Sonic Adventure Review

Ah, 3D Sonic. To most people it’s a bumbling mess of glitches, unimaginative design, piss-poor supplements and unresponsive controls – a mockery of the glorious 2D games that waged war against Mario for the platforming crown. And why is it this way? Well, opinions differ. It’s possibly because Sonic Team is overworked and forced to crank out nothing but Sonic games; so of course they’re efforts will diminish over time. Or maybe it’s because they refuse to listen to the fans who know what makes a good Sonic game. Or it’s because they cater too much to fandom who would eat up anything with a blue hedgehog on the cover and so don’t need to worry about quality. It’s because the speedy platformer is too complex to render in 3D. It’s because they don’t get enough time on any game. It’s because they’re just incompetent. Whatever the reason, there’s one thing everybody can agree on: that all of the faults with modern Sonic, every issue and complaint, has its roots in – and thus the entirety of the blame for the lapse in quality can be placed on – Sonic Adventure.

Of course the problem with this is that Sonic Adventure was and still is a fantastic game. But its continual re-release on newer platforms has subjected it to the scrutiny of the modern review machinery, machinery worn and mangled by dross like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic and the Black Knight. And so modern critics seem to delight in that tired old observation that it “hasn’t aged well.” This isn’t a real criticism, though, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a legitimate critic in any other medium that can get away with it. It’s like when people say black-and-white movies are bad because they’re not in color or that the original Star Trek series is just silly camp, even though it possesses far greater imagination and conceptual acumen than anything that came after it; or, for a videogame context, it’s like when reviewers look at an Xbox Arcade re-release of Space Invaders and write anything other than “it’s flippin’ Space Invaders.”

There is however a small kernel of truth in “it hasn’t aged well,” one that serves more to commend later innovations, rather than condemn those works that predate them. Sonic Adventure, for example, came before dual-analog control and so the camera can be fussy at times, especially for those used to a right thumbstick (thus tacitly acknowledging the brilliance of its addition). But, to the game’s credit, it still manages to work without it. Much in the way black-and-white films didn’t just bemoan the lack of color but realized and capitalized on the effects it had on lighting and shadow, Sonic Adventure’s camera does well enough to keep up with the gameplay and will more often than not adjust itself correctly if you let it. It requires the player to develop a rhythm with the game, but it does work.

But the camera isn’t really everyone’s favorite problem anyway and Sonic Adventure actually shows its age more in its storytelling. Fully voiced games were a new thing at the time and this was a first for the series and so, looking back on it now, you can see the faults in the craftsmanship. The cutscenes lack any cinematography or dynamism; the characters just stand around and jabber at each other; the dialogue is stilted and purely functional; and there are more than a few plot holes (If you can honestly tell me why the Egg Carrier crashed, I’ll give you a pony). Comparing it to the games of today, this story seems clunky and amateurish. But you know what the crazy thing is? It’s still infinitely superior.

First and foremost is Doctor Robotnik. The Sonic Adventure games are definitely his highlight moments because in them he manages to retain some actual menace for once. He manipulates Knuckles into betraying Sonic, he captures and threatens Amy and he spends the majority of the game winning, beating Sonic and Tails to some of the Chaos Emeralds and flat out taking the rest from them. And his whispered threat to Tails just before the Egg Walker fight is probably the closest he’s ever come to scary. In Sonic Adventure, he’s an actual honest-to-God villain and that’s a far sight better than more recent games where he’s become so pathetic even his own robots are making fun of him.

The truly amazing thing about this story though is the scale of it. And I don’t mean that it’s bigger than later games, it isn’t (After all, Sonic Unleashed opened with Dr. Robotnik shattering the whole Earth); I mean that it’s variable, able to be big and cataclysmic (Chaos destroying Station Square), epic and expansive (all the Tikal flashbacks) and yet still small and personal (Just about everything with Gamma, especially his ending). There is a very real and very good story here; it’s poorly told, but it’s ambitious and it works well with the gameplay to enhance the experience.

An easy example of what I mean by this is the rather ahead-of-its-time revelation regarding the true nature of the hint orbs. But the bigger one is the six-character division. This serves the gameplay function of allowing you to focus on one gametype at a time and move between them as your mood dictates (whereas Sonic Adventure 2 would decide for you which kind of level you would play and Sonic Heroes would force you to play all gametypes simultaneously). Narratively, though, it works to accentuate each character’s individual arc and gives each of their journeys more meaning in the process.

And that’s the thing: each character here actually does have their own journey of development and self-discovery. Knuckles has his quest for purpose, Big his search for friendship, Tails and Amy each seek individuality, to be their own heroes independent of Sonic. Gamma’s story is the best and his ending – where we quietly learn just how interrelated his and Amy’s games were – is actually kind of beautiful.

