One of the first Sonic games I have ever played and still one of my favorite ones to this day.
Mainly because my favorite Sonic character is introduced in this game and continues to be my favorite to this day.
For a while, I always thought it was weird that Eggman wanted to blow up the planet that he intended to rule, but the more I think about it, I think Eggman's basically just being like, "If I can't have your planet, no one can!" which to me, suits his character, also you can play as him in this game, how many Sonic games let you play as Eggman?!
Every character is also written very well in this game, even if the mistranslated dialogue doesn't really capture it all that well, also, we get a very heartfelt moment where Eggman opens up about his childhood and how he looked up to his grandfather and wanted to be just like him, how often does Eggman open up like this?!
If you can't tell, I absolutely love how Eggman is written in this game, to me, this is Eggman at his best.
While the final boss isn't as great as Sonic Adventure's final boss, everything else about the game still slaps.
Also, fun fact: This game was supposed to be Shadow's last game, he actually died at the end, until fans begged Sega to bring him back because they loved him so much, then they brought him back in Heroes.
And also, Chao Garden....That is all.