| Sonic Advance | |
|---|---|
 North American GBA box art | |
| Developer(s) | Dimps Sonic Team Gameloft (J2ME) |
| Publisher(s) | SegaGameloft (J2ME) |
| Director(s) | Akinori Nishiyama |
| Producer(s) | Yuji Naka Hiroshi Matsumoto |
| Designer(s) | Yukihiro Higashi Masaaki Yamagiwa |
| Programmer(s) | Yoshihisa Hashimoto Takaaki Saito |
| Artist(s) | Yuji Uekawa |
| Composer(s) | Tatsuyuki Maeda Yutaka Minobe |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance,N-Gage,Android,mobile phone |
| Release | Game Boy AdvanceN-GageAndroid
|
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Sonic Advance[a] is a 2001platformvideo game developed bySonic Team andDimps and published bySega for theGame Boy Advance. It was the firstSonic the Hedgehog game to be released on aNintendo console withSonic Adventure 2: Battle on theGameCube, and was produced in commemoration of the series' tenth anniversary. The story followsSonic,Tails,Knuckles, andAmy as they journey to stopDoctor Eggman from taking over the world. Controlling a character, players are tasked with completing eachlevel, defeating Eggman and hisrobot army, and collecting the sevenChaos Emeralds.
Development began after Sega shifted its focus to third-party software development, due to the poor performance of theDreamcast console. Sega recruitedDimps to lead development, making the game the first in the franchise developed by the studio. WhileSonic Advance follows a similar style of gameplay to theSega GenesisSonic games, certain concepts and designs were reused from newer games such asSonic Adventure (1998). The game has beenported toNokia'sN-Gage in 2003 asSonicN, with ports toJ2ME devices byGameloft and Android by Sega releasing in 2011. The GBA version is available on theWii U'sVirtual Console in Japan.
Sonic Advance received positive reviews for its graphics, character animations, and faithfulness to the original Genesis games, but also received some criticism for its short length and special stages. It was a major commercial success, selling 1.21 million copies in the United States and is among theGBA's bestselling games. The game was followed by two sequels also on the Game Boy Advance;Sonic Advance 2 (2002) andSonic Advance 3 (2004).
Sonic Advance is aside-scrollingplatform game reminiscent of the originalSonic the Hedgehog games released for theSega Genesis.[1] Players journey through an island to defeatDoctor Eggman, who is attempting to capture its animal population to turn them into evilrobots. Players select one of four characters, each with their own unique set of moves.Sonic the Hedgehog is fastest and can perform an "insta-shield" that protects him for a moment;Tails can fly or swim for a short time;Knuckles the Echidna can glide through the air, swim above water for a few seconds and climb walls; andAmy Rose can destroy enemies using a hammer.[2] Except for Amy, each character can defeat enemy robots by jumping and curling into a ball, or by performing a spin dash on the ground to gain speed. By entering acheat code, players can control Sonic while Tails runs alongside him, similar toSonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992).[3]
The game takes place over sixlevels called zones. Each zone is split into two acts, where the player must guide their selected character past enemies and obstacles such as spikes and bottomless pits to reach the end in under ten minutes. Scattered around acts are springboards, boost pads, and goldenrings, which serve as a form ofhealth; players survive hits as long as they have at least one ring, but their rings will scatter and disappear after a short period.[1] Players collect canisters that containpower-ups such as speed shoes, elemental shields, andinvincibility.[3] The first act ends when players pass a signpost, and the second culminates in aboss fight with Eggman; after hitting him eight times, Eggman will flee and drop a capsule of captured animals. Each character starts the game with a number of lives, which are lost when they are hit with no rings in their possession, crushed, drown, fall in a bottomless pit, or exceed an act's 10-minute limit. The game ends when the player runs out of lives, although they can retry the current act from the beginning if they have any continues.[1]
