Needing a break from the absolute shitshow that is 06 (review for that coming soon), I decided to take a detour into the realm of fangames for a bit. Noah N. Copeland and his team had just released a remake for Sonic Triple Trouble, a game which I had enjoyed considerably the last time I beat it. So, I downloaded the game, and began playing.
I was not prepared to be completely blown away.
Before I go on a tirade explaining why I love Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit so much, let’s dive into the very few negatives I noticed in my playthrough.
Technical Issues
Rings are buggy as hell. Sometimes I find myself phasing through them when I try recollecting them after taking a hit, which can be rather inconvenient, especially during boss fights. Sometimes they also phase through the level structure and end up sandwiched inside the terrain above me for some reason? And when you get hit while holding a large amount of rings, the frame rate plunges greatly for a brief moment afterwards. But these are mostly minor nitpicks. My biggest issue with the game lies with…
Atomic Destroyer Zone Act 2
Personally, the difficulty curve of Triple Trouble 16-bit is perfectly balanced. Each level gradually ramps up the challenge subtly, making progression through levels feel natural without being overwhelmed by a sudden difficulty spike. There is one outlier in this experience, however, and that’s Atomic Destroyer Act 2. The autoscrolling elevating platform, to be precise. You have to endure almost an entire minute of dodging Egg Robo lasers on a small platform, with a golden Egg Robo firing projectiles at you between intervals. One mistake can easily send you back to the beginning, forcing you to go through the mandatory 2 minute set-piece. It’s a nasty sucker punch for first time players, and by the time I finally overcame it, the ordeal had already left a foul taste in my mouth.
As for what’s good in this game? EVERYTHING. ELSE. Here why, in my opinion, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit surpasses the entire Classic quadrology as a whole.
Spectacle
In my review of the 8–bit version, I gave the biggest praise to the sheer spectacle the game displayed. So naturally, it would be expected for the remake to rev up the popcorn cinematics to 11, right?
Well, how about revving it up to over 9000? Because that’s exactly what Triple Trouble 16 Bit does, and that’s evident from the opening level of the game, which not only does a splendid job introducing players to the new mechanics the game introduces (more on that later), but also features well-animated cutscenes that allow for effortless transition between the stories of S3K and Triple Trouble. These cutscenes are prominently featured throughout the rest of the game, and do a splendid job depicting the revised story.
The further I got into the Triple Trouble 16–bit, the more times I counted myself being awestruck by the twists and reveals presented. For example, remember Sunset Park Act 3? Well now, it’s an entire goddamn full-scale level of its own, packed with non-stop set pieces that’ll leave you feeling euphoric by the end of it.
There are tons more moments like these lovingly implemented into the levels of Triple Trouble 16-bit, and we’ll go more in-depth with them in the level analysis.
Mechanics and Controls
Right off the bat, it’s evident that the physics and movement of the game feel natural and seamless, an accurate replication of Sonic’s handling in the Classic quadrology. The Insta-shield will be missed, but the Spin Dash, Super Peel-Out and Drop Dash all function smoothly, providing versatility in his kit as he traverses through the levels. There is one crucial difference, however: in the original Triple Trouble, Sonic had the Flying Spin Attack, which allowed him to curl up mid-air after bouncing off a Spring. This move has been reimplemented into the remake (obviously), and when paired up with the Drop Dash, Sonic is able to instantly boost forward as soon as he touches the ground without needing to manually charge a Spin Dash. It amazes me how a simple innovation can be improvised on to provide an extra movement option that complements the free-flowing, fast-paced gameplay of 2D Sonic. The elemental shields also make their return from S3K, as well as the Homing Attack Shield from 3D Blast, a nice touch. All these options combine together to provide Sonic with multiple options on how to beat the game. The speedrunners will have a field day.
