I thought I was the only one who disliked Press Garden Act 2! It has a lot of cool ideas, but I just don’t like playing it, and you perfectly described why. I still think Mirage Saloon Act 1 is worse, but I guess that doesn’t count here for being a Sky Chase level.
unfortenotli i some how left the fandom cause i was distracted by other games. all sonic games are replaced by war thunder and crush 40 was replaced by sabaton
Fun Fact: the drift was supposed to be in Sonic Frontiers but was removed later in development. You can actually still find it if you hold the trigger in the Super Sonic boss fights!
Fun story, Sonic Origins was my first time trying to beat Sonic CD with a good ending... I found the Wacky Workbench generator completely on accident due to being slightly too slow jumping through the crusher and I briefly though the game glitched. For a moment I was like "Oh no, not again..." but then realized I found a secret... literally one of the only times I mess up and I found something because of it. ^^
@@esmooth919well almost all of the crushers do send you to a secret area and also I found the generator as there was pipes showing that the crusher will put you there as I already knew that it would send me somewhere
fun fact: in sonic 4 episode 1's mobile version they replaced lost labyrinth act 2 with a level where if you tilt the screen you will rotate the stage to move.this was done because the mobile version is the beta version
I remember watching my friend play SA2 for the first time, and when they reached the ending section of Crazy Gadget, they only had one life left, and I had to babysit them all the way along out of fear of restarting the level again.
I wonder how long he spent looking for the final switch in that puzzle room, because kid me back in 2001 raged out since I couldn't find that thing until a few tries later.
@@xiiiunmetal I’ve never struggled with Scrap Brain Zone except for the last act. I like being able to go fast, and Labyrinth Zone is just slow and boring. It doesn’t fit a Sonic game very much.
@HungryWarden can't really go that fast with volatile flipping platforms, buzzsaws on conveyor belts and fire blasts at every angle breaking your forward momentum. Labyrinth Zone is at least challenging in ways you can surpass pretty easily once you know what you're doing. More often than not, I can keep from dying until I reach the boss. Whenever I reach Scrap Brain Zone, I usually just end up using Tails or Knuckles to fly over everything.
4:27 that thing that springs you into a spike trap is ONLY in the Retro Engine versions (i.e. the 2013 mobile version and the version in Sonic Origins). It did not spring you that high in the Mega Drive original.
As someone who speedruns carnival night act 2, I have some stuff to add to it. 1. The level is almost entirely linear. There’s only 2 separate paths before the lights out sequence, and they all lead to it. After that, the level is entirely 1 path. The only part where it diverges is at the double red and white barber shop looking things where you can jump through and end up at the end of the second one, which still ends you up on the same path anyway. 2, the level isn’t even that long. It just winds back and forth. Check a level map (either from sonic retro or zone 0) you’ll see about 1/4th of the level is the particle accelerators at the end. The level just takes you back and forth to artificially increase the level length. 3. Knuckles. If you takes knuckles’ path, the level ends in about 50 seconds. I’m dead serious, check the map again. What’s even FUNNIER is that there isn’t even a boss for knuckles. It’s the only level in sonic 3&k without a boss fight. You can also just brute force your way to sonics path, though you’ll still end up at knuckles end point. There’s even a part at the first particle accelerators at the start of the level where you can just jump to reach sonics path, skipping knuckles section entirely. Carnival night is THE most unfinished zone in sonic 3 and it really shows if you look at a map.
@@robertolebron2296 I forgot to add, if you try to get to sonics path as knuckles during the particle accelerator spam, there’s a big ring you can get.
4. It's subjective, but I'm bringing up the music. It's not even a remix, they just cut out part of Act 1, and it doesn't help that the song was already lame to begin with.
On Sonic Adventure how could you choose casinopolis in a game that has LOST WORLD in it. That stage is by far the longest and most broken stage in the whole game and it's so easy to game over on it the first times you will probably have to redo the stage till you hate its guts.
Fun fact: The reason metropolis zone has a third act is because originally there was a zone known as genocide City zone, which was supposed to be a one-act zone right after metropolis zone act two. It was later renamed to cyber City due to the offensive meaning of "genocide" in Western regions, and then was scrapped and replaced with Hellopolis act 3
Well genocide city actually had its level background used for titanic monarch, which is just final fever. Which is why metallic madness returning was amazing. because its the best music in the game.
The word "genocide" is an offensive word in general, its not like its some weird western cultural difference. They were just looking for negative/ominous sounding English words and picked something a bit too extreme.
@@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778It didn't. The "Genocide City" background we commonly see is fanmade. The real sprites for Cyber City Zone were reused for "The Machine" in Sonic Spinball.
the sonic 3 barrel of doom stumped my brother and I for literal years when we first played the game. We were very young at the time and didn't figure it out until well into junior high. When it was accidently figured out, the feeling was of frustration and anger instead of happiness
Sorry this is a year later, but I only beat the barrel of doom because the kid i sat with on the school bus told me how he got past it lol. The OG social media
I found the answer on it completely by accident. I got super frustrated and just pressing up/down while I was trying to stop being mad.. then its like "wtf.. why is this working"
Same here. I kept trying to access Knuckles area to bypass it (not possible, unfortunately). Like you I accidentally figured it out one day. Terrible level design.
Funny enough Arid sands is my favorite day time stage because of the side mission to save the little girls sister. It was a brutal mission and once i mastered it. I absolutely loved the regular level and the music became a bop.
I dislike it because all the shortcuts are camera-blocked. Unlike the other levels in the game, you can't see any of the shortcuts you're supposed to take unless you already know they're there - such as air-boosting off a ramp during 2D camera with no indication of where you're supposed to boost to reach another ramp so you don't fall into a slow and painful platforming climb...or bouncing off a spring to a long rail section with a cinematic camera, but the shortcut requires you to jump off and homing attack enemies before the camera even STARTS to catch up so you can see what you're doing miles off into the distance.
Once I mastered arid sands, it's probably my 2nd favorite which is why eggmanland is still my least favorite level in unleashed because of its many MANY problems
Casinopolis in Sonic Adventure is the perfect example of "Great vibe, bad design". If you weren't forced to play pinball games, and instead had other ways to raise money and deposit it, it could have easily become one of the most memorable stages in the franchise's history.
How to deal with metropolis zone act 3: options>sound test>19>65>09>17>back>hold A>press START>select level after metropolis zone (That's the level select cheat code fyi)
4:40 Funny little tidbit. If you play the Sonic Jam version of Sonic 3 on the Sega Saturn, changing the difficulty before you start will actually remove the barrel of doom completely, so you just can drop down the shaft.
Hot take, I like Sandopolis Act 2. I like the tension from the ghosts and the rising sand mechanic. It's not one of the best levels of the game, but compared to some of the worst in 1, 2 and CD, doesn't even come close.
2:36 they were thinking of inverting the sonic formula. Instead of staying on the top path to have a better time, you’re fighting your way to the bottom. Also, the crusher is indeed hard to notice, but it doesn’t have a bottom. You can see the sprite of the metal bit cut off, leading to the player being curious as to why it is, further leading into the player getting “crushed”. (I am one of 3 living wacky workbench enjoyer on the internet)
Really?! Damn, that's about as obtuse a clue as the one to Tanked-up Trouble's first secret in Donkey Kong Country 1. Memo to level designers: MAKING PLAYERS DO SOMETHING SEEMINGLY SUICIDAL WITH NO CLEAR TIPOFF OF REWARD TO FIND A SECRET IS BAD DESIGN. Also looking at you, Wire Adapter from Mega Man 4. At least with Mega Man X3's Golden Armor and X5's Ultimate Armor, you have wall clinging to save your ass, so checking pits is far less crazed.
I think that is more to do with preference and mindset then the actual games. One of the more unique things about the sonic fandom imo is that everyone is looking for different things, I can understand wanting to just go fast, but I like taking my time to explore the maps in CD or navigating through some of the perilous level design in Sonic 3. I see the speed as more of something that compliments the gameplay rather then being the gameplay itself but, again, I can see why it might be the opposite for others.
