Sonic Adventure 2 – Everything that is bad in a Sonic game

Not a bad write-up, I'd say. Could use less "baw" factor, but eh.

For the record, Sonic Adventure 2 did have a dark story, but it was presented in what I'd say is a "saturday morning cartoon" style, which didn't really make it that bothersome in my opinion. The cut-scenes feel a lot like the late 90's era when many channels were playing violent Anime numbed down and cut for American children. While I certainly think the story isn't great, it's not exactly horrible, and that's to do with it's presentation. That was pretty much as dark as it got until Shadow the Hedgehog got his own game, really. Sonic Heroes had dark overtones to it, but again, the presentation made it not seem as dark as it was. It wasn't really until Sonic 06 that it just seemed like a drama fest. To quote a review I read on it, "the game used the words 'kill', 'die', and 'death' more often than the words 'and', 'the', and 'or'." And Sonic Unleashed reached near-Sonic Heroes levels of embarrassing dialog, again making a story with dark overtones less serious, and I daresay enjoyable.

As for the "can I play as Sonic now" bit, I'd say the biggest offender there would actually be the first Sonic Adventure. Sonic Adventure has you going through 6 individual character episodes, only really two of which play like Sonic (that'd be Sonic and Tails). Sonic Adventure 2, though, has you do a Sonic level, a Knuckles level, a Tails level. Though a lot of the backlash there certainly goes to the non Sonic levels being... questionable in terms of fun. Most of the hate I hear on this account goes towards Tails and Eggman.

Though I definitely will agree with you on the monster idea. I've had just about enough of the "Super Sonic battling a giant monster in space" schtick. Biolizard could have easily been a giant Eggman robot, as could have Solaris and whoever.

 

The flanderisation of the non-Sonic levels I'll agree with (really not keen on treasure-hunting in SA2, though the shooting was passable). The rest is undermined by hyperbole and nostalgia goggles.

 

I'm somewhat confused by the message you're trying to send. At one point it seems that you're saying that Sonic Adventure 2 introduced a bunch of new concepts that the other games afterwards took too much to heart and went nuts with, ruining the true source material. On the other hand, It seems like you're saying Sonic Adventure 2 was a perpetrator of these faults.

I dunno, maybe it's just because I disagree with your assessment. But it seems kind of like you haven't decided whether Sonic Adventure 2 is at fault for introducing these concepts that were so abused by later games, or for abusing these concepts itself in the act of introducing them.

 

Dark/Complicated story

I disagree that SA2 was the first one to do it as (like you say) SA had its dark flair as well. The story wasn't that much darker from SA either. Even Shadow was fun in that game and in Heroes. He only started being that bland and boring dark thing after that. Biolizard and Perfect Chaos seem to be in the same level of scary, perhaps Perfect Chaos more because he actually starts small and you see it grow more and more deadly as the game progresses. And Biolizard is a joke once you notice where he's mounted on in Last Hazard.

Invisible walls everywhere

There were only invisible walls in parts of City Escape and in the hunting levels. Most other levels were either surrounded by blatant pits (cannot say the same for SA) or by visible walls.

I agree on everything else though. I understand why the level design was mostly linear considering the game's penchant for racing and competition, but that's not platforming and Sonic is platforming (or at least was at the time).

I like playing as the werehog as I never liked playing as Tails.

And the only reason that Sonic 2006 was a bad game, was because it tried to be a Sonic Adventure 3, picking up the “best” elements for both Sonic Adventures.

I don't agree. Sonic 2006 was a bad game because the gameplay wasn't implemented decently, Sonic's model was horrendous and (mostly Sonic's) story was embarassing and annoying.

 

Great write up! SA2 marked my permanent departure from the series, until this year (when I will probably buy Generations).

- Depressing, real life locations
- Sonic looking even more of a cunt than he did in Adventure 1
- Whiny underdog faggoty singing over levels
- Blatant bandwagon jumping on the Tony Hawk and anime crazes of the time
- Shitty storyline and art direction designed to appeal to anime loving losers.

I played through City Escape in a game shop, hated absolutely everything about it.

