i will say tho one thing it does well is make you feel like a level isn't just a bunch of floating roads in the sky, speed highway is such a great example imo of a level that feels correct in the context, whereas i think that sa2's radical highway is very much Roads In The Sky.
also, every tails level is padding. it's normally 50% or less of a sonic level that you have a time limit to beat. the level choice is sometimes bizarre too, why casinopolis??? you could've had RED MOUNTAIN, that level has so much open area you could've used??
the jank is also super annoying and if there was a modern version to fix all of it, then idk if it would be the great game that everyone makes it out to be. sega REALLY wanted to do the "let's turn sonic around sideways and shit!" concept that, feels horrible. (see sky deck & lost world snake)
a lot of the fun i have as sonic is using the light speed dash + jump combo to just go very far, and none of the levels were really intended with that in mind. little tricks like that that let you skip a lot of the levels and whatnot.
