So I beat Sonic CD

[BurningDoom]

I'm with GamerForLife. I like Sonic CD, don't get me wrong. It is a great Sonic game. But I feel the classic Genesis games were all better and had better level designs.

The Past, Present, Future mechanic felt like it made the game more complicated than it really needed to be. And I do like the levels better in the Genesis games. They were more interesting to explore.

[Reprise]

I'm with GamerForLife. I like Sonic CD, don't get me wrong. It is a great Sonic game. But I feel the classic Genesis games were all better and had better level designs.

The Past, Present, Future mechanic felt like it made the game more complicated than it really needed to be. And I do like the levels better in the Genesis games. They were more interesting to explore.

I also agree.

Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 2 are all vastly superior imo.

[dsheinem]

My .02 for the newer folks...

For a very long time every mainline Sonic game ever made got marginally worse than its predecessor. All the 16-bit era games are good, but I'd still say Sonic>Sonic 2>Sonic CD>Sonic 3>S&K>...and so on from year to year until Generations, which was actually better than a previous Sonic game.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 89#p103789 (the whole thread is worth a read).

[samsonlonghair]

Let's take a look at all the 16-bit Sonics in chronological order.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega Genesis
JP 26 July 1991
NA 23 June 1991
EU 23 June 1991

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Sega Genesis
JP 21 November 1992
NA 24 November 1992
EU 24 November 1992

Sonic CD - Sega CD
JP 23 September 1993
NA 19 November 1993
EU October 1993

Sonic Spinball - Sega Genesis
JP 10 December 1993
NA 23 November 1993
EU 15 November 1993

Sonic 3 - Genesis
JP 27 May 1994
NA 2 February 1994
EU 24 February 1994

Sonic & Knuckles - Sega Genesis
JP 18 October 1994
NA 18 October 1994
EU November 1994

Knuckles Chaotix - Sega 32X
JP 21 April 1995
NA March 1995
EU May 1995

Sonic 3D Blast - Sega Genesis
NA 30 November 1996
EU 5 November 1996
___________________________

Not Counting Knuckles Lock-on games, that makes eight 16-bit sonic games. Of these eight games, Sonic CD ranks somewhere near the middle. I prefer the "main series" Sonic 1-3&K, but I definitely like Sonic CD more than Spinball, Chaotix, or 3D Blast.

[BoringSupreez]

I've got it for the PC, on the Sonic Gems Collection, and now on my tablet, which has the ability to play as Sonic or Tails, and use the American or Japanese soundtrack.

Exed knows that I know that he knows his stuff. That in mind, the Sega CD version is THE best version of the game.

I thought I knew that you knew your stuff, but I guess I was wrong. BoneSnapDeez is right on, Win95 version is the best if you have a native Win95/98 machine.

Here's how I say the different versions stack up: SCD is nice because it the original version, and having the Genesis gamepad is great. However, it has longer load times and more slowdown than any other version, particularly when you lose your rings.
The Win95 version has no slowdown assuming the machine has decent specs, and nearly instantaneous loads, plus the ability to swap soundtracks 16 years before the Steam version. And believe it or not, keyboards are actually really good controllers for 16-bit sidescrollers.
The Gamecube version is just an emulation of the SCD version, with less (but still present) slowdown and decreased load times.
The Steam version would be the best with it's built-in ability to swap soundtracks or change graphical styles, but the menu design and lack of decent keyboard support (play with a 360 controller or tear your hair out, you can't bind the keys yourself) knocks it down a few points.