Jump to content
Awoo.

Does the Adventure series still stack up?


Kuzu

Recommended Posts

Blistered Thumbs' Rinry recently did a "non-nostalgic" review of the first Sonic Adventure title. It's actually a pretty good modern-day look at the game, and it's narrows things down quite well; Sonic Adventure is certainly fun, but very disorienting with all of its flaws and inconsistencies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pretty much feel the same way she did when I first played Sonic Adventure. If I played it without being a fan, I would've probably not become a fan. Especially playing SA2 before this, it felt like a major downgrade. (pacing, dialougue, graphics, easy difficulty, shortness)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still say SA1 beats SA2. In SA1, four of the six characters stages are "get from point A to point B"-platform stages, the gameplay that a Sonic game is supposed to have. So there are at least a lot more fun levels than boring levels. In SA2, only a measly third of the game is anything to care about. And i personally think the story is better in SA1 than in the sequel, due to giving some insight to the mind of several of it's characters instead of just one, like the sequel did (that one character being Shadow, in case you couldn't tell...).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that really bothers me is that the XBLA/PSN ports of the original game (and the GC port as well, from what I've heard) have actually exacerbated the camera problems and glitches, and have even made the controls more slippery. I honestly think that may contribute a lot to how the Adventure games are looked at now since most people aren't going to go back to the DC version. That's not to say there aren't legit reasons to dislike the DC version, (genre roulette, anyone? And the camera problems and glitches are still there, but aren't nearly as frustrating) but play the DC version and the XBLA version back to back and you'll certainly notice how much better the DC version feels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like to see how Adventure 2 would held up today, since that suffers from game design problems rather than technical issues like Adventure 1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still say SA1 beats SA2. In SA1, four of the six characters stages are "get from point A to point B"-platform stages, the gameplay that a Sonic game is supposed to have. So there are at least a lot more fun levels than boring levels. In SA2, only a measly third of the game is anything to care about. And i personally think the story is better in SA1 than in the sequel, due to giving some insight to the mind of several of it's characters instead of just one, like the sequel did (that one character being Shadow, in case you couldn't tell...).

Sa1 still had the Treasure Hunting stages, they were just more tolerable than in Sa2.

I would give Sa1 a lot more rep, If I wasn't forced to play as Big.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still say SA1 beats SA2. In SA1, four of the six characters stages are "get from point A to point B"-platform stages, the gameplay that a Sonic game is supposed to have. So there are at least a lot more fun levels than boring levels. In SA2, only a measly third of the game is anything to care about. And i personally think the story is better in SA1 than in the sequel, due to giving some insight to the mind of several of it's characters instead of just one, like the sequel did (that one character being Shadow, in case you couldn't tell...).

It always bothered me though that they all had the same stages. Sonic's stages were short enough, but when I played thru with the other characters I was surprised their stages were even shorter. It didn't matter if playing thru with tails, gamma and amy were "sonical", it still felt cheap and way too easy. I felt the developers were really rushed to meet the launch deadline. A lot of copy and paste going on.

Even though the Treasure Hunting stages in SA2 were bigger, I liked that they took the time to design new stages. Everything looked more alive and had depth. I'm not saying it was smart of them to stupidly go with the same concept they used for SA1 by splitting the game up evenly into speed, shooting, hunting, but they at least put care into creating 31 original stages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It always bothered me though that they all had the same stages. Sonic's stages were short enough, but when I played thru with the other characters I was surprised their stages were even shorter. It didn't matter if playing thru with tails, gamma and amy were "sonical", it still felt cheap and way too easy. I felt the developers were really rushed to meet the launch deadline. A lot of copy and paste going on.

Edited by ChikaBoing
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there was more variety with SA1's stages as well.

Sure, SA2 had tons more stages, but there were only about five or six proper types of scenery - a city, Prison Island, the Pyramid Base, the A.R.K... and that was mostly it. Whereas SA1 had a beach, a wind-themed valley, a casino, an icy mountain, a theme park, a highway, a volcano, the Egg Carrier, the Echidna pyramid, and the Final Egg base.

