Everyone knows Sonic the Hedgehog, especially his original games for the Genesis/Mega Drive console. However, many might not realize that Sonic has actually amassed over 50 games during his lifetime, with another, the highly-anticipated Sonic Frontiers, releasing in Christmas 2022.
As most fans know, the various Sonic games have all been met with wildly different receptions. From the much-loved Sonic Mania to the despised '06 Sonic the Hedgehog game, the franchise has seen its ups and downs. But it's also seen tons of obscure games that most players have completely forgotten about or never even knew existed.
Knuckles Chaotix (32X)
In a desperate attempt to extend the life of their Genesis/Mega Drive console, SEGA released a bizarre 32-bit peripheral console called the 32X. In theory, it was supposed to serve as a cheaper way for gamers to enter the 32-bit era if they couldn't afford SEGA's new console, the Saturn. In reality, it was a weak machine with unimpressive graphics.
It did however receive a unique Sonic game called Knuckles Chaotix, which saw Knuckles connected to another character by a tether, allowing players to make special slingshot moves. It was an interesting concept that ultimately failed and faded into obscurity.
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Puyo Puyo is a popular puzzle game franchise in Japan where players have to match tiles. In order to help the game sell better in Western markets, SEGA decided to rebrand Puyo Puyo as a Sonic game, adding in characters like Dr. Robotnik.
However, the game was still the same. It was simply a tile-matching game with no real reason to have images of Sonic characters other than as a way to sell games. Because of this, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine remains a contentious topic, as many players getting it as kids only to discover it wasn't actually a Sonic game at all.
Sonic The Hedgehog (Master System)
Before launching the Genesis/Mega Drive, SEGA's previous console was the Master System. Released in 1986, the 8-bit console was designed to compete against Nintendo's NES/Famicom. When Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Genesis/Mega Drive in 1991, many parts of the world, especially countries like Brazil, were still playing on the Master System.
In order to capitalize on Sonic's success, SEGA ended up making an exclusive 8-bit Sonic game for the Master System (as well as the Game Gear). Interestingly enough, this game wasn't just an 8-bit version of the same game, but instead, had its own levels and bonus stages.
Tails And The Music Maker (Pico)
SEGA released a children's console in 1993 called the Pico. It consisted mostly of "edutainment" games and featured a unique drawing pad that would display images on-screen. Tails and the Music Maker was a game designed to teach kids about music theory and instruments and starred Sonic's sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower.
The game ended up having very little to do with teaching kids music and was mostly a collection of minigames and point-and-click segments. It is, however, a peculiar and obscure piece of Sonic history.
Sonic CD (SEGA CD)
Three years before the 32X add-on, the Genesis/Mega Drive received its first peripheral, the SEGA CD. The Genesis/Mega Drive would get attached to a CD-ROM drive that allowed for larger games, better graphics, and improved sound. The SEGA CD also received its own exclusive Sonic game, Sonic CD.
The game was unique in that it added new characters (like Amy Rose) and had a time travel mechanic, meaning gamers could play through the same level up to three times (past, present, future) and notice the differences between each. Sonic CD is also considered one of the best SEGA CD games ever released, as well as one of the most critically-praised Sonic games of all time.
Sonic R (Saturn)
Unfortunately, after the cancellation of the planned Sonic X-treme game, the SEGA Saturn never received a proper Sonic game - a fault many say contributed to the console's failure. However, SEGA did desperately churn out two Sonic games in order to appease fans.
The first was Sonic Jam, a collection of the Genesis/Mega Drive games, and the second was Sonic R, a racing game that received lukewarm reviews and massive complaints about how awful its controls and level designs were. Even worse, this wasn't SEGA's first failed attempt at copying the success of Mario Kart...
Sonic Drift (Game Gear)
Hoping to compete with Nintendo's popular Super Mario Kart game, SEGA decided to make a Sonic equivalent. However, SEGA only included four characters, released the game for their 8-bit handheld Game Gear console, and the game's North American release was even canceled, which some say was because SEGA of America deemed Sonic Drift to be a poor-quality game.
Fortunately, for fans of import games and retro oddities, Sonic Drift was eventually released in the U.S. as part of the Sonic Mega Collection compilation game.
Shadow The Hedgehog (GameCube, Xbox, PS2)
In 2005, SEGA decided to release a more "adult" Sonic game, this time focusing on one of the franchise's villains, Shadow. Despite being equipped with guns and other weapons, Shadow the Hedgehog somehow managed to get an E rating from the ESRB, which confused pretty much everyone.
Was this supposed to be a mature Sonic game? Or was this still the Sonic franchise people had come to know, but with guns? On top of that, critics slammed the confusing and dull levels as well as the awful controls.
Sonic Championship (Arcade)
Sonic Championship, titled in some countries as Sonic the Fighters, was a Sonic fighting game released in arcades that took inspiration from SEGA's popular franchise, Virtua Fighter. Sonic Championship proved to be popular when it was released in the mid-90s, piggybacking off of Sonic's fame and the fact that arcades were (and are) still popular in Japan.
However, years later it was released for home consoles in a few Sonic collections like Sonic Gems, and its reception wasn't so positive. By 2005, the bland 1996 fighting game looked and played horribly.
Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
As the '90s dragged on and SEGA dug its grave ever deeper, the company started doing some very odd things, from their fallout with EA and their failed plans of a new handheld device, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and through a bizarre deal, it would have connectivity to SEGA's new Dreamcast console.
Also as part of the deal, Neo Geo would get its own exclusive Sonic game, Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure. Oddly enough, the game was met with rave reviews, becoming one of the most-lauded Sonic games ever. Sadly, not many people ever owned a Neo Geo Pocket Color, forcing the game to fade quietly into the abyss of gaming history.
