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[AwakenedCloud]

Generations is the best game by far. I'm willing to put it on the same level as the classic games. Controls are very tight, the game doesn't have a ton of required padding to play through it, and classic sonic actually feels like Genesis Sonic with some improvements. The music is off the chain and it's one of the most beautiful cartoon games put out to this day. I'm still upset that we never got DLC for this game, and at the rate things are going we may never see a sequel.

Adventure 2 and Colors are solid runners up.

Adventure 2 gets a lot of flack for not being a Sonic only game, but unlike most of the other 3D Sonics, playing as other characters is actually fun. Emerald hunting isn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be, it's just that people felt like it didn't belong in there. The mech stages weren't great, but they weren't bad either.

Colors was the part of Unleashed that everyone liked and had the most Genesis-esque stages to date. The main downside is the Wisp gimmick gets overused in some stages and not all of them were good to begin with.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Adventure 2.

 

[tim_pkmn89]

I'd have to say Unleashed+DLC

They actually have some fun/challenging stages mixed in the DLC packs.

 

[BD1]

I always loved the first Sonic Adventure, although I haven't played it in 15 years so who knows how it holds up.

 

[Yoshi]

The best parts are definitely in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Adventure 2 (City Escape, I've played that hundreds of times...), but the best overall games are Sonic Generations and Sonic Colours imo.

You are really considering Shadow the Hedgehog as one of the best Sonic games??

 

[Elija2]

Generations since it's the most solid. Nothing but fast Sonic gameplay with very little filler. If we're only counting Sonic levels though (which a lot of people in this thread seem to be doing) then it's probably Adventure 2 or Unleashed.

 

[MrBadger]

The best parts are definitely in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Adventure 2 (City Escape, I've played that hundreds of times...), but the best overall games are Sonic Generations and Sonic Colours imo.

You are really considering Shadow the Hedgehog as one of the best Sonic games??

Shadow the Hedgehog is so deep as a game, there's a game inside of it.

And that game is taking a drink every time a character says "damn" or when you're forced to kill an enemy on your side then scolded by Black Doom for doing it.

 

[Foffy]

Sonic Colors, for me personally.

 

[Herman Cain]

The best parts are definitely in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Adventure 2 (City Escape, I've played that hundreds of times...), but the best overall games are Sonic Generations and Sonic Colours imo.

You are really considering Shadow the Hedgehog as one of the best Sonic games??

Read after that.

 

[Herman Cain]

Only if you own lesser versions of it...

http://youtu.be/vyOTzT8E7Io

That's a bonus stage.

 

[Skyzard]

Big fan of Generations (at 60fps). Haven't played all those but I had fond memories of Sonic Adventure 1. Went back to play it...got lost a lot.

 

[Tenrius]

How's Heroes? I picked up the PS2 version not so long ago, still have it sealed.

 

[Par Score]

Generations by so far it's not funny.

The others all have enjoyable parts, but are let down to varying degrees by parts which are utter trash. Generations only black mark is its mediocre final boss, but that still puts it in a league of its own.

Colours in a distant second, as that also doesn't have much terribleness holding it down.

 

[RecursiveFault]

Sonic Adventure 1 is closest to what I want 3D Sonic to be, but falls short. The sonic levels actually feel like 2D sonic made 3D.

I have the most fun playing Adventure 2, despite the relatively infrequent high point and bad choices.

Spoiler

Also I don't like the Unleashed/Colors/Generations gameplay

 

[Zalman]

Easy. Colors and Generations. They took what worked in Unleashed and threw out everything that didn't.

How's Heroes? I picked up the PS2 version not so long ago, still have it sealed.

I enjoy it, but I know I'm in the minority. I played the GameCube version. I heard the PS2 doesn't run as well.

 

[Uklott]

How's Heroes? I picked up the PS2 version not so long ago, still have it sealed.

Then you sadly took the worst Version. It only runs at 30 fps.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Going forward, Generations is the kind of Sonic game that will come along every 20 or so years and remind people that Sonic games are actually good sometimes.

Spoiler

Colors was good too.

It's a shame Sonic Team has this unholy obsession with never running with a good thing. Oop, Generations was fantastic, better toss it all in the bin and do something completely different.

 

[Black Pewter]

Adventure 2 by far. I'd rather play a million Knuckles/Tails levels than those fake 2D Sonic levels.

 

[Piers]

Sonic Adventure had a lot of charm for me, and hit this sweet spot between speed and platforming.
That, and…

 

[Zombegoast]

Sonic Generations on PC with the Unleashed stage mods and Colors are the best 3D sonic games.

