The 10 Best Sonic Games
Sonic Advance
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic CD
Sonic Colors
Sonic Generations
From Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to Sonic Mania to Sonic Generations, here are our picks for the best Sonic games of all time.
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By IGN Staff
Updated: Jul 15, 2022 2:50 pm
Posted: Jul 13, 2022 1:00 pm
Few video game characters are as iconic as Sonic the Hedgehog. The speedy little blue blur has been around for over three decades, touching every corner of pop culture along the way, from games, to comics, to TV, to blockbuster movies. But we’re here specifically to celebrate the mainline Sonic game series and pick the best of them.
Before we start, let’s quickly touch upon our criteria. We tried to rank these games based on a combination of historical significance, innovation, and how well these games stand the test of time. Some games, like Sonic Adventure 1 and the original Sonic the Hedgehog, for instance, are obviously super important to the Sonic series and set the foundation for both 2D and 3D Sonic games to follow, but we felt like they both didn’t quite hold up as well as their sequels when judged by a modern standard, which was why they just missed this list.
The 10 games on this list are the ones we feel are the best examples of both classic and modern Sonic style. So with that said, here are our picks for the 10 best Sonic Games, as chosen by a handful of IGN’s biggest Sonic fans.
The 10 Best Sonic Games
10. Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Unleashed gets a bad rap, and conversation surrounding it often focuses on its weaker elements, specifically the werehog bits. A lot of the criticism is warranted, but it also shouldn’t entirely take away from the fact that when Sonic Unleashed is good, it’s some of the best 3D Sonic there’s ever been. It also remains one of the best-looking Sonic games despite being 14 years old, plus the soundtrack is fantastic, and above all else, Sonic Unleashed feels fast.
It totally nails that sensation of being the fastest thing alive as you tear through levels leaving a trail of absolute destruction full of crushed boxes, tables, enemies, and more. It’s the most uneven of the mainline Sonic games, but we still feel it deserves a spot on this list.
9. Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush somehow managed to feel like a full blown console Sonic game, paired down for the dual screens of the Nintendo DS. A worthy successor to the amazing Sonic Advance games for the Gameboy Advance, Sonic Rush achieved a spectacular sense of speed for a handheld Sonic game thanks to the “Tension Gauge,” a mechanic that would later be adapted to future Sonic games as a boosting mechanic, and when you add on top of that the awesome boss battles and the great use of the dual screens throughout levels, it more than secures its number 9 spot.
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is still one of the best pure experiences of the Sonic franchise. It introduced Tails, added two-player coop, and improved upon the formula established by the first game in just about every way. There were more zones, most featuring multiple paths, new enemies, new mechanics, and abilities while keeping true to the essential factor of a Sonic game: you gotta go fast.
New zones like Sky Chase gave us our first look at the Tornado (Tails’ Biplane), and the Death Egg zone pitted us against an early version of an enemy that eventually became Metal Sonic. Sonic 2 also introduced the Super Sonic transformation into the franchise by having players collect all seven chaos emeralds in a new and welcomed improvement to bonus stages. Sonic 2 is still one of the best sequels with its lengthy list of improvements and additions that still holds up to this day for both newcomers and veterans.
7. Sonic CD
As good as we just said Sonic 2 was, Sonic CD feels like a more polished and confident version of that. It introduced us to Amy Rose and the version of Metal Sonic that we all know and loathe today. But the real star of the show in Sonic CD is its use of time travel, where you can go to the past, present, or future of the zone you’re in.
The thrill of starting the time travel star boost and trying to maintain your speed to make sure you properly get transported to the past or future was always exciting.
You never knew if you were going to successfully get to where you were going, and that was part of the adventure. Sonic CD didn’t need this extra gameplay mechanic but they did it anyway, and since Sonic is trying to collect the time stones to ensure a good future where Eggman’s plans are foiled, Sonic CD basically did Avengers: Endgame in 1993. … Also that theme song? Iconic.
6. Sonic 3 And Knuckles
The Genesis-era Sonic games are well represented on this list for a reason, and each release got better while introducing new playable characters and mechanics. Sonic 3 & Knuckles feels like a superior experience of the early days of Sonic. While both are solid games as individuals, they feel incomplete, and so the combination offers a complete and rich experience. The level design is some of the best in the 2D Sonic entries. While it certainly felt built and made for newcomer Knuckles, the levels still accommodate the playstyles and strengths for that of Sonic and Tails.
