Very good sequel, adds new, very welcome power-ups. Levels up to the later third of the game are very strong, but then they dive down in quality a lot like in Sonic 2 (I do like Death Egg though). The game as a whole is much less concerned with beating levels quickly, levels are longer and a bit more linear. Special Stages (and how to access them) are a tad better than Sonic 1 and 2. Lots of time-wasting though, and lots of fake walls everywhere, tempting you to be overzealous in exploring levels and making the game's pacing incredibly slow. Too many bosses, and not many good ones.

Better version of Sonic 1 with added screen space, consistent 60fps, smooth rotation effects, Spin-Dash, many fixes to the game's collision issues and bugs, and extras like Tails, Knuckles, Super Sonic and Sonic 3&K power-ups. Made by part of the same team that worked on Sonic Mania, uses older version of the Sonic Mania engine. If you can play with a controller, I highly recommend it. Touch controls take a lot of getting used to, but it works perfectly when you do. I can play this game on touch nowadays as perfectly as I can on controller.

Great platformer. Unique from any other aside from its own franchise. Slope mechanics are very complex, interesting and nuanced. Many different thoughtful shortcuts and ways to beat levels faster, and just ways to interact with the levels in general. CONS: Camera is too close for a game that can move so fast, 1/3rd of the levels are painfully slow & neglect its slope mechanics, game signals the player to collect and keep many Rings through levels which leads to conservative, slow play, which is the worst way to approach the game.

This game rules. All the different states that your mech(s?) can be in, with their different quirks, and the way this game controls very distinctively from other platformers makes it feel like piloting an advanced mech(s???) and figuring out its functions and the way it moves. The game also puts you in very different situations from stage to stage which makes every level feel like very distinct missions, including a stealth mission. I love the solar-powered mechanic. Incredible presentation and graphics

It's very good but I think it starts showing its shortcomings when it tries to be more demanding. The fixed camera means it's sometimes hard to judge Z-axis movement especially on Airship-type levels where there's often very little floor to spot where your shadow is projecting. The 3DS stick also isn't great, tends to slip and be hard to keep steady, so sometimes Mario will veer to an unintended direction and I won't notice because of difficulty parsing Z-depth. If the 3DS stick was much better and had an octogonal gate, I feel like I would've enjoyed this game even more.