You could argue it lacks distinct segmented stages, but that just means it is one giant multi hour stage, and with stats like that it beats out even eggmanland as the clear number 1
@@Ivan210bluboi As J seems to like being able to skip things in stages with cool tech, the whole first half of Boom is obviously a perfect score as you completely skip it. The later stages are a bit slower. I personally rank the sky ruins area high because I liked drawing sky ruins as a kid.
@@darxoonwasser 1 reach the first hub area 2 shenanigans in this famously stable and bug-free game? Preposterous! 3 you're at the plane and can reach the second hub area because the game assumes you must have cleared previous areas to reach the plane. (Short answer, watch a speed run do it)
I didn’t even know the outer layers of the loops even had collision, but I guess that only adds credence to the Adventure games being more like skate parks than actual linear levels.
@@archshade7891 it wasn't ignored... nobody played it. that what happens when you take a game people want & make it an apple arcade exclusive. nobody will play it.
@archshade7891 it wasn't ignored... nobody played it. that what happens when you take a game people want & make it an apple arcade exclusive. nobody will play it.
I love how this is sort of a ranking of the 3d games aswell, just taking in account the highest highs and lowest lows. It's always neat when a game that is by all means mediocre has those few great levels that have you wonder what could have been.
absolutely love how the presentation of the stages/point totals matches the UI and sound design of their respective games, great stuff dude, i can tell you’re a passionate fan and creator
I wish I could say I was surprised that the bottom 4 levels were from Lost World 3DS but I’m not. I literally predicted 3 of them. Honestly fuck that game.
Ngl I think rooftop run is a little overrated, like the last minute is very automated and makes it less interesting to replay. Glad to see arid sands so high, that’s my favorite level ever it’s pure adrenaline
@t-bone2145 understandable. Counterpoint, it's still a really long stage to the point where I don't mind how the last part is more "automated." Although in my case, it's Jungle Joyride that's my favorite level.
@@t-bone2145 Yeah I agree the last section kind of ruins it for me. Levels like Mazuri and Abadapt I found to be the best two levels in the game for me.
It really helps that Final Horizon's Cyberspace levels use Sonic's Open Zone physics and not the vanilla Cyberspace physics. ( The Action Style setting with halved speed and stiffiness of Forces turning. )
I really like how the text for the rankings change depending on what game you're talking about. It's a nice attention to detail that adds that little extra spice to the video
Things I love: 1. 3D Sonic 2. Rankings 3. Long videos to download and listen to while I drive Thank you J. If you really want to feed my OCD, rank the level soundtracks next.
J, my man, I’m not sure how to say this but I absolutely love this video. It just brings me a lot of peace and comfort so thank you for taking the time to make this!
The existence of this video itself is an extremely feat, but I was surprised by how heartfelt it become at the end. This was more than just a checklist, I sensed an earnest passion behind it and an earnest love of Sonic. That love showed through and it has to be why you made this video.
I can’t even lie. Sonic Unleashed is hands down the best game in the series, and I’m not exaggerating. The polish, the graphics, the levels, the werehog stages (+ all those cool combos), the scenery, the cohesiveness, the npcs, the final level, the final boss, and the music? 🔥. They really aced it w that one. Plus Jason griffith does a phenomenal job with the voice acting (I lowkey miss him)
Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game hands down. The music is great, the levels are a rush, and I really liked the werehog stages. So happy that it made number 1 :3
Maybe it’s just my age but as much as I love Unleashed and Generations, their stages don’t come close to the enjoyment I get from SA1 and especially SA2. But thats just me. I’d certainly put all four of them in my top 4 too, just not in that order. Great video! Very much enjoyed watching. Would love to see your ranking on the 2D Sonic stages.
I'm happy Sonic Colors' zones got placed so high. I feel like how the Sonic community (and gaming journalists) turned their backs on Sonic Adventure and its surrounding games for a time, the Sonic community has gotten way too harsh on Colors. Colors has now become the new punching bag, seemingly-with certain sects of fans even putting it on a similar level to Forces. The game certainly isn't perfect, but I definitely think it's still a pretty darn good game. I know you've gone on record saying how you feel bad that your past video on it led to people lambasting it, so I'm happy to hear positivity on it from you! The game has an incredible art direction, as you said, and the game probably has one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks.
I actually despise Colors with a passion (and always have, tbh), but saying it’s as bad as Forces is a joke… Plus this video did remind me that Asteroid Coaster was actually pretty decent at least. I especially loved feeding and growing my precious little frenzy monster~
I just felt betrayed by colors as a kid, I was told that it’s just the daytime stages of sonic unleashed and it wasn’t. It has too much 2D for my liking. It's way better than forces by a country mile. Colors at least knew what it wanted to be and had a consistent vision throughout. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
@@___________0Z0Xgenerations is more deserving of the title "daystages withot werehog" its boost gameplay plays much more like unleashes than colors does
Very well edited and made video. A lot of effort into the title cards and crossing out the games when they were done, definitely the best Sonic ranking video I’ve seen.
Emerald Coast will forever be the greatest Sonic level to me. Its a perfection. The soundtrack, the level design, the controls and the sheer joy of playing that level over and over again will never get old to me.
