Behold! Enjoyable Sonic Games.

In recent years game reviewers and players have been smearing the Sonic the Hedgehog games stating that they seemed rush to production, game play is clumsy, and ultimately that Sega’s mascot is a shadow of his former self. True, not every Sonic game has matched up to the expectations Sonic fans have had, but they are not as putrid as some game reviews want you to believe. The following is a list of Sonic games that I have played, and believe to be the best Sega has to offer. Also I have added a prediction of what the future might hold for the feisty, blue hedgehog.
The first Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles which came out in the early 90’s were undoubtedly the best Sonic games ever made. Personally I think that Sonic&Knuckles with Sonic 3 attached could not get better, at the time. It had the three key elements a great game needed; compelling story that drawed you in, bright colorful boards that set moods to Sonic’s journey, and a very high replay value, mostly due to the secret ring room, and collecting Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic. When the two were attached you also played all the levels in both games, had to get Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds, and you were given a secret last zone called Doomsday Zone.
In 1999 Sonic Adventure came out for the Sega Dreamcast featuring Sonic and friends receiving voices and interacting in a 3-D world. This also lead the way for the sequel Sonic Adventure Battle 2 which featured Shadow the Hedgehog, and Rogue the Bat. Both became very popular characters and served as great rivals for both Sonic and Knuckles respectively. In the game there are several boss battles where depending on who you choose you fight the rival.
In 2003 Sonic Heroes became the first game that was released for non Sega systems. Released for the PS2, Gamecube, and X-Box, the game matched up three team members on a total of four teams encompassing a speed, power, and flight character. The game quickly made the PS2’s greatest hits and is, I think, one of the best Sonic games ever to be made. It gave us the opportunity to play as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles on one team, changing between them to overcome obstacles and puzzles. The game also had power ups that leveled up your character to make their attack stronger. The teams and characters were as follows. Team Sonic: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. Team Rose: Amy, Big the cat, and Cream. Team Dark: Shadow, Rogue, and Omega. Team Chaotix: Espio, Victor, and Charmy Bee.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was the first Sonic RPG released for the Nintendo DS in 2008. Sonic and friends team up to battle beasts, robots, Eggman, and an evil Brotherhood bent on destroying the world. A clever thing done here was that aside from characters leveling up, the player could also hatch chaos which assisted in battle. For example a certain Chao when equipped to Sonic would add fire damage to his attacks. Another would shield him from water attacks.
Sonic Unleashed was close to matching what Sonic fans wanted out of a good Sonic game, it was half-done right, and half-done not so right. The day stages were done perfectly, with fast pace action, multiple paths to the goal, and old school robots, rings, and loop-de-loops that made us fall in love with the franchise. The only down side to this game is the Werehog levels, which every game reviewer agrees with. Though it is well worth playing a few night time boring levels to get to the bright, extremely re-playable day time levels.
Bottom line is that Sonic creators have to remember what made Sonic games so good. The fact that he fought Eggman, his quest for the chaos emeralds, him fighting bad robots, Tail, Knuckles, and some of his other friends who aided him on his way. The fact that he could transform to Super Sonic in the end. All made up a good sonic game, and all need to be in a Sonic game, with never little left out or added in.
There are more Sonic games out there not mentioned, and not every game reviewer has the time to play them. Each has their own opinion, there are definitely good Sonic game out there, you just need to find them. Shop around and see if a Sonic game has good or bad reviews, and even if they have bad ones and you want to play it, rent it. Better to lose a few bucks than fifty. Also remember the only opinion that matters to you is yours, so be your own reviewer and play what you want to play, even if the world thinks it sucks.

Donkey Kong Country

Though I never owned a SNES growing up, I did have a good friend who owned one and frequently visited his house to play games and swim in his pool. I originally didn't want to play Donkey Kong Country, until I saw him playing it. Before I had seen it, I thought it was just like the original Donkey Kong where you play as Mario jumping over barrels, and swinging a hammer. When I first played it though I fell in love with it; the bright colors, the exciting game play that changed within each level, and that lovable oaf Donkey Kong along with little side kick, Diddy.
The game is deffinately a classic, and fans wanted more which led to Rare and Nintendo producing two sequels within a year after their releases. DKC 2 Diddy's Kongquest, and DKC3 Dixie's Double Trouble. Rare deffinately was the best producer of the DKC games with their imaginative puzzels, and hidden rooms scattered throughout the levels. It seems that every few steps you take in a game, there is a secret to unlock, or a DK Coin to receive. DKC is also one of the first for games where the characters we're 3-D set in a 2-D world, which helped make the game more visually pleasing.
I loved all three of them, but my favorite has to be the second one. You play as Diddy and Dixie Kong, two little monkey's who are out to save big Gorilla Donkey Kong from the Kremlings on Crododile Island. The game was ver pirate oriented having most of the Kremlings and Baddies wearing pirate clothes and accessories. It aslo took the puzzle and secret scheme one step closer by adding a lost world that the player could visit to unlock a bonus secret ending if all the levels were completed their. The tone and look of it was also alot darker. Probably because you were on the bad guys territory, and there is very little day time missions. Except for a few in the beginning and the bramble missions.
So share your thoughts on what you thought of Donkey Kong games? Do you think his newer games are as good or have they fallen?