The Definitive Sonic thread & Knuckles

[Victor Mildew]

With Sonic CD though, you need to have the Japanese soundtrack, when the game was included in Sonic Gems Collection on the Gamecube, they used the USA soundtrack which was nowhere near as good.

The pal soundtrack was the same as the Japanese one, so the only one I heard

[Vermilion]

With Sonic CD though, you need to have the Japanese soundtrack, when the game was included in Sonic Gems Collection on the Gamecube, they used the USA soundtrack which was nowhere near as good.

The pal soundtrack was the same as the Japanese one, so the only one I heard

Indeed, i had the Mega CD version and loved it, which was why i was so disappointed when the Gamecube re-release had the wrong music.

[jawa_]

Of the Sonic games that I've played...

Played a lot
Sonic Boom (Wii U) - loved it!

Played a little
Sonic (MD) - very good
Sonic 2 (MD) - neat two-player
Sonic CD (MCD) - seemed decent
Knuckles Chaotic (32X) - crazy action
Sonic Unleashed (Wii) - stretchy arms!

[Jenuall]

I love all of the original Mega Drive games and at different times have ranked each as my number one, but right now for the "classic" 2D Sonic's I'd say they are settled into this order:

Sonic 2 > Sonic Mania > Sonic 3 & Knuckles > Sonic 1 > Sonic CD

I would happily pick up and play any of them at any time, excluding CD which to me is objectively a worse gameplay experience than the others - despite appreciating the way it encourages exploration, the level design is too obtuse and lacks the refinement or focus of the other entries.

In terms of the 3D games... oh boy!

SA1 was impressive at the time for doing it's own thing in a world obsessed with copying the Mario 64 template, and there are some good ideas in there and fun stages... but it's just too much of a mess in terms of gameplay. When it works it can be fantastic, but too often it doesn't!

SA2 for me was a big step up, they got a better handle on how to design stages and mechanics for each of the gameplay types and focused on making that as good as they could at the expense of any more "adventure" elements from the original. Whilst it was a shame to see the open stages from SA1 get ditched I think it was the right decision and taken as an overall campaign I think SA2 is the stronger game. It was also an absolute visual triumph and great late swan song for the capability of the Dreamcast as well.

I kind of drifted away from new entries in the series for a while after the Dreamcast era (although I did get SA2 Battle on Gamecube) so Heroes, '06, Unleashed etc. are all things that I've only ever really played enough to know I don't have much time for them!

Generations was a decent effort that traded heavily on nostalgia, unfortunately it suffers in that by this point the 3D sections are just an exercise in boosting as often as possible and the 2D stuff just hasn't got the level design or physics to match the originals. Cracking soundtrack though

Forces was gash.

Frontiers I've only played through the first island but I actually really quite enjoy the "open zone" gameplay of it. Probably the strongest 3D entry since the Dreamcast days in my opinion!

[Cheeky Devlin]

I've got a spotty history with the 3D games.

I will assert that there has never been a "great" 3D Sonic game (Not including spin-offs), just a handful of good ones and a load of trash.

Played and loved SA1 and 2 on the Dreamcast. 2 especially I remember picking up at launch and really enjoying it. Both are janky in their own ways but they're good enough to still be playable today if you have a little patience.

Sonic Heroes was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. I hated every second I had to endure of it. Utter trash and from what I hear it's considered one of the "better" ones after the SA games.
I then skipped every 3D Sonic game until.....

Sonic Generations. Quite the gap but I was hearing enough about this being decent to give it a try and I wasn't disappointed. All in I think it's probably about as good as the Adventure games. It's still got a touch of that jank but it looks lovely, controls well and integrated the 2D/3D styles in a fun way.

The only other 3D one I played is Frontier, and yeah it's probably the best of the 3D games for me. They finally got the movement in 3D to that sweet spot where you can be fast, but still relatively precise when you need to be. It's not perfect and I'd love to see them attach this to a more traditional Sonic location but it's probably the best 3D Sonic has ever been. I also need to go back to it.

I've not played it but I know Colors has it's fans as well.

[Victor Mildew]

The 3d games are dogshit, no exceptions. I got sonic adventure with my dreamcast and while it looked great at the time, it played like crap.

I got sonic generations because everyone was spaffing in their pants about how great it was, but surprise surprise it was crap.

