Sonic 3 & Knuckles
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), Hyper Sonic/Knuckles (barely worth it but still a nice touch), stopping and rolling into a ball is faster than in Sonic 2, destructible walls, hidden bonus points at the end of levels are back, hidden power ups, level design innovations (bosses (marble garden, flying battery, mushroom hill), cannons and balloons in carnival zone, 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.), fast paced, good variation, great final boss with multiple phases (even better if you collect the first 7 emeralds)
+/-
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 (mostly in sonic 3)
some uninteresting levels (Sonic 3's marble garden and most of launch base)
worse 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 bigger challenge), your character auto-stands when hitting a spring (and you can't turn into a ball again in mid-air), as in Sonic 2 the game locks you in when close to a boss - making you unable to backtrack and possibly missing stuff, more semi-automated parts (Hydrocity, Death Egg, Launch Base), can't turn off super/hyper form, 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), can't start gliding after hitting a spring as Knuckles, Knuckles' game is cut short (ends at sky sanctuary), underwater controls still kinda suck as Sonic or Knuckles, some slow parts (elevators in mushroom hill and block pushing in sandopolis - less of a problem when using Knuckles or Tails), minor hit detection problems around loops in ice cap zone, no in-game transition between Sonic 3 end and S & K beginning, large knockback, springs that bounce you in the opposite direction you want to go, the automated 'light tunnel' segment in death egg zone
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), Hyper Sonic/Knuckles (barely worth it but still a nice touch), stopping and rolling into a ball is faster than in Sonic 2, destructible walls, hidden bonus points at the end of levels are back, hidden power ups, level design innovations (bosses (marble garden, flying battery, mushroom hill), cannons and balloons in carnival zone, 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.), fast paced, good variation, great final boss with multiple phases (even better if you collect the first 7 emeralds)
+/-
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 (mostly in sonic 3)
some uninteresting levels (Sonic 3's marble garden and most of launch base)
worse 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 bigger challenge), your character auto-stands when hitting a spring (and you can't turn into a ball again in mid-air), as in Sonic 2 the game locks you in when close to a boss - making you unable to backtrack and possibly missing stuff, more semi-automated parts (Hydrocity, Death Egg, Launch Base), can't turn off super/hyper form, 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), can't start gliding after hitting a spring as Knuckles, Knuckles' game is cut short (ends at sky sanctuary), underwater controls still kinda suck as Sonic or Knuckles, some slow parts (elevators in mushroom hill and block pushing in sandopolis - less of a problem when using Knuckles or Tails), minor hit detection problems around loops in ice cap zone, no in-game transition between Sonic 3 end and S & K beginning, large knockback, springs that bounce you in the opposite direction you want to go, the automated 'light tunnel' segment in death egg zone
Knuckles can't jump off of spikes and the stone platforms in Hydrocity?