That’s not all, though: there is no option to play as solo Sonic or solo Tails. That’s because Noah N. Copeland and co. took a leaf out of Sonic Classic Heroes’ book, allowing Sonic and Tails to fluidly swap between each other with the B button. Tails’ kit is similarly accurately implemented into the game, even boasting a flight cancel by pressing Down + A midair. The potent combination of Sonic and Tails is complemented by the level design (more on that later), fast traversal and fun exploration blending together as smooth as butter. Again, the speedrunners are going to fucking cream.
Finally, once you beat the game, you gain access to Knuckles, who controls about the same as he does in most 2D Sonic games; and Fang, who has a triple jump. I can already hear the quakes of the excited speedrunners trembling in their gaming chairs.
Level Design
Overall, the level design of Triple Trouble 16-bit is a tremendous improvement across the board. Like S3K, it strikes the perfect balance between the limitless speed of Sonic 2 and the limitless exploration of Sonic CD, while also feeling faster and more fun to explore than S3K itself. Part of the credit goes to the aforementioned new mechanics, Drop Dash off springs allows Sonic to continue pressing forward without skipping a beat, while the ability to swap to Tails makes exploration a lot easier, thus motivating the player to scavenge the stage for rewards like shields, extra lives and Giant Rings, which make their return from S3K as well.
Every level is layered with multiple different paths, routes and secrets that are handily accessible with enough experience and mastery of Sonic and Tails’ gameplay, with Great Turquoise and Meta Junglira being great examples in particular. The way I see it, every level in Triple Trouble 16–bit builds off the foundations laid down by Chemical Plant, Ice Cap and Launch Base. These levels are abnormally fast paced compared to the other levels in their respective games, sometimes assisted by boost pads, yet still contain plenty of alternate shortcuts or pathways that require a basic mastery of platforming skills to reach. Levels like Sunset Park and Robotnik Winter follow this formula, and are arguably the best levels in the game. Then there are anomalies like Tidal Plant, which is an evolution of Marble Garden’s philosophy of being an open-natured level that uses gimmicks to assist in progression.
Zone 0
Despite going unnamed, Zone 0 does a solid job at introducing players to the character swapping feature, while also setting up the plot of the game. It’s a short level, but it fulfills its purpose while establishing the cinematic scope of Triple Trouble 16-bit at the same time.
Great Turquoise
Act 1 is a stellar open area which is reminiscent of Green Hill, except more bustling and diverse in its layout. Like the original, it also serves as the introduction to the Flying Spin Attack, which will eventually lead into players discovering the Drop Dash follow-up. Despite its similarities to Green Hill in terms of gameplay, its distinct color palette and visual design is enough to distinguish Great Turquoise and stand out on its own.
Act 2, much like Mania’s Green Hill, sends Sonic and Tails tumbling into the deeper caverns of the level. However, it’s still different enough to stand out on its own: while Green Hill introduces zip-lines, Great Turquoise introduces geysers, and, in an interesting twist, the flowers from Meta Junglira, which does its job at keeping the momentum going while also being a flashy set-piece. Awaiting the player at the end of the level is a fake-out fight against the original’s Tart Turtle, which then leads into a much larger Tart Turtle battalion taking its place. The fight is still reasonably simple, and makes the player use the Flying Spin Attack and the geysers to their fullest advantage. Overall, it’s arguably a better opening level than all the Classic era opening levels, with the exception of Emerald Hill.
Sunset Park
Everyone’s favourite level from the original game, Sunset Park is restored and revised to match its former glory, with Act 1 being a familiar minecart ride down slopes, hooks and retractable platforms at blistering speeds. It even ends with a fight against Knuckles, which is a fun challenge. Act 2 is more of the same, except with more springs to boost you along the hallways and stairways at top pace, cranes that fling you from side to side and harrowing pits of lava that you have to watch your step on.
