fluffymoon
I played this on Master System. I pretty much always go with Master System when there’s a choice between that and Game Gear, as you may have noticed. And yeah, this game was... fine, I guess? The Chaos Emeralds are a lot easier to get than in other games, which is a bit of a relief. But the zones themselves aren’t really all that interesting gameplay-wise. This is masked somewhat when you need to really dive deeply into them to get 100 rings and get to the Special Stages, but once you knock that out they’re really easy to breeze through. If you stick to the high path you can usually just skip most of the obstacles.
This game does have a couple noteworthy firsts! It’s the first 8-bit title where I’m playable, and it’s also the first first time I can fly as a controllable in-game thing! So that’s pretty cool.
Given the relatively low scope of this game (I played through it in one sitting without much trouble) this is another one where I don’t think it makes much sense to have separate entries for each zone, so let’s go ahead and get into them.
First up is Turquoise Hill Zone, and boy does this ever scream, “We barely tried!” I’m fine with just having the opening zone be a Green Hill clone--in fact, I kinda prefer it--but I don’t even get why they called this one Turquoise Hill! There’s nothing turquoise about it! It’s like they were planning on naming it a synonym of green and decided “no wait” at the last second. I don’t know. I don’t want to be overly critical here.
We once again get Robotnik’s “Master Robots” like in 8-bit Sonic 2, and Turquoise Hill starts us out with a giant Boing-o-Bot that’s extremely easy to defeat and doesn’t even really have any offensive moves unless you stand still and let it run over you or something. Shrug!
Next up we’ve got Gigalopolis Zone, or Gigapolis Zone according to Game Gear’s smaller screen. This is kind of reminiscent of Starlight Zone, and is one of the better zones in the game imo. It introduces a new mechanic in the form of those lego-ass-looking bridges you can fall off of, and it also has all those tunnels to walk through, so that’s pretty dope! It wouldn’t be anything special in most games, but it shines here largely due to lack of competition. The boss for this one is a giant worm made up of a bunch of different large balls that you have to knock apart and avoid taking damage from. Honestly? It’s alright as far as these kinds of bosses go. Glowing endorsement over here, I know.
Sleeping Egg Zone is... kinda weird and unchallenging? Like, at least it’s different, I guess? But I don’t know.. There isn’t a lot to it. You’re just kinda bouncing around on springboards a lot and occasionally bashing floor or ceiling blocks. Shrug. The boss for this one is pretty alright, at least! It’s a robotic facsimile of Robotnik and the Egg-O-Matic with a giant spring on the bottom of it. So yeah, honestly one of the better bosses in the game! Though it still wouldn’t be much in any other game.
Mecha Green Hill Zone... WOOF. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the worst zone in the game or anything. But what a gap between concept and execution. This is one of the better ideas I’ve seen in any 8-bit Sonic game, and I find the entire concept viscerally terrifying on a level that’s difficult to put into words... but this zone just doesn’t live up to that at all, and it’s just so easy and so short. A huge disappointment. The boss for this one is alright I guess especially judging by the standards of this game, and it’s actually a little challenging which is nice, but that’s about all this zone has going for it. What a waste.
Aqua Planet Zone is the obligatory underwater level and it’s similarly just totally phoned in. I’m not even gonna bother with my usual schtick about my hedgehog and whether or not I like him being underwater, though honestly there’s so little peril from being underwater in this stage that it’s surprising they even bothered. There aren’t even any air bubbles, you just can pretty much always access the surface. And the boss is pretty okay aside from bearing far more of a resemblance to the previous boss than is necessarily advisable.
Electric Egg Zone would be a lot better if it weren’t for that darn tube muze gimmick they’re so enamored with, but yeah. The boss actually gave me trouble when I played through as Sonic because I didn’t find the hidden rings towards the very end of Act 3 on that playthrough, so I had to fight the final boss without rings! I just kinda figured you weren’t supposed to have rings for it, but I found them on my Tails playthrough. Whoops. Anyway, yeah. Not great, but not a terrible final zone. And a pretty decent final boss fight!
So, yeah. This game is pretty aggressively mediocre. It’s not terrible or anything, but yeah.
So, yeah! Let’s rate some stuff! Only some of the zones have two different soundtracks for the Master System and Game Gear releases, so I’ll rate those separately when they come up but otherwise just one entry for both games. Get it? Got it? Good.
Zones
Gigalopolis Zone (C-Rank)
Turquoise Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Mecha Green Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Sleeping Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Aqua Planet Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
Laser Walker (B-Rank)
Bouncy Boss Robot (C-Rank)
Bead Worm (C-Rank)
Sphere-o-Bot (C-Rank)
Tree Crawler (C-Rank)
Lady Bug (D-Rank)
Soundtrack
Mecha Green Hill Zone (B-Rank)
Gigalopolis Zone, Master System (C-Rank)
Gigalopolis Zone, Game Gear (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone Act 3 (C-Rank)
Turquoise Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Laser Walker (C-Rank)
Boss (C-Rank)
Aqua Planet Zone (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Sleeping Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Special stage (C-Rank)
Special Stage 2 (C-Rank)
Bad Ending (D-Tier)
Ending (D-Tier)
This game does have a couple noteworthy firsts! It’s the first 8-bit title where I’m playable, and it’s also the first first time I can fly as a controllable in-game thing! So that’s pretty cool.
Given the relatively low scope of this game (I played through it in one sitting without much trouble) this is another one where I don’t think it makes much sense to have separate entries for each zone, so let’s go ahead and get into them.
First up is Turquoise Hill Zone, and boy does this ever scream, “We barely tried!” I’m fine with just having the opening zone be a Green Hill clone--in fact, I kinda prefer it--but I don’t even get why they called this one Turquoise Hill! There’s nothing turquoise about it! It’s like they were planning on naming it a synonym of green and decided “no wait” at the last second. I don’t know. I don’t want to be overly critical here.
We once again get Robotnik’s “Master Robots” like in 8-bit Sonic 2, and Turquoise Hill starts us out with a giant Boing-o-Bot that’s extremely easy to defeat and doesn’t even really have any offensive moves unless you stand still and let it run over you or something. Shrug!
Next up we’ve got Gigalopolis Zone, or Gigapolis Zone according to Game Gear’s smaller screen. This is kind of reminiscent of Starlight Zone, and is one of the better zones in the game imo. It introduces a new mechanic in the form of those lego-ass-looking bridges you can fall off of, and it also has all those tunnels to walk through, so that’s pretty dope! It wouldn’t be anything special in most games, but it shines here largely due to lack of competition. The boss for this one is a giant worm made up of a bunch of different large balls that you have to knock apart and avoid taking damage from. Honestly? It’s alright as far as these kinds of bosses go. Glowing endorsement over here, I know.
Sleeping Egg Zone is... kinda weird and unchallenging? Like, at least it’s different, I guess? But I don’t know.. There isn’t a lot to it. You’re just kinda bouncing around on springboards a lot and occasionally bashing floor or ceiling blocks. Shrug. The boss for this one is pretty alright, at least! It’s a robotic facsimile of Robotnik and the Egg-O-Matic with a giant spring on the bottom of it. So yeah, honestly one of the better bosses in the game! Though it still wouldn’t be much in any other game.
Mecha Green Hill Zone... WOOF. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the worst zone in the game or anything. But what a gap between concept and execution. This is one of the better ideas I’ve seen in any 8-bit Sonic game, and I find the entire concept viscerally terrifying on a level that’s difficult to put into words... but this zone just doesn’t live up to that at all, and it’s just so easy and so short. A huge disappointment. The boss for this one is alright I guess especially judging by the standards of this game, and it’s actually a little challenging which is nice, but that’s about all this zone has going for it. What a waste.
Aqua Planet Zone is the obligatory underwater level and it’s similarly just totally phoned in. I’m not even gonna bother with my usual schtick about my hedgehog and whether or not I like him being underwater, though honestly there’s so little peril from being underwater in this stage that it’s surprising they even bothered. There aren’t even any air bubbles, you just can pretty much always access the surface. And the boss is pretty okay aside from bearing far more of a resemblance to the previous boss than is necessarily advisable.
Electric Egg Zone would be a lot better if it weren’t for that darn tube muze gimmick they’re so enamored with, but yeah. The boss actually gave me trouble when I played through as Sonic because I didn’t find the hidden rings towards the very end of Act 3 on that playthrough, so I had to fight the final boss without rings! I just kinda figured you weren’t supposed to have rings for it, but I found them on my Tails playthrough. Whoops. Anyway, yeah. Not great, but not a terrible final zone. And a pretty decent final boss fight!
So, yeah. This game is pretty aggressively mediocre. It’s not terrible or anything, but yeah.
So, yeah! Let’s rate some stuff! Only some of the zones have two different soundtracks for the Master System and Game Gear releases, so I’ll rate those separately when they come up but otherwise just one entry for both games. Get it? Got it? Good.
Zones
Gigalopolis Zone (C-Rank)
Turquoise Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Mecha Green Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Sleeping Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Aqua Planet Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
Laser Walker (B-Rank)
Bouncy Boss Robot (C-Rank)
Bead Worm (C-Rank)
Sphere-o-Bot (C-Rank)
Tree Crawler (C-Rank)
Lady Bug (D-Rank)
Soundtrack
Mecha Green Hill Zone (B-Rank)
Gigalopolis Zone, Master System (C-Rank)
Gigalopolis Zone, Game Gear (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone Act 3 (C-Rank)
Turquoise Hill Zone (C-Rank)
Laser Walker (C-Rank)
Boss (C-Rank)
Aqua Planet Zone (C-Rank)
Electric Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Sleeping Egg Zone (C-Rank)
Special stage (C-Rank)
Special Stage 2 (C-Rank)
Bad Ending (D-Tier)
Ending (D-Tier)
1994
Here we go.
If you ask me to pick a favorite, and don’t let me count Sonic 3 & Knuckles as one game, this is probably it. It’s just everything I love about these games turned up to 11. It’s SO FREAKING GOOD, guys. Aaaaaaaaa I am so excited I finally got to this game!! I love it so much!!
This is the first Sonic game I distinctly remember being uber excited to come out. I remember devouring magazine articles about it. I remember playing a demo at some department store. I remember being so, so excited that the game had a Mobian baddie! Ugh I can totally still feel the hype for this thing and it’s making me grin like a little kid.
I love this game!!
Angel Island Zone (2/25)
Talk about starting out on a high note! Angel Island Zone is one of the best opening zones of any Sonic game. The lush rainforest is distinct from the other Green Hill-esque openers while still maintaining the same theme. And like the rest of this game, it’s just absolutely gorgeous. The developers have clearly had a lot of time to master creating these games, and I just can’t get over what a leap forward Sonic 3 is in every way.
The game opens with me and Sonic flying together in the Tornado and spotting the floating island. Sonic is excited to explore, and goes Super, zooming ahead of the plane while I smile fondly and shake my head, murmuring, “Showoff.” (Okay that one’s not explicitly portrayed in the game but you KNOW it happened.) No sooner has Sonic made landfall than the (at the time) mysterious Knuckles explodes from the ground and collides with him, somehow knocking all the Chaos Emeralds out of Sonic and forcing him out of his Super form! (IDK.) Rude!
I remember being so excited to have a new Mobian character, and for him to be an antagonist at that! Little did I know I would like him way better as a giant dork who acts tough but has a soft, squishy core that he doesn’t want anyone to know about.
Ahem. ANYWAY. Yeah, this zone rules! The mini-boss and main boss, both fire-based, are pretty great! And I love the way Knuckles is given a very impactful role both in stealing the Chaos Emeralds and in sending us plummeting to the next zone at the end of this one!
So, I kinda intentionally decided to show off as much as I could in Act 1, and the result was 227 rings, two Chaos Emeralds (with a perfect on both Special Stages), and 10 lives (as always you start with 3). Soooooo yeah. I might be kinda good at this game or something.
My performance on Act 2 wasn’t quite as impressive. For one thing from here on out I won’t really be going for perfects on the Special Stages, I kinda did that just to prove to myself that I could. Anyway, I lost all my rings like halfway through Act 2 so only ended up finishing the first zone with 12 lives. I also hecked up on one of the Special Stages in Act 2, so only added a third Chaos Emerald. Still, not bad for the first zone!!
