• Home
• Game Relations
• Game Relations List
• Dreamcast
• Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure .:: Sonic Adventure

Name: Sonic Adventure - All nations (the enhanced, fixed version was released to all nations under the title Sonic Adventure International in Japan)

Other Names (Nicknames): SA

Release Dates:
December 23rd, 1998 - Japan
September 9th, 1999 - USA
October 14th, 1999 - Japan (as Sonic Adventure International)
October 14th, 1999 - Europe

Quality: 128-Bit, 3D Platformer

Game System(s): Sega Dreamcast

Also released on:
(1). Dreamcast - Sonic Adventure International (no difference, and was only referred to as this in Japan)
(2). Gamecube - Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (a ported version of Sonic Adventure, with enhanced graphics and bonus features such as mini missions, playable Metal Sonic, and all of the Game Gear/SMS Sonic games)
(3). PC - Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (a ported version of Sonic Adventure, with enhanced graphics, and bonus features such as mini missions, playable Metal Sonic, and all of the Game Gear/SMS Sonic games)

Developer(s): Sonic Team

Character Introductions: Big the Cat, E-102 "Gamma," Chaos, Tikal the Echidna, and chao.

Region Game Takes Place On: Various locations in the Sonic universe.

Concept Introductions:

          Sonic Adventure was Sonic's official transition to 3D. Yet surprisingly, many factors from the older titles were maintained throughout the gameplay of Sonic Adventure: spinball jump, spindash, checkpoint markers, animal capsules, etc., etc. However, with the transition, came many new concepts and ideas. Permanent powerups were made for the characters which enhanced gameplay. Several of them were required. One of which included the light speed shoes for Sonic which pioneered a maneuver used in all 3D platform Sonic games to this day: the light speed dash; enabling Sonic to zoom across a trail of rings at lightspeed. Sonic's homing attack was also introduced in Sonic Adventure, which is a double jump where, if used near an enemy, Sonic will home right into the enemy and destroy it. (Creating an attack like this was almost mandatory, since it would be very difficult to just jump on the enemies like in the older titles — that's why Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island is so hard.) Sonic Adventure also marked the first mainstream Sonic game where Amy was a fully playable character and had her own story. Each character has a different gameplay style as well (will be explained later). Sonic Adventure is also the first Sonic game where humans appear frequently (Eggman never counts).

          On that note, 3 Adventure fields also debut in Sonic Adventure, which are basically just maps you can have your character run around on to trigger storyline events and gain access to the action stages. Last, but most CERTAINLY not least… all of the characters (that make a comeback from the old games, anyway) have a new, stylized makeover complete with slightly more lean bodies, colored eyes, and a much more sleek shape. The most dramatic appearance changes were for Amy and Eggman. Amy now sports a new red dress (which emphasizes a fashion that is actually MORE out of date than her old one), different hairstyle, new boots, red headband, and bracelets on her arms. Eggman is attired in a new, much more modernized suit complete with golden compartment accents and segmented stripes. He also has a new pair of goggles (which are never shown over his eyes), and an undergarment which seems to be form-fitting, latex pants with melded boots. Eggman's physique has also made a dramatic change, as he now looks more stylish and curvy like the other characters. These new appearances have been used ever since.

Concept Deductions: There are no Special Stages in Sonic Adventure. Although, the Chaos Emeralds are a major asset to the storyline, they are found on the ground like any normal jewels. The powerups change appearance once again, looking more like transparent balloon capsules. Many of the action stages are not meant for speed like all of the old games, but instead vary depending on which character you're using. (I.E.: Big's levels use a gameplay style that focuses on going to bodies of water and fishing for his pet frog, and Knuckles' action stages revolve around treasure hunting for Master Emerald shards.) Only Sonic's action stages emphasize the old-school style of gameplay. Also, as mentioned, the levels are now called Action Stages instead of Zones (this disappointed many veteran fans). Other than that, not much else was changed, surprisingly.

Storyline:

          Approximately 3000 years ago, times were rough because of the political incompetence and conflict that seemed to never have ended. All of this was between a group of echidnas who were once a tribe of mere bullies. But under the leadership of Chief Pachacamac, they rose as one of the most notorious and all-feared forces of war ever known. Chief Pachacamac had inherited the throne from his mother who did not seem to fancy his war-mongering disposition. His greed for power caused him to overlook merely restraining any considerable opposition, since he could instead rule the world. This insatiability led him right to the shrine of the 7 mysterious Emeralds of power.

