With the arrival of the Dreamcast SEGA had to make a game that would show off the systems full graphic power. Since Sonic is Sega�s icon Sonic Adventure was chosen. As many of you might remember the game was truly beautiful. I remember the first time I saw it I was wowed and couldn�t stop staring at it. Such levels like Emerald Coast, Windy Valley, Lost World, and Mystic Ruins itself showed what the Dreamcast is capable of. Now in the past each new Sonic game would have better graphics than the previous. It came to no surprise that Sonic Adventure 2 also stepped up its visuals from the previous. SA2 doesn�t have as many green levels as SA did but the graphics overall are still amazing. Green Forest and White Jungle are truly marvelous. I remember the first time I got to that level with Shadow I stopped the story and went back to the stage select and kept playing White Jungle for hours. I�m a graphics person and this level truly was extraordinary. Same goes for Green Forest for Sonic, which is similar to Shadows level. Infact many of the levels are similar to each other but each character has different objectives so you won�t notice too much similarities. I can�t complain since SA only had 11 unmatched levels and this game has a lot more than that. It doesn�t stop there. The character designs and amounts of details are also unbelievable. If you thought SA had a lot of detail this game blows that away. This is a good thing but it also can be a negative. In some places it can get confusing and can tire your eyes after looking at it for a long time. Another thing what I did like was how they were able to make the graphics look so life like. In some places it was overdone but in others it fit perfectly to the surroundings and was very nice. Nevertheless great graphics and visuals are a major part of games today and Sonic Adventure 2 definitely doesn�t disappoint in that area.
One of the most downloaded game soundtracks here at ~DcD~ has to be the Sonic Adventure songs. Like I always say music and sound effects are 50% of the game�s success. In SA the music was great. Every level had a song that fit its environment. I really liked that whole soundtrack. Most of the time I would just put the game in and go to the sound test, sit back and play the great tunes. I think the best thing about SA was the music. It seemed to be the one thing everyone agreed upon and no one complained. Yes with that I also wondered if SA2 would have just as great of a soundtrack as the previous game. Both Jun Senoue and Wave Master worked on the soundtrack for SA2 like before except this time the music came out �different�. You might remember how SA had some similar songs from previous games and the music style didn�t change too much. Like Windy Valley for example. The song closely resembled that of Sonic 3D Blast. Also for those of you that did get a chance to download the extra hovercart level for SA might have noticed that the song featured for that level was that of the main theme in Sonic R. Sonic Adventure 2 is different. It�s hard to say wheter it�s better or worse. Music is something that depends on the person. Some people like certain sounds more than others. I personally liked SA�s soundtracks better. However SA2 still has great songs. What I did like was how they designed a certain type of music for each character, which closely matched their personality. For example Shadow had more of a drum and bass / heavy guitar music because it went well with his evil image and all the mystery about him. Sonics was more of a lighter electric guitar with trumpets music. The best music out of the characters I liked was Tails� and Eggmans. Their music was more of a happy techno/guitar type. Besides after hearing Eggman�s theme song how couldn�t I like it? I found it quite hilarious. Now as for Knuckles and Rouge well again it was �different�. Knuckles had more of a rap style music. Many people didn�t like that and complained it was bad rap. I personally liked it and thought it went well with his Mr. Tough image. However I couldn�t stand Rouge�s music. Besides the Dry Lagoon the rest of the songs were kind of annoying. The sound effects and the voiceovers were pretty much the same as SA. And yes the mouths still move after the speech ends but it is better than in SA. So overall the sound in Sonic Adventure 2 was good. Some songs were sort of misplaced but I can�t complain because I have grown to like some of them. [*cough* Eggmans theme *cough*]
Many agree that games have to be fun and have exciting game play in order to be the best. The Sonic Team is one of, if not the best game developers who realize this and are good at providing it in their games. In SA there was a lot of crazy fast paced gameplay, which was different from what it used to be back on Genesis. That was definitely one of the best parts about the game. Because of the great levels and the ability to push the game to extreme heights it allowed us to sit with the game and have fun no matter how many times we played the levels over and over again. My SA file 1 still says 345:47 [that�s hours: minutes if you were wondering] and I must have passed the game at least 10 other times, which can�t be done in less than 7 hours that hasn�t been added to the above time. That�s how great the game play was in that game. The World Rankings also added to the excitement. Now I was hoping for more of the same in SA2 and happily I wasn't disappointed. This is actually where the game is best at. It�s great action and replay value. Sonic Team has increased it even more with new ranking levels for each level and 5 ways to beat it. Now not only do you have to beat the level in the way they ask you to you also have to do it fast and with style. Same like in SA you beat it once for the story purpose, to collect rings, and to beat it under a certain amount of time. However there is also 2 new ways for every level. One is to find a lost Chao and another is to beat a harder version of the level. Again the gameplay is great. Also with the new moves each character has it makes you want to play the levels over and over again. Each time finding something new to do. I especially like the Light Dash. It speeds the game up dramatically over charging up and then following the trail of rings like in SA. The bounce is also a very useful/fun move, further expanding your possibilities. The fast and action packed gameplay is where it�s evident that Sonic Team has spent the most time on and in my opinion it�s definitely done in the right way.
