Looking back, how is Sonic Adventure?

[goatdan]

I've been playing Sonic Adventure DX for the GameCube over the weekend, and I have found it to be quite the interesting game. (Yes, I somehow have managed to never really play the four Dreamcast versions I own...) I don't want to share my opinions on it yet, but for those of you that played it when it came out...

How do you think it stacks up? Did it revolutionize 3D platformers, or is it just another early 3D platformer that happens to have the Sonic characters?

By the way, is this Big and 102's first appearance in a Sonic game? I don't really have the history on them, and I was really curious about those two...

[MegaDrive20XX]

I've been playing Sonic Adventure DX for the GameCube over the weekend, and I have found it to be quite the interesting game. (Yes, I somehow have managed to never really play the four Dreamcast versions I own...) I don't want to share my opinions on it yet, but for those of you that played it when it came out...

How do you think it stacks up? Did it revolutionize 3D platformers, or is it just another early 3D platformer that happens to have the Sonic characters?

By the way, is this Big and 102's first appearance in a Sonic game? I don't really have the history on them, and I was really curious about those two...

It was revolutionary at the time, it was the main reason I wanted a Dreamcast back in the day. Now, the camera angles look outdated.

E-102 and Big's first appearence was in this game. Yet note, this was E-102's first and only game that he was ever featured in. Since in Sonic Heroes, they use "E-123 Omega". Which is an entirely different model. Plus the return of Amy Rose as a fully playable character to roam around. (Not including Sonic the Fighters, Sonic R or Sonic Drift 1/2).

The remake for GameCube. I was kind of impressed with the fact all the characters have a shiny glow to them now.

Yet the downside is many of the glitches and errors found in the Dreamcast version, still plague the Cube version from time to time.

Like the Ice Cap area, when sonic does the loop around before touching the jump pad 1. It always stops in the middle of the loop itself and drops Sonic.

Cream the Rabbit makes a cameo from time to time when you play as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles.

The biggest plus imho for the GameCube version is the hidden Sega GameGear Sonic games, not just some, but ALL 12 of them can be played on your TV screen! Even the odd ball titles "Tails Sky Patrol". What's even more fun, is racing in Sonic Drift 1 or 2 up to 4 players via split screen mode.

[suppafly]

I liked it, and hated it too. It shouldve been 100% action, instead of having those "city exploration" and other adventure-game scenes...that SUCKED big time and eventually made me stop playing it

[Famidrive-16]

If Orange soda was a video game it would be this.

[goatdan]

Spoiler alert! I don't think that I need to tag this since the game is what... seven years old now? But just in case...

.

.


E-102 and Big's first appearence was in this game. Yet note, this was E-102's first and only game that he was ever featured in. Since in Sonic Heroes, they use "E-123 Omega". Which is an entirely different model.

At the end of 102's story, he blows up, so I guess they couldn't have the exact same model as him. Nonetheless, I was really impressed with his stages so far.

I've only got Rose and Sonic to finish right now.

[Cryomancer]

Personally, I like Sonic Adventure 2 better overall (and really, Shadow should have ended there. There, it felt right, and a character that you start off feeling iffy to seemed to work in the end. I'm not saying he should have stayed away forever, he could have come back eventually...I just think tehy're handling him fairly poorly now.), however I did LIKE the city / egg carrier "exploration". Ultimately I'd probably take 2 over 1, but both were and still are solid games.

I do prefer the DC version though because the wax filter on the characters just bugs me.

[sabre2922]

Sonic Adventure was a great game when it was first released and is still a good game.

I remember picking this one up with my first Dreamcast on launch Day 9-9-99 and it was worth every penny.
sure it had a few glitches and I hated the damn fishing cat stages but overall it was a good game.

I also liked SA 2 better than the first since it had cut most of the slow levels out and went for more of the faster Sonic and Shadow stages wich I think were some of the best 3-D platformer stages ever.

[Amy Rose]

I voted it being great, but not revolutionary. The glitches still annoy the crap out of me. If they had been ironed out, I'm sure I'd love it just that much more. To add salt to the wound, I can't believe they weren't fixed for the director's cut either.

Oh my GOD, the Big stages annoyed the hell out of me. Fishing in a Sonic game makes me sad.

