- Author Rogerregorroger
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I'll be honest, I'm very split on whether I think Sol Sestancia 1 or 2 is better. I'd like to say SS2 has better theming while SS1 has better level design ignoring the shortcuts.
So, I'll rank each stage on their own.
Lost City - 4/5
Unfortunately, the first stage is one of the best stages in the modpack. Lost City picks up from where SS1 left off. Pretty much the only thing I have to say about the cutscene section is that I find it odd how Trash Man Sam (Or whatever his name is. Sorry Roger. :c) teaches you about spring steering when its not really used that much, even in Lost City. Although something else I'd like to add is that the guys who shoot you with the Eggman Plushies (From SS1's RUN) can now be defeated, which strikes me as unintentional because they have no animation for being defeated, not even a poof or giving you score. I just thought it was funny.
Actually talking about the level itself, I do think it does well as an intro level. Pretty much the only obstacles here are the swinging maces which I think is OK, I think having a few Crawlas would've helped as the only other enemies are the Ball Throwers (Which you aren't even supposed to know are there.)
Fang being here strikes me as really odd though. I'd imagine this was meant to be the explanation as to why you can play as him, as in the cutscene afterwards Tangle tells Sonic and co. to go to the castle and Fang just so happens to overhear and follow. Thing is, these stages are extremely Anti-Fang, a lot of the stages expect you to be running at mach 3 and simply jump to plow through enemies, which Fang can't do. It's not that big of a deal in Lost City, ironically enough, because there aren't any enemies.
Return to Alcudia - N/A
I've decided not to rank this one. It really borders on being an actual level and just being another cutscene level. Still, it's really short and I've decided that this is just the precursor to the actual level, Uptown. Though I will add I never knew up until recently that when Charmy meant "Break through the glass" he meant you could actually break through the glass windows of the building to the left; I had always thought you were required to go on top of it since there's glass up there too.
Uptown - 5/5
This is THE Sol Sestancia Level. While the song picked does give me SS1 vibes (Which makes sense considering that level was IN SS1 as a bonus sneak peak level), I don't hate it as much as the other lyrical songs in SS1. I still don't like it but I can tolerate it.
The stage itself is great though. The enemy placements aren't obnoxious, though enemies can feel absent in it of itself, and split paths are done just right here, a huge step up from the SS1 level design. Plus, its cute how the emerald location is identical to the (Only) emblem location of its SS1 counterpart. Pretty much the only complaint I have is the jump before you enter the courthouse feels off, you expect to climb up the ramp then jump at the edge of the platform, but if you do that the ramp will boost you slightly upwards launching you over the floor and into a deathpit. Boo!
Also RIP the Flybot767
Royal Palace - 4/5
Another great level that bounces off of what Uptown does with its high speed action while giving a fair difficulty curve. It does lose the edge seeing as it has basically no alternative paths but its still fun with them. Plus, I love the robots that deck you in the face and say "
BACK
TO
THE
PARTY
" it's really funny, I don't know why.
The section where you have to find the key also reminds me of the emerald shard levels from SS1, more specifically the Science Fair. Not a bad section, and the large staircase afterwards is nice although its basically the last time you'll ever need to steer spring.
The section afterwards is where things get a little iffy for me. This is around the point where the stage begins to drag on. I think some stages should be split up into 2 Acts, and this should've been one of them. But since Royal Palace is kind of meant to be a checkpoint between the first and second half of Sol Sestancia, I can let it off the hook.
Though while I'm talking about it, this section is exactly what I meant when I said this levelpack is very Anti-Fang. Fang doesn't really have a way to deal with the Bikers coming at him outside of strafing out of the way. The boss fight with Scratch & Grounder is also my least favorite as it essentially just boils down to projectile spam. The Hunter (That's their internal name) are especially stupid, since graphically they're just an orange spark, it's really easy to miss them unless you're specifically trying to go after them and although its not too hard to avoid their shots when you know how to juke them (Do a short hop right before they fire and they'll shoot right above you), its mainly them in tandem with all the balls being tossed around that makes this section annoying. Though I'll be honest and thought the cannons who shoot in volleys of three aimed for the player, when they don't.
Here's a tip. During the last part of the battle, if you jump into the flaming pit right before the ledge, it'll act as though you defeated Scratch & Grounder normally.
