Sonic Adventure 2

Moby ID: 4455
Dreamcast Specs
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Sonic has returned! This time, his nemesis Dr. Eggman has teamed up with Shadow, a dark hedgehog with a mysterious past, and is aiming once again (like he doesn't) to rule the entire world with the power of the Chaos Emeralds! It's up to Sonic and his friends to stop Eggman and put him out of business for good!

With new features such as a storyline told from the view of both the good guys and the villains, greater speed, and an improved A-Life system, Sonic Adventure 2 is poised to be Sonic's greatest and most dangerous mission yet!

Spellings

  • ソニックアドベンチャー2 - Japanese spelling
  • 索尼克大冒险2 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (Dreamcast version)

171 People (150 developers, 21 thanks) · View all

Producer
Director
Art Director
Main Programmer
Sound Director
Game Designers
Field Art Director
Field Artists
Programmers
Assistant Director
Scenario Writer
Lead Event Artist
Event Scene Artists
Lead Chao Programmer
Chao Programmer
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 41 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 87 ratings with 10 reviews)

Whilst it lasts, it's a blast.

The Good
The wonderful, atmospheric and imaginative graphics. The cut-scenes are a vast improvement over those in the first Sonic Adventure. The Tails/Robotnik mech-suit levels are fun and have good replay value, as do some of the earlier Sonic/Shadow levels. Rouge the Bat is a much better character than Amy. Die-hard Sonic fans will probably find it rewarding to play, and it's certainly much better than Twinsanity on the PS2.

The Bad
This is a far cry from the classic days of the Genesis 2-D scrolling platformers. One of this game's boasts is that it has six characters, but it looks to me as though Robotnik, Rouge and Shadow have simply been shoe-horned into levels that could easily have been intended for Tails, Knuckles and Sonic. The grind-rail sections are a total pain in the proverbial, were nothing but a gimmick to advertise some brand or other of trainers. The Knuckles and Rouge levels involve roaming around environments looking for three pieces of an emerald, helped only by a next-to-useless tracking device. Sound familiar? It should do to anyone who was bored senseless by the Knuckles levels in SA1. Another thing which lets this game down is the music. There are some atmospheric tunes in the Tails and Robotnik levels, certainly, but most of the rest are plagued by singing and rap, which quickly becomes irritating.

The Bottom Line
Anyone who played SA1 should be familiar with this. There are the tried-and-trusted fully 3-D Sonic, Knuckles and Tails levels (though the Tails levels now involve him riding a mech-suit, are similar to the robotic levels in SA1). You can also play an alternative game as Shadow (an evil hedgehog), Rogue (a female bat) and Robotnik. Make your way through 3D platform levels as before.

Dreamcast · by Gary Smith (57) · 2004

Sonic Team US, you have a lot to answer for.

The Good
Graphically, it's still gorgeous in places, especially in terms of texture-mapping, which the DC has always excelled at. The Sonic/Shadow levels are a blast, though not as good as SA1's were.

The Bad
Well, everything else, really.

What first hit me was how utterly dire the music was. They've taken some of the greatest tunes from the original SA, remixed them, and destroyed them. Honestly, some of this stuff made me want to chop off my friggin' ears. Don't get me started on the rap crap...

The characters are next on my hit-list. Why in god's name have they expanded upon the worst elements of SA1? Sure, there's 6 characters, but since they all behave identically to their good/evil counterparts, it's basically 3.

As I said earlier, the Sonic/Shadow levels are fantastic in places, so what about Eggman/Tails & Rouge/Knuckles? Seriously, SEGA, I'm asking you, what about these horrible, horrible things? What possessed you to wedge crap into this game? The Eggman/Tails levels are an expansion of the E-102 (sp?) levels from SA1, which were short but fun. Here, they're just slow and hideous, with some truly yawn-worthy moments. They involve robots. big, hulking robots, something Tails looks really awkward in. Now, guess what the Knuckles/Rouge levels are based on? Yup, those horrible "find the jewel in the enormous level with only a really crappy sonar thing to help you" levels from SA1. Terrible. Truly awful beyond belief.

The Bottom Line
A sure-fire disappointment in your Sonic-loving life.

