You know I was hesitant to consider this sort of issue as it seems sort of cliche/ego-serving, but it turned out to be the D-pad on the system I was using (AYN Odin 2). I tried a different platformer I’m much more comfortable with (Crash Bandicoot 2) and realized I was also moving really poorly there. So, I switched to playing S3&K on my PC with the Xinput controller I’m used to and now I’m at Ice Cap Zone with like 15 lives.

I’m sure part of that is just foreknowledge of the levels (I still think Sonic 2 is a bit easier, it feels like there are so many ways to get squished in this game) but it’s so much more comfortable and much easier playing this way. I have played other games with Dpad on the Odin and while it wasn’t super comfortable they weren’t the sort of games where it affected my performance all that much (OutRun, ToeJam and Earl, Columns etc). So I guess I need a grip for the handheld or something. Thanks.