   ~Saving the Planet from Disaster~ Of course I love Sonic the Hedgehog UNDER CONSTRUCTIONLike many a Sonic fan, I have had a love-hate relationship with the series for the better part of my life. I was introduced to Sonic via Sonic Adventure 2, and latched onto his 3D outings shortly thereafter. I was immersed in the history of the series, the fan opinions, OCs, the shows, etc. Nowadays, I like to see what the series is doing. I have really been enjoying the new movies and the direction the games are taking, but you can never be too sure what Sonic team will do next.
Sonic Adventure 2 was my first Sonic game. I saw it for the first time as a 9 y/o at my best friend’s house, and wanted it bad. I needed to know who Shadow was! Sonic Adventure 2 Battle wasn’t that expensive, so my parents were happy to grab me a copy. I was immediately hooked, and became fixated on the series. Over the years I’d play Sonic Adventure 2 repeatedly. Sometimes I’d play with my siblings, sometimes I’d just replay a stage or two, sometimes I’d start a whole new file. I thought Shadow the Hedgehog was such a neat character, and it helped that Sonic and his friends were cool too. As the years passed, the internet began to come out with many a negative take about the game. “It’s all bad except for the speed stages” began to be the predominant narrative. Instead of forming my own opinion, I blindly followed along with the crowd and stopped playing Sonic Adventure 2. I wrote it off as a bad game from my childhood. Years later, I stumbled upon another YouTube video praising the hell out of Sonic Adventure 2, and reflecting on how it was their introduction to the franchise. Feeling nostalgic, I decided to replay the game and realized I still LOVED it. Not every level was perfect, but I really enjoyed myself. I found my favorite part of the game was now A ranking the stages. After years of avoiding it, I finally decided to set out and A rank all the stages. As of January 2025, I’ve finished doing that for the first time and it feels amazing! Like a high-five to my 9 y/o self who just wanted to love Sonic and friends.    ---- 
I unapologetically love Sonic Unleashed. It was the game that reinvigorated my love of the series, and opened my eyes to how Sonic could evolve in 3-D given the time and polish. I just love this game, even the parts that people don’t like. I love the day stages, I love the werehog, I love the medal collecting, I love music - it’s just such a great game to me. For many years, I was afraid to share this opinion because it was so controversial in the fandom. Thankfully, nowadays it’s a lot more common to see people praising this game. It’s funny because, like many, I almost skipped this game entirely when I saw the werehog. Luckily, my sister bought a copy of the Wii version and I was able to see what this game was trying to do. I played the first few stages and loved what I saw; the boost of Sonic, the platforming of the werehog, etc. However, as quickly as I discovered I liked the game, it broke and I never finished it. A few months later, my dad brought home a PS3, and Sonic Unleashed was one of the first games I bought. I played it after beating Sonic 06 (lol), and was blown away by how different it was from the Wii version. It was even more thrilling! Still, it’s not a perfect game. I don’t care for the flight levels or the final boss battle against dark Gaia. However, both are small enough portions of the game that they don’t take away from my overall enjoyment. Sonic Unleashed often fights for the spot of my favorite Sonic game. Depending on the day, it usually is. ----  Sonic x Shadow Generations I remember how excited I was when Sonic Generations was announced. I followed the build up to its release, and bought it shortly after it came out. I latched onto the modern Sonic stages, playing them over and over and over. I never quite latched to Classic Sonic in this game, but I think that's a general taste thing and not a reflection on Classic Sonic as a whole. However, the 2024 Shadow upgrade blows the base game out of the water in my opinion. Shadow’s handling, stages, and abilities has (currently) become my favorite version of the boost gameplay. It is just so snappy and polished. It’s nice to have a game that feels like peak Sonic starring Shadow again. I’ve missed him! ----  Sonic Frontiers Another controversial game that I just loved. I was wary when I saw the early gameplay footage, but willing to give it a shot anyway. I’m glad I did, because I really liked the formula shake up. I love running around the open zones and filling out my map, it’s one of my favorite part of “open world games”. I liked the cyberspace levels, even if they can be awkward and lazy, because they were fun to S rank. I LOVE the music, so much so that the soundtrack was the top of my most listened to music in 2024. I was also extremely pleased with Sonic Team for bringing back Tails, Amy, and Knuckles as playable characters