this series is all about asking simple questions
for the first one the dev asked : what if sonic 2D was cool, and then went on to answer that question.

then for the second game he dared ask : what if sonic 3D was not only cool but functional too, and then went on to make an amazing game that its so responsive and balls to the wall fun that i still cannot fathon it actually exists.

then the crazy dickhead went on and asked : what if spark 2 was epic ? and went on to make one of the best games i've played.

somehow its even more responsive than the second game, its a perfect sonic game, it doesn't restrain you, it doesn't scare itself and lock you into a straightfoward momentum or a pseudo game cutscene, or jank you into clunky deaths that were never your fault.
no, this is a concise, straightfoward and confident game that will deliver mechanics you can rely on, and challenges to put those mechanics to the test, and not once did they fail me, even at the absolute gauntlet that is the last level (that you gotta beat with limited lives, for once i like limited lives).
story wise it tries to hold itself but you can clearly see the bonkers going on in a larger scale, but this time its a bit more well developed, even if it still goes dragon sonic and the sevel jutsu balls revengeance, i love this game, if this game was a man, id let it go to bed with me.
as a bonus the dev even ported all levels from spark 2 into this one with all the perks of having a upgraded mechanic and movements, the delight of replaying these is unmatched

are there problems ? sure, not being able to remake the keyboard controls is silly, forcing some levels in order to prgress, lack of last power ups, a not so great last boss.

but i'm willing to look these as just rough parts of a diamond, this is it, the perfect sonic game. no, spark made its own identity, now sonic has to keep up if he wanna prove he has quality over spark

I'm no Sonic stickler. I appreciate the hedgehog and his endeavors... but MAN, if it was a competition, this game would kick Sonic's butt. As far as fast-paced 3D platformers go, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is, while not perfect, certainly awesome. It has both speed and spectacle without sacrificing engaging gameplay.

Gameplay:
As mentioned, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a fast-paced 3D platformer. I haven't played the previous games in the series, but it does play a lot like Sonic Adventure 2's Sonic and Shadow levels with some modern Sonic game design philosophy sprinkled in. This game borrows a lot from Sonic. You got homing attacks, speed boosters, a spindash knock-off, bounce pads, grind rails, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Sure, it's derivative, but the game adds onto these things to make them its own. Platforming is very smooth thanks to a momentum system that feels natural and a moveset that is useful. I always felt in control of my movement, even in the fastest sections of the game. It's good stuff, and combined with the level design, I had tons of fun.

Most levels have you running from point A to point B with some really fun and creative obstacles to overcome. Some levels have cool gimmicks while others have you on a time limit, or both. The level design is also pretty open, so there's tons of different paths to travel on. Reaching a goal isn't the only type of objective in the levels though. There's a few that have you running around, finding enough medals before time runs out. They sound like they'd be boring in concept, but in reality, I found them to be pretty neat levels that focused on platforming and exploration. There's vehicles levels too which are ehhh. The car was nearly unusable at times. The ship was more consistant but still not great. There's also combat focused levels that have you defeating waves of enemies or fighting bosses. Combat is scattered throughout normal levels too. The combat system is alright. It's kind of arbitrary, but it at least does enough to not feel like a slog. Throughout the levels, there's a currency to collect which you can spend to upgrade your abilities. There's not a whole lot that's done with this, but it's still significant enough to mention.

Story:
I honestly do not know how to reasonably sum up this game's story. It is actually wild. I don't know why a game with a fast yellow guy in a Marx hat had to fly off the rails and into outer space, but it did. It got so cheesy at times that I actually skipped a couple of the cutscenes. There's some crazy moments that feel like they come out of nowhere. It's uhh... an experience. I assume the story's tone might make more sense if you've played the previous games.

Sound and Visuals:
I really liked the sound design. There was some fun sound effects. The soundtrack was also pretty sweet. I'd probably listen to some of the songs on their own.

The visuals were pretty great overall! The aesthetic is colorful with some great stylization. The environments looked totally awe-inspiring at times. There's quite a few fully animated cutscenes, and even some that switch up the art style. I also thought the character designs were pretty cool, though there were some that were weird enough to make me laugh. As a whole, this game's visual style is very distinct and well done. I liked it.

Conclusion:
If you want more Sonic Adventure-esqe gameplay in your life, then Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a must-play. With its well-crafted levels, great sense of momentum, and polished presentation, you'll probably have a good time. I know I certainly did. It's an easy recommendation from me.

