Many consider Sonic 3 to be the best 2D Sonic game. I prefer the original, but this is a must buy for old school fans.
So what does Sonic 3 do to improve the series? Well it gave us WAY better special stages than we received in Sonic 2. It looks great and graphics still hold up today, considering this is a 16-bit game. They gave us the ability to get different kinds of shields, which was a cool idea at the time. It did introduce the character Knuckles to the series. And this certainly feels more polished when compared to the first two games.
There are a couple things that haven't aged well about this game though. Some of the level design is just atrocious. One in particular, Carnival Zone, is a weak attempt at re-creating the very popular Casino Night Zone but it fails miserably. For the first time in any Sonic game I have played, I got lost on a level. This happens on a couple levels here, but the Carnival Zone is the worst offender.
This problem is due to the overall change in level design in the game. In the first two games, you basically just moved to the right and you would sometimes move up and down off the screen to find secrets, rings, etc. In Sonic 3, the game forces you to go all over the place (including backwards) which leads to confusing moments where you don't know where to go next. It's very annoying and frustrating.
Another gripe I had was the fact that the end of the game is very anti-climactic. The end of Sonic 2 was excellent due to you getting to hop onto a plane while Tails flew you around the level. Then you jumped onto Robotnik's ship. It was a great way to end the game. In Sonic 3, there is no ending. In fact, after I beat the game I was surprised to find out........that was it. I didn't remember this game being so short. Sonic 3 is shorter than Sonic 2, but they could have made the ending of the game better.
And how could I do a Sonic 3 review without commenting on the new character, Knuckles. In Sonic 3, Knuckles makes his first appearance even if it's just a series of cameos. You don't get to play as Knuckles unless you have the 'Sonic & Knuckles' game, which will then let you use him in Sonic 3. Instead, Knuckles shows up every now and then to thwart Sonic & Tail's progress. He's not really a 'bad guy', but more a rival to Sonic. I wish they would have used him more in the story of the game, as essentially this is still Sonic vs. Robotnik.
Other than what I have mentioned, this is your typical Sonic 2D platformer. And that alone makes it a must purchase in my opinion. This Xbox Live version does add the ability to save your game anywhere, which is extremely handy. There is a time attack mode. And there is also graphics 'smoothing' option, but I tend to stick to the original look as the smoothing option makes the game look funky.
Sonic 3 is a must buy for any fan of the Sonic series. Sonic was at his best when he was on the Genesis, and many feel Sonic 3 was the best of the bunch. I prefer the original myself, but there is no arguing that Sonic 3 is an essential game in the series and one of the best.