The writing is.. worse than I'd thought when I played it as a 13 year old, but the gameplay is from the early era of good 3D Sonic, and the stage layout making a playthrough short means the weaker parts of the design don't need to overstay their welcome too much. As someone who loved 3D Sonic games growing up, and never got into the 2D ones, I don't totally disagree.

If you really want a controversial take: Sonic 06 was a good game with redeeming qualities.