Newer versions are basically fanmade levels from NiGHTS into Dreams, played as Super Sonic.

Bonus Stage: Older versions of the game had players traverse around an open area, tasking them with collecting a set number of rings within a time limit.

Bonus Level of Heaven: Aerial Garden Zone, the second Challenge Stage.

It also represents an increase in difficulty thanks to being filled with many stage hazards and pits.

Bleak Level: Pre-2.2 Castle Eggman, on behalf of it being the first of Eggman's personal headquarters with dull colors and constant rain and thunderstorms running throughout.

Big Fancy Castle: Castle Eggman Zone, thanks to both acts being ripe with Marathon Level.

Played straight with the special stage Black Hole Zone, though this one gets handwaved by Sonic being in Super Mode. With space, the countdown timer begins immediately. Going into any areas in Egg Rock Zone that are in open space will begin a countdown much like in the underwater levels that appear seconds before the player drowns.

Batman Can Breathe in Space: Somehow averted.

By 2.1, Knuckles got his sprites entirely reworked, looking more like something in line with the game sprites from the main series or Sonic Advance Trilogy, and Sonic and Tails received the same treatment come 2.2 (though even before that, the downloadable FSonic character mod served as a preview of Sonic's updated sprites, combined with abilities he lacks in 2.2).

Art Evolution: As the game evolved, the characters eventually took on a hand-drawn and digitized sort of look.

Further updates to 2.2 eventually made continues infinite in save files, relegating limited continues to a no-save game and as an option for mods, and made it so the game autosaves every act instead of at the start of a zone, rendering lives nearly meaningless except for the fact that continuing or loading a save puts you at the beginning of the act.

The more game overs, the more lives earned at once and they're very welcome.

Anti-Frustration Features: In version 2.2, the player gets extra starting lives for each spent continue, even after running out of continues.

The 2.2 update eventually added him to the opening cutscene, but with no explanation he and Tails are just suddenly there.

There exists Dummied Out cutscene data that was meant to be used after GFZ3 to insert Knuckles into the story.

All There in the Manual: Knuckles' purpose for helping Sonic is only stated on the game's website.

Averted by the multiplayer stage Desolate Twilight, which has no cacti whatsoever.

All Deserts Have Cacti: Arid Canyon Zone, justified as it is inspired by Road Runner cartoons and the Grand Canyon.

This game contains examples of the following tropes:

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