[Tomous]

The Sonic Adventure games are hot messes for sure. I remember them fondly for nostalgia but I imagine they don't stand up to any kind scrutiny today. Not sure I've actually played a 3D game since then... I guess I kinda realised, they're all a bit gooseberry fool aren't they? Although Frontiers didn't look too bad from what i saw.

[Jenuall]

Frontiers is genuinely worth a look for people who have never had much love for the 3D iterations to date. The mechanics have actually had a bit of thought put into them for once and they have found a setup that is genuinely enjoyable and rewarding to play. For the most part. I mean it's still Sonic so there is some jank!

[Jenuall]

Those who are more inclined toward the 2D stuff and want more in that vein would do well to check out some of the things the fan community has made over the years, there's some good stuff out there. A couple to highlight from the last year or so:

Sonic and the Fallen Star



Basically a full new 2D Sonic game - 9 zones, new soundtrack, new sprites, new bosses, new special stages. It even includes some cute cut-scenes in the story!


Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit



A full remake of the Game Gear 8-bit original Triple Trouple in the style of S3&K/Mania. Definitely worth checking out if you get a chance!

[jawa_]

Rumours are building that Sega has a sequel to Sonic Frontiers underway. It may not be called Sonic Frontiers 2 but it will have the same style of gameplay.

[Jenuall]

Oh, another thing worth keeping an eye on as a classic Sonic fan is Sonic Studio, basically it's Mario Maker but for classic Sonic!



Lots of short videos on their YouTube channel which give a look at how it's all going to work, here's a couple that should whet the appetite of classic Sonic fans with a creative streak:





No release date for it yet sadly but the updates are getting more regular and the feel is that it may not be that far away from some kind of launch! Their twitter account is the best place to look for updates if you're interested: https://x.com/SonicStudioProj


I'm super excited to see this release and if there's enough interest from around here then you better believe I would be up for migrating the AYAMMM model into Are You A Sonic Studio Superstar?!

[OrangeRKN]

Already imagining one screen Sonic levels

[Jenuall]

Can you imagine, the carnage...

Wonder what the Sonic equivalent of a Koopa Car would be?

[Jezo]

Woah now, thread's getting a little low on the page. Time for the next question.

What's your favourite sonic tracks? One from 2D sonic, one from 3D sonic, one from Crush 40.

[Ironhide]

The 3d games are dogshit, no exceptions. I got sonic adventure with my dreamcast and while it looked great at the time, it played like crap.

I didn't bother getting Sonic Adventure with my Dreamcast at launch as it didn't really appeal to me, ended up getting it when I had to replace the console shortly before Sega discontinued it (got accidentally dragged off the TV unit and broke), my 2nd Dreamcast came with 4 bundled games (Sonic Adventure, some Tomb Raider game I never played, Legacy of Kain and ChuChu Rocket).

I thought it was alright tbh but I somehow became obsessed with the Chao Garden minigame.

Think I got SA2 on the Gamecube almost entirely for the Chao Garden element

[Carlos]

It always amazes me how little love there is for the GBA series! The two sequels get a little same but Sonic Advance 1 is a great game, with plenty of replay value and rewarding exploration.

[Cheeky Devlin]

It always amazes me how little love there is for the GBA series! The two sequels get a little same but Sonic Advance 1 is a great game, with plenty of replay value and rewarding exploration.

I've never really played them but I know they're pretty well regarded.

One I forgot all about was the Neo Geo Pocket Color game, Sonic The Hedgehog: Pocket Adventure. Not especially long or challenging (I think I did it in one sitting when I streamed it a couple of years back), but still a decent game worth looking at if you're a Sonic fan.

EDIT: Just remembered that "Knuckles" is out on Paramount+ now. Anyone watched it yet? It looked like a nice bit of dumb fun.

[deathofcows]

Woah now, thread's getting a little low on the page. Time for the next question.

What's your favourite sonic tracks? One from 2D sonic, one from 3D sonic, one from Crush 40.

Definitive.

My favourite Smash track, from a game I've also never played. But it is also definitely Definitive.

[Ironhide]

The 16-bit games had by far the best music.







The Sonic 3 one is actually based on this

[Vermilion]

Getting to Icecap zone in Sonic 3 generally relied on sheer dumb luck thanks to THAT bastard bouncy thing in the Carnival Night zone.