Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)

Played on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on PS3.

I played the vanilla version of the game. I went from the easiest classic Sonic game to the hardest. I love there's actually a save system unlock the other Genesis games, but that's offset by how brutal the levels are. There are a few mechanics like the cylinders in the 4th zone and the tops in the 3rd zone that do not effectively teach the player how to use them. The level and boss design really exacerbates the issues I had with the entire classic series thusfar. There are 3 buttons on the standard Genesis controller, why is only one used? Why can't one of them be for the spindash? Zone 2 act 2 really made me angry when I was trying to spindash, but couldn't because I wasn't at a complete stop and I end up jumping instead. The hit and hurt boxes on everything in this game isn't really intuitive, I just kind of have to guess.

The thing that made me the most upset were the glitches. All of the games I played had glitches, but I got to the point where I felt like I was almost softlocked in Sonic 3. These 2 glitches only occurred during my Tails playthrough and I'm not sure if this is something that happens on original hardware, if it's the version I'm playing, or even if it's something wrong with my disc. First up, when I was doing my 4th special stage, the game started playing like a slide show. It was pause and start randomly, and the special stage became basically unplayable. The second glitch I encountered happened in the same act as the first. In zone 5 act 1, I got to a point where I had to collapse an ice bridge and descend, but when I did that, the screen scrolled all the way to the end of the level and took out Tails. I eventually found a workaround, but I legit thought it was impossible for me to beat the game when I got to that point. I had to hit a checkpoint, let the game take out Tails, then I would be fine to progress on my next attempt. Super frustrating.

Now on to things I liked. I liked the screen transitions between acts and zones, it makes the world and levels seem more interconnected. I liked the 3 new shields that have their own defensive properties and abilities. I really wish the abilities (double jump, forward jump, and bounce) were standard movement options for the entire game instead of being locked to the shields. Knuckles makes a strong impression in his debut. The very first thing he does is knock Sonic out of Super form at base and that's rad.

Next up is Sonic & Knuckles (base only). After that, I think that will wrap up my playthrough of the 2D Sonic games for now.

Ok. So. I'll never get around to doing some comprehensive list of video game music. I've come to peace with that. So instead, I'm just going to post whatever track I can think of. One a day. Maybe it'll have some meaning. Maybe I just like the song. But ultimately, it's 30+ years of gaming in snippets of music, each taking me back to a moment in time, an enjoyable time, just playing. And listening. And feeling.

You can comment if you feel something for the track if you want, or just leave a like if you liked it. Day 1 is Sonic 3's Endless Mine. A track from the multiplayer that if you only played single player, you might have missed.

Today was hard and thought provoking. Please humour me.

So, while for the most part I'm greatly enjoying this game, the existence of Carnival Night Zone means I have now to go on a quest to find and destroy every copy of this game so no one has to hear that damn music ever again.

My mission is not an easy one, but one I do in behalf of all of humanity.

Replayed Sonic 3 (as part of "Sonic 3 and Knuckles") in Sonic Origins. (Got all the Chaos Emeralds, good ending.)

I think I love everything about Sonic 3. This was Sonic Team at its 2D gaming peak. It took Sonic 2, and simply made it all a bit better. Larger, more vibrant levels, all designed better, with more speedy (at times outright exhilarating) paths to take and more hidden goodies to search out. Sonic is now more fun to control: he has a split-second shield, and can utilize special abilities with new elemental shields (bouncing in a bubble, shooting forward in a fireball, and performing an electric double-jump). It's all very cool, and adds an extra layer of interaction to the otherwise straightforward gameplay. Each zone now includes a sub-boss as well as a main boss, and many of them are extremely creative. And, the cherry on top: an absolutely awesome soundtrack.

The elephant in the room for Sonic Origins though is that some of Sonic 3's songs were replaced (using remixes of "prototype" songs that were used in the 90s PC release). I won't sugarcoat things here: these are a big step down from the original Genesis tunes. Carnival Night's replacement song is okay, and Launch Base's is passable -- but Ice Cap's is just plain bad (which is especially painful, when the original for that was my top favorite). It's all a bummer, but I get that if the choice is between this and not having Sonic 3 re-released at all...

At any rate, Sonic 3 is still entirely worth playing, and perhaps those who have never experienced it before simply won't know any better regarding the music shenanigans (and thus be largely a non-issue).

Having a lot of fun with this one, and it's remaining good throughout. I was able to finish up Sonic 3, but since I'm hooked into Sonic & Knuckles there's an additional 7 zones to play through! I'm surprised at how little I mind actually doing this, though I did get tired about halfway through the second half. I'll be wrapping this one up next time!

This game's a lot better than I remember! I had a hiccup at some point causing the game to reset, then crash, but thanks to an auto-save feature it didn't pose too much of a setback at all.

I made it to the second to last zone, though if I'm not mistaken there's another seven zones after the first seven since I'm plugged into the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge. If that's the case, I'm still on board. Sonic 3 has proved to be a pleasant surprise all around and I'm curious to see if Sonic & Knuckles can keep it up. All I remember from that game is the mushroom zone...