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[tiggerkiddo]

Man, Advance 2 and 3 really shot themselves in the foot when it came to accessing the special stages. At least once you get all the chao, you just have to get the key and exit the level. Advance 2 was just evil. I still have never seen an Advance 2 special stage. It's like a myth to me like Bigfoot.

 

[qq more]

I managed to get to the Advance 2 special stage was soooooo lame. Nice unexpected ZERO cameo though.

 

[Seven Force]

Having just recently played through the 8-Bit version of Sonic 2, I really liked how the actual emeralds were hidden in normal stages.

 

[qq more]

:lol Oh you SonicGAF... @ whoever voted for nothing just to write "Needs more Nocturne."

And wow, everyone is voting for just finding the emeralds w/ no special stages???

 

[TheOGB]

Special Stage Survey


uhhh I might of have gotten some of the description wrong but that's fixable.

:>

go the Sonic R/Wario Land 4 route and have the emerald in the level, but finding and grabbing it activates a timer, and you have to beat the level before time runs out

 

[Azure Dream]

Finished uploading the rest of Gens 3DS. Here's the other levels:

Finale

So now that there's a clear recording, can anyone figure out what Eggman is saying when you hit him in the 2D parts? He says "Take a look" a lot, so it sounds like he's mumbling "He must of had a look," but it's hard to make it.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

:lol Oh you SonicGAF... @ whoever voted for nothing just to write "Needs more Nocturne."

And wow, everyone is voting for just finding the emeralds w/ no special stages???

Show me when a portable game has done a great special stage and I'll change my answer!

Blue Sphere was the best, they should just stick with it. I felt like awesomeness when I could beat them all in one try.

 

[Emitan]

Special Stages are dumb

 

[Kokonoe]

I'll vote in a lil bit, but Sonic Colors DS has the most playable one so far.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

I think it looks fantastic. Granted, I've never really played the original level.

Is there any other fantastic looking mods for the game yet? Every other one I've seen didn't really impress me much.

Nothing quite as polished as Sonic Unleashed Generations, but that's partially because Unleashed Generations is kind of the pioneer of a lot of this stuff. There's a lot of stuff I'm keeping an eye on, at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5b26aV7VyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRSav5zP1f0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsPVtG4WNsI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb3jDWwiltU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viv0fVQDFZ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ROsh0p8V8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mtXbcPaV-Y (assuming you can stomach the dude's really annoying video editing style)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm2OukJCQy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7uZBYIx9d8

I am undoubtedly forgetting some that I thought looked interesting but I don't feel like looking for them

 

[qq more]

Some of them looks very interesting. I hope to see very polished levels in the future.

 

[BlackJace]

Special Stages are dumb

Whyyyy?

 

[Emitan]

Whyyyy?

*shrug*

I never cared about getting the emeralds.

 

[Seven Force]

Triple Trouble and Sonic 1 8-Bit have the only special/bonus stages I liked out of the portable games.

 

[Shadow Hog]

One thing that I've always wondered about: how did Robotnik Winter Zone get its name? I mean, it's got that name even in Japan, it's not "Eggman Winter Zone" anywhere, but "Robotnik" wasn't officially canon until Sonic Adventure 2, like 5-6 years later.

 

[NTom64]

So now that there's a clear recording, can anyone figure out what Eggman is saying when you hit him in the 2D parts? He says "Take a look" a lot, so it sounds like he's mumbling "He must of had a look," but it's hard to make it.

Pretty sure it's "you're superb".

Closest thing I can make out, anyway.

 

[qq more]

By the way, different subject but was I the only one who laughed hard when a fighter jet no-clipped through a building in Radical Highway (Generations 3DS)?

 

[BlackJace]

*shrug*

I never cared about getting the emeralds.

I've always had an OCD impulse whenever Sonic games involved optional emerald collecting. I had to do it to feel complete. And when the special stages were good, it was a bonus.