So ive watched this video 3 times now. 1.For Entertainment 2.Collect some Data 3.Check Data The Way Games Were Ranked off the List was by their highest ranking level so i wanted to see what the average scores per game were with the rankings most didn't change but i thought it was some nice info to see the Quality difference per game by how you ranked them. I took the Placements for each game and divided by the amount of levels ( i did not count extra missions just like the video but i did double up on the Heroes number for combined Levels, like Rail Canyon counted as 108 and Bullet Station as 108). Here is the List Game - Score - Placement Change 1. Sonic Unleashed- 16.77 (No Change) 2.Sonic Generations- 20 (No Change) 3.Sonic Adventure 2- 41.83 (No Change) 4.Sonic Unleashed Wii- 49 (+3) 5.Sonic Heroes- 54.5 (No Change) (Heroes gets a 49.6 with only counting the combined levels once) 6.Sonic Colors- 55 (No Change) 7.Sonic Adventure- 57.36 (-3) 8.Sonic Frontiers- 90.63 (No Change) 9.Sonic & The Secret Rings- 94.43 (+2) 10.Shadow The Hedgehog- 98.56 ( -1) 11.Sonic & The Black Knight- 105.81 (-1) 12.Sonic Lost World- 112.14 (+1) 13.Sonic The Hedgehog 2006- 120.6 (-1) 14.Sonic Forces- 128.8 (No Change) 15.Sonic Lost World 3DS- 156.83 (No Change)
This video is amazing. You did so well putting this together. I have a feeling it might not “do well,” but I hope it does well enough, and just know that this was an incredible watch. Split it into two sittings.
Terminal Velocity was actually one of my favorite stages, just because the control is taken away from you doesn't mean your not still still dodging obstacles etc imo. I'd even say I felt tense during it. the music helping with that feeling. Given the endgame context I thought it fit in quite well and didn't break the pace to me.
Ok a bit of a sad side to my perspective of this video, my childhood XBOX 360 broke down, (unrepairable) a few days ago, the XBOX 360 where I first played Sonic 1, 2, 3&K, 3D Blast, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Generations. It was what made me a Sonic fan and I loved it. I feel this video is a swan song for it, as it covers most of the games I played through my childhood and early middle school years. And even though I can always get a new one and I can always play these games again on said new ones, It won’t be the same, so I thank you J, for this video.
I completed it and honestly you're not missing on much. Silent Forest gave me cancer and the ending is very underwhelming, lava mountain is nothing but a boss rush which retakes the previous bossfights and makes them marginally harder, or in the blue guy's fight's case, more obnoxious than anything. There's no difficult rail level, no difficult platformer level, no just a series of easy bossfights, it's not doing justice to the 3ds honestly.
What an undertaking you went under. Bravo to you sir. This should be a fun watch as always. I also greatly appreciate the unique presentation you gave each ranking with that game's aesthetic, fonts, and sound effects. Well done
Took me until Emd Of The World to realize that the stage names weren't from the game footage and also had the statistics of how well it did on your criteria Jesus dear lord I am DENSE
Good to see someone who clearly loves modern sonic praise generations so much... Because I played that game and the modern levels did absolutely nothing for me. I was this close to giving previous modern titles a chance (since I see people nowadays praising modern sonic on TH-cam) but I think I can keep safely ignorinh them all if generations ranks this high!
Good video. You should do a ranking video on 2D Sonic levels. 0/9 stages start at 1:53 1/9 stages start at 15:25 2/9 stages start at 23:01 3/9 stages start at 35:46 4/9 stages start at 50:30 5/9 stages start at 1:09:41 6/9 stages start at 1:20:57 7/9 stages start at 1:26:17 8/9 stages start at 1:30:56 9/9 stages start at 1:38:30
Story wise it kind of makes sense for some of the levels in frontiers to be a nothing mess of assets as cyberspace is trying to make Sonic have to go through levels from his memory, but if say Sonic started having panic attacks as he did in the first area when he met giganto, or he has too much on his mind after talking to his friends, then cyberspace wouldn’t be able to latch onto his memories that well and the result is a nothing mess of assets.
And because of that it’s kinda makes send that the first level in frontiers is a rehash of Windmill eisle, Sonic was probably while he was falling thinking of when he fell from the eggman space fleet in sonic unleashed and crash landed onto a new area he hadn’t been in before, he could’ve also been thinking of the time when he rode on tails plane to get to spagonia after running through windmill eisle.
Its amazing that for 2 hours he can sustain sounding extremely pretentious and unlikable, hes trying to hard to be a "definitive" taste maker but he's biased and condescending every step of the way.
1:48:28 Hot take: the heart and soul of Speed Highway is the third section (navigating the roads and rooftops as the sun rises), and I will never forgive Generations for leaving that out.
Me to generations: Now get the fuck out of my house you game that's phenomenal in every way except for this one bit. Oh and also the story is kinda mid, and the final level and final boss are ass. (Was referencing schaffrillas' mario kart 64 video which was a reference to bojack).
I wonder if we'll get a community post update about the Shadow Generations stages and how they handle. I can't imagine they'll ever beat the absolute highs that are the Top 10 on this list, but it would be interesting to see those stages in this criteria.
This is a great and interesting list. I have some disagreements of course but I liked hearing all of your takes. Rooftop Run in Unleashed is honestly one of the greatest platforming levels in history in my honest opinion. It is a showcase for everything that makes Sonic, Sonic. Incredible level design, an overwhelming sense of speed, incredible music, stunning presentation, thrill, diversity, and most of all- FUN. What’s insane about Unleashed is that I personally think Jungle Joyride still manages to top Rooftop run, but from an objective standpoint, I think it makes sense as the greatest level in Sonic history. Truly an outstanding piece of art 47:41 4-4!?!? That stage is SOOOOOOOOOO much fun to speedrun. I am genuinely shocked to see this stage that low. You should really try speedrunning it. I know it’s full of automation in places, but seriously speedrunning it makes it so good with the spin dash
I mean, J said himself that he doesn’t really like Frontiers (which I find cringe, but I digress), so that’s naturally gonna color his perception of the stages. Imo the only bad level in Frontiers is the drifting one, so I’d say he underrated a fair amount of them, but considering his opinion on the game, it’s not that surprising.
I love that there’s the giant 8 ball and cut escape in the thumbnail, also like the fact that Sonics Head is big in the thumbnail, kinda reminiscent of how it would look in that sonic TV show back in the day.
It’s really interesting seeing the final stages of each game on the list, since it’s possible for certain games to be carried exclusively through that section by their greatest level. It’s fun to see what happens when a game gets something right even when other parts aren’t all right.
