Full of fresh ideas for the Sonic franchise, but do the ideas work?
Gameplay:
There are several fundamental problems with the stages themselves. First of all, the levels are boring. They are way too large for their own good and it is nearly impossible to memorize the stages even after playing through them over 10 times. Next the game takes cheap shots at the player by positioning traps and enemies at certain points where the player will most likely be running at full speed. One possible reason for this may be the fact that the Sonic characters have become too powerful. By this I mean that they have ability to attack their enemies directly without rolling into them. This feature is not new to this game but is still kind of pointless. Sonic does not need to be drop kicking his enemies. Also, the stage structures aren' t that good. They seem to focus on loops, hills and rails, while leaving out any real platforming elements as well as secret little areas to find, which baffles me. Worst of all, every zone has ten hidden Chao creatures, which must all be found in order to play the special stage. Finding these little bast*rds is tedious work, to say the least and is much more of a relief than a reward when actually accomplished. In the old sonic games, the special stages were among the most exciting elements of the game and you only needed to find ONE hidden entrance in order to play them instead of TEN hidden Chao. STUPID. Sonic Advance 3 has also implemented this partner system. I use the term loosely because the partner will be off the screen within ten seconds just like Sonic used to ditch Tails way back in Sonic 2. However, depending in which partner you select, the primary character gains certain abilities and sometimes loses others. This turns out to be more irritating then anything. The character's abilities (which they already have too many of) should just be left alone so that each character can be played in their natural form. The game also includes a few mini-games including one where you have to defeat ten enemies in a minute and another where you have to press certain switches for points in a limited amount of time. They are mediocre and a far cry from the slot machine and bubblegum machine mini-games of old. Graphics:
The only real good thing about this game is the graphics, which are pleasant to look at and way better than that of the old Genesis games. Sound: The sound effects stay the same, but a new addition to the sound in the game is the voice acting! That's right, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, Amy, and Dr. Eggman actually talk in this game! As a huge fan of the classic Sonic games, I really tried to enjoy this one. But in the end, the bottom line is that the game is just not that fun to play. By the third zone, most players will probably be tired of playing and only continue on just for the sake of finishing it. Find all 70 Chao creatures is definitely not worthwhile. I honestly cannot recommend this game to anyone but the most hardcore of Sonic fans. To the average gamer however, this is not really even worth a rental. An extreme disappointment.