Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2 cover.png
North American Dreamcast cover art depicting Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog
Developer(s) Sonic Team USA
Publisher(s) Sega
Designer(s) Takashi Iizuka (Director/Level Designer)
Artist(s) Kazuyuki Hoshino (Art Director/Characters)
Yuji Uekawa (Characters)
Writer(s) Shiro Maekawa
Composer(s) Jun Senoue (Sound Director)
Platform(s) Dreamcast, GameCube
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)
Media/distribution GD-ROM, Nintendo optical disc

Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel to Sonic Adventure. It is the seventh chronological installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It follows the protagonist team of Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower and the antagonist team of Doctor Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Rouge the Bat and their attempt to work together in order to save the world from destruction.

The game was a commercial and critical success, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, who complimented its variety in gameplay, graphics, and sound, however, some dismissed its poor control and camera. Due to Sega's exit from the video game console manufacturing business, the game was ported to the Nintendo GameCube and re-titled Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, and includes brand new features as well as minor changes in level design. Battle received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised its new features and ability to use the GameBoy Advance link cable, however, dismissed its poor control, camera, and lack of variety compared to other GameCube titles. Despite its mixed reception, Battle was a commercial success, selling more than 1 million copies worldwide and becoming the tenth best-selling Nintendo GameCube game of all time.

Contents

Gameplay

Sonic Adventure 2 uses 3D graphics in addition to scrolling backgrounds. The game follows the same basic principles of previous games in the series. Within most stages are rings, which will protect the player from dying, so long as at least one is held by the player. The Tails and Doctor Eggman stages are an exception, as they employ a health bar which is reloaded by gathering rings. Item capsules are also located within the stages, which provide the player bonuses. Each character has obtainable power-ups which grant them new abilities, such as the ability to destroy metal boxes or play mystical melodies.

Single-player

The single player mode can be played between two parallel story lines, the "Hero" story mode and the "Dark" story mode. The player has the option of advancing in either story at any time. The "Hero" story features Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, while the "Dark" story features Shadow, Rouge, and Dr. Eggman. Each dark character plays similarly to its corresponding hero character, respectively. Levels advance in the same order for both story lines.

Sonic uses an impromptu snowboard to escape from the "G.U.N. Federation"

Levels featuring Sonic or Shadow are regular platform levels, designed in much the same way as Sonic's levels in Sonic Adventure.[3] The player's primary objective is to reach the end of the level. Levels with Tails or Dr. Eggman are based on shooting, allowing the player to control a mechanized robot walker and shoot their way to the end, reminiscent of E-102 Gamma's stages in Sonic Adventure. The Knuckles and Rouge levels are based on hunting, with the characters scouring the levels for three keys, usually shards of the Master Emerald, much like Knuckles' levels in Sonic Adventure. Interspersed between the levels are various bosses, which one particular character must fight. The main story line can only be completed by finishing both the "Hero" and "Dark" story lines. When the main story line is completed, an extra "Final" story mode is introduced where the player must use all 6 characters back to back to achieve the true ending.

At the end of each stage, the player is given a score based on the number or rings collected and time spent within the level. The more rings collected and the less time spent, the higher the player's score is. The player is also given a performance ranking, a letter grade that is either A, B, C, D, or E, with A being the highest and E being the lowest. Irrespective of any other factors, an A Rank is automatically awarded to players that complete any score-ranked mission with all of the rings from that level in the player's possession.

Within Action Stages, players must collect rings and defeat enemies, with a timer counting the time spent within the level. Five missions are assigned to each Action Stage; in order to access the next mission, the player must successfully complete each previous mission. In order from first to last, the missions are to complete the level, collect 100 rings, find a "lost Chao" using the Mystic Melody, finish within a time limit, and complete a "Hard mode" version of the Action Stage. Special moves are acquired by collecting a certain number of rings; these moves are also seen in the final bosses of the Hero and Dark stories.

Emblems, 180 in total, are also given throughout the game. In order to gain all 180 Emblems, players must defeat every mission within every stage and achieve an A rank in all stages and missions. After collecting all 180 Emblems the player unlocks the 3D Green Hill level, a remake of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.

Two-player mode

A two-player mode is also available in Sonic Adventure 2, where the corresponding characters from the "Hero" and "Dark" stories are able to play against one another in racing levels, shooting levels, and treasure-hunting levels. Stages from the main one-player game are available in this mode, slightly altered for competitive play. The goals for each stage are to defeat the other player by completing a task first: racing levels require the player to reach the Goal ring, shooting levels end when one Walker runs out of energy either by being destroyed by the competitor or falling off the stage, and the treasure hunting levels are won when one character gets two of the three Emerald shards.

