Sonic Advance 3

"Eat Sonic's dust."

After the fiasco that was Sonic Heroes, many Sonic fans wanted a new game. One that was fun. One that was fast. One with solo character gameplay....

Well, this isn't it.

It uses a partner system, but it is FAR superior to anything Heroes made. No cumbersome switching, and you barely tell he/she is there, yet it changes your attack set for ENDLESS COMBINATIONS! (Well, actually 20 combinations, but still.)

Wait, I should save this for the gameplay section. Ah well, on with the review.

Gameplay 20/10 (But I'll just put it at 10)
New stuff first: Now you can choose a partner character with the new partner system. The characters of the Advance series (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream) can be matched up any way you want, making for 20 different combinations! Even as you blast through the levels with your lead character, you can also use you other character's abilities! Without the much put down Heroes swapping system, too. (Furthermore, if you have two cartridges and a link cable, you can play co-op mode.)

Now this game lived higher than my expectations. Other than the partner system, it plays like Sonic Advance 2 (minus the running boss battles). Lots of speed mixed with some enemy bashing, some platforming, and a bit of puzzle solving (but not much.) Also, the levels are much longer than SADV2, taking up to 7 minutes in length. And there is 3 acts per zone, making it a better game. And by better, I mean longer. And by longer, I mean better. Wait, I just confused myself.

Wait, puzzles?! Well, not PUZZLES exactly. But you may not be able to gain access to a given area with one character combination, but you can go through with another.

Graphics 6/10
Now, don't get me wrong, these are some of the best GFX on the Game Boy Advance, here.
But my gripe is the simple fact that these are just re-used from past GBA games.
No, no, that's not a bad thing either, it's just annoying.

Game Story 7/10
Dr. Eggman is up to his dastardly tricks again! (No, you think?) This time, he smashed the world into seven parts with Chaos Control. Guess what else he plans to do? If you guessed 'build an evil Eggman Empire amidst the confusion', then you are correct!!

Anyway, It's down to Sonic and Tails to return the world to its original state again. Separated from their friends, they have to team up and track down all seven Chaos Emeralds, and use the power of Chaos Control to undo Dr. Eggman's mischief.

Problem is- Dr. Eggman won't be caught unprepared this time. Which means bad news for Sonic and his friends. He's used all his skill and cunning to create the ultimate fighting robot, Gemerl, based off Emerl, designed to stop Sonic once and for all! My response is... FINALLY A DECENT ADVANCE STORY!

Sound 10/10
The sound is good, with your classic boings and revvs, and also as an added bonus, voice samples! No, not just that cruddy anouncer from #2, but REAL character voice samples! Rejoice! Unfortunately, the announcer still exists. Booooo.

Music 10/10
Wow, a GBA game with good music? IT'S A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE!!! AAAAAAA!!! TO THE BUNKERS!

....Ahem.

But seriously, this game needs a sound track.
And a nice Green Hill remix in Zone #2! The musics in this game all fit the levels perfectly, and all are good.

Overall/Rent, Buy or Burn
A really nice game. This definitely is as good as S3&K, if not better.
If you like Sonic or platformers, it's a must buy.
If you're not a Sonic fan, a rent might be better. But I tell you, you're wasting your time!
BUY IT!

Final Score (average): 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/05