Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Review

Sonic Adventure 2 is the pinnacle of graphical achievement on the Dreamcast, but the game has been ported to the GameCube with few improvements. The texture clarity has been bumped up a bit, and the frame rates are pegged at 60fps, but that's where the improvements end. Even so, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is predominantly a nice looking game. Some of the levels are quite stunning and feature enviable texture work. The themes used for each stage transcend the stereotypical ice, fire, and water levels found in other games in its genre. Special effects such as reflections, real-time lighting, and particle effects are sparse and rarely seen, but the game's extremely clean look compensates for it. The animation is adequate--though nothing special--and the facial animations have not been reworked to match the English dialogue. It would have been nice if Sega had taken the time to rebuild the character models or add some polygons to the sometimes simplistic landscapes, but as far as ports from one console to another go, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is a good one where graphics are concerned. If it weren't for the stingy and sometimes worthless camera, the graphical score would be higher.

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle's sound is the game's weakest aspect. The migraine-inducing J-pop that permeates the game is awful unless you enjoy constantly hearing phrases like, "I'm gonna follow my rainbow." Sometimes the music changes for characters like Knuckles, where hip-hop influenced breaks are utilized, but the loops are so short that the tracks become repetitive rather quickly. Even worse than the music used in the game is the voice acting. Of particular note is Knuckles, whose deadpan voice makes him seem disinterested in the game's events. Even if the voice acting were good, the horrible script would ensure that it lost its impact. Perhaps some things were lost in the translation, but the story is so disjointed and pointless that cutscenes are met with reluctance instead of anticipation.

Sonic's transition from one dimension to the next has been a rocky one, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle fails to recapture the franchise's magic. The gameplay features an adequate amount of variety but is betrayed by a poor camera, the multiplayer modes lack depth, and the chao training aspect using the Game Boy Advance is little more than a novelty. The game lacks the final coat of polish that makes good games great, and it offers very little for the older game player to enjoy beyond a four-day rental. Kids will enjoy Sonic Adventure 2 Battle due to its simplicity, but even they will be confused by the poor camera implementation. Hopefully Sega will take a hard look at the franchise before beginning work on the next installment and realize that a game with Sonic's name on it should be dominated by the blue hedgehog and his trademark gameplay instead of other bit players in his universe.