Sonic Advance is the best throwback to the old Sonic genesis games.
Sonic Advance for the Gameboy Advance is a platformer. Sonic is a very popular series and personally, one of my favorite franchise. Who can not love that blue hedgehog running around on springs….. jumping on weird robot made by some fat dude that is shape like a egg….. and get a bunch of jewels that power you up like a super saiyin…..yeeeaaahhhh…. Ok, so Sonic is a bit weird for me, but I can't help but still love it. Well, let's get into the review.
Story: 3/10
Sonic search for Dr.Eggman in South Island by collecting chaos emerald…… that's about it. To be fair, Sonic Advance is suppose to be a throw back to the past in the genesis era. But Sonic have shown that they can put in some impressive storyline. If you look at Sonic Adventure, or even Sonic Battle, WHICH IS A GBA GAME AS WELL! They have shown that they can put in some quite interesting storylines. But Sonic Advance is just a generic storyline which have made me sad. It's possible to have a nostalgic game while having a nice story. So sadly, Sonic have fallen short in story.
Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay in Sonic is what makes it so rad. Sonic has always been about a super fast blue hedgehog thing, that runs around and kill robot while collecting rings. There are many things to help Sonic increase speed, such as ramps to help get to higher places, speed track to help Sonic run super fast, or items which can include, barrier, ring magnet thingy, invincibility, or a speed up. So it is quite nice to have so many things to help out Sonic, It really add some flavor to each level because it's fun to find these things and try to get to the goal. It just become much more versatile.
Another aspect in the gameplay is that you don't need to just play as Sonic. You can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. They all play slightly different. Sonic run fast, Tails fly, Knuckles can glide and punch, and Amy have a hammer. I believe that Tails is for beginner because flying was broken. You can fly over almost anything. Knuckles glide and can climb walls, this is VERY useful because the walls are quite safe and it make traveling much easier. Amy is very hard to use. Everybody turn into some type of ball when they jump and can kill enemy by touching them. Amy, on the other hand, have to use a hammer when jumping. I found it interesting that they did this but I believe it's because they want to make Amy hard to use. Which I do not mind because I loved how every character is different. It adds some unique tricks to beating a stage and really add some replay ability. No one is the same, so it's fun to replay a stage as someone else.
One final thing I want to mention in gameplay is the Tiny Chao garden. I love it! I'm addicted to every game with a chao garden in it since Sonic Adventure and this is no exception. Admitiedly, this game is a bit lack luster compare to the console one but I don't blame them. There is a reason why it's called a Tiny Chao Garden. Though, I really do enjoy it. Your allowed to raise a chao, and the Chao level up in different status on the right, by eating stuff from the list at the left. You have to buy these food and it all add up while you are playing the stages. So this does add to replay ability if you have OCD and make a god tier Chao, LIKE ME! Sadly I can't show you my god tier Chao because it was on my GBA and I honestly do NOT want to try that again. I've lost too much time in my life to this…..
Visual: 7/10
The graphic in Sonic Advance is quite possibly one of the best I've ever seen in GBA. The sprite for the character look amazing and really show a cartoon feel to it. Every character looks impressive, including the robots.
The background is colorful and lively. I feel like most stages really show the world of Sonic. It's just so lively and pretty.
Sound:9/10
If you ever played Sonic before, you should know that Sonic almost never fail in presenting amazing music. Sonic Advance is no exception. I usually don't like GBA OST because I'm not a huge fan of the simple sounding sounds come from the games. But Sonic Advance really shine here. It really feel like a Sonic game, it's upbeat and energetic. I really recommend people to listen to it sometime.
Replayability:7/10
Replay ability is a huge part in gaming. If the game have amazing replay ability, then it's worth buying. Sonic Advance have some pretty nice replayability. The ability to play as 4 different characters would make you feel like playing it again but with a different hero. You will likely come back and play this game because of this. Oh, and the Chao Garden have always been addicting since Sonic Adventure. I would spend days; an embarrassing amount of time just playing it. So you will get your money worth here.
Verdict: 7/10
Overall, Sonic Advance is a great game to own for your gameboy advance. If you don't care about story like I do, then you will really love this game. It's a short game but with many replayability. Sonic Advance, get a 7/10