Sonic The Hedgehog

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Thanks, Desensitized! I think I'll go with the 3rd option as well. Simply just speeding through the level to the goal isn't much fun if you're not going to explore the level, and I wouldn't want to try doing a 100% on each level of the game on my very first run though it. Therefore, I'm content with exploring the levels in the past to destroy all of Robotnik's/Eggman's machines.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Soundtrack choices for the best experience:

PalmTree Panic - Either are great.
Collision Chaos - Neither do much for me.
Tidal Tempest - American. Really bouncy.
Quartz Quadrant - Doesn't matter. Go to the past and stay there. Gorgeous art and perfect music make it awesome to play through.
Wacky Workbench - American. Bounce to the beat!
Stardust Speedway - Either. Japanese if you want 'Speedway', American if you want 'Stardust'.
Metallic Madness - Japanese for the good future. The rest are meh.

Hope you have fun!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I finally got back to playing Sonic CD. I made it all the way up to Quartz Quadrant Zone 2, and so far the game is great. I like how different it feels from the other classic Sonic games. I mean, the regular controls and general look and feel of the game are nailed down perfectly, but the actual execution of how you play the game feels totally different. These are definitely the most creative Sonic levels out of any of the classic games. The main difference is that these levels are meant to be explored rather than sped through in a linear fashion. If you just try to get to the goal, you can end up clearing most levels in under a minute and you won't be offered up much challenge. The difference here is that these levels aren't meant to be point A to point B ordeals. There are obstacles just like in any other Sonic game, but unlike other ones, this one actually doesn't keep in much stuff to prevent you from going back into areas you previously passed like in the main Sonic games. Instead, you can back-track through a large chunk of the level as you explore for various things, like Eggman's machines in the past and the Metal Sonic hologram projectors, or to just explore and have fun with the general level design between the past, present, and future. Its definitely one of the best Sonic games, overall, and this can definitely stand toe-to-toe with any of the other classics in the series.

I've also been replaying Sonic 3 & Knuckles as Knuckles. I just got past Carnival Night Zone. My god is that level SO MUCH more tolerable when playing as Knuckles. Its a lot shorter since Knuckles can take so many short-cuts that Sonic doesn't have access to, and it gets rid of many of the annoying obstacles that Sonic and/or Tails have to go through. As I've said, I just don't like the level, but at least in Knuckles's play-through the developers took pity on you and made the level a lot shorter.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Sonic CD! I think most people either lose interest or don't give it a fair shake since it's so different from Sonic 1-3K but when you end up playing it the proper way, it really shines. Hopefully being in Quartz Quadrant you travel to the past and appreciate possibly the best art and music in the entire Sonic series.

Also, there's a lot of really cool stuff in Knuckles' run in S3&K since so many acts are vastly different as Knuckles. I also find it much trickier at times.

[Lord Dalek]

I'm just gonna say... Quartz Quadrant Present > Quartz Quadrant Past (as far as music goes).

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm just gonna say... Quartz Quadrant Present > Quartz Quadrant Past (as far as music goes).

Aw man, really? I like all the Quartz Quadrant music (NA and JP), but the past Quartz Quadrant just has that extra kick to it.

I'm always in the past there just because it's so good.

[talonmalon333]

I truly believe that I just don't get Sonic CD. I mean, I played through it, but for some reason, it just didn't do much for me. The whole game felt like a bit of a mess. Perhaps I should play through it again, see if that changes my opinion at all.

[Spark Of Spirit]

You can't play it like the other Sonic games, which I think is the games biggest roadblock. More than any of the other games, CD is about exploring and not finishing the levels as fast as possible.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, it puzzled me at first as to why the levels were so damn short. I initially made it up to Tidal Tempest in under 7 minutes. Then I realized that you're meant to make your way back to the past and explore the levels to find and destroy Eggman's evil machines in order to get a good future. At that point the level design started to click for me and everything made sense. The game isn't meant to be a point A to point B sort of scenario like the other Sonic games. Its actually a bit closer to something like Yoshi's Island (a game which I obviously love) in that the levels are really meant to be explored, as just simply clearing them is missing the entire point of playing through the levels in the first place.

[Spark Of Spirit]

One thing I liked about Tidal Tempest is that the water level changes depending on the time period and makes exploring a lot more interesting. Also, there's usually a path to staying out of the water most of the zone. It feels like they learned a lot from Labyrinth Zone with this one.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, I give up on Wacky Workbench. The level is just way too annoyingly hard to navigate. At first I thought the super-charged bouncy floors were really neat, and the level had a lot of creative ideas, to its credit. That said, none of these ideas were implemented very well. It feels like the level designers just threw in a shit-ton of obstacles and never bothered to actually play-test the level to see if it was actually fun to try and explore it. Really, at this point I'm just going to go ahead and go for the goal which itself isn't too hard to do. Trying to find Eggman's machines is one thing, but trying to even get to the past to do that in the first place is a nightmare. Good luck trying to reach a speed high enough to do that when there's literally some obstacle to stop you at every 5-feet in the game.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Alright, I give up on Wacky Workbench. The level is just way too annoyingly hard to navigate. At first I thought the super-charged bouncy floors were really neat, and the level had a lot of creative ideas, to its credit. That said, none of these ideas were implemented very well. It feels like the level designers just threw in a shit-ton of obstacles and never bothered to actually play-test the level to see if it was actually fun to try and explore it. Really, at this point I'm just going to go ahead and go for the goal which itself isn't too hard to do. Trying to find Eggman's machines is one thing, but trying to even get to the past to do that in the first place is a nightmare. Good luck trying to reach a speed high enough to do that when there's literally some obstacle to stop you at every 5-feet in the game.

Yep, it's a real pain. I recommend a guide to finding the best way to travel back to the past in Wacky Workbench (there are some good points but it's hard telling you where they are without a visual aid and then finding the machines.

The machines are here:



The machine in act 1 is located at the top of the stage, you have to enter the crusher at the top and let it crush you (seriously... told you this zone was dumb) and you will be transported to the machine where you can break it.

The machine in act 2 is at the beginning of the stage. You have to travel back to the past and make your way back up there. If you need more hints use a guide.



Wacky Workbench is the most obtuse zone in the game just because of those floors and electricity. Find a way back to the past and you should have smooth sailing to the machines, however.

[Lord Dalek]

Sonic CD is probably the only old school Sonic game that mandates the use of a walkthrough.

[gunswordfist]

How can anyone not love this theme?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZY99s4lmrQ

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's actually my favorite theme from Collision Chaos.