Sonic the Ranking
I don't really like adding games I've finished previously to my Played list if I know I'm going to replay them at some point, so until I do that, here's a ranking of my embarrassing Sonic phase!
I've excluded the games I haven't played; I've included seemingly duplicate handheld games. My relationship with most of these games is complicated, but I've probably had a good time with most of these at some point.
I've excluded the games I haven't played; I've included seemingly duplicate handheld games. My relationship with most of these games is complicated, but I've probably had a good time with most of these at some point.
30 Games
The only Sonic game I'll usually admit to liking. It's got aesthetic, it's got game, it's got everything the series wants but doesn't always have.
2
The closest Sonic the Hedgehog has come to comfort food. It sounds good and looks good - just don't take the gameplay too seriously and it's a blast of a sonic visual experience.
It's genuinely admirable how well they translate the Wii soundtrack onto the DS's sequences. The gameplay is even more polished than in Rush Adventure, but sadly it's all hampered by what seems to be a slightly rushed development, and its obligation to stay close to the source material.
Oh well. The special stages are really good, aren't they?
Oh well. The special stages are really good, aren't they?
Probably the most refined of the Dimps games while still retaining a sense of originality and ambition. Maybe the missions and the sailing was a bit of fodder, but I think it all comes together for something genuinely interesting and fully fledged, especially compared to how much filler the series suffers from, from this point onwards.
If not for how cheap the endgame can get, and the difficulty plateau in having Blaze start in Night Carnival, this is great stuff. It's nice seeing Naganuma at his best before he became a professional online funnyman.
6
heheheheheh
Good, but Mania tops it in every way except its storytelling.
The best Sonic game that isn't really a Sonic game in our modern understanding of it
I actually S-ranked the missions, but once you do, you realize there really isn't a lot of content here to justify keeping an 8GB install, when Sonic Mania is a lot more seamless and to-the-point.
I feel like White Space actually detrimented from traditional Sonic pacing, and there wasn't really much there to redeem it other than the interesting musical choices.
I feel like White Space actually detrimented from traditional Sonic pacing, and there wasn't really much there to redeem it other than the interesting musical choices.
10
Weird pacing, too much filler... but it's the most no-nonsense home console Sonic game since S3K.
Ambition, thy name is Sonic Adventure.
I almost feel like this game came too early. Had it had another year in development and on a more successful console, I think it might have had a fighting chance - but as it is, it's simply too janky in its presentation and its implementation of its ideas to really work.
I almost feel like this game came too early. Had it had another year in development and on a more successful console, I think it might have had a fighting chance - but as it is, it's simply too janky in its presentation and its implementation of its ideas to really work.
12
Actual unironic guilty pleasure
It has an interesting mechanic that nobody understood - not the players, nor the designers. Maybe we'll see someone actually salvage this idea one day. Probably not.
You know, at least it isn't Sonic 2.
Seriously? This is the game that started a legacy?
Sonic 2 but screen crunch
difficulty spike is wack
just play colors ds.
I love the mechanics and the aesthetics, but the level design really wasn't made for the GBA... or for humans.
I'll be honest, this game looks really good
I've 100%ed this game multiple times
26
I hate this game because the other kids made me play Chaotix as a kid
Wii version
The fact that I've beaten this game more than once probably says volumes about my masochism
Nothing the game has could possibly have salvaged those awful controls. Terrible midair acceleration, deceleration when turning, stiff double jump - for all the effort they put into making this game look like it has that cartoony energy, they didn't put anywhere near enough to making it feel like that under your hands.
Easily the worst Sonic game I've played, and the worst RPG I've played
10 Comments
Everything about Sonic games feels fun, the characters, the music, the settings, but then you have to play them...
@DustyVita Yeah, it's an awful shame. I feel like that's a lot of SEGA in general (including Rodea and Balan) - that they have better ideas, better concepts and better worlds than they're actually capable of implementing in practice. Jet Set Radio's another of those big disappointments for me.
@Clearin I'm sorry! At least on keyboard, the controls just don't feel right - combine that with the few occasions of jank in Sonic/Shadow's stages, the awful turning (at least on keyboard, turning practically kills all momentum and inertia you previously had), horrible jump arc and imprecise aiming in Tails/Eggman's, and me just being plain awful at Knuckles/Rouge's stages, and... the game just simply wasn't enjoyable for me as interactive media.
