Feel the same way about S&K as I do about Sonic 3; its the shit. Maybe even better than Sonic 3 since there's only one wack zone in Sandopolis, and even then I only think Act 2 is the unfun one. Knuckles actually offers a slightly varied playstyle when compared to Sonic, though I wished they had pushed his wall-climbing and gliding moves further. They did a great job again with the final zone, both in its difficulty and in actually creating a true final zone to enjoy for those who took the time to collect all the emeralds.
The music slaps just as hard as in Sonic 3.
The music slaps just as hard as in Sonic 3.
like sonic 3, no reason to play it when S3K exists
The great, but not better half.
Do you think Knuckles life would be easier or harder if he was colorblind?
This doubled down on the evolutions Sonic 3 made to the Sonic formula: more challenging but also more forgiving, thanks to the large number of rings, power-ups, and bonus stages. The stages are even larger and longer than before.
It's main strength is that it finally delivers on what Sonic 2 should have had and what Sonic 3 scratched the surface of: an alternate character with a meaningfully-different moveset and abilities. Sonic's higher jumps and Knuckles' ability to punch through barriers and climb walls lead to very different routes taken through certain stages, and slightly different strategies. This adds a nice layer of depth and replayability to a game that is essentially about running and jumping.
In my opinion, Knuckles' game is a far far superior experience while Sonic's drags my overall score down. Sonic's route is fine most of the way through, but falls back on cheap and frustrating challenge towards the end. Lava Reef Zone has some very cheap moments, but the Death Egg Zone probably dethrones Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 as the worst Sonic zone ever. One sequence in particular deserves special mention: you get onto a platform that moves slowly upwards to your destination, but there's a catch: the platform is a conveyor belt, and there are spikes on either side of the platform, and wall-mounted turrets that periodically shoot projectiles at you. That would be a fine challenge, but the problem is the conveyor belt changes direction randomly, and it gives you no visual indication which way it is going. This is absolute face-punching fake difficulty and a candidate for bullshittiest sequence in all the 2D Sonic games. Oh, and it happens twice in a row.
On the other hand, Knuckles' route is a breath of fresh air. His wall-climbing abilities make it easier for him to explore and find hidden secrets; this means a greater sense of exploration as well as a higher chance of finding enough special stages to get the chaos emeralds. The cheapest segments in the Sonic route (end of Lava Reef, all of Death Egg) are completely gone, and in its place is a wonderfully intense multi-stage boss fight. The final boss gets special music that in my opinion slaps the absolute hardest in the entire series, high praise indeed in a franchise with so many bangers.
Overall, while my enjoyment of the game wasn't consistent (I loved one half and am less enthused about the other half) I do think this is a slightly stronger entry than Sonic 3 thanks to the new mechanics it explores.
Final thought: if you ever feel like you don't matter, remember that the water shield exists in this game.
It's main strength is that it finally delivers on what Sonic 2 should have had and what Sonic 3 scratched the surface of: an alternate character with a meaningfully-different moveset and abilities. Sonic's higher jumps and Knuckles' ability to punch through barriers and climb walls lead to very different routes taken through certain stages, and slightly different strategies. This adds a nice layer of depth and replayability to a game that is essentially about running and jumping.
In my opinion, Knuckles' game is a far far superior experience while Sonic's drags my overall score down. Sonic's route is fine most of the way through, but falls back on cheap and frustrating challenge towards the end. Lava Reef Zone has some very cheap moments, but the Death Egg Zone probably dethrones Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 as the worst Sonic zone ever. One sequence in particular deserves special mention: you get onto a platform that moves slowly upwards to your destination, but there's a catch: the platform is a conveyor belt, and there are spikes on either side of the platform, and wall-mounted turrets that periodically shoot projectiles at you. That would be a fine challenge, but the problem is the conveyor belt changes direction randomly, and it gives you no visual indication which way it is going. This is absolute face-punching fake difficulty and a candidate for bullshittiest sequence in all the 2D Sonic games. Oh, and it happens twice in a row.
