Price: £35 Players: 1-4 Developer: SonicTeam Publisher: Sega
Before you get suspicious, this is no port of Sonic2, as found on SNK’s ill-fated Neo Geo Pocket Colour. No, what you’ve got here is a brand new, full-on 2D platformer, with 8 massive levels and a bush of extra stuff, including a Chao Garden for raising the little critters from Sonic’s Dreamcast outings. Also, there’s a Link mode that lets you exchange your Chao between Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for Nintendo’s splendid GameCube! Cool, or what?
Sega have pulled out all the stops- and it shows. Do you remember how tasty the first Sonic was on the Mega Drive? Well, believe it or not, Sonic Advance is even better looking, with more detail and some cool scaling effects. Of course, all the usual levels are there, from the Green Hill Zone- style opener to the super-steep Angel Island Zone.
And along the way you’ll encounter all the hallmarks from the original series: shield, spikes, bumpers, lampposts and Robot-o-field baddies. In addition to the Story Mode, you can test your best in Time Attack, or challenge a friend or three in either the single-cart or link-up multiplayer. Nothing’s been overlooked in this game.
Naturally, Sonic wouldn’t be complete without the appearance of archenemy, Dr Robotnik. And it seems he’s been up to his old tricks again, namely swiping the Chaos Emeralds to harness their power for world domination.
In Story Mode you can choose to play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles or Amy Rose, then bash, bounce and blast your way through seven levels. Each of these levels contains a hidden Special Stage that sees your character airboarding while trying to grab enough rings to secure a Chao Emerald.
Collect all seven and you get access to the eight level. And there’s more. Grab a hundred rings and you’ll transform into Super Sonic- the hedgehog’s fiery, yellow alter ego, first seen in Sonic 2. The only problem is that the special stages are incredibly tough, so you’ll have your work cut out if you want to watch the full ending.
It’s no surprise that Sonic’s finally his debut to the greatest handheld ever. Despite the 12 years since his debut, it’s as captivating, exciting and, more importantly, as fun as it ever was- but of Sega, I expect no less. This is one of the best GBA games I have.
Graphics Lush designs, cool FX and candy colour to tempt the eye.
Gameplay Good ol’ Sonic, the way we remember him. Jump, spin and dash your way to victory.
Length Getting those Emeralds is rock hard chore, so there’s load to keep you playing.
Irate this game: 9/10
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May 13th, 2002
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