Hey, commenter! This video was scripted and recorded before Takashi Iizuka confirmed that Sonic Superstars takes place after Sonic Mania. At 15:55, I said that I believed it fit between Sonic 3 and Sonic Mania. I now know this isn't the case, so you don't have to make the comment. The ranking would have likely still been a 4/5 if this was known information. I'll try to ask Iizuka to warn me ahead of time before he makes a statement like that.

The real Sonic 4 is the friends we made along the way

17:48 Everyone is overlooking the pronunciation of Hydro-City Zone. 💀

As much as I love Sonic Mania, it was never something that screamed "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" to me. Just a really fun celebration of the Classic Sonic games. Also, I've lost count about how many times I've seen a new 2D Sonic fangame and saw at least one "This the REAL Sonic 4!" comment.

I won't necessarily call Sonic & Knuckles alone the "REAL" Sonic 4. It was more of an expansion pack to Sonic 3 alone.

XPool, you score a 5/5 in Uniqueness in my book. You may be the real Sonic 4.

I think the sonic advanced series actually evolved the classic gameplay more than the other 2D sonic sequels. It added new playable characters, and new abilities like tricks and team moves. Also the boost mode is very cool and builds on the idea of having speed being a reward for skilled players.

Technically Sonic 3 is Sonic 4 since Sonic CD released after Sonic 2 making it Sonic 3. If you count Sonic & Knuckles as a stand alone game then Sonic Mania would technically be Sonic 6 but if you count Sonic 4 then Sonic Superstars would be Sonic 9 but that’s only if you count Sonic 4 episode 2 as Sonic 7.

10:21 Tbf, I believe this game came out at a time when Modern & Classic Sonic were still treated the same. Like you get a Classic Sonic collection, but it has the modern characters on the box art same.

2:41 I'm not sure if this is a translation thing, but I believe the intended story was that the three are working independently, Fang for profit, Eggman to power the final weapon, Knuckles because he believes Sonic is bad at protecting the emeralds (which makes sense considering the plot starts with Eggman collecting them in secret and losing them in an experiment). That also explains why the three don't work as a team, Knuckles being captured by Eggman and so on

How could you spoil superstars for me by showing the hud

6:34 I always interpreted it (before Sonic Generations anyway) that the flashbacks were the events of the classic games just in a different artstyle/different designs

1:02 That sound is way too realistic, I really thought someone was knocking hard at my door 😖

Imagine getting a Sonic Superstars ad during the Sonic Superstars segment.... couldn't be me 😊

In my opinion, Sonic Mania is the Sonic 4 that was officially published, and Triple Trouble 16 bit is the the unofficial Sonic 4. And Superstars is Sonic 5.

The real sonic 4 was the friends we made along the way

Hot take but I'm not a fan when new media makes itself a retroactive sequel to something from years ago, even when other entries have come out since. I do think that Knuckles Chaotix (JP version anyway) could be the true Sonic 4 even though Sonic is barely in it. Out of all the games that came out between S3&K and SA1 (including 3D Blast, Triple Trouble, R) Knuckles Chaotix was the only one that felt like it built on the story of 3&K with the Japanese manual mentioning how a new island has risen from the ocean, either from the Master Emerald or Death Egg crashing into Angel Island, I can't remember which

Fang's theme actually uses a melody from his original theme

In the most serious sense I genuinely give it to the “Episode” games for their boldness to put “Sonic 4” in the title. In a personal sense I give it to Sonic & Knuckles. S3K was available as a lock-in addition, so despite intent it’s 2 entries in the series.

Heavily given Scott the Woz vibes with your jokes 🤣

Sonic 4 came out July 21st this year except instead of Sonic it was Captain Olimar and the Picklemen

I think superstars is the closest we’re getting to sonic 4

Sonic 3 is Sonic 4 because of CD but y’all ain’t ready for that conversation

17:50 you're pronouncing hydrocity like hedrokity

Sonic & Knuckles shouldn't have even been scored because it's literally part of Sonic 3 and has always been marketed as such.

The real sonic 4 is the superstars we made along the way. Also hey I’m canon.

The real sonic, 4 sonic adventure 1. It’s the game that continues the storyline 3 and 2 set up in the Japanese manuals.