On the other hand, Knuckles' route is a breath of fresh air. His wall-climbing abilities make it easier for him to explore and find hidden secrets; this means a greater sense of exploration as well as a higher chance of finding enough special stages to get the chaos emeralds. The cheapest segments in the Sonic route (end of Lava Reef, all of Death Egg) are completely gone, and in its place is a wonderfully intense multi-stage boss fight. The final boss gets special music that in my opinion slaps the absolute hardest in the entire series, high praise indeed in a franchise with so many bangers.
Overall, while my enjoyment of the game wasn't consistent (I loved one half and am less enthused about the other half) I do think this is a slightly stronger entry than Sonic 3 thanks to the new mechanics it explores.
Final thought: if you ever feel like you don't matter, remember that the water shield exists in this game.
As a follow-up of Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles has some comically oversized boots to fill.
Sonic & Knuckles feels loose and rushed. It's like the developers were trying to get this game out as fast as possible while making the best they could.
HMMMMMM I WONDER WHY.
The first couple of zones are great! But once you sink your teeth deeper and deeper into this game, the cracks start to appear, the rushness and lack of quality in the level design becomes more apparent, and the game becomes overall frustating and unfun the more you progress.
This game makes me sad from how... bad it is compared to it's masterful predecessor
I expected this game to be a bit inferior to Sonic 3, because it's hard to top it. But oh god i did not expect such mediocrity out of a Sonic game on the Genesis.
Death Egg Zone and it's boss were so bad i just gave up.
Sonic & Knuckles feels loose and rushed. It's like the developers were trying to get this game out as fast as possible while making the best they could.
HMMMMMM I WONDER WHY.
The first couple of zones are great! But once you sink your teeth deeper and deeper into this game, the cracks start to appear, the rushness and lack of quality in the level design becomes more apparent, and the game becomes overall frustating and unfun the more you progress.
This game makes me sad from how... bad it is compared to it's masterful predecessor
I expected this game to be a bit inferior to Sonic 3, because it's hard to top it. But oh god i did not expect such mediocrity out of a Sonic game on the Genesis.
Death Egg Zone and it's boss were so bad i just gave up.
Yeah, Knuckles is pretty fucking hot I must say and if you disagree then you are straight up just lying to yourself, just accept it man
Como eu disse antes, a trilogia clássica vai numa crescente. Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) pega tudo o que já foi apresentado na franquia até aquele momento e dá ainda mais polimento encerrando a trilogia com chave de ouro.
This game could use a little less Knuckles.
one half of a masterpiece and first singleplayer game i ever played
sonic is gay for knuckles, it has lgbt representation
The game on it's own is no slouch if just counting what's here, but there's no reason not to own Sonic 3.
For all the same reasons as Sonic 3, it's a great game but I'd be reluctant to play it without being locked on. Good stuff but Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the real deal.
Sonic had a Rough Transition to 3K
unpopular opinion- I like this more than sonic 3
By it's self I would say that Sonic & Knuckles is better than Sonic 3. For 1 I find the zones to be more enjoyable and memorable. Knuckles is a great addition as a playable character. While I still had problems with the first few zones specifically how long it takes to finish them (Looking at you Sandopolis, one of the worst zones ever) I think the game gets better during the second half. I still prefer Sonic 2 but this feels a little bit more of a package than Sonic 3.
sonic & knuckles will never get a sonic 3 expansion
Enjoyed this one more than 3 but is it a better game? i can't really tell. What about as a standalone game? if you just number this one as sonic 4, it doesn't add enough to be a much better sonic 3. If you deleted sonic 3 and this one is the sequel to sonic 2? then its a worth sequel on my eyes. So i would just say this game is more close to a expansion to sonic 3, this is pretty fair and probably the only satisfying answer to the question. It is a good game though even without 3.
The second half of the best Genesis Sonic game. Dropped the ball a tiny bit though.
so let me get this straight. Sonic, AND knuckles?
This game is great even by itself, but there’s a major flaw!!! No Tails!!! NO TAILS!!! How can you have a Sonic game without Tails!!!! (Okay I show up in Sonic’s ending cutscene I think BUT STILL.) So yeah, I almost never play this game not locked on.
One general thing about this game is it goes to a lot more trouble to hide the giant rings than Sonic 3 so it’s extremely possible to get to the end of the game without having even had a chance to collect all the Chaos Emeralds if you’re not careful! So keep that in mind.