Side note: I personally think that Knuckles' voice actor was the best one that they've had, he sound plain stupid in Sonic Heroes and in SA2 and Sonic X he sounds a bit... off. And Tails always sounded like he had a cold. :P The mouth movements were a bit funny too, but at least Sega bothered with putting speech in the whole way through.

[THATinkjar]

Well, I finally picked this up on Player's Choice for the Cube over the weekend. I had bought Sonic Heroes on the PS2 last year, much to my horror, but otherwise I had stayed clear of Sonic's foray into the third dimension.

For me, Sonic is at best when it is 2D. Heroes was just really, really boring. And DX, although it isn't THAT bad, the glitches are frustrating and the gameplay is both awkward, unchallenging and rather dull. The style of the old Sonics seems to be missing, too.

I can't see why they can't bring Sonic back to 2D Viewtiful Joe style-e.

[TheRedEye]

I still say Speed Highway is the most perfect Sonic stage ever, 3D or otherwise.

[kainemaxwell]

Great game, the action sequences rock and the variety of characters does keep it fresh, though having that many and having to go back through some stages does tend to be tedius at times. Though Big the Cat's stages are a different change of pace, they're sorta boring.

I should get the SA2 anniversary pack from Lik-Sang...

[joshnickerson]

If Orange soda was a video game it would be this.

So is that a good thing or a bad thing? LOL

God... Sonic Adventure... geez, let's see. My college roomie got a Dreamcast after it launched, but all he ever got was sports titles and Crazy Taxi. I ended up renting Sonic Adventure while he was out of town and played it quite a bit. I played through a good bit of Sonic's story, finished 102, Amy and Knuckle's stories. I didn't even bother with Tails and I got irritated with Big right off the bat. It was fun, despite some long load times and REALLY odd camera angles.

Fast forward about four years to the release of Sonic DX. I picked it up when it dropped to $20. Aside from the spruced up playable character models, everything looked exactly the same. They didn't even bother to upgrade Robotnik's model. The load times were a lot better (I remember playing Emerald Coast on the DC and waiting like a minute for the second section to load up. It's instant on the Cube) but in it's place were a ton of NEW glitches. The very first time I was outrunning the whale, I ran right over the speed grate and through the fence into the ocean. Then later on, I ended up falling right through a loop. I also found that my characters tended to always grind against the walls when running through tunnels. And quite frankly, I think the camera angles got even WORSE, even with Sonic Team's half-assed attempt at implementing a C-Stick controlled camera (which for some reason reset every time you entered a new level).
And honestly, Sonic, Tails and 102 were the only ones who had decent levels, even if 102 felt out of place. Amy was too damn slow and hard to control. Knuckles got boring quickly. And Big just sucks. The whole Super Sonic level was kinda weak too. Never been a big fan of that in any Sonic game anyway.
The only DX part of the game is the unlockable GameGear games, but I just don't have the patience to collect every damn emblem in the game to unlock them all. I'm just glad I only paid $20 for it. Don't get me wrong, in some places the game is fun. I just don't think Sonic made the transition to 3-D nearly as well as Mario and Zelda did.

Anyway, I still think Sonic COULD work in 3-D. It's just that no one's found out how to do it yet. And "Shadow The Hedgehog" isn't going to work either.

[goatdan]

I'm pretty surprised by the responses in this thread, actually. I was expecting a bit of a lower rating for the game, which is why I had always avoided it in the past. That, and the fact that I have always liked the Sonic character, but never really liked the Sonic games.

I finished Amy's stages this morning, and I expect to do the same with Sonic tonight (who is at 75%).

I *hated* Big. Everything about him. I thought that he would be a character with some really interesting stuff that he could do, but no... nothing. He just sucks.

E-102's levels were REALLY fun. I plowed through all of them really quickly but they were just great.

Other than that, everything has pointed to Sonic Adventure being an above average game to me too, although I don't know if I could classify it as revolutionary. I don't like 3D platformers for the most part, so me playing through all but 25% of Sonic's levels over the course of three days says something. I also really liked how the storyline progressed with you seeing a little part of each of the character's stories as they intercepted each other. And I really liked how when I got lost, I could go touch that red floaty thing that would tell me where to go.

