Y2K Game: Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure

Here's another game that I didn't get to play growing up. We where lower middle class in my younger years. So, the Sega Dreamcast I received was a hand-me-down. Hence, why I got it after the support for it died. It came with a few games and unfortunately, Sonic Adventure is not one of them. Perhaps it's for the better. Even though I rememember the big buzz the Dreamcast and this game generated, I cannot look upon this game with nostalgia colored glasses; not completely, anyway. With that being said, I must say that this game didn't age quite gracefully, but it's still a decent experience worthy of at least a single playthrough. If only just to play the very first fully 3D Sonic game.

Early Camera Work

The one thing that stuck out to me the most was the camera. Early 3D games back in the 90s have yet to solve the camera problem as the character you are controlling was moving around the environment. It had a tendency of drifting towards awkward angles that made it difficult to see where you where even going. This problem was present in Sonic Adventure. There where times where the camera got stuck behind a wall or platform and I genuinely couldn't see anything. You can use the LR triggers to rotate it around, but you can't move it up or down. This is where having a second analog stick would be helpful. There where moments where I wish I could move the camera up or down as well as rotate it. My viewing angle was too shallow and I couldn't see far enough into the distance as I was moving around. The D-pad does activate a sort of first person view, but this is only for when you are standing still.

Rapid Hedgehog

Another item that didn't age particularly well are the controls. Sonic is a character that loves to go fast and struggles to slow down and come to a stop. This makes the manner in which he controls quite slippery. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the levels where designed for Sonic to dash through unrestrained where the only obstacles where barriers to jump over, dodge, or enemies to pounce on in a rythmic matter. During these sections, Sonic shines brightly. The cinematic cuts during loops, giant rolling balls, and the famous killer whale are spectacular. However, there are sections where jumping and scaling platforms requires balance and precision. Sonic shines dimly during these parts. Had the game focused and the former type of level design, it would have been much better.

Problems

There was also bugs present, especially during the last egg fight against Dr. Robotnik. There where moments where I would land a hit on Eggman, then I would just fall to my doom and have to start over. It was super frustrating when I landed the final hit to defeat him, and then I would fall to my doom and have to fight him all over again. I was ready to throw my controller.

Not So Bad

I've focused on all the bad parts, but honestly, this game is still fun to play. I already described how when the levels are designed with a focus on Sonic's speed, it absolutely hits. The city skyscraper where Sonic runs along the building is probably my favorite. There are also other levels in which you pilot a plane and commandeer a bumper car. These vehicular levels are surprisingly good. The plane level becomes a rail shooter and the bumber car level becomes time attack racing game. It doesn't do either of these modes great, but just good.

Lastly

That last sentence in that last paragraph is probably the best way to describe how I feel about this game. There's quite a variety of gameplay in Sonic Adventure, especially with the ability to play with all the different characters. However, they are all just good, not great, just good. I think one way to look at it is that Sonic Adventure is a proof of concept. Being the first 3D Sonic game, the developers experimented with certain level designs, game modes, characters, and mechanics in order to test the 3D Sonic waters a bit. I haven't played any of the subsequent Sonic games, but I hope they would subsequently take what worked here and refine it for future releases.