Ever since Sega’s downfall, the Sonic franchise has been receiving quite a bit of backlash. Sometimes it was earned, while some other times… not so much. And this harshness not only came after the newer releases, but also affected the classics: No, not just the Adventure games, the original MegaDrive titles suffered from it also! But this time, I will only be focusing on Sonic Adventure DX and how, despite its drawbacks, I still consider it to be one of the best Sonic games there is.

It’s important to keep in mind that… this is far from the best version you can play. In fact, many people consider it to be the worst by far, being (as far as I know) a port, of a port, of a remaster, of an early 3D platformer from the late 90s. The game is already dated in itself, with some rough collisions, awkward camera, and a charming yet admittedly flawed presentation and localization (disclaimer: All of the previous statements are based on what I’ve heard). This is… fine! It’s what you'd expect from any early 3D game… but on top of that, this port adds issues with lighting, textures, models, more poor collisions, some scripted sequences randomly breaking, etc. Enjoying old games can be hard for some, but if you add so many issues on top, well… there is a reason why this game was so thrashed. I will come out and just say that despite this, SADX is not only playable, but really enjoyable! Though if you want a more refined experience, you may want to check the BetterSADX project.

So, with all that out of the way…

Sonic Adventure follows the events of Sonic 3 & Knuckles... or well, at least it used to, since new titles set between these two have been released, they really feel much more distant nowadays… I say this because, while I quite like these interlude adventures (since they give the feeling that Sonic and friends are growing and learning on their way to Station Square), plotwise Sonic Adventure is a lot more close to S3K. You may enjoy this adventure better overall if you come directly from said game, and then fill in the gaps with the newer titles that happen in-between.

Introduction aside, this is a much more story focused game than the previous installments. Some of the classics already had some really great progression and focus on storytelling; but with 6 playable characters, each with their own adventure to follow (plus the “Super Sonic” story), you bet this game covers a lot more ground. And I kind of want to give a quick summary and thoughts on each of them, gameplay included:

• Sonic: Speed is the focus here. Reach the end of the stage as fast as you can, with some goodies hidden around, and many paths to take. It’s really fun, and definitely the most complete of them all. The story is simple: collect the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman, and stop him from taking over Station Square. To achieve his goal, the doctor has awakened an ancient creature sealed within the Master Emerald: Chaos. Stop Eggman’s evil scheme and save the world! Simple, yet effective. Other than the fun gameplay and a cool story, I want to point out how Sonic is portrayed. He can come off as a bit too “90s cool”, too try hard at first… but despite it, you can easily see him as a caring guy who trusts his friends and their capabilities (in summary: he’s likeable).
  
• Tails: The little Foxboy wants to prove himself capable without relying on Sonic and… honestly, the plot is kind of just that. It’s very simple, but very effective, and while there has recently been a regression with this character development, it is expanded upon in the sequel! The final trial he goes through is by far the most significant, being able to save Station Square all by himself! His gameplay is also quite simple: Basically Sonic, but you can fly, and need to reach the end before your adversary. One of the most enjoyable stories by far!
  
• Knuckles: After the awakening of Chaos, the Master Emerald shatters and Angel Island plummets into the ocean. So, as the guardian he is, Knuckles goes on a journey to recover the emerald pieces and, while he’s deceived by Eggman again, manages to pull this through! Similar to before, the gameplay is basically Sonic’s, but you can glide, and instead of reaching the end, you gotta find the Emerald pieces. Exploration based sections of the main levels are used, and is pretty fun overall!
  
• Amy: I’ve been reading Amy’s character growth wrong this whole time! I thought it was about her becoming completely independent of Sonic, which is why it felt flat to me in the direct sequel… but I was wrong! Turns out she wants to become completely capable of defending herself (unlike in CD), while still being Sonic’s obsessive girlfriend. I… kinda love it? Anyhow, she goes onto proving herself capable of escaping danger, becoming much stronger and confident. She has the duty of saving a little flicky, and escape (and later on destroy) one of the E-Series robots: E-100 Zero. I also really like her gameplay style, although I really wish it was easier to keep top speed… I like to hammer jump…
  
• Big: Gosh I love this guy. I know many people love to hate him, but his entire story revolves around just… living life and loving your friends! Good ol’ Big’s pal Froggy has gone missing! And so, he goes into an adventure and gets in all sorts of hijinks just to save his best friend… by fishing! It’s extremely contrasting to the other gameplay styles, but it offers a nice, half-calm, half-arcade experience with a very wholesome (and goofy) plot.
  
