Dimps finally gets their culinary chops and soils the SA2 pot with a 'more things' sequel. I love Sonic's dedication to experimental design, but I cannot stress this enough: The partner system is almost fundamentally incompatible with SA2's style of play. There is not enough screen real estate or tight platforming to integrate these conditional abilities and buffs in comfortable ways. And it's not like it's a bad idea on paper - having the Sonic cast gain perks from teaming up with each other is a killer 10/10 move. But, it shouldn't be here, in this space. There aren't enough moment to moment platforming sections to justify it, and it doesn't flow into the speed sections. It's only useful in the few slow moments where you want a high jump or an alternate attack for boss fights.

Which brings the OTHER SA3 problem: Trying to inject SA1's platforming into SA2's speed gameplay. Again, a total compatibility clash. You can absolutely feel the expectation for 3 Acts per world tearing against their creative juices, because the amount of times a speed section stops to hit a timer switch or land on a slow moving platform is obscene. It ain't smooth platforming, either: This game has the worst of the trilogy's bullshit, tossing bottomless pits and crushing blocks everywhere.

Chaos Angel - the last zone, - is the apex of this entire trilogy's bad decisions. Totally overloaded with every Dimps-ism in the grab bag. Bosses are the worst of the trilogy too imo - they're all very gimmicky. 1's bosses are nothing notable but have solid fundamentals like the Genesis trilogy bosses. 2's can be bullshit but the chase-framing and designs make them extremely cool. 3's fights feel like borderline Nintendo bosses.

Once again, the 3-Act structure feels like the biggest thing holding this back. They don't have nearly enough ideas to pad them out, and the consequence is platforming that's simultaneously forgettable and painted in unfun gimmicks. This feeds into the music too; most stages have pretty unmemorable themes as-is, exacerbated further by requiring 2 additional remixes each. I Do Not Want To Hear Green Hill Three Different Times, Thank You.

Idk, it ain't terrible, but I don't have anything positive to say about this. I think at this game's best, it was a better time than 1, but never up to what I liked about 2. At its worst, it's what non-Sonic fans think 2D Sonic is. I get now why I never bothered with this in my childhood.

A great sendoff to the Sonic Advance series.

Gathering the Chaos Emeralds is a much more manageable task than it was in SA2. Although admittedly it’s still a big grind, they’ve added so many quality of life improvements that I noted were missing from the last game, such as the fact the chaos you collect between stages don’t reset. I do think that they should have either gone with just keys or chaos though, making you collect both is a bit more tedious than it had to be.

Special stages themselves are much better than the first game (I never played any in the second). Managing to actually hit the rings doesn't feel like a horrible trick on your depth perception. Unfortunately the enemy hit detection is still a bit wonky in these stages. Most of them I got through on the first try, the 6th one took me 2 tries and holy hell that last one was a bitch cos of all the enemies.

I like that the game no longer requires you to go through it several times with every character to be able to play the true ending. In fact all characters share a single save slot now and you can pick and choose who you want per stage. They compensate this by making 3 acts per zone and making the acts themselves longer.

Level themes are on par with the 2nd one, with a nice mix of classic zone types and unique ones, like Toy Kingdom. This is the 3rd game in a row to use an ice themed zone, and I think I love the aesthetic of this one the most. Bonus points for not using Green Hill Zone clone as act 1 again, although I feel like city-themed stages are almost as much of a cliché in Sonic games now.

Lots of fun types of enemy designs too, especially in the toy kingdom.

I was pretty happy with the team system. It never felt like it overtook the game, it was just a nice bonus to have. Plus the fact each pair gives a unique playstyle is a really great way to make the characters stand out and make you try different combinations.

A small problem I had with the game is that the level designs feel worse than before. There’s way too many insta-death crush blocks now. Plus I feel like they reused a lot more assets between worlds, like the “clacker” things. It’s not so bad that it breaks the game for me, but if this had the level design of 1 and 2 I think it’d be a 9/10 for me. Either way it’s still a fantastic 2D Sonic experience that manages to stand out due to the partner system.

