Wait, I actually did get to that level. I don't recall how far I got into the game, I just know I never faced Biolizard. The reason I stopped compared to other Sonic games is that it actually has more deathtraps than Sonic 4, at least it seemed like it did. The other reasons were some of the poorly designed bosses, and there was some requirement for progressing or something to the next few levels that I didn't enjoy.
I did give it the time, but I remember why I said Emerald Coast because that one was probably the worst with it.
Azure Blue World alone could carry me through those stages, the actual stage visually had some really clashing elements with random spikes all over the cliffs and those strange platforms that shrink and expand, bleh.
I would rather have the Sonic series take on boss fights than the Mario series take. Mario games are fucking terrible for boss fights. They usually have a few good ideas for bosses which they then run into the ground by reusing them over and over and giving them one extra move or more health or something.
Take Super Mario 3D Land for example, there are 16 worlds in that game but there are only three bosses. Bowser, Boom Boom and the girl Boom Boom with a boomerang.
Boom Boom does suck, even in SMB3 (those cheap spikes at the worst times) but it's worth noting that...
- Not every special world ends with a boss fight
- Bowser is less a boss and more of an obstacle
Point noted though because Boom Boom inspires boredom.
The only other guy i'd complain about are those boring as hell Bowser Jr fights in NSMB DS.
Really when I said they did it right I was thinking exclusively of the way Koopalings and Bowser himself have been handled recently, forgot about Boom Boom, he's barely a boss and more like a time waster that turns up out of sheer obligation.
Well each to their own, i'll have my filler fodder bosses of minimal threat so I can just get to the next stage already over stuff like Sonic 4's Oil Desert Boss and half of the 3D Sonic bosses, see the entire boss lineup of Sonic Heroes for the true horror.
More standard 3D Mario is another matter entirely, I feel the Galaxy Games actually do it very well with varying bosses since they're mostly one time battles with the 3 hit rule, Sunshine undoes its good with those Goopy Piranhas and Blooper battles.
I'm just tired of platformers feeling obligated to put in boss battles that clash with the actual game, some that really stand out to me recently are in Super Meat Boy, Rayman Origins and DKCR, even worse is that these games also have some bosses which focus on the platforming side of things which makes me wonder why they didn't just see how much better that works in games like this.
As for Sonic, well Generations 3DS and Sonic 4 have bosses that last longer than the actual stages and that just feels wrong, see you people shouldn't have mentioned the 3DS Biolizard, this is what set me down this path.
The rest of 2D sonic varies, as long as they don't pull the "lol no rings" card i'm not often that bothered, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is pretty good most of the time but the Rush games and Sonic 4 seem to be trying to undo the mostly good of Sonic 2 and 3.
Man i'm rambling here, different games with different variables go by different rules, Generations alone could be put under my microscope when you've got the main bosses and rival battles, like Shadow was horrid but Metal Sonic was fine.
I'll part by simply saying Yoshi's Island nailed it.
Also Sonic CD, no really, I thought that game had some interesting ideas that played with the actual Sonic gameplay instead of just bobbing on top of Eggman's head.