• E-102 γ: Sonic Adventure’s most profound story comes with the character Gamma. As part of the new E-Series robots made by Eggman, Gamma is only meant to follow orders… but part of it (the flicky inside it), still has influence in the machine, which makes the robot go through an entire identity crisis. By the end of it, Gamma has released the animals inside the rest of the robots, spared the suffering of its brethren, and freed its flicky so they can return to their family. Gameplay wise? Sonic with a gun! It is that pretty much, but this arcadey 3rd person shooter approach sure is fun!

All these stories are interconnected (I can’t tell for sure how well connected they are, but it’s really cool), and they all share snippets of the Echidna tribe’s past. You learn so much more about them, what caused their downfall, what Chaos and the Chao are,... truly great stuff!

I personally believe that having all of these different gameplay styles was a good thing. The classics had part of their replayability rely on different playable characters and collecting the Chaos Emeralds. But since this time the emeralds are so tied to the plot, I feel this was a great way to make it all feel more complete: By making every character feel completely unique! They may clash from time to time, but they also offer a quite unique experience: I wouldn’t want it any other way! Furthermore, the game contains even more side content, such as a rocky ranking system, mission mode, minigames, the Chao garden… and a cool little bonus for 100% completion.

The only things I have left to mention in this review are the music, and the artstyle. The music is amazing, full of bangers and extremely varied; one of the bests! And for the artstyle, regarding my personal likes… it's perfect. It doesn't deviate from the classics too much; while also having that Dreamcast, low poly urban landscape I've fallen in love with. An artstyle I get to enjoy thanks to games like Sonic Adventure 2, Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, and Crazy Taxi… and I want more!

I've been struggling to share my thoughts about these titles ever since I played them in the late 2010s, so hopefully, this will be my final draft. I have only love for these titles, they've helped me during my dark times, so I can only say… give them a go… and thanks, Sonic Adventure.

