Sonic Adventure 2

February 8, 2002 - Sega's top mascot has, through some odd twist of fate, arrived on Nintendo's next-generation console. The famous blue hedgehog is making his debut on GameCube even before Mario. The catch is, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is only marginally different from the Dreamcast version it's ported from. So instead of a Sonic custom created for GameCube, we have the remnants of the Mid-2001 Dreamcast successor with some notable improvements. Certainly we're glad to see Sonic only a few short months after the release of GameCube, but it is admittedly not as glorious a debut as we had hoped.

10 years after the release of the one that started it all, Sonic Adventure 2 sets out to bring the trademark breakneck speed into the 3D realm better than ever before. Throw in big boss battles, frantic shooting, and the ability to freely explore large 3D environments and you've got a recipe for the best Sonic ever, right? Sadly, this isn't the case. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle improves on the two previous Dreamcast incarnations, but the franchise still has a long way to go to bring the glory of the 2D masterpieces into the next-generation 3D world.

Features

Sega's mascot comes to a Nintendo home console for the first time
Use 12 playable characters including three hero characters, three dark characters and six others such as Amy, Metal Sonic and Chaos Zero
Gameplay varied by each character's unique abilities
Sonic and friends can grind, grab edges and swing from poles as the Hero Sonic or the villainous Shadow
One of the fastest gameplay experiences around provides blazing entertainment
Discover bosses weak spots and strategize to defeat the huge figures
Additional two-player battle modes for increased multiplayer value
Six battle modes including racing, treasure hunting, shooting, kart racing, and Chao racing and karate
Play with a friend in the various battle modes
Link up with the Game Boy Advance for on-the-go Chao raising
Impressive framerate locked at 60 frames-per-second
Progressive scan mode vastly increases the sharpness of the visuals

Gameplay
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is a marginally improved version of the Dreamcast sequel to the original Sonic Adventure. Basically Sonic Team learned (a little) that fans of the series did not want to spend too much time clumsily exploring a 3D world. So, the developers stripped out the city exploring, which more or less left you feeling side-tracked in Sonic Adventure. In Sonic Adventure 2: Battle the ideas are more streamlined. You can choose to play on the Hero or Dark side. Choose the Hero side to adventure through the worlds as Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, leaving Shadow (evil Sonic), Rouge, and Dr. Eggman at your disposal for the Dark quest. Your options: save the world or destroy it -- both satisfying for their own reasons.

The two quests amount to more than 30 stages, though nearly half of those are simply duplicates seen from either the Hero or Dark perspective. The locations vary from dense metropolitan cities to lush jungles to miniature universes in outer space. Each of those 30 stages has several missions to explore. You're only required to complete the first mission to move forward, but you can go back and indulge in up to four more missions with different goals. The levels are broken up into four main types of gameplay: running, shooting, exploring, and boss fights. This is actually where the Sonic Adventure franchise takes a turn for the worse.

Sonic is founded on its sense of speed and mostly linear experience. Stray from that and you have to implement a solid 3D camera. Unfortunately, Sonic Team has attempted this quite unsuccessfully to this point. The camera in the Sonic Adventure series is truly horrid, an insult to the advancements demonstrated by modern 3D camera control in titles such as Banjo-Tooie and Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. In the exploration levels, where you are sent bumbling through a large 3D environment as Knuckles or Rouge, it sets the stage for an incredibly frustrating experience. Coupled with the camera, they are in fact amateur attempts at designing a compelling 3D environment. Half of the time you simply cannot see where you want to go -- a major issue when you're scavenging the level for randomly hidden items. These randomly placed items are pieces of the Chaos emeralds, and you use a hot/cold type radar that beeps and blinks as you get closer to the treasure. One would have hoped that this variation on the trademark Sonic gameplay was only intermittent, but it constitutes roughly a third of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle gameplay.

Then we have the shooter levels. You're sent out into a more linear environment as Tails or Dr. Eggman in their mech robots. You must jump, stomp, and blast your way to the goal line. This is much more tolerable than the lumbering scavenger hunt levels, offering up a fairly simplistic shooter. You use the B-button to lock onto surrounding opponents. By holding it down you can lock onto as many as 10 or even more enemies. You'll get more points for this, but it's also more risky. You'll find that you can simply button-mash your way through the level while performing some rudimentary platforming. Demanding gamers will find these levels fairly bland, as the control mechanics don't offer up a deep shooter to the same degree a title like Panzer Dragoon does.

Now, we're not so na¿ve to overlook the fact that Sonic isn't meant to be a complicated shooter or platformer. It's intended to be fast and furious, bringing the "blast processing" rush that the franchise is famous for into 3D. The problem is that the Knuckles/Rouge and Tails/Dr. Eggman levels constitute well over half of the main gameplay experience, painfully splintering it into something most would agree is very un-Sonic.

