I'd say the big addition Sonic Jam made to the games themselves (that I'm aware of), difficulty options with alternate object layouts, would be a pretty reasonable ask, if not an outright good idea. Have those layouts ever come back in a collection/port since? (Plus the other options, like the Time Limit and Spin Dash toggles, aren't anything new to the Retro Engine.) Unless you're also referring to being more literally ported for the sake of even closer game accuracy, in which case... fair enough. I don't have a particular horse in that race.
Sonic Jam's tweaks weren't as intrinsic as some of the remakes' extras (no Tails flying option for Sonic 2 for example), but it had some nice ways to extend the longevity of each game, like Time Attack and extra difficulty modes. I still hold hope that Origins adds those in some form, even if it isn't a deal breaker. Really I feel like the 'ultimate' versions of 1 and 2 are by blending Jam and the remakes together.
I mean, Time Attack is already ensured, isn't it? Plus the Boss Rush is basically a Time Attack in its own way, too. Doubt we'll see extra difficulty though.
Was Time Attack confirmed? I thought it was like VS mode where it wasn't denied but nothing has been shown yet. If it is there though, great. Really, the ideal Sonic 2 for me would be: * Knuckles (Jam/remakes/AGES) * Time Attack (Jam/remakes) * Extended multiplayer (remakes) * Signature moves added like flying and drop dash (remakes/AGES) * Difficulty modes (Jam) * Beta levels hidden somewhere (remakes to a degree) * Amy with Advance 1 gameplay It does say something that only ONE of those hasn't been realised in any form in at least one rerelease of the game, and it's the most farfetched one anyway.
For what it's worth, Mega Drive games were also widely available here at the time at car boot sales and second hand games retailers. Over half my Mega Drive games were bought second hand. I don't explicitly remember seeing any Sonic 3 carts on sale at boot sales (largely because already having it I'd have had no reason to look for one. I DID get Sonic 1 some time after S&K at a boot sale), but you can bet they were plentiful in the games shops.
I highly suspect my copy of Sonic 3 I got for my birthday was second hand - it had a full save file on it.
I found the Mania special stages rather frustrating, with their slippery controls and glitchy collision detection. I remember when I would hit a ramp the right angle and get bumped off it as if I had hit its side instead. Blue Spheres felt more fair and bearable. I'd say Chaotix had the best special stages.
To be honest I'll find it hard to speed run levels after Manias Time Attack Mode. Also, this only confirms you can upload times to a leaderboard, not a Time Attack Mode.
This just reminded me of getting the 2nd fastest legit time on the iOS leaderboard for GH1 back in 2014 and being annoyed that the top spot was a hacker. I just checked and surprisingly after 8 years there are only 4 obviously hacked times on there. Though I’m not sure what route people are taking to get sub 19sec legit and the two 16sec times are questionable. Either way, I’m still top 50 which is nice lol. When Origins releases I can probably get under 20sec thanks to not using touch controls alone.
IIRC there was a glitch originally where you could pass a post, quit and restart and start from the post with 0 seconds. I assume that’s how those times were achieved.
I feel like I'm really in the minority because I just don't find Time Attacks and leaderboards fun in the slightest, in any game. I appreciate how efficient Mania's Time Attack mode was, but I couldn't care any less about. And it's exactly the same for Origins. How Time Attacks and leaderboards are implemented and maintained are a total non-issue because it's a part of the game that I'll never touch.
Same. I like replaying levels to further explore them and discover new stuff, but time attacking means repeatedly taking the same path, which I just find so dull and repetitive.
