the 2 day awaited, fan-fabled sonic adventure 2 review

[iambitter21]

(sigh) so... what have you got for me to review now, gaming gods?

My magnum opus, huh? well let's get to it... but first off, 2 things I need to get off my chest:

an entire paragraph of an sa2 Stan ranting about the fanbrats of this game

okay quick little fact: sa2 IS overrated... no, no, it's still a pretty good game, but HOLY CRAP! some of the fans of this game are extreme! like yeah, you got people like Jeb and Ruby, people who genuinely think that sa2 is the best game, but respect people who think otherwise (Projared and or Jimmy Whetzel not withstanding) yeah I get the appeal a lot, but I wouldn't call it the "best" sonic game. but then you got people like the ban dodger known as Twisted, according to my sources (that one crash team racing profile dude): Twisted was a complete sa2 fangirl, acting all high and mighty, not letting people like something that isn't related to their "godsend" their "lord and savior" sonic adventure 2, they even made a forum a few days ago, on why sa2 is better than Sonic Mania... WHAT!? like, what is wrong with her... oh yeah, sa2 is wrong with her, but I don't blame her, I mean come on, it's sa2. now, let's go to the other side of the spectrum.

the "Blinded by nostalgia" argument really sucks

It's an argument that haters of sa2 use against the genuine sa2 fans, and it's such a dumb argument. if you like sa2, sonic fan or not, you're apparently nostalgia blinded, it happened to Haedox, it happened to other people on the internet, it probably even happened to nick on planet ripple at some point. if you're not nostalgia blinded, you're delusional. if you're not delusional, you're a fanbrat. if you're not a fanbrat, you have crap taste. and if you don't have crap taste... you're a bad person. and it get's worse, if you like the "non-sonic" elements of sa2, you're apparently PART of the PROBLEM of why sonic is still the way he is, you're opinion suddenly doesn't matter, or you have crap taste or some other nonsense. I'm saying this to call out anyone on this site who use these arguments to give the genuine fans a bad rep, and that I am fully against that mindset. to anyone going through that "is there something wrong with me?" phase, as someone who went through that phase one time, let me just say this: you're not wrong for simply LIKING a game that you play and find to be good, you're %100 fine and sane, and you are right for liking the game you like. and to those who've enabled that mindset to others (and I'm slightly looking at the guy who said something is wrong with people who like the 2000s sonic games), please just stop, okay? just let the fans like the game, it's just a game and it's nothing to get all cynical about. however, if you genuinely dislike sa2, guess what? that's also %100 fine and sane, and you're not wrong for thinking the way that you do. I may highly disagree with your thoughts, you may highly disagree with mine, but I'll respect your view as long as you respect mine. we all have different thoughts, and no 2 will ever be the same. anyways, here's the review.

The Ultimatum of the Adventure series review

Instead of the gameplay breaking into six unique and fun (for the most part) gameplay styles, it's a lot more grounded, using 3 of it's most successful gameplay styles: Sonic's speed stages, Knuckles' treasure hunting stages, and Gamma's Shooting stages, fleshing them out into their own modes, with their own levels, and their own objectives. let's start with the obvious:

Speed Stages: ….hey remember when I said that sa1 had the best controls? I LIED FOOLS, SA2 IS WHERE IT'S AT! Sonic and Shadow's controls have been tweaked to fit the more spectacle platformer-like levels sure, but it could still work for more sa1 like levels, look at all the level mods. there are some new mechanics here too, one of them being the somersault which is pretty useless, can't sonic just roll into a ball like normal and do the same thing, or just tweak the somersault to maintain your momentum or something? next up, the bounce attack. I think this is a pretty cool thing sonic would most likely do, it's execution in this game is pretty decent, it can be used to get up higher areas that he can't reach with a regular jump. I think this is alright, but I think games like project hero or sonic islands 2018 have done the bounce much more justice. and rail grinding is pretty sweet in this game, but I already made a forum that critiqued the rail grinding and how to improve and flesh it out more, you should check it out. overall I think most of, if not all of the speed stages are really great. their linear sure, and it's a bit more spectacle-based than most sonic games of its time, but I kind of like the linearity, I don't really think it's that much of a deal to streamline to core gameplay as much as it does here, it could give you experiences you've probably never had before. should all sonic games be as linear and spectacle-based as they are In sa2? no, not at all, I liked the more open-ended like levels of sa1 more than the linear spectacle based levels in sa2, but I think that a nice equilibrium such as Generations and GT especially would be the best approach of this going forward. so overall, I love this playstyle, I liked most of the mechanics, I loved the levels, and I absolutely adored the controls. 10/10 for all of time, all hail final rush and city escape, both of them are amazing! the camera kinda sucks but it doesn't take away much.

