Might want Somecallmejohnny to be careful of repeating that joke too much though, he could get banned from attending GDQ for saying that iconic and most amusing "Waoow!" impression a little too much, as Bonesaw found out the hard way! ;)
"Young Yuji Naka was kind of an asshole sometimes." Oh, yeah. One of the reasons X-treme got canceled was because Naka wouldn't let Sonic Team use the NiGHTs engine. He threatened to quit the company otherwise.
I remember seeing that promo image in an Archie comic way back when I was a kid. In the Sonic Mega Collection ads, you'd see all of the OG sonic artworks all together, and the Sonic 3 art ALWAYS stuck out to me in the bunch. I'd easily still agree it's one of the coolest fucking Sonic logos!
Nitro Rad are you gonna do the Tak and the Power of Juju trilogy? Tak and the Power of Juju, Tak 2 the Staff of Dreams and Tak the Great Juju Challenge? There great games you will not be disappointed there fantastic 3D platformers
Same with me, but in Germany. Games already then made the world smaller. I loved that Sonic & Knuckles Logo and for some reason, I didn’t have Sonic 3 or 2 but Sonic and then Sonic & Knuckles. Great times for Sega Fans with Mega Bomberman, Earthworm Jim, Aladdin, Lion King etc.
My favourite genre of UA-cam lately has been "put a microphone in front of someone and hear them gush about their favourite thing". Food for the soul 😌
I always did like Sonic 3&K the best among the classic titles, Even more so than Mania. I'm guessing that's cuz Sonic 3&K felt like an epic adventure with a subtle yet intricate storyline, while Mania felt more like a "Greatest Hits Compilation" without a meaningful story.
Tbf the Maina team had to work with some brutal restrictions e.g: only four original stages allowed, no super emeralds/hyper forms allowed, being forced to tie-in the game with Forces and who knows what other restrictions that were placed on them. I loved Mania but I can't help but wonder what kind of game we would've gotten if Chris Whitehead and the Maina team were allowed to stick to their original vision of the game?
Sonic 3 is the only Mega Drive Sonic game I still like. Sonic 1 I don't care for, and Sonic 2 I only play the first few levels and stop there nowadays. I can play pretty much any level in Sonic 3 and come out saying "that was pretty alright". Not my favourite Sonic game anymore, that belongs to Sonic Adventure 2, but still a solid package to revisit.
I still do like Mania though, It's a pretty fun game. And yeah I personally do care about the story a fair bit. Sonic's personality is what drew me to him in the first place after all. And I'm guessing quite a few other people feel the same ^-^
This is maybe my favorite Sonic Game before Mania came out, which was basically an improved Sonic 3 in terms of level design and structure. While individually the two halves just don't feel right, the whole package of Sonic 3 is still incredible. One of my favorites.
Between S3&K and Mania (as well as the Advanced/Rush games), I honestly believe Dimps could've made Sonic 4 epic if they were allowed to develop the game without continuous corporate interference imo.
@@Outta-hz1ej That's fair. It's the one legit sticking point with Mania. While nearly every returning stage is greatly revamped (in 1 act at least) and is mostly better than their original versions, they're still old stages. Most of the truly new stuff outclasses it significantly too so it feels like It would've been an even stronger package as a proper sequel to the classics instead of being 2/3rds of a "best of" collection.
Finding out that the reason Sonic 3 was split into two cartridges solely because of the fact it needed to be out by the time of the freaking happy meal tie in is hilarious to me .
I swear to god whoever chose to use that as the advertisement for the 32X add-on needs to get sued. Their target audience would’ve been kids for crying out loud! Before you call me out, I’m making a dang joke.
@@ZoomToMalware What does it being canon have to do with it? even if it's not canon in 3 or mania I still feel like it should have been added since super tails is playable in mania
They should have brought back the Super Emeralds for Encore Mode. They made seven extra difficult Special Stages just for that mode, but the reward is the same. And it's not as if they forgot about the Super Emeralds, or that those emeralds are "not canon." They showed the powered down Super Emeralds in Mania as a level prop for the Heavy King boss fight.
@@ZoomToMalware - Mania gave everyone a Super form, even Tails, who previously needed Super Emeralds to transform. Whether or not they are "canon," doesn't matter. They exist in the game. The Super Emeralds have appeared at least twice since S3&K. They just haven't had them relevant to gameplay. Mania would have been the perfect opportunity to bring back Hyper forms, since the DLC added seven additional Special Stages. Since the Encore Mode takes place after the original campaign, they could have even used the Super Emeralds to explain why you could go Super anymore. Just take the emeralds away, and make them Super again. But nope. They chose not to.
@@ZoomToMalware You say that, but Mania contradicts you. Not only can Tails and Knuckles go Super in Mania, but so can Mighty and Ray. And the fact that Super Emeralds appear in Mania makes their lack of relevance confusing. The reason Super Emeralds exist in the first place is because locking Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckled together results in a double length game. Mania's DLC also doubled the length of the game, although they were separated by different modes. So while it wasn't necessary to have Super Emeralds, it would have been nice to collect them instead of Chaos Emeralds.
Johnny: "We'll never know how Michael Jackson contributed to Sonic 3's OST". Me in the year 2023 (after Sonic Origins and a few notes from Yuji Naka): Hold my ring.
Oh the great memories of Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I remember back then I had a friend who had Sonic 3 and I had Sonic and Knuckles. We would let each other borrow the opposite game and even sleepovers just so we can beat the game together, and to this day we are still pals. This game has that special place in my heart.
The Sonic and Knuckles cartridge is a wonderful thing. Probably because it gives us the combined experience of S3K, but I love how you can play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and how cool I sound saying that one of the longest games ever is Sonic 1 & Knuckles.
Don't forget about Blue Sphere if you put in Sonic 1 or something. A nice little distraction that can help prepare you for those special stages in S3&K in case you suck. XD
When playing as Knuckles, you can actually go after the boss in Carnival Night Zone, depending on the route you take and if you want to manually climb all the way up there to fight him. His fight is no different from Sonic's or Tails's fights, though.