@@SilverThunder710 And somehow, it's even worse than the other Labyrinth zone levels, such a clever reference that Sonic Generations made, with having the final level being objectively the worst level in the game just like Sonic 1.
I genuinely was stuck on Crazy Gadget for a literal YEAR. That puzzle at the end had 12 year old me completely stumped and I don’t know how I ever figured it out. I’ve never replayed SA2 in full solely because of that level.
Funny enough, something similar happened to me, but for the Biolizard boss fight. I actually quite enjoy it now, but those death slides kicked my teeth in for a good six months as a kid.
How did you get stuck for a year? I wouldn’t even call it a puzzle since you just have to go to either have to go to the gravity thing and pull it or just jump from one platform to another. It WAS insanely difficult but a year?
@@teamdarkfan317 I was 12 and bad at video games. At that age I also completely gave up on Sonic Heroes cause I kept not being able to finish Frog Forest on Team Sonic and Power Plant on Team Dark. I only finished the Team Rose story. I’ve not picked it up since bc my PS2 is totally dead
As a 40 something year old dude it's just kind of exciting seeing a young person so into all this. Perfect tshirt choice too man. And I like your video presentation
I'm 44 and remember my imagination running wild when playing sonic 1, as an 11 year old. Seeing younger people talking about the same game and it's levels with the same fondness is pretty damn cool.
@jcoolguy1548 indeed, including my son. Though, what surprised me is the familiarity and fondness for the old games - the genesis ones - among people not born at the time. I am assuming they had games like Generations or Adventure or Colors or Rush when they were young and expanded from there.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t beat Crazy Gadget for an entire YEAR. I finished the dark storyline first and just kept repeating old hero story levels until one day I finally beat it and cried from relief. 🤣😭
Forces was so bad that I only remember two things; that every level from forces was so bad that I only cared about getting S ranks, and also the fact that I predicted the future with an edgy “trans self insert” joke back in 2017 no less, so I was pretty ahead of the curve.
Since the Barrel of Doom in Carnival Night zone came up I have to share a story. That Barrel of Doom did cost me a life, but not in the way you'd expect. I'd actually worked out the gimmick of the barrels earlier in the level, so when I got to that barrel I got to work with Up and Down. I saw I could go down but the explorer in me thought "What if I go up instead?" So I tried... and got crushed.
@@Frvnt888 Jump on to the barrel. When you are on the barrel, do'nt jump no more. Slowly start pressing up, then down. The barrel will start moving along with your presses. As you build up a rhythm, the barrel will go up and down further and further. It will eventually go down far enough for you to jump down from it. th-cam.com/video/CmUWOGP4xn8/w-d-xo.html
2:12 im gonna have to disagree. Metallic madness act 2, is the worst. I already hate this level, but specifically the PAST variation is a HELL. It is, LITERALLY, UNBEATABLE. You'll run out of time before you know it exploring that ENDLESS HELLSCAPE
I personally love this channel due to the completely different types of topics. I mean the Chili Dog video was PEAK and this one is just as amazing. Thank you for the upload, it makes my day.
You were spot on with Sonic 1, 2, 3, Knuckles, and CD. I agree and feel the pain with you my man! I remember the first time playing 3 and got to that barrel, then thought there was a glitch in the game and gave up. That is until TH-cam came about! You should do a boss fight video if you haven't already. I swear Sonic & Knuckles seems to never end. You have to kill the fat guy like 5 times before it's finally over because he manages to somehow keep on flying! 😂 PS- Also thank you for showing me where that time machine is located in Wacky Workbench from the CD. This is the first time I have seen this.
Interesting list! I should mention that a lot of the crush death issues in the classic games shown are due to the subtle differences in the Retro Engine vs. the original. The same goes for that steam spring in Metropolis; in vanilla Sonic 2, you won't hit the spikes, iirc.
Sonic is both faster and more importantly, jumps higher, which being great for zones like Hydrocity definitely isn't good for marble garden and metropolis
I like to point out, Sonic Adventure's Casino stage you can get like 300 or so rings and spindash into the pile to launch yourself up to complete the stage.
Press Garden Act 2 is my favourite from Mania. Both Acts 1 & 2 make me love the setting. I can admit 2 can be frustrating at times, but it isn't a huge bother for me, and that boss is very solid. If people don't like Press Garden act 2, then atleast we can all accept we love the background and music for it cause that music is soothing
I remember getting to Death Egg zone in Sonic 3 & Knuckles when i played it while my friends were watching and seeing them actually get concerned and even ticked off at just how much anger i was getting imbued with as all those dumb obstacles screwed me over for the remainder of the night. And that BOSS, red fricking eye...goodness me.
Personally I thought Bingo Highway from Heroes was worse than Casino Park due to the fact that the table has bottomless pits, and your party members immediately die due to the crap controls and their ai, so you're stuck fending on your own. I couldn't beat Bingo Highway for the longest time as a kid, and only did so by sheer luck. At least with Casino Park, you're given a safety net to get used to the crap controls. I also remember one of the Klagens trapping Tails and flying up, soft-locking me during one point of a play through of the level.
Normally when I see a video listing bad things in sonic games, it feels spiteful or like they're doing the list as a joke, like the reviewer doesn't even like sonic at all. But I could feel the love you have for these games in your critique. Great vid. I might personally put Aquatic Ruin for sonic 2, but I completely understand going for metropolis.
5:02 "And this is all while the soundtrack is making fun of you." Now imagine that you're playing the Sonic Jam version, and it only plays the same half-second of two notes! :D And the game feels like traversing a strange empty theme park for no reason! :DDDDD My childhood! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Wacky Workbench is my favorite Sonic CD level! The high bouncing mechanic is very innovative and unique. I'm surprised you didn't pick Metallic Madness as that was more frustrating.
My list of favorite and least favorite levels/zones from each game that you mentioned and that I've played: -Sonic 1 Least favorite: Labyrinth Zone (Obvs) -Sonic 1 Favorite: Green Hill (Also obvs) -Sonic CD Least favorite: Wacky Workbench (Once again, obvs) -Sonic CD Favorite: Either Plamtree Panic or Stardust Speedway -Sonic 2 Least Favorite: Metropolis Zone (Repeat after me: obvs) -Sonic 2 Favorite: Chemical Plant Zone (I know, I'm SO original) -Sonic 3 Least favorite: Marble Garden Zone -Sonic 3 Favorite: Either Hidrocity or Ice Cap -Sonic & Knuckles Least Favorite zone: Sandopolis -Sonic & Knuckles Least favoite level: Lava Reef Act 2 -Sonic & Knuckles Favorite: Either Mushroom Hill or Flying Battery -Sonic Adventure Least Favorite: Playing as Big the Cat. For Sonic levels, it would be Casinopolis. -Sonic Adventure Favorite: Speed Highway -Sonic Adventure 2 Least favorite: Mad Space. For Sonic levels, Pyramid Cave (The ghosts used to scare the sh*t out of me as a kid. -Sonic Adventure 2 Favorite: City Escape (Obvs) -Sonic Heroes Least Favorite: Casino Park (Obvs) -Sonic Heroes Favorite: Ocean Palace -Sonic '06: It's been way too long since I played it, so I don't remember which levels I liked or disliked. -Sonic Generations Least Favorite: Planet Wisp -Sonic Generations Favorite: Rooftop Run (Modern) -Sonic Mania Least Favorite: Metallic Madness Sonic Mania Favorite: Chemical Plant (Btw, I would have LOVED to see Ice Cap in that game)
Never understood the beef with Labyrinth Zone, it's really fun to explore because it's fairly open ended when it puts you into giant rooms with several different paths that you can take. The traps are only a problem on the first playthrough so once you learn about them you won't fall for them ever again, it's really that simple. Does nobody play Sonic 1 more than once in their life? If you beat the game at least 10 times you'd easily recognize that Scrap Brain is a much worse zone, I'd even rank LZ above Marble and Spring Yard as well.
