Sega's speedy blue hedgehog, Sonic, is returning to the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console today in the mascot's second video game outing--Sonic the Hedgehog 2--which was originally released on the Sega Mega Drive in 1992. The platform game is a sequel to the first Sonic game--titled simply Sonic the Hedgehog--which was released in 1991, and was added to the Virtual Console at the end of last year. The sequel sees the first appearance of Miles "Tails" Prower, one of Sonic's sidekicks, a fox who can propel himself into the air using his two bushy tails.

　　Sonic the Hedgehog 2 follows on from the events of the first game, where the evil Dr. Robotnik escaped after his Scrap Brain facility was destroyed, and the doctor is now back with fresh plans to conquer the world. Sonic and Tails, of course, are determined to thwart the doctor's efforts.

　　The second rerelease now on the European Virtual Console is another Mega Drive game from Sega, Ecco: The Tides of Time. Another direct sequel to the first game in its series, Ecco: The Tides of Time is the second game to feature the character Ecco the Dolphin. In this game, the Vortex Queen--who was believed to have been vanquished--is now on Earth with her new hive. The action game tasks Ecco with new underwater puzzles including scavenger hunts, and the friendly dolphin also gains the ability to transform into different creatures, including a seagull, a jellyfish, and a shark.

　　Continuing the "sequels" theme, Sega's Golden Axe II is the third title now primed for download. Another port from the Mega Drive, the 1991 hack-and-slash game gives fighters the option to play as a dwarf named Gillius Thunderhead, a barbarian called Ax Battler, or a female Amazon warrior, Tyris Flare. The three players each have unique abilities that are needed to recover the fabled Golden Axe.

　　Last but not least on this week's list is 1989 Namco title Dragon Spirit, a vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up game from the TurboGrafx-16 platform. The main character, Amul, is a crafty young soldier saving kidnapped princess Alicia and kicking the butt of princess-kidnapping serpent demon Zawell in the process. Amul has been given special powers by a blue dragon, and as the game progresses, must discover extra abilities in order to win the mighty showdown.

　　Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Ecco: The Tides of Time, and Golden Axe II cost 800 Wii points (approx £5.60) each, and Dragon Spirit can be nabbed for 600 Wii points (£4.20).