While I see why some would consider this a kind of lackluster collection, especially with the pricing in mind, I think as a compilation with arguably the best versions of each game it does a great job. The new animated intros and outros are gorgeous, adorable and funny, the restored cutscenes in Sonic CD look incredible, the 3D islands used for the menus are very pretty and the way the characters interact in them is great, and the museum has quite a lot of interesting material from the series.
I didn't encounter any glitches whatsoever in my back to back playthrough of all four games on Switch, but I'm aware other people are experiencing a lot of issues.
Some short thoughts on each game:
- Sonic 1: This is dramatically worse than I remember. I know it's pretty common to see people joking about how Green Hill is the only good level in the game but.... Maybe it is???? Kinda??? Lmao. I really don't mind too much when 2D Sonic straight up doesn't let you go fast. Yes, speed is his most well-known characteristic, but I've always seen it as more of a marketing thing than something that should be prioritized above all else in his games.
Sonic 1's levels though... They all feel like the team was still figuring out how to design fun levels around Sonic's movement and physics, and most zones have fun portions, but IMO none of them really feel wholly good and fun save for Green Hill, which is natural because it's the last one they designed.
- Sonic CD: Yes, these levels are kind of a mess, but with the years I've found that if you're not seriously engaging with the time travel mechanic purposely and instead treat the game like a roller-coaster that you just roll with it can be pretty chill. And if you really care that much about saving the futures and getting a good ending you can just do the special stages (which are good for once), get all the time stones and call it a day.
Gorgeous, beautiful game. The restored cutscenes look incredible too.
- Sonic 2: This game is still good and I had a good time, but it's bizarrely overrated, I'm sorry.
- Sonic 3&K: I genuinely love every bit of this game except for Sandopolis Zone, which is horrible, and I guess the bonus states (not blue spheres), which aren't great, but you have no reason to engage in them if you don't want to, so who cares.
Now that I'm older and I am interested in more than just the action in this I've gotten to love the game even more. The attention to detail to the environments, the backgrounds, and the way they're used to add to the storytelling is very impressive. A game like this having a cohesive narrative and a pseudo cinematic presentation despite being an otherwise arcade-ass console game is extremely cool. Love it.
Thankfully I got over the changed tracks in 3 too. They're actually quite good, except for the whack-ass instrumentation in Carnival Night Zone, what even is that, lol.
Replaying these has also confirmed for me something I've had in my mind for a couple of years, that platformers with restrictive or non straightforward jumps and/or physics are my favorites, because when done well the very act of jumping and moving around is engaging and can feel rewarding. I love it in GnG and Castlevania, and I love it in 2D Sonic. The momentum is just inherently fun to the point that just doing the most basic platforming challenges is entertaining. The lava reef boss in &K is s great example of that, and my love for this sort of movement is what makes me not care that much about speed for the sake of it, although I have to admit the absurd speeds you can reach in S3K when you play well enough is exhilarating, so I won't complain when that's done well, obviously.
I didn't encounter any glitches whatsoever in my back to back playthrough of all four games on Switch, but I'm aware other people are experiencing a lot of issues.
Some short thoughts on each game:
- Sonic 1: This is dramatically worse than I remember. I know it's pretty common to see people joking about how Green Hill is the only good level in the game but.... Maybe it is???? Kinda??? Lmao. I really don't mind too much when 2D Sonic straight up doesn't let you go fast. Yes, speed is his most well-known characteristic, but I've always seen it as more of a marketing thing than something that should be prioritized above all else in his games.
Sonic 1's levels though... They all feel like the team was still figuring out how to design fun levels around Sonic's movement and physics, and most zones have fun portions, but IMO none of them really feel wholly good and fun save for Green Hill, which is natural because it's the last one they designed.
- Sonic CD: Yes, these levels are kind of a mess, but with the years I've found that if you're not seriously engaging with the time travel mechanic purposely and instead treat the game like a roller-coaster that you just roll with it can be pretty chill. And if you really care that much about saving the futures and getting a good ending you can just do the special stages (which are good for once), get all the time stones and call it a day.
Gorgeous, beautiful game. The restored cutscenes look incredible too.
- Sonic 2: This game is still good and I had a good time, but it's bizarrely overrated, I'm sorry.
- Sonic 3&K: I genuinely love every bit of this game except for Sandopolis Zone, which is horrible, and I guess the bonus states (not blue spheres), which aren't great, but you have no reason to engage in them if you don't want to, so who cares.
Now that I'm older and I am interested in more than just the action in this I've gotten to love the game even more. The attention to detail to the environments, the backgrounds, and the way they're used to add to the storytelling is very impressive. A game like this having a cohesive narrative and a pseudo cinematic presentation despite being an otherwise arcade-ass console game is extremely cool. Love it.
Thankfully I got over the changed tracks in 3 too. They're actually quite good, except for the whack-ass instrumentation in Carnival Night Zone, what even is that, lol.
Replaying these has also confirmed for me something I've had in my mind for a couple of years, that platformers with restrictive or non straightforward jumps and/or physics are my favorites, because when done well the very act of jumping and moving around is engaging and can feel rewarding. I love it in GnG and Castlevania, and I love it in 2D Sonic. The momentum is just inherently fun to the point that just doing the most basic platforming challenges is entertaining. The lava reef boss in &K is s great example of that, and my love for this sort of movement is what makes me not care that much about speed for the sake of it, although I have to admit the absurd speeds you can reach in S3K when you play well enough is exhilarating, so I won't complain when that's done well, obviously.