"Great as a game, not so great as a port..."

For those of you who don’t know, the original Sonic Adventure was released for the Sega Dreamcast late in 1999. It was really fun, and became pretty popular among Dreamcast owners, but it was loaded with glitches, mainly because Sega sped up production to get the game out before Christmas.
Fast forward three years. Sega announces that they’re going to port the game to the Nintendo GameCube under the name Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut. When I first heard this news, I was thrilled; I already owned Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, and getting this game would complete my collection. However, one of the main reasons I was so happy was that I thought they would fix up the glitches, thus making the game more fun to play.
I rushed out and got this game the day it came out. As soon as I got home, I popped the dist into my GameCube and played for several straight hours. And after playing it, I must say that it’s certainly an improvement on the Dreamcast version, but Sega defiantly could have done better. Let’s break the game down by category.

Story: 8/10
Yeah, it’s kind of cheesy, but better than most of the 2-D Sonic games. Basically, the evil Dr. Eggman has found a creature called Chaos. Chaos gets stronger every time he eats a Chaos Emerald. Eggman want to find all the Emeralds, make Chaos strong and destroy the world. Sonic and Tails want to stop him. Big whoop. However, there are some cool story elements, and it’s fun to play through the game with every character and see how the stories tie in with each other.

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics, though not updated much from the original version, are still nice. Everything has a sharp feel to it, and the colors are all rich. The characters are also a bit shinier than in the Dreamcast version. However, the NPCs are all kind of chunky, and it would have been nice to see better water effects, more rounded cliffs, ect. In the end, the graphics are good, but could have been much better.

Gameplay: 8/10
For the most part, gameplay is fun. Sonic’s levels are probably the best, combining the simple “get to the end of the stage” style with pure action. Tails’ levels are usually races against Sonic, and are also very enjoyable. Knuckles’ levels are a little different – you have to find three Emerald Pieces, using a hot-and-cold style sensor. They aren’t bad, and for the most part are pretty fun. Amy’s levels are like Sonic’s, although not quite as fast. E-102Y’s levels involve running down a path and shooting everything in sight. They are, again, simple, but still pretty fun. Big’s levels are the only disappointing ones; all you do is fish. The lure is hard to control, and whenever a fish breaks off, you die and have to start the level over. Also, whenever you have to walk anywhere, it gets annoying because Big is just so freakin’ slow.
Now, let’s talk about the camera. If it wasn’t for this, I would have given this section 10/10. Yes, the camera is that bad. It gets stuck behind things, won’t move where you want it too, and generally makes some parts of the game a pain. Also, while we’re on the gameplay’s bad side, I must say that the game is loaded with glitches. All too often you fall through the floor to your death. Characters also get stuck on things, slide around on what appears to be flat ground, and sometimes start moving in the wrong direction altogether. It bothers me that Sega didn’t fix these problems; they had plenty of time to do so.

Sound: 9/10
Ah yes, the sound. For the most part, it’s awesome. The music is just... wow. Words cannot describe it. Every track fits in perfectly with the area you happen to be in. The sound effects are good too, from the twang of a spring to the high-pitched clink of a rings.
The only problem I can find in the sound is the voice acting. Sonic and Knuckles sound great, and their voice actors deserve kudos. Eggman’s voice is decent, and he really does sound like a mad scientist, but his voice probably could have been a bit better. Those are the good voices. Now on to the bad. Tails’ voice is just too boyish, and Amy’s voice is so high-pitched and girly it makes your ears bleed. E-102Y is just missing... something, I’m not quite sure what. He just doesn’t sound like a robot. And Big’s voice makes his sound like an idiot. It’s the kind of voice that you would think would be attached to someone who can’t even find his own feet.

Replayability: 9/10
The main game doesn’t take that long to beat, but it does take a while to unlock all the extras. There are 120 collectable “emblems” that you can earn, and when you earn enough, you unlock classic GameGear games. To be honest, most of them aren’t that good, but some of them are decent. There is also a “Missions Mode” in which you must complete hidden missions. Most of them are simple (“Bring the man who is standing in front of the Hamburger Shop back here!”) but some are pretty tough. If you complete enough missions you unlock – surprise! – more GameGear games. There is also a hidden surprise when you get all the emblems and complete all the missions, but you’ll have to find out what that is yourself.
Another feature that adds to the replayability is the Chao Garden, where you get to raise Chao. They are somewhat like those “Tamagotchi” things that were all the range a few years ago. They each have certain abilities, and you can improve on them by giving them animals that you find in the main game. You can also race and breed Chao, and you can download your Chao to a Game Bay Advance and play with your pet on the go.

Overall Score: 8/10 (not an average)
It has lots of glitches, but even so it’s an awesome game that is destined to become a classic. It’s the kind of game that you’ll still be playing years from now, even when the GameCube becomes obsolete.

Rent or Buy?
If you don’t have the Dreamcast version, defiantly buy. Despite all the glitches it’s still really fun and is worth the forty bucks. However, if you already own the Dreamcast version, you should rent it first to see if it’s worth your money.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/11/04