If you can dig out your Xbox 360, have at it
Fans battle constantly over what constitutes the “worstSonicgames in the series,” and many have narrowed it down toSonic ’06at the top of the list; otherwise known asSonic the Hedgehog.Helmed by Yuji Naka, Sega attempted to make both a 15th anniversary blowout game and a “serious” take on the franchise, and both blew up in their faces. It got so bad that the game is only remembered today by the general public as “the game where Sonic kisses a human woman,” and Sega subsequently delisted the game (among others it deemed critical failures). Until now. Sonic reloaded? More like Sonic relisted.
Mysteriously, thanks to a fan tip,we’ve learned thatSonic ’06is back on the menu as a Sonic relisted special, as clear as day, alongside of a ton of “picture packs” (remember those?) and even some DLC. The kicker is thatit’s on Xbox 360 (sans backward compatibility), and it’s five bucks.
Depending on who you ask, this is where theSonicseries took a sharp decline.Sonic Adventure 2andHeroesdidn’t quite ruin the series’ reputation despite their flaws, but following this we gotSonic and the Black Knight, as well asSonic Unleashed— which drew the ire ofSonicfans across the world. Of course, some say the fall happened earlier, with November 2005’sShadow the Hedgehog.
In any case,Sonic ’06is where it reached critical mass and people weren’t going to take it anymore. But for the sake of game preservation, Sega shouldn’t hide their history. They should remember it, learn from it, and make it available to posterity. In other words: “please be good,Sonic Frontiers.”
