A Historical Note Regarding Sonic Adventure

The game Sonic Adventure was released at an interesting time. At the time of it’s release (in the late 1990’s), computer games were being released that demonstrated the transformation of series from 2-dimensional designs into 3-dimensional environments. It also marked the period where the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games declined in popularity among both critics and audiences.

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Sonic Adventure was originally released on the Sega Dreamcast in 1998. At this time, games like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were released. These games featured heroes, who had previously appeared in 2-dimensional adventures, exploring 3-dimensional environments. These games seemed to attempt to maintain some of the ethos of the previous games, while also incorporating new ideas. For example, Super Mario 64 used many of the same enemies and fighting techniques from previous Mario games, but used a challenge-based gameplay, instead of reaching the end of a series of levels.

Sonic Adventure seemed to incorporate a mixture of features from previous games, the development of elements that were used in older games and new ideas suitable for a 3-dimensional game. Some of the gameplay methods, such as rings functioning as the character’s health and the power-ups found in the game, were familiar elements of Sonic the Hedgehog games. The action stages that comprised Sonic’s and Tail’s stories seemed to resemble 3-dimensional versions of levels used in previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, whereby the player had to follow a path to reach the end of the level, which was designed to increase the character’s speed. The gameplay for the action stages during Knuckles’ story was similar to the gameplay for previous Sonic the Hedgehog games that used 3-dimensional environments (i.e. Sonic 3D and Sonic Labyrinth), whereby the player searched a location to find a number of objects.

Some ideas used in the game were found in previous games, but were developed further. The Chaos Emeralds appeared in most Sonic the Hedgehog games and collecting them usually allowed the player to transform Sonic into Super Sonic. The Master Emerald was first used in Sonic 3. Previous games did not explain what the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald were or how they caused Super Sonic to appear. The story of Sonic Adventure included a backstory that described the history of these items and explained the link between obtaining the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic transforming into Super Sonic.

In older Sonic the Hedgehog games, it was common for animals to appear after an enemy was destroyed, as if the animal had been imprisoned inside the hostile robot. These animals did not affect the game, they appeared and then ran away, although their presence implied that Sonic’s mission was to rescue the local inhabitants. In Sonic Adventure, these animals appeared after an enemy was defeated, however, the player was able to use them. The player could collect a number of animals during the action stages and, after completing the level, present them to the Chao living in the Chao Gardens. The Chao were able to absorb power from the animals, which caused the Chao to improve a specific characteristic that could be used in the Chao Races. Like in previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, the player was able to access the fight against a final boss (called Perfect Chaos) and fully complete Sonic Adventure after they had completed a set criteria (which was completing all the other stories).

Some aspects of Sonic Adventure seemed to be included to utilise the 3-dimensional design of the game and to make the game more modern. The story for the game was much more complex than previous games in the series and was told using animated sequences. Most of the characters also developed during their individual adventure, which added to the complexity of the game’s plot. Rather than using a series of unconnected levels, the action stages in this game were linked by adventure hubs, which the player could also explore. The gameplay for Amy’s story used a chase mechanic, while the action stages during Gamma’s adventure had an objective-based gameplay method and an unusual timed-based mechanic. The gameplay for Big’s adventure resembled a fishing simulator, rather than an action platformer. The Chao subgame was similar to a game from a series like Pokemon, whereby the player found a creature, trained it and helped it grow and then entered it into competitions to win prizes. The Sky Chase sublevels functioned as rail shooters, whereby the player followed a set course and were able to shoot enemies.

As well as incorporating elements to utilise the 3-dimensional environments, the Sonic Adventure game also seemed to feature ideas that were used in later games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Although my experience of later Sonic the Hedgehog games was limited to Sonic Heroes and Sonic and the Secret Rings, I recognised parts of this game in the later games. The action stages used for Sonic’s story resembled the levels used for later Sonic the Hedgehog games, with the player following a path through a 3-dimensional environment to reach the end and the levels designed to increase the character’s speed. In each action stage that the player encountered during Sonic’s story, something (such as a whale or a boulder) chased Sonic and the camera angle changed so it faced Sonic and the player had to evade the pursuer, which was a concept that was repeated in later games.

