Sonic Adventure | The Almost Perfect 3D Transition 

"Behold, a tailed frog! *Very unique.* " Gets me every time.

"S O N I C H A S H A D A R O C K Y S T A R T I N 3 D" -Some guy who's never actually played a Sonic game.

Even if I am not a Sonic fan, I can admire one thing: there's heart in this. A big and earnest effort to create and craft a story which has deep roots in the past of the characters and whose shoots point off in the infinite horizon of the future. It's innocent, but has also depth, from what I saw; and that, no matter how clunky the cut-scenes and the gameplay, is something I can admire and respect.

Fun fact, if it's your first playthrough of a level, 10 seconds will be added to the timer (you can see this in this video, with Tails' Windy Valley). This is because, for some reason, they think it'd take you 10 seconds to jump on the capsule in subsequent playthroughs, and they adjust your Level C time accordingly. Weird...

Sonic DID in fact have a rough transition into 3D. Games like 3D Blast, sonic R and the cancellation of Sonic X-treme were the rocky transition. Sonic Adventure is when the series properly transitioned into 3D. So yes, there was a rough transition. I constantly see that phrase being misused and it's frustrating. But yeah, Sonic Adventure is a personal favorite of mine!

I never understood why people say Sonic in 3D wasn't good. Obviously you never played Adventure when it came out on Dreamcast. This game was amazing.

It's worth mentioning that, at the time of release, Adventure 1 was the first 3D platformer since Mario 64 to be made by a japanese developer, unless you count Chameleon Twist or Megaman Legends. Everything released in between ( Crash trilogy, Spyro, Banjo, Gex, Croc ) were either made by americans or brits

This was an absolutely wonderful transition into 3D despite its warts and flaws from a modern lens. Because of the series' subsequent dip in quality and the Adventure formula's evolution coming to a halt/being butchered via 06, people ABSOLUTELY turned their backs on the Adventure games and literally rewrote history acting as if these games weren't the shit. Given a revisit of the formula and a competent development team that truly gives a shit, Sonic Adventure's formula/control could legit hold the key to a truly great modern, fully 3D Sonic title that meets in the middle for classic and modern fans.

I loved it, when Sonic Team focused on world building for their stories

"Sonic had a rough transition to-" J: *MY ASS*

The phrase of Sonic having bad transition into 3D, IMO is actually true The thing is people have used that phrase wrong for a long time. It’s a better way to describe Sonic’s time on the Saturn than it is for his time on the Dreamcast

Liked the video before the ads were finished. SA1 has a ton of ambition and heart that make for a lasting gem. I can't stop picturing a remake on PS4, XBO, and Switch.

Fun fact: “Unknown from M.E.” was partially performed by Dred Foxx, the voice of PaRappa the Rapper.

As someone who also grew up with Sonic Adventure I agree with this video completely. SA is rough around the edges as an early 3D game, but that's part of why I appreciate it and I love how the Adventure era expanded on the lore of the Genesis era. It makes me sad that all this lore was retconned in modern Sonic games

24:08 fun fact: I don't know why, but that long walk for Knuckles was added in DX version. Original Dreamcast version didn't have that.

Oh man... That Amy Themes' Bass Line just fucking slaps. It's way too good. Hell, it took me years later to find out the singer was a Britney Spears dancer? Kinda makes sense when you think of the time.

I have no nostalgia for this game. Playing it on Steam last year makes me wish I did. It’s one of the best Sonic games. I actually liked Amy’s stage. Imagine if they fleshed her gameplay style out like how they made her in Advance.

The most enjoyable review of SA I've seen. Good writing, pacing and humor

> Claims to not give any newfound revelations about this game > Conceives of an impressive last stage that could have been

sonic had the best running style in this game. it was awesome.

We will probably never get a game as stylish and ambitious in its concept as Sonic Adventure. Just imagine if they had much more time and experience to use and polish the game further.

Great video! In-depth and well thought out. I remember when Sonic Adventure first came out and I wanted to play it so badly. I got a dreamcast about 3 years ago and finally got to play sonic adventure. I was expecting a a terrible early 3d sort of game, but wow. It held up and is by far my favorite 3D sonic game. I had played Generations before this and although I liked generations, Sonic Adventure just felt right. Anyways, awesome video!