I loooove the graphics made for the rankings. I would also love to see this done for every 2D Sonic level so the classics, handheld classics, mania, superstars, advance trilogy, rush trilogy (yes Colors DS counts), Generations 3DS, even the Rivals duology. I'm surprised that Dream Team wasn't included because I think those levels are on par with Colors best stages and sometimes even better.
Really like this format of ranking stages / games in general! I think this is a good way for showing that some of the lesser games still have some good points in them
great video! i have some thoughts: honestly i heavily disagree on your 3-3 placement, id argue frontiers makes sky sanctuary act 2 feel way more open and leaves a lot more room for experimentation, it ended up being one of the most standout levels to me, and spindashing will help you outrun the falling platforms at the end just like OG gens i also disagree on how you explained 4-4 and its placement, id argue its one of the most coherent OG cyberspace levels and it houses most of the reaction based platforming in cyberspace, id hope you'd maybe give it another try and maybe try to get the best time, it's regarded as one of the best for a reason also as a lost world wii U fan i dont fuck with 3DS at all, it strips away everything i enjoy about the wii u version times 10 also on a final note, love how the ranking placement pop-ups recreate the level title cards flawlessly, they look great!
First off, absolutely amazing video, you put so much work and effort into this, I love that you gave each game its own unique style of grading design to match the games UI, BUT ALSO can I just say as a huge lifetime Sonic fan that I can’t believe how many alternate paths and secret routes that’re in this video that I’ve NEVER seen before, very cool stuff
I have very fond memories as a kid from secret rings and black knight, their visual representation and music makes me wish they'd go back to that kind of art style or make a sequel or remake from both. But without the on rails controls and improved stages.
Hey quick question, do you plan on making a video ranking every single stage in the 2D Sonic games? For the entries I would like you to look at Sonic 1 2 CD 3K the Game Gear games Pocket Adventure the Advance trilogy Rush Rush Adventure Colors DS Generations 3DS Mania and Superstars as well as Sonic 4 episodes 1 and 2
Final Chase is the worst speed stage in SA2 but it's still far too low imo. It's better than Casinopolis & Sky Deck from SA1 imo. It's better than Planet Wisp from Generations and it's for sure better than everything from Forces, 06 etc. due to SA2's control
I think the only stage that I'd personally rank higher is Casino Park just because that stage was so magical to me as a child and the music is one of my favorites in the entire franchise. I would always try to get to the golden bingo table. Otherwise, I completely agree with this list and I'm very happy to know other people love all forms of Rooftop Run.
If the werehog levels were included, i think i would hate the city night level the most. Who thought that walking on poles with spikes is a good idea? Especially since slowly walking on poles wasnt a good thing to execute.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, was so good that it didn't make the list.
You could argue it lacks distinct segmented stages, but that just means it is one giant multi hour stage, and with stats like that it beats out even eggmanland as the clear number 1
Were do you think that game's stages whould be ranked?
Obviusly they whould be on top of all the other ones
@@Ivan210bluboi As J seems to like being able to skip things in stages with cool tech, the whole first half of Boom is obviously a perfect score as you completely skip it. The later stages are a bit slower.
I personally rank the sky ruins area high because I liked drawing sky ruins as a kid.
@@dominicjannazo7144wait you can skip the entire first half of sonic boom? how?
@@darxoonwasser 1 reach the first hub area
2 shenanigans in this famously stable and bug-free game? Preposterous!
3 you're at the plane and can reach the second hub area because the game assumes you must have cleared previous areas to reach the plane.
(Short answer, watch a speed run do it)
The game-specific sound effects for each level is such a small detail but soo satisfying
Man, I can't believe that every sonic 3D blast stage made it into the top 10!
Movie night.
no Sonic Dream Team levels
Real
What about sonic heroes levels i didnt see any of thosee@@archshade7891
@@liveandlearn97x19 is egg fleet
Snacks and drinks ready
I’m saying this but the intro cards for each game is Peak.
Stylised to each game I love seeing them each time
And he has the right sound for them too!
Crossing out the games
as he reviews it's last stage is nicee
@@Matt_M_again Right? I love all sorts of details like this!
That’s an incredible detail I noticed too.
The editing in general was super slick for this video, props to J for how seamless this felt
I can’t believe you put Mad Space at #1. I am shaking and crying right now.
Thanks for spoiling it :)
Isnt mad space a rouge level in sa2?
@@Oofers98yea it was a joke (but there was no way for me to know before getting to the end)
Bad Space >:(((
@@CatWarior22no offense but did you seriously think that one of the worst stages in the franchise would be No.1?
Sonic Unleashed Roof Top Run is going to take 1st place
**2 hours later**
Yup
1:40:43 Wait, what? I didn't know you could do that in Radical Highway. Thanks for the tip, J.
I learned a lot of shortcuts and different pathways from this video lol
I didn’t even know the outer layers of the loops even had collision, but I guess that only adds credence to the Adventure games being more like skate parks than actual linear levels.
@@skeetermania3202I can't tell if you meant that as a compliment.
@@sambridgers9543 Depends on how you want to view it.
me neither, mind blown.
Every Sonic Music Track & Vocal Track ranked needs to be a video
that would be impossible to do. there's thousands of tracks & they're all good.
Thousands, but some a bit better than others. Its tough, but it can happen @asdfxcvbn746
Sonic Dream Team was just ignored
@@archshade7891 it wasn't ignored... nobody played it. that what happens when you take a game people want & make it an apple arcade exclusive. nobody will play it.
@archshade7891 it wasn't ignored... nobody played it. that what happens when you take a game people want & make it an apple arcade exclusive. nobody will play it.
Hot damn! That's a hefty ass list!
I love how this is sort of a ranking of the 3d games aswell, just taking in account the highest highs and lowest lows. It's always neat when a game that is by all means mediocre has those few great levels that have you wonder what could have been.
