Is Sonic Adventure 2 still the best Sonic game?

[John Mayor]

The game is widely regarded as the best Sonic game with healthy competiton by Sonic CD followed by Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 2, and the Sonic Generations bringing up the rear.

 

Sega has tried and failed to replicate on the great gameplay and initial excitement the game caused.

[Austin]

It depends on what Sonic camp you are in. Fans of the classic series will tell you the game sucks. Yet there are younger gamers that grew up with Sonic Adventure 2 (mostly on the Game Cube) that will feel otherwise.

 

Personally I think it's a mixed bag, filled with more bad than good. The action stages with Sonic and Shadow are great, but the rest of the game is mundane with one of the most convoluted videogame stories known to man.

 

After the first Sonic Adventure (which had its fair share of issues), it was straight downhill for the series until Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations nearly a decade later.

 

This is a good review that goes over many of Sonic Adventure 2's issues (note: spoilers are heavy in this one):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbfXqOMf0Ak

[gorfcadet]

Yeah, I have to disagree woth Adventure 2. The camera is just too problematic, the controls aren't as tight as it should be in many places, and the story is just too out of left field. It is ok, but Mario 64 it is not.

 

For me, if I'm going to play a Sonic, It will be CD or one of the Genesis carts. Sega just never mastered 3D for the hedgehog. I hate that a once amazing company like Sega has fallen so far. So many great ips just forgotten. How can Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Afterburner, Space Harrier, Daytona, Crazy Taxi, Phantasy Star, Chu Chu Rocket, Super Monkey Ball, Samba, Panzer, Out Run, Rally, Power Drift, Monaco GP, Golden Axe, and Virtua Fighter just be left on the shelf like a bunch of forgotten toys? It's just criminal.

 

When they do trott out an old ip, it seems to usually end up a quick and dirty port (Crazy Taxi PSN) or a joyless mess (Golden Axe PS3).

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Sonic CD for ME.

[TheGameCollector]

I'm in the classic camp, but as far as modern games go I'd rather play Adventure 1 than Adventure 2.

[Reaperman]

I think Sonic Advance (the first one) is newer--that game had a lot going for it, IMO. Classic side scrolling action but with some nice visual effects thanks to the GBA's power.

 

Sonic 3 is still actually considered a good game?

I mean I know it *was* considered as such back when we only had commercials to tell us what was cool.

The levels all seem to have a complexity that keeps me away from the velocities that make sonic interesting.

 

Sonic's always been a bit hit or miss in my book. For me it's Sonic 2 genesis followed by CD. The game gear sonic 2 wasn't bad either, IIRC.

I found the first Sonic Adventure to be the stronger title, but neither are probably in my top 10.

Of course I'm also a weirdo that for some reason loved Sonic R (and needless to say the two recent kart racers).

Edited January 26, 2014 by Reaperman

[Austin]

I think Sonic Advance (the first one) is newer--that game had a lot going for it, IMO. Classic side scrolling action but with some nice visual effects thanks to the GBA's power.

 

Good call on that--I forgot about the Sonic Advance series. I only really put time into the first one, likewise with its rendition on the N-Gage as "Sonic N" (which was also good), but it was definitely a solid Sonic game.

[John Mayor]

 

It depends on what Sonic camp you are in. Fans of the classic series will tell you the game sucks. Yet there are younger gamers that grew up with Sonic Adventure 2 (mostly on the Game Cube) that will feel otherwise.

 

Personally I think it's a mixed bag, filled with more bad than good. The action stages with Sonic and Shadow are great, but the rest of the game is mundane with one of the most convoluted videogame stories known to man.

 

After the first Sonic Adventure (which had its fair share of issues), it was straight downhill for the series until Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations nearly a decade later.

 

This is a good review that goes over many of Sonic Adventure 2's issues (note: spoilers are heavy in this one):

 

 

 

1.I hope you mean Dreamcast since that's where most of the sales and praise came from.

 

2.If you were a kid during the Sonic genesis days you were most likely still at least a mid teens when the Dreamcast came up, and what about the people who did not grow up and were older? Most of the Dreamcast collectors are older people for example. Seems like your age thing is a random assumption.

 

3.So you got your opinion fro a youtube video?

 

4.Please keep in mind I personally don't think SA2 is the best but it is often in many "recent" polls to be the one with the lead. if not mostly because of shadow.

 

5.I ca't really say the first game is any better, in fact, i would say the controls feel lose along with just as bad of a camera, and then there is the fact stages like the Skydeck and the Snow place exist. While Knuckles and Tails stages are kind of meh, some of those stages are decent and not Big the Cat.

 

6. I think that after SA2 DC version is when the series went down hill, the re-releases were lazy, Sonic heroes was pretty bad, Shadow is mixed I liked it but i would not say it's great, and everything else was pretty bad including the spin-offs.

