Sonic Genesis Level Rankings

I've played the Genesis era Sonic games a lot by now, including CD. Enough that I have quite a lot of thoughts on which levels I like and which levels I don't. So, I'm going to review every major act in Sonic 1, 2, CD, 3, and Knuckles and then rank them at the bottom:

Sonic The Hedgehog

Green Hill Zone
What can I say about Green Hill Zone that hasn't already been said? It's a fantastic first level that shows off Sonic's best qualities as a series from the word go. It's wide open allowing for a ton of branching paths and lots of opportunities to run fast, the setting and music is bright and upbeat, and it shows off how dynamic Sonic 1's level design can be for the standards of the time. Loop de loops, swinging pendulum platforms, spinning balance beams with spikes along the end, collapsing platforms, bridges with fish leaping out of the water, tunnels to burrow through, it's quite the dense stage... but it is still the tutorial level. It's well-designed for sure, but it feels restrained in a lot of ways. Most of these aforementioned level mechanics are still pretty basic fare, and the stage as a whole is quite generous and lacking in challenge. The music is bright and peppy, but it's not quite as funky as later tracks in the first and second games. The Egg Wrecker boss is iconic visually, but honestly it's probably one of my least favorites to fight in this game for how static it feels. And while this isn't Sonic 1's fault, Green Hill as a location has showed up so much since that it just doesn't really feel as fresh as it used to. This is still a great level though, don't get me wrong, and it's an even better tutorial. However, as far as Genesis era Sonic stages go, there's quite a few more I'd rather play.
3/5 Stars

Marble Zone
Marble Zone gets a lot of flack for its much slower pace and emphasis on precise platforming and puzzle-solving, but honestly, I really like that about it. Marble Zone is probably the best example of how diverse Sonic 1's stage design can be, it tosses so many neat ideas and memorable setpieces at you across its three acts. There's exterior sections that have you hopping across platforms that sink into lava, that smoothly transition into underground sections with crushers, chandeliers that fall on you, fairly simple and intuitive block-pushing puzzles, and my favorite setpiece, a claustrophobic chase scene where you have to run from a lava flow. I'm someone who usually takes issue with the idea that Sonic should always be fast and can't be anything else, Marble Zone stands on its own as a fun and fresh pure platforming stage that keeps the pacing up through a constant stream of new mechanics. I also think Marble Zone excels in its presentation. The visuals are probably my favorites in the game too, the contrast of the purple bricks and green grass looks really appealing, and the music has some serious groove to it. The boss fight does feel a bit similar to the Egg Wrecker in terms of the basic pattern, but the added precariousness of having a lava pit in the middle of the arena makes it a bit more tense and fun to me. I know this is pretty controversial, but personally, I really like Marble Zone and its added complexity. It's probably the zone I look forward to the most whenever I play Sonic 1.
4/5 Stars

Spring Hill Zone
Spring Hill Zone is kind of a mess. While it's arguably not quite as slow as the zones it's sandwiched between, I'd say it's just as if not even more constricted, often forcing you through enclosed tunnels and making you wait for moving platforms with zero range of movement. It does boast its fair share of fun mechanics though, like those spinning maces you often have to dodge and the introduction of the bumpers that later casino stages will proceed to use quite liberally. However, what ultimately drags Spring Hill Zone down for me are two major issues. First off, this zone repeats content between its two acts constantly, you will be recognizing the same few level chunks and it ends up making this one of the more tedious zones in the game to replay. Second, the visuals are kind of rough. The formless maroon structures you platform across aren't colorful enough to make up for how abstract they are, and those weird flashing lines and lights peppered around the stage feel haphazardly placed and only add to Spring Hill's visual noise. That being said, the boss and the music are great. The Egg Stinger is still pretty easy, but having him remove chunks of the stage with no predetermined pattern amps up the tension of his fights, and Spring Hill's incredibly upbeat theme ranks as one of my favorites of the game. The stage has its highlights, but ultimately, Spring Hill kinda just ends up being the most forgettable one in Sonic 1 for me.
2/5 Stars

