Do people still think Sonic Adventure's a good game?

[SilJeff]

I think nostalgia is the only saving grace for the Adventure games. The first one is the better of the two, but they both have so many problems that no way can I call either of them good Sonic games, much less good games in general.

For some reason Sonic Adventure 1 gets a pass, despite 1/6th of the game only having Sonic in it and the other 1/4th being just as bad as Sonic Adventure 2's non Sonic stages. That's another story for another time though. 

I think that is because while 1/6th of the characters play exactly like Sonic [being Sonic himself], 1/2 of the game still manages to more closely play like an actual sonic game instead of SA2's 1/3.

Tails plays just like Sonic in SA1 minus two details [having the time limit of another person going after the goal, as well as smaller levels]. Tails plays nothing like Sonic in SA2

Amy also plays like a, while vastly inferior thanks to her being extremely slow, regular platformer. If SA2 had 3 characters be regular platformers instead of just Sonic and Shadow, then I think SA2 would get more of a pass like SA1 gets. Plus sequels are supposed to improve aspects of the prior game not make the same mistakes and then some more [like making the radar system of treasure hunting even worse].

 

[Baraksha]

I can see the problems this game have and I see where the people who hate it are coming from, unless they start talking about the controls and the level design, any ways I personaly still really like this game, like I still like playing it from time to time and i'm having fun , sometimes even playing as different characters, and while I know we already discused this in my other well known posts " is it ok to like sonic"  I can't help but to feel different for still liking it , I mean why everyone else hates it now and only I still find it enjoyable, do I have some sord of brain issue?, do the people who still like this have brain issues or some sord of mental issue? Or maybe the people wjo like this are just smarter, idk (you don't have to answer this quistion), anyways if do you still like sonic adventure?, if you do, do you think there is a way to defend this game other then nostalgia, is there a way to like this game and give a logical explaination why this game is not just for "stupid blinded fanboys" and all the other stupid shit people say to describe the people who like this?

[Tara]

The obvious answers are-

1) There's no shame in enjoying something that is not good by today's standards.  For one, if you grew up with it, it should't bother you as much.  Do you know how many NES/SNES games are awful by today's standards?  Even some of the most iconic and revolutionary games at the time have aged incredibly poorly, but we still have people who play them in fine capacity and enjoy them.

2) Many of the concepts first introduced in Adventure are still being used today and are still genuinely good on a conceptual level.

I don't think anyone aside from the more elitist douches would suggest that there's something wrong with you for enjoying it, and I certainly don't think the majority of the members here hate the game, as much as have grown to recognize its flaws. Also, a lot of members here were either very young or not even alive during its initial hype period, so that brings with it its own form of scrutiny and criticism.  The problem, I think, is that plenty of people (outside of dedicated message boards, typically) consider SA1 and its successor to be "the last good Sonic games" or infalliable works of genius to the point where an objective conversation can not be made.  It's basically like Pokémon's Gen 1 fans, who adamantly quote Charizard as an example of good monster design and the Pokémon based on inanimate (or unknown to western audiences) objects in later gens as bad, forgetting that Gen 1 also has a Pokémon that is literally a pile of waste.

The game certainly has plenty of defendable points, so I think it's pretty easy to defend for reasons aside from nostalgia.  Just keeping it in perspective I suppose is the key.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Tara

[E-122-Psi]

I think the main reason I would never ever remove Big, even if I had the power to do so, is because of something that just had to be a joke on Sonic Team's part. It's an amazing punchline not only for Big's story, but arguably the game as a whole.

I'm not very familiar with behind the scenes information on Sonic Adventure so I can't say for sure, but just...look at this. I swear, it's like they looked at this water creature they made to play a big role in the game, and then specifically created a character whose whole thing is fishing just so they could have a "boss fight" where the objective is to fish something out of that water monster (which, I feel I should point out, is a fairly serious threat everywhere else in the game). Someone in that dev team had to have giggled about this at least a little.

Seriously though, I do like the idea of a hypothetical SA remake completely revamping Big's stages to be focused on platforming. As nice as that would be though, if they changed Big's "fight" with Chaos 6 in any way (well, okay, maybe adding in some actually strategy to it, since you can potentially beat it in seconds, but the basic concept is just too perfect), I would be extremely disappointed and only buy 45 copies instead of 50.

I wouldn't mind if Chaos at least put up something of a fight, like at least say on the level of the fish where he pulled Froggy away from you rather than aiming being an instant win. If anything that would make it funnier anyway.

Concerning Big's levels, a lot of them have leftover pathways and data which heavily implies Big's levels where supposed to be more platforming or puzzle orientated, only for them to get diluted just to the fishing part, perhaps because they thought people would get exasperated with all the different genre tracking. It is a shame, Hot Shelter shown some greater versatility.

I think just adding more platforming elements and making the fishing element more tolerable would make Big a good campaign mode. Maybe make him slightly faster and give a more effective attack move like his Heroes body slam.

This is my key problem with SA1, a lot of levels feel dumbed down, like they were aware gamers may feel alienated by the new premises. However it also means their potential isn't fully used a lot of the time. Gamma's early levels are just plain patronising. It's more fun than SA2's absurdly tedious and long drawn levels but they could have done to add a bit more length to them. For SA1 things end just as the fun could set in. Even Next Gen used a lot more potential with it's more developed alternate pathways.

Amy's levels were about the one exception, they were about the only pathways as developed as Sonic's. Shame there was only three and brought down by how gratuitously slow Amy was.

Edited September 15, 2015 by E-122-Psi

[Indigo Rush]

I wouldn't mind if Chaos at least put up something of a fight, like at least say on the level of the fish where he pulled Froggy away from you rather than aiming being an instant win. If anything that would make it funnier anyway.

If you're bad enough to not aim properly and wait long enough, Chaos will start actually attacking you, if I remember properly. It's not much but when it happened I remember feeling completely helpless, lol

[Scott]

I love love LOVE Sonic Adventure. For me it's a timeless classic despite the bugs and glitches. It's got an entertaining story with so much detail (unlike recent entries) and the chance to play through the story from other characters perspectives, filling in the blanks where necessary. But y'know the game is just..fun! It's so much fun. 

While it's bit dated now, the DX version is the version I usually go back to since it's a little more visually pleasing, but I love how short and stocky the models are in the Dreamcast original. I also at one point hoped it would have been ported/remade on the 3DS

[E-122-Psi]

If you're bad enough to not aim properly and wait long enough, Chaos will start actually attacking you, if I remember properly. It's not much but when it happened I remember feeling completely helpless, lol

Yeah I know that bit, but I meant when you finally hook Froggy, it looks like the reeling sequence begins...but then you just win instantly. This felt like it could have been more climatic, especially since the water area in this instance can move away or resist you.

I will say this though, while Big's gameplay wasn't amazing, you gotta love the ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-dZx2i5F_A

Edited September 16, 2015 by E-122-Psi