Sonic Adventure
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| Sonic Adventure | |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Yuji Naka |
| Release date(s) |  December 23, 1998 September 9, 1999 October 14, 1999 December 3, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player (although Tails can be controlled in some stages with controller 2) |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast |
| Media | GD-ROM |
| Input | Game controller |
Sonic Adventure (ソニックアドベンチャー Sonikku Adobenchā?) is a video game created by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998 in Japan by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG, (although the final game was an adventure game not a standard RPG.) The final updated edition, known as Sonic Adventure International, was released on September 9, 1999 in North America, October 14, 1999 in Japan and Europe, October 18, 1999 in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and December 3, 1999 in Australia. A director's cut version was released in 2003 as Sonic Adventure DX for the Nintendo GameCube and PC CD-ROM. It has sold over 1 million copies in the United States alone, making it the top selling Dreamcast game of all time.[1].
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[edit] Plot
Centuries ago, the Gods bestowed upon the planet seven Chaos Emeralds. These emeralds were a source of absolute power. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely — and it did not take long before wars broke out over who would control the Chaos Emeralds' seemingly unlimited power. This angered the Gods, and so, they created one singular Master Emerald, which held powers that could control and neutralize the Chaos Emeralds. And with the Master Emerald, came a guardian spirit. It is said that a single tribe of Echidnas angered the spirit by attempting to steal the Chaos Emeralds and ruining the sanctuary it was protecting. They were all but completely destroyed within a single night, and the guardian spirit was never seen again. The monster was then named "Chaos," the God of Destruction.
In the present day, the nefarious Doctor Robotnik learns of the legend surrounding Chaos. Believing it to be true, he seeks out the Master Emerald and shatters it, freeing Chaos in the process. Dr. Robotnik's goal is to control Chaos, and use its destructive powers to conquer the world. When Sonic the Hedgehog learns of this, he and his friends spring in to action to stop Eggman — but none of them know the whole story behind Chaos and his entrapment within the Master Emerald. Slowly, through many visits from an Echidna spirit named Tikal, they learn that she had befriended Chaos, and that night: when the Echidna tribe attempted to take the Chaos Emeralds, she sealed both herself and Chaos within the Master Emerald to ensure Chaos would not destroy the world with his rage. Now that Chaos has been freed, Tikal begs Sonic to seal him in the Master Emerald once again. Sonic disagrees — being trapped within the Master Emerald will not stop Chaos' rage, it will just fuel it. Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic, Sonic fights Chaos, and Chaos is defeated — his rage neutralized by the overwhelming power of virtue. With the world saved, Tikal and Chaos depart for parts unknown.
[edit] Production
Sonic Adventure was generally considered the most impressive display of graphical prowess the genre had seen at the time.[citation needed] It was one of the first titles to be released on the Sega Dreamcast and was also the first "true" Sonic game since Sonic & Knuckles in 1994. It was largely considered by fans to have been a major comeback for Sonic after a series of negatively received low-key games released in 1995 - 1997 (Sonic 3D Blast, Knuckles' Chaotix, etc.) that deviated from the classic Sonic formula.[citation needed]
Unique is the ability to take a Chao creature found and hatched within the game and place it onto a VMU device for adventure, fighting, and breeding with other Chao on other VMU devices, which can be interconnected.
The theme song of the game, Open Your Heart was created by the band Crush 40.
Dr. Robotnik had been referred to as Eggman in previous games, but Sonic Adventure is the game which actually made the name Eggman well-known in North America and Europe. Sonic Adventure followed Sonic Drift 2 and The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which had retconned his name so that Dr. Ivo Robotnik (his Western name) was his real name, while Dr. Eggman (his Japanese name) was his nickname, used by Sonic to insult him. In Sonic Adventure 2 and newer games, only the name Dr. Eggman is used, even by the doctor himself.
Sonic Adventure was re-released on the Nintendo GameCube under the title Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut on June 17, 2003 in North America, June 19, 2003 in Japan, and June 27, 2003 in Europe, and later made available on PC CD-ROM. The update includes enhanced graphics (including a change in almost everyone's appearance to further resemble their Sonic Adventure 2 appearance), a new Mission Mode, and the playability of every Sonic the Hedgehog Game Gear game. However, Sonic Team did not remove all the glitches.