SA1 is the best Sonic 4 in my opinion as it’s a proper evolution to the Sonic series, it continues to focus on the gameplay and characters but harder, and it doesn’t reuse too many elements from previous Sonic games. Advance & Superstars barely has a story. Mania is more of a celebration of those games than a true sequel. And Sonic 4. The best kind of Sonic 4 needs to build upon what the previous three games did. 3&K had a bit more focus on story and characters, so I think the true Sonic 4 should try harder on the story. While also keeping the spirit of the trilogy’s gameplay.

They should remake the game that's titled "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" with the Sonic Superstars engine, all of its episodes combined into one game, remixed music, and 4 additional zones afterwards.

I always considered sonic advance to be the real sonic 4. However it truly doesn’t matter. I also believe sonic 06 is SA3 but it doesn’t make that game any better. The title of a videogame has nothing to do with quality.

I love this vid the humour gives off lots of chaotic Scott the Woz energy.

for sonic mania you can technically count the reused zones as originals, specifically the act 2s on every zone they changed them and added new mechanics so it technically feels like a brand new zone

I NEED TO SAY THIS: sand sanctuary is sky sanctuary X sandopolis act 1, lagoon city is sky sanctuary X hydrocity and pinball carnaval is carnaval night with more pinball elements and it is my opinion.

That seemed like a technical win for Sonic and Knuckles, felt like we were playing with semantics here. Sonic and Knuckles was clearly intended to be part of the base game of Sonic 3 and came out as an extension doubled down as a stand alone game. The stand alone aspect of the game was a bonus, but lets not forget that it was first and foremost an extension. Its existence as a separate entity repose entirely on technicalities, either be like a lack of development time to release everything at once, or a lack of capacity to hold everything under the same cartridge, or both. To give a weird analogy of what an extension is, for what its worth. It would be like calling Diablo 2 : Lord of Destruction, Diablo 3, which don't really makes sense to me. I didn't dislike the video, but I disagree strongly with the conclusion made. The analyses in the video were good, and by that card I will play with my own semantics to argue Sonic Mania back as the real Sonic 4, lol. Just my opinion, though..

1- Sonic and Knuckles really is just Sonic 3 Part 2. Might as well combine them both, as originally intended, and call it all Sonic 3 2- Sonic Mania is a celebration of the Genesis Sonic Games. There are some new zones yes, but also a bunch of old zones, so... maybe call it Sonic 3.5? 3- Sonic Origins is.... just a rerelease of the original games. It's more of a Definitive Edition. It's Sonic Mega Collection v.2

Jason’s Sonic: “Nothing worse than a long-awaited sequel that doesn’t live up to expectations.” 9:50

17:49 "hydrokidy"💀

13:29 “Double Doofenshmirtz! Coming at you Fridays!”

This video is so good it reminds me of Scott the woz keep up the good work

I always thought Sonic CD was Sonic 4 because I forgot Sonic 4 actually existed.

1:01 that knock was so realistic, it scared the crap out of me

Great video and some great viewpoints. Personally, though, I always saw Sonic Pocket Adventure as Sonic 4 (in my opinion). The game does borrow a ton from the Genesis trilogy and feels like more like a remixed version of the three games, but beyond that and the fact it wasn't developed by Sonic Team directly, but what always made it stand out to me as Sonic 4 was it felt like an end of an era title at the time. Was the first 2d Sonic game predating Sonic Advance where Sonic had his green eyes in a 2d Sonic game, and you also saw the transition of Robotnik where at the start of the game he had his classic attire and look of the Genesis games but by the end you did see him with his attire that he would wear in Sonic Adventure and onward. Just my thoughts, though.

Calling sonic and knuckles the ‘real’ sonic 4 feels wrong to me. It’s like calling persona 2 eternal punishment the ‘real’ persona 3.

JustMaxT is now canon

Great video, this channel is amazing

What an amazing conclusion!

Congrats on 7k subs road to 10k🎉🎉🎉

Special Stage 5 is super easy because the emerald has a fixed path. Start by grabbing all the ring hoops at the top of the stage, then start arcing yourself far and to the left of the emerald. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily make sure sonic lands in the emerald’s path as it reaches him every time you fall. Almost easier than the first one when you intuit this.

i would honestly give the uniqueness of mania a higher score. as much as there aren't that many original zones, the act 2 "remixes" of zones is really cool and game me a smile when i saw them. kinda combining nostalgia with neat and fun ideas. imo i would give mania one point or so higher but thats just my opinion. that i dare make on the internet.. still a very lovely video and a nice watch!

