Sonic Adventure was the title that all Sega fans wanted on the Dreamcast. It signified a new era in gaming for Sega, its fans, and the popular blue hedgehog that stole so many hearts during the 16-bit system wars.
SA as a game was a charming experience. It offered all the right elements; brilliant 3D visuals, fast gameplay, and our favorite hedgehog in 3D. The game wasn’t without its flaws, though. The world camera suffered from the occasional glitch that would cause it to spin into the scenery, obscuring your view. Since the action would constantly switch angles from behind Sonic and then to the side, trying to navigate large loops would become increasingly difficult, resulting in Sonic falling to his death. The platforming would also suffer from unresponsive controls. It wasn’t uncommon to reach the final platform in a jump just to fall back down; it would be a frustrating affair to say the least.
While the game had its issues, it also had its highlights. Unlike previous entries in the series, SA offered an expansive game world to explore. Locations were all connected through Station Square, the central point of the adventure. This was the first time that a Sonic game felt epic in scale; the limited 2D world of Sonic came to life, and it felt like the franchise had finally come into its own. As far as gameplay, there was plenty of action, bosses to encounter, and rings to collect. The basic formula of speed, running through enormous loops, and collecting rings was present, and bouncing and spinning into enemies staid unchanged.
SA gave players the ability to raise intelligent pets named Chao inside what was called a Chao Garden. Aside from being an evolution of the A-life system from NiGHTS into Dreams (Sega Saturn), this was also Sega’s way of integrating a Digimon-style system into the game.
The Xbox 360 version of SA is identical to the Dreamcast version, and sadly, this means the glitches that plagued the original are present. Surprisingly, this port doesn’t offer much in the way of extras. Understandably, SA was released to appease fans and to revive the DC’s game library, but additional content would have made this release far more attractive to younger gamers. Gamers who weren’t old enough to remember this game on Dreamcast may find it difficult to justify a purchase (despite the HD resolution), but this doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy yourself however; you just need to look past some of the issues that plague the game.
The much improved Sonic DX (Directors Cut) is also available as DLC for 400MS Points. This will add 60 new missions to the original game, and it will add Metal Sonic as a playable character. This drastically improves SA’s longevity.
When weighed entirely on nostalgic value, SA will only matter to gamers who appreciated the game in the first place. As a new XBLA release, it offers a glimpse into the DC’s past. While age hasn’t been kind to Sonic Adventure, it still offers the same basic formula that made Sonic a household name to begin with. Hopefully Sega will release the much improved Sonic Adventure 2; this game was considered one of the best on the DC system.
Sonic Adventure is available on XBLA for 800MS Points.
Mike ‘STGuy1040’ Pittaro
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer / Publisher: Sega
Price: 800MS Points
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The graphics look decent in HD, but no real improvements were made. | |
| Sound | |
| The voice acting is pretty cheesy by today's standards. The music is some of the best in the Sonic series however. | |
| Gameplay | |
| If you can forgive the in-game glitches, Sonic Adventure will offer hours of enjoyment. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Fans of the original will find more nostalgia in SA than replay value. | |