Labyrinth Zone
Okay, so don't get me wrong, Labyrinth Zone is bad. The water physics slowing you down to this degree feels completely antithetical to Sonic's general design philosophy, it only serves to drag the pacing to a screeching halt, and it just isn't especially fun a lot of the time. That being said, I have a few defenses for it. Like all of Sonic 1's stages, Labyrinth Zone does introduce some legitimately cool mechanics like floating corks that you can manipulate by changing the water level, water slides, and those pulley systems. I also think the first two acts aren't too bad. Act 1 has some pretty neat puzzles around the corks, and Act 2 is too short to make much of a dent. However, Act 3 is where I think Labyrinth Zone really starts to live up to its infamy. This is a long act filled with lengthy puzzles that slow the stage down even further, and it caps off with that frustrating boss fight that has you climb up a shaft while evading fast-moving rising water. I actually think most of this zone is pretty generous with air bubbles, but if you fall into the water in this boss fight, you're probably doomed. The presentation is pretty solid though, at least. The temple architecture looks suitably mysterious, the water effects look genuinely really impressive for the time, and the music is once again a solid groove. While I don't think Labyrinth Zone is one of the worst video game levels of all time or anything, but it's definitely still one of the worst Sonic stages on the console.
1/5 Stars

Star Light Zone
Star Light Zone is a fun, pleasant breather that drops the constrained level design and puts the focus back on letting you go super fast. The stage has long straightways, loop-de-loops upon loop-de-loops, and fans that push you back and forth. Many of Star Light's main mechanics are also pretty fun to mess around with and don't halt the pacing much, like activating staircases to access different plains of the levels, and using those now iconic spikeball catapults to reach greater heights. The actual art design of the stage itself isn't too much to write home about, a lot of it is just girders, but the sparse starry background and beautifully smooth main theme help lend Star Light Zone a calming atmosphere that helps it stand out further. And the boss is also my favorite one in the game! The fact that you can either try launching the spikeballs to hit him or try to launch yourself means you always have multiple possible methods of taking down Dr Eggman, which helps the fight feel more strategic and variable. My only gripe with Star Light Zone that prevents it from being a perfect five for me is that all of its acts are really short, the zone just flies by and it can leave me a bit unsatisfied. But otherwise, this is easily my favorite zone in Sonic 1.
4/5 Stars

Scrap Brain Zone
Scrap Brain Zone is one of the best zones in the game from a thematic perspective. Something I like about Sonic 1 is that each zone feels increasingly man-made as you get closer to Eggman, and the final stage is a soulless factory with no signs of life other than Sonic himself. The imagery of this sole hedgehog in this hellscape of sawblades, conveyors, flamethrowers, crushers, and electrical coils is genuinely really striking. But is it fun? Ehhhhhhh. Scrap Brain Zone once again tosses a ton of mechanics at the player, and a decent amount of them are pretty neat. The aforementioned conveyors and flamethrowers are fun to deal with, and I especially like those spinning discs you can use to launch Sonic into the air, but the sheer density of hazards can make navigation a real pain. It almost feels like the game wants you to repeatedly run into hazards here. But ultimately, I think the first two acts are mostly fine. The third act, on the other hand, is a worse retread of Labyrinth Zone that's so aggressively unfun to play that I just find myself taking the shortcut. The fact that Sega knew Labyrinth Zone sucked and chose to make you play it again at the end of the game is a special sort of pure evil. Otherwise, I think the music is mostly fine but pales in comparison to Koshiro's Scrap Brain theme on the Master System, and the final boss in Final Zone is similarly passable. I'm not especially fond of the one-hit death final battles of these games, but at least the pattern here is pretty easy to get down. Overall, Scrap Brain Zone is probably the most uneven stage in the game in terms of quality. It reaches some serious heights, but also dips to some pretty rough lows.
2/5 Stars

Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Emerald Hill Zone
I like Sonic 2, but not that much more than the first game. Its more streamlined nature means it tends to just fly by a lot faster than its three contemporaries, and Emerald Hill is probably the most emblematic of this issue. Out of the Genesis era starting zones, Emerald Hill Zone is far and away my least favorite. It really is just a copy-paste clone of Green Hill but with less mechanics and none of the verticality that made its predecessor so replayable. There really isn't much I can say about this zone that I haven't already said about Green Hill. That being said, I do think the music in Emerald Hill is better than the music in Green Hill, and I prefer the silly car boss over the wrecking ball fight that kicked off Sonic 1.
2/5 Stars

