* AntiClimaxBoss: The normal final boss is insultingly easy due to the boss's slow reaction time and having only one simplistic attack that is very easy to dodge. The TrueFinalBoss, on the other hand, is [[ThatOneBoss anything]] '''[[ThatOneBoss but]]''' [[ThatOneBoss easy.]]
* GoddamnedBats: The Egg Saucers in Silver Castle. While barely any more threatening than a usual badnik on their own, they pop up frequently and in three different forms, with the saw blade version being the most annoying to deal with due to the cramped hallways and the game's physics and wonky hit detection making it hard to land a clean hit on them. The parts where you have to outrun a spiked wall also graciously places some of these enemies in your path just out of your small field of view so you can accidentally run or jump into them while you're trying to escape.
* ItsEasySoItSucks: One of the big complaints about the game besides its slow speed, wonky mechanics and all-around uninspired design is that, Blue Marine, the real final boss and bits of FakeDifficulty aside, the game is incredibly easy due to the very basic and short level design with sparse enemy placement combined with Sonic's double jump and Knuckles' glide/wall climb, and the fact that you only lose 10 rings per hit. Even the Chaos Emerald sidequest, which has zero room for error, is just annoying at worst.
* ItsShortSoItSucks: Another common complaint is that with only five main Zones[[note]]In comparison to the six you get in ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog18Bit Sonic 1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog28Bit 2]]'', ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos Chaos]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble Triple Trouble]]''[[/note]], simplistic Special Stages and much shorter and sparser level design, the game can easily be beaten in roughly half an hour of play.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Some can put up with the games' mediocrities for the opportunity to play as Knuckles, being the only 8-bit Sonic platformer you are able to do so.
* PortingDisaster: The [[NoExportForYou Brazil-exclusive]] UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem port at least alleviates some of the game's FakeDifficulty due to the wider field view, but the port was clearly a rush job due to the levels not being accommodated to it and thus numerous graphical artifacts and glitches abound (the title screen and special stages are also letterboxed in the same small view of the original due to this), and the sprites are slightly dumbed down due to the Master System's smaller color palette. And due to the game's large ROM, it doesn't work on early Sega Master System models.
* SequelDifficultyDrop: Bits of FakeDifficulty aside, the game is significantly easier than the previous Sonic Game Gear titles, even ''VideoGame/SonicChaos'', due to Sonic's double jump (and to a lesser extent, Knuckles' glide/wall climbing), the sparse and short level design, and only losing 10 rings per hit. The game's only real challenges come from the tricky Chaos Emerald sidequest, the whole Blue Marine Zone, and the very difficult TrueFinalBoss.
* SimilarlyNamedWorks: With ''Sonic 3D Blast'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn. Though not related beyond featuring the Sonic franchise and rendered sprites, ''Sonic Blast'' was released at the same time as ''Sonic 3D Blast'', and marketed alongside it in North American advertisements. This did not happen outside North America, as ''Sonic Blast'' is called ''G-Sonic'' in Japan, and ''Sonic 3D Blast'' is called ''Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island'' in all other regions.
* SoOkayItsAverage: While not as poorly regarded as ''VideoGame/SonicLabyrinth'' is, ''Sonic Blast'' is considered by fans to be a very mediocre game at best, and a big step down from ''VideoGame/SonicChaos'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTripleTrouble'', due to its slow, clunky and all around uninspired design, short length and low difficulty.
* ThatOneBoss:
** The Blue Marine boss encounter can be frustrating due to how sporadically the air bubbles pop up, dooming you to an unfair defeat. Oh yeah, and even if you ''do'' beat the boss, if you run out of air during your victory pose, [[KaizoTrap you still have to beat the boss all over again!]]
** The true final boss is an Eggman mech shaped like a cracked egg with two spikes on the top and spikes covering both parts of the shell. To hit him successfully you have to jump on the lower portion of the egg without getting hit by the spikes on either portion, then hit the top portion that isn't covered by spikes. While you're doing this, and after landing a hit, it shoots fire at you, and for the last few hits the bottom shell moves as you stand on it. You start the battle with 99 rings and can ''still'' die.
* ThatOneLevel:
** Blue Marine Zone, due to being a labyrinthine nightmare of deep water (with far fewer and further between air bubbles than most underwater ''Sonic'' levels), confusing pipes, strong currents that uncontrollably shove you into the wrong pipes, and a ''very'' well-hidden exit in Act 2. Then, to top it all off, you've got the frustrating UnderwaterBossBattle mentioned above... and you'd better hope you found that Special Stage Ring as well.
** Silver Castle, while nowhere near as aggravating, can be annoying due to its claustrophobic level design combined with the enemies' [[HitboxDissonance odd hitboxes]], making it hard to land a strike on them without getting hurt yourself. Playing as [[BonusFeatureFailure Knuckles]] can make it even more frustrating.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: At the very least, the game is one of the best looking Game Gear titles for its pre-rendered sprites. Some argue that [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this is to the games detriment though]], as the graphics are pretty much the ''only'' thing they put any real effort into and that the bulky sprites combined with the small screen view actually made the game slower and harder to play.
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