How many Sonic games do you like?

[batson]

I can't help but notice that a lot of people AREN'T mentioning Sonic 2, even though that is the most critically acclaimed game in the series. Not trying to put anyones opinion down, but it's an observation.

[Knight56]

Sorry for reviving what is essentially a dead thread, but I didn't want to make one of my own, so...

Anyway, I've liked pretty much every game in the series I've played so far, but some definitely more than others. Here it is, from worst to best:

Sonic 4: Episode I - This game is just...boring. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm not sure I will. Not as offensive as Rise of Lyric, but it is still boring.

Sonic Colors: As beloved as it might be, I just find it a bore to go through save for the final world of the game. The platforming is pretty basic, and the boost gameplay is worse than Forces due to it rarely using 3d scapes to begin with. While it technically might be a better game than Forces, at least the latter tried to be a proper Sonic game. This was meant to be an introduction to the series for gamers who had never played a Sonic game--in particular, Mario fans. Nothing wrong with that, but for a veteran of the series, there just isn't much to return to. Even the story, with its bright spots in humor, is just...meh.

Sonic 1 - I think the game is well designed, but it is awfully short, and getting the Chaos emeralds is a tedious task. There is fun to be had, sure, and I did like my time with it, but other games did better. 

Sonic 2 - Again, similar situation to 1, but it did improve in the level design and special zones. And it has Tails. End of story.

Sonic and the Black Knight - The gameplay and level design is just average, and was one of the few disappointments I've felt in the series. But the story has the best portrayal of Sonic in the series, and it actually has some very well written dialogue for everyone involved. Still, the story alone won't redeem the average gameplay.

Sonic Forces - The story just has 'missed opportunity' written all over it, but the game actually has a high level of replayability for what it is, and there are some honestly difficult challenges to complete, like S-Ranking Episode Shadow and getting all the Time Trials done. While it is a disappointing the game, I never felt bored when playing like I did with Black Knight, even if it has a far better story.

Sonic Lost World - I like the ideas it had for Sonic's gameplay, and it at least tried to have a more serious story. But the game should have had more consistent level design and had the Deadly Six actually act as a team. But for what it is, I had a good time with it.

Sonic Adventure 2 - While I do enjoy the aesthetics, the Sonic/Shadow gameplay, and even Tails/Eggman, the Knuckles/Rouge emerald searches are terrible to go through only because of the poor radar. Otherwise, though, perfectly enjoyable.

Sonic Adventure - Honestly, if it weren't for the graphics, I think it would be considered one of the best. All the gameplays--except Big's--are fun in some way, and the story is one of the best the series has to offer. The only issue I have with it is that the level design is somewhat basic to me, and it never becomes thrilling like some others on the list do.

Sonic Heroes - I have very mixed feelings toward it, because for every moment I felt like pulling my hair out, there was another three where I genuinely enjoyed the game. I was never bothered by any of the missions or difficulties, and the emerald chases were fun, if broken. I didn't liked the forced playthroughs, and the boss design was atrocious. Especially Egg Emperor. By far, the worst boss I have ever experienced. But if rereleased, I may return to it.

Sonic 06 - I like this game and would totally replay it. Yes, Sonic's story is bad, but Shadow's and Silver's are at least competent, and their gameplay works. Many problems with the game, sure, but I think it gets more flak than it deserves because it was not the game that was promised--which was the best Sonic game of all time. It very well could have been if it didn't go through development problems, and while a game's potential to be good shouldn't have a bearing on feelings, I appreciate all the more for that. And Silver, my favorite Sonic character, was introduced in this game. Enough said.

Sonic Mania - The best of 2D Sonic and an honestly great game in every regard. But I have a preference for 3D Sonic and deeper storylines, so I didn't enjoy quite as much. But only because I enjoy the other side of the Sonic more!

Shadow the Hedgehog - To heck with everyone hating it for it's super edgy tone, I like this game! Great replayability, good level design, and it has loads of story rewrite potential. The last point is there beause I like writing stories, but still, I love this game! If it weren't for some occasionally frustrating missions, slightly easy boss fights and a poor Last Story, this would be higher up.

Sonic Generations - The gameplay is solid, the graphics are beautiful, and there is lots of replayability. The only failing is the poor story, but given that that is the only fault, I can forgive it for that.