But, yeah. In spite of its deplorable lack of me, this game still rules, so I’m excited to be getting back to it! I’ll be even more excited to get to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though!
Mushroom Hill Zone (2/26)
Nails the green first level thing while still being unique!! I’m a huge fan of this one. Those mushrooms look fun as heck to bounce on!!
The first mini boss is alright, and the first major boss is a pretty cool running boss! Pretty good start here!
Flying Battery Zone (2/27)
There’s some excellent continuity here because we saw this asshole bombing Angel Island Zone last game, so that’s pretty cool! And the zone itself is one of the better Eggman’s turf kinda levels, so that’s neat!
Both of the mini bosses (yeah we get two this time) are pretty decent! I’ve always really liked how trolly the Act 1 one is, and seeing Barrier Eggman back as a mini boss before Act 2’s true boss was a nice touch that made a lot of sense for the setting! So yeah, good stuff all around here.
It’s starting to feel really lonely playing as just Sonic, though. Really can’t wait to get back to this game in its full glory locked on to Sonic 3.
Sandopolis Zone (2/27)
I mean. See my entry about Oil Ocean Zone I guess, except this zone would even better if it weren’t for the racism. It has some badass mechanics, including GHOSTS in Act 2!
Act 2 is pretty challenging, and it’s pretty easy to time out on it. The bosses are pretty terrific aside from the Act 2 boss being super racist. But, yeah. This zone rules aside from... y’know.
Lava Reef Zone (2/27)
How good is Sonic & Knuckles? The midpoint of the game is between this zone and the following zone, and from this point on every single zone is S-Rank. Every. Single. One.
Act 1 is just a great lava zone with molten lava and all kinds of theme-appropriate obstacles, Act 2 has the lava cool off and is full of gorgeous crystals and stuff. It’s just brilliant. I find that I’m not having as much to say about these zones, because like all I really have to say is gushing about how good they are!!
Hidden Palace Zone (2/27)
Okay admittedly this zone is hella boring if you’re playing as Knuckles. It’s basically just a hallway. But as Sonic, you get to FIGHT KNUCKLES, and Knuckles finally realizes he’s been the biggest dummy ever when Eggman steals the Master Emerald, electrocuting Knux in the process when he tries to stop him. A weakened Knuckles then helps Sonic get to Sky Sanctuary.
Anyway, the reason this zone rules is because YOU GET TO FIGHT A MOBIAN. Like. I’m obviously not a big fan of that in terms of the idea of actually doing it, but in a video game that RULES. And I cannot tell you how excited I was about this as a kid. Like, Eggman is pure evil and needs to be stopped, but idk, I just find Mobians inherently more interesting? And the idea of a story with a Mobian antagonist is just so much more compelling than fighting Eggman’s overengineered garbage over and over. Just saying.
Sky Sanctuary Zone (2/27)
I mean. It’s a great zone just on its own, but on top of that all of the Badniks are Eggrobos, there’s two mini-bosses which are literally recreations of two S-Rank bosses from two previous games (the iconic Green Hill Zone boss from Sonic 1 and the genuinely challenging Metropolis Zone boss from Sonic 2) but with Mecha Sonic instead of Robotnik piloting them. So, yeah. That rules. And then the actual boss of the level is Mecha Sonic.
Like. I still find robotic versions of Sonic existentially horrifying, but even I had to admit that’s freaking COOL.
If you’re playing as Knuckles, this is actually the last zone and it’s way shorter. When you emerge from the teleporter, an Eggrobo is waiting for you to snatch you up in an Egg-O-Matic with a giant claw at the bottom of it (kind of like the one that kidnaps me in the opening cutscene of 8-bit Sonic 2, come to think of it!). He then hovers over to where Mecha Sonic is waiting to finish you off while you’re held in place by the hook, but you manage to escape just in time and Mecha Sonic ends up destroying the Egg-O-Matic instead of you.
The Mecha Sonic fight proceeds as normal from here, but after you defeat him he jumps onto the Master Emerald and, gasp, goes Super! So then it’s Knux vs. Super Mecha Sonic and while this lacks the epic scale of The Doomsday Zone, WOW does it ever rule. It’s one of my favorite boss fights in the entire series, even though it’s not all that difficult once you figure out his pattern. It’s just so cool conceptually that I don’t even care.