[h1]Sonic had a [b]cool[/b] transition to 3D![/h1] Ever since Sega’s downfall, the Sonic franchise has been receiving quite a bit of backlash. Sometimes it was earned, while some other times… not so much. And this harshness not only came after the newer releases, but also affected the classics: No, not just the Adventure games, the original MegaDrive titles suffered from it also! But this time, I will only be focusing on [i]Sonic Adventure DX[/i] and how, despite its drawbacks, I still consider it to be one of the best Sonic games there is. It’s important to keep in mind that… this is far from the best version you can play. In fact, many people consider it to be the worst by far, being (as far as I know) a port, of a port, of a remaster, of an early 3D platformer from the late 90s. The game is already dated in itself, with some rough collisions, awkward camera, and a charming yet admittedly flawed presentation and localization (disclaimer: All of the previous statements are based on what I’ve heard). This is… fine! It’s what you'd expect from any early 3D game… but on top of that, this port adds issues with lighting, textures, models, more poor collisions, some scripted sequences randomly breaking, etc. Enjoying old games can be hard for some, but if you add so many issues on top, well… there is a reason why this game was so thrashed. I will come out and just say that despite this, [i]SADX[/i] is not only playable, but really enjoyable! Though if you want a more refined experience, you may want to check the BetterSADX project. [b]So, with all that out of the way…[/b] [i]Sonic Adventure[/i] follows the events of [i]Sonic 3 & Knuckles[/i]... or well, at least it used to, since new titles set between these two have been released, they really feel much more distant nowadays… I say this because, while I quite like these interlude adventures (since they give the feeling that Sonic and friends are growing and learning on their way to Station Square), plotwise [i]Sonic Adventure[/i] is a lot more close to [i]S3K[/i]. You may enjoy this adventure better overall if you come directly from said game, and then fill in the gaps with the newer titles that happen in-between. Introduction aside, this is a much more story focused game than the previous installments. Some of the classics already had some really great progression and focus on storytelling; but with 6 playable characters, each with their own adventure to follow (plus the “Super Sonic” story), you bet this game covers a lot more ground. And I kind of want to give a quick summary and thoughts on each of them, gameplay included: [list] [*][u]Sonic:[/u] Speed is the focus here. Reach the end of the stage as fast as you can, with some goodies hidden around, and many paths to take. It’s really fun, and definitely the most complete of them all. The story is simple: collect the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman, and stop him from taking over Station Square. To achieve his goal, the doctor has awakened an ancient creature sealed within the Master Emerald: Chaos. Stop Eggman’s evil scheme and save the world! Simple, yet effective. Other than the fun gameplay and a cool story, I want to point out how Sonic is portrayed. He can come off as a bit too “90s cool”, too try hard at first… but despite it, you can easily see him as a caring guy who trusts his friends and their capabilities (in summary: he’s likeable). [*][u]Tails:[/u] The little Foxboy wants to prove himself capable without relying on Sonic and… honestly, the plot is kind of just that. It’s very simple, but very effective, and while there has recently been a regression with this character development, it is expanded upon in the sequel! The final trial he goes through is by far the most significant, being able to save Station Square all by himself! His gameplay is also quite simple: Basically Sonic, but you can fly, and need to reach the end before your adversary. One of the most enjoyable stories by far! [*][u]Knuckles:[/u] After the awakening of Chaos, the Master Emerald shatters and Angel Island plummets into the ocean. So, as the guardian he is, Knuckles goes on a journey to recover the emerald pieces and, while he’s deceived by Eggman again, manages to pull this through! Similar to before, the gameplay is basically Sonic’s, but you can glide, and instead of reaching the end, you gotta find the Emerald pieces. Exploration based sections of the main levels are used, and is pretty fun overall! [*][u]Amy:[/u] I’ve been reading Amy’s character growth wrong this whole time! I thought it was about her becoming completely independent of Sonic, which is why it felt flat to me in the direct sequel… but I was wrong! Turns out she wants to become completely capable of defending herself (unlike in CD), [b]while[/b] still being Sonic’s obsessive girlfriend. I… kinda love it? Anyhow, she goes onto proving herself capable of escaping danger, becoming much stronger and confident. She has the duty of saving a little flicky, and escape (and later on destroy) one of the E-Series robots: E-100 Zero. I also really like her gameplay style, although I really wish it was easier to keep top speed… I like to hammer jump… [*][u]Big:[/u] Gosh I love this guy. I know many people love to hate him, but his entire story revolves around just… living life and loving your friends! Good ol’ Big’s pal Froggy has gone missing! And so, he goes into an adventure and gets in all sorts of hijinks just to save his best friend… by fishing! It’s extremely contrasting to the other gameplay styles, but it offers a nice, half-calm, half-arcade experience with a very wholesome (and goofy) plot. [*][u]E-102 γ:[/u] Sonic Adventure’s most profound story comes with the character Gamma. As part of the new E-Series robots made by Eggman, Gamma is only meant to follow orders… but part of it (the flicky inside it), still has influence in the machine, which makes the robot go through an entire identity crisis. By the end of it, Gamma has released the animals inside the rest of the robots, spared the suffering of its brethren, and freed its flicky so they can return to their family. Gameplay wise? Sonic with a gun! It is that pretty much, but this arcadey 3rd person shooter approach sure is fun![/list] All these stories are interconnected (I can’t tell for sure how well connected they are, but it’s really cool), and they all share snippets of the Echidna tribe’s past. You learn so much more about them, what caused their downfall, what Chaos and the Chao are,... truly great stuff! I personally believe that having all of these different gameplay styles was a good thing. The classics had part of their replayability rely on different playable characters and collecting the Chaos Emeralds. But since this time the emeralds are so tied to the plot, I feel this was a great way to make it all feel more complete: By making every character feel completely unique! They may clash from time to time, but they also offer a quite unique experience: I wouldn’t want it any other way! Furthermore, the game contains even more side content, such as a rocky ranking system, mission mode, minigames, the Chao garden… and a cool little bonus for 100% completion. The only things I have left to mention in this review are the music, and the artstyle. The music is amazing, full of bangers and extremely varied; one of the bests! And for the artstyle, regarding my personal likes… it's perfect. It doesn't deviate from the classics too much; while also having that Dreamcast, low poly urban landscape I've fallen in love with. An artstyle I get to enjoy thanks to games like Sonic Adventure 2, Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, and Crazy Taxi… and I want more! I've been struggling to share my thoughts about these titles ever since I played them in the late 2010s, so hopefully, this will be my final draft. I have only love for these titles, they've helped me during my dark times, so I can only say… give them a go… and thanks, Sonic Adventure.