Sonic Adventure
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Sonic Adventure<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"> | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sonic Team
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Sega</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Designer(s)</th><td>Yuji Naka</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of Japan.svg December 23, 1998 Image:Flag of the United States.svg September 9, 1999 Image:European flag.svg October 14, 1999 Image:Flag of Australia.svg December 3, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player (although Tails can be controlled in some stages with controller 2)
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: Everyone</td></tr> |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast, GameCube, Microsoft Windows
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>GD-ROM, Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, CD-ROM</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Input</th><td>Game controller</td></tr> |
Sonic Adventure is a video game created by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998 in Japan by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast. One of it's 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.
Contents |
[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. 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 badly received or low-key games released in 1995 - 1997 (Sonic 3D Blast, Knuckles' Chaotix, etc.) that deviated from the classic Sonic formula. Also 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 (they can be interconnected).
This was the first game in North America and Europe where the main villain was referred to as both "Doctor Eggman" and "Doctor Robotnik" (excluding Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Megadrive/Genesis, in which the name "Eggman" is painted on the Wing Fortress). Sonic Adventure 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, the name Dr. Eggman is used most often, while Robotnik is used very little, if at all.
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 resemble more their Sonic Adventure 2 appearance), a new Mission Mode, and the playability of every Sonic the Hedgehog Game Gear game. However, Sonic Team didn't remove all the glitches, add other features, or even include the original level designs of some of the stages that were either removed or completely redesigned, which can be considered a bad point for some.
[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.
[edit] Miles "Tails" Prower
Sonic's twin-tailed sidekick, who starts to believe in himself. After Sonic rescues Tails from Emerald Coast, 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 reffering 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.
[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 inside. Gamma's levels are shooting levels. There is a time limit and if it expires the player loses a life. Gamma can gain extra time by destroying multiple enemies in a single lock-on. His missions end when he destroys a certain target (Other E-Series robots usually.). His final battle is against his older "brother", E-101 Beta.
[edit] Villains and minor characters
[edit] Dr. Eggman
Dr. 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. Tikal sealed him back within the Master Emerald along with herself, like before Eggman let Chaos free, after Super Sonic neutralized the evil in his heart.
[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 1st robot of Eggman's E-100 Series, E-101 Beta is a black robot with 2 guns. He is the 1st 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 3rd 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 2nd boss of E-102 Gamma's side of the story who's waiting at the end of Windy Valley. He is powered up by a green flicky in the Dreamcast version and a parrot in the Gamecube version.
[edit] E-104 Epsilon
The 4th 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 3rd boss of E-102 Gamma's side of the story who is waiting at the end of Red Mountain. He is powered up by an orange flicky.
[edit] E-105 Zeta
The 5th 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 4th 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. Look closely in either the Dreamcast or GameCube version right after defeating him and you'll see he's made out of Dreamcast consoles.
[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 they were in earlier games.
List of Action Stages:
- Emerald Coast (Station Square) - The scenic coastline and local offshore islands of Station Square. Visited by Sonic, E-102, and Big.
- Windy Valley (Mystic Ruins) - The location of strong breezes, windmills, and a tornado. Visited by Sonic, Tails, and E-102.
- Casinopolis (Station Square) - Resort of the treasure-seekers and pinball wizards. Visited by Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
- Ice Cap (Mystic Ruins) - The unstable frozen peaks of Angel Island. Visited by Sonic, Tails, and Big.
- Twinkle Park (Station Square) - A psychedelic amusement park. Visited by Sonic, Amy, and Big.
- Speed Highway (Station Square) - The inner city. Visited by Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
- Red Mountain (Mystic Ruins) - An arid mountain range and brimstone chasm. Visited by Sonic, Knuckles, and E-102.
- Sky Deck (Egg Carrier) - The guarded vast hull and decks of the Egg Carrier. Visited by Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
- Hot Shelter (Egg Carrier) - The armored and hazardous inner sanctum of the Egg Carrier. Visited by Amy, E-102, and Big.
- Lost World (Mystic Ruins) - The forgotten ruins of the old Echidna city. Visited by Sonic and Knuckles.
- Final Egg (Mystic Ruins) - Robotnik's infernal lair. Visited by Sonic, Amy, and E-102.
[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 a large, metropolitan city, and 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 his Eggman Empire ("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. Eggman's base, the Final Egg, is also found here.
Contains: Windy Valley, Ice Cap, Red Mountain, Lost World, Final Egg.
[edit] The 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. 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. Many of the textures for the ancient ruins locations in the game were created from real photographs the team took during their trip.
[edit] Reaction
The game has a very 'love-hate' feeling to it, with reception at the time of release being overwhelmingly positive, including reviews from GameSpot and GameSpy being above 90%. The current Gamerankings overall status is a respectable 87%.
This likely has to do with relative perception. When Sonic Adventure first came out, its methods of transitioning Sonic's gameplay from 2D to 3D were very original and unexpected. Many considered this game to be as successful of a 2D-3D transition for Sonic as Super Mario 64 was for Mario. Gameplay flaws such as general linearity in level design, (as opposed to the many branching paths of the 2D Sonic games, although some levels provide many hidden paths), the somewhat short length of the adventure, jerky controls, frame rate slowdowns, various glitches and the sometimes severe camera problems were overlooked or minimized in favor of the fun and original play mechanics and amazing sense of speed. However, some of these flaws became more obvious to gamers as time passed on.
[edit] Voice actors
[edit] Dreamcast versions
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure was originally supposed to have a framerate of 60 FPS, no polygon tearing (jagged edges), and little to no pop-up. The September 9, 1999 launch of the Sega Dreamcast prevented the developers from achieving this, resulting in a max framerate of 30 FPS, noticeable polygon tearing, and lots of pop up. It also resulted in a loss of full English dialogue, causing main characters to speak in the Japanese language during gameplay.
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 Camera option was added to the pause menu, giving the choices of the original Auto Camera as well as the newly added Free Camera.
[edit] Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Sonic Adventure DX<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"> | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sonic Team
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Sega</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | Gamecube
|
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player (though 2P GameCube obtained with the second controller controlling Tails) Some Game Gear games are Multiplayer.
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+</td></tr> |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PC |
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 released in the US later on. 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. It didn't do quite as well with reviews as its Sega Dreamcast predecessor.
[edit] Unlockable games
This game features many unlockable games previously available on the Sega Game Gear handheld game console.
- 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
Several additions/changes were made to Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut 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 many are simply "different". The draw distance was improved greatly. There are many more small changes.
- The original 60fps frame rate was partially restored. Unfortunately due to the unstable nature of the Sonic Adventure engine, the frame rate frequently fluctuates between 60fps, 30fps, and sometimes, even 20fps.
- 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 many were actually added. It's possible that the GameCube version has even more glitches than the Dreamcast version.
- The Internet connection feature was removed. However, most of the downloadable content from the Dreamcast version was included in the GameCube port, but may only be accessed via Action Replay cheats.
- A brand-new "Free Camera" mode was added, allowing the player to move and adjust the Camera with the GameCube's C-Stick during play, similar to the system used in Super Mario Sunshine. Unfortunately, the camera mode goes back to "Auto Camera" (or the camera options disappear) when an area is loaded, in some stages or parts of stages, and in random places where the instructions for the Auto Camera may be overriding the "Free Camera".
- 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, whom, despite new sound effects, some different animations (including that he can't stand up straight, due to a glitch) 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.
[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
- Concept-mobius on Sonic Adventure
- Sonic Adventure time-attack records at The Sonic Center
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