Well, I wanted to go in-depth, so in-depth I shall go. Brace yourselves folks... this is gonna be big.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)The original. Some say it's the best. Others say it was surpassed by its successors. I sat and played it through again recently, and I'm starting to wonder myself if this was actually better than my favorite, the second. See, it pretty soon became somewhat outdated when Sonic 2 introduced the spin attack, so in some ways, Sonic 1 became disappointed simply because you could not use that skill. But really, you're not losing much. The zones were all solid with a perfect blend of platforming, puzzles, and battling with memorable bosses. As simple as the final boss was, the mood and music gave you that perfect feel for the final boss. I only have one thing to say: Why does Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 take you back to a harder version of Labyrinth Zone?! WHYYYYYYY?! WHYYYYYYY?! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!
9/10
Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear)I was surprised. I usually expect handheld versions of games to be much more difficult than console versions for some reason, but the difficulty level was rather fair and balanced, on par with the Genesis one I'd say. And it was a pretty fun one too. Especially once I got to Sky Base Zone; I'm desperate for this to get remade in the 3DS version of Sonic Generations, but I doubt that'll happen.
Regardless, I enjoyed playing this one, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to play it when they get the chance.
8/10
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)I still hold this as the best game in the series. I admit that Tails had terrible AI in places (Special Zones, anyone?), but playing as him could be fun. Plus, you could switch him off. And even though it wasn't worth much, the "co-op mode" was perfect for anyone with the "younger brother" who was eager to play games but too young to actually do any good in them, so give him an invincible character and let him think he's helping. Not that I ever utilized this; then again, it was likely utilized on me at least once or twice.
But the spin dash was what made this game. Lost your momentum? No problem. And I really enjoyed the levels; the variety and the number of zones was engaging. Although it could be argued that Hill Top Zone was just Emerald Hill Zone with lava. And sure, I kinda wish they had kept three acts per zone, but oh well; at least there were more zones to play. The bosses here were a combination of simple strategies or complex ones; some were easy, some were mediocre-difficulty, some were more difficult. For the most part, all fun though. And that
damned final boss... If I had nightmares about it, they would have been of it taunting me so bad for never being able to beat it. Nowadays I could beat it, but it's still difficult and irritating. But the ending sequence is so worth it. And this game also had an epic debug mode for breaking the game if you wanted to. Not saying I can't beat it without the debug code; I can and have. Just that debug is fun.
10/10
Sonic CDI'm going to have to go replay this game before I can pass off a true final opinion on it; I've only played it through once and never really saw the appeal after listening to all the hype of "This is one of the best Sonic games ever," so I expected it to be on par with the Genesis games. I... personally found it rather boring, and really didn't offer much. Sure, the time travel was cool, but that didn't make the levels play any better. Again, I'm running off old impressions from several years ago, and I
did beat the game, but I really wasn't that impressed with it. I'll make sure to add it to my list of games to play shortly. But in the spirit of fairness, I'll do that before I assign a rating to it. From memory, I'd give it... a 6.5, let's say. But I'll hold off on fully rating it for now.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3There was something different about this game, and I don't mean the different Sonic sprite. I can't really place what it was, but there was a difference in tone between this and the previous Genesis titles. Might be the music tracks. Which, Sonic 3 had some great music, there was just something different to it. Maybe it was the beginnings of seeing an actual
plot in a Sonic game. It had some clever levels and zones, and people like to tote this (more specifically, the combined Sonic 3 & Knuckles) as the best of the Sonic games. With the lock-on system, it certainly has longevity, but they were released as different games, so I keep them separated even though the mechanics are the same and it's one story. There was very little I disliked about this game, one of those things being the invincibility theme. But with the new music system came the loss of the charm of the soundtracks of Sonic 1 and 2. Don't get me wrong. The tracks in Sonic 3 are amazing. It's just an entirely different charm that by no means has an effect on the game, and is just pretty much a personal preference. But the save system was a nice feature. The special stages, while fun, are incredibly easy when compared to Sonic 2's, and I guess about on par with Sonic 1's, though with anything, more practice means things become simpler. And you had many more chances to get to the special zone in Sonic 3 than in the others.
Easier chances, that is. But it had both minibosses as well as bosses, which was a nice change-up to the pace and made it more engaging, even if most of the bosses weren't too difficult. At least, not as difficult as that damn barrel in Carnival Night Zone.
9/10
Sonic & KnucklesAs a standalone game, I rank this lower than the other Genesis games, but just slightly. Mainly because Sonic 3 spoiled me with the save system and took it away in S&K. And yes, I know the save system works if you lock them on, but I'm counting them as separate games, remember?