The end of act 3 in Labyrinth is the worst, where you have no rings (but at least a shield) after the last checkpoint. Means if you die in that underwater trapped shaft, next time you can take only 1 hit while climbing up. Even Scrap Brain seems more forgiving
For me it was always Starlight Zone. It’s kind of fun because it can be fast paced but 1) it’s at the end of the game so you don’t really go here that often to try new paths 2) there is nothing to see most of the time the whole stage is blind 3) this one is personal : what even is going on anyway? Isn’t it supposed to be a night road level? Then why is there giant holes everywhere? Why do I have to fight to even figure out where I need to go? With labyrinth and marble there is a flow, it’s not a straight line but you get where you are in the whole level. There is no reference point in starlight, everything is just a void with the usual « blind jumps to get up maybe or was I supposed to go left this time oh wait it was down my bad »
11:56 I’ll be honest, not only do I like the werehog levels and combat… I also think the werehog combat is more fun and fleshed out than frontiers’ combat
i understand and agree with most of them, but... crazy gadget? 😭 I can see where you're coming from and respect it but I was kinda expecting Pyramid Cave also wow i wish i got this video recommended when it came out a whole year ago lmfao good stuff!!
I have a video suggestion: The Evolution of Sonic. Basically, you can go through each Sonic game in chronological order and mention the all the elenents it introduced into the franchise, such as main/playable characters, alternate ports, DLC expansions, major members of the Sonic production thay stayed for quite a while and impacted the franchise, game mechanics, lore elements, prequel/spin-off materials spawning from a specific game, crossovers, etc. You could even include extended Sonic media (movies, comics, etc). Here are some examples (feel free to add everything I might have missed): Sonic 1: Sonic, Eggman, high-speed running, animals inside Eggman's robots, alternate ports, Sonic Team. Sonic 2: Tails, Death Egg Robot, Silver Sonic, Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic, Tornado, alternate endings, cutscenes. What do you think?
It's not particularly hard, it's just that when you do make the occasional mistake, it punishes you too hard. Also, those Burrowbots are the absolute worst
@@Ollie.H-23 I honestly like the challenge, the burrowbots are nothing compared to the likes of the asterons or shellcrackers in Sonic 2. Nowadays I can easily get through Labyrinth Zone without taking damage, it's a nice switchup during the adventure that doesn't leave me feeling bored.
@@Sean-D78 I just think the way they jump out of nowhere can get frustrating. I just don't think I should have to memorise the level layout to make it bareable. I do respect your opinion though, it's fun to see how others can view things or why people get joy out of things I have a distaste for.
When I first played sandopolis act 2, I actually quit after some time because I literally got stuck at the start from not knowing what to do because it was just that unclear
interesting thing i learnt about the drift stage in sonic frontiers, its activated when touching the speed treds so you can easily jump over them and run normally getting more enjoyable experience
Also, the reason why there was a Metropolis Zone act 3 was because originally it was going to be a scrapped zone known as Genocide City/Cyber City Zone, but was scrapped due to time constraints and potentially memory capacity, but yeah, it doesn't excuse Metropolis Zone for being bad. To me, Act 3 of Labyrinth Zone sucks, you're chasing Eggman up an obstacle course full of spikes and gargoyles spitting fire, while the water is rising restricting your movement and oxygen capacity, and if you get hit, best case scenario, you lose rings. Worst case scenario, you'll fall down, and you have to go back up before the rising water makes you drown. Also, if I were to make this video, I'd add the rule of playing the original version of the game, because Sonic Origins despite having amazing features that the original Sonic didn't have, it carries a lot of glitches, like physics and what not, especially Sonic 3 and Knuckles, since the Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD are based on the Christian Whitehead ports back in 2011/2013, which fixed many issues and oversights the original games had.
8:35 I agreed about artificial chaos being annoying and pain in the butt! You don't know how much hard time I have with these nuisance enemies as a kid!
For me, in Sonic Frontiers, my least favorite stage was probably 1-2. Not because the stage is hard, but because to get the S rank on your level completion time, you have to take a very specific path, and normally you'd think you'd have to master the aerial sections early to do it. Nope. Sonic actually moves slower in the air, even with player input boosts and the air boost rings (and I didn't know this at the time). It was the only stage where I had to look up a guide to complete it in the S-rank time, and I nearly stopped playing for awhile because I couldn't figure it out, lol. To put a stage with such tight time requirements for the S rank so early on seemed petty. 😅 For Sonic Adventure 2, I actually really liked Mad Space, even if the gravity mechanic was frustrating at times, though once you learn where the springs and launchers are to get you from area to area, it becomes less frustrating, lol. As for the worst SONIC stage in that game, it's tough to say cause there are only 6 (not counting the last stage of the game), but I think I agree with Crazy Gadget. The switching gravity sections really kinda slow Sonic down a lot, and screw up the controls. An easy fix to that would be to have the Camera rotate fully along with Sonic, but I suppose that wouldn't be as trippy.
Sure, Metropolis has good music,but the level it self isn't all that great. I swear to god i get hit by an enemy/lava or basically anything everytime I play this stage. Labyrinth zone isn't such a good stage. But if it had less water and less traps,it would have been okay(probably). By the way,Love your videos and thumbnails! Keep up the good work Chaomix👍!!!
The worst trope in 2D Sonic games: repeating the same levels with minor changes A)Something Hills Zone B)Casino Night Ripoff Zone C)Bouncy, Springy Zone D)Aquatic Badly Placed Enemy Zone E)No More Time To Complete Game Zone F)Robotnik's Mostly Gray Base Zone
Doesn't make labyrinth any better but there's a hidden little skip in one of the acts. Theres even another one in scrap brain 3 if you're fast at the start
oh god i remember when i was a kid and just being stuck at that carnival night barrel. then beating myself up later when i realized you just had to move the D pad up and down.
Must be in the minority for this one. I only had Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Sonic and Knuckles when I was little so those are what I will address. I actually loved Labyrinth Zone. I loved the preciseness of the platforming, I loved the music, I loved how slow Sonic moved underwater. I found it very zen. I never had a problem with the traps---some of them were annoying, sure, but altogether the zone just put me in a chill mood, and I liked the challenging twist on the boss. It was Scrap Brain Zone Act 2 I hated. Not only did the entire level feel like a gauntlet of death traps, but the music was straight up auditory caffeine and made me feel like I had to rush, so I ended up running into traps, enemies, and fell to my death way more often than I needed to. For me Oil Ocean was the zone in Sonic 2 that always made me consider whether I really wanted to keep going. I hated the music (felt like it was mocking me for some reason I can't explain), I hated the over-industrialized, polluted setting, and it felt like I couldn't take five steps without getting hit by one of those damn octopi or seahorses. By Metropolis I was used to the unfair enemy placement and it at least had vibrant colors and jammin' music. I'm cheating a bit on Sonic 3 as I never beat it when I was little. Yes, because of the Barrel of Doom. But Carnival Night had bright colors, cheery music, and honestly was fun. I loved every part of Sonic 3 until I hit the infamous dead end. Marble Garden was my least favorite then, as it felt like a modern Scrap Brain. After the breathtaking zoom-to-end of Hydrocity, all of the crushers and endless parade of spike traps and spiked enemises forcing me to take the level slow and steady felt like a slog. Now? Launch Base Zone is definitely my least favorite, mostly for the same reasons I hate Scrap Brain, but there's not a single level in Sonic 3 I hate. Sonic and Knuckles, on the other hand? This one, I agree with you on. I will take a thousand Barrel of Dooms over Sandopolis Zone Act 2. You pretty much nailed everything infuriating about it. This level is pure suffering. And the music isn't even enjoyable to listen to. The boss is relatively simple but by the time I get to it I'm strung out and that makes me sloppy. Arguably the worst of the classic Sonic levels.
