Sonic Adventure
Release: 1999
System: Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox Live, Playstation Network
Release: 1999
System: Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox Live, Playstation Network
So the Genesis has faded out along with it's mutated add ons, and the Saturn is tanking. Let's face it, the late 90's weren't Sonic's best. Sonic X-treme was canceled before we knew it, and Sonic's latest outings haven't been the hottest. Nintendo and Sony were in the lead, and Sega needed something big...
Enter the Sega Dreamcast, sporting some impressive launch titles such as Soulcalibur, Power Stone, and the reason I bought the thing in the first place, Sonic Adventure. Finally, the first full fledged 3D adventure to rival Mario 64!
... three years later, of course.
So is this it? The 3D Sonic game we've been waiting for? After 3D Blast, it better be!
STORY
Oh, here we go! Robo- from this point on he shall be addressed as Eggman. Why?
This is an Eggman:
http://eggmanempire....gman_heroes.png
THIS is a Robotnik:
http://fc09.devianta...IceBlazer17.jpg
ANYWAY, Eggman has come to the conclusion that imprisoning animals in robots just isn't working anymore, so he take a new route of action. He learns of an ancient creature trapped inside the Master Emerald which has the power to wipe out mankind through the power of the Chaos Emeralds. He of course breaks the monster out with hopes of controlling it, which leads to a series of chain reactions such as sinking Knuckles' homeland, Sonic and Tails racing Eggman to the Chaos Emeralds and more, before the creature dubbed Chaos can harness the power and destroy the city.
The story is done pretty well, and how each story is weaved together is pretty entertaining. For example, one level has Sonic and Tails racing around Eggman's air ship, and later on in the stage, balanced is thrown out of whack and the two are getting thrown all over the place. Later on when you're playing as Knuckles (who turns out to be on the ship at the same moment as the others), you have to change the balance of the ship in order to hunt for Emerald shards. I just love that idea.
SCORE: 
out of
out of DESIGN
As I mentioned, the game is broken up into multiple stories. The player has to play through the six characters in order to get the whole picture. You start the game off with Sonic and throughout your adventure you'll meet the five other characters, which will unlock their stories and so on.
Now, you start off in the games adventure field. These areas break up the levels from one another, and helps with pushing the story along. The adventures field is broken into three parts; Station Square, the Mystic Ruins and the Egg Carrier. As the story progresses, specific events take place which will effect the fields. For example, to unlock the Casino level you have to wait until nightfall, and later on in the game when Sonic and Tails are separated, the train to the Mystic Ruins is out of order, leaving you stuck in Station Square where you have to set off another event to move the story along.
Now we have the meat of the game, the Action Stages. Finally, 3D platforming! These levels are broken up into eleven stages each with their own unique designs. Sure we have the fire stage, the ice one and even the flying ship of death... but at the time these were levels of the like we have never seen. I was nine. My mind was blown.
But looking at it now... it's still pretty cool, but I really wish the levels and fields had more secrets for the audience... Oh, and the Director's Cut is a joke. The updated graphics are nice, but a slew of fetch quests, a bag of Gamegear games, and a new box cover isn't a "Director's Cut". Try harder, Sega.
SCORE: out of
out of GAMEPLAY
The game is broken up by six characters: Sonic is all about racing to the end of the level. Tails has to race Sonic to the finish. Kncukles has to find the Chaos Emeralds. Amy spends her time protecting a Flicky from Eggman's creations known as ZERO. E-102 Gamma is a robot out to free his brothers. Big the Cat... fishes. Each of these characters have their own unique play mechanics, not just in terms of how you control them but how to beat their levels. Sonic and Tails have the same goals, but Sonic has a homing attack and spin dash, while Tails can fly and attack with his twin tails. Along with his gliding and wall climbing, Knuckles can now throw punches. Amy has to avoid the robot throughout her levels while searching for an exit, and Gamma is constantly fighting the clock, only to come face to face with one of his brothers at the end of the stage, acting as a sort of mini-boss. Big the Cat... Fishes.
At the time, the game seemed enormous with all these characters to choose from, but in time you realize just how short each of the characters games are. Sonic has the most stages (ten), while everyone else has five or less.
As for the levels, the designs are all right. The visuals were great for the time, and even to day they don't look to shabby. Though, I would have loved more varity in the stages between characters. No character has their own individual level, and even some bosses were recycled for a few characters.
Personally, my biggest problem was the side characters in general. Knuckles was fun to control, but jewel hunting got old. Amy's levels were a little on the boring side, Gamma was an "Eh" shooter and Big the Cat... you know.
Look, the idea of six playable characters is awesome... but I would rather have a bunch of great Sonic levels than a few ones with a bunch of "Okay-ish" side-kick levels... that just re-hash the same levels with slight twists.
SCORE: out of
out of PRESENTATION
I'm... really mixed on this one here... On on hand, the visuals for the level designs and the characters look great! On the other hand, the characters animations need quite a bit of work.
On one hand, the music is the usual Sega quality we can count on. On the other, most of the theme songs come off as a bit cheesy, and the acting is just PRETTY painful.
Right, the visuals. I love the opening video and the games main theme (one of the vocal songs I do like) fits perfectly. Then we see the in game designs. Not bad at all, the characters looked great in 3D and the environments were wonderfully detailed. However, the animation in the in game cutscenes is just awkward at times. Stances, mouth movements and lip-syncing, walking in place, and Sonic and Knuckles' infamous eyebrows:
Watch Sonic and Knuckles' eyes... just watch...
Then there's the music department. As I said, the music is great here. I doubt I'll be humming the tunes any time soon, but they fit nicely. The acting however... ranges from passable to... just cringe-worthy. The writing has issues. To me, some of the dialogue needs work, but that's only half of the problem. The voices work for me, but the acting is all over the place at points. Sometimes the characters are dull and lifeless, and other times it feels way to forced. It just didn't sound natural.
The story might be fine, but some questionable voice acting and a lousy script just drags it under.
SCORE: out of
out of OVERALL
So was this the next gen Sonic game we hoped for? Well, it certainly did the job. Sure, nostalgia kept it going strong for me. I picked it up for the first time in years, and I just couldn't get into it like I did so many years ago. I can't pick it up and play it with 100 percent satisfaction like I can with Mario 64... but for the time, it was exactly what fans were waiting for; a thrill-ride staring their favorite blue rodent... and friends... and Big.
These days, while I don't like it as much as I used to, it's still a good game... It just lost the shine it had so many years ago.
SCORE: 
out of
out of (Note- the 3D render of SatAM Robotnik was done by http://iceblazer17.deviantart.com/ )
