Design, playability or plot relevance?
Sonic rankings are a nostalgia minefield because the fandom scores three different things. Character design lists crown Shadow and Metal Sonic on pure cool factor. Gameplay lists ask who's actually fun to control, which is why Big the Cat and the fishing levels haunt every discussion. Then there's plot relevance, where Eggman quietly out-ranks half the heroes for carrying decades of story. Era matters too — Adventure-era fans and modern-era fans are ranking different characters with the same names.