Focuses more so on the level philosophy of Sonic 3 than 2 or 1, which is somewhat of a shame since I prefer 2's, but this is fine. Levels rarely overstay their welcome like they did in 3 though, so this game is better on the level design front. Visuals and soundtrack are wonderful as always. Special stages are good (except in encore mode, fuck those), and blue spheres even returns as bonus content and as a way to get unlockables. Encore mode adds some replay value, but personally I don't find it as enjoyable as the main game. My biggest gripes are sometimes the levels just are kind of annoying (looking at you Stardust Speedway and Titanic Monarch) and there's not much originality here. Still great, play if you like 2D platformers or other 2D Sonic games.