When video games went from 2D to 3D, game series that would have a minimum of plot would suddenly have a lot more. I think it would be because with levels and game play more complex, the plot had to evolve with it. However, this would complicate some game series, as previous, almost plot-free games now had characters with much more personality, so it seemed like different characters all together. I bring this up now because of Sonic Generations, which matches “classic” (2D) Sonic with the “modern” (3D) Sonic. The passing from 2D to 3D was a sort of “silent reboot” for the series, as it was never specifically addressed. So, in honor of the first Sonic game I feel like getting since Sonic and the Secret Rings (god, I hated that game), I’ll be reviewing the definitive line between the generations; Sonic Adventure, originally for the Sega Dreamcast, it’s been rereleased as Sonic Adventure DX; Directors Cut for the Nintendo GameCube.
The plot is actually pretty good, at least as far as Sonic games are concerned. It starts off with a boss fight between Sonic and “Chaos 0”. Soon after winning, we learn that Chaos is an ancient god like creature revived by (who else) Dr. Eggman (called Eggman for the first time in this game). Eggman has learned, through scrawls in a temple, that if given the 7 Chaos emeralds, Chaos will change into his “perfect form”, in which nothing should be able to stop him. Eggman has also built a flying fortress to survive this, in the hopes that after Station Square is destroyed, he can build Eggmanland on top of it.
Now, this story does have its plot holes, like how is Eggman planning on literally controlling Chaos, or why does he want to build Eggmanland on top of Station Square, when there’s miles of prime real-estate available. But, I have to give kudos to how the plot is presented. As with Sonic Adventure 2, to get the full story, you’ll need to play from multiple view points, but here you have 6 sides to the story, not just 2. They each have their personal goals and you see why it becomes important to the overarching plot. Each character is given its own “moment” and a good resolution. Sadly, I can’t go into specifics without spoiling anything, but you will see things as certain characters that the others don’t see, and it explains details that are otherwise confusing.
As I just mentioned you play as 6 characters. They all have their different style of game play and it really mixes things up; Sonic is the usual platforming-adventure levels, Knuckles hunt for emerald shards, Tails races against Sonic, Amy Rose has to outrun one of Eggman’s robots, E-102 Gamma (a rogue Robot created by Eggman) has shooting levels (like Tails and Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2) and Big the Cat fishes. No joke, he fishes. It’s a change of pace, but still sort of fun, like a mini-game.
One thing I really enjoyed is the fact that characters DO visit the same location as others. Despite it always looking and feeling like the same area, it’s clearly been changed enough to better suit each characters’ game style. The stages themselves are all pretty cool, no matter what version of it you’re on, as it uses a lot of good platforming elements. Finally, running (an important part of Sonic) is fun, as you seem to be able to reach ludicrous speeds: it looks so unreal and loose that it’s gotta be enjoyed.
Sonic Adventure is THE 3D Sonic game (as for THE Sonic 2D game, I’ll get to that one eventually), and the new “DX” features do nothing but add to it, with an extra mission mode and unlockable Game Gear games. True, it has some of the same flaws as the original Dreamcast version (namely the graphics) but that’s a minor issue (especially when the music makes up for it, as with most Sonic games). The plot goes pretty much all out and is well done to naturally encompass 6 playable characters. All of the levels are fun, diverse and well designed. Again, this is the first REAL 3D Sonic game; it’s amazing they got it so right the first time, and a little sad they never managed to quite match it again yet. Anyways, to wrap this up, I can’t really think of anything negative to say about this game; if you haven’t played this one, you’re missing out on one of the best “first 3D games of a pre-existing series”. I give Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut for the Nintendo GameCube 10 levels out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment