The Hill Is Always Greener

Hydrokitty (Part 2)

We've locked on and locked in for the second half of our Sonic 3 & Knuckles retrospective! And this week, it's all about the "& Knuckles" part, as Sonic continues to clash with Robotic and his new red-dreaded rival across mushrooms, deserts, lava, and even space, in the conclusion to this epic Mega Drive duology.
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic & Knuckles(0:03:07) Mushroom Hill Zone(0:17:08) Flying Battery Zone(0:26:12) Sandopolis Zone(0:37:15) Lava Reef Zone/Hidden Palace Zone(0:56:00) Sky Sanctuary Zone(1:10:26) Death Egg Zone(1:27:49) The Doomsday Zone/Ending(1:38:40) Other bits and bobs(1:48:09) Final thoughts(1:57:09) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree

Hydrokitty (Part 1)

Happy anniversary to us! To celebrate 50 episodes of The Hill Is Always Greener, we're taking a look back at a game currently celebrating its own milestone anniversary, Sonic the Hedgehog 3! The capstone to the original trilogy provides for endless discussion, including how a whole separate game was made because of McDonald's, the *multiple* renditions of many music tracks, and the ongoing debate as to just what color Knuckles actually is. In fact, this episode ended up being so huge that, much like Sonic 3 itself, we had to split it in two! Tune in next week for our second half, all about Sonic & Knuckles!
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (& Knuckles)(0:08:45) The box art(0:11:38) The split/"lock-on technology"(0:21:58) Competition mode(0:24:55) Knock knock, it's Knuckles(0:28:20) Other changes and new features(0:36:32) The story(0:40:19) Our various versions(0:46:47) Angel Island (and Blue Spheres)(1:04:25) Hydro City(1:11:36) Marble Garden(1:17:32) Carnival Night(1:23:30) Ice Cap(1:30:03) Launch Base
Amie Waters on Linktree
The Sonic 3 and Laputa Connection
Retronauts Episode 524: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Part 1
Retronauts Episode 542: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Part 2

Barrot Cake (ft. Gospel)

I've heard of killing a franchise, but this is ridiculous! Sonic has been found dead, and everyone is under suspicion! To figure out just whodunit, it's going to take our crack team of podcast detectives, joined by special guest and visual novel creator Gospel, to find all the clues, interrogate all the suspects, and discover the truth behind what makes this free game from the Sega social media team such a delightful labor of love. And make sure you keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a full playthrough of the game by the cast of Sonic F!
(0:00:00) Intro(0:05:23) Main topic: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog(0:18:45) Tutorial(0:30:57) Think!(0:42:09) Saloon car(0:51:00) Library car(0:55:40) Casino car(1:05:50) Lounge car(1:09:27) Conductor car(1:19:26) The finale(1:28:19) Final thoughts(1:45:00) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
The Making Of The Sonic Murder Game That Took The Internet By Storm - Kotaku
How Sega Murdered Sonic The Hedgehog - Game Informer
SHINRAI - Broken Beyond Despair

Stupid Liberal Lizard!

We've once again reached that strange point where we have to talk about a new game released post-podcast, and this time, Sega is playing the classics once again with Sonic Superstars. Multiple playable characters, giant levels, Emerald powers... It's a whole lot, but the real question is: is it good? Well, that's what we're hopefully going to find out in today's exciting episode.
(0:00:00) Intro/Main topic: Sonic Superstars(0:03:10) Development history(0:26:09) The game itself(0:41:43) Level layouts(0:53:32) Special stages and Emerald powers(1:09:42) Easter eggs!(1:13:00) Bosses(1:22:15) The second story mode(1:36:11) Trip's characterization(1:41:50) The true final boss(1:56:03) Multiplayer(2:03:27) The music(2:16:25) Final thoughts(2:27:57) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
"Stupid liberal lizard"
How to beat THAT boss
Windii's translations

Nibbles The Rooster (ft. CyberneticPinkeye)

We're heading back to South Island and Westside Island to take in the local sounds! Special guest CyberneticPinkeye joins us to look back at the soundtracks for the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games, along with the original demos for each track by composer Masato Nakamura. Listen in as we try to get more insight on two collections of music that really made our dreams come true.
(0:00:00) Intro(0:04:28) Main topic: Sonic 1 and 2 soundtracks(0:07:32) Shared jingles and incidentals(0:27:30) Sonic 1 incidentals(0:35:05) Green Hill Zone(0:40:36) Marble Zone(0:45:52) Spring Yard Zone(0:49:38) Labyrinth Zone(0:52:57) Star Light Zone(0:56:14) Scrap Brain Zone(1:00:44) Final Zone and ending(1:06:28) Sonic 2 incidentals(1:15:39) Multiplayer stages(1:24:54) Emerald Hill Zone(1:28:27) Chemical Plant Zone(1:32:46) Aquatic Ruin Zone(1:36:40) Casino Night Zone(1:42:37) Hill Top Zone(1:46:20) Mystic Cave Zone(1:49:19) Oil Ocean Zone(1:52:40) Metropolis Zone(1:57:16) Sky Chase Zone(2:01:18) Wing Fortress Zone(2:04:14) Death Egg Zone(2:08:13) Final boss(2:11:05) Ending (Sweet Sweet Sweet/Sweet Dreams)(2:22:42) Unused song ("Hidden Palace")(2:25:06) Final Thoughts(2:29:23) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Nightmare City
MegaDriver - Chemical Plant (MetalHog)
Video Game History Foundation - Sonic 2 Lost Stages Revealed

