Most Favorite + Least Favorite of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive/CD Sonic Pentalogy?
Considering the platformer games of the series (Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, CD, 3, & Knuckles), which is your favorite, which do you like the least, and most important of all, what makes you feel that way about those games? Keep in mind, this is only supposed to be about the 16-bit games for the SEGA Genesis (A.K.A. Mega Drive) and the SEGA CD.
For myself, my most favorite of the five will probably always be the first, "Sonic The Hedgehog," but Sonic CD is a close second. As more has been written about Sonic 1, I'll spend some time writing about Sonic CD.
The things I really liked about Sonic CD were the introduction of the new characters Amy Rose and Metal Sonic (who weren't playable and stealing the stage from Sonic), the fact that this was the first game to take place somewhere other than the surface of Mobius (not counting the artificial satellite the Death Egg), the whole time travel and change the future for the better aspects of the Time Stones on the Little Planet, the introduction of the super peel-out figure-8 move, and of course, the snazzy musical score! The level design of this game was really keen and I wished we would have seen more of its ilk in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
My least favorite (controversy!) is Sonic 2. From the spotlight-stealing "oh look at me I can fly except when you play as me" Tails to the "muggy" and closed-in level design, I did not like Sonic 2 - and I say this as someone who played the Genesis games as they were released. And the music, while good for a few stages, is pretty blah in others.
There were lots of low-quality Zones too. I liked Emerald Hill Zone, Casino Night Zone, Metropolis Zone, Wing Fortress Zone, Death Egg Zone, and... Chemical Plant Zone is a good zone if you ignore the frequent drowning deaths. But Aquatic Ruin Zone takes glee in always throwing obstacles at you to stop you from running which I find frustrating in a Sonic game. Hill Top Zone is more like hit you from above, when falling on a teeter totter, or dropping you in an unseen pit... zone. Mystic Cave Zone deployed that awful game "design" of throwing unseen hazards at you that you could only avoid if you had memorized the stages or knew what you were seeing hidden between the sprites. And don't try to make your own way through Oil Ocean Zone or you'll end up dead, in a dead end, or with plenty of backtracking. Sky Chase Zone lacked anything feeling like a speedy chase and was more like a slow stroll through the sky. Be sure not to land on Tails's plane when trying to hit an enemy or death for you!
And the special stages, ugh, what a nightmare. It was so hard to judge distance in those, and if you had AI Tails along for the ride, you lost a lot of rings because of that buffoon bashing into spikes or taking your spot in the forefront and moving you to the aft. And the two-player versus mode was just junky with the screen squashed, preventing you from seeing far ahead or above or below your character. And the co-op during the regular game was more like "Hey I'm going to abandon you so I hope you weren't planning on helping too much except with the bosses."
Sonic 2 is not a bad game, but it is my last choice of Sonic platformer to play on the Genesis.
So everyone, what are your faves and flames?
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Originally Posted by Baloo
