Finally, all of the Sonic the Hedgehog games have been compiled into one easy to use site. No more wading through slow sites loaded with ads. This is the ultimate Sonic the Hedgehog site! We have all the best Sonic Games! We have the ever popular Final Fantasy Sonic series as well as all of the Sonic RPG Episodes. Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ Sonikku za Hejjihoggu?) is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. First released in North America, Europe, and Australia on June 23, 1991, the game is the first installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, chronicling the adventures of the titular character in his quest to.
Sonic the Hedgehog has been the face of Sega for nearly three decades, starring in everything from platforming games to racing, fighting, and pinball games. He was the sole reason Sega had a name in the 90s console war with Nintendo. His cool attitude combined with the Sega Genesis’ “blast processing” gave the underdog console manufacturer a name during a time that Mario and Nintendo were clear kings of the industry. Sega may no longer make consoles, but Sonic remains its iconic franchise with regular game releases. While there have been plenty of bad examples of his games ( Sonic Boom, Sonic (2006), etc.), you don’t last this long and build a devoted fanbase without gems. Here are the ten absolute best Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Sonic Advance Image via SegaOur list starts with the very first Sonic game developed for a Nintendo console. Sonic Advance released for the Gameboy Advance in 2001 and came out in a time where Sonic would be exclusively on his 3D platforming run for quite a while on home consoles, so getting 2D games in the GBA series was a nice change.Sonic Advance didn’t do anything special or different from other 2D games in the series. You have four characters to choose from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy Rose. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles play almost identically to how they played on the Genesis. Amy is a bit slower than the rest of the group but can destroy enemies with her hammer.
Sonic Advance didn’trewrite the series in any way. All it did was provide a solid, fun (althoughshort) game that was a strong start to Sega’s third-party games. Sonic the Hedgehog Image via SegaEvery series must start somewhere, and the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game was a strong beginning for Sega’s famous mascot. Combined with Sega’s excellent marketing surrounding the release of the game, the first Sonic game introduced the world to the cool blue dude with an attitude in what at the time was a fast-moving fun platformer.By today’s standards, this game doesn’t hold as well. Green Hill Zone is still an iconic set of levels, but once you progress just a couple levels in, you start noticing how downhill the level design goes.
It also did not have the charge mechanic that would be added and featured in almost every Sonic game going forward. As it stands, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is a good start for a series and was essential for Sega, but looking back is not necessarily as fast and fun as you remembered as a kid. Image via SegaSonic Adventure 2 was the SegaDreamcast’s last hurrah before the company shut down development and beganfocusing on being a third-party software company. As opposed to the first game,the sequel cut down on the story modes to only three play styles spread betweentwo campaigns, hero and dark. In hero, you play as Sonic racing through levels,Tails in mech shooting levels, or Knuckles in treasure hunting areas as theytry to save the world.
On the dark side, a darker version of Sonic named Shadowthe Hedgehog was the speedy variant, Eggman had his mech, and newcomer Rougethe Bat was the treasure hunter. As with the first Sonic Adventure, the levelsfocused on speed were the ones that tended to be more popular.
While mechbattles and treasure hunting were not as unpopular as fishing, they seemedunneeded.One thing that cannot be ignored with Sonic Adventure 2 is the amazing soundtrack attached to it. “City Escape” remains one of my favorite gaming songs of all time, and the presentation of the game was a vast improvement over the original Sonic Adventure. Later versions of the game included multiplayer modes that weren’t terrible but was no selling point of the game. The Chao Garden returned and was a decent waste of time for breaks from the action.
Image via SegaSonic Colors was a subtle shift for Sonic Team, who, at this point, had released a few disappointing games. Colors were released in 2010, two years following the disappointing Sonic Unleashed (which had about half of a good game in it) and also the abysmal games Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic and the Secret of the Rings, and Sonic and the Black Knight. Eggman has enslaved an alien racecalled wisps who can affect people in varying ways depending on the color theyare. Sonic races through his amusement park set in outer space to release the wispsand prevent Eggman from launching a mind-control ray that would allow him toconquer Earth.Sonic Colors was a game where Sonic Team focused on fixing issues certain games in the series had been dealing with within the 2000s. No annoying side characters are playable, and there was a focus to balance speed and platforming. They took what was good about Sonic Unleashed’s daytime levels and focused on that while adding in the wisps as power-ups to finally make a Sonic game for the Wii that not only played good but looked good as well.
