Why I Love Sonic Adventure (+SA2)

Sonic Adventure is my favorite Sonic game, and one of my favorite games of all time. This isn't a nostalgia thing, I was born after Adventure first came out and only first played it a few months ago, and it still ended up being my favorite. It's kinda funny, you know. All I've heard about this game on the internet was that it's bad, that it hasn't aged well or maybe that it was never good at all. Well, I think that's ridiculous! Sure, it has its flaws but the amount of things this game nails outweighs pretty much all of them.

For the first 3D entry in the series, Sonic Adventure takes an interesting direction, essentially splitting its campaign up between six different characters, and beating all of them unlocks the final boss. I'm... actually fine with this, and I'm not sure why so many people aren't. None of the campaigns outside of Sonic's (the main event) are all that lengthy, and giving each character different routes, bosses, and gameplay mechanics feels like a natural extension of Sonic 3's multiple characters. But on the other hand, the variety between the characters never becomes too much like in Adventure 2 or Unleashed since everyone pretty much controls the same. I want to talk about each campaign individually, but before that, I do want to bring up the few things each campaign shares. First, each campaign uses the same overworld, which are called Adventure Fields. I love these overworlds, as they're all filled with memorable iconography, hidden Emblems and easter eggs, and subtle subplots that you can pick up on by talking with everyone. The more you play Sonic Adventure, the more you really start to grow attached to these hubs, with Station Square in particular almost feeling like home. Outside of the hubs, however, I have a lot more to talk about with each character in particular.

Sonic: Sonic is obviously the highlight of this game, and his campaign honestly feels like the perfect transition of the formula from 2D to 3D. Not only is it roughly the length of your average Genesis Sonic game, but the level design philosophy of multiple routes that reward mastery of the controls feels plucked right out of those games as well. And Sonic's controls feel especially satisfying to master here, there's something so fluid about his gameplay in this game. It's so easily to feel frustrated at first as you run into walls, but by the end of his campaign, you'll be running through winding halls and tight paths without falling or bumping into anything without even realizing. Now sure, this game can be pretty janky for pretty much all of its characters, but it's never been that big of a deal for me. While I did encounter a few glitches every once in a while, the game never made me feel terrified every time I played like, say, Sonic Heroes or Mario 64 & Sunshine. While finicky at times, mostly everything in Sonic Adventure worked as intended for me, and if anything the existence of Sonic's broken spin dash makes me glad this game is as janky as it is. Being able to completely break levels with well-timed spin dashes will always be a ton of fun. 

I briefly touched on the level design but I need to go over it a bit more, nearly every level in Sonic Adventure is fantastic. It's my favorite type of 3D Platformer level, linear setpiece-filled obstacle courses that also have a lot of alternate paths, hidden areas, and secrets so that it doesn't feel like it's railroading you. Emerald Coast and Windy Valley are iconic and thrilling opening stages that ease you into the controls, Ice Cap is a beautiful stage that ends with a heartpounding snowboard chase, Red Mountain is straight-up a playground filled with stuff to interact with, Speed Highway is Speed Highway, and Sky Deck and Lost World are incredibly creative in their own ways. Casinopolis is the only stage I dislike since grinding pinball is a bit of a slog, but even that has some great moments like the NIGHTS board. Outside of the stages, however, Sonic's campaign also has a bunch of boss fights. Sonic games tend to have pretty weak boss fights a lot of the time, but I don't really hate any of the Adventure fights. They rarely go on too long and are at worst the incredibly easy Character battles, but at best some of the strongest fights in the series. Most of Sonic's boss fights are pretty decent, with the exception of the amazing Egg Viper fight. It's a toughie, I definitely lost a few lives to the guy, but beating him was immensely satisfying and the dramatic nature of the fight made for one of my favorite Eggman encounters. As far as story goes, there isn't too much to talk about compared to the other characters, it's pretty much a straightforward fight between Sonic and Eggman. But it's not like that's a problem or anything, Sonic's campaign is strictly a Genesis Sonic game planted into 3D, and I think the transition was executed incredibly well.

Tails: I won't say I love Tails' campaign quite as much as Sonic's, but it works pretty well as a fun speedrun mode. Gameplay-wise, you pretty much have to chase Sonic to the end of a bunch of levels, though Tails' ability to fly makes that fairly easy. Once again, Tails controls really well and his new spin attack is a fantastic addition and really fun to use, and while the campaign starts pretty basic, being able to take entirely different routes using flight than you would as Sonic make some of the later stages like Speed Highway feel genuinely fresh. However, my one gripe with this campaign is that it copies a lot of the events from Sonic's campaign, including the bosses, cutscenes, and Sky Chase mode. It's not a massive issue, this campaign is still pretty short, but just remember to not play as Tails immediately after Sonic. As for the story, Tails's campaign is where one of my favorite things about Sonic Adventure's story comes into play, the character work. Sonic Adventure has a pretty character-driven story, with a decent amount of its characters having some sort of arc. Case in point, Tails's character arc is about him learning to be more than just a sidekick, and it culminates in him fighting Eggman in a tense final boss fight that's entirely different from (but almost as fun as) the Egg Viper. I love how this game is willing to let its characters grow, it's a big contrast from something like the Mario games. As a whole, though, Tails' campaign is solid, but it's probably the most average of the bunch.