As well as using features that were repeated in later games in the series, Sonic Adventure also had a clear legacy. In 2003, Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut was released, which expanded upon the original game, including adding Cream, a character that featured in later Sonic the Hedgehog games. In 2001, a sequel (called Sonic Adventure 2) was released. Sonic X, an animated TV programme, was created later and part of the first series mirrored the story for the Sonic Adventure game.

As well as demonstrating the transformation of the design of Sonic the Hedgehog games from 2-dimensions into 3-dimensions, Sonic Adventure also marked the demise of the series. Since the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game in 1991, Sonic games were consistently popular. This period of computer game history was known as the Console Wars, as Sega (the company that created Sonic) competed with Nintendo (the market leader) to dominate the computer game market. Over the years, a series of Sonic the Hedgehog games were released, on consoles developed by Sega, to critical acclaim, however, later Sonic the Hedgehog games were given negative reviews by critics.

Figure 1 showed the score awarded, by the Gamespot website, to each Sonic the Hedgehog game released between 1991 and 2017. Only games released on non-handheld consoles were included and the relevant data was not found for the Sonic and Knuckles game. The results of the data were limited because a single review website was used, therefore, they did not represent the opinions of many critics.

Figure 1 showed that many of the early Sonic the Hedgehog games maintained high scores, while a lot of the Sonic the Hedgehog games released after Sonic Adventure were awarded lower scores. Interestingly, 2 games released before Sonic Adventure were given lower scores than some of the later games, these games (Sonic 3D and Sonic R) used 3-dimensional designs, although Sonic R was a racing game. It was also notable that some of the later games that achieved a higher score incorporated mechanics from the 2-dimensional Sonic the Hedgehog games (specifically Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania).

Sonic the Hedgehog games released after Sonic Adventure did not sell as many units as the earlier games, which reflected their unpopularity among the audience. Figure 2 showed the amount of units, that were sold, of each Sonic game, according to the VGChartz website, and only games released on non-handheld consoles were included. This data was limited because figures were not found for the Sonic Spinball, Sonic R and Sonic Shuffle games. Data for the Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Part 1 game was not found because it was only available by being downloaded. Sonic the Hedgehog games released before the Sonic Heroes game were released exclusively on consoles developed by Sega, but, afterwards, they were released on a variety of consoles, therefore, one console, that the game was originally available to play on, was selected as a representative sample of the amount of copies of the game that were sold, which affected the reliability of the results. A very high number of units of the Sonic the Hedgehog game were sold because copies of the game were included with the Mega Drive, which also affected the reliability of the results.

Figure 2 demonstrated that many of the Sonic the Hedgehog games released after Sonic Adventure did not sell as many units as the earlier games. Interestingly, less units of the Sonic 3D game, which presented with a lower score than the later games, were sold, while the Sonic Generations game, which was awarded with a fairly high score, was not more commercially successful than the other later Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Interestingly, the Sonic Adventure game appeared to be both praised by reviewers and commercially successful. Figure 1 showed that Sonic Adventure was awarded the highest score and figure 2 demonstrated that more copies of it were sold than most of the other Sonic the Hedgehog games. This suggested that Sonic the Hedgehog games could have been created, using 3-dimensional environments, that were popular among critics and audiences, if the correct elements from Sonic Adventure were implemented properly. Bartholomew (2000), in a review for the Gamespot website, praised the game’s fast pace, straightforward and linear design, inventive and effective boss fights, high quality graphics, large and detailed environments and clear music. It was even stated that the different gameplay mechanics were enjoyable in different ways and that raising Chao was the most interesting aspect of the game.

Sonic Adventure was originally released on the Dreamcast, which was the last console to be developed by Sega. Since the release of the first entry in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog games were played on consoles developed by Sega, including handheld consoles, however, at the time of writing, Sega had not developed a console since the Dreamcast. This seemed to represent a decline in the corporate power of Sega and meant that Sonic was no longer exclusive to consoles developed by Sega, which ended the Sonic the Hedgehog games’ role as the most prominent game of the console they were released on.

The increasing popularity of the Sonic the Hedgehog games, followed by the downfall of the series, appeared to be an interesting and thoroughly analysed aspect of gaming history. A range of articles had been written that discussed the decrease in quality of later Sonic the Hedgehog games, with a variety of opinion on the reasons why later games were unpopular and the actual game that marked the point where the series started to decline in prominence. For example, Gallagher (2016) claimed that releasing the Sega Saturn console without an accompanying Sonic game caused the decline in popularity of the Sonic the Hedgehog games, along with Sega’s weakened corporate status, while Shea (2016) stated that developing games on other consoles, changing the gameplay mechanics between games, creating spin-off games and developing the games within a short amount of time also contributed to the series’ decline.

