History Awesome / Sonic3AndKnuckles

[[caption-width-right:320:Pictured above: [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames the greatest final battle in the series so far]]]]

* The sheer scope of this game, just look at how many levels it features. (Most likely influenced by how many levels they had to cut out from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2''.)

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*** What also makes this a CMOA for Eggman is unlike most of his plots, which are foiled by Sonic at the end of other games, the whole Death Egg saga takes from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' all the way to the ''Sonic & Knuckles'' portion of this game for Sonic to stop it completely. It took two games (or three if you consider the two portions of this title their own games) to completely foil this one plot, which proves how much a {{determinator}} Eggman can be. That, and he also managed to create Big Arm, a powerful mecha capable of knocking the rings out of ''Super Sonic'' if it got a hold of him.[[note]]This isn't intentional, though, it's just a glitch.[[/note]] Too bad he did not account for something stronger than Super Sonic. Hyper Sonic, for example.

** The sheer fact Eggman offers a climactic battle for Super Sonic (note this was before Super transformations became the norm for the series' TrueFinalBoss and the ability was largely just a permanent invincible power up). His weaponry, while unable to harm Super, can blindside and send him off course, meaning Eggman spends the entire face-off deflecting, stalling, and forcing you to frantically keep check on your ring supply, lest you wish to depower and fall to your death in space.

*** The fact that after reaching the end of Death Egg Zone Act 2, you have to fight a total of SIX boss battles (counting all the phases of the DEZ and TDZ bosses) is a testament how prepared, determined, and serious Eggman is in this game.

* Mastering Sonic's Insta-Shield, or Double Spin Attack as it's known in Japanese. Not only can you briefly make yourself invulnerable to a ''lot'' of latent threats and enemy attacks, it can utterly decimate Eggman's machines. For an idea of how powerful this move is, Big Arm is usually invulnerable when it's gliding back and forth along the floor; with good Insta-Shield timing, you can ''pop him through his spikes and get away unharmed,'' pulling off antics and tactics that not even your SuperMode can accomplish.

** Playing as Knuckles feels like a CMOA for him in a way, since his abilities allow him to explore whole new areas that Sonic and Tails couldn't access, and he faces and takes out tougher bosses --most notably Mecha Sonic in his Super form--, making it feel like you're controlling a character who is a whole level above Sonic and Tails.

** Then even after the Death Egg is destroyed, Eggman seemingly gets away with the Master Emerald, except Sonic won't even let him have ''that'', as he turns into Super/Hyper Sonic and gives chase in an epic final battle that set the standard for future final battles in the series. All Eggman can do is desperately try to outlast him as he sends missiles to impede his progress, only for Sonic to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard lead them right back to him.]] Then all Eggman can do is fly away in his final weapon, sending bombs flying towards Sonic to get him away, only for Sonic to repeatedly ram into him until Eggman's robot is destroyed and he finally loses the Master Emerald, thwarting his plan for good.
** In hindsight the very fact that Eggman's first getaway ship could not be harmed directly by Super Sonic and could only be destroyed by ''its own artillery'' suggests it was quite an unsung tank.

* Mastering Sonic's Insta-Shield, or Double Spin Attack as it's known in Japan. Not only can you briefly make yourself invulnerable to a ''lot'' of latent threats and enemy attacks, it can utterly decimate Eggman's machines. For an idea of how powerful this move is, Big Arm is usually invulnerable when it's gliding back and forth along the floor; with good Insta-Shield timing, you can ''pop him through his spikes and get away unharmed,'' pulling off antics and tactics that not even your SuperMode can accomplish.

* A meta example: Creator/SonicTeam getting the sound team of ''Music/MichaelJackson'' on board for the soundtrack.
* By abusing debug, you can face off against three Super Mecha Sonics. While this would be an awesome moment on its own, it is made even better by the fact that defeating the first causes it drops onto the ground deactivated, and defeating the second causes it to get destroyed like a miniboss, with the third leaving as the character you play as does a act clear animation and then the zone starts exploding as it plays the victory cutscene.

** Drill Mobile battle at the end of Act 2 of Marble Garden Zone, Eggman uses his machine to destroy the stage itself around Sonic, dooming him to certain death. Tails, however, swoops in to carry his idol and chase Eggman down for a battle in the skies. Tails has very little stamina in the air in normal gameplay, and less so while carrying Sonic, but he hangs on for the whole boss fight and even manages to catch Sonic if he ever should fall, and then for good measure keeps going long enough for the sun to set in the background.

** All of ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' is a crowning moment for Eggman, simply due to the sheer amount of effort he puts into it from start to finish. In the ''first'' level, he starts a forest fire with Sonic in the middle, and then as soon as the hero escapes, cue an airship bombardment. And as awesome as Doomsday Zone was, the preceding boss fight featured Eggman piloting his gigantic mecha, Kyodai Eggman Robo, it is so titanic that its head almost filled the entire screen -- and so did its laser beam, incidentally.

