S3&K or SCD?

[Legendary Emerald]

Even though its just your opinion and I respect that, I TOTALLY DISAGREE with you. Sonic 1 to me was the blehest one of the original 4 (5 counting S&K as a separate game). Yes without the 1st we wouldn't have sonic now but...He wasnt fast in the 1st game. He was moving at the speed of...any other normal platformer. Hell mario at times moved alot faster. And the special stages, which were cool, were to me very complicated. If i had to rank sonic 1 with the other 3-5 games, the order would be:

1. Sonic 3 & knux

2. tie between Sonic 3 w/o knux and Sonic 2 (with or W/O knuckles)

3. Sonic CD

4. Sonic the hedgehog

5. Sonic and Knuckles

Thank you for respecting my opinion, and I respect yours. Just the same, I TOTALLY DISAGREE with you as well. Sonic 1 was to me, the most original of the three. Of course, that's easy to do when it's the first game released. The title just seems to have the perfect difficulty and length, and besides the games where you can save (S3&K, SPA) it is the only 2D Sonic title that I have collected all of the Chaos Emeralds in.

Sonic 2 is a good game, but it was a big dissapointment in my eyes. The extra burst of speed, while a good idea in theory, forced the levels to be too linear and dull for my liking. The game just seems to drag on forever, too, because most zones feel exactly the same as each other. Plus, the difficulty hike that takes place during and after Metropolis zone makes the title less fun to play in a number of ways (luckily, you can get copious amounts of continues in the early levels. Not that I ever end up having to use more than one). Even the music is more annoying than catchy. Sonic & Knuckles, while an ungodly difficult game on it's own, at least had interesting level design.

I would list the old Sonic platforming titles, from best to not-so-best (none of them are actually bad games), as such:

1. Sonic 1

2. Tie between Sonic 3 & Knuckles & Sonic CD

3. Sonic 3

4. Knuckles Chaotix

5. Sonic & Knuckles

6. Sonic Pocket Adventure (yes, I like the REMAKE more than the original)

7. Sonic 2

[DaBatGuy]

Sonic CD feels like Sonic 1 DX with virtually the same level archetypes and order. It's a great and quirky Sonic game that tries some really innovative ideas but executes them somewhat poorly. I'd really enjoy the added emphasis on exploration if Sonic had the abilities to take advantage of it. Trying to get a good future in most stages requires finding a past sign, searching for a long open runway(but you can't travel too fast or you risk losing it ), and finding the badnik generator. Unfortunately by the time you got to this point you've probably wasted 2 or more minutes and are too far long on the wrong path to back track to the generator. In most of my attempts to find the thing I'd be greeted by a locked door or an un-scalable wall.

I also found the collision detection in the special stages to be really wonky but that's more to blame on hardware limitations. But really those are my only complaints with the game, it's different and when it works it's brilliant, when it doesn't it's frustrating. A little over-hyped due to its rarity but still one of the best 2D Sonic experiences ever.

S3&K however is my favorite of the Genesis game because the unfleshed out ideas from Sonic and makes it a truly epic experience. I love Sonic 2, it was my first Sonic game and the one I've played the most but I feel the best levels are wasted at the beginning(EHZ, CPZ, ARZ) and the final "climatic" levels(MZ, SCZ, WFZ) drag on unnecessarily. Carnival Night Zone has loads of unique gimmicks and enemies unlike the barren Casino Night Zone, Sandopolis has the spooky, claustrophobic atmosphere that Mystic Cave was lacking. It also has smaller details like the level transitions, secret paths for each character, and the plot foreshadowing within the level itself that make the game so immersive.

[Gabz Girl]

S3&K, hands down. Sorry, but Sonic CD was just not what I thought it would be when I first played it. Some of the stages are great yes, but the stage layout is so confusing and the special stages SUCK. It was also hard for me to pick up speed to travel in time because there was always an obstacle blocking my way. You can never find a real place to go full speed in Sonic CD, unlike Sonic 3.

