“Sonic Mania” is just around the corner and it looks like another decent 2D entry into the franchise. “Sonic” has been around since the dawn of humankind (or sega) and is considered one of the biggest icons of the gaming industry. Does it deserve such lavish praise? Do not get us wrong, there are some brilliant games with the speedy hedgehog, but there are too many terrible ones to count as well.
'Sonic the Hedgehog' is the pinnacle of the series
Looking back, it is hard to believe that players ever expected this mess of a game to be anything other than terrible.
The trailers might have had pretty visuals, but they foreshadowed a laughable attempt to insert the group of talkative animals into a “Final Fantasy” inspired plot.
“Sonic the hedgehog” is arguably the most well-known release of the franchise; obviously, for all the wrong reasons. Bad games come and go, but this one was just not playable.
'Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric' showed how to not reboot a franchise
Following in the massive footsteps of our previous entry, “Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric” was another attempt to restart the series from scratch. “Rise of Lyric” is a prime example of why “Sonic” can never stand alongside “Mario,” as the bad games are not just mediocre but terrible.
Despite being published on 2014, “Rise of Lyric” looks like a high-end PlayStation 2 game and runs extremely poorly with a lot of framerate issues.
All of the characters were given redesigns, and somehow all ended up worse, and the gameplay is one note and designed for two-year-olds.
There is a great 'Sonic' racing game. 'Sonic R' is not that game
This makes our list simply because it is barely a game. Yes, it does technically work, but Sega released a racing game with only five tracks?
Remember that this was available to purchase in 1997, five years after the first “Mario Kart” which included twenty unique tracks.
“Sonic R” had some replayability due to the unlockable characters but it could have been a great racing game if Sega put that bit more effort into it.
'Sonic 3D Blast' is practically a lie
Once the 3D era started, the blue hedgehog kind of began to struggle.
The original games just were not designed to function on anything but a 2D plane, and “3D Blast” was the first attempt at that transition.
This is not a 3D game. It is an ugly isometric title with three-dimensional models and suffers from each level playing the same. It is an entry into the franchise that has largely been forgotten to the times and for a good reason.
'Shadow the Hedgehog' brings guns to 'Sonic'
The edgy version of Sega's mascot, “Shadow” is an anime anti-hero that lacks any of the charms that make a character like Vegeta memorable. It tried to be more mature, with the inclusion of guns and graphic violence, but it felt like it was written by children trying to talk like adults.
“Sonic Mania” will be available to buy on August 15, 2017. Hopefully, it manages to avoid being included in a conversation with any of the above titles.