(DISCLAIMER: This is my first real blog series and it may be a mess grammar-wise or whatever and if it is I'm sorry! It's also worth mentioning I am NOT a huge Sonic fan, but I do have fond memories of him and will treat each game fairly).
Hey, guys! So every couple years or so I get a huge Sonic the Hedgehog craving. A week ago it happened again for the first time in a couple years and I found myself replaying Adventure DX, Adventure 2 Battle HD and Sonic Generations in about a week. I'm also a little ways into Unleashed (which is okay!) and have Heroes on the way in the mail. The goal with this blog series is to give a sort of mini-review for each game and at the end after I've played every single one of them (including 06, which I've never ever played!), give you my favourite to least-favourite. I hope you enjoy! This second blog will be focused on Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
The Story (3/5)
The story in Sonic Adventure 2, like in 1, is told through multiple " stories ", except this time around, you play as two separate groups of characters instead of six individual stories. The story itself starts off with Sonic being mistaken (somehow) with Shadow the Hedgehog, a mysterious black and red hedgehog that escaped from some military facility and can use a power called " Chaos Control " that basically lets him....I dunno, do stuff? Teleport is the big one. I can't go into much detail without spoiling it, but the story is a little more ambitious than 1's and the more focused structure definitely makes it more engaging. Once you beat the Good and Evil stories, you once again unlock a Last story that ends the game pretty terrifically and kind of emotionally, actually. Oh, and the cutscenes are way better this time around, so that helps quite a bit. The sound mixing is TERRIBLE, though, so good luck trying to hear anyone over the music.
The Gameplay (2/5)
The gameplay is divided up into two stories where you play as 3 characters at random moments in each one. While there are six playable characters, there's only 3 different play-styles, as each character in the two stories has an equivalent in the other story. Unsurprisingly, Sonic and Shadow's levels are by far the most enjoyable in the game. Sonic/Shadow are just your average 3D Sonic levels (and they're actually pretty great!), Knuckles/Rouge focus on painfully boring treasure hunt levels that drag on way too long, and Eggman/Tails focus on really easy, boring and slow third person shooting. The overall controls are about as clunky as they were in 1, but the level design is superior. The hub worlds were removed which is a shame, but they aren't really possible here anyway. The Chao Garden is back and more refined which is nice. Overall, simply too much of the game is boring/bad to really praise it all that much. Also, screw Sonic/Shadow's final levels and Last story's gameplay.
Final Thoughts (2/5)
Again, the game is far worse than I remember it being, but it was still better than the first at least. It has a decent story, mostly fun Sonic/Shadow levels, a good soundtrack and a good Chao Garden...mini game? Anyway, that wraps up the Adventure games (kind of). Next up is.....Sonic 06. Or maybe I'll wait and do Sonic Heroes first. Not sure! Anyway, thanks for reading!
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