Treasure Hunting Stages: well for starters... the gimped radar is bad (remember that moment in my sa1 review? yeah, let's talk about that), the gimped radar can really suck a lot of times, the reason adventure 1 did a better job in that aspect is that you're able to spot all 3 of them at any time, in sa2, there's a chance you'll miss one RIGHT ABOVE OR BELOW YOU, and taking the time to add THAT one-radar fix wouldn't really bog it down. in fact, I'd say it'd be a major upgrade, because at least sa2's stages have their own themes and charm to bring it back up. and that's basically what takes down the appeal of this gameplay style. it really needs to be fixed if it (somehow) ever comes back. anyways, other than that, the shallowness of sa1's hunting levels are gone, since we have level specific locations and mechanics. and the controls, they're just *mwah* wonderful. knuckles moves fast, but not sonic fast, his overall controls feel responsive, but not super sensitive like in sa1. his glide feels very smooth and loose and everything checks out in the controls section. the hints are also pretty helpful after you get accustomed to the levels, but in terms of levels design, there are some levels that leave to be desired, for example: Mad space, a level that gets absolutely panned by sa2 haters, fans and fanbrats alike. there are 3 different planets that you can travel to by switches. one of them is Mario galaxy before Mario galaxy, the other is basically a better, longer and overall more tolerable galaxy planet, and the third one Is filled with meteorites that explode when you get too close. so what's wrong about them? well, two reasons: the reversed hint system, and the overdesigned level design. I can see why people hate levels like mad space, or aquatic mines, or meteor herd but other than aquatic mine and mad space (sorta), I still personally enjoy some these levels. the only treasure hunting stages I can say I also don't like is Pumpkin hill, mostly because of the ghosts and not the level design. I get that it's all for the themes and stuff, but still don't like them. anyways I quite like these levels, Egg Quarters is super easy and can be cleared in under a minute and it's jarringly wonderful. I think it's a neat 8/10.

Shooting (mech) Stages: this style is my no doubt least favorite of the three, mostly because of their overwhelming bulkiness and how super slow it takes to turn. but it's hover jump is quite fluid and loose, and overall pretty fun. Eggman's levels are my least favorite levels specifically, and it's not because he doesn't control the same as he did in sa1, it's because of the level design, other than cosmic wall, sand ocean and lost colony, most of eggman's levels are dull for this games standards. Tails' level design is much more cleaner and focused on flow to me, levels like hidden base, prison hall, and mission street are good examples on how to do that style right, give or take eternal engine. I also like the risk vs. reward thing it has going on, locking onto a ton of enemies before they shoot you (or sometimes a weapons bed happens and it's piss easy) but that's me though, I don't really feel like going any further with this, because I think all of the praises and complaints that I had with this style have been addressed by others. so yeah, not as good as the others, not by a margin really, but it's still a positively passable 7/10 overall, I'd prefer this over sa1 gamma, even if he controls a bit better. his movement is smooth, sure, but I think the momentum/physics are much more smooth in sa2 two-fold. when you move forward, it takes a while, yes, but it doesn't feel uncanny valley like in sa1. this also applies to the jumping, the hover (ESPECIALLY) and how you shoot. TL;DR version: physics-wise, gamma is not that great, and the mechs in sa2 are overhated.

overall, I think that sa2 is a pretty solid 8/10 game, I really like the voice actors, I really like the more movie-like music, I prefer sa1's more atmospheric approach, but I still like sa2's music regardless. I know a lot of people are gonna disagree on both of my adventure reviews, but hey, it's okay, they're just my opinions. I just wanted to dish out my opinions on those game's for the sake of it. so yeah.....

go watch the sonic adventure 3 pitch right now, I'm not kidding it's wonderful! I can't show it, but just look at it for a least 10 minutes I swear, just waste at least 10 minutes of your time, please... I'm THAT desperate for that pitch to get successful, it is horrendously underrated, it may reek a bit of "first time making a fanfiction" a lot... like a whole like dear god, but it's a must see I swear to god... PLEASE!!