Onward!
Hydrocity Zone (2/25)
Alright. So. I know you think you know what I’m gonna say here, and in fairness I’ve basically conditioned you to expect it at this point. But OMG THIS ZONE IS SO GOOD I kinda don’t even want to say it.
Also, like. The fact that you can get a water shield and stay underwater for an unlimited amount of time helps! Once I had one of those bad boys, I actually still found myself stopping at air bubbles, but to make sure A.I. Tails could get a breath! One time he celebrated this by spindashing off in the opposite direction, which, good job buddy. (Yes it is surreal to be patronizing towards an A.I. version of myself. Shrug!)
Oh I should say that from this point on (so, other than playing Angel Island before work) I played the entire game in one sitting last night because I just couldn’t force myself to stop playing to write these entries. So, yeah! Didn’t really keep track of lives and Emeralds and stuff. Know I finished the game with better than 20 lives and I got my last Chaos Emerald in Act 2 of Ice Cap Zone, but we’ll get to that story later!
So, yeah! Hydrocity Zone. It’s pretty! And there are so many cool features and traps and stuff! And I don’t know, it just rules! Also you get to see a ton of my swimming animation, which, HI? I think might just be the best visual representation in any of these games of how my entire deal is just TRYING REALLY HARD YOU GUYS.
The bosses for this one are pretty great! The mini boss is alright, and the major boss is iconic! Just such a great concept and execution for a water level boss.
I’m very tempted to say this is pretty easily the best water level in any Sonic game, and it honestly very well might be!
Marble Garden Zone (2/25)
This is the kind of zone in these classic Sonic games that usually bores the crap out of me! But this one doesn’t!! They took the ancient ruins theme that they usually phone in and made a genuinely interesting zone out of it with a lot of unique gameplay features! I’m hella into this!!
I think this gets into one of the biggest strengths of Sonic 3 (and Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles). There is just so much variety to the level design! And it really makes all the different zones pop!!
Also, I freaking love the boss for this zone!! The mini boss is good too, but the major boss is a flying boss and I fly and carry Sonic and IT RULES!!! and I’m kinda upset that we don’t get more bosses like that, it’s such a great concept!!
I don’t have much else to say about this zone, except that I’m sure me and Sonic have definitely explored ruins like this one and the previous zone. Specifically on Angel Island, even, I’m sure. Those Echidnas left a bunch of mysterious stuff behind!
Carnival Night Zone (2/25)
Another theme that often gets phoned in, and another genuinely terrific zone! Like a lot of people, I got stuck on Act 2 FOREVER the first few times I played this game, and when I was listening to the soundtrack on YouTube it was hella validating to see tons of comments from people being like “THAT DAMN BARREL” (the puzzle that took me forever to figure out back then). Also, Act 2 is just hella LONG! I actually timed out during the boss fight this time! And saw a lot of comments from others suggesting this is a pretty common experience.
So, yeah, Eggman is obsessed with amusement park/casino/etc type dealies, so yeah this felt familiar. It’s frustrating because like... I like amusement parks etc too, but you can’t really let yourself enjoy them here or you’re gonna fall into some kind of trap. (Yes, I’m absolutely sure this has happened to me at least once.)
Can’t say I’m too impressed with either of the bosses in this one!! The major boss is fine, I guess. The mini boss is one of those really annoying ones where it just sorta destroys itself and you just have to facilitate that, and honestly I’ve never been a fan of that kinda boss! Although, this is the first time I’ve had occasion to look up the thing’s official name, and finding out that it was called the “Self D-Struct Machine” gave me a good chuckle. Hey Eggy, you kay?
IceCap Zone (2/25)
THIS ZONE RULES.
YOU START OFF SNOWBOARDING, AND THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD, AND THE THEMING IS SO GOOD, AND EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. WHAT THE HECK. THIS IS SO GOOD.
I don’t really know what else to say! This is one of the best zones in any Sonic game. I love it so much.
Oh, hey! Actually! I promised y’all the story of collecting my last Chaos Emerald! So, there’s a giant ring basically right before the major boss of this zone. And I got there with over 200 rings. And I got my last Chaos Emerald.
So, yeah. To reiterate. Right before the boss, I collected my Final Chaos Emerald and came out of the Special Stage with 200 rings and the ability to go Super.
Yeah. It really sucked to be that boss.
Launch Base Zone (2/25)
This is a pretty good final zone! And Act 2 ends with an A-Rank boss and TWO S-Rank bosses! So I had to be careful not to go overboard and rank this one ahead of other zones in the game that overall impressed me more, but like, don’t get me wrong! The zone itself is pretty great too. It’s just that this game is an embarrassment of riches. Like. This is the FOURTH best zone in this game! What! That’s ridiculous!
And yeah, as far as kinfeels it just does the usual “ugh Robotnik’s base, anxiety” stuff. Nothing more specific than that. Oh, the Death Egg, though. There is that. Yeah. Ugh.
Ending
Although it doesn’t have clips from the various zones like some classic Sonic games do, which is kind of tragic, it has easily the best end credits music, so that’s not nothing!
But, yeah. I love this game! I mean heck, scroll down! OVER HALF OF THIS GAME’S ZONES ARE S-RANK! Sonic & Knuckles might put up similar or better numbers, but if you play Sonic & Knuckles by itself THERE’S NO TAILS you guys! NO TAILS! So obviously if I have to pick one, Sonic 3 is gonna be my favorite. (Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my true favorite, obviously, but if I had to pick just one.)
Oh, also, I’m gonna have to abandon my “couples depicted in this game” joke from here on out, because I don’t wanna disrespect any of the Mobian polycule by actually ranking relationships!! It was a cute little joke when it was only me and Sonic together in these games, but yeah. From Sonic & Knuckles on, you at least have Knux in the mix, and then Shads joins later, and yeah. Don’t wanna be rude.
Couples Depicted in this Game
1. Sonic/Tails (S/T-Rank)
Zones
1. Ice Cap Zone (S-Rank)
2. Angel Island Zone (S-Rank)
3. Hydrocity Zone (S-Rank)
4. Launch Base Zone (S-Rank)
5. Marble Garden Zone (B-Rank)
6. Carnival Night Zone (B-Rank)
Bosses
1. Big Arm (S-Rank)
2. Flame Craft (Act 2) (S-Rank)
3. Beam Rocket (S-Rank)
4. Waterspout and Depth Charge Machine (A-Rank)
5. Jet Drill Pod (A-Rank)
6. Ball Shooter (A-Rank)
7. Flame Craft (Act 1) (A-Rank)
8. Iceball (B-Rank)
9. Swing ‘m Spikez (B-Rank)
10. Tunnelbot (B-Rank)
11. Freeze-O-Matic (B-Rank)
12. Whirlpool Machine (B-Rank)
13. Energy Ship (C-Rank)
14. Self D-Struct Machine (C-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. Final Boss (S-Rank)
2. Ice Cap Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
3. Ice Cap Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
4. Ending (S-Rank)
5. Major Boss (S-Rank)
6. Angel Island Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
7. Angel Island Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
8. Hydrocity Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
9. Hydrocity Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
10. Special Stage (A-Rank)
11. Launch Base Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
12. Launch Base Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
13. Endless Mine Zone (A-Rank)
14. Bonus Stage (A-Rank)
15. Azure Lake Zone (B-Rank)
16. Marble Garden Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
17. Marble Garden Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
18. Minor Boss (B-Rank)
19. Carnival Night Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
20. Carnival Night Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
21. Desert Palace Zone (B-Rank)
22. Chrome Gadget Zone (B-Rank)
23. Balloon Park Zone (B-Rank)
If you ask me to pick a favorite, and don’t let me count Sonic 3 & Knuckles as one game, this is probably it. It’s just everything I love about these games turned up to 11. It’s SO FREAKING GOOD, guys. Aaaaaaaaa I am so excited I finally got to this game!! I love it so much!!
This is the first Sonic game I distinctly remember being uber excited to come out. I remember devouring magazine articles about it. I remember playing a demo at some department store. I remember being so, so excited that the game had a Mobian baddie! Ugh I can totally still feel the hype for this thing and it’s making me grin like a little kid.
I love this game!!
Angel Island Zone (2/25)
Talk about starting out on a high note! Angel Island Zone is one of the best opening zones of any Sonic game. The lush rainforest is distinct from the other Green Hill-esque openers while still maintaining the same theme. And like the rest of this game, it’s just absolutely gorgeous. The developers have clearly had a lot of time to master creating these games, and I just can’t get over what a leap forward Sonic 3 is in every way.
The game opens with me and Sonic flying together in the Tornado and spotting the floating island. Sonic is excited to explore, and goes Super, zooming ahead of the plane while I smile fondly and shake my head, murmuring, “Showoff.” (Okay that one’s not explicitly portrayed in the game but you KNOW it happened.) No sooner has Sonic made landfall than the (at the time) mysterious Knuckles explodes from the ground and collides with him, somehow knocking all the Chaos Emeralds out of Sonic and forcing him out of his Super form! (IDK.) Rude!
I remember being so excited to have a new Mobian character, and for him to be an antagonist at that! Little did I know I would like him way better as a giant dork who acts tough but has a soft, squishy core that he doesn’t want anyone to know about.
Ahem. ANYWAY. Yeah, this zone rules! The mini-boss and main boss, both fire-based, are pretty great! And I love the way Knuckles is given a very impactful role both in stealing the Chaos Emeralds and in sending us plummeting to the next zone at the end of this one!
So, I kinda intentionally decided to show off as much as I could in Act 1, and the result was 227 rings, two Chaos Emeralds (with a perfect on both Special Stages), and 10 lives (as always you start with 3). Soooooo yeah. I might be kinda good at this game or something.
My performance on Act 2 wasn’t quite as impressive. For one thing from here on out I won’t really be going for perfects on the Special Stages, I kinda did that just to prove to myself that I could. Anyway, I lost all my rings like halfway through Act 2 so only ended up finishing the first zone with 12 lives. I also hecked up on one of the Special Stages in Act 2, so only added a third Chaos Emerald. Still, not bad for the first zone!!
Onward!
Hydrocity Zone (2/25)
Alright. So. I know you think you know what I’m gonna say here, and in fairness I’ve basically conditioned you to expect it at this point. But OMG THIS ZONE IS SO GOOD I kinda don’t even want to say it.
Also, like. The fact that you can get a water shield and stay underwater for an unlimited amount of time helps! Once I had one of those bad boys, I actually still found myself stopping at air bubbles, but to make sure A.I. Tails could get a breath! One time he celebrated this by spindashing off in the opposite direction, which, good job buddy. (Yes it is surreal to be patronizing towards an A.I. version of myself. Shrug!)
Oh I should say that from this point on (so, other than playing Angel Island before work) I played the entire game in one sitting last night because I just couldn’t force myself to stop playing to write these entries. So, yeah! Didn’t really keep track of lives and Emeralds and stuff. Know I finished the game with better than 20 lives and I got my last Chaos Emerald in Act 2 of Ice Cap Zone, but we’ll get to that story later!
So, yeah! Hydrocity Zone. It’s pretty! And there are so many cool features and traps and stuff! And I don’t know, it just rules! Also you get to see a ton of my swimming animation, which, HI? I think might just be the best visual representation in any of these games of how my entire deal is just TRYING REALLY HARD YOU GUYS.
The bosses for this one are pretty great! The mini boss is alright, and the major boss is iconic! Just such a great concept and execution for a water level boss.
I’m very tempted to say this is pretty easily the best water level in any Sonic game, and it honestly very well might be!
Marble Garden Zone (2/25)
This is the kind of zone in these classic Sonic games that usually bores the crap out of me! But this one doesn’t!! They took the ancient ruins theme that they usually phone in and made a genuinely interesting zone out of it with a lot of unique gameplay features! I’m hella into this!!
I think this gets into one of the biggest strengths of Sonic 3 (and Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles). There is just so much variety to the level design! And it really makes all the different zones pop!!
Also, I freaking love the boss for this zone!! The mini boss is good too, but the major boss is a flying boss and I fly and carry Sonic and IT RULES!!! and I’m kinda upset that we don’t get more bosses like that, it’s such a great concept!!
