Sonic the Hedgehog
Year: 1991
Platform: Megadrive
Making his first appearance in June of 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog quickly captured critical acclaim and caused sales of the Sega Megadrive to skyrocket. Sonic was presented as the polar opposite to rival Mario – Mario is fat and slow, Sonic is athletic and nimble. This rivalry lead to a lot of playground fights between Sega and Nintendo fans, and could possibly be blamed for rampant fanboyism on internet forums today. Dr. Robotnik, the evil scientist is after the Chaos Emeralds – 7 jewels which contain great power, which Robotnik intends to use to take over the planet Mobius. He has kidnapped Sonic's animal pals and trapped them inside menacing robots. It's up to Sonic to rescue his friends, capture the Chaos Emeralds and defeat Dr. Robotnik.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)
Year: 1991
Platform: Sega Master System, Game Gear
With the overwhelming success of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Megadrive, Sega answered the demand of fans for an 8-bit version of the game for the Master System and the Game Gear. Instead of stripping down the 16-bit version of the game, Sega opted to make a completely new game for the fans of its older systems. While not as pretty as the original game, the 8-bit Sonic manages to maintain all of the speed and charm that made the Megadrive title a smashing success.
The 8-bit game retained the same plot as the Megadrive version, but featured entirely different levels, including a different special stage. Chaos Emeralds were strewn throughout the main parts of the game, rather than being contained to the special stages.
Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Year: 1992
Platform: Megadrive
November 24, 1992 – otherwise known as Sonic 2sday, marked the release of the second Sonic the Hedgehog title, just 18 months after the first game stormed onto the scene. Sonic 2 looked better, played faster, and featured all sorts of new stuff – the introduction of Miles "Tails" Prower as Sonic's sidekick (who could be controlled by a second player), a new special stage, a new competitive 2 player split-screen mode and the first appearance of Super Sonic and Mecha Sonic. Sonic 2 is considered to be the best in the series by most fans.
Dr. Robotnik returns after being defeated by Sonic, and goes back to rounding up animals to trap inside his mechanized slaves – this time to work on the ultimate weapon of destruction – the Death Egg. Sonic and Tails team up to destroy the Death Egg and put a stop to Robotnik's evil plans.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
Year: 1992
Platform: Sega Master System, Game Gear
Sonic 2 also appeared for the Master System and Game Gear on Sonic 2sday, albeit in a completely different form. The 8-bit version of the game features a completely different story, a different set of levels and vehicles – namely a hang glider and a mine cart. This version of Sonic 2 is also notorious for being the most difficult entry in the series.
Tails follows Sonic around relentlessly – Sonic is his idol, and he always wants to be by his side. Sonic thinks Tails is a nuisance, until the day that Dr. Robotnik kidnaps Tails and takes him back to his hidden base to trap him inside the Crystal Egg. As Sonic, you must collect the Chaos Emeralds and take them to Robotnik's base in order to free Tails from his prison.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
SEGA Sonic the Hedgehog
Year: 1992
Platform: Arcade
Sega has always been a big draw at the arcades (it's currently their biggest business), so it was only a matter of time before Sonic was taken out of the home, and put up in the arcades. Using a trackball, players must guide Sonic and his friends Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo through a series of isometric levels full of traps and puzzles on their way to defeat Dr. Robotnik. Unfortunately, the arcade game was never officially released outside of Japan.
SEGA Sonic Arcade
Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Year: 1993 (1995 PC)
Platform: Mega-CD, PC
There's no doubt that many people reading this article will recall that Sega's Megadrive add-ons were both substantial failures. The first of these add-ons, the Mega CD, actually had a lot of good software on it, and at the forefront of the lineup was Sonic CD. A lot of content was added thanks to the benefit of the capacity of the CD format and the power of the system – an excellent soundtrack, animated introduction and ending movies, a variety of new moves, time travel and a free-roaming (well, compared to the other games at the time) 3D special stage. Sonic CD also introduced the characters of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.
