Restless Dipstick
A guy that exists
First things first, I wanna clarify that this is my first time actually voting in an OLDC. I know I'm not the best person when it comes to explaining just why I think the design of a level, either in terms of visuals or layout, is better than the others, but I'll try my best. Also, the Hub is superb. Now then, for my rating of the levels from best to worst:
1) Ante-Station Zone
2) Hollow Hill Zone
3) Mercury Mine Zone
4) Falcon Emissary Zone
5) Lava Temple
6) Zaxel's Thunder Yard
7) Koopa Kastle Zone
8) Teal Tundra Zone
9) Abyss Caverns Zone
10) Blizzard Bastion Zone
11) Music Mash Zone
12) Ridge Rapids Zone
13) Drenched Dam Zone
14) Bombastic Beach Zone
15) Fort Sunset Zone
16) Emerald Glade Zone * Act 1
Now, to go a little more in depth with my thoughts on my choices.
* Ante-Station Zone: I personally really like seeing 2D stages in SRB2. I know it's a pretty unpopular choice to have 2D sections in a 3D Sonic game, but unlike in most of the official games, I always felt that SRB2 has shown a whole lot more potential for having really cool 2D Sections or entire stages, since the way it's physics works tends to lend itself a lot more to 2D platformer sections, and Ante-Station Zone really shows a lot of that potential being used. The dynamic angles especially. The whole time, I just kept getting wowed with how much was done with it, like the use of having platforms come from the foreground and background, and you had to time your jumps with when the platforms where in the playing field. This was definitely the one I feel was the best out of the Single Player entries.
* Hollow Hill Zone: Even though Ante-Station is the best one, Hollow Hill is the one I think most people will think is the best, and for good reason. The visuals are heccing beautiful, and the layout was also pretty good. The coded mini-cutscenes were all really cool to see as well, I definitely wasn't expecting to see any.
* Falcon Emissary Zone: Airship stages are always cool to see, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. What really stood out to me was the one section where it gets all rainy and windy, and then you realize that the winds are so strong that jumping basically isn't an option. It was a pretty cool challenge that I never could've expected, though it did last a little shorter than I'd hope.
* Lava Temple Zone: This one probably has the most unique visuals out of all the entries. It was definitely interesting to just see all of it while going through the stage.
* Zaxel's Thunder Yard: The signs at the start were pretty charming to me for some reason, and I don't know why, but the electric fences causing you to hover up slowly was really neat to me. The fake out signpost was also great.
* Teal Tundra, Abyss Caverns, and Blizzard Bastion Zones: These 3 are sort of interchangable to me, and don't have too much to say about them. Teal Tundra was very pretty visually, Blizzard Bastion had some really cool stage layouts, but wasn't the biggest fan of the heavy fog, even though it was kinda the point, and I really don't have anything to say on Abyss Caverns. It was just a pretty decent stage.
* Ridge Rapids and Bombastic Beach Zone: Both of these have the exact same issue. I absolutely loved how pretty they were, but they just end so soon. I really wanted to experience more of it, but both were just over not long after they started.
* Drenched Dam Zone: It was cool seeing a race with Metal, but I really wasn't a fan of all the invisible walls. It felt pretty restricted, because the stage looks way more open than it is, being much more like a strict set of hallways. This wouldn't even be an issue if the stage properly reflected this, but instead, it looks way more open, and resulted in constantly running into invisible walls trying to take the fastest possible routes since it was a race. If either the stage wasn't as restrictive, or the visuals better reflected the actual layout and where you can and can't go, I think that'd make the stage way more enjoyable.
* Fort Sunset Zone: This stage seemed really cool initially, until it quickly became apparent that the actual playing field wasn't very big, and it just became like playing the Multiplayer Bluespheres levels with a new coat of paint.
* Emerald Glade Zone: This felt a lot like a very early sandbox stage rather than a full level. Plus, the emerald shard's spawn points made it really easy to complete the stage in a matter of seconds. Even had two of them spawn literally right next to each other.
1) Ante-Station Zone
2) Hollow Hill Zone
3) Mercury Mine Zone
4) Falcon Emissary Zone
5) Lava Temple
6) Zaxel's Thunder Yard
7) Koopa Kastle Zone
8) Teal Tundra Zone
9) Abyss Caverns Zone
10) Blizzard Bastion Zone
11) Music Mash Zone
12) Ridge Rapids Zone
13) Drenched Dam Zone
14) Bombastic Beach Zone
15) Fort Sunset Zone
16) Emerald Glade Zone * Act 1
Now, to go a little more in depth with my thoughts on my choices.
* Ante-Station Zone: I personally really like seeing 2D stages in SRB2. I know it's a pretty unpopular choice to have 2D sections in a 3D Sonic game, but unlike in most of the official games, I always felt that SRB2 has shown a whole lot more potential for having really cool 2D Sections or entire stages, since the way it's physics works tends to lend itself a lot more to 2D platformer sections, and Ante-Station Zone really shows a lot of that potential being used. The dynamic angles especially. The whole time, I just kept getting wowed with how much was done with it, like the use of having platforms come from the foreground and background, and you had to time your jumps with when the platforms where in the playing field. This was definitely the one I feel was the best out of the Single Player entries.
* Hollow Hill Zone: Even though Ante-Station is the best one, Hollow Hill is the one I think most people will think is the best, and for good reason. The visuals are heccing beautiful, and the layout was also pretty good. The coded mini-cutscenes were all really cool to see as well, I definitely wasn't expecting to see any.
* Falcon Emissary Zone: Airship stages are always cool to see, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. What really stood out to me was the one section where it gets all rainy and windy, and then you realize that the winds are so strong that jumping basically isn't an option. It was a pretty cool challenge that I never could've expected, though it did last a little shorter than I'd hope.
* Lava Temple Zone: This one probably has the most unique visuals out of all the entries. It was definitely interesting to just see all of it while going through the stage.
* Zaxel's Thunder Yard: The signs at the start were pretty charming to me for some reason, and I don't know why, but the electric fences causing you to hover up slowly was really neat to me. The fake out signpost was also great.
* Teal Tundra, Abyss Caverns, and Blizzard Bastion Zones: These 3 are sort of interchangable to me, and don't have too much to say about them. Teal Tundra was very pretty visually, Blizzard Bastion had some really cool stage layouts, but wasn't the biggest fan of the heavy fog, even though it was kinda the point, and I really don't have anything to say on Abyss Caverns. It was just a pretty decent stage.
* Ridge Rapids and Bombastic Beach Zone: Both of these have the exact same issue. I absolutely loved how pretty they were, but they just end so soon. I really wanted to experience more of it, but both were just over not long after they started.
* Drenched Dam Zone: It was cool seeing a race with Metal, but I really wasn't a fan of all the invisible walls. It felt pretty restricted, because the stage looks way more open than it is, being much more like a strict set of hallways. This wouldn't even be an issue if the stage properly reflected this, but instead, it looks way more open, and resulted in constantly running into invisible walls trying to take the fastest possible routes since it was a race. If either the stage wasn't as restrictive, or the visuals better reflected the actual layout and where you can and can't go, I think that'd make the stage way more enjoyable.
* Fort Sunset Zone: This stage seemed really cool initially, until it quickly became apparent that the actual playing field wasn't very big, and it just became like playing the Multiplayer Bluespheres levels with a new coat of paint.
* Emerald Glade Zone: This felt a lot like a very early sandbox stage rather than a full level. Plus, the emerald shard's spawn points made it really easy to complete the stage in a matter of seconds. Even had two of them spawn literally right next to each other.