Favorite Handheld Sonic Game?

[FireBird75]

Time for another Favs topic!

 

Hey Sonic Faithful, what's your favorite handheld title in the series?

 

The handheld scene has relatively treated the Sonic franchise very well from the Game Gear to the Modern era (with a couple of exceptions) *looks @ G Sonic and Sonic Genesis*.

But which one do you like the best?

 

Here's mine:

With great gameplay, speed (Boost2Win FTW!), decent to great level design, good graphics, a surprisingly fun and humorous story, a kickass soundtrack (Thanks JSR guy!), and the introduction to the best female character in the series (who also has IMO the best character arc in the series); this game cemented itself as my personal favorite handheld title in the Sonic series.

 

What say you all?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jix Hedgehog]

Sonic Rush, the sequel or Colours, they're equally as fun.

People will complain about the boost to win or whatever, but I enjoyed it. You could always slow down, do a bit of exploring then hit the boost and carry on with the stage.

 

Honorable mention to Sonic Pocket Adventure, also very enjoyable

[JezMM]

Hmm, probably Sonic Advance 2.  It's an unorthodox choice but the game holds sentimental value for me, flawed as it is.  Great soundtrack, was super thrilling at the time for a sensation of speed I'd never had on a handheld before, and because I had no idea it was even being made, just saw it in the shop one day - bonus points for me being like "WHAT, NEW CHARACTER!?" when I saw Cream on the front.

 

The Chaos Emerald system is totally bullshit though and I've never seen the true final boss, but I still just play through the regular game to the end on occasion.

 

 

 

Having said that, my actual desert island game would be Sonic 2 for Game Gear, since the Master System version was my first ever Sonic game and is still beloved.  I can tolerate the extra difficulty of the Game Gear version these days thanks to playing it enough to be able to overcome the unfair stuff with little trouble.  However that's just a dodgy port of a console game as far as my experience is concerned so I prefer to use a handheld exclusive for my main choice here.

 

 

Honourable mentions go to Sonic Advance for being just generally a good game (though still crappy Chaos Emerald system, those springs are too well hidden and the special stage perspective is awful), Sonic Colours for it's super fun special stages, and Sonic Rush Adventure for generally being the most rich handheld experience Sonic has ever offered.  Sonic Pocket Adventure is fun too, albeit a pain to get hold of and play (due to rarity and no backlit screen respectively).

[Sonictrainer]

 

Rushing through Blaze's world on land and sea was fun. Whether you're looking for the main islands to continue the Story, checking out other areas for Hidden Islands, challenging Johnny for Chaos Emeralds, playing Missions to get Sol Emeralds or decorate the Hub Island, Sonic Rush Adventure has a number of things to do.

[SuperBrandon]

Mine would have to be  Rush Adventure, for the story, missions, travelling, levels and the music. Oh and Marine , yes I'm in the minority that liked. Also a notable mention goes out to Sonic Advance, which is the true sequel to Sonic 3 and Knuckles not Sonic 4. It's a really fun game to play and I occassionally replay it from time to time.

[Milo]

I'd have to say the first Advance. Decent level design (which becomes amazing in comparison to Dimps's later work), nice music, mostly faithful Genesis physics and gameplay, and some neat new additions/twists (Amy as a playable character-though I'd say I'd prefer her Advance 2/3 moveset; the Knuckles robot as a boss, a level built in an entire freakin' rocket -no seriously, that's awesome-, etc.). It's the closest thing to a new Genesis Sonic game / Genesis Sonic (spiritual) successor this series has ever gotten. :/

 

Runner up would be Sonic Rush, which despite it's shortcomings is a fun game to play on it's own. The awesome JSR-esque soundtrack by Hideki Nagaruma also nets it some extra points.

[Chili Dawg]

I know Advance 2 and 3 kind of have a hatedom these days, but ehhhhhh,

 

 

I like this game, sue me.

 

I wish I was good at explaining why I like video games, but I'm not. Had mostly fun levels save for a few that can go fuck themselves, and I liked the team mechanic. And there were cool lil 2D hub world things and a pretty rad soundtrack.