I don’t have much else to say about this zone, except that I’m sure me and Sonic have definitely explored ruins like this one and the previous zone. Specifically on Angel Island, even, I’m sure. Those Echidnas left a bunch of mysterious stuff behind!
Carnival Night Zone (2/25)
Another theme that often gets phoned in, and another genuinely terrific zone! Like a lot of people, I got stuck on Act 2 FOREVER the first few times I played this game, and when I was listening to the soundtrack on YouTube it was hella validating to see tons of comments from people being like “THAT DAMN BARREL” (the puzzle that took me forever to figure out back then). Also, Act 2 is just hella LONG! I actually timed out during the boss fight this time! And saw a lot of comments from others suggesting this is a pretty common experience.
So, yeah, Eggman is obsessed with amusement park/casino/etc type dealies, so yeah this felt familiar. It’s frustrating because like... I like amusement parks etc too, but you can’t really let yourself enjoy them here or you’re gonna fall into some kind of trap. (Yes, I’m absolutely sure this has happened to me at least once.)
Can’t say I’m too impressed with either of the bosses in this one!! The major boss is fine, I guess. The mini boss is one of those really annoying ones where it just sorta destroys itself and you just have to facilitate that, and honestly I’ve never been a fan of that kinda boss! Although, this is the first time I’ve had occasion to look up the thing’s official name, and finding out that it was called the “Self D-Struct Machine” gave me a good chuckle. Hey Eggy, you kay?
IceCap Zone (2/25)
THIS ZONE RULES.
YOU START OFF SNOWBOARDING, AND THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD, AND THE THEMING IS SO GOOD, AND EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. WHAT THE HECK. THIS IS SO GOOD.
I don’t really know what else to say! This is one of the best zones in any Sonic game. I love it so much.
Oh, hey! Actually! I promised y’all the story of collecting my last Chaos Emerald! So, there’s a giant ring basically right before the major boss of this zone. And I got there with over 200 rings. And I got my last Chaos Emerald.
So, yeah. To reiterate. Right before the boss, I collected my Final Chaos Emerald and came out of the Special Stage with 200 rings and the ability to go Super.
Yeah. It really sucked to be that boss.
Launch Base Zone (2/25)
This is a pretty good final zone! And Act 2 ends with an A-Rank boss and TWO S-Rank bosses! So I had to be careful not to go overboard and rank this one ahead of other zones in the game that overall impressed me more, but like, don’t get me wrong! The zone itself is pretty great too. It’s just that this game is an embarrassment of riches. Like. This is the FOURTH best zone in this game! What! That’s ridiculous!
And yeah, as far as kinfeels it just does the usual “ugh Robotnik’s base, anxiety” stuff. Nothing more specific than that. Oh, the Death Egg, though. There is that. Yeah. Ugh.
Ending
Although it doesn’t have clips from the various zones like some classic Sonic games do, which is kind of tragic, it has easily the best end credits music, so that’s not nothing!
But, yeah. I love this game! I mean heck, scroll down! OVER HALF OF THIS GAME’S ZONES ARE S-RANK! Sonic & Knuckles might put up similar or better numbers, but if you play Sonic & Knuckles by itself THERE’S NO TAILS you guys! NO TAILS! So obviously if I have to pick one, Sonic 3 is gonna be my favorite. (Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my true favorite, obviously, but if I had to pick just one.)
Oh, also, I’m gonna have to abandon my “couples depicted in this game” joke from here on out, because I don’t wanna disrespect any of the Mobian polycule by actually ranking relationships!! It was a cute little joke when it was only me and Sonic together in these games, but yeah. From Sonic & Knuckles on, you at least have Knux in the mix, and then Shads joins later, and yeah. Don’t wanna be rude.
Couples Depicted in this Game
1. Sonic/Tails (S/T-Rank)
Zones
1. Ice Cap Zone (S-Rank)
2. Angel Island Zone (S-Rank)
3. Hydrocity Zone (S-Rank)
4. Launch Base Zone (S-Rank)
5. Marble Garden Zone (B-Rank)
6. Carnival Night Zone (B-Rank)
Bosses
1. Big Arm (S-Rank)
2. Flame Craft (Act 2) (S-Rank)
3. Beam Rocket (S-Rank)
4. Waterspout and Depth Charge Machine (A-Rank)
5. Jet Drill Pod (A-Rank)
6. Ball Shooter (A-Rank)
7. Flame Craft (Act 1) (A-Rank)
8. Iceball (B-Rank)
9. Swing ‘m Spikez (B-Rank)
10. Tunnelbot (B-Rank)
11. Freeze-O-Matic (B-Rank)
12. Whirlpool Machine (B-Rank)
13. Energy Ship (C-Rank)
14. Self D-Struct Machine (C-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. Final Boss (S-Rank)
2. Ice Cap Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
3. Ice Cap Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
4. Ending (S-Rank)
5. Major Boss (S-Rank)
6. Angel Island Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
7. Angel Island Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
8. Hydrocity Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
9. Hydrocity Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
10. Special Stage (A-Rank)
11. Launch Base Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
12. Launch Base Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
13. Endless Mine Zone (A-Rank)
14. Bonus Stage (A-Rank)
15. Azure Lake Zone (B-Rank)
16. Marble Garden Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
17. Marble Garden Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
18. Minor Boss (B-Rank)
19. Carnival Night Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
20. Carnival Night Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
21. Desert Palace Zone (B-Rank)
22. Chrome Gadget Zone (B-Rank)
23. Balloon Park Zone (B-Rank)
(This review refers to the 8-bit version, which I would have given a 1 star rating but since the vastly different 16-bit & 8-bit versions are filed under the same game, I cannot do that.)
The development meeting for this one:
“Hey guys, you know how we usually put a little bit of effort into our 8-bit ports so they have some new and different stuff in them and aren’t just the exact same game but worse in every measurable way?”
“Yeah?”
“What if we didn’t do that this time?”
“Heck yeah! Sounds great. Can we make some of the bosses way less cool, though?”
“Yeah, for sure! Make sure we keep the nightmare fuel boiler with the floating Robotnik heads, though!”
“Obviously!”
The thing that’s even more frustrating here is that the fact that the 16-bit version of Sonic Spinball is good (and it is, eat me haters) is actually kind of a miracle??? Lilke, the game is the result of Sega realizing way too late that they weren’t going to have Sonic 3 in time for the holiday season and then frantically looking around like, “Uhhhh, what do we got?” And someone nervously offering, “Uhhhh, people liked that pinball stuff in Sonic 2?” and Sega saying “Perfect!! Let’s build a whole game out of that in a very short amount of time with most of our resources still (correctly) committed to Sonic 3!!” and that somehow resulted in a great game? (Again, eat me haters.) Improbable, to say the least.
I’m just not even gonna talk about how I looked in my one appearance in the opening cutscene. (This port doesn’t show me saving Sonic, so what happens to him when he falls back to Mobius from space? Shrug!) Or the fact that they just couldn’t even be bothered to have BOSS MUSIC? A feature that checks notes literally every single other game in this series (that has bosses) has???
Just play the Genesis/Mega Drive version. There is NO REASON to play this version unless you’re a completionist or just very morbidly curious. It’s BAD.
Anyway let’s rank some stuff and get the heck out of here.
Zones
1. The Machine (D-Rank)
2. Toxic Pools (D-Rank)
3. Final Showdown (D-Rank)
4. Lava Powerhouse (D-Rank)
Bosses
1. Veg-O-Machine (B-Rank)
2. Final Showdown Boss (D-Rank)
3. Toxic Pools Boss (D-Rank)
4. Roboboiler (D-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. Final Showdown (B-Rank)
2. The Machine (C-Rank)
3. Bonus Level (C-Rank)
4. Toxic Pools (C-Rank)
5. Lava Powerhouse (C-Rank)
The development meeting for this one:
“Hey guys, you know how we usually put a little bit of effort into our 8-bit ports so they have some new and different stuff in them and aren’t just the exact same game but worse in every measurable way?”
“Yeah?”
“What if we didn’t do that this time?”
“Heck yeah! Sounds great. Can we make some of the bosses way less cool, though?”
“Yeah, for sure! Make sure we keep the nightmare fuel boiler with the floating Robotnik heads, though!”
“Obviously!”
The thing that’s even more frustrating here is that the fact that the 16-bit version of Sonic Spinball is good (and it is, eat me haters) is actually kind of a miracle??? Lilke, the game is the result of Sega realizing way too late that they weren’t going to have Sonic 3 in time for the holiday season and then frantically looking around like, “Uhhhh, what do we got?” And someone nervously offering, “Uhhhh, people liked that pinball stuff in Sonic 2?” and Sega saying “Perfect!! Let’s build a whole game out of that in a very short amount of time with most of our resources still (correctly) committed to Sonic 3!!” and that somehow resulted in a great game? (Again, eat me haters.) Improbable, to say the least.
I’m just not even gonna talk about how I looked in my one appearance in the opening cutscene. (This port doesn’t show me saving Sonic, so what happens to him when he falls back to Mobius from space? Shrug!) Or the fact that they just couldn’t even be bothered to have BOSS MUSIC? A feature that checks notes literally every single other game in this series (that has bosses) has???
Just play the Genesis/Mega Drive version. There is NO REASON to play this version unless you’re a completionist or just very morbidly curious. It’s BAD.
Anyway let’s rank some stuff and get the heck out of here.
Zones
1. The Machine (D-Rank)
2. Toxic Pools (D-Rank)
3. Final Showdown (D-Rank)
4. Lava Powerhouse (D-Rank)
Bosses
1. Veg-O-Machine (B-Rank)
2. Final Showdown Boss (D-Rank)
3. Toxic Pools Boss (D-Rank)
4. Roboboiler (D-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. Final Showdown (B-Rank)
2. The Machine (C-Rank)
3. Bonus Level (C-Rank)
4. Toxic Pools (C-Rank)
5. Lava Powerhouse (C-Rank)
So yeah, this was my favorite video game of all time until Mass Effect 2 and later Undertale came along, and honestly it regained its throne on this replay. There's just SO MUCH here, and so much replay value. And it's so rewarding to get better at the game with practice.
I played with me & Sonic first, then Knuckles, neither of which really had anything new content other than Hyper Sonic and Hyper Knuckles, but were still a lot of fun to play through in their complete forms and it was nice having me with Sonic for the Sonic & Knuckles levels.
But saving my playthrough as myself for last was absolutely the right decision. Being able to fly, even just in a video game, is so satisfying, especially after playing through literally the same stuff as other characters who can't fly. It felt so good! Probably a fraction of what it would feel like to suddenly be able to fly in real life.
Oh, and yeah, I don't know why I need all the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds to go Super? I have joked that I was being pedantic like "Wait why do the Chaos Emeralds make you go Super? Wouldn't the Super Emeralds make more sense?" and the Emeralds were like, "You know what, you little know-it-all? FINE. That's how it works for you. Happy???" But yeah. My Super form is pretty great!
I also love that all of us have different final bosses, even though mine is just a truncated version of Sonic's playthrough. But even that makes sense, right? Because I was fighting by his side the whole time.
I love this game so much.
I played with me & Sonic first, then Knuckles, neither of which really had anything new content other than Hyper Sonic and Hyper Knuckles, but were still a lot of fun to play through in their complete forms and it was nice having me with Sonic for the Sonic & Knuckles levels.
But saving my playthrough as myself for last was absolutely the right decision. Being able to fly, even just in a video game, is so satisfying, especially after playing through literally the same stuff as other characters who can't fly. It felt so good! Probably a fraction of what it would feel like to suddenly be able to fly in real life.
Oh, and yeah, I don't know why I need all the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds to go Super? I have joked that I was being pedantic like "Wait why do the Chaos Emeralds make you go Super? Wouldn't the Super Emeralds make more sense?" and the Emeralds were like, "You know what, you little know-it-all? FINE. That's how it works for you. Happy???" But yeah. My Super form is pretty great!
I also love that all of us have different final bosses, even though mine is just a truncated version of Sonic's playthrough. But even that makes sense, right? Because I was fighting by his side the whole time.
I love this game so much.
1995
This one is frustrating, even moreso because it’s often seen as the sort of unofficial end of the classic Sonic era. This gets mentioned in the same breath as Sonic CD in terms of classic era games people can’t stand, and yeah, I super get that.