* Temporarily defying GoodIsDumb, Knuckles gets his personal SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome as he completes his HeelFaceTurn at the end of Hidden Palace Zone, coolly smashing the wall and leading Sonic and Tails towards Eggman. Depending on who you're playing as, he either collapses from pain and exhaustion or battles [[FanNickname Super Mecha Sonic]] for the Master Emerald.

** Then even after the Death Egg is destroyed, Eggman seemingly gets away with the Master Emerald, except Sonic won't even let him have ''that'', as he turns into Super/Hyper Sonic and gives chase in an epic final battle that set the standard for future final battles in the series. All Eggman can do is desperately try to outlast him as he sends missiles to impede his progress, only for Sonic to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard lead them right back to him.]] Then all Eggman can do is fly away in the Death Egg Robot, sending bombs flying towards Sonic to get him away, only for Sonic to repeatedly ram into him until Eggman's robot is destroyed and he finally loses the Master Emerald, thwarting his plan for good.

* By abusing debug, you can face off against three Super Mecha Sonics. While this would be an awesome moment on it’s own, it is made even better by the fact that defeating the first causes it drops onto the ground deactivated, and defeating the second causes it to get destroyed like a miniboss, with the third leaving as the character you play as does a act clear animation and then the zone starts exploding as it plays the victory cutscene.

* Mastering Sonic's Insta-Shield, or Double Spin Attack as it's known in Japan. Not only can you briefly make yourself invulnerable to a ''lot'' of latent threats and enemy attacks, it can utterly decimate Eggman's machines. For an idea of how powerful this move is, Big Arm is usually invulnerable when it's gliding back and forth along the floor; with good Insta-Shield timing, you can ''pop him through his spikes and get away unharmed.''

[[caption-width-right:320:Pictured above: [[BestBossEver the greatest final battle in the series so far]]]]

* By abusing debug, you can face off against three Super Mecha Sonics. While this would be an awesome moment on it’s own, it is made even better by the fact that defeating the first causes it drops onto the ground deactivated, and defeating the second causes it to get destroyed like a miniboss, with the third leaving as the character you play as does a act clear animation and then plays the victory cutscene.

* '''Hyper Sonic''', a fantastic reward for players who manage to collect every Chaos Emerald across both games. All the perks of Super Sonic (faster speed and invincibility), the Thunder Shield's double jump, the Fire Shield's dash, the Water Shield's bounce attack minus the bounce as well as the ability to breathe underwater... really, the only downside (aside from [[EpilepticFlashingLights the obvious]]) is that the Thunder Shield's ring magnetism is absent, and even that can be arranged by just finding the shield yourself in this state!

** [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In-universe,]] this fight is much more badass. Knuckles is known for his raw strength and martial prowess, to the point that he can punch throw rocks Sonic or Tails have to spindash through without even flicking his wrists. [[LightningBruiser Sonic]] still wins, thanks to his superior speed, agility and skill. No wonder Knuckles sees Sonic as [[WorthyOpponent a formidable foe]], despite spending much of the game mocking him.

** The sheer fact Eggman offers a climatic battle for Super Sonic (note this was before Super transformations became the norm for the series' TrueFinalBoss and the ability was largely just a permanent invincible power up). His weaponry, while unable to harm Super, can blindside and send him off course, meaning Eggman spends the entire face-off deflecting, stalling, and forcing you to frantically keep check on your ring supply, lest you wish to depower and fall to your death in space.

** In hindsight the very fact that Eggman's first getaway ship could not be harmed directly by Super Sonic and could only be destroyed by ''it's own artillery'' suggests it was quite an unsung tank.

* '''Hyper Sonic''', a fantastic reward for players who manage to collect every Chaos Emerald across both games. All the perks of Super Sonic (faster speed and invincibility), the Thunder Shield's double jump, the Fire Shield's dash, the Water Shield's bounce attack minus the bounce as well as the ability to breathe underwater...really, the only downside (aside from [[EpilepticFlashingLights the obvious]]) is that the Thunder Shield's ring magnetism is absent, and even that can be arranged by just finding the shield yourself in this state!

[[caption-width-right:320:Pictured above: the greatest final battle in the series so far]]

** You can play this game for over twenty years and still find new (non-glitch) content within the levels. Check the playthroughs of WebVideo/BrainScratchCommentaries, LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries, [[WebVideo/{{Somecallmejohnny}} Super Gaming Bros.]], or LetsPlay/ClementJ642.

** Knuckles ''punching the Chaos Emeralds right out of Super Sonic''. Invincible Super Sonic BroughtDownToNormal with just one punch.

*** What also makes this a CMOA for Eggman is unlike most of his plots, which are foiled by Sonic at the end of other games, the whole Death Egg saga takes from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' all the way to the ''Sonic & Knuckles'' portion of this game for Sonic to stop it completely. It took two games (or three if you consider the two portions of this title their own games) to completely foil this one plot, which proves how much a {{determinator}} Eggman can be. That, and he also managed to create Big Arm, a powerful mecha capable of knocking the rings out of ''Super Sonic'' if it got a hold of him.[[note]]This isn't intentional, though, it's just a glitch.[[/note]]]] Too bad he did not account for something stronger than Super Sonic. Hyper Sonic, for example.