Replayed this through Sonic Origins and it's so obvious how much this game benefits from actually having options of speed of your own, like Marble Zone is actually half decent when you're able to test your platforming abilities and try to outdo parts of the level with the help of the Spin Dash and Drop Dash. It baffles me how little the original game does for creating - *ahem* warning for cursed word - momentum when that is the main appeal of the gameplay, and playing it with the new added speed abilities make it very clear how this game feels more like pure groundwork for the rest of the series, rather than a really unique or great platformer that stands out from the rest. In concept, this game only stands out on paper and on very few specific moments in the game (everybody and their mother has already said how Green Hill is the only level that does this game any service and the one that singlehandedly makes this game rise up from being just a simply mediocre platformer). Sonic doesn't have to be fast all the time, of course I appreciate when things slow down a bit, but the levels in this game in particular always feel like at every opportunity where you feel like you're finally gonna go fast and be rewarded for it, the game stops you with either an idea for a speed-focused set piece that feels half-baked and ends up in an unsatisfying note, or just some plain odd design decision - and it also doesn't help that half of the levels are cramped and don't leave any sort of room for the mechanics themselves to breathe and give the game a bit more life.

It's still a decent game that is carried pretty hard by the sheer charm that it carries on its sleeves through its looks and iconic music and sound design - which were impressive for the time and are still great nowadays - and I enjoyed replaying it in this upgraded version. And like... it's the first game, I have to cut it some slack because most franchises do tend to struggle to find their identity until a few entries in. But after playing it this time, I do definitively think this game isn't actually all that great and feels more like an iconic relic of the past rather than something everybody should play nowadays. I can respect it, but it's not a Sonic game I always look forward to revisiting and it's definitely not a Sonic game I would recommend to newcomers, even if it is the one that got me into the series in the first place.

Top 3 Funiculi Funicula gamer moments:

1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czTksCF6X8Y&t=22s
2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBdeMpmSx84
3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYworLucNrY