This was the first Sonic game I ever actually owned and so I definitely have something of a nostalgia bias towards it. As I was a very Sonic obsessed kid that meant that it remained wedged into my original purple GBA for a long, long time. Even after getting more games, this was one I frequently returned to time and time again. So it's admittedly difficult to separate myself from those feelings, even after recently replaying the game in full.

That said, I still think that Sonic Advance is a great game, although one that isn't without it's flaws. For the most part it's one of the best platformers on the system and it does a fantastic job emulating the level design of the original Sonic trilogy. But the issue there is that it mostly is playing it too safe. When comparing it to the later two entries in the Advance trilogy, it's obvious that they hadn't quite figured out what the identity of these games was yet and so they opted to make a game that is fun to play but is also largely derivative.

What does make it stand out though is having four different playable heroes to choose from, each of them having very different move sets. Traversal and enemy/boss elimination can differ a lot based on who you choose and this can make the game easier or harder.

Not only is there variety in the movesets but the animations are especially well done. The Sonic Advance style of character sprites are some of the best in the whole franchise and while they would later be improved upon, they're still full of charm here.

The actual level aesthetics still lack a distinctive identity but they still look nice at least and are incredibly detailed.

So overall, Sonic Advance feels very traditional, like a homage to the original formula that made Sonic so popular in the first place. If you like that sort of Sonic gameplay, you will be well catered for here honestly.