It's short and sweet, with plenty of little extras to find that can extend the playtime if you're willing. The minigames in the hub areas are fun, and exploring those to find the next level is a good treat. I'm not particularly fond of how 2D Sonic controls in conjunction with the stop and go level design that tends to creep up at least half the time, but this one was pretty enjoyable all things considered. Being able to play different characters opens up even more paths, and having a partner that gives you an addition to your moveset adds a lot of replayability. Very possibly my favorite 2D Sonic, although I'll admit I've played few.

Sonic advance 3 is a game that I had written off multiple times for good reasons. The game front loads you with two of it's biggest flaws. The terrible hubworlds and maybe the worst opening level in any sonic game. I would die to a stupid hazard in route 99 and drop the game promising to come back someday. Well that day has finally come and I'm happy to report that advance 3 does get better.

The first real positive for sonic advance 3 is that this without a doubt the sonic game that has the best understanding of how to use multiple different characters at the same time. How it works is that each of the five playable characters (sonic, tails, knuckles, amy, cream) all control as they did in advance 1 and 2. But you also choose a second of the 5 playable characters to act as a partner and blending together the two movesets into something new. Some of my favorites include,

Sonic and cream giving you a horizontal air dash and the ability to breathe underwater.

Knuckles and tails gives knuckles a small double jump at the start of a glide.

Sonic and Amy make amy control like her advance 2 self (aka just sonic).

Knuckles and amy allow knuckles to spindash on walls

Cream and Knuckles has cheese rotate around cream as a shield.

Now on top of the style system, Advance 3's level design and gimmicks improve a lot over route 99 (the first level) as the game goes on. Now while none of it quite reach the heights of sonic 2 and 3 at their best (this is Dimps we're talking about) they all do manage to give a really good balance between levels more focused on speed vs more platforming heavy levels. And surprisingly zone's being 3 acts each isn't a problem. On top of that unlocking new characters as you go along and trying out new combo's in older levels gives advance 3 on paper the most replay value of any 2d sonic game.

Finally advance 3 I think has my favorite sonic soundtrack of any dimps sonic game. Highlights include, sunset hill act 2, ocean base act 1, twinkle snow act 1, chaos angel act 3, nonaggression, and the ending theme but the whole soundtrack is fantastic.

However while I do have really positive things to say the game still is only a 7 for a reason. The hub worlds are without a doubt the worst part of this game, and while plenty of the 3d sonic games have hubworlds you can usually access individual levels quickly from a menu, having to slog through these clunky 2d hubs to get to a level you want or having to go back to the start of a hub any time you want to switch characters is such a pain in the ass especially when you can't even hit select to switch which character is the leader and which is the partner.

And of course you have the other standard advance game problems like how a lot of the bosses are cheap, the level design is never a tight as the genesis games, (Advance 3 has maybe the worst possible first impression of any sonic game I've played) and the special stages are a pain in the ass (though probably least bad of the trilogy)

But I think part of what draws me to sonic advance 3 his how much of this the series left behind going forward. This was the last 2d sonic game to try and go for momentum based controls until sonic mania. The last 2d sonic game where you could play as tails or knuckles (as player 1) until sonic mania. The last 2d sonic game where you could play as amy. The last sonic game where you could play as cream, the only mainline sonic game to feature gemerl, the last sonic game to have the original english voice cast from sonic adventure. And most tragically to me, the last sonic game to feature 2d sprite based adventure artwork.

Now, while I wouldn't say sonic advance 3 was the last game of the adventure era, I would argue it was the last good game of the era, and I'm glad I can now appreciate it for what it is, flaws and all

Sonic Advance 3 marks the end of Sonic's stay on the Game Boy Advance, and it tries its best to cater to both crowds. The crowd that liked Advance 1 and the crowd that liked Advance 2, as the level design feels like a mix of both.

And I want to start with that, the level design. The difficulty of this game kinda feels like a rollercoaster ride sometimes, as certain levels feel harder than later ones, like how I felt Route 99 (Zone 1) was harder than Sunset Hill (Zone 2). By the end, the game will challenge you a lot, and it feels like one of the harder Sonic games to beat, to be honest.

This game is also filled with beginner's traps at many points, kinda like the end of Advance 1, and it's no pretty getting crushed or falling off of a pit for 40th time... The game showers you in lives, if you explore the hubworlds at least, but I do wonder why even have a life system in the first place if you were gonna do that anyway.

