20. Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos (1993, Sega Master System)
Sonic Chaos is the uninspiring little brother of the other Master System Sonic games. You can choose to play as Sonic or Tails and go through six zones collecting Chaos Emeralds along the way. Sound familiar? Yeah. Sound boring? Also yeah. There’s nothing special about Sonic Chaos. Of the Master System Sonics, it’s not exceedingly difficult like Sonic 2, nor is it an interesting departure from a 16-bit version like Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s just there. The sound you hear collecting rings and when you take damage is ear-splittingly high pitched, and the music made me want to perforate my eardrums—something Sonic Team greatly improved for the Game Gear-only sequel (and my favorite Sonic game) Sonic Triple Trouble.