Speaking of those robots, did you know they'll actually get destroyed if you come into contact with them in your Super form? It scared me the first time it happened, and you'd never known since you'd have to go back to the stage with a completed save file in order to see it.
Knothole - N/A
Again, like with RtA I've decided to leave this out of the ranking. Unlike RtA this one is much more obviously just a cutscene level. Though here's a tip if you want to skip the cutscene without playing arcade mode. The door to the sleeping room opens when the cutscene STARTS, not when it ends meaning if you point your camera towards the door and trigger the cutscene, holding forward will let you hit the end trigger and skip Knothole.
Great Forest Wall - 3/5
Probably one of the most forgettable stages in the pack, it just doesn't do much to stick out at least in my opinion. It's stage design is decent, enemies are fine, and the theming is also just OK. I will say, I do like how the damaging water is done where it only hurts you in intervals. This is especially fun when playing as Metal Sonic, as its fun to jump right before the water damages you.
Still, that's all I can really say about the stage. It's just "OK". It does try to implement character-exclusive paths, but they aren't done well. Knuckles' is way too out of the way and usually is not worth going unless you're going for the emblem, and Amy's boils down to "Hit a spring to save two seconds."
Robotropolis - 3.5/5
Honestly, while I still do think GFW is more forgettable, I honestly actually DO forget about Robotroplis when I replay the campaign. There's nothing actually bad about it though, it has unique gimmicks. The hanging swordfish dealing damage always struck me as weird. There's not much reason for them to be there and they always just look like harmless decoration.
The garbage section is where things start to fall apart. Not a fan of liquid that harms you, it's never fun trying to get out. (I'd much rather it work like RVZ's lava) The factory afterwards is also extremely tight, making the camera move a little wonkey. Nonetheless, not a bad level. The ice spikes dealing damage also provides a more interesting challenge for Fang, since there's a more you have to pay attention too if you simply try to bounce on the icy floor, though even then it's clear that this was unintentional because Fang can shoot the special Egg Monitors and the Frozen Food Monitors and cause them to just vanish since they're coded more-so like enemies. Speaking of, the Egg Monitors also have a unique "death" animation if you touch them while super! Cool!
Egg TV Network - 3.8/5
There was a reason why you chose this to be in OLDC 2022. It is by far the most unique in terms of theming and level design, it's just bogged down by one thing; the shortcut. You can tell this was made early in development because of it, like with other SS1 stages (Biggest offender being Party Like Its 1995) it has one shortcut at the beginning of the stage that basically skips half of the level. While not as egregious as the Monsters Inc. shortcut in Party Like Its 1995, I do still think its way too powerful for being so easy to get too.
Ignoring that, the rest of the stage focuses on bouncing platforms. They feel different as of modern SRB2 releases but going off from my most recent playthroughs, they're fun to bounce off of. The references are fun too, although the Killer Bears feel random whether or not they die (Unless you're Fang in which they take 30 shots to kill). Although you can ping pong them at rapid speeds if you touch them as Super Sonic, I just think that's funny.
Something that really bogs down the stage is "You Die, Eggman Wins" which is a bit of a difficulty curve considering how easy the rest of the stage, and even Robotropolis was. Not necessarily a bad thing, even in OLDC when I was less experienced I had no problems with it, though it does seem like the new guard rails block out some of the flamethrowers in the Fire Challenge.
I feel the difficulty curve here is especially bad. Sol Sestancia is stingy rather stingy with its lives, especially since there's no Special Stages to grind lives in. I don't think its that bad of an issue here, though... However...
Escape Robotropolis - 2/5
This is a massive difficulty spike, it really feels like in this stage Sol Sestancia wasn't properly play tested. While I never died to the timer (Probably because it gets reset every death), I do feel like the timer is way too strict with not enough monitors to increase your time.
This is also another level where I feel it should've been split into two acts. The second part without the timer I wasn't a big fan of either, since it's essentially just more projectile spam. I also feel the chaos emerald here is really stupid since right after the ramp you have to use a horse to get it (Which is a gimmick introduced in the stage AFTER this one). In fact, someone even thought the only way to get this emerald was to Crawla Bounce off the enemies.
