Summer of Sonic (4): Sonic 3 and Knuckles

Welcome back to the Summer of Sonic, which has now reached what many will join me in calling the apex of the series, and likely the most pointless review of anything I will ever write in my life. Were I to review a loaf of bread, it would likely carry more meaning, since at least I could say something more than one of the few examples of fanboy squealing in my life.

Just kidding. There's a lot of interesting stuff to talk about, just not in the concept of a review.

Sonic 3 (and Knuckles!) is the name given to combining Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with Sonic and Knuckles. In their original incarnations, Sonic and Knuckles was capable of accepting another game on top of it. They referred to this as 'lock on' technology, which they then ... Never used again to my knowledge, typical Sega. You could play Knuckles in Sonic 2, and practice the special stages with other games even. Other games locked on would do this for whatever reason, it would pick a random special stage and you could get some practice with the mechanics.

Sonic 3 inversely featured the ability to save your game, which doesn't sound impressive now, but was completely unusual for a Sonic game at the time. S&K itself can't save, but it's very short, in fact Sonic 3 is pretty short as well. Combined together, though, as a kid the save thing was really helpful.

I'm going to address the game as a unified title and not individually; they're both completely playable, but the game was split in development and re-combined later, so I think this is the game "as intended" and we'll just go with that. (Although yes, as intended is up for debate, since development cut Sonic 3 in half, so who knows what they'd really have done?)

This is review four of nine in the Summer of Sonic; the preview review is here and the next one will be here whenever I get it up.

I played the game once beginning to end as Sonic, and then 90% of the game again as Knuckles, then played the first four levels as Tails just to do them again. For Sonic, I did the canonical run, which is to say I did all the emeralds and the Doomsday ending I never saw as a child. I had actually intended to do three runs, one Sonic, one Knuckles then a S+T run where I got the emeralds but ended up finding the special stages way easier than I remembered. Basically, I got to Carnival Night zone, the third zone of the game, and found I'd already gotten most of the first set of emeralds.

So I just did the full canonical run there, with a little bit of save scumming, although to be honest I think I could have hit all the special stage gates I needed to do it. I'll explain that in a bit.

Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are essentially each 70% of a Sonic game that combines into 150% of a 16-bit Sonic game, being a little more than the sum of its parts, but individually they're not really very long. S&K especially feels rather brief, given it only has four "main" acts before it shifts into the boss zones, but the levels are very big indeed. They are also very, very nice looking.

I never really noticed such commonality when playing the games sporadically as a child, but it's interesting how many of the Sonic levels feel like revisions of each other. When reading about Sonic CD, there was an argument given that each of the levels is built to work as a revision of Sonic 1 levels. That being, for example, that Stardust Speedway is a revision of Starlight Zone. I'm not sure how true this is, but it's interesting looking at how Sonic 1 has "Labyrinth" and Sonic 2 has "Aquatic Ruin" which shares some of its thematic elements with "Marble Garden", while Aquatic Ruin also rather resembles Tidal Tempest. Is it intentional or a coincidence, or just a blending of designs? I don't know, but it might account for some of the reason the gel so well when played in sequence.

And yeah, Aquatic Ruin also kinda feels like a blend of Labyrinth and Marble, which makes that discussion look silly. Marble into Marble into Marble! Of course! It all makes sense now!

The zones in S3&K are on the most part a visual treat, and one of the reasons I think this game endures. The art style is actually somewhat different from the earlier Sonic games, and going from Sonic CD - which is done in the crisp style of Sonic 1 - to this was actually kind of jarring. You wouldn't notice playing it a couple days later even, but I went from finishing CD to immediately jamming Angel Island and checking to see if I'm wearing my glasses.

