| Game Informer's 2017 feature says Sega of America's marketing team, confident early, drafted promotions such as "Sonic 2sday" and a teaser poster reading "Are You Up 2 It?"; Al Nilsen, then its director of marketing, said Sega could have pulled the plug on Sonic 2sday up to May 1992. | page footers | Web |
| In the North American manual's story, Dr. Robotnik is trapping animals and turning them into robots to build his ultimate weapon, the Death Egg, and Sonic has to find the 7 Chaos Emeralds before him. | Find the Chaos Emeralds!Find the Chaos Emeralds! | Manual |
| The North American manual introduces Miles "Tails" Prower, a fox with two tails who has dreamed of being like Sonic since he was a baby and runs after him; in a one-player game a second player can move Tails with the second pad, and the options also offer Sonic alone or Tails alone. | Find the Chaos Emeralds!Find the Chaos Emeralds!Find the Chaos Emeralds!Getting StartedThe Options ScreenThe Options Screen | Manual |
| The North American manual calls the spin dash the Super Dash Attack; holding still, the player presses Down and a button to rev up, presses again to rev faster, and lets go of Down to dash off. | Take Control!Take Control!Take Control!Take Control! | Manual |
| The North American manual says that in a one-player game Sonic and Tails go through 10 Zones, with Dr. Robotnik attacking in a robot machine at the end of every Zone; its zone pages run from Emerald Hill to Wing Fortress. | Getting StartedZonesZonesZones | Manual |
| The North American manual's 2 Player VS competition is a split-screen race through 3 Zones and 1 Special Stage, Player 1 moving Sonic on the top half and Player 2 moving Tails through the same Zone on the bottom half, to see who wins in the most categories. | Getting StartedGetting StartedGetting StartedGetting Started | Manual |
| The North American manual says that touching a Star Post with 50 Rings or more makes a Star Circle appear, which leads to the Special Stage, a run around a chute collecting enough Rings at each checkpoint while dodging Bombs, with a Chaos Emerald for finishing it; the same Star Post can't be used again. | Star PostsStar PostsSpecial StageSpecial StageSpecial Stage | Manual |
| The North American manual says enemies can't destroy Sonic while he has a Ring, that Rings Tails collects are added to the total, that a hit costs the Rings, and that 100 and 200 Rings each earn an extra Life. | Race for the Rings!Race for the Rings!Race for the Rings!Super ItemsSuper Items | Manual |