I had a good time revisiting this one. Most of the time I felt it was better than I remembered, though there were numerous points that were annoying enough where I was sure I had to keep my rating the same. If you're interested in Sonic this is definitely worth playing at least once, I'd recommend playing it through Sonic 1 Forever if you can.
This game's greatest strength and weakness is the level design. Green Hill and Star Light are a joy to play and even hold up to the later Genesis titles in the series, though Labyrinth is nightmarishly bad and Scrap Brain Act 3 basically acting as Labyrinth Act 4 is really a kick to the teeth at the end of the game. Marble and Spring Yard are hit or miss even within the same acts, and Scrap Brain is an appreciated challenge that unfortunately doesn't play well with Sonic's controls.
The game would be a 3.5 nonetheless if it weren't for the sluggish physics in this game. Sonic takes a ridiculous amount of momentum to start moving at a reasonable speed, and most of the game is designed around start-and-stop rhythms that highlight the worst parts of the game feel. And the special stages are certainly a contender for the worst in the series.
This game's greatest strength and weakness is the level design. Green Hill and Star Light are a joy to play and even hold up to the later Genesis titles in the series, though Labyrinth is nightmarishly bad and Scrap Brain Act 3 basically acting as Labyrinth Act 4 is really a kick to the teeth at the end of the game. Marble and Spring Yard are hit or miss even within the same acts, and Scrap Brain is an appreciated challenge that unfortunately doesn't play well with Sonic's controls.
The game would be a 3.5 nonetheless if it weren't for the sluggish physics in this game. Sonic takes a ridiculous amount of momentum to start moving at a reasonable speed, and most of the game is designed around start-and-stop rhythms that highlight the worst parts of the game feel. And the special stages are certainly a contender for the worst in the series.