Special stages in Sonic 3...I agree, they were quite annoying. But Sonic CD's special stages were terrible and controlled worse than the Sonic 3 ones!

[Indigo Rush]

I prefer Sonic 3&K in terms of gameplay mechanics. The spindash is superior because of the revving functionality, Sonic has an insta-shield, and there are multiple characters as well as a multiplayer mode. It makes great use of the Genesis/MegaDrive hardware.

Sonic CD has an advantage with visuals and sound, because of the hardware power it's used on. The time-travel feature is truly interesting, however the level design is confusing at times, at least for me. It's really difficult to get a perfect Good Future and collect all the Time Stones, but I suppose that adds to the longevity.

[Tyranno]

Sonic CD was way overrated. Of the two, I'd say the best was S3&K.

But in my opinion, the best classic Sonic is Sonic 2.

[libertyernie]

If Sonic 1, 2, and 3 are like different kinds of colas, then Sonic CD is like Dr. Pepper. It's different, but good in its own way.

[azoo]

Makes sense, since Dr. Pepper is my favorite drink. =P

And respectfully, Sonic 1 is the perfect Sonic game, as it is the original. =P

[Reading]

I like 3&K a bit better than CD. They're both great games, but I like 3&K a bit better simply because it's longer, and I like the stage design a little better. It also had more of a story, with transitions between levels and some actual in-game story involvement to boot.

3&K's Special Stage is actually the only one in the entire series I actively enjoy. CD's is fine, I guess, but not really as fun for me.

Since this seems to be a sub-topic of the thread, I'll list the classic four games in my order from favorite to least favorite:

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Sonic CD

Sonic 1

Sonic 2

[Saint Nathan]

For me, Sonic started at 2 and skipped to Adventure. I just didn't like 3K, it felt slow, the level design was boring and seriously bad at some places, and it just felt top-heavy.

I don't count Sonic 1 because I don't like it much, and I never acctually OWNED it.

And you people need some reflexes. The S2 Special Stages were EASSSSY, the 3K ones had just the same amount of reaction time, but with the gimpy 3D and the stupid blue spheres. Gimme rings and a vew that isn't diagonal from the top and i'll have alot more fun.

[JezMM]

For me, Sonic started at 2 and skipped to Adventure. I just didn't like 3K, it felt slow, the level design was boring and seriously bad at some places, and it just felt top-heavy.

I don't count Sonic 1 because I don't like it much, and I never acctually OWNED it.

And you people need some reflexes. The S2 Special Stages were EASSSSY, the 3K ones had just the same amount of reaction time, but with the gimpy 3D and the stupid blue spheres. Gimme rings and a vew that isn't diagonal from the top and i'll have alot more fun.

Lol, you realise how little sense the plot makes skipping 3&K right? XP

And ugh, don't pull the "I find it easy so you guys suck" card. D=

[Rusty Spy]

And you people need some reflexes. The S2 Special Stages were EASSSSY, the 3K ones had just the same amount of reaction time,

Just to clarify, noooooooooo they didn't.

In Sonic 3, you can clearly see the blue spheres ahead of you, and most of the time, your going at a reasonable pace to react properly to the next obstacle. From start to finish, your 90% of the time going to be able to clearly see the next blue spheres ahead of you before you even begin to turn towards them. You are given proper warning and time to make it through the obstacles.

Now in Sonic 2, at some points, the obstacles would come at you from a straight away, making it easy enough to see coming and react properly, but most of the time, and especially in the later stages, the obstacles, and even the rings will come from around corners or up/downhill, making them only visible for a split second before they hit you, and give you no time to get out of the way or scramble for them, making you lose many valuable rings. And often times, the stages even trick you by setting up a pattern, then changing the pattern part way through to mess you up! Sure anyone could see it coming, if on a straight away, but they always set it up on slopes and turns to obscure your view of what's in front of you.....

.....Just saying.....

Edited August 15, 2009 by VirgoTheCougar

[The_Soul_Gauge]

I actually like Sonic 3's special stages over Sonic 2's because they're hard, not cheap.

