11. Sonic Adventure (1998, Dreamcast / GameCube)

Sega’s forward-thinking Dreamcast marked a monumental leap for game consoles, and Sonic Adventure was its marquee tech demo. It was also very experimental, throwing lots of new ideas at the franchise just to see what stuck. There are hub areas full of NPCs, high-speed 3D rail-grind courses, races, scavenger hunts, shooting segments, fishing(!), virtual pet raising, zero-gen DLC, VMU minigames, and whatever Amy Rose was up to with that hammer. And throughout, a butt-rock soundtrack for the ages and constant high melodrama as Sonic and gang try to prevent Eggman from reviving an ancient monster. They fail, of course, leading to one of the more epic-feeling final confrontations for the series up ‘til that point.

It doesn’t all work. Some bits are boring, the camera and controls can be all over the place, and the game’s buggier than any Sonic that had come before. But Sonic Adventure showed the nearly decade-old franchise still had plenty of room to grow, and Sonic Team was ready and willing to shake up past formulas—and find innovative new ways to be weirdos—as it moved toward an increasingly 3D future. — Alexandra Hall