[Mendinso]

First off, before anyone asks, no I'm not posting this topic early. If anything, I'm posting slightly later. In Japan, it is already the 23rd, the tenth anniversary to a great 3D Sonic game. Initially, I had planned to do a big, wonderful, discussion on how awesome this game is, but unfortunately I am very tired and would like to go to bed as soon as possible.

So without do, this topic is to discuss a game that is now over 10 years old. The game has probably had many mix reactions. Some say it is the best game since the Genesis (Mega Drive) games, while other say it's about on par. Then there are people who say it's where Sega started to go wrong completely. Of course, there are other opinions about the game, but I'd like you guys to talk about it!

In my honest opinion? It really is a great game. It was something that showed that Sega cared about the Sonic series at the time and despite it's flaws and rushed development, it did come across as a good game. Sometimes, it was fun exploiting the problems that were in the game to allow for some more "additional gameplay", that was otherwise unaccessable normally. Though, doing so you can clearly tell how many shortcuts that Sega did to make this game.

Controls were actually workable and the camera didn't make you want to actually snap the disk in half. Although, admittingly the issues were present with that. Another problem is that the games collision (partially more so in the original Japanese release) is wonky. It's a very flawed system that would later be patched up for the Gamecube remake/port. Although, there were still a number of issues present with that version.

Admittingly though, both the Japanese and English voice actors were relatively new to voicing the characters, so they generally had trouble capturing the characters personality. Infact, the japanese quality of the voice recordings actually do sound uneven, as if the recording sessions were directed differently or recorded monthes from each other. However, in the english version, it sounds like everything was done closely as possible with almost no variation with the character direction. Tails also had an overall better english voice actor (infact, as far as I'm aware, this was the only time the voice actor for Tails in Japan did a voice role).

There were alot of things I wish could have happened with the game but in the end did not. While I think I enjoyed the game overall more so, despite it's flaws, there were some unjoyable moments to the game as well. More specific, a character named Big. I think that in itself will explain it...

But anyways, I'll probably re-edit this entire post once I get some rest. So I apologize for not making any sense.

So honestly, how do you guys tend to celebrate Sonic Adventure's 10th anniversary and what is your honest opinions of the game as a whole?

[SeanieB]

I liked the game.

You're gonna crash! Aagh!

[muteKi]

Big was easy to play through and for the most part a non-issue with me. A-ranking as Big was a bit different however -- hard to find the really big fish in Twinkle Park's pond. Also those fish look really freaky.

I love it, except maybe for the spindash which I've said in at least 3 other places, 2 of which may have been IRC, is utterly broken. Able to pass through large portions of the map while still spinning; the other use is as a very easy and cheap way to gain speed (just double tap it to go into a run).

[Phos]

Ahh, Sonic Adventure, the first time I was ever impressed by graphics. I rented a prerelease Dreamcast a couple of times, but the lack of a VMU prevented me from being able to finish it till much later. The funny thing is I was never impressed by the whale chase, I guess it takes interaction to impress me.

The fact that this game was directed by Takashi Iizuka and still plays like it does baffles me.

The only complaint I have about how Sonic played in Sonic Adventure is that there are too many boost pads. Something I'd like to try doing would be to remove some of them, and see how well it works.

[Tweaker]

Sonic Adventure was a fantastic game. Not only was it's Sonic's first true foray into the realm of 3D platforming, but it probably remains one of the best to date. The controls were extremely solid, the environments were vast, fast, and unique, and even the storyline was pretty involving. While it introduced the trend of a lot of playable characters in a Sonic game, it did it in a way that was for the most part non-intrusive and fresh.

Sonic's gameplay focused on everything you think of when you think of a Sonic game—speeding through levels at insane speeds, jumping from platform to platform, collecting rings and destroying badniks along the way. I consider it the best part of the game, myself—Sonic had the most stages of all the characters, so his gameplay took up a majority of the gameplay time. Awesome. Other characters had similar, but somewhat differing gameplay goals; for example, Tails would race against Sonic using his unique abilities, Knuckles would use his gliding, digging, and climbing to find pieces of the Master Emerald, Amy would sacrifice speed for acrobatics, E-102 would use his gunplay... etc. Even when you played through the same levels more than once, they felt fresh. I loved that.