There are an amazing amount of glitches though, all things said. I have three times ended up in walls, and countless times fell through things to my doom that I shouldn't have. Luckily, all of this has not taken away from my enjoyment of the game. It does seem to be sort of short to me though, and I don't want to go back through the same levels to accomplish them at all the different "levels."

[MegaDrive20XX]

I agree E-102's levels were just downright fun. Could explain why Tails and Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 are pretty much along that same pattern of gameplay.

[Lost Monkey]

The load times were a lot better (I remember playing Emerald Coast on the DC and waiting like a minute for the second section to load up. It's instant on the Cube)

There is a pause that is probably not even a second long on the DC SA Emerald Coast level... it is like a layer transition on a DVD...

I also cannot fathom why Sega didn't polish up the camera or some of the collision detection glitches.. it was probably just a case of "time is money"...

When I got the GCN demo disc with the DX preview and playable Emerald Coast level, my excitement for a potentially better version of SA was immediately drained.. I found that I couldn't even come close to my own time trial records on the GCN version either...

[Damon Plus]

I bought Sonic Adventure only 2 weeks ago, and finished all the 7 characters within only 4 days. That says quite a bit about how much I like the game. I think the different characters are all fun to play (some more than others) and the music is awesome. Emerald Coast, Speed Highway and Twinkle Park have some of my favorite Sonic music.

[Jasoco]

I prefer Sonic Adventure 2. It just seemed more fun. And easier to get around in. SA2 had the neat map that made it easy for me to pick a level and go. Plus I loved being able to be good or bad and playing the story from both sides.

SA1 was good and all, I have the DC version, but I just like SA2 better.

Too bad both were extremely difficult at the end and I never beat any boss. But SA2 was extreme fun the duration of the time I played it.

And despite what others say, I loved Knuckles and the Bat girl's levels. Especially since they could fly. Plus, Knuckles had that space level where gravity was all warped. Holy cow was that cool. Albeit quirky to get used to.

I hated Robotnik and Tails' levels, but they were still somewhat fun. Shooting things rocked.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Yeah? I finally finished Sonic Adventure 2 for the first time this year. I must say, I do perfer this one over Adventure 1 at many times. Since the alternating of the characters was pretty much gone, so taking turns from Sonic-Tails-Knuckles, repeat. Was rather interesting.

The final battle with the Bio Lizard. That was too freakin cool. Just like a 3D version of the outer space battle with Robotnik during Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Voice acting was much more improved this time around and plus the soundtrack still holds up nicely.

Makes me wonder why I avoided part 2 for such a long time.

[Pantechnicon]

Sonic Adventure was one of my first DC acquisitions and was pretty much instantly hooked once I put it in. Being primarily a pre-NES gamer, I wasn't really all that into platformers to begin with...I'm still not, and the hedgehog is my sole exception to this. SA for the Dreamcast was what finally turned me into a Sonic fan in the first place.

Playing SA was actually for me an epiphany regarding Sonic, whom I previously regarded as just another generic platformer character. There was just something - I have trouble putting it into words - about the way his abilities came off in 3-D that seemed to capture the essence of what videogaming was supposed to be all about. Sonic Adventure was what made me finally get the appeal of the hedgehog, and I have since begun to explore Sonic in his myriad 2-D incarantions. Triple Trouble for the GG is what holds my present interest.

So although this is a strictly personal standpoint, yes, Sonic Adventure was and still is a revolutionary title. I'm glad the Gamecube titles exist, but SA in all his Sega Dreamcast glory was unquestionably the hedgehog's finest hour.

[PDorr3]

the original SA still remains one of my favorite games of all time, and probably one of my top platformers ever. While it wasnt revolutionary it truly blended the action of different characters well together, and made collecting items fun again. SA2 was horrible in terms of multiple characters, the only fun levels were esentialy shadow and sonics levels.

[Famidrive-16]

I beat everything in SA.... except the Big stages. That stuff was just so boring I didn't bother finishing it. Everything else was really easy for me in that game, except when you're Amy running from the robot at Twinkle Park and when you fight Robotnik for the last time with Tails.

[Cafeman]

Despite the glitches, I was astounded at the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure both -- I'm not sure which I liked better!