Special features in this two-player mode are unlocked by meeting certain conditions in the single player mode. Additional characters include familiar characters from previous games, but they must be unlocked in the original Dreamcast version: Amy and Metal Sonic complement Sonic and Shadow, Chao and Dark Chao complement Tails and Eggman, and Tikal and Chaos 0 complement Knuckles and Rouge. Alternate costumes are usable only in two player mode and vary in each version of the game, as do the conditions required to unlock the costumes.

Chao and Chao World

The animal Chao exist in an area held separate from the rest of the game called Chao World. Chao are meant to be raised and taken care of in the same manner as with human babies. Chao World incorporates three main areas: the Chao Gardens (three in total, but two must be unlocked by the player), the Chao Kindergarten, and the Chao Race Lobby.

The player finds and raises Chao in the Chao Garden. When Chao hatch, they crawl and are unable to swim. They get their nutrition from knocking the fruit off trees. When a Chao begins to grow up, it will eventually go into a cocoon stage in which it will transform. Depending on how each Chao in the garden was raised and treated during childhood, it can become a generic Chao or a Light or Dark Chao. As soon as a Chao transforms, if it has become a Light or Dark Chao, it will unlock for the player the Hero Garden or the Dark Garden, which are vertically positioned in Chao World similar to common Western descriptions of Heaven and Hell. "Chaos Drives" and hidden animals can be found in the action stages and can be given to Chao during childhood to boost the Chao's stats and physical attributes.

The Chao Kindergarten is where the player can take the Chao to have it named, have its health and stats checked, and have it learn new skills. Also, in the GameCube adaptation only, rare items can be purchased at the Black Market using the Rings collected during normal gameplay. The Black Market is also available in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut; in that version, with more game Emblems earned, rarer merchandise becomes available in the Market.

GameCube adaption

The Nintendo GameCube adaption of Sonic Adventure 2, called Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, was released on December 10, 2001 in Japan, February 12, 2002 in North America, and on the GameCube's launch (May 3, 2002) in Europe. This game changed a large portion of raising Chao. A Chao's stats can be viewed from within the game.[4] The player can transfer one Chao from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle to the "Tiny Chao Garden" section in Sonic Advance, Sonic Advance 2, and Sonic Pinball Party with the GameCube-Game Boy Advance Link Cable. If a Game Boy Advance is connected without a GBA game inserted, a version of the Tiny Chao Garden can be copied temporarily into the Game Boy Advance's memory. Chao Karate was also introduced in this version. The Chao's stats are used against a computer-controlled opponent to fight in a fighting game style, but with minimal influence from the player and very little in terms of actual karate.[5] The layouts of all three Chao Gardens were also changed slightly, with Sonic Adventure 2 Battle's Chao Gardens significantly smaller than those of the original Dreamcast version.

The "Battle" multiplayer options were expanded in the GameCube version, including the addition of new characteristics to the multiplayer-exclusive characters, while removing all online play.[6] Also, the additional features for the kart mode are not required to be unlocked in the GameCube version.

There are several aesthetic changes, as well. In the GameCube version, minor special effects were added such as rain in the "White Jungle" level. Also, when playing as Knuckles or Rouge, an exclamation (!) will appear above his or her head when directly nearby their targets. Some cutscenes were also redone slightly, with different character animations and camera angles. Some rankings had their requirements changed. Additionally, the cutscenes appear to play faster than on its original Dreamcast counterpart[citation needed], such as when the heroes crash on their first arrival on the ARK. Most of Big the Cat's cameos did not remain in the stages, cutscenes, or two-player mode, but he can still be viewed in some story sequences by rapidly pressing the A or B buttons throughout the scenes. A Dark Chao (with Dark Chao Walker) replaces Big the Cat in two-player mode.

Plot

After discovering the existence of a secret weapon mentioned in the diary of his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Eggman infiltrates a high-security G.U.N. facility in search of it. This "weapon," a black hedgehog named Shadow who claims that he is the "Ultimate Life Form," offers to help Eggman take over the world, telling him to rendezvous with Shadow at the abandoned Space Colony ARK with more Chaos Emeralds. Shadow proceeds in stealing one of the emeralds, and G.U.N. officials mistake him for Sonic. Shadow has a flashback during these events to the final moments of a young girl named "Maria", who begging him to do an unspecified task—which he interprets as a request for revenge. Sonic is apprehended shortly after he confronts Shadow, who demonstrates to Sonic the Chaos Control technique.