In terms of 'favorite zones' I have to admit to a preference toward the S3 levels. Hydrocity, the only true "water level" of this huge game, is just charming in its music, architecture and easy balance between speed and trickery. It lacks the extended "drowning threat" sections of earlier water level designs, and keeps it moving briskly. Seriously, it's just a cheerful water park, instead of the drudgery of Labyrinth or the feat of dropping into the sluggish of Aquatic Ruin. It remains my favorite, but Icecap is a pretty close second. After that I guess I'd say Lava Reef zone, which is a S&K zone, then they all kinda float together. That's not to say the game has any bad zones, I honestly don't think it does, which is a treat after CD and 2 which had a couple ehhh moments. The Death Egg zone - which was supposed to be in Sonic 2 but cut for time - is somewhat frustrating but filled with interesting tricks.


Although S3&K has something like 14 zones, it is worth noting the game changes the music and design of its levels between acts. They flow seamlessly from one to the next, which is different from 2 or CD, but also change up a lot. Angel Island Zone gets set on fire, the lights go out in Carnival Night, Icecap goes from underground to being above ground running along an ice floe, etc. If I show you 25 seconds of any random zone in Sonic 2, you probably can't tell which act it is, but in S3&K you can sometimes figure out if it's act 1 or act 2. That's an improvement and shows a lot of care in the level design. That's not to say all of them change like this, but that actually makes the game feel like it has more variety and not less.

S3&K also benefits from its weird design cycle in an interesting way; as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 needed a climax of its own, and the game doesn't sort the levels in any new kind of order, you get this sort of "second act" battle in the Launch Zone mid-way through the merged game. In Sonic 3 alone, you're there right as the Death Egg launches and then it kinda just blows up. In the merged game, it clearly crashes, and S&K becomes about getting back to the Death Egg to finally finish it off.

The way the game sorts out its progression feels different, and better, for this. As S&K needed a green hills analogue to start off, you get the very strange Mushroom Hill zone which is definitely a "green hill" but doesn't feel or play much like them at all. It gives the game a dip, and then oddly you immediately get on a flying fortress!

The game in general feels like more care was put into the level progression, as they try to join them together with little cutscenes and the like. I think some of it is incidental, but there's less abrupt shifts and it feels more welded together. I mentioned in the Sonic 2 review the game just ends up feeling kinda randomly put together, but here it sands that down a bit. Descending through a Desert ruin into a lava filled cavern isn't the most logical progression, but it is a start.

Can we talk about Knuckles for a bit? Do you mind?

Knuckles is probably the last clear-cut all good for the series of the character additions. Obviously Knuckles' Chaotix is ... Is whatever that is... But Knuckles himself has a lasting legacy of just adding humor and nonsense to the franchise. I don't want Sonic Boom itself, but the Knuckles stuff that gets posted on youtube is fantastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K9WtZTOmz8

Click da link

I realized while I was watching the recent TMNT film that I really enjoyed bits with Raphael because he's written like Sonic Boom Knuckles and... Heh, it just works. Knuckles just works. He's good at his job.

I never played Knuckles through the S3&K set up; I can remember playing him through Sonic 2, because as I mentioned, the technique I used to kill the last boss as a child - which was, for the record, insanely more difficult - didn't work and I never got past him. Maybe that's why I never played him through Sonic 3, I'm not altogether too certain. I honestly though I did, then I got to the end of the third zone and was like waaaait there's a different boss? Some of the zones are very different and some blend paths through the Sonic paths, which ends up feeling really trippy.

On the downside, some of the levels are just weirdly shorter, probably owing to changes in his moveset. Carnival Night just... Abruptly ends, out of nowhere. It's very strange.

Knuckles has a different move set at the expense of a lower top speed (which you barely notice) and a much weaker jumping arc, which you do notice. Generally, because he can change direction mid-flight and launch into a glide, he's easier to handle through the levels but the weaker jump makes him harder to play on bosses. It's a little strange, but I think you're really supposed to do the chaos emerald grind on Knuckles, because some of the bosses are downright unpleasant. And some of them were buffed, even, which is just weird.