As you go further into the level, Sonic and Tails travel deep into the interior of Sunset Park, and it all culminates in the big release, every Sonic fan’s most favourite moment across all the 8-bit games: Sunset Park Act 3, AKA the one with the train and the kickass music. The soundtrack in this game is stellar, as you’d expect it to be, but this act’s music is a perfect home run. And so is the level! As mentioned earlier, the train is now its own level, much like Mirage Saloon Act 2. Beginning with the now-iconic Bombaberry attacks, Sonic and Tails then get on the train, weaving in and out while freeing the captive animals like the heroes they are. Their progress is interrupted by Fang, who then attempts to gun them down as the train goes through a tunnel. Then, Fang fucking triggers and explosion which forces Sonic and Tails to escape quickly and holy shit man this entire sequence is so jam-packed with action that words can’t describe how incredible the experience is. But all things come to an end, and you eventually take down the Marve-Shupopolous-Gou, halting the train and ending the level… but not before one last fakeout which can certainly catch you off-guard.
Meta Junglira
Much like Sunset Park, Meta Junglira feels just like it was in the original game, featuring camouflaged wooden spikes, speed boosters and barrels that propel you all around the level. With the flower gimmick being moved over to Great Turquoise, Meta Junglira now has leaves with a weaker spring and a stronger spring, as well as tree branches. Act 1 is much faster in terms of speed, with tons of loops allowing Sonic to accelerate to speeds matching those in Sunset Park. One rematch with Fang where you get to bury him later, however, and Meta Junglira flips the script by plunging you into ancient ruins, where you have to navigate the course carefully to avoid getting hit by the moving spiked pillars, while also being fast enough to outrun the arrow traps laid out carefully within the dungeon. As if that wasn’t fascinating enough of a twist, one caterpillar boss fight later and you’re not only required to dodge the falling pieces of burning robot debris; you also have to escape the ruins as the crumble below you and in a high-stakes chase, you slide across tar slides outrunning falling boulders. Talk about spectacle.
Now, up to this point every level has had a seamless transition between them, but how do you transition between a blooming jungle and a frosty mountainside? Well…
Egg Zeppelin
By adding an entirely new stage! Spectacle takes centerstage here: you start off by flying your way into Eggman’s flying fortress, smashing his turrets along the way. Then, after discovering Eggman’s schemes involving his stolen emerald, you’re immediately whisked into a Rocket Shoes set-pieces where you need to use the Flying Spin Attack to destroy the Badniks. Then you’re forced to cling onto the handles on the underside of the fortress with nothing but sky below you. And finally, you’re thrown into an escape sequence where you exit Eggman’s battleship after blowing up his engine. The moment the countdown began I immediately screamed ‘Metroid!’ and it certainly matched the atmosphere as I made my escape. It’s insane how one 4 minute level is able to pack this much action into it.
Robotnik Winter
10/10 level. It’s basically Ice Cap if it was a lot cooler. Literally. Even the fucking orb Badniks have sunglasses. And if that wasn’t cool enough there’s a literal front-facing section which calls back to SA1’s Ice Cap. It’s fast, it’s open, there’s a lot of awesome snowboarding and there’s even a secret entrance to Purple Palace, a callback to the original Triple Trouble special stages. Even the boss fight is really fun. By far the best level in Triple Trouble 16-bit, even outclassing Sunset Park. I’m dead serious.
Tidal Plant
Much like Hydrocity, it’s a water level done right. It’s got pipes tilting at such a steep angle downwards that the speeds you can attain in this level match those of Hydrocity, proven by your ability to effortlessly glide across the water. It isn’t barren like Tidal Tempest or painfully slow and linear like Labyrinth either, having multiple pathways and a gimmick that actually guarantees that you won’t drown underwater (the big bubbles from Aqua Lake, who would’ve known?). Act 2 tries a completely different approach by loading you into a submarine instead. While I would’ve much preferred tackling another full normal level before this submarine act, the gimmick is well implemented and doesn’t overstay its welcome. In the comfort of your missile launching machine you’re able to leisurely travel across the water, even taking out Knuckles in a pretty epic but one–sided submarine fight… wait, Metal Sonic? This wasn’t in the original game!
