The Sonic the Hedgehog series launched in 1991 and delivered a platformer that featured a then-revolutionary usage of momentum and physics to create dazzling speedy gameplay. With Sonic Boom causing chaos among critics, it’s time to remind ourselves why the series has endured for over twenty years, and what made it good in the first place. Here’s VGU’s Top 10 Sonic the Hedgehog games.
10. Sonic 1 8-bit (Master System, Game Gear, 1991)
When Sega realised that Sonic was a hit on Mega Drive /Genesis, they quickly got to work on creating an 8-bit version of the game for the Master System. This version of the game features different levels and songs, and was partly developed by PS4 creator Mark Cerny himself.
Levels that are exclusive to this version of the game have become fan-favourites, such as the classic Bridge Zone or the Sky Base Zone that closes the adventure. While obviously not as advanced as its 16-bit brethren, it has a certain undeniable charm.
9. Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance, 2001)
This was the first outing for the hedgehog on a Nintendo machine after Sega discontinued the Dreamcast. The level design here was multi-layered, and didn’t feature the long periods of holding right and bottomless pits that its sequels would become infamous for.
Four playable characters were included, and the level design catered for each of them. Sonic Advance’s levels were expansive and had a better understanding of the physics that made the classic series great than other 2D Sonic games.
8. Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast, 2001)
The last hurrah on Dreamcast received high critical acclaim. Sonic Adventure 2 is filled with content, such as unlockable 2-player stages, a kart-racer, virtual pets, extra missions and the elusive All A-Rank Emblem. The game’s story is one of the few Sonic stories that isn’t totally nonsensical, and the main focus of the game, Sonic’s black doppelganger Shadow, had the good sense to (spoilers) die in the ending cutscene (fan outcry would later see him return and facilitate creating horrendous stories and games like this).
Sonic gameplay counted for approximately one third of the game. Knuckles’ treasure hunting gameplay was tweaked from the first Adventure game to make it harder to find objectives, and the character changes were now forced. Compared to its predecessor, Sonic Adventure 2 is actually the weaker of the two for these reasons. Therefore….
7. Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast, 1999)
1999. Sega launches the Dreamcast, the first in the post-PS1 generation, and its flagship game is Sonic Adventure. This is an ambitious game indeed, with six interwoven storylines, six playable characters and a new axis of movement.
Great music, combined with a stunning colour palette and art direction made Sonic Adventure the game to play on the Dreamcast. The way the stories interlock is brilliant, and unlike its sequel, you won’t change characters unless you choose to. Granted, if you want to get the actual ending of the game you’ll have to trundle through the Big campaign, which involves fishing. Knuckles’ stages were nonlinear here, making them more enjoyable, and the other characters were still platforming despite everything (well… except Big).
It was great to see the events of the story play out from different perspectives, and learning why characters behaved the way they did as a result. This interweaving storyline concept is something that Sonic Team tried to revisit in later games with little to no success, as it was never done as well it was here since.
6. Sonic Colours (Wii, 2010)
Sonic Adventure 2 was released in 2001. Sonic Colours, the game that many believe is the one that broke the trend of disappointing Sonic games, was released in 2010. It took nine years for Sonic Team to get their act together, and just make a game where Sonic runs about and defeats Robotnik. New movement options came in the form of Wisps, colourful little aliens which let Sonic move around in the air or underground.
The reason it worked well is because it took the best parts of Sonic Unleashed, and built the whole game around them. The rebalanced boost system, the 2D/3D switching and the total lack of any other type of gameplay made Colours a breath of fresh air after so many failed attempts to make a decent game.
Colours kept it simple, though it drew some criticism for being totally linear whenever it went to 3D and remained in 2D for much of the experience. Thankfully the next game would include far more open 3D spaces, and refine it even further….
5. Sonic Generations (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, 2011)
Sonic Generations stands as the best Sonic game released in the last ten years. This was the game that Sonic fans waited a decade for, and it paid off tremendously. Taking control of two Sonics, players are taken on a trip down memory lane with remakes of the more iconic Sonic levels from both 2D and 3D perspectives. Even when playing in the 3D sections, the levels are rarely linear, allowing for multiple paths.
A fully customisable soundtrack, great level design, a simple story and the perfect length of around five hours makes Sonic Generations a platformer that even non-fans should sit up and take notice of.
