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Was curious as to everyone's take on the Sonic Advance series.
I don't see them mentioned too often here, and personally by the time the Gameboy Advance came out, I had quit buying modern video games entirely.
So needless to say, as of late they've captured my attention. Although it seems blasphemous to see Sonic on Nintendo hardware - they look like pretty darn good games. And they're cheap. Really cheap. But to the point: How would you rate the three Sonic Advance games?
I had sonic advance 2 and 3 for GBA as a kid. I played Sonic advance 1 in an emulator later on.
I loved them as a kid, and still enjoy them. The games are fun, and the music is great, as always. Sonic advance 3 sometimes has some not so great level design though.
They are definitely good games. Not as good as the Genesis originals, but still solid games.
I played them almost every day, until some fuckface crackhead broke into our car and stole my GBA and all my games when I was around 10.
Never really played any of the games in the series
Except for Sonic N which was one of the few games I had for my N-gage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5v-37O_A_Q
I've only played the first Sonic Advance game. Got old fast, and I can't get over the look of the characters. Classic Sonic for me.
Sonic Advance
In a way, this is the "real" Sonic the Hedgehog 4. It plays just like the 16bit games (which makes it the best in the Advance trilogy for me). It would have been on par with the classics if it wasn't for the bad enemy placement.
Sonic Advance 2
It's the predecessor of Sonic Rush. It features the same concept, but without the boost mechanic. Lots of questionable design choices here and many bottomless pits. Generally, not the biggest fan of it.
Sonic Advance 3
A mess.
I fairly recently found these games. I've only played the first two so far, but I think they're pretty solid. I prefer the original games over the GBA releases, but the GBA stuff is well worth buying.
They're enjoyable.
Since they are so cheap I don't see why you wouldn't pick them up, only thing that bothers me about them is the compositions are good but the GBA sound chip is just shit.
I never liked Sonic Advance. The stages are uninspired, the music is boring, and they were made by Dimps.
Sonic Advance 1 is ok. Pretty fun if uninspired title (the series gets progressively worse).
The music sucks but I won't fault the GBA soundchip for that. Plenty of games have great soundtracks.
Sonic Advance I found to be kinda ok. I honestly think it's the weakest of the trilogy.
Sonic Advance 2 is my favourite. Second level is great. Only downsides are the special stages are nigh impossible, and the bosses are a pita.
Sonic Advance 3 is a mixed bag. Some of the levels have horrible level design (esp Route 99 and Toy Kingdom), but the other levels are top-notch (Sunset Hill, Ocean Base and Chaos Angel being the best imo). The tag team element is hit and miss; some character combos work really well, whilst others just feel tacky and pointless. They also removed the rubbish boss fight system from the previous game so it's more like traditional Sonic games/Sonic Advance 1.
I'd grab 'em if I were you. There not as good as the classic Sonics, yes that's true, but they're still good-to-decent range games.
Sonic Advance 2 would be my favourite too if not for the boss battles. What were they thinking :(
Thanks everyone for the input - interesting to read everyone's take.
I've found the general consensus on the Advance games to be 1: love it or hate it, 2: the favorite, 3: completely mixed.
Which is kind of refreshing considering what little I know about modern Sonic games are typically only ever: terrible. And I know these games are more than ten years old, but they are quite new to me. Sonic Adventure 2 and everything else from 2001 on pretty much marked in my mind what is 'modern' Sonic. And as mentioned, Sonic's styling change from Adventure 2 on - I also hated it. On the Advance series however, it doesn't seem as drastic as the freakishly disproportionate 3D models; a little bit cartoonish sure, but overall I thought the 2D sprites seemed alright. A bit more lively than the classics.
So not too much for me to say other than for five dollars a game, I'm more than willing to compromise my former 'Sonic died in 1999' attitude. These look pretty neat. Will keep everyone's criticisms in mind as I play though. Unfortunately I don't have a Gameboy Advance so I might be sitting on these for a while... Thanks in the meantime.
The only song I liked from the series was Sunset Hill.
By the way, that series includes everything from Advance to Rush Adventure. Dimps has never made anything I cared about, except for Sonic 4 for whatever reason.
I've noticed a lot of the songs are remixes of the classic games which is a cool touch; some sound really nice and others, perhaps it's the GBA sound rather than composition, but they can be a bit scratchy...Quote:
Originally Posted by Blades
Whoa - Not sure what Sonic Rush is but that is definitely where I draw the line with my gaming preferences (and especially Sonic titles). I originally was just buying games up until the Dreamcast era (so Sonic Pocket Adventure would be my last Sonic) but this darn GBA looks like a portable SNES. Which is cool, I'm just ten years late...
