Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a game I have spent hundreds of hours on, and each passing playthrough makes it more and more clear that this is a game that does not age like fine wine.
You'll find that a lot of criticism focuses on level design. Indeed, most of the game is actually brilliantly crafted; its world is evocative, its characters are fun, and its story is... Satisfyingly competent. It is no secret, however, that the latter half of the game is a nosedive in level quality. That is, the & Knuckles portion of the game. This comment is true, but is unoriginal and I don't care for expressing it.
No, my personal gripe is with completion. Whoever thought it would be fun to comb through every stage in the least fun manner possible was, frankly, mentally unsound. It's been years, and the process never gets more fun. I've collected more blue spheres in those damn special stages than there are copies of Sonic 3 in the world; and to reiterate: it only gets less fun every time. It may be optional, but this is how the game is designed, and this is how the game urges you to play it. It isn't fun.
What's the reward for beating the special stages? Well, in Sonic 2 it was Super Sonic. I dislike Super Sonic on concept, because the entire process breaks the game in half. You spend the first broken half slogging through stages in constant fear, and you spend the second half blazing through everything in the most boring manner humanly conceivable. Sonic 3 & Knuckles brings this back with a vengeance. Not only is the prcoess to get the emeralds harder, but there's double the amount, and most of the game STILL ends up being spent either bored and anxious or breaking the game. Only this time, it's a requirement to unlock the final stage. Great.
A modern playthrough of Sonic 3 & Knuckles is slow and boring, until it isn't, then it's fast and boring.
If you don't want to bother actually experiencing all of the content this game has to offer, then you will be rewarded for it greatly.
You'll find that a lot of criticism focuses on level design. Indeed, most of the game is actually brilliantly crafted; its world is evocative, its characters are fun, and its story is... Satisfyingly competent. It is no secret, however, that the latter half of the game is a nosedive in level quality. That is, the & Knuckles portion of the game. This comment is true, but is unoriginal and I don't care for expressing it.
No, my personal gripe is with completion. Whoever thought it would be fun to comb through every stage in the least fun manner possible was, frankly, mentally unsound. It's been years, and the process never gets more fun. I've collected more blue spheres in those damn special stages than there are copies of Sonic 3 in the world; and to reiterate: it only gets less fun every time. It may be optional, but this is how the game is designed, and this is how the game urges you to play it. It isn't fun.
What's the reward for beating the special stages? Well, in Sonic 2 it was Super Sonic. I dislike Super Sonic on concept, because the entire process breaks the game in half. You spend the first broken half slogging through stages in constant fear, and you spend the second half blazing through everything in the most boring manner humanly conceivable. Sonic 3 & Knuckles brings this back with a vengeance. Not only is the prcoess to get the emeralds harder, but there's double the amount, and most of the game STILL ends up being spent either bored and anxious or breaking the game. Only this time, it's a requirement to unlock the final stage. Great.
A modern playthrough of Sonic 3 & Knuckles is slow and boring, until it isn't, then it's fast and boring.
If you don't want to bother actually experiencing all of the content this game has to offer, then you will be rewarded for it greatly.