>>15208052
>>15207830 (OP)
Sonic 3 + Knuckles (With the romhack to add the improvements and fixes) I think is a really solid entry, though I think Mania is superior. Though there are quite a few things Sonic 3 and Knuckles does better.
For one, I think the difficulty and pacing in Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a bit off, though part of that is due to being two different games. It just seems off, and while Mania's pacing can be a bit awkward, I think the difficulty scaling is handled better. Likewise the leveldesign of Mania I think it just top notch, easily the best in a Sonic 2D game.
One area I think Sonic 3 + Knuckles really nails better is story and atmosphere, and I blame Sega for this. Sonic 3 and Knuckles follows the resurrection, fall, and more of the Death Egg, there's an actual and neat story with it. Meanwhile Mania's story is just Robotnik getting the Phantom Ruby and pulling shenanigans with it, and building a Titanic Monarch. The stage transitions, even in Plus, feel weaker and just less cohesive. It's a bit of a shame, especially when you take into account how Sega made them integrate Forces into the story. I think the returning zones would've been fine, but the Phantom Ruby being shoehorned in really hurt.
Sonic Mania feels like a best of collection, and I still love it for that. I just wish Sega didn't force Sonic Forces into it so mania could've stood on it's own, so Classic Sonic wasn't retconned into from another dimension, and so we could've seen the original plot they had in mind. The Hard Boiled Heavies, and two of the original stages being based on Robotnik controlling the media make me wonder what the original plans for the story was.
On minor notes, the Drop Dash is fucking fantastic, Ray is great but Mighty feels a little superfluous, since unlike Knuckles, Tails, or Ray he doesn't really change movement options (at most he bounces and goes downward super fast). He feels a bit like an easy mode since he can destroy enemies no one else can and is semi-immune to spikes and enemies. Also hopefully the Hard Boiled Heavies won't be forgotten immediately. I still wish Metal Sonic and Fang the Sniper had become playable characters, fuck the people whining about Amy not being playable.