This vid was peak. Love the stylized rankings and all the takes in here are fire mans got taste
absolutely love how the presentation of the stages/point totals matches the UI and sound design of their respective games, great stuff dude, i can tell you’re a passionate fan and creator
I wish I could say I was surprised that the bottom 4 levels were from Lost World 3DS but I’m not. I literally predicted 3 of them. Honestly fuck that game.
I still can't understand how people says SLW3DS is better than the other one, like bro, the design is so ass
@@mon7864i only heard one thing, and that's it's special stages
I played this game after a like 10 year pause from the franchise. As just a Platformer i liked it
Honey grab the popcorn a js review movie is on
My two favorite levels in 3D Sonic are City Escape from SA2 and Rooftop Run from Unleashed. I've played them so many times and it's always fun.
Good news for you
Ngl I think rooftop run is a little overrated, like the last minute is very automated and makes it less interesting to replay. Glad to see arid sands so high, that’s my favorite level ever it’s pure adrenaline
@t-bone2145 understandable.
Counterpoint, it's still a really long stage to the point where I don't mind how the last part is more "automated."
Although in my case, it's Jungle Joyride that's my favorite level.
@@t-bone2145 Yeah I agree the last section kind of ruins it for me. Levels like Mazuri and Abadapt I found to be the best two levels in the game for me.
My favourite levels are: Emerald Coast because I love the Orca set piece, Windmill Isle, & Starligjt Carnival.
1:53 Lost World 3DS Tier
15:21 F Tier
23:01 E Tier
35:46 D Tier
50:30 C Tier
1:09:40 B Tier
1:20:57 A- Tier
1:26:17 A Tier
1:30:54 A+ Tier
1:38:30 S Tier
thank you
Sonic fans, J in particular, in this instance...
...you guys impress me.
That is all.
Spoiler time - complete list with timestamps
163: Frozen Factory (Lost World 3DS) 1:53
162: Silent Forest (Lost World 3DS) 3:00
161: Tropical Coast (Lost World 3DS) 4:01
160: Sky Road (Lost World 3DS) 5:12
159: End of the World (Sonic 06) 6:16
158: The Doom (Shadow the Hedgehog) 7:50
157: Lost Impact (Shadow the Hedgehog) 8:54
156: Luminous Forest (Forces) 9:33
155: Mortar Canyon (Forces) 10:34
154: Lost Valley (Forces) 11:21
153: Central City (Shadow the Hedgehog) 11:56
152: The Ark (Shadow the Hedgehog) 12:44
151: Final Judgement (Forces) 13:22
150: 4-8 (Frontiers) 14:06
149: 3-5 (Frontiers) 14:41
148: Desert Ruins (Lost World 3DS) 15:20
147: Windy Hill (Lost World 3DS) 16:14
~ Lost World 3DS eliminated ~
146: Mad Matrix (Shadow the Hedgehog) 17:11
145: Aquatic Base (Sonic 06) 18:03
144: The Last Way (Shadow the Hedgehog) 18:59
143: Tropical Jungle (Sonic 06) 19:52
142: Aqua Road (Forces) 20:51
141: Arsenal Pyramid (Forces) 21:25
140: Terminal Velocity (Colors) 22:09
139: Sunset Heights (Forces) 22:59
138: Park Avenue (Forces) 23:43
137: Dusty Desert (Sonic 06) 24:02
136: Hot Shelter (Adventure) 25:13
135: Misty Lake (Black Knight) 26:08
134: Deep Woods (Black Knight) 27:15
133: Lava Mountain (Lost World) 27:47
132: Frozen Factory (Lost World) 28:39
131: Tropical Coast (Lost World) 29:31
130: Sand Oasis (Secret Rings) 30:23
129: Metropolitan Highway (Forces) 31:28
128: Black Comet (Shadow the Hedgehog) 32:19
127: 3-3 (Frontiers) 32:57
126: 4-3 (Frontiers) 33:54
125: 4-5 (Frontiers) 34:32
124: Final Chase (Adventure 2) 35:05
123: White Acropolis (Sonic 06) 35:44
122: Flame Core (Sonic 06) 36:28
121: Radical Train (Sonic 06) 37:02
120: The Cauldron (Black Knight) 37:38
119: Titanic Plain (Black Knight) 38:11
118: Crystal Cave (Black Knight) 38:43
117: Skeleton Dome (Secret Rings) 39:14
116: Dinosaur Jungle (Secret Rings) 39:51
115: Network Terminal (Forces) 40:33
114: Egg Gate (Forces) 41:06
113: Camelot Castle (Black Knight) 41:46
112: Cosmic Fall (Shadow the Hedgehog) 42:26
111: Cryptic Castle (Shadow the Hedgehog) 43:01
110: Sky Road (Lost World) 43:39
109: Planet Wisp (Generations) 44:23
108: Rail Canyon/Bullet Station (Heroes) 45:38
107: 4-1 (Frontiers) 46:57
106: 1-1 (Frontiers) 47:22
105: 4-4 (Frontiers) 47:47
104: Westopolis (Shadow the Hedgehog) 48:14
103: Prison Island (Shadow the Hedgehog) 49:00
102: Starlight Carnival (Colors) 49:43
101: Space Port (Forces) 50:28
100: Prison Hall (Forces) 50:59
99: Null Space (Forces) 51:16
98: Capital City (Forces) 51:38
~ Forces eliminated ~
97: Shrouded Forest (Black Knight) 52:31
96: Great Megalith (Black Knight) 53:00
95: Wave Ocean (Sonic 06) 53:23
94: Silent Forest (Lost World) 53:54
93: Desert Ruins (Lost World) 54:33
92: Windy Hill (Lost World) 55:11
~ Lost World eliminated ~
91: Casino Park/Bingo Highway (Heroes) 55:54
