Tails Adventure

[Sean]

What the fuck, Sean making a Sonic topic? Well this isn't about that horrid little hedgehog, but rather the cute flying fox that nobody can hate (aside from those who can't shut up about Sonic's "shitty friends" or Sonic 2's wonky partner AI), so this is one loophole I'm okay with abusing. I just recently played this game and have made a lot of progress into it, and I'm really shocked to learn about how good it actually is !!

While I'm sure everyone is aware of this game's existence, I see so little mention of it that it's worth a summary for those who didn't have a Game Gear or one of the various Sonic collections a couple of generations ago. You play as Tails who single handedly takes on the Battle Kukku Army, who wouldn't look out of place as villains in the Donald Duck mythology. It is a platforming game, but it plays nothing like a regular Sonic game; for one, Tails moves at a stroll's pace, and jumping on enemies doesn't do much but hurt you. Rings are present, but they resemble a more traditional health meter, and you can only obtain them by sometimes defeating enemies and blowing up rocks. Rather than spin your way through a series of linear levels, you have to take advantage of items that Tails can find throughout the twelve areas of the game. Some of them are tricky to find, and you'll have to backtrack to get them all, but once they're in your inventory they're there for good. The one hurdle you will face is that you can only carry four items at a single time; you'll have to swap them out at Tails's house, so figuring out which items you'll need can sometimes boil down to trial and error.

Right off the bat, I was kind of surprised at how nicely this game controls. The Game Gear Sonic platforming games (Sonic 1 and 2, and Sonic & Tails) have pretty icky game feel when compared to their Genesis counterparts, so I could never get into them because they control about as well as an average fan game. Tails has more weight in this game, and his flight is definitely a lot nicer to control (if a bit tricky due to momentum). His jumps are also much easier to predict than in other GG games. There's also an interesting trick to maintaining infinite flight: just double tap jump while holding up and Tails's flight meter will fill right back up.

Which brings me to another point: I like how Chaos Emeralds serve a practical purpose this time around. There are six of them to collect - some of them you can't miss, while others are out of the way, and at least one of them (and another item) can be missed permanently. Each time you collect one, your health and flight meters are increased, so while they don't affect the ending at all to my knowledge, you'll want to scout for them anyway because you'll definitely be wanting the increased health against boss fights and tricky area designs later in the game.

By far my favorite part about the game is the robot-controlled Mini Tails that you obtain early on. This thing is fun to use and serves a variety of purposes. Its only mandatory uses are to crawl through tiny spaces and locate some out of the way items, but you can also use it to scout ahead without fear of enemies or obstacles; it is completely invincible and doesn't run out of flight, and there isn't any limited range of which I am aware. The farther you get in the game, the more you'll come to depend on this thing; it's definitely a neat tool to use to explore areas without any repercussions. Another fun diversion is the Sea Fox, which appeared in one of the previous S&T games. This is your primary means of reaching areas that are beyond Cocoa Island's shores, although you can select them normally once you unlock them the first time. The Sea Fox is just damn fun to use, especially when you locate upgrades to equip onto it, such as mines you can drop or torpedos to shoot up above. Considering that most people don't like water levels in Sonic games, it may come off as surprising that the water areas are some of the most fun in Tails Adventure for these reasons.

By the way, the game has some cute music. The only problem is that it can get repetitive since you will be spending a lot of time in certain areas, but what's there is charming. I think my favorite track (so far) is Polly Moutain. The map screen is also really great, which was actually my first choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO-9733vPcY

Why don't people talk about this game more often? My guess is that most people, myself included in the past, took one look at the game and passed it up because it was slow paced and didn't play at all like a regular Sonic game. You can't just race to the end and jump on badniks; you have to use a limited number of items and have a bit of patience while exploring. For a Sonic game, that definitely sounds B to the ORING. After I recently finished Wario Land 3, I somehow remembered that this game existed and decided to give it a real chance. I got used to the game feel really quickly and I was hooked; I've managed to find most of the items on my own, and despite a few cheap moments, its overall difficulty is manageable and never gets to be overbearing. Not all items are useful but it feels satisfying to find a new one, especially one you can use a lot such as the upgrades for the bombs. I think whether you would enjoy this game or not depends on how you feel about Metroidvanias, as well as the fact this is part of the Sonic series of all things.

What may also turn off people is the game's flaws. As much as I love the game, there are things that they really could have improved on. As I mentioned above, knowing which items to bring is what the majority of alternate pathways amount to, and so unless you're using a guide, be prepared to backtrack, a lot. There is no way to exit a level save for reaching the end or returning to the beginning. Going back to Wario Land 3, that game was pretty good at making sure you're hardly ever lost, considering you can simply go to the temple and know where to head to next. Tails Adventure has no such hint system, which is unfortunate. I know that it's a staple of Metroidvania games to leave the player to his or her wits, but considering how slow-paced the game is, you'll be bored if your patience for games of this type wears thin easily. It doesn't help that Sonic is a series known for its fast and frantic pacing, so expecting most Sonic fans to play this kind of game is a bit of a risk.