Anyways, the stages were great and the music was all-around better this time around, but without the lock-on mode, the sense of continuity was just sorta... lacking. Oh who am I kidding. This game was epic on a stick, lock-on or not. See what I did there? Leading you on like that?
But really, this game was a gem. And the Death Egg Zone was like finding a lost secret kept away from Sonic 2; I believe they had intended to make the Death Egg Zone a full zone, but scrapped it for time constraints, like a few other zones. But back to S&K, again, the bosses range from simple to difficult, all mostly memorable. Despite the lack of save function, it was a great and more-than-worthy sequel to 3.
9.5/10
If you're curious, I'd rate Sonic 3 & Knuckles a perfect 10.
Sonic SpinballAh, Spinball... ... why is this on my list? Eh, I thought it was a fun game. Short, difficult, but addicting. And I like the music, sounds both Sonicy and pinbally. Never got to the end, though, since I would lose lives on the second-to-last level (or maybe third-to-last). But I liked what I played of it. There isn't much else to be said, though...
7/10
Sonic 3D BlastI enjoyed this game. So what? It wasn't quite like a Sonic game, but it had its moments. As a Sonic game, it rates lower, but distinguish it from that label, and it's a fun game. Fun platforming, fun little gimmicks, etc. Probably wasn't the game you were expecting, but could entertain you if you looked past the fact that it was nothing like other Sonic games.
7/10
Sonic the FightersI. HATED. THIS. GAME. It was a clunky fighter without any real fluidity, even for its time. The graphics were blocky and horrendous and literally gave me headaches. I didn't even find the challenge of trying to turn into Super Sonic worth it. I played it for a little bit, vowed to never play it again. And that's how it remains with me.
2/10
Sonic RThis is a mixed bag. The game is alright itself, but the music is horrid. The controls seemed just a bit off as well, but it was okay as a racer. Never really cared for it, but at least it wasn't as horrendous as the above Sonic the Fighters. I wouldn't necessarily say I'd recommend it though, since there are much better racers out there. At least Sonic Riders incorporated a story into it.
5.5/10
Sonic AdventureI played this after Sonic Adventure 2, so the experience was a bit lessened for me. I enjoyed the adventure fields and the little tasks to carry out within them, as well as the tornado missions, but for the overall missions, well, Sonic controlled too spastically, and the level design wasn't exactly top-notch. I liked Windy Valley, Speed Highway, and Lost World, but the rest were just... okay. As for the other characters, they were okay for their respective design and levels, and at least there were some good and challenging bosses, but...
WHY IS THERE FISHING IN A SONIC GAME. Well not just fishing, but a character whose entire stage list is just fishing. Although there was a good level of satisfaction from finally destroying that damn Zero who kept chasing Amy. Still, I didn't get the overall satisfaction from this game. The adventure fields pretty much saved the game, here.
7/10
Sonic Adventure 2This. Game. Was. Excellent. The insurmountable 3D Sonic game in my opinion. The controls were more refined from Adventure, the powerups were improved upon, and the levels were more immersive and felt truer to the Sonic feel: A balance of both speed and platforming. The story also set the standard for future Sonic games, in my opinion. It's the best storyline in a Sonic game. And the music is incredibly memorable, and very enjoyable as well. Probably the best of the 3D Sonic games, though the following games in the 3D line, for the most part, still had pretty great music. Plus the game introduced Shadow, my new favorite character in the series. And with Eggman as a playable character, not to mention him being back out there doing everything himself, well, this was the Doctor at his prime.
9/10
Sonic AdvanceThe only GBA installation I've played, and I've only played through Sonic's story, but it was an okay game. Nothing special, definitely doesn't capture the spirit of the original Genesis games, but it was good in its own right. It had fun, challenging bosses, and the music was tolerable (despite how much I hate the GBA's sound quality). Some tracks were even memorable. But it's also a Dimps game, and it shows from the more than a few poorly-placed enemies that is trademark of their style. Still, it was actually pretty fun. Not bad, though not all that great either.
7/10
Sonic HeroesI don't get all the flack this game seems to catch. It had some great levels and design, and, as off as the team gimmick seemed to be, it actually worked the way it was used. I guess a minor complaint would be the giant robot enemies that pretty much require too much patience or Team Blast to defeat. And I liked the "level up" features in each level, though sometimes it got annoying when only one team member's color would pop up when you want a specific other's to level up instead. The bosses were the mediocre area, for the most part, and the final battle? Well, the first stage was harder than the second. Still, I really enjoy the game, and am looking forward to Seaside Hill in Sonic Generations.
