Between Sonic 1, 2, and 3, 3&K which one stands out the most?

[Miles]

Well I mean, Sonic 3 and S&K are the same thing but Sonic 3 has a save feature so I'd say Sonic 3 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles are about 60-70% the same.

Sonic 3K does have a save feature, which is yet another reason why it's better than just S&K. There's no reason to play just Sonic 3 or just S&K these days since Sonic 3K is very easy to access.

 

[RETRO-VETRO]

Sonic 3K does have a save feature, which is yet another reason why it's better than just S&K. There's no reason to play just Sonic 3 or just S&K these days since Sonic 3K is very easy to access.

Indeed.

 

[aquova]

I've always vastly preferred 3&K over the others (not to say they're bad though). While Sonic 2 felt like one of the best games on the Genesis, 3&K still feels like one of the best games of its day, period. The shield abilities, extra Super forms, special stages, it's just phenomenal. Merging two games together for extra content was also mind boggling

 

[Turbo Kid]

The fight with Knuckles, him getting screwed by Robotnik and turning babyface to help Sonic & Tails, the epic Sky Sanctuary spiral staircase bit, that great final level and boss fight followed by Sonic going super saiyin and chasing Robotnik through space. Nothing in any of the other ones compares to that. One of the best final acts of any game ever. I LOVE Sonic & Knuckles.

 

[Scotty]

The special stages hurt Sonic 2 a lot for me. I thought they were awful. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the game overall at the time of its release because I did. However, in retrospect, Sonic 2 doesn't stand out much to me. It's that awkward middle game that didn't wow you like the first Sonic, because the first game was the first time you got to experience a Sonic game. And it wasn't as polished as Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles would end up being. It's just not very impressive in retrospect. It's just a Sonic game that existed. Meh.

I usually ignore the Special Stages. They require WAY too much memorization for me to enjoy them. Plus, the level designs do not complement his higher speed and jumping capabilities.

 

[Miles]

I usually ignore the Special Stages. They require WAY too much memorization for me to enjoy them. Plus, the level designs do not complement his higher speed and jumping capabilities.

Same. The special stages in Sonic games aren't good.

 

[Turbo Kid]

I actually think Sonic 3 and S&K finally got the formula right for special stages with the blue sphere levels. Those are pretty fun.

 

[bjork]

And y'know what I hate the most about Sonic the hedgehog, Sonic 2? THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T SAVE

They're not really long enough to justify it at the time, you can blow through them with everything in under 2 hours each.

 

[Miles]

They're not really long enough to justify it at the time, you can blow through them with everything in under 2 hours each.

True. Adding saving functionality cost a decent amount of money at the time.

 

[bjork]

True. Adding saving functionality cost a decent amount of money at the time.

And it's kind of against the brand for this specific franchise. Come back later? Nah son, gotta go fast

 

[Dr.Kisaragi]

Here's my list

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (I combine since it just part one and 2) I really like the full blown adventure here this one is my Super Mario Bros3

Sonic Cd (I'm biased) because big fan of Time Travel mechanic

Sonic 1 and 2 this one easy to replay I enjoyed.