However, I do think this game has more strengths than weaknesses. This is a game that shows off Tails's inventive side in creative ways, and it makes pretty good use of his flight ability, so it's the best of both aspects of his character rather than focusing exclusively on one or the other. I find it to be a surprisingly good Metroidvania that's worth checking out; this is probably the most fun and well-designed of all of the Game Gear Sonic games if you can get past the fact that it plays nothing like a regular Sonic game. Personally, I would not hesitate to call this my favorite handheld Sonic-related game. Hell, I've had far more fun with this title than I have with Sonic 3 & Knuckles within the past five years.

[Solkia]

Sean what are you doing we had a deal

 

A Metroidvania huh? That's an amusing idea to use Tails in. I might try it out.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I hate most classic games but Im open to try any game so Ill put this game on my list. It seems OK to me.

[Red]

I love this game. It's one of my favourite GameGear games ever. The music and the gameplay is so charming, but also challening in it's own right. Such a shame people just look passed it a lot. Every Sonic fan needs to play this game.

[Rusty Spy]

Yeah, there was a reason Sonic Adventure DX made this the last game gear game to be unlocked. It's by far my favorite game gear game, and the only one besides, surprisingly, Sonic Labyrinth that I played from beginning to end, and like you said, it's got a lot of charm to it.

 

Even the graphics are pretty damn good for an 8-bit game. It could easily have been made on the genesis, and almost makes me wish it was, cause the music would've been godlike.

 

This is seriously an underrated gem that everyone needs to at least try.

[RustyRick]

Sean, what in the world are you thinking?! The only character that is allowed to have his own spinoff game is Shadow!

Buti n all seriousness, Tails Adventure(s)  was a alright Metroidvania-type of game. Sure, the walking speed wasn't up to par with Sonic standards, but I honestly didn't have any real issues with this game when I played it through on my Gamecube copy of Sonic Adventure DX.

The music was alright, Tails' animations were incredibly cute, and if you just took your time to experiment around with the items and explore the area's thouroughly, you were bound to get somewhere. The whole point of this game which I honestly found a nice change of pace from the usual 'Get from point A to B in any Sonic game at that point, and it worked well with Tails in the lead for once and in a totally different gameplay style. It doesn't hurt either that there's no time limit, so if you somehow feel like you're pressured to finish the stage, there's no real reason to rush ahead without using your head logically, hence the game really encourages you to take your time to explore, people.

Not that I will acknowledge some of the major flaws though, in that in some of the later stages, especially that 2nd mountain area, the enemies can really get alot of cheap shots in on you with their bomb-tossing that you really gotta time and throw your shots carefully so you won't get hit, and I swear that most of the bosses boil down to 'spam bombs and pray you outlast a spam-match with your invincibility framerates', because I can't tell a fixed pattern with almost every boss except for the first and final one. Those mech bosses will give you a run for your money.

And alot of the items serve no real purpose other than to include some nice easter egg, like with Sonic you could run fast, and the radio while nice to change music mid-stage, they aren't that often picked even if you like their non-practical uses because you can only use 4 items in your slots at a time in the game, and you have to backtrack to Tails' home just to equip and unequip the items that you might think are nessecary, and unless you know their uses, you will find yourself backtracking because 'whoops, I didn't equip that one item needed to break those blocks, oh well...'.

But for what it was worth, Tails' Adventure was a nice diversion and definetely one of the far higher quality GG titles on the handheld besides Sonic 1 GG, Triple Trouble and even Skypatrol if you're a big fan of Tails and like a short but sweet rail shooter. Thanks alot for making this topic, and bringing this game back to awareness in our minds, Sean.
 

[Covskin]

When I finally unlocked the game I kinda had a "This better be good" mentality heading in, and thankfully it turned out to be a great little game.

 

First thing I noticed was actually how good the graphics were, I was quite impressed that the Game Geat managed sprites that detailed and vibrant. Of course, the second thing I noticed was the slow walk speed, but you get used to that.

 

I think the idea behind the whole game was pretty inventive for a character like Tails, use more cunning to get round certain aspects than sheer force. The boss battles though...oh, some of them were tough. Not Sky Patrol levels of difficulty, but yeah, some of them take a while to go down.

 

An under-rated gem to be sure.

[Solly]

Tails Adventures is a fun little game. It's definitely my favorite of the Game Gear games. I agree that it could boil down to trial and error sometimes, but it was really enjoyable for what it was, and it did a lot to stand out from other Sonic games. It takes more from Metroid than anything, really, but it never feels like a half-assed clone, and it's not like the other Sonic titles on Game Gear that make me wish I was playing them on a Genesis. 

 

I'd love to see a sequel to it on 3DS or something, even though we know that's not happening.

 

Also, more great music that isn't in the OP.

[Mania Pipe]

Thanks for bringing up this topic Sean. I was a bit saddened that nobody I met or talked to about Tails Adventure even remembered it. But much to my surprise, I found out that other people actually enjoyed the game as well. I'm glad that you guys enjoyed it too, because I really did have fun playing Tails Adventure, besides Sonic Triple Trouble and Tails' Skypatrol, back when I had a copy of Sonic Adventure DX. Knowing that Tails is my favorite character, I figured I had to check it out.

