Sonic Heroes is How Old?

There were three defining Sonic the Hedgehog games from my childhood, and that was because I was old enough to actually enjoy them. That isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate the original Sonic games that I would play on the Sega Mega Drive with my brother, but I was terrible, and exclusively relegated to being Tails.

No, when it comes to the Sonic series my top three games were always as follows: Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, a game where I fell in love with the original soundtrack, Sonic Heroes, the eponymous game I’ll be gushing about in this article, and Sonic Adventure: DX, because I never quite recovered from being chased by an Orca.

Now, I was accustomed to the idea that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic DX were old. After all, I have fond memories of playing them on my GameCube, and I was roughly six or seven years old when I would play them most. But Sonic Heroes? That was still modern. That couldn’t be more than 10 — Oh. No wait. This year will be the 20th anniversary of Sonic Heroes.

I remember being eight years old and adamantly taking the role of Team Dark because, to this day, I still think Shadow is the coolest. Team Chaotix gets an honourable mention, as I can’t say that I didn’t love the little Detective Agency vibe they had going for them. But why is it that of all Sonic games Sonic Heroes managed to retain such a firm nostalgia over me?

Truthfully, the reason is pretty obvious. Sonic Heroes was a platforming adventure that encouraged you to play with your family and friends. If I wasn’t playing it with my brother, then I would play it with my friends or my neighbours. We would sit around the TV, and compete with each other because it was the go-to Party game. It helped that unlike Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, it was on the PlayStation 2. I could play it with more of my friends, and that was always something I appreciated.

While I still love Sonic and went out of my way to download Sonic Adventure 2: Battle again, I can’t simply do that with Sonic Heroes. The best thing about that game was the ease of use for multiplayer, and it reminded me how few games were as accessible for younger gamers. After all, I was eight years old, and while I like to think I’m better at games than I was back then, it never felt like it was too much. In fact, I remember how much I loved playing it, and wish I could go back to experience it once more.

Unfortunately, my PS2 has long since entered the realm of limbo and I cannot easily go back. Plus, unlike Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic Adventure DX, I can’t easily download it from Steam. I wish that I could go back to Sonic Heroes, but for now, I think I just have to dream that maybe they will remaster it. After all, it’s been 20 years, and I think it’s time that Sonic Heroes finally gets its resurgence.

So, would you guys like it if Sonic Heroes finally had a remaster, or is it better to leave it abandoned forever?