Weirdly, the Sonic and the Secret Rings game appeared to be commercially successful and critically popular. Figure 1 suggested that the game was awarded a comparatively high score compare to other Sonic the Hedgehog games released at the time, while Figure 2 demonstrated that more copies of the game were sold than most of the other Sonic the Hedgehog games. I, personally, was not aware if Sonic and the Secret Rings was a popular game or considered to be of a high quality, however, only one review website was used and did not represent the views of other critics.

In conclusion, Sonic Adventure was an interesting game. The game represented the transformation of the Sonic the Hedgehog series from 2-dimensional games into 3-dimensional games and the game used a mixture of features found in previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, the development of ideas from the older games and new elements created to add complexity and utilise the 3-dimensional designs. The game also informed other aspects of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, such as a sequel and a story that featured in an animated series. Some of the new ideas that were developed for the game were also used in later games. As well as demonstrating the development of 3-dimensional Sonic the Hedgehog games, the release of Sonic Adventure also marked the time when the Sonic the Hedgehog series became less popular among critics and audiences.

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References

A Review of Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut (PC)

2003

The Stories

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Each character’s story was listed individually. The highlighted parts of the story indicated events which also took place in another character’s story.

Sonic

The residents of Station Square enjoyed the peace at night. People walked along the streets and past the railway station and shops with no particular sense of urgency. The peace was broken by a helicopter flying above the streets, a bright light fixed to it’s underside illuminating the darkness. A strange ball of red light followed the helicopter as it hurried to it’s destination.

Sonic appeared, leaping from building to building, before making a large jump to land on a rooftop. “Ah, Yeah! This is happenin’!” He announced, his face illuminated by a warm light. He looked down to see a group of four police cars speeding along a road in a reckless, yet comical, manner. Sonic jumped down to the ground to follow them. “What’s up?” He asked his deserted surroundings before rolling into a ball to follow the vehicles that drew his interest.

As drops of rain started falling from the sky, police vehicles and armed officers faced a large, grand building. A strange creature, coloured bright blue with a human-like shape and a visible brain, jumped down from the top of the structure. The creature landed on a concrete awning and surveyed the nearby people with large, green eyes. The creature’s body appeared to be like liquid, with bubbles visibly travelling through it’s body. “You are completely surrounded!” One police office commanded, while others took up positions nearby, their guns trained on the unusual lifeform. “Surrender yourself!”

A few tense moments took place while the police, ready to open fire with sub-machine guns, waited for the blue creature’s response. Suddenly, the creature jumped a huge height into the air and landed in front of the officers. The officers, believing this to be a hostile act, prepared an appropriate reaction.

“Lock on target, men!” The lead officer commanded, “Ready?” A brief pause occurred “FIRE!”.

The assembled armed police officers fired volleys of bullets at the strange being. The creature did not react, instead, the fired bullets fell from it’s body and it remained unharmed.

“Oh no! Our weapons are useless!” One of the men shouted. The officers retreated while one remained with their gun pointed at their enemy, “Retreat! All personnel, fall back!” He told the others. The remaining officer fired a few useless bullets at the creature.

Sonic jumped onto a nearby police car. “Ah, yeah! This could be fun!” He announced before jumping onto the ground in front of the creature.

The two combatants faced each other before the battle began. Continue reading →

10 Weird Aspects of Computer Games

This article listed 10 weird aspects of various computer games. The list only included things from computer games I have personally played and found strange. I have also used specific aspects of each game, rather than using general ideas, such as entire games or every enemy. I have also refrained from adding weird levels because I may create a separate list that focused on these items. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.

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10. Recorded Laughter from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was a highly unusual game that featured the villains performing a song, a submarine filled with vicious sushi and weird enemies, such as flat sumo wrestlers. The story also involved the heroes paying a large amount of money to a witch to summon the spirit of a character, whose implied death was witnessed previously, only for the same character to be found alive later in the game.