Special springs can be found near the top of certain acts.[2] By jumping on them, the player can reach a special stage, where they are sent down a tube to collect rings. If they collect enough rings, the player receives aChaos Emerald.[1] Collecting all seven Emeralds unlocks an extra boss fight. The game also features aminigame, Tiny Chao Garden, where players can raiseChao.[4] Players can transfer their Chao between the Tiny Chao Garden and the Chao Garden from theGameCube versions ofSonic Adventure andSonic Adventure 2.[2] The game also features a competitivemultiplayer mode, where up to four owners of the game can race to the end of a level or search for Chao.[4]
In January 2001,Sega, facing financial troubles with the underperformance of itsDreamcast console, shifted from first to third-party software publishing,[5] withSony Computer Entertainment'sPlayStation 2 andNintendo'sGame Boy Advance (GBA) being primary focuses.[6] A team of developers was formed to begin development onSonic the Hedgehog Advance (later renamedSonic Advance), aSonic game for the GBA to commemorate the series' 10th anniversary.[7][8]Dimps, a studio formed by several formerNeo Geo Pocket Color developers and funded by Sega, Sony, andBandai, developed the game with assistance fromSonic Team.[9] Sonic Team conceived the game, but was understaffed on employees familiar with the GBA hardware and so recruited Dimps.[10] Several Dimps members worked on the critically acclaimedSonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999) for the Neo Geo Pocket Color.[9]
The developers decided to return to a gameplay style similar to the original GenesisSonic games, which Naka felt was refreshing. Despite this, they also incorporated concepts fromSonic Adventure (1998) andSonic Adventure 2 (2001), such as the ability to grind on rails and the modernized character designs byYuji Uekawa.[11][12] As theSonic games released for the Dreamcast allowed players to download minigames onto theVisual Memory Unit (VMU), the development team decided to expand upon this by using a similar concept with theGameCube's GBA link cable, makingSonic Advance one of the first games to use the cable.[13] It also features graphical techniques such as rotation effects andMode 7.[4]
Sega announcedSonic Advance alongside two other GBA games on January 30, 2001.[b][14] A video containing footage of the game's first level was featured at theElectronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 2001,[15] anddemo versions were showcased atNintendo Space World and theTokyo Game Show later that year.[13][16] Sega releasedSonic Advance in Japan on December 20, 2001,[17] whileTHQ co-published it in North America on February 4, 2002.[18] The game was released in Europe on March 8, 2002,[4] whereInfogrames handled marketing and distribution.[19][20] Aport forNokia'sN-Gage,SonicN, was released worldwide on October 7, 2003.[21] In 2005, it wascompiled withChuChu Rocket!,Sonic Pinball Party, andSonic Battle in separate bundle packs for the GBA.[22][23][24] The game was released onAndroid on November 25, 2011, and on theWii U'sVirtual Console on February 18, 2015. Both of these rereleases are exclusive to Japan.[25][26] AJ2ME mobile port version of the game was developed and released worldwide byGameloft in 2011, which contains only four Zones: Neo Green Hill Zone, Secret Base Zone, Angel Island Zone and Casino Paradise.[27]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 87/100[28] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [12] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.8/10[29] |
| Famitsu | 32/40[30] |
| GamePro | 17/20[31] |
| GameSpot | 7.9/10[1] |
| IGN | 9.1/10[2] |
| Nintendo Life |  [32] |
| Nintendo World Report | 8/10[4] |
Sonic Advance received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregation websiteMetacritic.[28] The game sold 1.21 million copies in the United States, making it one of thebestselling games for the GBA.[33] It earned $36 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 12th highest-selling game launched for the GBA,Nintendo DS orPlayStation Portable in the United States.[34]
