The blue blur has been through a lot during his transition to the third dimension. Here is our ranked list of every official mainline 3D entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Every fan can agree that Sonic took the industry by the wayside during the decade of the ’90s with his fast-paced, 2D side-scrolling platforming action games. They made him an instant rival to Nintendo’s Mario and helped popularize the Sega Genesis. But what about 3D?
- Read more: Every Sonic The Hedgehog TV Series, Ranked
Despite a solid start with the Sonic Adventure series, the debate over Sonic’s journey into 3D has been ongoing.
14. Sonic the Hedgehog
| Initial Release | November 14, 2006 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
Voted the worst game of 2006 and a contender for the worst game ever made, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is notorious for its poor voice acting, terrible camera, glitches, atrocious convoluted plot, and lengthy loading screens. It was rushed to release and didn’t receive the time it needed to be successful.
Still, it has a fantastic soundtrack and beautiful graphics. Furthermore, it took a new approach to Sonic levels by adding the “Mach Speed” feature. Many other experiments carried over to the surrounding cast of characters, of which there were too many.
Despite its failed ambitions, several fans have tried to re-release their own version of the game with technical improvements.
13. Shadow the Hedgehog
| Initial Release | November 15, 2005 |
| Developer | Sega Studios USA |
| Platform(s) | – GameCube – PlayStation 2 – Xbox |
As exciting as it was at the time to get an entire game to flesh out the backstory and character development of Shadow the Hedgehog, it doesn’t play all that well.
- Read more: Shadow the Hedgehog – Unlockables & Cheats
Using the same clunky engine as Sonic Heroes, missions are slow, tedious, and packed with repetition. Even with the ability to use Chaos Control and Chaos Blast, Shadow still has to rely on firearms and vehicles to take down certain enemies.
Performing different mission objectives on the same stage will result in a different cutscene which eventually leads to a different branch of the storyline. This is why the game itself is meant to be repeated in order to acquire the true ending.
12. Sonic Forces
| Initial Release | November 7, 2017 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox One – PlayStation 4 – Nintendo Switch – PC |
One of the more recent entries in the series, Sonic Forces meshes together 2D/3D platforming like Generations. However, the big wild card this game brought to the table was the introduction of the Avatar. This represents the player character and allows you to customize your own anthropomorphic animal to have a unique identity in the Sonic universe.
- Read more: Sonic Forces – Cheats & Unlockables
Unfortunately, missions are extremely short, and the game takes barely 5 hours to complete. While the aesthetic and species of your Avatar can be customized, the powerups and abilities you can use are restricted. More than anything, the game’s longevity relies on repeating previous stages to acquire unlockables that let you further customize your Avatar.
11. Sonic Lost World
| Initial Release | October 18, 2013 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Wii U – Nintendo 3DS – PC |
Sonic Lost World represents the blue hedgehog’s “Super Mario Galaxy” phase. This game is yet another attempt at deep experimentation with platforming-level design while trying to preserve a sense of speed. It achieves this with some consistency but falls short more times than not.
- Read more: Sonic Lost World – Cheats & Unlockables
On a floating planet called Lost Hex, Sonic faces off with a new group of enemies known as the Deadly Six. It’s refreshing to encounter some never-before-seen faces, but these rivals don’t make the same impression as the first time fans met Knuckles the Echidna or Metal Sonic, for instance.
10. Sonic and the Black Knight
| Initial Release | March 3, 2009 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Wii |
Serving as a direct sequel to Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight takes the blue hedgehog and friends, dropping them into the setting of King Arthur. It combines motion-controlled sword combat with Sonic’s trademark speed for an authentic and enjoyable experience.
Still, even with the accuracy of the Wii Remote in general, the game’s controls don’t always interact with it well, and you’ll find yourself repeating stages and boss fights more times than you would like.