Did anyone else figure out the barrel gimmick in Carnival Night Zone (which is not from Sonic 3 but from Sonic 3 & Knuckles) on the first try? I don’t know why I thought to push up and down on the d-pad after jumping up and down for about 15 seconds didn’t work, but I did. I was genuinely surprised when I first heard that this was an infamously frustrating part of the game (the title of which is, again, not Sonic 3, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles).
When the internet became more of a thing I was surprised to learn that anyone struggled with that. I was still rather young when Sonic 3 released on Genesis and consequently struggled sometimes, but never there.
That was the time I got so stuck in a game that I didn't know how to proceed and abandoned the game. Didn't have any internet or anyone to ask, repeatedly got to that part, lost all lives on "time up". At times it even looked like i almost got it with jumping, it seemed like it needed some really finicky timing, but that's it. Didn't even know anything about the levels past that. Only later when I played on emulator and had internet I managed to beat this barrel.
Not Sonic 3? Why specifically 3 & Knuckles and not 3 alone? Does locking on Sonic & Knuckles change the level design? That would be a super odd and bad choice if it did. If anything S&K should have changed the level to remove that part. It would be baffling if they added it in when it wasn't there before
I'm not surprised that you picked Arid Sands for Unleashed (Shamar in general is my least favorute location in Unleashed), but I am surprised that you picked Arid Sands Act 1 and not Act 2. I mean, that level is almost literally "Quick-Time Event: The Level". It's one of those levels where you have to do a full lap around the stage, which is a fine enough concept, it's just that the level has a bit too much of QTEs. Still don't think it's a bad level though, just think that it's the actual weakest level in the game, including the DLC stages.
I think I'm just really good at the QTEs because I'm super familiar and fast with the button layouts of controllers. It made that level really dang easy for me. I can totally see why someone would hate that level though if they weren't great at being fast with QTEs 😬
@@t-bone2145 hard disagree. The atmosphere of the level and the level design is more interesting to look at and play through. The bobsled can be unwieldy, but it's not the end of the world to use it.
@@eduardoaugusto9206 it’s also got those switches you have to stomp on multiple times which are annoying with unleashed’s slippery movement, and combined with ice physics and enemies shooting at you it’s real obnoxious in this level. You really think running through the shamar city is less interesting than this?
@@t-bone2145 Must be a me thing, but I am actually not against ice physics. I know that they throw you off balance given the controls you're used to, but I don't think they are terrible. Also the enemies aren't problematic either, just stay on the move and you won't get shot. Shamar doesn't have too many interesting setpieces aside from canyons with rails, the monuments and temple like structures are neat, but they're all background scenarios :/
When I played Sonic 3 in the genesis era as a kid Carnival Night Zone was what me and my brother were stuck on for AGES due only to this one part we could not get past and all roads seemed to lead there, into this trap with no way out. Yes, it was the "Barrel of Doom"
Let me know if you agree with my list, or had any other choices for some of these games!
100% agree
I thought I was the only one who disliked Press Garden Act 2! It has a lot of cool ideas, but I just don’t like playing it, and you perfectly described why. I still think Mirage Saloon Act 1 is worse, but I guess that doesn’t count here for being a Sky Chase level.
unfortenotli i some how left the fandom cause i was distracted by other games.
all sonic games are replaced by war thunder and crush 40 was replaced by sabaton
Final Rush and Planet Wisp Act 1 in Generations were worse but the rest I can't really argue with
Triple Trouble should def been one of your picks and Sonic chaos too.
Fun Fact: the drift was supposed to be in Sonic Frontiers but was removed later in development. You can actually still find it if you hold the trigger in the Super Sonic boss fights!
what trigger button is it?
@yoyooo2008 if you hold boost then hold the left trigger you can drift
@@spooderman320 thanks
Ok 👍
I actually think sonic having a drift is dumb. He’s a living creature not a race car.
4:27 Fun Fact: that thing is supposed to make you JUST BARELY miss the spikes, but it's broken in Origins
So origins you just get hit by the upwards spikes
Not just Origins but all the Retro Engine versions
Bruh
This is why I just bust out the Genesis when I'm in the mood for the classics
@@NickGoblin Yeah, The Genesis are the superior ones!
Fun story, Sonic Origins was my first time trying to beat Sonic CD with a good ending... I found the Wacky Workbench generator completely on accident due to being slightly too slow jumping through the crusher and I briefly though the game glitched. For a moment I was like "Oh no, not again..." but then realized I found a secret... literally one of the only times I mess up and I found something because of it. ^^
"fun"
Still a dick move in game design, tho
@@esmooth919well almost all of the crushers do send you to a secret area and also I found the generator as there was pipes showing that the crusher will put you there as I already knew that it would send me somewhere
that happened sometimes in geometry dash where i failed and got rewarded with a secret coin
well by that point i already got all 7 time stones, through a nightmare that is having to retry the special stages
fun fact: in sonic 4 episode 1's mobile version they replaced lost labyrinth act 2 with a level where if you tilt the screen you will rotate the stage to move.this was done because the mobile version is the beta version
Why did they design like this?
Wacky Workbench is not "where do I go?", it's more like "Why did I go?"
I remember watching my friend play SA2 for the first time, and when they reached the ending section of Crazy Gadget, they only had one life left, and I had to babysit them all the way along out of fear of restarting the level again.
Wow you're secretly the best babysitter over not letting your friend lost their marbles over die at crazy gadget in just one life in sa2
I wonder how long he spent looking for the final switch in that puzzle room, because kid me back in 2001 raged out since I couldn't find that thing until a few tries later.
I remember speedrunning Eggmanland (on the Xbox version) and the best time I managed to get was 10 minutes and 55 seconds. Still proud of that time :3
Based Unleashed Speedrun Enjoyer 😎 👍
Eggmanland is actually the best level in the franchise imo
You absolute legend
It took me an entire HOUR
@@gunman8452 how?
"The Savannah Citadel drifting level is a fine level" was the funniest sentence from this video, hands down
F*ck that stage, I spent way too long trying to S Rank it
Yeah I agree, that level SUCKED
he added an "ine" instead of a "ucked up"
I thought it was hell to play but it wasn’t all that bad
Unleashed’s drift is so broken, that it’s significantly easier to just turn the camera as you turn
I'll go ahead and say Scrap Brain Zone is worse than Labyrinth.
Only the last act. I like the first two.
@HungryWarden I'd take bothersome water based platforming over absolutely unfair trap and enemy placements any day
@@xiiiunmetal I’ve never struggled with Scrap Brain Zone except for the last act. I like being able to go fast, and Labyrinth Zone is just slow and boring. It doesn’t fit a Sonic game very much.
@HungryWarden can't really go that fast with volatile flipping platforms, buzzsaws on conveyor belts and fire blasts at every angle breaking your forward momentum. Labyrinth Zone is at least challenging in ways you can surpass pretty easily once you know what you're doing. More often than not, I can keep from dying until I reach the boss. Whenever I reach Scrap Brain Zone, I usually just end up using Tails or Knuckles to fly over everything.
0:22 Thank you for including some gameplay of our game in a Sonic video! ^^
The spike trap thing in Metropolis is a glitch that didn't exist in the original version. The retro engine kinda messed the hitbox up.
Everyone and their grandma worships the Retro Engine because they don't focus on anything outside standard movement.
@@CarbonRollerCaco It's almost perfect but it does have some weird stuff.
@@CRCR0201 especially crushing collision
@@CarbonRollerCacoyeah it's not like one of the biggest aspects of sonic gameplay is the movement 💀
4:27 that thing that springs you into a spike trap is ONLY in the Retro Engine versions (i.e. the 2013 mobile version and the version in Sonic Origins). It did not spring you that high in the Mega Drive original.
A good remaster comes with a cost, not sure if the cost is worth it though but who ca- oh.. wait it's in metropolis.... well fuck
As someone who speedruns carnival night act 2, I have some stuff to add to it.
1. The level is almost entirely linear. There’s only 2 separate paths before the lights out sequence, and they all lead to it. After that, the level is entirely 1 path. The only part where it diverges is at the double red and white barber shop looking things where you can jump through and end up at the end of the second one, which still ends you up on the same path anyway.
