I don’t see how “Generations’s” story was so bad. I kinda liked the twist that inverts the whole “monster of the week is the true villain” twist most recent games have done, with it turning out inetead Eggman is the true final boss instead, and actually managed to actually successfully control the monster for once, instead of it turning on him, like they always do.
Kinda made Eggman more of a threat, and showed sometimes he can be competent. Plus it seemed suiting for the anniversary game.
Some of the dialogue was entertaining to me too, I liked the character cameos, some of the nods to the series, and the ending was nice. Sometimes a more simple story isn’t a bad thing.