To sum up, it was a great game buuuuuuut WTF was Sonic & Knuckles? When you perform the debug mode trick (up up down down up up up up) you can see a menu with many stages that can't be selected... hmmm... it seems that the game was split in two and as a result of that S&N was born (with the worst stages, I guess).
Lock them together, ONLY way to pay the games.
I thought Sonic 3 was one of the weakest of the series. Far inferior to Sonic 2.
The game was rushed out for christmas and it shows. What some people call long levels I call meandering unfocussed levels. What some people call an innovative shield system I call a poorly implimented gimmick that had no impact on gameplay.
Sonic 2 was a game that built upon the original in an intelligent way. It shortened the levels and number of acts per zone to make space for far more variety in environments. There are far, far more zones in Sonic 2 than any of the other games. The build up to the final bosses is brilliant. You take off into space. Your expecting something big and thats what you get. Two really tricky bosses that aren't a pushover. Sonic 3's last boss only took me 2 goes and with saving between levels it didn't matter if I lost anyway, I could just have another go.
Sonic 3 for me has all the features that led to the downfall of the series. It turned away from slick, varied, arcade gameplay and turned it into a dull adventure game where winning and losing didn't make a difference. Sonic Team need to dump all the expansive levels, extra characters and collect-em-up subplots with Sonic Adventure 3(if thats the title) and get back to the things that made Sonic, Sonic2 and Sonic CD slick, polished, varied and brilliant.
I believe you are wrong on so many levels. Sonic 3 enhanced game play and provided the player with âtoolsâ to make the quest faster, and FAR more interesting to EXPERIANCED players. The levelâs were FINALY long enough to hold some depth and replay value, the plot EXISTED and made the game slightly more interesting then âI gotta go get Eggman.â Plug someone that has some decent Sonic skills into the player two port and you have the opportunity for some tight teamwork play. Also, the separation of the games was pure genius for Sega of America, because it allowed them to get more of a profit then would have been made if the game had been released like it had been in Japan as a single cart (meaning when I refer to Sonic 3, I mean S&K as well, because S&K IS Sonic 3). Sonic 2 was supposed to be Sonic 3, but the engine wasnât far enough along to push the game the way Yuji Naka intended, which is the main reason we see zone similarities between Sonic 2 beta and Sonic 3. To make it short:
Sonic 3 is Sonic 2 done right, period.
Sonic 2 was nothing more then Sonic 1 with a faster engine and one new power up for Sonic, and a bonus that made stages stupid retard fast if you got all of the chaos emeralds. Tails was completely worthless in Sonic 2 because he couldnât do anything useful, and was an extreme nuisance in the Chaos bonus stages. The challenge in later Chaos stages focused more on âWhat is Tails guna do?â as apposed to âWhat am I guna do?â If you get a damn good player 2 for Sonic 3, it is âwhat are we going to do?â
Now, let us look at how tools in Sonic 3 focus on making game play more interesting. The Magnetic shield serves as a duel purpose, as do all of the shields in the game (well, some more purposes then others). You can use it to boost yourself higher, and to pickup more rings just by flying by. Doesnât seem like much, right? To the person who doesnât think about it (that would be you, Molloy), the Magnetic shield can only be used to boost yourself straight up, and to pickup billions of rings without thinking about it. I know you think this, because anyone who thinks Sonic 3 sucks always over looks the depth of the tools, and the new length of the game play. If you are moving at a fast run and need to make a jump onto a far ledge, it can be done with a magnetic shield. It can also be used to save your âtoo fast assâ from an obstacle, such as spikes on the ground or a spring you donât wana hit. Then there is the Super Sonic + effect, which picks up rings while you zoom around as SS/HS. See, in Sonic 2 being SS wasnât a problem, as 50 rings was nearly enough to get you to the end of ANY of those short ass stages, but in Sonic 3 you are faced with a different problem. This problem is that the stages are still long, at most will require at LEAST 2mins to clear, even as SS/HS from beginning to end. That means you have to worry about two things as SS/HS: Being squashed because you ass is to fast or flying off a cliff because you ass is to fast. You are suddenly presented with this facade that you are invisible, when really you are not; it has just altered the rules into which you can die. You get invincibility against enemy hits and basic obstacles, but you are presented with this massive speed increase, an increase which comes with a big responsibility: You better know whatâs coming up already. SQUASH, WAAAAH, your fast ass is dead. So, while you are worrying about being fast, you canât afford to think about jumping for rings, etc, as much as possible, so magnetic shield saves SS/HS from running out.
Now for the water shield, what most will consider the most worthless shield ever devised. Lets face it, breathing underwater is handy, and the benefits are obvious, so when you have that shield, your focus changes from breathing underwater to worrying about losing that shield, because in a few rare locations, you need that shield to get through (one notable one was with Knuckles in the Carnival Nights Zone). Sonic also gets the added ability of bouncing onto enemies from above in a semi-controllable manner. You can also use this ability and bounce while running, and get a slightly higher height then you would with normal bouncing. This shieldâs short come is obviously the fact that its special attack isnât so much a special attack so much as just a faster way to kill stuff the normal way, but you do get protection against all/most projectile attacks.
