That's kind of unfair. There are a lot of us here that actually played the game back in the day.
My opinion of the game has actually improved, for instance. When I was younger I just didn't enjoy it as much as the Genesis games. I always thought it was felt a bit strange like some sort of side project that was thrown together. Heck, I was even disappointed by the soundtrack. I had this old Sonic screen saver that included music from Sonic CD (according to the folder) and I loved those tracks. So I bought Sonic CD when I finally had the hardware and was disappointed to find that it was all completely different. If I knew about the internet back then I probably would have complained on a message board.
I never found the game too difficult, just annoying. I could always get through stages like Wacky Workbench without dying, that wasn't an issue, but it wasn't that fun either. It's not as if the actual jumping mechanics are designed for actual platforming (which is what the game demands).
Over the years it has grown on me and I quite like it today and appreciate what they did, but don't act like negative opinions were formed out of exposure to easier games.