"Sonic is finally in 3D, but did it deliver?"

Sonic Adventure

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound 7/10
Ingenuity: 8/10
Replay Value: 8/10

Sonic Adventure launched with the Dreamcast, and is the first fully 3D Sonic game. The transition from 2D to 3D is a hard thing to do for many game companies to do with their flagship titles, but Sonic was done very well, and is a prime example of the magic Sonic Team has. Many were expecting the first 3D Sonic game to be on the Sega Saturn, but Sega decided to wait until the Dreamcast, and this is what they delivered. The story is somewhat similar to the other Sonic games. Dr. Robotnik (referred to as Eggman in the game) is up to no good. This time he's revived an ancient monster named Chaos, who gains power when fed a chaos emerald. Once he is fed all of them, he is unstoppable. Of course, it's up to Sonic to save the day!

The gameplay is excellent. It's a great example of a classic 2D series turning to 3D, yet still keeping the same overall feeling that made the series what it is. Although the series has transformed into a 3D adventure, it still has the feel of a Sonic game. There are six different characters to choose from, and each one plays differently. At first, you can only pick Sonic. The other characters get unlocked as you progress through the story. Eventually, you will be able to play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Big the Cat (a large purple cat with a fishing pole), Amy (a pink hedgehog who seems to be Sonic's love interest. She has a hammer), and E-102 Gamma (a robot from Dr. Robotnik's army who is trying to free all of the animals. He has a gun.). Sonic and Tails have levels similar to the ones found in the classic Sonic games.

You start at the beginning, and you work your way to the end. Sounds a tad boring, but I can assure you, it's the highlight of the game. The levels are designed amazingly, with intense speed, lots of loops, curves, and crazy obstacles. In Knuckles levels, you have to collect shards of the master emerald so he can restore his flying island. E-102's levels are a lot of fun as well. He does a number of things in the beginning of his adventure when he is in Robotnik's army. He can use the laser above his gun to target many enemies at once. The more you hit, the more of a time bonus you get. Later on in his story, you must defeat a robot at the end of each level. Sonic and Tales have the standard “get to the end of the level” objective to complete, which is the most fun out of all the characters. There really is joy in simplicity, and Sonic Team should have kept to it. While the other characters are neat to have, they just feel like filler. Knuckles has decent levels, but they just aren't as much fun as playing Sonic and Tales. Thankfully, S&T have the most levels. On the other end of the spectrum, Amy and Big and have most boring levels out of all the characters. This is where the gameplay takes a huge hit. Neither of them are really fun to play as. Amy is trying to protect a bird whose parents were kidnapped by Robotnik. An evil robot is stalking her, and it chases you in every one of the levels, so you have to be quick and get away from it. In Big's levels, you must locate his lost friend froggy (a frog), and fish for him using his rod. Sounds like a blast, doesn't it? Sonic Team should have just left both these characters out of the game, or made playing as them more fun.

Unfortunately, the game has a big camera problem that keeps it from achieving perfection. There will be many times when the camera gets stuck behind an object, and you can't see where you're going. This is a problem in many 3D games, but a generally fast paced game like Sonic makes it all that much more worse. There aren't many things more frustrating than flying through loops and between enemies only to have the camera stuck behind a tree and run off a drop.
The game's levels are excellently designed, and are a sight to behold. The speed is absolutely beautiful. The Sonic universe has been perfectly recreated in full 3D. The Lava world, and the Lost World levels have very impressive graphics. The main city is gorgeous, and all the characters look great. Sonic and friends have excellent animation, and don't move choppy at all.

The music on the other hand, is very disappointing. The 2D Sonic games are often hailed as having some of the best music on the Genesis, or anywhere else. Many fans will be really let down when they hear the bland and somewhat annoying singing music that Sonic Team decided to include in this one. Bring back the old music! Also, the voice acting is kind of lame. All of the characters sound decent except for Tales, who just sounds god awful. It literally sounds like they got either a girl, or a very young boy to play him.

Replay value is another strong category. With six characters, there are a ton of things to do, and a lot of levels to play. Each one has their own secret levels and upgrades to find, and emblems to collect. One of the coolest features added is the Chao raising game. Chao are little virtual pets found in the game that you can take care of, and race. It can be pretty cool to raise a Chao, and lots of fun to race them.

Overall, Sonic Adventure is a great game, and a must buy for any Dreamcast owner. It's great to see another excellent transition from 2D to 3D. Everyone's favorite hedgehog is back, and looking better than ever.

Final Score (Not an average): 84%

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/04