Sonic Advance 3

"Two characters or not, its not as great as Sonic Advance 2 or even 1..."

I've grown up with the Sonic series all my life, fittingly starting with Sonic 1, and becoming quite attached to classics like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and even Sonic 2. The trio of GBA Sonic's do not compare to the Genesis ones, mainly because the GBA games actually focus too much on speed, and as the guide in Sonic 3 for Genesis as a reference, these GBA games set up traps and pitfalls that take advantage of the speed of Sonic and pals.

With that said, though, after playing the excellent Sonic Advance 2, a game that has its cheap moments (can't stand Sky Canyon still), but there wasn't too much involved as to the individual characteristics of characters. By that, I mean the abilities other characters had, such as Tails' flying ability, Amy's Piko Hammer, or Cream's cheap-as-crap Chao, were not necessary in beating the game. Easier, yes, but that didn't make Sonic's game a total drag. Basically, Sonic Advance 3 tries to magnify everyone's abilities and make it key for gameplay's sake, but it doesn't work as well as I had hoped, and makes Sonic Advance 3 a digression from that of Sonic Advance 2. Now, for the individual points:

Graphics: 9
Graphically, this game is nearly, if not exactly, identical to that of Sonic Advance 2. That's a good thing though, both games are visually wonderful, using a wide range of colors and the like. You'll enjoy the scenery as you fall into a bottomless pit (and it will happen, trust me). Lost a point because of that weird rainbow thing that comes up whenever you beat a Zone boss. I just don't get that at all...

Sound: 8
Standard fare. Robotnik talks now unlike the other GBA games, though all I've heard is 'You're gonna pay for this.' No annoying sounds or anything like that.

Music: 8
Again, no really annoying songs, though if I tried hard enough I could make a case against the Route 99 ones. However, except for the Sunset Hill songs (which give retro homage to Sonic 1's Green Hill Zone), there's nothing that stands out.

Gameplay: 6
Bam. Point deduction. Why. The partner system. In Sonic games past (Sonic 2, 3, Adventure if you play as Sonic), your partner (Tails) was there simply to deal additional boss damage or pick up any rings that you missed. In Sonic 3, the darn fox could even fly you for limited periods of time (assuming you had a second controller). That in itself is fine. However, that's where 'fine' ends.

Say, for example, you play as Sonic, good choice. If you're starting a new game, you'll have no choice but to have Tails as a partner. With Tails as a partner, Sonic can still receive an airlift if needed (if you hold the R button down, an orange circle will surround the main character and he/she grabs his/her partner. Release to do a special attack/ability of that partner. In this case, jumping and releasing R makes Tails fly Sonic up or wherever), but his repertoire of standard moves is reduced to simply his kick thing with B or whatever that is. Soon, you can unlock Knuckles, and find that with him as your partner, your kick thing is stronger, and can now do the insta-shield attack! Problem is, only with Knuckles as his partner can Sonic do that attack. If Amy is his partner, Sonic doesn't do the normal spin attack unless you press B after jumping, opting rather for a hammer, etc. The other character's abilities change similarly depending on your partner. This can create elite combinations (I've heard Knuckles and Cream is a good set), or crappy ones (Tails loses his ability to fly with Knuckles as his partner!).

This system could've used some work, if it needs to be in there to begin with. I'm sure this customization of sorts is refreshing to some, even many, but this detracts from the main focus of the series: speed! Either you're running real fast and the special abilities mean squat (btw, you can only reach 'blur speed' as I call it with Sonic in the team), or the need to use abilities make speed useless. Combined with the bad placement of enemies, spikes, and bottomless pits, that's why Gameplay got only a '6'. Special stages are fun though.

Replayability: 7
I guess going through the stages with different character sets can add to that, not to mention the Chaos Emerald chase (finding 10 chaos in one entire zone, then find a key to get into the special stage? I don't remember getting into special stages that annoying in old Sonic games...). Time and Boss Attacks also add to it as well. No Chao Garden though, so you SA2:B Chao raisers are out of luck.

Overall: 7
By no means is Sonic Advance 3 a bad game. It's still got *some* of the Sonic speed you've come to love, heck, zones are even back to 3 acts instead of the lazy 2. However, in the end, the partner system combined with all the cheap traps does not convince me that it's any better than the other two Sonic Advances, let alone the now legendary Genesis games.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/24/04