2, the level isn’t even that long. It just winds back and forth. Check a level map (either from sonic retro or zone 0) you’ll see about 1/4th of the level is the particle accelerators at the end. The level just takes you back and forth to artificially increase the level length.
3. Knuckles. If you takes knuckles’ path, the level ends in about 50 seconds. I’m dead serious, check the map again. What’s even FUNNIER is that there isn’t even a boss for knuckles. It’s the only level in sonic 3&k without a boss fight. You can also just brute force your way to sonics path, though you’ll still end up at knuckles end point. There’s even a part at the first particle accelerators at the start of the level where you can just jump to reach sonics path, skipping knuckles section entirely.
Carnival night is THE most unfinished zone in sonic 3 and it really shows if you look at a map.
Damn, never knew that
@@robertolebron2296 I forgot to add, if you try to get to sonics path as knuckles during the particle accelerator spam, there’s a big ring you can get.
4. It's subjective, but I'm bringing up the music. It's not even a remix, they just cut out part of Act 1, and it doesn't help that the song was already lame to begin with.
@@AkameGaKillfan777 that’s true for all MJ tracks.
@@Fluxuation Icecap was good
"Water levels are some of the most infamous parts of Sonic and gaming."
*Lists only one water level.*
It’s a thing I like to call: skill issue
On Sonic Adventure how could you choose casinopolis in a game that has LOST WORLD in it. That stage is by far the longest and most broken stage in the whole game and it's so easy to game over on it the first times you will probably have to redo the stage till you hate its guts.
Fun fact: The reason metropolis zone has a third act is because originally there was a zone known as genocide City zone, which was supposed to be a one-act zone right after metropolis zone act two. It was later renamed to cyber City due to the offensive meaning of "genocide" in Western regions, and then was scrapped and replaced with Hellopolis act 3
Hey frisk kill this bot plz
Well genocide city actually had its level background used for titanic monarch, which is just final fever. Which is why metallic madness returning was amazing. because its the best music in the game.
The word "genocide" is an offensive word in general, its not like its some weird western cultural difference. They were just looking for negative/ominous sounding English words and picked something a bit too extreme.
@@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778It didn't. The "Genocide City" background we commonly see is fanmade. The real sprites for Cyber City Zone were reused for "The Machine" in Sonic Spinball.
"Undertale"
I pretty much agreed with a lot of your picks. If you did cover Sonic Advance though, Egg Rocket Zone would DEFINITELY be on there.
And Chaos Angel act 3 with its slow ass auto scroll level in Advance 3
All the sky levels in Advance 2... INCLUDING the boss fight with a hand that can kill you EVEN IF you have rings
Sonic Rush with its Altitude Limit is very unforgiving
Is it wrong for me to say that I never minded Egg Rocket?
Egg rocket was mid ima be honest
the sonic 3 barrel of doom stumped my brother and I for literal years when we first played the game. We were very young at the time and didn't figure it out until well into junior high. When it was accidently figured out, the feeling was of frustration and anger instead of happiness
Sorry this is a year later, but I only beat the barrel of doom because the kid i sat with on the school bus told me how he got past it lol. The OG social media
@@Ruman17 i never got past it. RIP
I found the answer on it completely by accident. I got super frustrated and just pressing up/down while I was trying to stop being mad.. then its like "wtf.. why is this working"
Same here. I kept trying to access Knuckles area to bypass it (not possible, unfortunately). Like you I accidentally figured it out one day. Terrible level design.
5:57 Aint no way bro skipped the invincibility
0:22 dear god no…
Funny enough Arid sands is my favorite day time stage because of the side mission to save the little girls sister. It was a brutal mission and once i mastered it. I absolutely loved the regular level and the music became a bop.
More giveaway bots
I loved the Arid Sands music before I play Unleashed imo
I dislike it because all the shortcuts are camera-blocked. Unlike the other levels in the game, you can't see any of the shortcuts you're supposed to take unless you already know they're there - such as air-boosting off a ramp during 2D camera with no indication of where you're supposed to boost to reach another ramp so you don't fall into a slow and painful platforming climb...or bouncing off a spring to a long rail section with a cinematic camera, but the shortcut requires you to jump off and homing attack enemies before the camera even STARTS to catch up so you can see what you're doing miles off into the distance.
That mission was so brutal and took me so many tries to beat
Once I mastered arid sands, it's probably my 2nd favorite which is why eggmanland is still my least favorite level in unleashed because of its many MANY problems
Casinopolis in Sonic Adventure is the perfect example of "Great vibe, bad design". If you weren't forced to play pinball games, and instead had other ways to raise money and deposit it, it could have easily become one of the most memorable stages in the franchise's history.
Ngl its one of my favourites in the game. The pinball is meh but the knuckles version of the stage absolutely slaps
You can literally just go down the drain right away. Unless this is one of those jokes that don't work well in writing.
Lost World is the worst stage in that game, EASILY(yes, I enjoyed Big’s story more)
@@qwertyzillaofficial2969 I enjoyed lost world, hated sky deck. Tolerated the final egg lol
@@michaelsmith8107 My problems with Lost World might’ve stemmed from me playing on PS3
How to deal with metropolis zone act 3: options>sound test>19>65>09>17>back>hold A>press START>select level after metropolis zone
(That's the level select cheat code fyi)
4:40 Funny little tidbit. If you play the Sonic Jam version of Sonic 3 on the Sega Saturn, changing the difficulty before you start will actually remove the barrel of doom completely, so you just can drop down the shaft.
Hot take, I like Sandopolis Act 2. I like the tension from the ghosts and the rising sand mechanic. It's not one of the best levels of the game, but compared to some of the worst in 1, 2 and CD, doesn't even come close.
2:36 they were thinking of inverting the sonic formula. Instead of staying on the top path to have a better time, you’re fighting your way to the bottom. Also, the crusher is indeed hard to notice, but it doesn’t have a bottom. You can see the sprite of the metal bit cut off, leading to the player being curious as to why it is, further leading into the player getting “crushed”.
(I am one of 3 living wacky workbench enjoyer on the internet)
Nah, I love it, too. Though I mostly just enjoyed bouncing off the thing at the bottom.
Wacky workbench gang
I am also one of the 3 wacky workbench enjoyers
@@SgtPineBox *now 4
Really?! Damn, that's about as obtuse a clue as the one to Tanked-up Trouble's first secret in Donkey Kong Country 1. Memo to level designers: MAKING PLAYERS DO SOMETHING SEEMINGLY SUICIDAL WITH NO CLEAR TIPOFF OF REWARD TO FIND A SECRET IS BAD DESIGN. Also looking at you, Wire Adapter from Mega Man 4. At least with Mega Man X3's Golden Armor and X5's Ultimate Armor, you have wall clinging to save your ass, so checking pits is far less crazed.
I've always hated that a game series about going fast is absolutely LITTERED with objects and level geometry meant to stop you dead in your tracks.
i absolutely despise sonic 1 and 2 because of that
"GOTTA GO FAST! Ooh, a platform! Now I have to wait for it to come close to me, get on it AND wait to reach the other part!"
I think that is more to do with preference and mindset then the actual games. One of the more unique things about the sonic fandom imo is that everyone is looking for different things, I can understand wanting to just go fast, but I like taking my time to explore the maps in CD or navigating through some of the perilous level design in Sonic 3. I see the speed as more of something that compliments the gameplay rather then being the gameplay itself but, again, I can see why it might be the opposite for others.
Just like in that one sonic origins video modders do what sega don’t
@@Beerusmama Which is why Boost-Modern Sonic Games is a perfect representation of his "Gotta Go Fast" motif.
I remember I had get an S in zone 3-5 in Frontiers by jumping over the drift mechanic entirely. It's a lot more fun when you completely ignore it.
There is a bot in your replies.