Yes, aside from the hinted Emerald clone side plot from Egg Zeppelin, Knuckles turns out to be impersonated by Metal Sonic, which is a great idea, in my opinion, since it makes Knuckles look less like an idiot, especially considering he and Sonic had departed on amicable terms after the events of S3K. One relatively easy boss fight later (with a pretty cool remix of Stardust Speedway) and the player is launched into the endgame.
Atomic Destroyer
Honestly, aside from the frustrating elevator segment at the end of Act 2, Atomic Destroyer is relatively tame and actually really fun, kinda like a faster Death Egg. Most notable would be that this level rarely ever forces the player to a halt, with mandatory waiting set pieces like the conveyor belt elevator and the Ring Shooters absent. Obviously, this being the final level of the game, the difficulty is increased substantially, but isn’t too overwhelming for new players. I actually enjoyed the 3 chambers that Act 2 throws at you, as well. The boss fights with Metal Sonic, and later Eggman’s flamethrower mech and moving chambers were all challenging but engaging, albeit brute forcing hits at the cost of rings makes these fights a bit more underwhelming than they should’ve been.
With Eggman defeated, Sonic and Tails free Knuckles, but that lingering sense of dissatisfaction remains in the player’s mind. Fret not: if the player has collected all 6 Emeralds from the various Giant Rings hidden away in previous levels, they’d gain access to the true final boss. Metal Sonic’s more prominent involvement in the story has been hinted at since Tidal Plant Act 2, and he uses the clone Emerald from Egg Zeppelin to knock out Sonic, taking his emeralds and cloning them too. But he’s halted while trying to administer the finishing blow, being held back by Knuckles and Fang as Sonic turns super.
Final Trouble
Ohhhhhhhhh shit this fight is so fucking fun. Sure, it’s miles easier compared to Doomsday Zone and the Death Egg Robo, but in my opinion, it’s easily the best final boss when compared to the entirety of the Classic era. The fight starts off simple enough, with a callback to the Metal Sonic fight from Mania, but with every upgraded phase the fight gets increasingly harder, but with Super Sonic’s omnidirectional boost and precise spacing the player can down all 4 phases of the fight and end the game.
Special Stages
I gave praise to Sonic CD for having challenging Special Stages that require mastery of the controls to beat. However, I also noted that the depth perception when hitting the UFOs was very unreliable. Triple Trouble 16-bit resolves that issue, for the most part. While incoming mines are hard to dodge because of the Tornado’s large sprite size, I’m able to visualise the upcoming obstacles, time my jumps and gauge my landing position effortlessly. I found tons of enjoyment in this new Special Stage format, which to me, feels like a great improvement over Sonic and the Fallen Star, which utilises a similar formula. Often I’d find the element of choice crucial to how I obtain the Chaos Emerald, needing to find the perfect balance in order to maintain a sufficient ring count while also keeping Fang at bay with lightning zaps. The idea works really well to the extent that I’d say these are better than even Blue Spheres. If I had to provide criticism, though, it would be the difficulty of the stages. After Special Stage 2, the stages afterwards demand absolute perfection and precision from the player that it sometimes feels suffocating. Thankfully, the programmers probably had this in mind and gave the players the ability to restart the stages at the cost of a life, which is a fair trade when you consider the abundance of rings and extra lives you can collect throughout the game.
All the Little Details and Extras
Tails freaking out from a thunderstrike. The Big Arm’s arm being the weapon that knocks Sonic out of his Super form. The fact that you can leave a fiery trail behind you in Robotnik Winter Zone. PURPLE PALACE ZONE. There’s probably a ton more that I missed but all these subtle touches really bring the entire experience together. The competition mode with a whole-ass story, which is really nice. One thing that would’ve been appreciated is a Sound Test, but I think the content provided by the game is sufficient otherwise. Triple Trouble is a 16-bit is a fantastic love letter to the original game, taking the core gameplay and improvising it for a new generation of players to enjoy. Easily surpasses even 3K in my opinion, making it one of the best Classic Sonic games period, fangame or not. Please give it a shot.
