Things would probably have been different had it been my Mega Drive it had come with, but I had zero interest in Sonic the Hedgehog when my brother got it with his for an early nineties Christmas! Different story when FIFA International Soccer and Virtua Racing came along later but if I played Sonic once or twice that was about it. Didn’t get it! Didn’t want to get it! And that would be how things would stay for around thirty years, until the Mega Drive Mini 2 arrived at the end of October 2022. Without spoiling the top ten I’ll get to in a sec too much, as is usually the case with these things, I was having a go on everything on there, starting with the twelve Mega-CD titles listed at the top of the games carousel because I’d never even had a sniff of anything for that hit and miss expansion. Night Trap aside, which was already an old favourite from elsewhere, three of those twelve games then properly stood out, as evidenced by the deep-dives I’ve since done into both Night Striker and Sewer Shark elsewhere here!

For the third game, while I’m not planning a deep-dive into Sonic CD just yet, that’s not to say I was any less instantly hooked on it, and it did have a far wider-reaching impact that’s resulted in what you’re now reading… I’ll come back to why in a bit but let me tell you what first! I got to the end pretty quickly, and was happy enough going back to try and work out what this back and forth time mechanic I’d just bumbled my way through was all about, as well as have a proper explore of some favourite levels, but I’d enjoyed it so much I wanted more! Like many, I’m sure, I’ve been sitting on a load of Mega Drive (or Genesis) compilations in one form or another since the PlayStation 2, and when you add in stuff like the two Minis and the Switch Online library, I must have the first two Sonic the Hedgehogs plus several more and a bunch of spin-offs a dozen times over, so I went right back to the beginning and started playing! And I enjoyed them too but then it got a bit confusing about where to go next so I found a list of 2D Sonics on some Sonic Maniacs site or other, and I wondered if I could make it through all of them, in that order, and properly find out what I’d been missing out on?

Not being any kind of Sonic connoisseur at the time, I simply copied and pasted that list of twenty or so games and started to work my way through them, not necessarily getting to know them all to the extent I have since with some of them, but seeing the end at least, and ticking them off and moving to the next, which sometimes included other, different versions of the same game, but they were all in chronological order, right up to the recent (as I write) Sonic Superstars. That game obviously wasn’t on any online list back at the end of 2022, and I’m still not entirely convinced at least one other should have been either, but I’ll come back to that, and close this preamble with the caveat that I’m still no Sonic connoisseur, so please forgive me if you are and I’ve missed something or included something that you think shouldn’t be here, or, heaven forbid, you disagree with my opinions, and what I should or should not enjoy! Oh yeah, I’m also assuming everyone knows we’re talking fast-paced, side-scrolling platforming to thwart Dr Robotnik’s latest nefarious plan so I won’t go into series history and lore and so on here – I’ll save it for that deep-dive when it inevitably comes! And with that, here’s my top ten, collated in real-time as I played through the big list, and now counted down in reverse order, with a paragraph on each about what it is and why it’s where it is, and then I’ll give a ranked honourable mention to the rest I’ve been through, canon in my opinion or not, with a sentence on each…

10. Sonic & Knuckles (Mega Drive)

It might be kicking off the countdown but Sandopolis Act 1 from Sonic & Knuckles would be right near the other end if I was counting down favourite levels! Anyway, this is from 1994, with Sonic trying to put a stop to the Doc as usual, while his pal Knuckles takes on his sidekick EggRobo, with both selectable on the title screen. It was originally developed to be part of Sonic 3 but time and spiralling cartridge costs forced a split, although you did get an adaptor on the cartridge that let you insert its predecessor to create the combined Sonic 3 & Knuckles (which I think was the point I consulted some bigger boys online as described above)! Likewise, if you shoved in one of the first two games there’d also be extra bonus content like being able to use Knuckles in Sonic 2 or play the Blue Sphere mini game in the original. As a standalone game though, it’s mostly more of the same of everything, and it’s all very fine, albeit harder than previous games to the point of occasional frustration, but not enough to stop it making the cut.

9. Sonic Blast (Game Gear)

I’m not sure why it seems to be such an unpopular opinion but I reckon this handheld entry was a Sonic blast! It’s a proper Sonic from 1996, obviously cut down in scope by necessity, with fifteen mostly breezy levels – although some do take a bit of puzzling out – with each area culminating in relatively simple but occasionally really creative boss fights. It’s not massively inventive outside of those but it’s fast enough, feels way better to control than its two Game Gear predecessors, and while there’s also the expected cutbacks in presentation, that remains as authentic as the gameplay, and I thought some of the colour choices, especially between levels, were excellent. Might not be for everyone but I liked this, so there!

