Now that I've finally beaten Unleashed, I'm pleased to say that I've officially played all of the 3D Sonic games. So like with the Mario RPGs, it's time I finally make a proper ranking of them all:
F Tier
20. Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric
In the early 2010s, it felt like we were getting LEGO/Skylander clones everywhere. Lots of multiplayer top-down action games with very, very simple gameplay, but often without the customization or set-dressing that made the LEGO and Skylander games such successes to begin with. Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric is a great example of this, being arguably the most flagrant case of Sonic Team hopping on trends which is impressive considering how often they've done that. It's an incredibly barebones beat-em-up with basic combat, basic puzzles, basic exploration, and very basic "speed" sections. But it's not just a boring game on its own merits because it also has an awful story riddled with irritating quips, dull environments, and a complete and utter lack of player agency in any shape or form. And worst of all, Rise Of Lyric is also incredibly buggy and poorly-optimized for the Wii U, just in case it couldn't have been any worse. I don't think it's that controversial to put Rise Of Lyric on the bottom, right? There's just nothing here, not even the witty comedy that would define the TV show it's based on. It's barely even a Sonic game at this point, just a thing that existed.
19. Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh putting The Final Horizon so low. It's not nearly as buggy as 06 or as creatively bankrupt as Forces and it certainly controls better than something like Secret Rings or 3D Blast, it's probably "objectively" better than most of those games. But for me personally, as someone who got into the series long after the "dark ages" had passed, this was the most disappointed a Sonic product has ever made me. The Final Horizon takes all the goodwill Frontiers still had and systematically undoes all of it, bit by bit. Tedious vertical platforming sections that show how unequipped Frontiers' controls are for precision, awful combat trials that show how limited Frontiers' combat truly is, a painful boss rush that shows how poorly telegraphed the iconic Titans turn out to be when you actually get punished for failing, and a messy final boss that loses out on all the thematic heft that made the original ending work to begin with. But hey, at least you can play as Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, right? Sure, but they all suck and feel way worse than playing as Sonic. I had never felt as hopeless towards the future of the Sonic franchise as I did after playing The Final Horizon, it genuinely felt like Sonic Team was content just shallowly checking fan criticisms off a checklist rather than make a competently-designed product at the bare minimum. Thank goodness Shadow Generations was as good as it was, geez.
D Tier
18. Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)
And that's pretty much it for the outright bad games. Seriously, I think
there are only two flat-out bad 3D Sonic games and one of them is
just a DLC expansion, crazy huh?
Man, I really wish Sonic 06 was better than it is. I hate to use the p-word here, but it definitely had the potential to be something really special. It feels like an expansion on the Adventure formula with some pretty cool stages and boss designs, I like Mephiles as a villain, I kinda vibe with the more realistic environments, and the soundtrack is of course one of my favorites of all time. I haven't played P-06 so I can't say for sure, but there is definitely a world where Sonic 06 turned out to be really, really good. Sadly, that is not the world we live in. I think some fans nowadays get too wrapped up in what 06 could've been rather than what it actually is, forgetting just how much the final product screwed up. I'm someone who can handle a lot of jank as you can see later on in this list, but there's always going to be a line. The bugs in 06 are frequent and unpredictable, you spend the whole game in a state of fear because you can and will glitch out of the stage at any point. Maybe if I got this game as a kid and played it nonstop, I'd learn where all the glitches are and how to avoid them, but come on, that doesn't fix the problem. And beyond just the bugs, there's the loading screens, the messy and convoluted story, the horrendously slow character movement, the godawful vehicle sections for Shadow, the broken boss fights, that damn billiards puzzle. Maybe Sonic 06 could've been good, but that's not the game Sonic Team put on store shelves and charged money for. I can appreciate ambition to a point and I'm willing to extend an olive branch and say that I don't think Sonic 06 is entirely without merit, but when push comes to shove, game's not very fun.
