Lord British
Member
Because people don't know how to play it correctly and aren't prepared to try.
That's not me being snobbish, just an observation.
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RTTP: Sonic the Hedgehog 1 2 3 K on Sega Genesis/Megadrive
- Thread starter Branduil
- Start date
Because people don't know how to play it correctly and aren't prepared to try.
That's not me being snobbish, just an observation.
Jimnymebob
Member
I never had 3&K for the Mega Drive, but I always play Sonic 2 on it. I've not played Sonic 1 on it recently, because I have the Mega 6 pack, but these days it just auto loads Revenge of Shinobi, so I play Sonic 1 on Mega Collection + for the PAL soundtrack.
SliceSabre
Banned
Sonic 3 and Knuckles is the ultimate form of Sonic goodness and what every Sonic game should be like and a lot of it is because there was so much room given for running and the platforming didn't feel weird when it asked you to be more technical. Best music as well.
Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 is the absolute worst fucking Sonic stage of all time. It lives to punish you for going fast even though the stage is very large and seems to encourage speed.
Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2 is the absolute worst fucking Sonic stage of all time. It lives to punish you for going fast even though the stage is very large and seems to encourage speed.
Aaron Strife
Banned
I went through them recently on Sonic Jam.
They're not perfect ports, and Sonic 2 has some weird slowdown issues, but it was interesting playing them on Normal (a difficulty that's slightly tuned down from the Original option) for the major differences. Couldn't help but notice the barrel in Carnival Night was gone.
I actually liked Marble Zone somewhat, though it isn't a favorite of mine. I think it serves as a nice counterpoint to Green Hill. Whereas Green Hill is fast and loose and encourages freedom of experimentation, Marble Zone demands control and an understanding of Sonic's feneral movement and jumping abilities. Now it's not at all the best at doing that but I get the idea.
Labyrinth sucks though. It and Scrap Brain 3 are easily the low water marks (no pun intended) of the original series of games. Having slow, methodical gameplay in a Sonic game is fine. Having slow methodical gameplay in a water level is agonizing.
Labyrinth sucks though. It and Scrap Brain 3 are easily the low water marks (no pun intended) of the original series of games. Having slow, methodical gameplay in a Sonic game is fine. Having slow methodical gameplay in a water level is agonizing.
Nocturnowl
Member
Shaming Marble Zone for its poop level design and praising Sonic 1 MS in place of the Genesis/Megadrive version?
OP is totally speaking my language!
With Sonic 1 I'm pretty sure they spent a lot of time getting Green Hill Zone just right to highlight Sonic's unique traits and create a strong first impression, to such a degree that the other stages had significantly less time.
OP is totally speaking my language!
With Sonic 1 I'm pretty sure they spent a lot of time getting Green Hill Zone just right to highlight Sonic's unique traits and create a strong first impression, to such a degree that the other stages had significantly less time.
That and to trick kids into thinking it was better than Super Mario World.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
TheDinoman
Member
Wacky Workbench?
Came here to post this.
Sonic 1 is fantastic. It is just a very different game than the sequels.
I absolutely adore S3&K, but for different reasons.
Sonic 2 was good too but it's my least favorite of the three. I think I just prefer the level themes of the others.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Some of y'all need to suffer through Scrambled Egg Act 2 (on the Game Gear specifically) for some much needed perspective on truly agonizing classic Sonic levels.
Atleast Wacky Workbench doesn't go on fucking forever.
SliceSabre
Banned
Metropolis gave me more problems as a kid and as an adult than Wacky Workbench ever did.
I discovered TIME OVER thanks to Metropolis Zone.
Nocturnowl
Member
I like Metropolis Zone and I'm not sure why, those exploding stars are just the worst.
My kid self couldn't understand the hanggliders in the game's second zone, it was one of my first games, I just didn't get it.
Now the only way I can retry is through the Game Gear version on Sonic Adventure DX, that first boss is the unbeatable gatekeeper to my past on that version.
My kid self couldn't understand the hanggliders in the game's second zone, it was one of my first games, I just didn't get it.
Now the only way I can retry is through the Game Gear version on Sonic Adventure DX, that first boss is the unbeatable gatekeeper to my past on that version.
aygomyownroad
Member
Sonic The Hedgehog:
Marble Zone:
I actually like the level, Greenhill Zone was all about speed which is a staple of the Sonic series (first zone always just speed), but the second one you have to learn to be patient, take your time and avoid danger. I never go for the caterpillars as they are just too risky.
