They are bad though, why shouldn't we dunk on them

Superstars was terrible.

I'd rather play Sonic 4.

Superstars was fine at best. Not good, not bad, not horrible, not Mania ranks, just fine.

Superstars was okay to me. May not be much coming from someone who actually likes these games, but i’d rather play Sonic 4 ANY day.

I like Superstars too. Not great, but enjoyable enough to play.

Honestly, Mania is the only game out of these that's the best. Superstars was just good, but Sonic 4 was okay.

But why do people keep dunking on Sonic 4 so much. It's decent at worst, but it's certainly better than the mess that is Sonic Jam on the Game.com.

The Mania vs. Superstars debate is another one of my pet peeves. Pretty much everyone says the former game is better and more innovative. Better maybe, but more innovative? I'm pretty sure Superstars introduced more to the franchise than Mania, which mostly just reuses content from classic games, changes it slightly, and calls it a day.

Difference being that Superstars was bad at implementing what it did.

Originality ≠ Quality

Mania's levels are returnees, but everything about them was revamped from scratch. Plus it actually works as intended.