This game had like a 60% chance of frying my computer every time I booted it up, but the game inside was so captivating that I would repeatedly tempt fate all the time just to try and reach a new stage
In retrospect it just messed with the monitor's resolution settings and wouldn't revert them back after closing the application, but childhood me had no idea what that meant and didn't want to get in trouble for breaking the computer so I'd just do a system restore to fix it because that's what I read on the internet about removing viruses so surely that must be the remedy here
In retrospect it just messed with the monitor's resolution settings and wouldn't revert them back after closing the application, but childhood me had no idea what that meant and didn't want to get in trouble for breaking the computer so I'd just do a system restore to fix it because that's what I read on the internet about removing viruses so surely that must be the remedy here
I'm here to tell you that this port had use for me, even in the year of our lord 2024. I got a hand-me-down laptop from my sister, and the first thing I did was try to run a bunch of my favorite PC games. I'm afraid to say that this PC is a pathetic, sad little machine. It's just not all that capable.
But when it came to Sonic & Knuckles Collection, it didn't matter. This port doesn't care how weak your machine is, it's gonna run, and it's gonna run pretty. Touch it up with a mod that includes the OG Genesis music, or something that will change the soundfont of the MIDIs. Either way, that's one thing this adorable port can do that even the fancy schmancy modern Sonic Origins Plus remake of Sonic 3 can't do!
Bottom line is, I got my machine to run my favorite game in a time of need... Sonic 3 & Knuckles.. God bless this collection.
But when it came to Sonic & Knuckles Collection, it didn't matter. This port doesn't care how weak your machine is, it's gonna run, and it's gonna run pretty. Touch it up with a mod that includes the OG Genesis music, or something that will change the soundfont of the MIDIs. Either way, that's one thing this adorable port can do that even the fancy schmancy modern Sonic Origins Plus remake of Sonic 3 can't do!
Bottom line is, I got my machine to run my favorite game in a time of need... Sonic 3 & Knuckles.. God bless this collection.
This was the first way I played Sonic 3K growing up. I have nostalgia for it, but it's mechanically outclassed by every other 3K port. It has some framerate issues and a very weird glitch where the window size inversely affects the game's speed. The midi versions of the music are pretty bad too. A good package for the time, and one that evokes some very surreal memories of childhood co-op on a Microsoft flight stick, but not one that I would recommend to a first-time 3K player.
It's Sonic 3 & Knuckles but the music took a nose dive. If you really want to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles on PC, just emulate it or get Sonic 3 AIR (or just wait until Origins comes out).
kind of the worst way to play Sonic 3, tho it's still Sonic 3 so it's not that bad of a time just hope you're ok with shitty midi
Surprisingly competent port of a classic. This was also our first exposure to the prototype version's music... I will never be able to forgive those transcription errors, holy crap.
fm synth midis 😍😍🥰
Feels kinda weird rating this so high, but like, there's nothing objectively wrong with it. It works great, even on modern operating systems (using the correct patches, of course) and it's got no missing content, licensed tracks aside. Speaking of, the music is obviously this version's downside. You get the choice between MIDI or FM Synth, and on modern hardware neither sounds great, but with the correct components from the era you could get fairly close to Genesis sound, but, as previously mentioned, the infamous MJ tracks have all been taken out and replaced for the prototype tracks. Personally, I like these just fine, although I still prefer the final tracks. Is there a reason to play this in the modern day? Not really, curiosity aside. If you own a modern PC, you have a million different ways to play this game that are gonna be infinitely better, so this moreso stands as an interesting relic of a bygone time, when porting a Genesis game was considered a good option.
Not the best way to play these games, but for the time and the platform, this was a pretty solid way to play the games. Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles were all included in the package as standalone titles, so you could play however you wanted to. Obviously, the midi soundtrack was not the best, but was a compromise for being on the PC in the first place. This collection also included a pretty robust screensaver application and editor that allowed you to put music to the screensaver, which was fun, as there were a lot of images to choose from! That said, there are obviously better collections now, but this one still has a place in my middle school heart.