I have to admit, taking on the Sonic Generations review stemmed mostly from my own morbid curiosity; having not kept tabs on Sonic since his abysmal 2006 360/PS3 reboot, I simply assumed that the series continued spiraling downwards, forever rehashing the same terrible ideas plaguing its post-Genesis existence. My cynical presumptions held fast, but news about the quality of 2010’s Sonic Colors — even in the face of another failed revival (this one in 2D) — made me wonder: after more than a decade of experimentation, had Sega actually stumbled upon the secret of making a modern Sonic game?
Amazingly — through one of the greatest exercises in self-control the franchise has seen since Macarena jokes were topical — Sonic Generations comes closer than ever to delivering the true evolution Sonic fans have been anticipating since the advent of the Dreamcast. And even though Sonic entered this world 20 years ago as the anti-Mario, Generations’ liberal borrowing from Nintendo’s school of game design stands as one of Sega’s smartest decisions in years.
