ok i can really appreciate and see why this game is being praised the way it is.
but damn. this game did not age well in terms of gameplay. i get that it is an oldschool playstation game and all that but the bosses were a huge pain in the ass. the communication with the player is almost kinda not there, giving me no option but to have a walkthrough open for kind of every little thing this game asks of me.
my favorite parts of this game, which really showed me why and how its possible for this game to still have that huge impact on the community were the cutscenes. the characters, the dialogue and the absolutely charming and amazing wallbreaks this game had to offer as one of the first of this kind. other than that this is pure hell to sit through at times and i really suggest just watching a video or something for the story here. maybe even a longplay of an experienced player because some codec conversations even bring a lot of character to the game.
the last fight against liquid also could have just been a cutscene. ive had enough of these terrible fights at this point, metal gear rex being incredibly bad towards the end and almost making me forget that every other boss before that was almost as bad.

i replayed this again and would like to change my review a little bit from someone who experienced this game just now again in its full form (played all stories)
i am taking away 1 star because shadows campaign plays like straight ass and really stretched this game a little because i did not get so many gameovers in the other stories. HOW-fucking-EVER.
my view of this game still has not changed one bit. this would have been the best 3d sonic game up to date if it did get the time it deserved. instead we have all of these cool what ifs i found myself sticking to a lot while playing. WHAT IF this abillity worked the way it should. WHAT IF this stage was designed properly and speed boosts wouldnt be the death of me. WHAT IF they actually had the time to put into soleanna, the overworld, and make it the lively world they obviously wanted it to be. it is a bummer this was so rushed in the end because in its core, this is the best 3d sonic, no doubt. the zones are filled with absolute neat ideas, amazing soundtrack and beautifully designed extras.
crisis city and kingdom valley being some of my favorites to mention here.
storywise i believe this game is one of the strongest of this franchise. compared to the crap we have gotten since colors this shines through even after almost 20 years of abandonment by sega and also the community. mephiles being a badass, characters being characters and not just soulless cameos for underaged fans so they can point at the screen and scream names. its a shame this game gets this poor treatment without looking at the what ifs. this game was not even close to finished but none the less has left an impact on me where this whole sonic universe was not just a joke.
so yeah. i like this game.