Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Was Full Of Squandered Potential

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is celebrating its 15-year anniversary today, October 7, 2025. Below, we look back at Sega’s uneven attempt to revive the classic 2D franchise, and how it ultimately fizzled.

There’s no denying the glaring flaws of Sonic the Hedgehog 4–the wonky physics, the blatant remixing (or one might even say “rehashing”) of classic levels and bosses from the first two Sonic games, and the soundtrack’s questionable and often derided soundfont being chief among them. But despite its problems, even 15 years later, I still find myself occasionally coming back to replay both episodes. Not only that, but dare I say, I enjoy myself.

The game certainly had its shining spots. I appreciate how, instead of every zone having the same hazards and obstacles scattered throughout, each act of each zone had its own distinct gimmick to help one stand out. For example, Casino Street Act 1 featured your standard pinball flippers, bumpers, and slot machine gimmicks. Act 2 shifted the focus to a new mechanic entirely: flipping around and racing across playing cards that act as platforms. The third act brings in colorful cannons that you can manually aim to shoot Sonic across the level. The game was darn pretty to look at, capturing the colorful aesthetic of the classic games with a modern sheen. And even though longtime Sonic composer Jun Senoue went a little too hard with the Genesis/Mega Drive synths for the music, it was still catchy as heck.

There were signs that Sega was taking feedback to heart. Many of the flaws that plagued Episode 1 were significantly reduced for Episode 2. Zones like White Park and Oil Desert offered more originality than those in the first episode. Instead of being a mindless sidekick who simply follows Sonic around and runs into everything, Tails was given new utility, able to carry Sonic across chasms, blast through water and snow at high speed, and even destroy every enemy on screen with a powerful team blast. Players who owned both Episodes 1 and 2 could replay Episode 1’s levels as Sonic’s metallic rival, Metal Sonic, complete with new story elements that run parallel to the original game, harkening back to the lock-on technology of Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles in the ’90s.

Bringing Metal Sonic into a prominent role was a franchise rarity, marking his chronological return to the series after being destroyed in Sonic CD. Aside from Sonic Heroes, the character had more or less been relegated to minor appearances in almost every Sonic game before or since, simply showing up for a boss fight with little to no fanfare, getting blown up, and never being seen again. In Episode 2, his presence is felt throughout the entire story, appearing every handful of levels to duke it out with Sonic in multiple boss encounters. Whereas up to that point Sonic CD had sort of been an outlier among classic Sonic games, Sonic 4 did a great job of giving it a stronger connection to them. In a similar vein, bringing back Little Planet, the setting in which Sonic CD took place, and turning it into a planet-sized power source for a new Death Egg was another unique callback that I can’t help but feel could have been explored further.

That’s why Sonic 4 remains equal parts fascinating and frustrating. It had some cool ideas to bring in underutilized classic Sonic elements in new ways, but took way too long to introduce them. Episode 1 felt like a glorified remix of Sonic 1 and 2 with the occasional twist thrown in. Episode 2 showcased more ambition and originality, but by the time you were invested in what they were setting up, the game was over. And Episode 3…well…

For years, there was no indication that an Episode 3 was ever in production. Most fans assumed that Episode 2 simply didn’t sell well enough to warrant a third episode being greenlit. However, several years after Episode 2’s release, former Sonic 4 brand manager Ken Balough stated in an interview that the game was planned to be a trilogy, only to be cut short for undisclosed reasons. This statement was given further credence just this year when a beta of Episode 2 was discovered, revealing a cut sequel hook showcasing the Death Egg powering up with the help of the Master Emerald–and Knuckles.

In addition to providing tangible evidence of Episode 3’s planned existence, the scene implied that Knuckles would have played a prominent role, likely as a playable character. Would he have been able to retroactively explore levels from Episodes 1 and 2 on his own like Metal Sonic, or would he have been a “sidekick” character who Sonic could team up with during gameplay like Tails? Would Episode 3 have linked up with Episodes 1 and 2, effectively creating a “complete” Sonic 4, like how Sonic 3 & Knuckles became the complete Sonic 3? All we can really do is speculate.

And nothing screams “missed potential” quite like the reveal that there were talks for Episode 3 to be developed by Christian Whitehead, the lead developer behind the later universally praised Sonic Mania. Imagine an Episode 3 with pitch-perfect classic physics coupled with the Mania Team’s impeccable level designs. Even better, imagine if they incorporated tweaked physics for Episodes 1 and 2 to bring them more in line with the classic games. Granted, we did get Mania several years later, but hey, I like the thought of the Sonic 4 saga being allowed to go out on a high note.

While I know Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was never going to be a masterpiece by any stretch–much less a worthy successor to one of the greatest gaming trilogies of all time–I can’t help but be fascinated by the massive potential it had to be something great, if it had been allowed to conclude as Sega originally intended. For what we ended up with, the discourse around it remains more or less unchanged since it was first released 15 years ago. It’s still an enjoyable if not uninspired sidescrolling Sonic adventure that could have been so much more.