Man this game is mind blowing in its own right.This is the cream of the 16 bit , platform crop.It even beats out super mario world.
Amazing graphics , layers of back grounds , scrolling , music , tight controls , awesome level design, devious 3-d special stages, and 2 playable characters.
However if you plug this in to sonic and knuckles the adventure becomes giant even by todays standards.Its hard to mention one without the other.I remember when sonic 3 first came out.It blew my mind from lush green jungles to amazing carnival inspired zones.Plug it into to sonic and knuckles and no 16 bit platformer compares to this day to this giant powerhouse.
Alone or with sonic and knuckles its amazing but combined its an incredible timeless adventure.