I started out this game pretty optimistically. How bad could it be? And you have all these different characters you can play, and you can do stuff like throw your partner around! I think theoretically you could have like, Charmy the Bee chucking Vector the Crocodile all over the place? Yeah! That rules, right?
The problem is when you get to the actual, uh... game part of the game. The levels are very repetitive, boring, and unchallenging. You just kinda wander around aimlessly until you get to the goal and are like, "Sure, cool." There's no sense of accomplishment or progression.
Then there's the whole level roulette thing. Which is clearly just there to break up the repetitive levels so it feels like there's more variety to them, but mostly just keeps the game from having any feeling of coherence to it. AND the levels still feel repetitive. So, yeah.
And then you get to fight Metal Sonic and a bigger, powered-up Metal Sonic and it's still the most boring, unchallenging thing ever?
Ugh I hate being this negative about a Sonic game but I just don't get much out of this other than an excuse to stare at Knuckles and some other cuties a bunch. I'm sorry, this one needed longer to cook.
Anyway I’m not gonna bother with rankings because the zones are so repetitive and samey and the bosses are a joke, so just assume they all get D-Ranks. And as for the soundtrack, they don’t list the tracks by zone etc (even Sonic Adventure and such do that!) so it won’t really fit into my ratings system anyway, soooo yeah. As with a lot of things about this game... shrug!
I started out this game pretty optimistically. How bad could it be? And you have all these different characters you can play, and you can do stuff like throw your partner around! I think theoretically you could have like, Charmy the Bee chucking Vector the Crocodile all over the place? Yeah! That rules, right?
The problem is when you get to the actual, uh... game part of the game. The levels are very repetitive, boring, and unchallenging. You just kinda wander around aimlessly until you get to the goal and are like, "Sure, cool." There's no sense of accomplishment or progression.
Then there's the whole level roulette thing. Which is clearly just there to break up the repetitive levels so it feels like there's more variety to them, but mostly just keeps the game from having any feeling of coherence to it. AND the levels still feel repetitive. So, yeah.
And then you get to fight Metal Sonic and a bigger, powered-up Metal Sonic and it's still the most boring, unchallenging thing ever?
Ugh I hate being this negative about a Sonic game but I just don't get much out of this other than an excuse to stare at Knuckles and some other cuties a bunch. I'm sorry, this one needed longer to cook.
Anyway I’m not gonna bother with rankings because the zones are so repetitive and samey and the bosses are a joke, so just assume they all get D-Ranks. And as for the soundtrack, they don’t list the tracks by zone etc (even Sonic Adventure and such do that!) so it won’t really fit into my ratings system anyway, soooo yeah. As with a lot of things about this game... shrug!
1995
I’m kinda torn about this one!! On the one hand, it’s still not really delivering what I would want out of a solo adventure starring me. (Heck, at this point I think my story in Sonic Adventure 1 is the closest I’m ever gonna get.) But on the other hand, the main mechanic of the game is me unlocking various gadgets (sorta Metroid-esque) and using them to progress, which is I think the first time the series has really suggested that I’m the resourceful gadget guy! Plus the Sea Fox makes a return which I’m extremely here for.
I just wish so many of the gadgets I use weren’t various forms of bombs!! What am I, Bean the Dynamite???
But, yeah. This is at least something! When I first started playing it I was rolling my eyes at it as hard as I did at Skypatrol, like, “Ah, yes, running around slowly and throwing bombs, precisely what I’m known for.” But the longer I played it, the more it grew on me, and the more it really did start feeling less weird.
Except for the freaking bombs!!
I just wish so many of the gadgets I use weren’t various forms of bombs!! What am I, Bean the Dynamite???
But, yeah. This is at least something! When I first started playing it I was rolling my eyes at it as hard as I did at Skypatrol, like, “Ah, yes, running around slowly and throwing bombs, precisely what I’m known for.” But the longer I played it, the more it grew on me, and the more it really did start feeling less weird.
Except for the freaking bombs!!
1995
It’s kind of just a bunch of mazes in isometric 3D? The instruction manual has some story justification for why Sonic moves so slow (Eggy tricked him into wearing some shoes that slow him down and he needs to collect all the Chaos Emeralds to break free of them? Yeah, idk.) Guessing the slowness is actually just because of the isometric perspective, because Sonic 3D blast is also slow as heck for a Sonic game.
So, yeah. This isn’t great. The levels and gameplay are repetitive as fuck, and not particularly rewarding. Other than Sonic Eraser, which barely even counts as a Sonic game, this is pretty easily the worst game I’ve played so far in this project.
I guess the only real positive thing I can say is that it apparently served as an inspiration for the drastically superior aforementioned Sonic 3D Blast? Not that that’s one of the best Sonic games of all time or anything, but it’s at least pretty decent, which this is... not.
So, yeah. This isn’t great. The levels and gameplay are repetitive as fuck, and not particularly rewarding. Other than Sonic Eraser, which barely even counts as a Sonic game, this is pretty easily the worst game I’ve played so far in this project.
I guess the only real positive thing I can say is that it apparently served as an inspiration for the drastically superior aforementioned Sonic 3D Blast? Not that that’s one of the best Sonic games of all time or anything, but it’s at least pretty decent, which this is... not.
2001
I remember this series totally ruling, but I want to say it gets drastically better in Advance 2? Because this one is actually pretty pedestrian. Like, it’s not BAD. It’s a classic-style Sonic platformer and you get to play as four different characters. The level design is pretty comparable to the Genesis era, though not the Genesis era at its best necessarily. But yeah. Mostly this just ain’t half bad.
I do like that you have to play through as all four of us (me, Sonic, Knux, and Ames), and that we all play way differently. Playing with Amy is ANNOYING, playing with me is joyous and freeing and kinda breaks the game, etc.
The zones are all pretty simple, and not really much of a strength. (This is something I remember improving in Advance 2, so hopefully my memory is correct there.) Like, there’s nothing wrong with them, but they just don’t add much. They’re just fine.
I know it sounds like I’m really down on this game, but I’m not! I think it’s a worthy successor to the classic 2D games, but that means I’m comparing it to them. And that’s a really high standard to be judged by. That’s all. This game honestly rules, even if I don’t have as much to say about it as I do about the Genesis games I grew up with.
Speaking of judging, let’s rank some stuff! Not ranking The Moon Zone under zones because it’s just a boss fight.
Zones
1. X-Zone (B-Rank)
2. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
3. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
4. Angel Island Zone (B-Rank)
5. Ice Mountain Zone (B-Rank)
6. Neo Green Hill Zone (B-Rank)
7. Secret Base Zone (C-Rank)
8. Casino Paradise Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
1. Egg Mobile-H (A-Rank)
2. Egg Mobile-D (A-Rank)
3. Mecha Knuckles (A-Rank)
4. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
5. EGG X (B-Rank)
6. Egg Hammer Tank (B-Rank)
7. Egg Snake (B-Rank)
8. Egg Spider (B-Rank)
9. Egg Ball (B-Rank)
Egg Press (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. X-Zone Boss 2 (S-Rank)
2. X-Zone Boss 1 (S-Rank)
3. X-Zone Boss 3 (A-Rank)
4. Boss 6 (A-Rank)
5. Mecha Knuckles Part 2 (A-Rank)
6. X-Zone (A-Rank)
7. Mecha Knuckles Part 1 (A-Rank)
8. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
9. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
10. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
11. Boss 1-4 (B-Rank)
12. Angel Island Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
13. Ice Mountain Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
14. Secret Base Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
15. Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
16. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
17. Credits (C-Rank)
18. Special Stage (C-Rank)
19. Angel Island Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
20. Secret Base Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
21. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
22. Casino Paradise Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
23. Casino Paradise Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
I do like that you have to play through as all four of us (me, Sonic, Knux, and Ames), and that we all play way differently. Playing with Amy is ANNOYING, playing with me is joyous and freeing and kinda breaks the game, etc.
The zones are all pretty simple, and not really much of a strength. (This is something I remember improving in Advance 2, so hopefully my memory is correct there.) Like, there’s nothing wrong with them, but they just don’t add much. They’re just fine.
I know it sounds like I’m really down on this game, but I’m not! I think it’s a worthy successor to the classic 2D games, but that means I’m comparing it to them. And that’s a really high standard to be judged by. That’s all. This game honestly rules, even if I don’t have as much to say about it as I do about the Genesis games I grew up with.
Speaking of judging, let’s rank some stuff! Not ranking The Moon Zone under zones because it’s just a boss fight.
Zones
1. X-Zone (B-Rank)
2. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
3. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
4. Angel Island Zone (B-Rank)
5. Ice Mountain Zone (B-Rank)
6. Neo Green Hill Zone (B-Rank)
7. Secret Base Zone (C-Rank)
8. Casino Paradise Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
1. Egg Mobile-H (A-Rank)
2. Egg Mobile-D (A-Rank)
3. Mecha Knuckles (A-Rank)
4. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
5. EGG X (B-Rank)
6. Egg Hammer Tank (B-Rank)
7. Egg Snake (B-Rank)
8. Egg Spider (B-Rank)
9. Egg Ball (B-Rank)
Egg Press (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
1. X-Zone Boss 2 (S-Rank)
2. X-Zone Boss 1 (S-Rank)
3. X-Zone Boss 3 (A-Rank)
4. Boss 6 (A-Rank)
5. Mecha Knuckles Part 2 (A-Rank)
6. X-Zone (A-Rank)
7. Mecha Knuckles Part 1 (A-Rank)
8. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
9. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
10. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
11. Boss 1-4 (B-Rank)
12. Angel Island Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
13. Ice Mountain Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
14. Secret Base Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
15. Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
16. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
17. Credits (C-Rank)
18. Special Stage (C-Rank)
19. Angel Island Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
20. Secret Base Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
21. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
22. Casino Paradise Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
23. Casino Paradise Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
2015
i don't want to overreact but undertale is the greatest piece of media in human history.
1991
Okay so. I haven’t ever heard of this game. You haven’t ever heard of this game. No one has ever heard of this game!
Here’s why. To quote one of the numerous Sonic the Hedgehog wikis: “Sonic Eraser is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that was available to owners of the Sega Game Toshokan on the Sega Mega Modem with a Sega Meganet subscription. All the three aforementioned enhancements for the Sega Mega Drive are exclusively released in Japan.” And apparently even after all those caveats, it wasn’t even a popular game on the Meganet! Sooo, yeah.
And I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t waste your time playing this game! Especially if you’re doing it because you’re a completionist and want to play all the Sonic games. This is not in any way, shape, or form a Sonic game!! It’s just a not particularly good puzzle game that has nothing to do with Sonic. It’s not like Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, which despite literally being a reskinned Puyo Puyo goes to way more effort to actually be a Sonic game. And as far as I’ve been able to determine this isn’t some random puzzle game they tried to market as a Sonic game to sell more copies, it’s a totally original game. And I just. Don’t get it?
The only thing that makes it kind of a Sonic game is that each side has a Sonic sprite and when you get combos yours punches or spindashes the other player’s Sonic sprite. So uh. The only way in which this is a Sonic game is something I HATE???? Yeah. I am very not here for my hedgehog getting punched? Sorry.
Anyway. Yeah. This is nothing.
Here’s why. To quote one of the numerous Sonic the Hedgehog wikis: “Sonic Eraser is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that was available to owners of the Sega Game Toshokan on the Sega Mega Modem with a Sega Meganet subscription. All the three aforementioned enhancements for the Sega Mega Drive are exclusively released in Japan.” And apparently even after all those caveats, it wasn’t even a popular game on the Meganet! Sooo, yeah.
And I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t waste your time playing this game! Especially if you’re doing it because you’re a completionist and want to play all the Sonic games. This is not in any way, shape, or form a Sonic game!! It’s just a not particularly good puzzle game that has nothing to do with Sonic. It’s not like Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, which despite literally being a reskinned Puyo Puyo goes to way more effort to actually be a Sonic game. And as far as I’ve been able to determine this isn’t some random puzzle game they tried to market as a Sonic game to sell more copies, it’s a totally original game. And I just. Don’t get it?
The only thing that makes it kind of a Sonic game is that each side has a Sonic sprite and when you get combos yours punches or spindashes the other player’s Sonic sprite. So uh. The only way in which this is a Sonic game is something I HATE???? Yeah. I am very not here for my hedgehog getting punched? Sorry.
