by Brian - May 31, 2004

Ever since 1991 when the first Sonic game was brought to the Sega Genesis, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been a classic in the eyes of nearly every gamer, but that doesn�t mean it didn�t have its share of bad sequels. The franchise has been fairly unsuccessful with its 3D remakes on current generation systems. The classic style of the games had gone with the 16-bit consoles, but even the first two GBA games left fans with disappointment. Will Sonic Advance 3 make up for the failures of the past few years? Probably not by itself, but it is a vast improvement and Sega should take note of that.

Gameplay

The thing that makes Sonic games so fun is the speed and obstacles in each level. Sonic Advance 3 delivers in both areas with well thought out level designs and obstacle placements. Without the obstacles, the game would be too easy and not very fun at all, which is one of the major gripes of the previous two Sonic Advance games. Some of the levels allowed you to just hold forward and run through the entire level without thinking about it once. SA3 is not like that at all. Even on the easiest levels you have to stop to do something whether it be leaping across a pit with spikes on the bottom, hopping from moving platforms, or attacking enemies that get in your way. You have to be careful when running though because the developers knew exactly where to place a row of spikes for you to land on which could devastate your coin supply.

If you have never played a Sonic game (shame on you), the point of the game is to get to the end of the level with as many rings as possible (and there are a lot of rings) while at the same time trying to save the animals in each level. In this game there are 10 in each act. While it is not essential that you save them all, you get bonus points if you do. Once you beat all the levels in an act you can go head to head with the boss of that Act. The boss is always Dr. Egghead, but each time he uses a different, more destructive machine to aid him in the battle. If at any point you get hit by an enemy or something else that hurts you, all of your rings go flying. You have about 2 seconds to retrieve as many as you can, but sometimes it�s hard to even get one.

There are several modes of play in SA3. The first is story mode, which is just like any other Sonic game. You go through the levels, and fight the bosses in each act but you only have a limited number of lives. You can always go back to another level due to the lobby system that they made for this game. This makes it easier to complete the whole game. There is also a multiplayer battle mode that I didn�t get a chance to play, and a time trial mode. Time Trial allows you to go through the levels you conquered in Story mode without having to worry about running out of lives. This gives the game some replayability.

One of my favorite things about the game is the partner system. When you start off, you pick two characters. The first is your character and the second is your partner. The partner just follows along, but you can do special team moves with them to get to hard to reach places. For example, if you have tails as a partner, he can carry you up into the air as he uses his tails as a helicopter. Some of the character combos are less than useful though so you have to use a bit of strategy when picking a partner. Another good thing about partners is that they will attack enemies and collect rings, but if they get hurt nothing harmful happens.

Graphics

The graphics in Sonic Advance 3 are great for a GBA game. The classic Sonic style is there with more colorful and detailed worlds than the Genesis allowed. The motion and animations are fluid. I really don�t have any complaints about the graphics at all.

Sound

The music in Sonic games has always been a testament to the game�s fast gameplay, and Advance 3 is no different. There are a couple of great scores, but some of them are lacking. Overall the music is good, but not as good as Sonic Advance 2. The sound effects, however, are top notch. The game sounds exactly like you would expect a Sonic game to sound.

Fun Factor

Like I said earlier, the speed and level design is what makes Sonic games enjoyable and Sonic Advance 3 is great on both aspects. Sometimes you will be running so fast that a shadow of yourself will be following behind you making for a cool graphical effect. I had a great time playing this game so it�s fair to say that the game will be very fun for you as well.

Closing Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed Sonic Advance 3 and I would recommend it to any Sonic fan, and to anyone who hasn�t yet been introduced to the series. The game delivers in almost every aspect, but it is not perfect. If you are looking for a new GBA game, this one is almost a sure thing, so get out there and pick this up!