As a kid, I owned a Mega Drive, and I played it whenever I could, so it’s no surprise I ended up in the Sonic fanbase when I was young. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to manage to get another console until the original Xbox was released; I’ve missed out on a lot of great games, so when HD remakes or updates are released, I’m always interested. So when Sega released Sonic Adventure on modern consoles, I jumped at the chance to recover my missed childhood.
Originally designed for the Sega Dreamcast, the game was released in Japan in 1998, with an international release in 1999, and was the console’s best-selling title. It was so popular, in fact, when the Dreamcast eventually failed, an enhanced port was released in 2003 on the Nintendo Gamecube, known as the Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut. As the sixth installment to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, it was the first game to take the popular hedgehog into a 3D platformer, though he’d often flirted with 3D gaming in previous titles.
The re-release on the current consoles, however, is simply a port of the original title, with the updates from the Director’s Cut available as downloadable content. That means the same low-poly character models, the same peculiar animation, and the same low-resolution textures. The game even still sports its original 4:3 aspect ratio, with no option for widescreen. Whilst I accept the desire to deliver the original experience, it’s disappointing that Sega didn’t take the opportunity to update the game at all.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the graphics are ‘bad’ per se, just dated. The Director’s Cut add-on gives the visuals a slightly cartoony look, something I’m not against, but it does leave character models looking strangely shiny. Really, though, there’s nothing wrong with the design, and the visuals are pretty vibrant for such an old game.
Even the controls are pretty impressive for its age, at least for a pre-Sonic Unleashed title, but things can get a bit dodgy when you reach speed. Sonic often finds himself hugging the walls or railings of the level, unable to pull away, and twitching the thumbstick even minutely can send him flying off in a new direction.
Control issues aside, the level design isn’t actually bad, at least for the Sonic based mission. The trademarked speed based design lets Sonic blaze through the environment, whilst platforming sections reward experienced players with even more speed. The hub worlds, on the other hand, come across as completely unnecessary. Though it probably beats just picking stages from a list, it’s a shame there isn’t more to do aside from travel between levels.
The soundtrack is also superb, with tunes that could rival classic Sonic games to accompany each level. Unfortunately, original limitations means that many songs will suddenly start and stop as things happen, which can be a bit jarring, and the music is often louder than the in-game dialogue. Wait, scratch that second negative, it’s actually a positive, because the in-game dialogue is so insanely cheesy you probably don’t want to hear it. Add to that some of the most wooden voice acting I’ve heard in a video game, you’ll end up wishing Sonic and friends had stayed mute.
Ah yes, Sonic’s friends. This time around, Sonic’s joined by five new playable characters. Joining his trusty sidekick Tails and popular rival Knuckles are Amy Rose, previously seen in Sonic CD, and newcomers E-102 Gamma, and Big the Cat. Sonic and Tails are the most fun and play just as you’d expect, blazing across the level as fast as possible, whilst Knuckles, as the greatest guardian the Master Emerald has ever seen (hint: sarcasm) has to find the shattered pieces of said emerald lost in each level. Amy Rose comes across as a slower variant of Sonic’s levels as she runs away from a pursuing robot, whilst E-102 Gamma shoots things with a fairly dull shooting mechanic that takes no skill and barely any thought.
Good or bad, however, none of these characters sink to the depths that Big the Cat reaches. In a game based on action and speed, Big the Cat’s big hook is fishing. That’s right. Fishing. Not for fish, but for Big’s friend, Froggy the, uh, frog. See, Froggy keeps running away from Big, so you’re trying to catch him. Rather than chase him, however, you fish for him. As monotonous as it sounds, the truth is even worse. The controls are terrible. The camera is atrocious. It is insanely frustrating. I have never hated a game more than I have hated Big’s fishing levels.
In short, the game’s not bad, but annoying glitches and Big the Cat sink an otherwise average title. It’s pretty cheap on the console right now (XBLA have it at 400 points) so you can do much worse, but I’m afraid it’s not a game I can recommend. Sorry, Sonic, but this game only gets:
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