I didn't feel like the level design was awful or anything, and I had more enjoyment here than in Advance 2, but it feels like there needed to be more fine-tuning.

There's also the partner system that this game brings. I stuck with Sonic & Tails throughout my adventure, because their super jump was awesome for getting to higher places, or if I fell off a particular area, I could try and get back to it. I've heard that there is a lot of experimentation involved to get a good combo, as some combinations are pretty good and others are mediocre.
But I do like that there are many combinations, and there's a lot of replay-value there.

Additionally, while I may be mixed on the level design, I absolutely love the places you go through! I love the variety of levels this game has, and the final level, Chaos Angel, looks great and is a very unique final level!
The soundtrack is also amazing and the visuals are gorgeous for the Game Boy Advance!

Even though the level design is a bit rocky, I can say I had more fun playing Advance 3 over Advance 2.
By the end of my Advance 2 run, I was relieved that it was finally over, while with Advance 3, I was smiling during the credits, because I felt content with the overall package, in spite of its flaws.

This game really feels like the end of an era for the Sonic series, as it was also the last time we got to hear the classic voice cast, such as Ryan Drummond, Scott Drier and Deem Bristow, who sadly passed away shortly after this game released. Rest in peace.

That staff roll music really feels like a bittersweet closure to everything that the series was around this time. Yes, it had some rocky moments and the game were flawed, but they brought so many memories to so many kids out there, and while I was too young to play this game when it came out, I'm glad to have experienced the Advance games, even in spite of their flaws.

So, in conclusion: Sonic Advance 3 may be a flawed game, but I had a good time with it.

O mais corajoso, o mais épico, o mais criativo, o mais memorável.... mas também um dos mais quebrados.

Sonic Advance 3 é o meu jogo favorito da trilogia do GBA, ele tem os melhores pontos principalmente em gameplay e em temas. Primeiramente, a gameplay do jogo é talvez a mais complexa até o momento dos jogos 2D da franquia.

É tão absurdo que é difícil de explicar, mas basicamente eles adicionam o sistema de times, você pode criar seu time de personagem, e eles além de te acompanharem (muito bem inclusive, não sei por que caralhos a ia dos personagens desse jogo são tão boas namoral) conseguem mudar a gameplay de alguma forma.

Se você escolher Sonic e Tails, o Taills (que seria o suporte) incrementa a jogabilidade do Sonic. Escolhendo ele e segurando um dos botões superiores, o sonic consegue usar 2 movimentos especiais EXCLUSIVOS DO TAILS, além de que realmente a gameplay geral do nosso ouriço azul muda, com o Tails ele fica normal e consegue dar aquelas tricks bacanas do segundo jogo.

Agora outro exemplo, se escolhermos a Cream, os dois movimentos especiais se tornam um só, que quando ativado transforma o Chao dela em seu parceiro.... ou foi o que eu entendi? E na gameplay do Sonic, você perde suas tricks mas ganha um homming attack funcional. Isso acontece com todos os personagens, inclusive até com o sonic, se você usar por exemplo a Cream como primaria, o sonic se torna o secundario e dar poderes a ela, segurando os botões superiores ela literalmente ganha um boost.

Com minha explicação quebrada deu pra perceber que ESSA PORRA É MUITO COMPLEXA, e é até o momento o jogo mais complexo em gameplay da franquia, e isso é incrível demais. Tem muitas combinações pra mexer enquanto joga namoral.

E com isso dito, as fases tem ótimos temas, todos são bem caracteristicos e carismaticos, e a trilha ajuda muito por que NESSE JOGO ela é muito boa e memorável, principalmente as das fases finais que são SENSACIONAIS. Até mesmo os bosses que odiei tanto no segundo jogo, estão bem legais aqui, Advance 3 real deu um UP grande na franquia.

Meu problema maior com o jogo é o level design, que também é uma de suas maiores proezas. Eles conseguem fazer um puta level design quando querem, principalmente com o balanceamento quase perfeito de momentos com corrida absurda das ideia, e trabalho de plataforma legal e divertido. Meu problema mesmo é com os erros padrões da Dimps que nesse jogo se repetiram BEM MAIS.