7.5/10
Sonic Rush... Ugh... This game excited me. First Sonic game for DS. Would use two screens to create a vertical rush sensation (no pun intended). Gave us the now-staple boost ability, was gonna recapture the 2D spirit of the Genesis games. It didn't. It relied too much on speed and the levels were designed poorly for a game that toted speed as its greatest feature. Not only that, but every single track of the soundtrack was horrible and made me want to claw my ears off. The bosses were the only good part of this game. But that does not redeem how poorly-done this game is, and is, perhaps, my lowest-rated game in the series apart from Sonic the Fighters.
4/10
Shadow the HedgehogI
love this game. I don't give a
DAMN (yes, I went there) about all the hate. This game was probably the closest any of the 3D Sonic games got to Sonic Adventure 2, even with the guns and vehicles. Which are optional anyway, unless you want to get perfect ranks. And the multiple paths thing was clever. My only gripe was that it meant you had to redo the first level over and over each time, slightly less annoying with the next three sets of levels, etc., but they were pretty good levels. The story was weird, yes, but there were some interesting twists, such as the Commander. It makes it worth replaying over and over, and well, for that reason, it pretty much makes it the most replayable game in the series. Though I didn't like the two-player mode.
8/10
Sonic RidersThis... was just okay. I didn't really care for it, since I'm not into racing games. Better than Sonic R I suppose. Music was just okay, controls were okay, the story was... okay. Overall, it's just okay. It's not exactly the Mario Kart of Sonic games. I've heard that was Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing (and I played a demo that wasn't so bad), but, well... if you like "okay" games, then this is a good one for you.
6/10
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)There are so few good points to this game. The story was alright, minus the implied attraction between Elise and Sonic. Shadow was completely and 100% badass, and I love that about him and this game. Crowning Moments of Awesome abound with him. But the levels themselves are just bland, the controls can be glitchy, and, well, I'll have to admit that the hub worlds are also pretty uninteresting. It's like trying and failing to live up to Sonic Adventure's adventure fields, sort of a limbo between those and Sonic Unleashed's Entrance Stages (more on those below). Silver's controls were horrid. They felt like a cheap version of some other game whose name escapes me, something else that lets you levitate and throw objects with telekinesis; it always feels like I can't pick up the exact objects I want and I get screwed over. And sometimes they wouldn't throw the way I wanted, making boss fights a pain. The camera didn't seem to want to cooperate at times either. And Sega only partially learned from their mistakes: They took out the guns in Shadow's mode, but left in the vehicles. Which were, minus the hovercraft and
maybe the motorcycle, incredibly useless and unnecessary. Sonic's levels were not very good and his controls seemed to freak out at times. The guest characters (Rouge, Tails, Knuckles, Omega, and Blaze) all seemed fine in their areas, thankfully. But there were the Mach Speed sections, which seemed to be the predecessor of how Sonic games would play starting with Secret Rings, then Unleashed and onward. These were fun, but they had terrible hit detection; you'd take damage from some of the most ridiculous things, like
barely touching a wall. Overall, this game was just a mess, and only had one shining point: Crisis City as Sonic. This level was actually pretty free of issues besides the core ones that couldn't be changed. However, that does not make up for the rest of the game.
5.5/10
Sonic and the Secret RingsThis game frustrated me from the start in infuriating ways. Mainly cuz, the levels were designed so very well, but Wiimote controls are not my forte, so I had trouble adjusting to them. I still don't like them. If this game had given me the nunchuck to work with, I would have enjoyed this game immensely, because the levels were incredibly well-designed, the music was pretty good (kinda like if Sonic Rush had a
good soundtrack with an Arabian theme), and the bosses were fun. But I failed at the controls, so I couldn't enjoy them as much. And apparently it's just me; not everyone I know has that much trouble with it. If I could install the Wiimote on some sort of axis to aid the tilting, maybe things would've gone a bit better. But at least it had replayability with all the extra missions and stuff. Fun game, just, for me, frustrating controls.
7/10
Sonic Unleashed (360/PS3)This, my friends, is perhaps the most shining example of a good Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2. As long as you're playing the 360/PS3 version, that is; I haven't played the Wii version. Now, I admit, I was a little anxious about the Werehog, but as it turned out, well, guys, it's really no different than having multiple characters like in Adventure 1 and 2, Heroes, '06, and even games before these. Get over it. Because before you can say "wtf werewolf Sonic dont belong in Sonic games," did a red echidna with the ability to glide and dig for treasure, a giant cat who went fishing for frogs, a robot with laser-sight and missiles, or Tails in a mech belong in Sonic games either? Be glad it's not another clone character like Shadow was. Besides, he played pretty well anyway. Perhaps
better than most (if not all) of those examples above. And guess what guys?