[edit] Characters
Unlike the previous action game in the series, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Adventure has six different characters to choose from, providing two more than the four (Sonic & Tails combo being the fourth) available in the earlier Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
[edit] Playable heroes
[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Sonic
The main hero of the game with supersonic speed. Sonic's story revolves around Dr. Robotnik releasing Chaos from the Master Emerald. Sonic battles Robotnik and Chaos in an effort to save Earth. Sonic has run ins with the other five main characters and must find the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman and Chaos do. Sonic's goal in levels is to either collect a Chaos Emerald or free animals from a capsule. He goes through every single stage except Hot Shelter.
[edit] Miles "Tails" Prower
Sonic's twin-tailed sidekick, who starts to believe in himself. After Sonic rescues Tails from Emerald Coast after a "Tornado" prototype experiment goes wrong (And crashes), the two-tailed fox sets out to help Sonic collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Chaos. Tails' final battle is against Eggman's Egg Walker. Tails' goal in levels is to race Sonic (except for his last stage, in which case it will be Eggman) to the target (Chaos Emerald, missile, capsule, etc.)
[edit] Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald shatters when Eggman frees Chaos and Tikal's spirit from within it, causing Angel Island to fall out of the sky. (The chunk of the island containing the Master Emerald Shrine somehow separates from the island on impact, and a long bridge connecting it to the main Island then appears, possibly constructed by Knuckles). Knuckles' goal is to reassemble the shards of the Master Emerald. His levels are large, in which Knuckles must hunt about the various Action Stages for three shards per stage using a sort of "Emerald Sense" radar to detect nearby Emerald shards. Knuckles is the only character able to dig, glide, or climb walls. He will later be joined in Sonic Adventure 2 by his rival with these abilities, Rouge the Bat.
[edit] Amy Rose
Amy Rose is walking through Station Square one day when a tiny blue Flicky falls from the sky and lands on her head. It is discovered that Dr. Eggman needed this Flicky (nicknamed "Birdie" by Amy) because of the Chaos Emerald in its pendant. Amy and Birdie must escape Zero the Chase Master throughout the levels until Amy confronts it during the final battle. Amy Rose uses a hammer known as the Piko-Piko Hammer, possibly referring to the sound the hammer creates when it impacts something. Her stages involve fleeing from E-100 Zero, and grabbing a balloon at the end. She would supposedly die if caught by Zero, although this is untrue, seeing as she only loses all her rings, and dies if she has no rings. It is possible that this was a feature that was never programmed into the game.
[edit] Big the Cat
Big the Cat is a newcomer to the Sonic series of games. Big the Cat aptly fits his name as he is a massively round, purple cat. Big's best friend is a frog that he has creatively named "Froggy." Froggy becomes possessed by Chaos' tail, and swallows Big's "lucky charm", a Chaos Emerald, which causes him to mutate. Froggy then runs off, and Big's story begins. Big's levels are fishing minigames, in which Big must fish for, and catch, Froggy. Big may also catch a number of other fish for additional points.
[edit] E-102 Gamma
E-102 Gamma is one among a series of robots designed by Dr. Robotnik for the purpose of collecting Chaos Emeralds. After an encounter with Amy Rose, he suffers a malfunction and gains a "conscience." He then turns his aim to destroying his robotic brothers and freeing the animals trapped also freeing them from destruction from eggman inside. Gamma's levels are shooting levels. There is a time limit; the player loses a life if and when it expires. Gamma can gain extra time by destroying multiple enemies in a single lock-on. His missions end when he destroys a certain target (generally other E-Series robots). His final battle is against his older "brother", E-101 Beta.
[edit] Upgrades
Throughout the game, each character is able to acquire one or more accessories which bestow enhanced or additional abilities to them. These accessories include the following:
Sonic the Hedgehog
- Light Speed Shoes
- Crystal Ring
- Ancient Light
Miles "Tails" Prower
- Jet Anklet
- Rhythm Badge
Knuckles the Echidna
- Shovel Claws
- Fighting Gloves(Hammer Gloves)
Amy Rose
- Warrior Feather
- Long Hammer
Big the Cat
- Life Belt
- Power Rod
- Four Lure upgrades (can be gotten in any order)
E-102 Gamma
- Jet Booster
- Laser Blaster
[edit] Villains and minor characters
[edit] Dr. Eggman
Dr. Ivo Robotnik, also known as Dr. Eggman, has formulated a new plan to conquer the planet, this time not relying on his robots alone, but employing a strange liquid creature known only as Chaos. He has also constructed a new vessel: The Egg Carrier.