in an alternate DLC ending (that was free!). They weren’t perfect, but it was really incredible to play as them in 3-D again. I like Sonic’s friends. Sadly, Frontiers is not entirely polished. I thought the story was just okay, I don’t like the character models, and the game could be really frustrating at times. Sonic Frontiers needs work, but it is worth building on and I hope Sonic Team does. ----  Sonic Adventure There was a time when I thought this might be my favorite Sonic game. I think it mainly had to do with playing around in the hub worlds, and having a version of Tails in 3-D that wasn’t in a mech or on a team. I used to spend hours flying around as Tails specifically, just enjoying the freedom. (He’s my favorite character after all!). Nowadays, I have a more mixed opinion of this game. I think the Sonic levels are some of his best, and translate the gameplay from the 2-D games into 3-D perfectly. The remaining cast of characters have campaigns and stages that are just too short (with Big being a chore to play). I also didn’t really latch on to this game’s story, but it does have some great moments with Amy, Knuckles, and Gamma. I like coming back and replaying it every now and then, but I like it’s tighter sequel a lot more. ----  NOTE ON CLASSIC SONIC: I think it’s important to note, before sharing my thoughts on these games, that I was a child of the 3-D platformer era. My first consoles were a PS1 and Gamecube, and the only sidescrollers I played were Kirby games on the gameboy. With this background, I was always terrible at 2-D platformers, and never quite liked the punishing difficulty. As an adult, I have a more open mind to them, but I’m not built for the style of gameplay the same way an older millennial might be. All this to say, I’m not the biggest classic Sonic fan, but the fact I like his games at all is a testament to how good they are.  Sonic Mania Despite this coming out in the late 2010’s, I think Sonic Mania slots in best among the classic games. Mania is a blast with really solid level design, an incredible soundtrack, lively sprite work, and just fun gameplay. I like the additions of Mighty and Ray as playable characters, they add even more flavor to an already fun game. Like many, my only real complaint is that so many levels were recycled from previous games, but I can’t stay mad when they’re so much fun to play. ----  Sonic CD Sonic CD is probably my most played classic Sonic game, but it’s not my favorite. I mainly attribute this to how good the JP/EU soundtrack is, and having the Christian Whitehead port readily available on my phone. (No shade to the North American OST. I think they are great, they just happened to be stacked against one of the best OSTs in gaming period). Really, the game was a vehicle for me to listen to these jams. It also helped that Sonic CD isn’t all that difficult compared to the other classic Sonic games, and I felt really empowered when I was able to beat it quickly. I liked it so much that I’d replay to get the best ending through time travelling and bonus stages. Unfortunately, its levels haven’t held up all that well for me, especially now that we’re living in a post-Sonic Mania world. I find some of the layouts to be frustrating, even after repeated playthroughs. Still, I love this game, and I’m glad it’s been preserved and ported so well. ----  Sonic 3 and Knuckles I had always heard Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the best of the classics growing up, and I desperately wanted to partake in and share that opinion. I had Mega Collection, but I was pretty terrible at the classic games as a kid. It’s only been much later that I’ve been able to fully enjoy this combined game. The sprite work is great and charming, able to tell a story without dialogue. The levels are very fun, boasting a good mixture of platforming and speed (although, some do feel a little too big). I even like the bonus stages. Sonic 3 has a lot to offer with its various playable characters, better power ups, and new super forms. I can understand why this is people’s favorite of the classics. ----  Sonic 2 I actually have a little more nostalgia when it comes to this game, despite never beating it. While I first played it on Sonic Mega Collection, it was one of the few games I was able to download on my flip phone and ipod touch in my early high school days. Sonic 2 was the game I played on the go, replaying the first levels over and over again. It was also the game I played when I had tv on and wanted something to do. Because of this, I was able to come closer to meeting Sonic 2 on its terms, in that I had no save states to work with and had to get better at the game overtime. Despite this, I have still struggled to beat it, making it all the way to the final boss and dying every time. I’ve contemplated doing this with save states or in Origins, but it almost feels like cheating. I’m just really bad at classic Sonic. ---- 
Disappointments |