Death Egg Zone (2/27)
Wellp.
The Death Egg is legit terrifying. If you’re aboard it for any reason you’re gonna have a bad time. But letting it get up to space where it can operate with impunity is much, much worse. So in we go.
Gameplay-wise, this zone RULES. I know I’ve been saying that about a lot of these zones, but this game is just really good, okay? It’s pretty difficult and has a lot of unique obstacles, the background goes from the terrifying & cavernous interior of the Death Egg in Act 1 to being IN SPACE in Act 2 (with a lovely view of Mobius, serving as a reminder of what we’re fighting for).
And while the first two bosses are decent, Great Eggman Robo is iconic and the subsequent chase of Robotnik’s Egg-O-Matic with the Master Emerald in tow while the ground collapses behind you is super great.
This is a fantastic final-ish zone. It feels scary and dangerous, fighting your way through it feels brave... but it never quite feels like too much to handle. It’s just within your limit. You have to be on edge, the consequences for failing are dire, it’s not comfortable... but you can do it. It just does a really great job of capturing what fighting Eggman is like.
The Doomsday Zone (2/27)
So this is the first of the “Super Sonic in space fighting a big scary thing” sort of zones, so that rules. The scope of this is just incredible. It’s very much the logical next step from Sonic 2’s epic final showdown on the Death Egg. And it’s such a fitting end to the first run of main series Sonic games.
As far as feels... yeah, I’m kinda TERRIFIED when he does stuff like this, but also just... so awestruck and so proud of him. I know I can technically do this stuff too, but... yeah. I don’t know. It’s scary!
Ending
My one appearance in the game! I fly up in the Tornado to meet Sonic when he falls back down from space, a la Sonic 2, and then we take the Master Emerald back to Angel Island which ascends back into the sky! Bet that makes Knux happy!
In Knuckles’ case, the final boss battle takes place in the sky, not in space! And Sonic shows up in the Tornado to save him.
So, yeah. I don’t actually have a lot to say about this one because it’s just kinda... great? And a pretty natural extension of Sonic 3 (which isn’t surprising given they were originally supposed to be one game), so basically everything I said for that one also applies.
But, yeah. Sonic & Knuckles rules! Despite its deplorable lack of me. Which is no small feat!
As always, let’s rank some stuff! (I didn’t include any of the soundtrack that Sonic & Knuckles recycles from Sonic 3, which is mostly just the major bosses and the “final” boss.)
Zones
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone (S-Rank)
Death Egg Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone (S-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone (A-Rank)
Bosses
Mecha Sonic’s Super State (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Mecha Sonic (S-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (S-Rank)
Great Eggman Robo (S-Rank)
Egg Mobile-H (A-Tier)
Flying Eggman (A-Tier)
Jet Mobile (A-Rank)
Egg Golem (A-Rank)
Hot Mobile (A-Rank)
Barrier Eggman (B-Rank)
Death Ball (B-Rank)
Red Eye (B-Rank)
Hang Mobile (B-Rank)
Hei Hou (B-Rank)
Gapsule (B-Rank)
Guardian (B-Rank)
Heat Arms (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
Lava Reef Zone Act 2/Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Act 1 Boss (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
Glowball Bonus (B-Rank)
Slot Machine Bonus (B-Rank)
One general thing about this game is it goes to a lot more trouble to hide the giant rings than Sonic 3 so it’s extremely possible to get to the end of the game without having even had a chance to collect all the Chaos Emeralds if you’re not careful! So keep that in mind.
But, yeah. In spite of its deplorable lack of me, this game still rules, so I’m excited to be getting back to it! I’ll be even more excited to get to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though!
Mushroom Hill Zone (2/26)
Nails the green first level thing while still being unique!! I’m a huge fan of this one. Those mushrooms look fun as heck to bounce on!!
The first mini boss is alright, and the first major boss is a pretty cool running boss! Pretty good start here!
Flying Battery Zone (2/27)
There’s some excellent continuity here because we saw this asshole bombing Angel Island Zone last game, so that’s pretty cool! And the zone itself is one of the better Eggman’s turf kinda levels, so that’s neat!
