Sonic fans will always want a game that plays like what they expect from a Sonic game. Momentum physics, stunning set pieces, continuously flowing platforming, high speed action, you know the formula by now.
But has there ever been a game that plays like Sonic?
Super speed is undoubtedly a coveted superpower most people yearn for - but do they really understand the mastery it demands to make split-second decisions in the blink of an eye? Indeed, limitless speed is extremely useful, but it is simultaneously an untamed beast that can drive you headfirst into a barrier at mach speeds. This is how Sonic always views the world, as a disfigured blur of colourful masses where a split-second glimpse of a hazard may be the last image he ever witnesses.
Across every single game in the franchise, Sonic Advance 2 is consistently the best representation of how it feels to be Sonic.
Of course, the most accurate Sonic experience cannot be completed without suiting music and visuals to back up the gameplay. Thankfully, Advance 2 delivers on both aspects, with the sharpest, most striking 2D Sonic sprite to date, complete with cool-looking afterimages to express your dominance and control over the game’s pace. The environments themselves have a sharp edge to them, with contrasting color palettes littering the terrain and background to further push the cool vibes Advance 2 goes for. The visuals go well with the constant high-octane, high adrenaline music, which leaves its mark with a consistent and prominently featured rhythmic pulse beat that constantly urges the player to rush past everything around them.
It has been commonly theorised that the Dimps GBA trilogy is modeled from the mainline Adventure trilogy that was released around the same timeframe, and I personally agree with this standpoint. Advance 1 takes a more tamer, simplistic approach that introduces Modern elements into 2D Sonic, much as Adventure brought about the origins of the Modern classification in general. Later on, Advance 3 would also take inspiration from Heroes’ team-based gameplay mechanics with its Tag Action gimmick. This leaves Advance 2 as the 2D counterpart of Adventure 2, and if you observe the design of SA2’s speed stages, you’d notice similarities in how both games play. They both implement a trick system that incentivises players to storm through the level in style, and both have specialised attention to the speed and spectacle of their levels. Heck, SA2’s most iconic set piece has Sonic skateboarding on a constant downhill slope, just like literally every level in Advance 2! That being said, while I do disagree with Dimps’ approach to making every level share the exact same geographical structure, and acknowledge it as a flaw present within the game, the design intention is still apparent. A fast-paced, non-stop hurdle of an obstacle course that offers high rewards in exchange for high skill, filled to the brim with cool set pieces to make Sonic’s conquest of the area as cool as humanly possible.
What sets Advance 2 apart from SA2, however, as well as every other game in the franchise, is its insurmountable yet satisfying to achieve skill ceiling.
While SA2’s trick system focuses on the player’s skill to chain together attacks and usage of the B button, Advance 2’s trick system retains that feel of being Cool As Shit while also focusing on something far more important - movement. Each trick is designed to grant Sonic that extra push of aerial movement he needs to reach a distant platform, and allows him to keep momentum going as soon as he lands on his feet. Combined with the fact that you get much higher vertical jump height by pressing the jump button before a grind rail/ramp launch, aerial movement with the trick system is versatile and incredibly precise to master. The trick system also has the unspoken niche of giving Sonic the ability to interrupt his aerial trajectory, allowing him almost complete control over where he wishes to go without sacrificing boost mode in the process.
Oh yeah boost mode
Boost mode is, in my own personal opinion, the single most innovative addition to 2D Sonic as a formula. Unlike later iterations that made the Boost immediately available and invulnerable towards most enemies, Boost Mode is a reward for expert gameplay, demanding a high level of skill, smart memorisation of the level layout, quick decision-making and free-flowing platforming in order to earn it, while still being vulnerable to enemies to prevent complacency from the players’ end. And much like the later boost games, Advance 2’s obstacle course level design also constantly hurls itself at the player, challenging their ability to maintain this wildly uncontrollable form of speed against wave after wave of hazards and enemies. The ring system also gets some much-needed love beyond being a recognition of the player’s ability to not take damage (an incredibly easy feat if you go slow SMH), with higher ring counts making attainment of Boost Mode quicker. In a way, Boost Mode fully embraces the speedrunning nature of video games, requiring players to master their craft of the trick system, recognise the ideal route for optimum speed, be constantly aware of their surroundings and the hazards ahead, and discovering dash pads that allow them to maintain Boost Mode while weaving past the complexity of the level design.
All three mechanics come together to form an unprecedented sense of resonance and harmony with one another, forming a satisfying feedback loop that constantly intertwines within itself in a short timeframe. Get rings. Faster activation of boost mode. Utilise trick system to maintain boost mode. Up to this point I’ve yet to mention Sonic’s Air Dash, which, with its (admittedly flawed) difficult input, further raises the bar required to master the high speeds of Advance 2. When everything blends together, the end result is a thrilling adrenaline rush which pushes you to the absolute limit. A perfect middle line between Classic Sonic's focus on momentum, fluidity and earning speed, and Modern Sonic's focus on decision-making, adrenaline-fueling thrills and maintaining speed.
In Advance 2, every action and decision is a commitment from the player that can either see them passing with flying colours or crash and burn. With its notoriously high skill ceiling, the average players’ experience is extremely divisive. You either fail miserably, or you run like the coolest motherfucker on the planet. Just like Sonic. Just like those split-second decisions that often decide life or death.
To me, Sonic Advance 2 represents the pinnacle of Sonic as a control character. It simply feels like Sonic. Nothing else comes quite as close.
Never fear the fall.
Final score: 8.5/10
Focus: How Advance 2 represents the peak of Sonic as a playable character.
...but definitely fear the random monkey obscured by the tiny GBA screen.
But has there ever been a game that plays like Sonic?
