Sonic the Hedgehog – DaveGladow.com

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 7)

Of the many gaming opinions I’ll often state as fact, none inspires quite the level of self-confidence as “Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the best retro Sonic game.”

Yes, Sonic CD has many fans. Yes, Sonic 3 & Knuckles as a combo of two solid games becomes a better version of itself in its unified form (sort of like the Devastator or Voltron of video games). But I feel comfortable, confident, and maybe even downright cocky about this particular stance.

Sonic 2 is incredible.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Genre: Side-scrolling platformer
Released: 1992
Platform: Genesis
GameFan Score: 197/200

WhoDatJedi Podcast — The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 2: Lone Wolf and Egg

On “The Mandalorian,” I can say this: I’m really digging this show.

If you are too, come listen to some New Orleans guys gab about it for awhile.

Genesis Mini: Ranking all the games

Let’s be honest. This was inevitable. My obsession for mini consoles should be well established by now, and I recently purchased the Genesis Mini (and offered my general thoughts here). The only real question was whether I’d keep it simple and rank the games on the Genesis Mini, or expand the list to be a “best of” for the entire catalog of the original console.

I’ve decided to mostly go with the former. I have some thoughts on the games I feel are missing here and really wanted to share them, so I’m going to lead off with those. But I still haven’t experienced enough with the 700-game library to truly put together a proper “best-of” ranking. Sure, it would be useful to neophytes, but I wouldn’t feel super great or confident about it, either.

So instead, here are some thoughts on my favorite games missing from the Genesis Mini, followed by my ranking of the 42 games that did make the cut.

Enjoy!

60 Video games I’d recommend to anyone

Let’s throw some love out there. These are my favorite video games of all time. Yes!

As is always the case with a list like this, mileage may vary. Tastes differ, and more importantly, unless you’re a fanatic collector or work in the industry in some fashion, it’s impossible to play everything. To wit, I have a giant honking blind spot in my list for basically anything released over the last 15 years or so. I thought of calling it “favorite retro games” or some such, but let’s just go with this.

But the point is this: it’s my list. These are 60 games I’ve loved experiencing, and I thought in the interest of saving my thoughts for posterity — in case anyone would find them of value — it would be good to have it all written down. Maybe my kids will look at this list someday and want to explore it or my wife will get better insight into my gaming life, or maybe it will drum up nostalgia for you regardless of your connection with me. Cool, mission accomplished!