Labyrinth Zone:
I had to do the L,R,U,D, A+Start to get passed the third stage. Once you have the routes understood it isn't too bad. The last boss ended me as a kid, was only when I was an adult I realised I didn't need to hit Robotnik but I had to just survive.
Scrap Brain Zone:
Act 1-2 is great, but 3 is such a shift back to the Labyrinth Zone. I am sure there was a route which got you to the Final zone very quickly but have never found it as an adult.
Final Zone:
Last Boss was awful, just hide at the side and jump now and again.
First Computer game I ever played (Got it with Mega Drive for Christmas and I still love it).
Sonic 2 Special Stage was the pits, awful it was all memory of each corner, but becoming Super Sonic was great.
Final Stage was amazing and without rings was very nerve racking!
Marble Zone:
I actually like the level, Greenhill Zone was all about speed which is a staple of the Sonic series (first zone always just speed), but the second one you have to learn to be patient, take your time and avoid danger. I never go for the caterpillars as they are just too risky.
Labyrinth Zone:
I had to do the L,R,U,D, A+Start to get passed the third stage. Once you have the routes understood it isn't too bad. The last boss ended me as a kid, was only when I was an adult I realised I didn't need to hit Robotnik but I had to just survive.
Scrap Brain Zone:
Act 1-2 is great, but 3 is such a shift back to the Labyrinth Zone. I am sure there was a route which got you to the Final zone very quickly but have never found it as an adult.
Final Zone:
Last Boss was awful, just hide at the side and jump now and again.
First Computer game I ever played (Got it with Mega Drive for Christmas and I still love it).
Sonic 2 Special Stage was the pits, awful it was all memory of each corner, but becoming Super Sonic was great.
Final Stage was amazing and without rings was very nerve racking!
Nocturnowl
Member
I just looked up that scrambled egg zone...
holy shit
Blue Marine Zone has competition.
holy shit
Blue Marine Zone has competition.
Honestly it's an unpopular opinion but I think 2 is by far the worst of the tetralogy. The enemy placement is total bullshit and the special stage sucks, especially with Tails. It's not a bad game but Sonic 1 felt like it had more polish and the others (Christian Whitehead's CD, not the original) are just more appealing to me.
NeoZeedeater
Member
So true.
And the backlash against Sonic CD is mostly recent (from last gen's remaster exposing it to more people). It was almost universally praised in the 16-bit era.
No one deserves that.
It's funny how easy the secret last zone in that game is. Barely any enemies, no death pits, lots of open space. Hard to believe it's part of the same hell game as all the other zones.
My dude. I thought I was the only one, lol. Overall the original game is my favorite of them.
That said, CD felt a lot less cohesive than the original game last time I tried it. Some legitimately hard-to-read stages. I plan on giving it another shot some day though.
I just looked up that scrambled egg zone...
holy shit
Blue Marine Zone has competition.
It's not even the tubes that make it so horrible, it's that some sections require precise memorization and timing, and if you make a mistake you literally have no choice but to die and start over. Inescapable spike pits are a running theme in that game.
Thing is, in CD, when you say a route that looks kinda weird, like a blocked path or a ring inside a tile, is not because "lol the level design is so lazy" but because it's a hint that there's changes in the level design in the other time periods.
CD level design is more cohesive when you play the levels with time travel in mind (you need time traveling to unlock the good ending, unless you get the time stones).
I also think CD levels were partially based with Time attack in mind (first Sonic game to have a Time attack mode).
Nocturnowl
Member
Those bits with moving platforms that require you to dive into a tube to bypass a wall and plop back out on said platform that you can't actually see, I bet they had those inescapable pits below.
Jimnymebob
Member
I never got to Crystal Egg Zone because I could never find the emerald on one of the stages.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
The simultaneous moving platform + tubes section at the end of the zone is the cherry on top of the bullshit sundae that is Sonic 2 GG. You have to purposely bounce back and forth while inside the tubes for a very specific amount of time so that you exit the tube when the platform is ready to catch you. And there's no way to figure out how long you have to do this by any means but sheer all trial and error. And any failed attempt is a guaranteed death. Hope you stocked plenty of 1UPs.
Crystal Egg is basically a victory lap.
