I remember this series totally ruling, but I want to say it gets drastically better in Advance 2? Because this one is actually pretty pedestrian. Like, it’s not BAD. It’s a classic-style Sonic platformer and you get to play as four different characters. The level design is pretty comparable to the Genesis era, though not the Genesis era at its best necessarily. But yeah. Mostly this just ain’t half bad.

I do like that you have to play through as all four of us (me, Sonic, Knux, and Ames), and that we all play way differently. Playing with Amy is ANNOYING, playing with me is joyous and freeing and kinda breaks the game, etc.

The zones are all pretty simple, and not really much of a strength. (This is something I remember improving in Advance 2, so hopefully my memory is correct there.) Like, there’s nothing wrong with them, but they just don’t add much. They’re just fine.

I know it sounds like I’m really down on this game, but I’m not! I think it’s a worthy successor to the classic 2D games, but that means I’m comparing it to them. And that’s a really high standard to be judged by. That’s all. This game honestly rules, even if I don’t have as much to say about it as I do about the Genesis games I grew up with.

Speaking of judging, let’s rank some stuff! Not ranking The Moon Zone under zones because it’s just a boss fight.

Zones
1. X-Zone (B-Rank)
2. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
3. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
4. Angel Island Zone (B-Rank)
5. Ice Mountain Zone (B-Rank)
6. Neo Green Hill Zone (B-Rank)
7. Secret Base Zone (C-Rank)
8. Casino Paradise Zone (C-Rank)

Bosses
1. Egg Mobile-H (A-Rank)
2. Egg Mobile-D (A-Rank)
3. Mecha Knuckles (A-Rank)
4. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
5. EGG X (B-Rank)
6. Egg Hammer Tank (B-Rank)
7. Egg Snake (B-Rank)
8. Egg Spider (B-Rank)
9. Egg Ball (B-Rank)
Egg Press (B-Rank)

Soundtrack
1. X-Zone Boss 2 (S-Rank)
2. X-Zone Boss 1 (S-Rank)
3. X-Zone Boss 3 (A-Rank)
4. Boss 6 (A-Rank)
5. Mecha Knuckles Part 2 (A-Rank)
6. X-Zone (A-Rank)
7. Mecha Knuckles Part 1 (A-Rank)
8. Cosmic Angel Zone (B-Rank)
9. The Moon Zone (B-Rank)
10. Egg Rocket Zone (B-Rank)
11. Boss 1-4 (B-Rank)
12. Angel Island Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
13. Ice Mountain Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
14. Secret Base Zone Act 2 (B-Rank)
15. Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 (B-Rank)
16. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
17. Credits (C-Rank)
18. Special Stage (C-Rank)
19. Angel Island Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)
20. Secret Base Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
21. Neo Green Hill Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
22. Casino Paradise Zone Act 1 (C-Rank)
23. Casino Paradise Zone Act 2 (C-Rank)