Andrew Humphreys of Hyper, who declared himself not a Sonic fan, said it was "undoubtedly" the best of the series, including the acclaimed but obscure Sonic CD, though he admitted having preferred Sonic 2's special stages by a small margin.
Andrew Humphreys på tidskriften Hyper, som beskrev sig själv som inget Sonic-fan, sade att det var "tveklöst" det bästa i serien, inklusive Sonic CD, men medgav att han föredrog Sonic 2s specialnivåer med en liten marginal.