Final score: 9.5/10. Congratulations, Noah N. Copeland, you and your team created something magical.
I was not prepared to be completely blown away.
Before I go on a tirade explaining why I love Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit so much, let’s dive into the very few negatives I noticed in my playthrough.
Technical Issues
Rings are buggy as hell. Sometimes I find myself phasing through them when I try recollecting them after taking a hit, which can be rather inconvenient, especially during boss fights. Sometimes they also phase through the level structure and end up sandwiched inside the terrain above me for some reason? And when you get hit while holding a large amount of rings, the frame rate plunges greatly for a brief moment afterwards. But these are mostly minor nitpicks. My biggest issue with the game lies with…
Atomic Destroyer Zone Act 2
Personally, the difficulty curve of Triple Trouble 16-bit is perfectly balanced. Each level gradually ramps up the challenge subtly, making progression through levels feel natural without being overwhelmed by a sudden difficulty spike. There is one outlier in this experience, however, and that’s Atomic Destroyer Act 2. The autoscrolling elevating platform, to be precise. You have to endure almost an entire minute of dodging Egg Robo lasers on a small platform, with a golden Egg Robo firing projectiles at you between intervals. One mistake can easily send you back to the beginning, forcing you to go through the mandatory 2 minute set-piece. It’s a nasty sucker punch for first time players, and by the time I finally overcame it, the ordeal had already left a foul taste in my mouth.
As for what’s good in this game? EVERYTHING. ELSE. Here why, in my opinion, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit surpasses the entire Classic quadrology as a whole.
Spectacle
In my review of the 8–bit version, I gave the biggest praise to the sheer spectacle the game displayed. So naturally, it would be expected for the remake to rev up the popcorn cinematics to 11, right?
Well, how about revving it up to over 9000? Because that’s exactly what Triple Trouble 16 Bit does, and that’s evident from the opening level of the game, which not only does a splendid job introducing players to the new mechanics the game introduces (more on that later), but also features well-animated cutscenes that allow for effortless transition between the stories of S3K and Triple Trouble. These cutscenes are prominently featured throughout the rest of the game, and do a splendid job depicting the revised story.
The further I got into the Triple Trouble 16–bit, the more times I counted myself being awestruck by the twists and reveals presented. For example, remember Sunset Park Act 3? Well now, it’s an entire goddamn full-scale level of its own, packed with non-stop set pieces that’ll leave you feeling euphoric by the end of it.
There are tons more moments like these lovingly implemented into the levels of Triple Trouble 16-bit, and we’ll go more in-depth with them in the level analysis.
Mechanics and Controls
Right off the bat, it’s evident that the physics and movement of the game feel natural and seamless, an accurate replication of Sonic’s handling in the Classic quadrology. The Insta-shield will be missed, but the Spin Dash, Super Peel-Out and Drop Dash all function smoothly, providing versatility in his kit as he traverses through the levels. There is one crucial difference, however: in the original Triple Trouble, Sonic had the Flying Spin Attack, which allowed him to curl up mid-air after bouncing off a Spring. This move has been reimplemented into the remake (obviously), and when paired up with the Drop Dash, Sonic is able to instantly boost forward as soon as he touches the ground without needing to manually charge a Spin Dash. It amazes me how a simple innovation can be improvised on to provide an extra movement option that complements the free-flowing, fast-paced gameplay of 2D Sonic. The elemental shields also make their return from S3K, as well as the Homing Attack Shield from 3D Blast, a nice touch. All these options combine together to provide Sonic with multiple options on how to beat the game. The speedrunners will have a field day.
That’s not all, though: there is no option to play as solo Sonic or solo Tails. That’s because Noah N. Copeland and co. took a leaf out of Sonic Classic Heroes’ book, allowing Sonic and Tails to fluidly swap between each other with the B button. Tails’ kit is similarly accurately implemented into the game, even boasting a flight cancel by pressing Down + A midair. The potent combination of Sonic and Tails is complemented by the level design (more on that later), fast traversal and fun exploration blending together as smooth as butter. Again, the speedrunners are going to fucking cream.