[Salamander]

Rush Adventure was not just a good Sonic game, it was a huge improvement on Rush, with real innovation and imagination in its boss variety and level tropes.  The writing was better, the level design was better - say what you like about boost-to-win, but there were a lot fewer bottomless pits this time around, I remember - and with a little work the world map system could have felt like something really Sonic-y.  It's a crying shame that the Rush Adventure formula wasn't developed and refined even further; to me, Colours DS and Generations 3DS are huge steps back from SRA, and as such I can't say I've played a handheld Sonic game to match it (though I still think all the Rush and Advance games are good fun, even if getting the Chaos Emeralds in Advance 2 is stupidly hard).

[spinny]

 

I am pleased this game is getting the love it deserves for once. So pleased.

 

I absolutely adore Rush Adventure. Like FWFF said, it's not just "a good Sonic game", it's a MASSIVE improvement over the shitfest that most call the original Sonic Rush, mainly in the writing, level design and DEFINITELY the bosses area. This game has in my opinion the best set of bosses this franchise has ever faced, with real strategy and thought being put into them, but still requiring the typical reflexes a Sonic game has, Machine Labyrinth's absolutely flawless representation of a boss, the Ghost Pendulum, is a blatant example of this.

 

Plus, a soundtrack composed near entirely by Tomoya Ohtani that's universally loved, unlike Lost World's soundtrack.

 

I really cannot stop my love for this game and can't see any reason to. Easily the only Dimps game in my opinion that doesn't feel like a chore to go back to.

 

Oh, and I like Marine and still want to see her come back. Sue me.

[sploit]

Hard to pick really...

...gonna say Sonic Triple Trouble and Sonic Drift & Sonic Drift Racing/2.

Triple Trouble was amazing fun when I was a kid and when I played the 3DS re-release It reminded me of that time all over again. i remember my dad buying me it from CHiPS as a kid, was probably my first sorta rare/obscure title too.

Drift and Drift Racing were titles I always wanted when I was a kid, finally purchased cartridges of them when I was in uni, felt really great to finally get them. They are great little kart racers.

I would love it if they featured a Drift Racing character in Sonic and All Stars Racing actually. Like keeping to the original style kinda thing just as a homage/tribute.

[Kenny_Glover]

 Sonic Colors for me. Took the best of the Sonic Rush series, improved it and brought a welcome twist with the Wisps.

[JBrewer]

I can't decide out of Sonic Advance 3 or Sonic Rush. I think I would choose Advance for it's level design and characters but would go with Rush for it's music and sense of speed. Also, the boss battles were pretty badass too.

[Kidd Ryze]

I loved Sonic Advance. Each stage was fun and IMO, this was the best Advance game in the series. Sonic Advance 2 had too much speed, and Sonic Advance 3 had too much cheap deaths. This one had the perfect balance of everything, and really felt like a true Sonic 4, minus the super forms. Sonic Advance 2 and 3 we're great games, but not as good as the original.

 

[Sean]

Sonic 1 on the Game Gear. It's a charming game I can pick up and play almost any time, and it has a better soundtrack than the Genesis version.

[baba_944]

I loved "Sonic Triple Trouble" due to the amazing soundtrack and game play. A close second will be "Tails Aaventure", for the water portions and great game play, and, yes I'm the very minority, "Sonic Blast". Sure, "Sonic Blast" came out late in the "SEGA MASTER SYSTEM" and "SEGA GAME GEAR" lifespan, but with decent graphics, very challenging game play, "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" like special stages, and good music, it's a good game.

[MamboCat]

Sonic Chaos for the Game Gear. It was the first time Tails could fly around as he wished, which for lil me was a yaaaaaaaay! *arm flail* moment. Also at the time it seemed a little more difficult to me than the Mega Drive games, getting some of the Chaos Emeralds especially.

[Delta Starfire]

Sonic Rush Adventure, no question. It's a lot of fun, has loads of variety in it, and is really satisfying to finally beat. It's possibly my favourite handheld game of all time, not just handheld Sonic games. It's also possibly one of my favourite Sonic games too, actually. Certainly, it's my favourite of the last few years... although, I last played it in 2008, which is six years ago now... But since I got my XBOX 360 in 2009, I haven't played handhelds nearly as much. I should probably dust off my DS and have another go at it. 

[a bean]

I'd personally say Sonic Colours DS. It's a fun little package that I actually find enjoyable to play unlike its console counterpart. Following that would be Mario and Sonic Winter, then Sonic Rush Adventure slightly behind, then everything else way behind.