Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Metropolis Zone, Act 3

I think I've decided that I don't like Sonic the Hedgehog that much. Oh, I think the concept is really neat and speeding through levels through loops and twirling platforms is great fun. The issue is lack of control. In a platformer, I like to be able to control where I go and what I do. Because of the speed, Sonic gives you much less of this and it can just get you in trouble.

I have long believed that I enjoyed the first Sonic more than this one, and I think that still holds true. The original Sonic the Hedgehog may not have had as many innovative level features as this one, and certainly none of the levels in it lived up to what was shown in the Green Hill Zone level, but similarly you seemed to be less likely to be punished for speeding ahead, which is pretty much Sonic's raison d'etre. Far too many times in Sonic 2, I zoom along only to hit an enemy or maybe some spikes or occasionally fall into a pit. Getting hit by an enemy can largely be avoided by crouching into a ball, but then you have even less control of Sonic. It just gets frustrating at times.

Speaking of frustrating, I get really annoyed at the bonus stages in Sonic 2. The pseudo-3D effect is nice, but the way it is laid out you have very little warning when rings of mines appear. Tails is nearly useless because, though he can pick up stray rings and such, he also runs into mines just as frequently. If he stayed a little closer to Sonic, or maybe just to the right or left of him, he wouldn't have this problem, but as it stands you pretty much have to rely on getting to the ring total yourself and not counting on him having any rings for you. With enough practice, I'm sure I could probably beat all of the bonus stages (I can generally beat the first four), but it just seems that would require mind-numbing practice.