Sonic Marathon List
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played on RetroArch
So in continuing my Sonic marathon, this was the next one I decided to start on. Only played once, got all six emeralds in the end. This was just meh tbh, definitely not as good as the Genesis/MegaDrive version but still not a bad game.
For things I liked, the graphics are nice and got that Master System charm to em. Music is quite nice as well, no complaints there either. The way to get the Chaos Emeralds honestly in my opinion is an improvement over the Genesis ver. with the headache-inducing of a special stage, having you required to search through the level to find the emeralds throughout the stages really motivates you to explore a stage instead of only just breezing through. Special stages were a fun romp too, liked them better than Genesis special stages.
For disliked stuff though, I don't really dislike but I'm not sure where else to put it but the bosses are pretty meh. First off they're all No-Ring run stages and while some aren't too bad and just don't stand out, some line the final one or Labyrinth Zone's are annoying to deal with. Esp. the final since it's pattern is a bit hard to get down. Some of the chaos emerald locations esp. around the final two zones were hidden so much to an extent where it's like "how are you supposed to figure that out?". Like in Final Zone how are you supposed to know to jump off to the left and land precisely on the moving platforms out of sight, not helping that one is in front of a ladder that's hard to get down. Which on that subject, the camera could be a pain at times, leading me to make leaps of faith on occasion, especially when it just randomly panned somewhere that didn't help to where I needed to go.
Finally, Labyrinth and Sky Base Zone were the worst levels in my opinion, what was with the developers and Labyrinth Zone pick another damn stage. Also I thought this RetroArch, but the game has a lot of slow down issues, I looked up videos of it and it just seems that this is just a problem with the game itself, but it was annoying when making jumps on certain stages. Also the fact that if you get hit you can't get ANY of your rings back is annoying.
And this is more a mixed opinion so I don't want to put it in either liked or disliked only, but the fact that the game itself is more a classic platformer like Mario that instead of focusing on the speed really wants you to take your time going through the levels. It's a mixed bag really, on one hand the game designed around that and uses it to its strengths - esp. in stages like Green Hill, Jungle, or Scrap Brain - but on the other hand it doesn't make the game really stand out, its just a regular platformer.
All in all, I didn't dislike my time with it but it's not one I'd see myself going back to that often, I'd rather just play the Genesis/MD ver instead. If I do go back to it, it'll prob be with the SMS Fan remake someone made which I was originally going to play instead (since I did play the Whitehead ver. for Sonic 1) but I felt the developer changed a bit too much (esp. like how to get the chaos emeralds, instead now being in special stages instead of having to search for them) that it didn't feel like it would be an authentic experience for my first time.
To rank the stages
1. Green Hill Zone - Like the Genesis ver. it's a good intro stage, nice music, nice aesthetic nothing I can complain about. Pretty much the only stage where you really get a chance to run through and build up speed like in the Genesis ver. Boss is a fucking joke though.
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2. Jungle Zone - Nice stage, not too difficult the random slow down did make some jumps a pain at times. Boss isn't too bad either.
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3. Scrap Brain Zone - Fine pre-final stage. Has a good balance of difficulty though isn't as iconic as the Genesis ver. Had a good time going through it though, not too much else I can say about it though.
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4. Bridge Zone - Meh, it's not a bad stage, it's just whatever. I honestly don't have much I can say about it. It's ok, nothing that stands out about it, pretty much a clone of Green Hill. The autoscrolling of Zone 2 though was boring though.
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5. Sky Base Zone - I don't like this stage, Zone 1 with the flashing is a honest to god eyesore every time it flashes. Zone 2 being a not hit run is a pain, especially with all the shit going on and having very hard to avoid projectiles (Talking about you random bomb enemy that appears right when a spiked gate is closing on you but you can't get too close to it or get hit or get too far and hit the door). Boss' pattern is a bit difficult to get down after a while too.
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6. Labyrinth Zone - Just like in the genesis version, I still think this is the worst stage. While it's alleviated a bit by being shorter, it's still a boring boring slog to go through and I honestly feel Sonic moves slower here than in Genesis (slow down not helping). They don't bring in Marble, Spring Yard, or Star Light in but Labyrinth Zone gets the cut?