Sonic Adventure Image via SegaSonic’s first leap into a 3D plain, Sonic Adventure, was a significant change up to what a Sonic game was. The game featured a story that let you play six different characters with varying controls. Sonic, of course, was focused on running as fast as possible through levels. Tails would race Sonic to the end of each course and could shortcut by flying. Knuckles had to search for three randomly hidden master emerald pieces. Amy had to run away from a robot trying to capture her. Big the Cat would fish for his friend froggy.
Finally, E-102 had shooting levels. Some character campaigns were better than others. For example, Big the Cat’s campaign is infamous for having very frustrating fishing controls while Sonic levels are more in line with what the series had seen thus far. Sonic Adventure’s story was also much more in-depth than other games in the series past. Up until this point, each game was primarily focused on Robotnik putting animals into robots. This time, there was a new threat in Chaos, who would transform and become more of a monster with every chaos emerald he was given, culminating into an epic final boss fight where you fly through a flooded city as Super Sonic while dodging his attacks.Besides questionable game mechanicchoices, what holds back Sonic Adventure from being higher on this listis the presentation. Character models and animations are laughably bad at times.While this was an experimental time for Sega, Sonic Adventure has notaged well.
However, the things that the game did right make it one of the mostpopular Sonic games in the series still for fans that grew up with it. Sonic & Knuckles Image via SegaSonic & Knuckles is a genuinely unique game released in 1994. Not that the gameplay was any different from other Sonic games at the time, but the situation surrounding its development was odd. S&K was initially intended to be a part of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. However, a combination of cartridge storage capacity issues and production time led Sega to release it separately. The genius part about the game, though, is they used what they called “lock-on” technology that allowed you to insert another game in the top of the cartridge. If you put Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in, you could play through that entire game as Knuckles with his gliding and wall-climbing abilities.
If you put Sonic 3 in, you combined both Sonic 3 & Knuckles into one game so you could play them the way they to be played. This unlocked Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Tails (as well as a save state) in S&K. Also, if you collected the chaos emeralds in Sonic 3, you could now collect the super emeralds in S&K. Image via SegaSonic Generations was a celebration of 20 years of Sonic the Hedgehog. A monster has been interfering with time and pulled modern Sonic and the younger, classic version of Sonic together, and they pass through the series most iconic levels. Each level consisted of two acts.
The first one was played through as modern Sonic in a 3D set-up that played similarly to Sonic Colors. The second act played as a side-scrolling 2D level as classic Sonic.Sonic Generations was a brilliant recreation of Sonic’s highest (and even some of his lowest) moments. It was divided into three sections. The first three levels were recreations of levels from the Genesis-era games, the middle three were Adventure era, and then the final three were the most recent games (at the time).
Each level also included remixed songs for the modern and classic versions, and the collectible red rings and unlockables were good reasons to replay all the stages continually. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Image via SegaAs stated above, Sonic 3 was the other side of Sonic& Knuckles. This game featured the introduction of Knuckles and also hadcutscenes in-between levels.Sonic could take advantage of brand newpowerups, including a bubble for bouncing and a fireball that would launch him forward.Levels were unique and fun throughout the third game (even the underwater levelsin the second zone are more tolerable than usual). Save from one very poor exampleof level design in Carnival Night Zone, each zone is set up brilliantly and makesthis a lot of longtime Sonic fan’s favorite game. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Image via SegaWe go from the introduction of Knucklesto the introduction of Tails, who could be controlled by your younger siblingsplugging in a second controller while you were playing.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 released one year following the original game and brought with it better level design,music, and slightly better controls. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was thefirst time Sonic and Tails could charge up and speed off.
This was where theywould come to a complete stop, crouch into a ball, and rev themselves up beforeblasting forward. This was a small inclusion that made a big impact. You nolonger needed to build momentum to get past places.
If all enemies around youwere destroyed, you could instantly pick up your speed again.Another positive addition was the newspecial stages. To access these, you needed to have at least 50 rings and passa checkpoint.
At this point, you can jump into a ring that will place you on atrack to collect rings. This mode is probably the most fun of any special stagein the series. It nails that feeling of running fast and using your reflexes toavoid bombs and pick up rings. It feels a lot like a current day Sonic game fromthe 90s.Finally, the most badass inclusion in Sonic2 is the introduction of Super Sonic. The obvious nod to Dragon Ball Z makesSonic invincible to all attacks, runs faster, and jumps further. To access thetransformation, the player needs to collect all seven chaos emeralds from the specialstages, have 50 rings, and jump. Super Sonic was a feature to strive for, andwhen you got him, you knew you were a master at this game.
