Take Sonic 1 and stretch it until it breaks, then copy each stage 3 times for the time travel, throw in one of the best soundtracks ever (and an okay one for America), and the result is somehow better than the sum of its parts. I'm not even sure you can describe this game as having level design sometimes, but I admire the gall of presenting the player with random pieces of scenery, springs, and platforms, and just saying "here's your obstacle. Goal's over there. Off you go". It definitely gets in the way sometimes, and ironically despite the sprawling stages I have no desire to fully explore most of them, but at the very least it's more interesting than Sonic 1.