The stage only gets worse from here. The E-10,000 section is one of my least favorite parts about the level pack. The timer returns, just as strict as ever, and now Hunters return which shoot you from invisible platforms that, if jumped too, cannot be returned unless you're playing as a character who can fly or climb. While you could use the trick I mentioned last time, often times with how tight the platforming is and the time limit, you don't have time to waste stopping to bait out its shot.
Here's a tip. The collapsing bridge will only fall if you step onto the small incline before it, if you skip it and jump straight onto the bridge, you can run to the missile defense system.
VS. Orbot & Cubot - 3.7/5
First of all, weird name choice. Why not name is Cliff Condola? The name gives you the impression that you're actually racing against the two when you're really not. (You are in the story, not in gameplay though.)
Still, weird name aside, it is a really fun stage. It is a bit confusing as to where you're supposed to go in the very first section, but otherwise I do really like the stage, all except for one part; the 2D section. I really don't know how you're supposed to avoid the Ball Throwers/Monkey Dudes, even ignoring the fact there's a bull chasing you. The bull admittedly isn't that big of a threat since he moves much slower than you think, but I still have no idea how you're supposed to avoid all the projectiles aside from going above them. The fake-out battle with Orbot & Cubot is funny though.
Here's a tip, the lift that brings you to the actual level exist and can be taken before the cutscene, it's a straight shot right behind you!
Convoy Assault - 1.5/5
My least favorite level. After the Knothole cutscene, the first section is just a mindless "Hold forward and don't get hit" section, and the actual convoy doesn't get much better. The platforming is alright, although the emerald location is kinda stupid- Vector appears in the room BEFORE the Emerald rather than WITH -its mainly just the enemies, or rather the indestructible turrets. They fill the stage with projectiles and it only gets worse as the stage proceeds. The boss fight isn't much better, it can be really annoying to try and hit the convoy's generator (Is that what it is?) thanks to the fans, especially when playing as anyone other than Sonic or Fang.
On the plus side, you can skip this level too (Not sure if you can in Arcade Mode) since its built off of Knothole, the house Sonic and co. sleep in still opens when you trigger the cutscene in Sally's house and it does retain the win trigger inside. I like to headcanon the playable character just goes to bed and force Sally to stop the convoy herself. Keep in mind, you'll be locked out of the Chaos Emerald if you do this skip.
Island Cross - 3/5
I don't get the hype around this level. It's just more "Hold forward and don't get hit" but stretched across the entire level. There's really not much I can say about this level aside from the Gun Hawk being annoying as its projectile is stupid hard to dodge. Also not really a big fan of the Water Park section.
Also, why are there two Dirks?
Mount Terracentro - 3.5/5
Only slightly better than Island Cross due to the inclusion of the branch gimmick. There are even alternative paths that allow you to skip the branches, good if you're using a mod character who can't use them (Like Light Dasher's Honey the Cat).
As for the mines, like with ER and RP it feels like this should've been its own stage or a second act, though seeing as it is the last (Regular) stage, I suppose it makes sense for this one to be longer. The mines are actually really well designed, I like how there are signs that tell you what each type of gem does and how they're all used in tandem with each other, definitely a highlight of the stage.
Heart of the World - 3/5
A solid conclusion to the levelpack. It is essentially just the Metal Sonic fight, the actual level itself its more-so just a preemptive. As for the fight itself, it feels really random at times with his attacks but never did I feel the fight was unfun or unfair. Plus, I like how it gives you a copious amount of rings to cheese the fight with your super form. You could say its bad design, I say the player deserves it for going out of the way to get all the emeralds.
Secret Train Track - 1/5
What I thought was nothing more than an alternative path became a shortcut. And what I thought was a shortcut became a secret level, how dandy!
Unfortunately, this level is... Not that great. Most of the train chases are clunky at best, and the 2D section is terrible since you have no idea what's about to come up your first time playing. Speaking of, the train itself seems random. Sometimes it'll just push me, while other times it'll shove me under it and instantly kill me. I'm not sure which of the two behaviors is intended but this again feels like something that slipped by due to a lack of proper playtesting. (As in, having someone other than the creator(s) play it!)
The section after you get out of the train station is a little better up until you reach the second 2D part, which suffers the exact same issue as VS. Orbot and Cubot's 2D section. On the plus side, the ramp at the start of the section allows you to let the truck harmlessly pass under you. (Do NOT try to ride on top of the truck)
Worst part is, the entrance to this stage happens BEFORE the emerald in ER, so if you want to get all of the emeralds you either have to play this stage after beating the game or just forego the emeralds entirely.