[eXtaticus]

I don't "prefer" either! They were both as good as eachother, and neither were as good as Sonic 2 (which, in turn, was inferior to SegaSonic the Hedgehog - the best Sonic title of that era).

[Dr_Ultimate]

This is a hard choice.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is an amazing game and it has some of my favourite levels of all time. (Marble Gardens, Ice Cap, Hydro City, Lava Reef). The graphics, level design and music are all fantastic.

Sonic CD is also a brilliant game. The animated videos are pure brilliance and the whole game design is amazing. The level design, graphics and music are all fantastic.

These are two of my favourite Sonic games of all time and I can't really pick a favourite out of the two. Both are pure class.

[Ebby]

This is a hard one. I remember wanting to play Sonic CD so much and when I did it was amazing. Especially when you get over the weirdness (flowers, time travel, the four hit bosses...) and get the Japanese version of the game with the good music (US Quartz Quadrant Present < JAP Quartz Quadrant Present)

Now Sonic 3 and Knuckles.... it's a MONSTER of a game. It's just epic. Good and long levels, great music (well Sonic 3), the shields, the transitions between levels, the Lava Reef boss (so awesome). The special stages... I love those blue spheres.

I guess as good as Sonic CD is, I'll give it to Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I think the spheres take it. I never liked the UFO thing. Too hard for me.

[Meta77]

sonic 3 and knuckes english had some epic music in the orginal game

soinc cd has epic epic epic epic epic epic epic must in the jap soundtrack and amazing ova cutscenes.

[Mau]

As much as I hate to be a lemming...I have to admit that I enjoyed playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles the best out of the classic games. My mom practically had to pull me away from the screen to get me to do my homework. I knew every little short cut and secret in that game. Sonic CD was harder, and I don't think you could even save your game.

Plus in S3&K you had a broader range of characters. Knuckles and Tails were my favorites to play as since you had a broader range of places to explore. If I played Sonic, I tried to make sure I had Tails with me so I could have him fly me places.

[SuperStingray]

Sonic CD was harder, and I don't think you could even save your game.

I'm pretty sure you could.

[Rusty Spy]

Sonic CD was harder, and I don't think you could even save your game.

You could, but the original Sega CD version was a tad confusing. They fixed it in the Gems Collection version and I think the PC version.

[Dark Qiviut]

Of the two, by far, Sonic CD. While both were fun back in the day, only Sonic CD, to me, is the one that I still have fun playing. S3&K now feels incredibly outdated for me, and I don't enjoy it as much as I used to.

Plus, CD doesn't include the Super/Hyper form after collecting all the Time Stones, another big plus for me. I dreaded playing as the Supers/Hypers in the Classics as much then as I do now.

[Crystal Kingfisher]

I like them both, but I'd have to say CD. S3&K is awesome too, but the only zone I didn't like was the Carnival Night Zone. With CD, I like all of the zones, plus I love the time-travelling concept and the music too.

[SuperStingray]

S3&K is awesome too, but the only zone I didn't like was the Carnival Night Zone.

I think I can guess why.

[Tornado]

Plus, CD doesn't include the Super/Hyper form after collecting all the Time Stones, another big plus for me. I dreaded playing as the Supers/Hypers in the Classics as much then as I do now.

You know... you didn't have to.

[The_Soul_Gauge]

I think I can guess why.

It's because a blackout occurs isn't it?

...

OF COURSE!

[S0NIC-Keyblade 007]

Now this is a tough discission. S3&K had a great balance of characters, but I love SCD's level design. S3&K introduced the selfless and gullible hero, Knuckles to the franchise. While SCD introduced the cold and ruthless villain, Metal Sonic, along with the sweet and caring Amy Rose. Anyway, I think I'm going to have to go with Sonic CD. I love the whole time-travelling concept and the game seems much more challenging to me than S3&K, not to mention the fact that it was the first Sonic game that I have ever owned and completely amazed me.