Finally, once you beat the game, you gain access to Knuckles, who controls about the same as he does in most 2D Sonic games; and Fang, who has a triple jump. I can already hear the quakes of the excited speedrunners trembling in their gaming chairs.
Level Design
Overall, the level design of Triple Trouble 16-bit is a tremendous improvement across the board. Like S3K, it strikes the perfect balance between the limitless speed of Sonic 2 and the limitless exploration of Sonic CD, while also feeling faster and more fun to explore than S3K itself. Part of the credit goes to the aforementioned new mechanics, Drop Dash off springs allows Sonic to continue pressing forward without skipping a beat, while the ability to swap to Tails makes exploration a lot easier, thus motivating the player to scavenge the stage for rewards like shields, extra lives and Giant Rings, which make their return from S3K as well.
Every level is layered with multiple different paths, routes and secrets that are handily accessible with enough experience and mastery of Sonic and Tails’ gameplay, with Great Turquoise and Meta Junglira being great examples in particular. The way I see it, every level in Triple Trouble 16–bit builds off the foundations laid down by Chemical Plant, Ice Cap and Launch Base. These levels are abnormally fast paced compared to the other levels in their respective games, sometimes assisted by boost pads, yet still contain plenty of alternate shortcuts or pathways that require a basic mastery of platforming skills to reach. Levels like Sunset Park and Robotnik Winter follow this formula, and are arguably the best levels in the game. Then there are anomalies like Tidal Plant, which is an evolution of Marble Garden’s philosophy of being an open-natured level that uses gimmicks to assist in progression.
Zone 0
Despite going unnamed, Zone 0 does a solid job at introducing players to the character swapping feature, while also setting up the plot of the game. It’s a short level, but it fulfills its purpose while establishing the cinematic scope of Triple Trouble 16-bit at the same time.
Great Turquoise
Act 1 is a stellar open area which is reminiscent of Green Hill, except more bustling and diverse in its layout. Like the original, it also serves as the introduction to the Flying Spin Attack, which will eventually lead into players discovering the Drop Dash follow-up. Despite its similarities to Green Hill in terms of gameplay, its distinct color palette and visual design is enough to distinguish Great Turquoise and stand out on its own.
Act 2, much like Mania’s Green Hill, sends Sonic and Tails tumbling into the deeper caverns of the level. However, it’s still different enough to stand out on its own: while Green Hill introduces zip-lines, Great Turquoise introduces geysers, and, in an interesting twist, the flowers from Meta Junglira, which does its job at keeping the momentum going while also being a flashy set-piece. Awaiting the player at the end of the level is a fake-out fight against the original’s Tart Turtle, which then leads into a much larger Tart Turtle battalion taking its place. The fight is still reasonably simple, and makes the player use the Flying Spin Attack and the geysers to their fullest advantage. Overall, it’s arguably a better opening level than all the Classic era opening levels, with the exception of Emerald Hill.
Sunset Park
Everyone’s favourite level from the original game, Sunset Park is restored and revised to match its former glory, with Act 1 being a familiar minecart ride down slopes, hooks and retractable platforms at blistering speeds. It even ends with a fight against Knuckles, which is a fun challenge. Act 2 is more of the same, except with more springs to boost you along the hallways and stairways at top pace, cranes that fling you from side to side and harrowing pits of lava that you have to watch your step on.