17. Sonic Lost World (3DS)
I've heard some people say Sonic Lost World on 3DS is better than the Wii U version and I just can't see it. This game's got so many issues, but it seems alright first. The 3D levels in the first world seem solid enough, and occasionally even push you to use the parkour systems a bit... but then you play the 2D levels and get hit with absurdly twitchy controls and a zoomed-in camera that prevents you from seeing anything. Seriously, these 2D stages are miserable, and while the 3D stages are better, they also devolve into overlong gimmickry. Sorry but I'm just not taking this over the original on any levelC Tier
16. Sonic 3D Blast
I've already gone into my thoughts on Sonic 3D Blast before, so I'll be quick here. I think this is a fairly charming little isometric platformer with some fun levels and stellar music that's unfortunately held back by its slippery controls (especially on the Saturn) and the tedious structure of having to collect Flickies in each stage. While we did get a Director's Cut that fixes a lot of these issues and shows that the movement has the potential to be really fun, the original release of 3D Blast is still a fairly mediocre game beyond the novelty of having a "3D-ish" Sonic game on the Genesis. But it has more sauce than some others in the gseries which is why it's higher up on the list.
15. Sonic Frontiers
I've made it clear by now that Sonic Frontiers is a game that I have continued to sour on over time, especially with the release of The Final Horizon. It's not a bad game per se, like I was able to play through the whole thing at launch and have a reasonably good time. Running around the open world just feels nice, the soundtrack is pretty great, and the bosses are solid spectacles. It's an ambitious game that laid the groundwork for future entries pretty well, but man does it just not stand on its own. In general, I also think the first half of Frontiers is pretty darn fun, but it does start to lose its footing by Chaos Island and doesn't really recover. The movement feels sluggish and constantly brings you to a halt, the cyberspace stages are forgettable and unoriginal, the combat is shallow and awkward, the progression is tedious, the art direction is ugly, and the Final Horizon is tedious as hell. It's a rare Sonic game that I just have no interest going back to at all, even over some of the ones lower on this list.
14. Sonic Forces
I was scared to give Sonic Forces a shot with how much people hate it, but when I finally got around to trying it out, I... actually had a decent time? I really don't think this is anywhere near one of the worst 3D Sonic games because it primarily gets one thing very right: fluidity. Nothing stops your momentum arbitrarily, there's no air drag, you're encouraged to actually engage with the levels to get good times and a clean run feels very good. This may not sound like much but even some of the better 3D games don't get this right. And on top of the very solid gameplay flow, I also appreciate the various memorable setpieces in the levels, the banging soundtrack, the cheesy dialogue, and the abundance of solid side content that kept me playing for way longer than I was expecting. And most of all, the Avatars are genuinely very well-handled. Their stages feel the most developed, their customization is robust, the Wispons add a lot of gameplay variety and depth, and they even have a cute little character arc throughout the game. Genuinely, I'd take a game with just the Avatars, they're easily the standout here.
That being said, I'd be lying if I said Forces also wasn't frustratingly compromised. The platforming often feels awkward and clunky especially in 2D, some levels railroad you a bit too strongly, many stages end too quickly and feel underdeveloped, and the story while charmingly enjoyable just doesn't take itself seriously enough to fully sell its premise. The final third does actually get pretty good, but it's too little too late and just ended up making me wish the whole game was firing on that level. Unlike games like Frontiers or Boom, I could see one of my favorite Sonic games in Forces, but it's only 50% of the way there. With more developed levels, tighter controls, and a more focused narrative, Forces could have been something truly special. But as it is now, it's a guilty pleasure that I enjoy playing but can't help but wish was better.
13. Sonic & The Secret Rings
Similarly to Forces, I used to put Secret Rings a lot lower but as of my recent review of the game, it shot up my rankings pretty dramatically once I gave it a chance and properly beat it.