Chemical Plant Zone
Okay, now we're getting into the good stuff. Chemical Plant Zone is such a massive step-up in quality, and ranks as one of the most iconic Sonic stages for a reason. Its cold mechanical visuals feel like they'd belong to a final level rather than the second one, and the music is some of the grooviest in the Genesis era. Act 1 is probably the best act in the game, it's relentlessly fast-paced, filled with branching paths, and uses the pipes to send you all across the stage. However, Act 2 sadly holds Chemical Plant Zone back from being my absolute favorite. This act frequently punishes the player by sending them into tedious water sections, which of course culminates in that infamous section with the crushing blocks that feels like such a massive difficulty spike for how early it is in the game. The boss fight is also not great, it's probably the easiest to snap in half in a game already filled with cheeseable boss encounters. That being said, these issues don't detract from Chemical Plant still being one of the best zones in Sonic 2.
4/5 Stars

Aquatic Ruin Zone
Aquatic Ruin Zone feels like one of the most forgotten and underrated zones in the series. No one ever talks about it, but it isn't all that bad. Despite being water-focused, Aquatic Ruin is designed in a way that the water sections are often really easy to avoid and get out of. It uses multiple overlapping layers in some creative ways like having parts of the level covered by shrubbery or having multiple paths occupying different planes, and the music and visuals combine to generate a really mysterious feel. I don't really have many issues with Aquatic Ruin, but I will admit that it doesn't really reach the heights of other zones. It's fairly lacking in fun and memorable gimmicks outside of those columns that show up to stop you in your tracks, and both of its acts end so quickly that the zone doesn't really leave much of an impression on you. The boss is one of the game's better ones though, even if it can too be cheesed by standing atop one of the columns and wailing on it from above.
3/5 Stars

Casino Night Zone
I've always been a bit split on casino stages in Sonic games, I kinda have to be in the right mindset for them. On a good day, it's fun to bounce around inside pinball tables and try to rack up as many points and rings as possible, and on a bad day, these stages can feel cramped and frustrating with all the bumpers scattered around. Casino Night Zone is the archetypal casino stage, packing in all the expected mechanics like bumpers and flippers, and it has a pretty solid progression too. Act 1 tosses you into a bunch of safe pinball tables for you to mess around in, and Act 2 tasks you with using these pinball mechanics to navigate through a bunch of obstacle courses, it's a simple but effective structure and it shows that later entries like Sonic Heroes and Sonic 4 would use it as well. The flashy visuals and cheerful music help Casino Night remain fun even with the potential frustration its bumpers cause, but its boss fight is one of my least favorites for how cluttered it feels.
3/5 Stars

Hill Top Zone
As a fan of Marble Zone, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Hill Top Zone is one of my favorites in the game. It takes a bunch of Sonic 1's mechanics like platforming across lava and those spike catapults, and puts them in a more fast-paced and streamlined environment. On top of that, there's a fair share of fun new mechanics like those ziplines, those brief segments with the rising floor, and loop-de-loops that you need to turn into a ball during that help keep the stage feeling fresh and dense throughout. The unique turquoise terrain also helps this stage look visually unique across all the Green Hill clones, the music is a solid bop, and the first Submarine Eggman is generally pretty fun even if he's still as easy to cheese as always.
4/5 Stars

Mystic Cave Zone
Mystic Cave Zone is my favorite zone in the game, managing to pull off more claustrophobic and labyrinthe level design without interrupting the pace. The main mechanics involve a lot of crushing hazards, as well as levers and pulleys that you can grab onto. The crushing hazards like those crates and the stalagmites are slow enough that dodging them feels reasonably at high speeds, but fast enough that you rarely have to wait for them too long. And I like how you can hop off the levers and pulleys at any time to shave off some seconds rather than be forced to wait for a full animation to play out. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous with colorful crystalline floors, and the funky music is easily my favorite in the game. Even the boss is one of the better ones as you'll need to dodge falling stalactites while Eggman is off-screen, meaning it requires at least some effort. My one big gripe with Mystic Cave is that infamous spike pit, but even that got fixed by the mobile port including an entrance to Hidden Palace Zone.
4/5 Stars

Oil Ocean Zone
Most fans can agree that Sonic 2 drops off in quality at some point, but when that happens is often debated. For some, it happens all the way back at Hill Top, but the most common consensus is Oil Ocean. This zone is a pretty notable difficulty spike with more annoying enemy placement, a whole bunch of spikes, and a tough boss, but honestly, I don't hate it? Oil Ocean is a really dynamic stage filled with crumbling platforms, elevators, cannons that shoot you around, and oil slides, so it manages to keep up a pretty good pace across both of its acts. I think the biggest issue with this stage is how clumsy its spike placement can feel at times, but it has never been bad enough that I'm not able to enjoy it. The presentation is generally stellar too, Oil Ocean has an incredibly cool concept for a Sonic stage executed very well, and its music is some of the most underrated in the series. Even the boss, for how much it can drag, isn't awful since at least you can't completely cheese it like with many of the others in the game. Oil Ocean is certainly a tough challenge, but it feels like an fair increase in difficulty compared to a certain other zone in this game.
3/5 Stars 

