This is a classic case of trying to please two different audiences and ending up pleasing absolutely no one. I'm always shocked when I remember what SEGA did with this game. Sonic 4 was supposed to be a mobile exclusive, something made for bored kids to play on the school bus... how the fuck did SEGA think it was a good idea to release this on console? Why bring a game made for one specific audience to a completely different one? Any company barely in touch with its fans could see miles away that this was not a good idea.

It's not completely unplayable; it's just a bad joke. They were actually aiming to bring the feel of Sonic Unleashed day stages to the iconic 2D Sonic style... we can tell how well this plan went. This game was already dated when it was released; everything about this game is cheap, from the amateur, horrible graphics to the soundtrack filled with 14-year-old me using FL Studio 12 type beats and stupid level design that ruined any chances of the few interesting stages being fun.

Imagine the audacity to call this game a sequel to the best Sonic game ever made. If it were just a spin-off mobile Sonic game like it was supposed to be, I would understand way more how poorly made this game is, but what SEGA did was too much. I dread the fateful day I play the second episode of this garbage.