[edit] Chaos
Chaos is the guardian of the Chao. He is apparently water or a plasma-like material and changes form after consuming a Chaos Emerald. After he is neutralized by Super Sonic at the end, his fate is left unknown.
[edit] Tikal the Echidna
A mysterious echidna girl who appears whenever Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-102 Gamma and Big are sent back in time. She is trying to stop her father, Pachacamac, from stealing the Chaos Emeralds from the Master Emerald shrine. In the end, Tikal appears in the destroyed Station Square and asks Sonic to defeat Perfect Chaos. She appears in levels and the adventure fields as a ball of light.
[edit] Chao
Chao are featured in the flashbacks, said to be Chaos' children. They exist primarily in the Chao Gardens as a sort of intelligent virtual pet for the player to raise, an 'evolution' of the A-life system from NiGHTS into Dreams... Chao can be taken with the player by downloading the minigame Chao Adventure to their VMU, or in the GameCube version, by downloading the Chao to a Game Boy Advance.
[edit] E-101 Beta
The first robot of Eggman's E-100 Series, E-101 Beta is a black robot with two guns. He is the first boss in E-102 Gamma's side of the story. Later he gets upgraded into E-101 Beta mkII. This form of E-101 Beta is the last boss in E-102 Gamma's side of the story. E-101 Beta is powered by a gray flicky.
[edit] E-103 Delta
The third robot of Eggman's E-100 Series, E-103 Delta is a blue robot and the younger brother of E-102 Gamma. He is the second boss of E-102 Gamma's side of the story who's waiting at the end of Windy Valley. He is powered by a parrot in both the Dreamcast and the GameCube versions.
[edit] E-104 Epsilon
The fourth robot of Eggman's E-100 Series, E-104 Epsilon is an orange robot and the younger brother of E-102 Gamma. He is the third boss of E-102 Gamma's side of the story who is waiting at the end of Red Mountain. He is powered by an orange flicky.
[edit] E-105 Zeta
The fifth robot of Eggman's E-100 Series, E-105 Zeta is a Purple robot and the youngest brother of E-102 Gamma. He is the fourth boss of E-102 Gamma's side of the story who is waiting at the end of Hot Shelter. He is altered into a cylinder-like form with turrets. He is actually composed of Dreamcast consoles, as can be seen upon close inspection (in both the Dreamcast and GameCube versions).
[edit] Gameplay
The game is divided up into two stages: Action Stages, and Adventure Stages. The division of Action Stages and Adventure Stages was a serious departure from all previous Sonic games, as all prior Sonic games, as well as the subsequent Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, had been a continuous stream of playable levels.
[edit] Action Stages
Action Stages are, very basically put, playable levels. This is the only type of area where Sonic or any of his companions will encounter enemies (boss battles appear to be in the Adventure Fields, but they are actually in Action Stages designed to look like the Fields.). There are eleven action stages, accessible by different characters; Sonic has the most of them, accessing 10 out of 11 (the only exception being Hot Shelter); The character who accesses the least stages is Amy with only three. Besides Big (who accesses four stages), all other characters access five stages. Also, each stage is accessed by three different characters except Lost World, which is accessed by only two characters. The best thing to compare Action Stages to would be the levels of all previous Sonic games. However, unlike previous Sonic games, Action Stages are not made up of Zones and Acts. Instead, the game plays more like each adventure field is a zone and the action stages are the acts in the zone. The Action Stages have separate areas that could be considered "Acts," but they are not separate levels, like in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles have zones in which each act represents a section of the entire zone).
[edit] Adventure Fields
Adventure Fields are non-linear game stages, generally designed for (light) puzzle solving, exploration, and plot advancement. They contain very few items (enemies, rings, etc.). The purpose of the Adventure Field is not unlike Overworlds found in RPGs. Every Adventure field links to the other two fields, and they also connect to all of the Action Stages and they are each packed with various powerups for different characters. There are three Adventure Fields:
[edit] Station Square
Station Square is part of a large, metropolitan city, and is the location of Sonic's first fight with Chaos. Some areas of the city are inaccessible to certain characters. Robotnik plans to destroy it and construct "Robotnikland" on its ruins. It contains a train station that connects to the Mystic Ruins, and a boat landing (hidden until the area is available) which leads to the Egg Carrier. Station Square also contains a casino, a beach, and a hotel. In the hotel, the elevator on the left leads to the Station Square Chao Garden.
