Road to All Platinum Medals in Time Attack: Underwater Edition (Progress as of 5/27/2024)

Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers but underwater. I contemplated doing this for a while but it's finally here. I expected this to be a bit of a slog compared to my previous progress videos, but this turned out to be the most fun I had on a video so far. Is this a result of me getting better at the game? Maybe, but the levels themselves were a great deal of fun.

Timestamps:

0:00 Azure Axiom (Amy)
This level is kinda awesome.
Is it entirely underwater? Yeah, but the layout itself is fun and has a ton of room for experimentation. It's definitely up there for one of my favorites despite the fact that I had to spend an hour or so adjusting to the controls.
Not so fun fact: I completely forgot how to drive on land after this (I spent nearly 6 hours on this level alone).

1:58 Weiss Waterway (Metal Sonic)
This level was also a ton of fun. Yes, the mandatory off-road does not feel too good, but the general flow of this level was great. I really was not sure how to play this level prior, so it's a good thing I got some practice on it.

4:00 Pestilence (Sakura)
One of the few sewer levels in this game (I'm surprised there were so many). I don't have any strong feelings about it, the level itself is fine. What I will admit is that landing on those boost pads underwater caused a number of failed runs. The timing was awkward initially, but I eventually got the hang of it.

6:11 Aqua Tunnel (Chao)
Going in I did not expect to like this level, but it turned out to be pretty enjoyable.
How many times did I smash my head against those walls of spikes? More times than I'd like to admit of course. I still had lots of fun discovering an optimal strat for this level, that's what matters most in the end.

8:19 Nova Shore (Knuckles)
I started off with this level for this video since it had the shortest underwater portion. I wanted to take baby steps, but I must have forgotten the fact that I wanted to take this learning process slow since Azure Axiom was the map I did right after this one lmao. Anyways, I did not understand this map before but after learning the layout and understanding the underwater controls, this level is quite nice. What can I say, I love the vibes on this one.

10:11 Bronze Lake (Chao)
1/1 is busted on time attack. I'm just putting that out there if you didn't know this already.
Also, the level itself is alright, it's nothing too crazy when played normally.
It has hot wheels music which is funny. I vividly remember playing a few of those games on my DS... think it was Track Attack and Beat That. Those were fun times.

12:16 Water Palace (Carol)
There isn't much I could do here really; this one is very simple. There is this one cut you could do while boosting, but I don't have sneakers in this mode.
I didn't even know that cut existed until Eggman decided to rubber band his way into it on grand prix. This was after I time attacked it, so I did not get to test this myself.
The map does make a nice thumbnail tho. : ^ )

14:32 Aqueduct Crystal (Amy)
I did not like the og level for its massive shortcut that it had in the start. This version still has the cut, but it's not as broken... on paper. Yes, the tripwire is there but red wall springs are also present. Red/Blue wall springs + triangle dash = speed. I like speed; therefore, I like this level.
This level is beautiful btw.

16:18 Hidden Palace (Tails)
Secret content is neat. This secret level is also pretty neat. I could have been a little neater with my gameplay, but I think I did a decent job regardless. One thing I could say is that I do not understand the wall riding mechanics, I could never neatly cross portions of levels that have this feature. Maybe I could have a "wall-ride edition" of my progress videos, but that might be too niche instead of being neat.


18:59 Emerald Coast (Metal Sonic)
This map is chill. It's very simple, but I appreciate it.
It is probably the best-looking track in the game if I'm being honest.

20:34 Labyrinth Zone (Tikal)
If this level wanted to be accurate to the source material, it should have had blind hazards scattered throughout the entire level. Maybe then this track would be perfect. (I don't have much to say about this one. It's a cute track that made me forget how bad labyrinth zone really is).

22:33 Dragonspire Sewer 1 (Billy Hatcher)
Another sewer level in this game. It's nice and short... and uhhh.... Sonic Advance 4 music is awesome to see here, I'm glad it got some representation. The water is also... surprisingly clean for a sewer system.

24:19 Mega Aqua Lake (Tails Doll)
Again, there is mandatory off-road that makes this one feel pretty sluggish at times. Despite this, I had a thrill with this one. The water level being adjusted each lap added a great sense of variety. I also went fast, I like speed.