90: G.U.N. Fortress (Shadow the Hedgehog) 56:36
89: Air Fleet (Shadow the Hedgehog) 57:10
88: Dragon’s Lair (Black Knight) 57:39
87: Molten Mine (Black Knight) 58:05
86: Pirate Storm (Secret Rings) 58:31
85: Evil Foundry (Secret Rings) 59:02
84: Eggmanland (Unleashed Wii) 59:28
83: Sky Deck (Adventure) 1:00:20
82: Cannon’s Core (Adventure 2) 1:00:50
81: Crisis City (Sonic 06) 1:01:36
80: Kingdom Valley (Sonic 06) 1:02:07
~ Sonic 06 eliminated ~
79: Lethal Highway (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:03:10
78: Circus Park (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:03:37
77: Digital Circuit (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:04:05
76: Casinopolis (Adventure) 1:04:36
75: 1-4 (Frontiers) 1:05:17
74: 1-5 (Frontiers) 1:05:35
73: 2-2 (Frontiers) 1:05:52
72: 2-4 (Frontiers) 1:06:15
71: 2-6 (Frontiers) 1:06:34
70: 3-1 (Frontiers) 1:06:57
69: 4-7 (Frontiers) 1:07:33
68: 4-9 (Frontiers) 1:07:58
67: Windy Valley (Adventure) 1:08:20
66: Twinkle Park (Adventure) 1:08:58
65: Glyphic Canyon (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:09:39
64: Levitated Ruin (Secret Rings) 1:10:01
63: Night Palace (Secret Rings) 1:10:31
~ Secret Rings eliminated ~
62: Iron Jungle (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:11:18
61: 1-7 (Frontiers) 1:11:52
60: Crazy Gadget (Adventure 2) 1:12:20
59: Arid Sands (Unleashed Wii) 1:12:58
58: Lost World (Adventure) 1:13:38
57: Knight’s Passage (Black Knight) 1:14:24
~ Black Knight eliminated ~
56: Death Ruins (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:15:24
55: Sky Troops (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:15:47
54: Final Fortress (Heroes) 1:16:17
53: Final Haunt (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:16:54
52: Final Egg (Adventure) 1:17:30
51: 1-2 (Frontiers) 1:18:05
50: Eggmanland (Unleashed) 1:19:02
49: Power Plant (Heroes) 1:20:56
48: Space Gadget (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:21:27
47: Lava Shelter (Shadow the Hedgehog) 1:22:01
~ Shadow the Hedgehog eliminated ~
46: Green Hill (Adventure 2) 1:22:47
45: Pyramid Cave (Adventure 2) 1:23:26
44: Windmill Isle (Unleashed Wii) 1:24:01
43: 4-2 (Frontiers) 1:24:33
~ Frontiers eliminated ~
42: Seaside Hill (Heroes) 1:25:37
41: Cool Edge (Unleashed Wii) 1:26:16
40: Dragon Road (Unleashed Wii) 1:26:46
39: Frog Forest/Lost Jungle (Heroes) 1:27:19
38: Jungle Joyride (Unleashed Wii) 1:28:14
37: Rooftop Run (Unleashed Wii) 1:28:44
~ Unleashed Wii eliminated ~
36: Ice Cap (Adventure) 1:29:47
35: Grand Metropolis (Heroes) 1:30:23
34: White Jungle (Adventure 2) 1:30:53
33: Tropical Resort (Colors) 1:31:19
32: Planet Wisp (Colors) 1:32:11
31: Sweet Mountain (Colors) 1:32:48
30: Hang Castle/Mystic Mansion (Heroes) 1:33:38
29: Ocean Palace (Heroes) 1:34:20
28: Emerald Coast (Adventure) 1:34:57
27: Asteroid Coaster (Colors) 1:35:40
26: Sky Rail (Adventure 2) 1:36:24
25: Crisis City (Generations) 1:36:58
24: Windmill Isle (Unleashed) 1:37:41
23: Green Forest (Adventure 2) 1:38:29
22: Dragon Road (Unleashed) 1:39:12
21: Radical Highway (Adventure 2) 1:40:06
20: Aquarium Park (Colors) 1:40:56
~ Colors eliminated ~
19: Egg Fleet (Heroes) 1:42:22
~ Heroes eliminated ~
18: Metal Harbor (Adventure 2) 1:43:25
17: Savannah Citadel (Unleashed) 1:44:24
16: Red Mountain (Adventure) 1:45:11
15: Green Hill (Generations) 1:46:14
14: Final Rush (Adventure 2) 1:47:04
13: Speed Highway (Adventure) 1:47:52
~ Adventure eliminated ~
12: Cool Edge (Unleashed) 1:48:55
11: Arid Sands (Unleashed) 1:49:38
10: Chemical Plant (Generations) 1:50:21
9: City Escape (Adventure 2) 1:51:04
~ Adventure 2 eliminated ~
8: Skyscraper Scamper (Unleashed) 1:52:19
7: Rooftop Run (Generations) 1:53:02
6: Jungle Joyride (Unleashed) 1:53:50
5: Speed Highway (Generations) 1:54:50
4: Sky Sanctuary (Generations) 1:55:48
3: Seaside Hill (Generations) 1:56:41
2: City Escape (Generations) 1:57:45
~ Generations eliminated ~
1: Rooftop Run (Unleashed) 1:58:53
~ Unleashed eliminated ~
Thx
I think "Unleashed Won" would make more sense.
Thanks for this!!
thank you
You rule, thank you!
I was about to go to sleep... Now I must know J's opinions on every Sonic level (even though I haven't played most of them)
Same ! I haven't played lost world 3ds , lost world , forces , black knight , secret rings and adventure 2 .
Looks like I’m not getting any sleep tonight
It’s 2 hours not 8 lmao
@@Nickbronlinehe might live in a place where it’s nighttime
I blame J's Reviews for delaying me tonight on my paper.
😮😮nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
I’m late😊
It's a bummer he excluded the Last Horizon Cyberspace stages, as I personally felt they were the best stages in that entire game, remixed or not.
