Summary
Sega’s iconic blue hedgehog was a hit almost as soon as he arrived, from the pre-release hype to the post-release boom that saw rival companies create their own animal mascots. If they weren’t full of attitude, likeBubsyorAwesome Possum, they blitzed across the screen at high speed, likeZoolandKid Chaos. Yet they rarely directly adapted Sonic’s gameplay.
Crash Bandicootwas about smashing boxes.Rocket Knight Adventureswas part beat ‘em up, part jetpack blasting.Spyro the Dragonflew in open levels. If anything, it’s only been in the past decade or so that players have tried replicating either classic Sonic’s momentum-based platforming, or his high-speed 3D bounding, and these stand out as the best of the bunch.
Ristaris low because it’s actually another Sega property, and its stretchy-armed platforming doesn’t exactly evoke Sonic’s high-speed spins. Yet things could’ve been very different. Before Sega settled on using a fast hedgehog, they almost used a rabbit as a mascot who’d use his stretchy arms to get around.Ristarjust shows that someone at Sega still thought the idea had legs (or arms) and put it into practice for a new IP.
Even with this new focus, Ristar still relies on physics and momentum, as the Starman often needs to swing fast on posts, branches and bars to reach higher platforms, treasure chests, and other bonuses. Alas, the game came out in 1995, right when the 2D mascot platformer boom was on the wane. Though ironically, he’d go on to inspire Sonic himself, asthe Werehog inSonic Unleashedused similar stretchy arms to get about.
7Kaze and the Wild Masks
When the SNES/Genesis Era Gets Blended into One Game
Being low on this list doesn’t mean it’s bad or less good. It’s more a gauge to show howSonic-esque they are, and there’s enough of the Blue Blur inKaze and the Wild Masksfor players to notice, like her spin attack and hovering a la Tails. But Kaze the Rabbit’s quest to save her friend and home from a curse had other classic platformers in mind as well.
For example, the Wild Masks act like the power-up forms inWonder Boy 3: The Dragon’s Trap, where players can use their different abilities to get around obstacles, like swimming with the Shark Mask or flying with the Eagle Mask. While some of the spring bouncing sections owe as much toDonkey Kong Countryas they doSonic. So, for fans of classic 16-bit platformers in general,Kazehas something for everyone.
6Panic Porcupine
An Anxious Animal with a Right to Worry
If players fancy something moreSonic-esque overRistar’s spin-off vision, Spicy Gyro Games followed the Blue Blur closely for their game,Panic Porcupine. It’s part-homage, part-parody as the titular porcupine rolls through loops, spins up ramps, and jumps over hundreds of buzzsaws and other hazards to stop Dr. Proventriculus from nabbing all the chickabirbs.
The difference is thatPanicalso hassomeSuper Meat Boyin its DNA. There are a ton of levels filled with spikes, saws and other dangers that require very precise movements to get around. But luckily, Panic hasMeat Boy’s infinite lives, andSonic’s ability to reach blistering speeds, letting players either blow past the buzzsaws as soon as they arrive, or die multiple times trying until they figure out the level’s trick.
Panic Porcupineis Spicy Gyro Games’ latestSonic-esque game, but it wasn’t their first. Back in 2019, they worked with Shiny Dolphin Games LLC to makePolyroll. This time, the titular pillbug has to save his friends from the nefarious Kaizer Kiwi in an experience that’s more traditionallySonic-like. In that it doesn’t demand as much precision asPanic.
Instead, Polyroll must spin, bounce, and ricochet off platforms, springs, and other objects to progress further through the level, or boost up enough to smash bosses and other enemies. Though it does mix things up by having a map screen a laSuper Mario Bros 3, letting players pick which levels to do in what order they like before tackling the world’s boss.
4Crumble
Sonic Speed, Spider-Man Swinging, Slimy Movement
It’s not just the 2D games that developers try to emulate. Brute Force madeCrumblein 3D, where its ball of slime has to roll, bounce, and swing through levels fast, or it’ll fall into one of its many hazards. Some levels are stable enough, like grasslands, valleys and caves. Others will live up to the game’s name and crumble as soon as the slime touches them.
So, players have to keep up the pace to press on, and they have plenty of ways to keep up their momentum. Players can see touches of theAdventuregames through the slime’s bouncing and dash-based air jumps, but its ability to swing on bars with its tongue is akin tothe Doom Morph inSonic X Shadow Generations. Only it predates Shadow’s gloopy power-up by 4 years, and is more intuitive to use.
3Spark the Electric Jester
No More Joking Around
After having made a series ofSonicfan games, Felipe ‘LakeFeperd’ Daneluz used his know-how to make an original game inSpark the Electric Jester. Fearing the increasing presence of robots in his society, he gets his chance for vindication when a robot uprising threatens to take over the world. But he’ll have to do more than smash machines andgo into ‘Edgy’ modeto face his prejudices and save the day.
The game’sSonictouches are familiar enough, from racing up ramps and loops to boarding around obstacles a laSonic 3orSonic Adventure 2. But Spark also has a health bar and the ability to fire charge shots and wall jump, adding someMega Man Xtouches beyond the moody robot plot. It even had melee combat inspired by hack & slash games likeBayonetta, though it would be more refined in its sequels.
2Spark the Electric Jester 2 & 3
Juggling Multiple 3D Gameplay Styles
Usually, sequels are too similar to their parent games to warrant separate enemies, butSpark’s sequels made the leap to the third dimension and switched its gameplay up a lot.Spark 2follows his robo-clone Fark as he tries to save his benefactor from the evil Freom. WhileSpark 3brings Spark himself back to save the world from a rogue AI called Clarity and discover why Fark and his forces shut down the internet.
Both games play more like theAdventuregames, mixingAdventure 1’s bits of exploration withAdventure 2’s more A-to-B racing style. OnlySpark 2brought in more combat, withSmash Bros-like shields andMetal Gear Rising-esque parries and boss fights. WhileSpark 3refined the formula with speedrun and score attack challenges, vehicle sections, and more varied level designs (spot the references toSonic HeroesandShadow the Hedgehog).
People have been makingSonic-like games for decades, but it’s only been in the past 10 years or so thatSonic-likes have been growing as a subgenre of their own, and the textbook example of aSonic-like has been theFreedom Planetgames. Sabrina DiDuro originally began the project as aSonicfan game, but then reworked it with artist Ziyo Ling’s character designs into an original property with a style of its own.
Its hedgehog-based origins are noticeable, as Lilac, Carol, and Milla are all about racing through levels and looping the loops. But their abilities, like Lilac’s multi-directional dash jump, are all their own. It has more of a story focus,for both better and worse, but there’s still plenty of running, spinning, and jumping to make anySonicfan feel at home, if they haven’t played it already.