There is a positive beat to this admittedly cynical rhyme, though. The Sonic/Shadow levels that exist are very cool. The sense of speed, control, and even camera (for the most part) fall into place, letting you blaze a trail at light-speed through some fantastic environments. In addition to running, you can grind rails, perform acrobatic flips over horizontal bars, and swing faster than Tarzan himself on ropes and vines. These levels are what you expect from Sonic, and while not totally polished are gratifying. We wish that Sonic Team had stuck to refining Sonic in this setting, as it would have improved the gameplay greatly. It can almost feel like a rollercoaster at times, offering up limited control, but its altogether satisfying thanks to clever level designs. As noted, however, there is simply not enough of this level type featured throughout the story quest. In fact, we'd guess as little as 30%.

The sad truth is that Sonic Team lost its focus somewhere along the way while bringing Sonic into 3D. The choice to try to offer up so many different types of gameplay has left the idea of Sonic shattered. Sonic Team needn't bring frustrating scavenger hunts and sub-par shooters into this great blue hedgehog's world. Sonic is definitely perfectly suited for GameCube, so we're hoping for a much more ambitious attempt for the next addition of Sonic.

Chao Raising and Multiplayer
A major part of Sonic that could easily go overlooked is the Chao raising. Sonic Team spent a considerable amount of effort on creating a world where you can raise a pet of your own. There's a Chao key in each level of the adventure that lets you go back and work on your Chao. You collect different animals and colored glowing sticks that each give your Chao a unique ability upon return. The variation from Chao to Chao can very greatly. So, on its own it's a great pet raising simulation. When you get some competent Chaos your can pit them against your friends in races and even Karate. Even better, you can send the Chaos to your Game Boy Advance via a link cable and raise them on the road. Not too shabby at all, but it is of course not the core part of Sonic's gameplay.

Then of course you have the battle modes. This is what makes the GameCube version different. You and a friend can race, hunt for treasure, or blast each other away in a number of levels not featured in the Dreamcast version. There is also the extra incentive in single-player mode thanks to the fact that you can unlock new stages and modes.

Graphics
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is indeed improved over the Dreamcast incarnation in terms of visuals. Textures have been slightly improved (even redesigned completely) and Sonic Team has even revamped some of the geometry, adding in new objects such as trees and other foliage. It's hardly a high-polygon masterpiece pushing GameCube's texture abilities through the roof. However, it does look very clean and, most importantly, runs at a scorchingly perfect 60 frames per second -- visuals so fast you'll burn out your retina. Texture design is particularly strong. Some of the rock textures and grass textures are some of the best we've seen. Though, there are blurry textures (take a look at Sonic's shoes, for instance) to complain about if you're looking. Still, as a whole it's fairly sharp.

But you're missing out if you don't have an HDTV. All the visuals come to life in progressive scan mode, offering environments more deeply saturated with the broad spectrum of colors and considerably sharper textures. With its 60 fps fluidity, it's one of the better looking GCN titles to be seen.

Sound
Bad voice acting and some god-awful 80s-esque rock composition has plagued the latest Sonics. We regret to inform you this has not been improved. There are some acceptable beats, but for the most part we're willing to bet you'll cringe at the selection of songs. Equally bad is the voice acting. Sonic, the main character, sounds very much unlike what you'd want him to, and the other characters are even worse. Sound effects on the other hand are done fairly well, but it's the sound of collecting rings you'll hear most.

Closing Comments
By now I'm willing to gamble that a lot of Sega fans are drafting nasty letters, claiming that IGNcube consists of Nintendo fanboys and we don't like Sonic or Sega. On the contrary however, we love Sega and we've always been a fan of Sonic. It's the 2D Sonics that we like, though, because they are the epitome of the design. It's the move into 3D that has been unpleasant. When I boot up Sonic, I want to take off at lightning speed and never look back. With the shooting and scavenger hunt levels in SA2, though, the design took a turn for the worse. The camera just isn't made to accommodate these types of endeavors and who really wants to spend a third of their time in Sonic's world playing out a simplistic shooter?

I quite enjoy Sega products. I loved Super Monkey Ball (who doesn't?) and am extremely satisfied Sonic Team decided to bring Sonic Adventure 2: Battle to GameCube. It can be a fun game at times, but it can also be extremely frustrating. This is why I'm anticipating the next edition of Sonic. Hopefully an all-new, ambitious take on the franchise custom-tailored to GameCube hardware.

For Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, I recommend renting it. You should get your money's worth out of it in that time. For those of you that played the Dreamcast version, there's little to no reason to pick up the GCN incarnation. The differences in visuals and added multiplayer modes probably aren't worth it unless you're a hardcore fan.

Kart racing mini-game

Successfully complete Tails' driving quest in the Hero side story to unlock the kart racing mini-game in the Hero side story. Successfully complete Rouge's chase mission in the Dark side story to unlock the kart racing mini-game in the Dark side story.

Boss attack mode

Successfully complete the Hero or Dark side story modes to unlock boss attack mode. You will be able to fight the bosses from the side of the story you completed.

