I played the Steam version of this.

I love the animations and the music. This game has my favorite music in the classic games that I've played so far. This game is also the easiest to pick up and play casually. You can speed through levels pretty quickly and easily even on a first playthrough. Although there was one level that was the exception to that. I think the Steam version adds Tails as a playable character and he's way better than he was in Sonic 2. He actually gets to fly, so he isn't just a worse version of Sonic. It's a shame that they didn't include multiplayer though. Another neat feature is the time travel mechanic. There are basically 3 different levels of each act that adds replay value for those that like to see everything a game has to offer.

Now for the things I didn't like. The art is pretty bland. It makes a strong first impression with the vibrant colors in the first level, but as you progress through the game, the colors become a lot more muted and dull. I also don't think the theme of each zone was very diverse. In Sonic 2, each zone was distinct in aesthetics and mechanics. Sonic CD falls flat in that area. Another thing I did not enjoy was the special stages. In classic Sonic tradition, they're hard. Sonic 2's and Sonic CD's special stages in particular felt more like they were made to be technically impressive rather than being fun to play. Another thing I didn't like was that it feels like this game really encourages playing through each act in each time period to really get the full experience. With the labyrinthian level design, this feels pretty tedious. Again, I like linear levels more than open-ended ones. My last complain is a spoiler. Amy Rose and Metal Sonic appear so infrequently in this game. I think they appear twice total. Maybe I did something wrong and there are more opportunities to engage with both of them, but I was expecting the debut of two classic characters to have more of an impact.

Overall, I think Sonic CD is the easiest classic game to just jump in and play. Not sure how much of that has to do with the version of the game I played though. Next up is Sonic 3 (no Knuckles).

Was watching a friend play this one this week and it just gave me the itch to play it once again.
Honestly, this one just gets better each time I play it. While I do find S3&K to be the gold standard for Sonic games, this one brings so much aesthetic to the franchise, both visually and soundtrack-wise, that it just warms my heart.
Also, the 2011 port is AMAZING. Some really good quality of life changes to the game that make it the best possible way to play this one (unless you own Origins...)

En su día este juego fue un juego relativamente inaccesible para mi, pero gracias al relanzamiento pude disfrutar del contenido de este juego, ciertamente fue un curioso experimento, creo que el mejor aspecto del juego es la ambientación que acompaña tan bien al mensaje ambientalista, pero tristemente esto se ve manchado por una jugabilidad y diseño de niveles que no estuvo a la altura de los otros juegos 2D de la saga, a pesar de eso creo que es un juego entretenido para pasar un rato, con niveles que sobresalen y destacan, es un juego que no es bueno ni malo, simplemente fue un experimento.

YES. As a Sonic game, Sonic CD is very clunky: the time travel gimmick doesn't really work in the tight enviroment, the stages are confusingly maze like and the fact that Wacky Workbench has a gimmick needed to clear the level thats way worse than the Barrel of Doom. (If you know you know)
However, if you instead view Sonic CD not as a Sonic game but as a "avantgarde puzzle exploration" game it becomes far more enjoyable, and i was then able to appreciate how non linear it is in its level design. And the music is stellar too. I get its mainly nostalgia, being the first sonic game ive ever played, but I had more fun with CD than Sonic 1 & 2.

This games certainly a weird one isn't it?

On the one hand there's a lot I enjoyed, the music is great, I prefer the jp/eu ost but the us ost is nothing to scoff at either, with my favourites being stardust speedway from the jp/eu side (all time periods) and tidal tempest on the us side (present), the themes are quite creative too and the pixel artwork is superb especially for the time. The music and theming help give this game it's own identity, something only this game can replicate. On the gameplay side of things I enjoy the super-peel out, I think sonic controls just fine, levels can be enjoyable and the special stages aren't too bad either, not great but miles better than sonic 1s and 2s (you can retry them as many times as ya like too!). The time travel gimmick of the game is a neat idea, it's always a treat warping to a new time period and seeing how different the level looks and sounds.

This specific version of the game makes it all look nice, adds a few tweeks here and there, and a nice menu to boot, as well as a playable tails, time attack, achievments, choosing which ost to play and extras.

