In terms of gameplay, is Sonic Adventure DX substantially different from the Dreamcast version?

As far as im aware, it's TECHNICALLY the same game, but with an extra layer of bugs and plastic coating. Personally the updated character models alone are enough for me to knock it below the original version, because they only bothered to update the playable characters while leaving most of the other NPC's and Eggman untouched. As a result, you have this jarring experience where even though the playable characters are given new coats of paint, everything else is clearly a few years behind and makes the game come off as more unpolished as a result.

 

I got to try the DC version recently for the first time. There’s a bit of a smoother feel than in other versions due to the analogue stick, at least from what I experienced.

 

also it having a more consistent 30fps framerate than DX's technically-60-but-not-really I imagine contributes to gamefeel too.

 

Yep, but the GameCube controller’s analogue really doesn’t help. Very rigid in comparison.

 

I got a DC and a used controller wtih SA1 and SA2. … it’s kind of really hard to walk straight/walk precisely for me since I’m used to the GC controller’s analogue notches. Holding forward in the City Escape board section doesn’t really go perfectly forward either.

Is this how it always was, or might the used controller be “bla?” I kind of wish I could find a brand new one somewhere on ebay for a sanity check.

The controls definitely feel different and slippery, but it might be because of my muscle memory / maybe by design the controls were less precise.

Sidenote: there’s a section in Final Rush with the end-of-rail tricks that seems to launch Sonic to death almost every time. What…

 

I don't recall having issues with the Dreamcast analog myself.

The shoulder buttons made my fingers hurt at times after prolonged use, but that's a different matter altogether.

I think that might be it. Like the people in this thread who claimed the GC ports had analog control issues and blamed it on things like the GC pad or framerate, even though I had no such issues there either.

From my experience, many of the criticisms and complaints gamers make about input devices actually boil down to what one is used to, rather than actual issues.

 

Maybe. The analogue’s texture points (or whatever you call the dots) are also kind of worn-down on this one too, but I don’t mind too much.

Input lag also probably figures into it. I have gamemode on an LCD, but I might have only ever played it on CRTs before, even on GC. (This is a modded DC that upscales really crisply.)

 

That's funny because I have the same issue with the Switch Pro Controller. Am I holding it wrong? Am I just at the wrong angle to my TV? The Switch joysticks are differently manufactured, I'm certain that I've read that somewhere once.

As of now, I think it was just a skill issue on my behalf.

Also, the GameCube controller was goated back then. Nintendo probably worked around this exact issue.

 

I will say that once I got more of a hang of the controls, it did feel smooth in a nice way that the GC controls didn’t. I’d say it’s closer to how Unleashed feels when you’re starting-out trying to get used to the DC controls.

 

I played SA1 and 2 recently on a dreamcast emulator with a 360 controller and it legit was harder since I was used to the Gamecube controller. I don't have any experience with the Dreamcast controller, but the notches in the Gamecube's analog stick are really convenient.

 

I get your point, but for this instance I don’t think holding forward does anything. I just go left/right when boarding. Could be wrong though and I’m screwing myself out of better times.

 

I think you’re right. I’m not really supposed to hold forward there, strangely.

 

IIRC the dreamcast controller had no deadzone, so it feels funny unless you go into the emulator settings and crank it up.

or it's just placebo effect on my part lol

 

I realized I had a lot of input lag on my tv. I fixed that and now the DC versions feel almost just like the GC versions in terms of responsiveness, if not better due to the lack of the polygonal edges of the GC analogue. It’s smooth!