sonic adventure - 8/10
open your heart and it'll be alright. pretty good, even
please note: this is a game i have reviewed multiple times! the prior versions of this review will be included below. enjoy!
played it this time through demul to play the original dreamcast version without having to break the bank and... wow! it really is just infinitely better than sadx in any and every way, even with mods. highly recommended if you already enjoy the game and wanna see it at its artistic best, albeit with 30FPS and unskippable cutscenes.
the game itself, though, as i mentioned in my previous review of it, is excellent. i thought that due to my changing stance on the classics that there might be somewhat of a switch-up in my mood on this game; turns out, no, not even remotely, and i enjoyed it thoroughly all over again. in order to differentiate this review, then, i shall focus on a point that i brushed off in my earlier review - this game and how its formula is different from classic sonic. whilst not a particularly large grievance of mine (certainly not to the extent of some folk, at least), it was something that played on my mind throughout, especially fresh off of a replay of sonic robo blast 2, which is a perfect adaptation of the classic sonic format into 3D. this game, however, shifts towards this more speed-oriented, spectacle-first style; it feels like if the design philosophy of specifically chemical plant from sonic 2 was the thing that they pulled from the most, wherein there is a large focus on speed, yet still minor rewards for exploration. unlike in sonic 2, however, the speed at no point hinders said exploration, and in fact, by virtue of the three-dimensional space, i would say encourages it far more as a speed enhancement. this is largely down to one thing: the humble spindash. whilst it was greatly useful in the classics, it really shines here, and it's for multiple reasons - firstly, of course, its a great utility for simply gaining speed rather quickly, but secondarily, and perhaps the reason that i love it for in this game, is the spindash jump. you could already do some pretty cool shit with this technique in the classics, but it seems like this level design truly begs for it at points. so many slopes that act as wonderful launchpads, great chasms turned into a mere hop, swathes of levels turned into a jungle gym. some may deride this as sonic being overpowered, whereas i instead believe it to be an intentional design choice to allow an experienced user to hone times, much in the same way that knowing where to spindash and roll and so on in the classics could wildly boost your height, speed and thus times in levels. however, where you would be rewarded for your efforts in material ways in the classics, with a monitor or a big ring, that seems far more scarce here on the dreamcast; a lot more of these quicker routes are often even reproach to toss you a full-on ring capsule, instead opting for the ? ring capsules, which almost invariably give my unlucky ass 1 ring haha. i suppose that due to the spectacle of jumping across a 3d space with a great bound is far more thrilling than the same in 2d, especially when this game dropped, there is no need to tell you you've done well, when you can just see "holy shit i just jumped from skyscraper to skyscraper i am a god incarnated into a little blue hedgehog".
on a similar note, i do like how adventure feels like a continuation of elements presented in the story of sonic up to this point. the classics, by necessity, were story-light experiences, with even the ambitious sonic 3 and knuckles sticking to momentary visual storytelling vignettes, but they were stuffed to the gills with little details to notice and pick apart which make them compelling to this day. sonic adventure feels like a realisation of the story that they wanted to tell; of prophecy, of eggman's great world conquest, of angel island's history, with that third especially being a wonderful evolution not only of that prior plotline, but lending further character to knuckles by depicting him as a sole survivor of his race. with this additional context, its almost tragic, his reaction and his ability to be manipulated in not only this game but also sonic 3 before it, how he has little in the way of interaction due to him having to largely stay around angel island, an entirely desolate place, to protect a gemstone that contains energy that was the downfall of his people, and now the slightest threat to it necessitates immediate pro-action as to avoid doomsday events. i might be massively overblowing that, though, i am super super invested in these games to a serious degree. the rest of the cast shines, too, of course, with the highlights being tails going through his little-brother arc and eventually learning to Believe in Himself (Say That Again?), amy having an evolution beyond the giggly appearance she took on in CD to be a confident and playful admirer of sonic, though still capable on her own, and of course i can't mention story in this game without mentioning gamma. his story is genuinely such an oddly poignant look at the machinations of the robots of the eggman empire, from his assembly to his self-sacrificing demise to free the animals after he is taught goodwill by amy. its nothing oscar-worthy, but its still a damn interesting lens into that side of the coin that we dont really see anywhere else.