 

[Azure Dream]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5b26aV7VyI

Definitely some rough parts, but I like how he combined the level sections together into a relatively smooth transition.

 

[Pietepiet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm2OukJCQy0

Can't wait for this one

 

[Nocturnowl]

Yes, Ocean Palace reigns supreme.

Are you talking about Super Mario World? Because...yeah.

Damn right, I went back through SMW earlier this year with nary a death, then Tubular came in and Chargin' Chuck made me feel inadequate.

Special Stages are dumb

Yes, yes they are.

 

[Tizoc]

While looking thru EU PSN for a few games, I happen to notice that the new Sonic racing game is up for pre-order for 30 pounds+dlc, a really good bargain imo, get on dat ish!

 

[qq more]

Oh man! Most people voted for Sonic 1 GG/MS's bonus stage! But people seem to also really like finding the emeralds themselves. I guess I could go the exact route Sonic 1 GG/MS did? I was kind of hoping its bonus stage would have the Chaos Emeralds... I wonder how people would feel about that?

 

[Tizoc]

Sonic 2 and 3's are my fav. Special Stages...I miss this concept in platformers =(.

Also Sonic 3 Special Stage theme for life-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BWtfe8EOJM

 

[Shadow Hog]

Bonus Stages house the Chaos Cubic Zirconias, and collecting all seven allows you to turn into Sub Sonic, with the special abilities of low speed and extreme vulnerability. On the plus side, for every second you are Sub Sonic, you gain a ring.

 

[qq more]

You know what really sucks? ONLY Modern Sonic got Special Stages in Generations 3DS. Bad enough he has the most boss fights!

 

[Shadow Hog]

You know what really sucks? ONLY Modern Sonic got Special Stages in Generations 3DS. Bad enough he has the most boss fights!

And the most zones. And that the Classic Sonic stages for his own zones were carbon copies of the original titles'. And that the Classic Sonic stages that were entirely original required the Homing Attack, primarily a Modern Sonic thing.

I think we know which Sonic Dimps prefers.

 

[Kokonoe]

Dimps make more original classic levels? I'm glad they didn't.

 

[qq more]

Water Palace Act 1 was pretty decent though... and it was the only non-Dreamcast original Act too.

 

[Kokonoe]

I didn't get to Water Palace, but I suffered through Emerald Coast if I recall.

 

[qq more]

I didn't get to Water Palace, but I suffered through Emerald Coast if I recall.

Be glad you didn't get to Radical Highway in this case then. One of the worst levels Dimps has ever made.

 

[Kokonoe]

Be glad you didn't get to Radical Highway in this case then. One of the worst levels Dimps has ever made.

Oh, I did, that's where I stopped. Perhaps sometime late next year I'll pick it up on sale again just so I can experience Biolizard and Water Palace, but gosh I'm not really looking forward to working my way up again.

 

[Dark Schala]

You know what really sucks? ONLY Modern Sonic got Special Stages in Generations 3DS. Bad enough he has the most boss fights!

He's special, obviously.

I think the only special stage I liked in the GameGear games was the Triple Trouble one (I liked the music a lot), but even then I'd prefer finding the emeralds in the levels...

 

[qq more]

What about using Sonic 1's Bonus Stages for the emeralds? :> <:

 

[Kokonoe]

I kinda like it when the emeralds are easy to get. I mean you still have to do the special stage, but it's not overly difficult.

 

[Dark Schala]

What about using Sonic 1's Bonus Stages for the emeralds? :> <:

I don't have no real attachment to the Sonic 1 SMS/GG stages, tbh.

I was all about Triple Trouble's stages. What I don't like about Triple Trouble's stages is how to get them (find the emerald box).

Oh. I should actually answer the survey, huh? :lol

 

[qq more]

There was just something about the Bonus Stages from 1 I really liked. It's so satisfying entering a stage that's nothing but rings, bumpers and springs.