5:11 That mystery has finally put to rest since it’s been revealed that he actually did some of the songs in the game, especially with the credits theme. However, because of that, the version of Sonic 3 and Knuckles in Sonic Origins has Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap Zone and Launch Base Zone’s music use the prototype versions instead.
I remember hearing the Act Clear theme while playing Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the very first time. As a kid it sort of took me by surprise to hear it in it's 16-Bit form I was basically like: "Oooooh so that's where it came from. "
This game was my introduction to Sonic the Hedgehog proper, way back when I was in middle school, when my grandmother bought a Genesis with a bundle of games and set it up at her house for my cousins and I to play. Even after all this time later, it still remains my favorite installment in the series.
Sonic 3&Knuckles is where this franchise peaked. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been good or even great Sonic games afterwards, but this game is the standard I hold for not just Sonic, but for 2d platformers in general.
Sonic 3 is a solid game, easily the best of the Mega Drive games, but the days of it being my favourite were long gone. That torch has now been passed to Sonic Adventure 2.
@idgafaboutyourlife You gotta love being unable to save your progress, not be rewarded for achieving high scores, and suddenly coming to a stop just when you're about to fly off a hill. Critically speaking, I dislike Sonic 1, and feel apathetic towards Sonic 2. The days of archaic design choices just to replicate the Arcade experience at home in anyway has since become a test of endurance. Not much fun. Then again, I didn't grow up in the 90s despite being born at the end of it, so I guess I'm just too ignorant to see the spark.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 You gotta love overall linear level design, the treasure hunting stages being terrible, the mech stages going on for too long with clunky controls to boot, really atrocious enemy placement and a story filled with plot holes. There's no way in hell Adventure 2 is any better than Sonic 3. I know there's some backlash to the "66% of the game is bad" for Adventure 2, but it is true. If you're being generous, there's maybe a level here and there in the mech and treasure hunting stages that aren't completely bad (Pumpkin Hill and Cosmic Wall being the only candidates), but they completety butchered those gameplay styles from Adventure 1 instead of actually improving them.
@@okagron imo the Treasure Stages are much better in SA2. In SA1 they gave you Tikal, which directly pointed to the emerald shards. Not much of a treasure hunt. Sure the stages could be too big or have bad mechanics (Mad Space, Aquatic Mine), but overall it's more enjoyable than the too brief Knuckles stages. Even if flawed. The hints actually had a purpose and you could loop around the stages really quickly without using them if you wanted, though more risky due to RNG. Tails/Eggman stages are fun if you know the level design and know how to play, just like Sonic 2. I agree with Irrelevant Nobody. Sonic 2 has severe issues with pacing and enemies that hit you too quickly. Even in Emerald Hill Zone, the one spring in the first half launches you directly into Coconuts and it's nearly impossible to avoid getting hurt. I just jump over it now, but that's bad level design. The game is filled with instances like this. I just recently beat Sonic 2 with all the Emeralds...and tippy toeing in the levels and backtracking to get to checkpoints was very tedious. SA2 is guilty of this in Mech stages yes with the enemies that pot shot you. But the Sonic/Shadow stages are still pretty fun, even if the glitches can cause issues from time to time. It's a fun but flawed game, where going after 100% feels worth it due to how much better you learn the stages. The linear progression sure can be annoying to those that want to explore more, but the levels still offer a more fast pace and focused design than SA1's Casino, Ice Cap, Windy Valley Tornado, and the tons of times where you just charge up the Spin Dash. Though the B button issues in SA2 are still annoying. You can like a game and acknowledge its flaws. I like SA2 a ton and I wish they returned to it and polished it. But we got Heroes...which is fun in segments but underbaked and then you know the rest...
So now that Johnny’s finished the classic Sonic games, there’s one massive question that needs to be answered… Will we see a Johnny vs Sonic 3CD And Knuckles And Knuckles video?
S3&K was one of the first Sonic games I ever finished when I was a kid. I got one of those cheap Genesis consoles that had the built-in games but also had the cartridge slot, and I found the carts for both for around $10 at the time, and played the heck out them. I don't think I ever detached Sonic 3 from Knuckles unless it was to eventually play Sonic 2 with the echidna. Great times, and I sincerely hope we get another great Sonic game in the near future.
If they did not split the game, Sega execs would of rushed it. Sega does not like long development schedules with Sonic. So, the chances of Sega splitting a game again to simulate years of development are...
"It's like a face full of bees" Johhny's sense of humor NEVER ceases to put a smile on my face. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a truly nostalgic Sonic title, this review most definetly does the game justice!!
10:11 As a kid, I was convinced that Tails drowned in Launch Base Zone as Sonic jumped into the Egg-O-Matic, which would explain why he was absent from the final two bosses in Sonic 3 and all of Sonic & Knuckles (although he did show up at the end, squashing that theory).
I always viewed Sonic and Knuckles the greatest Sonic game of all time. Better than Sonic 2 to me. Not only was the gameplay amazing but the atmosphere had that unexplainable MYSTERY that other games just didn't have. It was also the final game where Knuckles had the most interesting character and was a viable threat to Sonic.
Watching this again, Sonic Origins did basically confirm that Michael Jackson worked on the soundtrack... Also, Yuji Naka is in some heat for selling info under the table as of the time of this comment so no clue on if the guy actually was "approachable" at any point in Sonic's lifespan....
Damn!!!! I randomly came back to check you out, I grew up with your videos; and this is a blast to the past. I watched the old SGB reviews sooooo many times. You’ve improved so much. Keep it up 👍🏾
Also I just realized that for Sonic the elemental shields give you a boost in different directions. The Electric shield goes up, the fire shield goes to the right and the bubble shield goes straight down.
13:47 Very late response but I remembered Big Arms hurting Super Sonic too, so I looked it up. Turns out Big Arms hurting Super Sonic is a Sonic 3 Alone thing, apparently that was a bug. When locked onto S&K they fix it.
