This review contains spoilers
Playthrough was done using the Sonic Forever PC version of the game.
This game sucks.
You'd think that with a history of platformers beforehand (Super Mario World was already out by now) Sonic Team would've already picked up on some basic game design philosophy. Spoiler alert: No, no they didn't.
How are you going to make a platformer where the main gimmick that would separate it from the rest is GOING FAST and then right in the next level you're put in closed spaces and pushing boxes, why go against the basic principle that is stated in the first level? It gets even worse when you're actually punished for going too fast in some cases, where you cannot see where you're landing or you're coiled back into a pit where you couldn't do anything if you didn't knew the confusing map layout from before.
Gameplay mechanics are more often than not just abysmal, especially the underwater mechanics which make Sonic floatier and you make the awful discovery that he is able to drown. Yes, in a 2D platformer, where you have to again, dodge enemies and traps just to open doors and let other blocks fall, you can drown. And it wouldn't even be that big of a problem if the measure against this, (the bubbles) actually worked in a consistent manner, because I don't even know if there's some pattern to it but all of the big bubbles you have to catch seem to just be at random and not every time.
Enemy design being so intricate and being easy to die also falls for this, you don't stomp them but instead you "spin" into them, which is again affected by the level design being so bad.
I want to also talk about Scrap Brain Act 3 and the Final Zone. For some reason, the geniuses over at SEGA decided to make the second-to-last zone of the game based around the most maze-y part of the game, this being Labyrinth Zone, and it is the most annoying level in a 2D platformer I've played in a while, with a nonsensical layout and very tight places where you need to defeat those enemies or dodge through obstacles to get past, all while taking care of not drowning and then not dying because there are barely any rings inside the water, it sucks big time.
Then, the Final Zone, asides from being an underwhelming ending is such a poorly designed boss fight, it is very likely you get crushed by the hydraulic presses and there is no way to actually predict which ones are going down/up and as there's no rings available in this level dying of the energy balls is pretty much inevitable at some point.
This game just sucks as a platformer, music-wise and looks-wise it's great though, 32-bit really helped with all the colors and wacky effects that some areas have and that's pretty neat. It doesn't save its problems though.
This game sucks.
You'd think that with a history of platformers beforehand (Super Mario World was already out by now) Sonic Team would've already picked up on some basic game design philosophy. Spoiler alert: No, no they didn't.
How are you going to make a platformer where the main gimmick that would separate it from the rest is GOING FAST and then right in the next level you're put in closed spaces and pushing boxes, why go against the basic principle that is stated in the first level? It gets even worse when you're actually punished for going too fast in some cases, where you cannot see where you're landing or you're coiled back into a pit where you couldn't do anything if you didn't knew the confusing map layout from before.
Gameplay mechanics are more often than not just abysmal, especially the underwater mechanics which make Sonic floatier and you make the awful discovery that he is able to drown. Yes, in a 2D platformer, where you have to again, dodge enemies and traps just to open doors and let other blocks fall, you can drown. And it wouldn't even be that big of a problem if the measure against this, (the bubbles) actually worked in a consistent manner, because I don't even know if there's some pattern to it but all of the big bubbles you have to catch seem to just be at random and not every time.
Enemy design being so intricate and being easy to die also falls for this, you don't stomp them but instead you "spin" into them, which is again affected by the level design being so bad.
I want to also talk about Scrap Brain Act 3 and the Final Zone. For some reason, the geniuses over at SEGA decided to make the second-to-last zone of the game based around the most maze-y part of the game, this being Labyrinth Zone, and it is the most annoying level in a 2D platformer I've played in a while, with a nonsensical layout and very tight places where you need to defeat those enemies or dodge through obstacles to get past, all while taking care of not drowning and then not dying because there are barely any rings inside the water, it sucks big time.
Then, the Final Zone, asides from being an underwhelming ending is such a poorly designed boss fight, it is very likely you get crushed by the hydraulic presses and there is no way to actually predict which ones are going down/up and as there's no rings available in this level dying of the energy balls is pretty much inevitable at some point.
This game just sucks as a platformer, music-wise and looks-wise it's great though, 32-bit really helped with all the colors and wacky effects that some areas have and that's pretty neat. It doesn't save its problems though.