If you played video games in the ’90s then you may remember the battle between Nintendo and Sega. Mario was the mascot for Nintendo and Sega had their mascot, Sonic The Hedgehog.
Before we begin you should know, my first 16-bit console was a Genesis and the only game I had was Sonic. This is the rant of a Sega fanboy, not a hater.
I still have Adventure for my Dreamcast, I have finished most of the Sonic Advance series and believe Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is one of the most overlooked racers ever (especially considering all the praise Mario Kart gets).
I Love Sonic!
While there have been many great games featuring Sonic, there are some that are better left forgotten to history. We are going to cover the ones that deserve to be passed by, but we will also cover the reasons these flops don’t deserve a second look. Here is a list of
The Worst Sonic The Hedgehog Games
Sonic 3D Blast
“Blast” or “Flickies’ Island” depending on where you live was one of Sonic’s first attempts at 3D. While the idea was good in theory, the isometric view mixed with the slower speed and poor controls led to a lackluster outing.
And once you got the hang of the controls, that was it, the game became way too simple and repetitive. No secrets to explore, no extra zones, just more of the same from level to level.
I actually like the look and feel they were going for with Sonic Blast. The levels were colorful and well thought out, even if they lacked variety.
I think if they tightened things up and found a way to make things a little speedier they may have had a hit. This is another one that just missed the mark.
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Unleashed gets a bad reputation but your experience depends more on what console you play it on. The story was the same, where you ran through daytime levels as normal Sonic and fought through nighttime levels as a werehog.
On the PlayStation 2, you could fly to different parts of the broken Earth with no hassle and the same is true for the Wii. If you played Unleashed on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 then you had to play an on-rails shooter with Sonic shooting down planes while standing on a plane with Tails as the pilot.
I personally like this game and there are other gamers out there that feel the same way. However many players and reviewers did not have the good time I had with the title. So this game depends on your experience and that will mostly be decided by which console you play it on.
Sonic Drift
Sonic has a few outings to the race track and most have been fairly decent (especially in recent memory). The first attempts to make a Sonic racing game were not so good.
You may not remember Sonic Drift as it was a Japanese exclusive, limited to the Game Gear, but that doesn’t give it immunity. They saw what Nintendo was doing and decided to follow suit.
With only four playable characters, bland course design, and choppy gameplay, it is easy to see why Drift never gave Mario Kart a run for their money. Lucky this one stayed in Japan.
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2
The Sega Genesis had a classic trilogy of Sonic games (not including Sonic and Knuckles). Everybody loved these games but after 1994, there was no fourth game that was part of the original series. That would change 16 years later with Sonic The Hedgehog 4 which would be released in episodes.
The first thing people noticed about Sonic 4 was the different look that Sonic had. The physics in the first episode did not feel right and this resulted in an experience that wasn’t as enjoyable to play as the original trilogy.
Two years after the first episode of Sonic The Hedgehog 4, we got episode 2. The physics didn’t present the same problem they did in the first episode. However, the boss battles and the layout of the levels were blander than what appeared in any of the previous titles.
This game was a sequel to the Sega Genesis trilogy in name only, and the content offered wasn’t worth the price that was being asked. If you were looking to pick this up on PC then you would also have to deal with poor controls.
Sonic 4 was planned to have three episodes. After the release of episode two, the third episode was canceled. This game was so terrible that it killed any plans for the rest of the series and this game will never be fully completed.
Sonic Shuffle
Mario Party ended up being a great idea. It became a franchise that had entries released on multiple Nintendo consoles and continues to innovate to this day. Just because something worked for Nintendo doesn’t mean it would work for Sega.
In 2000, we got the Sonic Shuffle released on the Dreamcast. This was meant to capitalize on the success that Mario Party had on the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately for Sega, this game isn’t looked at as fondly as the Mario Party series.
Sonic Shuffle had some good ideas, like trying to add things like a story mode. Unfortunately, there were so many rules in Sonic Shuffle that made the gameplay run at a slower pace than Mario Party did, and that took away most of the fun.
This one does not deserve your attention.
Shadow The Hedgehog
If a character makes a big impact in a video game series that featured somebody else, give that character their own spin-off series and it will be a success. That must have been what Sega was thinking in 2005 when they released Shadow The Hedgehog.
The story of Shadow is that he was created by the grandfather of Dr. Robotnik and he wants to find out more about his past. What stood out to most people is Shadow would carry around a gun as his main weapon.
Why? Because he isn’t Sonic? What was bad about the Shadow game is the platforming that felt inaccurate. Most people felt this game was something that might have looked good on paper but failed when it came to execution.
Sonic The Fighters
If you have never heard about this game, that isn’t surprising. This was a short-lived 3D fighting game that had a roster of mostly unknown characters that was never heard from again.
You had to progress up a fight ladder like Mortal Kombat. Your final bosses would be Metal Sonic and Dr. Robotnik.
This fighter offers nothing else and would be a shameful offer for a fighting game during the ’90s, but this game came out in 2006!
Every character looks awful and the speed of the game runs at a snail’s pace. It did have online play for the Xbox 360, which is a good feature, but pretty standard for the time.
Misery loves company so you could make someone else feel terrible for playing this game if you play with them online.
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
When you think of Sonic The Hedgehog games, do you think of his games that feature puzzle-solving and exploration? Probably not. That’s because Sonic is not known for that type of gameplay.
The game includes points where Sonic won’t be able to continue running. When you come to that point in a level, you have to pick a different character. You pick whoever has the ability that will help you progress through the level.
Like other games in the Sonic Boom series, you will have to complete the same level multiple times by using every character at once. There are levels where Sonic can run fast but that is only a small part of this game.
Who plays a Sonic The Hedgehog title and expects to move fast? Just everyone who played a Sonic game!
Sonic The Hedgehog
Before you question this entry, I’m referring to the version released in 2006 aka Sonic 06. This has the reputation for being the worst Sonic The Hedgehog game, but that probably more due to failed expectations.
Another game where platforming is important and pleases nobody.
You can’t run fast over long distances and the story revolving around other characters never becomes entertaining. Unfortunately, there are other things in this game that are much crazier. Let’s look at a couple of these things to see why this game is so dreadful.
First, we have the un-needed introductions of Silver, who can move things with his mind thanks to telekinesis.
Or how about Sonic cheating on Amy with a female human? I understand Sonic was rescuing a damsel in distress but they became close, too close for comfort.
Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric
Rise Of Lyric is so bad, it’s amazing that Sonic continued to have games after this one. What is more amazing is that the cartoon reboot this game was based on is very good. So it’s not like this game could not have turned out well.
The controls and bad design of the levels make platforming almost impossible. When you fight enemies, it is rinse and repeat and never becomes interesting. There is nothing that came out of this game that people remember in a good way.
When fans talk about the worst Sonic The Hedgehog games, these are the ones most people are referring to. Some people may be thinking of Sonic Labyrinth on the Game Gear or Sonic R on the Sega Saturn but those games have at least some redeeming qualities. The games on this list either are not playable or just shouldn’t be played at all.
Have your own opinion? Let us know. What is the worst Sonic game?