It really helps that Final Horizon's Cyberspace levels use Sonic's Open Zone physics and not the vanilla Cyberspace physics. ( The Action Style setting with halved speed and stiffiness of Forces turning. )
@@dragnjames2190pretty sure it didn’t use the open world physics. But now i guess i got to replay it
I really like how the text for the rankings change depending on what game you're talking about. It's a nice attention to detail that adds that little extra spice to the video
Things I love:
1. 3D Sonic
2. Rankings
3. Long videos to download and listen to while I drive
Thank you J. If you really want to feed my OCD, rank the level soundtracks next.
This was great! I can't believe I learned about skips/glitches on levels I've played pretty much my whole life, if not half. Great vid man
J, my man, I’m not sure how to say this but I absolutely love this video. It just brings me a lot of peace and comfort so thank you for taking the time to make this!
I was looking for a video to watch while cleaning my room, thanks J
Great comment,dude🗣💯
The existence of this video itself is an extremely feat, but I was surprised by how heartfelt it become at the end. This was more than just a checklist, I sensed an earnest passion behind it and an earnest love of Sonic. That love showed through and it has to be why you made this video.
I can’t even lie. Sonic Unleashed is hands down the best game in the series, and I’m not exaggerating. The polish, the graphics, the levels, the werehog stages (+ all those cool combos), the scenery, the cohesiveness, the npcs, the final level, the final boss, and the music? 🔥.
They really aced it w that one. Plus Jason griffith does a phenomenal job with the voice acting (I lowkey miss him)
the werehog stages make me drop the game everytime i try to will myself to complete it.
I respect you for being able to enjoy the werehog stages
people who hate the werehog are infantile
Yeah, I also enjoy the Werehog stages.
Unleashed was always my favorite since I was a kid, something about that game just has the sauce that no other game has fully
Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game hands down. The music is great, the levels are a rush, and I really liked the werehog stages. So happy that it made number 1 :3
the editing here is crazy good dude, amazing job there
Glad you included Shadow 05. To me it's strange ppl don't consider it mainline
To be fair, he added Secret Rings and Black Knight, which were spin-offs.
Dude Sky Sanctuary from Sonic Generations gives me *SO MUCH* nostalgia!
Plus, it's a great level!
Maybe it’s just my age but as much as I love Unleashed and Generations, their stages don’t come close to the enjoyment I get from SA1 and especially SA2. But thats just me. I’d certainly put all four of them in my top 4 too, just not in that order.
Great video! Very much enjoyed watching. Would love to see your ranking on the 2D Sonic stages.
I'm happy Sonic Colors' zones got placed so high. I feel like how the Sonic community (and gaming journalists) turned their backs on Sonic Adventure and its surrounding games for a time, the Sonic community has gotten way too harsh on Colors. Colors has now become the new punching bag, seemingly-with certain sects of fans even putting it on a similar level to Forces.
The game certainly isn't perfect, but I definitely think it's still a pretty darn good game. I know you've gone on record saying how you feel bad that your past video on it led to people lambasting it, so I'm happy to hear positivity on it from you! The game has an incredible art direction, as you said, and the game probably has one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks.
Wait, what? People put it on a similar level as Forces?? Uuhm.. why?
It's not my favourite, but Colors is by FAR a much better game than Forces
I actually despise Colors with a passion (and always have, tbh), but saying it’s as bad as Forces is a joke…
Plus this video did remind me that Asteroid Coaster was actually pretty decent at least. I especially loved feeding and growing my precious little frenzy monster~
I just felt betrayed by colors as a kid, I was told that it’s just the daytime stages of sonic unleashed and it wasn’t.
It has too much 2D for my liking.
It's way better than forces by a country mile. Colors at least knew what it wanted to be and had a consistent vision throughout. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
@@___________0Z0Xgenerations is more deserving of the title "daystages withot werehog" its boost gameplay plays much more like unleashes than colors does
@@___________0Z0Xsame
Colors levels shouldn't be anywhere near masterpieces like city escape and speed highway
Very well edited and made video. A lot of effort into the title cards and crossing out the games when they were done, definitely the best Sonic ranking video I’ve seen.
Emerald Coast will forever be the greatest Sonic level to me. Its a perfection. The soundtrack, the level design, the controls and the sheer joy of playing that level over and over again will never get old to me.
Fantastic video! I loved how you used each game's Level title card and any sound effect! Nice job on the presentation!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Prison Island, you are able to walk on the acid if either of your Chaos meters are active.
Yup.
Yeah, both chaos meters give invincibility (to everything that isn't an instakill) and unlimited ammo, as well as their own individual power
I didnt realize how many fucking shadow levels there were holy.
23 to be exact.
I really like how the text that presents the score is stylized to represent the level's game, it give the video a lot of personality
This is such a fun video! You make some great videos to have on for background noise AND for actually watching!
So ive watched this video 3 times now.
1.For Entertainment
2.Collect some Data
3.Check Data
The Way Games Were Ranked off the List was by their highest ranking level so i wanted to see what the average scores per game were with the rankings most didn't change but i thought it was some nice info to see the Quality difference per game by how you ranked them.
I took the Placements for each game and divided by the amount of levels ( i did not count extra missions just like the video but i did double up on the Heroes number for combined Levels, like Rail Canyon counted as 108 and Bullet Station as 108).
Here is the List
Game - Score - Placement Change
1. Sonic Unleashed- 16.77 (No Change)
2.Sonic Generations- 20 (No Change)
3.Sonic Adventure 2- 41.83 (No Change)
4.Sonic Unleashed Wii- 49 (+3)
5.Sonic Heroes- 54.5 (No Change) (Heroes gets a 49.6 with only counting the combined levels once)
6.Sonic Colors- 55 (No Change)
7.Sonic Adventure- 57.36 (-3)
8.Sonic Frontiers- 90.63 (No Change)
9.Sonic & The Secret Rings- 94.43 (+2)
10.Shadow The Hedgehog- 98.56 ( -1)
11.Sonic & The Black Knight- 105.81 (-1)
12.Sonic Lost World- 112.14 (+1)
13.Sonic The Hedgehog 2006- 120.6 (-1)
14.Sonic Forces- 128.8 (No Change)
15.Sonic Lost World 3DS- 156.83 (No Change)
This video is amazing.