@@0n1c420ok
1:30 Counterpoint: Scrap Brain Zone Act 3
Counterpoint counterpoint: That literally is just Labyrinth 4
@@SilverThunder710 true
@@SilverThunder710 And somehow, it's even worse than the other Labyrinth zone levels, such a clever reference that Sonic Generations made, with having the final level being objectively the worst level in the game just like Sonic 1.
i would pin it on Scrap Brain Zone Act 2, but i agree
It's just Labyrinth Zone Act 4, and I haven't beaten it without the shortcut secret.
As a child I got stuck on the Barrel of Doom for months before I accidently found out I could move it with the D-Pad.
I genuinely was stuck on Crazy Gadget for a literal YEAR. That puzzle at the end had 12 year old me completely stumped and I don’t know how I ever figured it out. I’ve never replayed SA2 in full solely because of that level.
Funny enough, something similar happened to me, but for the Biolizard boss fight. I actually quite enjoy it now, but those death slides kicked my teeth in for a good six months as a kid.
How did you get stuck for a year? I wouldn’t even call it a puzzle since you just have to go to either have to go to the gravity thing and pull it or just jump from one platform to another. It WAS insanely difficult but a year?
@@teamdarkfan317 I was 12 and bad at video games. At that age I also completely gave up on Sonic Heroes cause I kept not being able to finish Frog Forest on Team Sonic and Power Plant on Team Dark. I only finished the Team Rose story. I’ve not picked it up since bc my PS2 is totally dead
Gotta love that random guy on the speaker that tells you when you reach the puzzle
*”You’ll never make it out of here Sonic! HAHA!”*
@@brandonwilliams6119 “random guy”
As a 40 something year old dude it's just kind of exciting seeing a young person so into all this. Perfect tshirt choice too man. And I like your video presentation
I’m 25 and sonic adventure 2 has been my favorite since I was 6 years old.
I'm 44 and remember my imagination running wild when playing sonic 1, as an 11 year old. Seeing younger people talking about the same game and it's levels with the same fondness is pretty damn cool.
I'm 14 and honestly forget how old sonic is, like my uncle grew up playing the games just like i did
You'll find that many young people are Sonic fans
@jcoolguy1548 indeed, including my son. Though, what surprised me is the familiarity and fondness for the old games - the genesis ones - among people not born at the time. I am assuming they had games like Generations or Adventure or Colors or Rush when they were young and expanded from there.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t beat Crazy Gadget for an entire YEAR. I finished the dark storyline first and just kept repeating old hero story levels until one day I finally beat it and cried from relief. 🤣😭
Same I only got past cuz my friend gave me a save file
You were able to beat Mad Space but not Crazy Gadget?
Joke of the day
Q: what is Sonic’s worst addiction?
A: Gambling! Because of too many casino stages
Forces was so bad that I only remember two things; that every level from forces was so bad that I only cared about getting S ranks, and also the fact that I predicted the future with an edgy “trans self insert” joke back in 2017 no less, so I was pretty ahead of the curve.
18:40 Fun Fact, you can actually drift as Super Sonic in the Giganto and Knight boss fights.
Another bot
Since the Barrel of Doom in Carnival Night zone came up I have to share a story. That Barrel of Doom did cost me a life, but not in the way you'd expect.
I'd actually worked out the gimmick of the barrels earlier in the level, so when I got to that barrel I got to work with Up and Down. I saw I could go down but the explorer in me thought "What if I go up instead?" So I tried... and got crushed.
Bro how DO they work because I was olaying S3nK on that Genesis mega collection on Xbox 360 and I could not figure it out
@@Frvnt888 Jump on to the barrel.
When you are on the barrel, do'nt jump no more.
Slowly start pressing up, then down. The barrel will start moving along with your presses.
As you build up a rhythm, the barrel will go up and down further and further.
It will eventually go down far enough for you to jump down from it.
th-cam.com/video/CmUWOGP4xn8/w-d-xo.html
Being able to tell which level you're gunna talk about just from hearing the music in the background made me feel good.
5:23 Can confirm this barrel ended all my childhood playthroughs of Sonic 3.
2:12 im gonna have to disagree. Metallic madness act 2, is the worst. I already hate this level, but specifically the PAST variation is a HELL. It is, LITERALLY, UNBEATABLE. You'll run out of time before you know it exploring that ENDLESS HELLSCAPE
I personally love this channel due to the completely different types of topics. I mean the Chili Dog video was PEAK and this one is just as amazing. Thank you for the upload, it makes my day.
Can you believe that Flame Core is one of the 1st levels you're forced to play during the co-op mode
You were spot on with Sonic 1, 2, 3, Knuckles, and CD. I agree and feel the pain with you my man! I remember the first time playing 3 and got to that barrel, then thought there was a glitch in the game and gave up. That is until TH-cam came about! You should do a boss fight video if you haven't already. I swear Sonic & Knuckles seems to never end. You have to kill the fat guy like 5 times before it's finally over because he manages to somehow keep on flying! 😂
PS- Also thank you for showing me where that time machine is located in Wacky Workbench from the CD. This is the first time I have seen this.
I was lucky enough to eventually figure out the barrel of doom all by myself, and when I finally did I said “huh, that’s stupid”.
Interesting list! I should mention that a lot of the crush death issues in the classic games shown are due to the subtle differences in the Retro Engine vs. the original. The same goes for that steam spring in Metropolis; in vanilla Sonic 2, you won't hit the spikes, iirc.
Sonic is both faster and more importantly, jumps higher, which being great for zones like Hydrocity definitely isn't good for marble garden and metropolis
@@Gloomire Sonic is faster and jumps higher in the mobile remakes/Origins?
I like to point out, Sonic Adventure's Casino stage you can get like 300 or so rings and spindash into the pile to launch yourself up to complete the stage.
Doing it that way combined with his way is probably the only way to get all 3 emblems. Never ever managed it.
Press Garden Act 2 is my favourite from Mania. Both Acts 1 & 2 make me love the setting. I can admit 2 can be frustrating at times, but it isn't a huge bother for me, and that boss is very solid.
If people don't like Press Garden act 2, then atleast we can all accept we love the background and music for it cause that music is soothing
Yeah i don't understand, i found this new level incredibly creative... One of the best of Mania
@@elio22bbl So did I. The mechanics and enemies of act 2 are very creative, but not frustrating enough to make the levels bad in anyway
@@ncrveteranranger4454 i think the only level I struggled with is the egg fortress act 2
Metropolis zone’s music really makes up for the level tbh
I remember getting to Death Egg zone in Sonic 3 & Knuckles when i played it while my friends were watching and seeing them actually get concerned and even ticked off at just how much anger i was getting imbued with as all those dumb obstacles screwed me over for the remainder of the night.
And that BOSS, red fricking eye...goodness me.
I agree with most of these however Press Garden is one of my favorite Sonic stages ever, the music, visuals and enemies are so creative and amazing.
Personally I thought Bingo Highway from Heroes was worse than Casino Park due to the fact that the table has bottomless pits, and your party members immediately die due to the crap controls and their ai, so you're stuck fending on your own. I couldn't beat Bingo Highway for the longest time as a kid, and only did so by sheer luck. At least with Casino Park, you're given a safety net to get used to the crap controls. I also remember one of the Klagens trapping Tails and flying up, soft-locking me during one point of a play through of the level.
Normally when I see a video listing bad things in sonic games, it feels spiteful or like they're doing the list as a joke, like the reviewer doesn't even like sonic at all. But I could feel the love you have for these games in your critique. Great vid.
I might personally put Aquatic Ruin for sonic 2, but I completely understand going for metropolis.
Sonic sure has an obsession with casino zones. Eggman must have a gambling problem.
Sonic 4 series is basically a sonic version of New Super Mario Bros.
5:02 "And this is all while the soundtrack is making fun of you."
Now imagine that you're playing the Sonic Jam version, and it only plays the same half-second of two notes! :D And the game feels like traversing a strange empty theme park for no reason! :DDDDD My childhood! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
I've hear of the barrel of doom so many times that when I played it I knew exactly what to do.
