Sonic Adventure 2 - Review

Slayer1189 Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:06 am

Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Price: 800MSP

First released on the Dreamcast back in 2001, Sonic Adventure 2 has returned on XBLA. The Battle content from the Gamecube release is also available for the extra cost of 240 MSP. Sonic Adventure 2 is a huge sonic game content-wise and was received very well back in 2001. Does it still fare well? Do you have what it takes to collect all 180 emblems to unlock a secret gift?

Sonic Adventure 2 has a unique story as far as Sonic games go. You can choose to play the Hero side (controlling Sonic, Tails and Knuckles) or the Dark side (controlling Shadow, Dr Eggman and Rouge). Each side of the story has its own set of levels – therefore playing through as each side is needed for a full experience – all of which are executed in 3 main styles. Other than this feature of playing Hero or Dark, the story is the ‘tried and tested’ formula that Dr Eggman wants the Chaos Emeralds and it’s up to Sonic and friends to stop him.

Though the Hero story sees the return of 3 very familiar faces (I’m almost certain my gran could identify Sonic, Tails and Knuckles ), two of the characters present in the Dark side are not as well known… in fact, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat made their first appearance in the original release of Sonic Adventure 2 way back in 2001, though they have both re-appeared since in other Sonic titles.

Shadow is an artificially created life-form who bears a large resemblance to Sonic. He manages to attain the speed of Sonic by using hover shoes in a ‘roller-skating’ motion. Rouge the Bat is a treasure hunter who seeks the greatest treasure she can find. She gets involved in the events of Sonic Adventure 2 whilst attempting to steal the Master Emerald with Knuckles guarding it.

Gameplay is split into three main categories depending on which character the level is designed for. Sonic and Shadow levels are 3D Fast paced platforming levels where speed and accuracy is demanded to nail some great level times, these are the levels Sonic fans know and love.

Next up there are the Tails and Dr Eggman levels which play as shooting stages where the characters walk around in suits/vehicles and target enemies with missiles. These levels feel very slow paced and often sluggish on a first run-through but replaying them seems much quicker and more enjoyable due to knowing exactly where to go and having additional upgrades, such as a hover boost.

Then there are the Knuckles and Rouge levels. These levels are free roaming with an objective to find three of a particular item - e.g. a gate key. As you search the levels, an indicator will flash green when the player enters the correct vicinity and progresses through yellow and finally red when the player is extremely close (think of the children’s game of “Hot and Cold”). These levels are generally quite enjoyable however some of the levels are large and it becomes laborious flying around anticipating the little indicator to start flashing a colour.

Finally there are a few minigames and most notably, the Chao garden. Chao’s are little creatures that the player can raise and breed in the Chao garden similar to a Tamagotchi. They get hungry, tired, want to play etc. Rings collected can be used to customise Chao with many accessories or toys in the Chao shop or to buy a new Chao egg.

The player can increase their stats by giving them ‘Chaos drives’ and animals found by playing the levels in the main game. The point of increasing Chao stats is so that they can participate in race and karate events and to get Chao with great base stats requires breeding or buying expensive ‘rare’ Chao eggs. The Chao races and karate both with varying levels of difficulty and emblems available for winning – simply having maxed stats may not be enough to win the tougher Chao challenges if the Chao has poor base stats. All of which makes the Chao garden a fairly extensive minigame.

Emblems are the reward given for clearing any aspect of the game. There are 180 emblems in total; Five for each story level plus extras available for Chao karate, Chao races, kart racing and boss rush mode. Getting all 180 will take some time and also requires all ‘A’ ranks in the game. The emblems are enjoyable to go for and achieving all of them is a monumental task. Sonic fans will be delighted to experience the secret unlocked when all 180 have been attained. Getting ‘A’ ranks can be very fun to get especially the Sonic and Shadow levels. However, at times the Knuckles and Rouge levels can be influenced a lot by luck and can be a bit tedious to work through.

Graphically the game is just as it was over a decade ago. Compared to the standard now, it is rough around the edges - however it still doesn’t look terrible by any means and back in 2001 the graphics were considered top-notch for a 3D platformer. Playing through I did encounter some issues with camera angles erratically shifting perspective, plus the scenery at times was glitchy. Although these issues were in the Dreamcast version, back then there was no better alternative so it was more forgivable.

The graphical style is very vivid and traditional Sonic bold colours. The Setting can vary greatly from dark ruins and city streets to overgrown jungles and a crazy neon space fortress – so the backdrop certainly doesn’t become boring.

The soundtrack is impressive, as you would come to expect from a Sonic title - a series very famous for its music. The music isn’t of the same style as the original Sonic titles, but instead replaces catchy 8/16 bit tunes with upbeat instrumental tracks, songs with vocals and even rap! I have found myself humming away to the Metal Harbour song or singing “Live and Learn”.

