fluffymoon
So, yeah. This one’s pretty difficult to emulate. I coulda jumped through a lot of hoops to do so, and then ended up with a game that’s very difficult to control the way you’re supposed to control it because I don’t have a trackball, and I just don’t think it’s worth the effort? I heard there was some vague gesturing by Sega that they might be open to doing a Sega Ages release of this, and that would be pretty terrific, but in the meantime I decided to just watch a longplay of it. Consequently I don’t think it makes any sense for me to try to rate the zones etc, so I won’t.
Honestly without the gimmick of playing with a trackball it doesn’t look like there’s that much here? It’s cool seeing what our boy looks like in an arcade game given that arcade cabinets were capable of a lot more than consoles at the time. It’s also cool seeing Mighty and Ray’s first appearance. But it just kinda doesn’t seem like there’s a lot to the game?
The opening cutscene, with Sonic, Ray, and Mighty (or whatever combination thereof you’re playing as) getting captured is pretty neat, and breaking out of prison to start the game is a pretty good setup. So I will say that.
The levels are just extremely short, though. They do technically have the first appearance of a few popular series themes like ice levels and desert levels, so that’s something, but for the most part they’re alright-looking but they’re nothing special? Especially Eggman’s Tower which is inexplicably had brick walls and stone floors, not exactly his style. And the one truly unique-sounding setting here, Trap Tower, is extremely one-note. I was excited for a dungeon of traps, but it turns out it’s just this metal roller chasing you the whole time. Yawn. The one exception imo is Desert Dodge, that one looks pretty rad. Its obstacles include cacti, quicksand, sinkholes, and frigging dust devils??? So that’s pretty cool.
All in all, I really don’t feel like I’m missing out on too much here? It would be cool to play this as a curiosity I guess, but I just don’t think it has much impact on the main series.
Honestly without the gimmick of playing with a trackball it doesn’t look like there’s that much here? It’s cool seeing what our boy looks like in an arcade game given that arcade cabinets were capable of a lot more than consoles at the time. It’s also cool seeing Mighty and Ray’s first appearance. But it just kinda doesn’t seem like there’s a lot to the game?
The opening cutscene, with Sonic, Ray, and Mighty (or whatever combination thereof you’re playing as) getting captured is pretty neat, and breaking out of prison to start the game is a pretty good setup. So I will say that.
The levels are just extremely short, though. They do technically have the first appearance of a few popular series themes like ice levels and desert levels, so that’s something, but for the most part they’re alright-looking but they’re nothing special? Especially Eggman’s Tower which is inexplicably had brick walls and stone floors, not exactly his style. And the one truly unique-sounding setting here, Trap Tower, is extremely one-note. I was excited for a dungeon of traps, but it turns out it’s just this metal roller chasing you the whole time. Yawn. The one exception imo is Desert Dodge, that one looks pretty rad. Its obstacles include cacti, quicksand, sinkholes, and frigging dust devils??? So that’s pretty cool.
All in all, I really don’t feel like I’m missing out on too much here? It would be cool to play this as a curiosity I guess, but I just don’t think it has much impact on the main series.
From this one I mostly learned that I’m no good at Puyo Puyo, which believe it or not is already a thing I knew! So arguably a waste of time there. But seriously, the story mode in this is punishingly difficult if you’re not extremely good at Puyo Puyo. Other than that, all I can really say is the choice to set it in the world of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon instead of the continuity of the other games or the somewhat more popular Archie Comics/SatAm series world is intriguing. But that’s about all I got.
Uh, yeah. Enjoy your reskinned Puyo Puyo if you’re into that kinda thing!
Uh, yeah. Enjoy your reskinned Puyo Puyo if you’re into that kinda thing!
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)
1994
This is a kart racing game. I am not good at kart racing games. Shockingly I am not very good at this game. It lets you play as Sonic, the obviously correct choice Tails, Ames, or the obviously wrong choice Robuttnik. It has a bunch of tracks that are loosely based on Sonic 1 stages. It’s fine, I guess, if you’re into this kind of thing? I’m not.
