From what I've played, it IS the worst on the Nintendo side (not counting the handhelds). Seriously, go back and play it again. Poor graphics (particularly AFTER SA2B), mildly broken gameplay (seriously, Tails is WAY too easy, and Amy and Big are horrid), really dull adventure fields (why on EARTH Sega decided to continue using them is beyond me), poor upgrade system (only ONCE is one of the upgrades useful on a past level, it's the light shoes in Windy Valley, and it actually takes LONGER) ... While I enjoy playing it (a game with Sky Deck is automatically a good one), the others are far better. True, I haven't played Shadow yet, but it's on my todo list.