Game Debate #48: Sonic Adventure

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

48 minutes ago, Sumez said:

And it's not close to being the best 3D Sonic game.

I'd believe it.  But it's by far the most celebrated and reminisced about, in general, imo.  That's what meant by heralded.

And any way you cut it, it's amazing how far apart Mario and Sonic grew in the last 25 years.

And I seriously doubt I waste my time with any 3D Sonic after this.  There has to be 1000 other more deserving games to get to.

[phart010 | 1,705]

This was the launch title and it was playable at kiosks in Target when Dreamcast first released. It was mesmerizing to look at, no other games looks this good at the time. 
 

I think the big jump in graphics from N64/PS2 to Dreamcast was what sold this game. I played it through and beat it with my brothers even though it was frustrating and sometimes cheesy just because of the graphics alone.

Edited May 8, 2021 by phart010

[mbd39 | 2,017]

9 minutes ago, phart010 said:

This was the launch title and it was playable at kiosks in Target when Dreamcast first released. It was mesmerizing to look at, no other games looks this good at the time. 
 

I think the big jump in graphics from N64/PS2 to Dreamcast was what sold this game. I played it through and beat it with my brothers even though it was frustrating and sometimes cheesy just because of the graphics alone.

At the time it was like playing a roller coaster. There wasn't anything else like it. There's some jank but easily overlooked because of how exciting it was.

[Sumez | 2,931]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

And I seriously doubt I waste my time with any 3D Sonic after this.  There has to be 1000 other more deserving games to get to.

See that's what's too bad about it. Sonic Adventure shouldn't be the poster child for anything Sonic. Generations is a great game, and just keep that at the back of your mind if you ever come across a copy.

[MagusSmurf | 577]

I'd actually say Sonic Adventure 2 is more popular and fondly remembered than this game. It made less of an immediate splash since it was less novel by that point and the Dreamcast was dead in the water but the Gamecube release made it a foundational game for a whole new generation, people were excited about Sonic on a Nintendo console, it introduced series mainstay Shadow the Hedgehog (also Rouge), and people loved to meme up the dialogue while nobody really seems to care about Sonic Adventure 1's story. This should not be taken to imply that Sonic Adventure 2 is necessarily a particularly good game either! Does ditch the overworld and the fishing though and the collision detection and the like is probably better in general, which is something.

And while I don't think Sonic Adventure was generally hated from the beginning, its critical reputation seems to have already been pretty well sunk even by 2003, when the only "real" 3D sonic games we had were still the first two Adventures:

https://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/sonic-adventure-dx-directors-cut

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

I played through it over the weekend since I had some free time at night.

Definitely felt like an N64 platformer with a few good ideas (the late airship level where you're climbing to the center area, permanent character upgrades), and tons of poor execution (basically everything).  And some of the stuff is just horrendous (voice acting, script, animation, bugs, camera, and so forth).

And yet I can't say I hated the experience or anything.  I almost never do.  Guess I'm easy to please in some sense.  So it's getting a 4/10.  Which is probably the lowest score I've given out across almost 50 debates.

[SpoonMan Abrams X | 697]

3D Sonic Games have never excited me, and this one is no exception

5/10

[Sumez | 2,931]

11 hours ago, MagusSmurf said:

And while I don't think Sonic Adventure was generally hated from the beginning, its critical reputation seems to have already been pretty well sunk even by 2003, when the only "real" 3D sonic games we had were still the first two Adventures:

https://www.metacritic.com/game/gamecube/sonic-adventure-dx-directors-cut

You also gotta keep in mind that at the time the first Sonic Adventure came out, Sonic was a beloved franchise that was considered a valid "competitor" to Mario, known for high quality games.

Even if we accept that it got higher review scores than it deserved (mostly due to the hype and spectacle I guess?), it was still a massive letdown at the time. It was the game that transformed Sonic from one of the biggest video game icons to a mediocre 3D platformer underdog.

When I say people didn't like Sonic Adventure when it came out, I'm not talking reviews, I'm talking about my peers, fans of the series who had been waiting for a 3D Sonic equivalent ever since Super Mario 64 came out. Even if some people maybe did like the game, it felt so different from anything Sonic had been up until that point, it was really hard to see the appeal in it.

What's weird to me is that Sonic Heroes, which is basically Sonic Adventure 3, is probably the most overlooked game in the franchise, and one of the most lowest rated ones, but it improves pretty much every shitty aspect of the first two SA games (even if it's nowhere near as refined as Generations).
Of course, it also introduced the series mainstay of every new entry coming with issues of its own in the form of unique gimmicks that just never work. The 3 person team mechanic was just annoying, and served no real purpose, so I guess that's why a lot of people hate it.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Sumez