The best Sonic the Hedgehog video games of all-time

Honorable Mention: Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure -1999 – Neo Geo Pocket Color

Sega entered the handheld video game market in 1990 with the Sega Game Gear, its attempt to compete with the Nintendo Game Boy. Sega released several Sonic games for the Game Gear that ultimately failed to emulate Sonic’s speed on the Genesis. The Game Gear’s lack of success led to its discontinuation in 1997.

Arcade developer SNK released the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999 as a successor to the Neo Geo Pocket. Sega was the only major third-party developer that supported the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Despite the system’s limited game library, it had some well-received games, including the little-known Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure.

I felt the need to mention this title because it’s considered the best game on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. I’ve never even seen a Neo Geo Pocket Color in person, let alone played this very rare game. Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure included primarily remixed levels from Sonic 2 with many reworked Sonic 3 & Knuckles musical tracks, although the game’s artwork used Sonic’s new character design from Sonic Adventure, released a year earlier on the Sega Dreamcast.

The gameplay was vastly improved overall previous handheld Sonic games, resulting in an excellent on-the-go title. Many gamers still consider Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure as an advanced Sonic 2 remix, but its distinction as a great game on a largely unknown system still deserves recognition.