When you don't see the signpost coming and don't know when they are coming up, it kinda is hard to do. You know, like how if somebody played a game for the first time, they generally don't know where things are in order to avoid things?
Are you replying to me? I can't tell. No, you don't have to time travel, Yes it may be a pain to wait for the sparkles to disappear but then whats the fun in not time traveling in a game thats about just that? Never said Sonic CD was the best game in the series, just that it was my favorite. I only compared the game to the original, not S3&K. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about S3&K over and over... Yes, it was good. Yes, its the best in the series. Then again it had the development cycle of 2 games in one and with that amount of work, why wouldn't it be? Doesn't mean it was my favorite though. As well, it doesn't mean Sonic CD wasn't enjoyable, you yourself said you found it not to live up to S3&K to ruin your experience with it. Then again if thats so, then every other past sonic game must not be enjoyable to you considering they all don't match up to S3&K. I would only compare CD to 1 and 2. If you can find the original game enjoyable, then you should be able to find CD enjoyable. Not to mention Sonic CD came out before S3&K. At this time its expected that the sequels should be better then the previous titles... The true way to see it is S3&K lived up to CD not the other way around considering CD came first. EDIT: Quite honestly, all the people who complain about CD always compare it to S3&K.
To be honest, I love all of the Classics. And I have trouble picking favourites, if I HAD TO pick one it wouldn't be Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Why? Because Sonic 3 itself on its own most certainly DOES make a case for being the best, (and I'm probably one of the only people left that plays Sonic 3 alone), what ruins it for me is the "and Knuckles" part because if I had to pick a worst of the bunch it would be that. Playing what I consider some of the best zones in the classic series, then moving onto the worst is not a good experience. To be honest, all of them are great. 1,2,3 and CD all have their flaws but I love the games as a whole too much to give a shit and would happily play right through them any time at all! Sonic and Knuckles though is just a big fucking pain in the arse to play right through without feeling depressed by the drabness of it all (apart from Sky Sanctuary - that shit is TOAST!).
You're right. You didn't have to do any of the generator jazz, but a lot of people want to have it both ways - dissenting opinions on the short/empty levels results in "well you obviously didn't play the game properly because..." and dissenting opinions on the exploration results in "well you don't HAVE to do that you could just play through the levels normally". I'll play through the game for the Bad End. And the levels STILL bore me to tears! That doesn't happen with Sonic 1, let alone Sonic 2 or 3. Of course it's a bit daft going into a thread that's obviously pro-SCD and mouthing off about why I hate it, but I was asked why and so here I am. You can if you jump. :v: No, but seriously. Don't get me wrong, I fucking hated Sonic 4, but at least the Homing Attack was useful in that game. The level design was dumb in occasionally relying on the move to make it useful (e.g. when you were on a path that relied on it), but at least it wasn't a pointless feature like the Super Spin-Dash-That-Still-Hurts-You-When-You-Run-Into-Enemies-Thereby-Removing-Almost-The-Entire-Point-Of-The-Spin-Dash Attack. As for the level layouts and shitty physics relying on boosters... Dimps. Credit to Sonic CD, it didn't mess with the physics of the game. Actually there's something else I'll give credit to Sonic CD for, and you can correct me if I'm wrong on this - like the Mega Drive Sonic games the presentation was always about looking forward, trying to 'wow' the player and stun the competition. Sonic 2 had the second playable character and streamlined the levels to reach speeds Sonic 1 could only dream of; Sonic 3 kicked off with the 3D Sonic at the beginning, the ingame cutscenes, the much more open levels and setpieces, plus the Lock-On technology; Sonic CD had the Redbook audio, Metal Sonic race and animated videos to take advantage of the space and power offered by CD technology (not to mention the absolute hysteria surrounding the marketing campaign for each game). Sonic 3D wasn't the best of games but the 3D graphics boom was in full swing and you knew SEGA wanted people to see Sonic at the forefront of the wave alongside Donkey Kong Country and Starfox. Sonic 4 was trying to be Sonic in the past when Sonic in the past was always about being ahead of the competition, which is why the music, presentation and graphics felt off-the-mark (as though they were the only problems with Sonic 4). And yet in that regard the homing attack fits fairly well as an extension to Sonic's moves. If Sonic 4 were released back in the day they weren't going to rest on their laurels with Sonic 3 Sonic, Instant Shield and all, they would have gone with trying new mechanics and moves. It's strange, but when I see polls or threads asking for opinions on the best Sonic game the majority vote is nearly always for Sonic 2 with 3/3&K in second place.
