I remember watching a review where someone said the Game Gear Sonic games were good enough to warrant a playthrough, and I couldn't agree. 8bit Sonic 1 and 2 were pretty forgettable to me, despite some original levels and gimmicks. They just didn't feel very good to play at all.
But Pocket Adventure? That's a different story.

Sure, the NGPC is a 16bit handheld, but you could fool me into thinking this is actually a well made 8bit Sonic game. It looks great, really. Sounds great too, although the music choices for certain zones were kind of weird. (Hydrocity playing in Chemical plant...?)

But actually controlling Sonic is what makes this game the only "early handheld" game in the series that's really worth checking out. Great sense of speed, tons of air time by spindashing+jumping off a slope, it all just feels right.

Oh, and no Oil Ocean Zone, so this is the definitive way to play Sonic 2. /s

By far one of the most niche Sonic games that’s never been released on anything else, Sonic Pocket Adventure is essentially a twist on Sonic 2, with music from Sonic 3. Stages may have different names, but they are in essence, levels from Sonic 2 with some slight design changes.

Sonic controls like he does in the Genesis games, so not complaints there, though he is the only playable character outside of multiplayer.

The only real differences are the bosses and the special stages. Bosses are all original contraptions and I love how Dr Eggmans look transitions from the Classic style to the Adventure Style by the end of the game. There’s an added Super Sonic fight if you’re able to get the all emeralds, but that’s pretty hard when the special stages are really hard versions of the half pipe. You also only get 1 attempt at an emerald per zone and exactly enough attempts to get them all. It’s stupid, and you can’t even use Super Sonic outside of the final boss.

That aside I love how this game looks, and there’s some extra content in puzzle pieces to collect if you fancy it.

This is an absolutely fun and fine Sonic game, it’s just not much in originality.

Ok, this game ticked me off. It didn't do anything like unforgiveable, but I got all the Chaos Emeralds...and the final zone didn't pop. There's only 6 special stages so I was expecting the last one to be plot, but I guess not. And I am NOT REPLAYING these special stages. They seriously make this game go from a fun romp that bridges the Classic and Modern games to HELL WHERE YOU WILL BE SAVE STATING OVER AND OVER AND OVER. Neo Geo Half Pipes are the worst. Do not go for full completion here, just play it. Because stage wise? It's fun! Kinda a retread of Sonic 2 plot wise with Knuckles also being here with a boss fight I liked. His sprite art was also great. It all is here, the characters have their classic proportions, but the colored eyes. It's cool. Eggman even changes outfits midway through. It's a shame this game isn't canon though, due to it kinda being in legal limbo between SNK and Sega. I view it as a cool bridge between the classic and modern games. Definitely worth a play for history’s sake.