 

The music was great (really loved Polly Forest and the boss music <3), the exploration was swell because of the many places you could take or go to, the controls actually feel fine and responsive, the animation on Tails that I found was cute, the gadgets that Tails had to use in order to get through certain obstacles and the challenges that waited up ahead. Overall it was a pretty fun experience and solid game, especially for a Game Gear title. The other I like about this game is that it wasn't about just speed like a regular titled Sonic game, but more of a exploration game with its Metroidvania level design. Seriously, this is one of the most underrated games I've played. *Sigh* I wish there was a remake of this game... or heck even a sequel.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

Ooh, I have this game on my gamecube (Sonic Gems Collection). I guess I should try it.

[Ristar]

Aw man I love this game. Never got to finish it because I got stuck in a level, I can´t remember which. But overall, it was a lot of fun.

 

 

There´s also Tails´Skypatrol which gets a lot of hate but I dunno guys, I enjoyed it. I didn´t finish this one either lmao

[mikeblastdude]

Tails Adventure is a spin-off done right. It takes a character and elements from the franchise (rings, springs, etc.), and puts them in a completely different setting, with a completely different way of playing, and makes it its own thing.

 

Sadly, this is one of the only Sonic games (released in the U.S.) for the Game Gear that I don't own a physical copy of. It's a fun little game that, to be honest, I haven't spent too much time with until just recently when I purchased it on the eShop for my 3DS. I'm actually (slowly) doing my first legitimate playthrough of the game now, and have been enjoying it quite a bit.

[gato]

This is like the time you posted on the Pony thread.

 

You'll be back with us Broniks in no time.

[azoo]

I've been watching a playthrough of the first ten or so minutes of this game. I always dodged it due to being one of the GG Sonic titles, which I all kind of disliked a whole lot.

 

But after watching these first couple of minutes, I'm actually craving to play this game. It's giving me that kind of nostalgic feeling the classic, Saturn-era and SA games gave me, mostly because it also builds a sort of back story for Tails. It looks so much fun!

 

I'm gonna play this soon. Looks wonderful.

[Diogenes]

Tails Adventure is definitely an interesting game, but I feel like it suffers too much from the Game Gear's limitations to be a genuinely good one. As far as Game Gear games go, though, it's arguably the best "Sonic game" on the system, even if it doesn't play anything like one.

[StaticMania]

My short sampling of this game didn't do much in the favor of getting me into this game...I didn't play it long enough.

 

I was just sampling all of the games in the Gems collection, so me not being interested enough to come back, combined with my short sample of game-play just made me pass this game up. I'd be willing to go back and put some actaul time in this game, it does look interesting enough for me to consider playing through it entirely.

[Komodin]

This game... hmm.

 

Come to think of it, I never really paid this game much attention. While I did play a little bit of it through Sonic Adventure DX a few years ago, its gameplay never really gelled with me, what with being more like Metroid that something I'd expect from a typical Sonic game, even with a spinoff. I did read its Archie comic adaptation (of sorts) a year or so ago, so I'm interested in its plot, but since my SADX disc got smashed, I lost my only means to play it at the moment. 

[FriendBot]

I played this game before, I loved it!

 

If this is what Metroidvania games are like, I might actually try them out. I really do like this game and a lot of people aren't giving much credit to it! 

 

But yeah, thanks Sean for giving this game some light!

 

Skypatrol on the other hand............

[SuperBrandon]

I never played Tails Adventure, but from what I have seen and heard it is good. Will pick it up on the eShop when I get my 3DS as it has good reviews. It scored 8/10 from Nintendolife.com and that's decent.

[StaticMania]

So, I went back and played the game, actually putting some time into and all. So far, I actually like it...it has nice music and its not too confusing.

 

The only thing I do Not like already is how the flying controls work...it does not feel natural at all.

[Sparky]

I have never played the game, although I really want to. 

 

But the things I REALLY like about this game so far is the fact that Tails gets stronger with each Chaos Emerald he collects, learns the Spin Dash before meeting Sonic (and mastered it pretty well, unlike Sonic in Sonic CD), as well as building up Tails' backstory a little. 

[Sean]

The only thing I do Not like already is how the flying controls work...it does not feel natural at all.

 

They're tricky but I like them way more than how Tails operates in the Sonic & Tails games.

 

I picked this up on the 3DS eShop last night. Sega's Game Gear emulator is actually really good; the upscale is crisp unlike Nintendo's Game Boy emulator, and there are other tweaks such as customizable buttons and an option to disable flicker. It's a shame that there is no other Game Gear game I would get, unless Sega decides to release Dynamite Headdy and Ristar sometime in the future.

[-blank-]

I've never got far in this game, but it's a nice little time waster. It controls fairly well, the graphics are nice and I like the music.

 

 

 

And it's certainly better than freaking Sky Patrol.

[DBZHedgy]

I didn't think Sky Patrol was that bad Blaire.

 

But anyway. I found a glitch that lets you fly forever in the game.

You have to tap the jump button as soon as tails falls from flying. It's really useful.

[StaticMania]

You're suppose to be able to do that...other wise you can't beat the game.