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Opinion of the Mega Drive Sonic Trilogy - Europe vs North America

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by BlackHole, Nov 6, 2016.

Which game do you think is the best? (Keep North American and European votes separate, please and th

  1. EUR - Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. EUR - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)

    7.9%
  3. EUR - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles (1994)

    31.7%
  4. NA - Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

    1.6%
  5. NA - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)

    7.1%
  6. NA - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles (1994)

    51.6%
  1. winterhell

    winterhell

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    Its not really fair to compare S2 and S3K in terms of which is better by themselves. S3K had much more experience (from S2) to work with and more time, plus its 3-4 times bigger than S2 because of advancements in technology.
    If you put them side by side, Sonic 1 is ABSOLUTELY retarded. There I said it. Yes it was the first Sonic I played and I was blown away, but now I place it in the bottom part of my Top 10 Sonic games.

    Thats like comparing The Terminator 2 with The Terminator. T2 had a dozen times bigger budget and 7 years more advanced CGI effects. T1 was almost an indie film at times, where they had only a skeleton crew and guerrilla style shooting and looking out for cops.
     
  2. Blue Blood

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    Just going to echo what everyone else is saying about it mostly being a fanbase vs general public divide as opposed to regional. S3K was largely underplayed by the general public when compared to S1 and S2, and even to this day it's by far the least exposed. Even CD tends to get more attention. You'll quite often see articles, videos, reviews etc where someone says "Oh yeah, Sonic 2 is my favourite Sonic game. Sonic 3? Never played it. Knuckles is too future for me.". And in addition to that, S2 is a much simpler game. S2 refined refined what S1 did, and S3K expanded upon it (quite literally) with larger and more complex levels. It's a much more daunting game, so it's only natural that it's going to be overshadowed somewhat.

    But for what it's worth anyway, I'm a UK-based fan and S3K is by far my favourite. Then S2, and I'm not really sure how to put S1 (and SCD) in there. But I love all of them regardless.
     
  3. AnimatedAF

    AnimatedAF

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    Sonic 3 and then Sonic 3 & Knuckles was definitely the one talked about most in my school due to all the discoveries being made in it (Hyper sonic, super emeralds, doomsday etc), at least among my friends, but most kids had sonic 1 and 2 but not 3K generally. If anything Sonic 1 on master system was the sonic game most kids had due to it being built into their master system II's and that console being one of the cheapest to get.
     
  4. Okamikurainya

    Okamikurainya

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    Growing up in the UK, I was pretty much a Sonic nut and loved all the games pretty much equally. That said, S3&K blew my mind. The lock on tech, playing as Knuckles, Super Mecha Sonic, the Zones, Hydro-frickin-city act 2's music. :specialed:

    I have played S3&K more than any other game I've ever had, and I'm still playing it today. In fact... I still need to go finish playing through Sonic 3 Complete with Knuckles again (On my laptop this time). ^_^
     
  5. Cooljerk

    Cooljerk

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    I voted for Sonic 1 because Sonic CD isn't on the list.
     
  6. TheOcelot

    TheOcelot

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    Yeah, like most have said, Sonic 2 was still quite early in the Genesis life-cycle and it (like Sonic 1) was bundled with the console, so it's no surprise so many more people played it over Sonic 3/S&K, and Sonic 2 is unquestionably a good game.

    I love the two player vs mode in Sonic 2 (hoping we get something similar in Mania). I used to play against my sister all the time. She could never out jump me in the special stages :v: I bet loads of fans, especially the more casual fan-base will remember the two-player mode fondly and the iconic fights with Mecha/Silver Sonic & the Death Egg Robot in single-player.

    Personally, whilst Sonic 2 is good, I find Sonic 3&K to be superior in every department. I also rate Sonic CD, Sonic 1 (yes I just said that) and Sonic 3 (on it's own) as better games.
     
  7. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Actually, I voted for Sonic 2; and I played both when they were both new titles back at the respective launch years, so your logic isn't entirely right. =P 3&K is an excellent game and I love it, but 2 I just prefer.
     
  8. TheKazeblade

    TheKazeblade

    "Our Life is More than a Side-Effect" Member
    2 is a very approachable game with probably the best pick-up-and-play value of the entire series, similar to SA2 which is why I imagine it is also remembered so fondly.

    S3&K is overall the better game, but it also doesn't have that same quick flow of S2. That means S3&K has the deeper experience, but one that feels like it requires a much more dedicated play time. That may turn off fans of the more instant gratification style of S2, which, while it still has some nuance, still doesn't have as much as S3&K.

    S2 I pop into for a fun speed running session. S3&K I play to enjoy the entire experience. And while I value both types, I value the latter more than the former.
     
  9. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    The other factor for the Sonic 2 effect is launch date - Sonic 2 was released in November 1992, just in time for Christmas, while Sonic 3 was launched in... February 1994.