The only thing Adventure 2 had was the Chao garden and Sonic stages.

 

[fernoca]

Really enjoyed Generations. The mix of 2D and 3D was well done.

Though, I really liked Lost World's look. From the little details to the crazy designs and twists of the areas.

 

[zogged]

From what I can remember Adventure 2 was the best in terms of level design, functionality and it did have the best Chao garden so it takes my vote.

 

[LewieP]

That 3D bit in Sonic Jam.

 

[TWrecks310]

Anyone that picks Adventure 2 because of its story better provide some damn solid explanation, as when I replayed it last year I thought it was ridiculous.

Sonic Generations is an awesome nostalgia trip for long time fans, and has fantastic level design to boot. The 2D levels are among the best since the Genesis, and the 3d levels are how I always pictured them being as a kid. The only main faults I really have with Generations is a weak final third, and a horrid final boss.

 

[Yoshi]

Only if you own lesser versions of it...

http://youtu.be/vyOTzT8E7Io

Is there a convenient way to only play the special stages (easy level select code for instance)? The main game in Sonic 3D Blast is so absurdely bad that I don't ever want to touch that turd again, but the special stages in the Saturn version look fun (and the ones in the Mega Drive version were fun, too) and maybe I would consider buying a Saturn version for them, but only if I can play just them.

 

[i-Jest]

Ive always been a fan of Sonic Adventure 2 but Sonic Lost World was pretty fun. I want to play Sonic Colors though. That looks like a well made Sonic game.

 

[ffdgh]

Sonic adventure 2 Battle. so many wated hours.

 

[evilromero]

Sonic Adventure 2

Best Story, Best characters, Best music, Chao Garden.

It's the last 3D Sonic game where I gave a damn. Played Heroes but after that I was done with Sonic.

 

[BiggNife]

Generations by a country mile.

Anyone who says Adventure or Adventure 2 probably hasn't played them recently.

 

[Herman Cain]

Anyone that picks Adventure 2 because of its story better provide some damn solid explanation, as when I replayed it last year I thought it was ridiculous.

Sonic Generations is an awesome nostalgia trip for long time fans, and has fantastic level design to boot. The 2D levels are among the best since the Genesis, and the 3d levels are how I always pictured them being as a kid. The only main faults I really have with Generations is a weak final third, and a horrid final boss.

To be fair shadows perspective of the story actually makes more sense than sonics. Overall story is a bit random.

 

[Daingurse]

I think Sonic Generations is the best 3D Sonic game, and it doesn't even come close for me. I love Adventure 1 and 2, but the games do feel extremely janky now, and are definitely flawed titles. Sonic/Shadow gameplay holds up the best, and is frankly almost all I can stand to play nowadays. Those other gameplay styles were medicore at the best of times. Sonic Generations polished the gameplay of Sonic Unleashed day levels, which I had a ridiculous amount of fun with, and created the best 3D Sonic game yet.

I think it's the best off the back of Modern Sonic alone too. I had fun with Classic Sonic, but the physics did feel off from the old 2D titles, and I think that messed with my enjoyment. The Modern stages felt more well-done and fun to play.

 

[RagnarokX]

Generations and Colors are the only really good ones.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Of those? Sonic Generations. It's not amazing or anything but it's fun for a few hours if only for the nostalgia pandering.

 

[Professor Renegade]

Generations was really good, SA2 is alright too I guess but it has a lot of issues and doesn't age well.

 

[Regiruler]

Colors, Generations, and Lost World

in that order. Unleashed probably 4th.
EDIT: However, I would argue that the actual 3D gameplay in Lost World was strongest

 

[Synless]

Generations.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Generations by a fairly long shot. Colors relies on 2D sections which I always found to be the weakest aspect of Boost Sonic, Unleashed is only good if you remove 65% of the game, Lost World Wii U is lacking in control and level design, and the rest aren't worth talking about.

 

[MrBadger]

Colors, Generations, and Lost World

in that order. Unleashed probably 4th.
EDIT: However, I would argue that the actual 3D gameplay in Lost World was strongest

It was nice that Lost World did attempt to make Sonic viable as a platformer in 3D with its cylinder levels and tiered speed. It's just a shame Sonic Team seemingly half-assed it and a further shame they fell back on using 2D levels again.