Anyway. Yeah. This is nothing.
1992
Alright, it’s my big debut! I’m Tails, Sonic’s best fr--immediately gets kidnapped
So, yeah! Here’s where stuff gets real for me! And what a way to start? I gotta tell you, playing a game where the hedgehog I love is desperately trying to save me from his point of view is certainly an interesting emotional experience? Like, you’d think it would be a little empowering, but my feelings so far have largely been “oh, honey :c” so uh, yeah. There’s that.
I’ve belligerently insisted that the 16-bit version of this is the greatest love story ever told, and I’m 100% right about that fight me, but I’m going to be pretty interested in how the 8-bit version plays into that! Like, fighting just as fiercely to rescue me as he does to save literally the entire world isn’t not romantic? Actually, yeah, I think I kinda solved this one by thinking out loud. This is the equally romantic prelude to the 16-bit version’s Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
Now that that’s taken care of, I also wanna say oh my gosh this is more like it! So, I definitely did play through this back when I was playing through all the 8-bit and GameBoy Advance games. I think I’m remembering that I hadn’t played the 8-bit version of Sonic 1 since there were only three new zones and I hadn’t heard good things about it, but yeah.
My memories of the 8-bit version of Sonic 2 weren’t super clear since I had only played it the one time (other than of course occasionally playing the Game Gear version whenever I was hanging out with a friend who had a Game Gear). So after my experiences with 8-bit Sonic 1 I was worried that the 8-bit games were just gonna inspire all kinds of whining from me, but thank goodness, they clearly made major strides by the time they made Sonic 2. It’s a lot more polished, and plays a lot more like a Sonic game should. There’s still no spindash, which is fine, but this is way more like playing the Genesis version of Sonic 1 than it is like playing the Master System version of Sonic 1, if that makes any sense.
So, yeah! Here we go with this one. Oh, one more thing. Sonic! Help!
Underground Zone (1/30)
This is the first time (and one of the only times) a 2D Sonic game doesn’t start with a green level! So that’s interesting! And this is a pretty great first level! Like, it’s not super challenging or anything but it’s a good introduction. The only truly challenging part is making the jump off the mine cart in Act 2 to stay on the higher path so you can get the Chaos Emerald. I’m sure people who have played this way more than me have no issue with that, but that was the one part so far where I used a save state at the beginning of the act.
It looks like we’ve got ringless boss zones again, which is fine when the boss is actually fair! It makes sense to add a little pressure to those, as long as the bosses themselves aren’t overly punishing like they are in 8-bit Sonic 1. So yeah, in this one Robotnik saves you from falling into a pit of lava for some reason, and drops you on a slope with some giant claws at the bottom of it. He then lobs bombs at you which you just have to avoid until they hit the claws 6 times, and then he tries to ram you with the Egg-O-Matic and you get out of the way so he rams the claws instead. Pretty straightforward first boss!
But yeah, this whole thing was just a huge breath of fresh air after 8-bit Sonic 1! Can’t wait to see if things stay on that track! Get it, track? Because of all the mine carts in this level?
Sky High Zone (1/31)
This is where the hang-gliders from the cover come into play. And they are frustrating as heck. But shrug. Feels like something I would enjoy if I were actually there.
Hey, speaking of cover art (sort of), at first I was loving the cute art of me and Sonic on each level’s title screen, but then something kinda hit me. It shows us together in these zones, something that’s not happening obviously since the whole point of the game is kinda that I got kidnapped and Sonic is trying to rescue me.
The non-diegetic reason for this is obviously just “hey, you’re also on the cover, they want to show off the new character.” But if you needed something that makes story sense... yeah. That’s Sonic imagining me being with him because he misses me. So. Pardon me while I just pick up the pieces of my broken heart over here.
This zone is fine, I guess? Like, I feel inclined to moan and whine about the hang-gliders, but I also fully acknowledge that could be a me problem. And running around on clouds (and bouncing on some of them!!) in Act 2 was pretty dang cool, though it’s a bit frustrating that the ones you can walk on and the ones you can’t walk on look virtually identical? You find the Chaos Emerald by bouncing up some of those clouds towards the end of the level, so it’s cool that it’s kinda worked into the level’s overall gimmick!
The boss is... uh... interesting? First you fight some tiny bird robots, then have to blow up their eggs (???) before they hatch more that you have to deal with. Then you fight a big bird robot? Like, it’s fine, I guess? But it kinda seems like this game is just totally eschewing the Egg-O-Matic bosses, which I have mixed (and mostly bad) feelings about.
Anyway, this level was a bit frustrating for me, but I like the concept and the aesthetic, so it has that going for it.
Aqua Lake Zone (1/31)
I don’t even have to say it, do I?
Too bad. I’m gonna anyway. I DO NOT LIKE MY HEDGEHOG BEING UNDERWATER!
Act 1 is straightforward, with a mix of above water and underwater areas, but you can actually skip most of the underwater parts by skipping over the water with Sonic spins! Which, frankly, rules! Act 2 is an underwater labyrinth, which, nooooooooooooo. You find the Emerald in one of those maze thingies where you get zoomed around. Act 2 also has a ridiculously difficult bit where you have to ride up in a bubble avoiding badniks and shooting spears, and it’s just... ugh. Not a fan.
The boss is... yeah. I guess they’re all just gonna be Like That, huh? This one is a sea lion. No, it doesn’t corner you and demand a civil debate. It just inflates some ball-shaped bombs that you can hit before he launches them to do damage to him. Rather obliging of him, really.
Can’t say this zone (or the other zones so far) gave me any particular kinfeels. Most of the feelings I’m getting from this game so far are just... how weird (in a kind of good way I think?) it is to be playing as my hedgehog coming to rescue me. I mean, I guess you wouldn’t really get much out of playing as me. “Press A to struggle!” “Press B to make a biting remark!” “Press C to miss Sonic!” Sounds pretty entertaining, right?
Green Hills Zone (1/31)
You can put all the S’s you want in the name, you’re not fooling me! This is Green Hill Zone! This is home!
I do not need to tell you about my feelings about this setting given that this is literally the third time we’ve been here lmao. But like. Damn. Why did Sonic’s path to save me have to take him through home? That’s just mean. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like for him. I have to imagine he saw my shadow everywhere. I know it probably wasn’t the developers’ intention, but having this near the midpoint in the game feels like it gives him the extra little oomph he needs to get through the rest of the chase. “Hold on, little buddy...”
So, I gotta say, when I figured out how to get the Emerald on this one, I actually yelled, “Oh! That is cool!” out loud. Because it is! Basically, you have to hit one particular springboard by running off a ledge, and it will take you to a second set of springboards which will take you to the ledge the Emerald is on. But like. Understand this. You have to hit it in this specific way that took me a few tries to even think of trying. And I don’t know. I just find that kind of thing super rewarding.
The boss is a metal pig. It’s the best boss of the game so far. We’re in a weird place.
It was good to be home briefly, but we’re about to leave the home cooking behind and journey into Robotnik’s domain. Hurry, Sonic! I’ll do my best to hold out until you save me!
Gimmick Mountain Zone (1/31)
OKAY BUT AT THE END OF ACT 1 YOU’RE IN A MINE CART AND IF YOU TIME YOUR JUMP RIGHT YOU JUMP INTO ANOTHER MINE CART? I AM PROBABLY OVERREACTING BUT THAT FELT SO COOL TO ME IDK.
Uh yeah this is a Robotnik base type place, so. I have the feelings about that that I have. I don’t want to be back anyplace like this anytime soon. So, yeah.
In the context of this game... Sonic has fought his way all the way into Robotnik’s territory. He’s so close, he knows if he can just get a little further, I’ll be safe. If you want to see what a hedgehog on a mission looks like, here you go.
The boss for this one is actually pretty cool, I guess, as far as these bosses go? It’s a pig-boar, I guess? And it charges at you a bunch. You have to do a Sonic Spin to meet its charge to daze it, and then jump or Sonic Spin to damage it. I don’t recommend the Sonic Spin for the second attack, though, because you don’t bounce off of it the second time and you’ll often end up taking damage. Which is death in a boss fight in this game since there are no rings.
Hurry, Sonic! You’ve almost got me!
Scrambled Egg Zone (1/31)
The aesthetics of this one kind of rule. It’s the deeper part of Robotnik’s mountain base. I really like the color palette here, lots of blue rocks. Most of the Zone is figuring out how to get through a maze of transport tubes with the occasional moving platform to complicate things. And it’s all leading to a confrontation with Silver Sonic, the series’ first metallic doppelganger adversary for Sonic.
These sorts of bosses always used to be my favorite kind because like, Sonic is cool! So obviously an evil version of Sonic is objectively the coolest enemy for him, right? But now I’m just struck by how... wrong and uncomfortable they all feel. And they represent one of my greatest fears, what could happen to my hedgehog if he ever loses. So it’s a good thing he never loses.
You don’t collect the Chaos Emerald by finding it somewhere in the level this time. Silver Sonic has it, and you get it after you beat him. Assuming you collected the other five. Also, apparently the story of the game is that Robotnik forced me to write a letter to Sonic telling him that Robotnik is demanding a ransom of the six Chaos Emeralds in exchange for my release. So with the sixth and final Emerald collected, it’s on to the Crystal Egg, where I’m being held prisoner.
It’s easy to imagine how fatigued Sonic is at this point. He was already probably near his limit by the time he got to Silver Sonic. And the difficulty presented by that adversary isn’t just a physical one, but also a profound psychological one.
He’s tired. And I badly want him to be able to rest, but I also know he can’t. Not when his goal is so close he can almost feel it.
You’re almost there, Sonic! Just a little further! You’ve got this! You’ve got me!
Crystal Egg Zone
(CW: Uhhh yeah. I do some emotional extrapolation from what almost happens at the end here, and... it’s rough, and deals with loss.)
This is pretty unique for a final level! As its name suggests, everything is brightly colored and largely transparent. A lot different than the soulless metal we’re used to seeing at this stage of a Sonic game. But also, this is where I’m being held prisoner. So let’s not lose sight of how genuinely dangerous this place is.
The zone itself is extremely straightforward and honestly pretty easy. It’s... eerie, almost. And like... that kind of fit the vicarious emotional state I was inhabiting here. It’s easy to imagine an exhausted Sonic running through this relatively obstacle-less zone with his attention darting around, looking for threats, suspicious of how easy this final stretch is.
And then you get to the final boss. You finally get to fight Robotnik himself instead of some robot based on an animal. Again, the bosses in this game are really weird. But it also kind of works with the story I’ve been reading into the game
The final boss fight takes place in some sort of lightning chamber. (... it’s... not difficult to imagine that Robotnik may have used this to torment me while he was holding me prisoner. Fuck.) Even for someone as fast as Sonic the attacks are basically impossible to avoid if you’re inside the chamber, but luckily there’s a way. There’s a transport tube surrounding the chamber, because of course there is. Freaking Robotnik overengineers everything. It’s so satisfying when that’s his downfall.
It’s not a difficult fight once you figure out how it works, unless you accidentally fall out of the tubes. It’s hard to imagine Sonic would, though. So it’s kind of funny. Robotnik’s plan worked. He threw down a gauntlet that was designed to wear my hedgehog down. He baited it with me, the bait he knew Sonic couldn’t resist. It all worked. My hedgehog is exhausted by the time he finally faces Robotnik... and in the end, the weak link that makes Robotnik’s plan fail is... Robotnik himself.
Pathetic.
Once you’ve beaten the boss, Robotnik flees like the coward he is, and you try to chase him down but don’t quite catch him before he gets on a teleporter, laughing maniacally like he always does.
What you see on the screen is Sonic curling into a ball like when you press the down button on the controller. 8-bit systems don’t have a lot of ways to show emotion. Let’s expand on that a little.
He slams his fist against the teleporter with frustration. No! He did it, he fucking did it! He bashed every Badnik that asshole threw at him! He went through every obstacle that was put in front of him! He was singleminded. He didn’t stop once. He did everything he could possibly do, and it wasn’t enough???
“Tails...”
