Warning: Full spoilers follow for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 just recently spin dashed onto the big screen, but it's already one of best video game movies of all time. And that's partly due to stellar performances by several actors including Idris Elba, the amazing CGI VFX and the many homages which subtly appeared in the film.
The movie features a collection of subtle Sonic references spanning the blue justice's 30 years in video games and other forms of media. While there were countless references in the film, here are ten of the best Easter Eggs and deep cuts concealed within the Sonic sequel, which you probably missed, because you're too slow!
10. Agent Stone's "Mean Bean" Coffee Shop
Following the events of the first film, Agent Stone relocates to the town of Green Hills and opens up a coffee shop called "Mean Bean". Now, Mean Bean is certainly a catchy name for a coffee shop, but unless you're a die-hard fan of Sonic, you wouldn't know that it's also an allusion to a lesser known Sonic game: Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.
For those unware, Mean Bean Machine is a 1993 puzzle game that was a reskin of the popular Puyo Puyo game. While Dr Eggman's puzzle game has largely been left dormant by Sega, it would briefly return as part of an Eggman boss battle in 2017's Sonic Mania.
9. Tom's ringtone
Both "Sonic the Hedgehog" movies include a nice little nod to the very first level of 1991's Sonic The Hedgehog 1. In the films, Sonic lives in the sleepy town of Green Hills with Tom and Maddie wachowski, which is a word play on Green Hills Zone. But the biggest homage happens partway through "Sonic The Hedgehog 2".
Ring a bell? That ringtone that irrupts during Rachel and Randell's wedding vows, when Sonic abruptly calls Tom, is actually the iconic theme that plays throughout the Green Hill Zone in 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog, a song mind you which has become synonymous with Sonic.
8. Tails' real name
Tails’ real name is Miles Prower, which is a witty pun of the phrase 'miles per hour'. By the end of the movie, the two tailed fox reveals his name, but interestingly enough it almost never existed in Sonic lore. Initially Sega’s American execs were more in favour of the ‘Tails’ name over Miles Prower. A compromise was reached, with Miles being the orange fox’s real alias and Tails being used in-game.
7. Sun of a GUN
One of the film's biggest plot twists comes partway through the movie, when it's revealed that Rachel's fiancé Randall is in fact an agent of the Guardian Units of Nations, or GUN. In truth, their entire wedding turns out to be a giant covert operation, with the singular goal of capturing Sonic.
If you have played "Sonic Adventure 2," you'll know this isn't the first time that GUN has unlawfully attempted to seize the hedgehog. The government authority plays a huge role in several Sonic games, especially "Sonic Adventure 2," and "Shadow the Hedgehog."
When Agent stone has a hard time handling the Egg Smasher, Eggman asks him whether he has read the manual. Stone responds by holding up a hefty guide, which has a cover page that is designed to look just like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive box art – complete with a black grid background.
Eggman's weapon of destruction while utilizing the Master Emerald’s powers may be called the Egg Smasher, but it looks erringly similar to the the final boss of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Death Egg.
Look away and you'll miss this one. While Agent Stone is toggling through a virtual wardrobe of costumes designed specifically for Eggman, one of them resemblances the evil scientist's classic outfit from the Sonic games, with one also altering Jim Carrey's weight from slender to big boned.
3. Sonic underwater
Sonic rescues Knuckles from a wet end near the end of the film as the temple ruins collapse around them. In spite of the perilous moment, there's still time for an Easter egg to be thrown in. Multiple times throughout the movie, Sonic admits that he hates water and can't swim.
Gamers will know the deal, with blue blur's underwater gameplay often being accompanied by a nerve-jangling countdown until he runs out of oxygen. In similar fashion to the games, in the movie, Sonic saves himself from drowning by swallowing a bubble underwater.
2. Super Sonic
The mid credits sequence of the movie introduces Sonic's edgy emo counterpart, Shadow the Hedgehog. After Eggman's second defeat, the agents of GUN learn that files about "Project Shadow" were dumped into the feral. In a hidden laboratory, Shadow awakens, all but hinting that he will collide with Sonic in the forthcoming third film.
Shadow first appeared in "Sonic Adventure 2," later starring in his own game, before appearing in other Sonic media including the "Sonic X" cartoon, which is somewhat inspired by the "Sonic Adventure" video games. He is an experimental experiment created by Eggman's grandfather Gerald.
If you enjoyed these Easter eggs and references from "Sonic The Hedgehog 2", then you'll surely be interested in several of the best Easter eggs which can be found throughout several Sonic games.