Edited by Dr. Crusher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's actually better, since everything felt part of the same game,and it was more consistent that way, and actually felt like you were playing as different characters rather than equally 3 completly different games in Adventure 2. And having Sonic stages long and the others short I'm pretty sure was intented and was a pretty smart thing to do, since well a good bulk of a Sonic game, should be played as Sonic, something they have kinda lost since.

Alot of the stages re-used assets,and were copy-paste. Especially Shooting stages re-used the same boxy corridors often,and in general the games design is boxy and was made out of roads,for the most part. It felt more samey overall. Sonic Adventure 1 was 11 stages and were extremly different from each other in stage-layout and geographical design.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there was more variety with SA1's stages as well.

Sure, SA2 had tons more stages, but there were only about five or six proper types of scenery - a city, Prison Island, the Pyramid Base, the A.R.K... and that was mostly it. Whereas SA1 had a beach, a wind-themed valley, a casino, an icy mountain, a theme park, a highway, a volcano, the Egg Carrier, the Echidna pyramid, and the Final Egg base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pretty much feel the same way she did when I first played Sonic Adventure. If I played it without being a fan, I would've probably not become a fan. Especially playing SA2 before this, it felt like a major downgrade. (pacing, dialougue, graphics, easy difficulty, shortness)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In this type of Sonic games, you can go wherever you want, you can explore the world. In running games (like Sonic Unleashed Day Stages/Colors) you can't explore the whole world, but only a very small part. I think Sega could make game like Sonic Adventure, many fans would be very happy about it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep all of the 31 stages are largely recycled.

Pumkin Hill = Sky Rail

Iron Gate = Prison Lane

Wild Canyon = Dry Lagoon

Radical Highway = Mission Street

Sand Ocean = Hidden Base

Death Chamber = Egg Quarters

Lost Colony = Eternal Engine

Weapons Bed = Metal Harbour

White Jungle = Green Forest

Meteor Herd = Mad Space

Route 101 = Route 280

The rest are largely original, but yeah, they made all the names different, but they used the same assets to design all of them.

Well you're right that they reused assets. But what I'm trying to say is that each stage had a different atmosphere. White Jungle and Green Forest do borrow design sections, but they both still feel unique from each other. Lost Colony feels mysterious while Eternal Engine is pumping with energy and action. That's what I was mainly trying to say. They took the time to distinguish the levels apart. That's why when I played SADX, it just felt like a step back. This also bothered me in Sonic Heroes. For example, it would have been cool if some team could play Grand Metropolis at night, or Seaside Hill at sunset, or rail canyon in the morning. Change up the atmosphere, so it doesn't feel exactly the same. It can go a long way.

I think there was more variety with SA1's stages as well.

there were only about five or six proper types of scenery - a city, Prison Island, the Pyramid Base, the A.R.K... and that was mostly it. Whereas SA1 had a beach, a wind-themed valley, a casino, an icy mountain, a theme park, a highway, a volcano, the Egg Carrier, the Echidna pyramid, and the Final Egg base.

I think they're pretty equal. In SA2 theres a city, highway, canyons, lagoon, desert bases, mines, inside the ARK, orbiting around space, forests, military bases.

I became a fan after I played Sonic Adventure first time
Well I meant the DX version.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Adventure 1 tough, there are also multiple themes within a stage.

And they're a lot bigger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Especially playing SA2 before this, it felt like a major downgrade. (pacing, dialougue, graphics, easy difficulty, shortness)

No wonder, you played the sequel before the original, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No wonder, you played the sequel before the original, lol.

Maybe if I played it on the dreamcast if I had one, back in '99, I would've got a nostalgic attachment to it, but I'm not surprised it got mediocre reviews when they re-released it on GameCube. I'm not saying I was dissapointed in everything. The music and Sonic's movement and physics really impressed me. He was so fluid, fast, and controllable. Sonic's levels were fun. Running through those long stretches of Windy Valley felt soooo good (even in 2005). Snowboarding in Ice Cap was even more fun than the City Escape boarding part. These are the parts they should've expanded on. Once I started playing through Tails story though, I just felt like I was doing the same thing over, except it was way easier.