Sonic and the Secret Rings - This game is totally underrated, despite getting decent scores on getting released. The graphics are some of the best the Wii has, the story is good, and the level design is great despite being on-rails. If it weren't for the poor controls in the beginning due to the RPG mechanics, I'd say it is one of the best overall. Plus, there's a party mode, and in a household without Mario Party, it was good fun when I was little.

Sonic Unleashed - Best Sonic game, hands down. Great, if challenging, boost gameplay, a decent story and the most beautiful graphics to date. And the Werehog gameplay, to me, is a complement to the super speedy boost formula, and it is not objectively bad save for being slightly repetitive.

Note: I want to play CD and 3&K, along with the mobile titles. I just haven't gotten to it yet.

[MadmanRB]

Here are my stances, this is not a rating but more my thoughts on each game:

Sonic 1: great game, though flawed

Sonic 2: Improved over Sonic 2 despite a few quirks. Still my favourite Sonic game though

Sonic CD: Under rated, flawed but still enjoyable. Also one of the people who prefer the American soundtrack over the Japanese/European version.

Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles: the peak of Sonic and while i still like Sonic 2 more this game is still great.

Sonic Adventure: Flawed but actually pretty good

Sonic Adventure 2: also flawed and in some ways I think the first Sonic adventure is better.

Sonic heroes: Okay but it gets old thanks to its multi party system.

The Advance series: decent but has a sense of imitation crab with it, they are good games yes but they dont feel as good as the classics.

Shadow the hedgehog: the start of the dark age and with good reason, this game is crap. Plus the need top keep on replaying it to get the true ending is nothing but tedious nonsense.

Sonic 06: NOPE!

Storybook games: Never played them, wii exclusives, motion control nonsense... no interest

Unleashed: why the fuck is Sonic a werewolf? Fuck this game

Colors: Wii exclusive.... no interest.... it needs a re release on other systems.

Sonic 4 part 1: flaky physics, crappy controls..... crap

Sonic 4 Episode 2: better then the first, still very flaky

Generations: Great game

Lost world: okay but I hate the run button bullshit.

Mania: Hell yes, best Sonic game in years!

Forces: Nope, fuck this game

[Wittymations]

I only really like 4 (five if you divide it up) Sonic titles.

Sonic CD - Because it had an interesting atmosphere time traveling mechanic and I like the darker boss music in the American version. That's just my taste for it.

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (or Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles... that division) - It's just a big adventure with a lot of levels. I actually feel like stuff's happening here. Which I don't feel in Sonic 1 or 2, really.

Sonic Adventure - This is what really defined Sonic for me, even though I played Sonic 1 as a kid and was my first game. Preteen years played this game and I came to love narratives in video games because of it. I mean, in retrospect it wasn't exactly an excellent story, but at the time, oh yeah. I loved it. I loved adventuring around and seeing stuff, and I came to adore all the different characters. I even liked Big. In fact, kinda envied the dude -- he had a chill life. I especially enjoyed the ability to choose your own character and seeing the story change up depending on their perspective (Tails lied the most.)

Even grew to be fascinated by ancient civilizations because of that tower in Mystic Ruins, along with Tikal, and studied the real life comparisons. Now, yes... The voice acting is dumb, the animation is hot garbage, and the lip syncing is atrocious and I LOVE THAT -- it's bad, it's corny, it's hilarious. There's some things I take seriously here and there from it, but the early days of video gaming... "cinematic" is hilariously bad.

Sonic Adventure 2 - This and SA1 are my two favorite Sonic games and depending on the day, I may like one more than the other. SA1 offered the hubworld, SA2 offered playable Eggman, SA1 had the ability to choose your character, SA2 had playable Eggman, SA1 had badniks more in tune with previous games which made it felt more like the Sonic I knew in 3D but SA2 had playable Eggman. It's really hard to choose.

Now, while Sonic Adventure 1 had a fairly bleak tone at certain points, Sonic Adventure 2 kinda kicked that up more frequently -- it wasn't too bad and most of it was more hinted at and it still took breaks (the doc even scratched his ass during one cutscene) but I still enjoyed it. Some think it's too much, personally I think it's the limit how dark a title probably should get -- where it just hints at things. Personally, I felt SA2 was more "mission driven" than edgy. SA1 kinda just felt like things stumbled upon things while SA2 felt more like there was a goal for both sides -- bar Knuckles. Dude was just doing his own thing and got roped into it. T

he animation, voice acting and lip syncing all got better (you can really see a marginal improvement between 1 and 2) but it was still bad.

