大象传媒

By Ben Clarke // 大象传媒 The Social contributor // 09 July 2020

Even though I didn’t grow up with the Sonic franchise, I feel like it’s been with me my entire life. From the obvious big hitters to the more obscure titles, I’ve pretty much played every game this franchise has to offer, for better…or for worse. And yes, by worse I mean Sonic 06!

With the recent success of the surprisingly great Sonic the Hedgehog movie, the franchise has been gradually making its way back into the spotlight. Fans, old and new, are coming together to celebrate the legacy of this epic series.

That said, there has to be a winner. A Sonic game that stands out from the masses. And what better way to announce my personal favourite than a countdown.

Buckle up for my top 5 favourite Sonic games

This is definitely the most divisive Sonic game on my list. Sonic Unleashed hits so many peaks but it has its troughs.

It has arguably the best CGI intro in the series, it has my favourite soundtrack and some of the most fun stages. However, the game infamously introduces Werehog, Sonic’s werewolf alter-ego, and the game becomes more about combat and puzzle-platforming. These stages aren’t terrible but they can sometimes feel repetitive and boring.

The main campaign is also slow-paced because it halts game progression if you cannot find all the collectibles. These blemishes, I’m afraid, prevent Unleashed from being any higher on the list.

That said, it’s an extremely fun game. The Sonic stages are so fast and thrilling. The storyline can be cheesy but it has high enough stakes to fully-invest your time into its world. Give this game a go.

This is my favourite of the classic Sonic games.

Its iconic locations, badass music and amazing character-control make this the pinnacle of Mega Drive games. Running through loops, spin-dashing to gain momentum, collecting chaos emeralds, it’s all there. There’s even a jaw-dropping storyline told without a single word of dialogue. Pretty impressive, right?

I know that Sonic Mania, the recently released Classic Sonic game, is a fantastic game that has a lot of these qualities but, the fact is, this game offers more diversity.

Overall, Sonic 3 and Knuckles delivers good times and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to get into Sonic.

Once Sonic made the jump to 3D, there was a huge tonal shift in the franchise.

Suddenly the stories were a lot more serious, the soundtrack became edgier and the character designs had drastically changed to reflect their newer, more engrossing personalities. While Sonic Adventure was a good first attempt, Sonic Adventure 2 peaked this new creative vision

At first, I really didn’t understand what the hype was about but, after time, you grow to love it. You can play as six different characters, which may sound like a lot, but the developer, Sonic Team, made it work. In fact, my favourite stages are the ones involving both Sonic and, newly introduced rival, Shadow the Hedgehog.

Their stages consist of speeding past obstacles, well-timed jumps and coordinated attacks to progress through the environment. Knuckles and Rouge have treasure hunting stages that are more explorative but, despite being a bit long, they are fun too. Lastly, Tails and Dr Eggman have mech-focused stages where the aim is to destroy as many enemies as humanly possible.

There’s also an awesome monster-collecting mode, known as the Chao World. With this, you can raise and train your own pets through mini-games, and it’s addictive.

And then, there’s the music. The soundtrack is just out-of-this-world amazing, with each character getting their own musical style to match their personalities. Sonic is accompanied by light rock, Knuckles laid-back rap, Dr Eggman grungy rock, the list goes on.

What a game!

Sonic Rush Adventure is the most underrated Sonic game ever made. And, it’s also the most fun 2D Sonic game.

Its Nintendo DS predecessor, Sonic Rush, walked so Rush Adventure could run. Rush was failed by its unfair level design, littered with bottomless pits and instant-kill traps. However, Rush Adventure offers challenging, yet forgiving level design with so many optional routes to traverse through.

The game strangely has a sea pirate theme which is something very unique for the Sonic series, and it adds to the charm of it.

It’s a game that I love to play so much, from its different variety of levels, different playable characters, the story, the aesthetic, the world-building, it’s all there. I’ll never get bored of it so I reckon you’ll enjoy it too.

This is the crème de la crème of Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay! Sonic Generations offers an experience that is incredibly accessible and completely replayable.

It was created to celebrate Sonic’s 20th anniversary, aiming to bring together all SEGA fans to celebrate the legacy of the Sonic franchise. And you know what? Sonic Team did a damn good job and made what is easily my favourite Sonic game of all time.

The game incorporates both old-school Classic Sonic and current-day Modern Sonic for 2D and 3D stages. This pleases fans of both genres. Levels are taken from past titles and revamped to create even more exciting set-pieces to run through. The stages are bigger and better than they’ve ever been.

Classic Sonic may not feel exactly the same as his Mega Drive days but his levels are so intricately designed that it’s really a none-issue. Modern Sonic is where the game truly shines with level design that is so thoughtful and dense that it makes for easily the most fun Sonic ever made.

While it may not have a great story and some of its missions can drag, the gameplay is simply too great for those issues to knock it down.

Generations is the gold standard for what all Sonic games should strive to be.