Part 2 is real good and I am so nostalgic for it also thanks for the spoiler of the 5ft character

This video got me to ask myself... why was there Sonic Utopia footage on screen?

I love your sense of humor😂😂

Also i wish we had an SA 3 with heavy JSRF influence. Vertical platformint..tricks and showing off...theres.so much potential. My orher idea that maybe would have been thought if in Saturn era but impossible to realise is a game where theres planet levels (full 3D planets in the style of blue spheres special stage, wiht unique terrain planets and stages. Then stages that make you blast into space and do fast platforming across to other planets. 2 unique stage types and unlimited possiblities. Sorry im a little vague here but its mostly in my head. I know people would like it though.

Mania is 4. Superstars is 5. Didn't need a 24 minute dissertation to get to the bottom of that.😂

Hey if you wanna Play and enjoy sonic for part one and part two by all means go ahead and this is coming from a guy who enjoys playing sonic 06

8:11 I dont wanna be the "umm actually☝️🤓" guy, but technically Sonic Advance takes place before Sonic Adventure

at like 17:55 how do the characters have that outline, if its a mod, can you tell me?

*People fighting over it's Hydrocity or Hydro City* XPool : *Hedro Kayty*

The real Sonic 4 is Sonic 4, it's in the title🤓. Knuckles' Chaotix is Knuckles' Chaotix, Blast is Blast, 3D Blast is 3D Blast, Mania is Mania, Superstars is Superstars, it really doesn't matter, it's all just a subtitle. So yeah, from my POV Sonic 4 is the true Sonic 4 because it's Sonic 4, it really doesn't get any deeper than that to me. Not to undermine your own point, this is just my mindset in general, I don't understand legacies and fuss created over subtitles in such big franchises, I think it's pointless. As a sidenote, I'd like to point out that the chronology in Mania is anything but a 5/5. Let's water it down to Mania having 3 storylines taking place, Mania Mode, Encore Mode and Mania Adventures. Mania connects directly to Forces wirh the time travel that sends Classic Sonic to the war against the Eggman Empire and Infinite in the future at the end and of course the Phantom Ruby. At the end of Forces Classic Sonic waves Tails goodbye and gets sent back and that's the EXACT frame Mania Adventures picks up from, that show starts as soon as the portal closes, Sonic still being on his waving pose. The Phantom Ruby is gone for good as far as the cast's concerned (it reappears in the Sonic Channel Calendar Stories coming out this year but it's irrelevant for now), most especially Classic Sonic. Show focuses on telling a small semi-isolated epilogue to the main game and does a splendid job with it, last episode is set in Christmas eve with Eggman defeated and Metal Sonic kinda trashed... THEN WHERE THE HELL DOES ENCORE MODE FIT?!?! Saying Mania Adventures isn't canon and Encore Mode is right after Forces is both factually false and a bummer since Mania Adventures slaps and is better than Encore Mode as a product/project overall. So in its first second Encore Mode creates issues by showing a Phantom Ruby portal. Sure, let's shrug it off as a random encounter Sonic ran into and got sent to the recent past off-screen, what, does he just repeat the entire adventure practically one-to-one but with Mighry and Ray in the mix and not just Knuckles and Tails? Did the main game basically not happen at all and Encore Mode replaces it? Not to mention Giga Sonic is basically a copy paste of Knuckles' Chaotix Metal Sonic Kai (which is still canon lemme remind ya), which devalues that older title at best and derails its placement into the overall timeline for no reason at worse. I think it's all a big muddy mess, saying it's a 5/5 in terms of continuity is disingenuous in my opinion.

Ever noticed Sonic Mania’s gives each game a number of Zones by game order? Sonic 1 gets 1, Sonic 2 and CD gets 2 each and Sonic 3 & Knuckles form a collective 3

So grateful that I can still play both Sonic Adventure games on Steamdeck.

