Sonic Advance 2 has a lot of problems, and it does a lot of things well. It's a game I hold close to my heart as it is my first ever Sonic game, but nostalgia doesn't blind me to the problems it has and what it could use some work on. I'm writing this before Sonic Superstars comes out, so I do hope a lot of what I say here is kept and/or addressed with intent to fix.

This being a Game Boy Advance platformer from the early 2000s, story isn't really a thing. Even still, they manage to piece a small yet cohesive plot using Sonic and rescuing the other playable characters. As the second of 4 GBA games with this storyline as a focus, it does a good job of setting up an "idea" of what comes after. Not much (if anything at all) to write home about, but it doesn't need to be.


The most important part of any game is the gameplay. It doesn't matter what it is, a shooter, a platformer, a puzzle game, an MMO, the game has to have engaging mechanics and fun factor for anyone to want to play. Sonic Advance not only has those, but it has slight depth regarding speed and how to manage and take advantage of it. I'll paint a picture for you:

The stage starts, and immediately you have a decision to make before the 3 seconds is up. You can either go for a "Fast Start" or not, and the timing is important. Not too many more moments in, you have a springboard. You can spring off of said springboard either going farther and faster or at a more controlled pace, but again, the timing of it all is important. Next comes a spring, but there's a path above you that you cannot reach. Or can you? Should you use an Up Trick, you may be able to reach that ledge, but do you sacrifice that for a Forward Trick, which not only kills the enemy in front of you but also keeps your speed?

That is the essence of Sonic Advance 2, fast paced decision making. The reward in Sonic games is obviously a faster time, sure, but there's also something else that this game brought onto the scene that many other Sonic games would both butcher and improve upon.

The mechanics of Sonic Advance 2 are stupidly cool and interesting for a handheld in the early 2000s, and create a flow that other Sonic games cannot replicate. Each character has unique special attacks and properties that allow them to approach levels differently and make for great replay value, and everyone can reach Boost Mode. Boost Mode is faster with the more rings you have, and allows access to a special boost attack for each character. This of course means having less control over your speed, which makes it harder to platform, but that means you need skill and memorization to use it correctly, both being key components of any Sonic game. The Trick system is less so glorified cool factor and has more applications, with each characters tricks serving similar purposes but also having varying effects and design. Rails, Springboards, and the start of the stage all have timing based execution to get farther, jump higher, and move faster if you can get them down. All of this seems amazing and is amazing, but here's where things get critical.

Level design in this game is ass-backwards to say the least and be as kind as possible. Spike pits you can't see, screen crunch due to the size of the GBA, and the stages themselves are extremely long and expansive to account for the new speed. The game incentivizes exploration, and in a game where you're rewarded for speed and masterful control, that doesn't mesh. Even the goal rewards you with extra points based on how fast you enter and how quickly you can stop. Special Stages have 7 keys you have to find in one run of a level before being able to attempt them, and those are scattered in these long stages that have way too many options for you to zip right past a good 6 of them. These things outright kill the experience, and make the game a slog in later, more challenging levels.

I love this game, along with many other Sonic games, but the issues it has manage to weigh it down so heavily in light of all of the cool things it attempts and ideas it tries to see through. Locked content behind the Special Stages means both having to sit through each character's set of levels for all 7, complete each act without losing a single life to then unlock Amy as a playable character, and even getting 7 with Sonic alone for the true ending and Chao Garden and Time Attack is a pain in the ass.

I do hope future classic games take ideas from this game, and implement them in both fun and interesting ways, rather than faulty and half-baked. This game for me is an eternal 3.6/10.