Knuckles also loses access to the alt-jump ability of the shields, which I guess leads to me to my next section. All the way through Sonic 1-2-CD Sonic had essentially three power-ups. Speed shoes, which are more risky than useful or put in terrible spots, Invincibility which... Generally is pretty pointless and the 'shield' power up. The shield absorbs one singular point of damage, and were also pretty pointless. I feel sometimes like they had these power ups just to have power ups, not to really add anything to the game.

In S3&K the speed shoes are often in even more ridiculous spots but the invincibility does sometimes occur in meaningful places. The shields though, mannnn the shields. Replacing "the" shield are a set of elemental shields, which offer three bonuses. First off, all shields repel certain attacks, usually little bullets shot out by enemies. They just bounce off. Second, each of them has a benefit or two. The electric shield repels electrical attacks, I think the water shield repels frost (but I couldn't find one while doing the ice level) and the fire one makes you fire immune. But on top of that, the electrical one attracts rings while the water one prevents drowning, and lastly they all have an alt-jump move where a second press of the jump button. The fire one makes you into a fireball, the electrical one gives you a small double-jump.

These are so good! They actually change the gameplay a little and feel like something you really want to retain. Immunity to elemental damage or water-breathing are so hugely beneficial in sections you would otherwise not want to explore. These would really improve a lot of the Sonic 2 levels, but unfortunately they added them essentially at the end of the franchise and I don't think they come back in Sonic 4 or Generations or whatever else.

And lastly, the other improvement from the previous two games; special and bonus stages were added. In Sonic 1, special stages are at the end of stages you finish with enough rings. In Sonic 2, special stages are granted by signposts, assuming you have enough rings. Sonic 3... Does both, sort of. Special stages are accessed through giant rings found hidden throughout the levels, and man, some of them are a real puzzle to get to. Signposts, assuming enough rings, offer three different bonus stages.

One of the bonus stages is basically just Casino Nights + the Sonic 1 special stage, while the other two are a gumball machine and... Some sort of electrical balls jumping balls to balls thing I struggle to describe. It's bizarre. All three of them are a nice break in the action, though at times the game puts sign posts in places where you'll blast past them and miss the bonus stage. Is it a big deal? No, but it can be a weird moment of frustration.

The special stages are psuedo 3d spheres, little worlds, you run over. I like to think of them as more of a ... I guess spiritual journey, than a treasure being hunted, and then they feel kinda like they fit. You basically need to hit all the blue spheres, either by actually hitting them, or completing squares of 3x3 or bigger. They're relaxing, and of reasonable difficulty. They're harder than the easiest Sonic 2 or Sonic 1 special stages, but the difficulty is less about rote memorization and more about reaction time mixed with figuring out what you need to do.

Oh and the music in S3&K is great. Hurray. That's not really saying much you wouldn't expect. The tunes are fun, upbeat and generally interesting. Many of them use voice clips, or at least seem to, and work nicely with the flow of the levels. Several are incredibly catchy and will get stuck in your head.

I have to admit Ice Cap zone's theme doesn't ... Sound quite right to me, and that might be an issue with the hub or the way sound is done running through my computer's sound card or something. Most of the music sounds just right, but Ice Cap always stuck with me as the best theme, and of course the level I always felt like I never got to play enough of.

So what is wrong with S3&K? This is an interesting thought exercise for me, because you can start to get a real feeling for where the franchise is going to shit the bed. The blueprints are all here.

For one thing, that thing I mentioned about transitioning from Act 1 to Act 2, and how it adds a ton of variety to the game? That's sort of a thing you can get the feeling was going to wreck other games. Sonic 3 hits the limit, it caps out on too many doodads and begins to feel a little "too clever for its own good". When you combine it with S&K you get to about the Sandopolis zone and start to feel like yeah, no, I'm good you don't need that many gimmicks. I don't need the ghosts and the timed blocks and the sand drains to go with them.

There's just so many bits and baubles to fight through you can get overwhelmed. The levels, from what I've read, were already maxed out for the genesis carts, but I kinda wish they had 3 acts and a bit less stuff. Too much stuff is kinda where Sonic goes and ultimately goes wrong for a long time.