8. Sonic the Hedgehog – Pocket Adventure (Neo Geo Pocket Color)

One way or another, I’ve had a really good time discovering the Neo Geo Pocket Color – almost in parallel to my Sonic adventure – and as well as being top handheld Sonic action, I’d also now rank this as a favourite game on the system, where it’s a real showcase for what it can do. It’s by SNK in 1999 and is just really fun, with the pace and excitement of the best of the series all present and correct, even if everything is scaled back a bit. That does include the challenge too, but sometimes it’s just nice to enjoy the ride, and it does mean that nothing ever outstays its welcome, which can be the case with elements of some of these. The level here are designed to be fast and intuitive throughout though, with decent sound and very smooth, pacy, familiar visuals. Nice surprise because I knew nothing about this going in, and certainly wasn’t expecting any more than I’d seen on the Game Gear, but here it is and it’s great!

7. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Mega Drive)

Back to 1994 again, and what for a while was ready and primed for greatness in this list, with all its polish and speed and thrills – in fact, when I eventually got to it, it had more of those than anything else I’d played until then combined! The trouble is, you can definitely get too much of a good thing, and as you get to the mid-game here, some of the stages go really long, and when you factor in there’s usually more than one of the same kind in a level, they can really start to drag a bit. That said, that’s not often and they’re fantastic most of the time, with some real creativity in their design and some nice boss fights too, and even though it wasn’t quite all I hoped for in the end, I can see why it might be everything someone else did.

6. Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive)

I’m not sure you could have wished for a better opening to this series than this when it first arrived back in 1991. Thrilling, stunning and unique in equal measure, it was the reason to buy into Sega’s 16-bit vision, and about twenty-four million units later, this one still plays like a dream! The sense of speed was unprecedented but give it time and that’s equalled by the sense of control and this incredible flow to the levels that ignored convention and rewarded you for playing with a similarly pioneering spirit! The visuals were also like nothing you’d seen before, not only giving Sonic his own place in history but also breathing life into every element of every environment or enemy or obsctacle with as much brightness and sheer energy as the gameplay itself. One of the all-time great soundtracks doesn’t hurt either! There are a few retrospective frustrations and things missing that you didn’t know you missed at the time but while it wasn’t perfect, it was definitely the perfect start!

5. Sonic Superstars (Xbox Series X)

This is where my Sonic story ends for the time being, with the very latest game in the series, from the end of 2023, although once you’re past the gorgeous presentation, it’s (mostly…) traditional 2D Sonic gameplay all the way, with all the breakneck platforming combined with fiendish exploration you could ever wish for! Less traditionally though, this one wants you to succeed, and at your own level, whether that involves finding a Chaos Emerald, learning a boss, racking up points, beating a time or simply seeing the next stage. That’s not to say it doesn’t get tough either, especially for the biggest rewards, but that all adds up to a lot of longevity on top. And there’s a fantastic, entire level homage to one of my all-time favourite horizontal shoot’em ups near the end, complete with a wonderfully reskinned but totally authentic pair of bosses! I’m not massively fussed by the special powers you can find, and the same for the soundtrack, and the same for playing with three other people (which I still think is where the best of the game probably lies) but it’s incredible regardless, and some of the visual effects are just insane!

4. Sonic CD (Sega Mega-CD)

From one end of my recent Sonic odyssey back to the other now, and the Mega Drive Mini 2 game from 1993 that finally sucked me in to the series with all that Hollywood-style presentation, all thanks to the wonders of the Compact Disc! I’m not entirely joking either because, initially at least, it kept me interested when I thought it’s time-travelling tangents made it frustratingly stop-start just as I was building up a bit of forward momentum, although in its defence I didn’t have a clue what was going on at the time! This one has really grown on me with every return visit though, with the three zones in each of the seven levels further expanded by being able to travel to alternate past and future versions, with the idea being that you stop Robotnik in the past so you can then create a good future. This really encourages exploration and experimentation more than any game before or since, with finding hidden secrets a necessity, but without sacrificing the traditional pacing once you know what you’re doing! Absolute looker even if not a poster-child for the Mega-CD or Sega-CD’s capabilities, with some serious music behind it too, whether the Japanese or American soundtrack variant. And if I ever revisit this list, I’m not sure it’s stopped growing on me yet either!

3. Sonic Mania (Nintendo Switch)

This is the 2017 Sonic that’s very much in the spirit of the original Sega Mega Drive or Genesis games, and it’s marvellous, and I can see exactly why it’s another one that might top this list for many! You’ve got remixes of old levels and plenty of new, and either way, their design is as good as the series has ever got, offering both wildly fast-paced, sometimes on-rails sections, as well as opportunities for exploration among masses of complex but intuitive branching paths, with little cause for frustration anywhere and loads of replay value, especially if you missed some of those Chaos Emeralds first time around. The last stage took some working out though, really pushing your skills to hold on to your lives (and find more) over the two acts to even see the final boss, let alone learn it and beat it. Really tense and really fun when you do though! I reckon it’s still the best looking Sonic to date too, modern but authentic, and so quick and smooth! Another soundtrack I’m not keen on though, but that’s only a taste thing, and certainly doesn’t hold it back from being top three for me. And going back to that favourite level thing from earlier, Mirage Saloon here is the one!

2. Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance)

As much as I love my Game Boy Advance SP – possibly above all other consoles – I really wasn’t expecting Sonic’s first outing on there to make quite the impression it did! First launched right at the end of 2001, it takes a lot of what we’ve already seen that came before it, with familiar level designs and gameplay mechanics, but there’s also an air of the Dreamcast about it too, with hints at Sonic Adventure’s art-style (in a very 2D way!) as well as the fantastic grind ability! I think that’s the first time it appeared in a 2D Sonic, and it’s such a new thrill-ride when you come across a rail to do it on, although you need to be playing as Sonic or Amy Rose, also making her playable character debut here from a choice of four, and you’ll need to rinse the game with all of them for the special fancy ending, giving it loads of replay value, and I reckon you’ll want to! It’s unrelenting and fast-paced all the way, and possibly another best looking game on the system, where I can say I am quite the connoisseur!

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive)

Right from the very first time I played it, and all the way through what must be at least another six or seven times since, on a variety of all those different places I own it, there was never any question where this 1992 sequel was going to end up in this list! I’d also put it alongside stuff like Mega Man 2 and DoDonPachi, where an almost undefinable magic spark was created in simply tweaking the very best of their predecessors, in turn elevating them to among the greatest games of all time, let alone standouts in their own respective series! For Sonic 2, we’re talking bigger, more detailed, more expansive and varied stages, special stages, power-ups, improved pacing, smoother animation, a more imaginative (albeit less iconic) soundtrack, split-screen multiplayer and, of course, Tails! The level design is exquisite, encouraging wild forwards motion and rewarding curiosity, while also keeping the difficulty well balanced, and all of that just combines to be so much fun, with so much exhilaration, and so much to keep going back for.

And that’s my born-again Sonic fanboy top ten! As promised though, let me quickly give a sentence on each of the rest of the 2D Sonics I played through over the course of this protracted journey, and I’ll start at what would have been number eleven then just work my way through the list in diminishing order of preference from there… Sonic Advance 3 (pictured above) on the Game Boy Advance is going to kick us off, where the frustrations of its immediate predecessor are gone, the teamwork is unobtrusive, it’s full of creative bosses, and running on water is such a rush when it happens! Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Sega Master System is maybe not the sequel you’re looking for but it does its own sometimes mean-spirited thing, and get past that and it’s a decent Sonic. Sonic Rush on Nintendo DS is a great looking and sounding entry with loads of the best of the series before it on top but it’s just a bit too quick for its own good and feels a bit too on-rails as a result. Sonic Rush Adventure, also on DS, lands in a similar place to its predecessor in most respects, and likewise its Mega Drive ancestors, but there’s a lot of faff to get through to enjoy it!

Now we go right back to Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System, a mostly fun take on the Mega Drive or Genesis original that’s always impressive but also very old-school unfair. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble on the Sega Game Gear is a very competent but no-frills, not very memorable and not exactly exhilarating handheld Sonic. Sonic Advance 2 on Game Boy Advance goes from more of the wonderful same to wondering what to do next later on, leading to a load of cheap deaths which are followed by a boss rush. And I hate a boss rush! Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is on iOS, and the touchscreen works okay, but what it gains in better physics versus the first episode, it then loses in some tedious level designs. And that first episode, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I on iOS is next, again, alright on touchscreen but Sonic’s movement just doesn’t feel right, and I really don’t like the art style either. Sonic Chaos on the Game Gear isn’t terrible considering, but it’s slow, the levels are a bit bland and there’s just not much to it. And that just leaves us with Knuckles’ Chaotix (pictured above) on the Sega 32X Mega Drive or Genesis add-on, where I love how it looks and the music is okay but I hate the enforced, fiddly elastic-band tag-team mechanic that kills any momentum and just stinks!

Maybe I can just decide thats the one that’s not really canon in my increasingly informed opinion though, and close out the list at precisely twenty entries, some of which had their faults but even right at the back end of, I have no regrets about any of the time I spent playing them! I don’t really have any regrets about not getting more involved in the original Mega Drive game when it was sitting right in front of me either – my own gaming path wouldn’t be particularly well aligned with Sonic the Hedgehog for a long time, which I wouldn’t change that for the world, and we got there in the end anyway! Which is very similar to what happened with Sonic’s Italian plumber friend too but maybe that’s another top ten for another day… In the meantime, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I did putting it together, as well as getting to know Sonic over the course of all those games. And while I’m not going to go quite as mad this time, I will continue to do so over some of the 3D games and various other spin-offs too, so keep watching this space!

As always, I’ll never expect anything for what I do here but if you’d like to buy me a Ko-fi and help towards increasingly expensive hosting and storage costs then it will always be really appreciated! And be sure to follow me on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or Threads for my latest retro-gaming nonsense!