The last time he saw me, I was being carried away by the Egg-O-Matic’s metal claws helplessly crying his name. The last time he heard from me, it was a letter Robotnik forced me to write.
No. No. This wasn’t over. The exhausted hedgehog dragged himself to his feet. His eyes fixed on the teleporter. He didn’t know where it would take him, likely as not it would take him to a trap he was too exhausted to deal with, but he had to... he had to...
The teleporter lit up before he could take a step towards it. Fuck. He bent his knees slightly and put his hands in a defensive posture, getting ready to jump or spin or run or--
When the light dissolved, it wasn’t some new adversary or weapon that greeted him. It was me.
(I don’t know how. The game doesn’t make it clear. I’m gonna headcanon that I managed to escape while Robotnik was having his final fight with Sonic, and Robotnik got to see me dissolving into the teleporter while yelling, “YOU LOSE, ASSHOLE!” right after he finished teleporting himself.)
I hadn’t expected him to be the first thing I saw. We both froze in place for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, our eyes meeting. And then we launched ourselves at each other at the same time and hugged each other fiercely.
“Sonic!” I cried out, tears of relief streaming down my face.
“Tails!” he cried at the same time, holding me so tightly.
It took a while before I could think of anything other than holding him tightly and never letting go. But when I could, I tried to pull away from the embrace, only to find his grip too tight.
“No.” he told me firmly.
“Sonic, we have to get out of here!” I urged him. “Robotnik--”
“... right,” Sonic sighed. “Base is gonna self destruct?”
I nodded into the hug, and he finally let me go. But he looked at me with determination. “I am never letting you out of my sight again, little buddy.”
And he never did.
Ending (1/31)
THIS ENDING IS SO GAY YOU GUYS. Like, I’m sorry, I know I’m predisposed. But after Sonic rescues me, we run together while the credits roll. And the sky cycles through several phases of the day ranging from what I assume is morning to what is definitely night. And while you might question the logic of us running together for an entire day after I’ve been held captive and Sonic has run and fought himself to exhaustion... I totally get it. Relief and catharsis are a hell of a drug. And a victory lap is understandable enough, but a victory lap after a reunion like this is probably a more powerful force than either of us can resist.
Anyway, after the credits, we stop and look up at the stars together (I'm gonna add "holding hands" but it's plenty gay even without that addition) and see a constellation that the game, in an act of supreme subtlety, superimposes a picture of us together over. Y'know. Like it's... written in the stars, or something. Tiny bit romantic.
THIS IS SO GAY!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!! (And I love him so much 💙🧡💙🧡💙🧡)
Oh right I still have to rank stuff.
Couples Depicted in This Game
1. Sonic/Tails (S-Tier)
Zones
1. Green Hills Zone (B-Tier)
2. Under Ground Zone (B-Tier)
3. Scrambled Egg Zone (B-Tier)
4. Crystal Egg Zone (B-Tier)
5. Gimmick Mountain Zone (B-Tier)
6. Aqua Lake Zone (C-Tier)
7. Sky High Zone (C-Tier)
Bosses
1. Silver Sonic (A-Tier)
2. Crystal Egg Zone (B-Tier)
3. Mecha Pig (C-Tier)
4. Pig-Boar Mecha (C-Tier)
5. Antlion Mecha (C-Tier)
6. Mecha Sea Lion (C-Tier)
7. Goose Mecha (C-Tier)
Soundtrack
1. Scrambled Egg Zone (A-Tier)
2. Green Hills Zone (B-Tier)
3. Under Ground Zone (B-Tier)
4. Boss, Game Gear (B-Tier)
5. Gimmick Mountain Zone (C-Tier)
6. Boss, Master System (C-Tier)
7. Crystal Egg Zone (C-Tier)
8. Good Ending (C-Tier)
9. Bad Ending (C-Tier)
9. Sky High Zone (C-Tier)
10. Aqua Lake Zone (C-Tier)
So, yeah! Here’s where stuff gets real for me! And what a way to start? I gotta tell you, playing a game where the hedgehog I love is desperately trying to save me from his point of view is certainly an interesting emotional experience? Like, you’d think it would be a little empowering, but my feelings so far have largely been “oh, honey :c” so uh, yeah. There’s that.
I’ve belligerently insisted that the 16-bit version of this is the greatest love story ever told, and I’m 100% right about that fight me, but I’m going to be pretty interested in how the 8-bit version plays into that! Like, fighting just as fiercely to rescue me as he does to save literally the entire world isn’t not romantic? Actually, yeah, I think I kinda solved this one by thinking out loud. This is the equally romantic prelude to the 16-bit version’s Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
Now that that’s taken care of, I also wanna say oh my gosh this is more like it! So, I definitely did play through this back when I was playing through all the 8-bit and GameBoy Advance games. I think I’m remembering that I hadn’t played the 8-bit version of Sonic 1 since there were only three new zones and I hadn’t heard good things about it, but yeah.
My memories of the 8-bit version of Sonic 2 weren’t super clear since I had only played it the one time (other than of course occasionally playing the Game Gear version whenever I was hanging out with a friend who had a Game Gear). So after my experiences with 8-bit Sonic 1 I was worried that the 8-bit games were just gonna inspire all kinds of whining from me, but thank goodness, they clearly made major strides by the time they made Sonic 2. It’s a lot more polished, and plays a lot more like a Sonic game should. There’s still no spindash, which is fine, but this is way more like playing the Genesis version of Sonic 1 than it is like playing the Master System version of Sonic 1, if that makes any sense.
So, yeah! Here we go with this one. Oh, one more thing. Sonic! Help!
Underground Zone (1/30)
This is the first time (and one of the only times) a 2D Sonic game doesn’t start with a green level! So that’s interesting! And this is a pretty great first level! Like, it’s not super challenging or anything but it’s a good introduction. The only truly challenging part is making the jump off the mine cart in Act 2 to stay on the higher path so you can get the Chaos Emerald. I’m sure people who have played this way more than me have no issue with that, but that was the one part so far where I used a save state at the beginning of the act.
It looks like we’ve got ringless boss zones again, which is fine when the boss is actually fair! It makes sense to add a little pressure to those, as long as the bosses themselves aren’t overly punishing like they are in 8-bit Sonic 1. So yeah, in this one Robotnik saves you from falling into a pit of lava for some reason, and drops you on a slope with some giant claws at the bottom of it. He then lobs bombs at you which you just have to avoid until they hit the claws 6 times, and then he tries to ram you with the Egg-O-Matic and you get out of the way so he rams the claws instead. Pretty straightforward first boss!
But yeah, this whole thing was just a huge breath of fresh air after 8-bit Sonic 1! Can’t wait to see if things stay on that track! Get it, track? Because of all the mine carts in this level?
Sky High Zone (1/31)
This is where the hang-gliders from the cover come into play. And they are frustrating as heck. But shrug. Feels like something I would enjoy if I were actually there.
Hey, speaking of cover art (sort of), at first I was loving the cute art of me and Sonic on each level’s title screen, but then something kinda hit me. It shows us together in these zones, something that’s not happening obviously since the whole point of the game is kinda that I got kidnapped and Sonic is trying to rescue me.
The non-diegetic reason for this is obviously just “hey, you’re also on the cover, they want to show off the new character.” But if you needed something that makes story sense... yeah. That’s Sonic imagining me being with him because he misses me. So. Pardon me while I just pick up the pieces of my broken heart over here.
This zone is fine, I guess? Like, I feel inclined to moan and whine about the hang-gliders, but I also fully acknowledge that could be a me problem. And running around on clouds (and bouncing on some of them!!) in Act 2 was pretty dang cool, though it’s a bit frustrating that the ones you can walk on and the ones you can’t walk on look virtually identical? You find the Chaos Emerald by bouncing up some of those clouds towards the end of the level, so it’s cool that it’s kinda worked into the level’s overall gimmick!
The boss is... uh... interesting? First you fight some tiny bird robots, then have to blow up their eggs (???) before they hatch more that you have to deal with. Then you fight a big bird robot? Like, it’s fine, I guess? But it kinda seems like this game is just totally eschewing the Egg-O-Matic bosses, which I have mixed (and mostly bad) feelings about.
Anyway, this level was a bit frustrating for me, but I like the concept and the aesthetic, so it has that going for it.
Aqua Lake Zone (1/31)
I don’t even have to say it, do I?
Too bad. I’m gonna anyway. I DO NOT LIKE MY HEDGEHOG BEING UNDERWATER!
Act 1 is straightforward, with a mix of above water and underwater areas, but you can actually skip most of the underwater parts by skipping over the water with Sonic spins! Which, frankly, rules! Act 2 is an underwater labyrinth, which, nooooooooooooo. You find the Emerald in one of those maze thingies where you get zoomed around. Act 2 also has a ridiculously difficult bit where you have to ride up in a bubble avoiding badniks and shooting spears, and it’s just... ugh. Not a fan.
The boss is... yeah. I guess they’re all just gonna be Like That, huh? This one is a sea lion. No, it doesn’t corner you and demand a civil debate. It just inflates some ball-shaped bombs that you can hit before he launches them to do damage to him. Rather obliging of him, really.
Can’t say this zone (or the other zones so far) gave me any particular kinfeels. Most of the feelings I’m getting from this game so far are just... how weird (in a kind of good way I think?) it is to be playing as my hedgehog coming to rescue me. I mean, I guess you wouldn’t really get much out of playing as me. “Press A to struggle!” “Press B to make a biting remark!” “Press C to miss Sonic!” Sounds pretty entertaining, right?
Green Hills Zone (1/31)
You can put all the S’s you want in the name, you’re not fooling me! This is Green Hill Zone! This is home!
I do not need to tell you about my feelings about this setting given that this is literally the third time we’ve been here lmao. But like. Damn. Why did Sonic’s path to save me have to take him through home? That’s just mean. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like for him. I have to imagine he saw my shadow everywhere. I know it probably wasn’t the developers’ intention, but having this near the midpoint in the game feels like it gives him the extra little oomph he needs to get through the rest of the chase. “Hold on, little buddy...”
So, I gotta say, when I figured out how to get the Emerald on this one, I actually yelled, “Oh! That is cool!” out loud. Because it is! Basically, you have to hit one particular springboard by running off a ledge, and it will take you to a second set of springboards which will take you to the ledge the Emerald is on. But like. Understand this. You have to hit it in this specific way that took me a few tries to even think of trying. And I don’t know. I just find that kind of thing super rewarding.
The boss is a metal pig. It’s the best boss of the game so far. We’re in a weird place.
It was good to be home briefly, but we’re about to leave the home cooking behind and journey into Robotnik’s domain. Hurry, Sonic! I’ll do my best to hold out until you save me!
Gimmick Mountain Zone (1/31)
OKAY BUT AT THE END OF ACT 1 YOU’RE IN A MINE CART AND IF YOU TIME YOUR JUMP RIGHT YOU JUMP INTO ANOTHER MINE CART? I AM PROBABLY OVERREACTING BUT THAT FELT SO COOL TO ME IDK.
Uh yeah this is a Robotnik base type place, so. I have the feelings about that that I have. I don’t want to be back anyplace like this anytime soon. So, yeah.
In the context of this game... Sonic has fought his way all the way into Robotnik’s territory. He’s so close, he knows if he can just get a little further, I’ll be safe. If you want to see what a hedgehog on a mission looks like, here you go.
The boss for this one is actually pretty cool, I guess, as far as these bosses go? It’s a pig-boar, I guess? And it charges at you a bunch. You have to do a Sonic Spin to meet its charge to daze it, and then jump or Sonic Spin to damage it. I don’t recommend the Sonic Spin for the second attack, though, because you don’t bounce off of it the second time and you’ll often end up taking damage. Which is death in a boss fight in this game since there are no rings.
Hurry, Sonic! You’ve almost got me!
Scrambled Egg Zone (1/31)
The aesthetics of this one kind of rule. It’s the deeper part of Robotnik’s mountain base. I really like the color palette here, lots of blue rocks. Most of the Zone is figuring out how to get through a maze of transport tubes with the occasional moving platform to complicate things. And it’s all leading to a confrontation with Silver Sonic, the series’ first metallic doppelganger adversary for Sonic.