The game's presentation was well received.[2][29]Electronic Gaming Monthly calledSonic Advance the best-looking 2DSonic game.[29]GameSpot praised its detailed scenery and animation, describing them as solid and faithful to the original Genesis games.[1]Nintendo World Report described its use of graphical techniques as elegant, praising itsanime-inspired character animations, and compared them positively to the critically acclaimedSuper Nintendo Entertainment System gameSuper Mario World (1990).[4] The game's music and audio was also praised;[2]GameSpot called it comfortable and catchy.[1] Reviewers also praised the gameplay, with many comparing it favorably to the original games.IGN wrote the game's new ideas, such as the ability to grind on rails, were clever and determined thatSonic felt better on the GBA than on the Genesis.[2]AllGame said the game relied too much on nostalgia, but felt it was still a "winning formula" and called the game enjoyable.[12] The game's use of the GameCube link cable was praised;IGN noted the replay value and variety it offered,[2] andGameSpot called it interesting, and felt it made good use of the GBA's connectivity to the GameCube.[1]
Certain elements received more mixed responses.[1][12]GameSpot felt thatSonic Advance lacked polish, and criticized the difficult special stages.[1]IGN's only criticism was the presence of problems from earlier games, such as "an inviting stretch of roadway that begs to have your character blaze across it at top speed, only to have a spike strip jab you in the feet somewhere in the middle".[2]Nintendo World Report thought the game was too short and criticized the exclusion of the Super Sonic replay mode from earlier games.[4] Reviews for the N-Gage version were mixed;GameSpot criticized its choppyframe rate and encouraged readers to buy the superior GBA version instead.[35]IGN agreed and felt the N-Gage's vertical screen and omission of the multiplayer modes had a negative impact on the ported version.[36] Overall, reviewers feltSonic Advance was a solid addition to theSonic franchise.Nintendo World Report felt the game was not perfect, but was still a game that "deserves a spot in your GBA case".[4]IGN agreed, and stated the game successfully recaptured the spirit of classicSonic gameplay while feeling unique and taking advantage of the GBA's capabilities.[2]
In 2009,Official Nintendo Magazine namedSonic Advance among the best games for Nintendo consoles.[37] Later that year, they ranked the game 75th on a list of greatest Nintendo games, calling it "the finest Sonic game since theMega Drive golden years and remains a 2D classic.[38]GamesRadar called it the 13th bestSonic game in 2017.[39] The same year,USgamer named it the sixth best, stating that while it did not feel like the classic Genesis games, its graphics were "gorgeous", which helped make the game a standout for the franchise.[40]
Sonic Advance was the firstSonic game released for a Nintendo console.[15]GamesRadar considered this to be highly significant as Nintendo and Sega were fierce rivals throughout the 1990s;Sonic Advance helped end this rivalry by "reducing Sonic's die-hard brand loyalty to a distant memory from the halcyon-toned 1990s".[39] The two companies worked closely in the following years, collaborating for the first time in 2003 withF-Zero GX. In 2007, both Sonic and Nintendo's mascotMario featured inMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.[41]Nintendo Power wrote that Sonic—created as opposition to Nintendo—seemed at home on Nintendo consoles;[42]GamesRadar said Sega and Nintendo were now "like old friends".[39]
Sonic Advance was also the firstSonic game developed by Dimps. Sega continued to contract the company in following years to create many games in the series. The first of these were two sequels toSonic Advance—Sonic Advance 2 (2002)[43] andSonic Advance 3 (2004).[44] Dimps also developed theNintendo DS gamesSonic Rush (2005)[45] andSonic Rush Adventure (2007),[46] the handheld versions ofSonic Colors (2010),[47]Sonic Generations (2011),[48] andSonic Lost World (2013),[49] and co-developedSonic the Hedgehog 4 (2010) and thePlayStation 2 andWii versions ofSonic Unleashed (2008) with Sonic Team.[50][51] Several journalists have noted that Dimps' handheld games have received consistently better reviews than Sonic Team's home console games.[39][52]GamesRadar wrote this was because Dimps "managed to keep the spirit" of the original games alive in theirs.[53]
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