5. Sonic Colors
When it comes to imaginative and thrilling level designs, Sonic Colors is top tier as far as Sonic games go. Aquarium Park is arguably the best water level throughout the whole series, Asteroid Coaster is just phenomenal in every aspect, and while it’s heavily on-rails, the sheer spectacle of Starlight Carnival is a sight to behold. Sonic Colors does an excellent job of blending that high-speed boost-centric style with more methodical platforming and puzzle segments, while also filling every level with multiple paths. It checks all of the boxes, on top of having an impressive soundtrack, great visuals, and smooth gameplay that still holds up to this day.
4. Sonic Advance
Sonic’s 10th anniversary saw the release of Sonic Adventure, but 2001 also saw the release of a 2D Sonic game, Sonic Advance, for the GBA — marking the first time the blue blur made his way onto a Nintendo console. Sonic Advance kept the heart and soul of Classic Sonic, while also updating his sprite and his abilities to be more in line with the emerging modern Sonic design.
Sonic could grind rails, there was a Tiny Chao Garden, and just overall, Sonic was far more expressive than he had ever been in the older 2D Sonic games.
While the entire Sonic Advance trilogy includes some of Sonic’s best 2D outings from the post-Genesis era, Sonic Advance remains the best in terms of consistency. It is not only a great starting point for the GBA series but also had some of the best level variety out of the entire Sonic Advance trilogy, and it is a shame that Sega has yet to re-release these games beyond the Game Boy Advance.
3. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the Gamecube improved the base game with better textures, multiplayer, new upgrades, and exclusive characters. That base version of Sonic Adventure 2 was already damn good, and still stands tall to this day as one of the most beloved 3D Sonic games of all time.
While the Sonic and Shadow stages are obviously the highlights, with their fast-paced action heavy gameplay, there’s a great blend of gameplay stylings between the various different playable characters as well.
On top of all of that, Battle added characters like Metal Sonic and Amy Rose in foot races, the ability to challenge friends in Kart Races, or have their Chaos compete. And then of course there’s both the much-beloved Chao Garden, and that unforgettable soundtrack that echoes in every Sonic fan’s mind.
2. Sonic Mania
What is there to say about Sonic Mania that has not already been said? It is easily one of the best 2D Sonic games we have received after Sega pivoted to strictly third-party. A game made by fans for fans, Sonic Mania, is a love letter to the blue hedgehog. Mania offered a fresh perspective of what put Sonic on the map —remixing the classic formula while offering fast-paced gameplay, superb level design, and excellent pixel art.
Sonic Mania would’ve been great even if it just stuck to the remastered and new versions of previous Sonic zones, but what truly makes it sing are the entirely original stages. Levels like Studiopolis and Mirage Saloon Zone offered the perfect counterpart to the comforting familiarity of the remastered stages.
Replayability is also among the highest compared to other 2D Sonic games, thanks to the multitude of collectibles and rewards found off the beaten paths.
For those reasons, Sonic Mania is our pick for the best 2D Sonic game you can play, and it is, wholeheartedly, a Sonic game that every fan should play at least once.
1. Sonic Generations
Even in 2022, Sonic Generations remains the greatest celebration of Sonic’s history, and in our opinion, the best combination of both classic and modern Sonic gameplay stylings. Sonic Generations was a game designed to evoke nostalgia, but it never fell into the trap of relying entirely on fuzzy feelings from the past. The 14 levels based on prior Sonic zones incorporated elements of those past stages, but always found a way to make them feel distinct and fresh, which resulted in an unforgettable Sonic game that, at the time, was simultaneously a throwback to the past, a glimpse at his future, and our pick for the best Sonic game to date.
And that’s our list! What do you think? Let us know in the comments, and for more Sonic, make sure to check out all of our Sonic Frontiers coverage for IGN First.
