Sonic Unleashed is my favourite 3D Sonic though so with the exception of a few particular annoying gimmicky or overly hard Acts (or at least, how difficult it was to S-Rank some of them), I pretty much love every stage, just some more than others. And of course, Unleashed's controls just really weren't meant for that sort of environment. Trying the open-ended feel with Act 3 searching for Chao was an interesting experiment, but ultimately the choice is to follow a fairly intentional singular path through the environment or not be able to access all the areas/fall down to an earlier section. Arid Sands extra acts were generally weak I felt. Cool Edge Act 3 though was very annoying despite the lovely sunrise visuals, but Cool Edge Act 4 did some really fun, satisfying to play stuff with unscripted ramps and air movement. Cool Edge and Arid Sands are just a little dull visually due to their very singular colour palette, but they're both fun stages (and obviously the first half of Arid Sands Act 1 has that nice "blasting through a populated place" thing, at least). I love the waterfall running segments added to Act 1-2.įinally bottom of the list would be the two "desert" stages, just due to their slightly lonely atmosphere and being at the opposite end of that "relatable" feeling I mentioned regarding Rooftop Run. I also felt Jungle Joyride's DLC was a satisfying send-off for the game's content even though we never got an Eggmanland DLC pack. Savannah Citadel's DLC acts were great though, I loved that they turned the boss arena into a regular stage. I like them both a lot but just slightly less than the above. Savannah Citadel and Jungle Joyride would be next down the list for me. Dragon Road is just one of the better Act 1 stages, but it's extra acts are pretty decent too, even if Act 2-2 got a bit obnoxiously hard.
Sunrise aesthetic is so underappreciated and I'm glad they turned it into a full length stage in Act 1-2 with some great views. The various times of day add a gorgeous feel to them, but in particular I LOVE that we had a first stage in a Sonic game be set at Sunrise rather than daytime. Windmill Isle is of course fairly easy but my favourite aesthetically here. Skyscraper Scamper has fun gameplay on all of it's acts, and I love how the multiple routes branch out in the second half of Act 1. Skyscraper Scamper, Windmill Isle and Dragon Road would be my next favourites, again aesthetics are a big part of them. I was enthralled on my first playthrough. Infiltrating an intimidatingly huge Eggman base at such speed is super cool and the roller coaster flying off the tracks is my favourite scripted set-piece in the entire series. The ones that have come close have always been split into Acts with loading screens to break them up. No other final Sonic stage has had such a sense of weight and progression to it. I also love ALL the extra acts for this one, they all have a really nice unique high up view of the city, and I particularly like the homing attack focused gameplay of Act 5 and how Act 2-2 took us all around the big castle that, in regular Act 2 just seemed like non-solid background scenery.įollowing that, Eggmanland is a definite highlight. The aesthetics are a big part of it - being a European myself (well for a couple more years at least >_>) it's the level that is most "relatable" for me so has the maximum sense of Unleashed's very unique feeling of getting to blast through realistic, relatable scenery in an unrealistic, Sonic power-fantasy style. Rooftop Run is definitely my favourite overall. Note: My list is the HD version and the Daytime Acts. Savannah Citadel in general is just a level that focuses a lot more on Sonic's Drift. RR is pretty long just for one of the beginning levels, the Act 2 version can rot in hell, and those Green robots can weirdly hit Sonic when it just starts grinding (thus ruining the S rank). Cool Edge is also ol til Act 2 starts up and it gets pretty difficult dodging those ice glaciers while running on water. Windmill Isle is great until you get to Act 3. Plus, Arid Sands, SS, and JJ all contain Acts that I enjoy and don't hate. Eggmanland and Jungle Joyride are really long though once you've S rank the levels a few times it feels REALLY satisfying completing those levels. These levels imo contain the best themes in the game. Jungle Joyride, Arid Sands, Eggmanland, Skyscraper Scamper
For me it's:īest Tier (Replay the most and absolutely love): You can also choose whether or not to include the Werehog levels too. How would you rank the levels in Sonic Unleashed (HD or not).