10 Best Playable Sonic Characters, Ranked

[sonicclaasic]

https://www.cbr.com/best-playable-sonic-characters/#ray-the-flying-squirrel

Quote

The Sonic The Hedgehog franchise has one of the biggest supporting casts of any video game series. The games are full of heroes and villains, and more seem to be added with each installment. While most of these characters are playable in the various spinoff games, a great many of them are playable in mainline Sonic games.

With the upcoming Sonic Superstars allowing up to four players to play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy at the same time, many fans are reminiscing about their favorite playable Sonic characters. Whether they’re in a 2D or 3D game, each character brings new twists to the Sonic formula. There are many great playable Sonic characters, but some stand apart.

CBR giving there 10 Best Playable Sonic Characters I think the list Is not bad actually I think everyone all knows whats number 1 going to be. Do you have a favourite list of your own favourite Sonic characters to play?

[Dr. Mechano]

They were very correct to include Eggman. His SA2 mech stages were a blast, and I'd happily play an entire game full of them.

[SonicMarioFan8591]

CBR W giving Sonic the top spot

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I guess the “Sonic Shitty Friends” meme is on the verge of dying off for good.

No way in hell would this have been a thing 10 years ago. Seriously, Shadow at #8? This list in general would’ve been laughed at for being a thing.

[Iko]

This is kinda pointless because it depends on specific games and different implementations of the characters, but it's still kinda interesting.

I'll give it a shot and list my favorites.

10: E102 Gamma

There's something oddly satisfying in the way how he transforms into a kart after a certain speed, or how he does float over water, and all the other movements in general. Even though I'm not a fan of alternate gameplay and specifically shooting in Sonic, Gamma's level were some of the most fun parts of Adventure, and IMO better than Eggman and Tails' shooting levels in Adventure 2; Unrelated, but I don't dislike Big's fishing.

9: Shadow

He plays like Sonic, usually he's a Sonic reskin in fact. Though, he's low in the chart because he's supposed to be a Sonic clone, and this makes him unable to innovate the gameplay too much. You can put some chaos abilities in the gameplay, but still, he will mostly be just Sonic. Though he can be very cool if well animated (see Sonic Battle for example).

8: Knuckles

Knuckles is a cool character on paper, but I never liked his moveset too much. Some games make his jump lower, and in the classics (and Advances) his glide animation has horrible endlag and cancels momentum, breaking the flow of the game; climbing and digging are also slow and boring. There are some instances of fun Knuckles gameplay ideas though, and I believe that a good Knuckles can exist. In the Advance games he can do some interesting tricks: punch combos (especially the jumping uppercut in Advance 1), being able to roll after a glide (only possible after a forward trick in Advance 2), and spindash on walls while climbing (Advance 3, character combination). Knuckles needs to be reworked, but the potential is there.

7: Tails (modern)

Tails' gameplay in modern games is usually more flashed out compared to his classic counterpars: he often has some additional moves that allow him to cut enemies and objects using his tails like blades. In Sonic Adventure you can spin like a top while cutting everything around, and in the Advance games that long range attack is situational but can make some bosses easier to defeat. Position 7 because in Sonic Adventure he's game breaking, and in the Advance games, like in the classics, he can't cancel the flight and has to slowly land instead... if you accidentally activate the flight, it's usually just annoying. Still, I believe that Tails has a lot of potential for an innovative moveset (especially 2D), though he needs to abandon his classic moveset completely and be redesigned from scratch (moveset-wise). Honorable mention to Tails' Skypatrol and its interesting gameplay (even though it's classic).

6: Blaze (Rush)

Blaze in her Rush gameplay is a lot of fun... the point is, Rush gameplay. Rush is good, a flashy reaction-based platformer that focuses on the boost... but in fact, the physics of the game are more limited, and the focus on boost makes the gameplay less deep than it should. Additionally, Blaze's abilities are cool but do not have much gameplay potential other than, indeed, boost and burn things (something that the flame shield does already BTW). I love Blaze as a character, and I like her gameplay too, but that gameplay is too much basic for my tastes. Rush is a lot of fun, but far from my favorite game.

5: Silver (concept)

I never played Sonic 06, and I don't know how bad his gameplay was in the game. Though, I think that the psychokinesis is a cool power from a gameplay prespective, and if implemented in the right way it can be a lot of fun. I like to theorize about movesets, and time ago I though of a simple, one button moveset for Silver... if you played Triple Trouble 16 bit (the fangame), think of Metal Sonic: he can release an energy aura and glide by preserving some of the momentum. Think about the same thing, but as Silver collides with any destroyable object (badnik, monitor, others), he absorbs them into an orbit (think of Metropolis' boss in Sonic 2) and can use them as a shield or as bullets, by double-jumping again to shoot them back. This is just an idea there's much more that you can do with psychokinesis, especially in a modern game where you are not limited with one single button.