Oh, I watched all the ending cutscenes on YouTube (because I knew I’d never get them myself) and mine is by far the cutest. Just saying. Also, Amy’s is... extremely this era Amy. It’s v uncomfy. Do not recommend.
Oh, I watched all the ending cutscenes on YouTube (because I knew I’d never get them myself) and mine is by far the cutest. Just saying. Also, Amy’s is... extremely this era Amy. It’s v uncomfy. Do not recommend.
(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)
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.
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.
So from what I can tell this is about Eggman, Knuckles, and Nack the Weasel teaming up (the titular triple trouble) to fight us. Yay, Mobian antagonists! Actually, upon further review, Nack is supposed to be pursuing his own agenda, but whatever. I still wouldn’t mind him and Knux beating me up. Uh, I mean, nothing.
Also Knuckles, what the heck??? How did you let Eggman trick you again??? Dummy.
Anyway, the gameplay in this one is pretty simple. You play as either me or Sonic. If you play as me you can fly and some powerups are different. But there’s no real difference in terms of which zones you play through, which bosses you face, or anything major like that. So honestly kinda no reason to play through twice.
If you want to 100% the game (it doesn’t change much) you have to collect the Chaos Emeralds, and you do this by playing through some special stages that have Nack at the end as a boss. Honestly? It’s a refreshing change of pace! I like the idea of a boss fight for the Emeralds. So that’s one cool thing this game does.
But, yeah. For the most part, it’s pretty mediocre? The soundtrack has some truly awful tracks and is mostly uninspiring, aside from Sunset Act 3 which is a real banger. I’m not even gonna run down the zones, though I do wanna ask, why are they so stuck on the “Turquoise Hill” thing but nothing in the zone is actually turquoise??? Don’t get that one.
Still, I do enjoy the whole thing where the game has three antagonists (and yes you get to fight, and later rescue, Knuckles), especially with two of them being Mobians. And there’s a badass fight with Metal Sonic before you get to the final boss, which honestly kinda makes the whole thing worthwhile even though it’s pretty forgettable otherwise.
Zones
Tidal Plant Zone (C-Rank)
Robotnik Winter Zone (C-Rank)
Atomic Destroyer Zone (C-Rank)
Sunset Park Zone (C-Rank)
Great Turquoise Zone (C-Rank)
Meta Junglira Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
Metal Sonic (A-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (B-Rank)
Nack the Weasel (B-Rank)
Marve-shupopolous-gou (B-Rank)
Final Boss (C-Rank)
Tart Turtle (C-Rank)
Wood Buttarundorf (C-Rank)
Giga Thomas "Pen" (C-Rank)
Soundtrack
Sunset Park Zone Act 3 (B-Rank)
Final Boss (C-Rank)
Atomic Destroyer Zone (C-Rank)
Nack the Weasel (C-Rank)
Great Turquoise Zone (C-Rank)
Sunset Park Zone (C-Rank)
Metal Sonic (C-Rank)
Boss (C-Rank)
Robotnik Winter Zone (C-Rank)
3D Special Stage (C-Rank)
Ending (D-Rank)
Tidal Plant Zone (D-Rank)
2D Special Stage (D-Rank)
Meta Junglira Zone (D-Rank)
Also Knuckles, what the heck??? How did you let Eggman trick you again??? Dummy.
Anyway, the gameplay in this one is pretty simple. You play as either me or Sonic. If you play as me you can fly and some powerups are different. But there’s no real difference in terms of which zones you play through, which bosses you face, or anything major like that. So honestly kinda no reason to play through twice.
If you want to 100% the game (it doesn’t change much) you have to collect the Chaos Emeralds, and you do this by playing through some special stages that have Nack at the end as a boss. Honestly? It’s a refreshing change of pace! I like the idea of a boss fight for the Emeralds. So that’s one cool thing this game does.
But, yeah. For the most part, it’s pretty mediocre? The soundtrack has some truly awful tracks and is mostly uninspiring, aside from Sunset Act 3 which is a real banger. I’m not even gonna run down the zones, though I do wanna ask, why are they so stuck on the “Turquoise Hill” thing but nothing in the zone is actually turquoise??? Don’t get that one.