Sonic's girlfriend, Amy Rose has been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik’s latest invention – Metal Sonic. This is only one aspect of Robotnik's evil plan – he intends to capture the Time Spheres, a rare artifact that allows the user to manipulate the flow of time, and use them to rule the world. Sonic must travel through time to recover the spheres, and lay the smackdown on Metal Sonic and his creator.
Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Sonic Chaos
Year: 1993
Platform: Sega Master System, Game Gear
The third Sonic entry on Sega's 8-bit formats brought a slew of new features to the table – redrawn graphics, unique special stages for each character and free flight for Tails. Sonic Chaos also continued the tradition of fiendish levels of difficulty featured in the 8-bit Sonic games (well, fiendish when compared to their 16-bit brethren). Released in Japan as Sonic & Tails.
Sonic Chaos features the same old plot as the previous Sonic titles – Dr. Robotnik is rounding up Sonic and Tails' animal friends and trapping them inside robots, while planning to use the Chaos Emeralds for world domination. Sonic and Tails must stop him or yadda yadda yadda, eternal damnation, fascist regime and so on.
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Spinball
Year: 1993 (1994 SMS/GG)
Platform: Megadrive, Sega Master System, Game Gear
Sonic Spinball is the first of many bizarre departures from the standard Sonic formula. Somewhat inspired by Casino Night Zone in Sonic 2, Sonic Spinball is, well, Sonic in a Pinball machine. Spinball does the standard pinball thing pretty well, and mixes it up with bits and blobs of traditional Sonic gameplay. This departure from the series didn't meet with critics' expectations on release, but certainly found its niche.
In the midst of stopping one of Robotnik’s evil schemes, Sonic and Tails' biplane – the Torpedo – is shot down. To prevent Dr. Robotnik's evil plans from coming to fruition, Sonic must work his way up through the sewers into Eggman's base. It just so happens that these sewers are a veritable maze of bumpers, flippers and other pinball paraphernalia.
Sonic Spinball
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Year: 1993 (1994 SMS/GG)
Platform: Megadrive, Sega Master System, Game Gear
The first Sonic game to…not feature Sonic. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean machine is essentially a rebadged version of the popular puzzle game Puyo Puyo. Dr. Robotnik seems to have taken exception to the fact that the residents of Beansville enjoy their lives, so he has taken it upon himself to produce the "Mean Bean Steaming Machine" to transfer these happy beans into Badniks. Interestingly enough, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine uses the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog version of the doctor, and features his two dimwitted cronies Scratch and Grounder.
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Year: 1994
Platform: Megadrive
Sonic 3 launched in March of 1994 to generally positive reviews, though many critics at the time thought the game was too short – and it is, due to the fact that Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were originally one game, later split into two. Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles the Echidna, this time as an enemy, and features a much different competitive 2 player mode, improved graphics, new moves and a new shield system. Stage size has grown exponentially, with some of the acts requiring up to 10 minutes to pass the first time through. Sonic 3 is also the first title in the series to allow the player to save their progress.
After the destruction of the Death Egg, Robotnik manages to crash land the remains on Floating Island. Being the nasty type that he is, Robotnik captures the local animals to trap inside his machines to start repairs on his damaged battle station. He also dupes the guardian of the island, Knuckles, into believing that Sonic is after the Master Emerald, so that Robotnik can take the emerald for himself and power the Death Egg forever. Once again, it's up to Sonic and Tails to put a stop to these evil plans.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic Drift
Year: 1994
Platform: Game Gear
With the success of Super Mario Kart, it was only a matter of time before the clones followed. It seems a little odd that Sonic would drive a kart over using his own speed to win a race, but this Japan only Game Gear release explored that concept, with relatively good execution. Dr. Robotnik is after the Chaos Emeralds again, but the only way that Sonic can rescue them from his grasp is through defeating the doctor and his cronies in a series of kart races.
