Sonic The Hedgehog (2006 Video Game) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Sonic the Hedgehog received negative reviews, with aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic assigning the Xbox 360 version a 48.74% and 46/100, and the PS3 version a 46.14% and 43/100. Reviewers heavily panned the game's camera system, extensive loading times, poor controls, and several gameplay glitches; Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot labeled Sonic the Hedgehog as "a mess from top to bottom." Juan Castro of IGN said that the game "offers a few good ideas, and a handful of exciting moments, but none of this helps the game recover from a catastrophic loss in control," while GameTrailers concluded that the game was "flat-out unfinished, unfairly difficult, and most importantly, just isn't much fun." GameTrailers also ranked the game #9 in their countdown of the "Top Ten Most Disappointing Games of the Decade." In 2009, GamesTM ranked it #1 on their top ten "Video Game Franchises That Lost Their Way," commenting that "The blue hedgehog's next-gen efforts have been nothing short of appalling, none more so than his 2006 appearance."

Dave Halverson of Play Magazine initially gave Sonic the Hedgehog a 9.5/10 score for the Xbox 360 version. In the following issue, however, Halverson reassessed it as 8.5/10 and explained how he was incorrectly told that the load times and glitches in his review copy would not be in the final version of the game. In a later review for the PS3, Halverson was frustrated with the glitches and load times not being improved upon, as well as how the game ran marginally worse despite the extra development time; Halverson gave the PS3 version a 5.5/10. Bobbi Dempsey of Common Sense Media gave it one out of five stars, also criticizing the game's "atrocious" design problems and the "quirky" control system, asserting that it's "not even a renter."

In a February 2007 interview for Kikizo magazine, Sonic Team producer Yojiro Ogawa was asked to comment on the game's glitches, control problems and loading times:

The game's plot was also less than well-received. GamesRadar called the story "ridiculously overwrought" and "conceptually challenged," while GameTrailers commented about the plot elements to be "pretty ridiculous stuff" and that "You might actually be better off reading Internet fan fiction." Gertsmann stated that "While the character variety might initially seem like a good idea, most of them aren't too interesting," GameTrailers also commented that "even if you like the characters, the convoluted manimal melodrama is poor quality," while Eurogamer mentioned that "Rather than fleshing the game out, the supporting cast often just annoys."

The implied romance between Sonic the Hedgehog and the human Princess Elise was also heavily criticized. GamesRadar called their kiss "the most bizarrely cringe-worthy kiss in video game history," and in another article, concluded about the pairing that "True love has never been so disgusting." GamesTM went so far as to say that "...Sonic's relationship and kiss with Princess Elise truly marked the point the series had veered off into absolute nonsense." Some even accused Sega for supporting bestiality, during an interview with actress Lacey Chabert, where Chabert stated ""Ha! No, you're just being silly. It's not an inappropriate relationship. Let's just say Sonic and Princess Elise have an attraction for each other."