lnferno
Not Here Anymore
So, I'd assume many of you have played the original classic Sonic games, considering most of you are fans of SRB2. Now, would you generally say that the level design from Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 is ok at worst, and great at best? I'm here today to examine the level design philosophies of these 4 games, show their failures, their strengths, how S3&K ties it back together, and how SRB2 2.2 evolved on the level design of the classics to evolve and work in 3D.
Now, I'd like to establish 3 core principles and an overarching principle that doesn't really fall into these 3:
- Speed, how fast you can go.
- Exploration, how many paths and secrets there are.
- Platforming, how much platforming there is.
All of these come together to impact one major principle:
Flow: How often your ability to get to higher speeds is disrupted.
Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD each prioritized one of the 3 core principles to an extent that it hampered the other 2, and disrupted flow in some sense as a result. This is what I'll first cover.
Most can agree that the level design of Green Hill in Sonic 1 is good, but then a lot of people complain about the major emphasis on platforming in Marble and Labyrinth Zone. Marble and Labyrinth aren't generally fast, and, of course, with Sonic 1 being Sonic 1, there aren't many branching paths in any zone in Sonic 1, so Marble and Labyrinth become mostly linear platforming puzzles in a game meant to encourage mastering the levels:
"I like fast things and I thought that it would be nice to create a game where the more skilled you become, the faster you can complete a stage. Games back then had no backup or saving system, which meant that you had to play right from the beginning every time...As a result, the very first stage would be played time and time again, making the player very skilled at it. So we thought it would be nice if this would enable the player to complete those stages faster and that's the basis of Sonic's speed. We also thought this feature would help differentiate Sonic from Mario." - Yuji Naka.
This led to many complaints about these two zones, in particular, being a slog to get through, which are complaints that still persist to this day. This is what happens when you put platforming so forefront in the Classic Sonic games.
On top of that, you also have stages like Metropolis, where any chance for speed is disrupted by enemy placement being horrible. I feel like the placement of enemies in S2 might have been effected by the fact that S2 seems to focus more on speed. On top of this, there's still not many paths to go down in S2, though some more have popped up, thankfully enough.
Now, I'd like to establish 3 core principles and an overarching principle that doesn't really fall into these 3:
- Speed, how fast you can go.
- Exploration, how many paths and secrets there are.
- Platforming, how much platforming there is.
All of these come together to impact one major principle:
Flow: How often your ability to get to higher speeds is disrupted.
Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD each prioritized one of the 3 core principles to an extent that it hampered the other 2, and disrupted flow in some sense as a result. This is what I'll first cover.
Sonic 1: When Platforming Goes Wrong
Sonic 1 was the first game in the entire franchise, and with it going through so many iterations before it finally had it's final vision, it obviously will be unpolished in some areas. One of these is level design. Most can agree that the level design of Green Hill in Sonic 1 is good, but then a lot of people complain about the major emphasis on platforming in Marble and Labyrinth Zone. Marble and Labyrinth aren't generally fast, and, of course, with Sonic 1 being Sonic 1, there aren't many branching paths in any zone in Sonic 1, so Marble and Labyrinth become mostly linear platforming puzzles in a game meant to encourage mastering the levels:
"I like fast things and I thought that it would be nice to create a game where the more skilled you become, the faster you can complete a stage. Games back then had no backup or saving system, which meant that you had to play right from the beginning every time...As a result, the very first stage would be played time and time again, making the player very skilled at it. So we thought it would be nice if this would enable the player to complete those stages faster and that's the basis of Sonic's speed. We also thought this feature would help differentiate Sonic from Mario." - Yuji Naka.
This led to many complaints about these two zones, in particular, being a slog to get through, which are complaints that still persist to this day. This is what happens when you put platforming so forefront in the Classic Sonic games.
Sonic 2: Going Too Far in the Opposite Direction
Clearly, they tried to listen to the criticisms of Sonic 1, because Sonic 2 goes the other direction, and not in a good way. Sonic 2 tends to focus a LOT more on speed, with Chemical Plant being a good example. As a result, they tended to slip up and place a lot of enemies in places where you could easily get hit, which doesn't help with how you're supposed to get to the Special Stages in Sonic 2. A lot of people point to Metropolis for this, but it occurs as early as Emerald Hill 2, with a ledge that leads straight into a tree with a Coconuts in it. Oh, and it's singular death pit. On top of that, you also have stages like Metropolis, where any chance for speed is disrupted by enemy placement being horrible. I feel like the placement of enemies in S2 might have been effected by the fact that S2 seems to focus more on speed. On top of this, there's still not many paths to go down in S2, though some more have popped up, thankfully enough.
Sonic CD: When Time Travelling destroys Level Design
Tell me, how much do you have to explore in Sonic CD to even stand a chance at the good ending? How often are you able to maintain any speed you earn? Sonic CD places a LOT of emphasis on exploration, and platforming and speed, and as a result, flow, take a hit as well. The only times you can really go at any decent speed is when Sonic CD wants you to, and as a result, there is basically no flow in Sonic CD. This goes against the very original foundation for the classic games. This goes back to the time travelling gimmick requiring you to gain speed.Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Tying It All Together
S3&K does a generally good job on balancing all 3 of these, and as a result, often having at least some sort of flow active, though S3&K isn't perfect (looks at Sandopolis Act 2). For an example of how it ties them together, let's just look at Angel Island 2. There's some speedy segments, such as with the ziplines, the rolltubes, and the double loops leading into the ramp right before the big waterfall. However, it also has quite a bit of platforming. For example, it's almost required on Sonic's path to jump between disappearing platforms, and there's a lot of platforming in general as well, which also ties into exploration. Did you know that in AIZ2 alone, there's an extra life right above the collapsing bridges after the first rolltube, at least 2 paths at all times, and more? And that's just the 2nd act of the game! It gets more complex whilst maintaining the same level design standards. Whilst S3 does have some instances of crappy enemy placement, they aren't as prevelant as S2. Flow is decently strong in S3, as even with some of the platforming, you can get right back up to speed in most cases...SRB2's Place in All This
SRB2 seemed to have taken after S3 quite a bit, at least by the time of 2.2. These acts are MASSIVE, and have a lot hidden in them, and they STILL balance it out with speed and platforming in many cases. For example, even with CEZ2 being VERY large, there's still plenty of platforming and potential speed areas. Now... there is one issue with this. Sonic's not really able to go all that fast without the Thok, and the rest of the cast either can only go above 36 FU/T with an ability combo or just not at all. Now, this is why momentum is an important factor. With a friction code rework, a game that is somewhat lopsided in terms of level design principles can shift back towards full harmony, and therefore improving on flow. However, SRB2 DOES have some potential speed areas that establish a better balance. The GFZ2 slope, the CEZ1 collapsing bridge, the ACZ1 downwards slope headed towards the minecarts, and some more. And SRB2, overall, does do a good job with what it has, even with some flaws... (ERZ not counting due to being outdated)