Knothole Pizza - 3.5/5
This stage is a surprising amount of fun trying to blitz through to deliver all of the pizzas. The music here is also one of my favorites in the level pack. I won't say too much as there admittedly isn't much to SAY, although I find it weird you get three emblems from this stage as opposed to just one, compared to Alcudia Pizza which is much harder. Speaking of...
Alcudia Pizza - 3/5
The time limit here is way too tight and I really do not like having to use the chairs to go fast. Still, that doesn't deny the fact this is a fun stage, although getting inside and out of the pizzeria is annoying due to the camera, your character never goes where you think they should unless you're one of the sickos who uses 𝓢𝓣𝓡𝓐𝓕𝓔 mode. Also, one time I delivered all of the pizzas and got the money yet the door wouldn't open and I had to start over again. Hated that so much, I cursed the Doughmeister and now for the rest of his life, even in your modern copy of the modpack, he has been transformed into a purple palm tree.
VS. Sam Speed/Easy - 0/5
You can't even clear either version of the stage as the base 6 characters, are you kidding me brah. I don't care if these stages were meant for X Sonic, the rest of the modpack was meant for the main 6 or at least (Regular) Sonic so just make this stage its own mod!!! I would've much rather just have Angel Island Tour instead of these two.
If you can send me footage of beating either stage with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang and Metal Sonic (Super forms are allowed), I will take back everything I said and give this stage a fair shot and ranking
Overall: 3.6/5
Final Synopsis: Make HentaiBoy a playable character next time, thank you.
In reality, while I can sense the improvement from SS1 to SS2, I do still feel like more could be done. I am very excited for Sol Sestancia 3 though, looking forward to how it will play.
So, I'll rank each stage on their own.
Lost City - 4/5
Unfortunately, the first stage is one of the best stages in the modpack. Lost City picks up from where SS1 left off. Pretty much the only thing I have to say about the cutscene section is that I find it odd how Trash Man Sam (Or whatever his name is. Sorry Roger. :c) teaches you about spring steering when its not really used that much, even in Lost City. Although something else I'd like to add is that the guys who shoot you with the Eggman Plushies (From SS1's RUN) can now be defeated, which strikes me as unintentional because they have no animation for being defeated, not even a poof or giving you score. I just thought it was funny.
Actually talking about the level itself, I do think it does well as an intro level. Pretty much the only obstacles here are the swinging maces which I think is OK, I think having a few Crawlas would've helped as the only other enemies are the Ball Throwers (Which you aren't even supposed to know are there.)
Fang being here strikes me as really odd though. I'd imagine this was meant to be the explanation as to why you can play as him, as in the cutscene afterwards Tangle tells Sonic and co. to go to the castle and Fang just so happens to overhear and follow. Thing is, these stages are extremely Anti-Fang, a lot of the stages expect you to be running at mach 3 and simply jump to plow through enemies, which Fang can't do. It's not that big of a deal in Lost City, ironically enough, because there aren't any enemies.
Return to Alcudia - N/A
I've decided not to rank this one. It really borders on being an actual level and just being another cutscene level. Still, it's really short and I've decided that this is just the precursor to the actual level, Uptown. Though I will add I never knew up until recently that when Charmy meant "Break through the glass" he meant you could actually break through the glass windows of the building to the left; I had always thought you were required to go on top of it since there's glass up there too.
Uptown - 5/5
This is THE Sol Sestancia Level. While the song picked does give me SS1 vibes (Which makes sense considering that level was IN SS1 as a bonus sneak peak level), I don't hate it as much as the other lyrical songs in SS1. I still don't like it but I can tolerate it.
The stage itself is great though. The enemy placements aren't obnoxious, though enemies can feel absent in it of itself, and split paths are done just right here, a huge step up from the SS1 level design. Plus, its cute how the emerald location is identical to the (Only) emblem location of its SS1 counterpart. Pretty much the only complaint I have is the jump before you enter the courthouse feels off, you expect to climb up the ramp then jump at the edge of the platform, but if you do that the ramp will boost you slightly upwards launching you over the floor and into a deathpit. Boo!