2 might barely be my least-favorite of the main 4 games, but it's mostly because the one-two punch of Metropolis (bullshit) and Sky Chase (zzzzzz) hit really hard. I don't have major issues with the game outside of that.
The special stages have more lenient ring requirements if you're playing as either Sonic or Tails alone. The ring count is higher w/ Sonic & Tails because they expect a 2nd player to be controlling Tails.
Which one? Sky High?
Jimnymebob
Member
No, I think it's the Green Hills one that I always missed. The Sky High one is a pain in the ass, but I know where it is.
That's unusual, I always thought Green Hills had one of the easiest emeralds to find.
Playing Sonic on an iPad with touch is a horrible way to control the game.
My issue was with the controls and not necessarily with the accuracy of the emulation. I could not even focus on the emulation because it is just a bad way to play any of those old platformers.
Hard for me to shake the nostalgia and impact of the first game, even though objectively I know its numbered follow-ups were superior (I played most of the 16-bit installments again about 5-6 years ago). CD is probably my least favorite of the bunch, even though I can appreciate what it was trying to do with the various eras.
To play
Green Hill
Starlight
Spring Yard (bonus weird glitchy double ending)
Scrap Brain
Marble
Labyrinth
Music
Starlight
Green Hill
Labyrinth
Scrap Brain
Marble
Spring Yard.
EDIT: this thread has also reminded me of the legendary smooth mcgroove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVZPu_JM6I
Green Hill
Starlight
Spring Yard (bonus weird glitchy double ending)
Scrap Brain
Marble
Labyrinth
Music
Starlight
Green Hill
Labyrinth
Scrap Brain
Marble
Spring Yard.
EDIT: this thread has also reminded me of the legendary smooth mcgroove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVZPu_JM6I
Not just CD. As soon as someone says the games want you to go fast then doesn't let you, I tune out.
ResidentDante
Member
Oh yes! It's my preferred method!!
Level design based around stops and starts that involve loading screens and complete level layout changes are the opposite of cohesive.
The total number of Sega CD systems sold was ~ < 3% of the number of Genesis sold, which means 97% of Sega owners, many of which had one of the Sonics bundled with their console, never even got to judge it for themselves. That it's looked back on as a messy exclusive as opposed to the Wild West of 90's game review outlets not having that perspective shouldn't be a surprise.
Jimnymebob
Member
I think it's one of those things were I've found all of them, but not in the same playthrough.
I did up until the point where I finally had to clear out the CRT to make room for other stuff. Would love to put the setup back together some day.
naw naw naw its like this ysee:
To play
Starlight
Green Hill
Spring Yard (bonus weird glitchy double ending)
Scrap Brain
Marble
Labyrinth
Music
Starlight
Spring Yard
Labyrinth
Green Hill
Marble
Scrap Brain
It ran like shit.
royox
Member
How so? My 8 years old self couldn't feel that and after all those years I played it emulated.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I had Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, and Triple Trouble for Game Gear as a kid and played all of them quite a bit on long car trips.
I remember hardly anything about the last two, and the first was memorable for the wrong reasons.
I remember hardly anything about the last two, and the first was memorable for the wrong reasons.
Elfforkusu
Member
Sonic 1 is interesting to play for me, just because the experimental "what if we made a platformer that's a chained series of momentum puzzles" is fully on display. I don't agree that it's a bad platformer, it's just unconventional. It's essential to understanding Sonic, vs judging it as a Mario game and concluding that the games aren't good. Subverting expectations isn't bad.
CD has some of those same qualities.
I do think 2 and 3&k are (1) much more accessible than either and (2) simply better, though.
CD has some of those same qualities.
I do think 2 and 3&k are (1) much more accessible than either and (2) simply better, though.
I don't actually remember the game itself very well, as I haven't played it since I was a kid. I did actually really like it at the time, but it's one of the very first games where I recall noticing the console couldn't keep up. It was literally in slow motion a lot of the time.
It's my favourite 8 bit Sonic game by some margin(played the GG version myself) but I wouldn't rate it higher then any of the main Mega Drive games. It's just the closest approximation to the MD style of play.
You need to play Chaotix lol
Sega Saturn
Neo Member
Sonic is very popular with kids, but for some reason they don't do anything of what attracted people to Sonic in the first place. Sonic Team's Sonic games now look like a really try hard attempt to appeal to kids when Sonic Mania is probably going to do better with kids than anything they've done since Sonic Adventure.