Sonic the Hedgehog launched in glorious 3D back on the Dreamcast (at least officially, there where other attempts prior) and since 1998 it seems that the blue blur has had some trouble really defining what a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game should be. We have went from the Adventure style games to the boost gameplay that we know now.
But what is the best 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game?
To me this is hard to answer, like the retro Sonic the Hedgehog games that first came out all had a feel and flow to them, but the 3D ones seem to be all over the place. Even Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are completely different in tone. For me, it has to be Sonic Adventure and that probably has to do with nostalgia, the fact that I preferred the flow of the game compared to Adventure 2 (letting you pick who you wanted to play instead of forcing you to switch between characters). Is Sonic Adventure perfect? Nah, but no game is. I will also like to give a special shout out to Sonic Generations, which I enjoyed quite a bit. What about you?
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for me: sonic lost world. it was rough around the edges, but i think the concept of having to control your speed to make jumps or run up walls made for a real tight sonic experience. with some refinement, the lost world system could be a great foundation for sonic games to come.
I’d say Sonic Heroes, mostly nostalgia, but I think it holds up the best of that era of Sonic. It has great music, fun stages, multiple playable characters, an interesting gameplay style, and while not a great story I felt it had enough intrigue for the kind of game it was. There are a lot of issues with it (like the slippery physics), but it’s the one I had the most fun with. I will say I enjoyed most 3D Sonic games I’ve played (except 3D Blast)
Sonic Colors is my personal favorite 3D Sonic game (mainly for the music). After that, Sonic Generations. I also like Sonic Colors on the DS.
Colors, in my opinion, was the one that understood 3D Sonic best. It dropped all nonsensical pretensions of trying to give a sense of free roaming ala Mario, and instead pushed for more style and flair with the levels. They were designed with a certain rhythm and flow in mind that allowed the player to keep moving forward without having to slow down due to an instant death trap on either side of Sonic. Unleashed was pretty close for me, but the horrendous progression via sun and moon medals diminished it for me, even more than the Werehog stuff. And as for Forces, having played it a bit, it feels like another step in the right direction like Colors was, but Forces suffers from some atrocious dialogue, and misdirected voice acting. They’re close to getting 3D Sonic right.
“It dropped all nonsensical pretensions of trying to give a sense of free roaming ala Mario”
You mean what’s make a 3D platformer actually good? Because if I had to play a 3D game with the only objective to go from point A to point B without alternate routes or hidden objects with a little of exploration I’d rather play a 2D game then
Unleashed, but the PS3/XBOX360 version. I feel like Sonic Team put so much care and love for the game and it’s the best developed Sonic game until now, after the failure of Sonic 06, they worked on Sonic Unleashed like it was the last Sonic game. The graphics still look good today, they introduced the boost formula in 3d, they created a slow-paced gameplay which no many people like just because “it isn’t Sonic”, (and that’s the same people that like the trasure hunting in SA2). The plot is just the best plot in a Sonic game, it doesn’t take it self too seriously, is dark but at the same time it is cartoony. The voice acting is outstanding, Jason Griffith really did a good job as Sonic this time (This game is the reason I like Jason Griffith better than any other Sonic voice). The level design is just amazing, in the day time stages it’s all about reflexes and memorization, it’s not “boost to win” like people said, the night time stages are so well designed, but they are a little too long. ALSO THE SOUNDTRACK IS FANTASTIC, every stage is based on a real world place, so the music is based too, and OMG IT SOUND GOOOOOOD, also the main theme Endless Possibility (Not Endless PossibilitIES) is a song that means a lot to me. Sonic Unleashed is hated just for the night time levels, and that’s not how you have to judge a game, I judge this game for what it is, not for what I want it to be. Thank you for reading, also, Colors is the worst 3D Sonic game for me, 06 and Forces are WAY better imo
I enjoyed playing through Unleashed, and it definitely had a lot of good moments.
But 25 minutes into another werehog level, when that jazz combat music starts up for the 15th time… It gets exhausting.
I don’t hate the werehog. I feel like if they had trimmed the length of those werehog levels in half, it would have received a lot less criticism, and I would have enjoyed the game more over all.