Also RIP the Flybot767
Royal Palace - 4/5
Another great level that bounces off of what Uptown does with its high speed action while giving a fair difficulty curve. It does lose the edge seeing as it has basically no alternative paths but its still fun with them. Plus, I love the robots that deck you in the face and say "
BACKTOTHEPARTY" it's really funny, I don't know why.The section where you have to find the key also reminds me of the emerald shard levels from SS1, more specifically the Science Fair. Not a bad section, and the large staircase afterwards is nice although its basically the last time you'll ever need to steer spring.
The section afterwards is where things get a little iffy for me. This is around the point where the stage begins to drag on. I think some stages should be split up into 2 Acts, and this should've been one of them. But since Royal Palace is kind of meant to be a checkpoint between the first and second half of Sol Sestancia, I can let it off the hook.
Though while I'm talking about it, this section is exactly what I meant when I said this levelpack is very Anti-Fang. Fang doesn't really have a way to deal with the Bikers coming at him outside of strafing out of the way. The boss fight with Scratch & Grounder is also my least favorite as it essentially just boils down to projectile spam. The Hunter (That's their internal name) are especially stupid, since graphically they're just an orange spark, it's really easy to miss them unless you're specifically trying to go after them and although its not too hard to avoid their shots when you know how to juke them (Do a short hop right before they fire and they'll shoot right above you), its mainly them in tandem with all the balls being tossed around that makes this section annoying. Though I'll be honest and thought the cannons who shoot in volleys of three aimed for the player, when they don't.
Here's a tip. During the last part of the battle, if you jump into the flaming pit right before the ledge, it'll act as though you defeated Scratch & Grounder normally.
Speaking of those robots, did you know they'll actually get destroyed if you come into contact with them in your Super form? It scared me the first time it happened, and you'd never known since you'd have to go back to the stage with a completed save file in order to see it.
Knothole - N/A
Again, like with RtA I've decided to leave this out of the ranking. Unlike RtA this one is much more obviously just a cutscene level. Though here's a tip if you want to skip the cutscene without playing arcade mode. The door to the sleeping room opens when the cutscene STARTS, not when it ends meaning if you point your camera towards the door and trigger the cutscene, holding forward will let you hit the end trigger and skip Knothole.
Great Forest Wall - 3/5
Probably one of the most forgettable stages in the pack, it just doesn't do much to stick out at least in my opinion. It's stage design is decent, enemies are fine, and the theming is also just OK. I will say, I do like how the damaging water is done where it only hurts you in intervals. This is especially fun when playing as Metal Sonic, as its fun to jump right before the water damages you.
Still, that's all I can really say about the stage. It's just "OK". It does try to implement character-exclusive paths, but they aren't done well. Knuckles' is way too out of the way and usually is not worth going unless you're going for the emblem, and Amy's boils down to "Hit a spring to save two seconds."
Robotropolis - 3.5/5
Honestly, while I still do think GFW is more forgettable, I honestly actually DO forget about Robotroplis when I replay the campaign. There's nothing actually bad about it though, it has unique gimmicks. The hanging swordfish dealing damage always struck me as weird. There's not much reason for them to be there and they always just look like harmless decoration.
The garbage section is where things start to fall apart. Not a fan of liquid that harms you, it's never fun trying to get out. (I'd much rather it work like RVZ's lava) The factory afterwards is also extremely tight, making the camera move a little wonkey. Nonetheless, not a bad level. The ice spikes dealing damage also provides a more interesting challenge for Fang, since there's a more you have to pay attention too if you simply try to bounce on the icy floor, though even then it's clear that this was unintentional because Fang can shoot the special Egg Monitors and the Frozen Food Monitors and cause them to just vanish since they're coded more-so like enemies. Speaking of, the Egg Monitors also have a unique "death" animation if you touch them while super! Cool!
Egg TV Network - 3.8/5
There was a reason why you chose this to be in OLDC 2022. It is by far the most unique in terms of theming and level design, it's just bogged down by one thing; the shortcut. You can tell this was made early in development because of it, like with other SS1 stages (Biggest offender being Party Like Its 1995) it has one shortcut at the beginning of the stage that basically skips half of the level. While not as egregious as the Monsters Inc. shortcut in Party Like Its 1995, I do still think its way too powerful for being so easy to get too.