Don’t worry, J, I’m 98% sure nobody with disagree with your opinion of Big.

Safe to say the best thing about the Adventure era is say it with me now......Crush 40

"Though not absolutely perfect, Sonic has overall had a great transition into 3D"

sOnIcs rOcKY sTarT iN 3d!! Honestly do think that Adventure 1 is a flawed but still incredibly fun game, was the best adaptation of the 2d games to 3d and had a huge sense of style and charm

I’ve always thought that Dr. Robotnik took to calling himself Eggman out of spite for Sonic and company.

This game has the best control in any Sonic game

But j, you forgot to mention the element of the game that everyone has been clambering for for YEARS now. The ChAo GaRdEn

I love the SA world, I always like how it’s place in a real world with the hotel, casino, the train. It was a good immersive experience and imo it made the world feel bigger than it was. I love the music too, it’s so nostalgic

i just love the change in tone in tails' voice when he says "That's Eggman! I wonder what happened to sonic?"

5:20 I also love how Knuckles just thinks they’re being weird and not knocked out

Jeb Ruby And now J's It's a good time to defend the Adventures

Man this, Adventure 2, Sonic 06, and the genesis games are probably one of the most reviewed games on RU-vid. Sonic might be a less quality series than Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Kirby, and some of Nintendo's other offerings, but I swear he gets more overall attention than they have, previous game wise.

Ah when Sega cared to make their characters interesting instead of meme fodder. The ridiculous nature of this franchise works much better when the characters take it seriously to some extent. Modern Sonic as he stands today just tries too hard to stay light hearted through memes instead of just writing a fun story that takes itself serious but not TOO serious like SA1 and 2 and Heroes, even Shadow the Hedgehog gets it more right than forces imho

"Confidence in SEGA was at an all time low..." Am I the only one that thinks this is pretty accurate today?

What I really admire about this game is the ambition to add so much to the Sonic series. Trying to translate Sonic into 3D is already one big task to do but they also put into the effort to have a full story with full 3D animated cutscenes and voice acting, many playable characters with their own gameplay styles, several lyrical tracks, and so much more. They even put in the effort for lots of new little things such as emblems and unlockable abilities.

I find it curious how when people talk about other landmark early 3D titles, they're always described in a way where they're greater than the sum of their parts. Mario 64, Crash, Ocarina of Time, Spyro, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil... and I think that's the right thing to do. Even if parts of these games don't age well, there's still great value in what they brought to the table and did for their respective series in context of the gaming landscape at the time. And there's still value in revisiting or replaying them. But for some reason, Sonic Adventure doesn't get to have that. When reviewed, it's not afforded the luxury to be recognized for its contributions and evolutions to its own series. For some reason when talking about this game, it must *necessarily* be defined by its flaws as an early 3D title. I appreciate retrospectives like this that take the time to explore what SA1 did for the series in context of its time!

YOSH!!!! You're FINALLY doing the Adventure Era. I used to think you were teasing us, but you just wanted to do the Sonic games in order.

Sonic Adventure obviously isn’t some magnum opus but it definitely isn’t some shitty rushed mess that people didn’t care about. It’s flawed and the cutscenes haven’t aged well, but especially for its time it’s an extremely ambitious and fun game

About your criticisms of Tails' playthrough, I think it isn't as big of a problem as you say because you have to know where to fly to skip the whole stage. You won't know that on a first playthrough, and it'll take quite a bit of practice to get to the point where you can skip levels consistently

This game has had my respect for many years, with a lot of that coming from the sheer amount of ambition present. On top of everything else, I still think it’s quite enjoyable. Looking forward to the SA2 video.

I bought Sonic Adventure for the PS3 in 2014. It was my first "true" 3D game to play from the 90s, and I will say that it's still fun to play this day and age, however, Big did take time to figure out. I personally don't have much grudge on the cutscenes, since I was expecting something like awkward animation or strangely different voice acting. It was however truly hilarious though how they reacts, like Sonic surprised by a Chaos Emerald. I even dare to say that Sonic's story alone made the game worth a try. A game that has aged doesn't always reflect on how fun it can still be. I liked the game then, I still like it now. Especially with mods

He started calling himself Eggman because that was his original japanese name. The translators just didn't want to always change his name from japanese (Eggman) to Robotnic. With the start of 3D his japanese name became his worldwide name. So people who complain about the name change are always a bit strange to me because in actuallity Robotnic is the fake name and Eggman was his real name from the start.