 

[BlackJace]

Why did they make S3&K's special stages so damn punishing?

 

[Seven Force]

Why did they make S3&K's special stages so damn punishing?

I thought the special stages in the Sonic 3 half were pretty damn easy, really. Everything after the first one in the S&K half is pretty hard, though.

 

[Kokonoe]

Only one I ever mess up on sometimes is the last Sonic & Knuckles one, but it's kinda rare that I do since I've played the game a lot.

 

[Shadow Hog]

There was just something about the Bonus Stages from 1 I really liked. It's so satisfying entering a stage that's nothing but rings, bumpers and springs.

And strict time limits.

I thought the special stages in the Sonic 3 half were pretty damn easy, really. Everything after the first one in the S&K half is pretty hard, though.

I remember the purple/yellow one from the Sonic 3 half giving me hell for a while, actually.

 

[OMG Aero]

The worst thing about Sonic 3 and Knuckles' special stages is that you have to find them. I have never legitimately unlocked Hyper Sonic in that game because I'm incapable of finding 7 big rings from Mushroom Hill onwards without following a guide.
The best method of accessing special stages is still ending a stage with 50 rings.

 

[BlackJace]

The red spheres had some sort of psychological effects on me, I swear.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

The worst thing about Sonic 3 and Knuckles' special stages is that you have to find them. I have never legitimately unlocked Hyper Sonic in that game because I'm incapable of finding 7 big rings from Mushroom Hill onwards without following a guide.
The best method of accessing special stages is still ending a stage with 50 rings.

I don't know, I seem to recall tripping over them because there were so many. Some were cleverly hidden or couldn't be accessed unless you had the right character but otherwise, a lot of those stages were filled with them. I remember being surprised as a young kid when I kept discovering new locations.

 

[BHZ Mayor]

The worst thing about Sonic 3 and Knuckles' special stages is that you have to find them. I have never legitimately unlocked Hyper Sonic in that game because I'm incapable of finding 7 big rings from Mushroom Hill onwards without following a guide.
The best method of accessing special stages is still ending a stage with 50 rings.

Does beating the game so you can select zones then constantly going to the first ring in Mushroom Hill count as legitimate?

 

[qq more]

Does beating the game so you can select zones then constantly going to the first ring in Mushroom Hill count as legitimate?

Pretty sure it does!

 

[Shadow Hog]

If it's illegitimate, I don't want to be legitimate.

 

[Dark Schala]

This brings up a good question, though...

Are you into playing Sonic for the exploration aspect? I used to be like that because I'd search every nook and cranny so I could find almost every ring in each Act/Zone, or find every special stage ring in S3&K.

Or are you into Time Attacking and beating times or going as fast as you could and speedrunning the game?

It's hard to say which one I like more now. I think it's half and half for me.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

This brings up a good question, though...

Are you into playing Sonic for the exploration aspect? I used to be like that because I'd search every nook and cranny so I could find almost every ring in each Act/Zone, or find every special stage ring in S3&K.

Or are you into Time Attacking and beating times or going as fast as you could and speedrunning the game?

It's hard to say which one I like more now. I think it's half and half for me.

When I was younger and had aspirations to run a Sonic website (Taught myself HTML and all that), I played them to explore, to find all the secrets and such. Most of them I just came across by natural curiousity but others I had to really look for it. I will say quite honestly, I was much sharper as a kid figuring things out because my parents didn't believe in us having many videogames so we played the daylights out of the ones we had and I experimented with EVERYTHING. It's why I never got stuck at the barrel, I figured out how to manipulate it by toying with the earlier ones.

Now, I don't really see the need to explore, especially because I think the Genesis games still are tops when it comes to hidden routes and such and I'm more interested in just playing them to speed through everything at a breakneck pace.

 

[Seven Force]

I guess I fall into the category that likes to explore the levels. I don't like the games where the point is to rush through everything as fast as you can. (DS Sonic games, Unleashed)