Sonic & The Secret Rings is a game with a lot of cool elements like the creative environments, frenetic level pacing, large-scale boss fights, a neat upgrade system that lets you truly overpower Sonic like in no other game out there, buttrock soundtrack, genuinely touching story, and a shockingly fun party game that I honestly think is slightly better than Sonic Shuffle. With a standard control scheme, Secret Rings would be an easy Top 10 contender for me, but instead Sega tried to make an autorunning 3D platformer that you play on a horizontal Wii remote and it really hurts the product. Despite what many say, I don't actually think the motion controls are that bad, they're fairly responsive actually. The real problem is in the way Sonic's movement has been gimped to accommodate for this strange control scheme just means he feels really awkward to play as, and it doesn't help that the aforementioned upgrade system makes you unlock tighter controls making the first hour a bit of a pain. However, I'm still able to gleam a lot of enjoyment from Secret Rings both ironically and unironically. While it still occasionally feels like I'm just powering through the jank, at its best, I still find it more fun and interesting than a lot of the games lower down on the list and I will always have a bit of a softspot for it.
B Tier
12. Sonic Unleashed (SD)
Okay, now we're onto the games I actually think are legitimately good. The Wii version of Sonic Unleashed is a solid but unremarkable way to play one of Sonic's best adventures. Daytime Sonic is actually quite good, his stages are well-designed and fun to master, and his unique boost system is a fun take on the formula that feels good to nail. Sadly, the Werehog sections are a lot worse than the console version with far worse movement and far less combos, even if the smaller length of his stages help them feel a lot more digestible. A lot of the bigger issues in HD Unleashed are gone here like the removal of medal gates, smaller stage lengths, decreased QTEs, less exhausting final stage, and more satisfying final boss which is pretty cool and makes this version of Unleashed worth playing. However, I just don't think the removal of two areas, lack of hubs, simplified Werehog combat and movement, muddier visuals, constant obnoxious Chip tutorials, unskippable cutscenes, and more basic boss fights is enough of a worthy trade-off either. This doesn't replace the HD version by any means, it's just a nice supplement at best.
11. Sonic & The Black Knight
Sonic & The Black Knight is probably the most 7/10 game ever made. It obviously has one of the best and most well-told stories in the franchise, along with stellar visual design and music. Atmospherically, this is one of the most compelling games in the series, it feels every bit like the grand Arthurian adventure it's trying to be. But when you get into the gameplay, Black Knight is a bit more of a mixed bag. It obviously controls way better than Secret Rings and is a lot faster-paced with a larger roster of stages, and I think the swordplay gets a bit too much flack since it's simple enough that it doesn't drag the gameplay to a halt every time you engage an enemy. However, this is a double-edged sword since the overall gameplay in Black Knight is so simple that it feels pretty one-note, and when the stages start to get tough in the second half, the limitations of your rigid movement really start to show. Even Secret Rings is able to get away with more interesting level design and involved mechanics, Black Knight is completely lacking in depth to the point that I'd argue it rivals Forces as the shallowest 3D Sonic game mechanically. Unlike Forces though, Black Knight still ends up staying in my good graces for its lengthier stages, dumb fun combat mechanics, far stronger narrative, and greater levels of polish. Despite its flaws, I still think Black Knight is still a really fun time for what it is, and stands out as the last true "Adventure era" game in the series.
10. Sonic Lost World (Wii U)
Sonic Lost World is a game that gets a lot of flack for trying to be too much like Mario, with slower paced movement and more basic world themes. It's certainly not as cool or fast-paced as you'd want from a Sonic game, but on its own merits, I still think it's a pretty solid and polished platformer. Like, let's be real, planetoid stages are always gonna be cool as hell and it allows Lost World to have a lot of level variety that pushes the otherwise basic world themes in some neat ways. The parkour system while underused is a ton of fun to mess around with too, and for as much as I love the boost, it was nice to have a more slow-paced Adventure-esque 3D entry after all this time. That being said, I still have quite a few issues with Lost World. The occassional gimmicky level, the boring boss fights, the shoehorned Wisp abilities, and most importantly, a very mixed bag of a story. Like many Sonic tales from this era, I think Lost World's narrative has a few moments of brilliance, a few well-framed scenes, a few jokes that land, a few bits of drama that works, but the end product feels really messy and forced. But as long as you skip all the cutscenes, I think Lost World still holds up as a fun time if you're willing to play by its rules.