Metropolis Zone
Sonic 2 was very obviously rushed for Christmas, and it does kinda show in some aspects. But nowhere does it show more than in the game's final act, starting with Metropolis Zone. This zone definitely had potential, it's got some neat level gimmicks like spinning cars, a pretty active background, a catchy theme, and easily my favorite boss in the game. However, it has two big issues: First off, the enemy placement is absolutely horrendous. Like it has to be played to be believed, the enemies in this stage are placed at the perfect spots to completely ruin your day. From the starfish hiding in the wall, to those Slicers waiting atop ledges to snipe you with their blades, to those crabs with the giant claws being placed in tight tunnels where you can barely jump over them. It's actually horrendous. But if all that isn't bad enough, this just so happens to be the only zone in the game with three acts. Not zones like Aquatic Ruin that might've actually needed it, but the one that everyone hates. Like with Labyrinth Zone, it feels like Sega knew people would hate Metropolis and gave us more of it out of pure sadism. 

And maybe it's just me, but I feel like Metropolis Zone is also really buggy? Last time I played it, I triggered multiple screen-scrolling glitches that had me clipping through the floor in Metropolis Zone only, is this a common thing?
1/5 Stars

Sky Chase Zone
Sky Chase Zone is just boring. It's a dull, fairly easy autoscroller centered around a pretty unfun movement mechanic. I never liked having to control Sonic on the Tornado over just controlling the Tornado on its own, it feels really clunky and imprecise, like I'm always scared of accidentally falling off the wing. I'd definitely have preferred a standard shmup section, because what we got is probably my least favorite zone in the series.
1/5 Stars

Wing Fortress Zone
Thankfully, I actually kinda like Wing Fortress, it's like a proto-Flying Battery. The concept of platforming across a moving aircraft is one that's always appealed to me, and Wing Fortress is a solid execution of this concept. There's a solid amount of neat mechanics like fans that push you up and cannons piloted by chickens, and I like how precarious it feels whenever you're forced to platform across the bottom of the ship. However, I do wish it was longer, and it doesn't help that the stage feeds you with rings making getting Super Sonic super easy. The boss fight with Barrier Eggman is probably the weakest in the game as well, and the more militaristic-sounding music is kind of dull. Thankfully, this concept would be fully fleshed-out in the sequel, but even as it is now, Wing Fortress is a pretty fun time.
3/5 Stars

Death Egg Zone
Sonic 2 doesn't really have a final zone, it's just the final boss, so I'll talk about it instead. Death Egg tasks you with beating two bosses in a row with zero rings. Silver Sonic is actually a pretty fair challenge, his pattern is fun to learn and it's cool to see an early version of Metal Sonic. The Death Egg Robot, on the other hand, is kind of absurd. He almost has all the pieces for a great final boss. He looks menacing, his music is great, and he has some fun attacks, but the combination of the hard to parse collision on his spiked hands, his huge health bar, and the aforementioned lack of rings makes his fight an exercise in frustration. I like Sonic 2, trust me I really do, but it's stuff like this that prevents me from loving it as much as a lot of fans seem to.
1/5 Stars

Sonic CD
So, I'm a big Sonic CD fan, actually. It's not my favorite classic Sonic game, but it's close, and not just for the obvious aesthetic reasons. Sonic CD is infamous for having fairly open levels that are perceived as labyrinthe and blocky, but personally, I tend to describe them as playgrounds. They're designed primarily with exploration in mind, and as such, need to juggle a bunch of objectives at the same time. They need to allow you to access pretty much every point in the level from anywhere else easily to allow for exploration, they need to have at least one fairly straight-forward path that can take you to the end of the level quickly for speedrunning purposes, and they need to implement a bunch of safe running areas to allow the player to utilize the time-traveling mechanic. If you actually try to play Sonic CD as it was meant to, as in looking for the generators, engaging with the stage's various mechanics and systems, and scouting out the best possible route before actually attempting to speedrun it, I think it's an incredibly well-designed game all around. Personally, I prefer Sonic CD's approach to the straight lines that populated the second game.