I dislike the removal of the hub and ability to choose your own character and just play through the story that way. But oh well. Still a great title.

[Ardisan]

My first games were Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Adventure, then the Mega and Gem collections. As of present day I played every sonic game except Boom games, Chronicles, and 06.

I'll just section them in "eras" since its easier for me and only put the ones I like but also replay a lot:

Classic: 

Sonic 1, 2, and 3&K

Sonic Mania (Wish it had more unique levels and if Amy was in it)

Sonic Pocket Adventure

Knuckles Chaotix

Modern:

Sonic Advance series (level design was annoying but I got used to it and now its muscle memory)

Sonic Rush series

Sonic Colors DS (Wii versions level design wasnt fun for me personally)

Sonic Unleashed HD (I love pretty much everything in it but the framerate and medals)

Sonic Generations HD

Sonic Lost Worlds HD (Somehow my 3rd favorite 3d sonic game)

 

 

[sonic 1-derful]

the original title for the megadrive is my favourite game of all time. the gameplay, music, graphics.. it's a timeless experience!  

I also like the game gear port of the game. mainly for the first half, and the bonus stage. of course the music too! if elements of both versions were combined it would be the perfect game  

I've never played pocket adventure, and would have been willing to seek it out had it not been for the inclusion of knuckles and the awful music..

been looking into sonic runners adventures. may buy it if I like what I see..

[Wraith]

I meant to post in here like 4 months ago but didn't lol. 

 

S RANK 

Sonic Adventure - I have a deep fucking love for this game despite it's warts. Just the feeling of being able to combine the vertical level design with Sonic's natural physics to make insane jumps is really all I want from the series mechanically and this game gets closest to that. It's story sets out to forward most of the cast beyond the kind of stereotypical roles they played in the classic games which is an angle I really appreciate. It's structure allows for the player to approach the game how they choose which imo is a step up from the games released after. 

Sonic 3K - Trade out Sonic Adventure's ambition for polish. Sonic 3K makes everything Sonic's earlier outings struggled with seem efforless with a fucking insane amount of polished, varied and fun zones to complete. 

 

A RANK 

Sonic Unleashed - Never has Sonic felt to me like it had such an insane amount of clarity on what it wanted to accomplish. Sonic Unleashed trades out a lot of traditonal platformer rules to create stylish, explosive action game where Sonic is less of a rolling ball with legs and more of a superhero. This ruffled a lot of fans feathers for understandable reasons, but once I clicked with this game I was over the moon. The Werehog is a completly different type of game which can be jarring to some. I had to adjust my thinking a bit to enjoy it as a fun hack n slash that, along with the hubs, make sure Sonic gets time take it slow and get intimate with the game's beautiful local. It's refreshingly content-packed and challenging for a Sonic title, giving it a lot of replay value beyond the first spin. 

Sonic Mania - I was in love with this game when it first dropped. Never has Sonic had level design so satisfying to work out than Sonic Mania. It excels so well in this one quality alone that it destroys most of the other games in the series. The drop dash will fix problems with the series you weren't even aware of. The moment to moment gameplay rocks, but little niggles here and there have added up to knock it down some for me. The bosses are honestly pretty sub-par even compared to other Sonic games. This normally wouldn't be a big deal on it's own but they're so frequent that they end up breaking the campaign's flow pretty severely for me unless I cheese them. This is more minor in the grand scheme but with most other Sonic games having a strong sense of place and many new locales I was put off with the way the game jumped around to old locations instead.  I don't want to seem like I'm harping on the game but I feel pretty good about it getting a direct follow-up so I try to be vocal about these things when I can. It's still a great game and a much appreciated return to fotm.

Sonic Rush Adventure - Just dumb fun. A polished group of levels that carry none of Sonic Rush's frustration pair with some fun minigames and a simple but effective story to make a light-hearted Sonic adventure that doesn't feel compromised. A bit shallow, but for the longest time it was my go-to DS game over any of the great titles released for the system. That's gotta mean something. 