Dreamcast · by laemus (11) · 2003

Sonic Adventure 2 sends the Dreamcast off with a "Sonic Boom."

The Good
The one line summary of the game I wrote is an actual quote from IGN when they readily updated the Dreamcast portion of their website. It's interesting that the Dreamcast portion of IGN's own network was still active up until 2006 however that isn't what this is about.

This review is about Sonic Adventure 2. Is Sonic Adventure 2 the greatest, most refined 3D Sonic game Sega ever produced? The answer is yes. Why is this the greatest 3D Sonic game ever produced? Let's find out.

Riding on a wave of positive reception garnered by Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 eliminates problems present in the original game and presents a streamlined format the speeds the game along at the pace of a V2 Rocket. The original Sonic Adventure was a brilliant but flawed experience. There were camera problems and the pace of the game was staggered by the inclusion of redundant characters like Big. Sonic Adventure 2 eliminates the wandering from Sonic Adventure and flows at a pace similar to the original Sonic the Hedgehog games.

The primary difference between Adventure 1 and 2 is the inclusion of Hero and Dark stories. Hero refers to Sonic, Knuckles and Tails and the Dark story refers to Shadow, Rouge and Eggman. The three styles of play are varied but carry over for each equivalent character. Sonic's levels are identical in play style to the original game however Sonic has more moves and some moves like the Light Speed Dash are far easier to pull off. Knuckles stages are identical to those in the original Sonic Adventure however the environmental detail and hint system have been overhauled. Finally Tails is fitted with a Walker and plays like E102 Gamma from Sonic Adventure. Shadow, Rouge and Eggman play like their Sonic, Knuckles and Tails respectively. Criticism has been levelled at the similarity between play styles of the characters however this was intended to make the game longer while providing narrative and locational variety. It essentially makes the game seem twice as long.

The length and detail in the levels has been vastly improved and the some of the level designs are pure genius. Sonic and Shadow feature the premiere stages in the game while Knuckles stages are nowhere as annoying as they were in Adventure. Tails' stages can be irritating however on the whole they are satisfying.

Speaking of detail the graphics in Sonic Adventure 2 are really something. The quality of the textures and general environmental design is commendable. Sonic looks and is animated fantastically and if it wasn't for some rough edges I wouldn't have anything negative to say about the graphics at all. There is no fog, barely any pop-in and I just can't heap enough praise on how clear and realistic the textures are. Eggman is one of the best looking characters in the game. He has real form now and a realized aesthetic. He looked very haphazardly put together in Sonic Adventure and seeing him so realized gives me warm fuzzies. Shadow is a great looking character, from the way his far out quills bounce around to the little jets of flame that push his shoes along. Rouge is another great looking character. Her form and mannerisms have had a lot of thought put into them from the way her ears wave around when she walks to...a certain body part of hers that...well let's just say it's noticeable.

The camera system, one of the biggest problems from the first Adventure, have been totally rectified...well, apart from a few select boss battles. The camera sticks tightly to your character at all times, never losing its way or getting stuck on things. It even works perfectly in tight spaces. This isn't to say the camera system is perfect, however for this particular type of game it couldn't get any closer to perfect.

The sound in the game is a big improvement over Adventure. An eclectic mix of techno, electronic beats, guitar riffs and hip hop music accompanies the varied styles of each level. While in Adventure the tunes were slightly overbearing they are well suited to the action in Adventure 2. Each character still has their own theme song however.

After finishing Sonic Adventure 2 you have a plethora of options waiting to extend replay value for you. There is a vastly improved Chao Garden complete with Chao Kindergarten and various mini-games like Chao Karate and Chao racing to keep you occupied. The black market within the Kindergarten allows the player to buy hard to find items for the raising of their Chao and finding eggs and keys unlocks more options to customize your cute little buddy. You can still transfer your Chao to your VMU and play with and train it and it's still a reason to carry your VMU around with you. Further augmenting replay is a Time Attack mode, Kart Racing and downloadable events which are obviously unavailable now.

The Bad
Sonic Adventure 2 gets almost everything right and just about comes close to perfecting the formula the original Sonic Adventure is so famous for.

It is not without its issues however.

