by Chris Selogy
4. Sonic Mania – Multiplatform
“All these years, Sega had been hamfisting Sonic into weird werehog scenarios and other bizarre gimmicks, when all they really had to do was go back to the solid 2D gameplay and level design that never failed them in the first place. Sonic Mania is simultaneously the Sonic 4 we should have gotten on the Sega Saturn (rather than seeing Sega go to war with itself over the fate of Sonic X-Treme), a gift of many elements that were lost to the ether for decades (such as Mirage Saloon Zone, once discarded on the cutting room floor in 1992 as Sonic 2’s Dust Hill Zone), and proof positive that things can get better for the Sonic IP as soon as Sega wholeheartedly embraces what works and leaves it in the hands of the capable caretakers it has found here.” Patrick Mifflin, Senior Editor