Sonic Advance

"Sonic Advance: 2D goodness even better"

Yes, I've been playing several Genesis games over the years. When I kept on waiting for ''Sonic the Hedgehog Advance'', I was expecting something closer to SA than the original Genesis titles. Well, how wrong I was! Sure, there are SA/SA2 graphics and grinding, but most of this stuff: music, sound, general gameplay, basically everything is linked to the 2D games of yesterday.

- Gameplay - 7/10
Classic 2D style. Sonic Advance recreates a whole Genesis game, mainly because of its level physics that are equivalent to the ones of Sonic 1, 2, 3, &K. Sonic is fast, Tails has some snazzy flying ability, Knuckles has some great end zone poses, Amy can do good at that hammer, Eggman is in his Egg-O-Matic, and the Chao are excellent! There are a few letdowns, like Amy's control. She doesn't spindash, or spin while running. She doesn't even do a rolljump. The special stage was also very hard. The poor 3D effects made it hard to tell if you were in front of a ring or not. Basically, these special stages are near impossible! Otherwise, great stuff.

- Graphics - 9/10
I didn't expect that the GBA can handle enough colors to make detail to the SA-Style Sonic pics so well. Eggman has perfect colors, the rest a little off-color, but I don't blame Sonic Team. Almost the whole game, level wise, is cel-shaded, and that is what makes a few games good. THe animation is VERY fluid and realistic, and the effects make this game eye-candy and colorful. A letdown is that on a slanted hill, the sprites are a bit pixelated, and Eggman's stuff are also a bit pixelated.

- Sound - 10/10
If you're the kind of person who hears sound for a very good reason, this is one game you will LOVE! The soundtrack is very snazzy, and a few tunes are even remixes of a few tunes from the Genesis games. Take for example the Options and Records Screen, invincibility, and extra lives. The sound effects are also great. Some of these I remember from Sonic CD, others from the Genesis games, and some I don't even know.

- Overall -
Chao garden. Excellent, EXCELLENT level design. Cool graphics. Excellent soundtrack. All this into one half of an original Game Boy cartridge, and it's even a good trip back to the old days of 16-bit! Without doubt, this is the BEST handheld game I have EVER seen, even better than Mario Kart. Can a cartridge have TOO much?

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/01, Updated 12/18/01