10:50 New ability Unlocked: invisible
Wacky Workbench is my favorite Sonic CD level! The high bouncing mechanic is very innovative and unique. I'm surprised you didn't pick Metallic Madness as that was more frustrating.
At least Metropolis has some banger music. My least fave Sonic 2 level would be Oil Ocean.
One time I was in sandopolis and beat eggman just as the timer hit 9:59.. scariest moment of the game for me
Were you playing on origins? They removed the time limit there
@@pengil3 nope, good old mega collection on the gamecube
With a second to spare😂
My favorite part about all your videos are the thumbnails!
My list of favorite and least favorite levels/zones from each game that you mentioned and that I've played:
-Sonic 1 Least favorite: Labyrinth Zone (Obvs)
-Sonic 1 Favorite: Green Hill (Also obvs)
-Sonic CD Least favorite: Wacky Workbench (Once again, obvs)
-Sonic CD Favorite: Either Plamtree Panic or Stardust Speedway
-Sonic 2 Least Favorite: Metropolis Zone (Repeat after me: obvs)
-Sonic 2 Favorite: Chemical Plant Zone (I know, I'm SO original)
-Sonic 3 Least favorite: Marble Garden Zone
-Sonic 3 Favorite: Either Hidrocity or Ice Cap
-Sonic & Knuckles Least Favorite zone: Sandopolis
-Sonic & Knuckles Least favoite level: Lava Reef Act 2
-Sonic & Knuckles Favorite: Either Mushroom Hill or Flying Battery
-Sonic Adventure Least Favorite: Playing as Big the Cat. For Sonic levels, it would be Casinopolis.
-Sonic Adventure Favorite: Speed Highway
-Sonic Adventure 2 Least favorite: Mad Space. For Sonic levels, Pyramid Cave (The ghosts used to scare the sh*t out of me as a kid.
-Sonic Adventure 2 Favorite: City Escape (Obvs)
-Sonic Heroes Least Favorite: Casino Park (Obvs)
-Sonic Heroes Favorite: Ocean Palace
-Sonic '06: It's been way too long since I played it, so I don't remember which levels I liked or disliked.
-Sonic Generations Least Favorite: Planet Wisp
-Sonic Generations Favorite: Rooftop Run (Modern)
-Sonic Mania Least Favorite: Metallic Madness
Sonic Mania Favorite: Chemical Plant (Btw, I would have LOVED to see Ice Cap in that game)
sandopolis act 2 hurts my soul to play
10:55 It's crazy that the association between "bad" and "hard" is so strong that you have to explicitly excuse yourself when the two don't match up.
Never understood the beef with Labyrinth Zone, it's really fun to explore because it's fairly open ended when it puts you into giant rooms with several different paths that you can take. The traps are only a problem on the first playthrough so once you learn about them you won't fall for them ever again, it's really that simple. Does nobody play Sonic 1 more than once in their life? If you beat the game at least 10 times you'd easily recognize that Scrap Brain is a much worse zone, I'd even rank LZ above Marble and Spring Yard as well.
One of the bad things is YOU’RE FORCED to go in the water, meanwhile in Aquatic Ruin you can avoid the water altogether if you’re good enough.
I agree, Labyrinth is overhated. It's not even that hard if you know what you're doing and if you know the ways to skip the annoying bits.
The end of act 3 in Labyrinth is the worst, where you have no rings (but at least a shield) after the last checkpoint. Means if you die in that underwater trapped shaft, next time you can take only 1 hit while climbing up.
Even Scrap Brain seems more forgiving
@@johney-duh-one You mean like every disliked stage in other games too?
For me it was always Starlight Zone. It’s kind of fun because it can be fast paced but
1) it’s at the end of the game so you don’t really go here that often to try new paths
2) there is nothing to see most of the time the whole stage is blind
3) this one is personal : what even is going on anyway? Isn’t it supposed to be a night road level?
Then why is there giant holes everywhere? Why do I have to fight to even figure out where I need to go? With labyrinth and marble there is a flow, it’s not a straight line but you get where you are in the whole level. There is no reference point in starlight, everything is just a void with the usual « blind jumps to get up maybe or was I supposed to go left this time oh wait it was down my bad »
Metropolis Zone is one of the worst levels in Sonic history. Worse than Labyrinth Zone or Wacky Workbench. I will stand by this until the end of time.
That same design philosophy permeates all of Sonic 2 imo, that's why it is my least favorite Classic game
11:56 I’ll be honest, not only do I like the werehog levels and combat… I also think the werehog combat is more fun and fleshed out than frontiers’ combat
I guess you could say that wscky workbench is a bit wacky eh?
i understand and agree with most of them, but... crazy gadget? 😭 I can see where you're coming from and respect it but I was kinda expecting Pyramid Cave
also wow i wish i got this video recommended when it came out a whole year ago lmfao good stuff!!
I have a video suggestion: The Evolution of Sonic.
Basically, you can go through each Sonic game in chronological order and mention the all the elenents it introduced into the franchise, such as main/playable characters, alternate ports, DLC expansions, major members of the Sonic production thay stayed for quite a while and impacted the franchise, game mechanics, lore elements, prequel/spin-off materials spawning from a specific game, crossovers, etc. You could even include extended Sonic media (movies, comics, etc).
Here are some examples (feel free to add everything I might have missed):
Sonic 1: Sonic, Eggman, high-speed running, animals inside Eggman's robots, alternate ports, Sonic Team.
Sonic 2: Tails, Death Egg Robot, Silver Sonic, Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic, Tornado, alternate endings, cutscenes.
What do you think?
I am a Labyrinth Zone apologist. I love Labyrinth Zone!
HERETIC
Me too, skill issue
It's not particularly hard, it's just that when you do make the occasional mistake, it punishes you too hard. Also, those Burrowbots are the absolute worst
@@Ollie.H-23 I honestly like the challenge, the burrowbots are nothing compared to the likes of the asterons or shellcrackers in Sonic 2. Nowadays I can easily get through Labyrinth Zone without taking damage, it's a nice switchup during the adventure that doesn't leave me feeling bored.
@@Sean-D78 I just think the way they jump out of nowhere can get frustrating. I just don't think I should have to memorise the level layout to make it bareable. I do respect your opinion though, it's fun to see how others can view things or why people get joy out of things I have a distaste for.
jumping over the drift panels and light-speed-dashing through the ring trails in cyberspace 3-5 was a godsend
When I first played sandopolis act 2, I actually quit after some time because I literally got stuck at the start from not knowing what to do because it was just that unclear
4:02 im watching this at night and you put this music in, *someone hold me*
13:22 I think the ascetics look pretty cool as there hasn’t really been a sonic level that’s set in a oil extraction facility set in the desert
True Man
interesting thing i learnt about the drift stage in sonic frontiers, its activated when touching the speed treds so you can easily jump over them and run normally getting more enjoyable experience
I would love to see what your favourite levels are in each Sonic game
How many giveaway bots are here
Also, the reason why there was a Metropolis Zone act 3 was because originally it was going to be a scrapped zone known as Genocide City/Cyber City Zone, but was scrapped due to time constraints and potentially memory capacity, but yeah, it doesn't excuse Metropolis Zone for being bad. To me, Act 3 of Labyrinth Zone sucks, you're chasing Eggman up an obstacle course full of spikes and gargoyles spitting fire, while the water is rising restricting your movement and oxygen capacity, and if you get hit, best case scenario, you lose rings. Worst case scenario, you'll fall down, and you have to go back up before the rising water makes you drown. Also, if I were to make this video, I'd add the rule of playing the original version of the game, because Sonic Origins despite having amazing features that the original Sonic didn't have, it carries a lot of glitches, like physics and what not, especially Sonic 3 and Knuckles, since the Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD are based on the Christian Whitehead ports back in 2011/2013, which fixed many issues and oversights the original games had.
Who knows, maybe Genocide City Zone could almost been worse
8:35 I agreed about artificial chaos being annoying and pain in the butt! You don't know how much hard time I have with these nuisance enemies as a kid!