    And there's a phenomenal difference for the sake of three months. Sonic 2 was rumoured as early as January-ish 1992, and from Summer CES (June) onwards the general public were drip-fed information by an all-out Sega marketing machine. Essentially we're talking about five months of hype - it's basically the reason we have Sonic 2 prototypes, and enough magazine material and history to essentially found Sonic Retro. As far as dragged-out Mega Drive stories go, it's only really beaten by the staggered launch of the Mega-CD, but that thing was far less affordable and popular.



    Sonic 3, in contrast, wasn't a feature of the 1993 holiday season (this is Sonic CD/Spinball territory), and instead turned up out of the blue (*cough*) in late December, being shoved on shelves just a few weeks later. Why was there never a Simon Wai's Sonic 3 Beta? Because there was literally only one, maybe two publications in the world that printed prototype screenshots of the game (and one of those was the UK's Official Sega Magazine), and no known footage. It got two or three months of attention, as opposed to more than half a year.

    Which btw might sound strange in the current climate, but wasn't unusual for the time in a pre-E3 PR-spinning world. Games didn't take that long to make.



    Which leads to the other point - Sonic & Knuckles was launched for the holidays. And I wouldn't be at all surprised it sold more copies as a result.


    Mind you there's a bazillion other factors, such as Sonic 3 & Knuckles being split into two (i.e. spend twice as much!) and Sonic 2 being more readily available in compilations and the like. S3&K is a bit of a faff.
     
  10. JaredAFX

    JaredAFX

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    As someone who's pretty much a baby compared to most of you, whose first experience with the Genesis trilogy was with Mega Collection, I like 3&K better, but it's easier for me to jump into 2. I honestly kinda suck at 2D platformers compared to my skill at 3D ones, but if I'm ever in the mood for Genesis Sonic, if I have the option I'll play 3. However, since there's no iOS version, I end up playing Sonic 2 (mostly the first two zones) a lot because I'm out most of the time and can't pull out an emulator or actual hardware whenever I want.

    In a perfect world, though, the same would probably still apply. I enjoy going through 3 as a whole experience, not in little chunks. I'll happily do that with 2, though.

    Sonic 1 I honestly don't like that much, or, at least, not as much compared to 2 and 3. I have never 100%-ed Sonic 1, 2 or 3 (I have with CD though, mostly for the XBLA achievement) because I'm a very hurdle-though-the-act kind of person, so Sonic 1's gameplay doesn't do it for me like 2 and 3's gameplay does.
     
  11. DigitalDuck

    DigitalDuck

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    None of that invalidates my logic. I'm claiming the fanbase has different preferences than the general public because the general public like Sonic 2 out of nostalgia whereas we like all the games because they're good games (obviously I'm generalising at every step there) and tend to have favourites based on which ones we enjoy playing most.


    Am I the only one who thinks Sonic 2 is the worst of the classics?
     
  12. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    Nope. I think Sonic 2's too long for it's own good, at least without save files. The Taxman remakes fix that, though.
     
  13. Flygon

    Flygon

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    To me, coming from Sonic 3 and Knuckles as my first, the other two Mega Drive titles feel comparatively amateurish. Lacking in polish.

    Interestingly, the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't give off that same amateurish feel. I don't know why.
     
  14. Aquova

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    It depends on what aspect of the game. It is the game that added the spindash, Tails, and Super Sonic, which on a list of the top additions to the series, would take spots 1, 2, and 3. You could make a good argument about level design though. It has one or two really good stages, but isn't as good as the others IMO, particularly 3K.
     
  15. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Funnily enough, I've always felt this to some degree about Sonic 1, which was the last of the core 16-bit titles that I got (picked it up in maybe early 1995) - I guess that's down to being used to having Spin Dash and the game being to some degree feet-finding for the franchise as well.
     
  16. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Sonic 1 should be experienced for the first time right after beating Castle of Illusion. =P
     
  17. Adamis

    Adamis

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    Maybe it's just me, but I had no problem with the game as it was when I got it in 1992 (and I was 10 years old) :/

    I did that ^^ (Well, CoI 8 bits, then Sonic, then CoI 16 bits then Sonic + Quackshot)
     
  18. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    Instead of starting a new thread, I've changed this one. Now anyone on the European continent and the UK, and anyone on the North American continent can throw in their thoughts on the matter.
     
  19. Yash

    Yash

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    My impression has always been that Sonic 2 is the far more popular game among the general public, but Sonic fans tend to prefer Sonic 3 & Knuckles. S3&K just seems to be a bit more obscure (the lock on shenanigans probably contribute to this as well - most people outside the community see Sonic 3 and S&K as separate games).
     
  20. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    This hits the nail on the head really. Probably helps that Sonic 1 and 2 were bundled with Genesis consoles at one point, Sonic 3 never was. And then you're right, throw Sonic & Knuckles lock on nonsense and then you're in for a strange ride.