After from what I read on this topic, almost everyone seems to complain about the save system, but as for me, I feel that something needs to change, but not necessarily the save system.
A suggestion would be to be more generous with 1-Ups. A good idea in Sonic games is to zoom past the levels in a stupid manner, but sometimes, one should stop and get some supplies for latter on. In SRB2, this is a hard task. Passing certain levels is already hard as it is, but getting lives is even worse. I rarely see 1-Ups in SRB2, and that should be changed, specially for the latter levels.
The latter zones should be easier. Not necessarily remove certain platforms that require risky jumps, but make life a
bit easier. For instance, [spoiler:b7a9ef42c1]ERZ2 has a part with a laser cannon above and walls that close at each shot. A good thing to do would be to place 1-3 rings right before that fight. I can't tell you how many times it took me to get past that part, specially because I had no protection, and because the cannon doesn't fire at the right time. We hear the warning sound, and the laser should only be fired after that, like in Sonic 3.[/spoiler:b7a9ef42c1]
ERZ... ERZ is waaaay long. Sure, almost other Sonic games had huge levels, specially the last ones. But answer me this: did the last zones from other games featured [spoiler:b7a9ef42c1]SEVERAL traps, PLENTY risky jumps, and LOTS of challenges[/spoiler:b7a9ef42c1]? No. I'm not saying that it should be easier, or else the fun would be thrown right off, but I suggest you split it somehow. Because getting trough ERZ is
HARD, and after you are sweating like a fountain, gasping for air, wiggling your wrists and resting as you enter ERZ3, you die after a couple of times (it takes some lives to figure out how the Boss works), and Game Over. And guess what? A LOT of hard work needs to be put again.
In short, keep this save system, but if you are going to keep it, I suggest looking at my suggestions. I'm far from forcing you to do them, but hey: If life has thought me something, it's that leisure activities (such has video games) are a lot more enjoyable when they are easy. Do you want fans to play, or to toil?
Summing up:
- Be more generous with the 1-Ups.
- Some hard areas should offer more protection, or less chance of failing.
- Segment harder levels.
Sorry for the long text; I'm just another whining fan. But I really want to see SRB2 reach epicness, and so far, it's almost there, except for the things that disappoint fans, such as these.