Contains: Emerald Coast, Casinopolis, Twinkle Park, Speed Highway.
[edit] Mystic Ruins
The Mystic Ruins is the largest Adventure Field in the game. It has a clearing with a train station that goes to Station Square, and below is a boat landing that goes to the Egg Carrier. Tails' Workshop is located here, and nearby that is the entrance to the Chao Garden disguised as an abandoned mine. There is also an ice cave, as well as the inevitable landing point of Angel Island (first seen in Sonic 3). A more dense jungle is hidden away, which offers an older Echidna temple, the launch platform for the Egg Carrier and also Big the Cat's house. Robotnik's base, the Final Egg, is also found here.
Contains: Windy Valley, Ice Cap, Red Mountain, Lost World, Final Egg.
[edit] Egg Carrier
Dr. Robotnik's massive flying airship. It has two different forms, and depending on which form it is in, access to certain areas may become available. Other than that, the stage is quite self-explanatory. Notably, this is the Adventure Field where most characters fight their final bosses (except Sonic and Tails). There is also a large Chao garden in the Egg Carrier that can be accessed by entering the password "EGGMAN".
Contains: Hot Shelter, Sky Deck.
[edit] Real-world inspiration
Sonic Team traveled to many places to compile footage for and get ideas for designing the stages, including Chichen Itza, Cancún, Tulum, Tikal, Cuzco, and Ica.
[edit] Reception
The reception at the time of release was overwhelmingly positive, including reviews from GameSpot and GameSpy being above 90%. The current Game Rankings average ranking is 88%.[2]
Recently, however, in an age of more polished platformers, the game's flaws are more glaring, causing opinion of it to fall somewhat. This was intensified when DX was released, which fixed few of the errors, and in fact added some.[citation needed]
[edit] Voice actors
| Role | English Voice Actor | Japanese Voice Actor |
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| Sonic the Hedgehog | Ryan Drummond | Junichi Kanemaru |
| Miles "Tails" Prower | Corey Mitchell Bringas | Atsuki Murata |
| Knuckles the Echidna | Michael McGaharn | Nobutoshi Kanna |
| Amy Rose | Jennifer Douillard | Taeko Kawata |
| Dr. Eggman | Deem Bristow | Chikao Otsuka |
| Big the Cat | Jon St. John | Shun Yashiro |
| Tikal the Echidna | Elara Distler | Kaori Asoh |
| Pachacamac | Steve Broadie | Toru Ohkawa |
| E-102 Gamma | Steve Broadie | Jyoji Nakata |
[edit] Dreamcast versions
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure was originally meant to have a framerate of 60 frames per second, no polygon tearing (jagged edges), and little to no pop-up. The December 23, 1998 launch of the Sega Dreamcast prevented the developers from achieving this, resulting in a max framerate of 30 FPS, noticeable polygon tearing, a lot of pop up, and some framerate drops, also known as slowdown.
Sonic Adventure: Limited Edition
Exactly the same as the above version, except without the Internet option.
Sonic Adventure International
Shortly after the U.S. launch of the Dreamcast, Sonic Team released Sonic Adventure International. This was the same game, but with additional features that provided a more complete experience:
- The complete English voice track and the complete Japanese voice track were included.
- A new option was added to the Options screen, giving the user the choice of text in five different languages: English, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German.
- A few glitches were fixed.
[edit] Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
| Sonic Adventure DX | |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Release date(s) | Gamecube PC |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player (though 2P GameCube obtained with the second controller controlling Tails) Some Game Gear games are Multiplayer. |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+ |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PC |
| Media | Nintendo GameCube Optical Disc, CD-ROM |
Sonic Adventure DX is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube and PC CD-ROM, released on June 18, 2003.
[edit] Description
This game was released as an enhanced port of the original Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast (1999), with several additional features. The PC version was released at first in only Japan and Europe, but was eventually released in the US later on in a limited amount. Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut included a mission mode, which included 60 missions to complete throughout the adventure fields and action stages. Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut also includes a mini game collection, which is comprised of 12 Sega Game Gear games featuring Sonic and friends. The reviews received were generally less positive than those of its Sega Dreamcast predecessor.
