In my opinion, this is the underrated gem of the classic Sonic era. This game, more than its peers, focuses on large explore-able levels, with time travel bringing you between different variations of the same places. Each level starts with a "bad future" in which Eggman has taken over and the environment is destroyed, and to prevent this you have to travel to the past and destroy the badnik generator. To get the good ending, you must either do this in every possible level (all boss stages take place in the future with no time travel) or get all seven time stones from the special stages.
The physics in this game aren't exactly as snappy as Sonic 2 but they hold up just as well and handle platforming and exploration much better than Sonic 1's. Visuals are very appealing, and this game has an absolutely GODLY soundtrack. I much prefer the Japanese version of it, though the American soundtrack isn't bad, just a downgrade. The vibes are immaculate and help a lot to keep you engaged as you spend a lot of time looking around the levels for time travel posts or the badnik generator.
As for gripes, some of the levels are a bit too large or convoluted, particularly Wacky Workbench and Metallic Madness. This game suffers from the standard "running into something you couldn't see" problem most 2D Sonic games have as well, and given how crucial rings are to unlocking special stage attempts it can be very annoying. Despite this, I think this game holds up very well and I revisit this a lot compared to the other classic Sonic titles, Sonic 3 notwithstanding.
The physics in this game aren't exactly as snappy as Sonic 2 but they hold up just as well and handle platforming and exploration much better than Sonic 1's. Visuals are very appealing, and this game has an absolutely GODLY soundtrack. I much prefer the Japanese version of it, though the American soundtrack isn't bad, just a downgrade. The vibes are immaculate and help a lot to keep you engaged as you spend a lot of time looking around the levels for time travel posts or the badnik generator.
As for gripes, some of the levels are a bit too large or convoluted, particularly Wacky Workbench and Metallic Madness. This game suffers from the standard "running into something you couldn't see" problem most 2D Sonic games have as well, and given how crucial rings are to unlocking special stage attempts it can be very annoying. Despite this, I think this game holds up very well and I revisit this a lot compared to the other classic Sonic titles, Sonic 3 notwithstanding.