9. Sonic and the Secret Rings
| Initial Release | February 20, 2007 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Wii |
Formerly known as Wild Fire, Sonic and the Secret Rings was built from the ground up exclusively for the Nintendo Wii to use the motion controls as a mechanic for play. Inspired by the theme of Arabian Nights, this game has Sonic on a quest to defeat an evil genie called Erazor Djinn and collect the Seven World Rings.
As gorgeous as the graphics, music, and presentation of the story are, this is another chapter in Sonic’s history where the controls interfere with the experience. Still, the game maintains a sense of speed and encourages you to master each level to maintain Sonic’s flow across the beautiful landscapes.
8. Sonic Dream Team
| Initial Release | December 5, 2023 |
| Developer | Hardlight |
| Platform(s) | – Apple Arcade |
Sonic Dream Team is the first official mainline 3D title to be released exclusively for mobile, via Apple Arcade. It follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, and Cream traversing across a location known as the Reverie Haven in an attempt to stop Dr. Eggman from acquiring an ancient device that makes dreams come true.
The non-linear level design encourages players to explore every nook and cranny using each of the different characters’ abilities and collect Dream Orbs. Completing missions across the various stages serves as the game’s progression system, and provides ample replayability with fun time trials and boss battles, despite the game’s short length.
No matter which character is chosen for the level, the experience is exhilarating and fun, always embracing a sense of speed with a constant state of flow.
7. Sonic Heroes
| Initial Release | December 30, 2003 |
| Developer | Sonic Team USA |
| Platform(s) | – GameCube – PlayStation 2 – Xbox – PC |
No other entry in the mainline series features more characters than Sonic Heroes. This exciting adventure covers stories across four teams, including every protagonist from the franchise to date.
- Read more: Sonic Heroes – Unlockables & Cheats
While each group has a unique storyline with varying difficulty levels, the plot coalesces with a battle against Metal Sonic, the most deadly villain in the series’ history.
Sonic Heroes blends speed with platforming, flight, fighting, and puzzle-solving in a package that has never been seen before or after. With an all-star voice cast and a great soundtrack, this entry is a must for die-hard fans.
6. Sonic Unleashed
| Initial Release | November 18, 2008 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 – Wii – PlayStation 2 |
To fine-tune the experience of the blue blur in 3D, SEGA built the Hedgehog Engine, a proprietary framework from the ground up, delivering Sonic Unleashed.
Using day and night time cycles, the levels see Sonic running at blazing speed, then transforming into a Werehog with hack-and-slash gameplay and puzzle-solving.
- Read more: Sonic Unleashed – Cheats & Unlockables
Fans were divided on the nighttime stages, which feature slow, methodical combat that have you daisy-chaining combo attacks together to take down various enemies. Fortunately, the daytime stages are the absolute best 3D Sonic levels in the franchise’s history up until this point, with infinite replayability just for the thrill of zipping across settings based on locations around the world.
The console releases differ slightly in their designs, with the Wii release offering more daytime stages, making it the definitive version of this unforgettable game.
5. Sonic Adventure
| Initial Release | December 23, 1998 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Dreamcast – GameCube – PC – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
The hallmark title that helped launch the SEGA Dreamcast, Sonic Adventure represents the hedgehog’s initial jump to true 3D.
Featuring a brand-new plot with one of the most powerful antagonists in the series’ history and an awesome cast of up to 6 playable characters, Sonic Adventure is a joy to play, even to this day.
- Read more: Sonic Adventure – Unlockables & Cheats
In addition to fun boss battles, a wide variety of gameplay elements, and a masterful soundtrack with music from Crush 40, the rock band created by series composer Jen Senuoe, Sonic Adventure also introduced fans to the Chao Garden.
This exciting breeding simulator has you raising little creatures called Chao with full customization using items you acquire from stages throughout the storyline.
