17. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010, WiiWare / PSN / XBLA / PC)
By 2010, Sonic was struggling. Plagued by a string of poorly received releases covered earlier in this list like Black Knight, Secret Rings, and Sonic ‘06, the franchise needed a shot in the arm to revive its esteem and to bridge the gap between older 2D and newer 3D fans. Episode I returned Sonic to his roots, being a 2D side-scrolling platformer that gives Sonic the homing attack ability of his 3D iterations. I appreciate that the levels and Special Zones are renamed/remixed versions from the original 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog, but the busted physics of Episode I make Sonic look and feel slow while the game itself is unsatisfyingly short.