While the flow of the game has been streamlined it comes at the expense of a feeling of freedom. In Sonic Adventure you had the option of playing as each of the characters, you weren't obliged to play as Big or E-102 Gamma however obviously it meant you wouldn't be able to complete the game properly. Having to sit through several Knuckles and Tails stages just to play as Sonic is a little frustrating at times especially considering you might have to play 4 non Sonic stages in a row just to play as Sonic.

On the topic of levels while the level of genius in level design is typically very high it is a little inconsistent. Some of Tails' levels seem to have been designed by a sado-masochistic numb skull who enjoys making children cry. They will often throw enemies or drops at you out of nowhere wiping your score from the high 1000's to 0 meaning you either persevere and get a terrible score or are constantly forced to restart. The same can be said for Rouge's stages. Knuckles are generally painless and he gets one of the best boss fights in the game however Rouge's levels are nothing but a vague, frustrating grind.
Rouge's Security Hall level is nothing but a vague, cruel joke that will force constant restarts and her one boss fight is an inaccurate jump fest that will result in much frustration.

Speaking of boss fights they seem to use a completely different camera than the general levels. The camera will often struggle to keep up with the character you're using either flipping over and totally disorientating you or getting stuck on walls while you get pummeled. It's baffling considering the high quality during the actual levels that the boss fights could be so frustrating and incoherent.

The boss fights themselves are something of a mixed bag. While they are generally quite fun and inventive they are recycled within the Dark story, which you will invariably play second to the Hero story. The issue is, the characters that are forced to fight the recycled bosses in the Dark story are totally inappropriate for the arena's you fight them in. That isn't to say there aren't original bosses in the Dark story, the fact is they original ones are outnumbered by the recycled ones.

The Bottom Line
Sonic Adventure 2 is no doubt the last great game that Sega would end up releasing for the Dreamcast. It uses the hardware to give players an almost flawless Sonic game, addressing the issues that were present in Sonic Adventure while not compromising too much on the core gameplay ideals that made the first so popular.

The game looks stunning, with fantastic modelling and almost photo realistic texture work. Sonic and company have never looked better and being able to play as the flawed genius that is Eggman has finally been realized.

That isn't to say the game is without its own unique problems. Some of the stage designs are inconsistent with the level of genius shown in Sonic and Shadow's stages. Tails', Rouge's and Eggman's stages suffer from some flawed design that makes them feel like a grind more than anything else and while the streamlining of the game was a great idea having to play through 4 or 5 non Sonic or Shadow stages is just mean.

This is simply one of the must have games in any Dreamcast owners library and one of the best games around to show off the untapped power of our favourite little white box. Grab this if you can.

Dreamcast · by AkibaTechno (238) · 2010

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Discussion

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Who Would Win? Katara (1) Aug 23, 2007

Trivia

Characters

It seems that starting with Sonic Adventure, Sega started to abandon the American name of the game's antagonist, Dr. Robotnik, instead opting to use his original Japanese moniker, Dr. Eggman. However, in Sonic Adventure 2, the name Dr. Robotnik has been completely dropped; he's now called Dr. Eggman by the entire cast of the game, and in following games in the Sonic series as well.

Sonic Adventure 2 is the first game in the series to allow the player to play through the whole game as Dr. Robotnik/Eggman and try to take over the world. The game also introduces two new characters, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat, both on the "Dark" side.

Development

This was the first game the San Francisco based Sonic Team USA developed. Some of the levels in the game even resemble famous landmarks of the city, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and downhill roads of the city.

In-game advertisement

This is the only Sonic game to feature Sonic wearing Soap shoes to promote the product. This new product actually helped introduce the grinding technique that has been used in every 3D Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, due to a partnership between Sonic Team and Soap to help promote the shoes. There are also billboards in the game that advertise the product. However, due to the company not producing any more shoes, the partnership didn't last long. Thus, Sonic doesn't feature his Soap shoes in any of the future Sonic games after Sonic Adventure 2.

Special edition

The game was released exactly ten years after the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and to celebrate that, a special version of Sonic Adventure 2 was available in Japan.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – Dreamcast Action/Adventure Game of the Year

Information also contributed by Sciere, sonicteamUSA and Spindash

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Satoshi Kunsai.

PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Patrick Bregger, Grandy02.

Game added July 8, 2001. Last modified January 16, 2024.