A Tier
9. Shadow The Hedgehog
Despite its reputation, Shadow The Hedgehog is a game I will always defend. In terms of the core moment to moment gameplay, I think Shadow 05 improves on Heroes in almost every way, with tighter movement, more responsive grinding and triangle jumps, and simple but fun gameplay that lets the player choose how fast they want to move through each of the stages. And speaking of which, the stage design in Shadow 05 is also quite good all around, with a ton of very memorable setpieces and settings. The one thing that really prevents this one from being higher on the list for me is really just the missions which can range from pretty fun to obnoxiously tedious. If Shadow's campaign was more like the game's linear Expert Mode, I'd definitely like it a lot more. But despite that issue, I still really like Shadow 05 because the core gameplay is just so fun, and I've even grown to admire the charmingly edgy aesthetic that the whole game wears so proudly on its sleeve.
8. Sonic Dream Team
Coming right on the heels of The Final Horizon, Sonic Dream Team was exactly the kind of game I was waiting for. It may not be anything too spectacular, with fairly simplified controls and a slower pace to compensate for it being a mobile game, but Dream Team made sure to keep the scope small, focus on its strengths, and delivered a polished, consistently fun platformer. The inventive dream-themed environments rival Sonic Colors in terms of pure visual creativity, and the level design and controls are perfectly tailored to platforming at high speeds. At a high level, Dream Team just feels incredibly satisfying to play. The fairly large roster of characters, abundance of collectibles that encourage you to look around, and pretty fun boss fights are the icing on the cake, making for what is probably the most Adventure-esque 3D Sonic game we've had in years.
7. Sonic Heroes
Look, Sonic Heroes is obviously a very janky game. Rail grinding barely works, combat is horrible when you're not powered up enough, the speed characters move too fast, the pinball physics are a mess, this game has a lot of very obvious flaws. However, I think Sonic Heroes has enough truly stellar elements to make up for all of this. The team-up mechanics are an absolute joy to mess around with, and the stages do a great job at allowing for multiple strategies for pretty much every situation. The stages themselves are also incredibly focused, fun, and well-designed, and the Genesis-inspired two-act structure means each campaign feels really well-paced and lacking in fluff. The bright Gamecube era visuals are a joy to look at, the soundtrack is arguably Senoue's best, and the story while simple and cheesy has some of the most enjoyable character banter in the series. This was the first 3D Sonic game I ever played from start to finish, so while I may have a bit too much nostalgia for Heroes, I also think it was a great entry point into this new perspective for the series.
6. Shadow Generations
Shadow Generations is easily the best 3D Sonic game we've gotten since the original Generations, and a worthy followup to Shadow 05 that re-rails the titular character after years of mischaracterization. The level design is consistently stellar, filled with shortcuts, branching paths, and satisfying platforming. Shadow's movement is some of the most polished we've seen, and the new Doom Powers add some fun complexity to your movement. The boss fights are cinematic and memorable, the production values are the highest we've seen in years, and the main hub redeems Frontiers' open zone concept in triumphant fashion. However, the game suffers from one critical flaw: It's too slow. Your boost barely speeds you up, the air drag is so intense that jumping constantly slows you down, and your reaction time is barely tested. Shadow Generations is a very fun, well-designed game, but it struggles to create the same sense of flow that all my favorite Boost games (and even some of my least favorite Boost games) are able to.
