And yeah, it seems like the first four Megadrive games really hit gold, even with their remakes (Green Hill -> Emerald Hill -> Angel Island -> Mushroom Hill, Scrap Brain -> Chemical Plant, Spring Yard -> Casino Night -> Carnival Night); yes, there was some unoriginality there, but it was pulled off with a fair amount of finesse, and often the recrations were better than the originals (except maybe Carnival Night; it’s hard to beat Casino Night).

After that, it just descended into bullshit, and whatever magic they once had was lost, apparently for good. :/

I love them visually too, the clusterfuck of lights and neons is perfect at expressing what it needs to be, but the bumpers and annoying features of the level just make me want to scream. Particularly in newer incarnations where the casino stages insist on having some broken pinball minigame mid-level that must be completed to advance further. The Rush series also poorly imitates them and makes them worse with innumerable death pits, including ones that you will drop down 70-80% of the time.

In fact, now that I think about it, nearly every Sonic game just tries to do Chemical Plant/Scrap Brain, Casino, Green Hill, Sandopolis and Icecap. Over, and over again, all while ultimately missing the mark and leaving me with a bitter, disappointed taste in my mouth.

Much like the rest of the series.