Sonic the Hedgehog is my favorite video game character by far. Ever since i was a kid, I have extremely fond memories of sonic, and even to this day I love sonic just as much. One of the first video games i ever played was Sonic the Hegdehog on the Sega Genesis, and the Sonic game that truly sucked me into the series was probobly Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast. Regerdless, heres my list of top 10 Sonic games!!
10. Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360/PS3/WII)
Sonic Unleashed was like Sonics big comeback to 3D. After the abysmal reception of Sonic 06, Sega decided to take time, and rework a new engine to run sonic on entirely. 3 Years later, Sonic Unleashed is released, running on the new Hedgehog Engine, as its called. And this worked tremendously. They combined a new highspeed sonic style, and made the game shift seamlessly from 3D to 2D. And wow did it ever work! The only problem with this game, that keeps it so low on the list, is the night time stages, their quite boring and uninteresting. But they certainly are not the highlight of this game, and the day time stages are so good, it makes you forget about the mediocre night time stages. Regardless, the werewolf stages are still there, and they definitely hold this game back from greater things.
9. Sonic Chaos/Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear/Sega Master System)
These two games both take the number 9 spot for their fantastic gameplay and level design, as well as just being overall fast and great games. Only Sonic Chaos was released on the Master System however. But both of these games are some of the best handheld sonic games, and are by far the best games on the Game Gear. The gameplay is fastpaced and fun, just like the console games, and they have fantastic level design, music, graphics, and controls. And on long car rides, even recently, I always crack out the Gamegear, use the wall or car adapter (because the batteries are ridiculous) and play away!
8. Sonic Generations (Xbox 360/PS3)
Now Sonic Unleashed had great 3D levels, but was held back by night stages. Sonic Colors took the Soninc Unleashed formula and made it even better. But it lacked in the 3D platforming department. Now Sonic Generations is the absolute pinacle in modern Sonic games. It takes everything that was great about Sonic Unleashed and Colors, maximizes the 3D platforming, adds in the classic style of Genesis gameplay, adds genious level design, tops it off with amazing graphics, music, and replayability, and shows that Sonic isnt dead, and that were just scratching the surface of more and more potential the Hedgehog holds, and cements him now as one of the premier platforming series around. And thats a big deal, since Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog, plus other lackluster titles have left Sonic with a lousy reputation.
7. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
Sonic the Hedghog 2 took everything that Sonic 1 did, and multiplied it a crap load. It's the greatest selling game on the Genesis, with over 6 million copies sold! And i believe its the best selling sonic game as well. Great level design, graphics, music, speed, and gameplay, this is one of the best 16-bit games around, and i highly recommend it.
6. Sonic Advanced (Gameboy Advance)
This is my favorite hand held Sonic game. Not only because of the great level design, music, controls, gameplay, and overall fun, it also has great replayability, multiple characters (Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckels, each with their own gameplay style), and it has a chao garden, similair to the adventure games, where you can raise it and make it stronger, by purchasing fruits and toys for it with rings you earn in the game, plus from a few bonus games, such as a shooter, and a memory game. You can also hook your Gameboy up to the Gamecube, and swap chaos from sonic adventure 1,2, and pinball party. But the game is incredibly fun, and I remember it very fondly from my childhood. All of the Sonic Advanced games could be on this list, but this is my favorite from childhood, and the chao system adds alot to the game for me.
5. Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast/Gamecube)
The first time I played Sonic Adventure 2 was on the Gamecube, then later on the Dreamcast. I bought it for a friend for their birthday, and didnt think much of the game, i just remembered the battle multiplayer, that we played for a bit. One time we were hanging out a year or so later, and it was right before our grade 8 graduation. He offered to basically give me the game when we were swapping games, because he didnt really play it anymore. So I took it home, and a week or so later i gave it a whirl. I remember i loved city escapes music, (the music in the adventure games are one of the highest points to me), and i remember loving the game, and playing it more and more. I remember just thinking ''what the hell have i been missing out on'' not even realizing what the game was until then. After that, playing this game inspired me to go and buy Sonic Adventure DX, which i didnt know was my favorite Dreamcast game until i took it home. I was ecstatic. Now enough with the nostalgia, this game took and improved on everything the previous adventure title did, and is an amazing game. I later after owning a Dreamcast, found, played, and beat Sonic Adventure 2. And the original Dreamcast experience is by far the best. The story was fantastic. The only things i didnt care for, was no hub world, and that you had to play either hero or dark, you couldnt choose character playthroughs seperatly, meaning you had to play through Tails and Kuckles stages to get to Sonic stages. But the story wouldnt have worked if it used the same gameplay style as the previous adventure, so its understandable. Its one of my favorite Sonic games, and it definitely deserves its spot on the list.