Sonic CD is a different play style than s3K and s2 as it is more about exploring the levels in depth rather than rushing to the end. the only issues I have with it is the spindash but thats due to it being in development at the same time as sonic 2. And the boss's are god awful (but most know this already) My opinion on the other games is opposite to jasonchrist's I believe sonic 3 to be the boring half of s3k, yes there are a lot of great levels in there, but I personally find marble garden and launch base zone so boring that it really detracts from the rest of the game, whereas in S&K the only level I dislike is Sandopolis Act 2, as its length made it a real maze to work through when I first played the game resulting in many time overs. But I find the rest of the levels and absolute blast.
I'm probably a statistical outlier and disgusting freak for not thinking a huge amount of S2 (not to say that I actively dislike it), though I cannot deny the nostalgia-value that pervade EHZ and its theme, or the memory of (my parents) buying it in Index (now defunct) and getting home to fire it up on my even-then-hilariously-archaic black and white TV. I'll refrain from further OTing this thread in inevitably directionless attempts to decide how I would rank the games, but there; I said it! I feel better.
Bu-bu-bu Flying Battery Zone! The soundtrack of Lava Reef Zone! Sky Sanctuary Zone! The only low-point of the game was Sandopolis Zone. Outside of that Sonic and Knuckles holds the same quality-level as Sonic 3. I suppose you could argue Sonic 3 was brighter and more colourful (Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap) with more awesome moments (Hydrocity Zone) but it doesn't change the fact that Sonic 3 is still half a game whilst locking them on provides the real and full experience. As for Sonic CD art direction-wise it's a stand-out. Same for the music (what other classic Sonic title has two CD-quality soundtracks?). Gameplay is where it starts to fall apart with layouts mapped out like claustrophobic mazes. I love that the game exists and visually it remains stunning but the level design is very weak compared to the other titles which stops the game short of greatness. I suppose it's cool it's getting a re-release but (like all the classic Sonic games) I've already played the hell out of it (via the PC release and then again with Gems Collection) so I'm not really as excited as the rest of you. The best news of the re-release for me is that given it's hitting so many platforms more people have the chance to play the game.
I just thought that Sega could be trying to put Sonic CD between Sonic 4 Ep 1 and Sonic 4 Ep 2 just as excuse to put Classic Sonic in Sonic 4 Ep 2.
I love how through all our arguments regarding storyline, timelines and such we all forgot about Sonic Heroes. Lololololol.
Lava Reef act 1 was cool as fuck, I have to say. Flying Battery is too claustrophobic and dull, the music is deserving of a far, far greater zone than it actually got. I disagree about Sonic 3 being half a game though (even though yes, officially it is) when I played Sonic 3 alone when I was 9, I had no idea Sonic and Knuckles was around the corner, and in no way did I feel even slightly short changed. Launch Base was for me by far a more thrilling and unique climax than Death Egg/Doomsday. The Squeeze-Tag machine (or Big Arm as they're calling it now) was a far more frightening encounter than facing yet another big Robotnik Mech... in space... again... just because. That's what I miss from the first 3 Sonics, the uncertainty of the final fight. You had no idea what you were fighting towards, or what you were fighting through. Now though? You know exactly where you're going... into space to fight a giant Eggman... again... just because. To be honest, I wish the final battle for Sonic in 3K had been on Sky Sanctuary (even though the Master System tribute room in DE1 is a real treat), Super Mecha Sonic>Robotnik Mech. Why am I not mentioning CD here? Because, while I love it to bits, now I come to think of it, Metallic Madness was the biggest anti climax of them all! I'd love to know just what they had in store for the scrapped Final Fever. I agree with you about the art direction of CD, it completely rapes the rest of them in my eyes. I can see that too. Modern Sonic - Present Classic Sonic - Past But which Sonic will we see in the future?
