A doubling down on the ideology on display in the initial Sonic the Hedgehog. Now with refinements based on lessons learned from the original’s shortcomings. Gone are the antithesis zones such as Marble Zone, yet the variety of stages is still placed into the spotlight by simply breaking each zone into two parts instead of the original three-parters. The game is concise and direct, probably the most focused Sonic experience throughout the entire series.

Just as the others in the trilogy, there is an emphasis on the gameplay mechanics and everything else the game offers flows naturally from that point. A joy in the movement of Sonic, further improved by the plaything mechanic of the spin dash. Mashing the charge button to get Sonic to fly across the screen is the game-equivalent of winding up an automaton toy car and watching it zip across your living room floor. An emphasis on the momentum of Sonic, and allowing that movement to influence the subsequent level design is what has largely been missing from Sonic games in the years since Sonic 3 and Knuckles. The music is just icing on this cake. Pull up the Sky Chase Zone music, sit with it for a bit. If that isn’t an enticing tease for you, then you must be Nick Chopper.