Image via SegaThe absolute best Sonic the Hedgehog game is 2017’s Sonic Mania. This game is what should be considered Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (let’s forget those Xbox 360 games exist). It was created by Christian Whitehead, who had a history of porting Genesis Sonic games to mobile.
Like Sonic Generations, Mania had quite a few levels remade from classics in the past. The difference is this game was built entirely from the ground up to feel like a Genesis/Saturn game, and they thoroughly nailed it.Sonic Mania’s presentation is unmatched in the series.
It nails that perfect feeling of nostalgia in its pixel graphics combined with smooth gameplay across all playable characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel). Sonic has a new move called the drop dash that an ever faster and safer way to speed yourself up without stopping and charging yourself.Sonic Mania was lovingly put together by fans of the series original beginnings from start to Sonic CD. If you were playing a Sonic game at any point in the 90s, there is a good chance you will find something that will make you smile in this game. It is the absolute best Sonic game ever made, and Sonic Team didn’t even make it.This article includes affiliate links, which may provide small compensation to Gamepur.
.: December 21, 2006.: January 30, 2007.: March 23, 2007,Mode(s),Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly referred to as Sonic ’06) is a 2006 developed by and published. It was produced in commemoration of the ' 15th anniversary, and intended as a for the. Players control, and new character, who battle Solaris, an ancient evil pursued. Each playable character has his own campaign and abilities, and must complete, explore and fight to advance the story.
In modes, players can work cooperatively to collect or race to the end of a level.Development began in 2004, led by Sonic co-creator. Sonic Team sought to create an appealing game in the vein of like, hoping it would advance the series with a realistic tone and multiple gameplay styles. Problems developed after Naka resigned to form his own company, and the team split to work on the game (2007). As a result, Sonic the Hedgehog was rushed so it could release in time for the. It was released for in November 2006 and for the following month. Versions for Wii and were canceled. Featuring new modes was released in 2007.Sonic the Hedgehog received praise in prerelease showings, as journalists believed it could return to the series' roots after years of mixed reviews.
However, it was. Reviewers criticized its loading times, camera system, story, stability, and controls. It has been frequently described as the worst game in the series. In 2010, Sega delisted Sonic the Hedgehog from retailers, following its decision to remove all Sonic games with below-average scores to increase the value of the brand. Its failure led to a rethinking of the series' direction; future games ignored its tone and most characters.
Gameplay screenshot of Sonic running across a beach in the first levelSonic the Hedgehog is a with and elements. Like, the navigates through open-ended where they can converse with townspeople and perform missions to advance the story.
The main gameplay takes place in linear that become accessible as the game progresses. The main playable characters are three:, and, who feature in separate campaigns titled 'episodes'. A bonus 'Last Episode', which involves all three hedgehogs and concludes the storyline, is unlocked upon completing the first three.Sonic's story focuses on the speed-based platforming seen in, with some sections having him run at full speed while dodging obstacles or riding a. Another character, Princess Elise, must be escorted in some stages, and she can use a special barrier to guard Sonic.: 13 Shadow's sections are similarly speedy, albeit more combat-oriented, with some segments having him ride vehicles. In contrast, Silver's levels are slower and revolve around his use of to defeat enemies and solve puzzles. In certain areas, control is switched to one of several friend characters, with their own abilities.Although each character traverses the same levels, their unique abilities allow the player to access different areas of each stage and prevent them from accessing certain items.
Scattered through each level are, which serve as a form of health. The rings can protect a character from a single hit by an enemy or obstacle, at which point they will be scattered and blink before disappearing. The game begins with Sonic, Shadow, and Silver each assigned a limited number of.
These lives are successively lost whenever, with no rings in their possession, the characters are hit by an enemy or obstacle or encounter other fatal hazards. The game ends when the player exhausts the characters' lives. Every few levels, players will encounter a stage; to proceed, they must defeat the boss by depleting its.Upon completion of a level or mission, players are given a grade depending on their performance, with an 'S' rank being the best and a 'D' rank being the worst. Players are given money for completing missions; more money is given to higher ranks. This money can be used to buy upgrades for the player character. Certain upgrades are required to complete the game.: 8–11 The game also features two modes: 'Tag', a cooperative mode where two players must work together to clear levels and collect, and 'Battle', a mode where two players race against each other. Plot kidnaps Princess Elise of Soleanna in the hopes of harnessing the Flames of Disaster, a destructive power sealed within her.