Pretty big improvement over 2. Enemies have coloured lights to signal attacks ala Metal Gear Rising, levels are longer and more interesting, tons of bonus levels and new gimmicks, and everything flows alot better. However, gripes including getting caught on tiny bits of elevation rather then simply stepping over them (presumably because of how loops work), enemy doors killing flow, and some difficulty following twisting paths due to spark not turning very easily.

Also the story makes no bloody sense lmao

Holy shit, i was not expecting this much of an improvement. I was never able to get into the Sonic games, but i did enjoy the Spark series. Spark 1 was fun but not my thing, Spark 2 was super janky but i had a lot more fun with it than with 1.

Spark 3 is amazing and i consider myself a fan now instead of a curious tourist trying something outside of my confort zone.
The controls feel SOOO much better, the levels are long and fun, the combat is way better and the parry actually requires timing now, it polished every problem Spark 2 had.

I need to mention the story, i never cared about it in the previous games (and i still kinda don't care) but it becomes really crazy and entretaining near the end and it was so fun to watch, i need to see what happens next.

I'm definetly playing Spark 4 when it comes out, in the meantime maybe i'll see if i can find a Sonic game that "clicks" with me like this one did.

Finally, Sonic Adventure 3.

Fun fast paced platformer that puts every 3D sonic game to shame. You have a lot of control in movement and the levels have a LOT of variety in design and aesthetics. The combat is okay but it could have been more varied. The game has a bit of padding in the type of having to collect medals to proceed from area to area but the side stages are all very varied and unique as well so it never feels too repetitive. Combat and its usage in boss battles will probably turn people away (and the character designs too) but if it doesn’t then you’ll have a lot of fun. Kirby powers are gone, unfortunately.

The story is SO edgy and absolutely fucking batshit insane, and the ending is fucking wild. It’s so edgy and dumb that I can’t take it seriously. Skip Spark 2 if you want to get into this after 1, you won’t miss anything.

has some post launch content that is really fun like every single level from Spark 2.

Main game cleared on December 8th, 2023
Post game cleared on December 11th, 2023

Well, they weren't lying. Spark the Electric Jester 3 is the pinnacle of great high speed platforming that easily surpasses all Sonic games. The second game was great and all, but it felt more like a beta test since you can get the full game cleared in under 3 hours, but if that can somehow feel better to play than any 3D Sonic game out there, then imagine what a more refined and rebalanced game of this style can do.

The general gameplay remains the same as you move fast at high speeds, you can jump and homing attack, you can use the Jester Dash, and really, despite playing as Spark now, not much has changed beyond controller refinements... at first, anyway.

As you progress in the game, you'll be met with new tools in your arsenal. The kirby-esque power-ups no longer really apply and is now replaced with equipables and alternate playstyles which are pretty much just what you'd expect the power-ups can do. So in a way it's still there, but it's different in its approach. That said, I think the approach works so much better. You have skills like Wind which allows you to float in the air which is made even better when you are going fast to really close the gap, Snap Portal which lets you teleport to your foes, and a means of healing among others. And with alternate playstyles, there are 4 in addition to your standard form each of which having their own tricks and aspects they can offer.

Spark himself has the advantage of having the most combos to work with which unlocks as you progress throughout the game, and he can shoot laser bullets which doesn't do much damage, but when the foes are clumped up, it can rack up energy points from a safe distance, allowing you to use your power-ups.
Float is the 2nd character you unlock, and she has the advantage of allowing you to mark your foes and upon dealing enough damage, it will unleash a burst of damage on them. She doesn't need to be active to trigger this bonus which part of me isn't sure if it was intentional, but she still has value as she can float in the air which acts as a built-in Wind.
Fark you unlock after clearing the game. He has high attack speed, he can dash twice in the air, his dash gives him invulnerability, and upon reaching full energy, he can heal and give himself increased damage output, and since the energy drains, you can choose to sacrifice the damage output to combo into the Temporary Shield for a two-for one. Heck, under the right conditions, you may still keep the damage output and the shield at the same time. As you can tell, he's probably the best character in the game.
Reaper is technically the last remnant of the Spark 1 power-ups and it's really good. It has an invulnerable dash although it's frames aren't as good as Fark's, the combos are probably just as strong as Spark's, and if you channel RB long enough, you can heal for one point which makes it absolutely crucial for tough fights that bank on your survival. You'll especially need it for post game content.
There is one more you unlock post-game, but it's best that I don't say what it is since it feels really spoilery, but it increases damage output of your physical attacks at full energy as well as fire a slower but harder hitting laser bullet.