Very few glitches! Plus, the daytime Sonic stages were some of the best stages I had seen in a Sonic game in years, and I really like the controls, with one complaint: Sonic was a bit loose in the behind-the-back segments. I didn't like that, but I got used to it; it got worse in Colors anyway. And it
might be getting better in Generations, but enough on that. The only lacking points here are the Tornado sections, which weren't all that fun (they were on rails and you pressed different buttons to shoot the right targets), and were weak compared to the Sonic Adventure Tornado missions. And the bosses were fun, but not all that difficult either. That was the one thing that went downhill in 3D Sonic games: The bosses. And the final boss? Ridiculous... but the rest of the game is solid and replayable, with downloadable levels you can tackle later, and missions between the stages. Though I will have to dock points for the damn sun/moon coin hunting that held you back at times...
8/10
Sonic and the Black KnightThis game was a pain. The level design was mediocre, which is unfortunate, because people who worked on the Adventure series came back to work on it. The setting had promise but the story was whack. The sword had no place in the game; it would never register a proper swing and I would constantly get battered by enemies. The movement itself is a
big improvement over Secret Rings, but the combat took a step backwards. The unlockables are pretty cool, but that's about it. The controls, even with the nunchuck, don't feel tight enough, and by now I had grown tired of the constantly running forward without ever being aloud to stand still without holding a button. Which was terrible both here
and in Secret Rings. The duels were crap up until King Arthur, but once you figured out how to properly duel (which you'll need to do to beat Arthur), then the final boss gets easy. There are some neat shout-outs to the Adventure series, but don't really do anything for the game. I recommend borrowing this game from a friend or renting it instead of buying.
5/10
Sonic Colors (Wii)I had mixed feelings on this game initially, though mostly leaning towards the good side. I think I might've been under some sort of spell, personally, cuz I was comparing some sections of it to being similar to Sonic Adventure in parts. But after a while, I started to realize just how boring this game really was. Most of Asteroid Coaster and parts of Tropical Resort were the only exceptions. But the controls were looser and horrid compared to Unleashed, where they originated. And I
hated that they removed drift and quick-step to stick into basic, bland areas that you could only use there. They were repetitive and boring. And almost all the 3D parts were empty and boring. And slid around worse than you would in Unleashed. And don't get me started on the Wisps; those things were absolutely
useless, apart from laser, the only one I found fun. And drill sometimes. But the rest were poorly implemented and just not very fun. And I hated having to collect White Wisps instead of rings for the boost meter. It felt like Sonic had been thrust into some other game world the way these powerups were presented. I mean, not like that isn't as bad as how Black Knight was, but still... And don't get me started on the writing.
Horrible cutscene dialogue, minus the darker parts of the game and the Eggman segments (which were gold, for the most part). And the bosses? Ranged from okay to crap; they're probably the easiest bosses in a 3D Sonic game yet. Even the final one, even though it's actually pretty fun. Just... you won't take many hits (if any). Basically, Colors is, in my opinion, the failed experiment to find out what to keep and put in Generations and what to scrap and throw away forever. ... for the latter, that's pretty much everything, though there'll be Wisps in the Colors stage of Generations. Super Sonic doesn't really help, because playing as him gives you an obnoxious five-second section of Reach for the Stars that loops forever. Speaking of music, this also was probably one of Sonic's worst outings in music in 3D Sonic games. It was okay music, but not great either. Tropical Resort, Aquarium Park, the final boss, those are great themes. Starlight Carnival is okay too. The rest are just... eh. And the Sonic Simulator levels? They're fun if you approach them as they're meant to be: Minigames. Other than that... the game has little going for it, but at least some extra stuff on the side that at least manages to catch your attention for longer than it otherwise might have.
6/10
Sonic Colors (DS)So it has Sonic Rush gameplay. And a similar instrumentation set. I was prepared for horrible music and bland levels. Instead, I'm treated to perhaps the best 2D Sonic game since the Genesis era. In this game, Dimps seemed to ditch much of the poor things they were known for—excess speed boosters, reliance on homing attack chains, poorly-placed enemies—and created an actually enjoyable game. And unlike the Wii version, the Wisps felt right at home here, were properly utilized in clever ways, and were
fun. I still didn't like the idea of White Wisps filling the boost meter, but it was better managed here. And the worlds actually were really fun and well-designed. Plus it had the extra missions in each stage that ranged from fun to challenging to frustrating, but you almost felt compelled to get them done. And the bosses were a little better here than they were in the Wii version, though not by much. The final bosses were about on par with each other, for instance. But overall, this was a
very good game, much better than recent installments. I highly recommend it over its Wii counterpart.
7.75/10
Whew... Sorry about that, but I wanted to get that out of the way. I would have added the TV shows as well, but it was long enough as it is. I'll get to those in a later post. I feel burnt-out here. But I hope that covers it. Have fun reading all this. *flees*