4. Sonic CD (Mega CD, 1993)
After the success of Sonic’s first games, Sega needed a Sonic game on their Mega CD add-on, and so members of Sonic Team in Japan got to work. A story in which Sonic has to contend with a doppelganger, Metal Sonic, and the ability to time-travel keeps things interesting.
The concept was this – if Sonic went fast enough while holding a powerup, he would travel through time like the DeLorean from Back to the Future and emerge in a new era. This made Sonic CD a very varied and diverse game, as it encouraged exploration and each version of each stage had its own musical track. Sonic CD has great music that took advantage of the new CD format, and the levels were huge, sprawling mazes.
Maze is probably the best term to describe these things. It’s easy to get lost in these levels, with some segments flat-out designed to annoy the player. It can be hard to build up the speed necessary to time-jump, so in places the game is at odds with itself. However, Sonic CD stands as one of the better entries in the series despite these hiccups. It was rereleased in 2011 with widescreen support and extra features, such as the ability to choose between the game’s US and Japanese soundtracks.
3. Sonic The Hedgehog (Mega Drive/Genesis, 1991)
Much has been said about how Sega created Sonic the Hedgehog as a killer app for its Mega Drive/Genesis console, after an internal competition to create a new flagship character. Created in 1991 with a ridiculously successful launch, many videos and articles have been created about Sonic’s marketing and branding, but it would have meant nothing if the game wasn’t any good. Thankfully this isn’t the case, and the reason behind the game’s phenomenal success is down to the way Sonic moves in-game.
The critical thing is that when you place Sonic at the top of a hill and have him curl into a ball, he’ll roll down it, picking up speed. This is the secret to the success of the series – Sonic the Hedgehog has a physics engine, and Sonic is beholden to the hyperactive laws of physics that Yuji Naka created. This is combined with Hirokazu Yasuhara’s curved, sloping, and skate-park-esque level design to deliver the speed that the series is famous for. Sonic is essentially a living pinball and you get to control him.
To this day, the ability to have Sonic curl into a ball and roll around curvy levels to build speed hasn’t even really been attempted, let alone perfected in 3D. The jump to 3D simply saw things like loops and ramps become scripted events, which is a shame. A re-introduction of what fans call “classic physics” in the third dimension is precisely where the series needs to go in the future.
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive/ Genesis, 1992)
Sonic 2 is in many ways, a perfect sequel. It improves on practically every aspect of the first game, and introduced a new mechanic so perfectly suited to Sonic that it has become iconic itself: the Spin Dash, which allows Sonic to charge up a spin in place, and then release for a burst of speed.
The levels expanded in size and number, and Sonic Team included a multiplayer mode that allows players to race through some of the levels, and even a secret ending unlocked by finding the seven optional Chaos Emeralds. Sonic 2 also introduced Super Sonic: an even faster, unlockable god-mode version of Sonic that was so cool, many people at the time thought he was just a rumour.
The development team then went back to work for two years while they focused on the next game in the series. In 1994, Sonic Team was a powerhouse AAA developer, and their magnum opus was sold in two parts on separate cartridges almost a year apart. Sneaky yes, but when combined, these parts come together to form something very special indeed.
1. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Mega Drive/Genesis, 1994)
The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge is famous for including a slot for yet another cartridge. Put Sonic 3 into this slot and something truly magical happens.
When people talk about the “glory days” or a “return to form” when it comes to Sonic The Hedgehog, this is what they’re referring to. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is still the pinnacle of the series 20 years later, thanks to its sprawling level design and Sonic’s sense of weight when rolling around.
New powerups, abilities, and extra playable characters (Tails and Knuckles) that don’t change the gameplay drastically make this a deeper and more involving game to play than its predecessors, but the scope is also massive in comparison.
14 huge, diverse stages, 77 Giant Rings, 14 new Emeralds to collect, multiple endings, the soundtrack, a multiplayer mode, Hyper Sonic, saving and loading…the list goes on. Sonic 3 and Knuckles even has something of an involved storyline, but it’s told in all its glory using the in-game engine and without a single line of dialogue. You can piece together the lore using the scenes the game provides, which is often how the best game stories are.
If you consider yourself a gamer at all, you need to educate yourself and play this classic game. Strip away any misinformed or stereotypical ideas you have about Sonic or the fanbase, misguided or otherwise, and find this game on a download store as soon as you can. You’ll see why there is still a following for the series, and why it’s so tragic that there seems to be a dark cloud hanging over it.