If this was a ranking of soundtracks, this would be considerably higher (albeit not quite top tier), but... not here. Maybe I'll make a soundtrack tierlist, though! I could put my favorite standout tracks in the notes, too.
@Clearin I'm sorry! At least on keyboard, the controls just don't feel right - combine that with the few occasions of jank in Sonic/Shadow's stages, the awful turning (at least on keyboard, turning practically kills all momentum and inertia you previously had), horrible jump arc and imprecise aiming in Tails/Eggman's, and me just being plain awful at Knuckles/Rouge's stages, and... the game just simply wasn't enjoyable for me as interactive media.
If this was a ranking of soundtracks, this would be considerably higher (albeit not quite top tier), but... not here. Maybe I'll make a soundtrack tierlist, though! I could put my favorite standout tracks in the notes, too.
I'm with you, Jet Set Radio is the most charming game I never want to play again. Yakuza is something Sega has made that I like as a full package. Persona is pretty good too but that was acquired later rather than built themselves.
I'd be interested in playing Yakuza one day for a lot of reasons. I don't think I've got anything that can run the games, though...
aw RIP
Can never get too into Sonic CD because the mechanic of having to find the machine to break in every level and having to find out how to build up enough speed to get to the past to do it stresses me out too much. I know the time stones exist as an alternative to this, but in general I'm not a fan of Sonic CD's big, sort of maze-like levels. Everything else about it is really cool though, I wanna get into it more because of how hard it goes in on atmosphere and presentation.
I do genuinely enjoy Mania, 3&K, and CD. I have a soft spot for most of SA2 and SA1/06 are messy games that I think are funny. I think what drew me in was the strong sense of aesthetics, layered level design that makes for interesting routing, and a unique momentum based focus for platforming.
sonic cd at the top -> :D
sonic 2 at the bottom -> D:
sonic 2 at the bottom -> D:
it's kind of funny how much fire this list is getting compared to the mario list.
@BansheeNeet It's been a while since I've last played Sonic CD, but I've got a general idea of what ballpark the generators will be in the early levels, and by the time I've gotten near the end, I've got all the Time Stones already and plenty of lives, so I like to take my time, find a good spot to go to the past early and explore the stages to my heart's content. I like verticality in my platformers (ironic given how much of a Mario fan I am), so I don't mind how expansive Sonic CD's level design is (or how mediocre it is, at the end of the day).
@Sol2806: Same, except I don't have that same soft spot for SA2, and I've yet to play 06. I'm really looking forward to it one day, though - I feel like I'll get that same sense of passion and ambition from it, and that distinct "what could have been" feel with not enough technical competence to keep things together.
...aside from the story, anyway. that's like, whatever. imagine playing a sonic game for the story. yeah, uh, couldn't be me.
@heatten: I'm sorry!! I don't think Sonic 2 is a bad game, I just think it's... its level design is a little uninteresting compared to everything after it, and Sonic 1's best moments still leave Sonic 2's in the dust, in my opinion. It drags on for a little too long for a game without a save, the Special Stages are my least favorite, and I just prefer the other classic games' soundtracks.
@BansheeNeet It's been a while since I've last played Sonic CD, but I've got a general idea of what ballpark the generators will be in the early levels, and by the time I've gotten near the end, I've got all the Time Stones already and plenty of lives, so I like to take my time, find a good spot to go to the past early and explore the stages to my heart's content. I like verticality in my platformers (ironic given how much of a Mario fan I am), so I don't mind how expansive Sonic CD's level design is (or how mediocre it is, at the end of the day).
@Sol2806: Same, except I don't have that same soft spot for SA2, and I've yet to play 06. I'm really looking forward to it one day, though - I feel like I'll get that same sense of passion and ambition from it, and that distinct "what could have been" feel with not enough technical competence to keep things together.
...aside from the story, anyway. that's like, whatever. imagine playing a sonic game for the story. yeah, uh, couldn't be me.
@heatten: I'm sorry!! I don't think Sonic 2 is a bad game, I just think it's... its level design is a little uninteresting compared to everything after it, and Sonic 1's best moments still leave Sonic 2's in the dust, in my opinion. It drags on for a little too long for a game without a save, the Special Stages are my least favorite, and I just prefer the other classic games' soundtracks.
Clearin
3 years ago