These sorts of bosses always used to be my favorite kind because like, Sonic is cool! So obviously an evil version of Sonic is objectively the coolest enemy for him, right? But now I’m just struck by how... wrong and uncomfortable they all feel. And they represent one of my greatest fears, what could happen to my hedgehog if he ever loses. So it’s a good thing he never loses.
You don’t collect the Chaos Emerald by finding it somewhere in the level this time. Silver Sonic has it, and you get it after you beat him. Assuming you collected the other five. Also, apparently the story of the game is that Robotnik forced me to write a letter to Sonic telling him that Robotnik is demanding a ransom of the six Chaos Emeralds in exchange for my release. So with the sixth and final Emerald collected, it’s on to the Crystal Egg, where I’m being held prisoner.
It’s easy to imagine how fatigued Sonic is at this point. He was already probably near his limit by the time he got to Silver Sonic. And the difficulty presented by that adversary isn’t just a physical one, but also a profound psychological one.
He’s tired. And I badly want him to be able to rest, but I also know he can’t. Not when his goal is so close he can almost feel it.
You’re almost there, Sonic! Just a little further! You’ve got this! You’ve got me!
Crystal Egg Zone
(CW: Uhhh yeah. I do some emotional extrapolation from what almost happens at the end here, and... it’s rough, and deals with loss.)
This is pretty unique for a final level! As its name suggests, everything is brightly colored and largely transparent. A lot different than the soulless metal we’re used to seeing at this stage of a Sonic game. But also, this is where I’m being held prisoner. So let’s not lose sight of how genuinely dangerous this place is.
The zone itself is extremely straightforward and honestly pretty easy. It’s... eerie, almost. And like... that kind of fit the vicarious emotional state I was inhabiting here. It’s easy to imagine an exhausted Sonic running through this relatively obstacle-less zone with his attention darting around, looking for threats, suspicious of how easy this final stretch is.
And then you get to the final boss. You finally get to fight Robotnik himself instead of some robot based on an animal. Again, the bosses in this game are really weird. But it also kind of works with the story I’ve been reading into the game
The final boss fight takes place in some sort of lightning chamber. (... it’s... not difficult to imagine that Robotnik may have used this to torment me while he was holding me prisoner. Fuck.) Even for someone as fast as Sonic the attacks are basically impossible to avoid if you’re inside the chamber, but luckily there’s a way. There’s a transport tube surrounding the chamber, because of course there is. Freaking Robotnik overengineers everything. It’s so satisfying when that’s his downfall.
It’s not a difficult fight once you figure out how it works, unless you accidentally fall out of the tubes. It’s hard to imagine Sonic would, though. So it’s kind of funny. Robotnik’s plan worked. He threw down a gauntlet that was designed to wear my hedgehog down. He baited it with me, the bait he knew Sonic couldn’t resist. It all worked. My hedgehog is exhausted by the time he finally faces Robotnik... and in the end, the weak link that makes Robotnik’s plan fail is... Robotnik himself.
Pathetic.
Once you’ve beaten the boss, Robotnik flees like the coward he is, and you try to chase him down but don’t quite catch him before he gets on a teleporter, laughing maniacally like he always does.
What you see on the screen is Sonic curling into a ball like when you press the down button on the controller. 8-bit systems don’t have a lot of ways to show emotion. Let’s expand on that a little.
He slams his fist against the teleporter with frustration. No! He did it, he fucking did it! He bashed every Badnik that asshole threw at him! He went through every obstacle that was put in front of him! He was singleminded. He didn’t stop once. He did everything he could possibly do, and it wasn’t enough???
“Tails...”
The last time he saw me, I was being carried away by the Egg-O-Matic’s metal claws helplessly crying his name. The last time he heard from me, it was a letter Robotnik forced me to write.
No. No. This wasn’t over. The exhausted hedgehog dragged himself to his feet. His eyes fixed on the teleporter. He didn’t know where it would take him, likely as not it would take him to a trap he was too exhausted to deal with, but he had to... he had to...
The teleporter lit up before he could take a step towards it. Fuck. He bent his knees slightly and put his hands in a defensive posture, getting ready to jump or spin or run or--
When the light dissolved, it wasn’t some new adversary or weapon that greeted him. It was me.
(I don’t know how. The game doesn’t make it clear. I’m gonna headcanon that I managed to escape while Robotnik was having his final fight with Sonic, and Robotnik got to see me dissolving into the teleporter while yelling, “YOU LOSE, ASSHOLE!” right after he finished teleporting himself.)
I hadn’t expected him to be the first thing I saw. We both froze in place for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, our eyes meeting. And then we launched ourselves at each other at the same time and hugged each other fiercely.
“Sonic!” I cried out, tears of relief streaming down my face.
“Tails!” he cried at the same time, holding me so tightly.
It took a while before I could think of anything other than holding him tightly and never letting go. But when I could, I tried to pull away from the embrace, only to find his grip too tight.
“No.” he told me firmly.
“Sonic, we have to get out of here!” I urged him. “Robotnik--”
“... right,” Sonic sighed. “Base is gonna self destruct?”
I nodded into the hug, and he finally let me go. But he looked at me with determination. “I am never letting you out of my sight again, little buddy.”
And he never did.
Ending (1/31)
THIS ENDING IS SO GAY YOU GUYS. Like, I’m sorry, I know I’m predisposed. But after Sonic rescues me, we run together while the credits roll. And the sky cycles through several phases of the day ranging from what I assume is morning to what is definitely night. And while you might question the logic of us running together for an entire day after I’ve been held captive and Sonic has run and fought himself to exhaustion... I totally get it. Relief and catharsis are a hell of a drug. And a victory lap is understandable enough, but a victory lap after a reunion like this is probably a more powerful force than either of us can resist.
Anyway, after the credits, we stop and look up at the stars together (I'm gonna add "holding hands" but it's plenty gay even without that addition) and see a constellation that the game, in an act of supreme subtlety, superimposes a picture of us together over. Y'know. Like it's... written in the stars, or something. Tiny bit romantic.
THIS IS SO GAY!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!! (And I love him so much 💙🧡💙🧡💙🧡)
Oh right I still have to rank stuff.
Couples Depicted in This Game
1. Sonic/Tails (S-Tier)
Zones
1. Green Hills Zone (B-Tier)
2. Under Ground Zone (B-Tier)
3. Scrambled Egg Zone (B-Tier)
4. Crystal Egg Zone (B-Tier)
5. Gimmick Mountain Zone (B-Tier)
6. Aqua Lake Zone (C-Tier)
7. Sky High Zone (C-Tier)
Bosses
1. Silver Sonic (A-Tier)
2. Crystal Egg Zone (B-Tier)
3. Mecha Pig (C-Tier)
4. Pig-Boar Mecha (C-Tier)
5. Antlion Mecha (C-Tier)
6. Mecha Sea Lion (C-Tier)
7. Goose Mecha (C-Tier)
Soundtrack
1. Scrambled Egg Zone (A-Tier)
2. Green Hills Zone (B-Tier)
3. Under Ground Zone (B-Tier)
4. Boss, Game Gear (B-Tier)
5. Gimmick Mountain Zone (C-Tier)
6. Boss, Master System (C-Tier)
7. Crystal Egg Zone (C-Tier)
8. Good Ending (C-Tier)
9. Bad Ending (C-Tier)
9. Sky High Zone (C-Tier)
10. Aqua Lake Zone (C-Tier)
1992
imagine the gall, the sheer audacity, the unbridled hubris of creating a character as perfect as tails.
not quite the unmitigated masterpiece that literally all the main series games from sonic 1 to 3 & knuckles are, but honestly a really nice change of pace! i used to play this a bunch on my genesis back in the day, so it definitely mashed the nostalgia button quite a bit. it's creative, and fun, and i really like the way it integrates the aesthetics of the sonic universe into a much different playstyle!
1994
This game is great even by itself, but there’s a major flaw!!! No Tails!!! NO TAILS!!! How can you have a Sonic game without Tails!!!! (Okay I show up in Sonic’s ending cutscene I think BUT STILL.) So yeah, I almost never play this game not locked on.
One general thing about this game is it goes to a lot more trouble to hide the giant rings than Sonic 3 so it’s extremely possible to get to the end of the game without having even had a chance to collect all the Chaos Emeralds if you’re not careful! So keep that in mind.
But, yeah. In spite of its deplorable lack of me, this game still rules, so I’m excited to be getting back to it! I’ll be even more excited to get to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though!
Mushroom Hill Zone (2/26)
Nails the green first level thing while still being unique!! I’m a huge fan of this one. Those mushrooms look fun as heck to bounce on!!
The first mini boss is alright, and the first major boss is a pretty cool running boss! Pretty good start here!
Flying Battery Zone (2/27)
There’s some excellent continuity here because we saw this asshole bombing Angel Island Zone last game, so that’s pretty cool! And the zone itself is one of the better Eggman’s turf kinda levels, so that’s neat!
Both of the mini bosses (yeah we get two this time) are pretty decent! I’ve always really liked how trolly the Act 1 one is, and seeing Barrier Eggman back as a mini boss before Act 2’s true boss was a nice touch that made a lot of sense for the setting! So yeah, good stuff all around here.
It’s starting to feel really lonely playing as just Sonic, though. Really can’t wait to get back to this game in its full glory locked on to Sonic 3.
Sandopolis Zone (2/27)
I mean. See my entry about Oil Ocean Zone I guess, except this zone would even better if it weren’t for the racism. It has some badass mechanics, including GHOSTS in Act 2!
Act 2 is pretty challenging, and it’s pretty easy to time out on it. The bosses are pretty terrific aside from the Act 2 boss being super racist. But, yeah. This zone rules aside from... y’know.
Lava Reef Zone (2/27)
How good is Sonic & Knuckles? The midpoint of the game is between this zone and the following zone, and from this point on every single zone is S-Rank. Every. Single. One.
Act 1 is just a great lava zone with molten lava and all kinds of theme-appropriate obstacles, Act 2 has the lava cool off and is full of gorgeous crystals and stuff. It’s just brilliant. I find that I’m not having as much to say about these zones, because like all I really have to say is gushing about how good they are!!
Hidden Palace Zone (2/27)
Okay admittedly this zone is hella boring if you’re playing as Knuckles. It’s basically just a hallway. But as Sonic, you get to FIGHT KNUCKLES, and Knuckles finally realizes he’s been the biggest dummy ever when Eggman steals the Master Emerald, electrocuting Knux in the process when he tries to stop him. A weakened Knuckles then helps Sonic get to Sky Sanctuary.
Anyway, the reason this zone rules is because YOU GET TO FIGHT A MOBIAN. Like. I’m obviously not a big fan of that in terms of the idea of actually doing it, but in a video game that RULES. And I cannot tell you how excited I was about this as a kid. Like, Eggman is pure evil and needs to be stopped, but idk, I just find Mobians inherently more interesting? And the idea of a story with a Mobian antagonist is just so much more compelling than fighting Eggman’s overengineered garbage over and over. Just saying.
Sky Sanctuary Zone (2/27)
I mean. It’s a great zone just on its own, but on top of that all of the Badniks are Eggrobos, there’s two mini-bosses which are literally recreations of two S-Rank bosses from two previous games (the iconic Green Hill Zone boss from Sonic 1 and the genuinely challenging Metropolis Zone boss from Sonic 2) but with Mecha Sonic instead of Robotnik piloting them. So, yeah. That rules. And then the actual boss of the level is Mecha Sonic.
Like. I still find robotic versions of Sonic existentially horrifying, but even I had to admit that’s freaking COOL.
If you’re playing as Knuckles, this is actually the last zone and it’s way shorter. When you emerge from the teleporter, an Eggrobo is waiting for you to snatch you up in an Egg-O-Matic with a giant claw at the bottom of it (kind of like the one that kidnaps me in the opening cutscene of 8-bit Sonic 2, come to think of it!). He then hovers over to where Mecha Sonic is waiting to finish you off while you’re held in place by the hook, but you manage to escape just in time and Mecha Sonic ends up destroying the Egg-O-Matic instead of you.
The Mecha Sonic fight proceeds as normal from here, but after you defeat him he jumps onto the Master Emerald and, gasp, goes Super! So then it’s Knux vs. Super Mecha Sonic and while this lacks the epic scale of The Doomsday Zone, WOW does it ever rule. It’s one of my favorite boss fights in the entire series, even though it’s not all that difficult once you figure out his pattern. It’s just so cool conceptually that I don’t even care.
