Dreamcast
Sonic Adventure
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
8.55 8.71 8.51 8.46 |
| Votes: | 65 |
| Reviews: | 3 |
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| Reviewer: Antheraea | Date: May 18, 2024 |
| Look, it objectively hasn't aged well but this game is a VIBE.
Graphics: 7 The facial anims (which use vertex anims instead of bones or facial controls) are pretty funny, but again: the game is a vibe. The levels have fantastic aesthetics, the boss designs are cool as hell (if still too easy), and the intros for each one of those bosses still live in my head rent-free and I haven't played this game in actual years. The instant you step into Emerald Coast you *know* you are playing a late 90s Sega game on the Dreamcast. It is that distinctive. Sound: 9 Yes yes the EN voice acting is objectively trash, but the JP cast is pretty good (and most of them are still around all throughout Sonic history, including up to Frontiers). Some of the sound effects, such as Gamma's laser, are annoying. But this game's OST is fantastic. Basically everything except for the character themes is a bop. Do you want breezy cheesy beach vibes with a great bassline? Melancholy electronic? A wailing electric guitar as you enter one of Eggman's secret bases? Or uh, a different wailing electric guitar playing an absolutely sick solo as you fish? Vaguely "jungle" vibes as you run around overgrown ruins like a lunatic? What is still the best Sonic game theme in the series (yes, Live and Learn fans, fite me)? THE best Panic Puppet Zone arrangement officially released? THE CHAO RACE THEME?? It's all here, and it's all going to stay in your head rent-free. Gameplay: 6 It has its problems. This game and Frontiers with the movement settings all turned to max are basically the only ones that I feel really "nail" how Sonic feels, and some of that comes down to animation and level design too. Sonic's fast, but not "did I just blow right past that and have to restart to go get it?" fast like he is in the modern games, which means if you're unused to Sonic, this is the one to start with. Sonic's moveset is pretty simple in this game, which I also think is a point in its favor too - unlike SA2, you're not having to fight a generalized action button that makes you bounce straight down into a pit instead of grabbing something. The homing attack works mostly fine. Tbh "mostly fine" is how all of the gameplay in this is, in that the way it's executed is a little jank but functional, but design decisions drag it down. Tails plays pretty great and still has the coolest version of his moveset in this game (I can go on a rant about how dancing around enemies whacking them with your tails >>>>>> generic ring bombs), but after playing as Sonic it's pretty clear how limited his levels are. Knuckles is fine, the gliding feels great and the emerald hunting isn't as annoying as people make it out to be (especially after you've played SA2). Amy is a slog. Big is fine, though his plot is 100% inconsequential and I just kinda hate this character. E-102 Gamma is great and I still feel that SA2 did his kind of "target shoot" gameplay dirty - since Gamma moves fast and has a time limit (his time counts *down* instead of up), you get to have some fun going decently fast and blowing things up. (an aside: this game's robot designs slap) Each character story reuses levels and level design, modified to fit to that playstyle. It *mostly* works. Also, the game isn't super long. I remember it being a point of pride when I was a kid that I could just sit down, start the game from scratch, and fully clear all characters the same day. The Chao Garden is in its infancy in this version, and didn't really get truly fleshed out til SA2:B. They're still cute though. It used to be that you could put them in your Dreamcast memory card, which has a screen and buttons, and basically play an idle game where your Chao goes to various locales and raises their stats. I imagine you probably could emulate it now but it wouldn't be the same without physically carrying the thing around in your pocket IMO. Overall: 7 I'm biased. You know I'm biased, I know I'm biased. This game blew my mind when I was a kid, and I still enjoy playing it and also reading about all the fun prototypes and development stuff. I think it's still a good time, and an important slice of video game history besides. I think this game and Sonic CD are just The Most Sonic Games To Ever Sonic. This is the 3D Sonic title that really nails the Sonic vibe in a way that none of the other titles manage (except for Frontiers' insane boss fights). It wouldn't hurt you, reader who hasn't played this game, to give it a try and bask in the glow of the dying star that was Sega in the late 90s. |
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| Reviewer: Ariah | Date: Mar 23, 2023 |
| I grew up with this game being a huge mainstay in my repertoire. I have played it on the GameCube, PS3, and on Steam, and I'm about to play it for the Dreamcast. So I feel like despite not playing this version specifically, I'm actually pretty qualified. I want you to understand: I hate this game almost as much as I love it. It is a bug-ridden, poorly written m e s s. If you play this game while coming from modern gaming sensibilities, you'll either hate this or love its comedic value. But for those who were there, you get exactly why I love it so much.
Graphics: 8 The overall aesthetic design of the game, while not exactly aging like wine, is both very memorable and very fun to look at. Visuals can really make or break a game sometimes, and the visuals of this game really enhance it a lot. Sound: 7 The sound is mixed and balanced poorly, and there are some stupid and goofy ones (which can either add to or detract from the experience depending on who you are), but overall it's pretty good considering. Ryan Drummond Sonic is far and away my favorite Sonic, and the voice actors all did a great job despite the abjectly terrible script they were given. Gameplay: 7 Obnoxious and buggy. You can fall off cliffs without changing anything about where you're moving, you can fail at scripted events because you easily leapt outside of the limitations of it without knowing, and the gameplay is high-risk high-reward on top of these things that can happen almost completely outside your control. I would be giving it lower, however pre-Heroes Sonic games have very fun gameplay, and this does capture that wonder and awesome feeling of speed... mostly. Overall: 9 These factors come together to deliver a strange and messy, yet fun and engaging experience. Despite my massive gripes with it, I just can't help but come back to it every once in a while, and I think that speaks volumes to how good this game is regardless. This game is a product of its time. When appreciating that angle, this game is an amazing, awesome experience filled to the brim with radical action and epic fights, fun exploration and rewarding platforming. And if you were around back during its time, then absolutely get this one. Take a trip down memory lane. |
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| Reviewer: TabletOrd | Date: Jun 16, 2022 |
| Sonic Adventure is a wonderful game for the Dreamcast, probably one of the best for the console, and that's saying a lot, as the games released on it are all amazing.
Graphics: 8 The graphics are very good for the time, but compared to other games for the console, there's room for improvement (mostly in facial animation in the cutscenes). However, the character and level design is absolutely brilliant. Just looking at levels is gorgeous, despite the dated graphics. Sound: 9 The sound design is very creative and brings elements from classic Sonic games' sound design into Sonic's first mainline 3D game. The soundtrack is also amazing, with songs like Open Your Heart, It Doesn't Matter, Station Square and Casinopolis being incredible tunes. Gameplay: 10 The gameplay is probably the best part of this game. The physics are fun and satisfying, the abilities you can use are very creative and useful, and are used to their full potential in levels, especially the Sonic levels. The game has multiple campaigns, and you unlock each one by reaching their first introduction in the main campaign, which is Sonic's. While the camera is a bit annoying, it doesn't get in the way all that much, and works past the fact it's buggy. Overall: 9 This is a wonderful game, and I have figured that this game is a 9/10 overall, based on the scores I gave above. The soundtrack is one of, if not the best part of this game, alongside the gameplay. Nothing more to say. Bravo SEGA. |
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