Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board: theyogwog - Viewing Profile - Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board

So yeah, not sure if I ever let you guys know I was working on this project as I know it's been quite a while since I last posted here, but in any case I'm just dropping by to let you guys know about it now that it's done. Please forgive me if this is posted in the wrong board, I wasn't sure whether it belongs here or in Creative Works. Below the embed there's an alternate link to the video hosted on TASVideos channel and a link to the TASVideos submission page with a discussion thread and authors notes.

Enjoy.




Alternate version

Submission text on TASVideos

Does anyone know if it's possible for Knuckles to get into this area, and the path that connects to it, in Launch Base Act 2?

I'm thinking it's not, but I wanted to ask about it just in case. It's normally exclusive to Sonic and Tails. Knuckles can't climb up the wall because the horizontal tube on the right is solid. He can't run up the angled tube because it's not solid. He can't jump high enough off the purple tube on the bottom, so he can't climb the far right wall and then glide over. I've tried a few other methods too of getting up there but none of them worked. The only other way I can think of would be to glitch through a ceiling in the Knuckles-specific portion of the act, or glitch through the floor/tubes that go above this path... but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work either, and they didn't when I tried, however I'm not very familiar with all of the glitches in the game so I'm hoping someone else might know better? Not including debug mode or patch codes, please.

I got to thinking about the levels in Sonic 3 last night. I ended up wondering which act is objectively the hardest of them all. I concluded it must be 9-2, aka Sandopolis Zone, Act 2, for several reasons.


1. Lack of shields. Now I'm not an expert on everything in this level and it wouldn't surprise me if there's more shields here than I'm aware of, but it does definitely seem like there's a lot fewer shields than in most acts. To be honest I only know of one, shown in the pic, near the starting point.


2. Endless loop maze (I guess there's probably a better term for this type of thing but I'm not sure). It's confusing at first until you learn the correct path. It winds down the clock, which I've often heard players talk about how this act is unusually time consuming. And in fact it is a relatively long act even if you don't get lost, several of the other zones can be completed in their entirety in the time it takes to finish the content of this one act.


3. Timed doorway switches. Again, maybe there's a better term for these than "switches", but whatever. It's a gimmick that appears frequently throughout the act. It's not much fun to interact with, and the ticking sound it makes during the countdown is loud and obnoxious, making it pretty tedious at times to have to deal with. The fact that they're timed makes it a lot tougher too, the designers did a fairly good job ensuring that some switches really challenge players to get through the doors before they close in the time allotted.


4. Scorpions (Yet again, I apologize for not knowing the proper name). I have to say, this enemy must certainly rank in the top-tier for all enemies in the game. I can't think of any other enemy offhand that is as consistently dangerous, aggressive, and formidable as these things. They're pretty cool, IMO, and I think you can tell a lot more thought went into these things than such enemies as Rhinobot, for one. Killing one involves knowing how to manipulate it's behavior in such a way as to create a safe opening to attack it from. That or having a certain... swagger about you, that you're able to react to its movements quickly enough, and correctly, to execute a counter- or preemptive-attack.


5. Auto-scrolling. If you don't go clear the obstacles fast enough, you'll be crushed, no different from the auto-scrolling segments at beginning of HCZ2 and towards the end of MGZ2. The nature of autoscrolling is that it's more punishing and less forgiving of errors compared to other gimmicks and non-autoscrolling areas, which helps to foster a feeling of being pressured or even panic if things get ugly, for the player. It's something that's only used in a few different levels and even then only in short bursts, so in my mind the mere presence of auto-scrolling in 9-2, in addition to everything else this Act throws at you, scores extra difficulty points.


6. Lights. In a way, this is like a second timed switch gimmick to be kept track of. You need to always keep in mind the current lighting inside the pyramid, while also keeping an eye open for the switches that relight the candles. This requires you to multitask and serves as a distraction from the main action that's going on. Just in case anyone's wondering, I separated the lights from the ghosts because until the lights actually go out, the ghosts are little more than additional indicators as to the time remaining on the most recently activated light switch. The two are so closely related to one another, though, that I could see consolidating these last 2 points into 1.


7. Ghosts. I'm not sure whether to classify them as a gimmick or an enemy, but whatever they are, they're iconic and memorable. No other level has anything like them. What they bring to the Act in terms of difficulty is basically a more frantic and intense multitasking game than in 6. If you're busy managing the ghosts, that affects your decision making, making it easy to overlook minor details. If you miscalculate a jump and land a little bit off from where you intended, there's a good chance you won't be able to react in time to avoid getting hit (either by the ghosts or something else) because you weren't predicting that you would've needed to. In other words, the real threat of the collective ghosts isn't that they will attack you, it's that they will distract you.

So yeah. Lack of shields, a looping maze, situational timed switches, advanced enemies, auto-scrolling, ongoing timed switches, and to top it all off, Ghosts. I don't know of any other level that contains such an amount and variety of content, mixed together in such a challenging combination.