4. Sonic Colors
| Initial Release | November 11, 2010 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Wii – Nintendo DS – PlayStation 4 (Ultimate) – Xbox One (Ultimate) – PC (Ultimate) |
Sonic Colors is universally praised as one of the best in the 3D library in a package that many consider a refreshing turn to form after many controversial experiments. It’s also one of the most accessible to newcomers, so much so that SEGA opted to create an enhanced version of the game for modern systems in the form of Sonic Colors Ultimate (2021).
- Read more: Sonic Colors Ultimate – Cheats & Unlockables
Instead of chasing Chaos Emeralds, Sonic Colors has the hedgehog exploring Planet Wisp to stop the evil Dr. Eggman from enslaving a race of aliens. On his journey, the blue blur collects various Wisps, which act as power-ups to reach new areas and increase his attack power.
3. Sonic Frontiers
| Initial Release | November 8, 2022 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S – Nintendo Switch – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One |
Sonic Frontiers is the first 3D entry in the long-running franchise to finally embrace the modern era of gaming by offering a fully open-world hedgehog experience.
Speed is the name of the game in this fantastic title. While strictly focusing on Sonic moving about in a way that is quite comparable to The Flash, it has you exploring all kinds of locales with tons of grind rails, platforms, bouncy springs, and those awe-inspiring loop-de-loops.
Furthermore, Sonic Frontiers has a progression system that has you wanting to 100% all stages and challenges to fully power up the hedgehog. This benefits not only your speed and jumping but also your effectiveness in combat, which is fully fleshed out in this experience.
- Read more: Sonic Frontiers Content Roadmap Revealed
The story tells an original tale but still manages to acknowledge many of Sonic’s greatest adventures with its dialogue and cutscenes. In a way, Sonic Frontiers combines everything you love from fan-made contraptions and puts it all into an official package.
2. Sonic Generations
| Initial Release | November 1, 2011 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Platform(s) | – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 – PC – Nintendo 3DS |
Sonic Generations magically blends 2D and 3D stages in a plot that allows fans of any period to relive the best moments of the blue blur in one game.
As a celebration of Sonic’s 20th anniversary, SEGA offers perfected 3D Sonic stages using inspiration from the design of the daytime levels from Unleashed and perfected 2D stages using inspiration from the design of Sonic’s early days on the Genesis.
With remixed music, fun game modes, and a plot that acknowledges other characters but keeps the focus on Sonic & Tails, the two main protagonists that solidified the franchise from the start, Generations is arguably the greatest Sonic game ever made.
1. Sonic Adventure 2
| Initial Release | June 23, 2001 |
| Developer | Sonic Team USA |
| Platform(s) | – Dreamcast – GameCube – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 – PC |
It doesn’t get better than this. Sonic Adventure 2 is an experience that tells the tale of two teams on their journey to stop a global apocalypse that would see everything destroyed in a nanosecond.
For so long, people believed that only Metal Sonic could rival the blue blur’s speed. However, this game introduced fans to a new rival, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form created by Dr. Eggman’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik.
Sonic Adventure 2 offers everything you could ever want in a 3D Sonic game, with rapid action platforming on stages featuring Sonic and Shadow, to gun-play and puzzle-solving with Tails and Eggman, treasure hunting and exploration with Knuckles and Rouge, and kart racing across wide-open speedways with nearly every character.
- Read more: Sonic Adventure 2 Guides
With the enhancements to the Chao Garden and tons of unlockables for collecting achievement-like emblems, players are encouraged to replay every stage to fully complete the game. In addition, collecting power drives and animals allows deeper customization of the bubbly creatures, and addictive new mini-games like Chao Karate and Chao Racing keep you playing long after you’ve finished the thrilling storyline.
The expanded version, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, offers endless multiplayer that allows friends to go head-to-head with every beloved character with more variety of gameplay than seen across any entry to date.
This game is the Sonic series at its absolute best, with an all-star cast and the greatest voice acting in the history of the franchise, with a soundtrack that tops anything the series has produced since.
If you’re interested in more hedgehog goodness, check out our list of every mainline 2D Sonic game, ranked.