I still can't believe this was my first other video game. It was just so fantastic and I swear it only got better as I got older. It really shows Sonic's potential and I hope we see this level of quality and care in the future. The review was great! Take care
This was the game where Sonic basically peaked, and while the series has had many ups and downs through the years, they just couldn't compare to the meticulously crafted design of Sonic 3 & Knuckles (I guess Mania could come close), lightning in a bottle, in a sense.
Sonic 3 is a good game, but I wouldn't call it the peak of the series. I still dislike the screen crunch, and the designers got really carried away with automated speed sections in this one. Something that was addressed in the Sonic Adventure games, especially 2.
I remember watching your Sonic 3 video back in 2010 when I was 9 years old. I'm 20 now and i've been a fan since then. Seeing a video like this reminds me of those days and I'm so excited to see more Final Fantasy videos and whatever else you have in store, John! Here's to another 11 years!
21:30 I do wish they bring back the Super Emeralds concept and Hyper Sonic. Instead of the flashing colors aura, why not give him a platinum like color palette, a reference to how well music albums/singles sell? Platinum over gold, there you go.
Even Generations (one of the most popular games in the franchise) was rushed. I believe Sonic Unleashed was the last "major project" Sonic game e.g: big budget/production values, a large development team, wasn't rushed (within reason), good time management and didn't use nostalgia as a crutch.
@Lynx Fresh Sonic Unleashed was rushed. At least half of its development time was spent making the engine, and the rest was making a game with a huge variety of content. As such there are some cut corners, such as the very slippery handling.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 Hence why I said "wasn't rushed (within reason)" unfortunately for Sega standards Unleashed wasn't "that bad" in terms of being rushed. Like Unleashed spent half it's development time on a new engine in contrast to Forces that spent three quarters of it's development time on a lighting engine and all of sudden Unleashed cutting corners doesn't seem so bad. Ofc getting rushed Sonic games should NEVER be the norm but Sega rarely learns lol!
The game established the core main trio and introduced some interesting concepts. It's a shame all that got thrown away in recent years (outside Maina).
Yeah. Though Adventure 1 did have the main Trio concepts back and did work out well. Just an shame we also have to deal with the 3 newer ones. Though I'm the minority that doesn't think they're all that bad. But not as good as the main trio.
This game will always hold a special place in my heart. Even as a kid, I really admired how it told a story without words and made the whole of its world feel interconnected. The characters, their abilities, the save system, the music, the special stages, the fun stage gimmicks, the different routes for all the characters, and the many opportunities for speed and exploration all gave the impression that this was a game that was proud of its own skin, which is something most modern Sonic games (even good ones like Sonic Mania) seem to struggle most with. Even as a kid, I knew there was something special about this game. To me, it was the first Sonic game that felt bigger than itself. It felt like it had a complete, well-developed, well-realized vision for what it wanted to be. It was the game that made me a fan of the series. Certainly, the first two games made me open to the possibility of being a fan, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles gave me the final push to make me think that I wanted to keep up with this series. In fact, I think my love for this game is what made me appreciate the first two much more than I would have otherwise. For most of my life, I had no trouble listing this as my favorite in the whole series. It had always been my gold standard for how good the series can be, a reminder that high quality in Sonic games used to be unsurprising and predictable. Even with Sonic Mania, I do still kinda lean towards listing Sonic 3 & Knuckles as my favorite for the simple fact that Sonic Mania had the benefit of hindsight while this game CREATED that hindsight. It forged by itself with minimal help the very foundation on which Sonic Mania was built, and what a strong foundation it was!
20:00 it also applies to Sonic Classics, but that’s because it recognizes it as Sonic 1. You get different accesses to Blue Sphere depended on what game you plug in. It has something to do with what data it finds on the rom that determine what ones you can play. But it is programmed to have them all unlocked if it detects Sonic 1
This will probably be my favourite game for the rest of my life. I can come back to S3&K anytime and find something I new, or just enjoy the rush of blasting through every stage and boss. Sonic Mania made me cry tears of joy when I finally got a true continuation of Sonic 3 after so long, and I wasn't even alive when the classics were coming out. Even though I'm not a fan of them reusing old zones, Angel Island at the start of Encore Mode in Mania Plus gave me a very strong emotional reaction...I think I nearly cried. This will always be my gold standard for Sonic, and I hope to see more titles in the future that can stand alongside it. EDIT: Oh yeah and I still had an instinctive sense of surprise seeing the Mario Oddities logo at the end of the video...it's a bit surreal seeing stuff I helped create show up on your channel when I've been watching you since, what, 2010?
Fun Fact Thanks To Sonic Mania The Release Of Sonic Origins Makes Super Tails Obtainable With The Chaos Emeralds With The Super Emeralds Unlocked Hyper Tails With The Flicky Army Of Death.
fun bit of canon, the super emerald design is then used for the chaos emeralds in every game afterwards, so canonically sonic 3 is when they change shape permanently
I played this way more times than i can count and STILL do. Great video Johnny, and it's been awesome revisiting the beginnings of our lovable speedy the hedgehog with you, man. Rock on!
I’m all for this re-reviews of your old videos. We all change with time and it’s been like a decade since those so don’t apologize! Also what could be featured in a Metroid celebration of Johnny has reviewed every single Metroid game out there? If it’s re-reviews of the 2D Quadrilogy then sign me up!
The glowing spheres stage is SOOOO exploitable. The ring icons multiply the further you go up and I commonly use that to complete stages with around 400-600 rings.
21:02 "There more like, Chaos Diamonds" Thank you Johnny, oh my God I am not the only one who thinks the same way. They look like diamonds, they are shaped like diamonds, they are Chaos Diamonds!
I had the biggest smile across my face after hearing the “FLICKY ARMY OF DEATH” bit again.
F L I C K Y A R M Y O F D E A T H
Nostalgia 😊
Oh, that nostalgia
Where the fuck did 5 years go?
i was saying "wait for it" when he got Super Tails ,i knew it was coming
I loved the re-reviews! The owen wilson gag was great.
I had a feeling you'd be sooner or later
Thanks man.
I’mma just be the first to say it and get it out of the way, since your here
“Hoo ba dooba!”
