I'm surprised no-one else noticed this. There's a picture of Robotnik on end panel in Sonic 3 and S&K. Big deal, you may say. Robotnik is on every end panel in sonic games! Think about it. When Sonic reaches the end of act 1 (and, for Sonic 1, act 2), end panel awaits there with Robotnik on it. But not in Sonic 3! In Sonic 3, Sonic fights a mini-boss first, then he comes to the end panel. The end panel falls on the ground spinning, and when it touches the floor, it displays the selected character's head. It doesn't show Robotnik's head at all! It is only displayed while the panel is spinning, but it is not used in the actual game!

This leads to series of thoughts. Was Robotnik supposed to be one of the playable characters?...uhh, not that one, sorry for going too far, ahem, was there supposed to be no mini-boss at the end of act 1? Sure, Robotnik's head could be a hangover from Sonic 2, like: "DreamTeam used the same panel for both games, but they modified it a bit to display Sonic's new look (Tails looks the same to me)." But that's just dumb.

This is a picture of end panel from Sonic 3 (no kiddin! Jan, what will you think of next?). Comparing it to the one from Sonic 2, Robotnik looks different, his eyes are shaded et cetera. That means it is NOT (had to put that in caps) the same Robotnik found in Sonic 2. And if it is not the same Robotnik, it was made by SonicTeam on purpose. Was it supposed to scare people if person accidentaly pressed Start when it was displayed for a split second? Whatever its purpose was, it is lost now. I just wanted to point out that it is in Sonic 3. And, before you leave this page in disgust, here is Robotnik from Sonic 2's end panel.

See? Compare it to the above one and you'll Believe.

More silly and amusing Sonic 3 things

Note: I have only added this because of the lack of unique and surprising info. :)

Check this out: in Hydrocity act 2, you encounter a couple of flying shark torpedos (what are they called - Jawz or something). When you hit them, an animal is released from them. But when they hit you, they explode and the animal doesn't come out! Genocity Zone anyone?...

Hit the badnik and the animal will be released..!

Let the badnik hit you and the animal inside it will vanish...possibly die in explosion? Who said that no single animal ever died in a Sonic game? :)

No comment on this one, as it is only a thing Sonic Team didn't count on...but it's still weird.