Death Egg Zone (2/27)
Wellp.
The Death Egg is legit terrifying. If you’re aboard it for any reason you’re gonna have a bad time. But letting it get up to space where it can operate with impunity is much, much worse. So in we go.
Gameplay-wise, this zone RULES. I know I’ve been saying that about a lot of these zones, but this game is just really good, okay? It’s pretty difficult and has a lot of unique obstacles, the background goes from the terrifying & cavernous interior of the Death Egg in Act 1 to being IN SPACE in Act 2 (with a lovely view of Mobius, serving as a reminder of what we’re fighting for).
And while the first two bosses are decent, Great Eggman Robo is iconic and the subsequent chase of Robotnik’s Egg-O-Matic with the Master Emerald in tow while the ground collapses behind you is super great.
This is a fantastic final-ish zone. It feels scary and dangerous, fighting your way through it feels brave... but it never quite feels like too much to handle. It’s just within your limit. You have to be on edge, the consequences for failing are dire, it’s not comfortable... but you can do it. It just does a really great job of capturing what fighting Eggman is like.
The Doomsday Zone (2/27)
So this is the first of the “Super Sonic in space fighting a big scary thing” sort of zones, so that rules. The scope of this is just incredible. It’s very much the logical next step from Sonic 2’s epic final showdown on the Death Egg. And it’s such a fitting end to the first run of main series Sonic games.
As far as feels... yeah, I’m kinda TERRIFIED when he does stuff like this, but also just... so awestruck and so proud of him. I know I can technically do this stuff too, but... yeah. I don’t know. It’s scary!
Ending
My one appearance in the game! I fly up in the Tornado to meet Sonic when he falls back down from space, a la Sonic 2, and then we take the Master Emerald back to Angel Island which ascends back into the sky! Bet that makes Knux happy!
In Knuckles’ case, the final boss battle takes place in the sky, not in space! And Sonic shows up in the Tornado to save him.
So, yeah. I don’t actually have a lot to say about this one because it’s just kinda... great? And a pretty natural extension of Sonic 3 (which isn’t surprising given they were originally supposed to be one game), so basically everything I said for that one also applies.
But, yeah. Sonic & Knuckles rules! Despite its deplorable lack of me. Which is no small feat!
As always, let’s rank some stuff! (I didn’t include any of the soundtrack that Sonic & Knuckles recycles from Sonic 3, which is mostly just the major bosses and the “final” boss.)
Zones
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone (S-Rank)
Death Egg Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone (S-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone (A-Rank)
Bosses
Mecha Sonic’s Super State (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Mecha Sonic (S-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (S-Rank)
Great Eggman Robo (S-Rank)
Egg Mobile-H (A-Tier)
Flying Eggman (A-Tier)
Jet Mobile (A-Rank)
Egg Golem (A-Rank)
Hot Mobile (A-Rank)
Barrier Eggman (B-Rank)
Death Ball (B-Rank)
Red Eye (B-Rank)
Hang Mobile (B-Rank)
Hei Hou (B-Rank)
Gapsule (B-Rank)
Guardian (B-Rank)
Heat Arms (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
Lava Reef Zone Act 2/Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Act 1 Boss (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
Glowball Bonus (B-Rank)
Slot Machine Bonus (B-Rank)
One general thing about this game is it goes to a lot more trouble to hide the giant rings than Sonic 3 so it’s extremely possible to get to the end of the game without having even had a chance to collect all the Chaos Emeralds if you’re not careful! So keep that in mind.
But, yeah. In spite of its deplorable lack of me, this game still rules, so I’m excited to be getting back to it! I’ll be even more excited to get to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though!
Mushroom Hill Zone (2/26)
Nails the green first level thing while still being unique!! I’m a huge fan of this one. Those mushrooms look fun as heck to bounce on!!
The first mini boss is alright, and the first major boss is a pretty cool running boss! Pretty good start here!
Flying Battery Zone (2/27)
There’s some excellent continuity here because we saw this asshole bombing Angel Island Zone last game, so that’s pretty cool! And the zone itself is one of the better Eggman’s turf kinda levels, so that’s neat!
Both of the mini bosses (yeah we get two this time) are pretty decent! I’ve always really liked how trolly the Act 1 one is, and seeing Barrier Eggman back as a mini boss before Act 2’s true boss was a nice touch that made a lot of sense for the setting! So yeah, good stuff all around here.
It’s starting to feel really lonely playing as just Sonic, though. Really can’t wait to get back to this game in its full glory locked on to Sonic 3.
Sandopolis Zone (2/27)
I mean. See my entry about Oil Ocean Zone I guess, except this zone would even better if it weren’t for the racism. It has some badass mechanics, including GHOSTS in Act 2!
Act 2 is pretty challenging, and it’s pretty easy to time out on it. The bosses are pretty terrific aside from the Act 2 boss being super racist. But, yeah. This zone rules aside from... y’know.
Lava Reef Zone (2/27)
How good is Sonic & Knuckles? The midpoint of the game is between this zone and the following zone, and from this point on every single zone is S-Rank. Every. Single. One.
Act 1 is just a great lava zone with molten lava and all kinds of theme-appropriate obstacles, Act 2 has the lava cool off and is full of gorgeous crystals and stuff. It’s just brilliant. I find that I’m not having as much to say about these zones, because like all I really have to say is gushing about how good they are!!
Hidden Palace Zone (2/27)
Okay admittedly this zone is hella boring if you’re playing as Knuckles. It’s basically just a hallway. But as Sonic, you get to FIGHT KNUCKLES, and Knuckles finally realizes he’s been the biggest dummy ever when Eggman steals the Master Emerald, electrocuting Knux in the process when he tries to stop him. A weakened Knuckles then helps Sonic get to Sky Sanctuary.
Anyway, the reason this zone rules is because YOU GET TO FIGHT A MOBIAN. Like. I’m obviously not a big fan of that in terms of the idea of actually doing it, but in a video game that RULES. And I cannot tell you how excited I was about this as a kid. Like, Eggman is pure evil and needs to be stopped, but idk, I just find Mobians inherently more interesting? And the idea of a story with a Mobian antagonist is just so much more compelling than fighting Eggman’s overengineered garbage over and over. Just saying.
Sky Sanctuary Zone (2/27)
I mean. It’s a great zone just on its own, but on top of that all of the Badniks are Eggrobos, there’s two mini-bosses which are literally recreations of two S-Rank bosses from two previous games (the iconic Green Hill Zone boss from Sonic 1 and the genuinely challenging Metropolis Zone boss from Sonic 2) but with Mecha Sonic instead of Robotnik piloting them. So, yeah. That rules. And then the actual boss of the level is Mecha Sonic.
Like. I still find robotic versions of Sonic existentially horrifying, but even I had to admit that’s freaking COOL.
If you’re playing as Knuckles, this is actually the last zone and it’s way shorter. When you emerge from the teleporter, an Eggrobo is waiting for you to snatch you up in an Egg-O-Matic with a giant claw at the bottom of it (kind of like the one that kidnaps me in the opening cutscene of 8-bit Sonic 2, come to think of it!). He then hovers over to where Mecha Sonic is waiting to finish you off while you’re held in place by the hook, but you manage to escape just in time and Mecha Sonic ends up destroying the Egg-O-Matic instead of you.
The Mecha Sonic fight proceeds as normal from here, but after you defeat him he jumps onto the Master Emerald and, gasp, goes Super! So then it’s Knux vs. Super Mecha Sonic and while this lacks the epic scale of The Doomsday Zone, WOW does it ever rule. It’s one of my favorite boss fights in the entire series, even though it’s not all that difficult once you figure out his pattern. It’s just so cool conceptually that I don’t even care.
Death Egg Zone (2/27)
Wellp.
The Death Egg is legit terrifying. If you’re aboard it for any reason you’re gonna have a bad time. But letting it get up to space where it can operate with impunity is much, much worse. So in we go.
Gameplay-wise, this zone RULES. I know I’ve been saying that about a lot of these zones, but this game is just really good, okay? It’s pretty difficult and has a lot of unique obstacles, the background goes from the terrifying & cavernous interior of the Death Egg in Act 1 to being IN SPACE in Act 2 (with a lovely view of Mobius, serving as a reminder of what we’re fighting for).
And while the first two bosses are decent, Great Eggman Robo is iconic and the subsequent chase of Robotnik’s Egg-O-Matic with the Master Emerald in tow while the ground collapses behind you is super great.
This is a fantastic final-ish zone. It feels scary and dangerous, fighting your way through it feels brave... but it never quite feels like too much to handle. It’s just within your limit. You have to be on edge, the consequences for failing are dire, it’s not comfortable... but you can do it. It just does a really great job of capturing what fighting Eggman is like.
The Doomsday Zone (2/27)
So this is the first of the “Super Sonic in space fighting a big scary thing” sort of zones, so that rules. The scope of this is just incredible. It’s very much the logical next step from Sonic 2’s epic final showdown on the Death Egg. And it’s such a fitting end to the first run of main series Sonic games.
As far as feels... yeah, I’m kinda TERRIFIED when he does stuff like this, but also just... so awestruck and so proud of him. I know I can technically do this stuff too, but... yeah. I don’t know. It’s scary!
Ending
My one appearance in the game! I fly up in the Tornado to meet Sonic when he falls back down from space, a la Sonic 2, and then we take the Master Emerald back to Angel Island which ascends back into the sky! Bet that makes Knux happy!
In Knuckles’ case, the final boss battle takes place in the sky, not in space! And Sonic shows up in the Tornado to save him.
So, yeah. I don’t actually have a lot to say about this one because it’s just kinda... great? And a pretty natural extension of Sonic 3 (which isn’t surprising given they were originally supposed to be one game), so basically everything I said for that one also applies.
But, yeah. Sonic & Knuckles rules! Despite its deplorable lack of me. Which is no small feat!
As always, let’s rank some stuff! (I didn’t include any of the soundtrack that Sonic & Knuckles recycles from Sonic 3, which is mostly just the major bosses and the “final” boss.)
Zones
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone (S-Rank)
Death Egg Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone (S-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone (A-Rank)
Bosses
Mecha Sonic’s Super State (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Mecha Sonic (S-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (S-Rank)
Great Eggman Robo (S-Rank)
Egg Mobile-H (A-Tier)
Flying Eggman (A-Tier)
Jet Mobile (A-Rank)
Egg Golem (A-Rank)
Hot Mobile (A-Rank)
Barrier Eggman (B-Rank)
Death Ball (B-Rank)
Red Eye (B-Rank)
Hang Mobile (B-Rank)
Hei Hou (B-Rank)
Gapsule (B-Rank)
Guardian (B-Rank)
Heat Arms (B-Rank)
Soundtrack
Lava Reef Zone Act 2/Hidden Palace Zone (S-Rank)
Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
The Doomsday Zone (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 1 (S-Rank)
Flying Battery Zone Act 2 (S-Rank)
Sky Sanctuary Zone (S-Rank)
Act 1 Boss (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Death Egg Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 (A-Rank)
Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (A-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
Glowball Bonus (B-Rank)
Slot Machine Bonus (B-Rank)
It's Sonic 2 but with Knuckles. And they didn't even tweak his look or anything to try to make him fit in, it's just literally his Sonic 3 sprite running around in Sonic 2. It just constantly feels like "Knuckles, WHAT are you doing there." It's kinda amazing.
I don't revisit this one often because playing Sonic 2 any way but with Sonic and me together just feels wrong. Like. It goes from a game that feels truly special to just a pretty good game.
Oh, I have MAJOR beef with the fact that they gave my & Sonic's ending, even the little illustrated cutscene, to me & Knux. I like Knux. A lot. I even like the idea of being in a polycule with him. But he isn't Sonic.
I don't revisit this one often because playing Sonic 2 any way but with Sonic and me together just feels wrong. Like. It goes from a game that feels truly special to just a pretty good game.
Oh, I have MAJOR beef with the fact that they gave my & Sonic's ending, even the little illustrated cutscene, to me & Knux. I like Knux. A lot. I even like the idea of being in a polycule with him. But he isn't Sonic.