Anyways have a good day
I grew up with the sonic zombies videos man thanks for the content
Might want Somecallmejohnny to be careful of repeating that joke too much though, he could get banned from attending GDQ for saying that iconic and most amusing "Waoow!" impression a little too much, as Bonesaw found out the hard way! ;)
Owen Wilson’s “wow” but with the bubble shield sound dubbed over instead is something i didn’t know i needed until i saw it😂🙌
Super unexpected but it made me laugh wayyyy too hard!
I loved that too
Somebody’s gonna make it into a 3AIR mod for sure
i would love a 10 hour loop
I think Johnny just created a new meme.
"Young Yuji Naka was kind of an asshole sometimes."
Oh, yeah. One of the reasons X-treme got canceled was because Naka wouldn't let Sonic Team use the NiGHTs engine. He threatened to quit the company otherwise.
Naka blamed Westerners for bad reviews of his prope studios games. He probably blames Westerners for bad Balan WonderWorld reviews too
@@guyanesegal3166 not surprising
@@guyanesegal3166 I mean, I like both the wii and wii u versions of Rodea the Sky Soldier…
@@pokejoseph Wii U version was rough. The 3ds had an excuse for being a handheld.
@@helloguy8934 nah not really tbh
I remember seeing that promo image in an Archie comic way back when I was a kid. In the Sonic Mega Collection ads, you'd see all of the OG sonic artworks all together, and the Sonic 3 art ALWAYS stuck out to me in the bunch. I'd easily still agree it's one of the coolest fucking Sonic logos!
Cool
Man, I remember I wore out my copy of the comic with Knuckles' first appearance. And I remember drawing that logo so many times...
Nitro Rad are you gonna do the Tak and the Power of Juju trilogy? Tak and the Power of Juju, Tak 2 the Staff of Dreams and Tak the Great Juju Challenge? There great games you will not be disappointed there fantastic 3D platformers
Same with me, but in Germany. Games already then made the world smaller. I loved that Sonic & Knuckles Logo and for some reason, I didn’t have Sonic 3 or 2 but Sonic and then Sonic & Knuckles. Great times for Sega Fans with Mega Bomberman, Earthworm Jim, Aladdin, Lion King etc.
Exactly
I love how the bugs and glitches just evoke a flat “What?” from Johnny whenever they occur without ever being properly addressed.
Robotnik’s Diabolical Traps!
that was great!
_WHAT?_
nani!?
I'm ready for "Johnny gushes about Sonic 3 for 28 minutes"
Same
My favourite genre of UA-cam lately has been "put a microphone in front of someone and hear them gush about their favourite thing". Food for the soul 😌
@Villiam Hofgaard featuring knuckles from the knuckles and knuckles series
"Why aren't the emeralds all green?"
That's what makes them Chaos!
I understood that reference.
Quoting that show just works with anything
4:58 and almost 30 years later, Yuji Naka would confirm Michael Jackson's contribution to Sonic 3 was a real thing... in a freaking Tweet, lmao
And now he's in prison.
😂
@@coreylineberry8557 Yep. He is a asshole.
@@coreylineberry8557 and now I consider hatsune miku to have made sonic
when he said "and it's pronounced hydro city" who else was expecting Ted to show up with no warning to argue with Johnny
I always did like Sonic 3&K the best among the classic titles, Even more so than Mania.
I'm guessing that's cuz Sonic 3&K felt like an epic adventure with a subtle yet intricate storyline, while Mania felt more like a "Greatest Hits Compilation" without a meaningful story.
wasnt sega meddling who froced mani team to cut on plot in order to tie it with steaming shit i mean forces?
Tbf the Maina team had to work with some brutal restrictions e.g: only four original stages allowed, no super emeralds/hyper forms allowed, being forced to tie-in the game with Forces and who knows what other restrictions that were placed on them.
I loved Mania but I can't help but wonder what kind of game we would've gotten if Chris Whitehead and the Maina team were allowed to stick to their original vision of the game?
I love how everyone cares more about story than gameplay in a Sonic game
Sonic 3 is the only Mega Drive Sonic game I still like. Sonic 1 I don't care for, and Sonic 2 I only play the first few levels and stop there nowadays. I can play pretty much any level in Sonic 3 and come out saying "that was pretty alright". Not my favourite Sonic game anymore, that belongs to Sonic Adventure 2, but still a solid package to revisit.
I still do like Mania though, It's a pretty fun game.
And yeah I personally do care about the story a fair bit. Sonic's personality is what drew me to him in the first place after all. And I'm guessing quite a few other people feel the same ^-^
If this doesn't have a "Flicky Army of Death" I'll be dissapointed
fLiCKy aRMy oF dEATH
Johnny in his sonic mania review: And tails, where's your
FLICKY ARMY OF DEATH?!
dissapointed you aren't
He said it Let's goooo
Congratulations you called it
This is maybe my favorite Sonic Game before Mania came out, which was basically an improved Sonic 3 in terms of level design and structure. While individually the two halves just don't feel right, the whole package of Sonic 3 is still incredible. One of my favorites.
Personally, I prefer Sonic 3K to Mania, simply because all the levels in S3K are original. The two are pretty close I think.
How could you say something so controversial yet so brave?
Between S3&K and Mania (as well as the Advanced/Rush games), I honestly believe Dimps could've made Sonic 4 epic if they were allowed to develop the game without continuous corporate interference imo.
@@Outta-hz1ej That's fair. It's the one legit sticking point with Mania. While nearly every returning stage is greatly revamped (in 1 act at least) and is mostly better than their original versions, they're still old stages. Most of the truly new stuff outclasses it significantly too so it feels like It would've been an even stronger package as a proper sequel to the classics instead of being 2/3rds of a "best of" collection.
Sonic adventure 2 : am I a joke to you ?
I loved these reviews. This is definitely one of the best Sonic games out there, if not the best.
U would think mugimikey would get a heart from Johnny
Random question but do you need hyper sonic to beat sonic 3k with the best ending
Kouch Kid. No. U don't have to. Only Super Sonic can unlocked the true ending.
@@J_TheDevious06
I'm guessing he's not a fan.
