Honestly, going into Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II I was expecting it to be a slight upgrade in comparison to the atrocious Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I. And while Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I was an absolute joke in comparison to the original classics, this superior sequel actually has a few things that make it STAND OUT compared to the classics. For one, I really like the Tails Combo moves and how they're utilized throughout certain levels throughout the game, as even if sometimes it's obvious as to when you're supposed to use it, other times you can actually find secret red rings with it! Such as in Oil Desert Zone Act 2 where you have to use the rolling move (or in my opinion the most questionable move, unintentionally- I hope-) to reach a specific area for a red ring. As for the levels themselves, while they're not nearly as iconic as say, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, I can still at least tell some effort was put into remixing levels to make them at the very least stylistically different, with far more variety in comparison to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I's obvious rehashing of Sonic 1/Sonic 2 level themes. Plus, at least for me- this is the best looking Modern Sonic model in my personal opinion, it's certainly a whole different league up from the first episode. However, my only major gripe is the waiting times between both bosses, phase transitions, and even combo moves, as while it looks cool the first time- it becomes increasingly annoying having to wait a few seconds to use a move, or get through a phase when it should be instant. As for the music, I definitely prefer this over the first episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 as well, and as for the Special Stages, they're a rehash of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Special Stages, but while Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Special Stages were about memorization (at least in the original Sega Genesis version-) this at the very least makes the render distance and timing a lot more fair. So in my opinion- this is definitely the better episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and while it's no masterpiece by any means- I do personally prefer it over Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in regards to both the Final Death Egg Boss in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 being absolutely atrocious and leaving a sour taste in my mouth, alongside the Special Stages also being worse in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the ORIGINAL version, not the version from Origins-) in comparison to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II's Special Stages. So overall, do I recommend playing this episode? Yeah, but- unfortunately the only downside is that if you ONLY play this episode you don't gain access to Episode Metal, which is a shame- but, still... I do recommend this, even with that downside. ^^;
(Update: I just wanted to say that even if Episode Metal is sort of a short (albeit convoluted in terms of the overall lore of the Sonic franchise-) small DLC for both having Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Episode II, it's still a nice way to close off this duology as it brings Metal Sonic's return to the forefront, and alongside that it brings Sonic the Hedgehog 4 full circle. So overall, I still highly recommend Episode II even if Episode I sucked, as well... to me this game is underrated, and is only considered "bad" because of Episode I's justified failure.)