 

7.You later talk about Sonic Advance, Sonic Advance became an issue after the first game, the portable games like RUSS and Rivals were also not that good, to me anyway. almost all the spin-off were bad although I may give a slight squeeze to the first Sonic Riders.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

JakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsigJakandsig///

 

 

 

Ugh ....sorry, weird keyboard issue there........

Edited January 26, 2014 by OldSchoolRetroGamer

[Austin]

 

1.I hope you mean Dreamcast since that's where most of the sales and praise came from.

 

The most praise? Perhaps, it was kind of a big deal for Dreamcast fans when it came out. But actual sales? Judging by how soon the Dreamcast was dropped after Sonic Adventure 2's release, and judging by the price it sells for these days (about $30, versus the original's $10 - $15), I doubt it sold even as well as the first game. The Game Cube version sold very well for us though when I was working for EB back between 2003 and 2005.

 

2.If you were a kid during the Sonic genesis days you were most likely still at least a mid teens when the Dreamcast came up, and what about the people who did not grow up and were older? Most of the Dreamcast collectors are older people for example. Seems like your age thing is a random assumption.

 

Yes, and many of us were when Sonic Adventure 2 was released on the Dreamcast. And that's exactly when many of us fell out of the series. Coincidence? Hmmmmmmm.

 

3.So you got your opinion fro a youtube video?

 

I got my opinion from playing the game myself. I posted a link to that YouTube video as Johnny is one of the most well educated Sonic fans out there. If there is any outlook on the topic worth showing to newcomers that have little desire in actually trying the game for themselves, it's his reviews.

 

4.Please keep in mind I personally don't think SA2 is the best but it is often in many "recent" polls to be the one with the lead. if not mostly because of shadow.

 

Recent polls? Like anyone cares? What's the point of this topic?

 

blahblahblah, asdfasdfasdf, blahblahblah

 

Still the same annoying topics, garbled text (sheesh, you can't even pretend you type different from your five other accounts?), and pointless tirades. Please go away. Really.

[108 Stars]

You are clearly incapable of writing the book you claim after reading all your questions. If you are not a troll you're in it way over your head.

[John Mayor]

 

You are clearly incapable of writing the book you claim after reading all your questions. If you are not a troll you're in it way over your head.

After reading all my questions? Does this thread seem related to the book to you? Because it's not. I would appreciate it if you don't use mean spirited tones.

[John Mayor]

 

 

 

 

 

The most praise? Perhaps, it was kind of a big deal for Dreamcast fans when it came out. But actual sales? Judging by how soon the Dreamcast was dropped after Sonic Adventure 2's release, and judging by the price it sells for these days (about $30, versus the original's $10 - $15), I doubt it sold even as well as the first game. The Game Cube version sold very well for us though when I was working for EB back between 2003 and 2005.

 

 

 

Yes, and many of us were when Sonic Adventure 2 was released on the Dreamcast. And that's exactly when many of us fell out of the series. Coincidence? Hmmmmmmm.

 

 

 

I got my opinion from playing the game myself. I posted a link to that YouTube video as Johnny is one of the most well educated Sonic fans out there. If there is any outlook on the topic worth showing to newcomers that have little desire in actually trying the game for themselves, it's his reviews.

 

 

 

 

Recent polls? Like anyone cares? What's the point of this topic?

 

 

 

 

Still the same annoying topics, garbled text (sheesh, you can't even pretend you type different from your five other accounts?), and pointless tirades. Please go away. Really.

Seems that because I have a different look at things that don't align with your interests, I am now on "tirades" as you say. Seems to me you never even looked at my PC thread or other thread and for some reason this one is causing issues. Not sure why, but I suppose I'll keep my interests to myself since I am now going on random "tirades" according to you.

[Rex Dart]

the great gameplay and initial excitement the game caused

 

In welcher Stadt wohnst du?

[BydoEmpire]

Sonic Adventure 2 is the best 3D Sonic, but I'd take any of the 2D Genesis games over that any day of the week. Never really liked the 3D Sonics. I tried half a dozen times to give Sonic Adventure 1 a shot, and I found it pretty much unplayable.

[gorfcadet]

My big knock on the 3D Sonics ( I have most of them thanks to my son who loves Sonic) is that it beats the desire to explore out of you by punishing you everytime you get slightly off track. Buildings that are too small for the auto camera, death pits that you fall into without warning, and infuriatingly bad camera angles for even mundane moments of action are all part and parcel with the series because Sonic Team understands speed, but continues to shoehorn the original Tomb Raider's camera into every release.

They need to get it out of their head that they can design a level first and the camera will just fit. The camera has to be considered during level design, not as an afterthought. The story mode buildings in Sonic Adventure 2 should have been far more open and simple to keep the camera from getting wedged and it should have been programmed to support the player during points of interest, not act like a spoiled brat needing to be constantly pushed in the right direction.

At times I thought I needed a copilot to babysit the camera like in Pacific Rim!