The one section in Tails part that really opened my eyes was Sand Hill. That just goes to show, playing thru a new setting like that, that isn't available to the other characters is really awesome. Even if it was similar to Ice Cap, the different atmosphere just completely made me forget about that.

Once I finished Knuckles part, I just wanted to get the other stories over with so I could see the last ending.

If I were in charge of directing the DX version, I would've had them completely redo the cutscenes and voice overs. That has to be the number one turnoff for me in the game. I also would have added a mulitplayer, which was another major reason that kept me and my friends on SA2 for a long time. And lastly I would have designed different sections for the characters. For example, even though sonic and tails play thru Windy Valley, tails section would be re-designed so that it would feel like an actual new stage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were in charge of directing the DX version, I would've had them completely redo the cutscenes and voice overs. That has to be the number one turnoff for me in the game. I also would have added a mulitplayer, which was another major reason that kept me and my friends on SA2 for a long time. And lastly I would have designed different sections for the characters. For example, even though sonic and tails play thru Windy Valley, tails section would be re-designed so that it would feel like an actual new stage.

DX probably would've faired better if it was more of an updated remake (I guess like the Resident Evil REmake on Gamecube) then how it turned out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently played both SA1 and SA2 on the Dreamcast. No pair of Nostalgia Goggles could veil how bad SA1's presentation was. I was constantly bored stiff sitting through cutscenes. SA2 was a major improvement in that area. As for gameplay, both were good, but very flawed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was constantly bored stiff sitting through cutscenes.

I thought it was fine, it's a 1998/9 game. With the DX-Version it becomes bothersome to me.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blistered Thumbs' Rinry recently did a "non-nostalgic" review of the first Sonic Adventure title. It's actually a pretty good modern-day look at the game, and it's narrows things down quite well; Sonic Adventure is certainly fun, but very disorienting with all of its flaws and inconsistencies.

That was a great review and certainly how I feel about the game. It's passable, but only because it's Sonic. You have to like Sonic to enjoy it, and you have to have nostalgia goggles to LOVE it. It was nice to see her talk about stuff that's always hard to describe while having it on screen - I've fallen through the floor before that loop on Emerald Coast God knows how many times. I'm also not sure if anyone would have the guts to defend the cut-scenes (which people still do) after her point-blank pointing out of flaws.

I too played SA2 first, so SA1 felt more awkward and backwards to me. SA2 wasn't to everyone's tastes and I respect that, but it was more polished and seemed to have a better idea of what it wanted to be.

I also think the copy-paste envioronments of SA2 were better than the reused envioronments of SA1, since each level was designed exclusively for that character, rather than awkwardly breaking pace by having Sonic meander his way around huge open areas that was clearly designed for Knuckles (not that the open route gameplay wasn't fun, it just wasn't intuitively designed in terms of giving the player a sense of direction), or having to block off loops in Gamma's levels/watch as he slowly slides down a curved floor/wall that is too steep for anyone other than Sonic to run on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't get why people say that Sonic Adventure 2 has aged, and that being the reason why it doesn't hold up so well. By alot of gamers and critics, the Mech Shooting/Treasure Hunting was rated mediocore by 2001/2 standards,lots of elements of Shooting/Hunting were done much better done at the time,and ´those levels just got more mediocore as time went on.Sonic&Shadow still hold up well, but the rest never did.

Edited by ChikaBoing
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^This old IGN review didn't mind the Mech shooting too much:

http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/164/164855p1.html

And then bashed it in their review of the GameCube port a year later, with Matt Cassamina even wondering what the IGNDC team was on when they gave the DC version a 9.4.

You will notice a similar thing happening if you look at the two different versions' Metacritic scores.

DC version

GC version

Although the score differences between the original versions and later ports of SA1 are understandable considering that the GC version not only came out four years after the original but was actually worse than the DC version (from what I've heard), the GC version of SA2 didn't even come out a year after the DC version. Funnily enough, GameShark's review for the GC version was actually very positive, as opposed to their mixed review of the DC version. Perhaps Sonic Adventure 2 is just the Sonic 4: Episode I of the 3-D games?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.