Sonic Drift
Sonic & Knuckles
Year: 1994
Platform: Megadrive
Sonic & Knuckles was released in October of 1994 with a very unique feature – previous Sonic titles (or any Megadrive cart, for that matter) could be locked onto the top of the cartridge, so that you could play Knuckles in Sonic 2, turn Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles into one big game or play randomized special stages. Sonic & Knuckles was the first game to allow you to play as Knuckles in the main game, and was the first to feature Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Super Knuckles.
Not long after Sonic destroyed the Launch Base, Knuckles is injured by an explosion while taking a nap. He blames Sonic, and their battle continues, while Robotnik attempts to salvage his plans to steal the Master Emerald. Beat some sense into Knuckles and stop Robotnik's evil scheme.
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic Triple Trouble
Year: 1994
Platform: Game Gear
The fourth 8-bit Sonic title featured another makeover for the blue hedgehog – this time producing some of the best 8-bit graphics to date. Triple Trouble was the first appearance of Knuckles on the Game Gear, as well as the introduction to a new evil animal buddy – Nack the Weasel (or Fang the Sniper, for Japan). Sonic Triple Trouble is slightly more forgiving than the previous Game Gear entries, but still offers up a challenge not seen in the Megadrive games. Released in Japan as Sonic & Tails 2.
Knuckles has stolen Sonic's Chaos Emeralds, and taken them to Dr. Robotnik for another diabolical scheme. Sonic and Tails give chase, but Knuckles has set up a variety of traps to stop their progress. On top of that, the nasty Nack the Weasel is guarding the emeralds. It's Sonic’s greatest challenge yet.
Sonic Triple Trouble
Sonic Drift 2
Year: 1995
Platform: Game Gear
Sonic's second kart race outing is easily the best, with more characters, better courses and prettier graphics. Pretty much the same premise as the last game – compete against Robotnik and co. in kart races to obtain the Chaos Emeralds. Released outside of Japan as Sonic Drift Championship.
Sonic Drift 2
Tails' Sky Patrol
Year: 1995
Platform: Game Gear
Another case of why you shouldn't license out popular material – sometimes people cannot do it justice. In this case, Tails has his first solo adventure, and it's a pretty dismal departure from the usual Sonic thing. Tails' Sky Patrol plays like a bizarre horizontal scrolling shooter, with a power ring replacing any sort of threatening armament. This game introduced a whole bevy of bizarre enemies that we’ll never see again, including the main enemy who appears to be a witch. No explanation is offered as to why Tails is chasing this elderly woman – maybe he's just a prick.
Tails' Sky Patrol
Knuckles' Chaotix
Year: 1995
Platform: 32X
One of the Sonic series games that doesn't star the hedgehog – in fact, he’s not in it at all. Knuckles is the star of the show in this case, along with his Team Chaotix chums – Vector the Crocodile, Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. Knuckles Chaotix features a fancy new bungee ring system, which is confusing at first, but proves to be somewhat useful once you’ve worked it out.
A new theme park has opened up, much to the enjoyment of the animals of Team Chaotix. Unfortunately, Dr. Robotnik and Mecha Sonic have decided to crash the party and disrupt the festivities. Guess what needs to be done.
Knuckles' Chaotix
Tails' Adventures
Year: 1995
Platform: Game Gear
Tails' Adventures is the second game to feature the fox out on his own, and thankfully, this one is a remarkable improvement on his previous outing. Still somewhat of a departure from the franchise formula, Tails' Adventures takes on a more platform/adventure centric gameplay style – a format which suits the Game Gear well (when it's hooked into a wall, anyway). Some of the prettiest 8-bit graphics are in this title – quite a remarkable achievement on limited hardware.
Tails' Adventures features a rather amusing premise – while Tails is taking a nap in his serene forest home, a band of evil militarized ducks set his home on fire. Not one to take this sort of treatment lying down, Tails goes on a quest to kick some mallard ass.