Last stage

Successfully complete the Hero and Dark side story modes. Then, enter story mode and a "Last Stage?" selection will appear on the menu between the Hero and Dark selections.

Bonus stage

To get a 3D version of the Green Hills Zone stage, from Sonic The Hedgehog, you must get all the Emblems, including Kart, Timed Boss, and the emblems for all "A" rating. Once you have them all, which should total 180, the island next to the Green Forest stage will have the face of Sonic on it.

Play as Sonic in alternate costume in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Sonic's stages and missions to unlock him in the PSO suit in Kart mode.

Play as Shadow in alternate costume in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Shadow's stages and missions to unlock him in an alternate costume in kart mode.

Play as Tails in the Tornado 1 in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Tails' stages and missions to unlock him in the Tornado 1 in kart mode.

Play as Eggman in alternate Eggwalker in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Eggman's stages and missions to unlock him in his alternate Eggwalker in kart mode.

Play as Knuckles in alternate form in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Knuckles' stages and missions to unlock him in his alternate form in kart mode.

Play as Rouge in alternate costume in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Rouge's stages and missions to unlock her in an alternate costume in kart mode.

Play as Amy Rose in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Sonic's stages and missions with an "A" ranking to unlock Amy Rose in kart mode.

Play as Metal Sonic in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Shadow's stages and missions with an "A" ranking to unlock Metal Sonic in kart mode.

Play as Tikal The Echinda in kart mode

Successfully complete all of Knuckles' stages and missions with an "A" ranking to unlock Tikal The Echinda in kart mode.

Multi-player characters

Collect all 180 Emblems to unlock the following hidden multi-player characters:

Racing: Hero

Sonic

Space Sonic

Amy

Racing: Dark

Shadow

Space Shadow

Mecha Sonic

Shooting: Hero

Tails

Space Tails

Choa

Shooting: Dark

Eggman

Space Eggman

Big

Hunting: Hero

Knuckles

Space Knuckles

Tikal

Hunting: Dark

Rouge

Space Rouge

Chaos

Hero or Dark Chao

To make a Chao a Hero, simply use a Hero character and keep petting them. If done long enough, it will go white and be a Hero. To make it Dark, just use a Dark character and do the same thing.

Dark Garden for Chao

Raise a Dark Chao with one of the three Dark characters. Continually feed and train the Dark Chao and it should evolve (creates a tear-shaped "cocoon"). Once it evolves, descending stairs should appear at the main Chao lobby leading to the Dark Garden.

Hero Garden for Chao

Raise a Hero Chao with one of the three Hero characters. Continually feed and train the Hero Chao and it should evolve (creates a tear-shaped "cocoon"). Once it evolves, ascending stairs should appear at the main Chao lobby leading to the Hero Garden.

Good and evil Chao races

Get a good Chao and a bad Chao to unlock the good and evil Chao races.

Pumpkin head for Chao

Find one of the Skeleton Dogs; the easiest place to do so is the Pumpkin Hill stage with Knuckles, and combine it with your Chao. With either Knuckles or Rouge, start digging around in the Chao Garden. Eventually a pumpkin will appear. If you give it to the Chao mixed with the Skeleton Dog it will put it on its head. If you want to take it off, either throw or hit your Chao.

Wake a sleeping Chao

To wake a sleeping Chao, stand next to it and whistle. You do not have to anger them by picking them up during a nap.

Chao pillow

Go to a Chao Garden and get a coconut. Then with a sleeping Chao, pick up the coconut and put it by the its head. The coconut will act as a pillow.

Run on foot in City Escape stage

At the start of the City Escape stage, instead of landing on the ground with the board, scrape the roads on the board. When on foot run full speed at a wall and get knocked down. Pause the game if you fall after hitting the wall. Choose to restart the stage to run on foot and not on the board.

Quickly complete Security Hall stage

In the Security Hall stage you play as Rouge The Bat and are given 5 minutes to complete it. This can be quite difficult. If you have enough lives you can do this trick. If you cannot seem to find the Emeralds, intentionally die. You will keep the existing Emeralds that you have collected. You will begin at the start of the level and the Emeralds will move to different places. This is the fastest method for completing the stage if you are having trouble.

Big The Cat appearances

In Knuckles' Pumpkin Hill stage, go to the one of the train gates. You can see Big The Cat hiding behind the gate, waving to you. In the City Escape stage, Big The Cat appears after the last corner in the G.U.N. truck vs. Sonic scene. Look for him at the right of the screen, running downhill on the sidewalk away from the truck. In the Tails stage where you are running from the police and you first get your hover ability, Big The Cat can be seen again. There is a part in the level where you need to knock a column over in order to use it as a step to reach a higher level, from which you hover over to a platform with a police barricade and two robots. If you miss the platform and fall in the hole, you will see Big the Cat sitting on the girders underneath the platform. You can also see him in the battle against Sonic while playing as Shadow.

E102 appearance

In Rouge's Inside the Pyramid stage, one of the robots you blow up is E-102.