Also, while I like the three acts feel of the game, the difficulty curve is all over the place. Just from zone to zone, but within given acts or from character to character. In general the game tends to assuage your random deaths with generously handing out extra lives. One thing I really dislike about the game is being able to hit the casino night bonus stage when you already have more than 200 rings - meaning you can't take any benefit from it - but I guess the fact you can end up with 500+ rings in some zones is just sort of a thing. And some of the bosses really don't feel all that tested on Tails, and then you're just spending eight lives killing a boss then getting six lives back over the next zone...

It kinda comes to a head at random points in zones. Carnival Night, for example, doesn't "feel" like a deathtrap. But it is loaded with instant death traps, that can be hard to speed through without every once and a while just killing you at random. A lot of the levels, as well, feel downright non-linear and at times I'm not even sure how you actually got from point A to point B.

One thing I think is missing from this game, and maybe from Sonic moving forward, is chunks of its eco theme. Sonic is about a battle between a hedgehog and a person who abuses the natural world, but I don't think Sonic is actually anti-technology. Sonic's power-ups come out of computer screens, Sonic loves speed, he loves highways and he loves chili-dogs. Sonic CD gets this - the good futures blend technology and the organic into something gorgeous - whereas S3&K is more about exploring a natural world and ruins. After a while I feel like this underlying bit of righteous not taken too far is lost, and it kinda diminishes Sonic's charm. It's not that bad, or even bad, in S3&K, but Sonic isn't an eco-terrorist or a luddite, and later versions start to feel like that.

Hydrocity has water slides. I mean, the full on modern Americana style water slides. Why? Because they're awesome. Sonic likes awesome things. But it doesn't feel as blended, the zones just hard slice between those themes.

I mean also eventually they jam him into the human world and he's making out with underage girls but he also doesn't have the "lay off the pollution and go for a run along Starlight zone" kinda feel to him.

Let's make something clear though: Sonic is uniquely a more developed platformer concept than many of its contemporaries, more or less enduring or not. It's more advanced, because it entered the game in the 16-bit era and was built to take advantage of that. But I think ultimately this might be the downfall of the later games. Sonic required more refinement, more development, in order to be a 2d platformer and the same is true of becoming a 3d platformer. I've seen the argument "mario 64 did 3d perfectly" and while I don't feel that is true, transitioning what was ultimately an 8-bit era design into 3d is a lot easier. Expectations were simply different. I've mentioned this before: There's not very many sonic style clones out in the wild, whereas there's a million indie games ripping on the mario or megaman paradigms. They're easier, the physics are more forgiving, the whole thing is just simpler.

Sonic really suffered in its middle age for being rather difficult to build a 3D version of, or at least, so I feel. The next game I'm going to play is the only middle era Sonic game, though I'm not saying that's because it's the only one I would play. I can't really stomach the idea of playing SA1, but I would inversely like to play Sonic Heroes since it is referenced in Generations and looks interesting but... Eh, we'll get into that later.

So ultimately, how do I feel about S3&K? I imagine it is a classic, but it does have its flaws. The game does go on a little too long, and some of the zones are just too "clever" and not enough fun. Also, in replaying it a couple times, I feel like you have most of the best zones in Sonic 3 and then the S&K half ends up handling the boss zones which are sort of a mixed bag. Apparently Sky Sanctuary is the one everyone remembers, given its inclusion (iirc) in Generations and All-Stars Racing Transformed, but I honestly don't think Sky Sanctuary is even a better than average zone.

I could talk about this game for hours, although I'm going to be honest in that I eventually got tired of running through it on the third time. If you like platformers, and you've never played S3&K, I think you're doing yourself a disservice not giving it a try on the Mega drive hub. I can see where people like Sonic 2 more, but I think Sonic 3 and Knuckles has it beat in nearly every objective category, and that makes it probably the game to play if you read someone saying "Sonic was never good".