Still, I do enjoy the whole thing where the game has three antagonists (and yes you get to fight, and later rescue, Knuckles), especially with two of them being Mobians. And there’s a badass fight with Metal Sonic before you get to the final boss, which honestly kinda makes the whole thing worthwhile even though it’s pretty forgettable otherwise.
Zones
Tidal Plant Zone (C-Rank)
Robotnik Winter Zone (C-Rank)
Atomic Destroyer Zone (C-Rank)
Sunset Park Zone (C-Rank)
Great Turquoise Zone (C-Rank)
Meta Junglira Zone (C-Rank)
Bosses
Metal Sonic (A-Rank)
Knuckles the Echidna (B-Rank)
Nack the Weasel (B-Rank)
Marve-shupopolous-gou (B-Rank)
Final Boss (C-Rank)
Tart Turtle (C-Rank)
Wood Buttarundorf (C-Rank)
Giga Thomas "Pen" (C-Rank)
Soundtrack
Sunset Park Zone Act 3 (B-Rank)
Final Boss (C-Rank)
Atomic Destroyer Zone (C-Rank)
Nack the Weasel (C-Rank)
Great Turquoise Zone (C-Rank)
Sunset Park Zone (C-Rank)
Metal Sonic (C-Rank)
Boss (C-Rank)
Robotnik Winter Zone (C-Rank)
3D Special Stage (C-Rank)
Ending (D-Rank)
Tidal Plant Zone (D-Rank)
2D Special Stage (D-Rank)
Meta Junglira Zone (D-Rank)
1995
Oh boy, another one of these! ... at least that’s what I thought before I played it!
I don’t know if this one is more forgiving or if I’m just getting better at it, but I did way better this time! I was able to pretty consistently come in second place behind Sonic, and even won a couple races, so that’s about right. Actually, my first GP was about perfect: Sonic won four races, I won two, everyone else won none. But I actually won the second GP I tried!!! Woo!!!
There are also some pretty obvious quality of life improvements like the GPs don’t all share the same tracks anymore, and not all the tracks are based on zones from the main series games (though most of them still are). And one of the new tracks we got out of that was Milky Way, which I realize is just a track with a starfield in the background, but I ADORE it shut up.
Honestly? This game is pretty fun! I might have to give the first one another try sometime to see if I have more fun with it than I did the first time, or if the second one is just better, or what!
I don’t know if this one is more forgiving or if I’m just getting better at it, but I did way better this time! I was able to pretty consistently come in second place behind Sonic, and even won a couple races, so that’s about right. Actually, my first GP was about perfect: Sonic won four races, I won two, everyone else won none. But I actually won the second GP I tried!!! Woo!!!
There are also some pretty obvious quality of life improvements like the GPs don’t all share the same tracks anymore, and not all the tracks are based on zones from the main series games (though most of them still are). And one of the new tracks we got out of that was Milky Way, which I realize is just a track with a starfield in the background, but I ADORE it shut up.
Honestly? This game is pretty fun! I might have to give the first one another try sometime to see if I have more fun with it than I did the first time, or if the second one is just better, or what!
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 know this is gonna come as a huge shock but I’ve been really looking forward to the two Tails Game Gear games. But I can’t say this was a very satisfying experience, considering? For one thing I cannot imagine playing this thing without save states, that would be punishing. For another, it is CLEARLY a completely unrelated game that I was just grafted onto. It does have some nice little nods like the fact that your flight power is refilled by mint candies and you score points by collecting emeralds. Guessing both of those were something different before this became a Tails game. But, yeah. Other than that this has really nothing to do with other Sonic games, and unless you’re a serious completionist in my opinion there’s really not a lot of point to playing this one except to satisfy curiosity.
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!!
1996
A fun little diversion!! I’m not a huge fighting game junkie or anything. I had Street Fighter II for Genesis and Virtua Fighter for Saturn and that was about it until Smash Bros came along, so I can’t really speak to the gameplay (which from what I’ve read is considered uninspiring), but idk! I had fun!