4: Ray (Mania)

As simple as he is, as Cape Mario rip-off as it is, it works well and it's a lot of fun. Maybe a bit game breaking (kinda like Tails in Adventure), as he lets you bypass a lot of level design and obstacles, but still, it's a very nice character gameplay-wise.

3: Cream (Sonic Advance 2)

Precisely the Sonic Advance 2 version of her gameplay. Yes, she can destroy the bosses with one button, and that's completely broken, it should be rebalanced, I agree... but still, she's an excellent character. Visually, her animations are very expressive to the point that they rival Mario Wonder's. Gameplay-wise, she's an improved version of Tails. She can cancel the flight and drop onto enemies, then bounce off from them back to the original height from where she dropped (this has been removed in Advance 3); canceling flight allows you to break the jump lock and have a lot more air control than any other character in the game, and once you know how to control this technique, it makes a huge difference. Something that very few people know is that she also has an insta-shield that works almost exactly like Amy's hammer jump in Origins and Superstars (increase the range of attack), by pressing attack + down during a jump. Cheese can provide some room for creative ideas too... time ago I made a concept where he could copy powers from the animals freed from badniks, and those powers would improve some of Cream's already existing abilities in a similar way as how Crusader of Centy works with its own animals system (if you know the game, you know what I mean).

2: Sonic (any version, when done right)

I don't think I have to explain anything here.

1: Amy (Sonic Advance 1)

Yeah it's too hard, you have to slow down else you will lose rings each 2 seconds, and she can't spindash so you have to exploit the terrain each time there's a slope or a loop in order to gain enough speed to get through it. Maybe it's too hard, does not suit the accessibility standards of the series... maybe... but I personally enjoy this gameplay a lot. Being able to flip jump higher than a regular jump by timing the hammer and down buttons right, and the ability to increase the strenght of the springs make the game feel different in a good and interesting way, and the handicaps make you think more and use the physics engine to its full potential. An hard mode for experts, not for everyone, but it's good, satisfying and fun. In the right hands, it can even become stronger than Sonic and the others (except maybe during the final boss). When I replay Advance 1, it's usually as Amy.

[sonicclaasic]

9 hours ago, Iko said:

This is kinda pointless because it depends on specific games and different implementations of the characters, but it's still kinda interesting.

I'll give it a shot and list my favorites.

10: E102 Gamma

There's something oddly satisfying in the way how he transforms into a kart after a certain speed, or how he does float over water, and all the other movements in general. Even though I'm not a fan of alternate gameplay and specifically shooting in Sonic, Gamma's level were some of the most fun parts of Adventure, and IMO better than Eggman and Tails' shooting levels in Adventure 2; Unrelated, but I don't dislike Big's fishing.

9: Shadow

He plays like Sonic, usually he's a Sonic reskin in fact. Though, he's low in the chart because he's supposed to be a Sonic clone, and this makes him unable to innovate the gameplay too much. You can put some chaos abilities in the gameplay, but still, he will mostly be just Sonic. Though he can be very cool if well animated (see Sonic Battle for example).

8: Knuckles

Knuckles is a cool character on paper, but I never liked his moveset too much. Some games make his jump lower, and in the classics (and Advances) his glide animation has horrible endlag and cancels momentum, breaking the flow of the game; climbing and digging are also slow and boring. There are some instances of fun Knuckles gameplay ideas though, and I believe that a good Knuckles can exist. In the Advance games he can do some interesting tricks: punch combos (especially the jumping uppercut in Advance 1), being able to roll after a glide (only possible after a forward trick in Advance 2), and spindash on walls while climbing (Advance 3, character combination). Knuckles needs to be reworked, but the potential is there.

7: Tails (modern)

Tails' gameplay in modern games is usually more flashed out compared to his classic counterpars: he often has some additional moves that allow him to cut enemies and objects using his tails like blades. In Sonic Adventure you can spin like a top while cutting everything around, and in the Advance games that long range attack is situational but can make some bosses easier to defeat. Position 7 because in Sonic Adventure he's game breaking, and in the Advance games, like in the classics, he can't cancel the flight and has to slowly land instead... if you accidentally activate the flight, it's usually just annoying. Still, I believe that Tails has a lot of potential for an innovative moveset (especially 2D), though he needs to abandon his classic moveset completely and be redesigned from scratch (moveset-wise). Honorable mention to Tails' Skypatrol and its interesting gameplay (even though it's classic).

