Line #22 Awesome/Sonic3AndKnuckles


1	!!Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to all Awesome pages, so all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
2	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doomsdaylevel.PNG]]
3	[[caption-width-right:320:Pictured above: [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames the greatest final battle in the series so far]].]]
4	----
5	* 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''.)
6	** You can play this game for over twenty years and still find [[EasterEgg new (non-glitch) content within the levels.]] Check the playthroughs of WebVideo/BrainScratchCommentaries, LetsPlay/HellfireCommentaries, [[WebVideo/{{Somecallmejohnny}} Super Gaming Bros.]], or LetsPlay/ClementJ642.
7	* 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, [[ThatOneBoss 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.
8	* The opening of Ice Cap Zone for Sonic, which features a completely automated snowboarding sequence that is pure style (although you can make Sonic jump, which is necessary if you want to collect all 50 rings from the slope).
9	* The boss fight against Knuckles at Hidden Palace Zone. It's really easy, but what makes it so awesome is that you ''finally'' get revenge for everything he's put you through since you first saw him at the beginning of the game.
10	** It's doubly awesome if you're playing Sonic and Knuckles alone or you're playing the Sonic-only campaign in 3K: the fight is one-on-one, making the battle more climactic than it is with Tails tagging along with you. Sonic has a score to settle, and he's gonna do it, right here, right now.
11	** [[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 through 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.
12	* Eggman is not kidding around in this game.
13	** At the end of Act 2 of Marble Garden Zone, Eggman uses his Egg Drillster Mk II 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.
14	** Really, the fact that Eggman '''''destroyed the entire level just to kill Sonic''''' is, in itself, a CMOA for both Eggman, who thought of it, and Sonic, who survived it.
15	** The end of Lava Reef Zone. Sonic's getting close to the Death Egg, and Eggman is NOT having it. He has Knuckles throw Sonic into the depths of the volcano, uses the Death Egg itself to unfreeze the magma chamber, and fires missiles at Sonic, forcing him to run away from annihilation... straight toward a lava-fall that plunges into a pit made entirely of magma. But, knowing that Sonic could even survive a lava pit, he ''follows him'' down there with a heavily armored machine so tough that only he himself can damage it. Once he's defeated, Eggman is so stunned that what follows in the Hidden Palace Zone is pure desperation.
16	** 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, Giant Eggman Robo, it is so titanic that its head almost filled the entire screen -- and so did its laser beam, incidentally.
17	*** 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 to how prepared, determined, and serious Eggman is in this game.
18	*** That he recovered, repaired, and launched the Death Egg ''twice'' in the span of just one game is a feat of awesome all its own.
19	*** 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 ahold 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.
20	* Doomsday Zone, where you fly through space as Super Sonic chasing down the ship, avoiding asteroids...
21	** The sheer fact that 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.
22	* 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 Super Mecha Sonic for the Master Emerald.
23	** Knuckles ''punching the Chaos Emeralds right out of Super Sonic''. Invincible Super Sonic BroughtDownToNormal with just one punch. And keep in mind, this is our ''introduction'' to the guardian of Angel Island.
24	*** Even the official site Sonic Channel commented on that scene's awesomeness:
25	--->"Knuckles' encounter with Sonic was a shocking one...! Knuckles, tricked by Eggman into thinking Sonic was the bad guy, suddenly attacked him and caused him to fall over. At that time, Sonic was in his "Super Sonic" state, using the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Even though it took him by surprise, Knuckles' power to stop Sonic in this state is something to behold...!"
26	** 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.
27	** The fact that ''regular'' Knuckles managed to defeat ''Super'' Mecha Sonic. Granted, this one couldn't keep his Super form for long, which Knuckles exploited. But still, how many people would be able to survive against someone who's actively trying to kill them while [[SuperMode turned Super]]?
28	* Sonic's determination to defeat Eggman and stop the Death Egg once and for all (especially awesome in the Japanese ''S&K'' backstory, where we see him vowing that he won't rest until this one is destroyed). And the fact that he succeeded in the end despite everything Eggman and Knuckles threw at him over the course of the game, which included ''dropping him into a volcano and shooting the Death Egg's huge [[DeathRay death beams]] at it''.
29	** 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.
30	** 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.
31	* Sky Sanctuary Zone: Chasing the recently revived Death Egg through floating ruins high in the sky as it escapes into space, and then succeeding in boarding it at the very last second just as the whole area crumbles under your feet makes for a very epic part and shows the title character's unstoppable [[{{Determinator}} determination]] and [[ImplacableMan implacability]].
32	* Death Egg Zone: The ring shooter machines that send Sonic all over the place in neon yellow rings. They make another appearance in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4''.
33	* '''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 seizure potential]]) 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!
34	* '''Super Tails''', especially when you unleash the Flickies. Just the mere fact he ''gains'' a super form after collecting all the emeralds accounts for this.
35	* '''Hyper Knuckles''', basically Hyper Sonic but every time he glides into a wall at a great enough speed, he ''causes an earthquake that destroys all enemies onscreen''.

Context Awesome / Sonic3AndKnuckles