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Even though the Saturn version is prettier, it's nice that the original version got the updates, as the Saturn one shouldn't even exist. It was just a stopgap measure to get Sonic on the Saturn after Sonic Xtreme died. The game is impressive on the Genesis, but it's pretty weak as a Saturn title.

Aleron Ives wrote:Even though the Saturn version is prettier, it's nice that the original version got the updates, as the Saturn one shouldn't even exist. It was just a stopgap measure to get Sonic on the Saturn after Sonic Xtreme died. The game is impressive on the Genesis, but it's pretty weak as a Saturn title.

Oh of course i did not mean to detract from it, the Genesis version is perfectly fine (the updates are great!) but when i just wanted to bring that out

Can't stop laughing at this

This was actually the first Sonic the Hedgehog game I owned - when I was younger a friend and I traded quite a few games with each other (introducing each other to Rayman and Crash Bandicoot in the process), and this was the game he introduced me to Sonic with (the PC version).

Being used to fully 3D platformers like the above franchises, this was a big disappointment back in the day - I found the isometric view confusing, had a lot of trouble with the physics, and worst of all my copy never seemed to save, discouraging me from ever getting further than Spring Stadium Zone.

Fast forward to the present day, and by now I'm well aware of this game's wider legacy. It was meant as a swan song for Sonic on the Mega Drive, and for that it's pretty technically impressive, even if the gameplay is still quite dodgy. The Saturn and PC versions cast a larger shadow of inadequacy over the original (though the soundtrack in those versions is brilliant), what with being only lightly improved ports on far more capable systems.

But the real thing that finally brought me round to this game was the Directors Cut. It implements a whole slew of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes that make it much more enjoyable to play - my favourite might be the new password and level select system, which heals those scars of mine from the PC version and then some. There's much more of an incentive to play through the game and even backtrack for extra collectibles and time challenges when you can see your progress advancing whenever you boot the game up. I'd even go as far as saying it's one of my favourite Sonic games for the Mega Drive now, particularly for how enjoyable it is to pick up and play on a whim.