I could forgive that simply because the method of progression was a source of frustration. Having to backtrack and play levels multiple times just to get enough medals to move forward was asking a bit much.
Wow, it’s like reading a comment I wrote but didn’t know I wrote, haha. I agree 100% percent with your take on Unleashed. In fact, it’s my favorite Sonic game to date. Such a well thought out and polished experience.
However, I do also really enjoy Colors, but that’s just me.
Sonic 3D Blast haha…
Seriously we can make this debate when Sega will make a 3D game as good as the classic ones because most of them are broken/flawed.
Also Colors doesn’t really count because more than half of the game is 2D, same for generation.
Sonic Colors is a fantastic modern Sonic game. The level design and aesthetics are great, the wisps were well-executed, and the sound track is top-notch.
I would say Unleashed, Unleashed till this day is the only game to ever really impress me, and i play a lot of games, even a lot of the big ones that highly prised, and i felt noting when i play them, now there great game, I just feel like play any game to me, but everything Unleashed it did wow me, no game has ever did that to me, i guess this could just me a personal taste thing. a lot of problem that people complain about in Unleashed don’t feel like problem to me.
Sonic Adventure 1 is the one I played the most over and over. even though its a buggy mess. “the best 3D sonic game” tends to usually be Sonic Colors. But Unleashed and Generations are very very good.
A lot of people hate it that sega changes the formula of sonic games. But this is SEGA, and one of the reasons I like them is that they take something and change it up. Its more or less their 80s arcade develompent mentality. Hell I like the setting and idea for Sonic and the Black Knight even though I didnt care for the gameplay. A sword-welding sonic and a sonic that turns into a werewolf are great (to me and a chunk of people). I usually tell people not to judge them or the games too harshly because of that, but I cant defend Sonic 2006. There is no excuse for something like that.
Unleashed PS3 no doubt. Loved the gameplay (both!!!), story, RPG elements, music. Everything was amazing. Super fond memories!
EASILY Generations. Generations was so good, it earned praise from non-Sonic fans. Something that can only be said about a handful of non-Genesis Sonic games.
I love most of the 3D games but I have to say that the first Adventure game is my personal favourite. For the Sonic stages it mixes up the gameplay and never gets stale, it may have aged pretty badly but the freedom it gave at the time in its Adventure Fields is something I’ve missed since.
I haven’t played all of the various 3D Sonic games, but, my personal favorite by far is “Sonic Generations.” Still play it on my X360, all these years later. I had “Sonic Adventure 1 & 2” on the Dreamcast, and while I had some fun with both, they’re definitely flawed for many reasons. The camera in both games is quite bad, something Sonic Team still hasn’t figured out yet. For “Sonic Adventure 1,” the dev team should’ve just had Sonic as the sole playable character in order to polish his whole gameplay experience. It was Sonic’s first foray into full 3D after all. In the second game, Tails’ levels should’ve had him flying/shooting in the his “Tornado” plane, not a mech. Also, the Knuckles levels should’ve just been straight platforming and dropped all of the “find/seek” stuff. I also bought “Sonic Heroes” for the OG Xbox, and really enjoyed that game as well. I do think however, that the game might have turned out a lot better if they’d just made it with three teams in mind, and cut “Team Chaotix” altogether.
Sonic Adventure, mainly just for the nostalgia, atmosphere and the soundtrack.
Sonic was always best on Sega hardware.
None because video game are for NERDS
You say NERD like it’s a bad thing, nerds are better than you, will always be more intelligent and successful than you.
Better being a need than a dull boring NORMIE.
best answer
My favorite is Sonic Lost World, because I believe the controls, while not perfect, where the right direction for the serie. It’s the 3D sonic with the most control, it just take a little time to get use to (something that could be improve in latter installment if they try these controls again.
Ant the overall game was just really, really plain fun.
Sonic has never worked in 3D.
Good thing we got Mania
Sonic Generations. High speed intensity on 7th gen hardware coupled with some of the strongest 3D level design and platforming of the series to date. What I’d give to see a Sonic game that tightens its physics and expands upon levels like Modern Sky Sanctuary and Seaside Palace in a non 2D entry.
The 2D sections and Classic Sonic were flawed
Adventure 1. By far.