Which is the better (ie: least painful) way to play Sonic 06?

I love Sonic '06. Even with the glitches and horrid loading times.

My favorite highlight was when one of the VAs botched-up their lines, and then re-read it. I think it was during one of the Shadow/Rouge missions iicr.

 

I've never actually played Heroes, but I have seen it mentioned a lot that you essentially had to play the same exact game over and over again to actually finish it. IMO one of the places where '06 succeeded was that each story felt distinct enough to stand on its own; it didn't feel like you were playing the same level over and over again (the only place it did was in the boss fights, which could all be completed in 3-6 minutes on average). For instance, Sonic's Wave Ocean feels nothing like Shadow's Wave Ocean, and Silver's Crisis City feels completely different from Sonic and Shadow's even though you go through the same areas.

If you ask me, the game is a weirdly intriguing mix of great ideas that should've been in prior Sonic games and rage-inducing horseshit you haven't seen since the NES. That's why I find it enjoyable. Also the story is so unbelievably bad it almost seems intentional, even though it clearly isn't.

 

I think the main issue is the loading times. If someone could just make a patch for that, i may actually finish it one day

 

I've heard Legend of Solaris does that. I haven't tested it myself, but you should take a look at it if you have a modded 360 or can run an emulator.

 

The PS3 version suffers from significantly more slowdown, dramatically worse load-times, removed graphical elements (reflections in Crisis City, gondolas in Soleanna Castle Town, etc.), 30 FPS cutscenes, no trophies, and America didn't get all of the DLC. Make of that what you will.

 

Yeah, if you want to experience the original '06 and not a fan game, the Xbox 360 version is the way to go. It's kind of ironic given that the PS3 version was actually delayed for extra development time.

 

I gave P-06 a try and was really impressed. It's a very faithful re-creation including terrible controls, annoying deaths for no reason, and instant acceleration off the edge when trying to correct for running direction. Just like how I remember it.

 

This is the kind of info I like to see!
Trying to compare ports for older games before the Digital Foundry era is always a bit of a pain. I've been trying to find out what the best console versions of Unleashed, Generations, All Stars Racing, etc are for ages.

 

Unleashed on the PS3 seems to have better lighting and has an uncapped framerate. However, it seems to have introduced some degree of input lag, and despite the framerate being unlocked, the performance is dramatically more unstable - not just in the way that drops are more noticeable due to the higher overall framerate, but moreso that sections that were fine on the 360 run terribly on the PS3 such as Empire City's hub. Generations on the PS3 also has the aforementioned input lag, and suffers from performance dips at times (especially noticeable in the music minigame with Vector.) Additionally, with both games, the PS3 version uses the OS' in-built save functionality, which leads to long pauses after clearing a level or when leaving a hub world that are not present in the 360 version.

 

Off topic as all hell, but god damn, your profile picture is *ridiculously* nostalgia-inducing.

 

If the reports are true the best way to play this game will be when Xbox Series X releases by the end of 2020.

 

Your memory isn't very good then, because that's a downright lie. The characters' handling have been altered, Sonic's Gems abilities have been tweaked and revamped, some characters were given new moves (Sonic's brake and bound attack in the Mach speed sections, Tails' Tail Swipe, Knuckles' Punch combos and Heat Knuckle attack, and Silver's Psycho Shot attack), the light speed dash gives you a speed boost, the spin dash actually works now, the Lava pits in Flame Core only chip off 1 ring at a time so you don't lose all your rings now, and the button mapping was changed so there wouldn't be several moves mapped to one button. Not to mention that there's also an option to enable a reticle for the Homing Attack like in the modern games, and you can unlock Super Sonic as playable in regular stages.

P-06 is a huge improvement over the original, especially after the latest demo. Remember that it's just one guy working on the project alone, and he releases updates and patches after each demo after taking in feedback from people online.

I think this video really showcases P-06's potential:


Back on topic: If you're looking for the a 'pure' experience, the 360 version is the way to go.

 

I gave this a try and it immediately brought me back to the time when I was still hopeful this game would kick ass. Some ideas didn’t click immediately, but I’m really digging the weather effects (despite the facepalm-inducing in level dialogue). A little nostalgic, but in a weird way. Here’s hoping they re-release it someday.

 

The least painful way to play Sonic 06 is with a friend, so you can laugh together

 

It also helps if you're 13 years old again, and think that review sites are just hating on a Sonic game because it's got a few bugs.

 

It's actually crazy how much more playable the game is when watching that video. All it takes some small tweaks to make the experience 600x better. Just having the freedom to know that it's you, not the game shitting itself, that's causing you to fail means that you're not at the mercy of so much trial and error.
It's going to be wild when this is finally complete, and people have a look at what Sonic 06 could have been. (then we can just laugh at the dumb plot and script instead )

 

Do you mean Riders? If so, it did come out on PC. It was in the photograph in the post directly above yours.

 

PC re-release, as in getting it digital through Steam.

 

Not going to lie, this is actually pretty fucking impressive.