The level design has seen a significant improvement and play off the mechanics of the game very well. One of my complaints in the previous game was that there was little reason to engage in combat beyond getting good scores which to be fair is needed if you want to nab those score medals, but here, there are not only opportunities through barriers that obstruct you, there are dedicated levels designed for combat and it's really fun.

That said, it does reveal a problem that didn't seem like a big deal due to the lack of combat incentive in Spark 2, but I do not like how there's no means of locking on the targets you want to lock on. It's there, but you don't control what gets locked in and it may work against you otherwise. It also has to make compromises for the sake of balance as being able to block while move allows you to ignore the level mechanics. This isn't exactly a problem on its own merits, but because the post game consists of levels from Spark 2 which is required to get through to the post game bosses, it gets really rough around the final two levels as they seem more built with being able to move and block. Sure, you do have Fark and the Reaper with their invulnerability dash, but it never really crossed my mind, and I didn't have them on hand.

Oh yeah, the levels from Spark 2 all carry over to this game which is more or less there for content filler and you can knock them all out in roughly an hour if you know what you're doing, but it does highlight the mechanical refinements which include the stability of steering and now it's not as easy to overshoot yourself when making a large jump which does make shortcuts that once worked in the 2nd game harder to pull off. The bosses don't carry over, though. We don't want to obsolete Spark 2 that badly now, don't we?

On the note of bosses, they are rather enjoyable and some of them now have multi-phases although there is one boss that you have to fight multiple times which for the record is designed to be so hard that if you lose to it once, you have to play through the entire stage all over again just for another chance. You can still progress without defeating it, but beating it is the only way to get that Reaper power. They aren't too difficult, but I did think the final boss was... not that great. Like when you compare the legendary hype that both Spark 1 and 2 are capable of, having a boss with such an underwhelming final boss theme just made me wish it could've been so much more... well, there is, actually. In the post game.

Other than the Spark 2 levels, there is a gauntlet that requires you to clear at least 100 floors to get to the harder version of the final boss which is... actually kinda fucked up with how fast and aggressive it's attacks are to the point that some attacks can cancel out each other. Like seriously, even if you can somehow win with Spark alone, it takes a lot of patience. You are going to need Fark and the Reaper for this one. But guess what? It's not even the true final boss which isn't as hard on its own merits, but I will say that the Reaper is absolutely necessary on higher difficulties. At least it felt like a final boss, though.

The music is really good with some new songs once again in the style of Sonic Adventure, but I don't know why there wasn't any new vocal themes. It's not like they're that embarrassed with the three songs they had since they are in the game... well, two of them, anyway.

But now what I want to address is the story which... ok, so when I was playing both Spark 1 and 2, I didn't really think much of the story. It's there with Spark 1 being humorous enough to keep me entertained as I go along with the game and Spark 2 trying to take itself seriously but felt rather melodramatic. There was some potential as the villain's goals and philosophy seem interesting enough, so you'd think that Spark 3's story would be good in that case, right? Well, it's not bad. It does actually have backstories to offer which go on for a good bit and are there to explain the mercenaries of Freom as well as Freom himself, but other than that, I didn't really think of it as anything more or less than what Spark 1 and 2 are capable of... until the final act. I cannot even talk about it, it is some serious mind-fuckery you need to see to believe. Though, I guess that's just something extra to make an already amazing game that much more memorable.

One of the greatest 3D Sonic games I've ever played.
Spark the Electric Jester 3 is something I've always wanted Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Herores to actually play like.
No gimmicks, no weird physics and controls, no strange decisions. Just faced paced running through amazing well designed levels.

This is an overall improvement from the 2nd game, which this game includes all the levels to as a bonus. So if you just wanna play for the gameplay, skip the 2nd one and go straight to this (unless you care for the story).

My only gripe, like the first 2 is the fan-fiction writing story this has. But honestly, that's not what this game is for.

That sure was a story, huh? I like how it goes off the walls and the cutscene budget was vastly improved from 2's.

The gameplay's like Sonic Adventure 2, but with beat 'em up combat that still isn't great my hands hurt from mashing X and Y, but that's vastly made up for by the speed gameplay being so thrilling. It lets you do whacky things that don't feel intended like use things that'd usually have collision removed work in your favor, makes you feel like you're playing a game rather than be guided on a tour, and it's some of the coolest feelings when you navigate your own way around. Give me more of that in Spark 4 that's the stuff dreams are made of.