          Unfortunately for Pachacamac, his daughter Tikal, and a mysterious elemental water spirit were in his way from achieving this goal. His daughter was brought up by his grandmother who passed on her pacifist teachings and mythology of the echidna tribe. Tikal did not at all approve of her father's aggressive attitude and senseless lust for power, especially after befriending this mysterious water spirit who was the guardian of the small chao that frolicked around the Emerald altars. On a gloomy night, her father and a group of warriors arrived at the shrine to use the emeralds by force. However, they were intercepted by his daughter, who begged them to stop. Careless and ruthless at the same time, Pachacamac ordered his men to charge. They trampled both his daughter and the chao, running towards the emerald altar. Before they got to their prize, they were stopped by the water spirit who now took a physical form. It absorbed the power of the Chaos Emeralds and turned into a giant monster, destroying the entire echidna civilization. Luckily, Tikal managed to get to the Master Emerald after she recuperated and recited an ancient spell that trapped her spirit, along with the water spirit's, in the Master Emerald. It was at this point that this water spirit was named Chaos, and the 7 Emeralds were named the Chaos Emeralds.

          Only a handful of echidnas survived this tragedy. They made it their rightful vow to guard the Master Emerald so that the horrid monster from within will never be set loose upon the world again. The chao that were also decimated to a near-point of extinction eventually began to multiply in numbers in the test of time since humans sought to take care of them with the affection they needed. Some 3000 years later, at the current time, unbeknownst to the severe risks and threats of his ulterior motives, Eggman sets out to free this beast and use it for his own thirst for power.

          The good doc now has his sights set on Station Square. He plans to destroy it and on its ruins build Robotnikland (AKA Eggmanland in Japan), the "ultimate" city. After discovering an ancient tablet in the nearby Mystic Ruins, which interpreted the tale of Chaos and the echidna tribe, Robotnik decides to use this beast to perhaps help build Robotnikland. Already, he's planning waaaay too far ahead; never thinking of the cons of his actions, such as Sonic and his pals, but most of all, how does he think he'll get this beast to obey him?

Personal Criticism/Opinion:

         
          Sonic Adventure, baby! By far, one of the most prestigious Sonic games of all time. It is often considered the best of the mainstream 3D platformers as well. Sonic Adventure was meant to give Sonic a totally new style and grace, which is most evident by his trendy and stylized new look as opposed to his old-school, 20's-style cartoon character look. For fans, it worked like a charm. Sonic Adventure's release is actually what sprouted most of the online Sonic fanbase we see today. Notice, most (didn't say all) of the more popular Sonic sites started in 1998 or 1999. The hype Sonic Adventure stirred up before its very first release in Japan was electrifying; spurring many Sonic lovers from the past into a much more intimate and serious enthusiasm. Unfortunately, many, even myself, were not around to experience it. I played SA when it first came out here in the US, but I wasn't a Sonic fan.

           Needless to say, the character's new designs were a huge success. The fanbase began spilling out fancharacters by the truckload at this point, as well as sites popping up like pimples on a budding teenager. Sonic Adventure's atmosphere still gave you that ticklish Sonic feel you were used to, yet it meshed so well with the new generation of Sonic that Sega produced. This, unfortunately, wasn't maintained with his future titles.

           Perhaps the most admirable aspect about Sonic Adventure is that it is much more storyline-based than the titles prior. It was inspired entirely by Central American culture (because Sonic Team actually took a trip to Central America to find inspiration for their next Sonic title). Tikal is actually the name of an ancient assembly of ruins in Guatemala. Sonic Adventure is pretty much what tips off the mysteries left from Sonic 3, Knuckles, and Chaotix, regarding the ancient civilization of Angel Island and their association with the Master Emerald.

           Each character has a different gameplay style, as mentioned. Sonic's gameplay is much like the old games, except in 3D — high speed, loop-runnin', spring-bouncing, spinballin' goodness. Tails' levels are almost exactly like Sonic's, except the objective is to race Sonic and beat him to the finish (the shortcuts which you could fly through were a major help). Amy's stages are kind of like Sonic's, except 39043958435973485 times slower-paced and not as dynamic (no homing attacks; instead you bash enemies with her Pico Pico Hammer), and she is always being pursued by one of Eggman's robots, E-100 "Zero." In the storyline, Chaos' appearance causes the Master Emerald to shatter — Knuckles' gameplay is simply going to the levels and tracking down 3 Master Emerald shards per level. In the storyline, Big loses his pet frog (who was possessed by Chaos), and his missions involve a fishing simulation, always trying to fish for his pet frog. Finally, E-102 "Gamma's" storyline involves searching out his robotic brethren and liberating the animals that are trapped inside after Gamma becomes self-aware (at first, he just works for Eggman). His gameplay revolves around shooting enemies with his laser cannon and is a platformer/shooter hybrid.

           Although the gameplays are slightly different, the action stages remain the same in Sonic Adventure. And no character has access to all 11 (Sonic can access 10 of them, however). Each character goes through a certain compilation of the action stages and they usually take different routes depending on which character you choose. These 11 action stages are accessible from the three adventure fields.