Knuckles: Knuckles has one of my favorite campaigns in the game, as his gameplay revolves entirely around exploration. You get to fly around a bunch of levels searching for Chaos Emerald shards, with a helpful radar to make sure you don't get too lost. Being able to explore around these already open levels is just such a joy to me, and it helps that Knuckles is definitely one of the best controlling characters in the game. I know Sonic Adventure 2 also has this gameplay style, but the nerfed radar and overly complicated level design makes this my preferred iteration. Outside of the main gameplay, Knuckles also has a pretty decent story that reveals more about the lore of the echidnas, an important aspect to Adventure's main plot. Once again, it really is impressive that SEGA decided to actually put effort into fleshing out Knuckles's role as guardian of the Master Emerald, and it makes for easily one of my favorite depictions of the character. Otherwise, Knuckles doesn't have too much else to stand out, with most of the bosses also showing up in other campaigns, but his fun exploration-heavy gameplay makes for one of the best campaigns of the bunch.

Amy: Amy's campaign is a horror game, where you run through three stages trying to hide from and dodge an invincible robot called Zero. While this is one of the slower campaigns of the bunch, the abundance of memorable setpieces, unique camera angles, and surprising jumpscares makes for a fun "Resident Evil-lite" that I found myself really enjoying. However, this campaign is slightly dragged down by the controls, it's the only instance where they become an issue. The developers wanted Amy to move slower which is fine, but they did so by making the baffling choice of lowering her top speed compared to the other characters. It might not seem too bad at first, until you realize this means Amy has a very tough time going up hills, and generally feels off in rocky terrain. On the other hand, her large array of hammer attacks that also double as movement options do mitigate my walking speed gripes a bit. And one thing I absolutely love about Amy's campaign is the story. Similarly to Tails, Amy wants to prove she's not just the damsel in distress by protecting a bird from Zero, who she eventually ends up beating in a very fun boss fight. Adventure was the game where Amy became one of my favorite characters, as she not only got a really effective character arc, but her empathy for the aforementioned bird as well as several other major characters reveals what I think is her defining quality. Overall, while Amy doesn't control the best, the fun horror-lite gameplay and strong main story make for one of the most memorable campaigns for me, even if it's not the best of the bunch.

E-102 Gamma: While Sonic's gameplay will always reign supreme, E-102 Gamma's campaign is a close second and might even surpass Sonic's campaign in pretty much every other aspect. This campaign has you race through stages shooting down enemies to prevent your timer from ticking down too far, starting off easy but slowly ramping up in difficulty as the stages get much longer. I especially love how the final stage isn't seen in any other campaign, so not only is it hard, you pretty much have to go through it blind. The core arcade-shooter gameplay is a good time if not super in-depth, but the high points of Gamma's campaign are easily the boss fights with the other robots, which once again slowly ramp up in complexity culminating in one of my favorite Sonic bosses ever. I feel like Gamma's gameplay is just suited a lot better for these one-on-one fights, and I'd honestly take a whole game's worth of them. But of course, I can't talk about E-102 Gamma's campaign without going over the story, which is just phenomenal on all fronts. It's essentially a story about a robot built for war and violence learning how to love and care, ultimately taking out all of his brothers as well as himself to stop any more violence from happening. It's oddly mature and existential for a Sonic story, and that final battle between Gamma and his last brother is genuinely kind of emotional. And this is where Amy comes into play, her empathy towards Gamma helps him make his big heel-face turn! Seriously, Gamma's campaign is outstanding. His gameplay is decently fun on its own, but it's the amazing story that really elevates this one.

Big: Before I ruffle any feathers, I just want to clarify one thing: Big's campaign is definitely the worst out of the six, no contest. However, I actually kinda like it. Yeah, I said it, I like Big's infamous fishing campaign, and I don't even like fishing in video games. I find a lot of people hate Big The Cat mostly because playing as him is mandatory, but that's not a problem with me because his campaign is really short and really easy.(Granted, the game never really explains the optimal way to fish, you really just have to hold down and you'll never lose Froggy). Like I beat his campaign in a single sitting and never felt like it overstayed its welcome at all, and the brief change in pace and gameplay made for a decent breather. I really like that Big's campaign only really forces you to do the bare minimum, which is to find Froggy. If you want more out of the gameplay, the overworld has a ton of upgrades and the missions encourage you to get increasingly larger fish, but if you don't, you can easily beat Big's campaign in around 15-20 minutes. I also happen to really like his character, there's something really charming when a character gets the spotlight during a pretty dramatic world-ending event and just... doesn't really care. Like Big's just vibing, he has his own priorities, and that makes for a really entertaining bit of comic relief. So yeah, I don't hate Big's campaign. It's easy, short, and unintrusive, and its existence really only adds to Adventure's unique charm for me.

