Packed with secrets, bosses, and addictive special stages, Sonic never looked better. You of course had Sonic and Tails’ quest, with Tails now able to fly and swim underwater, but Knuckles offered a completely new take on the Sonic formula by being somewhat slower but with the ability to glide. For the first time, but not the last, you were given the choice between multiple playable characters with their own campaigns to run and glide through. The games hadn’t yet started to fumble into 3D, and the cast of characters was tight, varied, and had no dead weight. The last of the original Genesis trilogy, Sonic 3 & Knuckles was the peak before Sonic’s decline. Whitehead and team proved they understand what makes a Sonic game fun, and we can only hope Sega allows them to continue to work on the series in the future. Sure, the game features iconic stages like Lava Reef Zone and Hydrocity Zone, only tweaked and updated for Sonic’s improved mobility and controls. On the surface, Sonic Mania might look like a simple attempt to capitalize on fan’s nostalgia for those original Genesis games, but in truth it is what a true sequel to those games should’ve been. Forces, while by no means Sonic’s worst game, again fell victim to Sonic’s troubled history of converting his trademark speed into 3D. Released alongside Sonic Forces, Mania managed to completely steal the spotlight from the “bigger” Sonic title of the year because it gave fans exactly what they’ve been asking for: A classic, fast, and polished 2D Sonic experience.

Instead, the hit throwback to the classic 2D Sonic titles, Sonic Mania, was developed by a team of fans lead by Christian Whitehead. There’s something to be said about the fact that possibly the best Sonic game ever made, certainly the best in several years, wasn’t developed by Sonic Team. The best Sega Genesis games of all timeġ.Which is a shame, but I suppose the advantage of fan games is that it's allowed to be niche in a way that a commercial product could never be. But until that point, you won't really get the full experience. Everything comes together eventually-you learn how to control your momentum, you learn to use your speed to your advantage, you learn the design philosophy behind the structure of SRB2 levels and never get lost again. You're going to feel like your acceleration is way too fast. THAT SAID, this game has a pretty steep learning curve. The levels are elaborate multi-layered interconnected environments that translate the tiered level design of 2D Sonic games into 3D in a way that I didn't even know was possible. The controls are so fast and breezy, heavily affected by momentum in a way that gives it so much depth.

It feels like a 2D platformer in 3D in a way that no other game ever has to me. Not among fan games, or among Sonic games. SRB2 is my favorite 3D platformer overall.

Best fan 3d sonic games