 

[Paltheos]

Generations. Anyone who says Adventures or its sequel have a fat pair of nostalgia goggles on. Heroes is okay. Shadow the Hedgehog is poop. 06 is just Adventure 3 and was a rushed, hacked disaster. Half of Unleashed was okay to good, Colors was a step in the right direction but had its miss steps. Lost Worlds was an experiment that didn't pan out.

Generations, though? Generations is all Sonic, no garbage side characters, with a proper Sonic aesthetic. Why they went with the whole real world look for so long baffled me. You have fun little side missions, and getting the S rank is fun.

There are elements of Generations I can't get past. I only care for 3D Sonic, and the 3D half of the game forces lots of 2D segments in.

The Adventure games have problems, but they don't pull that crap. If I'm picking a 3D Sonic stage, I'm getting a 3D Sonic stage.

 

[Dereck]

Do people not mind all of the side characters/missions in Adventure 1 and 2? Those alone make those games hard to go back to.

Actually, those games become unappealing to me once the Sonic parts are over.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

Colors or Generations.

Spoiler

Pre-emptive "take whatever Arc Christelle says with a grain of salt"

 

[SuperShadow271]

For me it's Sonic Adventure 2 by a LONG shot. Everyone complains about the levels that weren't Sonic/Shadow levels, but I loved them. I love the whole entire game. It provided 3 different platforming experiences. The only complaint I have is with the camera, because it was rather weird, but honestly, it doesn't ruin much for me.

For people who think I'm just wearing nostalgia shades, I'm really not. I play this game at least once every year. Even after playing games as immaculate as Mario games, I still think that Adventure 2 is amazing. Is it the best game ever? No. Is it the best 3D Sonic? Yes. Is it my favorite game ever? Pretty much. The thing people don't realize is that Sonic isn't about straight up speed. Sonic is about getting good at the levels and then speeding through them, which gives that speed people think Sonic is.Sonic Adventure 2 nailed that almost perfectly. It starts off strangely because you don't know the levels, but once you play them through a time or two, you begin to get faster and faster until you're a speedrunner yourself. It's the most fun that I can have in a Sonic game and honestly, that''s probably the most fun anyone.

Special shoutout to Sonic Shuffle though. It's better than any Mario Party game and I bought a Dreamcast just for it, SA1, and SA2

 

[Felix Andrews]

Probably Generations, but they're all middling-to-abysmal.

 

[Spinluck]

Sonic Generations.

Not really that close imo.

Lost World could've been something with more polished and a snappy controls, with some inspired level design.

 

[jeremy1456]

No 3D Sonic game is particularly good.

Generations is at the top of the pile, and then Colors. Thing is those are like D-tier games.

 

[Guess Who]

Any answer that is not Colors or Generations is objectively wrong. Any answer that is Sonic Adventure 2 is twice as objectively wrong.

 

[Hot Coldman]

The 3D bits of Sonic Jam on the Saturn.

OK, fine, Generations by a country mile

 

[Hopeford]

The best? Probably Colors or Generations. My favorite is definitely SA2 though, and not just for nostalgia. I played it just a couple days ago and I still love the Sonic Levels more than any other 3D one. There's just something about them that's so...memorable. They're just a joy to blast through.

Plus I actually enjoyed the Knuckles stages. People say they are "not what Sonic is about" and they're probably right. Thing is though, I didn't grow up with the old Sonic games. I was too young for that. So to me that doesn't really matter, I only really cared about whether I enjoyed those stages or not. And...I did. A lot, actually. Loved the shit out of them. I wasn't huge on the Tails levels, but they were passable enough. Overall I just had a ton of fun with the game and still have fun replaying the Sonic/Knuckles stages so...yeah, it's definitely my favorite 3D Sonic.

I don't think it's "the best" because the shooting stages are kind of annoying plus the game has a few technical issues, but honestly those don't really get in the way of my personal enjoyment, so it's still my favorite.

 

[Xbudz]

Generations

Colors

Unleashed

Lost World

 

[Hopeford]

There are elements of Generations I can't get past. I only care for 3D Sonic, and the 3D half of the game forces lots of 2D segments in.

The Adventure games have problems, but they don't pull that crap. If I'm picking a 3D Sonic stage, I'm getting a 3D Sonic stage.

Hey, feel the same way too. Thought I was the only one though haha. I really didn't like the 2D segments because I'm more of a 3D kinda guy, so even though they were perfectly functional they just didn't do much for me. Like nothing against them, not going to say the games are worse for it--they aren't--but it's just not what I personally enjoy the most. I like 3D platforming more than 2D, so those 2D sections in Generations kind of bugged me a little.