Aided by his friends Tails and Knuckles, Sonic works to protect Elise from Eggman. Meanwhile, Shadow and his fellow agent Rouge accidentally release an evil spirit, Mephiles. The spirit transports them to a future ravaged by a demonic monster, Iblis. When Mephiles meets survivors Silver and Blaze, he fools them into thinking Sonic is the cause of this destruction and sends them to the present to kill him.Throughout the story, Sonic and friends travel between the past, present, and future in their efforts to stop Mephiles and Iblis and protect Elise from Doctor Eggman.
Though at first Silver stalks Sonic and impedes his attempts to save Elise, Shadow reveals to him that Sonic is not the cause of his world's suffering but rather Mephiles, who is trying to change the past for his own evil purposes. They learn that Mephiles seeks to bond with Iblis, who was sealed within Elise as a child, as they are the two halves of Soleanna's omnipotent god, Solaris.
Mephiles eventually succeeds after killing Sonic to make Elise cry over his death, releasing her seal on Iblis and merging with him to become Solaris, who then attempts to consume time itself. The heroes use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to revive Sonic, and he, Shadow, and Silver transform into their to defeat Solaris. Sonic and Elise are brought to the past and extinguish Solaris's flame, removing the god from existence and preventing the previous events from ever occurring.
Despite this, Sonic and Elise show faint of recalling their encounter afterwards.Development After finishing (2003), began to plan its next project. Among the ideas the team was considering was a game with a realistic tone and an advanced. When reassigned the team to start working on a new game in the bestselling Sonic series, they decided to retain the realistic approach.
Sonic the Hedgehog was conceived for consoles, but Sonic Team realized its release would coincide with the series' 15th anniversary and decided to develop it for consoles such as the. Series co-creator and team lead wanted the first Sonic game for to reach a wide audience.
Naka noted the success of such as (2004) and (2005): 'When Marvel or DC Comics turn their characters into films, they are thinking of them as blockbusters, huge hits, and that's what we were trying to emulate with Sonic.' Thus, development of Sonic the Hedgehog began in late 2004. Sonic Team decided to use the same title as that had launched the franchise to indicate that it would be a major advance from the previous games and a that returned to the series' roots.The physics engine, previously used in their game (2004), allowed Sonic Team to create expansive levels previously impossible on earlier sixth generation consoles and experiment with multiple play-styles. In addition, the engine also enabled Sonic Team to experiment with aspects such as, a night-and day system, and giving Sonic new abilities like using ropes to leap into the air. Director demonstrated the engine during their stage shows at the (TGS) in 2005. As the hardware of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was more powerful compared to the prior generation's consoles, the design team was able to create a more realistic setting than those of previous Sonic games.
Sonic and Doctor Eggman were redesigned to better suit this updated environment: Sonic was made taller, with longer quills, and Eggman was made slimmer and given a more realistic appearance. Nakamura and producer Masahiro Kumono reasoned this was because the characters would be interacting with more humans, and felt it would make the game more appealing to older players. At one point, Sonic Team considered giving Sonic realistic fur and rubber textures.While Sonic Team had a major focus on the visuals, they considered their primary challenge creating a game that was as appealing as the original Sonic games.
They felt the preceding titles (2003) and (2005) had veered into different directions and wanted to return the series to its speed-based roots in new ways. For example, they wanted to include multiple paths in levels, like the Genesis games had, a goal the realistic environments helped achieve. Sonic Team sought to 'aggressively' address problems with the from earlier Sonic games, something they had received many complaints about. Early concept art of Silver the HedgehogSilver the Hedgehog's gameplay style was born out of Sonic Team's desire to take advantage of Havok's realistic physics capabilities. The first design concept for Silver's character was an orange mink; he attained his final hedgehog look after over 50 design iterations. In designing Shadow's gameplay, the developers abandoned the concept of firearms previously used in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) in favor of combat elements to differentiate him from the other characters.
Shadow's gameplay was further fleshed out with the addition of vehicles; each vehicle uses its own physical engine. The game also features several cutscenes produced.
Animation supervisor Leo Santos said Blur faced challenges animating the opening scene due to the placement of Sonic's mouth.As development progressed, Sonic Team faced serious problems. In March 2006, Naka resigned as head of Sonic Team to form his own company,.