As you go further into the level, Sonic and Tails travel deep into the interior of Sunset Park, and it all culminates in the big release, every Sonic fan’s most favourite moment across all the 8-bit games: Sunset Park Act 3, AKA the one with the train and the kickass music. The soundtrack in this game is stellar, as you’d expect it to be, but this act’s music is a perfect home run. And so is the level! As mentioned earlier, the train is now its own level, much like Mirage Saloon Act 2. Beginning with the now-iconic Bombaberry attacks, Sonic and Tails then get on the train, weaving in and out while freeing the captive animals like the heroes they are. Their progress is interrupted by Fang, who then attempts to gun them down as the train goes through a tunnel. Then, Fang fucking triggers and explosion which forces Sonic and Tails to escape quickly and holy shit man this entire sequence is so jam-packed with action that words can’t describe how incredible the experience is. But all things come to an end, and you eventually take down the Marve-Shupopolous-Gou, halting the train and ending the level… but not before one last fakeout which can certainly catch you off-guard.
Meta Junglira
Much like Sunset Park, Meta Junglira feels just like it was in the original game, featuring camouflaged wooden spikes, speed boosters and barrels that propel you all around the level. With the flower gimmick being moved over to Great Turquoise, Meta Junglira now has leaves with a weaker spring and a stronger spring, as well as tree branches. Act 1 is much faster in terms of speed, with tons of loops allowing Sonic to accelerate to speeds matching those in Sunset Park. One rematch with Fang where you get to bury him later, however, and Meta Junglira flips the script by plunging you into ancient ruins, where you have to navigate the course carefully to avoid getting hit by the moving spiked pillars, while also being fast enough to outrun the arrow traps laid out carefully within the dungeon. As if that wasn’t fascinating enough of a twist, one caterpillar boss fight later and you’re not only required to dodge the falling pieces of burning robot debris; you also have to escape the ruins as the crumble below you and in a high-stakes chase, you slide across tar slides outrunning falling boulders. Talk about spectacle.
Now, up to this point every level has had a seamless transition between them, but how do you transition between a blooming jungle and a frosty mountainside? Well…
Egg Zeppelin
By adding an entirely new stage! Spectacle takes centerstage here: you start off by flying your way into Eggman’s flying fortress, smashing his turrets along the way. Then, after discovering Eggman’s schemes involving his stolen emerald, you’re immediately whisked into a Rocket Shoes set-pieces where you need to use the Flying Spin Attack to destroy the Badniks. Then you’re forced to cling onto the handles on the underside of the fortress with nothing but sky below you. And finally, you’re thrown into an escape sequence where you exit Eggman’s battleship after blowing up his engine. The moment the countdown began I immediately screamed ‘Metroid!’ and it certainly matched the atmosphere as I made my escape. It’s insane how one 4 minute level is able to pack this much action into it.
Robotnik Winter
10/10 level. It’s basically Ice Cap if it was a lot cooler. Literally. Even the fucking orb Badniks have sunglasses. And if that wasn’t cool enough there’s a literal front-facing section which calls back to SA1’s Ice Cap. It’s fast, it’s open, there’s a lot of awesome snowboarding and there’s even a secret entrance to Purple Palace, a callback to the original Triple Trouble special stages. Even the boss fight is really fun. By far the best level in Triple Trouble 16-bit, even outclassing Sunset Park. I’m dead serious.
Tidal Plant
Much like Hydrocity, it’s a water level done right. It’s got pipes tilting at such a steep angle downwards that the speeds you can attain in this level match those of Hydrocity, proven by your ability to effortlessly glide across the water. It isn’t barren like Tidal Tempest or painfully slow and linear like Labyrinth either, having multiple pathways and a gimmick that actually guarantees that you won’t drown underwater (the big bubbles from Aqua Lake, who would’ve known?). Act 2 tries a completely different approach by loading you into a submarine instead. While I would’ve much preferred tackling another full normal level before this submarine act, the gimmick is well implemented and doesn’t overstay its welcome. In the comfort of your missile launching machine you’re able to leisurely travel across the water, even taking out Knuckles in a pretty epic but one–sided submarine fight… wait, Metal Sonic? This wasn’t in the original game!
Yes, aside from the hinted Emerald clone side plot from Egg Zeppelin, Knuckles turns out to be impersonated by Metal Sonic, which is a great idea, in my opinion, since it makes Knuckles look less like an idiot, especially considering he and Sonic had departed on amicable terms after the events of S3K. One relatively easy boss fight later (with a pretty cool remix of Stardust Speedway) and the player is launched into the endgame.
