I was wondering if I should log this here. Played a handful of acts and my general reaction to it was something in the lines of:
- looks ugly
- plays very sluggish
- screen feels too small, even on PC
- soundtrack tries to be Mega Drive, but it doesn't try doing something interesting with the sound chip
Honestly? Just play the crappy Speedy Gonzales Romhack for the SNES that was titled "Sonic The Hedgehog 4". It's as sluggish as this, but at least the "SONIC SONI-" sound makes me giggle.

- Game looks ugly as hell
- Level design is boring and forgettable
- Sonic controls like ass
- Level themes are all ripped straight from Genesis Sonic games
- Boss fights are 1:1 to their original counterparts with one additional attack that shakes up nothing
- Soundtrack grates my ears

"Sonic 06 is the worst Sonic game", "No its Boom", "No its Secret Rings ", "No its Forces", "No its *insert hated Sonic game".
Yeah, this fanbase has trouble choosing the worst game of it.
But lemme propose this.
This one is the worst Sonic game.
And hell, it is the WORST game I've ever played.
I can say at least Mario Tennis Open looks pleasant enough.
I can say at least Paper Mario Sticker Star has great OST and looks visually pleasing.
I can even fucking Mega Man X6 and X7 have good OST, or other things, as minimal as they are.
In this case.
Nothing.
Absolutamente nada para salvar.
This fucking game has nothing going for it.
It looks completely putrid, like its not even "oh its old so that's why", even N64 and PS1 games look way better than this, and they're on less powerful hardware.
The level design is so boring or frustrating and unmemorable as well, I don't remember the levels, just being bored or frustrated.
Bosses.
Lol.
Lmao.
There's no dialogue, and animations are so dry and lifeless.
The advertisement was proud of just Sonic and Eggman being there, BUT MAYBE IF THEY WERE CHARACTERS IT COULD'VE WORKED.
And the fucking music.
Sonic's biggest saving grace even on bad games.
Its forgettable and annoying.
Not even the music can be salvaged.
At the point I played this game, I had played every 3D Sonic except for 06 (or well, project 06) and Shadow The Hedgehog.
And even after playing all the other 2D games, even 4 episode 2, this is easily the worst game I've ever played and its no contest.
This is the only game with nothing to salvage, nothing to latch onto.
Just.
Nothing.
All it is is frustration and also boring.
It is a constant assault of bad emotions when its not meant for them.
Don't even bother with this assbitchery.
This game is worthless, and a complete waste of time.

How do you fuck this up this bad, this isn't really a classic sonic game at all but considering the fact that Dimps has made some good Sonic games before this like the advance and rush games I would expect something at least fun but this. What the fuck happened here. This is basically just a shitty mobile game plopped onto consoles and macerating as Sonic 4 which makes since considering the fact that I'm pretty sure this was going to be called Sonic the Mobile which makes since considering that this was going to be a mobile game at first probably. The physics and momentum are dogshit and basically nonexistent, the level design is straight up not fun to play, the graphics are disgusting and rancid, and they somehow fucked up the soundtrack. Say what you will about Superstars (that game does have a good amount of flaws that I might talk about at a later date), but at least its actually fun to play and the soundtrack in that is just alright. Thank god we have Sonic Mania to replace this piece of shit. I don't know how this series can get worse then this but considering the fact that this series is infamous for the worst games in the series, there was a reason why I was hesitant on this marathon at first.

“Bro this game is terrible you retard why is it a 7 and not a 1 like it obviously deserves?” Actually give it a chance because it’s not that bad I don’t care if it looks ugly or sounds like trash as long as the gameplay is solid then I couldn’t care less about those things
“But it controls shitty and the level design is bad you gotta spam the homing attack over and over again” the controls are fine sure they take a bit of time to get used to but they’re doable whatever about the physics like sa1 and rush have messed up physics and yet people still like those games and level design doesn’t force you to use the homing attack all the time look up speed runs for proof and you’ll see what I mean it’s more skill based than you think
Some flaws that bring to mind are the level gimmicks and which some are fine (vines, torches, and rotating gears) but others aren’t that don’t have much going on (boulder, pinball and mine cart ride) and admittedly the homing attack is a dumb addition even though it’s not too much of a problem it’s still just as unsatisfactory as it’s always been

Sonic 4 is a sequel that takes away much more than it adds. This was a game advertised as something worth the 16 year gap between this and Sonic 3 where in reality, it was a mobile game that was given a bigger budget and labelled as “Sonic 4” just to push units.

Sonic 4 isn’t really much like a classic sonic game outside of being a 2D side scroller. Sonic is the only playable character and his controls don’t feel much like the Genesis games at all. Rolling doesn’t pick up speed at all, it’s better to just run as this will allow you to get along just fine. There is a Spindash and it’s great for instant speed, as well as for Spindash jumping which is really fun in this game. Sonic also has the homing attack here. Not really sure why and for the most part all it’s used for attacking basic chains of enemies.

Overall though Sonic 4 isn’t a game that was built for the old control scheme. For this game I think the control is mostly fine, especially as they like to take control away anyway with the amount of dash pads plastered everywhere.

There’s only 4 zones, and all of them are almost entirely ripped from Sonic 1 and 2 when it comes to aesthetics. However level design is totally different and there are some gimmicks I like, such as the vine swinging in Splash Hill or the Roller Ball stage in Lost Labyrinth. In fact there isn’t really a stage I hate in Sonic 4 Ep1, while nothing mind blowing, it does work, and it’s okay.

Bosses aren’t much to talk about, fairly basic fights, though I enjoy the pinch modes and the return of the death egg robot as this was his first comeback.

I don’t mind how the game looks, Sonic does look a little like a plastic toy but overall I do like the visuals, the soundtrack though is pretty weak. Could be worse but most is forgettable.

Special stages being back as an end of level affair is abit dissapointing, and it’s a take on the Sonic 1 special stage, expect here you rotate the maze not Sonic. They’re okay, and you can even retry if you’re able to pause the game before failing.

And hey if you collect all the chaos emeralds you unlock Super Sonic for any stage, for the first time since Sonic 3! Absolutely awesome at the time and I’m glad it’s something that has mostly stuck around. He’s a lot of fun here, totally overpowered but a lot of fun.

Sonic 4 Ep1 isn’t a bad game by any means, it’s just really unremarkable considering what it’s following up on