Tails' Adventures
Sonic Labyrinth
Year: 1995
Platform: Game Gear
Another departure from the standard formula, Sonic Labyrinth is the somewhat frustrating experience of what happens when Sonic is deprived of his speed shoes. Dr. Robotnik has replaced Sonic's speedy trainers with a pair of slow shoes, and the only hope Sonic has of retrieving his trademark speed is to venture into this labyrinth and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. This entry in the series is really too much of a departure to appeal to fans, due mainly to its slower nature and the isometric viewpoint.
Sonic Labyrinth
Sonic The Fighters
Year: 1996
Platform: Arcade
Originally started as an internal experiment by one of AM2's workers – Sonic The Fighters is actually just Virtua Fighter 2 with a selection of Sonic characters replacing Jacky and company. Sonic The Fighters featured a pair of new characters – Bark the Dog and Bean the Duck (well, he looks like a duck). Unfortunately, the planned Saturn conversion of the game and the European release of the arcade version were both scrapped – the Saturn was just about dead when the plug was pulled on the project, but no reason has been provided as to why it was never released into Euro arcades. Known as Sonic Championship in the USA.
Sonic The Fighters has a rather silly story. The various animals have decided to kick Dr. Robotnik's butt once and for all, but the space shuttle needed to get to the Death Egg has only one seat, so the gang decides to settle the conflict using good ol' fisticuffs, in the hopes that only the strongest fighter will go to the final battle.
Sonic The Fighters
Sonic 3D: Flicky’s Island
Year: 1996
Platform: Megadrive, Saturn, PC
Sonic 3D is 3D in name only; it actually takes the Sonic formula into an isometric form – it's somewhat like SEGASonic Arcade. Developed by UK studio Traveler’s Tales, Sonic 3D marks the final entry in the series on the Megadrive, and the first outing on the Saturn. There are a few differences between the 16 and 32-bit releases, namely different bonus stages and soundtracks.
Flicky Island is inhabited by a race of birds called the Flickies, whose appearance is closely linked to the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic decides to check the place out, only to find that Dr. Robotnik has learned the secret of the Flickies, and has used their teleport ring ability to transform them into robotic slaves. It's up to Sonic to save the Flickies, collect the Chaos Emeralds and defeat Dr. Robotnik.
Sonic 3D: Flicky's Island
Sonic Blast
Year: 1996
Platform: Sega Master System, Game Gear
The final Sonic game released for the Game Gear and Master System was easily the most amazing technical achievement on either system. Sonic Blast uses sprite techniques similar to those seen in the Donkey Kong Country series, not to mention the fact it uses special stages similar to the ones seen on Sonic 3 – quite a feat on 8-bit hardware. Sonic Blast isn't so crash hot story wise, however, repeating the same Sonic vs. Knuckles and Robotnik formula seen multiple times since Sonic 3.
Sonic Blast
Sonic’s Schoolhouse
Year: 1996
Platform: PC
Not a game as such – an edutainment program meant for pre-school to 4th grade. Probably useful for teaching the tykes a thing or too about reading and arithmetic, but not much fun for anyone over the age of 10.
Sonic and Knuckles Collection
Year: 1997
Platform: PC
A collection that includes Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles for Windows 95 PCs. Also included is a screen saver which displays some original art, as well as various box arts. Music from the first four Megadrive games is also a part of the screensaver.
Sonic Jam
Year: 1997
Platform: Saturn
The second Sonic game for the Saturn was not the full 3D adventure everyone was hoping for (Sonic Xtreme was cancelled, though early reports were positive) – it was a compilation of Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles as well as a 3D overworld section which featured a Sonic Museum, which had all sorts of little trivia bits and samples of concept art and so on.
Sonic Jam
Sonic R
Year: 1997 (1998 PC)
Platform: Saturn, PC
Sonic R was the final Sonic release on the Sega Saturn. Released late in the Saturn's life – around about the time the plug was pulled in North America and Europe, Sonic R was not as widely exposed as previous games in the franchise (on major platforms), though it does have a core group of dedicated fans. Sonic R is also the last title in the franchise developed by Traveler’s Tales.
