Canadamus Prime said:
People are actually saying that? What the hell? I haven't played Colours, but I thought Generations was good. I wish they'd remade more classic levels, but overall it was still a fun game.
Not directly, but, well, here's how I've perceived critical opinion on Sonic to be.
-Colors/Generations: Finally, good 3D Sonic games. Don't you know he's never worked in 3D?
Me: Huh? I liked Adventure 1, 2, and even Heroes at the end of the day. Shadow and 06 were pretty drab though, but are we forgetting the early titles?
-Pre-Mania: "Sonic was never good."
Me: Huh? Could you actually look at your own reviews?
-Mania: Finally! A good Sonic game! We haven't had one of those since Sonic & Knuckles
Me: But I thought you guys really liked Colors and Generations?
Mania is what's really noticable, how numerous reviews often started with the premise that there was a dearth of quality content between S&K and Mania, mimicking the Colors and Generations sentiment that there was no good 3D games prior to this. Even if one believes Sonic doesn't work in 3D, that argument still has to ignore the 2D games that came out in the period (e.g. the Advance and Rush series).
And I'll be clear, there's without doubt some absolute Sonic stinkers (Sonic R, Secret Rings, and by all indications, Rise of Lyric), but the stand-outs always seem to be pushed back. At the time, everything I read/everyone I talked to loved SA1/2, but now it's regarded as a failure. At the time, everyone was raving about Colors and Generations, but now they seem forgotten since Mania.