Sonic Advance 2

"This game is so great, it makes the first sonic game for the GBA look like crap"

Quite a few things have changed since the blue hedgehog went to Nintendo. Already having a port of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Gamecube and a somewhat good GBA game, Sonic Advance, sonic returns on the GBA. When you first start up, it seems like much has changed. It now feels like a mixture of Sonic Adventure style secrets and Sonic adventure 2 layout.

The gameplay is a interesting style of old and new. Just like the very first sonic game, there are two acts and a boss act, even though all of act 3 is the boss battle. The levels are very similar to the first sonic advance game, with a odd ball of arangements in the level type. In a way, it feels more like the first Rayman with its themes.

One of the biggest changes in the series is the Robotnik/Eggman bosses. The new style was first used in Sonic & Knuckles in the Mushroom Hill boss battle, and has never been used since in a 2D sonic game. Even though this gets repetitive and somewhat boring, it is a fresh idea for the series.

Another change from the first Sonic Advance is almost everything has to be unlocked. In the first one, the sound test, chao garden, and characters were all available when you first started. Now, you must unlock the characters by playing the story mode as sonic and collecting all of the chaos emeralds for those characters. Same with the sound test and chao garden, they must be unlocked with a certain ammount of emeralds.

Graphics: Very improved from the first sonic game for the GBA. Colorful backrounds, good character sprites, and no major slowdown. This is definatly up to GBA standards. 10/10

Sound: Fortunatly, the sound for this game is greatly improved from the first GBA game, but still lacks in some areas. The main problem I have with the sound is the lack of catchy tunes. Usually, the 2D sonic games had some of the best music. Now, it sounds pretty dull, but not bad. The boss battle music is a great plus. 7/10

Controll: Definatly a winner. One of the best things about 2D sonic games is the smooth controll and fast pace action. It all applys here 10/10

Final: While not in the leages of the best sonic games (Sonic 3 and Knuckes, Sonic CD, Sonic Adventure), it sure comes close. This one will definatly not dissapoint. FINAL RATEING: 10/10

Scores:
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 7/10
Controll: 10/10
Fun: 10/10
Challenge: Hard
Worth Buying?: Yes
FINAL: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/03, Updated 06/26/03