Sonic Adventure is also home to what is, to this day, probably the best soundtrack ever in a 3D Sonic game. Jun Senoue's work on Sonic Adventure proved to be some of his best ever, especially since his melodies and atmospheric sound ranged far beyond that of generic guitar use; bells, horns, and some seriously awesome percussion lines are just a few of the things you could look forward to. Not only that, but his remasters of existing music from Sonic 3D Blast proved to be both nostalgic and extremely fitting. Tracks not done by Senoue were also fantastic in their own rights. Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, and Masaru Setsumaru are just a few of the brilliant composers who worked on Adventure's music, resulting in some of the most memorable music in the 3D Sonic franchise. My favorite to this day remains Crazy Robo, tied with its counterpart, the Theme of E-102y. Fantastic music.

In terms of replayability, I find myself coming back to Sonic Adventure time and time again for casual play, because that's exactly the kind of feel it gives off—simple, yet elegant and brilliantly designed. Everything about this game just flows together so well; and, despite its glitches and whatnot, Sonic Adventure remains extremely solid even compared to today's games. Some fundamental issues were fixed in its sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, but for the most part, Sonic Adventure is a fantastic game, even after 10 years of aging.

So Happy Birthday, Sonic Adventure! Here's to another 10 years of fun.

[Hybrid Project Alpha]

SA2 was better.

[sonicteamUSA]

It's kind of sad the first time I played this was in 2005 the DX version.
So it didn't have that much of an impact on me as all the rest who played it in 99' on dreamcast.
While the level design was extremely linear and the cutscenes were horribly animated, I can see the charm it has.
Even to this day, the music I find to be really exquisite. I can't believe they put that much effort in the music. So much diversity. They must have been excited when they were working on it. Including Sonic Team because this game was developed within a year ( Dreamcast launch deadline), and it turned out really well for dreamcast standards.

It's just those cutscenes are horrible. Maybe they were tolerable on dreamcast, but on GCN in 05'.........ugh!
The controls were programmed really well. As was the sense of speed. Even in 2005, I found the game insanely fast.
The levels were really fun but way too simplistic and linear.
Those other characters were a chore though.

I think all sonic fans should have respect for this game. As it was the first true 3d one. It's what got many new people into sonic as well.
Congrats to takashi iizuka on visualizing the new style of sonic for the newer generation! As well as some of his cool level designs.

Hybrid Project Alpha, on Dec 22 2008, 06:38 PM, said:

SA2 was better.

We know, but this isn't about SA2, this is about the first one. Show some respect man

This post has been edited by sonicteamUSA: 22 December 2008 - 06:45 PM

[Polygon Jim]

Happy birthday, my favorite 3d Sonic ever! :D

[Metal-Geo]

Loved it. God I fucking loved it back in the Dreamcast days. It took me minutes to hook up the Dreamcast because I wanted to play Sonic Adventure immediately. Excitement can make me very impatient.

But hell. I loved everything about the fucking game.
The soundtrack which still kicks booty to this day (Twinkle Cart and E-102's theme still give me goose bumbs).
The replayability of trying to beat your own score (those Time missions at each stage).
The ability to explore. Always trying to find new ways to get things fucked up.
The awesomeness of an entire city getting owned by H²O. (Which was actually 'pretty' Brutal for a Sonic game back then.)
The weird way the mouths of characters move.
And the emblems.... oooooooh ohoho the emblems.

I guess I've always have forgiven SEGA for the shitload of glitches and bugs. Like how characters still walk without actually moving in cutscenes. Never got me upset or anything. Always looked right through these things.
Just for the good reminders and memories, I'm going to play this game to hell and back again. Time to dust off the Dreamcast and VMU's. :D

Cheers.

This post has been edited by Metal-Geo: 22 December 2008 - 07:08 PM

[Ridiculum]

Wow, can't believe it's that old. I really did love this game the most out of the Sonic games. Perhaps it was because of less linearity, and well, adventurous. The environments and music and general atmosphere was just spot on. And even though Big was hardly a Sonic character, his stages were atleast relaxing. Which to me was good, since- given the name- it should have (and was) a less pressured game, and more relaxed, in a sense.

About the only things I didn't like were the somewhat broken/wonky cutscenes, and general bugs and glitches that were ever present. But you know, even the original Sonic games had their fair share of bugs, so I never cared too much.

It's just a great game, and if I had my Dreamcast still, I'd be playing it right now, as a geeky Sonic fan salute.