Last Story: There isn't much to say about this one, it really is just the final boss fight, but it does a good job of tying all of the game's story threads together and, more importantly, ends the game on a killer note. The final fight with Perfect Chaos is easily one of the best final bosses in the series, purely built around Sonic's speed without being too much of a cakewalk like some other Super Sonic fights.

Outside of all the campaigns, there are a few other things I want to talk about with Sonic Adventure. First are the Chao Gardens, a pretty iconic staple of the Adventure games. Personally, I've never been a fan, but I can see why so many people found it more addicting than the main game itself. As mentioned above, I do think Adventure 2 has the better Chao Garden, though I will say that accessing it from the Adventure Fields in this game is way less pace-breaking than in between every level. Outside of that, I also want to give my praises for Sonic Adventure's presentation... well, almost all of it. I will admit the cutscenes look pretty bad nowadays, with the character animations looking quite awkward with the exception of the mouthless Gamma, and the voice acting being pretty hit-or-miss. On the other hand, for the most part, I think this game still looks great, especially in its original Dreamcast version. Obviously on a technical level, there's impressive lighting, reflective surfaces, warping platforms, and console showcases galore, but even on a purely aesthetic level, Sonic Adventure just looks... nice. The textures and backgrounds are simultaneously detailed, colorful, and quirky, leading to a game that just exudes that Y2K sense of style. And of course, the music is fantastic. I've already talked about Adventure's soundtrack in one of my retrospectives, but just know that it's one of the best.

Overall, I absolutely adore Sonic Adventure. Even with its janky elements, it manages to do so much right, especially for the first 3D entry in the series. The level design, Sonic's controls, the alternate characters, the character-driven story, the peak aesthetic, the boss fights, these are all things that most Sonic games end up struggling with to some degree, yet Adventure absolutely nails with utmost confidence. But more than anything, with its hubs, open levels, and at times dramatic tone, Sonic Adventure feels like an actual adventure. When I first played it, I was hooked from start to finish, always happy to explore this game's worlds. That's a feeling I feel every 3D platformer should try to capture, and Adventure captures it perfectly. Sure, it's a product from its time, but so was every 3D platformer of that time, many of which are still widely beloved for the things they excel at. What makes Sonic Adventure so different?

5/5 Stars

 

But What About Sonic Adventure 2?

Opinion is fairly divided on which Sonic Adventure game people tend to like more, and I've always preferred the first, but that doesn't mean Sonic Adventure 2 isn't also pretty stellar. My biggest gripes with SA2 that keep me from preferring it overall is how the mechs generally feel worse to control than Gamma did, and how janky and frustrating a lot of the boss fights can be. But otherwise, I do also want to give Sonic Adventure 2 its props and list out a few things it does just as well if not even better:

• Pacing: Sonic Adventure 2 is a much brisker game than its predecessor. It may not be as explorative, and Sonic's moveset may not be as hilariously broken, but it makes up for that by continuously pushing you forward. I think it shows that an average SA1 playthrough takes me around 10 hours to beat, while an average SA2 playthrough bumps that playtime to around 4-5.
  
• Level Design: The level design in Sonic Adventure 2 is more linear than the first game, but it's still filled to the brim with diverging paths and hidden secrets. But I think what really stands out about SA2's level design is the fact that none of it is repeated across the two campaigns, it's all consistently fresh.
• Treasure Hunting: Hot take, but I actually prefer Sonic Adventure 2's treasure hunting, despite the limited radar. The areas are much larger and more engaging to explore in my opinion, Knuckles has never felt better to control, and it feels like there's some actual difficulty to hunting for the Emeralds compared to how mindless his campaign could be in the first game.
  
• Chao Garden: Yeah, this one's a no-brainer. SA2's Chao Garden is far and away the superior one, with more depth, more gardens, more side content, and a more captivating atmosphere. It was a fun side feature in the original game, but in SA2, the Chao Garden feels like a pivotal aspect of the gameplay loop.
  
• Story: While not as character driven as SA1's story, I generally find the plot in Sonic Adventure 2 to be a lot more engaging. The cheesy dialogue and emphasis on action leaves it being the closest Sonic has been to feeling like a bonkers Shonen anime, and I can recite many of this game's scenes entirely by memory just for being so damn memorable.
• Presentation: Sonic Adventure 2 may not scream Y2K like its predecessor does, and I think it has the weaker soundtrack overall, but don't get me wrong, this is still a wonderful-looking game with bright colors, that distinctly Dreamcast style of texturing, and some phenomenal music. Special mention goes to the Knuckles tracks.
• Replay Value: Sonic Adventure 2 is one of the most content-rich games in the entire franchise. With each level having five missions to complete each with their own ranks, along with the emblems, the Chao Garden, the multiplayer, and the myriad of neat unlockables, SA2 has around 100+ hours worth of playtime if you really want to make the most of it.