Why is Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) your favourite sonic game?

[RemyC]

I love that it's actually possible to get ALL of the the chaos gems and go Super Sonic before even facing the first boss

That actually bothers me. I dont like the fact that you can remove all the challenge from the game within the first level. The the game just becomes a breeze. It's already easy enough with all the shields everywhere.
In sonic 1, and 2, achieving super sonic required skill. You needed to be able to collect enough rings, and finish the level/get to a checkpoint.

I really like the bonus stages in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles

Im going to need you to explain this, and why you don't like the bonus stages in Sonic 2.
My reason for liking the bonus stages in, sonic 2, is that its practically the same type of gameplay found in the main stages: Collect the rings, avoid the obstacles. You can only move from side to side and jump.
In Sonic 3 & Knuckles you're placed in some weird 3 dimensional world, and have to collect blue balls...It just doesn't fit. It's like they had another idea for a game, and just tacked it on...certainly enjoyable though. Just doesn't fit right.

[MrPopo]

I love that it's actually possible to get ALL of the the chaos gems and go Super Sonic before even facing the first boss

That actually bothers me. I dont like the fact that you can remove all the challenge from the game within the first level. The the game just becomes a breeze. It's already easy enough with all the shields everywhere.
In sonic 1, and 2, achieving super sonic required skill. You needed to be able to collect enough rings, and finish the level/get to a checkpoint.

As I recall, Sonic 1 didn't have Super Sonic at all, so the Chaos Emeralds were just a test of skill. And I seem to remember the existance of a guide or two that showed how to get Super Sonic before getting to the first boss of Sonic 2. It's definately harder to pull off than for S3&K, but it's doable.

[ZeroAX]

super sonic sucks anyway. i collect the emeralds just to get the doomsday zone, and then never collect more than 50 rings

[Pullmyfinger]

As I recall, Sonic 1 didn't have Super Sonic at all, so the Chaos Emeralds were just a test of skill. And I seem to remember the existance of a guide or two that showed how to get Super Sonic before getting to the first boss of Sonic 2. It's definately harder to pull off than for S3&K, but it's doable.

If I remember right, you had to reset the game after getting an emerald and it would be there when you started again

[gregnash]

anyone think we'll ever see some hack-up mash-up of Sonic CD and Knuckles?

oooooooohhhhhh

[Tempest]

Sonic 3 & Knuckles ups the ante of all previous Sonic games. The grand nature of the game, with adventure elements makes it all the more interesting to play. The levels are fun to explore or to speed through. The sheer number of speed runs and hidden items to find is mind-boggling. There's a nice balance of these two types of play, and it's up to the player how they want to traverse the large worlds. The 3D special stages are fun and enjoyable, if a little difficult to get used to at first. The bonus stages are a nice addition, as is the addition of bosses at the end of each act (even if some are way too easy to defeat).The music is pure awesomeness, and the new graphical style adds a touch of realism to the game. The only thing that I think the game needs is to save the scores, which would have given it a little more longevity. I guess it's not as arcadey as the previous games, but that's not a big deal.

I don't see the appeal of Sonic 2 over S3K. Apart from a few of the later levels in the game which bog the game down (Metropolis, Oil Ocean) it's simply a speedfest - a 'get from point A to point B in the fastest time possible' type affair. Not that it's a bad game, but I find it the least replayable in the series because of the aforementioned speedfest gameplay. There's that many bugs in this game, and most of the bosses are jokes (because they can be beaten in under 10 seconds!). Chemical Plant rocks!

[RemyC]

The only thing that I think the game needs is to save the scores, which would have given it a little more longevity. I guess it's not as arcadey as the previous games, but that's not a big deal.

I believe it is a big deal that it is less of an arcade style game. The first sonic game was well tuned. In order to achieve a high score you needed to be able to speed through the levels, that were oriented toward careful platforming, and have a large amount of rings. Being able to save high scores in the first Sonic game on the genesis would have made it far greater.

I don't see the appeal of Sonic 2 over S3K. Apart from a few of the later levels in the game which bog the game down (Metropolis, Oil Ocean) it's simply a speedfest - a 'get from point A to point B in the fastest time possible' type affair.

How is Sonic 2 less of a speed fest than sonic 3? If you wanted to access special stages in Sonic 2, you needed to have enough rings...to have enough rings you needed to be careful. Oil Ocean is a GREAT level. It switches up the pace on you. You want to speed through it, but you simply can't. They were clever about it too, making it one of the final stages.
Sonic 3 is the biggest speed fest of the series. They're throwing shields at you left right and center and the rings are virtually useless now...if thats not telling you to be wreckless...I dont know what is.

[mista057]

I love Sonic & Knuckles for one big reason "Lock on technology" it was really cool I could go back in older games and play an new way plus play a new game. Nuff said! I still love the Jap import of Sonic CD the best good level design and not crappy music.

[BogusMeatFactory]

There is a reason why I enjoyed Sonic 3 & Sonic and Knuckles is not because of Knuckles or the chaos emeralds, instead it wasit's ability to tell a story. The game had a storyline and you could understand what was going on without there being any words exchanged. In most games, especially with the sonic series, you had either the manual tell you what was "happening" (which most of the time was nothing but stop robotnik), or it had crappy voice acting with "hip" buzzwords. This one succeeded very well with creating distress and the desire to push forward. There was a varying set of locales and transitions between them, interactions with Knuckles, seeing his reaction when being double crossed, these sorts of things enhanced the whole experience as a game. Sure the level design was not the best, but the game was still an incredibly fun sonic game that was made even better by the storytelling.

[johnnydoyle123]

i love it because it has knuckles

he,s the best


regards john