Palmtree Panic Zone
Palmtree Panic is another solid first zone, though I'd definitely say it's my favorite so far. The more colorful aesthetic and festive atmosphere, especially in the Japanese version, helps Palmtree Panic stand out among the various Green Hill clone. From a gameplay standpoint, it accomplishes pretty much everything Green Hill Zone does. It's wide open and offers a ton of empty areas for you to run around in, and I especially love that cool perspective shift ramp that kicks off the first act. However, just like Green Hill, the boss kinda blows. Sonic CD's bosses in general are fairly weak, but Palmtree Panic straight-up gives you an invincibility box to tear through the first boss with.
3/5 Stars

Collision Chaos Zone
Collision Chaos is the game's obligatory casino zone, and while its presentation isn't quite as flashy as Casino Night, I found this one surprisingly fun to navigate. This isn't an especially cramped zone, most of its main acts have fairly wide open areas with bumpers spaced far apart so I rarely actually found myself struggling to keep my bearings. Time travel is probably the easiest here out of any level in the game too due to the abundance of springs. I think Collision Chaos has two particularly standout moments. First, the cutscene in Act 1 where you meet Amy who proceeds to be captured by Metal Sonic, another great moment of visual storytelling for the series. And second, Act 3 replaces the typical Eggman boss with a straight-up pinball table. It's incredibly easy, but as a whole, I think it's still a really fun setpiece to cap off the zone.
3/5 Stars

Tidal Tempest Zone
Tidal Tempest is the water zone and it's similarly a bit of a mid-tier stage. Mechanically, it feels like a blend between Labyrinth and Aquatic Ruin. It's a lot blockier and more constrictive, but most areas have paths above and below the water, so you can avoid being underwater for large chunks of the first two acts. That being said, this is not like Aquatic Ruin where you really can dodge every single water section, you will need to go underwater and deal with the awful physics from time to time. And that's especially the case with Act 3, which starts strong with a fun Eggman chase before putting you in an entirely underwater boss fight. It's a more challenging and mechanically interesting boss than the last two, but it's still not especially fun by virtue of being underwater, and I guess that's Tidal Tempest as a whole.
2/5 Stars 

Quartz Quadrant Zone
Quartz Quadrant is where Sonic CD really picks up in quality. For starters, the presentation of this zone is absolutely gorgeous, with a lovely crystalline look and one of my favorite tracks in the entire franchise. The main mechanic are these conveyor belts that you can change the trajectory of, and they're put to surprisingly great use here. I especially like the puzzle in Act 2 where you need to use vertical conveyor belts to launch you towards the generator. Layout-wise, Quartz Quadrant also strikes the perfect balance between being open and explorative while still having a lot of fun micro challenges to deal with when navigating the stage. Once again, my only gripe is yet another fairly weak boss who you must defeat by doing literally nothing. With a stronger conclusion, Quartz Quadrant could very well be the best zone in the game.
4/5 Stars

Wacky Workbench Zone
So, there is a single act in Sonic CD I do not like in the slightest, and it's Wacky Workbench Act 1. The main gimmick is that the floor bounces you up to the ceiling so you have to carefully hop across tiny moving platforms to avoid touching the floor. The problem should be obvious, right? I tend to be pretty generous with the slower-paced Sonic levels, but waiting for moving platforms for an entire stage not only feels pretty against the design philosophy of a Sonic game, but it just isn't fun in general. Thankfully, the next two acts aren't quite as bad. Act 2 has a fair amount of other gimmicks to spice things up and the bouncy floor is used in greater moderation, and Act 3 has one of the trickier bosses in the game. However, the other two acts aren't nearly good enough to make up for how dreadfully unfun Act 1 is which renders this easily my favorite zone in CD.
2/5 Stars

Stardust Speedway Zone
Stardust Speedway is the most iconic zone in Sonic CD for a reason, it's focused almost entirely around going fast and has some of the best music and atmosphere in the series. Most of the mechanics in Stardust Speedway, from cannons to boost pads to abundance of tubes are there to drive you forward, and mastering this stage in Time Attack is probably the most rewarding out of any in the game. My one gripe with this focus on speed, however, is that it hampers the exploration. Actually trying to search these stages for the generators can get pretty annoying with all the interlapping paths, especially in Act 1. However, the sheer fun of running through Stardust Speedway still makes it my favorite zone in Sonic CD despite these issues, and it certainly helps that it's the only one to have an especially great boss. The Metal Sonic race is definitely a highlight of the game and caps off the Amy subplot on a perfect note.
4/5 Stars