I enjoyed 1 and 2 but didn't really like 3. The levels in 3 had way too many bottomless pits for my liking.
1 is really good for me and the closer we had of a true Sonic 4, except by the special stages. They are, by far, the worst created for a Sonic game. Amy's gameplay is not very good but still OK.
2 and 3 are just average for me, when the 2D games started to present you that nonsense of speed busters and holes over all each stage.
People say the first is one of the best but for sure, it is as forgettable and uninspiring as Gunstar Super Heroes.
I like the graphics and the fact that the characters have their moves from Sonic Adventure in a 2D setting, but the levels are boring as hell, and the boss fights very weak. I also second whoever said Amy's game is pretty clunky.
I am a bit disappointed, but I'll get over it. After all, I actually got the combo cartridge for Sonic Pinball Party because I wanted to play a good pinball game, but honestly, I'm starting to feel that Spinball on Genesis is the superior game. It took me a while to appreciate that one because as a kid, I (like many others) looked at it as being a Sonic game when it's really just a pinball game with a Sonic theme to it. Problem with SPP is that the tables are too narrow and the ball moves too fast. It's kind of hard getting it under control to make a well coordinated shot when it rolls off the bumpers so quickly.
So far I think Chu Chu Rocket and Super Monkey Ball Jr. were actually better SEGA adaptations for the GBA than any of the Sonics, regardless of whether they're in a different genre. And don't think I'm actually going to play the GBA Crazy Taxi or Jet Grind Radio games.
I wouldn't say they're forgotten or lost since everyone I talk to who's played a Sonic game seems to have heard of them. I'm personally not a fan of them; not much fun to be had compared to other titles on the system and they're no where near the best Sonic games.
They're not bad but they're not amazing or anything. They're fun while you're playing them but they're not great classics worth going back to again and again. They're just sort of there, worth trying at least once.
Never liked the style of the Advance Sonic games, pretty much a 2D version of Sonic Adventure.
Might have good gameplay, but edgy Sonic just always struck a nerve with me.
Nothing wrong with edgy Sonic, Advance just sucks.
I find Sonic Advance all right but very non-essential. It's just another Sonic game with level tropes and mechanics from nearly every other Sonic game you've played already.
Same as Sonic Pocket Adventure, really.
I just beat Sonic Pocket Adventure minutes ago - and I should have included it in the topic, because I really did like it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gogogadget
I know it gets pegged as Sonic 2 on the NGPC, but they really did try to make it an amalgamation of the Genesis titles. 2/8 Sonic, 5/8 Sonic 2, 1/8 Sonic 3, with Sonic 3 tunes and Sonic 2 special stages. And that vertical pipe from Sonic CD. The Knuckles fight from S&K too.
Could have taken something from each game equally but whatever. I enjoyed it. Collecting those puzzle pieces were a pain in the ass though...
Sonic Pocket Adventure is pretty fun don't get me wrong.
If someone has never played it before they aren't missing out of that elusive fantastic Sonic game, it's just a pretty good adaptation on a portable for the time.
Sonic Advance 2 is probably my favorite post-2000 2d Sonic game. I guess I just like the levels. For the most part, they don't feel like retreads from the Genesis games, yet they still feel very fitting for a Sonic game. The music-themed zone is pretty reminiscent of a level from Ristar but it works well. I didn't mind the different style of boss fights they were going for either. The special stage does kinda suck though.
The first one is pretty good, but even after learning the levels fairly decently I still feel like I'm kind of stumbling and can't get a good flow. One small improvement that SA2 made that made a difference was letting springboards work without jumping on them. That's not something I would have wanted in Sonic 3 or whatever, but it's better suited to the lower resolution of the GBA.
The third was just okay. The partner system was interesting but they didn't really do anything with it. I'd thought about something like that ever since Sonic 3 & Knuckles -- you can play as any one character or Sonic with Tails following; why not Knuckles and Tails, or Tails leading Sonic? But I wanted it to have multiple pathways, like the different routes for Sonic and Knuckles, but more.
On another note, I actually kind of liked Sonic Battle. But I think most people don't even want to acknowledge it.
I completed Sonic Battle
I don't remember anything about it, but if it was terrible I definitely wouldn't of finished it
Actually Sonic Battle is my favorite Sonic handheld games of all time, and those handhelds include: GG, NGPC, NDS, PSP, and 3DS Sonic games.Quote:
Originally Posted by j_factor
It has more story than all of other Sonic handheld games combined (not counting The Dark Brotherhood & Olympic series of course, just main ones).
Every characters has their storyline which show their personality perfectly (at least it's the same compared to Adventure series) and Knuckles' interaction with Emerl always make me laugh.