The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is probably the most divisive video game franchise ever. There might be a new game that comes out that just happens to be amazing, and the next game they release might just so happen to be garbage. Whether you prefer Classic or Modern games, which one is your favorite out of the franchise?

My favorite is and might always be Sonic Unleashed for 360. Many people have complaints about the Werehog feature in this game. I however find it inviting and I don't mind it very much. Sonic Unleashed doesn't have a very complicated story compared to 06 and the gameplay is probably the best thing about Unleashed. Unleashed was the first game to use the boost mechanic in 3D Sonic titles and it succeeded. Also, Sonic Unleashed has a nice sense of difficulty progression, with the final level in the game usually being quoted has the hardest level in the franchise, but the difficulty never really spikes up or down throughout the game.

My favorite Sonic game is Sonic Adventure 2. I felt that was the closest SEGA has ever gotten to making the perfect "Modern Sonic" game. While Sonic Mania and Sonic 3 & Knuckles are both amazing games in their own right, I still say that SA2 is the best Sonic game.

I'd probably say Sonic Heroes I use to think it was just alright due to all the issues I had playing the game but when I replayed the pc version of the game I realized a lot of my issues was with the ps2 version of the game not the game itself.

I've only played three sonic games:

Sonic The Hedgehog (Game Gear)
Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast)
Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)

I think it is a tie between Sonic Adventure 1 & 2. To me it is the equivalent to Zelda Ocarina of Time and Mario 64 in terms of breakthrough for the franchise. I think it is one of those games that was ahead of its time when it originally came out. It's one of the main reasons why I got the sega dreamcast. Can't believe that was over 17 years ago omg... I bet the sonic games have changed a lot since then. I may never know, I have never owned any gaming platform past sixth generation era.

JigSaw :

Indeed, they have changed a lot. Both for better and for worse. As of 2018, worse. The most recently released game in the franchise is probably one of the worst to have ever released, sadly.

Would have to say Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for the Master System/Game Gear. It's a really good game for it's hardware.

Lexatom : I like many Sonic video games, including Forces, Colors, Adventure, etc. However, my favorite would likely be Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). The music was surreal yet savory, the level design was creative and functional, and the controls were simple yet so pleasing. There is a reason why this one game kickstarted an entire franchise. It just works well.

Lexatom : Probably Sonic 3 and Knuckles.  It's got everything a Sonic fan can want.

I've played every Sonic game to DATE.

They're all so different depending on the era they came out in. So I'll give me favourite from each era.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles was the best one out of the original three. No contest. Back then there wasn't really anything you could do to mess up a Sonic game. More content meant a better game. Sonic 3 & Knuckles lacked NONE in the department of content.

Sonic Adventure 2. I want to say SA1, but that'd just be out of nostalgia. SA2 is just overall better. Also I'm a huge sucker for Chao's and the Chao garden was where I spent most of my time. Please bring it back.

Sonic Heroes was pretty good as well. For Gamecube releases of Sonic there weren't many (great) titles. You could argue the Sonic Riders was good, but most of the releases were either bad (Shadow) or rereleases (Sonic Mega Collection)

Sonic Colors was probably the best one that was released on the Wii. I believe it took what was good from Sonic Unleashed and expanded on that. I did like Unleashed and Secret Rings, but Sonic Colors was objectively better.

Sonic Generations, though. That's probably one of my favourite Sonic games of all time. It definitely played on my nostalgia from the original Sonic games more than anything else, but I believe that the Sonic franchise itself was a bit in a rut and Generations got it out of that. It added a lot more personality and polish that previous titles (Sonic '06) had been lacking.

With the most recent titles I'm going to lump Sonic Mania and its editions and Sonic Forces together. I know they aren't very comparable but with them being the most recent Sonic releases to date (barring Sonic Lost Worlds but that was 5 years ago now) I can only compare those as this generation of Sonic games..

Obviously Sonic Mania beats out Forces. Sure Forces let us live out our Sonic OC dreams and have them in the games, but the novelty of that wears off very quickly. Sonic Mania takes all the aspects from the original Sonic games and expands on it tenfold. It makes you feel like you're playing on an overclocked Sega Genesis and it has so much content. Counting the Sonic Mania Plus, You have FIVE characters to play as in a Sonic the Hedgehog 2d platformer. It stays true to the aesthetic of the originals while also expanding on it by showing what they can do without the technological limitations of the past.

My favorite is probably Sonic Adventure 2, just because it was the best mix of solid gameplay, a fun story, and decent replay value (oh and fun side modes, love my chaos).

A consolation prize to Sonic Generations though, it was the most fun I'd had playing a Sonic game in years, was beginning to worry that was impossible.

