I can tell that about 20% of the people reading this quit playing Sonic 3 because of the cursed barrel in Carnival Night Zone, Act 2. I've always managed to get through it 110% without a problem at all, but it appears that the barrel has stumped almost every Sonic gamer imaginable. So, I shall reveal the secret of getting past the barrel.
MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT
Ok, when on the barrel, all you have to do is hold up and down until you can jump off of it. There. It isn't actually that hard really. Try it, and you'll see that I'm right.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious.
This would've been really helpful if you had said this way back when Sonic 3 first came out, but it's been so long since it was released that I'm pretty sure EVERYONE knows how to pass the barrel. Hey, I eventually figured it out as a kid.

Quite hilarious and ironic that I'm seeing this thread. I was playing Sonic 3 last night for an hour or so....I made it to the Carnival level. After dying a dozen times and getting lost during the first stage, I finally turned the game off. Now that I've read this, I'll keep it in mind when I encounter the barrels.

Eddy88 : Yes, that is exactly why this thread exists. And of course a lot of people on Vizzed will play Sonic 3 or Sonic 3 and Knuckles, so this is where they want to go if they need help.

Well I can say that the barrel part of Carnival Night Zone was very annoying cause I didn't know what to do. Now I know that you have to keep pressing up and down as you ride on the barrel to actually move it.

This was impossible in my childhood, but when I FINALLY figured it out with Internet resources, the rest of the game is no problem for me!
Why didn't SEGA [copyright] make a similar series of booklets like Nintendo Power[trademark]?
When I first got to the barrel, I was trapped, couldn't get out and had to wait for time up because back then, I didn't know this on the Internet, I also thought if there was another path, but NO THERE ISN'T!!!
Sega is evil these days, let me ask this question, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!? WHY NOT PUT THE BARREL CONTROL IN THE BOOKLET!?

Atleast the infamous barrel was stuck in just one game!
By the way, I discovered how to get past the barrel long before this thread in 2011.

I agree i never got past the game until i discovered the Internet!

Stevie 764 : If I recall correctly, the Barrel Controls were actually in the Instruction Booklet. However, I can barrely (lolpuns) confirm this, being that I haven't been able to buy the actual copy of Sonic 3 (But I have the rest of the Genesis ones, except 3D Blast).

Anyways, this isn't news to me. I figured it out pretty quickly actually. All it takes is one little accident, Nya~. :3

You press up and down :L

When I first got to the part with the barrel I nearly gave up on the game but luckily I found the way past it

Seeing this thread reminds me of how spoiled we are on the Internet. Back in the day, before the majority of gamers had access to the Internet, we had to figure things out on our own. I personally managed to bypass the spinning barrels without a problem, but that's because I experimented with controls until I found what works. Nowadays, we don't experiment or look around or anything, we just look up a guide on the Internet. Most new games usually get a guide up within a week or two of its release. I'll admit, I'm a victim of this too.

Though to be honest (and to get back on topic), I had no idea people really had trouble with these barrels until I found the Carnival Night Zone barrel on TV Tropes under Nightmare Fuel. Was it really that bad for you guys back then? XD

And apparently grammar rules say you must always capitalize Internet. No idea why. XD

Whoa, mega bump.

If that guy hasn't passed Carnival Night Zone yet, he never will.

C to the l to the osed.