EDIT: And Chao. Love them or hate them, they were there. Besides, having a tiny little pet-like animal that has a demonic smile, and looks freakishly like an alien from the movie Alien is just awesome.

This post has been edited by Ridiculum: 22 December 2008 - 07:13 PM

[The Shad]

Just go check out what I said in my top five games list.

[Dude]

Oh boy where to begin...

This game was basically the best thing that ever happened to me. Sonic 2 on the genesis was my first video game and I was passionate about games even from that young of an age. I had just moved in with my dad in 2000, I think I was 11. I had already mastered all of the genesis sonic games and still played them frequently. Dad loved to go to computer shows and I went with him to this one in Malboro, MA. There was a monitor vendor doing his thing selling monitors and to showcase his lineup, he was using none other than Sonic Adventure on the dreamcast. As I walked by I saw Sonic standing on the egg carrier, in full 3d! I was stunned. I had seen mario 64 before and thought it was a great game and I had always wondered what would have happened if sonic had been given that treatment. So there was my chance. I picked up the controller and loaded up emerald coast (Demo version lol wut). I think my first time on the level was like 3 minutes or something, but sonic had translated into 3d so well! It was the best renderer I'd seen in a video game for the time and the art direction blew me away. I must have played for like half an hour until the vendor kicked me off his dreamcast. A few weeks later and I had my dreamcast and sonic adventure.

To date I've probaly put 2500 combined gameplay hours into SA and DX. Yeah. Its that good. Though the game is admittedly the first of a generation, it was a great platform on which to build a game series. The controls and physics engine felt undeniably 'sonic' and incredibly intuitive. The camera system isn't exactly the best but after analyzing the camera format and mechanics, I must say its a great start. The real trick is keeping a sense of speed while keeping the camera relatively focused on the subject matter (aka sonic). The game does this by utilizing the camera's FOV (Field of View), pulling it out when sonic accelerates. This is the key to fast gameplay without being fast to the point where the player must be clairvoyant to play the game, as well as vertical height that gives the player better distance visibility.

While the game's collision isn't noteworthy, it was markedly improved in sa2. The major reason for this was the better use of polygons vs. textures and uv coordinates, and the changing of sonic's bounding box to a cylinder from a sphere (which has more points to calculate on a flat surface, resulting in more errors). All was going well with the 3d sonic platform until..

Sonic heroes. They re-wrote everything for the sake of portability. And killed it. They should have just ported the adventure engine.

[Rokkan]

Tweaker, on Dec 22 2008, 08:36 PM, said:

My favorite to this day remains Crazy Robo, tied with its counterpart, the Theme of E-102y. Fantastic music.

This.
Oh God I love how the plots of the characters are connected and how every other character is just a complement to the story. If you clear the game as Sonic you'll get the whole plot, but with a whole ass of questions (Why is that character here, what happened to that other one, etc) and when you play as the other characters, everything gets clearer and clearer as you pass through. Gamma is possibly one of my favorite new characters of the franchise, along with Blaze the Cat. Sonic Adventure was fuckwin, but

Hybrid Project Alpha, on Dec 22 2008, 08:38 PM, said:

SA2 was better.

Sonic Adventure 2 didn't have Big, had a fuckton better cutscenes, fixed and completely stable gameplay, nicer graphics, etc. SA2 is the best 3D Sonic game I have ever experienced, although the stages' graphics were re-used again again and again. Anyway, happy birthday Awesomedventure! Looking forward to Adventure 2's 10th birthday lol

[LordOfSquad]

Sonic Adventure, how I pine for thee. I only own the DX version, but my love affair with it begins in 2000 on the Dreamcast. In the city nearby, my parents drug me along to this record store that happened to have a Dreamcast playing Sonic Adventure. I played through Chaos 0 and Emerald Coast before my parents pulled me away, as I pleaded for a Dreamcast. I never got that Dreamcast, they got me an N64 instead.

But yeah, it's still a great game despite it's flaws. Happy 10th Sonic Adventure.

[Bryn2k]

Damn, 10 years already?

THANKS. Now I feel REALLY OLD. I didn't get a Dreamcast until 2001. I failed at life.

Anyway, my thoughts? I still can listen to Twinkle Cart whilst driving, it's more than just a game tune that, it's a classic instrumental from the 90s - such a cracking rendition of an older tune.