Best and Worst: Retro Sonic the Hedgehog Video Games

This post contains affiliate links.

Watching Game Informers Super Replay of Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 (aka Sonic 06) alerted me to a curious fact; both some of my most beloved and hated games have come from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.  Throughout his lifespan, Sonic has been the star of games of all different qualities.  This got me thinking that it would be fun to play (or in many cases replay) retro games from the franchise and recommend which ones to pick up and which ones to avoid.  So, below you'll find first a list of the games that I think are the best and then the games that I think are the worst.

As you're reading, keep in mind that I haven't played every game in the franchise (Sonic 06 is a notable example of something that probably would have ended up on the Worst list if I had had access to play it), but everything that I've written about I have played recently to see how they've held up.  The exception is Shadow the Hedgehog, which I neither had nor could justify purchasing to remind myself how much I hated it.  I also didn't test any Genesis, Gamegear, Saturn, or Dreamcast games on their original consoles.  Rather, I played the Genesis, Gamegear, and Saturn games via Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Mega Collection on Gamecube.  Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast, which doesn't appear below, I actually played on Xbox 360 using Dreamcast Collection.

Here we go, folks.

BEST

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis, 1991)
This game is a marvel to me. Despite relying on two basic movement mechanics - walking and jumping - it is more engaging than some far more complicated games.  This is due, in part, to the fact that each zone (a set of three acts, including a boss battle, set in the same area) is obviously unique, meaning that game play doesn't get stale.  For example, Marvel Zone is unmistakable in its focus on avoiding spiked falling weights (that look, to me, like chandeliers from a dinner party from hell) and spurts of lava.  While this sounds obvious, some platformers seem to trade sophisticated level design for a focus on creative mechanics or gimmicky power ups.  (I'm looking at you, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.)  The presence of sprawling, multilayered acts also means that players can traverse it multiple times in different ways, keeping us interested despite the fact that we have to play the same levels again every time we turn the game back on.  

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis, Gamegear, 1992) Buy this game from amazon Here I love this game for all of the reasons that I love Sonic 1, plus a couple, namely the addition of  both the spin dash mechanic and the character, Tails.  By adding the spin mechanic, creators solved a huge frustration that I had in the first - trying to get moving quickly enough to follow the loops.  They also provided an easy, strong attack that works on multiple enemies at once, making enemy-infested areas much more efficient to traverse.  Tails, however, I like for a less practical reason.  It's really entertaining to watch him die in random and uncalled for situations, probably because it makes me feel better about my own video gaming skills.

Sonic CD (PC, 1993)
Buy this game from amazon Here
This game is very much in the pattern of Sonic 1. However, what sets it apart is that it allows players to travel in time, swapping between versions of the acts that exist in the past and future.  Because the two different versions of each act are legitimately different, that means that there are, again, multiple ways to play the same act.  The game always provides the Spin Dash mechanic and allows players to save their progress.  

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (Gamecube, 2001)  Buy this game from amazon Here Sixteen years after its release, this game is still my favorite in the franchise.  Chiefly, I'm impressed with the sense of control over your character that it provides.  Especially when playing as Sonic or Shadow, movement is smooth and precise, in fact, enjoyable at high speeds. I also really enjoy the ease and accuracy of using the homing attacks.  Ease of use is important because fully completing the game is a long process: it involves beating two major campaigns and one optional campaign that may require replay of earlier levels, as well as as the hatching and raising of small creatures called chao. - all of which would be tortuous if you were fighting the game the whole time   That being said, I also appreciate the fact that the game is split into hero and villain campaigns, which provides opportunities to flesh out the villains and make them relatable.

WORST 

Sonic 3D Blast (Sega Genesis, Saturn, PC 1996)
Buy this game from amazon Here
While I have to commend Sonic Team for attempting something new and difficult when they made
this game in 3D, it gives me a headache every time I play.  It's also frustrating to navigate; for some reason I cannot seem to jump where I want to in the air and am perpetually trying over and over again to collect rings or other items.  Innovation aside, I also dislike the whole premise of the game.  It asks you to defeat robots and liberate the cuddly woodland creatures (flickies) within them, which you then must lead to designated goals throughout the level.  This is frustrating because leading a group of tiny animals around forces you to move slowly and precisely around obstacles that might hurt the flickies, (causing them to leave your group and wander off) when all I want to do when I play a sonic game is move quickly.  Sonic games are supposed to be about speed.  Another frustration of mine with this game is that when you drop rings from getting injured, they disappear so quickly that they are very difficult to recollect.

Sonic R (Sega Saturn, PC 1997) Buy this game from amazon Here This is the worst game I tried, which is unfortunate, because the premise had potential.  It simply asks players to choose a Sonic character and then race the others on foot.  However, character handling is a mess.  Even though I played this game with a joy stick on a Gamecube controller, which, in theory, should have been more precise than the originally intended Sega Saturn D-pad, I still failed to keep my characters on the easiest track.  And weirdly enough, this is all happening at snail-like speeds.  In fact, Amy, the one character who actually drives a car and so you'd think would move more quickly, moves more slowly than the rest.

Shadow the Hedgehog (Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, 2005)  Buy this game from amazon Here I didn't have to play much of this game to know that I am fundamentally against it.  They took a family-friendly character that I very much liked after Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and made him the star of a third-person-shooter, requiring players to kill humans.  This goes against almost everything that I like about Sonic games - especially their traditional focus on robot violence instead of human violence.  While I suspect that Sonic Team was hoping to grow their games up for a maturing audience, in my opinion it was a stupid move because it risked alienating players who don't appreciate violence against humans.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii, 2007). Buy this game from amazon Here At 10 years old, this game was the newest that I tested and one of the worst.  (FYI, I consider 10 years old and older to be retro for this blog.)  The story was terrible; it asks you to enter into an adaptation of Arabian Nights and save the story before it is erased by a villain named Erazor Djinn (the pun, oh my goodness).  The game mechanics are even worse; by default you are propelled forward and must use imprecise side-to-side movement, as well as labored backwards movement and a very picky homing attack (which actually makes my arms tired to use) to endlessly replay a series of forgettable worlds.  While Sonic does get easier to control as you unlock upgrades, I think it's wrong to have to earn the right to a decent playing experience.

Final Thoughts
With a few exceptions, the older games are far superior to the newer ones.  If you're looking to invest in some retro games, I'd focus my attention on the Genesis games.

Also, Sonic games have an inexplicable liking for ancient ruins and casinos.  They seem to appear in almost every game.

And finally, don't try this experiment at home, folks.  Rapid Fire testing all of those Sonic games just about destroyed my decades-long love for the franchise.  In fact, I don't want to play another Sonic game for at least ten years...

Note: Game launch years are from respective Wikipedia pages.

Please follow Retro Reviews on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/retromediareviews/ to keep up to date with my latest retro recommendations.

Other Posts You Might like:
Four Reasons to Pull WarioWare, Inc Mega Party Game$ for Gamecube out of the Attic (Hint: Because it Might Just Make you a Better Gamer)
Revisiting Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for PS2