ok so what if sonic 1 was longer, looked better, played better, had better stage design, more variety in the zones, a SEVENTH chaos emerald, super sonic, and still had fucking abysmal special stages?

Yeah welcome to sonic 2, the better sonic 1. Very recommended to play, it's pretty damn good, but goddamn are the two bosses in the death egg the most annoying bosses in sonic history, barring glitches.