Generations was amazing, and was my favorite Sonic game up to that point. But now? I'm not sure I have a favorite Sonic game. I'm not the biggest fan of the plots of the 3D Sonic games, but I love the gameplay. I recently got Mania at a steep discount, and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's the largest 2D Sonic game to date, and wow, is it good. I feel kind of overwhelmed by the Special Stages, though. I've always had difficulty with them, but 40 + the Chaos Emerald stages? I've got a lot of ground to memorize if I'm going to get all the gold medals. I have no plans to.

I've only played a few Sonic games:

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Unleashed (Wii Version)
Sonic Generations

I remember moderately enjoying playing Unleashed when it came out, but as of right now, my favorite is Sonic Generations. I think it made for a really solid 20th anniversary sonic title and stands out as one of the better 3D Sonic games. I haven't played any of the newer games beyond Generations, but I have seen gameplay for most of them and I don't think my opinion would change.

I've been giving the Sonic franchise a lot of thought here lately. I never had a Sega Genesis or a Game Gear growing up. I got to play Sonic the Hedgehog on Game Gear and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis with some of the kids that lived in my neighborhood back in the early '90s. Just like Mario, the Sonic trilogy became a big part of my childhood, and this was mainly because of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Genesis. Now as an adult, I've played other Sonic games such as: Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear), and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis), and Sonic 2 for Genesis is still my favorite. 

I have played some other ones like: Sonic Chaos (Game Gear) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Genesis) but am not that familiar with those games. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 got me into the Sonic series. Not to mention the afternoon cartoons. This game was and is my favorite not just because it was so influential, but also because of its music and gameplay as well. I just got done doing a big review on this game for Vizzed and why I liked it so much. 

Top 3 would have to be, in no particular order, Sonic Advance (Gameboy Advance), Sonic Mania (Switch), and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis).

Sonic 2 is all around solid, has great level design, is freaking long, is probably the most difficult of the three. It's the only one of the three I haven't beat.

Sonic Mania brings back a lot of good classic levels and does something interesting and new with them, but all that's largely overshadowed by the totally new content the game packs. The new levels and music and the added depth demonstrate that there's still plenty of room for something fresh yet faithful in the series, and I really wish they'd had a higher ratio of new content to revamped maps, not that I hate what they did with the old maps. Far from it.

Sonic Advance holds up to titles on any of the other platforms. You'll usually see a game on a portable console that's good but isn't very faithful to the franchise or is limited by its hardware. That doesn't happen here. It's a perfect fit for the console, it's extremely fast, even for a Sonic game, it's got a great soundtrack even despite its hardware, and it's very thoroughly a Sonic game.

My favorite Sonic game is a tie between Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Generations. Sonic Generations has smoother gameplay and has a ton of classic stages with old and new styles but Sonic Adventure 2 has the chao garden. I've spent countless hours just hanging out with my chao's and doing chao races and chao karate (from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle). However, Sonic Generations is generally more satisfying to play all around. All in all, it's very difficult for me to decide between these two so in the end I still say it's a tie.

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Even though I haven't played any core Sonic game released after Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle stands atop them all for me.

I honestly like the Adventure mode. I was frightened as a kid when I saw that massive truck pursuing me down the roads of San Francisco, and the Emerald levels were a nice touch to add something different besides the hi-speed action.

But what makes it stand at the very top is undoubtedly the Chao World. The nearly countless variants of Chao and their appearances are almost compelling me to "catch 'em all", and it's not an easy task due to how much time you have to spend with them so they evolve and mature. The races were also heavily entertaining, and seeing my Chao imitate Michael Phelps in the heavenly pool is just priceless xD

That's surely one of the games I'll never get tired of playing. I've owned it for +15 years and I have to control myself to not make a digital copy of it to play on Dolphin or else I'd say goodbye to all my free time (my old and decaying Wii are what keep me away from playing it on console).

I'm also fond of the Sonic Advance series. It's a much faster paced kind of game, fueled by the fact it's just 2D, but still promises the heavy action and adrenaline you'd expect from a true Sonic game.

Out of the core platform games, I have a soft spot for Sonic R. While racing on foot was a nice touch since you could jump over obstacles like if it was a platform game, the tracks and the changing climate conditions (something not even driving simulators of the time could boast!) made it absolutely lovely. It also had decent graphics for the time, still blocky characters but backgrounds and such had more detail.

Of the ones I've played my favorite is probably the one with the werewolf Sonic.

I'm absolutely garbage at normal speedy Sonic, so those fight scenes were a nice switch of scenery for me.

I'm still not a big fan of that game and the franchise as a whole, but it was the most enjoyable experience I've gotten out of Sonic.

I'm still watching the movie despite of that though

My favorite will always be Sonic 2 for the Genesis. I love the addition of a possible second player with unique moves, that also happens to be invincible. It makes it accessible to anyone who wants to play. Also, the basslines.

Probably sonic unleashed, totally not because that's the only sonic game I've ever played or anything like that. *cough cough*