Sonic learns of a racing competition being held near his home and decides to enter with a bunch of his companions. Unfortunately, it turned out that this competition was nothing more than a ploy to trap Sonic, set up by Dr. Robotnik so he can have a free shot at taking over the world.
Sonic R
Sonic Adventure
Year: 1998
Platform: Dreamcast
After the cancellation of Sonic Xtreme, many fans were wondering if they'd ever see a full 3D Sonic the Hedgehog title. Sega finally answered the pleas of fans in 1998 when they released Sonic Adventure alongside their new Dreamcast system. With a quality of visuals unseen at the time, and a pretty kick ass game to match, Sonic Adventure was a huge success, and breathed new life into the franchise, not to mention helped the Dreamcast get off to a good start. Sonic Adventure introduces some new characters to the series – Big the Cat and Gamma the Robot, as well as being the first game to use an overworld.
Sonic is kicking back in Station Square when all hell breaks loose – a water based enemy attacks the city. After defeating the creature, Sonic discovers that Dr. Robotnik was behind the attack – the creature being his latest discovery – Chaos. Robotnik plans on capturing the Chaos Emeralds to feed to the beast, which grows each time he eats one, and then setting him loose on Station Square. Once Station Square is destroyed, Eggman intends on building a new city – "Robotnikland". It's up to Sonic, Tails and friends to stop this fiendish plan.
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Pocket Adventure
Year: 1999
Platform: Neo Geo Pocket Colour
The first Sonic game published for a console format not controlled by Sega, Sonic Pocket Adventure was intended to be a companion to Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. However, lackluster sales of both the game and SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Colour led to Sonic Pocket Adventure being one of those undiscovered gems.
Sonic's Pocket Adventure bears a lot in common with Sonic 2 – some of the levels very similar, and it uses the same bonus stage, but a lot of new bosses, levels and gameplay modes are present. The same old Sonic plotline applies – Robotnik wants Chaos Emeralds to take over the world, Sonic must stop him, and so on.
Sonic's Pocket Adventure
Sonic Adventure International
Year: 1999
Platform: Dreamcast
A Japan-only re-release of Sonic Adventure. The original release of Sonic Adventure in Japan was quite a buggy affair, and Sega issued this version which is basically the same as the version released in North America and PAL territories, which fixed a lot of those original problems.
Sonic Shuffle
Year: 2001
Platform: Dreamcast
Think Mario Party, but take out the fat arsed plumber and throw Sonic in his place. Pretty much the same idea as Mario Party, even developed by the same group (Hudson), but just isn't as good as it's Nintendo equivalent – in fact, it's bloody awful, thanks to less than stellar mini-games and horrendous load times.
Sonic and friends are warped from their home planet to another dimension, known as Maginaryworld. Upon arrival, a fairy named Lumina explains Maginaryworld's purpose – it causes people's dreams to come true. Recently, an evil being known as Void has been destroying the Precioustones – the source of Maginaryworld's power. If Void succeeds in his quest, Maginaryworld will cease to exist and people will have nightmares for all of eternity. Not being ones to let evil prevail, Sonic and his buddies accept the quest to protect the remaining Precioustones and defeat Void.
Sonic Shuffle
Sonic Adventure 2
Year: 2001
Platform: Dreamcast
Released to celebrate Sonic's 10th birthday, Sonic Adventure 2 was the Dreamcast's last hurrah. The second Adventure game was a much faster experience, but far more linear than the previous title, having ditched the overworld in favour of a Light quest and a Dark quest – meaning you could play as Dr. Robotnik for the first time in the series. Sonic Adventure 2 also added some two player modes and new features to the Chao garden. While the game performed well at retail, many critics look back on Sonic Adventure with a bit of disgust, due to its rather uncooperative camera system.
