Best Sonic Games Not Developed By Sega

Most video game mascots who went up against the plumber in the 90s have gone the way of the Dodo, including Bubsy and Earthworm Jim. The one exception is Sonic the Hedgehog, who proved there was room for two mascots, and while the quality of his games has fluctuated back and forth, there are still an incredible number of Sonic fans out there.

Most of Sonic’s games are developed internally by Sega, or co-developed by them, at least. Fans may not know that some of Sonic’s better or more experimental games were made by other developers but published by Sega. Here are a few examples ranked based on their quality.

7

Sonic The Hedgehog (8-Bit)

Ancient’s Port Legacy

Ancient is not a huge developer known widely beyond their work with Sega, but they helped with a lot of ports during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. Sonic the Hedgehog was a huge hit on the Sega Genesis, and while not as popular, Ancient’s 8-bit versions on the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear were good games in their own right.

The Sega Game Gear version, in particular, was a hot commodity for fans who owned that battery-draining portable device. Ancient worked on other 8-bit Sega ports, such as Streets of Rage 2, along with developing bigger exclusives for Sega like Beyond Oasis, which is a killer Zelda-like game.

6

Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

Compile’s Puyo Puyo Gets Transformed

It didn’t take the Mario franchise long to get into puzzle games, and the same is true for Sonic spinoffs. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine was a Tetris-like puzzle game that had more colorful blobs to piece together in columns. It was fun on the Sega Genesis, but it probably didn’t make a lot of sense, especially since Dr. Robotnik was the star.

Fans may not have known that the game was a reskin of Puyo Puyo, which was a 1991 release in Japan for platforms like MSX computers and the Famicom Disk System. Compile made many sequels to Puyo Puyo in Japan, but now the series is handled internally by Sega, as Compile shut down in 2003.

5

Tails Adventure

Aspect Gets A Plethora Of Originals

Tails Adventure

Systems

Released

September 22, 1995

ESRB

E for Everyone

Developer(s)

Aspect Co.

Aspect made 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, just like Ancient did for the first game. They also made original titles like Sonic Chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, and Sonic Blast.

Among them all, their greatest achievement was Tails Adventure for the Sega Game Gear. It’s not the only Tails-driven game in the franchise, but it’s certainly Tails’ best game. It was a platformer that had Metroidvania elements, so fans of that genre may want to track this one down.

4

Sonic The Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

SNK Crafts A Masterful Adaptation

Today, SNK is a giant developer and publisher on par with Sega, as SNK owns the Metal Slug and King of Fighters franchises. They were given the reins to the Sonic franchise to make Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure for the now forgotten Neo Geo Pocket Color portable system.

It’s one of the best-looking Sonic games of its era, even though it’s just in 2D, and it’s certainly a must-own for anyone with this system. It didn’t reinvent the Sonic wheel, as the character still ran fast from left to right, but it was good regardless of its lack of innovation.

3

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

BioWare Does Their RPG Thing

There must be over a dozen RPGs based on Mario now, but Sonic only got one big role-playing adventure. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was certainly made by a team who knew how to make good RPGs, though: BioWare.

Players could explore the world from a top-down perspective, and then battles transitioned into turn-based affairs. There were character choices and a big cliffhanger ending, so it’s known that BioWare wanted to make sequels, but it just never happened. The game never got a port to systems beyond the DS, either.

2

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Sumo Digital’s Trilogy Of Racers

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is the first racing game with Sonic and his friends made by Sumo Digital. They made three altogether, including Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Team Sonic Racing. While they’re all good Mario Kart clones, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the one to play.

The courses were wild, and there were crossover characters from other Sega properties, like Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue. Plus, the vehicle transformations kept the races lively. Until Mario Kart 8 hit the Wii U, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was probably the best modern mascot-led racer on any platform.

1

Sonic Mania

A Fan Gets Redeemed

By 2017, Sonic fans were waning as the mainline games and spinoffs lacked punch. That is until Sonic Mania was released, which was directed by Christian Whitehead in collaboration with other small studios like PagodaWest Games and Headcannon. Whitehead was a diehard Sonic lover who dabbled in fan games before getting the keys to the kingdom from Sega.

Many regard Sonic Mania today as the best Sonic game of the past decade, with amazing sprite-based art, remixed music, stages based on classics, and a killer anime intro. It’s exactly the boost the character needed in 2017, and Sonic now reigns supreme over the box office with three gigantic movies, thanks in no small part to the series’ resurgence via Sonic Mania.