sonic games part 1:genesis era

hiiii, this is my blog about trying to play most of sonic's game lineup. for this first one, im gonna be rating all of the genesis games i have been able to play. ill also include sonic cd, but not chaotix, because i havent been able to play it yet. im hoping to keep this going and document how i felt about all of the games while playing them.

also note, im playing any fan made versions of the game that make quality of life changes. i will NOT be ranking games that are either remakes/different versions of the game like the triple trouble 16-bit remake (though, that remake is amazing, you should check it out.)

anyways, onto the ratings!

sonic 1

7/10

the first game in the franchise. its pretty good, if you dont give up past marble zone. my favorite zone was star light. it has fun gameplay, and it clearly sets up the foundation for every other classic sonic game. some parts drag a bit, like marble, labyrinth, and the 3rd act of scrap brain, but the game is still pretty fun. i played the sonic forever mod of it, which just adds more quality of life features to the retro engine port by the taxman like elemental shields, the drop dash, peel out, and instashield, and it adds amy to the game too, even if you dont use the origins rom.
sonic forever download link

sonic cd

8/10

the middle child of sonic 1 and 2. technically the 2nd game, but most dont treat it like one. its pretty fun, but also confusing at first with the large level design. once you figure it out though, its really fun. gameplay wise, it acts as a mix of sonic 1 and 2. its got the more platforming based level design of sonic 1, with more speed mechanics from sonic 2. its also the introduction to the g.o.a.t. metal sonic. my favorite zone of the game was wacky workbench, i love how it flips the whole "up is good path, down is bad path" by making the bottom path be fast, while the top path makes you slowly climb down. the music in this game is amazing, the JP soundtrack being better imo, but the us soundtrack has some pretty good songs too. i played the retro engine port for this one, so no link for this one. though, team forever did tease that they were making a mod for sonic cd similar to the ones they did for 1 and 2, so ill link the teaser video for that.
sonic cd team forever teaser

sonic 2

9/10

the second game, and there are immediately some things better. almost double the zones, faster gameplay, the spin dash finally gets added to the game too, and its the series introduction for miles "tails" prower (if you ignore that the 8-bit version technically came out before the 16-bit one). my favorite zone was casino night, i especially love how they were able to make the song sound jazzy while using the genesis sound chip. the game does drag a bit once you get to oil ocean, but it only gets really frustrating at the death egg. i ended up going from 30 lives to just 3 when i got to it. once again, i played another mod by team forever, this time being sonic 2 absolute. its essentially the same as the 1st mod they made, but for sonic 2. sadly no amy was included with this one.
sonic 2 absolute download link

sonic 3 & knuckles

10/10

peak cinema. this game is so good, the music, the level design, the story, everything is immaculate. the instashield gets introduced, and it changes enemy interactions from "damn, i gotta wait 50 years for him to turn around so i can hit the non spiky part" to "fuck it, im gonna hit you anyways." its also the introduction to knuckles the echidna, one of my favorite characters. its also the introduction to saves, and a proper alternate ending that isnt just a gif of eggman either with the emeralds or angry that he lost. its hard to choose a favorite zone for this one, because in my opinion, all of the zones are good. id have to say hydrocity, launch base, lava reef, sky sanctuary, and death egg. for this game, i played sonic 3 a.i.r. its a fun mod that adds more moves, achievements, and even options like changing the music to be the prototype songs. 
sonic 3 a.i.r. download link

sonic 3d blast (also known as sonic 3d:flickies island over in europe)

8/10

unironically an underrated gem. most people ignore it because its a weird, isometric platforming game, but its pretty fun. honestly, i think the genesis version is better than the saturn and pc version, mostly because of the soundtrack. my favorite zone was panic puppet, i love how it changes up the gameplay of getting flickies, putting them in capsules rather than in robots. this freshens up the game near the end, letting you ignore enemies if needed. i also love the true final boss when you get all of the emeralds. i played this one on sonic's ultimate genesis collection for the ps3 and 360, so no download link this time. instead, have a video of some cats.
cat videos

thats my rating for the genesis games. i didnt include spinoffs like spinball or mbm, cause i just wanted to focus on the more mainline games this time. i might cover them later on.