The most unusual aspect of the game, however, was the recorded laughter that played whenever a character said anything humorous. It was very strange for a game to use recorded laughter in a similar manner to a sitcom, particularly as the game seemed to be an epic adventure, rather than a comedy game, and because some of the lines that the laughter was played for were not actually funny. One of the most bizarre uses of this effect occurred when one of the minor villains was annoyed by the heroes and left the area, which led to the sound of a round of applause playing in the background, as if he was a popular comedy character.

9. Ouromov’s Briefcase from Goldeneye 007

The Goldeneye 007 game mirrored the plot of the Goldeneye film, however, certain levels were included in the game that were not linked to the film. One of these levels was Silo.

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10 Irritating Enemies From Computer Games (Part 2)

This was a continuation of the list of irritating enemies from computer games. This list contained enemies from games that I have played and were irritating to me personally. The list was not placed in any order as I found it difficult to rate each enemy differently.

5. Artilleries from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

It was quiet in the GDI base. The GDI, a military force setup to combat the villainy of the evil NOD organisation, was slowly building a formidable base to launch an attack from. Soldiers were being trained, machinery was being built and the commanders were developing a strategy to fight the nearby NOD forces. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the base’s construction yard, the building that enabled the construction of the base. Pandemonium reigned as explosive shells fell out of the sky, destroying buildings and vehicles and killing soldiers, despite no enemy equipment being present in the local area. By the end of the attack, only a few buildings remained, but nothing could be built, recruits could not be trained, vehicles could not be constructed, no power was being generated, the vast army was reduced to a pile of dead bodies and ruined machines and the commander felt a sharp sense of unexpected failure. The lone attacker, an artillery, lowered it’s gun and returns to it’s headquarters from it’s attacking position, which was located far away from the ruins of the GDI base.

There was something especially annoying about this enemy, particularly as it was able to destroy bases and units and undo the player’s hard work very easily, while maintaining a safe distance. Two or more artilleries positioned together were extremely deadly as it only needed a few shells to destroy a building and they harmed it at a faster rate than it was repaired, meaning the targeted building was usually destroyed. The artilleries also had an accuracy rate of 100%, even against moving targets, which made them difficult to attack. When the artillery fired, it became visible among the darkness of the unexplored land, as if to invite the player to fight it, however, anyone the player sent would have had to avoid the barrage of shells from the vehicle and fight any enemies that were inevitably guarding it.

In summary, artilleries were enemies that could, without any prior expectation, cause the destruction of entire bases and annihilation of large armies without the player being able to prevent it.

A similarly irritating enemy were the V2 Rocket Launchers from Command & Conquer: Red Alert as these were also able to easily destroy structures and units from a long-range, but I decided to add the Artilleries to the list instead as these units had a greater range and direction of fire.

4. Spirits from Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

During the Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation game, Lara Croft, the hero, released some spirits into the world. These spirits flew through the air to follow Lara and, if they came into contact with her, they caused her to lose a little of her health. They were also almost invincible, with the only way to defeat them was to for them to fly into one of the mysterious stone statues that were placed in the levels.

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10 Irritating Enemies From Computer Games (Part 1)

This post listed 10 irritating enemies found in computer games. The entrants were the enemies that did not have an unique name, but formed part of the army that attacked the hero and prevented them from accomplishing their quest. These characters stood out from the other enemies because of their ability to irritate the player through the use of annoying tactics, overly-powerful weapons and cheating.

The list was also based on my personal experience, so I have only included characters from games that I have played and enemies that I, personally, found irritating. The entrants on the list were not placed in any particular order as I found it difficult to 

10. The Berserker Uruk-Hai from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers game was based on the film with the same name. At some point during the game, the player had to fight Uruk-Hai warriors and their introduction reflected the same time that these creatures were created during the film’s story. It also marked the point in the game that the player started to fight battles against the Berserker Uruk-Hai.

The Berserker Uruk-Hai were armed with a strange sword, that they would use by swinging it in a large circle above their head, and wore only a pair of trousers and a helmet. If the player was hit by the Uruk-Hai’s sword, their character would always fall to the ground and become very vulnerable to attack. The Uruk-Hai would then utilise an extremely irritating tactic, whereby they would knock the player to the ground, step back to dodge the player’s rising attack as their character got to their feet, time their next swing as the player completed the rising attack so the player could not dodge it, knock the player to the ground again and then repeat until the player’s character had died. Weirdly, if the player struck the Berserker Uruk-Hai, sometimes it would make a clang sound, as if the weapon had hit armour instead of bare flesh, and the Uruk-Hai remained unharmed.

