Summary
- Sonic games feature a variety of characters, including unique villains like the Deadly 6 in Lost World.
- Sonic Adventure and Adventure 2 boast a diverse cast of classic and new characters, ushering in the transition to 3D.
- Sonic Heroes and Sonic Forces showcase a team-based approach with a plethora of characters in innovative storylines.
Alongside the high-speed gameplay and exciting selection of stages, the Sonic the Hedgehog games have also become known for their vibrant cast of characters. However, while there are certainly plenty of lovable individuals who have won over the hearts of fans over the years, it's not always a guarantee that each of them will be able to make an appearance in a brand new mainline game.
The 26 Best Sonic Fan Games
While some companies don't enjoy fans making their own games out of a franchise, there are quite a few Sonic fan games out there.
There have been a few occasions where Sonic Team has decided to create a game with a story that's more self-contained, only focusing on a handful of key characters such as Sonic, Tails, and maybe two or three others. On the other hand, though, there have still been plenty of installments which allow fans to meet and interact with a plethora of fun and quirky characters, and it's these games that this list will be taking a closer look at today. Before jumping in, we will only be focusing on mainline Sonic games rather than the spin-offs, and will be analyzing the number of characters as a whole rather than only playable characters.
8 Sonic Lost World
Sonic Faces Off Against Not One New Villain, But Six
Sonic Lost World
- Released
- October 29, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team, Dimps
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, PC, 3DS
It's not unusual for a new mainline Sonic game to introduce a new villain, but for Sonic Lost World for the 3DS, Sonic Team took this idea to a whole new level. After crash landing on a mysterious planet, it's not long before Sonic runs into the Deadly 6, a group of dangerous aliens who are all vastly different in their personalities and fighting styles, yet all similarly pose a serious challenge to Sonic as he navigates through each of the worlds.
Many of the classic characters might be missing from Lost World, but the inclusion of the Deadly 6 ensures that there are still plenty of new characters to interact with, and because of how vibrant and intriguing they all are, it makes them a pretty memorable group overall. Lost World came out at a time when the developers were really focusing on creating smaller self-contained stories, but they at least tried to include a nice variety of characters in this specific title to freshen things up a little bit.
7 Sonic Adventure
Seeing The Cast Brought To Life In 3D Was A Real Treat For Longtime Fans
Sonic Adventure
- Released
- December 23, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
As many Sonic fans will be well aware, the Blue Blur's transition over to 3D wasn't exactly an easy one. However, the developers did at least get off to a decent start with the much-loved Sonic Adventure, which not only features a much more ambitious story than what the series was known for, but also a nice collection of classic characters for players to control and talk with over the course of their journey. Side characters like Tails, Amy, and even Big the Cat all make an appearance here, with many of them being playable at certain points of the game.
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There are also some very unique new characters who have been thrown into the mix, such as the absurdly powerful Chaos, who has become a recurring villain since it first debuted in Adventure. Considering this was the first mainline Sonic game that really took the dive into the 3D realm, it's understandable why Sonic Team couldn't pack in as many characters as possible, since this would take too much development time, but the game still stands out for having a delightful mixture of series icons to partake in the adventure.
6 Shadow The Hedgehog
Shadow's Mission To Reclaim His Memories Leads Him To Several Iconic Characters
Shadow the Hedgehog
- Released
- December 15, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Sega
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action-Adventure, Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- GameCube, PS2, Xbox (Original)
Once Sega took notice of how immensely popular Shadow had become after his introduction in Sonic Adventure 2, they decided it was best to make a standalone title dedicated to exploring his character in a little more depth. Whilst this game revolves around Shadow and his attempt to restore his memories while fending off an army of aliens, in each of the game's six main missions, he will also have the opportunity to team up with a character from the series.
This can actually result in some pretty bizarre team-ups, such as Shadow begrudgingly allying with Charmy the Bee or even asking for help from none other than Sonic himself. The game also marked the debut of a few other notable characters in the franchise who are directly related to Shadow, primarily GUN commander Tower and Black Doom, the latter of which reappears in the Sonic X Shadow Generations remaster.