5. Sonic Colors
Sonic Colors is definitely one of the most consistent 3D Sonic games, lacking any major flaws that would make it hard for me to recommend to anyone. I know it gets a bad rap from Sonic fans for its story (which I'd argue isn't even that bad) and the abundance of 2D levels, but as a game, I think Colors is just really thoughtfully-designed. Each zone is striking and memorable thanks to their colorful environments and surreal art direction that rivals Unleashed as some of the best in the franchise, but the level design itself is also a ton of fun to replay over and over again as you unlock more Wisps and open up even more of each of the stages, and that includes the 2D stages as well. I also have to praise how much more sparing the boost is in this game, you don't get Boost Wisp capsules that often which adds an element of boost management that helps Colors stand out in particular. And just in general, the movement feels very tight and fluid. Overall, I think Colors strikes a perfect balance between being bite-sized and accessible without lacking in depth, unlike something like Forces, which makes for a rare 3D Sonic game that I actually love to get 100% in. Colors may not have the ambition of other games in the series, but it has a strong sense of focus and knows the kind of game it wants to be: A simple, easy to hop into, pure platformer that brings Sonic back to his roots, and I think it does that well.
S Tier
4. Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2 is probably the closest a 3D Sonic game has ever felt to feeling like an action movie. There are no hubs, no wide open spaces to explore, just nonstop level-by-level action and it's a ton of fun. At its best, SA2 boasts some of the most exciting stages in the series, with the fast-paced speed stages and the explorative treasure hunting stages being notable highlights for me. There's a strong focus on mastery here, with a well-implemented ranking system that's just begging you to get better. And it's all bolstered by the wonderful Dreamcast era aesthetics, varied genre-bending soundtrack, addictive Chao Garden sidemode that supplements the main campaign perfectly, and one of the best and most iconic narratives in the franchise. At its worst, however, SA2 does have lower lows than its predecessors, between the somewhat clunky mech controls and the generally rough boss fights. However, even with its issues, Sonic Adventure 2 is still a game I love playing and I can definitely say it holds up as a worthy sequel to SA1.
3. Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations is probably the most consistently stellar 3D Sonic game, to the point where the only things I can really fault it for are a few weak boss fights and a nothingburger of a story. Otherwise, this is Sonic at his most refined and focused. The Classic Sonic stages while not super accurate are still an absolute blast for their dynamic 2.5D level design and just how fun it is to mess around with physics. And the Modern Sonic stages are pretty much all masterpieces, intricately layered with a ton of hidden shortcuts that are a joy to figure out, and being the perfect length to make mastering them feel totally worth it. The way Sonic Generations takes iconic settings from the series and expands on them still feels impressively fresh to this day, and the sheer amount of thought and polish that went into this package is constantly on show. The only reason why it's not even higher is the fact that it's still an "anniversary game" meaning it doesn't really feel like a cohesive adventure (especially considering how subpar the story is). It's more just a collection of really, really good stages.
2. Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Unleashed was a game I had wanted to play for a long time, and as you can probably tell, I'm pleased to say that it generally lived up to the hype. The day stages are some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay out there, it's exhilarating fast, super responsive, and genuinely challenging. And while the Werehog gameplay certainly doesn't reach that same high bar, it still stands out as one of the best alternate playstyles in the series for having genuine depth to the combat. And the whole game is bolstered with fantastic level design, stellar boss fights, an abundance of side content, and staggering production values the likes of which the series still hasn't seen since. As I said in my review, I think of Unleashed as the absolute peak of Sonic in terms of art direction. It does have a few blatant flaws like its uneven pacing and some of the side content, but they pale in comparison to the highs this game reached. As a full package, Unleashed still stands out as one of the most complete, full-featured, and satisfying experiences in the series.
1. Sonic Adventure
Yep, Sonic Adventure is still my favorite game in the series to this day. I love so much about it. From the charming hub areas that are a joy to get lost in, to Sonic's top-tier movement that nailed the transition to 3D impressively effortlessly, to the stellar open-ended level design, to the cool interweaving story that gives the cast a ton of character depth, to the gorgeous Dreamcast-ass visual style, to that poppy soundtrack, to the myriad of fun and varied character campaigns like Gamma's fast-paced shooting and Amy's survival horror bits. It's not perfect, no Sonic game is. Tails' campaign feels too padded out, Big's campaign doesn't properly teach you the fishing control, and the game as a whole certainly has its fair share of jank, but overall, no other Sonic game gives me as much joy playing it as Adventure does. It's such an immensely charming and seamless experience that still feels unlike anything else in the franchise.
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