Super speed is undoubtedly a coveted superpower most people yearn for - but do they really understand the mastery it demands to make split-second decisions in the blink of an eye? Indeed, limitless speed is extremely useful, but it is simultaneously an untamed beast that can drive you headfirst into a barrier at mach speeds. This is how Sonic always views the world, as a disfigured blur of colourful masses where a split-second glimpse of a hazard may be the last image he ever witnesses.
Across every single game in the franchise, Sonic Advance 2 is consistently the best representation of how it feels to be Sonic.
Of course, the most accurate Sonic experience cannot be completed without suiting music and visuals to back up the gameplay. Thankfully, Advance 2 delivers on both aspects, with the sharpest, most striking 2D Sonic sprite to date, complete with cool-looking afterimages to express your dominance and control over the game’s pace. The environments themselves have a sharp edge to them, with contrasting color palettes littering the terrain and background to further push the cool vibes Advance 2 goes for. The visuals go well with the constant high-octane, high adrenaline music, which leaves its mark with a consistent and prominently featured rhythmic pulse beat that constantly urges the player to rush past everything around them.
It has been commonly theorised that the Dimps GBA trilogy is modeled from the mainline Adventure trilogy that was released around the same timeframe, and I personally agree with this standpoint. Advance 1 takes a more tamer, simplistic approach that introduces Modern elements into 2D Sonic, much as Adventure brought about the origins of the Modern classification in general. Later on, Advance 3 would also take inspiration from Heroes’ team-based gameplay mechanics with its Tag Action gimmick. This leaves Advance 2 as the 2D counterpart of Adventure 2, and if you observe the design of SA2’s speed stages, you’d notice similarities in how both games play. They both implement a trick system that incentivises players to storm through the level in style, and both have specialised attention to the speed and spectacle of their levels. Heck, SA2’s most iconic set piece has Sonic skateboarding on a constant downhill slope, just like literally every level in Advance 2! That being said, while I do disagree with Dimps’ approach to making every level share the exact same geographical structure, and acknowledge it as a flaw present within the game, the design intention is still apparent. A fast-paced, non-stop hurdle of an obstacle course that offers high rewards in exchange for high skill, filled to the brim with cool set pieces to make Sonic’s conquest of the area as cool as humanly possible.
What sets Advance 2 apart from SA2, however, as well as every other game in the franchise, is its insurmountable yet satisfying to achieve skill ceiling.
While SA2’s trick system focuses on the player’s skill to chain together attacks and usage of the B button, Advance 2’s trick system retains that feel of being Cool As Shit while also focusing on something far more important - movement. Each trick is designed to grant Sonic that extra push of aerial movement he needs to reach a distant platform, and allows him to keep momentum going as soon as he lands on his feet. Combined with the fact that you get much higher vertical jump height by pressing the jump button before a grind rail/ramp launch, aerial movement with the trick system is versatile and incredibly precise to master. The trick system also has the unspoken niche of giving Sonic the ability to interrupt his aerial trajectory, allowing him almost complete control over where he wishes to go without sacrificing boost mode in the process.
Oh yeah boost mode
Boost mode is, in my own personal opinion, the single most innovative addition to 2D Sonic as a formula. Unlike later iterations that made the Boost immediately available and invulnerable towards most enemies, Boost Mode is a reward for expert gameplay, demanding a high level of skill, smart memorisation of the level layout, quick decision-making and free-flowing platforming in order to earn it, while still being vulnerable to enemies to prevent complacency from the players’ end. And much like the later boost games, Advance 2’s obstacle course level design also constantly hurls itself at the player, challenging their ability to maintain this wildly uncontrollable form of speed against wave after wave of hazards and enemies. The ring system also gets some much-needed love beyond being a recognition of the player’s ability to not take damage (an incredibly easy feat if you go slow SMH), with higher ring counts making attainment of Boost Mode quicker. In a way, Boost Mode fully embraces the speedrunning nature of video games, requiring players to master their craft of the trick system, recognise the ideal route for optimum speed, be constantly aware of their surroundings and the hazards ahead, and discovering dash pads that allow them to maintain Boost Mode while weaving past the complexity of the level design.
All three mechanics come together to form an unprecedented sense of resonance and harmony with one another, forming a satisfying feedback loop that constantly intertwines within itself in a short timeframe. Get rings. Faster activation of boost mode. Utilise trick system to maintain boost mode. Up to this point I’ve yet to mention Sonic’s Air Dash, which, with its (admittedly flawed) difficult input, further raises the bar required to master the high speeds of Advance 2. When everything blends together, the end result is a thrilling adrenaline rush which pushes you to the absolute limit. A perfect middle line between Classic Sonic's focus on momentum, fluidity and earning speed, and Modern Sonic's focus on decision-making, adrenaline-fueling thrills and maintaining speed.
In Advance 2, every action and decision is a commitment from the player that can either see them passing with flying colours or crash and burn. With its notoriously high skill ceiling, the average players’ experience is extremely divisive. You either fail miserably, or you run like the coolest motherfucker on the planet. Just like Sonic. Just like those split-second decisions that often decide life or death.
To me, Sonic Advance 2 represents the pinnacle of Sonic as a control character. It simply feels like Sonic. Nothing else comes quite as close.
Never fear the fall.
Final score: 8.5/10
Focus: How Advance 2 represents the peak of Sonic as a playable character.
...but definitely fear the random monkey obscured by the tiny GBA screen.
ShinGenX
6 months ago
Also, if you’re one of those ‘uhm ackshually this game is hold right to win’ people, try actually routing and or at the very least, watch speedruns of the levels. Advance 2’s level design is inherently different from every other 2D game which does limit exploration, but to call it ‘hold right to win’ is dismissive of it’s replayability in terms of time attack and the precision required of a speedrun of even Leaf Forest Act Fucking One.