This game technically marks the debut for the character, Miles "Tails" Prower as the game debuted for the Sega Master System and Game Gear in PAL territories in October of 1992 with the Game Gear version following world wide in November at the same time as it's counterpart Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992). That said, Tails was still absent from an early prototype shown off for the press.
Green Hills Zone theme music later was reused as the main theme, "Sonic You Can Do Anything (Toot Toot Sonic Warrior)" in Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1992).
Unlike the Genesis/Mega Drive version, the player cannot play as Tails, only Sonic. In this version, the object of the game is to rescue Tails from Dr. Robotnik. Despite this, the title screen for each zone shows a picture of Sonic and Tails travelling through it.
This version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has a completely different set of levels to the Genesis/Mega Drive version, although not as many (7 instead of 11, and no Special Stages). They are: Under Ground Zone, Sky High Zone, Aqua Lake Zone, Green Hills Zone, Gimmick Mountain Zone, Scrambled Egg Zone and Crystal Egg Zone.
In this version, Sonic can ride mine carts, fly high gliders and float inside large air bubbles underwater. These features aren't in the Genesis/Mega Drive version.