The Berserker Uruk-Hai’s tactic made them a difficult foe to fight and the clanging when the player struck their body made it seem like a legitimate blow had been ignored, making this enemy both challenging and annoying.

9. The Members of the Leone Mafia from Grand Theft Auto 3

A variety of gangs claimed areas of Liberty City, the setting for Grand Theft Auto 3, as their territory and fiercely attacked any enemies that ventured inside. During the course of the story, the player assassinated Salvatore Leone, the leader of the Leone Mafia, and became an enemy of the gang. Continue reading →

Initial Impressions of the NES Classic Games

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was a popular computer game console and some of it’s games became famous, while others started well-known computer game series. I, however, have never played any of the games released on the original NES, but I have played the games available on the NES Classic Mini, which was a device that allowed players to play 30 games that were developed for the actual NES. As someone who was unfamiliar with the original games available on the NES, I thought it would be interesting to find out how I felt playing the first few minutes of these famous games.

To clarify, the reviews of the games listed in this blog post were not based on the entirety of the game. The opinions discussed were based on playing the beginning of the games. I did not play each of the games for the same amount of time, some of the reviews were based on the first hour of playing the game, but some reviews were based on my impressions of playing the first few minutes of the game.

Balloon Fight

This was an arcade-like game where the player progressed through a series of levels and obtained points to achieve a high score. The player completed levels and collected points by defeating enemies. Enemies were defeated by the player flying into the balloons that allowed them to float in the air, which caused them to fall into water or onto ground, where the player had to hit them again to stop them flying. The player had to avoid hitting the body of the enemies, with the player losing a balloon each time contact was made.

The game felt difficult to control, as the player tapped one button to rise up and stop pressing the button to fall, which made the player feel as if they were floating across the sky. It also felt unusual that the player could fly into one side of the screen and reappear at the other side and that touching the ground was harmless, but falling into water was fatal. The game also used an attractive contrasting colour scheme, which consisted of bright colours against a black background filled with stars. The game, however, did not use music, instead a series of high-pitched noises were played during the game.

There was also an alternative mode of the game, called Balloon Run. This mode involved the player flying across the screen and avoiding obstacles.

Bubble Bobble

This was an arcade-like game where the player progressed through a series of levels and obtained points to achieve a high score. The player completed levels and gathered points by defeating enemies and collecting items. Enemies were defeated by the player launching bubbles at them, which either defeated them immediately or caused them to be encased in a floating bubble, which the player had to burst. Continue reading →

10 Irritating Characters From Computer Games (Part 2)

This post was a continuation of a list of the most annoying characters to appear in computer games. This list consisted of named characters, types of enemies were not included, and the list was personal to myself, so it only included games I had played and characters that I found irritating.

5. Tingle from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Link rescues this strange man dressed in green, who plays an integral part of the story by translating the maps Link finds that lead to the pieces of Triforce. Tingle is useful, necessary and an extortionist. Each time Link finds a map, he has to return to Tingle’s Tower (a large wooden structure standing on an island in the middle of the sea, with Tingle’s face on the top), pay a large sum of money to him and then use the translated map to find the location of the piece of the Triforce.

It was surprising to learn that, in his quest to save the Great Sea, Link had to pay substantial sums of money to someone who prioritised profits over preventing extinction. It was also irritating that the player sometimes had to find money to pay Tingle, as it added a delay between the enjoyable parts of completing a challenge to find the treasure map and exploring the Great Sea to locate the artefact. Just to emphasise this character low morals, he appears to have enslaved two characters that resemble him, with one dressed in bright white and the other dressed in bright pink, with the sole purpose of rotating the top of his island.

Incidentally, is Tingle supposed to represent something? When he first appeared in the Majora’s Mask game, he was shown to be a grown man obsessed with finding fairies. He had no special powers (other than being able to create balloons using magic, which allowed him to float above the ground) and was always dressed in green tights. He also performed a short dance once he saw Tatl the fairy. The player could also meet Tingle’s father, who seemed a little upset that his son wanted to search for fairies, and could blackmail this character with a picture of Tingle dressed in his strange outfit. Weirdly, Tingle never appeared in Clock Town at night. Is this supposed to hint that Tingle is supposed to be an allegory for something?