You did so well putting this together.
I have a feeling it might not “do well,” but I hope it does well enough, and just know that this was an incredible watch.
Split it into two sittings.
Terminal Velocity was actually one of my favorite stages, just because the control is taken away from you doesn't mean your not still still dodging obstacles etc imo. I'd even say I felt tense during it. the music helping with that feeling. Given the endgame context I thought it fit in quite well and didn't break the pace to me.
I would say it's very good spectacle but comparing it to a lot of levels it just does its job and thats it
Ok a bit of a sad side to my perspective of this video, my childhood XBOX 360 broke down, (unrepairable) a few days ago, the XBOX 360 where I first played Sonic 1, 2, 3&K, 3D Blast, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Generations. It was what made me a Sonic fan and I loved it. I feel this video is a swan song for it, as it covers most of the games I played through my childhood and early middle school years. And even though I can always get a new one and I can always play these games again on said new ones, It won’t be the same, so I thank you J, for this video.
Frozen Factory was the point where I stopped playing the 3DS version of Lost World and I've never picked it up since. Which is fine.
i think i got to some snake guy that you need to use a unique weapon on but i never got it and didnt care to do so
I completed it and honestly you're not missing on much. Silent Forest gave me cancer and the ending is very underwhelming, lava mountain is nothing but a boss rush which retakes the previous bossfights and makes them marginally harder, or in the blue guy's fight's case, more obnoxious than anything. There's no difficult rail level, no difficult platformer level, no just a series of easy bossfights, it's not doing justice to the 3ds honestly.
What an undertaking you went under. Bravo to you sir. This should be a fun watch as always. I also greatly appreciate the unique presentation you gave each ranking with that game's aesthetic, fonts, and sound effects. Well done
probably one of the best top 10 lists ever you even had 153 honorable mentions instead of making 15 more lists
Such a glorious watch. Bravo. You made me appreciate some of these stages more
Took me until Emd Of The World to realize that the stage names weren't from the game footage and also had the statistics of how well it did on your criteria
Jesus dear lord I am DENSE
Okay that was brilliant. Love to see you take a crack at the 2D levels. Genesis, Advance, Rush, etc. Or rank them in general. 🤘
3:04 as someone who actually likes sonic lost world and likes the level you ranked last, I also have a personal vendetta against silent forest zone
Good to see someone who clearly loves modern sonic praise generations so much... Because I played that game and the modern levels did absolutely nothing for me.
I was this close to giving previous modern titles a chance (since I see people nowadays praising modern sonic on TH-cam) but I think I can keep safely ignorinh them all if generations ranks this high!
That was great. Those 2 hours were definitely worth my time.
Wow you did an amazing job with this list man! A++, BRAVO👏👍👍
Makes me so happy to see Sonic Unleashed at the top of the ranks!
I’ve been watching this piecemeal over the last few nights, it’s been a great video to come back to after work.
Well done, I’ve loved watching it!
Good video. You should do a ranking video on 2D Sonic levels.
0/9 stages start at 1:53
1/9 stages start at 15:25
2/9 stages start at 23:01
3/9 stages start at 35:46
4/9 stages start at 50:30
5/9 stages start at 1:09:41
6/9 stages start at 1:20:57
7/9 stages start at 1:26:17
8/9 stages start at 1:30:56
9/9 stages start at 1:38:30
Story wise it kind of makes sense for some of the levels in frontiers to be a nothing mess of assets as cyberspace is trying to make Sonic have to go through levels from his memory, but if say Sonic started having panic attacks as he did in the first area when he met giganto, or he has too much on his mind after talking to his friends, then cyberspace wouldn’t be able to latch onto his memories that well and the result is a nothing mess of assets.
And because of that it’s kinda makes send that the first level in frontiers is a rehash of Windmill eisle, Sonic was probably while he was falling thinking of when he fell from the eggman space fleet in sonic unleashed and crash landed onto a new area he hadn’t been in before, he could’ve also been thinking of the time when he rode on tails plane to get to spagonia after running through windmill eisle.
Its amazing that for 2 hours he can sustain sounding extremely pretentious and unlikable, hes trying to hard to be a "definitive" taste maker but he's biased and condescending every step of the way.
Dude your vids are awesome can't wait till you get to 1 mil subs
Godlike project J. I enjoyed every second of it.
1:48:28 Hot take: the heart and soul of Speed Highway is the third section (navigating the roads and rooftops as the sun rises), and I will never forgive Generations for leaving that out.
Me to generations: Now get the fuck out of my house you game that's phenomenal in every way except for this one bit. Oh and also the story is kinda mid, and the final level and final boss are ass.
(Was referencing schaffrillas' mario kart 64 video which was a reference to bojack).
DUDE THE SCOREBOARD THEMED TO EACH GAME *chefs kiss*
You should do this type of tier list for P-06 when End of the world comes out, it would be so fun to watch.
I loved seeing love for the Wii version of unleashed, it was my first unleashed experience over the HD and the level design is amazing
I wonder if we'll get a community post update about the Shadow Generations stages and how they handle. I can't imagine they'll ever beat the absolute highs that are the Top 10 on this list, but it would be interesting to see those stages in this criteria.