Metallic Madness Zone
As far as the final zones go in Genesis era Sonic, I think Metallic Madness easily stands out as my favorite, and it's not even all that close. Scrap Brain is irritating, Sonic 2's finale is undercooked, and I find Death Egg pretty bland for reasons I'll get into later. Metallic Madness, on the other hand, strikes the perfect blend of being legitimately challenging while not being annoyingly so. Befitting the name, it tosses so many crazy hazards and mechanics at you, from sawblades, to lasers that shrink Sonic, to antigrav circles that you can use to launch yourself, to Takeshi's Castle-inspired platforms that slowly try to crush you, to fake exits that force you to do segments over again if you don't pay attention. It almost feels like Eggman's trolling you throughout the zone, but never in a way that actively makes me pissed off at the game. Acts 1 and 2 are an absolute blast, but as per the usual, Act 3 does drag this zone down a bit for me, requiring some abnormally precise platforming over a bottomless pit and having a fairly underwhelming final boss who can be easily cheesed. Still, I have a real soft-spot for Metallic Madness Zone overall, it's the one final zone that actually leaves me fairly satisfied.
4/5 Stars

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Angel Island Zone
And here we are, my favorite Genesis era Sonic game. The level design took such a massive jump in quality with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, to the point where a vast majority of my favorite Genesis Sonic levels are from these two games. Starting off strong, Angel Island is easily the strongest first level in the game. It's got the same level of freedom, openness, and expressiveness that the other first levels have, but it crams in a lot more variety and setpieces. The jungle setting really gives this area a lot more visual flavor, and Dr Eggman setting the place on first halfway through Act 1 is such a great twist. There's swings to use, crumbling platforms, and a particularly memorable setpiece where you're running away from a bomber airship. I also appreciate how the game subtly teaches you how to get the Chaos Emeralds by shoving you right into a big ring at the start of Act 2, just to make sure the player knows to look around. Like most of Sonic 3's zones, the bosses aren't really anything special, but at least they're fairly easy.
4/5 Stars

Hydrocity Zone
Hydrocity Zone is one of my favorite water levels of all time. Despite utilizing the same mechanics as the previous games, its level design puts a much larger emphasis on going fast, with long straightways, springs, and currents everywhere to make sure things don't slow to a crawl. Act 1 is pretty standard fare as far as underwater levels, but it's Act 2 where Hydrocity really shines. There's water slides and speed boosters everywhere, tense setpieces where you're running away from a wall that can crush you, moving platforms of all kinds, all complemented by a gorgeous background and one of the biggest bangers in Sonic history. If both acts were of the same quality of Act 2, this would be a shoe-in for my favorite zone in the game, but even as it is now, Hydrocity Zone is the shining highlight of Sonic 3's half of the game.
4/5 Stars

Marble Garden Zone
Marble Garden Zone has always been an area I found really underrated, it's really quite fun. There's a nice variety of mechanics here from moving spiked pillars, to wheels that cause the place around you to shift, to pulleys, to those spinning tops. Admittedly, I think the tops can be a bit unwieldy to use sometimes, but when the level is set up properly, they're a great way to get some serious speed. Compared to the previous two zones, Marble Garden is the first zone in Sonic 3&K to really raise the bar in terms of scale. Both of these acts are pretty massive, and while it can be a bit easy to get turned over here, I don't think Marble Garden ever wastes your time like some later zones do. Once again, I think Act 2 is the standout here as it crams in a few more memorable setpieces where the place collapses around you, along with my favorite boss of the Sonic 3 half of the game in that fun aerial fight against Eggman.
3/5 Stars

Carnival Night Zone
Every good game has That One Level that I always dread playing and in Sonic 3's case, it's Carnival Night Zone easily. While I find Casino Night to be quite fun, this zone feels a lot more cramped and confusing to navigate, so all the bumpers scattered around can feel like more of an annoyance. Coupled with the goofy music and it can almost feel like this stage is trolling you at times. Act 1 is mostly pretty manageable, but Act 2 easily stands out as the worst designed act of the game for a number of reasons. The cramped nature of Act 1 is made even worse by the addition of a whole bunch of very unwelcoming underwater sections, which completely lose out on the sense of speed that made Hydrocity so much fun. Knuckles causing a blackout to extend the act isn't an especially fun twist either, a pretty slow boss if you couldn't hang onto an elemental shield, and of course, there's also the infamous Barrel Of Doom, an objectively awful bit of design and a horrendous beginner's trap. As someone who fell for the Barrel Of Doom as a kid, I don't exactly think very highly of this zone, even if admittedly it's still a lot better than many of the worst zones in 1 and 2.
2/5 Stars