and of course, this is where my second-favorite iteration of the character of sonic is born. i feel as though ryan drummond fucking nails precisely what sonic should be - he sounds like a cocky, over-confident teenage thrillseeker who's just happy to indulge in the sights and vibes of the world around him, to share it with his friends, and anybody who threatens that needs to be dealt with, not without a fair share of cheesy one-liners and taunts. its not quite to the area where i like him best in the griffith era, but a lot of the foundation is laid here and will continue to evolve over time. that isnt to detract from it - its still an amazing interpretation of the character.
overall, my revisit to adventure has taught me some things:
1) holy shit this game shreds on the dreamcast. 30FPS or no, this shit is a vibe and still looks beautiful to this day due to the beautifully cartoony style aging like wine (outside of cutscene character animations sometimes being stilted).
2) this game is highly different from the classic sonic formula on a fundamental level, but thats okay, and shows the strengths of its gameplay shift sufficiently enough to not only warrant it but to make me keep coming back. we're very distinctly here for the spectacle, without it being fully automated in the vein of Some Games just yet
3) i really God Damn like Sonic The Freaking Hedge Hog .
i played this game through again in full. all stories. i haven't done that since i've been a kid.
and you know what?
you're damn right it holds up.
sonic adventure, whilst not a direct translation of the formula that made me so captivated by his original titles, is an apt evolution and iteration upon those tenets of the mega drive titles - i would argue the best official 3d sonic interpretation to date, in terms of adhering to that original set of goals.
now, most will say that the extra characters drag down this game, or it's padding, or what have you. i honestly disagree! after a revisit, i very much enjoyed my time with each of the characters, even big! i enjoy how you can see the levels through different lenses, different parts, different characters provide different perspectives on places you think you already know; such a belief is highlighted for me further by my religious replaying of sonic's campaign, and yet when i dip my toe into tails' campaign, a relatively similar affair, i still see things differently, whether it be differing levels or differing objectives or what have you. they each give a unique spin to different parts of the game in a way that makes it feel like an adventure.
and, to touch on that for a moment; the sonic part of the game. i shan't sugarcoat it, it is the best part of the game by far. like a country mile.
this is the best sonic has controlled in 3d in an official capacity, period, as far as i'm concerned. every movement feels so tight and precise, like i am in complete control of where i go, and that everything has an immediacy to it, befitting of a snappy, quick hedgehog such as our subject. spindashes rip through the stage in an instant, able to be transferred directly into an equal running speed at a button's press, or combined with a jump to clear crazy distances and heights. everything about sonic's campaign feels like a sandbox in which to experiment and play with the most fun feeling sonic, in my opinion. so many skips and tricks and little timesaves here and there, whether intentional or not.
now, having touched on that, i must say that the other playstyles are far overblown by negative crowds. they are great fun, and dip into slightly above average at the worst of times. other characters inevitably get more stripped back, less content-packed campaigns, as it isn't their titular game, but what is there is fun.
and speaking of those characters, this is the first time that a sonic game had a proper-proper plot, none of that wordless cutscene lark from sonic 3; we got full voice acting in this bitch. and... okay, yeah, admittedly, the voice acting is rough, the cutscene movements are stilted, and the animations frequently have oddities, only increased if you play the dx version (please god do not). however, the story told within them is still conveyed in such a way that i can get attached to and immersed within it.
which is a great thing! imperative parts of sonic lore such as chaos and tikal, and the origin of the species of chao, the extinction of the echidna tribe, the relationship between the master emerald and the chaos emeralds and their link to angel island as well as the aforementioned chaos, chao, tikal and echidnas are all getting their roots here. sure, some of these things get thrown to the wayside, but a lot of it is important for the larger sonic story. this is after three games and 8 years of not knowing what the fuck the chaos emeralds even really are, so having any sort of explanation of what they do be posited is more than enough to captivate and intrigue me.
that being said, the janky presentation will make or break the story for you. if you're the average joe, chances are the odd graphics, stilted animation and amateurish voice acting will put you off your experience. if you're me, though? that's part of the charm. the experience of it all is what really makes it.
and i think that is the best summary of sonic adventure i can give, really; everything about it simply charms me. i am head over heels for this game, warts and all.
i had my entire polycule telling me this game was trash, and you know what?
damn right it is. but it's trash with a soul. and one man's trash is another's treasure.
this game stays treasured in my heart, and i'll always hold it there in high regard. this is my golden standard for a 3d sonic experience.
this is kino.