This is a great and interesting list. I have some disagreements of course but I liked hearing all of your takes. Rooftop Run in Unleashed is honestly one of the greatest platforming levels in history in my honest opinion. It is a showcase for everything that makes Sonic, Sonic. Incredible level design, an overwhelming sense of speed, incredible music, stunning presentation, thrill, diversity, and most of all- FUN. What’s insane about Unleashed is that I personally think Jungle Joyride still manages to top Rooftop run, but from an objective standpoint, I think it makes sense as the greatest level in Sonic history. Truly an outstanding piece of art
47:41 4-4!?!? That stage is SOOOOOOOOOO much fun to speedrun. I am genuinely shocked to see this stage that low. You should really try speedrunning it. I know it’s full of automation in places, but seriously speedrunning it makes it so good with the spin dash
I mean, J said himself that he doesn’t really like Frontiers (which I find cringe, but I digress), so that’s naturally gonna color his perception of the stages.
Imo the only bad level in Frontiers is the drifting one, so I’d say he underrated a fair amount of them, but considering his opinion on the game, it’s not that surprising.
I love that there’s the giant 8 ball and cut escape in the thumbnail, also like the fact that Sonics Head is big in the thumbnail, kinda reminiscent of how it would look in that sonic TV show back in the day.
I personally did not agree with a whole myriad of these but this was an amazing video. Loved your explanations and ranking system.
Ohhh this is gonna be a fun watch!
very lovely video :) had a really good time! even more so given sonic unleashed was my first game and still my all time favourite >:3
Secret Rings music reminds me of cobanermani456 what a throwback
Amazing video. Thank you for taking the time to put this huge list together.
Wow, the title card for each stage being based on the font of each game is really cool.
It’s really interesting seeing the final stages of each game on the list, since it’s possible for certain games to be carried exclusively through that section by their greatest level. It’s fun to see what happens when a game gets something right even when other parts aren’t all right.
J reviews, did you know that dante from DMC was in SMT nocturne maniax
I would genuinely be curious to hear his take on the series as a whole especially nocturne and smt2 they would be interesting
@@brub1738 very true
Dante is also in the mobile game smt dx2 along with sonic and bayonetta
Fax SMT is better than this stupid hedgehog
Thanks for making this video. A random comment, but thanks for taking the time to make a 2 hour video.
I loooove the graphics made for the rankings. I would also love to see this done for every 2D Sonic level so the classics, handheld classics, mania, superstars, advance trilogy, rush trilogy (yes Colors DS counts), Generations 3DS, even the Rivals duology. I'm surprised that Dream Team wasn't included because I think those levels are on par with Colors best stages and sometimes even better.
Don't forget the Act 1s from the main Generations game! I feel like they ought to count for this too.
Really like this format of ranking stages / games in general! I think this is a good way for showing that some of the lesser games still have some good points in them
great video! i have some thoughts:
honestly i heavily disagree on your 3-3 placement, id argue frontiers makes sky sanctuary act 2 feel way more open and leaves a lot more room for experimentation, it ended up being one of the most standout levels to me, and spindashing will help you outrun the falling platforms at the end just like OG gens
i also disagree on how you explained 4-4 and its placement, id argue its one of the most coherent OG cyberspace levels and it houses most of the reaction based platforming in cyberspace, id hope you'd maybe give it another try and maybe try to get the best time, it's regarded as one of the best for a reason
also as a lost world wii U fan i dont fuck with 3DS at all, it strips away everything i enjoy about the wii u version times 10
also on a final note, love how the ranking placement pop-ups recreate the level title cards flawlessly, they look great!
First off, absolutely amazing video, you put so much work and effort into this, I love that you gave each game its own unique style of grading design to match the games UI, BUT ALSO can I just say as a huge lifetime Sonic fan that I can’t believe how many alternate paths and secret routes that’re in this video that I’ve NEVER seen before, very cool stuff
“It’s my sleepover, I get to pick the movie”
i don't know if you'd be as passionate about it as the levels, but i'd love to see you do this kinda thing with the 3D Sonic bosses. gr8 video!
1:33:55 Whoa I never noticed that statue!
I have very fond memories as a kid from secret rings and black knight, their visual representation and music makes me wish they'd go back to that kind of art style or make a sequel or remake from both. But without the on rails controls and improved stages.
If we were talking about P-06 then it would prob be near the top. It has the same level design aside from a few tweaks.
My favorite video ever made of yours! it was so fun guessing what rankings you were gonna do :)
Sonic Generations and Unleashed being one of the best 3D Action Sonic games easily deserved Top 10! 🔥
Awesome list dude! ❤🎉 Rooftop run definitely deserves that number 1 spot as it encompasses everything that made sonic well enjoyable for all.
Hey quick question, do you plan on making a video ranking every single stage in the 2D Sonic games? For the entries I would like you to look at Sonic 1 2 CD 3K the Game Gear games Pocket Adventure the Advance trilogy Rush Rush Adventure Colors DS Generations 3DS Mania and Superstars as well as Sonic 4 episodes 1 and 2
Knuckles's Chaotix also counts for the 2D level ranking and same for the Classic Sonic stages in Generations and Forces
This is one of the best videos of your channel and I agree that it would be cool see more of ranking like these from you
Final Chase is the worst speed stage in SA2 but it's still far too low imo. It's better than Casinopolis & Sky Deck from SA1 imo. It's better than Planet Wisp from Generations and it's for sure better than everything from Forces, 06 etc. due to SA2's control
such a good and rewatchable video, man
I think the only stage that I'd personally rank higher is Casino Park just because that stage was so magical to me as a child and the music is one of my favorites in the entire franchise. I would always try to get to the golden bingo table.
Otherwise, I completely agree with this list and I'm very happy to know other people love all forms of Rooftop Run.
I remember not being able to find the switch to turn off the laser gate once and I forced sonic to clip through it with rocket Excel lol.
I really enjoyed the video. Glad you enjoyed it too. Great work.
If the werehog levels were included, i think i would hate the city night level the most. Who thought that walking on poles with spikes is a good idea? Especially since slowly walking on poles wasnt a good thing to execute.
The way you ranked Sonic Heroes with its logo is so cool and smart
I'm so happy that my favorite level from the entire franchise from my favorite game of this entire franchise is number 1