The Graphics, Sound, and Gameplay are important aspects in games but even with all that games can become lame. A game also requires some life. Something that we here call a game Experience. It�s something about the game that either makes you like it or not. Most of the time it�s the story line that comes with the game. If it�s done right it allows you to understand it and try to continue on with it. Most RPG�s have little action it�s usually just using the directional pad and pressing one button and things are done. Now if they wouldn�t have a good story line no one would want to play them. It�s the story itself that makes these games great. In SA this was done very well. A nice action packed game was put together with a great story through an Adventure mode. The game actually made you want to come back to the fictional world and play it again. Sadly to say SA2 went away from that. As you might know the entire Adventure mode has been scraped and only the videos in between the levels left behind. Now that did eliminate the confusion and puzzle solving but it also killed the whole game experience. It�s now more of an action only game with sort of mission briefings in between levels. The levels are great but they need support to make them feel like they belong in the story. Although this doesn�t lower the value of the game, I was disappointed. It�s something that I have grown to love from the previous SA.
Sonic Adventure 2 is a great game no questions asked. As a game it does things right, but as a sequel it has to be questioned. One thing is what happened to the previous story? It seems that Sonic Adventure 2 introduced a whole new story and place to the Sonic universe. They changed some key things as well. One example is the animal capsules at the end of the levels. Those were a major part of the Sonic games. Now it�s just a huge ring with the word Goal. I guess it makes sense because it�s easier to touch it rather than jump on the capsule but for Sonic fans that was an offense. Another example is with Knuckles. As you might remember ever since the first Sonic games the Floating (Angel) Island had to have the master emerald in order to stay afloat. In SA2 not only do you see the master emerald shrunk almost to the size of a chaos emerald you also see Knuckles carrying it around like a key chain or some kind of a souvenir. What happened to Angel Island? O well lets hope they saved it for the next game. Unlike SA where Knuckles� story made a lot of sense and was enjoyable, in SA2 he seems misplaced. Nevertheless I like that they did include him because his levels were cool. I only wished that they would give him a better story to follow. Same goes for Tails. I liked him a lot better when he was able to fly and play levels similar to Sonic. I guess Sonic Team just wanted to change things up.
In the end this game has taught me three things that I will remember for the future. 1) No matter how bad a game seems at first sight, I will try to pass it anyway. Like Sonic Adventure 2, my first impressions were not so good but I stuck with it and ended up liking the game even more than I ever thought I would. 2) It proves that Sonic Team still hasn�t lost their edge and remembers things from the old days. 3) If sequels are kept really similar to the original they are not as fun and get boring quite quickly but again if they are too changed up it ruins the whole thing as well. It�s all about a little balance between the old and the new.
The bottom line is that Sonic has changed over the last 10 years but the gameplay never seems to dissapoint or get old. Sonic Adventure 2 is definitely worth buying. It�s a solid game that will last and satisfy any hungry gamer. It�s a lot of great fun.
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