I agree with you 💯👍
I agree: "If you enjoy the game just play the game." People don't need validation.
Finding out that the reason Sonic 3 was split into two cartridges solely because of the fact it needed to be out by the time of the freaking happy meal tie in is hilarious to me .
Sega rushing games out cause of a deal with another company has been happening since the 1990's lol
that damn ronald
Thats what happen when you are given a close deadline
“Mommy, what are those Sega games doing?”
“They’re putting Knuckles inside Sonic 2, dear.”
Hahahaha
Nice
Step Knuckles
Why you little......
Dr. Eggman - 2008
I swear to god whoever chose to use that as the advertisement for the 32X add-on needs to get sued. Their target audience would’ve been kids for crying out loud!
Before you call me out, I’m making a dang joke.
They did it for the 32x too
I miss Tails' Flicky Army of Death. It just doesn't feel the same in Mania without them.
@@ZoomToMalware What does it being canon have to do with it? even if it's not canon in 3 or mania I still feel like it should have been added since super tails is playable in mania
I mean tails becoming Turbo Tails
They should have brought back the Super Emeralds for Encore Mode. They made seven extra difficult Special Stages just for that mode, but the reward is the same. And it's not as if they forgot about the Super Emeralds, or that those emeralds are "not canon." They showed the powered down Super Emeralds in Mania as a level prop for the Heavy King boss fight.
@@ZoomToMalware - Mania gave everyone a Super form, even Tails, who previously needed Super Emeralds to transform. Whether or not they are "canon," doesn't matter. They exist in the game. The Super Emeralds have appeared at least twice since S3&K. They just haven't had them relevant to gameplay. Mania would have been the perfect opportunity to bring back Hyper forms, since the DLC added seven additional Special Stages. Since the Encore Mode takes place after the original campaign, they could have even used the Super Emeralds to explain why you could go Super anymore. Just take the emeralds away, and make them Super again. But nope. They chose not to.
@@ZoomToMalware You say that, but Mania contradicts you. Not only can Tails and Knuckles go Super in Mania, but so can Mighty and Ray. And the fact that Super Emeralds appear in Mania makes their lack of relevance confusing. The reason Super Emeralds exist in the first place is because locking Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckled together results in a double length game. Mania's DLC also doubled the length of the game, although they were separated by different modes. So while it wasn't necessary to have Super Emeralds, it would have been nice to collect them instead of Chaos Emeralds.
Johnny: "We'll never know how Michael Jackson contributed to Sonic 3's OST".
Me in the year 2023 (after Sonic Origins and a few notes from Yuji Naka): Hold my ring.
Oh the great memories of Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I remember back then I had a friend who had Sonic 3 and I had Sonic and Knuckles. We would let each other borrow the opposite game and even sleepovers just so we can beat the game together, and to this day we are still pals. This game has that special place in my heart.
The Sonic and Knuckles cartridge is a wonderful thing. Probably because it gives us the combined experience of S3K, but I love how you can play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and how cool I sound saying that one of the longest games ever is Sonic 1 & Knuckles.
Don't forget about Blue Sphere if you put in Sonic 1 or something. A nice little distraction that can help prepare you for those special stages in S3&K in case you suck. XD
@@OfficialBulldozerStudios That's what he meant by Sonic 1 & Knuckles xd
It was dlc:)
When playing as Knuckles, you can actually go after the boss in Carnival Night Zone, depending on the route you take and if you want to manually climb all the way up there to fight him. His fight is no different from Sonic's or Tails's fights, though.
Is it egg robo or eggman?
@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 I think it's EggRobo... except on the Flying Battery major boss battle, where apparently it's Eggman.
@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 Egg Robo
Also with a bit of effort using the ride on spinners you can access the Sonic boss from Marble Garden Act 2 with Knuckles.
I actually found this out by taking the upper route from the beginning of the stage. Lol
I don't know if you will read this Johnny but i must say I appreciate these new reviews of older games ,especially as younger fan of the channel.
And I appreciate you for tuning in. Thanks.
As an older fan, I appreciate watching him review Sonic 3 in something better than 480p.
5:11 That mystery has finally put to rest since it’s been revealed that he actually did some of the songs in the game, especially with the credits theme. However, because of that, the version of Sonic 3 and Knuckles in Sonic Origins has Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap Zone and Launch Base Zone’s music use the prototype versions instead.
You can tell how much he likes this game because he doesn't even get to the plot summary until the second half of the video.
It’s all come full circle. The creator of the &Knuckles meme, well done
Shit, I constantly forget he started that
@@superfighter064
Wait he did?
@@arnahunas4048 Johnny is modest about it, but yeah he basically kickstarted it.
Fuckles & Knuckles & Knuckles & Cuckles
It's so weird to think he's constantly being indirectly referenced by official media when they reference & Knuckles.
Blue sphere haunts my nightmares
Why? It's not that hard.
@@Hynotama i agree
@@Hynotama Maybe because you have to be precise with the mini game.
Also Chaos Emeralds.
@@Hynotama it gets harder especially with the super emeralds especially when it speeds up
I'll still take blue sphere over the half-pipe for the umpteenth time.
This game debuts the Sonic 3 Act Clear music that most Sonic games will use throughout the rest of the series, Now that's history.
Noticing it throughout the entire franchise's soundtrack always left such an amazing impression too. That's some high level continuity.
Yep. I actually prefer this kind of clear music than Sonic 1 & 2's.
I remember hearing the Act Clear theme while playing Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the very first time. As a kid it sort of took me by surprise to hear it in it's 16-Bit form I was basically like: "Oooooh so that's where it came from. "
21:55 So glad Johnny didn’t forget. Easily my favourite moment from any of your reviews my man!
*F L I C K Y A R M Y O F D E A T H*
i was waiting for him to say that
This game was my introduction to Sonic the Hedgehog proper, way back when I was in middle school, when my grandmother bought a Genesis with a bundle of games and set it up at her house for my cousins and I to play. Even after all this time later, it still remains my favorite installment in the series.
The Genesis Twang is there for most of the songs, though it's more noticeable when deconstructed, like the Sonic 3 miniboss theme.