Ignoring that, the rest of the stage focuses on bouncing platforms. They feel different as of modern SRB2 releases but going off from my most recent playthroughs, they're fun to bounce off of. The references are fun too, although the Killer Bears feel random whether or not they die (Unless you're Fang in which they take 30 shots to kill). Although you can ping pong them at rapid speeds if you touch them as Super Sonic, I just think that's funny.
Something that really bogs down the stage is "You Die, Eggman Wins" which is a bit of a difficulty curve considering how easy the rest of the stage, and even Robotropolis was. Not necessarily a bad thing, even in OLDC when I was less experienced I had no problems with it, though it does seem like the new guard rails block out some of the flamethrowers in the Fire Challenge.
I feel the difficulty curve here is especially bad. Sol Sestancia is stingy rather stingy with its lives, especially since there's no Special Stages to grind lives in. I don't think its that bad of an issue here, though... However...
Escape Robotropolis - 2/5
This is a massive difficulty spike, it really feels like in this stage Sol Sestancia wasn't properly play tested. While I never died to the timer (Probably because it gets reset every death), I do feel like the timer is way too strict with not enough monitors to increase your time.
This is also another level where I feel it should've been split into two acts. The second part without the timer I wasn't a big fan of either, since it's essentially just more projectile spam. I also feel the chaos emerald here is really stupid since right after the ramp you have to use a horse to get it (Which is a gimmick introduced in the stage AFTER this one). In fact, someone even thought the only way to get this emerald was to Crawla Bounce off the enemies.
The stage only gets worse from here. The E-10,000 section is one of my least favorite parts about the level pack. The timer returns, just as strict as ever, and now Hunters return which shoot you from invisible platforms that, if jumped too, cannot be returned unless you're playing as a character who can fly or climb. While you could use the trick I mentioned last time, often times with how tight the platforming is and the time limit, you don't have time to waste stopping to bait out its shot.
Here's a tip. The collapsing bridge will only fall if you step onto the small incline before it, if you skip it and jump straight onto the bridge, you can run to the missile defense system.
VS. Orbot & Cubot - 3.7/5
First of all, weird name choice. Why not name is Cliff Condola? The name gives you the impression that you're actually racing against the two when you're really not. (You are in the story, not in gameplay though.)
Still, weird name aside, it is a really fun stage. It is a bit confusing as to where you're supposed to go in the very first section, but otherwise I do really like the stage, all except for one part; the 2D section. I really don't know how you're supposed to avoid the Ball Throwers/Monkey Dudes, even ignoring the fact there's a bull chasing you. The bull admittedly isn't that big of a threat since he moves much slower than you think, but I still have no idea how you're supposed to avoid all the projectiles aside from going above them. The fake-out battle with Orbot & Cubot is funny though.
Here's a tip, the lift that brings you to the actual level exist and can be taken before the cutscene, it's a straight shot right behind you!
Convoy Assault - 1.5/5
My least favorite level. After the Knothole cutscene, the first section is just a mindless "Hold forward and don't get hit" section, and the actual convoy doesn't get much better. The platforming is alright, although the emerald location is kinda stupid- Vector appears in the room BEFORE the Emerald rather than WITH -its mainly just the enemies, or rather the indestructible turrets. They fill the stage with projectiles and it only gets worse as the stage proceeds. The boss fight isn't much better, it can be really annoying to try and hit the convoy's generator (Is that what it is?) thanks to the fans, especially when playing as anyone other than Sonic or Fang.
On the plus side, you can skip this level too (Not sure if you can in Arcade Mode) since its built off of Knothole, the house Sonic and co. sleep in still opens when you trigger the cutscene in Sally's house and it does retain the win trigger inside. I like to headcanon the playable character just goes to bed and force Sally to stop the convoy herself. Keep in mind, you'll be locked out of the Chaos Emerald if you do this skip.
Island Cross - 3/5
I don't get the hype around this level. It's just more "Hold forward and don't get hit" but stretched across the entire level. There's really not much I can say about this level aside from the Gun Hawk being annoying as its projectile is stupid hard to dodge. Also not really a big fan of the Water Park section.
Also, why are there two Dirks?
