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Sonic Adventure

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Sonic Adventure Dreamcast

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in their quests to collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Doctor Robotnik from unleashing Chaos, an ancient evil. Controlling one of the six characters—each with their own abilities—players complete levels to progress the story. Sonic Adventure retains many elements from prior Sonic games, such as power-ups and the ring-based healthsystem. Outside the main game, players can play minigameslike racing and interact with Chao, a virtual pet.

Sonic Team began developing Sonic Adventure in 1997, after the cancellation of the Sega Saturn game Sonic X-treme. Led by director Takashi Iizuka and producer Yuji Naka, the team strove to reinvent Sonic for the 3D era of video games. Adventure features a stronger emphasis on storytelling and role-playing elements in contrast to previous Sonic games, while Yuji Uekawa redesigned the series's characters for their transition to 3D. Sonic Team attempted to demonstrate the technical prowess of the Dreamcast with realistic graphics and drew inspiration from locations in Peruand Guatemala. The soundtrack was primarily composed by Jun Senoue, who preferred rock music over the electropopof previous Sonic games.

Following its reveal at the Tokyo International Forum in August 1998, Sonic Adventure was highly anticipated and was released in Japan in December 1998 and worldwide in September 1999. It received critical acclaim and became the Dreamcast's bestseller, with 2.5 million copies sold by August 2006. Reviewers considered Adventure a major technical advancement and praised the visuals and gameplay. Though critics noted glitches and camera problems, and reactions to the audio were mixed, they considered Sonic Adventure an exceptional game; some speculated that it could help re-establish Sega as the dominant console manufacturer after the unsuccessful Saturn.

Journalists have retrospectively ranked Sonic Adventure among the best Sonic games, and it is recognized as an important release in both the series and the platform genre. Many characters and concepts introduced in Adventure recur in later Sonic games. A sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, was released in 2001. Adventure was ported to the GameCube and Windows in 2003 with altered graphics and more challenges, while a high-definition version was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010 and for Windows in 2011. Reviews for these releases were less positive; critics felt the game had not aged well and ran at an inconsistent frame rate.

Gameplay[]

Sonic Adventure is a 3D platform game with action and role-playing elements. Players control one of six anthropomorphicprotagonists as they venture to defeat Doctor Robotnik and his robot army, who seek the seven magical Chaos Emeralds and the evil entity Chaos. Six player characters are unlocked as the game progresses, each with their own story and attributes. Sonic the Hedgehog performs a spin dash, homing attack, and light-speed dash; Miles "Tails" Prower flies, swims, and attacks robots using his tails; Knuckles the Echidna glides, climbs walls, and punches; Amy Rose can defeat enemies using her hammer; Big the Cat is slow and carries a fishing rod he can cast; and E-102 Gamma can shoot laser beams.

At the start of the game, the player is placed in one of three Adventure Fields, open-ended hub worldsinhabited by advice-giving non-player characters. The player character is guided and instructed by the voice of Tikal the Echidna. Through exploration, the player discovers entrances to levels called Action Stages, some of which must be opened using keys hidden in the Adventure Field. Once the player accesses an Action Stage, they are tasked with a specific objective, which is different for each character. Sonic must reach the level's end like in prior Sonic the Hedgehog games; Tails must reach the end before Sonic; Knuckles must find three hidden shards of the Master Emerald; Amy must solve puzzles and avoid being caught by a robot; Big must fish for his pet frog; and Gamma must fight his way through stages using projectiles as a defense.

Some levels include minigames separate from the main story. These feature different styles of gameplay, among them rail shooting, racing, and sandboarding. Some minigames can only be accessed with particular characters. Fulfilling certain objectives allows the player to obtain bonus items. Unlocked minigames and stages the player has completed can be accessed from a Trial Mode on the title screen.

Like previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, players collect golden rings as a form of health: if the player character is in possession of rings when they are hit by an enemy or other hazard, they will survive, but their rings will scatter and blink before disappearing. Canisters containing power-ups, such as speed shoes, additional rings, invincibility, and protective shields, are also hidden in levels. In several stages, the player engages Robotnik or Chaos in a boss fight and must deplete the boss's health meter to proceed. Each character starts with a limited number of lives, and the player loses a life if the character drowns, gets crushed, or is hit without any rings in their possession. The game ends when the player runs out of lives. Lives can be replenished by collecting 100 rings or a 1-up.

Players may also discover Chao Gardens, hidden, protective environments inhabited by Chao, a virtual pet. Players can hatch, name, and interact with multiple Chao, and they can raise the status of their Chao by giving them small animals, which can be collected by defeating enemies within the Action Stages. The Dreamcast's handheld Visual Memory Unit (VMU) allows the player to download the minigame Chao Adventure, in which their Chao walks through a course to evolve and improve its skills. Evolving one's Chao improves its performance in competitions called Chao Races. Eggs that can produce special types of Chao are hidden throughout the Adventure Fields. Players can earn emblems by playing through Action Stages, searching through the Adventure Fields, or winning Chao Races. Each Action Stage has three emblems that can be earned by replaying the stages and fulfilling objectives, such as beating the level within a time limit.

Release Date[]

  • JP: December 23, 1998
  • NA: September 9, 1999
  • PAL: September 23, 1999

Also See[]

Sound Effects Used[]

Image Gallery[]

Audio Samples[]

Sound Ideas, BIRD, PARROT - SMALL SINGLE CALL, ANIMAL 02 (low pitched):

External Links[]

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