4. Sonic 3 and Kuckles (Genesis)
This is considered the greatest Sonic game ever made, and i could definitely agree with that, but this is more of a personal list than a technical list. But Sonic 3 and Kuckles was originally going to be one game. But due to time constraints and memory limitaions, the game had to be split in half, which is how Sonic and Kuckles got its lock on capability. The games locked together create both amazing games put together, and it is by far one of my favorites. I always played this on my pc (i had the pc port at a young age) and bought Sonic 3 and Sonic and Kuckles later on, and played the ever loving crap out of them. It has amazing level design, graphics, music, controls, replayability, and is an amazing game. The only reason its not higher, is because the nostalgia isnt as strong as the next 3.
3. Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis)
This is the game that started it all. Sega needed a mascot to rival the likes of mario, but didnt want to directly copy his gameplay style. Enter Sonic the Hedgehog, where speed is where its at! This was a game changer, because Mario was all together a slow platformer, but Sonic was the cooler alternative, and he had speed. An insane amount of it infact, and its one of the games highest selling points. Everything about this game is amazing, especially the graphics, music, controls, and overall style of the game. At the time it was released, it was new, and interesting, and helped put sega on the map. Its also, as far as i know, one of, if not the first video game I ever played. I played it at a cousins house at a very young age when he and my other cousin (who were both a few years older) used to babysit me. I have very fond memories of playing this game, and every year on christmas i sit and beat the game, start to finish, as well as multiple other times throughout the year.
2. Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast/Gamecube)
Oh boy, this was the game that pushed me over the edge as a Sonic fan. When i was 7, my parents always went to a bible study at a friends house. Their house was ginormous, and while they did that, i would normally hang out with their son, who was a few years older than me. He had a Sega Dreamcast, and Sonic Adventure was the first game we sat and played. From the second he turned the Dreamcast on, i was blown away. I was already into Sonic games, and Sonic TV shows (such as Sonic underground, and Sonic x) but this game really got me to know the Hedgehog way more. Everytime for almost 2 years I went over there, we always played Sonic Adventure, and its by far one of my favorite games. Now sometime later, as i mentioned in my Sonic Adventure 2 overview, I bought Sonic Adventure DX, and didnt realize is was the same game as on the Dreamcast, until i brought it home. Once i realized, i was ectstatic, and I played that game non stop through the whole summer. And a year or so later, i saw a Dreamcast in a local gamestore, so i bought it, Sonic Adventure, Crazy taxi, and some track and feild game. And once again i played the crap out of it. The original Dreamcast experience is by far the best way to play this game, as the graphics are the best on it. The gameplay, is by far my favorite. I love playing as Sonic in 3D, and this game is in my opinion his best 3D game. I loved playing around in the huge hub world, making glitches and finding cool things. I loved the story, and how the game progressed. I loved the replayability with the trail mode, giving you different level objectives, and the chao simulator. I loved the music, and the memorable and amazing graphics. This game has possibly my favorite soundtrack from a game, ever. And ive beat this game on every incarnation, Dreamcast, Gamecube, and Xbox Live Arcade. But by far, the original Dreamcast version is the best, and its a game i can sit and beat over and over, and never get bored. One of my favorite games, ever.
1. Sonic CD (Sega CD/PC)
This is the first Sonic game i ever owned. On the way home from Toronto, after a family trip, my dad went into a computer store to pick something up, and bought me this game. I played this game, a ridiculous amount on my computer. I never really played alot of computer games, but alot of classic sonic games (Sonic 3 and Kuckles, Sonic R, Sonic 3Dblast) were all released on PC, so I got alot of them for christmas, and I have very fond memories. This game has my favorite Sonic soundtrack, and has my favorite gameplay out of any Sonic game. The nostolgia i have over this game is astounding. Later on, I played this game like crazy on the Gamecube, on one of the Sonic collections, alongside playing Sonic R again that summer. And then, i finally found a working Sega CD and Sonic CD. And i played it beyond belief. It has the best music, best graphics, best level design, and best gameplay i believe from any Sonic game. Even Xbox 360 and Android phones (my Sony Experia Play) have ports that are amazing. So play this game, it is unbelievable. Its by far the best 2D Sonic game around, and my personal all time favorite sonic game.
Well, thats the list. This list is more of a personal list, but all of these games are considered the best of the best.Sonic the Hedgehog is my favorite video game character, and I have so much nostalgia surounding him. I believe Sonic Adventure is the best 3D Sonic game, and Sonic CD is the best 2D Sonic game. The blue blur is definitely on the right track now, and Sega has so much more to show us in the future, and I cant wait, for the next Sonic game. Thanks for reading, I appreciate it immensly.
Anthony Bonnin
Honourable Mentions
-Sonic Heroes (Gamecube/PS2/Xbox)
-Sonic the Hedgehog (Gamegear/Master System)
-Sonic 4 Episode 1 and 2 (Xbox 360/PS3/WII)
-Sonic Colors (WII) (only excluded because I havent owned it long and havent beaten it yet)
-Sonic Rush series (DS)
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