How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas (original radio play)

This is the unabridged How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas radio play, written and produced by GameBuddy in 2008. It is fully unaltered from its original presentation, save for the removal of one piece of copyrighted music. If you want to hear our commentary, please listen to episode 46 of The Hill Is Always Greener. Thank you so much, and happy holidays.
(00:00) How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas(18:18) Credits(20:43) Blooper reel

Fruitcake Joke

'Tis the season for nostalgia, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la la la! As a special holiday treat, we're getting a little more personal and going back 15 years to look at "How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas", a fan radio play written by GameBuddy that most of us participated in. This was the first project that we and much of the Sonic F cast worked on together, so in the spirit of the season, we'd like to share something that meant quite a bit to us with all of you. Happy holidays, everyone, and thank you for continuing to support the show.
(Note: if you want to hear the original radio play without any of our dumb commentary, it'll also be available in the podcast feed the same day this goes up, so make sure you download that as well.)
(0:00:00) Intro(0:03:28) Main topic: How Metal Sonic Stole Christmas(0:18:00) The cast(0:42:38) Commentary begins(1:01:42) Post-commentary discussion(1:16:52) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree

Egg Cryptid

We've equipped all our best skill cards and are ready for a new episode all about one of Sonic's more unique spinoffs, Sonic Battle! This GBA fighting game starring an adorable robot OC had a surprisingly extensive single-player campaign that gave a lot of characters some much-needed time in the spotlight...though for one character, that's not really a good thing. Does the story still hold up? Is there more depth to the combat than at first glance? And why haven't we seen a new Sonic fighting game since? Well, it's time to head back into the blocky 3D arena and find out!
(0:00:00) Intro(0:02:25) Main topic: Sonic Battle(0:21:43) Emerl(0:27:35) Sonic's story(1:00:54) Tails' story(1:05:09) Rouge's story(1:12:19) Amy's story(1:25:05) Knuckles' story(1:31:22) Cream's story(1:35:52) Shadow's story(1:43:06) Emerl's story(2:00:27) Minigames and adaptations(2:03:48) Final thoughts(2:14:09) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Sonic Battle - Game Script
Prof. Gerald's Journal

Every Character is Named ’Butt’ (ft. Ryan MacDonald)

It's still thinking, and 25 years later, we still wanna talk about it! To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Japanese Dreamcast launch, we're joined by former game journalist Ryan MacDonald to talk about our memories of Sega's final home console, including Ryan's time covering it on the press side for GameSpot. Join us as we revisit the highs of its launch, the lows of its discontinuation, and all the weird, wonderful games that made Sega's last hurrah so special for so many people.
(0:00:00) Intro(0:19:57) Main topic: Sega Dreamcast(0:37:55) Retro consoles and collecting(0:53:33) The games(1:28:07) What went wrong?(1:44:02) Aftermarket and legacy(2:00:21) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Ryan’s YouTube channel
Sega CD CES demo
General Chaos
The Getaway: High Speed 2
Hidekazu Yukawa Commercial Compilation
"It's Thinking" Commercial Compilation
Mario 64 grading scandal
Sega Heat.net
E3 1995 - "$299"
VM2 on IndieGogo

I Wanna Go Zoomie (ft. Boomba)

How do you follow up a game that changed gaming and created an entertainment icon? ...I dunno, but they did it. The gang is joined by VTuber Boomba to reminisce on the 1992 classic, Sonic the Hedgehog 2! Sonic Team's sophomore outing changed things up significantly from the original, not least of which through its introduction of a little two-tailed pal for our fast-footed hero! Does this speedy sequel stand up to the test of time? And just how much of the game got left in the dust in its mad dash to make the holiday season? Well, toss your younger sibling the second controller and listen in to find out!
(0:00:00) Intro(0:09:26) Main topic: Sonic the Hedgehog 2(0:18:10) The spin dash(0:23:51) Tails!(0:36:23) 2P versus(0:37:40) Super Sonic(0:40:33) Title screen(0:41:33) Emerald Hill Zone(0:45:54) Special stages(0:57:52) Chemical Plant Zone(1:03:59) Aquatic Ruin Zone(1:09:35) Casino Night Zone(1:18:04) Hill Top Zone(1:26:31) Mystic Cave Zone(1:34:07) Oil Ocean Zone(1:43:04) Metropolis Zone(1:50:01) Sky Chase Zone/Wing Fortress Zone(1:59:27) Death Egg Zone(2:05:58) Ending(2:09:00) Hidden Palace Zone(2:15:55) Other cut zones(2:22:15) Other versions(2:31:55) Final thoughts(2:37:04) Outro
Amie Waters on Linktree
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog 116 - Tails' New Home
A Day to Remember - You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic
TailsTube #1 (feat. Sonic)
Tee Lopes - Hill Top Zone
Real Life Smash Bros Brawl Trailer! + Real Life Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trailer (Less-Potato Quality)
Sonic 2 Special Edition - Let's Play!