On the contrary I think we're finding out there's not a universal consensus at all (although if we want to use the next closest thing, Metacritic has Colors at 78 and Generations at 77.) I'd probably pin Colors a couple points higher than it is but that's splitting hairs.
And jumping into the franchise late lets me see it without nostaliga blinders. The Gen games were fun, solid platformers but I find a couple of the design decisions baffling, and Sonic 1 in particular has a couple rough edges that surprised me after years of hearing it called a "classic."
You're like the third person I've met who's disliked Unleashed/Colors/Generations because of the "boost gameplay," and also the third who started the franchise as a kiddy with the Gen games. Coincidence? I find the boost gameplay a ton of fun. Like I said, it's arcadey time-attacky twitch action-platformer gameplay that can't really be found anywhere else.