6: Blaze (Rush)

Blaze in her Rush gameplay is a lot of fun... the point is, Rush gameplay. Rush is good, a flashy reaction-based platformer that focuses on the boost... but in fact, the physics of the game are more limited, and the focus on boost makes the gameplay less deep than it should. Additionally, Blaze's abilities are cool but do not have much gameplay potential other than, indeed, boost and burn things (something that the flame shield does already BTW). I love Blaze as a character, and I like her gameplay too, but that gameplay is too much basic for my tastes. Rush is a lot of fun, but far from my favorite game.

5: Silver (concept)

I never played Sonic 06, and I don't know how bad his gameplay was in the game. Though, I think that the psychokinesis is a cool power from a gameplay prespective, and if implemented in the right way it can be a lot of fun. I like to theorize about movesets, and time ago I though of a simple, one button moveset for Silver... if you played Triple Trouble 16 bit (the fangame), think of Metal Sonic: he can release an energy aura and glide by preserving some of the momentum. Think about the same thing, but as Silver collides with any destroyable object (badnik, monitor, others), he absorbs them into an orbit (think of Metropolis' boss in Sonic 2) and can use them as a shield or as bullets, by double-jumping again to shoot them back. This is just an idea there's much more that you can do with psychokinesis, especially in a modern game where you are not limited with one single button.

4: Ray (Mania)

As simple as he is, as Cape Mario rip-off as it is, it works well and it's a lot of fun. Maybe a bit game breaking (kinda like Tails in Adventure), as he lets you bypass a lot of level design and obstacles, but still, it's a very nice character gameplay-wise.

3: Cream (Sonic Advance 2)

Precisely the Sonic Advance 2 version of her gameplay. Yes, she can destroy the bosses with one button, and that's completely broken, it should be rebalanced, I agree... but still, she's an excellent character. Visually, her animations are very expressive to the point that they rival Mario Wonder's. Gameplay-wise, she's an improved version of Tails. She can cancel the flight and drop onto enemies, then bounce off from them back to the original height from where she dropped (this has been removed in Advance 3); canceling flight allows you to break the jump lock and have a lot more air control than any other character in the game, and once you know how to control this technique, it makes a huge difference. Something that very few people know is that she also has an insta-shield that works almost exactly like Amy's hammer jump in Origins and Superstars (increase the range of attack), by pressing attack + down during a jump. Cheese can provide some room for creative ideas too... time ago I made a concept where he could copy powers from the animals freed from badniks, and those powers would improve some of Cream's already existing abilities in a similar way as how Crusader of Centy works with its own animals system (if you know the game, you know what I mean).

2: Sonic (any version, when done right)

I don't think I have to explain anything here.

1: Amy (Sonic Advance 1)

Yeah it's too hard, you have to slow down else you will lose rings each 2 seconds, and she can't spindash so you have to exploit the terrain each time there's a slope or a loop in order to gain enough speed to get through it. Maybe it's too hard, does not suit the accessibility standards of the series... maybe... but I personally enjoy this gameplay a lot. Being able to flip jump higher than a regular jump by timing the hammer and down buttons right, and the ability to increase the strenght of the springs make the game feel different in a good and interesting way, and the handicaps make you think more and use the physics engine to its full potential. An hard mode for experts, not for everyone, but it's good, satisfying and fun. In the right hands, it can even become stronger than Sonic and the others (except maybe during the final boss). When I replay Advance 1, it's usually as Amy.

That's a great list of your favourites and In great details too thanks for sharing your list

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

11 hours ago, Iko said:

5: Silver (concept)

I never played Sonic 06, and I don't know how bad his gameplay was in the game.

Silver wasn’t bad so much as he was slow in 06, which is basically a sin in Sonic games.

But his gameplay was such that he makes Cream the Rabbit in the Advance series look like a joke.

Cream the Rabbit can sicc Cheese at the enemy to hurt them; Silver can lift and throw the fucking enemy to hurt them. Several of them. At once.

That’s when fully upgraded.

And that’s on top of the fact that those same enemies (with the exception of a select few) can’t even shoot at him because he’ll just throw the missiles or bullets right back at them.

He’s basically the Sonic equivalent of a nerfed Mewtwo, to put things into perspective. There’s a reason why the boss fight against him as Sonic is one of the worst fights in the game, because if Silver corners you and catches you in his telekinesis, you can’t do shit to him except wait until he game overs you.