I did not vote the game as 'revolutionary', but it was still an "A" game to me, in its day. You have to remember that Sonic, with all his tremendous speed bred in the 2D days, had never appeared in a true 3D game before. I wondered how Sonic Team would approach it. Well, I was quite happy with the results. Sonic got an in-air lock-on, necessary for a 3D game. If you really examine the older games & Sonic Adventure, I think you'll agree that Naka and his team did a good job of bringing many of the older enemies and designs into a 3D world, especially considering how early the game was -- 1998/1999.

I didn't like Sonic Adv 2 as much, but my kids like it more. They play the GCN version (and Sonic Heroes) pretty often, they like grinding on the rails and playing as Shadow, whom they find even cooler than Sonic.

I wish that Super Sonic had been used better in Sonic Adventure, though.

[Pantechnicon]

I beat everything in SA.... except the Big stages. That stuff was just so boring I didn't bother finishing it. Everything else was really easy for me in that game, except when you're Amy running from the robot at Twinkle Park and when you fight Robotnik for the last time with Tails.

I agree. Catching fish is boring. But it's the only way to unlock the final boss fight and play as (spoiler). Totally worth catching a few fish to see and to play.

[scooterb23]

I was horribly disappointed in Sonic Adventure. I don't know, maybe it's the classic gamer refusing to let go of the past...but Sonic and Mario in 3D have really poor games in my opinion. I do like some 3D games, but I've found these to be particularly uninspired...and boring.

I just kept playing thinking "OK, it has to pick up now...how about now...no...now..." Eventually I just shuffled Sonic Adventure into the collection, and moved on...

[Nebagram]

I could happily skin Big the F-ing cat, the frustration those f**king bastard fishing levels caused me. :angry: I still have a VMU with a 130 emblem game on it, though- tried to repeat it once, got as far as the Big levels and stopped. (I'd even pulled off the billion-to-one shot twice and completed the Emeral Coast time attack, something I have yet to repeat a third time despite numerous attempts). SADX is really no improvement over SA- the Game Gear games you might as well emulate, tbh.

Does have some classic levels, though. Once I figured out how to do the snake bit I really loved Lost World, if only now games would STOP ripping off Raiders of the Lost Ark... @_@

Soundtrack rocked too. :)

[NintendoMan]

One of my favorite games of all time. Don't think it was revolutionary in anyway though. It was the "real" reason behind me wanting a dreamcast though, and the reason I bought one at first.

[kainemaxwell]

I should really get the SA2 birthday pack from lik-sang...

[Crush Crawfish]

I don't think it was revolutionary, but it has been, and always will be, an excellent game. That killer whale chase sequence in emerald coast is nothing short of jaw-dropping, even today.

[Jasoco]

I don't think it was revolutionary, but it has been, and always will be, an excellent game. That killer whale chase sequence in emerald coast is nothing short of jaw-dropping, even today.I agree. The first time I saw that in the demo kiosk's, I was amazed. Coupled with the super-realistic commercials with the characters and the at the time awesome opening video to SA, I thought the DC was gonna be Sega's big comeback. Sad. I still with this generation could have been Nintendo vs. Sega. And if we have to, Sony. But it'd still be so much more fun if Sega were in the market instead of MS right now.

Oh wells. Killer Whale smashing through a wooden bridge while you run from him at full speed kicks ass.

They did the same thing in SA2's first level with the giant MAC truck that chases you down the hill. THAT was also kick ass.

Of course, Yoshi's Island did this as well in the World 6 level where the giant Chain Chomp chases you eating the path behind you.

Oh, and Crash Bandicoot seems to have tons of these levels. Of course, unlike the other three games above, Crashes always take me more than 5-10 tries. :/

[goatdan]

Okay, someone voted that Sonic Adventure sucked then and still sucks. Whoever you were, do you care to share your reasoning? I would've thought we would've had more of those, so only one is a bit of a surprise to me, but I'd like to know why.

I beat the game yesterday. Big's levels were amazingly stupid and annoying, but I thought everything else was very well laid out. This was only the second 3D platformer I've ever played to completion (the other being Conker's Bad Fur Day) and I did think it was pretty good.