In This Article
Sonic Advance
Sonic Team
Rating
ESRB: Everyone
Platforms
Game Boy Advance
A brief history of Sonic The Hedgehog on PC
Let’s face facts: the old Sonic games have been re-released more times than I’ve had hot dinners. And every single Sonic fan has bought every single one of them, such is our sheer madness. We’re a little spoiled on PC for Sonic content these days, with every recent game of note having its own PC port that’s immediately been modded from bottom to breakfast. But it wasn’t always this simple, oh no. It used to be pretty slim pickings for us Sonicsters, and I’m here to tell you what we fought through to get to the promised land of ports we bask in today.
Sonic The Hedgehog CD was the first game to hit our Windows 95 486’s in September 1996, a perfect fit for CD-ROM technology with its multiple soundtracks for each possible timeline.
Surprisingly, though, it remained fundamentally the same exact game as it was back when it first released on Mega CD in late 1993. This, however, was a cheaper, more sensible way to play a somewhat “lost” Sonic game, orphaned by consumer apathy towards the Mega CD add-on. Finally, though, it had a new home – one where it ran in a rather small desktop window, so Sonic could finally meet your Bonzi Buddy.
Watch on YouTube
It was still brilliant, of course; Sonic CD is one of the very greatest Sonic games and quite certainly the most misunderstood. It’s a game about exploration for the simple joy of finding cool stuff, one where you’ve got to travel back in time to find a generator placed by the evil Doctor Robotnik. This means finding a “Past” signpost, then locating a spot where you can accelerate uninterrupted until you burst back in time, emerging in a more peaceful zone where Robotnik’s plan has yet to be realised. Desroy the generator and you guarantee a “Good Future” and can leave the zone.
There’s also the option to head to the future so you can see the fruits of your labour, or explore a much more hostile “Bad Future” if you haven’t destroyed the generator. All totally optional of course, because that’s Sonic CD. It’s a game for people who aren’t in a hurry, which is a little antithetical to the Sonic ethos…
The teaching potential of Sonic The Hedgehog was finally realised with Sonic’s Schoolhouse, presenting a suite of edutainment so wretched that your kids will be begging you to let them do long division within minutes.
The very next month, the teaching potential of the Sonic The Hedgehog series was finally realised with Sonic’s Schoolhouse, a game that now calls to mind horror title Baldi’s Basics above all else, presenting a suite of edutainment so wretched that your kids will be begging you to let them do long division within minutes. You don’t even play as Sonic, instead choosing one of many nondescript animal characters to explore the various uninteresting mini-games on offer.
These include a tiresome 3D take on the classic Memory game wherein you match poorly-rendered statues of Knuckles etc, and another where you run around a Doom-esque map collecting rings while Doctor Robotnik’s Badniks try to stop you. It has an educational value of zero, making it somehow less educational than actual Doom.
More importantly, the next actual Sonic game hit the PC in early ‘97 – and it’s a bit of a belter. Sonic & Knuckles Collection brought the most one of the most acclaimed Sonic games of all time to PCs. The combined Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles cartridges were a killer app for the Mega Drive, and now their glorious majesty could be experienced on your computer. Sort of.
There’s a rather interesting story behind the music in this port. While it’s presented as rather endearing MIDI recreations, the tunes are still the same arrangements you hear in the Mega Drive original. Until you get to the fourth stage, Carnival Night, at which point veterans will immediately notice that the song is very different.
This continues across both the Ice Cap and Launch Base zones of Sonic 3, and the legendary detectives of the Sonic fanbase arrived at the conclusion that these songs were replaced due to a connection to Michael Jackson, who worked on the game’s soundtrack until initial accusations were brought against him, forcing him to leave the project.
2017’s Sonic Mania, a collection of 12 levels (including some from old games) made by developers known for their work in the Sonic community. It was really well-recieved, so Sega elected to not do anything like it again.
Then, relatively recently, the legendary Hidden Palace team of game preservationists dug up a November 1993 prototype of Sonic 3 which – and I cannot stress enough how seismic this was – contained Mega Drive arrangements of those replacement songs, meaning those were always the originals, and we’d been living a lie for almost thirty years. PC stays winning. (The recently released Sonic Origins, which remasters Sonic 3 and uses the replacement tracks, prompted Sonic creator Yuki Naka to either joke about Jackson’s involvement or confirm it.