They almost NAILED 3D Sonic, these Sonic levels are still fun as hell. SO frustrating they didn't simply refine and improve that aspect and filled their games with unnecessary, though sometimes fun, gimmicks.

I prefer 3 & Knuckles over Adventure 1 But Adventure is still the next epic project they had in mind It moved the series I just find ignorant when people say that this game started the rift Sonic 06 would consumate

The SA games were the best of the best of 3D games, wish they’d make an SA3 but we’re probably just going to get rereleases now

23:05 Glad that you've pointed out that The Sly Cooper Trilogy does that same repeated limited stock animations just like SA1.

On the topic of the Sky Chase stages, during a GDQ run the runner just moved to a corner and went to get a bag of chips.

That said, it's crazy when you think this game was released in 1998 in Japan, just 4 years after Sonic 3! The mid 90s were a bewildering time of change in gaming.

Fully agree, the game was fantastic in it's time; there were so many extras, not to mention the VMU game and looking after the Chaos. Critics are usually people that played the game 10+ years later or were mario fans :D

The ending theme of Tails is a vocalization of the bridge zone of the SMS Sonic 1

The Adventure era isn't perfect but I feel like it (and the Dark age) were the last time Sega really hit the nail on the head when it came to Sonic's storyline and overall Sonic flare. The Meta era isn't all terrible don't get me wrong but I just feel like the newer games in the series moreso play it safe. Lost World was a failed attempt at bringing in the Mario crowd and Forces used the boost formula lazily again and generally fumbling the overall plot. I hope in the future Sega take more risks with the Sonic series like they used to

Remember how eggman was gonna suicide bomb the city when the bomb didn’t go off? Fans would’ve hated that characterization if done today.

One of the greatest transitions to the 3D era in gaming history.

It's sad that sonic peaked at the adventure series. I'm heading into my 30's waiting for sonic to be truly great again. Mania was phenomenal but I want 3D sonic to continue the bold story telling sonic adventure gave me.

After perfect chaos has been defeated Station Square is in ruins, disfigured buildings line the streets, and there are dozens of victims trapped in the wreckage... Tails: All's well that ends well

Perfect Chaos Defeating the Egg Carrier 2 was meant to show it's power how it basically one shot what was a Hub for multiple levels that you played through.

Bad review. You didn't say that sonic had a rocky transition to 3D

6:04 They also pale in comparison to the power of Chaos.

Sonic did have a rocky 3D start. Has Adventure aged in areas? Absolutely (presentation). However if someone were to ask me what was the definitive version of the cast I would direct them to the Sonic era of 1998-2004. It was simply the era where every Sonic character was just at their best and most consistent (with exception of Sonic Battle) despite being the most technically flawed, Adventure is no slouch in the character department and besides Archie or IDW its what I would call "Sonic cast" as their best. And despite their technical shortcomings the Dreamcast era is still my favorite. Sonic is written to be cocky, laidback, always looking forward to action/adventure and has corny jokes. What I enjoyed most was how each character served to play off different aspects of his personality. He's normal around Tails and shows their brotherly dynamic. When it comes to Knuckles, there was sort of a rivalry friendship going on, contrasting to Knuckles then mellow, duty bound, street smart persona. When it comes to Amy he shows an annoyed side due to her childlike naivety. But isn't afraid to be serious when she's in danger. That's part of what made the cast appealing how they all affected the main character or play off of him. With Tails he's the inventor genius, but not to the degree where it consumes his persona and fighting capabilities are thrown away. Part of his story was wanting his own independence away from being Sonic's sidekick. That scene where he hights Eggman at Station Square was one of the best moments and a defining one for his character. I also liked the clash of "Genius vs Genius" scale they had with Tails vs Eggman. Its even more impactful in SA2. Even though his campaign sucks gameplay wise its one of my least favorites to play. His story is one of the best tho. With Amy, this might be unpopular. But until recent games this was the best version of her. It balances the best of both personas. Amy still likes Sonic, but its played in a way where she admires him as an idol. And there's more to her crush than she wants him. (such as her missing "the good old days hanging out with him, showcasing she missed the sense of adventure he brought) even her first meeting with him was asking how he has been. But she also has childlike naivety. While there's a mission to stop Eggman and a missile she's concerned with a bird's safety, not because she's stupid or unaware, but because she sees things in a different perspective. And while her gameplay is underwhelming I think it made sense for her to be lacking in comparison to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles it works to show her inexperience compared to them in fact from a gameplay sense Amy did develop. By Sonic Heroes she leads her own team and can run fast. I also loved the arc in both Adventure games where she had a need to want to be included. Amy had other goals that balanced it out. Need I also mention her scene with Gamma? Amy was allowed to have her own goals like protecting Gamma and the bird. Amy and Tails had the best arcs in the game that served to help their character. Which also helps because they are my favorite characters. When it comes to Knuckles, I like how they can show him tricked by Eggman, but not do it in a way where he comes off as stupid. Its more nuanced and Knuckles still remains honor bound in protecting the Mast Emerald. I also miss his rather gruff and more mellow persona. His voice also really helped with that. Or the fact he was suppose to be a treasure hunter. Even Big the Cat had something that wasn't just memes. Do I even need to mention Adventure 2? The Dreamcast era easily had the best characters for any of them. And even with all the game's faults I still love coming back to them! Also this isn't to say Dark Age doesn't do character right, they do.(, Rush games, Black Knight and Unleashed being best ones) I just think in some cases characters started getting sporadic with their proactivity (namely in how they started being playable less outside of spin offs like Riders or party games) and character inconsistency or flanderization beginning to kick in (Knuckles, Amy, Shadow being examples) I also like the detail of how each character's perspective is shown differently from their point of view. With better writing this could've been better on execution moment (i.e it trying to shove 6 different perspectives and not knowing how to connect them well), but serves decently for what it does in the moment.