And even Sonic has a lesson to learn: he tries to play solo hero throughout the story, but ultimately discovers that he doesn’t stand alone. After his plane crashes, he panics in his concern for Tails, but Tails has sorted himself out and actually gives Sonic a ride to the Egg Carrier so that he can save Amy. But by the time they get there, Amy’s already free and, in some versions of the scene, she actually saves Sonic from Gamma. And ultimately, it isn’t the Chaos Emeralds that create Super Sonic, but rather the faith and trust of his friends. Only together could they defeat Chaos and save the world. A bit of a mission statement for the future of the series if you think about it.

And a lot of people have thought about it and they blame Sonic Adventure for all the Big/Team Action/Silver/Werehog nonsense that plagues the series now. It’s actually an interesting complaint because in all other cases people consider gameplay variety to be a good thing, but anytime a Sonic game tries to branch out it’s immediately condemned for detracting from the speediness that is at the heart of the franchise.

But that’s a bit of a misconception. Speed isn’t the essence of the series, it’s just the theme. If you play through the Genesis-era games, you’ll notice you spend precious little time going full blast. Rather most of what you’re working with are gimmicks and mechanics that create an illusion of speed to fit the theme (Running in place to turn giant screws, for example). At heart, Sonic is really a platformer, one where each new character offers his own approach to standard conventions. Speed was one approach, but flying and climbing were two others introduced later that everybody readily accepted.

I realize of course that this was because the supplemental characters didn’t completely do away with the speed aspect. Tails could fly, but he still spent most of his time running. But still, an open-minded approach should never be discouraged and the problem with all the supplements isn’t that they exist, it’s that they typically range from derivative to terrible and they almost always try to upstage the headline act. Except here. What Sonic Adventure does is take the established approaches of the existing cast and place them in levels all their own designed around the abilities they already had. They’re still platforming games (except one), but now the supporting cast is each given their moment to stand apart and shine. And here at least they do so without diluting the core speed/platforming hybrid that put the butts in the seats in the first place.

Sonic of course has the speedy platforming, as it is his sole reason for existing. And in a lot of ways, his levels in this game still surpass his more recent efforts. Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors take the speed aspect to crazy new extremes, sometimes too far you could say (although Colors handles it far better than Unleashed), but they drop the ball considerably in the platforming department. The simple act of jumping is far tighter here than in the sequels and the levels are balanced better between speed-based gimmicks and actual speed (the distinctions between which the later games can’t seem to fathom), the homing attack and light-speed dash (both introduced here for the first time) aren’t as overused. Also worth noting is that Sonic has more levels than any other character (ten), these levels are longer and much more dynamic and elaborate (Speed Highway’s wall run, the ever-changing perils of Lost World and Ice Cap and the famous killer whale section of Emerald Coast are peerless). He may have a hefty guest cast, but there is no disputing that Sonic is still the star of this show.

Tails (six levels) was originally introduced in Sonic 2 as a means of facilitating multiplayer, which took the form of races. And so in Sonic Adventure his levels have you racing against Sonic, using your flight ability to gain an edge. However, I will concede that this tends to make Tails’ portion an empty rehash of Sonic’s. But in this capacity, the game does at least emphasize the theme of Tails constantly running in Sonic’s shadow, a theme which his last level – where he is racing instead against Robotnik to reach a missile – punctuates perfectly.

Knuckles’ (five levels) ability to glide and climb introduced exploration to the old games and so his stages are open arenas that he must explore to find the pieces of the Master Emerald. People often complain about these, but they’re actually an interesting change of pace, offering entirely new perspectives on the levels than any other character would have and they are completely in tune with the character (what with all the climbing and gliding). They’re also far more elegant here than in the next sequel, as the radar is more precise (five colors instead of three), it can detect all three shards at once (instead of making you go one at a time in order) and the hint orbs give you a sense of direction that at least sets you on the right track (as opposed to vague hints that only make any sense if you’ve beaten the level before).

Amy (three levels) is an interesting one. She was originally introduced in Sonic CD and she wasn’t playable; she was just a damsel in distress on the level of Princess Peach. But here, she is playable and she’s still a damsel in distress; you spend her whole game running away from an unkillable robot. And then at the end, when she finds a cause worth fighting for and she takes out her hammer and stands that robot down… well, that’s the cartoon equivalent of burning her bra.

Big (four levels) and Gamma (five levels) are the newbies in the group and so their gametypes are a touch more experimental. 3D offered new horizons and new challenges to gameplay (and eventually new expectations). The old series had to adjust and expand to meet new needs. Sonic Adventure’s multiple gametypes added variety to the experience and took advantage of the new capabilities of that extra dimension. Everybody was reworking old things (like the returning cast) and trying out new things (Chao raising); some worked and some didn’t, as is the case here. Gamma worked well enough and Big didn’t. It’s not even that I mind fishing in a Sonic game, but it’s just that the way it’s handled here is so depersonalized (you’re just staring at a meter the whole time) that it can’t help but lose interest. But really, the thing that makes Big stand out more and earns him more criticism than the shooting and the treasure hunting is that his levels aren’t platforming-centric like everybody else (even Gamma) is and so he doesn’t really fit this game.

