I had to get a little help on the middle part of the stardust speedway boss, you can win by "doing it wrong" but it is extremely frustrating. Boss was pretty fun after figuring that out.
Sonic jumps higher, runs faster, can do the drop dash, can use the secondary abilities of elemental shields, can access the true final boss if he has all 7 chaos emeralds.
Knuckles has his pattened climb and glide, but is the slowest character and the worst jump height. Knuckles also gets a few exclusive acts and bosses.
Anyone else like playing as Knuckles more than Sonic? I feel like with his flying and climbing I can be a bit more methodical and explore the levels better instead of speeding through them.
Or maybe the wonder of flying and climbing as Knuckles for the first time when I was a kid still hasn't worn off.
It's funny because I thought that bosses are by far the best part of the game.
Like, the Studiopolis one is basically a sidescroller but man does it look fantastic.
There is a glitch (pretty sure it's a glitch) where
you instantly die if you're near a platform when the tentacles drag the platforms into the oil. You can jump in between the platforms into the oil, but if you're anywhere near those platforms, it's instant death.
I haven't felt this nostalgic about something in a very long time. Seeing Chemical Plant Zone Act II was something. And that boss.
But the game is a 0/10 because the boss doesn't use Robotnik's boss music from Bean Machine, and it's missing the endless YEEHAWWW and I combo Eggman into death in one move
I'd really love to see how you're supposed to beat that Stardust Speedway boss properly. I felt like I had no idea what I was meant to do in the last section.
I'd really love to see how you're supposed to beat that Stardust Speedway boss properly. I felt like I had no idea what I was meant to do in the last section.
These are all just Sonic 3 + K's Blue Spheres right? I have yet to see a new layout, although going for 100% of rings adds a little bit of new strategy to them.
These are all just Sonic 3 + K's Blue Spheres right? I have yet to see a new layout, although going for 100% of rings adds a little bit of new strategy to them.
Any input lag I feel on the switch version I attribute to lcd vs crt (back in the day) and the wireless controllers. I haven't had any issues due to it, all my fuckups have been self-inflicted as always
I'd really love to see how you're supposed to beat that Stardust Speedway boss properly. I felt like I had no idea what I was meant to do in the last section.
Both stages were worse than the original by a pretty good margin. Hopefully Sega allows them to make an all new game. Or at the very least, non genesis levels are used.
Does anyone know how the Blue Sphere levels cycle? I have about half of them done with gold medals, so will those never pop up again until I get all gold or??
These are all just Sonic 3 + K's Blue Spheres right? I have yet to see a new layout, although going for 100% of rings adds a little bit of new strategy to them.
My first game over in this game, and that's where I decided to end for the night.
I appreciate taking a chump boss and making it an actual challenge... but come on.
Played through the games as Sonic solo last night and it was an incredibly time. I got teary eyed during a few parts. Really makes me happy to know that we finally have a true successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I'm not sure if I'd say this game is better, it's too early to tell, but it's at least close to being on par I think.
Just a few scrambled notes I have:
- A tad disappointing that there's only
4 new zones
but they're fantastic.
- Music and visuals are consistently on-point. Probably the best looking 2D game on the market, unless there's some SNK game I'm missing.
- Too much time is spent
playing Blue Spheres if you plan on getting the gold medals. I like Blue Spheres but not this much lol.
- A shame that
debug mode
can only be messed around with on a No Save file. What a weird omission.
- I found a couple bugs revolving around music tracks not playing correctly. It's happened enough to feel like something that should have been noticed during play testing.
Now for Zone specific comments:
Green Hill Zone
- Great level layout. No complaints. I love the cave sections.
Chemical Plant Zone
- Act 1 isn't changed as much as I would have liked but no real complaints here.
- Act 2 is
really creative. The gimmicks are fantastic and blend in well with the standard Chemical Plant affair.
- Act 2's Boss
was a wonderful surprise... Or at least it would have been if that asshole Jeff Gertsman didn't spoil it. Fuck you, Jeffry!
Studiopolis Zone
- Act 1 is great, obviously. The
boss fight's attacks can be hard to avoid due to the slightly shifting terrain
but otherwise it's cool.
- Act 2 is
visual overload, but in a good way! I don't really understand how those funnels with the numbered balls work though. Can you influence what you get from those?
- Act 2's boss is
super charming! I love how they put Cluckoid in as the weather dude and how he reacts to what the weather is. :3
Flying Battery Zone
- Act 1 is really solid and I really dig how
the Lightning Shield sticks you to those ceilings.
- Act 2 has
really kick ass music and some great gimmicks though the boss felt a bit inconsistent in whether he'd bounce into the spikes or not.
Press Garden Zone
-
A really inspired new zone! Not all the gimmicks clicked with me instantly and act 1 doesn't really have anything amazing from a level design standpoint. Feels a bit too stop-and-go.
- Act 2 fairs better but
I found the boss a bit annoying at first.
Stardust Speedway Zone
- Act 1 is great! I love how they
used the Past version for this act.
- I was disappointed that Act 2
wasn't in the Good Future, which is my favorite look for Stardust Speedway.
- The boss
against Metal Sonic kinda sucked to be honest. Having Robo-Sonic from GG Sonic 2 show up was adorable but trying to figure this part of the boss out just wasn't any fun and the last section of the boss wasn't interesting.