Now the fire shield, a shield with a different set of fun from the Magnetic shield. You can walk on lava, avoid fire attacks, ram into enemies head on, it is simple and easier to understand. Its advantages are often its greatest disadvantages though. If you get hit by a most projectiles or an obstacle in an inconvenient place, then you are screwed. Gotta pay attention, that requires focusing on what you are doing âwhen you are doing itâ.
Sonic 3 has more of the basic fundamentals that made Sonic games so popular in the first place: Speed, attitude, game play, and strategy. If your concentration fails at anyone time in Sonic 3, you are dead, just like all of the Sonic games before it except with the added twist that you have tools, a powerful ally in Tails, longer levelâs, unexpected obstacles (such as Knuckles or the E-xxx robot), and game play that will make even the most seasoned gamer fall to their knees begging for mercy.
Sonic 3 has undoubtedly the most surprising and unexpected ending boss of all of the Sonic games, and unless you have been spoiled to it, you absolutely will shit your pants the first time you are tossed into the âDoomsday Zone.â I sure as hell did! Let me tell you my story!
I had played through Sonic 3 before when I rented it from a store, not hard, but pretty fun. Played through Sonic and Knuckles several times as both Sonic and Knuckles...but here is the catch: âI never got the 4th Chaos Emerald in S&Kâ Why? Because I was too stupid to follow through on the stage... but I figured that out on my own eventually. So here I am, playing with Sonic + Tails and beating Eggmanâs Laser. Woohoo! I beat it; I can finally say I beat Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Then it happened...
Music plays...
I was at my friend Davidâs house, and I had my new Sega Nomad hooked up to his mini TV. And at the tender age of 12, in front of his mom, I shout two words: âHoly shit.â His mom doesnât say anything, but David comes running and watches be embark on the most challenging stage in any platform game ever.
Stage name: Doomsday Zone
And with 26 lives and 3 continues behind me, I used them all... and I got that Master Emerald back, with no lives left. No single moment in my life was more memorable then that, because Iâve didnât realize it at the time, but I did something few people can do. I beat that damn stage, and it is still a challenge every time I play it. You see, anyone can beat Sonic 1, or Super Mario Bros., but.. it takes balls and brains to beat Sonic 3. Not just anyone can do it, but I can.
Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 were both let downs for me, although SA2 renewed my faith in Sonic Team. I await the day, I can site down, and shit my pants again. Only Sonic 3 did that for me. Itâs the games that truly surprise you that make for the most interesting and enjoyable experience.
Sonic 1, awesome ground breaking
Sonic 2, more of the same old
Sonic 3 Surprised me, and the entire world.
Only three games have ever surprised me:
Sonic 3
Tales of Phantasia
Grandia 2
Each gave me something unexpected:
Sonic 3: The mother of all plat formers, the ending of a lifetime
Tales of Phantasia: The sickest and more sadistic ending to any game.
Grandia 2: Battle engine that just wouldnât stop.
Thank you for reminding me why I love Sonic 3, Molloy.
Oh, Iâm not done owning you yet, donât think my two page essay is finished.
Sonic 3 for me has all the features that led to the downfall of the series. It turned away from slick, varied, arcade gameplay and turned it into a dull adventure game where winning and losing didn't make a difference. Sonic Team need to dump all the expansive levels, extra characters and collect-em-up subplots with Sonic Adventure 3(if thats the title) and get back to the things that made Sonic, Sonic2 and Sonic CD slick, polished, varied and brilliant.
You didnât play the game, did you? The fact that each character has locations in nearly every stage that only that character can access adds quite a bit of depth to the game. What Sonic Teamâs downfall was is simple: Getting out of the groove. Sonic Team did not produce a new Sonic game for the Saturn, they paid for it in Sonic Adventure 1. Sonic Adventure 2 almost brought the series back, but it suffered from one thing overall: âToo little Sonic, not enough game time.â Sonic Team doesnât need to do away with the multi character format, they need to look at where it was done right: Sonic 3, and create a game where all characters can play through all stages and each can find different areaâs that only THEY can find.
Sonic Heroâs seems to be plotted to do just that, as from what is known it will only feature Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Sonic Team is also releasing the game on every major platform (PS2, GC, Xbox) and is gearing up the new anime âSonic Xâ to do something they have never done before: Take over Japan. Sega has never had any real hold on the Japanese market outside of arcades, and Sonic has never held anything other then basic popularity. It has NEVER seen the success it has in the states, and Yuji Naka obviously isnât satisfied with massive US pop culture success. Yuji wants Japan, it wants Sonic to be the next Pokemon, and Sonic Heroâs will, combined with a new anime with âdirect influenceâ from Sonic Team will defiantly be worth paying attention to. Sonic Team is out to take over, and over the next year weâll see if they do. Sonic X has started airing in Japan, and it will certainly be more interesting then the first Sonic anime, and it will be the first animated portrayal of Sonic as Sonic Team envisioned him.
You, Molloy, are a poser. You couldnât handle Sonic 3 and you canât admit that. Why do I know this? Iâve met your kind before, thatâs how. Everyone winy ass bitch Iâve ran into that says Sonic 3 sucks thinks the same thing and it boils down to this:
You punk bitch ass canât handle complex game play mechanics.
Go cry to your Genesis/Mega Drive and come back when youâve put yourself through the HELL of beating Doomsday Zone.
*edit* AFTER almost TWO years, I finally can edit this post, and not get garbage! Sweet!