I can see Sonic Team delisting Sonic 4 and pretending S&K was Sonic 4 all along, It would be such a Iizuka thing to say on interviews

my stomach churned at the way you pronounced "hydrocity", fucking excellent

I remember downloading Sonic 4 as a kid and thinking it was some sort of bootleg

17:50 No way bro said Hidro Kity

1: Sonic 1 1 1/2: Sonic CD 2: Sonic 2 3: Sonic 3 3 1/2: Sonic & Knuckles 4: Sonic Mania 5: Sonic Superstars

tell me how you got the cell shaded sonic on your xbox dude i want that RN

Sonic 4 is Sonic 4 Episode 1. Proving Sonic games are sometimes great and sometimes fall flat. Which is Sonic’s entire history at this point.

Sonic 4 is the real Sonic 4! If Sonic 4 ain’t the real Sonic 4, then Sonic Adventure 2 ain’t the real Sonic Adventure 2

Bro just casually forgot about Sonic Pocket Adventure smh

The knock at 1:01 scared me it sounded so real (I had headphones on)

Triple trouble 16 bit. No questions asked. End of discussion.

Sega Sonic The Hedgehog is the real Sonic 4 in my heart, I asked a doctor and they said it was a tumor but my point stands

You thought you were slick with that Hydro Kite-ey, didn’t you?

I just don't overthink it. Sonic 4 was Sonic 4. This is Superstars. And that was Sonic Mania. And it's all starting to sound like the whole "real Sonic Adventure 3 debate" from ~10 or so years ago. Yeah we never got SA3, but storywise and development-wise Sonic Heroes was SA3. And Sonic 2006 was a SA1-like "reboot". And Sonic Unleashed is a SA3 in spirit (and has a Japanese title that confirms it, Sonic World Adventure). Etc. Maybe that's the real Sonic Cycle. We'll see what is the real Sonic Rush 3 in a few years, I imagine. Haha. Maybe the REAL SONIC 4 was the friends we made along the way..........

that sonic 4 vc bit really reminds me of the radical soda finding nemo bit, is that the inspo?

17:50 screw it. this is now the official pronounciation.

Now the question is what is the real sonic 5

The TT remake is definitely the one for me, official or not (if you're looking for good official Sonic things that will get you satisfied, stop)

Always asking what the real sonic 4 is but never asking how the real sonic 4 is?

I don’t think S&K should be on the list, as it’s literally part of Sonic 3, Sonic 4 should be it’s fully own game, in chronological order, Sonic Mania is, but I think Sonic Superstars is, because it has original zones like Sonic 1, 2, 3 and K

If you think finding a Sonic 4 is hard, how about finding a Sonic Adventure 3?

Your pronunciation of hydrocity just cut my lifespan in half.

Sonic 4 is Sonic 4 just accept it even if it’s bad

"Sonic 4 killed my grandma"💀

Why did he say.... "Hydrocity"... like that....

About Triple Trouble, I have a question about the 16-bit version. I know it still wouldn't change much, but it's better gameplay in the 16-bit. Would that raise the gameplay with different turnouts from the 8-bit version?

Even tho it's a fangame.. i still think Sonic Triple Trouble 16 bits is the TRUE Sonic 4.

The real Sonic 4, in my opinion, is Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit. It takes place right after the events of Sonic 3 and everything from the gameplay, spritework, and music is a true successor to everything in Sonic 3. I love everything about it, and it deserves to be more popular!

11:41 Oh I get it! Sonic covered himself in oil, because oil floats in water, but he then realizes he can’t survive water!!! XD

Sonic & knuckles was originally supposed to be part of sonic 3 but because of limitations and it’s sheer length it got split apart as its own stand alone game but sonic mania originated as a fan-game but everyone ignores that so S&K can be seen as the real sonic 4

Triple Trouble is basically Sonic 3.25 and Sonic and Knuckles is Sonic 3.5

The true Sonic 4 would be Sonic Superstars, as it takes place right after Sonic 3&K

The Genesis games already run at 60*(unless you're in a PAL region, then they run at 50fps).

Love that diss towards Sonic Blast.

Using your criteria, you could certainly conclude that Sonic Heroes is Sonic Adventure 3.

sonic 4 episode 1 and 2 IS the real sonic 4, simply because SEGA made it, thus its cannon technically. Its just not he sonic 4 we deserved or wanted. What the title of this video should be is what SHOULD of been called sonic 4?

"Sonic 4 killed my grandma" Bro pulled a trolls character

I think golden capital was the original design for green hill zone

Why was Tgamm shown for a sec in the beginning? Idk if that was just a error or what