"Fuck this!" thought a young Jason Christ as he turned his back on Sonic and never looked back.

 

Sonic Adventure 2 was, to me, one of the best games in the series.

I don't mind when Sonic stories go dark or complicated. I outright enjoy that much more than just plot being there for the sake of having plot (I.e. Heroes, for the most part).

While SA2 arguably did feel quite linear at times, the challenge present was good enough for me to not mind that. In fact, I actually prefer linear paths over wide open areas (that may be linked to my indecisiveness as well as the fact that I have horrendous orientation wherever I go).

I also wish we could actually go back to having Sonic games with more playable characters with their own styles of gameplay again, personally… but that seems, sadly, quite unlikely.

Monsters and the like, I do not mind, either. Makes for a more diverse universe, though it was pretty badass of Eggman to take matters in his own hands by the end of Colors (Wii). I guess it would be pretty cool if Eggman kept pulling the strings to the end of his plots more often. But, eh.

Then again, I'm the weird one out around here with these things, so, what do I know? :v:

 

Did you only read a synopsis online or something? Sonic Unleashed's plot is neither dark nor complicated. That's kind of where Sonic Colors' whole "saturday morning cartoon" storytelling style first cut its teeth. I mean, I guess if you take it at face value it sounds like it could be dark, but it's really, really not.

 

Even though Adventure 2 is by far my least favourite game of the series, I DO think they need to keep making games like it.

What they seem to be doing these days is taking the modern and classic worlds and merging them together. I personally think that's a shitty idea. I'm a classic purist, I want a split franchise and a classic experience. I DON'T want a watered down "best of both worlds" solution because it doesn't exist. You can't make ONE Sonic game to please everyone, and that's their fucking fault!

When I played Sonic 1 10 years ago, it was utterly depressing to see how unrecognisable the series had become from its original self. It's no fucking wonder Sonic fandom is so divided, and I think SA2 is the game responsible for that. But the truth is that people loved and STILL love Sonic Adventure 2, and today those people are being denied a chance to have experiences like that again. I don't fucking want shitty, linear gameplay and Crush 40 faggots singing, and I don't want to fight the fucking Minge Eater as the final boss, likewise the other side of the fanbase doesn't want to play as JUST Sonic, and they may well want more serious "badass" apocalyptic storylines.

 

I pretty strongly disagree with this, but I don't think that Sonic Generations isn't the game that's going to do it. What is boils down to is we've got the Sonic Unleashed experience and a Classic Sonic experience (sorta) mashed together. And while I liked Sonic Unleashed's day time stages for their replayability (getting an S rank in a level game is 10 times more satisfying than doing so in Sonic Adventure, Adventure 2, and Heroes that's for certain), not many people understandably don't like them for how linear they are.

As for the newer fans, I've actually seen a few scattered youtube comments on how they don't like Classic Sonic all that much. And them newer fans are all over that place.

 

It sounds like it's dark, but it's treated too lightly to actually be considered dark.

Besides, the world broke apart in Sonic Advance 3 too.

 

But it was done in such a cartoony way, I mean... demons that make Jason Griffith dance the night away babe, versus actual zombie demons. Nothing about the game wasn't light hearted and didn't make me question whether anyone was in serious danger.

 

Also, some "cute" flying thing called Chip who got that name because he likes ice cream. And a professor that likes sandwiches.
And Eggman is back to being silly.

I mean.

 

SA2 came out when I was 10 and I thought it was amazing. The giant lizard in space thing totally captured me, so I can say first hand that that sort of thing really does appeal to 10 year old boys.
Now though, I don't like that there's so few Sonic levels, and the cut scenes seem pretty lame. I don't think there should be more games like it, or pushed even further in that direction like '06.

 

SA2 was only the beginning of the downward spiral because nothing could top it

 

Exactly what I'm saying. Just because the game introduced all these game mechanics that made future Sonic titles all shit doesn't make this game at all shit. That'd be like saying Sonic Adventure was horrible because it introduced 3D platforming, the horrendous failure of which has contributed to the sucking of many Sonic games. Mind you, I'm not including 3D Blast in that example because it did suck substantial ass.