Both of the mini bosses (yeah we get two this time) are pretty decent! I’ve always really liked how trolly the Act 1 one is, and seeing Barrier Eggman back as a mini boss before Act 2’s true boss was a nice touch that made a lot of sense for the setting! So yeah, good stuff all around here.
It’s starting to feel really lonely playing as just Sonic, though. Really can’t wait to get back to this game in its full glory locked on to Sonic 3.
Sandopolis Zone (2/27)
I mean. See my entry about Oil Ocean Zone I guess, except this zone would even better if it weren’t for the racism. It has some badass mechanics, including GHOSTS in Act 2!
Act 2 is pretty challenging, and it’s pretty easy to time out on it. The bosses are pretty terrific aside from the Act 2 boss being super racist. But, yeah. This zone rules aside from... y’know.
Lava Reef Zone (2/27)
How good is Sonic & Knuckles? The midpoint of the game is between this zone and the following zone, and from this point on every single zone is S-Rank. Every. Single. One.
Act 1 is just a great lava zone with molten lava and all kinds of theme-appropriate obstacles, Act 2 has the lava cool off and is full of gorgeous crystals and stuff. It’s just brilliant. I find that I’m not having as much to say about these zones, because like all I really have to say is gushing about how good they are!!
Hidden Palace Zone (2/27)
Okay admittedly this zone is hella boring if you’re playing as Knuckles. It’s basically just a hallway. But as Sonic, you get to FIGHT KNUCKLES, and Knuckles finally realizes he’s been the biggest dummy ever when Eggman steals the Master Emerald, electrocuting Knux in the process when he tries to stop him. A weakened Knuckles then helps Sonic get to Sky Sanctuary.
Anyway, the reason this zone rules is because YOU GET TO FIGHT A MOBIAN. Like. I’m obviously not a big fan of that in terms of the idea of actually doing it, but in a video game that RULES. And I cannot tell you how excited I was about this as a kid. Like, Eggman is pure evil and needs to be stopped, but idk, I just find Mobians inherently more interesting? And the idea of a story with a Mobian antagonist is just so much more compelling than fighting Eggman’s overengineered garbage over and over. Just saying.
Sky Sanctuary Zone (2/27)
I mean. It’s a great zone just on its own, but on top of that all of the Badniks are Eggrobos, there’s two mini-bosses which are literally recreations of two S-Rank bosses from two previous games (the iconic Green Hill Zone boss from Sonic 1 and the genuinely challenging Metropolis Zone boss from Sonic 2) but with Mecha Sonic instead of Robotnik piloting them. So, yeah. That rules. And then the actual boss of the level is Mecha Sonic.
Like. I still find robotic versions of Sonic existentially horrifying, but even I had to admit that’s freaking COOL.
If you’re playing as Knuckles, this is actually the last zone and it’s way shorter. When you emerge from the teleporter, an Eggrobo is waiting for you to snatch you up in an Egg-O-Matic with a giant claw at the bottom of it (kind of like the one that kidnaps me in the opening cutscene of 8-bit Sonic 2, come to think of it!). He then hovers over to where Mecha Sonic is waiting to finish you off while you’re held in place by the hook, but you manage to escape just in time and Mecha Sonic ends up destroying the Egg-O-Matic instead of you.
The Mecha Sonic fight proceeds as normal from here, but after you defeat him he jumps onto the Master Emerald and, gasp, goes Super! So then it’s Knux vs. Super Mecha Sonic and while this lacks the epic scale of The Doomsday Zone, WOW does it ever rule. It’s one of my favorite boss fights in the entire series, even though it’s not all that difficult once you figure out his pattern. It’s just so cool conceptually that I don’t even care.
Death Egg Zone (2/27)
Wellp.
The Death Egg is legit terrifying. If you’re aboard it for any reason you’re gonna have a bad time. But letting it get up to space where it can operate with impunity is much, much worse. So in we go.
Gameplay-wise, this zone RULES. I know I’ve been saying that about a lot of these zones, but this game is just really good, okay? It’s pretty difficult and has a lot of unique obstacles, the background goes from the terrifying & cavernous interior of the Death Egg in Act 1 to being IN SPACE in Act 2 (with a lovely view of Mobius, serving as a reminder of what we’re fighting for).
