Game Debate #48: Sonic Adventure

[Reed Rothchild | 9,522]

 

[Gloves | 11,776]

Never played it.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

This is one of few Dreamcast games that I really enjoyed back in the day, but it's been years. Tentative rating of 7.

 

[peg | 370]

For that cover alone it should be a 1/10.

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

Tried to play it a few different times, but I could not get into it.  Sonic does not work for me in 3D.  

[Gloves | 11,776]

27 minutes ago, peg said:

For that cover alone it should be a 1/10.

I initially responded by doing an "eyeroll" emote. But then I was like... nah let's give him a chance. I scrolled back up, and really LOOKED at the cover.

God damn it, you right.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,522]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I initially responded by doing an "eyeroll" emote. But then I was like... nah let's give him a chance. I scrolled back up, and really LOOKED at the cover.

God damn it, you right.

 

[spacepup | 2,404]

Hey, it could certainly be worse.

[Gloves | 11,776]

6 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

Woof.

[Gloves | 11,776]

5 minutes ago, spacepup said:

Hey, it could certainly be worse.

Also woof.

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

5/10

I only played this at my friend's house when it first came out. It has such a flashy, good first impression (minus the crappy first level, I mean Emerald Coast). So my memories of it are just playing Emerald Coast over and over really.

I played through the PC version when that came out and Jesus this game is pretty bad, particularly the "Adventure" part of it. It's so damn slow and boring!! There are flashes of what it feels like a 3D Sonic should be, running vertically down the side of a building, snowboarding down an avalanche, etc. and it's broken up by sections walking around town talking to people. Who wants to do that!!!

[Strange | 1,700]

When I was a kid and my brother brought home the Dreamcast for the first time, this one really stood out for me.

Today it’s not really my thing (prefer 2D Sonic) but it’s okay for what it is. I gave it a 7.

[RH | 4,903]

I don't think I've ever played this.  Not even for 5 minutes.  I do remember seeing it as a kid, and watching others play it for a bit, and 3D Sonic just seemed wrong.

I never gave it a try because I didn't want to NOT like it.  Today, however, it's on my short list of DC games to pick up and try.

[RH | 4,903]

55 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Scott Pilgrim.  Why would they blatantly rip off the Sonic Adventure cover (because they did)?

[koifish | 555]

14 minutes ago, RH said:

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Scott Pilgrim.  Why would they blatantly rip off the Sonic Adventure cover (because they did)?

My guess is that since Scott Pilgrim has a lot of "so epic reference" to it, that they are continuing the trend here. It's just that they reference things that are 20 years old, so where the original comic/movie/game references NES games, those are no longer vintage en vogue, and so they've moved up to something 20 years old by today, aka dreamcast. Maybe also they want to tap into sonic fandom for sales, because that is a big and active fandom that will not hesitate to throw money at things indiscriminately (see also, the countless horrible sonic games that somehow still weren't total financial failures).

 

Anyway I'm giving this game a 3 and I feel like that's generous. This game is a sloppy pile of gimmicks that attempts to move sonic into 3D and which only really benefits from nostalgia and from being the first attempt (no one counts 3D Blast nor the CD special stages). The only thing that really translated well at all was the popcorn spectacles that cemented their place in sonic 2 and 3 (aka "wow look at how fast you're going even though you aren't actually doing anything"). While it still ends up much better than later 3D sonic games in certain respects, it manages to still be a mess that doesn't always run correctly and which often will punish you for failing to adapt to its sloppy design (ie. If you don't follow the curve perfectly on some sonic running sections, you can just accidentally clip through walls/floors to your death). The non-sonic platforming parts aren't bad, because they are just normal 3d games, though some are better than others. In the end, I find it difficult to see this game as anything more than another step in the wrong direction for the series, and ultimately a finished but ugly mess of a game (as opposed to sequels which would prove to be ugly but less messy, or just worse in multiple respects).

 

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

Dreamcast version: 7/10

GameCube version: 8/10

Played it a lot at Blockbuster in 2000 or so (didn't rent it, I think they had a Dreamcast Kiosk), and later bought the GameCube version. The soundtrack made me appreciate music more (both video game music as well as music from real bands). I imported the 2 disc Japanese soundtrack in 2004, and remember being surprised that the music for the first part of Emerald Coast is twice as long as what is heard in the game. It's a pretty good game, but man it's full of glitches and earlier copies of the Dreamcast version don't even have a full English voice track. I finally got a copy of the Dreamcast version last year (without a case, but a friend gave it to me for free along with some Dreamcast demo discs). It has the Sega All-Stars logo, so it is a later and more polished copy with both English and Japanese voice tracks but still has plenty of glitches.

I've been playing the GameCube version since 2004 and despite having even more glitches, I think I like it a little more because of its inclusion of every Sonic Game Gear game (even ones that were originally only released in Japan), higher quality audio (only the original Japanese Dreamcast version from 1998 has comparable audio quality), increased framerate, the Free Camera option, and being able to play as Metal Sonic after collecting every Emblem. I feel the same way about Sonic Adventure 2 as well, which is also somewhat unpolished on the Dreamcast (no opening, lower framerate in Versus mode, odd glitches/oversights in certain cutscenes). It's like Sonic Team didn't have quite enough time to finish the Dreamcast versions, but then polished them when they released them for GameCube. That being said I like playing both versions of the original (I also like both versions of the sequel), and Sonic Adventure was one of the games that made me want a Dreamcast 20 or so years ago (the other being Crazy Taxi).

Edited May 6, 2021 by MegaMan52

[Strange | 1,700]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

I initially responded by doing an "eyeroll" emote. But then I was like... nah let's give him a chance. I scrolled back up, and really LOOKED at the cover.

God damn it, you right.

Hope I don’t catch a ban for this

[croagunk | 798]

8/10 for me. Never played the Dreamcast one as I never had a Dreamcast, but I played the GameCube version a lot when it came out. Unpopular opinion, but 3D Sonic is my favorite Sonic. Love 2D Sonic, too.

Edited May 6, 2021 by croagunk

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

1 hour ago, RH said:

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Scott Pilgrim.  Why would they blatantly rip off the Sonic Adventure cover (because they did)?

 

Because why not?

 

Nintendo, when someone copies their IP:  DELETE THIS NOW!!!

Sega, when someone copies their IP:  That's sweet.  I can't believe people still think about us sometimes.  

[Hammerfestus | 3,837]

Im confused.  There were games after sonic & knuckles?

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

Sonic's 'tude in that pic seems really familiar.  Something else from that era that I can't quite put my finger on...

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

1 hour ago, Hammerfestus said:

Im confused.  There were games after sonic & knuckles?

Sonic Mania is so good! (Sonic Heroes is pretty good too, just don't tell anyone I said so)

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 hours ago, Strange said:

Hope I don’t catch a ban for this

Garfield I can tolerate but that Mario is terrifying. 

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

Just now, JamesRobot said:

Sonic's 'tude in that pic seems really familiar.  Something else from that era that I can't quite put my finger on...

Lol!  I know what it is.