)
Next in line, a little later in 1997, was a release of Sonic 3D Blast, Travelbuyer’s Tales’ isometric adventure that wasn’t really 3D at all — outside of its Special Stages which here resembled those of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but with a 2D Sonic sprite borrowed from the Mega Drive version. These stages ran a little faster than the otherwise-superior Saturn port, too.
3D Blast is a decent time, and the addition of a save feature makes its long, difficult stages a more pleasant prospect. Moving Sonic through the isometric worlds, though, has none of the momentum-based freewheeling fun of its predecessors, or even the later Sonic Adventure. It’s not a bad game, but not one I can recommend rushing out to buy. Somewhat interestingly, the original developer of the Mega Drive version has released a Director’s Cut rom to “finish” the game, adding a load of extraneous features as well as a welcome ability to save. Worth a look.
Sonic CD
Sonic R
The next year, Saturn racing title Sonic R hit the starting grid and brought its animal athletics to the PC.
It’s a pretty enjoyable little game, with the sound of Sonic’s footsteps being essentially iconic to me. You race on foot with Sonic, Tails Knuckles, Aloysius, all the Sonic characters. With rings to collect, five big coins per track and Chaos Emeralds hidden in secret shortcuts et al, there’s a lot to enjoy on each course. The problem is there are only four of them, with a secret fifth that’s completely rubbish. It’s also remarkably easy to get the five secret coins and win each race, and the Chaos Emeralds aren’t especially taxing either. This unlocks a brace of secret characters, all of which have better stats than the default picks, meaning there is no reason not to use them.
Multiplayer’s a bust, single player is 100% complete in 90 minutes, tops. Is it a fun game? Certainly, but it’s obviously entirely too short and easy. The saving grace of Sonic R is Richard Jacques’ superb, hilarious eurobeat-style soundtrack. Incredulously, the budget release of Sonic R on the Xplosiv label initially omitted it for some reason, though it was reinstated in a reprint – look for orange text on the spine, rather than white.
Following these halcyon days of bizarre Sonic releases, the PC world started to see slightly more sensible and contemporary ports in the likes of Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Mega Collection Plus. The Wild West was over; Sega were behaving and offering the full-featured likes of Sonic Adventure DX, an overhauled and glitch-filled take on the still-wonderful Dreamcast epic Sonic Adventure. It incorporated a brand new Mission Mode that allowed you to collect even more Emblems and ultimately unlock a batch of Game Gear titles, none of which are particularly good (with the exception of the rather graceful and just plain nice little explore-’em-up, Tails’ Adventure.)
Sonic Heroes on PC is probably the best way to play the game, but it hasn’t made its way to Steam at the time of writing. Sonic Mega Collection Plus would be a good compilation if not for the absurd requirement to unlock many of the games included; maybe a quick .ini edit would fix this, but it’s still not getting a recommendation from me.
In the modern era, though, it seems like most Sonic games hit Steam, including some that land completely unexpectedly – former Wii U exclusive Sonic Lost World was an arguably pleasant surprise. With the upcoming Sonic Frontiers slated for the platform too, it seems that we’re in a bit of a golden age for Sonic fans on PC. It’s a little disappointing, though, that Sega have decided that new release Sonic Origins is now the defacto means by which the classic Sonic games must be played; the individual releases have been removed from Steam entirely. And thanks to Origins’ changes to the classic soundtrack of Sonic 3, it’s a stretch to call this new version definitive. 16:9 widescreen for Sonic 3 & Knuckles is nice, but that’s existed for a good while in popular fangames Sonic 3 Angel Island Revisited, which adds a brace of options for really obsessive fans.
And let’s face it, when it comes to Sonic fans, that’s literally all of them. No more committed, creative fanbase exists on the planet.
PC has been a welcome home for Sonic the Hedgehog for quite some time, and long may it continue. If a game sucks, you can just wait for the mod.
Improving Game Sound and Bringing EAX Back / Computer and Mobile Games / iXBT Live
it does not seem at all and the duckling syndrome has nothing to do with it. In this article, we will try to figure out where one of the most important aspects affecting immersion has disappeared, and we will also try to fix everything that Microsoft has managed to do in terms of sound deterioration over 15 years.
Attention!
The guide is designed for a confident user and the author does not bear any responsibility if you break something. All actions performed are only on your conscience.