Yeah, that's great! Fantastic even! Moving ever so swiftly back to Sonic CD though. Just had a play through of Metallic Madness 2 and I notice that Mini-Sonic needs a death sprite.
No I wasn't replying to you specifically. I also wasn't comparing CD to S3&K, nor did I say that CD doesn't live up to S3&K. All I said was that that's what I played to get the bad taste of my mouth. I could've played any game I enjoyed for the same reason, because I genuinely disliked CD. Sonic 2 is my favorite, but I didn't have a rom of it at the time. I played S3&K because I was still in awe over finally getting to play the game that the other kids at my after-school club wouldn't let me Back on the subject of CD itself...I didn't like time travelling. I give a hoot about whether the game was about that or not. I didn't like it. It was a pain waiting for the sparkles to disappear, it was a pain trying to figure out how to get back to where I was when I couldn't avoid time travelling. Alot of CD annoyed me, and I tried to like it. I made an honest effort to. I just didn't like it. That said, I'm going to give the game another go sometime soon.
This is something that bothers me. There is nothing that states Sonic CD is happening right after Sonic 4: Episode 1 and being right before episode 2. Obviously, Sonic CD takes place before episode 2 since episode 2 marks the 1st canonical return of Metal Sonic. I wish a SEGA rep would release a timeline just to clarify this mess. All they acknowledged was that Sonic CD is a prequel to episode 2; not say it happens right before it. Then again, the rep used the term incorrectly since Sonic CD was made "before" Sonic 4: Ep 2 and prequel means "a later work with an earlier story". What the guy meant to say was "predecessor". Even then, saying predecessor still doesn't state where CD takes place in the time line. I think when he was referring to when it came to Sonic CD not having a number and not being tied to the classics in any matter, he meant to explan that Sonic 4 would acknowledge Sonic CD's involvement in the franchise by tying it together with Metal Sonic and it bridges the games together with his "return" since Metal "first" appeared in CD. Similar like to Resident Evil: Code Veronica. It doesn't have a number like the other mainstream titles but it bridges together the story of the franchise and was a mainstream title as well. In the end, all he stated is that Sonic CD takes place before Sonic 4: Episode 2, since this game will mark Metal's 1st canon return. Which, we all already knew. EDIT: To me this is the proper timeline. 1> CD > 2 > 3&K > 4 > Chaotix CD is best placed after the original game. Why? because it doesn't fit anywhere else. 3&K takes place right after 2 and 4 takes place shortly after 3&K. As a bonus Chaotix would now have proper place in the timeline happening after Sonic 4 since Metal appears in this game and his true 2nd canon appearance isn't until Sonic 4: Ep 2. This, if Chaotix isn't still considered retconned.
You know all this talk of chronology and shit has given me an idea. Wouldn't it be fun to write the full story of the classics in order, as a sort of chronologist fan fiction? Could relate small elements of each game together, like similar badniks, and the evolution of the metal Sonics.
No, you don't have to stop and wait. As soon as Sonic starts blinking, you just need to press the opposite direction to decelerate a little and then you can keep running like usual.
I feel more and more cheesed off about owning a Wii and not owning either a PS3 or 360. I'm just a bit annoyed that I won't be able to play Sonic CD in this way. Thanks to the efforts of Taxman, we will have a classic Sonic port that will actually have some thought put into it, along with some nice extra features. Something I don't think we've seen since Sonic Jam for the Saturn (Correct me if I am wrong). I am impressed, though. Sonic CD is, in my opinion, in the top 3 Sonic games of all time and for it to actually get recognition is something I welcome. ...although this is tempting me to buy a PS3 or 360. Sonic Generations and Sonic CD are changing my mind slowly.
Whilst I don't want to kick off an argument by asking why you don't own an actual gaming console from this generation, I will say don't you have a PC or a phone? That's the beauty of this Sonic CD port; it's coming to EVERY serious device.
Uhh, reality check. Wii is from this Generation. Saying it's not is as mistaken as saying the Dreamcast was in the same Gen as the N64.
