Heh, this discussion reminds me of IGN arguing with itself about Sonic.  Here is one video from several years ago where a group of them trashes Sonic.

Now here is a more recent video where another guy from IGN tears into one of the first guys:

What's more sad is that even Sonic is outpacing Civilization, setting the bar for the 4X genre. Sonic was indeed only impressive for its speed at the time. All we did as kids was zoom through the first levels, then back to Mario lol. (My nephews that is, I was 17 already. Yet they never played beyond the fast levels either)

Gotta be Super Castlevania IV, really felt like the next step for the franchise. Belmont’s Revenge is an honorable mention, almost equally good.
A Link to the Past feels like a worse version of the original in my opinion.
Sonic only got good with the second game.

Great year for gamers, so uch that I'll make a Top 5 countdown for a change

5. Streets of Rage. Brawling never was so much fun!

4. Eye of the Beholder II. The second one came out the same year as the first (first in February, second in December). ADnD dungeon crawling at it's finest

3. Lemmings. Why is this game not even a suggestion?

2. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. For me the pinnacle of LucasArts adventure games, 

1. Golden Axe Warrior

A true hidden gem on the Master System. It's basically the first Zelda, just bigger, better, more beautiful, more varied, more progression, actual towns and having NPCs telling you complete sentences instead of cryptic hints.

Zelda: A link to the Past is probably the most perfect video game ever made to me and is second only to the original for my personal favorite games of all time - and even that's highly debatable depending on what criteria I judge them on. Really, it would have to be something of Zelda's magnitude to get me to vote for something other than Super Castlevania 4, which is far and away my favorite classic-style game in the franchise and the next best ever in the series after Symphony.

Street Fighter 2's debut in the arcade is absolutely worth mentioning though. Sonic, on the other hand, I think is terribly overrated. He's definitely an iconic character, but the games have always been more about speed and pretty graphics than compelling gameplay. For a character that is supposed to b so speedy, he sure feels sluggish to get going.

Sonic might have many low points, but the highs are really high. In my opinion Sonic Generations is probably the greatest 3D platformer of all time. Unfortunately it is also the only 3D Sonic that is consistently good.
2D Sonic is another beast, most of those are really good, and some are also among the best in the genre.

So you have played that and what....Bubsy 3D?

Also isnt like half of that game played in the 2D perspective?

Hmm, at the top of my head, all 3D Mario Games, the Spyro Trilogy, Crash Trilogy, Rayman 2, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Ratchet & Clank 3 and the Future trilogy, Jak 3, Croc, Mirror's Edge, Psychonauts (but didn't get that far in that one), Sonic Adventures 1+2 and Unleashed.
Haven't played Bubsy 3D though, but thanks for the recommendation.

That just blows my mind. You have played some of the actual greatest 3D platformers of all time and you still prefer Sonic Generations. I have to respect your opinion I guess...

Wow, difficult choice. Shoutout to Monkey Island 2 and Eye of the Beholder, but I guess they were good continuations (even though EoB was a new series, but continuing that RPG power) not breaking new ground. But Sonic the Hedgehog, A Link to the past and Civilization are all games that were influental. My choice is Civilization, because it really cemented the name Sid Meier and is the blueprint for a lot of games even today. And I never forget this intro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtK388b9drE