"Like Being Spoonfed Several Hundred Tons of Adrenaline"

This is my first new Sonic game in over 6 years, and I am pleased to report that the magic has not left the fastest hedgehog of them all.

When I got my Dreamcast, the main reason was so I could play Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It was unavailable, and so I decided to be content for the time being with this game and Sonic Shuffle, which were part of a package deal. When I saw the words NOT FOR RESALE stamped across this game, my heart sank. What if this game was no good? I put the game in, I was blasted into oblivion by the opening, and I decided that I was perhaps hasty in judgement. I played, and here are the results.

The word ''Adventure'' certainly fits this game, as it is, in fact, an adventure game. While the Sonic games of yore were mindless fun, blasting through mazes and bosses, all to be taken in a single gulp, this game incorporates a story so the action stages don't happen in such rapid succession. In Sonic's quest, for example, he fights his first boss immediately, and then makes his way to the first action stage, the makes his way to another part to fight his second boss, then receives a key so he can open the second action stage and so on. There are also NPC's wandering around that you can talk to, but they seldom have anything vital to say. While it would be laughable to compare the adventure stages to the likes of Final Fantasy or the Legend of Zelda, they certainly add bones to the meat of the action stages.

There are a total of six playable characters, each being unlocked when you encounter them in somebody else's adventure (only Sonic is available initially). Sonic the Hedgehog himself is of course the fastest playable character in the game. He can slice up enemies with his quills and travel across thin air, using only a trail of rings or enemies to guide him. Tails the fox, Sonic's buddy, can fly under his own power and whip enemies with his twin appendages. He can also pilot an airplane. Knuckles the Echidna, another Sonic stalwart, joins the fun. He can glide over great distances and climb walls. He packs a powerful punch and can dig underground. Amy Rose, the pink hedgehog, has made brief appearances in the past as Sonic's girlfriend, but now is a fully developed heroine with a mission all of her own. Her only weapon is a hammer, but she makes good use of it. Two all-new characters are available as well. Big the cat is a dull-witted, err... big cat who carries his fishing pole everywhere for both its intended purpose and as a weapon. A robot named E-102 (codename: Gamma) rebels against Dr. Robotnik and fights for good. He can hover over water and fire homing missiles. Very impressive.

And of course, there are villains. Dr. Robotnik (affectionately referred to as ''Eggman'' by our heroes) has returned with some of the biggest and most dangerous machines he has created yet, not to mention a flying fortress that is dwarfed only by a Star Destroyer. The evil doctor has also allied himself with an ancient beast known only as ''Chaos'', who is much more than he appears to be. The action stages are populated with a menagerie of robots to impede your progress. You may even end up fighting one of your own teammates!

It is, of course in the action stages where the real fun begins. Each character has a specific goal: Sonic must reach the end, Tails must reach the end before Sonic, Knuckles must find 3 hidden emeralds, Amy must reach the end without getting captured, Big must catch his pal Froggy and Gamma must retrieve or destroy a designated target before he runs out of time. Accomplishing these deeds earn you emblems, and you can replay levels to try harder challenges for even more emblems.

The action stages are populated with enemies and obstacles, but also traditional Sonic conventions, like rings, bumpers, launchers, item containers, and even rockets. A particularly helpful new addition is the hintballs, glowing orbs scattered in strategic positions of both the action stages and adventure fields. They will give context-sensitive advice, and they themselves hold a secret. The levels themselves are varied and contain surprises: a pleasant stroll along a beach becomes a nightmare as a killer whale starts smashing the dock you are walking on, for example. There is also a suspended walkway in the sky, a casino (of course), a treacherous glacier, a wild amusement park, a strange highway, twisting high above a bustling metropolis, a volcanic mountain, the sky deck of Robotnik’s flying fortress, a manufacturing plant, an ancient city, and the heart of Robotnik’s base. While multiple characters may visit the same area, the routes they take will vary.

The story is very intricate. In general, the stories of classic Sonic games were a paragraph in the manual and a ten-second cinematic in the actual game. This game has a story that is rich and involving, with echoes of everything from “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Steven King’s It” to “Pocahontas”. There are literally hours of cinematics, beautifully animated and powerfully underscored. As each character completes their missions, they will learn fragments of a horrific and violent episode 3000 years ago, with aftershocks threatening to destroy civilization today, thanks to Robotnik, who has meddled with powers beyond his control. I won’t spoil the details, but as you experience the story through the eyes of each character, you’ll want to know how it ends. And if you’re diligent, you’ll find out.

And did I mention the A- life system? You will be able to raise and care for adorable little characters called Chaos (pronounced “Chows”) and make them race other Chaos to win emblems. Each Chao can grow in different ways, depending on how you raise it and which animals (rescued from destroyed enemies: another nod to the glory days) you let it cavort with. These little creatures hold a secret as well.

GRAPHICS

It must have been a considerable chore to design this game, as the levels are not only large but are subjected to higher speeds than they would in an action game and indeed in most racing games. Fortunately, the levels hold together well, pop-up is minimal and fog nonexistent. The characters are rendered to almost perfection, and the level of expression and detail is astounding. You can even tell how your Chao is feeling just by looking at them. And then we get to light refraction, water warp, reflections, splashes, colour mood, flames, shadow... why not just say that this game is graphically beautiful and leave it at that? There are minor flaws, like Amy’s legs occasionally popping through her skirt, but these are few and far between. The opening is a feast for the eyes and ears.

CONTROL

Like graphics, control would be expected to be difficult, given the high speeds at which you must react. Controlling Sonic and the rest a high speeds is seldom difficult, and indeed you’ll adapt rather soon. The controls for fishing are, as you would hope, spot-on. Controlling the camera is another matter, as it has a habit of getting stuck in walls and floors, pivoting like a drunken ape on a tire swing, and jarringly switching angles in the middle of the action, even if it is absolutely necessary for survival that you have a clear shot. The camera may be the one thing that will sour your experience.

SOUND

The sound and music should be discussed separately, and I will do so. Some sound effects are recycled from the old games, like the sound when you jump, spin dash, and lose your rings. There is a lot of voice acting, and it is done well. Sonic sounds how I personally expected him to sound. Tails is voiced, happily, by an actual young boy, who makes a good go at it. Knuckles sounds somewhat like Sonic, but with more gravity and maturity. Amy has a brassy voice that suggests that she has lived in the city for quite a while. Big is voiced by Jon St. John, a.k.a. Duke Nukem, and he sounds like a mentally challenged but gentle giant. E-102 has a mechanical voice that in nonetheless expressive in its own way. Dr. Robotnik is all bluster, cackles and gradiose threats. It is fine work.

MUSIC

The music is amazing and varied, from jazz to ragtime to girl group to heavy metal. Each character has his or her own theme song, with vocal and a unique style. The music will blow your mind. Only two classic Sonic tunes are recycled, but you’ll recognize them right away.

CONCLUSION

There are a few faults aside from the ones cited above: the fishing quest, while well designed, seems like ridiculous padding, the ring system should have been replaced by a standard life-meter system, and there are so many invisible holes in the walls and floors that I was planning on calling Bob Vila, but overall the game is amazing. The challenge, the speed and the charm of the old days is still there, like an old friend who has changed clothes but is still the same person. Play. You’ll fall in love within a minute. Tearing down Speed Highway at one hundred clicks never fails to satisfy, and the story, music and challenges will keep you playing for months and maybe years. That, my friends, is what a good adventure is all about.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/01, Updated 09/15/01