Still, I don’t blame them for trying and Big isn’t a deal-breaker by any stretch. Froggy is always located in the first pool of any level and can be found very quickly. And Big himself is such a bizarrely affable character that it’s hard to hate him. He may be a frog out of water, but he’s got a good attitude about it. After all, his last boss is Chaos 6. That is to say: an immortal demon made of water one tiny stone away from total omnipotence. Most people would run, most would scream. How does Big react? He sits right down and he goes fishing. That right there is the very definition of hardcore.

Rather than distracting from the Sonic experience (as the lifeless and overlong Werehog levels would), these different gametypes represent the series expanding its scope, seeing how far it can take its characters and what it can accomplish with the new technology at its disposal. And because each character is separated, they don’t overshadow Sonic. If all you want is loops and springs, then you can play straight through Sonic’s game with no interruptions because what you basically have here is six games and six internally coherent stories that work independently, but combine into a far greater whole. Something no later game has been able to accomplish.

It’s the Adventure Fields that help everything feel cohesive. But, good golly, do people hate them. Again – and unsurprisingly at this point – I think this criticism is misplaced and these areas help give context to both the world and story. Sonic Adventure, like many early 3D games, took the disparate threads of the 2D franchises and then connected them into something altogether more organic. Chaos is a villain borne of the old mythology and so contextualizes the Chaos Emeralds, Angel Island, the Master Emerald and Knuckles’ guardianship of it; these elements we simply took for granted in previous games are given narrative purpose here.

Similarly, the Adventure Fields – like the castle in Super Mario 64 – take the stock Sonic levels – the ruins, the casinos, the forests, the mechanical urban environs – and piece them together into a singular cohesive world. Even the old cart racers and Sonic Spinball get their showcases in places and levels where they quite logically belong. Also, Chaos’ eventual destruction of Station Square works not just because it’s an awesome scene (which it is), but because this is a city we know filled with places we recognize (and, you know, the chao babies we raised in the hotel). And with the exception of the jungle in the Mystic Ruins, these areas are neither too big nor too small. Not annoying to traverse or over-cluttered (like the hub worlds of Sonic Unleashed). They show that our six characters are all working in the same place, allowing their separate adventures to be grounded and unified without tripping each other up.

So, yes, I think Sonic Adventure has held up pretty well over the years, especially if people hold this series to the same standard as all others. We allowed Link to grow up, Samus to go first-person, Donkey Kong to basically ditch Diddy and Mario to punch people, but for some reason Sonic is the one character who is never allowed to try anything new, never allowed to change. Sonic Adventure was a bold and firmly placed step into a brave new era of gaming, it was every step after that that faltered.

If you really wanted to blame a specific game for the overabundance of support characters, look toward Sonic Adventure 2, which introduced Rouge the Bat: the first truly pointless Sonic character (being used only ever as a Knuckles or Tails clone), and which screwed up the proportions so that Sonic has just as many levels as everyone else (and at half the length). Or, better yet, blame Sonic Heroes, which didn’t even have Sonic levels, just clunky bland monstrosities where Sonic spent most of his time following his much more capable friends.

One thing I will say about Sonic Heroes, though, is that it probably has the tightest controls of the 3D series, continuing a progression of mechanical improvements from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. So if you want to blame something for the clumsiness of later games, blame Shadow the Hedgehog, which was the first major step back in the series and the first real evidence that Sonic Team just didn’t care anymore.

If you want to decry the quality of storytelling, your targets are either Sonic Heroes (which wasn’t even trying) or Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (Which tried way too hard).

And if you want to blame the move to 3D for all future faults, well too bad, you can’t. Because the recent double-feature release of Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors stands as proof that 3D was never the real problem. Sonic 4 was a 2D nostalgia piece every bit as bland and clumsy as any recent 3D title. And Sonic Colors refined the Sonic Unleashed day-level formula into something light and fluffy but genuinely fun. Apparently, 3D was never the issue. Of course it was never the issue because 3D has worked in Sonic games before. Up to Heroes and then from Unleashed on, it was working just fine. Most of the problems with 3D Sonic comes down to design carelessness, leading to crummy controls or intrusive, derivative and tedious supplements.

Looking at Sonic Adventure in the context of its legacy then, it isn’t so much the beginning of the end as it is a last hurrah (though Colors suggests there might be hope). It was that one blessed moment where they got it right. Sure, Sonic Adventure 2 would go on to tighten up the controls and the storytelling considerably, but it has its own problems. And it would never be as momentously relevant as its predecessor.

Sonic Adventure took the gameplay of the 2D days and updated it and it took the pieces of mythos that shaped the Genesis era and combined them into something purely epic. It is the turning point that would see the series change forever, the template in which the future would be molded, an early exercise in videogame-method storytelling, the crux and origin of all fandom debate, the first 3D Sonic and quite possible the last truly popular game in the series. Not just “good for its time,” it is good for all time; it is ageless. Sonic Adventure is gaming history, required reading for all who follow this medium.

So go forth and play.