           But perhaps the most innovative feature (well, as innovative as Sonic games go) of Sonic Adventure is its new chao AI system. Chao aren't just a small part of the storyline. You can actually take care of your own chao in a chao garden! Chao have five statistics: speed, power, swimming, flying, and stamina. Raising those statistics takes a mixture of three things: feeding it the animals (not literally feed it; they grab the animal and absorb power from it before letting it go) that come out of badniks after you destroy them, letting it walk around in the VMU (the interactive Dreamcast memory unit), and of course feeding it (only raises stamina). Raising a super chao is a tough gig, since it is very time consuming. Plus, chao die (after about one day or so of time spent in the chao garden). However, if you took good care of it, the chao will reincarnate into its egg again and be reborn with its base stats derived from what it had last.

           Most people don't really take advantage of the chao system. They just deal with it to get the five emblems and then put it down. However, some love to raise chao for racing while others like to breed chao and make special chao breed recipes. Some of the rarer chao were available on the Sonic Adventure in-game homepage accessible through the Dreamcast browser. Speaking of emblems, that was yet another new feature of Sonic Adventure. Even if you beat the game, you haven't really beat it. Every time you beat an action stage and story, you may have noticed you get an odd little icon; the number increasing each time you get one. Those are Sonic emblems. There are 130 in all and getting them involves doing the extra missions for each action stage, fiddlin' with the chao, and playing the mini-games. Collecting all 130 doesn't do anything but give you a sense of accomplishment (which isn't worth it). Sonic Adventure DX, however, gives you a reward for collecting the emblems, including all of the Game Gear games, and Metal Sonic as a playable character in the trial mode.

           All of these new features, this new style, this new SONIC, was definitely a turning point for our blue hedgehog we know and love. Sonic Adventure was a video game stepping stone for Sonic. Even SOA and SOE media (that weren't already discontinued) kept up with the times and gave Sonic his new look. Sonic Adventure broke new grounds for the blue blur, and to this day, is still considered the best new-gen Sonic game of all time.

Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:

Replay value? Sonic Adventure's replay value is excellent. The emblem hunt practically forces you to replay it. And the action stages are all accessible from the very start once you fully beat the game in trial mode, or you can just access them by running around the adventure fields in story mode. In the port, Sonic Adventure DX, the playable Game Gear games also make the replay value good, along with the new mission mode it adds.

Graphics? When Sonic Adventure was first released, it was the only game that was playable on the demo Dreamcasts at the local video games stores (or the local Toys 'R' Us for me). And when everyone saw it, they were absolutely awe-inspired (Dreamcast titles with better graphics like Soul Calibur still weren't released yet). SEGA pioneered 128-bit videogaming, so seeing graphics like that struck everyone with a stopped heart. The models were great, the mapping on the adventure fields and action stages were magnificent, and the atmosphere was top notch. (As always, however, the FMVs for Sonic games absolutely blow — probably only because I am comparing them to unbeatable Squaresoft [or must I say Square-enix] FMVs.) Sonic Adventure DX was later released with enhanced graphics — most notably the redone models, which are actually the best 3D models seen in the Dreamcast/GC/PS2/X-Box era Sonic game yet as far as quality goes. However, the SADX models have that real ugly specularity and gloss going on with the texturing, making them look almost metallic. Sonic Team needs to acknowledge that that ugly gloss thing isn't working out (because they did in Sonic Heroes too). If they added a bit more accent painting on the models (such as defining the palm of their hands and fingers, and maybe add some detail to their body and shoes), and took away that intolerable gloss, then Sonic Adventure DX's models would have been the best Sonic models done so far.

Music & Sound Effects? The music in Sonic Adventure holds some of the coolest tunes known in the Sonic fanbase. Sonic Adventure was also the first Sonic game that started the new trend where which a Sonic game's main theme is a vocalized rock theme sung by Johny Gioeli, and where each character has their own vocalized themesong. "Open Your Heart," Sonic Adventure's themesong, is one of the most popular Sonic songs to this day, in fact. Most of the Sonic Adventure OST was composed by the rock stylings of Jun Senoue, along with other composers Fumie Kumatami, and Kenichi Tokoi. The music of Sonic Adventure meshes real well with the atmosphere, including many saxophone scores, guitar synths and rock power! Some of the music just gives you that Sonic feel too, particularly the Final Egg lobby and the Sky Deck. By far, one of the best Sonic game OSTs.

Storyline? Sonic Adventure's storyline is excellent, as expected. It is very indepth and reveals a look into the past of Sonic's dimension. Culture and mythology was added into the fray as well, along with very much suspense and drama. Perhaps the best Sonic game storyline yet.

OVERALL RATING? I rate Sonic Adventure as a 10/10.