Blog:Top 10 WORST Sonic Games Ever!

Ah yes, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. One of my favorite video game franchises of all time. Despite how much I love it, it hasn't ALWAYS been great. With there being several bad games out there, and here, I'll be listing off the 10 WORST. Keep in mind that these are MY opinions and my opinions only, now let's get started!

#10. Sonic Shuffle
I never liked this game, it was just a blatant copy of Mario Party and is why Sonic should never try to be Mario (*cough* Sonic '06 *cough* Sonic Lost World). This game just sucks IMO. The character selection is pretty small and mediocre. The story is also dumb and over-complicated. You also don't play minigames at the end of each round either, so yeah, I really don't recommend this game if you want to get into Sonic.

#9. Sonic R
Oh boy, this game. This game is just trash. The game is short with only five courses! The game can be beaten in under an hour because of this. It also looks unfinished and everything looks like glass! Did I forget how you often need to take detours, slower routes, and outright stopping for a few seconds in order to get collectibles? Sega! This is a racing game, a RACING GAME! Plus you also need to get first in order to keep the collectibles! Same can be said for the Chaos Emeralds and if you don't get one, the game outright insults you! The game has a cheesy, but pretty good soundtrack though. With my personal favorite song being "Can You Feel the Sunshine?"

#8. Sonic Drift 1 and 2
Yeah, both of these games suck equally IMO. The first one suffers from a small character roster, easy difficulty, and all of the courses were just based on levels from the Genesis version of Sonic 1. The sequel did fix these issues by adding Knuckles, Fang, and Metal Sonic, making the game harder, and a much better selection of courses. But it still suffers from terrible and wonky controls and a forgettable soundtrack. So yeah, thank goodness for Sonic Riders.

#7. Sonic and the Secret Rings
In 2007, Sonic started this whole "Storybook Era", while I actually liked the other storybook game, (yes I actually liked that game) I definitely didn't like this game. It focuses WAY TOO MUCH on motion controls, I literally wanna get it for my birthday just so I can see how bad it controls. (if you are reading this past November 30th, 2020, that quote will be outdated) But yeah, despite the AWESOME party mode and the great soundtrack despite not fitting into each world, this game just never really stands out. The whole "storybook era" also never got a third game likely because of all the hate the games got.

#6. Shadow the Hedgehog
Sega made this game mostly because of fanservice, but it didn't turn out well. First of all, in order to unlock the Last Story, you need to play through the game campaign at least ten times, and 326 times if you bother to find every possible path variation. Some moments in this game are way too dark for Sonic standards as well. Examples include Maria (a young girl) getting shot in the opening cutscene, Shadow killing Eggman in both Neutral endings (but those endings are not canon due to the Last Story), and Shadow killing Sonic in one of the Dark endings. Shadow's backstory is just way too dark for Sonic standards. The controls are also slippery like in Sonic Heroes, and Black Doom is just a generic villain. Also, who else noticed that the character models were taken straight from Sonic Heroes? Pretty lazy TBH. The soundtrack is a banger though and it was the first game to use the 4Kids voice actors. (RIP Jason Griffith, Lisa Ortiz, Amy Palant, and most other 4Kids voice actors) Let's not forget memes like "Where's that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald?" and "FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM!!!"

#5. Sonic Free Riders
OK Sega, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU MADE THIS GAME!?!? Did Sega not realize that leaning back and forward could hurt your back? Why does Kinect have to be mandatory? I guess they wanted to try something different, but still; why?!?! The first two Sonic Riders games actually were pretty great IMO, but this is a TERRIBLE way to kill of an awesome subseries. It also was the beginning of the flanderization of most of the cast, especially Shadow and Amy Rose (don't worry, I'm not one of those Sonic fans who outright HATES on voice actors overall). So yeah, this is by far the worst Sonic racing game to date, and it was also the last Sonic racing game to have Cream as a playable character. :( (Mobile Sonic racing games don't count BTW).