Ice Cap Zone
Ice Cap Zone is another one of Sonic 3's more well-liked zones, and for a good reason too. Act 1 is fantastic, top to bottom. Kicking off with that iconic snowboarding section, despite most of this act taking place in a fairly labyrinthe cave, it manages to keep up a really nice pace and sense of flow in spite of that. Once you figure out the solutions to all the navigation puzzles, you can execute those solutions really quickly without having to slow down. Not to mention the gorgeous atmosphere and music being the icing on the cake. Act 2, sadly, isn't nearly as strong mostly because it feels way too short. It's not a bad act, it's fun while it lasts, but it feels like I rarely get to spend much time outside of the cave. I'm also once again not a huge fan of the boss fights here because of how long you need to wait for an opening. Despite those gripes, though, this is overall a strong zone and definitely one of the best in Sonic 3.
4/5 Stars

Launch Base Zone
Launch Base Zone is one of the most tonally weird zones in a Sonic game. On one hand, it's a big Eggman base, the climax of the Sonic 3 half, but it doesn't feel especially climactic. The colors are bright, the music is funky, and the difficulty isn't especially high here. That being said, there's still a lot I like about Launch Base on its own merits. I like the spy feel it has, from dodging lasers, to breaking security monitors, to triggering alarms. There's a lot of cute little animations like Sonic hijacking an Eggman cruiser or getting flung by a malfunctioning lift. And while the water-heavy Act 2 doesn't have much to write home about, I really enjoy how much verticality Act 1 has. And of course, the bosses are generally quite strong. The Beam Rocket would already have been a solid endboss for the zone, but Big Arm easily stands out as one of the best fights in either game for its perfect level of difficulty and tense atmosphere.
3/5 Stars

Mushroom Hill Zone
Did you know that not a single zone in Sonic & Knuckles has water? Just one of the reasons why I like this half better. Okay, seriously though. I do generally prefer the & Knuckles half of the game, by quite a lot too. It's got better bosses, more creative levels, a darker atmosphere, and unlike Sonic 3, zero duds in my eyes. Mushroom Hill Zone is a solid first area for this part of the game, and I like that it can afford to be a bit more complex than something like Green Hill since it assumes the player has already beaten Sonic 3. There's a whole bunch of unique and weird gimmicks like those pulley systems, mushrooms to bounce off, and the return of the seesaw mechanic. The vines are a fun take on the standard loop-de-loops too, even if they can be somewhat jank, and the bosses are quite strong, especially the chase fight against Eggman. I don't think Mushroom Hill particularly excels as a zone, but it is a really consistently fun one.
3/5 Stars

Flying Battery Zone
Flying Battery Zone has always been a favorite for me, and I think that's because of how well it manages to marry speed and platforming. There's plenty of straightaways inside the airship perfect for you to just blitz through, but Flying Battery also manages to include a ton of really engaging mechanics like those electric magnets or trying to not fall off the ship in the exterior areas. Speaking of which, the presentation also really elevates Flying Battery Zone. The airship setting is really fresh for a Sonic zone and gives the whole stage a sense of place and a feeling of constant momentum, and the heart-pumping music definitely helps as well. Even the bosses are quite fun, particularly the goofy capsule fight. If I had any gripes, there is a bit of wait time, whether it's waiting for the bombs in Act 1 or waiting for the lifts in Act 2, but the rest of Flying Battery is so perfectly-paced and fun that a few minor stopping points never detracted from my love of this stage. It's so close to being my favorite Genesis era Sonic stage.
5/5 Stars

Sandopolis Zone
On another episode of me defending hated video game levels, I like Sandopolis Zone. Most of Sonic 3&K's stages give off the feeling of going on an adventure through some ancient ruins, but Sandopolis amps this up to eleven. It almost gives off Indiana Jones vibes, and as such, puts a somewhat bigger focus on platforming puzzles, to the point where even the bosses are almost puzzle bosses. I don't think that's a bad thing though, and Sandopolis's puzzle focus never sacrifices speed. Act 1 is just a solid Sonic act in itself, with a number of neat gimmicks like the bungee cords and sand blocks, and a reasonable pace and difficulty. Act 2 is the more divisive one, but I honestly really enjoy it. This isn't a slow-paced act at all, you need to be fast to not get squished by the rising sand, prevent the ghosts from popping up, and making it through the variety of doors before they shut. Instead, Sandopolis Act 2 tests you on your ability to go fast. You can't just hold right and expect to make it through, you need to be more thoughtful with your moves. It's the perfect difficulty spike coming so close to the end of the game, but it's honestly still pretty manageable if you know what you're doing.
4/5 Stars