 

I did have fun with SA1 and 2, but I don't think they've aged as well as other Dreamcast games like Crazy Taxi, Chu Chu Rocket, and PSO.

[Osgeld]

Yes, and many of us were when Sonic Adventure 2 was released on the Dreamcast. And that's exactly when many of us fell out of the series. Coincidence? Hmmmmmmm.

 

I was 20 when the DC came out, and hated the pre-pubescent saturday morning cartoon version of sonic in bad 3d, loved sonic advance though

[Atariboy]

The game [sonic Adventure 2] is widely regarded as the best Sonic game

That's the first I've ever seen that statement. It's news to me after years of seeing it typically be a close call between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the combined Sonic & Knuckles over the years when favorite Sonic titles are discussed.

 

And the fact that you proclaim Sonic CD as widely regarded as the 2nd best entry in this franchise seals the deal that you're simply listing your favorites in order of preference.

 

If 3D Sonic's lead anything, it's the category for the series that should've never attempted 3D.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Atariboy

[+GoldenWheels]

Sonic 2 for me all the way, though I have no legit access to Sonic CD...that might change things.

[Reaperman]

Sonic Battle on GBA was pretty neat too.

I mean the gameplay was pretty mediocre even for a party-brawler, and the story was padded as hell, but from a purely technical standpoint it was amazing. 3d arenas, 4-player action, and all at a pretty smooth frame rate.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAuCO3CA9DQ

Edited January 27, 2014 by Reaperman

[108 Stars]

Sonic 2 for me all the way, though I have no legit access to Sonic CD...that might change things.

Sonic CD is a bit style-over-substance. While it was released after Sonic 2, it lacks Tails due to being developed by a different team (and seemingly with little communication between them). The soundtrack really was great for the time, so were the scaling and rotation effects and the basic idea of time travel.

 

But imo it really breaks down when it comes to the level design. I often feel like levels have been built by some random generator. Sonic games are about speed, and the levels barely ever allow you to run like in other Sonic games.

 

So if anything I'd put it on the same level as Sonic 1, which lacks some of the features and enhanced audio visuals, but has better level design, and behind Sonic 2, 3 & Knuckles.

[+FujiSkunk]

I never did finish Sonic Adventure 2, even though I own both versions. I just couldn't get into the story, and I wasn't a fan of how the levels forced you onto rails, literally and figuratively. Sonic Adventure felt a lot more open, even in the action levels where there was a single goal and only one way to get there. Maybe I'll try SA2 again some day, but right now I'm so far out of the Sonic loop that an occasional play of one of the Genesis games is enough for my fix.

 

I think Sonic 3 + Knuckles is my favorite Sonic game(s). All of the characters and all of the game elements really came together in that set. The story was great, especially the way each character got his own tangent, his own final confrontation, and his own ending (a trick revisited nicely in Sonic Adventure). The music was also great, even without Masato Nakamura's contributions. And the final battle between Hyper Sonic and Eggman/Robotnik really felt final. Mastering that and watching the final cinematics gave a wonderful sense of accomplishment, a perfect end to a perfect game, and really the perfect cap to the original era of 2-D platforming.

[108 Stars]

I must say that I believe the on-rails-gameplay was a wise approach by Sega.

Don't get me wrong, it's not very fun, and my first impression after playing SA 1 was that the graphics were awesome, but the game was almost self-running and that sucked.

 

But thinking about it now... it was the best solution for a 3D Sonic game. No other 3D jump' n run attempted Sonic-speed, and for good reason. It just doesn't work while being possible to control and navigate. When you move freely you can't overcome obstacles and defeat enemies at sonic speed. The rail-gameplay was the only way to achieve playability while having Sonic run as fast as you'd expect, and run through loops and screws.

 

So with that in mind, I must salute Sonic team for finding the best solution. Yet Atariboy pointed out correctly: The series should have never attempted 3D in the first place. Sonic 3D had to be either slow, thus losing the essence of what made the series special, or on-rails, saving the feeling but sacrificing gameplay.

[Hatta]

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is the best Sonic game.

[+GoldenWheels]

Sonic CD is a bit style-over-substance. While it was released after Sonic 2, it lacks Tails due to being developed by a different team (and seemingly with little communication between them). The soundtrack really was great for the time, so were the scaling and rotation effects and the basic idea of time travel.

 

But imo it really breaks down when it comes to the level design. I often feel like levels have been built by some random generator. Sonic games are about speed, and the levels barely ever allow you to run like in other Sonic games.

 

So if anything I'd put it on the same level as Sonic 1, which lacks some of the features and enhanced audio visuals, but has better level design, and behind Sonic 2, 3 & Knuckles.

 

I'd not miss Tails (at all) but yeah if the levels don't let you get the Sonic trademark speed and flow going....ugh. Kind of defeats the point. I'm unlikely to get a chance to play CD so Sonic 2 is gonna be my choice always then...though to be fair, a BIG Sonic fan I am not.