A thrilling ride of highs and lows
Speeding through greatness and gripes
Sonic is a series with many ups and even more downs. I am emphatically NOT a fan of the series and couldn’t care less about the blue haired nuisance. However, even still his legacy can not be denied. The original Genesis games are widely acclaimed, while the modern series is extremely hit-or-miss. That being said, what about the mid-series? How did Sonic fare on the Dreamcast? I never played Sonic Adventure but the general consensus is that it’s liked enough. But we’re here to discuss the sequel… Sonic Adventure 2 is widely considered to be one of the best games on the Dreamcast. That being said, once you boot up this title, it’s tragically apparent this has aged about as well as the cup of Trix Yogurt you hid from that silly rabbit in 1998.
Sonic Adventure 2 has the military hunting down our hero because of a string of crimes he ‘supposedly’ committed. Turns out an angsty middle-school edge lord named Shadow is the one to blame. Sonic must stop the evil hedgehog and clear his name… This marks where the series really started to lose its sense of identity. The original series was about a mischievous hedgehog who would always foil Dr Robotnik’s (his name is NOT Eggman) plan for world domination. That was it. Here, the series rather humorously tries to implement dramatic themes of loss, tragedy, and existential philosophy about our place in the world. Who in the good name of Odin thought this was a good idea?! Seeing these cartoon characters with this narrative backdrop makes them feel more out of place than Mr Rogers in a maximum security prison. Seriously, Shadow simps over a human woman named Maria. It plays out like the cringiest teen-soap opera drama that would make Degrassi weep. It’s weird. Why would anyone think this belongs in a Sonic game?! Even for a mascot platformer, the narrative is absurd, nonsensical and poorly written.
The gameplay is broken up between 3 different play styles- Sonic and Shadow are the standard Sonic fare, running through an obstacle course. These levels are actually very well designed and are bar-none the best part of the whole game. The iconic “Escape From the City” is one of the best opening levels in the entire series, perhaps even all of gaming. Unfortunately, the best level is the first level… everything after that goes downhill pretty quick. The rest of the Shadow and Sonic levels are fine, but the game blows its gasket way too quickly. Tails and Robotnik are playable- they utilize their armed mech-vehicles to dispose of enemies and glide their way across the stages. This makes sense for Robotnik, but why Tails? Tails is able to run just as fast as Sonic and can use his tail to fly! These levels are fine, but they tire out rather quickly. And holy mother of all that’s good; that high pitched beep you hear when aiming down your targets will cause your ears to bleed. The bosses are actually not half bad. They are varied and unique enough to keep them fresh and distinct. The absolute bottom of the barrel are the Rogue and Knuckles missions. You will control either one of them and have to find the pieces of the chaos emerald. These levels are huge and the objective is boring. Not to mention, this has the most broken radar of any game I’ve ever played. You could literally be next to the second or third piece, but until you find the first, your radar will not go off to indicate its location. These levels are just flat-out bad. There is also a mini-game called the “Chow Gardens”- It’s basically a virtual pet you can raise, take to school and have it compete in contests… hours of fun.
The sound design and music for this game are actually the best part of the game. “Escape From the City”, “Live and Learn” and best of all “Pumpkin Hill”, to name a few… These will range from shredding eclectic guitar to a smooth beat rap song. The music in this game is so good, it honestly makes you wish it was in something better. Where the sound mixing falls completely flat is the voice acting. The voice over work is decent enough, but the characters’ dialogue will either be drowned out by the background music or the characters will talk over each other’s lines.
Overall, this game is a huge mixed bag. The good in this game is really good, and what’s bad is REALLY bad. Sonic and Shadow’s levels, the soundtrack and the “Chow Garden” are all great. The Tails and Robotnik levels and boss battles are just average, while the Rogue and Knuckles levels, narrative and voice mixing are absolutely horrendous. All across the board it’s not terrible, but the noticeable shortcomings really keep this from warranting more than 1 playthrough. But if you were to just stick to the Shadow and Sonic levels and “Chow Gardens”, those are more than worth revisiting. Collect those rings, run to the finish and master the chaos control.
Trust me and we will escape this mediocrity,
Fil
Verdict: 6/10