This review contains spoilers
Not only have I now finished it for the first time, I also got the true ending in what was effectively one sitting (Played for 20 mins one night then played the rest tonight).
Oh my god. What a game. The only time I've made a serious attempt to play this game was back in 2013, but I never quite made it to the end. Having now done so in record time...
As someone who's pretty biased towards the original Rush due to nostalgia, that always got in the way of me enjoying Adventure. I liked the raw art style, I loved the boundaries it broke and I loved Hideki's limitation smashing soundtrack. All of these things are a direct contrast to SRA, so I convinced myself I wouldn't enjoy it as a result, despite my previous incomplete playthrough being pretty pleasant for the most part.
The level design in Rush Adventure is just better for a start. Levels are more varied with more dynamic gimmicks on display which make even greater use of the dual screens. Although there's still too many bottomless pits, they're slightly more predictable and placed in less trollish places, which made it pretty easy to dodge them even with no foresight. The levels themselves also look gorgeous, and really have quite a few more layers of depth than anything found in Rush.
The story is also way more present, a feature that some may not like (especially due to the addition of Marine the Racoon) but I found it tied the package together nicer and gave me more motivation to want to push on through the game. Sure, Marine can sometimes get irritating, but it is also entirely on purpose (so not a writing flaw as such) and she does have a charm as as several jokes that land. By the end of the journey, I did find myself very attached to her alongside the rest of the returning squad.
The music was originally the factor I was saltiest about, which is mainly what stopped me from enjoying the game for so long. As Hideki Naganuma was unable to return to score this game due to being pre-engaged composing music for Yakuza, Tomoya Ohtani was brought in to replace him alongside the returning sound team, and while there is definitely still a slight switch in style, Tomoya does an amazing job at emulating Hideki's style, far far more than he's ever given credit for. All of these tracks are worth their weight in gold and then some. This is a great OST and yet more proof that Ohtani can pull off absolutely any genre thrown at him.
Also as usual, the Last Story/Super Sonic Final Boss is absolutely kino. Any game in the series from around this time that makes you go super far out of your way to get the true ending seems to always have a satisfying ending, and Rush might just be one of the best. You get such a "fruits of your labor" feeling upon seeing the first cutscene after collecting both sets of emeralds. All the grinding is very worth it, and significantly less of a pain than Heroes and Shadow, you should absolutely go out of your way to see the proper ending (even if Eggman being the true villain all along despite not appearing in the main game is a tad disappointing).
Overall, I really loved this game, far more than I ever expected to. I would highly recommend, give this game a shot if you're a fan of the series or even just someone looking for a fun game on the go. It hooked me like no Sonic game has for a very long time, despite my initial expectations.
Oh also I played the game with Japanese voices. I don't remember Jason's Sonic sticking out much to be in this game, but Junichi is great here. Classic snarky yet cool Sonic, and we've even got anime protagonist Blaze to boot lol. But very enjoyable VO available in the JP version that added to my experience (plus if you play the JP cart on an ENG DS, you get English text to boot!).
Oh my god. What a game. The only time I've made a serious attempt to play this game was back in 2013, but I never quite made it to the end. Having now done so in record time...
As someone who's pretty biased towards the original Rush due to nostalgia, that always got in the way of me enjoying Adventure. I liked the raw art style, I loved the boundaries it broke and I loved Hideki's limitation smashing soundtrack. All of these things are a direct contrast to SRA, so I convinced myself I wouldn't enjoy it as a result, despite my previous incomplete playthrough being pretty pleasant for the most part.
The level design in Rush Adventure is just better for a start. Levels are more varied with more dynamic gimmicks on display which make even greater use of the dual screens. Although there's still too many bottomless pits, they're slightly more predictable and placed in less trollish places, which made it pretty easy to dodge them even with no foresight. The levels themselves also look gorgeous, and really have quite a few more layers of depth than anything found in Rush.
The story is also way more present, a feature that some may not like (especially due to the addition of Marine the Racoon) but I found it tied the package together nicer and gave me more motivation to want to push on through the game. Sure, Marine can sometimes get irritating, but it is also entirely on purpose (so not a writing flaw as such) and she does have a charm as as several jokes that land. By the end of the journey, I did find myself very attached to her alongside the rest of the returning squad.
The music was originally the factor I was saltiest about, which is mainly what stopped me from enjoying the game for so long. As Hideki Naganuma was unable to return to score this game due to being pre-engaged composing music for Yakuza, Tomoya Ohtani was brought in to replace him alongside the returning sound team, and while there is definitely still a slight switch in style, Tomoya does an amazing job at emulating Hideki's style, far far more than he's ever given credit for. All of these tracks are worth their weight in gold and then some. This is a great OST and yet more proof that Ohtani can pull off absolutely any genre thrown at him.
Also as usual, the Last Story/Super Sonic Final Boss is absolutely kino. Any game in the series from around this time that makes you go super far out of your way to get the true ending seems to always have a satisfying ending, and Rush might just be one of the best. You get such a "fruits of your labor" feeling upon seeing the first cutscene after collecting both sets of emeralds. All the grinding is very worth it, and significantly less of a pain than Heroes and Shadow, you should absolutely go out of your way to see the proper ending (even if Eggman being the true villain all along despite not appearing in the main game is a tad disappointing).
Overall, I really loved this game, far more than I ever expected to. I would highly recommend, give this game a shot if you're a fan of the series or even just someone looking for a fun game on the go. It hooked me like no Sonic game has for a very long time, despite my initial expectations.
Oh also I played the game with Japanese voices. I don't remember Jason's Sonic sticking out much to be in this game, but Junichi is great here. Classic snarky yet cool Sonic, and we've even got anime protagonist Blaze to boot lol. But very enjoyable VO available in the JP version that added to my experience (plus if you play the JP cart on an ENG DS, you get English text to boot!).