The Sonic The Hedgehog franchise holds an odd place in the video game industry. The mascot platformer is one of the most iconic characters in gaming history, yet many people believe the blue hedgehog has an underwhelming collection of games. This opinion of Sonic’s catalog isn’t universal, as although some believe there are no good sonic games, there are others who believe the franchise is competitive with Nintendo’s Mario.
It’s difficult for gamers to know whether the Sonic franchise is for them or not without trying the games for themselves. For those who are looking to try one of Sonic’s adventures, we’ve listed the main series games in order of their Main Story completion time according to howlongtobeat.com.
17 Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) – 2 Hours
The one that started it all, the original Sonic The Hedgehog was released all the way back in 1991. The blue hedgehog was created with a clear goal: to be the driving force behind Sega’s quest to topple Nintendo. Sega was, of course, unsuccessful in this mission, but the original game was an excellent attempt to compete with Mario.
16 Sonic CD – 2 Hours
Sonic CD was initially released on the Sega CD in 1993. The game was originally planned to be an enhanced port of its predecessor, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, though poor sales in Japan resulted in a change of direction. The change paid off, as Sonic CD was a commercial success and is considered one of the franchise’s best releases to date.
15 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 2.5 Hours
The aforementioned second game may have struggled to sell in Japan, though it performed outside of the country, becoming the Sega Genesis’ best-selling game worldwide. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 stands proudly alongside Sonic CD as being considered among the franchise’s best-ever releases, as the game features some of the series’ most well-designed levels.
14 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – 3 Hours
Despite the name, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was the fourth entry in Sonic’s main series, with Sonic CD releasing the year before it. The game was a commercial success, becoming the Sega Genesis’ seventh highest selling game, though it sold considerably fewer copies than Sonic The Hedgehog 2. The drop in sales from the second game wasn’t indicative of the quality, though, as Sonic The Hedgehog 3 continued the IP’s hot streak.
13 Sonic & Knuckles – 3 Hours
Sega didn’t waste any time with releasing Sonic’s next game after Sonic The Hedgehog 3, as the Sonic & Knuckles initially hit stores just over eight months later. As the title suggests, the game differentiated itself from its predecessors by making Knuckles a playable character.
The choice of characters wasn’t just a visual gimmick, as the pair have different strengths and weaknesses; Sonic has a higher jump and shield abilities, whereas Knuckles can scale walls and glide.
12 Sonic and the Black Knight – 3 Hours
A three-hour runtime is excusable for Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 due to the games releasing in the early 90s, though it’s far harder to justify it for Sonic and the Black Knight as the game was released in 2009. For context, Assassin’s Creed II and Infamous were released the same year, which both take around 18 hours to beat. Sonic and the Black Knight‘s short runtime was one of the game’s many shortcomings, which made it both a critical and commercial disappointment.
11 Sonic Forces – 4 Hours
Sonic Forces was released as recently as 2017, making the full-priced game’s 4-hour runtime extremely disappointing. Much like Sonic and the Black Knight, Sega can’t defend the game’s short runtime for being quality over quantity, as the game was poorly received by both fans and critics, exemplified by its Metascores that ranged between 56 and 62 across its four releases.
10 Shadow The Hedgehog – 5 Hours
Despite Sonic’s name not featuring in the title, Shadow The Hedgehog is considered a main series entry in the Sonic franchise. The game was branded as a more mature and edgy take on the Sonic universe, with Shadow having multiple guns at his disposal. The game’s shift in tone didn’t do the series any favors, and the game was dealt with a brutal Metascore of 45 on PlayStation 2.
9 Sonic Colors – 5 Hours
Sonic Colors had a large weight of pressure on its shoulders, as it had the tricky task of revitalizing the series after the disappointment of Sonic and the Black Knight. Although the game isn’t considered to be among the very best Sonic games, it was still seen as a return to form for the franchise, with both the Wii and DS versions being thoroughly enjoyable.
8 Sonic Mania – 5.5 Hours
Sonic Mania is considered by many to be the franchise’s best release of the last decade. This perception is fairly damning to the current state of the Sonic franchise, as not only does the game return to the playstyle of the original Sega Genesis titles, but it was also made by a team known for their fan-made games rather than Sonic Team.
7 Sonic Generations – 5.5 Hours
Sonic Generations was released in 2011 and, much like Sonic Colors, was proof that Sonic Team could still make enjoyable 3D platformers post-Sonic Adventure 2. As the name suggests, Sonic Generations mixes the series’ 2D and 3D styles.
The innovative idea was well executed, with the two different playstyles ensuring that the game never feels too one-dimensional.
6 Sonic Lost World – 7.5 Hours
Sonic Lost World was a rare case of a modern Sonic game having high expectations. This is because the two previous main series games were Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations which, as mentioned before, were both well-received by both fans and critics. Unfortunately, Sonic Lost World didn’t keep the run of form going, with the colorful visuals being one of the game’s only standout features.
5 Sonic Adventure – 9 Hours
Sonic Adventure was initially released on the Dreamcast in 1998 before coming to GameCube, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 sporadically afterward. The game looked to breathe new life into the series by featuring 3D graphics for the first time. Although the game hasn’t aged particularly well, it was considered to be one of the best releases of the year when it first released and subsequently set the standard for the 3D Sonic games that followed.
4 Sonic Adventure 2 – 9.5 Hours
Sonic Adventure‘s direct sequel was released just over two years after its predecessor and received similarly high praise. The game was especially praised for its range of playstyles, largely thanks to there being two separate campaigns. Sonic Adventure 2 has a “Hero” campaign, which puts players in control of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and a “Dark” campaign that follows Doctor Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Rouge the Bat.
3 Sonic Heroes – 12 Hours
Sonic Heroes was the first main series game to release after Sonic Adventure 2, putting large expectations of Sonic Team to keep the impressive 3D form going. Unfortunately, Sonic Forces saw a drop in quality from the pair of Sonic Adventure games, though it was still an enjoyable platformer nonetheless. The game expanded on Sonic Adventure 2 by having four separate campaigns instead of two, where the characters were grouped into teams of three.
2 Sonic Unleashed – 13 Hours
Sonic Unleashed was the first main series Sonic game to release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 after the disastrous Sonic The Hedgehog (2006). Unsurprisingly, Sonic Team made significant changes to the game’s playstyle to ensure that it wouldn’t be associated too closely with its predecessor. The change saw Sonic temporarily transform into a werewolf-like creature known as a “Werehog,” turning the platforming franchise into an old-school beat ’em up game for a significant portion of its runtime.
1 Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) – 16 Hours
Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) tops this list by a comfortable margin, though given the game’s quality, that isn’t necessarily a good thing. The game is one of the most infamous releases of the seventh generation of console, as it among its many issues was an out-of-place story, awkward camera angles, and a plethora of technical issues. Despite this, it’s hard to deny that many people have enjoyed the game over the years, as the adventure falls firmly into the “so bad it’s good” category of modern video games.
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