Sonic 3&Knuckles is where this franchise peaked. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been good or even great Sonic games afterwards, but this game is the standard I hold for not just Sonic, but for 2d platformers in general.
Sonic 3 is a solid game, easily the best of the Mega Drive games, but the days of it being my favourite were long gone. That torch has now been passed to Sonic Adventure 2.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 adventure 2 is garbage compared to the classic Trilogy
@idgafaboutyourlife
You gotta love being unable to save your progress, not be rewarded for achieving high scores, and suddenly coming to a stop just when you're about to fly off a hill.
Critically speaking, I dislike Sonic 1, and feel apathetic towards Sonic 2. The days of archaic design choices just to replicate the Arcade experience at home in anyway has since become a test of endurance. Not much fun. Then again, I didn't grow up in the 90s despite being born at the end of it, so I guess I'm just too ignorant to see the spark.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 You gotta love overall linear level design, the treasure hunting stages being terrible, the mech stages going on for too long with clunky controls to boot, really atrocious enemy placement and a story filled with plot holes. There's no way in hell Adventure 2 is any better than Sonic 3.
I know there's some backlash to the "66% of the game is bad" for Adventure 2, but it is true. If you're being generous, there's maybe a level here and there in the mech and treasure hunting stages that aren't completely bad (Pumpkin Hill and Cosmic Wall being the only candidates), but they completety butchered those gameplay styles from Adventure 1 instead of actually improving them.
@@okagron imo the Treasure Stages are much better in SA2. In SA1 they gave you Tikal, which directly pointed to the emerald shards. Not much of a treasure hunt. Sure the stages could be too big or have bad mechanics (Mad Space, Aquatic Mine), but overall it's more enjoyable than the too brief Knuckles stages. Even if flawed. The hints actually had a purpose and you could loop around the stages really quickly without using them if you wanted, though more risky due to RNG.
Tails/Eggman stages are fun if you know the level design and know how to play, just like Sonic 2. I agree with Irrelevant Nobody. Sonic 2 has severe issues with pacing and enemies that hit you too quickly. Even in Emerald Hill Zone, the one spring in the first half launches you directly into Coconuts and it's nearly impossible to avoid getting hurt. I just jump over it now, but that's bad level design. The game is filled with instances like this. I just recently beat Sonic 2 with all the Emeralds...and tippy toeing in the levels and backtracking to get to checkpoints was very tedious.
SA2 is guilty of this in Mech stages yes with the enemies that pot shot you. But the Sonic/Shadow stages are still pretty fun, even if the glitches can cause issues from time to time. It's a fun but flawed game, where going after 100% feels worth it due to how much better you learn the stages. The linear progression sure can be annoying to those that want to explore more, but the levels still offer a more fast pace and focused design than SA1's Casino, Ice Cap, Windy Valley Tornado, and the tons of times where you just charge up the Spin Dash. Though the B button issues in SA2 are still annoying.
You can like a game and acknowledge its flaws. I like SA2 a ton and I wish they returned to it and polished it. But we got Heroes...which is fun in segments but underbaked and then you know the rest...
The fact that Johnny hasn’t done a Donkey Kong marathon yet is blasphemy.
Same with Yoshi
How about the other Rareware games?
And BlazBlue, especially since he said he liked BlazBlue in the Street Fighter vid, but that would definitely take a long time, so I’m not too mad.
@@xenobestx8423 he did liked BlazBlue? I don’t remember...
I'm bitter he never made an Uncharted marathon after he teased a possible review in his Sonic Generations video, it's been nearly a decade Johnny
So now that Johnny’s finished the classic Sonic games, there’s one massive question that needs to be answered…
Will we see a Johnny vs Sonic 3CD And Knuckles And Knuckles video?
I would pay to see him doing it again
i cant wait for that
Was hoping for John to say let's get this review started, then Elliott emerging to say "not without me you're not!"
I miss Elliott, what happened to him?
@@chillplayer1234 he's still in Philly with his fiance (now ex-wife). Johnny moved to Georgia recently
@@esmooth919 good to know they're still doing ol
I just rewound to rewatch 16:47 three times because that sound effect made me laugh so hard.
"I was 67 years old"
Please teach me, Time Master.
S3&K was one of the first Sonic games I ever finished when I was a kid. I got one of those cheap Genesis consoles that had the built-in games but also had the cartridge slot, and I found the carts for both for around $10 at the time, and played the heck out them. I don't think I ever detached Sonic 3 from Knuckles unless it was to eventually play Sonic 2 with the echidna. Great times, and I sincerely hope we get another great Sonic game in the near future.
Wasn't expecting to see you here lol.
@@GreeneBeau Oh yeah I've been watching Johnny for nearly 10 years, one of my biggest inspirations for my early game review videos!
Bravo 👏
I fully completely S3&K on the PC version of Sonic mega collection (looking back at it I don't know how I did it tbh).
If they did not split the game, Sega execs would of rushed it. Sega does not like long development schedules with Sonic. So, the chances of Sega splitting a game again to simulate years of development are...
"It's like a face full of bees"
Johhny's sense of humor NEVER ceases to put a smile on my face.
Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a truly nostalgic Sonic title, this review most definetly does the game justice!!
My favourite game of all time. Every new year’s day I sit down, crack open a beer, and play through the whole thing.
That sounds like a nice tradition
15:45 - That's because it was originally going to be called "Sonic 3 Part 1" so Sonic holds three fingers one hand and one finger on the other.
That makes sense.
Cool!
By the way your still appears on UA-cam?
Either that or the 4 fingers means that he’s also counting Sonic CD.
"GOT TO REMEMBER IT'S UPUPDOWNDOWNUPUPUPUP
REMEMBER, WE HAD PANCAKES, YOU OWE ME FOR THIS"
28:03
Ted: "Oh, look. It's Hydrocity Zone."
Skyler: "Excuse me?"
It's like when Megamind mispronounces Metro City.
I loved FTA's response in the first Mania LP.