Meanwhile, Knuckles confronts both Rouge the Bat and Eggman, who each attempt to steal the Master Emerald. Knuckles shatters the Master Emerald to prevent this, and proceeds to search for the scattered shards and restore the Emerald. While Rouge also intends to collect the shards for personal benefit, she must also accomplish a mission for the government to spy on Eggman. This mission also leads her to the ARK, where Shadow relays to Eggman his plan to use the Chaos Emeralds to charge a "super weapon" on the ARK called the Eclipse Cannon to take over the world. To accomplish this, Shadow and Eggman recruit Rouge to assist in the search of the Chaos Emeralds.

Tails and Amy infiltrate Prison Island and rescue Sonic from G.U.N., while Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge collect three Emeralds on the island, which they then destroy. Eggman then broadcasts his threats across the planet and demonstrates the cannon's level of power by destroying half of the moon. Sonic and company use the final Emerald within their possession to track down the other six, with Knuckles coming along as well. Together, the group infiltrates Eggman's base, narrowly boarding Eggman's shuttle as it launches into space. Along the ride into space, Knuckles' Master Emerald shards are spilled, and he leaves the group to collect them, encountering Rouge again. During the fight, Knuckles saves Rouge from certain death, and Rouge surrenders her collected shards, finally allowing Knuckles to restore the Master Emerald.

Onboard the ARK, Tails reveals that he has created a counterfeit Chaos Emerald designed to reverse the effects of the real Emeralds and destroy the Eclipse Cannon. Sonic goes to place the fake Emerald into the cannon when Eggman announces he has captured Tails and Amy. Sonic tries to give Eggman the fake Emerald, but at the last second Eggman traps and jettisons Sonic in an escape pod rigged with explosives. Using the fake Emerald, Sonic manages to perform Chaos Control and escape before it explodes, but Tails, thinking Sonic is dead, fights Eggman again. Shadow is sent to intercept Sonic before he destroys the Eclipse Cannon, but Sonic succeeds.

Once Eggman collects all seven Chaos Emeralds and attempts to fire the Eclipse Cannon at full power, a failsafe activates, and a recorded message is broadcast by the late Gerald Robotnik. It explains that the ARK will collide with and destroy Earth, as revenge against humanity for condemning him and his research, killing his granddaughter Maria and numerous colleagues on-board the ARK. Everyone agree to work together to neutralize the Chaos Emeralds with the Master Emerald and stop the collision. Shadow initially does not participate, due to his apathy for humankind, however Amy's pleading reminds him of Maria's true request to serve as a benefit for society. He catches up with Sonic and Knuckles after they make their way to the core.

After disabling the various security features guarding the Cannon's core, Sonic and Knuckles encounter the Biolizard, a prototype of the Ultimate Life Form, and Shadow's "biological" brother, who had been awoken from stasis to ensure that the Emeralds would not be tampered with. Shadow defeats the Biolizard, allowing Knuckles to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds using his repaired Master Emerald. However, the injured Biolizard uses Chaos Control to fuse with the Eclipse Cannon, becoming the Finalhazard and continuing the ARK's collision course by physically dragging it along. Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic and Shadow transform into Super Sonic and Super Shadow and defeat the Biolizard while he is fused to the ARK. They then use Chaos Control to teleport the ARK back into a stable orbit around Earth. The process, however, depletes Shadow's energy, and he is unable to remain in orbit, plummeting to Earth, to his apparent death content that he has fulfilled his promise to Maria. Humanity celebrates openly as the two teams solemnly express gratitude towards Shadow for his sacrifice and return to Earth, expressing their plans from there.

Development

Sonic Adventure 2 was developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sonic Team, and published by Sega. The game was directed by longtime series contributor Takashi Iizuka, and was developed over the course of approximately one and a half years.

The environments of the game were inspired by San Francisco, California—the location of Sega Studio USA—and by the United States as a whole. The game was designed to be action-oriented as opposed to the slower-paced, more story-based Sonic Adventure.[7]

Sega promoted Sonic Adventure 2 both as the final Sonic game for the Dreamcast, and as marking the tenth anniversary of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.[8]

The stage City Escape is included in the console version of Sonic Generations and Radical Highway will be on the 3DS version.

Music

Jun Senoue returned as head composer for this game. Like the previous game, each character received an instrumental motif that serves as their theme song. The game features performances by returning vocalists Tony Harnell, Ted Poley, Marlon Saunders, Nikki Gregoroff and Johnny Gioeli, as well as new vocalists Tabitha Fair, Todd Cooper, Paul Shortino, Everett Bradley, Kaz Silver and Hunnid-P.