5 Sonic Adventure 2
Adventure 2 Marked The Introduction Of Several Important Members Of The Cast
Sonic Adventure 2
- Released
- June 19, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team USA
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One
While it was clear that Sonic Team wanted to try something different when creating the story for the first Adventure game, to say they went all out with the plot of Adventure 2 would be an understatement. With such an ambitious and grandiose story came a gigantic cast of characters that players will run into and control at certain sections of the game, and there's a really nice mixture here of classic characters and newcomers to keep things exciting.
In the game, which contains plenty of cutscenes, a lot more than the average Sonic game, it's nice to be able to see so many characters with unique personalities bouncing off one another to keep the story unpredictable. Adventure 2 would also be the game that introduced characters who have now become synonymous with the series, including Rouge the Bat, and of course, Shadow the Hedgehog.
4 Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)
A Divisive Title, But One Which Still Contains A Very Memorable Cast
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
- Released
- November 14, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Platformer
Though Sonic 06 has garnered a pretty shaky reception among the fan base, one area of the game that can't be criticized is the cast. There was clearly a real attempt here to flesh out the number of characters that could be included within a Sonic story, so while the gameplay may have been a bit disappointing, it was still always a lot of fun watching the cutscenes to see what this gigantic roster could get up to when on screen together.
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Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow all make an appearance here, but there's also the brand new hedgehog newcomer named Silver, and even Blaze the Cat, who returned from Sonic Rush. There are also a few humans who play key roles in the story, too, primarily princess Elise, who comes to spend a lot of time with Sonic over the course of the game's lengthy story.
3 Sonic Heroes
Heroes Features A Plethora Of Characters To Choose From, Who Are All Organized Into Teams
Sonic Heroes
- Released
- December 30, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Sega
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Racing, Fighting, Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- GameCube, PC, PS2, Xbox (Original)
Sonic Heroes is quite a bit different from what many fans were used to. Rather than just controlling one character, players instead are able to freely switch between three at a time, with the story being split up between four teams who all have similar abilities, but slightly different playstyles. For example, while Team Dark, which is made up of Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, is often seen as the hardest campaign of the bunch, Team Chaotix's missions include small extra minigames that must be completed throughout each stage.
The team-based nature of the game means that there's inevitably going to be plenty of characters featured in the game, and it's a real treat to meet them and share dialogue throughout the story. There are even points where two teams will bump into each other, resulting in a chaotic all-out brawl. While many fans love Sonic Heroes because of its innovative gameplay mechanics, what also helps it stand out is the staggering number of characters that the developers chose to include as part of the numerous teams.
2 Sonic Forces
With Sonic Captured, It's Up To The Other Characters To Step Up And Save The Day
Sonic Forces
- Released
- November 7, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Shooter, Fighting, Adventure
Sonic Forces takes a pretty big risk by keeping the blue hedgehog out of the spotlight for a good portion of the story. After Sonic is captured in the first hour of the game, his allies band together to create a resistance army that can fend off Eggman's swarms of robots that are taking over the planet. However, it's not just Eggman who shows up to ruin the day, as the majority of Sonic's villains also partake in the chaos, including Shadow, Metal Sonic, and even a brand new antagonist by the name of Infinite.
Considering the game is presented as a gigantic conflict between the animals and robots, it only makes sense that the developers decided to bulk up the cast as much as possible. This helps to make the overall plot feel a lot more intense and high stakes, as it truly feels like everyone is giving their all to not only save Sonic but also protect the world from being annihilated.
1 Sonic X Shadow Generations
Bringing Together Multiple Generations' Worth Of Characters In One Celebratory Package
Sonic X Shadow Generations
- Released
- October 25, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The original Sonic Generations, released in 2011, felt like one big celebration of the franchise. As a result, while players are able to sprint their way through many familiar stages, they'll also be running into some nostalgic faces along the way too, ranging from well-known individuals like Knuckles, Tails and Amy, all the way to some slightly more obscure members of the cast such as Espio and Cream.
Needless to say, the game was already rich with characters, but the cast only grew with the Sonic X Shadows Generations remaster, which dropped in 2024. Not only does Shadow become a playable character in this extra story, but a plethora of other characters partake in the fun too, including Black Doom, Mephiles, and even Maria and Dr Robotnik, who are very important to Shadow's personal journey. This isn't even mentioning the abundance of character cameos that show up in the background of the stages. To put it simply, Sonic X Shadows Generations is the best way to interact with the franchise's lovable cast of characters.
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