"Hydrocity is a zone I didnt expect"
"ITS HYDRO CITY YOU DAMN FOOL"
10:11 As a kid, I was convinced that Tails drowned in Launch Base Zone as Sonic jumped into the Egg-O-Matic, which would explain why he was absent from the final two bosses in Sonic 3 and all of Sonic & Knuckles (although he did show up at the end, squashing that theory).
I always viewed Sonic and Knuckles the greatest Sonic game of all time.
Better than Sonic 2 to me. Not only was the gameplay amazing but the atmosphere had that unexplainable MYSTERY that other games just didn't have. It was also the final game where Knuckles had the most interesting character and was a viable threat to Sonic.
Greatest period!
Hearing the FLICKY ARMY OF DEATH again after all these years was music to my ears
Watching this again, Sonic Origins did basically confirm that Michael Jackson worked on the soundtrack...
Also, Yuji Naka is in some heat for selling info under the table as of the time of this comment so no clue on if the guy actually was "approachable" at any point in Sonic's lifespan....
Marathon suggestions:
-Donkey Kong
-Super Monkey Ball
-Metroid
I'm honestly shocked that to this day Johnny has never reviewed a Donkey Kong game.
Donkey Kong Country is a must
@@jacobmonks3722 I could’ve sworn he reviewed Tropical Freeze
Banjo and Kazooie too.
22:32 Good news, Johnny! Simon Tomly felt the same way, because now you can blow it up in the origins version of Sonic 3!
Damn!!!! I randomly came back to check you out, I grew up with your videos; and this is a blast to the past. I watched the old SGB reviews sooooo many times.
You’ve improved so much. Keep it up 👍🏾
3&K is one my all time favorites as well. I do think Mania finally de-thrones it, but man I love me some Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Why is it that knuckles bouncing around in his idle animation the funniest thing ever?
28:02 don't worry john, nobody's disputing that.
Y-yeah.... 👀
Also I just realized that for Sonic the elemental shields give you a boost in different directions. The Electric shield goes up, the fire shield goes to the right and the bubble shield goes straight down.
13:47 Very late response but I remembered Big Arms hurting Super Sonic too, so I looked it up.
Turns out Big Arms hurting Super Sonic is a Sonic 3 Alone thing, apparently that was a bug. When locked onto S&K they fix it.
Oh my, he's doing another 100% charity run of sunshine 6 years later. Now I gotta tune in
"getting blue balls until the chaos emerald was yours" damn i wish I got a chaos emerald every time I got blue balled.
I Was Wondering If Anyone Else Caught That 😂🤣
I think Taj Jackson, Michael's nephew, confirmed his uncle's contributions to Sonic 3 a couple of years back.
Indeed true. The history behind the production, supervision, and creation is something else. Still amazing after all these years
The music thanks to the MJ contribution is awesome.
The other games have awesome music too but this one has the best of the original 3 i think.
Yeah he said it in his video with Razorfist
The most obvious Michael Jackson song in this game is Carnival Night Zone. The drums sound remarkably similar to In The Closet
And then there's the staff roll song that has the same chord progressions as Stranger In Moscow
2:48
So we're just gonna ignore that image in the background then
I still can't believe this was my first other video game. It was just so fantastic and I swear it only got better as I got older. It really shows Sonic's potential and I hope we see this level of quality and care in the future. The review was great! Take care
This was the game where Sonic basically peaked, and while the series has had many ups and downs through the years, they just couldn't compare to the meticulously crafted design of Sonic 3 & Knuckles (I guess Mania could come close), lightning in a bottle, in a sense.
I can agree to that.
Sonic 3 is a good game, but I wouldn't call it the peak of the series. I still dislike the screen crunch, and the designers got really carried away with automated speed sections in this one. Something that was addressed in the Sonic Adventure games, especially 2.
@@TARDISES I can hear the swanky guitar of speed highway already
Also, that Satori as your pfp?
@@TARDISES ok
The series definitely did not peak with Sonic 3k
Once again like before, I absolutely love Sonic 3 & Knuckles's soundtrack, Again Top 5 easily.
22:06 after years of playing this game i didn't know that could happen.😂
I remember watching your Sonic 3 video back in 2010 when I was 9 years old. I'm 20 now and i've been a fan since then. Seeing a video like this reminds me of those days and I'm so excited to see more Final Fantasy videos and whatever else you have in store, John! Here's to another 11 years!
Really nice re-reviews of the original series, bought all 4 games because of them. Never played the originals, going through them my first time!!!!
One of the greatest damn platformers ever made. And I fucking love the blue sphere special stages, that is a hill I'm willing to die on.
Loved it, felt so epic when I played it as an 8 year old. The Deathly Hallows 1+2 of the time (or Breaking Dawn 1+2 if you're nasty).
18:14
18:15
18:13 I was not expecting that!
I can’t stop rewatching it! Send help! 🤣😂🤣😂
7:57
"When I think of Genesis music, I always think of that "twang". You know what I'm talking about. That," (BEEEEAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-)
21:30 I do wish they bring back the Super Emeralds concept and Hyper Sonic. Instead of the flashing colors aura, why not give him a platinum like color palette, a reference to how well music albums/singles sell? Platinum over gold, there you go.
Michael Jackson's nephew Taj Jackson has said that he did work on Sonic 3.
So disastrous deveolpment cycles resulting in rushed unfinished games was always a thing for Sonic.
At least the games were good back then. Now they're just shit
Even Generations (one of the most popular games in the franchise) was rushed. I believe Sonic Unleashed was the last "major project" Sonic game e.g: big budget/production values, a large development team, wasn't rushed (within reason), good time management and didn't use nostalgia as a crutch.
@@Bung-ms9jc or worse, so bland you can't even say they are s*it because that would be something worth talking about...
@Lynx Fresh
Sonic Unleashed was rushed. At least half of its development time was spent making the engine, and the rest was making a game with a huge variety of content. As such there are some cut corners, such as the very slippery handling.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 Hence why I said "wasn't rushed (within reason)" unfortunately for Sega standards Unleashed wasn't "that bad" in terms of being rushed. Like Unleashed spent half it's development time on a new engine in contrast to Forces that spent three quarters of it's development time on a lighting engine and all of sudden Unleashed cutting corners doesn't seem so bad.