Anyway, I don’t have a lot to say about this one, so let’s talk about how I felt about fighting each character!
Knuckles: I did not feel great about kicking his ass! And I did kick his ass, btw. He was a huge pushover. I’m gonna assume it’s because he didn’t feel right hurting me. I’m sorry, cutie!
Amy: I have a bit of an embarrassing crush on her but I also hate how she used to creep on Sonic, so yeah I guess I felt a bit less conflicted! She almost KOed, me though! ... and I kinda didn’t hate that? Again, embarrassing crush.
Bark: He kinda cute but I don’t have any particularly strong feelings about him!! He big. I like big!
Espio: I’ve never really had any strong feelings about him! He’s cool and I like his whole ninja-esque deal, but yeah.
Myself: Oh no, the dreaded mirror match!! Honestly my clone gave me the hardest match by far until very late in the game!! He took a couple tries to get past!! Getting knocked out by myself gave me, uh, feelings.
Nack: What a freaking pushover lmao!!!
Bean: I have the randomest crush on this little bomb pervert!!! I love how hyperactive he is, and I bet he’s such a little sadist!!!
Sonic: NOOOOOOO! WHAT A FORESEEABLE PROBLEM!!! Yeah, I know it’s just a silly fighting game but I was genuinely distressed to fight my big bro!!! I’m gonna blame that for the fact that he kicked my ass the first time I faced him (but it was very intense and competitive and I almost got him both rounds) and I barely beat him on my second attempt (had to go all three rounds), lmao. Seriously, though. DO NOT LIKE FIGHTING MY HEDGEHOG. Sparring? Sure. But straight up actually fighting? DO. NOT. LIKE.
Metal: He terrifies me, and appropriately enough he threw me around like a training dummy a bunch of times before I figured out a strategy to beat him.
Eggman: lol, whatever Eggman. Yeah I have quite a bit of trauma from being tortured by this asshole, but I’ve also been kicking his ass for as long as I can remember.
Anyway, I don’t have a lot to say about this one, so let’s talk about how I felt about fighting each character!
Knuckles: I did not feel great about kicking his ass! And I did kick his ass, btw. He was a huge pushover. I’m gonna assume it’s because he didn’t feel right hurting me. I’m sorry, cutie!
Amy: I have a bit of an embarrassing crush on her but I also hate how she used to creep on Sonic, so yeah I guess I felt a bit less conflicted! She almost KOed, me though! ... and I kinda didn’t hate that? Again, embarrassing crush.
Bark: He kinda cute but I don’t have any particularly strong feelings about him!! He big. I like big!
Espio: I’ve never really had any strong feelings about him! He’s cool and I like his whole ninja-esque deal, but yeah.
Myself: Oh no, the dreaded mirror match!! Honestly my clone gave me the hardest match by far until very late in the game!! He took a couple tries to get past!! Getting knocked out by myself gave me, uh, feelings.
Nack: What a freaking pushover lmao!!!
Bean: I have the randomest crush on this little bomb pervert!!! I love how hyperactive he is, and I bet he’s such a little sadist!!!
Sonic: NOOOOOOO! WHAT A FORESEEABLE PROBLEM!!! Yeah, I know it’s just a silly fighting game but I was genuinely distressed to fight my big bro!!! I’m gonna blame that for the fact that he kicked my ass the first time I faced him (but it was very intense and competitive and I almost got him both rounds) and I barely beat him on my second attempt (had to go all three rounds), lmao. Seriously, though. DO NOT LIKE FIGHTING MY HEDGEHOG. Sparring? Sure. But straight up actually fighting? DO. NOT. LIKE.
Metal: He terrifies me, and appropriately enough he threw me around like a training dummy a bunch of times before I figured out a strategy to beat him.
Eggman: lol, whatever Eggman. Yeah I have quite a bit of trauma from being tortured by this asshole, but I’ve also been kicking his ass for as long as I can remember.