Sonic Advance 3

"Yeah, the other Sonic Advances were good. This is Genesis-quality, however."

Introduction

To start with, Sonic Advance was released on GBA in 2002. It was a nice welcome back to the classic Sonic 2D action we all know and love. But was there a catch? Yes. The game was too slow, especially compared to the others in the series. The game was still good, but definitely not the best. On top of that, it was quite short, too. Then, a year later, out comes Sonic Advance 2, and it took a turn in the 2D series. Now this game was fast! Fastest Sonic in the series. This game took an approach to the Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic & Shadow stages, where it's more linear in levels and faster. Sounds nice, right? It does, except for one good element they left out: Good platform action. That's right. Sure, it has a few platforms here and there, but Sonic Advance 2 is known for its, "always holding right" thing in its stages, because that's pretty much what you do. Just keep holding right in a direction, go as fast as you can, and jump a few platforms here and there. Although that might not be the best to put it, it's just a not-so-broken down way that still works. It was still okay, but the Genesis games had more platform action and still had good speed. Sonic Heroes came along on GCN in January. It had good classic Sonic action in 3D, and with teamwork, because you'd travel along with two companions. Then, Sonic Advance 3 gets released, and here we go. Lose one partner, keep the speed, and bring back the good platform action and level design. Success.

Graphics: 9/10

The sprites are kinda cartoony-looking, and are exactly the same as Sonic Advance 1 & 2's. The level design detail is basically the same in terms of structure and platforms, etc., until you see the background. The background is astounding, starting with the first level, a highway called Route 99. The buildings in the background have different sides to them. And Sunset Hill has a beautiful sunset appearance as well as a trip back to 1990 with Green Hill Zone's background, sort of. But fast forward a few stages and get to Chaos Angel. Beautiful. Just beautiful. The pinks and purples in the sky are just too awesome. You're above the clouds, and lightning strikes every now and then, as a flash, though. But it just goes to show how much attention they payed to this.

Sound: 9/10

Classic sounds and Advance sounds are back in this, but with a boatload of new tunes as well. The rolling sound from the Advance games is back, as well as the ring tune and the, "Bwoop" of a jump. But now, things have changed for the better. Well, for one, the title theme isn't just a few notes, like in Advance 1 & 2. The character select screen music is different, too. But it gets really good when you get into the first level, Route 99. It's a fast-paced theme that just gets you ready to blast through to the stage. Exciting, too. And each Act has its own variation, like in Sonic Advance 2. But then, comes Sunset Hill, and if you've played Sonic 1 and liked Green Hill Zone, you're in for a treat. The music in Chaos Angel is also very good, too. And the boss theme kinda reminds me of Sonic 2's, but it's much better. It's not as cool as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but it's very good in its own way. And the invincibility tone is the same as Sonic Advance 2's. Just wanted to let you know in advance. Now, although the music is good, it sounds more like the Advance games' then the Genesis games. They were more...cooler, in a sort of sense. The Advances' were kinda less "cool" in that same sort of sense, but were still very good. I give this a 9.

Gameplay: 9/10

Like I said, it's kinda like a return to the good ol' days. A perfect blend of speed and platform action, with the occasional puzzle here and there. But now, you get a partner to go with you, too. And, as you might have guessed, you can use team actions, too. You can use some of your moves, and "borrow" their moves, too. For instance, if you partner up with Tails, you can use his flying. Like, if you "call" Tails over to you with the R shoulder button, he'll come to you and you hold him, while holding the R shoulder button. If you release it, he'll toss you way high. If you jump and then release it, he'll fly you. The team actions vary with the pairing. So, Sonic can get an insta-shield or double jump with Knuckles, and a jump dash with Cream. That might be a small problem, with getting used to it and which moves you like and which moves you think will work best and all, but overall, I think it's a great innovation for Sonic games, and is much better than Sonic Heroes' teamwork style. Oh, and one more thing. The level diversity is much better, now. You have a highway, a green hill zone, a water zone, a sky zone, etc. In the other two Sonic Advance games, outside of layout and looks, not very many things changed between zones, with the exception of the sky zone. Now, the levels are much more diverse.

Replay: 9/10

After playing the first time through, will you want to play it again? Well, actually, there are a lot of things you can do. Time attack, collect Chao, go to the Chao Garden, play mini-games, and of course, find the Chaos Emeralds. It uses a find the key system thing, which is much like Sonic Advance 2's SP rings. That's kind of annoying. It might be a good challenge to some, but finding 50 rings and going into a checkpoint/giant ring, or just finding a giant ring (Sonic 3 & Knuckles) is something I would pick any day over that.

Overall: 9/10

It's a great game with a wonderful return to the classic Sonic action we all know and love, with an added partner, and beautiful stages and good music. Nice to see Tails do something more than just copy Sonic all the time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/04