Finally someone makes a GOOD Sonic adventure review!! My absolute all tine favorite 3d sonic ever!

Easily my favorite 3D Sonic game.

I feel like mentioning how "over reviewed" adventure 1 is is kinda unnecessary. There doesn't need to be some sorta condition or perfect time to talk about something on the internet that you're passionate about, even if someone has made another video expressing similar points. Just do you, and let the content you make stand on its own (bc it certainly does).

This game was a huge part of my childhood, as were games such as Adventure 2 and Heroes. That being said, I think I actually slightly prefer Adventure 1 over Adventure 2 gameplay-wse, contrary to popular opinion... there was just a certain magic this one had that SA2 didn't have - for one, SA1 had a wider variety of music. SA2 had mostly rock, and as SomecallmeJohny once said, ''I like rock. But I don't want to be listening to it ALL the time.'' (or something across those lines, I can't remember) and Knuckles and Tails had better gameplay mechanics in the first Adventure game compared to SA2. Overall, I REALLY love SA2, but SA1 is where it's at for me, personally. And then there's Sonic Heroes, another game which I grew up with and love, but I'll get more in-depth on that game some other time.

People say that the adventure games suck cause they’ve aged... so? Does it really matter? It was really good for it’s time and the formula they had for the adventure games was perfect. The adventure style isn’t old or bad, it just needs more definition

I am loving this retrospective! I'm surprised that you said so much stuff I never heard from other reviewers.

Played that game as a kid. My english skills back then were non existent but the game had options for Spanish subtitles (which I could understand for the most part). Playing a game like that and actually being able to understand the story was a completely new thing for me, amd hearing the songs at the end actually made me cry. I have lots of found memories with this game. I love it.

I really don't understand who people say sa1 sucks, its not even that janky when it comes to gameplay, i mean yea the cuts cutscenes suck but people make this game out to be some unplayable mess

I honestly love each and every one of your closing reflections about the games you review because they are so concise and concrete and you can really feel and hear your sense of passion for them! Keep up the great work definitely a RU-vidr who’s videos I genuinely look forward to!!

Listening to this while I’m at work and all I can think about is going home and setting up my DreamCast

I've been waiting for this!

Two days ago I just started playing SA2 for the first time on dolphin emulator. And I gotta say it was really good of course the camera controls were somewhat hard to use or control but not to a point where it was impossible to beat. Heck I first thought the treasure hunting stages were going to be difficult but was easier than I thought

I never got what was so bad about Tails' voice in this game, I think it's perfectly fine.