Prev | | Next
played on RetroArch
So in continuing my Sonic marathon, this was the next one I decided to start on. Only played once, got all six emeralds in the end. This was just meh tbh, definitely not as good as the Genesis/MegaDrive version but still not a bad game.
For things I liked, the graphics are nice and got that Master System charm to em. Music is quite nice as well, no complaints there either. The way to get the Chaos Emeralds honestly in my opinion is an improvement over the Genesis ver. with the headache-inducing of a special stage, having you required to search through the level to find the emeralds throughout the stages really motivates you to explore a stage instead of only just breezing through. Special stages were a fun romp too, liked them better than Genesis special stages.
For disliked stuff though, I don't really dislike but I'm not sure where else to put it but the bosses are pretty meh. First off they're all No-Ring run stages and while some aren't too bad and just don't stand out, some line the final one or Labyrinth Zone's are annoying to deal with. Esp. the final since it's pattern is a bit hard to get down. Some of the chaos emerald locations esp. around the final two zones were hidden so much to an extent where it's like "how are you supposed to figure that out?". Like in Final Zone how are you supposed to know to jump off to the left and land precisely on the moving platforms out of sight, not helping that one is in front of a ladder that's hard to get down. Which on that subject, the camera could be a pain at times, leading me to make leaps of faith on occasion, especially when it just randomly panned somewhere that didn't help to where I needed to go.
Finally, Labyrinth and Sky Base Zone were the worst levels in my opinion, what was with the developers and Labyrinth Zone pick another damn stage. Also I thought this RetroArch, but the game has a lot of slow down issues, I looked up videos of it and it just seems that this is just a problem with the game itself, but it was annoying when making jumps on certain stages. Also the fact that if you get hit you can't get ANY of your rings back is annoying.
And this is more a mixed opinion so I don't want to put it in either liked or disliked only, but the fact that the game itself is more a classic platformer like Mario that instead of focusing on the speed really wants you to take your time going through the levels. It's a mixed bag really, on one hand the game designed around that and uses it to its strengths - esp. in stages like Green Hill, Jungle, or Scrap Brain - but on the other hand it doesn't make the game really stand out, its just a regular platformer.
All in all, I didn't dislike my time with it but it's not one I'd see myself going back to that often, I'd rather just play the Genesis/MD ver instead. If I do go back to it, it'll prob be with the SMS Fan remake someone made which I was originally going to play instead (since I did play the Whitehead ver. for Sonic 1) but I felt the developer changed a bit too much (esp. like how to get the chaos emeralds, instead now being in special stages instead of having to search for them) that it didn't feel like it would be an authentic experience for my first time.
To rank the stages
1. Green Hill Zone - Like the Genesis ver. it's a good intro stage, nice music, nice aesthetic nothing I can complain about. Pretty much the only stage where you really get a chance to run through and build up speed like in the Genesis ver. Boss is a fucking joke though.
-
2. Jungle Zone - Nice stage, not too difficult the random slow down did make some jumps a pain at times. Boss isn't too bad either.
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3. Scrap Brain Zone - Fine pre-final stage. Has a good balance of difficulty though isn't as iconic as the Genesis ver. Had a good time going through it though, not too much else I can say about it though.
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4. Bridge Zone - Meh, it's not a bad stage, it's just whatever. I honestly don't have much I can say about it. It's ok, nothing that stands out about it, pretty much a clone of Green Hill. The autoscrolling of Zone 2 though was boring though.
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5. Sky Base Zone - I don't like this stage, Zone 1 with the flashing is a honest to god eyesore every time it flashes. Zone 2 being a not hit run is a pain, especially with all the shit going on and having very hard to avoid projectiles (Talking about you random bomb enemy that appears right when a spiked gate is closing on you but you can't get too close to it or get hit or get too far and hit the door). Boss' pattern is a bit difficult to get down after a while too.
-
6. Labyrinth Zone - Just like in the genesis version, I still think this is the worst stage. While it's alleviated a bit by being shorter, it's still a boring boring slog to go through and I honestly feel Sonic moves slower here than in Genesis (slow down not helping). They don't bring in Marble, Spring Yard, or Star Light in but Labyrinth Zone gets the cut?