Lava Reef Zone
I think I've said it before on here but Lava Reef Zone is my favorite zone in Sonic history. It's the culmination of not just this game but the entire quadrilogy of Genesis Sonic games. It's got everything, tricky platforming across lava and spikes, fast-paced speed segments including a memorable boulder chase, tense and climactic music, a memorable second act that boasts an entirely different identity from the first, and a thrilling setpiece where Eggman chases you down as the Death Egg rises. And if all that's not enough, Hidden Palace Zone technically qualifies as an Act 3, boasting the memorable if easy fight against Knuckles which leads to the best story moment in the game. Lava Reef feels like the big climax of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, even more than the actual final levels. It's an engaging test of your abilities with a strong atmosphere and some of the best visual storytelling in the series.
5/5 Stars

Sky Sanctuary Zone
Similarly to Wing Fortress before it, Sky Sanctuary Zone is a one-act zone. However, I think it's easily the better and more fully-realized of the two. Not only is it longer than two minutes, but it offers so much spectacle across its entire length. From the mere setting of a floating sky garden, to the visual of the Death Egg rising and sending robots at you, to the multiple boss fights against Mecha Sonic, to that final cutscene of Sonic and Tails running up the broken bridge. The platforming isn't half bad either though, there's a solid amount of fun exclusive gimmicks here like those spinning tops, bouncy clouds, and fragile bridges. But of course, I also can't go without mentioning Knuckles' version of the stage, where Mecha Sonic gains a goddamn Super form and becomes the final boss. The actual fight is admittedly a bit of a waiting game, but between the insanely cool premise, the visual of Angel Island wobbling in the background, and his variety of attacks, it still stands out as one of the game's highlights.
4/5 Stars

Death Egg Zone
Death Egg Zone is a solid final zone. It offers up a decent challenge, it has some of the game's coolest mechanics like the wind tunnels in Act 1 and the antigravity in Act 2, and it finally lets you actually explore the Death Egg unlike in Sonic 2. However, compared to the phenomenal lineup of & Knuckles zones, it's probably still my least favorite solely because all the others are so good. I really just have two gripes with Death Egg. First off, it's a bit drab visually. Act 2 does fix this a bit by giving you a nice exterior view of the Earth, but most of this zone is all grays and it can feel a bit repetitive. My bigger issue are those light tunnels which completely take control away from the player for upwards of 30 seconds. This is by far the most blatant bit of automation in the game, and it really bogs down the pacing of an otherwise solid zone. The bosses, thankfully, are mostly stellar. Death Ball is a godawful puzzle boss that easily stands as the worst boss in the game, but everything else is very deserving of capping off the game. Red Eye is a real challenge of a boss, but is designed well around Sonic's abilities and is thus satisfying to conquer. Kyodai Eggman Robo on his own would still handily be the best Classic final boss, but toss in the incredibly Doomsday Zone fight, which still stands as one of Super Sonic's best fights, and you get a phenomenal ending to one of the best Sonic games.
3/5 Stars

Final Ranking
1. Lava Reef Zone
2. Flying Battery Zone
3. Hydrocity Zone
4. Sandopolis Zone
5. Mystic Cave Zone
6. Ice Cap Zone
7. Chemical Plant Zone
8. Stardust Speedway Zone
9. Angel Island Zone
10. Star Light Zone
11. Metallic Madness Zone
12. Quartz Quadrant Zone
13. Hill Top Zone
14. Sky Sanctuary Zone
15. Marble Zone
16. Mushroom Hill Zone
17. Aquatic Ruin Zone
18. Marble Garden Zone
19. Casino Night Zone
20. Collision Chaos Zone
21. Palmtree Panic Zone
22. Green Hill Zone
23. Death Egg Zone (Sonic 3)
24. Oil Ocean Zone
25. Launch Base Zone
26. Wing Fortress Zone
27. Tidal Tempest Zone
28. Spring Yard Zone
29. Emerald Hill Zone
30. Wacky Workbench Zone
31. Casino Night Zone
32. Scrap Brain Zone
33. Metropolis Zone
34. Labyrinth Zone
35. Death Egg Zone (Sonic 2)
36. Sky Chase Zone