Even though I'm a HUGE Sonic the Hedgehog fan, my opinions of certain games in the series change all the time. For example, Sonic Generations. Back when this game came out in late 2011, I was in the middle with it when it came to my overall opinion. But, after playing it again after two years, my opinion on the game has changed drastically. I couldn't believe how much this game harps on the nostalgia of previous titles. But, on top of that, I couldn't believe how well they did it.

But, before I get into the game, I'll start by briefly talking about the story. Right off the bat, we see the younger Blue Blur, Classic Sonic, being dropped in an HD recreation of Green Hill Zone. After playing through this love letter to the fandom, Classic hears a loud, unsettling noise coming from the distance. He simply shrugs at the sound a few seconds later and continues running. But, that doesn't last for long when this ungodly monstrosity called the Time Eater enters the Green Hill Zone and sends Classic into a timeless void.

Upon this, we're immediately transitioned to the present day, where Miles "Tails" Prower and (most of) Sonic's friends are planning a surprise party for the Blue Blur's birthday. For those that don't know, this game was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. That's why this element is introduced into this game's plot. We then see the older version of the Blue Blur, Modern Sonic, enter the area and be surprised by his friends. As the party commences, the same monster from before enters Modern's time and begins kidnapping his friends. Sonic attempts to homing attack the Time Eater, but the monster simply smacks him unconscious, sending Modern into the same void that he sent Classic. From that point on, both Sonic's must race through their memories to restore the past and find out who exactly is behind the Time Eater.

Alright, now that the story is out of the way, time for the game itself. The game has a total of nine zones for our two heroes to run in. Each zone contains two acts within each of them. Act one will always be played with Classic Sonic while Act two will always be played with Modern Sonic. The acts are designed to cater to each Sonic's specific abilities. For example, Classic's stages are more centered around platforming and spin dashing your way through the level in a full 2D environment. Modern's stages are like this, too, but his stages are much faster and he doesn't have the spin dash. However, that is replaced by the boost gauge, which Sonic has had since Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, though it was taken away in the most recent title, Sonic Lost World.

Now, let's talk about the zones themselves. Each zone is a recreation is a recreation of a certain level from a past game. For example, we have Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, like I mentioned earlier. We also have recreations of zones like Chemical Plant from Sonic 2 and Sky Sanctuary from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Each stage is remade beautifully in full HD graphics and each stage has a remix of their respective themes. I love the remix of Green Hill Zone for Modern Sonic, and I especially get a kick out of Classic Sonic's City Escape remix.

There's also a power-up shop that you can go to where you can purchase things like the elemental shields from Sonic 3, boosts, and other things around those lines. You can purchase these items after you earn them by doing specific missions. Problem was, I could get through almost every stage without power-ups. Because of this, whenever I earned the special items through missions, I often forgot I earned these items to begin with. So, these power-ups are mostly just pieces of optional nostalgia.

Another thing that bothers me is the final boss. The actual fight itself isn't that bad, and it's one that I think most players can enjoy without much of a problem. The issue is the background noise. If you've already played this game, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. While the two Sonic's are finishing off the time eater, everyone that you've rescued is talking to them on the other end, pointing out the painfully obvious homing shots and telling you what you must do. It gets annoying REALLY quickly, and whenever I replay this boss, I just turn down my TV just so I don't have to hear it.

But, honestly, those two are nitpicks. The overall game itself is one of the best 3D/2D Sonic the Hedgehog games I've played in a long while. Like I said before, this game harps on nostalgia tremendously. But, I think the game is one of the best among titles that follow a similar concept, such as New Super Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong Country Returns. If you're a Sonic fan and if you haven't played this game yet, please, do whatever you can to get it. It may be the end of the generation, but this game will hold up for a long time.

(But, don't get the 3DS version. That version is terrible )

Overall Game Grade: A

Next Review: Shadow the Hedgehog