Naka has said he resigned because he did not want to continue making Sonic games and instead wished to focus on original properties. With his departure, 'the heart and soul of Sonic' was gone, according to former Sega of America CEO. Sonic the Hedgehog was originally intended for release on all major seventh generation consoles as well as, but Sega was presented with development kits for 's less powerful console. Sega believed the game to Wii would take too long, and so conceived a Sonic game that would use the function of.Therefore, the team was split in two: Nakamura led one team to finish Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 while producer Yojiro Ogawa led the other to begin work on for the Wii. The split left an unusually small team to work on Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega pressured the team to finish the game in time for the 2006, so with the deadline quickly approaching, Sonic Team rushed the final stages of development, ignoring bug reports from Sega's quality assurance department and control problems.
In retrospect, Ogawa noted that the final period proved to be a large challenge for the team. Not only was the Xbox 360 release imminent, but the PlayStation 3 launch was scheduled not long afterwards. This put tremendous pressure on the team to develop for both systems. Producer similarly recalled, 'we didn't have any time to polish and we were just churning out content as quick as we could.' Audio The cast of the anime series reprised their voice roles for Sonic the Hedgehog, and actress supplied the voice of series newcomer and, Princess Elise. The score for the game was primarily composed by along with, Taihei Sato,. It was the first Sonic game that Ohtani, who had previously contributed to (2003) and Shadow the Hedgehog, worked on as sound director.
The main theme for the game, the fantasy-rap song 'His World', was performed by and of the band. Performed Shadow's theme, 'All Hail Shadow', while vocalist Bentley Jones (previously known as Lee Brotherton) sang Silver's theme, 'Dreams of an Absolution'.
Artist performed a remix of the song 'Sweet Sweet Sweet', a song previously used as the ending theme to (1992).Because it was the first Sonic game for seventh generation consoles, Ohtani 'aimed to emphasise that it was an epic next-generation title.' Two soundtrack albums were released on January 10, 2007, under Sega's label: Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills and Sonic the Hedgehog Original Soundtrack. Vocal Traxx: Several Wills contains seven songs; four are from the game, while the remaining three are remixes, including a version of 'His World' performed by Crush 40. Original Soundtrack includes all 93 tracks featured in Sonic the Hedgehog, spanning three discs. Release Sonic the Hedgehog was announced in a closed-doors presentation at the (E3) in May 2005.
Later that year, at TGS in September, Naka revealed the game's title and said its release would correspond with the series' 15th anniversary. A demo version of the game was playable at E3 2006. A second demo, featuring a short section of Sonic's gameplay, was released via in September 2006.
Sega released several packages of featuring characters from the game, and American publisher published an official strategy guide, written by Fletcher Black. Sega also made a deal with to run advertisements for the game in.The Xbox 360 version of Sonic the Hedgehog was released in North America on November 14, 2006, followed by a European release on November 24, 2006. Both versions were released in Japan on December 21, 2006. The PlayStation 3 version was released in North America on January 30, 2007, and in Europe on March 23, 2007. The game is often referred to by critics and fans with colloquial terms that reference its year of release, such as Sonic 2006 or Sonic '06.In 2007, Sega released several packages of that added features to single-player gameplay.
These include a more difficult single-player mode and a continuous battle mode with all of the game's bosses back-to-back. One downloadable addition, 'Team Attack Amigo' mode, sends players through a multitude of levels, changing to a different character every two or three levels and culminating in a boss fight. The PlayStation 3 version was delayed to allow more time to incorporate the downloadable content, and thus launched alongside it.The game was digitally rereleased via the on April 15, 2010. The following October, various Sonic games with average or below average scores on the website, including Sonic the Hedgehog, were delisted from retailers.
Sega reasoned this was to avoid confusing customers and increase the value of the brand, following positive prerelease responses to and (both 2010). Reception ReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScore46/100 (X360)43/100 (PS3)Review scoresPublicationScoreC (X360)2/10 (X360)30/40 (X360)29/40 (PS3)6.75/10 (X360)4.4/10 (X360)4.2/10 (PS3)(X360)GameZone4.5/10 (X360)4.8/10 (X360)4.2/10 (PS3)6/10 (X360)5.5/10 (PS3)8.5/10 (X360)4.7/10 (PS3)6/10 (X360)D−Sonic the Hedgehog was well-received during prerelease showings.
Reception to prior games Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog had been mixed; after a number of well-received showings and demos, some felt Sonic the Hedgehog could be a return to the series' roots. Said the game 'showed a considerable amount of promise' after playing a demo at E3 2006, and praised its graphics and environments. In 2008 said that it had looked 'amazing' before its release.At the time of release, the game received. Metacritic classified both versions' reception as 'generally unfavorable'. Sega reported that the game sold strongly, with 870,000 units sold in the United States and Europe within six months.
