The boss has a fun thought out design and a solid pattern. Makes for a good timing challenge if you want to beat it as quickly as possible, but is not too challenging if you choose to take your time. The zone's right up there with Aquatic Ruin in having a massive skill ceiling. Such a great stage!

The rival battles on top of the boss list... very interesting! Would you attribute that to their pacing compared to the traditional bosses?

This hurts... but I can't argue lol

I grew up playing the PC port of the game and special stages aside, its essentially IS the Saturn version, but it doesn't get the love that the other Sonic titles do when it comes to the modding scene. it's one of those games no one really cares about but I DO CARE YOU HEAR ME, 3D BLAST IS GOOD.

Even in the Resident Evil 2 remake (I know RE titles being considered Metroidvanias is somewhat contentious) I lost all sense of drive and momentum the moment I left the station. I feel like this genre could benefit so much from smaller scope and focus, but many titles tend toward the opposite.

The largest Metroidvania I have finished is probably Metroid Dread, but I chalk my enjoyment of that one more up to how engaging the moment to moment gameplay feels and not an underlying sense of desire to explore. Hollow Knight? Lovely game but didn't feel compelled to explore that game to the end.

I wish more Metroidvanias were willing to be smaller, denser spaces vs. Massive, sprawling labyrinths. The amount of Metroidvanias I have actually finished are limited, my favorite of which being Metroid Zero Mission and Pseudoregalia, both of which have decently sized but not wildly large maps.

Metroidvanias have always been a genre I like more in theory than in practice. Recontectualizing a revisited space by way of new traversal tools or keys, etc. is great, but sometimes when I enter a large new space with multiple doors each blocked off by different "locks" it can feel exasperating.

SA2 under Secret Rings has me suffering lol

Superstars was willing to be the first fully original Classic title since what, Advanced maybe? For that alone, I am VERY appreciative of it. But the late stage bosses, some weak stage design in places (Golden Palace had such wasted potential) and other nitpicks keeps it markedly below Mania for me.

To specify, the Revisited version with Kellin Quinn is the version I have been listening to more lately but the Merry Kirk-Holmes original is just as good and works better outside of the boss fight context. It just works on such an emotional level for me.

Shadow Gens was a massive step forward from Frontiers in general controls, so I hope they keep going in that direction! Mods are always an option but I am always waiting for the day that a vanilla Sonic release is enough for me again!