Now for the iffy stuff, First off travelling through time can be a pain, for the most part I didn't have too much of a hard time building up speed for the past, but there are some levels where you'll definitely have a bit of trouble and it doesn't help how the future sign-posts are everywhere meaning it's easy to end up in the future by accident, same goes for finding the generators/ holograms, some are fun to find, others you'll need a guide. The level design can either be good or bad, it constantly flip-flops depending on what you're doing in the level, though there are some design choices that are persistent no matter your style of gameplay, mainly that the game is often filled with things that'll fling, bounce, crush, launch you and so on.

Let me break it down, for sonic cd, I like to categorise the levels into 3 types, 1) Levels that are fun to play through casually and explore. 2) Levels that are fun to play casually, not explore. And 3) Levels that are fun to explore, but not play through casually.

Lets take 3 levels for example, you have a level like palmtree panic which is fun to play through casually and to explore (finding the generators/ holograms), then there's a stage like stardust speedway which is fun enough to play through casually but exploring is a pain due to the level design clearly not being built for that, and lastly there's a stage like quartz quadrant which is fun to explore, but playing casually there's not much too it if you just blast through it. With these quirks in mind playing through the game is going to be a different experience for everyone, unlike other sonic games, no one can seem to agree whether this one's any good or not, If you blast through it the game might be a short enjoyable adventure or leave you wondering what you just played, but then if you explore and go for 100% you'll either be left with the feeling of satisfaction or annoyance.

It was weird for me, I was going after all the achievments and ended up doing 2 playthroughs, both 100%, and my first playthrough I had a pretty good time, it was all new to me and I ended up finding all the generators/ holograms pretty easily, randomly stumbling upon them, being flung in the right place at the right time. However on my second playthrough, that wasn't the case, I had a harder time finding a few of em and I started to notice half the level design is poorly designed. This is why I'm giving it 3 and a half stars, I just can't pin point exactly what I think.

At the end of the day, Sonic CD can be fun time, it has a lot of things I enjoy, but also a lot of finicky stuff that bogs it down, I recommend if you're a sonic fan or just curious, please give it a go and see what you think.

(If ya made it this far here's a tip, if you're going for 100% make sure to save the last time stone for act 2 of the final area, metallic madness, as getting all the time stones will destroy all generators/ holograms, thus meaning you'll be unable to get the Saviour of the Planet achievment, so just make sure you destory all the generators/ holograms before grabbing the last stone. PS, 1) There are no more metal sonic holograms in metallic madness, after you beat him in stardust speedway act 3 and (2) You CANNOT get the achievements with Tails)

I used to think a lot of my love for Sonic CD is just for the visual and soundtrack,so it is surprising that i did actually have fun with Sonic CD once i decided to completed it again with the 2011 remaster now.

Despite what everyone here says about the level designs being awful or frustrating i actually have a lot of fun with it,the gameplay more or less stays the same with classic Sonic but it does feels a bit awkward sometimes and it is more of an exploration based zones unlike other 2D Sonic games which I don't mind with,because these zones are not just beautiful to look at but also they are fun as well with my favorite being Stardust Speedway and Wacky Workbench yes you read that right Wacky Workbench is FUN and so are other zones except metallic madness act 2 & 3 they're just frustrating tbh,but even so the worst zones from Sonic CD still has some of the catchiest soundtrack in all of sonic games they really goes through the roof with this soundtrack it's too good.

I may have fun exploring these zones in Sonic CD but goddamn are the bosses some of the lamest bosses i've ever played in platforming games, besides like Metal Sonic race which was cool a bit stressful due to his AI but it's still cool boss nonetheless which i can't say the same to other bosses,it says a lot when the final boss itself is just gimmicky no actual substance at all and the first one is made for babies.

I think this has becomes my 2nd favorite 2D Sonic games as of now it still has plenty of issues major and minor that hella bothers me but i still have a lot of fun with it and couldn't really go wrong with peak classic sonic visual and soundtrack.

Really good conceptually

Also I have the steam port so if anyone wants to buy my steam account for 2 billion pounds, well

Too bad