As far as content goes Sonic Adventure 2 is stuffed full of it! As mentioned above, he game has an immense 180 emblems to earn and getting them all is no easy task. Clearing all of the story modes only takes around 6 hours, but by that point you will have earned less than 40 emblems – barely scratching the surface. Each level then has 4 more emblems to obtain, each offering a different challenge. Add this to the Chao raising aspect of the game, minigames such as kart racing and boss rush mode, plus battle DLC for an extra 240MSP and you’ve got yourself 50-60+ hours of game time (which could vary greatly or even double depending on skill/a bit of luck).

Overall Sonic Adventure 2 is still a great game today and any Sonic fan should definitely check it out. If you played it back when it was first released then you know what to expect – nothing has been changed. Camera angles and glitchy scenery can be frustrating and the Tails/Eggman, Knuckles/Rouge levels can feel tedious to work through the first time. However, if a player can persevere through these minor issues they can expect to be rewarded with a challenging, enjoyable and satisfying experience with tons of content making it easily worth the cost of 800MSP.

Rating: 8/10

Tenlo Sun Oct 14, 2012 8:39 am

Awesome review mate, I think I've slowly picked up every Sonic game out so far but this is one I never got round to playing on Dreamcast so I look forward to giving this a shot in the future, it definitely seems like SEGA are on a roll at the moment!

TreeMunky Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:01 am

Great review fella. Sounds like a stack of fun. Will pick this up for sure. I've got to say I'm all up for classic ports but I would love to see SEGA bring the old magic to a new IP.

**KENT HAMMER** Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:52 am

Nice one Slayer!

I am all about the Mario though Wink

Colne Crusader Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:55 am

Top notch review!!!

I never got round to buying this on the Dreamcast yet. It's on my list though. I've got the first game, and enjoyed that. I'll probably pick up a hard copy for the Dreamcast rather than buy this version though. Especially if there is no graphical update.

Great work dude.

Leigh36295 Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:50 am

I loved the first Sonic Adventure when I had it on Dreamcast, but never bothered with the 360 port. I had this one on the Gamecube too, but never really liked it, all I remember from it was trying to find the things as knuckles and getting frustrated so just trading it in.

This review however has made me want to replay a game that I pretty much dispised 10 years ago, so good review Wink

TheTCD Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:27 am

I thought the DC version was superb, but after the first Sonic Adventure port for the 360, I was worried that perhaps it was a rose tinted view. Glad to know that it's been done well. Great review man.

Slayer1189 Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:11 pm

Thanks for the great response people Very Happy

I'm not a huge Sonic fan but i've played most of them and i'd say this and Sonic Generations are the best 3D Sonic games IMO. For people who aren't bothered about picking it up straight away I think every XBLA sonic game has went on sale several times so there will always be a chance Smile

+1 to TreeMunky's post, but I don't trhink we'll see it for a while as SEGA have announced another 4 classic re-releases as far as i'm aware. One of the only classic games I really want released is Knuckles Chaotix as it's so rare and never been re-released Shocked

@Leigh - if you make it through the story once, those levels won't be as bad, mainly as you know roughly where the items can be (no flying around for 10 minutes lol)

TheTCD Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:07 pm

Slayer1189 wrote:Thanks for the great response people

I'm not a huge Sonic fan but i've played most of them and i'd say this and Sonic Generations are the best 3D Sonic games IMO. For people who aren't bothered about picking it up straight away I think every XBLA sonic game has went on sale several times so there will always be a chance

+1 to TreeMunky's post, but I don't trhink we'll see it for a while as SEGA have announced another 4 classic re-releases as far as i'm aware. One of the only classic games I really want released is Knuckles Chaotix as it's so rare and never been re-released

@Leigh - if you make it through the story once, those levels won't be as bad, mainly as you know roughly where the items can be (no flying around for 10 minutes lol)

I still have my copy of Chaotix in my mum's loft. I remember it was frustrating to play but still great fun, and that it had some amazing music, and a really cool sound test screen where the game would show the music being played on a keyboard, so you theoretically could learn to play it for real. I might have to dig all my old MD stuff out for a nostalgia trip.

**minkey_monkey** Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:02 am

I never really got into the whole Sonic series. I played a couple of the first but always found them a bit hard because of the speed sonic went at, I found my eyes couldn't quite focus right. I do like the idea of the Chao garden though lol. I used to love tamagotchis as a kid hehe, so that appeals to me.

Stella review sir.

GrahamOfTheDead Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:07 am

I'll probably pick it up when it goes on sale. I'm a Sonic fan, but I still haven't touched the first Sonic Adventure yet. Good review!

Ba5sett Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:20 am

Great review mate, I used to absolutely love this on the Dreamcast

Sh00t3rmcgavin2 Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:26 pm

Nice review dude, as always!

Guest Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:40 pm

Nice review. Not for me though as I get bored of sonic games pretty quickly

Jevil Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:46 pm

It's great to play this game again Razz

the last game before sonic games went iffy iirc. I kind of wish they added a xbox live function for chao races, that alone would make it even more awesome lol. You and 7 of your mates racing against each other using wee chao that you've raised up. Wink

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