In Sonic Advance 3, Sonic Team has given fans of the speedy blue one what they really want – a return-to-the-original, side-scrolling game with all the speed and charm that made the Genesis game such a winner. In addition, they’ve thrown in enough extras to give the game a fresh, modern feel.
As is usual for a Sonic action game, the story behind the game is paper thin. Dr. Eggman is attempting to turn the world into Eggman Land with the seven Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and his friends must stop Eggman and restore the world.
The main story mode is played with pairs of characters. Initially only Sonic and Tails are selectable. The player determines which will be the lead character and which will be the trailing, CPU-controlled character that bats cleanup. Each of the characters has different special actions that it can execute. In addition to the standard, single-character, run-fast, jump, attack and collect-rings gameplay, Sonic Advance 3 adds a well-executed tag-team element where the two characters combine their individual skills to overcome enemies and obstacles in the game. I know this has been done before, but in my opinion it has not been done better than in Sonic Advance 3. Depending on the combination of characters, the tag actions have very different effects. Figuring out all the combinations for tag actions as Knuckles, Cream and Amy are unlocked add immensely to the replay value of Sonic Advance 3. With five characters to mix and match and a variety of level obstacles and enemies to overcome, it almost boggles the mind how many tag actions there are to discover and use here.
The seven zones (levels) are large and whimsical. Each of the seven zones is divided into three acts with a boss robot to defeat at the end of each zone. An emphasis has been placed on actually exploring the zones by adding an additional goal of finding all the “chao” creatures that inhabit the zone. Finding all the chao earns the player a key that unlocks a special stage where one of the seven chaos emeralds can be obtained. It is possible to revisit previously-completed zones with new combinations of characters to further explore and earn items.
In addition to the main story mode, which can also be played cooperatively if you have a friend who owns a GBA, link cable and another copy of the game, Sonic Advance 3 also offers a Time Attack mode that challenges players to complete previously-finished levels in the shortest time possible and two multiplayer battle modes played via link cable.
Graphics and sound are truly first rate. The feeling of speed as Sonic gets up a full head of steam is every bit as heady as it was on the Genesis original. Everything is very detailed considering the size of the screen we’re dealing with here. Sound adds greatly to the speedy feeling of the game with appropriately bouncy music.
The game controls as smooth as silk. The control pad, ‘A’, ‘B’ and right shoulder button make up the entire ensemble for in-game action and become quite intuitive after only a little practice.
Sonic Advance 3 is a great action addition to any GBA player’s library. For Sonic fans that are GBA owners, it is a must-buy. The combination of the terrifically-executed side-scrolling action game that became the killer app for the Genesis, along with the replay-enhancing tag-actions feature, makes Sonic Advance 3 a winner.
© 2004 GameShark.com
