I love Sonic Generations. It's a fantastic platforming-action game and one that is, in almost every possible way, a true celebration of the Blue Blur that any self-respecting Sonic fan should love. The 3DS version is no different. It's gotten a surprising amount of flak, though, and honestly, I don't feel the common complaints reflect honestly and fairly on this awesome title. I'll admit, this version of Sonic Generations is very difficult for me to objectively rate. I have a lot of nitpicky thoughts about it that aren't technically flaws or complaints, but rather questions due to confusion at some design choices that went into making this game. Still, even though some things about this title confound me, I cannot deny that it is just as enjoyable to play through as the console version. It's just different.

Any Sonic fan knows immediately what Sonic Generations is about. It's essentially a title that is meant to celebrate Sonic's 20th year anniversary by presenting a simple plot involving a universe/time paradox mechanic that makes it possible for us to revisit some of the more famous levels from Sonic's history. While the story may not be particularly deep or anything, the writing is fantastic, with tons of charm and humor that is genuinely well done. The plot in the 3DS version, however, is a lot more convoluted and confusing to follow because the snazzy cutscenes of the console version have been done away with in favor of idle, gesturing 3D model talking heads, much like the DS Sonic Colors did. Overall though, I felt the presentation and development of the story in the 3DS version would only be understandable to those who are already very familiar with the console version. Who cares though? Sonic has always been about awesome, fast-as-sound platforming through brilliantly imaginative environments with a stellar soundtrack in the background, and that's where this game really shines.

There are two different versions of each level too, one for "Classic Sonic" and one for "Modern Sonic." Classic Sonic's levels play exactly like the old Genesis titles, with the same kind of level design and, thankfully, the same classical physics system that we all know and love. I must say, Sonic Team nailed the Classic Sonic gameplay in every version of this game. In fact, I think the 3DS version feels even more like the classics than the console version does, because everything in the 3DS classic levels is at the same scale as the classics too. In the console Generations, classic Sonic's levels were bigger in scope and even faster than the Genesis titles ever were, but in the 3DS version, it truly feels like this is just new graphics and sound overlayed on top of the old gameplay engine. It really is fantastic.

Modern Sonic's gameplay is very similar to the modern portable Sonic titles, such as Rush or Colors on the DS, so it's still 2-D, bizarrely enough. In addition to running and jumping, however, you'll also be homing attacking enemies (although Classic Sonic gets that ability later in the game too), grinding, boosting, and sliding throughout the adrenaline-pumping stages that seem to send you in every which way. Paths will take you to the foreground, the background, and everywhere in between, giving the gameplay a 3-D sense of scale, and I feel it really lends a feeling of organic life to what would normally be a 2-D "flatformer." Trust me, nothing about this game is "flat" or "lifeless." Overall, Modern Sonic's levels are characterized by an over the top craziness that saturates the whole experience. It's really awesome.

The audio and visual work done to bring the classic levels into the year 2011 is amazing. The 3DS version is essentially like a portable Gamecube, in terms of graphical power, and it really looks snazzy on that small screen. Some complain that the screen is too small to keep track of Sonic or the gameplay taking place, but I disagree, I had no problems as I played the game. The game is so colorful and capatilizes so well on the art design of all of the Sonic titles represented here, and the 3-D visual effect of the game was implemented excellently. The same goes for the music, which is also amazing. Obviously the source material for the songs were brilliant to begin with, but the remixes in here are almost all simply fantastic. Overall, the visual/audio aspect of this game is just great, and as a lifetime Sonic fan, I was overcome with nostalgic joy the entire time I played this game.

Now, here is where I'll voice my confusion about the game. It may be ranty/rambly, so I apologize ahead of time. First off, special stages make a return in this game, and each one is amazingly fun. It's basically a blatant copy of the special stages from Sonic Heroes. It's 3-D, and it works very well, so... Why wasn't Modern Sonic's gameplay 3-D?! It's obvious from the special stage that the 3DS version was more than capable of 3-D gameplay. What gives? In all honestly, the Modern Sonic gameplay in this version feels more like the 2-D segments in the console version of Generations, or the 2-D segments in Sonic Colors (the Wii version), than it does the handheld modern titles, if that makes sense. I don't get it. I think it would have been a real benefit, and made a big difference in adding to variety, to make Modern Sonic play like he does in the console version. This is a big oversight, in my opinion.

The game is also shorter than the console version, by two stages. Granted, besides Green Hill Zone, every level in this version is unique and different, which is great. Same goes for the boss fights, for the most part. In many ways, this 3DS version feels like a DLC expansion pack to supplement the console version with six new levels and three new boss fights. I don't say that as a complaint, as I think more Sonic history being given the Generations treatment is a superb thing indeed. Unfortunately, the game is far too short. I beat it in a mere 2 1/2 hours, with all chaos emeralds in my possession and the final fourth boss beaten. I beat Sonic 4 Episode 1 in the same amount of time, but I spent $10 on that game, not $30 like this one, so I must complain about the small content volume.

Finally, one last area of the game that is slightly confusing is the level choice. Obviously, for the classical era, Genesis games were selected. That makes sense. Then for the second "era" of Sonic, levels from his Dreamcast masterpieces were chosen. Again, it makes sense, I suppose. Then, for the last "era," one level was selected from Sonic Rush, and the other from Colors. What? Rush is the only portable game included here. I guess Colors was also on the DS and so there's technically two handheld games represented, but still, that just adds more confusion. I don't understand why only the third "era" has any portable games in it. There are tons of awesome level possibilities from Sonic's portable history to make this version of Generations unique as a salute to Sonic's handheld gaming past. The GBA's "Sonic Advance" series is a great example of this. Frankly, Sonic Advance is brilliant, and I personally consider it the true "Sonic the Hedgehog 4," Sonic Advance 2 is awesome as well. TONS of potential in those titles for Generations. If the inclusion of "Water Palace" and "Tropical Resort" indicates that this is a "Portable Sonic game" version of Generations, why isn't the Advance series featured instead of the Dreamcast titles since they were released at roughly the same time? And how about some of the fantastic Game Gear entries instead of Genesis games? How awesome would Bridge Zone have been instead of Green Hill for this version? I genuinely don't get it. A handheld themed Sonic Generations would have been incredibly unique. Oh well. That's the end of my rant, sorry if it went on too long.

All-in-all, however, this is still a stellar Sonic title. I think the reason it's gotten all the flak it has is that for years, handheld Sonic titles were always expected to be vastly superior games to the console titles. When the console version of Generations released and blew most gamers' minds, expectations for this handheld version skyrocketed. Frankly, I don't think this 3DS release is worse than the console one. Honestly, they're equal quality in terms of gameplay, but the console version is simply more complete, more coherent, and has more content in it, and that was enough to get this version an unfair reputation. I highly recommend it, though, if you want more of the wonderful experiences that the console version had. It's still a fantastic title. So buy it, enjoy the stellar "fasting thing alive" platforming, and blast through even more nostalgic Sonic wonderment.