In a significant twist, the game wasn't even developed by Sonic Team. While the modern offering, Sonic Forces, disappointed a large portion of the fan base, Sonic Mania took the retro route and delivered the best Sonic the Hedgehog game in decades. In 2017, fans received two major Sonic releases. Sure, we weren't on the edge of our seats as we tried to hook Froggy on Big the Cat's fishing line, and we can still hear the annoying radar sound of Knuckles' treasure-hunt levels, but this was the game Sonic fans desperately craved as they jealously looked over the console-wars fence at Super Mario 64 just a few years prior. Putting you in the roles of six distinct characters as you play through the same overarching story from differing perspectives was a novel idea, and Sonic Adventure executed it effectively. While that would prove less realistic a few years down the road, in the Dreamcast era, Sonic felt at the top of his game, and Sonic Adventure became the opening salvo for what Sega hoped to accomplish with what turned out to be its final home console. Contrasting the eye-popping visuals to its late-'90s contemporaries made Sega and Sonic Team appear poised to continue their contention with the best the platforming genre had to offer. It's hard to overstate the wow factor of Sonic Adventure when it came out in 1999. Regardless of what version you play, Sonic the Hedgehog is a historically significant video game that made serious waves in the early '90s gaming scene. However, subsequent releases of Sonic 1 have added some of these features, making it a much more approachable game in the modern era. Returning to Sonic the Hedgehog today as it exists on Genesis can be a tricky proposition, with now-established franchise features like the spin-dash, Super Sonic, and the ability to save your progress not available in this first entry.
#SONIC MANIA PLUS METAL SONIC PLAYABLE SERIES#
Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog is the one that started it all and went a long way towards establishing the Classic Sonic formula, but the series truly found its stride in subsequent entries. To this day, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is one of the few to have credibly challenged Mario for the platforming throne, and this debut entry is largely to thank. The game was innovative in 1991 when it went head-to-head with games like Super Mario World. The one that started it all, Sonic the Hedgehog on Genesis created the template and foundation the rest of the games on this list have followed. However, the underwhelming level design, a heavy-handed story, and poor controls amounted to a mediocre title in Modern Sonic's up-and-down legacy. The darker narrative, the return of fan-favorite bosses, the swapping between 3D and 2D gameplay – all of this added up on paper to spell one of the best Modern Sonic games to date. Unfortunately, the game fell short of that high bar, and despite being the 2017 game developed by the core Sonic Team, it paled in comparison to the throwback that is Sonic Mania.Įven without the stark contrast in quality between the two games that year, Sonic Forces still fell short of its potential. Launching mere months after the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania, Forces had a ton to live up to and promised to do so through the return of Classic Sonic in a Modern Sonic game, plus a new character creation tool.
Sadly, what was supposed to be a next-gen showcase on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 instead became the poster child for when once-great franchises hit rock bottom.įor more on why Sonic '06 is so awful, check out the highlights from our Super Replay dedicated to playing through the entire game, or read this feature all about why the franchise took such a downturn in the mid-2000s.Īnnounced alongside Sonic Mania during the 25th-anniversary party for the Sonic franchise, Sonic Forces was another game meant to celebrate a milestone birthday for Sega's flagship franchise.
Players could potentially overlook those problems if the game played well or had a good story, but neither is the case. A lifeless hub world doles out mundane and frustrating challenges before dumping you into half-baked stages that typically fail to deliver on any potential they seem to have. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is known for its glitches (of which there are many), but that's only part of the picture. Sonic '06 was meant to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary, but instead of ringing in the milestone birthday, it nearly dashed away any remaining goodwill from Sonic's initial jump to 3D. If you're ranking a list of games from worst to best and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is included, chances are it's going to be dead last.
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