe’s name is “The Mean Bean”, which is a direct reference to Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean’s Sega Genesis Tetris-style Sonic spin-off.

Sonic AdventureCover photo of

In a rather dramatic scene where Tails and Sonic dance to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” in a Siberian bar against a Russian dancer, Tails throws Sonic into the air, where he does it. a move related to Sonic Adventure cover art. It’s a blink egg, but it’s sad to see the animators at Marza Animation Planet bring that classic move to life.

About Ice Cap Zone

The movie takes one of the transitions from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and turns it into a massive action set that begins the same way the game’s Ice Cap Zone level does: Sonic skateboarding down a huge mountain. In this cinematic interpretation, this takes place in Siberia, as Sonic and Tails attempt to hide from Knuckles and Robotnik.

Green Hills Theme

You already know the iconic tune from the first region from the original classic. Now Tom’s ringtone for Sonic whenever he calls him.

Soldiers GUN

One of the movie’s weirdest things involves the secret organization that originated in Sonic Adventure 2, Guardian Units of Nations, aka GUN.

While Sonic is searching for the Master Emerald, Tom and Maddie are attending the wedding of Maddie’s sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell). When they were about to be crushed by an avalanche in Siberia, Tom called them to Hawaii. There, wedding attendees reveal themselves to be GUN agents, including Rachel’s fiancé (Shemar Moore). A character from the previous season, Commander Walters (Tom Butler), vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reveals himself to be the founder and head of GUN. The codename for the ambush was revealed to be Operation: Catfish.

In the game, GUN soldiers are the federal unit that hunts down Sonic when they are confused with Shadow the Hedgehog. Here, they are a secret organization that aims to protect the world from alien forces.

Labyrinth area

Sonic 2 continues to bring the classic Genesis regions to life, but the region is taken directly from the first game. There’s a live action repeat of the Labyrinth Region, which is now home to the main Emerald. Knuckles and Robotnik got off to a good start as Sonic followed behind. The way he gets in is done right from level three from the area, where he lands on a water slide, which leads him to the maze itself. Also interesting is that during this composition, Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, takes some cues from the level’s score and integrates it into his track “Enter the Labyrinth.” .

Eggman’s Egg Design

Another flashy easter egg will happen when Agent Stone is in his Mean Bean cafe, where he tricks into becoming a secret base for Robotnik. When he designs doctor’s outfits, you’ll find the modern big belly Eggman design as one of the options.

SA-2 . helicopter

As soon as the climax begins, you can find a GUN helicopter with the SA-2 tag on the carrier. GUN, Sonic Adventure 2… you get the gist.

Sonic vs. Knuckles, Anime Style

During the massive brawl between Sonic and Knuckles for the Master Emerald, Sonic easily dodged all of Knuckles’ high-speed attacks. Fast movement and dodging are eliminated right in the Sonic X anime, where the two have their first fight and Sonic is talking trash in his face, further enraged Knuckles. In my opinion, this is one of the ten best fighting anime of all time.

Tails ‘Tornado Plane

Tails hijacks a plane in Hawaii at Rachel’s wedding and drives Knuckles and Sonic to Green Hills so they can take down Robotnik’s Death Egg model robot together. This plane is designed to resemble the classic Tails plane from the game Genesis. It doesn’t last as long in the movie, but the scene is very familiar to the Sky Chase Zone from the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 game.

SEGA Genesis User Manual

In Dr. Robotnik’s Kalju-sized mech suit, known as the Egg Smasher, Agent Stone couldn’t figure out how to launch rockets at Sonic and Tails, who were approaching them by plane. Robotnik asks “if he has read the manual” and Stone responds by picking up an instruction manual similar to the SEGA Genesis manual. It’s called “EGG SMASHER” with the stylized SEGA font and everything.

The Ultimate Life Form

Hopefully you’re still sitting in your seat through the credits as you get your first look at none other than Shadow the Hedgehog, who’s been teased as the next villain in the sequel. A GUN soldier tells Commander Walters that they have found a detail in Robotnik’s file that has been traced back more than 50 years. Theoretically, this is Shadow’s age when he was introduced in Adventure 2.

Since he’s on Robotnik’s profile, it can be assumed that the sequel will most likely include his grandfather Gerald Robotnik, who created Shadow. Probably Sonic the Hedgehog 3 can include the Space Colony Ark, the City Escape sequence, and give Shadow a gun. Come on, I’m going too far for myself…