The Xbox 360 version was branded under the budget line.Critics were divided on the game's presentation. Called its graphics and audio 'decent' and felt its interface and menu system worked well but lacked polish, but GameSpot said the graphics, while colorful, were bland and only a small improvement over sixth-generation games, a sentiment echoed. And noted several graphical glitches. Eurogamer also criticized the decision to continue the (1998) style of gameplay, believing that Sonic Team had learned nothing from the criticisms of past games.Reviewers singled out the game's camera system, loading times, controls, level designs, and glitches. GameSpot said the level design was worsened by the frustrating camera system, and Game Informer criticized the game's high difficulty, citing the camera as causing most deaths. Some reviewers were unhappy that the majority of the game was not spent playing as Sonic; playing as Tails, GameSpot wrote, made a level boring.
Similar criticism was offered by Eurogamer, finding that the supporting cast annoyed rather than fleshing the game out; they considered the camera system to be the worst they had ever seen in a video game. On the positive side, 1UP felt that despite the control and level design problems, the game still played like a Sonic game.The plot was criticized as confusing and inappropriately dark.
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GamesRadar considered it overwrought and 'conceptually challenged', and Eurogamer found its voice acting painful and its cutscenes cringeworthy. Some reviewers unfavorably compared the story to that of an. The romance between Sonic and the human Princess Elise was especially criticized; for, it marked the point 'the Sonic series had veered off into absolute nonsense.' Is a mess from top to bottom', wrote GameSpot, that 'only the most blindly reverent Sonic the Hedgehog fan could possibly squeeze any enjoyment out of'. IGN said that the game had some redeeming qualities, with brief segments of gameplay that demonstrated how a next-generation Sonic game could work, but found it 'rips them away as soon as it shows them' and concluded that the game failed to reinvent the series. Eurogamer believed that Sonic the Hedgehog 's mistakes would have been noticed even if the game had been released in 1996.Despite the mostly negative reception, Game Informer and of defended the game. Game Informer described it as ambitious and praised the graphics, story, amount of content, and, but believed only Sonic fans would enjoy the game.
Halverson initially gave the Xbox 360 version a 9.5/10, praising each character's controls and abilities and calling it the best 3D Sonic game yet. In the following issue, Halverson reassessed it as 8.5/10, writing that he had been told that the load times and glitches in his review copy would not be in the final version of the game.
In a later review of the PlayStation 3 version, Halverson was frustrated that the problems had still not been corrected and that the performance was worse despite the extra development time; Halverson gave this version a 5.5/10. Said in 2016 that despite the game's poor quality, the soundtrack has some 'genuine rippers'.
Legacy and GamesRadar considered Sonic the Hedgehog one of the most disappointing games of 2006. GamesTM singled out the game when it ranked the Sonic franchise at the top of their list of 'Video Game Franchises That Lost Their Way'. Club, Kotaku, Game Informer, and called the game the worst in the Sonic series, and the staff of GamesRadar named it among the worst video games of all time. The game remains popular for ' walkthroughs, with players showing off its glitches. The official Sonic account also mocks the game. The failure of Sonic the Hedgehog led to the direction of the series being rethought.
The next main Sonic game, 2008's, ignored the gritty and realistic tone of its predecessor. With Unleashed's sequel (2010), The A.V. Club wrote, 'the series rediscovered its strength for whimsical tales with light tones.'
Sonic the Hedgehog introduced Silver the Hedgehog, Princess Elise, Mephiles, and Iblis to the franchise; most have made few appearances since. Silver is a playable character in (2006) and, in (2007), and in and its sequels, and is a minor character in the version of Sonic Colors (2010) and (2017). He also appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog series published.
The main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog, 'His World', was sampled in 's 2017 song '.To celebrate the Sonic franchise's 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released, which remade aspects of past Sonic games. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows versions feature a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 's 'Crisis City' level, and every version, including the version, includes a reimagined version of the boss battle with Silver. The decision to include Sonic the Hedgehog stages and bosses in Sonic Generations was criticized by critics and fans of the series; of referred to the Silver boss fight as the 'catch' of the otherwise high-quality game.In 2015, a fan group, Gistix, began developing a for Windows using the engine.
A was released in January 2017, and was positively received by journalists. A second demo was released in late 2017, which Eurogamer called ambitious. A second team of fans, led by ChaosX, began developing a separate PC remake in Unity, releasing two demos throughout 2019.