For me, in Sonic Frontiers, my least favorite stage was probably 1-2. Not because the stage is hard, but because to get the S rank on your level completion time, you have to take a very specific path, and normally you'd think you'd have to master the aerial sections early to do it. Nope. Sonic actually moves slower in the air, even with player input boosts and the air boost rings (and I didn't know this at the time). It was the only stage where I had to look up a guide to complete it in the S-rank time, and I nearly stopped playing for awhile because I couldn't figure it out, lol. To put a stage with such tight time requirements for the S rank so early on seemed petty. 😅
For Sonic Adventure 2, I actually really liked Mad Space, even if the gravity mechanic was frustrating at times, though once you learn where the springs and launchers are to get you from area to area, it becomes less frustrating, lol. As for the worst SONIC stage in that game, it's tough to say cause there are only 6 (not counting the last stage of the game), but I think I agree with Crazy Gadget. The switching gravity sections really kinda slow Sonic down a lot, and screw up the controls. An easy fix to that would be to have the Camera rotate fully along with Sonic, but I suppose that wouldn't be as trippy.
Sure, Metropolis has good music,but the level it self isn't all that great. I swear to god i get hit by an enemy/lava or basically anything everytime I play this stage. Labyrinth zone isn't such a good stage. But if it had less water and less traps,it would have been okay(probably).
By the way,Love your videos and thumbnails!
Keep up the good work Chaomix👍!!!
"Why would you ever put an autoscroller in a sonic game?"
sonic lost world: *shudders*
The worst trope in 2D Sonic games: repeating the same levels with minor changes
A)Something Hills Zone
B)Casino Night Ripoff Zone
C)Bouncy, Springy Zone
D)Aquatic Badly Placed Enemy Zone
E)No More Time To Complete Game Zone
F)Robotnik's Mostly Gray Base Zone
15:27 *new players about sonc lost world, including me:* woah really? i didnt know.
Sonc 💀
Doesn't make labyrinth any better but there's a hidden little skip in one of the acts. Theres even another one in scrap brain 3 if you're fast at the start
There are big shortcuts in Labyrinth Act 1 and 3. And in Scrap Brain Act 3 like you said
For me, Mad Space is for sure my most dreaded SA2 Stage. (Coming from someone who likes the treasure hunting stages)
It predates Mario Galaxy though😉
The final stages of the hero story in SA2 are so annoying
oh god i remember when i was a kid and just being stuck at that carnival night barrel. then beating myself up later when i realized you just had to move the D pad up and down.
The barrel of doom stumped me. I told my friend in school I couldn't do it and he literally laughed at me.
“Crazy Gadget is actually sick, you just suck”- Zoomzike
Must be in the minority for this one. I only had Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Sonic and Knuckles when I was little so those are what I will address.
I actually loved Labyrinth Zone. I loved the preciseness of the platforming, I loved the music, I loved how slow Sonic moved underwater. I found it very zen. I never had a problem with the traps---some of them were annoying, sure, but altogether the zone just put me in a chill mood, and I liked the challenging twist on the boss. It was Scrap Brain Zone Act 2 I hated. Not only did the entire level feel like a gauntlet of death traps, but the music was straight up auditory caffeine and made me feel like I had to rush, so I ended up running into traps, enemies, and fell to my death way more often than I needed to.
For me Oil Ocean was the zone in Sonic 2 that always made me consider whether I really wanted to keep going. I hated the music (felt like it was mocking me for some reason I can't explain), I hated the over-industrialized, polluted setting, and it felt like I couldn't take five steps without getting hit by one of those damn octopi or seahorses. By Metropolis I was used to the unfair enemy placement and it at least had vibrant colors and jammin' music.
I'm cheating a bit on Sonic 3 as I never beat it when I was little. Yes, because of the Barrel of Doom. But Carnival Night had bright colors, cheery music, and honestly was fun. I loved every part of Sonic 3 until I hit the infamous dead end. Marble Garden was my least favorite then, as it felt like a modern Scrap Brain. After the breathtaking zoom-to-end of Hydrocity, all of the crushers and endless parade of spike traps and spiked enemises forcing me to take the level slow and steady felt like a slog. Now? Launch Base Zone is definitely my least favorite, mostly for the same reasons I hate Scrap Brain, but there's not a single level in Sonic 3 I hate.
Sonic and Knuckles, on the other hand? This one, I agree with you on. I will take a thousand Barrel of Dooms over Sandopolis Zone Act 2. You pretty much nailed everything infuriating about it. This level is pure suffering. And the music isn't even enjoyable to listen to. The boss is relatively simple but by the time I get to it I'm strung out and that makes me sloppy. Arguably the worst of the classic Sonic levels.
Did anyone else figure out the barrel gimmick in Carnival Night Zone (which is not from Sonic 3 but from Sonic 3 & Knuckles) on the first try?
I don’t know why I thought to push up and down on the d-pad after jumping up and down for about 15 seconds didn’t work, but I did.
I was genuinely surprised when I first heard that this was an infamously frustrating part of the game (the title of which is, again, not Sonic 3, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles).
When the internet became more of a thing I was surprised to learn that anyone struggled with that. I was still rather young when Sonic 3 released on Genesis and consequently struggled sometimes, but never there.
That was the time I got so stuck in a game that I didn't know how to proceed and abandoned the game. Didn't have any internet or anyone to ask, repeatedly got to that part, lost all lives on "time up". At times it even looked like i almost got it with jumping, it seemed like it needed some really finicky timing, but that's it. Didn't even know anything about the levels past that.
Only later when I played on emulator and had internet I managed to beat this barrel.
Not Sonic 3? Why specifically 3 & Knuckles and not 3 alone? Does locking on Sonic & Knuckles change the level design? That would be a super odd and bad choice if it did. If anything S&K should have changed the level to remove that part. It would be baffling if they added it in when it wasn't there before
The Sonic Forces bit made me cry laughing, I just said "all of them", and you say the exact same thing immediately after XD
THANK YOU...that red barrel is the worst as a kid and finally figuring it out gets it buried in your memory FOREVER xD
I'm not surprised that you picked Arid Sands for Unleashed (Shamar in general is my least favorute location in Unleashed), but I am surprised that you picked Arid Sands Act 1 and not Act 2. I mean, that level is almost literally "Quick-Time Event: The Level".
It's one of those levels where you have to do a full lap around the stage, which is a fine enough concept, it's just that the level has a bit too much of QTEs. Still don't think it's a bad level though, just think that it's the actual weakest level in the game, including the DLC stages.
I think I'm just really good at the QTEs because I'm super familiar and fast with the button layouts of controllers. It made that level really dang easy for me. I can totally see why someone would hate that level though if they weren't great at being fast with QTEs 😬
@@chaomix cool edge is way worse imo
@@t-bone2145 hard disagree. The atmosphere of the level and the level design is more interesting to look at and play through.
The bobsled can be unwieldy, but it's not the end of the world to use it.
@@eduardoaugusto9206 it’s also got those switches you have to stomp on multiple times which are annoying with unleashed’s slippery movement, and combined with ice physics and enemies shooting at you it’s real obnoxious in this level. You really think running through the shamar city is less interesting than this?
@@t-bone2145 Must be a me thing, but I am actually not against ice physics. I know that they throw you off balance given the controls you're used to, but I don't think they are terrible. Also the enemies aren't problematic either, just stay on the move and you won't get shot.
Shamar doesn't have too many interesting setpieces aside from canyons with rails, the monuments and temple like structures are neat, but they're all background scenarios :/
10:18
Nah, you're 100% right
*1:26** Wait but is the Sonic Advance trilogy A Mainline game?*
I really like Carnival Zone. Yes, even act 2. That moment when the light goes out and there's water... like an abandoned park... *chef's kiss*
When I played Sonic 3 in the genesis era as a kid Carnival Night Zone was what me and my brother were stuck on for AGES due only to this one part we could not get past and all roads seemed to lead there, into this trap with no way out. Yes, it was the "Barrel of Doom"