Contents
- Attention!
- What is the problem with modern sound
- What are we missing
- How to fix sound in Windows
- Does EAX make sense now
- Conclusions
What is the problem with modern sound
Once upon a time, sound was one of the most important aspects of game immersion, but today’s sound output is very different from what was once considered the norm.
If in the days of Windows XP the audio stream was transmitted directly to the hardware through low-latency interfaces, then starting with Windows Vista, the situation took a sad turn and the quality of sound effects began to fade into the background. Microsoft, under the pretext of providing better compatibility and cheaper consoles, redesigned the usual sound output scheme and added a very long chain of software interventions.
Such changes in the sound subsystem were not forced, because problems with the mixer or the forced change to only 48 kHz were not critical and were easily fixed in a couple of clicks by the user or sound card manufacturers. All changes were only the desire of Microsoft, which led to the loss of many sound effects (EAX), delays, distortions and the death of the gaming sound card market. We got a reality where the developers simply gave up on high-quality hard sound and shifted all the processing to the software part with processor resources, turning the sound into a flat semblance of beauty, and also depriving many games of their former charm.
What we’ve lost
One of the biggest losses that gamers in their 30s are still crying about is EAX technology. In order not to be verbose and not to load you with unnecessary information, it is only worth noting here that the EAX technology worked on the principle of modern Ray tracing, but only in terms of sound. Each sound could be reflected from an object in the surrounding world and sound based on the size of the room, the ability of the material to transmit and absorb sound, the distance of the object, etc.
EAX 9 example0002 EAX has been used in many popular video games — Half-life , Counter-Strike , Grand Theft Auto San Andreas , Grand Theft Auto IV , S.T.A.L.K.E.R. , Doom 3 and etc. A list of games supported by the technology can be found here.
Although YouTube compression affects the quality of the transmission, the difference can be clearly seen, especially in Doom 3 and Halo: Combat Evolved in determining sound sources.
How to fix sound in Windows
There are many ways to fix Microsoft bugs and send sound directly to the hardware, bypassing Windows software intervention, but the only universal tools are Alchemy and ASIOALL.
ALchemy Universall is an application for restoring DirectSound 3D (EAX) functionality on Creative cards, but later modified to make work with any sound cards. The program works on the principle of a relay, bypassing Windows intervention and directly translating requests into OpenAL.
Mostly ALchemy is needed for older toys, but I advise you to enable the application for all games, because if the game does not even support EAX, then you will still notice some improvement in games when using ALchemy.
It might be best to add all games to ALchemy; if you do not notice any benefits or experience negative effects from using ALchemy, then simply remove the game from the program.
- Install ALchemy and OpenAL
- Open ALchemy and press button Add
- Specify the path to your executable file
- Press OK and move the added exe to the right side using the arrows
- EAX is activated.
Download OpenAL
Download Alchemy Universall
Many built-in sound chips support Asio technology, but intentionally or for other reasons do not use it in their drivers. The free ASIOALL utility is designed to fix this problem.
ASIOALL is a universal driver designed by musicians to reduce input and output latency when playing the guitar. If you want to be the fastest in competitive toys, or you notice that the sound sometimes lags behind the facial expressions of the character’s mouth in the game, then ASIOALL is just what you need .
Settings panel 2.13, since version 2.15 it is gone.
- Install ASIOALL
- Run a4apanel.exe
- Move the sliders as in the screenshot.
Download ASIOALL_EN
Basically ALchemy is enough to return sound quality, but if you are only interested in input and output delays, then ASIOALL is enough.
Does EAX make sense now
Despite the emergence of the latest surround sound technologies and 7.
1 channel sound, EAX still makes sense, because many projects, thanks to their sound engines, have hidden technology support and are just waiting for you to activate it. The ability of modern built-in codecs to support-emulate EAX versions allows you to plunge into true surround sound without any cost and provide an unforgettable presence effect. You can see a list of games by sound engines for hidden technology here.
Conclusions
Of course, it’s a shame that something so good, at the whim of an IT giant, drags its existence so ingloriously, but for now it remains possible to activate real hard sound without software intervention and developers continue to use EAX in new projects (Killing Floor 2 [2017]), then the hope of the return of good sound will continue to live.
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