(Moving this review from the 1994 version since I logged it under the wrong one - written in June 2022)
It's great to finally be able to play these games as one big playthrough as intended. I do think the zones in this game vary wildly in quality, you can see my (very very) short comments on them here and here.
Luckily the bad stages don't seem quite as bad when they're no longer 1/6th of the entire game. And by adding them all together you may just get away with quantity over quality anyway.
What else is there to really say about this game that wasn't covered in either of the first 2 reviews? Well Hyper Sonic of course is a huge new addition. Essentially doing all 7 special zones in both 3 & Knuckles. It's a faster, higher jumping version of Super Sonic that glows multiple colours. It's pretty cool. But I haaaate that when you start collecting the Super Emeralds you can no longer use regular Super Sonic. Why punish players like that? Also Hyper Sonic can breath underwater while Super Sonic can't despite the fact I'm pretty sure there's zero sections in the game where you can get Hyper Sonic that also contain water.
Basically both games are very clearly 2 halves of another game, so this version is the only way to feel like you're getting the true experience.
It's great to finally be able to play these games as one big playthrough as intended. I do think the zones in this game vary wildly in quality, you can see my (very very) short comments on them here and here.
Luckily the bad stages don't seem quite as bad when they're no longer 1/6th of the entire game. And by adding them all together you may just get away with quantity over quality anyway.
What else is there to really say about this game that wasn't covered in either of the first 2 reviews? Well Hyper Sonic of course is a huge new addition. Essentially doing all 7 special zones in both 3 & Knuckles. It's a faster, higher jumping version of Super Sonic that glows multiple colours. It's pretty cool. But I haaaate that when you start collecting the Super Emeralds you can no longer use regular Super Sonic. Why punish players like that? Also Hyper Sonic can breath underwater while Super Sonic can't despite the fact I'm pretty sure there's zero sections in the game where you can get Hyper Sonic that also contain water.
Basically both games are very clearly 2 halves of another game, so this version is the only way to feel like you're getting the true experience.