After it, I pulled out Sonic Adventure 2 and started playing it. Maybe it will just take me getting used to the controls, but after the first three levels I put it down and aren't as interested in it as I was in Sonic Adventure. I really miss the percentage complete! That really kept me going on Sonic Adventure, because it felt like I could get through a good percentage of a character really quickly, even though the entire game took me about ten hours to beat.

[Lost Monkey]

After it, I pulled out Sonic Adventure 2 and started playing it. Maybe it will just take me getting used to the controls, but after the first three levels I put it down and aren't as interested in it as I was in Sonic Adventure.

Same thing happened to me, but it has now been several years since I put it down and never got back to it.. The game looks slick and runs smoother, but the lack of the overworld sequences to drive the story really affected my interest in the game.

[goatdan]

Same thing happened to me, but it has now been several years since I put it down and never got back to it.. The game looks slick and runs smoother, but the lack of the overworld sequences to drive the story really affected my interest in the game.

Yeah, I don't really know what it is, but it is something along those lines. I had heard that it was basically just action sequences, and I was thinking that would be really cool because that was the stuff that I really liked from the original, but doing all the switching between characters just doesn't flow so well. I liked the "follow-one-storyline-to-completion" style of the original Sonic Adventure more, at least so far.

Does anyone know if there were any / many changes from Sonic Adventure 2 Dreamcast to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the GameCube. I'm currently exclusively playing GameCube titles, but in a month once I actually have my Dreamcast display in an accessable spot, I could pull out Sonic Adventure 2 for it. Should I hold off for the Dreamcast version, or doesn't it matter?

[Cafeman]

I forgot to mention that the internet rankings and the time requirements for getting A emblems were what kept me playing Sonic Adventure. I kept trying to shave off times and was amazed how much faster I could complete a level, after some tips & practice.

[spider-man]

This was my first "next gen" game and system (before then, I only owned a nes and genesis), that I had saved for a full year with my high school job money. When I popped in that disk for the first time, I hadn't pushed it all the way in for fear of breaking the disk LOL After that embarassing moment, I started to play it and was floored by how great the gameplay was. I especially loved the way they animated sonic's run (imo, its tied with sonic cd as the best run animation, although I still remember sonic 2's supersonic transformation animation :) ). I can still play this game today and have a blast with it, and will continue to play it long into the future.

[vulcanjedi]

Hey

Being a big Sega fan with limited funds I waited until the Smash Pack DC release before I gave in and bought a DC. And SA was the first game I bought.

Being the first system in this current gen I had the SA was amazing. But I don't think it would be if you were to compare it side by side with any other stuff from the last 3 years.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this poll thread is the VMU game part with the Chao's. For a few weeks I was carrying around my VMU and playing with my little pet. It actually became more interesting than the rest of the game. Recently I have brought my Chao back to life :) Anybody else evolve thier's as far as they could go?

VJ

[s1lence]

I think it was kinda of revolutionary, but it was glitch crazy. I just remember how GOOD the first level was and how the rest of the levels couldnt compare to the excellent graphics and control of the first level, like when you are running on the beach and the dolphins jump out of the water.

[kainemaxwell]

I've spent the weekend getting reaquainted with my DC, and SA was one the games I really sat down with again. Once I got back into the swing of things I still find it to be alot of fun, mainly Sonic and Tails action stages.

Amy's I wish there weren't only 3 cause she had promise, though her controls took getting used to.

Knuckles I like though I gotta sit down and find those Emerald shards,

Big the Cat..oh man is he annoying. I have 3 of the 4 lures and his Power Pole and still having issues catching some fish over 1000g. His control is what you'd expect from an overweight kitty, slow.

Gamma. His stages are quite intresting and I like the fact that you're partially playing from Eggman's side. Wish he didn't have so few stages and that they didn't end so quickly when you're having fun.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Sonic Adventure is the sole reason I bought a Dreamcast and did not disappoint me one bit. It was an excellent game that was very well polished, except in the camera department. Barring Soul Calibur, it was the best looking DC launch game and still retains as one of the greatest dreamcast game of all time. THe only actual gameplay flaw, in my opinion, were big the cat's levels.

I prefer Sonic Adventure over Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Adventure 2, most definately, over Sonic Heroes.

The GC version of Sonic Adventure just doesn't cut it in my eyes. The Dreamcast version is simply endlessly better.