Atomic Destroyer
Honestly, aside from the frustrating elevator segment at the end of Act 2, Atomic Destroyer is relatively tame and actually really fun, kinda like a faster Death Egg. Most notable would be that this level rarely ever forces the player to a halt, with mandatory waiting set pieces like the conveyor belt elevator and the Ring Shooters absent. Obviously, this being the final level of the game, the difficulty is increased substantially, but isn’t too overwhelming for new players. I actually enjoyed the 3 chambers that Act 2 throws at you, as well. The boss fights with Metal Sonic, and later Eggman’s flamethrower mech and moving chambers were all challenging but engaging, albeit brute forcing hits at the cost of rings makes these fights a bit more underwhelming than they should’ve been.
With Eggman defeated, Sonic and Tails free Knuckles, but that lingering sense of dissatisfaction remains in the player’s mind. Fret not: if the player has collected all 6 Emeralds from the various Giant Rings hidden away in previous levels, they’d gain access to the true final boss. Metal Sonic’s more prominent involvement in the story has been hinted at since Tidal Plant Act 2, and he uses the clone Emerald from Egg Zeppelin to knock out Sonic, taking his emeralds and cloning them too. But he’s halted while trying to administer the finishing blow, being held back by Knuckles and Fang as Sonic turns super.
Final Trouble
Ohhhhhhhhh shit this fight is so fucking fun. Sure, it’s miles easier compared to Doomsday Zone and the Death Egg Robo, but in my opinion, it’s easily the best final boss when compared to the entirety of the Classic era. The fight starts off simple enough, with a callback to the Metal Sonic fight from Mania, but with every upgraded phase the fight gets increasingly harder, but with Super Sonic’s omnidirectional boost and precise spacing the player can down all 4 phases of the fight and end the game.
Special Stages
I gave praise to Sonic CD for having challenging Special Stages that require mastery of the controls to beat. However, I also noted that the depth perception when hitting the UFOs was very unreliable. Triple Trouble 16-bit resolves that issue, for the most part. While incoming mines are hard to dodge because of the Tornado’s large sprite size, I’m able to visualise the upcoming obstacles, time my jumps and gauge my landing position effortlessly. I found tons of enjoyment in this new Special Stage format, which to me, feels like a great improvement over Sonic and the Fallen Star, which utilises a similar formula. Often I’d find the element of choice crucial to how I obtain the Chaos Emerald, needing to find the perfect balance in order to maintain a sufficient ring count while also keeping Fang at bay with lightning zaps. The idea works really well to the extent that I’d say these are better than even Blue Spheres. If I had to provide criticism, though, it would be the difficulty of the stages. After Special Stage 2, the stages afterwards demand absolute perfection and precision from the player that it sometimes feels suffocating. Thankfully, the programmers probably had this in mind and gave the players the ability to restart the stages at the cost of a life, which is a fair trade when you consider the abundance of rings and extra lives you can collect throughout the game.
All the Little Details and Extras
Tails freaking out from a thunderstrike. The Big Arm’s arm being the weapon that knocks Sonic out of his Super form. The fact that you can leave a fiery trail behind you in Robotnik Winter Zone. PURPLE PALACE ZONE. There’s probably a ton more that I missed but all these subtle touches really bring the entire experience together. The competition mode with a whole-ass story, which is really nice. One thing that would’ve been appreciated is a Sound Test, but I think the content provided by the game is sufficient otherwise. Triple Trouble is a 16-bit is a fantastic love letter to the original game, taking the core gameplay and improvising it for a new generation of players to enjoy. Easily surpasses even 3K in my opinion, making it one of the best Classic Sonic games period, fangame or not. Please give it a shot.
Final score: 9.5/10. Congratulations, Noah N. Copeland, you and your team created something magical.