Sonic Advance 3 is the first GBA Sonic game to feel like a true 2D Sonic game.
User Rating: 9.2 | Sonic Advance 3 GBA
In 2002 Sega released there first Sonic Advance game. The game stuck ridgedly to the 'Sonic 2 Formula', it was good but it was little short, (I completed the game as Sonic on the bus home). The second game Sonic Advance 2 was released in 2003, the game was an improvement on Sonic Advance but the boss battles were poor. This leads me onto Sonic Advance 3, which, in my opinion is the best Sonic Advance game released as it sucessfully captured the magic of the MegaDrive games. Gameplay: The biggest new feature in Advance 3 is the Partner system, which has taken it cue from Sonic Heroes team work system. This system work similar to the way Tails worked in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, your partner character follows you around, however unlike Sonic 2 you can call your character to you by pressing the R button, this allows you to perform a 'Tag Action' move, this will change depending on the partner character you selected. The Partner system also effects the game in other way's as your character has different move set to the B button, for example, If you selected Sonic as you lead character and Tails as your partner, you B button move would be the Skid Attack whereas if had Amy Rose as you partner, Sonic would us her Hammer and he would lose his ability to perform a spinning jump. Another new feature of Advance 3 is the Hub world, which are alot like Sonic Adventure's adventure fields, this aspect of the game is a bit dodgy as this type of thing doesn't really work in 2D. The level design is great as it is a combination of Sonic the Hedgehog's levels and Sonic Advance 2 levels. There are plenty of setion for you to hit full speed plus it cater's for more exploration to find the hidden Chao's which enable you access to the games Special Stages. The boss battle's are much better as they are stationary again. Graphics: The graphics are great, the sprite's have better animation than Sonic Advance 2 and the backgrounds are a huge improvement over Sonic Advance's and Sonic Advance 2's as they are alot more vibrent. Eggman's machine are quite imposing and well animated. Story: The story is your usual Sonic affair. Sound: The music in Sonic Advance 3 is great, the tune which stands out the most is the remix of the Green Hill Zone which plays over the Sunset Hill level. The game now features voice snippets from all the character's. The sound effects are the standard Sonic affair. Sonic Advance 3 is the best Sonic game on the GameBoy Advance, the game sucessfully captured the magic which made the MegaDrive Sonic games great. 