Hydrocity Zone
- The zone as a whole is alright but I don't think it tops the original.
- The boss fights were clever and funny.
I didn't know to hold down jump during the first act's boss at first, though. Another element that isn't explained properly.
Mirage Saloon Zone
-
Never was a fan of Skychase but it's fun here and doesn't overstay it's welcome.
- Act 2 is a lot of fun and I can tell they've improved it's layout since it was revealed.
- Act 2's boss
is a great triple cameo but the fight itself isn't too engaging.
Oil Ocean Zone
- I was really excited to see this return since, against popular opinion,
Oil Ocean is my favorite zone in Sonic 2. Act 1 doesn't do too much outside of the fire shield but it's fun and I appreciate that they improved the AI on those Seahorse badniks so they give you more time before firing at you.
- Act 2's main gimmick is
kinda just annoying and is worse than what it was a callback of (the ghosts in Sandopolis, which I actually liked).
- Act 2's boss
felt a bit too punishing but maybe I'm just missing something.
Lava Reef Zone
- Act 1 is a good enhanced version of the original.
- I was really hoping for
Quartz Quadrant to show up so while that's a bit of a shame, at least it gets heavily referenced here in Act 2!
- The boss fight in Act 2
felt tacked on. This is the only Egg Robo you fight in a remixed zone so it makes me wonder if they had plans for one other new zone but ran out of time?
Metallic Madness Zone
- A nice surprise.
The "go in to the background" sections of Act 1 were pretty cool.
-
The return of Mini-Sonic! Boss fight was a nice callback as well.
Titanic Monarch Zone
-
I'm a bit torn on this last zone since it has a lot of really cool hazards and ideas but it can also be a bit too cluttered at times.
- Act 2's boss is
a good end boss but not mind blowing.
-
The final boss for getting all the emerald honestly sucked in my opinion. Very confusing. I'm not sure what the point of dashing is, and the Egg Robo was hard to hit without also getting hit yourself. I'm probably missing something.
Overall, I've been having an amazing time and I can only hope that Taxman and his team are given the chance to make another new Sonic game entirely comprised of new zones!
Any word on them adding DLC characters? I'd like to play as Amy and Metal Sonic. Gonna wait until they fix the bugs for the Switch version before picking this up though.
These are all just Sonic 3 + K's Blue Spheres right? I have yet to see a new layout, although going for 100% of rings adds a little bit of new strategy to them.
My first game over in this game, and that's where I decided to end for the night.
I appreciate taking a chump boss and making it an actual challenge... but come on.
You too? Haha, oh man. First thing in the morning, I was playing for three hours straight, totally entranced. That boss put an end to things, so I figured that was a good place to leave off my first play session.
Came back later tonight and I've got two game overs and blown around 10 lives. Like you, only time I've ever game overed too.
I'll definitely write up a bigger impression when I'm done. This game... This is one for my books, no doubt about it. The number of times it's made me grin like an idiot, or make my jaw drop and go "no way, they didn't actually do that" is unbelievable. This game is absolutely delightful. Bosses aside.
I still can't beat special stage 3. Pain and misery lie ahead for me getting the true ending.
I'm on my second playthrough using Tails and have done a lot of level scoping. The level design in this game just gets more impressive as I examine it. Studiopolis especially is like a GOAT Sonic level. That stage deserves to be remembered like Green Hill and Chemical Plant for future games.
Playing this game, I kind of understand why some people who have never played Sonic games can get confused by the game
There's a ton of things I just naturally knew to do from playing Sonic games for almost 30 years, but looking back, it's kind of weird and maybe not entirely obvious sometimes.
Like I recognized traps and gimmicks from various old stages, either because the stage was literally in the game (Chemical Plants' rising water for example) or because it was borrowed from another stage (Press Garden's various Marble Garden doodads for example)
Oh and Flying Battery is everything I ever wanted in a Flying Battery remake, but that stage could easily get pretty frustrating without knowing some of the weird stuff you have do (the trajectory of flying off the fan polls, which handle bars lower you down, using the fire blowers as springs, stuff like that)
You too? Haha, oh man. First thing in the morning, I was playing for three hours straight, totally entranced. That boss put an end to things, so I figured that was a good place to leave off my first play session.
Came back later tonight and I've got two game overs and blown around 10 lives. Like you, only time I've ever game overed too.
I'll definitely write up a bigger impression when I'm done. This game... This is one for my books, no doubt about it. The number of times it's made me grin like an idiot, or make my jaw drop and go "no way, they didn't actually do that" is unbelievable. This game is absolutely delightful. Bosses aside.
I could hardly contain myself when I got to Chemical Plant Zone. Sonic 2 was my first console game ever and one of the first video games I ever played. Sonic 2 has been part of my life since I was like 4. I couldn't stop smiling through the entire stage and Act II totally blew me away with its new ideas mixed with some familiar layouts.
And then the boss was intense for me because Mean Bean Machine was also a huge part of my childhood and is the first video game I ever beat. And I never expected a reference to it at all
Also the first time I got to Oil Ocean Act II and saw the gimmick, I actually said out loud "oh no, no no no no" which I'm sure was the intended reaction for anyone who knew what that gimmick was a reference to.