Dr. Robotnik's grandfather was a famous scientist who created what was considered to be the ultimate weapon – the Space Colony ARK, and the ultimate life form – Shadow the Hedgehog. Eggman finds both these artifacts, and teams up with Shadow and newcomer Rouge the Bat to gather the Chaos Emeralds to power up the ARK. At the same time, Sonic the Hedgehog has problems of the own – the military has mistaken him for Shadow the Hedgehog, and are putting up chase. Can Sonic and his friends save the day?
A special 10th anniversary collector's edition of Sonic Adventure 2 was released on June 23rd, 2001. It contained a copy of the game, a CD with a selection of music from the franchise over the years, a small book detailing the history of Sonic, and a small medallion.
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Year: 2002
Platform: Gamecube
If you'd said to a kid on the playground 14 years ago that Sonic would end up on a Nintendo format, he'd have laughed and then kicked you in the shins. The unthinkable happened less than one year after Sega discontinued production of the Dreamcast. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is a slightly enhanced version of the Dreamcast game, featuring cleaned up graphics, more characters for multiplayer mode, and connectivity features with Sonic Advance – namely the Chao Garden.
Sonic Advance
Year: 2002
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Sonic's first Game Boy Advance outing was pretty much what everyone was expecting – a nice solid side scrolling Sonic game. The only real problem was that the game was unbelievably easy, though raising Chaos helped extend the lifetime a little. Some Sonic purists may not like the scaling sprites that the game uses, but Sonic Advance is easily one of the best original titles on the Game Boy Advance.
Sonic Advance
Sonic Mega Collection
Year: 2002
Platform: Gamecube
With the success of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic Advance, it was obvious to Sega that Nintendo fans were hungry for Sonic, so they replied with a compilation of all of Sonic's Megadrive outings – Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (as well as a few other bonus games – Ristar, Flicky, The Ooze and Comix Zone (last two were Japan only)). Sonic Mega Collection featured solid emulation of these classics, but the minimalist approach to the extras was a real disappointment. A must for anyone who missed those Megadrive titles the first time around
Sonic Advance 2
Year: 2003
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Sonic's second Game Boy Advance outing saw the introduction of Cream the Rabbit, and provided another solid classic-style Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay experience – even down to the easy difficulty. A new trick move system was also added, which allows Sonic and friends to do a little showboating while traveling in the air or at high speeds.
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic N
Year: 2003
Platform: N-Gage
After being lured to the N-Gage format by Nokia, Sega decided to port their recently released Sonic Advance to the taco shaped handheld. Looks a little silly due to the odd screen ratio, and suffers a little slowdown, but doesn't really stray too far from the original experience.
Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut
Year: 2003 (2004 PC)
Platform: Gamecube, PC
Gamecube owners were lucky enough to be treated to a further updated version of Sonic Adventure. The Director's Cut version of Sonic Adventure has been ported over to the sleeker Sonic Adventure 2 game engine, meaning it runs at twice the speed of the original release. A series of 12 Sonic-based titles for the Game Gear have been included as a bonus, as well as the Chao Garden Link-up with the Game Boy Advance Sonic games. Treated harshly upon release by critics who felt it didn't do enough – and added more problems to the original game, it's still a must have for any Nintendo-based Sonic fan.
Sonic Pinball Party
Year: 2003
Platform: Game Boy Advance
One has to question why Sega decided to do a second Sonic based Pinball title, but it happened anyway. Fortunately for Sonic, he's not the ball this time. Play through a hilariously cheesy story mode, or go for free play on the Sonic, NiGHTS or Samba Di Amigo tables. Sonic Pinball Party is one of the rarer titles in the franchise, as it saw relatively limited releases in Japan and Europe, and was exclusive to Target stores in the United States.
