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

[RemyC]

I've always felt that #3 and Knuckles did nothing about the "unavoidable" traps. They just threw out a band-aid, with the dozens of shields scattered throughout every level...making it wimp easy.

Atleast you don't feel nearly as cheated as when a damn arrow comes out of nowhere at the height of your jump, or a bug attacks at the end of the tunnel, or random spikes errupt form the ground when you run by, not timed mind you, on a cycle that it's been going on since the level started, leaving the chance you get hit purely to luck.

I don't believe that I have ever been hit by an arrow that has come out of nowhere.
I always roll into a ball as soon as I pick up speed in a sonic game, that way I can't get hurt by anything unless they have spikes on their sides. Most "random" spikes pop out so frequently that you can see them...unless you are running around like a madman...in which case you are inevitably going to get hit.
Having a plethora of shields (Especially the coin magnet) is totally unnecessary. Sonic can only be hurt when he's standing upright. So, if you are rolling or jumping, your only real concern is getting hit by spikes or by bullets...why is there a need for so much protection? Especially when you consider that the enemies give you 3 seconds before they even attack.
The first is my favourite. It has the best design; careful platforming, and open stretches of land. Once you know the levels you can blaze through them with all the speed that has been made so synonymous with sonic.

[pkdavid]

I don't believe that I have ever been hit by an arrow that has come out of nowhere.

Have you ever played Metropolis Zone in Sonic 2? Winding up those nuts and bolts with all the unseen star-things exploding above you completely out of sight!

[RemyC]

I don't believe that I have ever been hit by an arrow that has come out of nowhere.

Have you ever played Metropolis Zone in Sonic 2? Winding up those nuts and bolts with all the unseen star-things exploding above you completely out of sight!

You can totally see those, and have plenty of time to position yourself in a way that they wont touch you.

[MyNESstayFR3SH]

IMO not only is S3&K the best sonic game ever, to me, it's also the best genesis/mega drive game ever. Like everyone said it's epic but not only that... the levels are dope not only in structure but the art of it for example something I always loved was how the death egg can be seen WAAY in the background of lava reef zone and little by little you close into it and get a sense of the sheer mass of it or seeing it take off and jumping onto it in sky sanctuary zone.

The music of all themes to me are hot and I love how Act 2 of every stage is almost like a remix of Act 1.

That and the in game cut scenes, you just don't appear at a carnival after just being in a Forrest like in S1 and S2, you know how you got there and you get a sense of progression.

With all these reasons and what's everyone been saying how can you not how this game rulez.

[LoneCynic]

I really like all of the MegaDrive/Genesis Sonic games. I was the best at the third one and enjoy replaying it the most. Got Sonic 3 for Christmas of 1994, and bought Sonic & Knuckles with some of my Christmas money I got that year about a month later, so the two always went hand in hand as a single complete experience for me back then.

Many of the listed reasons thus far, artwork, slightly different music for Act 1 and Act 2 of each Zone, progression from level to level, story telling, were all things that were part of my love for the game. The thing I want to touch on is the differences in the playable characters. That was one of the things that made the game so much fun.

Having the differences between Sonic and Knuckles and alternate routes was an awesome concept. It gave the game more replay value, and a different way to play. To a lesser extent, Tails was a unique, yet less fun alternative as well.

Sonic had the bonus shield moves, Flame Dash, Double Jump, and Bubble Bounce, dependant upon the shield being used. He also jumped higher than Knuckles, and had the split shield move all the time. If used properly, you could eliminate even the toughest enemies without fear of losing rings. That move was very cool, just required a lot of practice to get really good and instinctive use out of it. As Super Sonic, he could jump even higher and move faster, and Super Sonic 2 enabled a double flash jump that could get you almost anywhere. If you too a quick dash up ramps and such you could get some amazing flight time with him as well.

On top of all that, if you had Tails tag along, you could have him airlift Sonic to alternate routes with a second controller. I always found Tails to be more useful in this capacity, as an addition to Sonic's playthrough and moveset, than as a stand alone character. His flying/swimming was fun for a while, but a playthrough with him alone usually wore thin pretty quick due to him being slower, and having very few defensive moves. Any hit with him alone was always a risk for shield/ring loss because he had no Split shield or move that guarenteed a hit. Super Tails seemed like an afterthough, and was essentially just an extended invincibility mode for him without any special moves unique to it, so I rarely opted for a solo Tails mission.

Knuckles, on the other hand, was akin to a unique playthrough very different than Sonic's, and it had a harder difficulty as well. His Gliding/Climbing abilities were interesting and fun, and you could initiate the Glide move as a quick punch as well against bosses to guarentee safer hits. Super Knuckles was admittedly just an extended invincibility mode, but Super Knuckles 2 moved faster, glided faster, and flying into walls while in that form would shake the earth and kill nearby enemies.

Those are the things that made S3K the best Sonic game. As much as I love the other titles in the series, having play style differences between Sonic and Knuckles is one major aspect that made that one so great.