In 1994, after years of jealously playing Sega Genesis games at other people's houses (Sonic the Hedgehog, in particular), I finally decided to plunk down the allowance I'd managed to save up and buy the system for myself. I only took two games home with me that day and they were both Sonic titles, Sonic Spinball (a pack-in game that was included with the system) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Despite the fact that Sonic 2 had already been available for two years by that point, I hadn't actually had the opportunity to play it yet, myself.

When I got home and popped it into my shiny new Genesis, I was mesmerized. Seeing that beautiful Emerald Hill Zone level was just like the first time I had seen the Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, a few years earlier. Both times, I was blown away. The first Sonic game had turned the gaming world completely upside down, and the second, not only managed to recapture that same magic, but improve on it enough to stand on its own. But while the other great Sonic games from those Genesis days (Sonic 3, Sonic CD, and Sonic & Knuckles) were all more or less equally good, none of those games could really manage to pull off quite that same awe-inspiring first impression.

In the time since those 2-D glory days, many other Sonic games have come to many other consoles. Many have come in 3-D, some in 2, and some have even featured a mix of both; and while certain titles may have been arguably better than others, not one of them has even come close to reaching the lofty heights of the originals. None of them, that is, until now...

This week, Sega did the unthinkable: they actually released a good Sonic game. Great, even. Stupendous! Incredible. Totally off-the-walls, bonkers fantastic! With Sonic Mania, Sega has finally, FINALLY given the people what they have wanted for so many years now: a 2-D Sonic game that actually feels like an original 2-D Sonic game (and not some 2-bit knockoff). In fact, the crew they put together for this project did such an outstanding job, they may well have surpassed all of the previous Sonic games. We're talking about the queen mother of all retro games, here. If you ever had even the slightest passing interest in Sonic games, you owe it to yourself to check out Sonic Mania.

Also out in the last five weeks, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, a 25th anniversary edition of the infamous Sega CD classic, Night Trap, and an extended port of the 2012 shooter hit, Sine Mora. Super speed, super graphics, and super attitude, they're all back! Now, do a spin dash, then jump past the break to see more new releases from the past thirty-five days.