Sonic 3 & Knuckles (MD, 1994)
Graphics-9 Sound-8.5 Control-9 Challenge-7/7.5* Story-6
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-6.5/7* Fun-8.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-9
*Best ending/all emeralds
+
New characters (Tails (can fly and swim now) and Knuckles (glide, punch, climb)) which are fun to play as
Tells a decent story without using any dialogue
Different paths through levels (high ground usually yields the best rewards while being harder to traverse)
Somewhat harder bosses/paths when playing as Knuckles
Save feature
Good length
New shields (double jump/ring magnet, air dash/fire shield, downward bounce/faster movement in water)
Mini-bosses
Nice level transitions
Great art direction overall (some odd color choices in Sonic 3)
Additional bonus levels (for extra rings, 1-ups and shields - activated like in Sonic 2)
Stopping and rolling into a ball is faster than in Sonic 2
Level design innovations/creative level design (some bosses (marble garden, flying battery, mushroom hill), cannons and balloons in carnival zone - later used in DKC, spinning discs, magnetic pillars in flying battery, pillars/bars you can spin around, controllable platforms in death egg zone, anti-gravity rooms in death egg zone, slopes with moving platforms/water/sand, ghosts in pyramid etc.)
Hyper Sonic/Knuckles (barely worth it but still a nice touch)
Destructible walls
Hidden bonus points at the end of levels are back
Hidden power ups
Good variety
Great final boss with multiple phases (even better if you collect the first 7 emeralds)
Fast paced overall
+/-
Different system for entering the main bonus level (need to find big rings by exploring)
Easy to rack up extra lives
Shields are lost between levels
The ring system lets you keep fighting bosses while constantly getting hit
There's no level segment that's built around the shield powers
Somewhat slow acceleration when starting to move (can usually be helped by jumping or spindashing)
-
Slower paced explorative gameplay in parts (mostly in sonic 3, partially due to having to find the bonus levels leading to emeralds if you're going for those)
Some uninteresting levels (Sonic 3's marble garden and most of launch base)
Worse main bonus level than in 2 (dizzying, hard to tell when it will speed up, trial & error)
Some trial & error (enemy placements, boss patterns, some trap placements (e.g. spike ball in flying battery or some fire traps in lava cave zone), cheap death at marble garden - out of sight pillar trap is out of sync with on screen pillar trap)
Mostly simple bosses (flying battery and sandopolis mini-bosses especially)
Can't use the special shield powers as Knuckles
No difficulty options (however you can play as Knuckles for a somewhat higher challenge)
Some control issues (your character auto-stands when hitting a spring (and you can't turn into a ball again in mid-air), can't turn off super/hyper form, can't start gliding after hitting a spring as Knuckles, underwater, controls still kinda suck as Sonic or Knuckles, minor hit detection problems around loops in ice cap zone, pretty large knockback when hit
More semi-automated parts (Hydrocity, Death Egg - automated "light tunnel" segments, Launch Base)
As in Sonic 2 the game locks you in when close to a boss - making you unable to backtrack and possibly missing stuff
Minor physics/control bugs (not being able to climb a ledge, not being able to climb moving platforms)
Not much thought behind Knuckles' ability to punch through walls (can't even use it in marble garden)
Knuckles' game is cut short (ends at sky sanctuary)
Some slow parts (elevators in mushroom hill and block pushing in sandopolis - less of a problem when using Knuckles or Tails)
No in-game transition between Sonic 3's end and S & K's beginning
Springs that bounce you in the opposite direction you want to go
Knuckles can't jump off of spikes and the stone platforms in Hydrocity?
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-6.5/7* Fun-8.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-9
*Best ending/all emeralds
+
New characters (Tails (can fly and swim now) and Knuckles (glide, punch, climb)) which are fun to play as
Tells a decent story without using any dialogue
Different paths through levels (high ground usually yields the best rewards while being harder to traverse)
Somewhat harder bosses/paths when playing as Knuckles
Save feature
Good length
New shields (double jump/ring magnet, air dash/fire shield, downward bounce/faster movement in water)
Mini-bosses
Nice level transitions
Great art direction overall (some odd color choices in Sonic 3)
Additional bonus levels (for extra rings, 1-ups and shields - activated like in Sonic 2)
Stopping and rolling into a ball is faster than in Sonic 2
Level design innovations/creative level design (some bosses (marble garden, flying battery, mushroom hill), cannons and balloons in carnival zone - later used in DKC, spinning discs, magnetic pillars in flying battery, pillars/bars you can spin around, controllable platforms in death egg zone, anti-gravity rooms in death egg zone, slopes with moving platforms/water/sand, ghosts in pyramid etc.)
Hyper Sonic/Knuckles (barely worth it but still a nice touch)
Destructible walls
Hidden bonus points at the end of levels are back
Hidden power ups
Good variety
Great final boss with multiple phases (even better if you collect the first 7 emeralds)
Fast paced overall
+/-
Different system for entering the main bonus level (need to find big rings by exploring)
Easy to rack up extra lives
Shields are lost between levels
The ring system lets you keep fighting bosses while constantly getting hit
There's no level segment that's built around the shield powers
Somewhat slow acceleration when starting to move (can usually be helped by jumping or spindashing)
-
Slower paced explorative gameplay in parts (mostly in sonic 3, partially due to having to find the bonus levels leading to emeralds if you're going for those)
Some uninteresting levels (Sonic 3's marble garden and most of launch base)
Worse main bonus level than in 2 (dizzying, hard to tell when it will speed up, trial & error)
Some trial & error (enemy placements, boss patterns, some trap placements (e.g. spike ball in flying battery or some fire traps in lava cave zone), cheap death at marble garden - out of sight pillar trap is out of sync with on screen pillar trap)
Mostly simple bosses (flying battery and sandopolis mini-bosses especially)
Can't use the special shield powers as Knuckles
No difficulty options (however you can play as Knuckles for a somewhat higher challenge)
Some control issues (your character auto-stands when hitting a spring (and you can't turn into a ball again in mid-air), can't turn off super/hyper form, can't start gliding after hitting a spring as Knuckles, underwater, controls still kinda suck as Sonic or Knuckles, minor hit detection problems around loops in ice cap zone, pretty large knockback when hit
More semi-automated parts (Hydrocity, Death Egg - automated "light tunnel" segments, Launch Base)
As in Sonic 2 the game locks you in when close to a boss - making you unable to backtrack and possibly missing stuff
Minor physics/control bugs (not being able to climb a ledge, not being able to climb moving platforms)
Not much thought behind Knuckles' ability to punch through walls (can't even use it in marble garden)
Knuckles' game is cut short (ends at sky sanctuary)
Some slow parts (elevators in mushroom hill and block pushing in sandopolis - less of a problem when using Knuckles or Tails)
No in-game transition between Sonic 3's end and S & K's beginning
Springs that bounce you in the opposite direction you want to go
Knuckles can't jump off of spikes and the stone platforms in Hydrocity?