#4. Sonic Labyrinth
OK, don't get me started on this game. This game plays slow AF, seriously? Sonic is supposed to be fast, not slow. The reason why Sonic is so slow is stated in the guide, it says Robotnik changed Sonic's shoes so he goes super slow. Also, if Robotnik made it into Sonic's house, WHY DOESN'T HE JUST KILL HIM?!?! Basically the Spin Dash is your only way of moving around, but even then it's very hard to control. The game is also very short and can be beaten in less than 30 minutes (which could be a good thing in retrospective, considering the Game Gear's terrible battery life). You also only move in four directions and the soundtrack is pretty forgettable, though it can be catchy at times.

#3. Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis
That moment you realize this game came out on the same day as another terrible Sonic game which I'll talk about later, you know this game is gonna suck. For one, it has HORRIBLE framerate and considerable lag. Probably because this was ported using the Sonic Advance engine, which wasn't even meant to run Genesis games in the first place! The soundtrack is also poorly remixed and sounds like MIDI files, Star Light Zone's theme is decent and the level clear theme is good too, but everything else is ear-piercing and terrible. I literally was listening to the soundtrack writing this as well, and that says a lot. While there's also an Anniversary mode, it only adds a Spin Dash; and nothing else. If you want a REAL port of Sonic 1, just play the iOS version or Sonic Classic Collection on the DS.

#2. Sonic '06
If you guys caught my spoiler earlier, I'm sure y'all saw this coming. This game is just AWFUL! It's glitchy as can be, the game wasn't even finished, and the story has some plotholes. Blaze doesn't even remember Sonic despite how she learned friendship from him in Sonic Rush. Let's not forget the loading screens, they take like 20-25 seconds. Most side-quests in the game also take around 4 loading screens, and that says a lot. Let's not forget how Princess Elise gets kidnapped more times than Princess Peach in a SINGLE VIDEO GAME, and there was also that kiss. Ew, I hope Sonic recovers from that kiss (the events never happened so luckily the kiss isn't canon). Also, there's no autosave feature, so if you die without saving, you go all the way back to the opening cutscene. Silver's battle in this game is also glitchy AF, but at least it spawned the "IT'S NO USE!!!" meme. This game just had SO MUCH potential, but hey! At least the OST is great, probably the best in the entire series!

OK, before I get to the #1 WORST Sonic game ever, here are some (dis)honorable mentions!
 * Sonic Blast - Or as the Angry Video Game Nerd would say, Sonic Slowass.
 * Sonic's Schoolhouse - Just no, Sonic isn't an education game!
 * Sonic 3D Blast - Let's just all agree on something, Sonic Adventure did a MUCH better job at introducing Sonic to 3D lol.
 * Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Not a very good way to continue the series from Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and it ended on a cliffhanger. Sonic Mania did a better job at being Sonic 4 than the real Sonic 4.
 * Sonic Forces - Believe it or not, I didn't hate this game as much as everyone else does, but I still hate it.

Now, time for the #1 WORST Sonic game of all time. I'm sure 99% of you saw this coming. (drumroll please?)

#1. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Yup, you guys all saw this coming. This game is bad, just BAD. For one, it's even glitchier than Sonic '06! It also has a terrible multiplayer mode, and the game can crash at times! Some of the dialogue is completely obvious as well (e.g. Sonic: "Look, ramps!" Tails: "We can use these as ramps!"). Seriously? Tails, don't try to be like Omochao, pointing out the obvious stuff. The soundtrack, unlike most other Sonic games (even bad ones like '06, Shadow, and Secret Rings!) is very forgettable and generic. Not as bad as the Sonic Chronicles or Sonic 4 soundtrack, but still. You also can only hold up to 100 rings! And the only way to hold up more is by owning Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS, but that game sucks too. The main villain, Lyric, is also a pretty generic antagonist and is just nothing special. Hopefully, Sega forgot all about this game cause it was hands down their biggest mistake.

There you guys have it, the top 10 WORST Sonic games of all time in my opinion. If you enjoy any of these games, PLEASE respect my opinion and I'll respect yours. For now, goodbye!