Oh my god, finally, a positive Sonic Adventure review. I'm so tired of people bashing this game and saying bs like "Sonic had a very bad start in 3D."

I wasn't expecting this video, but a welcoming surprise

About damn time,heres hoping it will kill all the unfair bias this game has!

Sonic Adventure might not be perfect but it has the characters at it's best, something we don't see so often nowadays in this series.

Sonic Adventure is my favorite 3D Sonic game! This game is amazing! :)

i'm just binging this retrospective man, i love it soooo much. The 06 one is 2 hours and i loved every damn second of it! Keep it up!

20:09 Actually, there kinda is. If you stand a medium distance away from chaos four at all times, you can manipulate his attacks and make sure he only uses the splash and the slash attacks. The other 2 attacks where he stretches out his arms and where he throws those balls at you take a ton of time, so you can technically speed it up compared to a normal playthrough.

Finally someone else who thinks the controls just feel off in the PS3 ports. I'm well aware of how the game has aged but the PS3 ports had me wondering how I dealt with, nay loved the controls as a kid. Every review I've seen implies that the controls were always this bad and having last played and loved DX again a few years before the HD version I was just at a loss for how it had never bothered me before. Glad to know I wasn't crazy and the HD ports just don't feel right on PS3.

Sonic Adventure is one of my favorite Sonic games. The "flaws" and rawness of it are actually part of its appeal to me. I think a lot of modern games have become so afraid of having glitches and flaws that they now limit the amount of control the player has too much just to avoid bugs.

Why did the whole world suddenly attack this game?

NICE, someone else that doesn't shit on the 3D formula because it wasn't Sonic 3 in 3D. And yes, it wasn't perfect, but then again, even the creme of the cream, Mario 64, has aged a lot as well.

I think that was an interesting perspective of this game.

english: 51:41 says "FIN" instead of saying "END" spanish: 51:41 dice "FIN" en vez de decir "END"

This is my favorite Sonic game ever! I wish they never got rid of the “select your character”

This was my favorite and most memorable sonic game I played as I never fully played the classics and I really only had adventure Dx, Heroes, Shadow, both riders (which I actually liked given it’s hoverboards) but I enjoyed Adventure DX. Also nice mention of megaman legends as I also loved megaman legends 2

honestly i really love Tails' levels, or at least the idea of them. a race against Sonic is an amazing idea imo

Can't Believe you didn't mention "Away, before I make mincemeat out of you" when talking about Tails seeing Eggman as Threatening.

Oh man, this was such a great video! I played it when it first came out on my Dreamcast and I remember it so fondly. The open world(ish) design was so great and I loved it so much. The 2 things I remember most about this game were the following: 1) hating everything about big the cat 2) THE AMAZING FINAL BOSS!!! I was probably 8 yo when the game came out and I remember the final boss being really difficult, but after beating it, I would just replay it because it was so fun and the music was so f’ing good. Great video!

One reason people should not hate on sonic is that the characters actually have personality and mario characters rarely have personality. The reason that sonic characters have like no personality really is because of the writers.

Hot Take: I love Big the Cats story and think it's a nice change of pace after playing through 4 action orientated campaigns. Also his vocal theme Lazy Days fucking slaps dude.

I’ve watched your whole sonic series, and then today just fancied rewatching the adventure 1&2 videos again. I love your videos.

The cutscene that plays in a peaceful Station Square until Perfect Chaos floods the city in such terrifying and dramatic fashion and not to mention the accurate sound effects of people screaming and glass windows shattering (shef's kiss)... BEST... CUTSCENE... EVER!!!

Dude took 41 minutes to even directly mention Big's existence, ranted for two minutes straight, then just moved on like it just never exist. He really just wants to block that part of the game forever, he made sure it took the least time possible on a video about the game

Been waiting for this one!

This is my FAVORITE Sonic game. I still replay this game to this day

When I replayed Amy’s stages recently I realized how many similarities there were between Zero and Nemesis, and in a few cases Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 and 3. You are a woman being chased by a beast while you attempt to flee from it and get to the next area, where you may have to solve a puzzle, but you can also fight him which would slow him down. Also they crash through walls multiple times, and that part in Final Egg where Zero is seen in the computer monitor before breaking it felt like that one part near the end of the B scenario in RE2, where Mr. X is seen in the cctv before smashing it.