4. Slippy Toad from Lylat Wars

In Lylat Wars, a team of fighter pilots embarks on a series of combat missions on planets and in areas of space to reach the enemy’s home base for a final battle with the villain. This group is made up of the brave leader Fox McCloud, the cocky Falco Lombardi, the seasoned veteran Peppy Hare and the annoying Slippy Toad. Continue reading →

Ten Irritating Characters From Computer Games (Part 1)

This post was a list of the most irritating characters I have found in computer games. The entrants this list included cowardly protagonist, sarcastic superiors, annoying allies, impossible task setters and a supercharged hero. This list was personal to me, so I have only included characters from computer games I have played and ones whose characteristics were irritating to me. I have also only included named characters in the list and not enemy types.

10. Issun from Okami

Okami is an adventure game featuring the heroic deity Amaratsu, who is joined by a travelling artist called Issun. Issun, who is microscopic in size, provides much of the dialogue as he talks to the other characters in the game and makes comments to Amaratsu, while the main hero maintains her silence throughout the game.

Unfortunately, I have to question the reasoning for Nintendo to include such a character in the game. While much of the game seems to be suitable for all ages, some of Issun’s lines do seem inappropriate for young children to read. For example, whenever the player meets a young woman in the game, Issun will suddenly start remarking on her beauty. When he is not being sleazy, his speech seems to use a lot of slang, which makes him seem like a teenager from a children’s film.

9. General Rieken from Rogue Squadron

In Rogue Squadron, the player controls a spacecraft and has to fight battles and complete missions to liberate planets from the tyrannical rule of the Empire. Sometimes, however, the heroes fail because the Empire has destroyed too many civilian structures or killed too many innocent civilians. When this happens, the player hears the gruff voice of General Rieken telling them to “Return to Base, Commander, and we will discuss your tactics in private”. Continue reading →

A Review of Sonic Drift 2 (Game Gear)

1995

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——————–But please comment on whether or not you think it is a spoiler——————–

The Story

Four competitors enter a racing tournament. They compete in six races. The competitor who was the most consistently fastest racer achieves the first position, with the other opponents being awarded the runner-up positions based on their success. The winner stands at the top of a podium, clutching the trophy, while the second and third place racers glare at them.

This is what people mean when they say the nineties were a simpler time.

The Review

This review was based on the version of the game released as an extra feature as part of the Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut game and not the game originally released on the Game Gear.

The story for the game was actually non-existent. The stories for similar racing games were usually very simple, competitors enter a race and a short animated sequence explains how winning the race concludes the story for the character controlled by the player. In this game, however, there were no animated sequences, so there was actually no story, other than a group of racers competing.

The gameplay for the game was fairly simple. There were six characters available to play (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, M. Sonic and Fang). The player had to drive along a race track to reach the end, using the brakes and acceleration to negotiate the course at the optimum speed. The player also needed to avoid obstacles that can decelerate the character or cause them to start spinning, which would delay their progress. An unique aspect of the game was the use of a drift ability. Pressing a button caused the controlled character to “drift”, which allowed them to turn around corners quicker, but, if the drift ability was used excessively, it could cause the character to start spinning. Continue reading →

A Review of Sonic Drift (Game Gear)

1994

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————————-But if you cannot guess the spoiler, seek medical help urgently———-

The Story

In the middle of a field, Sonic stands by a large, red car at the side of a tarmac race track. He watches as Eggman, Tails and Amy drive past him on the road. He looks round and then jumps into his vehicle, he faces the camera and makes a thumbs-up sign with his left hand, signalling his readiness to start racing.

Sonic, Tails, Amy and Eggman all entered a driving competition. They competed in a series of four races, with each competitor accumulating points based on performance. At the end of the races, three flags were raised on flag poles showing which driver was the winner, the runner-up and third place.

The Review

This review was based on the version of the game released as an extra feature as part of the Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut game and not the game originally released on the Game Gear.

The story for the game was non-existent and had little impact on the game. The story was, like many racing games, based on the characters competing in a series of races and a winner being decided. The story ends with a short animated sequence showing flags raised on flag poles, which displayed the characters who reached the first, second and third positions. There were also short animated sequences to show how the winner’s story ended, based on which character the player was controlling. The story was very light, but this was expected for this genre of game as the focus was on the player racing against other opponents and reaching the first position, rather than an adventure to defeat an enemy and undo evil actions. Continue reading →