There are 3 playable characters in Sonic 3 (and Knuckles). Each has a unique signature ability with different strengths and weaknesses that result in a different playing experience. Let's start by examining those abilities in detail.

Character: Sonic
Ability: Insta-Shield
Use: By pressing the jump button during any jump
Reset: Once per jump
Cancel: N/A
Effect: Causes a brief moment of invincibility against all forms of damage
Effect: Increases range of Spin Jump, allowing it to affect enemies from slightly further away, and thus penetrate certain enemy resistances to Spin Jump
Note: With an Elemental Shield on, Insta-Shield is disabled and replaced by the Elemental Shield's Active effect (which only Sonic can use)
Comment: It's like Sonic's real ability is having 4 different ones.

Character: Tails
Ability: Fly
Use: By tapping a jump button
Reset: Every time Tails is hit or touches the ground
Cancel: Cannot be canceled once it's initiated except by being hit or touching ground
Effect: Able to carry Sonic during flight or just fly around alone, for up to about 8 seconds, after which time Tails will quickly descend
Effect: Hitting an enemy by flying into them from below causes damage, with rebound
Note: If underwater, Tails will swim instead but while swimming Tails can't carry Sonic or damage enemies from below
Comment: Mainly only useful for bypassing platforming sections and avoiding death by enemies/drowning, ineffective and impractical to use offensively

Character: Knuckles
Ability: Glide
Use: By pressing and holding the jump button during any jump
Reset: Once per jump
Cancel: Taking damage cancels the glide and causes knockback, automatic cancellation and rebound against bosses
Cancel: Releasing the jump button will instantly cancel the Glide, causing Knuckles to drop straight down and briefly pause (crouch) upon landing
Effect: Steadily descend through the air while moving forward at near running speed
Effect: Damages enemies and reflects projectiles from the front without interrupting the glide or momentum
Effect: Gliding into or attempting to glide while touching most walls will cause Knuckles to grab onto the wall which he can then climb up or down
Note: Spin jumping onto an enemy/monitor and activating Glide just as Knuckles makes contact will launch him high into the air
Note: Since Knuckles always crouches when Glide is canceled manually, it's sometimes possible to quickly perform a spin dash even on steep slopes
Comment: Instant acceleration/deceleration make it a lot like a slower but more controllable super spin dash


Next, let's take a quick look at the Elemental Shields:

Type: Fire
Active: Jump horizontally
Passive: Immune to fire
Note: Canceled by water

Type: Lightning
Active: Jump vertically
Passive: Attract nearby power rings
Note: Canceled by water and taking damage

Type: Water
Active: Jump straight down with rebound
Passive: Breathe underwater
Note: Canceled by taking damage


So far we've looked at what we already know about the various abilities and shields. Now it's time to get a little bit more subjective. If anyone is still interested, I'd like to encourage you to weigh in with your thoughts and opinions about what all of the above means for the gameplay experience with the different characters. I'll start by submitting my own observations below.

I'll admit I'm somewhat biased as Sonic is my favorite character. He feels powerful and untouchable, better able to race through levels destroying everything in his path than the other characters. With the E. Shields at his disposal, it's really like he has 4 signature abilities. Except that he can only use 1 at a time, and most of them are inherently unreliable to the extent that they're dependent on having an E. Shield, which depends on which level is being played and whether or not any E. Shield monitors have been reached yet. Plus, there's always a chance of getting hit and losing the shield at any time. This unpredictable nature can be mitigated substantially by skill and experience, however. Overall, Sonic probably has the greatest fun factor, versatility (he can do a lot of stuff), and offense of anyone despite the fact that he can't glide, climb, swim, or fly.

No offense to Tails fans, but IMO Tails has the simplest ability and the most boring gameplay. Flying makes platforming easier and more forgiving than for anyone else, and also gives him the greatest survivability underwater and in boss fights. However, flying is really the only thing he can do for the whole game, and on top of that, it tends to slowdown the action when he does. He has the most raw mobility, but he's seriously lacking in utility and offense compared to Sonic and Knuckles. In a way, he's kind of hard to play in that his weakness in other areas helps offset the helpfulness of Fly. Still, if Sonic 3 had a difficulty setting, playing as Tails would be like playing on easy mode.

Knuckles has good mobility, partially due to his excellent utility (the stuff he can do, is useful in a lot of ways), and he has great handling/control. Glide adds a little bit of improvement to a lot of different attributes. As we all know he can't jump as high as Sonic and Tails, and I don't think he can run quite as fast, and he seems to be slightly more heavy in general. His campaign is also shorter and consists of more difficult boss battles, so I'm not sure whether this makes it harder or easier to complete the game with him.

I'd really like to think more about the idea of skill floors/ceilings for each character too. And I haven't even mentioned transformations. Perhaps a chart is in order to illustrate more clearly what I mean? IDK, anyway I might think of more to say in a later post but for now this is all I can do as writing this has slowly turned my brain to mush and I need to stop now.