Mount Terracentro - 3.5/5
Only slightly better than Island Cross due to the inclusion of the branch gimmick. There are even alternative paths that allow you to skip the branches, good if you're using a mod character who can't use them (Like Light Dasher's Honey the Cat).
As for the mines, like with ER and RP it feels like this should've been its own stage or a second act, though seeing as it is the last (Regular) stage, I suppose it makes sense for this one to be longer. The mines are actually really well designed, I like how there are signs that tell you what each type of gem does and how they're all used in tandem with each other, definitely a highlight of the stage.
Heart of the World - 3/5
A solid conclusion to the levelpack. It is essentially just the Metal Sonic fight, the actual level itself its more-so just a preemptive. As for the fight itself, it feels really random at times with his attacks but never did I feel the fight was unfun or unfair. Plus, I like how it gives you a copious amount of rings to cheese the fight with your super form. You could say its bad design, I say the player deserves it for going out of the way to get all the emeralds.
Secret Train Track - 1/5
What I thought was nothing more than an alternative path became a shortcut. And what I thought was a shortcut became a secret level, how dandy!
Unfortunately, this level is... Not that great. Most of the train chases are clunky at best, and the 2D section is terrible since you have no idea what's about to come up your first time playing. Speaking of, the train itself seems random. Sometimes it'll just push me, while other times it'll shove me under it and instantly kill me. I'm not sure which of the two behaviors is intended but this again feels like something that slipped by due to a lack of proper playtesting. (As in, having someone other than the creator(s) play it!)
The section after you get out of the train station is a little better up until you reach the second 2D part, which suffers the exact same issue as VS. Orbot and Cubot's 2D section. On the plus side, the ramp at the start of the section allows you to let the truck harmlessly pass under you. (Do NOT try to ride on top of the truck)
Worst part is, the entrance to this stage happens BEFORE the emerald in ER, so if you want to get all of the emeralds you either have to play this stage after beating the game or just forego the emeralds entirely.
Knothole Pizza - 3.5/5
This stage is a surprising amount of fun trying to blitz through to deliver all of the pizzas. The music here is also one of my favorites in the level pack. I won't say too much as there admittedly isn't much to SAY, although I find it weird you get three emblems from this stage as opposed to just one, compared to Alcudia Pizza which is much harder. Speaking of...
Alcudia Pizza - 3/5
The time limit here is way too tight and I really do not like having to use the chairs to go fast. Still, that doesn't deny the fact this is a fun stage, although getting inside and out of the pizzeria is annoying due to the camera, your character never goes where you think they should unless you're one of the sickos who uses 𝓢𝓣𝓡𝓐𝓕𝓔 mode. Also, one time I delivered all of the pizzas and got the money yet the door wouldn't open and I had to start over again. Hated that so much, I cursed the Doughmeister and now for the rest of his life, even in your modern copy of the modpack, he has been transformed into a purple palm tree.
VS. Sam Speed/Easy - 0/5
You can't even clear either version of the stage as the base 6 characters, are you kidding me brah. I don't care if these stages were meant for X Sonic, the rest of the modpack was meant for the main 6 or at least (Regular) Sonic so just make this stage its own mod!!! I would've much rather just have Angel Island Tour instead of these two.
If you can send me footage of beating either stage with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang and Metal Sonic (Super forms are allowed), I will take back everything I said and give this stage a fair shot and ranking
Overall: 3.6/5
Final Synopsis: Make HentaiBoy a playable character next time, thank you.
In reality, while I can sense the improvement from SS1 to SS2, I do still feel like more could be done. I am very excited for Sol Sestancia 3 though, looking forward to how it will play.
ROGER YOU THE GOAT OF MAPS 
PLEASE MAKE MORE MAPS
PLEASE MAKE MORE MAPS
Rogerregorroger
That's a very good point, I should include in the level loadup screens if there's a Chaos emerald.
I thought putting Vector closeby would be enough but I guess even he's hard to find sometimes.
Cyan Emerald is in Robotropolis tunnels, specifically right when the city section begins. Regular Sonic might not be able to get there unless you're really creative.
I thought putting Vector closeby would be enough but I guess even he's hard to find sometimes.
Cyan Emerald is in Robotropolis tunnels, specifically right when the city section begins. Regular Sonic might not be able to get there unless you're really creative.
Any pointers toward softlocks I can look into for future updates are appreciated.