And while the first two bosses are decent, Great Eggman Robo is iconic and the subsequent chase of Robotnik’s Egg-O-Matic with the Master Emerald in tow while the ground collapses behind you is super great.
This is a fantastic final-ish zone. It feels scary and dangerous, fighting your way through it feels brave... but it never quite feels like too much to handle. It’s just within your limit. You have to be on edge, the consequences for failing are dire, it’s not comfortable... but you can do it. It just does a really great job of capturing what fighting Eggman is like.
The Doomsday Zone (2/27)
So this is the first of the “Super Sonic in space fighting a big scary thing” sort of zones, so that rules. The scope of this is just incredible. It’s very much the logical next step from Sonic 2’s epic final showdown on the Death Egg. And it’s such a fitting end to the first run of main series Sonic games.
As far as feels... yeah, I’m kinda TERRIFIED when he does stuff like this, but also just... so awestruck and so proud of him. I know I can technically do this stuff too, but... yeah. I don’t know. It’s scary!
Ending
My one appearance in the game! I fly up in the Tornado to meet Sonic when he falls back down from space, a la Sonic 2, and then we take the Master Emerald back to Angel Island which ascends back into the sky! Bet that makes Knux happy!
In Knuckles’ case, the final boss battle takes place in the sky, not in space! And Sonic shows up in the Tornado to save him.
So, yeah. I don’t actually have a lot to say about this one because it’s just kinda... great? And a pretty natural extension of Sonic 3 (which isn’t surprising given they were originally supposed to be one game), so basically everything I said for that one also applies.
But, yeah. Sonic & Knuckles rules! Despite its deplorable lack of me. Which is no small feat!
As always, let’s rank some stuff! (I didn’t include any of the soundtrack that Sonic & Knuckles recycles from Sonic 3, which is mostly just the major bosses and the “final” boss.)
Zones
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone (S-Rank)
Death Egg Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone (S-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone (A-Rank)
Bosses
Mecha Sonic’s Super State (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Mecha Sonic (S-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (S-Rank)
Great Eggman Robo (S-Rank)
Egg Mobile-H (A-Tier)
Flying Eggman (A-Tier)
Jet Mobile (A-Rank)
Egg Golem (A-Rank)
Hot Mobile (A-Rank)
Barrier Eggman (B-Rank)
Death Ball (B-Rank)
Red Eye (B-Rank)
Hang Mobile (B-Rank)
Hei Hou (B-Rank)
Gapsule (B-Rank)
Guardian (B-Rank)
Heat Arms (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
Lava Reef Zone Act 2/Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Act 1 Boss (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
Glowball Bonus (B-Rank)
Slot Machine Bonus (B-Rank)
I really have to make an & Knuckles joke, don't I?
The best Genesis Sonic game by just a hair. The levels are back to being a more tolerable length and even though some of them are slower-paced, each is quite memorable in its own way. The big standouts are Sky Sanctuary -- brief but truly fantastic, and the hellish Death Egg, which you finally get to infiltrate after three games of talking about it. It doesn't disappoint as a finale, and neither does the massive final boss.
The music is great again (thankfully), the art is as bold and colorful as ever, and Knuckles is a surprisingly fresh alternative playstyle. On the whole, it's easy, and the levels aren't quite as memorable as the first half of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, but this is the peak of the first series for me.
The music is great again (thankfully), the art is as bold and colorful as ever, and Knuckles is a surprisingly fresh alternative playstyle. On the whole, it's easy, and the levels aren't quite as memorable as the first half of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, but this is the peak of the first series for me.
other half of a masterpiece
I'm sure it was fine
The Knuckles half and Sonic and Knuckles, I usually play just this over 3&K since it lets me do Mushroom Hill and most importantly Flying Battery faster. It's missing Tails for some reason but other than that, this is easily the better half of S3&K.
That fucking grinning Enchilada
Love the zone where Sonic & Knuckles both have gay sex.
Sonic & Knuckles is perfect. Unfortunately, I didn't have the original cartridge in order to use Sonic 3 and play them as a combined game.
Mushroom hill zone is cool