Peeling back the enhancements here reveals this is still Sonic 1. This game is a lot more platforming-focused than subsequent titles which does make a lot of sense, but unfortunately that also means it loses some Sonic appeal for folks who are already fans of the series. Not bad by any means, but not always my cup of tea, either. Still, the spindash and widescreen alone make this a preferred way to play the game. Though, right now the best version is the multiplatform decompilation by RubberDuckyCooly, since Sega have replaced the Google Play Store version of this game with a free one with ads and bugs that didn't originally exist, Origins being potentially worse in terms of bugs (haven't played it yet).

Not a very good port, unfortunately. This Steam version in particular has been through the ringer, since it's a port from the Gamecube to Windows (2004) to XBLA back to Windows. Every one of those ports loses something in the conversion, unfortnuately. I give it this high of a score because it's still Sonic Adventure under all that crap, and still incredibly fun. Personally I find the jank distracting so I played with the SADX Mod Installer's Dreamcast preset (at https://sadxmodinstaller.unreliable.network), which offers a better experience than the dreamcast original. Props to this Steam version for making that possible, though I'm sure people would still be modding the 2004 Windows release anyway regardless.

Irrespective of the port job (it's more competent than any version of SADX, which is good enough for me, though I did play with some Dreamcast-restoration mods), Adventure 2 unfortunately doesn't quite hold up in my book in comparison to its predecessor. I actually do prefer the story here, I think it gets tone right which is a rarity among official Sonic games. However it sort of falls flat in the actual game, with no shortage of small technical quibbles and the main issue being two gameplay styles flying in the face of Sonic appeal on top of being unfun to play (contrasting with the Werehog who I find is fun despite being distinctly non-Sonic). I recommend this only to established fans, since it is an important game even if it's not for me.

Sonic Heroes wants to be a modern take on the classic formula, but it gets bogged down by being obviously rushed. This shows mostly in the level design, which can end up getting repetitive and mechanical first and foremost over all else. These levels, more than most others in the series, simply feel like backdrops to "gameplay", if that makes sense.

Ultimately how you feel on this game will probably come down to if you find this gameplay loop engaging (which I do), and whether you're willing to tolerate some jank (which I am). Unfortunately, this only really applies to the experience of just one team. The game makes you replay it essentially three times, plus a fourth mission-based playthrough, a decision I'm really not okay with. I think this game desperately needed to trim the fat and feature only one or two teams, leaving the others to a multiplayer mode or something. A single-team experience is already repetitive, but you play the same levels in the same order four times. Needless to say, fully completing this game needs to be a slow-burn process or else you're going to burn yourself out and want to put the game down.

(I recommend the GameCube version for the best experience - bad performance on PS2, and Windows takes a while to get set up with proper mods. Xbox is fine if that's your only option)

I don't really understand why the average review score on this one is a 1.7?? Sure, this has the most baffling choices in it out of any of the Adventure-formula titles, but it also has some of the best music, and the level design is quite fun to traverse. The alternate gameplay styles are also much closer to the appeal of Sonic than the alternate gameplay in Adventure 2 especially, really the biggest fault here is the movement speed on non-Sonic characters. Yes, the story is completely baffling, at least in Sonic's campaign, but this is also home to some of the best Shadow characterization in the series (and he really did need it after that solo game lol). Overall it's possible to really have a lot of fun with this in bursts, you just need to keep an open mind with it. In that sense it's not too different to other Sonic titles, honestly.

I don't remember my time with this all that well, and I do really need to give it another shot. However, I can say the passion here really shines through to the final product. Unfortunately I can't really give this one a perfect score because the level design is a smidge too expansive and long for my tastes. For someone who only gets into the classic series in short bursts, putting that gameplay into Heroes-length marathon stages makes it hard to get through this one. I imagine most fans of the series (especially the Mega Drive titles) will have a lot of fun here, but it tends to fall a bit to the side of how I like my Sonic.