Buracos filhas da putamente colocados, armadilhas cornas, level design injusto e tudo mais, nesse jogo tem bem mais infelizmente, mas isso não tira o brilho dele, mas com certeza o impede de ser um dos melhores jogos da franquia, se ele tivesse mais capricho nisso, competiria com os clássicos do mega drive fácil fácil.

Sonic Advance 3 não é perfeito, bem longe disso, mas é bom o suficiente para entrar escondido em meu coração. Comecei desprezando, terminei respeitando esse surpreendentemente inovador e imperfeito capítulo da franquia.

This game starts out feeling great, the character pairing is a great way to add variety to the gameplay and most of the levels are designed to encourage experimenting with that mechanic to find the best way through each one.

But this is overshadowed by some glaring issues. The first that came up to me was the Twinkle Snow boss, it's a difficulty spike that feels really bad because if you get hit once then you will just fall and die and have to start again.

Where I think this gets really bad is in the final zone. This already has the issue of an overabundance of bottomless pits and enemy/spike traps that you can't predict (there was literally one point where I didn't see an enemy because it was obscured by foreground elements in the level.) This is really bad in the third act where the entire stage is basically one whole bottomless pit and much like the Twinkle Snow boss one hit will send you falling to your death, sure there are checkpoints but once you get your first Game Over you only have 3 lives to work with before having to start the Act over.

The boss of this level is also frustrating, because of how the arena is setup it is very easy to not be able to recollect your rings when you get hit. Add to this how the boss can easily hit you without warning and this too saps a lot of lives.

I think the final boss after this may be somewhat less frustrating but honestly at this point I just wanted the game to end so I quite literally Cheesed the boss using Cream's Chap.

I really want to love this game but the final moments bring it down for me.

Remember how I complained that the last Zone of Sonic Advance 1 was filled with a lot of the Dimps trademarks: bad enemy placements, unnecessary spikes, and random bottomless pits. Imagine that, but for the entire game. The team-up mechanic is a really good idea, but they really botched the execution. The game encourages you to mix and match different combination of characters, but you only start off with Sonic & Tails and you don't unlock the final character until the end of Zone 6. Thanks for limiting my fun. Then some combinations like Tails & Knuckles, Tails & Cream, and Cream & Tails are just horrible. They just make the lead character worse than they were by themselves. This game also has 3 Acts per Zone, why? They realized in Sonic 2 that 2 Acts is the perfect sweetspot. 3 Acts are too long and it makes the Zones drag ass, especially in the last Zone where taking 5+ minutes gets you the gold rank???? The sprites and music are good, but that's pretty much all the good I have to say.

Ok, let me see if I got this right. In order to access a special stage, you need to collect 10 chao in a zone, 3 per act, 1 in the hub world, then find a special key, then use ketchup to fake your death and lure the guard in, then examine the bottom of the wine bottle, then collect all of Dracula's remains in the inverted castle, then find all the crests to get the Magnum, then draw all of Exodia's pieces with Royal Magical Library, then start World War III to awaken Azazel and then kill it, then dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row, then lure all the sheep to you using lettuce, then FADC into super, and then FINALLY find the special stage spring in the hub world and jump on it.

Sonic Advance 2, I owe you an apology. When reviewing you, I said you had the worst emerald hunt in the series up to that point. You are now relieved of that title. Go home to your wife and kids, and rest. You've earned it.

Thankfully, you can simply ignore the chaos emeralds and play the game like a sane individual and then look up the true ending online, which is what I decided to do after grabbing the first emerald in Route 99. From that perspective, Advance 3 is fun! I love the partner mechanic and how each combination can alter your playstyle in interesting ways. Props to all the extra spritework too, Tails flying with a hammer when paired with Amy is super cute.

Extra points for being the first GBA game to break my hatred for the system's sound. In my Sonic Advance 1 review, I mentioned that I REALLY dislike the way games sound on the GBA, 0 exceptions. Now, let's make that one exception: Advance 3's OST is some crazy good shit. Best rendition of Green Hill Zone, Twinkle Snow, Cyber Track and god damn motherfuckin CHAOS ANGEL ACT 3. (Don't get used to it, GBA.)

Pretty fun game when playing normally, insanely boring if going for completion. Please stop, Dimps. Just make it 50 rings at the end of the stage, I'm BEGGING you.