Sonic Pinball Party
Sonic Heroes
Year: 2004
Platform: Gamecube, Playstation 2, Xbox
Sonic Heroes marked the first multi-platform release for the franchise, with the game launching (almost) simultaneously on Gamecube, Playstation 2 and Xbox in the early part of 2004. The title seemed like it was providing a little bit of fan service at times – bringing back a level design and aesthetic look very close to that of the original Megadrive titles, while also including some of the more obscure characters introduced in lower profile Sonic titles – such as the gang from Team Chaotix (sans Mighty the Armadillo). Gameplay was team centric, with each squad containing three characters, which each had different abilities required to traverse the levels. Sonic Heroes performed well at retail, and while the critical reception was better than Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, many reviewers felt that the camera system held the game back.
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Battle
Year: 2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
After Sonic The Fighters never made it home, some fans still wanted to experience a Sonic fighting game. Sega eventually answered with Sonic Battle, a four way 3D fighter for the Game Boy Advance. A good idea on paper, Sonic Battle just didn't live up to its potential, delivering a rather dull, effortless and underwhelming experience.
Sonic stumbles upon a damaged robot named Emerl, who was thrown in the trash days earlier by Dr. Robotnik. Emerl likes to absorb Chaos Emeralds, and after a short period of time, he creates a link relationship with Sonic. Pretty soon, all of Sonic's friends want to use Emerl for their own purposes, but it becomes clear that something isn't quite right with everyone's favourite robot.
Sonic Battle
Sonic Advance 3
Year: 2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Sonic Advance 3 continues the tradition of the franchise on the Game Boy Advance, offering up another classic-style Sonic experience. New gameplay features were added, such as the Tag Actions, and the size of levels has increased dramatically. Still a little on the easy side, but fans of the previous Sonic Advance games are bound to enjoy it.
Dr. Robotnik has used Chaos Control to break the world up into 7 pieces and plans to slowly turn each into a part of the Robotnik Empire. It's up to Sonic and friends to put a stop to Eggman’s plans yet again, and restore the world to its original state.
Sonic Advance 3
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Year: 2004
Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox
A port of Sonic Mega Collection which featured the extra Game Gear titles included in Sonic Adventure DX, as well as the extra Megadrive games which appeared in the Japanese and North American releases of Sonic Mega Collection on the Gamecube.
Shadow the Hedgehog
Year: 2005
Platform: Gamecube, Playstation 2, Xbox
With interest in the Sonic franchise still at its peak, Sega have decided to launch a bevy of Sonic products this holiday season. At the forefront will be Shadow the Hedgehog, the first game featuring Shadow as the main protagonist. The game looks fairly promising so far, though many are questioning the inclusion of Shadow's ability to use guns – it seems a little over the top, and maybe a little desperate on Sega's part. More and more people beginning to complain that the franchise doesn’t focus enough on Sonic anymore, so it will be interesting to see how fans react to the game when it is released this holiday season.
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic Gems Collection
Year: 2005
Platform: Gamecube, Playstation 2
Sonic Mega Collection was a roaring success on the Gamecube, and has put up a very solid performance on the Playstation 2, so it was only natural that Sega would make a second compilation of Sonic titles. Gems Collection is set to include the most notable omission from Mega Collection – Sonic CD, as well as Sonic The Fighters, which never made it out of the arcades. Sonic R is the other featured title of the package. Sega are packing a few extra bonuses into the collection – 6 Sonic Game Gear titles and Bonanza Brothers. The compilation itself isn't as full as Sonic Mega Collection, but is still a essential purchase for fans of the franchise.
Sonic Rush
Year: 2005
Platform: Nintendo DS
The Sonic Advance titles have been amongst the best performers on the Game Boy Advance, and with Sega's multiplatform strategy, it was only a matter of time before a Sonic game was announced for the DS. Sonic Rush looks to be the best of the new titles headed for launch this holiday season, offering up the traditional Sonic gameplay, but with a whole host of new moves, fancy graphics and unique use of the dual screens provided by the Nintendo DS.
Sonic Rush
Phew! That was a long one – 44 titles covered. Stay tuned to PALGN for more on Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Rush over the next few months leading up to their respective releases.
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