The original title was all about Sega attempting to create an iconic character capable of challenging the whole Mario hegemony. With an emphasis on speed and colour it was a revolutionary platform gaming experience, brilliantly distilling a new corporate identity: Sega – the cool younger brother to fusty old Nintendo
Arguably the best title in the series provides more richly detailed high speed platforming, this time with a two-player vs mode featuring loveable sidekick Tails. It sold more than 6m copies
Sonic 3 continues the 2D platforming action of the first two titles, with our beloved hedgehog battling Dr Robotnik (or Dr Eggman if you prefer his other name) for control of the chaos emeralds. It was so big, however, that the project was split into two releases with Sonic and Knuckles arriving later
This 3D racing game took Sonic in a whole new direction, and looked rather lovely on the Saturn console, Sega’s failed answer to the Sony PlayStation. It was developed by UK studio Traveller’s Tales, which would go on to create the popular Lego titles
An enormous, bloated action adventure, designed to be the showcase title for Sega’s groundbreaking but doomed Dreamcast console. Combined several genres into one, and even allowed you to nurture a virtual pet
A brilliant return to the classic Sonic recipe – stomach-churningly fast 2D platforming action – but carefully augmented with mini-games and a fun four-player mode. This one was created by Dimps, the veteran Japanese developer responsible for the awesome Street Fighter IV
Another great re-discovery of the old skool Sonic style, this time on the Nintendo DS. Rush cleverly uses both screens to create a huge playing area, and mixes in 3D elements and a swooping camera for visual flourish. Arguably the last truly great Sonic title
A huge collection of Olympics-based mini-games which controversially unites Sonic with his arch-enemy. Very much a formulaic multi-sport button masher, but … Sonic AND Mario! If only they could have met in an actual platformer…
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A criminally overlooked adventure game in which Sonic leads a party of his old pals on a traditional RPG quest. Lovely cartoon visuals and an interesting combat system make this DS oddity worth a look. It was developed by Bioware, creator of Dragon Age and Mass Effect no less!
Not a vintage Sonic title – in fact, it’s essentially Mario Kart in terms of course design, handling and concept. But UK studio Sumo Digital (responsible for the excellent OutRun updates on the Xbox) knows how to craft a polished and fun arcade racer
An interesting semi-3D riff on the speed-based platforming set-up, with Sonic freeing an alien race known as the wisps from a diabolical outerspace amusement park constructed by, yes, Dr Robotnik. A nice little Wii outing for Sonic
Yet another return to the hedgehog’s 2D roots, this was designed as an episodic downloadable mini-series. We get several re-imaginings of classic Sonic zones, all re-interpreted with tons of modern visual detail. We’re still waiting for Episide II ...
