How would I create a 2D Sonic style fake 3D background effect without using tons of parallax layers?

So in 2D Sonic games, many of the backgrounds have a fake 3D effect, Green Hill Zone's water and Mirage Saloon Zone's sand for example.

I know this effect is already possible by using dozens of layers but is there a way I can recreate this effect with only a few (1 for far background, 1 for the nearer background, and 1 for the fake 3D effect)?

You can stack various tiled backgrounds on top of each other in a single layer, and then change the OffsetX property of each background individually at an increasingly lower rate to fake the 3d parallax.

You can do the same thing with more layers if you wish.