[edit] Unlockable games
This game features many unlockable games previously available on the 90s Sega Game Gear handheld game console. If the start button of the second controller is pressed, then the game screen will split, and two one player games will go on at the same time.
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic Drift
- Sonic Chaos
- Sonic Spinball
- Sonic Labyrinth
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
- Sonic Triple Trouble
- Sonic Drift 2
- Tails' Skypatrol
- Sonic Blast
- Tails Adventure
[edit] Changes over the original Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut is a port of Sonic Adventure International (see above), and includes everything that was added to that version of the game. Several additions/changes were made to the game when it was ported to the Nintendo GameCube. They include:
- Enhanced graphics: The main characters were re-created with higher polygon counts, resulting in smoother models. Shader technology was also implemented for effects like rippling water (Shader effects are not present in the PC version). The game looks brighter overall, due to the new shadows (cast by buildings and mountains) and textures, and the lack of fog. Some of the new textures are high-resolution, but some are simply "different". The draw-in distance was improved greatly, and there is less pop-up.
- The original 60fps frame rate was partially restored. Unfortunately, due to the unstable nature of the Sonic Adventure engine, the frame rate frequently fluctuates ramdomly between 60fps, 30fps, and sometimes, even 20fps.
- A Camera option was added to the pause menu, allowing the user to select either the original Auto Camera or the newly added Free Camera.
- Changes (mostly minor) were made within the levels themselves in an effort to help patch some of the game's problems concerning collision detection. However, many glitches were not fixed, and some were even actually added. It's possible that the GameCube version has even more glitches than the Dreamcast version. For example, glitches in Station Square still exist where characters can utilize spotty collision detection on buildings to reach action stages they were not intended to play in. Tails can enter the Emerald Coast action stage and play half of the level (until the game loads the second part of the stage, whereupon Tails is dumped back into Station Square). If Tails dies while in Emerald Coast, the game will freeze.
- The Internet connection feature was removed. However, most of the downloadable content from the Dreamcast version was included in the GameCube port. Six voice tracks, for menu screens, that included voices of the six main characters that were downloadable via the Internet feature are included and used in the GameCube port, but other online content may only be accessed using an Action Replay.
- Many changes to the Chao System were made, including removing the Chao Adventure VMU minigame (instead replaced with a Game Boy Advance connection feature). Additionally, the Chao Raising engine and models from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was adapted and used. In fact, Chao from SA2: B may be imported into SA: DX using the Game Boy Advance.
- 60 Missions were added for an all-new Mission Mode, which task the player with completing certain goals within the Adventure Fields and Action Stages for Emblems, similar to the Mission Mode found in Sonic Jam's 3D Sonic World.
- A reward for collecting all the Emblems was added: The option to play as Metal Sonic, who, despite new sound effects, some different animations (including that he doesn't stand up straight) and a new player model, plays exactly like Sonic, and is only available in Time Trial and boss mode.
- Cream the Rabbit makes several cameo appearances during the main game and Mission Mode, such as being the one who drops the Ice Key.
- In the Dreamcast version, E-102 Gamma's Adventure Field was playable at night after beating his story. This seems to randomly happen in the GameCube version. What actually causes it is unknown. Strangely, the PC version follows the Dreamcast version by having the Adventure Fields always playable at night.
- As mentioned above, a Mini-Game Collection mode was added allowing access to 12 Sega Game Gear games.
- The ability to skip cut-scenes by pushing Start was added in.
- A Map option, found on the pause menu while in Adventure fields, was added. This provides a complete map of the Adventure Field the player is currently in.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- GameSpot page on Sonic Adventure
- Sonic Teams's Sonic DX site (in Japanese)
- Sonic Adventure Manual
- IGN page on Sonic DX
- Download.com link to download Sonic DX demo for the PC
- Sega American page on Sonic DX
- Sonic Adventure DX (GameCube) on GameSpy
- Sonic Adventure guides and trivia
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Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) · Sonic the Hedgehog 2 · Sonic the Hedgehog CD · Sonic the Hedgehog 3 · Sonic & Knuckles · Sonic Adventure · Sonic Adventure 2 · Sonic Heroes · Shadow the Hedgehog · Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) |