Crush 40, which consists of Senoue and vocalist Johnny Gioeli,[9] officially debuted with the theme song Live & Learn, which plays during the main menu and the final battle.

The Sonic Adventure 2 Multi-Dimensional Original Soundtrack was produced by Jun Senoue and released by Marvelous Entertainment on August 22, 2001. The songs feature the band Crush 40.

Sonic Adventure 2 Vocals Collection: Cuts Unleashed was produced by Jun Senoue and released on August 21, 2001 by MMV. It contains musical tracks from the game composed by Jun Senoue and Kenichi Tokoi.

Reception

After its initial release on the Dreamcast, Sonic Adventure 2 was well-received, being the recipient of very positive reviews, averaging an 89% according to critic compiler Metacritic.[10] The game received praise for its fast-paced Sonic/Shadow levels, high-quality graphics, remodeled and enhanced Chao Garden and improved gameplay mechanics from the original.

Like its predecessor, however, the game was subject to criticism concerning the game's camera system. Although sites like Gamespot admitted that the camera flaws in the original Sonic Adventure were "infinitely more frustrating by comparison" the sequel was still noted to "retain some of the quirky camera work". Along with the camera flaws, the game received criticism for the Knuckles/Rouge levels, which were described by some reviewers as "confusing" and "frustrating", while other reviewers found them to be a "fun different gamemode". The game was also criticized for having a lack of challenging boss fights.

Despite these issues, the game was still a critical and commercial success with many reviewers agreeing that the game was one of the last great Dreamcast releases. IGN concluded that "If this is the last Sonic game in these declining Dreamcast years, it's satisfying to know that the DC didn't go out with a bang, but with a sonic boom."[3]

The GameCube version, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, fared considerably worse in terms of reviews,[11] despite having no single player gameplay changes from the Dreamcast version, and only an 8-month gap between their releases. Even in spite of the negative reviews, the game has sold 1.44 million units in the United States alone as of December 2007, making it one of the GameCube's highest selling games.[12] The game also sold well enough to be re-released as a Player's Choice title.[2]

Sonic Adventure 2 has also won several awards: IGN's and GamePro's Editors' Choice Awards and GameSpy's Best of 2001: Best Dreamcast action/adventure game. ScrewAttack also rated Sonic Adventure 2 as the fifth best Dreamcast game.

References

  1. ^ "Release Summary: Sonic Adventure 2". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/action/sonicadventure2/similar.html?mode=versions. Retrieved 2009-05-25. 
  2. ^ a b "Release Summary: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/sonicadventure2battle/similar.html?mode=versions. Retrieved 2010-12-31. 
  3. ^ a b Chau, Anthony. "Sonic Adventure 2 review". http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/164/164855p1.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03. 
  4. ^ Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Instruction Booklet. pp. 50–55. 
  5. ^ Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Instruction Booklet. pp. 46. 
  6. ^ Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Instruction Booklet. pp. 18–23. 
  7. ^ IGN Staff (June 4, 2001). "Interview With Sonic Adventure 2 Director Takashi Iizuka". IGN. http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/095/095406p1.html. Retrieved February 19, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Forecast: Sonic Adventure 2". Official Dreamcast Magazine (23): p. 26. 
  9. ^ "Crush 40 History". Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080130073822/http://junsenoue.com/content/view/1/14. Retrieved 2008-01-07. 
  10. ^ "Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast Reviews". http://www.metacritic.com/game/dreamcast/sonic-adventure-2. 
  11. ^ "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on Metacritic for GameCube". http://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/sonic-adventure-2-battle. 
  12. ^ "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-05. 

External links

v · d · eSonic the Hedgehog series
Main series
Console
Sonic the Hedgehog · 2 · CD · 3 · Sonic & Knuckles · Adventure · Adventure 2 · Heroes · Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) · Unleashed · 4 · Colors · Generations
Handheld
Sonic the Hedgehog · 2 · Chaos · Triple Trouble · Blast · Pocket Adventure · Advance · Advance 2 · Advance 3 · Rush · Rush Adventure · Colors · Generations
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Eraser · Spinball · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine · Pinball Party  · Battle · Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Compilations
Mega Collection · Genesis Collection · Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection · Dreamcast Collection
Arcade games
Unreleased games
Related games
Flicky · Ristar · Sega Superstars (series) · Somari · Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (hack) · Super Smash Bros. Brawl
See also
List of games · List of games featuring Sonic  · Sega


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