B 

Sonic Adventure 2 - I've gone back and forth on this one over the years but as I've gotten older I realized I appreciate a lot of what this game tries to do. The freedom of Sonic Adventure is traded out for a sense of polish and flow that's addictive in it's own way with it's rhythm game like pacing. I have a very strong love for the game's urban aesthetic and the more athletic feeling of the mechanics. The speed levels especially have a lot of fun interactions that compound as Sonic gets more abilities and the game opens up. I've come to appreciate the treasure hunting stages for what they are: More polished and involved than their SA1 counter-parts but some annoying traversal mechanics hold them back a fair bit from being great. The shooting stages are pretty uneven with most of the interesting mechanics going to Eggman while Tails is given scraps. On the whole the game can be pretty uneven but the highs are high and the new characters it brought with it are some of my favorites in the franchise. 

Sonic 2 - I love this game's first half so much that I'm willing to excuse the rollercoaster drop it takes later on. 

Sonic Generations - An earnest love letter to the series made long before those started to feel tired. What I love most about gens is how proud Sonic Team is of the series they created, warts and all. Every era of Sonic's history gets a fully realized HD monument of a level which means the fiat pumping moments are constant for long time fans like me who like a little of everything . A lot of the problems I had with Sonic Mania crop up here due to it's nature and a really bland, surface level imitation of the genesis games puts a damper on this game's reverence for it's history. I don't enjoy the main stages as much as Unleashed either but some added polish to how Sonic controls and a stronger commitment to alternate routes and level gimmicks mean they at least are fun in their own way. 

C Rank 

Sonic Rush - A shallow but fun distraction. I'm not too hot on the Advance games but DIMPS leans a little more into what they're good at here to create their first solid win. There's still a lot of technical issues holding it back that thr sequel ironed out. 

Sonic Colors - It's pleasant. Very paired down and basic gameplay mechanics make it a poor follow-up to one of my favorite games in the series, but it has a strong sense of polish and an aesthetic I really like so I can't hate it. I just wish they hadn't blown such a fun premise on one of the smaller scale games.

Sonic CD - I'll probably never "get" this game. I like it based off it's strong aesthetic and world alone but the gameplay comes up short in prettu much every way. The levels are jarring in how they jerk the player around and hamstring the game's sense of flow and Sonic's physics are somehow a little broken despite being rocn solid in the previous game. Still I find myself coming back to it anyway just to spend a little more time on the hypnotizing Little Planet.

[T00tis3]

There’s a ton I personally enjoy tbh! Though their story may not be the best all the time, playing them is really fun. The mini games in sonic and the black knight make a up 95% of my childhood. Sonic 06 is something I LOVE now, and the original sonic the hedgehog series was really entertaining. I love the simple but nice story line in Team Sonic racing and the gameplay/music is so fun! Aaaaaa it’s one of my favorites. I haven’t played shadow the hedgehog yet but I realllyyyyy want to. 

[Cuz]

While I rarely return to Sonic 1 or 2. I often come back to 3&K and CD, and can safely say Mania has joined that list of classics that get regular play from me. I can get immersed in any one of the classic zones. The best zones feel like characters in their own right and that's what draws me back to the classics. It's also the fatal flaw of Knuckles Chaotix that prevents it from ever breaking bread with them...

As for titles I enjoy booting up from time to time with no regard for popular opinion or critique, the "3D" Saturn-era titles like Sonic Fighters, and Sonic R get a lot of love from me. Fighters has quirky and expressive 3D models.

Sonic R for as broken a racing game as it can be there's just this Zen quality to playing it.

SA2 puts me in a similar state of mind, like I'm free running the foot race or treasure hunting stages. The physics just gel with me at this point. 

 

[Fire-N-Space]

Sonic Adventure - Free roaming gameplay giving me the ability to jump about anywhere I wanted in each story. Amy's girly personality to her heartful attacks and chasing Sonic everywhere he go's it was something I've never seen before in a game.

 

Sonic Heroes - Having four stories, team play and funny banter I loved everything about this game with Amy being the star of the show getting more spotlight than she did in adventure her chasing and banter with Sonic in this game was perfect.

 

Sonic Riders - Having numerous boards to unlock keeps me playing for a long time.

 

Sonic Battle - Fighting was good but the best part was Amy's actions in the story mode. 

 

Sonic Chronicles the Dark Brotherhood - Never thought I would like a Sonic RPG so much but I did its timed commands aren't that bad and it has good dialogue.