Ofc getting rushed Sonic games should NEVER be the norm but Sega rarely learns lol!
6:35 paranoid Johnny is one of the greatest things ever!!!
Thats Tails toy from McDonalds was one of my favorite toys as a kid. I think about it OFTEN. I remember being SO sad when I lost it.
23:16
“Ooh, you hit a button, and I go up. What a bastard.”
Knuckles, the elevator operator.
Not gonna lie, the Cowboy Bebop reference caught me off guard
Wait what !? There was Cowboy Bebop reference here ?
Infinite Millennium
Yep, (20:18)
@@QuasiTheChemist thanks dude
The game established the core main trio and introduced some interesting concepts. It's a shame all that got thrown away in recent years (outside Maina).
Yeah. Though Adventure 1 did have the main Trio concepts back and did work out well. Just an shame we also have to deal with the 3 newer ones. Though I'm the minority that doesn't think they're all that bad. But not as good as the main trio.
@Lynx Fresh Especially when it comes to Knuckles. SEGA did him really dirty.
This game will always hold a special place in my heart. Even as a kid, I really admired how it told a story without words and made the whole of its world feel interconnected. The characters, their abilities, the save system, the music, the special stages, the fun stage gimmicks, the different routes for all the characters, and the many opportunities for speed and exploration all gave the impression that this was a game that was proud of its own skin, which is something most modern Sonic games (even good ones like Sonic Mania) seem to struggle most with. Even as a kid, I knew there was something special about this game.
To me, it was the first Sonic game that felt bigger than itself. It felt like it had a complete, well-developed, well-realized vision for what it wanted to be. It was the game that made me a fan of the series. Certainly, the first two games made me open to the possibility of being a fan, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles gave me the final push to make me think that I wanted to keep up with this series. In fact, I think my love for this game is what made me appreciate the first two much more than I would have otherwise.
For most of my life, I had no trouble listing this as my favorite in the whole series. It had always been my gold standard for how good the series can be, a reminder that high quality in Sonic games used to be unsurprising and predictable. Even with Sonic Mania, I do still kinda lean towards listing Sonic 3 & Knuckles as my favorite for the simple fact that Sonic Mania had the benefit of hindsight while this game CREATED that hindsight. It forged by itself with minimal help the very foundation on which Sonic Mania was built, and what a strong foundation it was!
The chaos emeralds *were* emerald cut until sonic adventure changed them
20:00 it also applies to Sonic Classics, but that’s because it recognizes it as Sonic 1. You get different accesses to Blue Sphere depended on what game you plug in. It has something to do with what data it finds on the rom that determine what ones you can play. But it is programmed to have them all unlocked if it detects Sonic 1
19:54
Didn't know about that. That's crazy as hell. Made me laugh out loud when I saw the amount of levels. Blue Sphere is the one true infinite game.
9:57 If only Elliot and Ryan was back. That would’ve been a HUGE callback to the original SGB review
What was the original reference?
@@chillplayer1234 check out the SGB review for Sonic 3 and go to the 6:39 mark of the video. That’s the original reference.
This will probably be my favourite game for the rest of my life. I can come back to S3&K anytime and find something I new, or just enjoy the rush of blasting through every stage and boss. Sonic Mania made me cry tears of joy when I finally got a true continuation of Sonic 3 after so long, and I wasn't even alive when the classics were coming out. Even though I'm not a fan of them reusing old zones, Angel Island at the start of Encore Mode in Mania Plus gave me a very strong emotional reaction...I think I nearly cried.
This will always be my gold standard for Sonic, and I hope to see more titles in the future that can stand alongside it.
EDIT: Oh yeah and I still had an instinctive sense of surprise seeing the Mario Oddities logo at the end of the video...it's a bit surreal seeing stuff I helped create show up on your channel when I've been watching you since, what, 2010?
21:19 I like how Sonic got changed into hyper Sonic behind the sand
I think the history lessons around the games themselves really make these re-reviews super unique, thanks Johnny!
Jesus, this was a pleasant surprise. Merely 5 days after the CD video and we get Sonic 3K! Good shit Johnny!
Ayo Johnny, where's that "South Island Historia" you said you'd have ready by the 30th Anniversary?
Nothing like Johnny's sonic video to perk up the day
Fun Fact Thanks To Sonic Mania The Release Of Sonic Origins Makes Super Tails Obtainable With The Chaos Emeralds With The Super Emeralds Unlocked Hyper Tails With The Flicky Army Of Death.
fun bit of canon, the super emerald design is then used for the chaos emeralds in every game afterwards, so canonically sonic 3 is when they change shape permanently
I played this way more times than i can count and STILL do. Great video Johnny, and it's been awesome revisiting the beginnings of our lovable speedy the hedgehog with you, man. Rock on!
I’m all for this re-reviews of your old videos. We all change with time and it’s been like a decade since those so don’t apologize! Also what could be featured in a Metroid celebration of Johnny has reviewed every single Metroid game out there? If it’s re-reviews of the 2D Quadrilogy then sign me up!
12:24 on the sonics ultimate genesis collection that sound emulation Is pure hell
20:16 it'll take just over 1200 years to complete em all (Assuming you spend 5 minutes per stage)
The glowing spheres stage is SOOOO exploitable. The ring icons multiply the further you go up and I commonly use that to complete stages with around 400-600 rings.
21:02 "There more like, Chaos Diamonds"
Thank you Johnny, oh my God I am not the only one who thinks the same way.
They look like diamonds, they are shaped like diamonds, they are Chaos Diamonds!
Nah, chaos emeralds sound better. That’s like if they made Sonic’s fur brown.
16:03 Insert Knuckles' song from Sonic Paradox.
28:04 Goddammit johnny, I'm expecting this to be brought back up in the commentaries
Commentaries?
Omg the bubble shield sound effect is AMAZING
17:54 Angel Island, Carnival Night (act 2), Ice Cap (act 2), and Launch Base (act 2) all say hi.