Sonic 3 and Knuckles AIR may be the best Sonic game I've ever played

[Bonkers225]

Sonic 3 has always been my favorite. AIR is a fanmade game/hack where you can customize the game to your heart's content(Well almost), and even add mods for it, making a great game, near perfect(As a Sonic game goes). There's a hilarious mod where you can add in the 3-D version of Sonic from Adventures into the game to play through. Do check this one out if you enjoy Sonic games in general.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I'm wondering why Sonic 2 is still the most popular of the bunch.

CD is great looking and sounding although a bit slow (to accommodate the vertical level design and the gameplay being more about searching the future/past sign to destroy the cages and holograms).

Sonic 3 AIR was also the answer to Taxman/Stealth/Whitehead for not being able to port Sonic 3 to mobile thanks to music copyrights.

Sonic 3 has always been my favourite. AIR is a fanmade game/hack where you can customise the game to your heart's content(Well almost), and even add mods for it, making a great game, near perfect(As a Sonic game goes). There's a hilarious mod where you can add in the 3-D version of Sonic from Adventures into the game to play through. Do check this one out if you enjoy Sonic games in general.

Customisation is a plus for me. Sonic 3 Complete is great but the ROM has its limits (still good for handheld consoles or for flashcarts).


You should check Sonic 1 Forever, Sonic 2 Absolute and Sonic CD Miracle Edition for a similar experience.

 

[Bonkers225]

CD had the best OST out of any Sonic game imo. As for the game itself, it took every opportunity as possible to make you not enjoy it. Well, for me atleast. Simply put, I did not like CD

 

[Yousef Yousef]

Sonic 3 has always been my favorite. AIR is a fanmade game/hack where you can customize the game to your heart's content(Well almost), and even add mods for it, making a great game, near perfect(As a Sonic game goes). There's a hilarious mod where you can add in the 3-D version of Sonic from Adventures into the game to play through. Do check this one out if you enjoy Sonic games in general.

You are absolutely correct
I have it on my steam deck
I vastly prefer an “improved” port of the genesis classics over the stealth/whitehead versions we have now. Nothing wrong with them, but I want the original versions be perserverd, not a recreation of it irregardless of said recreation’s accuracy.
Just my two cents ofc.

Post automatically merged: Jan 14, 2025

CD had the best OST out of any Sonic game imo. As for the game itself, it took every opportunity as possible to make you not enjoy it. Well, for me atleast. Simply put, I did not like CD

That’s absolutely fair. I love Cd.

Post automatically merged: Jan 14, 2025

You should check Sonic 1 Forever, Sonic 2 Absolute and Sonic CD Miracle Edition for a similar experience.

Yes to all these

 

[RustySK]

Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited)

Is it this one? Had never heard of it before - I know this is a cardinal sin to admit, but aside from Mania I never really clicked with 2D Sonic, I'll check it out!

 

[Yousef Yousef]

Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited)

Is it this one? Had never heard of it before

That’s it yes.

- I know this is a cardinal sin to admit, but aside from Mania I never really clicked with 2D Sonic, I'll check it out!

Nah man nothin wrong with it. Know a few who prefer 3d. (Kinda was one myself)

 

[fake-kun]

Would you recommend AIR to somebody who played the original S3&K and didn't like it?

 

[Yousef Yousef]

Would you recommend AIR to somebody who played the original S3&K and didn't like it?

Not necessarily, no. Unless lack of widescreen was what put you off or some other minutiae. Unfortunately, Sonic Forever and similar “enhancements” are geared towards hardcore enthusiasts and dont shake up the core gameplay itself. Hope this helps.

 

[RetroLaw]

First time I'm hearing about it, if I'm gonna play the games again, guess I might as well play this version.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Same.

I haven't played a Sonic game in ages... guess it's about time!

 

[Yousef Yousef]

First time I'm hearing about it, if I'm gonna play the games again, guess I might as well play this version.

Same.

I haven't played a Sonic game in ages... guess it's about time!

Heh, have fun you two!

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

CD had the best OST out of any Sonic game imo. As for the game itself, it took every opportunity as possible to make you not enjoy it. Well, for me atleast. Simply put, I did not like CD

I feel that Sonic CD is like Castlevania Rondo of Blood: both games with a great aesthetic and soundtrack but the gameplay has regressed compared to their predecessor (Respectively Sonic 2 and Super Castlevania IV).

I personally appreciate the game as long as I don't focus on getting the good ending because screw these special stages and having to find these darn cages.

Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited)

Is it this one? Had never heard of it before - I know this is a cardinal sin to admit, but aside from Mania I never really clicked with 2D Sonic, I'll check it out!

I can understand because Sonic 2 is unforgiving towards the end and Sonic 1 is slow as hell in some areas.

Would you recommend AIR to somebody who played the original S3&K and didn't like it?

I mean fundamentally it's still the same game so I cannot recommend it then.

But that person still likes Sonic 2? I mean maybe 2D Sonic isn't really their thing then since Sonic 2, 3&K and Mania are arguably some of the best in the franchise.

First time I'm hearing about it, if I'm gonna play the games again, guess I might as well play this version.

Personally I would love to do Sonic 3&K via the Sonic Jam collection just to see how it is.

 

[Bonkers225]

Would you recommend AIR to somebody who played the original S3&K and didn't like it?

Unfortunately, no. At it's core, it's basically the same game, so if you didn't like the original, no reason this would be different. Unless you like unlimited lives, and no time limits, and mods.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Unfortunately, no. At it's core, it's basically the same game, so if you didn't like the original, no reason this would be different. Unless you like unlimited lives, and no time limits, and mods.

I understand some people not being into Sonic for being fast (although the franchise's core is about momentum not speed unlike how Sega marketed the franchise in the west).

Wide-Screen itself already makes the games much more easier by letting you more time to react to what's happening on screen and no more "game over = go back to square one" kind of deal in the remasters, Origins and PC ports.

 

[ThatPatrickGuy]

Thank you Bonkers for Making the thread and Thank you Ikagura for the other great recommendations!

 

[ZEGA ZONIC]

There are plenty of mods for S3K AIR as well.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

There are plenty of mods for S3K AIR as well.

Yeah I need to mess around with those more

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

There are plenty of mods for S3K AIR as well.

I should mod it someday.

I replayed Sonic 3&K so many times I'd love to play it with a randomised level order so I could actually have a fresh experience.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

I havent played Sonic Origins (Plus) but Sonic 3 air is better than the Sonic 3&K version found in that compilation

 

[Clxmj]

Only just found out about this, but posting incase others come across it or need help..

Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited)

https://sonic3air.org/

Mods on GameBanana

https://gamebanana.com/games/6878

The ROM is on the Repo you need to grab the 2.42mb file of Sonic & Knuckles with Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (World). To get setup to play AIR, unzip the ROM then rename the extension from .md to .bin and stick it in AIRs' folder. Run the exe and you should be good.

 

[Miles Miles]

Sonic 3 AIR is the best version of Sonic 3 overall. The best version for emulators and real hardware is Sonic 3 Complete. It was also the best version overall before AIR came out.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Complete (Hack) – RGT Repository

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Complete (Hack). A Hack, Platformer 2D game released on 1994 by SEGA, Sonic Team

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