Sonic Advance 2
Encyclopedia
is a side-scrolling platform game
in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps
and published by THQ
for the Game Boy Advance
. The game was released in Japan
on December 19, 2002, in North America
on March 9, 2003, in Europe
on March 18, 2003. It is based on a modified version of Sonic Advance
s game engine
.
UnGood Ending: After Sonic defeats Eggman, he drops from outer space, with the destroyed Egg Utopia falling behind him. When he lands, he is greeted by a number of his friends. After the credits roll, the player will be reminded to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds.
Good Ending: This ending is obtained after Sonic obtains all 7 Chaos Emeralds, and Story Mode is cleared at least once with Tails, Knuckles, and Cream. A short time after the destruction of the Egg Utopia, Cream's mother, Vanilla, will be watching Flickies flying around the Leaf Forest when an odd, cloaked device vacuums her and the flickies up and carries her off. Upon seeing this, Sonic and co. come running, but are too late. As Cream begins to cry, Sonic will turn into Super Sonic and pursue the device to True Area 53. After this final showdown, Sonic and Vanilla will fall out of the sky. Sonic will catch her and land safely, much to Cream's relief. After this, the credits roll.
All characters can now perform various stunts when flying through the air and not curled in a ball (i.e. after being launched from a spring or similar). These are activated by holding a direction on the D-pad and pressing the R button. Some of these stunts can be used to destroy enemies.
Another new feature is shattering the sound barrier. If a character runs as fast as possible for a period of time without stopping or slowing down, they will shatter the sound barrier and leave a trail of afterimages behind them. While in shattering the sound barrier, it is possible to run over water, and the attack used with the B button becomes more powerful. The delay before reaching shattering can be decreased somewhat by collecting rings. Certain objects in the level (red booster wheels, for instance) will instantly force the character into the state. This also shows that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy can run faster than the speed of sound, although this is mixed up and scrambled in later games.
At the beginning of the game, Sonic is the only playable character. By progressing through the game as Sonic and beating bosses, Tails, Cream and Knuckles will become playable. Amy is unlocked when all four characters have each collected the seven Chaos Emeralds. Unlike the previous game, Amy is able to perform spin attacks and spin dashes.
In each act, there are seven Special Rings. Collecting all seven of these and completing the Act, without dying, will take the player to a Special Stage, where a player can win a Chaos Emerald. These levels involve collecting enough rings within a time limit while avoiding ZERO, with consecutive ring collecting awarding multipliers. The stage accessed and emerald obtained both depend on which zone the player was in when they accessed the stage. Unlike Sonic Advance
, emeralds are not shared between characters.
All the boss fights in this game, excluding the final boss at XX, are chase boss fights that feature a vehicle running away from the character at a high speed and occur on a horizontal wrapping
area, like the Mushroom Hill Boss from Sonic & Knuckles
.
.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps
Dimps
is an Osaka, Japan-based video game development studio with an additional office in Tokyo, Japan. Employing a staff of 218 people, it is known for developing such games as the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai trilogy for the PlayStation 2, and the Sonic the Hedgehog games specific to the Game Boy Advance and...
and published by THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The game was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on December 19, 2002, in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on March 9, 2003, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on March 18, 2003. It is based on a modified version of Sonic Advance
Sonic Advance
is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps, published by Sega , by THQ and by Infogrames for Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan on December 20, 2001, in North America on February 4, 2002 and finally in Europe on March 23, 2002...
s game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
.
Storyline
The game begins with Sonic running through the Leaf Forest Zone. There, he witnesses Dr. Eggman kidnapping a young rabbit and her pet chao. Chasing and defeating Dr. Eggman in his revamped Egghammer Tank II, he rescues the young rabbit and her chao, whose names are Cream and Cheese. Then pursuing Eggman, Sonic later finds him attempting to carry Tails off in the Music Plant with his Egg Totem. After defeating the mech and rescuing his friend, Tails remarks that Eggman came from nowhere and that he has no idea what he possibly could be up to. Sonic then continues his pursuit of Eggman, until the Sky Canyon Zone, where he intercepted by the Egg Saucer with Knuckles on board. After destroying the machine, Sonic confronts a rather emotional Knuckles, chiding him for allowing himself to be tricked by Eggman yet again. After this brief encounter, Sonic chases Eggman eventually reaching their final confrontation at XX zone.UnGood Ending: After Sonic defeats Eggman, he drops from outer space, with the destroyed Egg Utopia falling behind him. When he lands, he is greeted by a number of his friends. After the credits roll, the player will be reminded to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds.
Good Ending: This ending is obtained after Sonic obtains all 7 Chaos Emeralds, and Story Mode is cleared at least once with Tails, Knuckles, and Cream. A short time after the destruction of the Egg Utopia, Cream's mother, Vanilla, will be watching Flickies flying around the Leaf Forest when an odd, cloaked device vacuums her and the flickies up and carries her off. Upon seeing this, Sonic and co. come running, but are too late. As Cream begins to cry, Sonic will turn into Super Sonic and pursue the device to True Area 53. After this final showdown, Sonic and Vanilla will fall out of the sky. Sonic will catch her and land safely, much to Cream's relief. After this, the credits roll.
Gameplay
In comparison to its predecessor, Sonic Advance 2 is significantly faster-paced, and boasts larger level designs, an increased challenge and superior control over the playable characters. Rails are also easier to jump on compared to the first game. There are seven zones, each containing two acts and a boss battle, and there is a final zone at the end of the game that consists purely of boss fights. Obtaining all of the Chaos Emeralds unlocks the Extra Zone.All characters can now perform various stunts when flying through the air and not curled in a ball (i.e. after being launched from a spring or similar). These are activated by holding a direction on the D-pad and pressing the R button. Some of these stunts can be used to destroy enemies.
Another new feature is shattering the sound barrier. If a character runs as fast as possible for a period of time without stopping or slowing down, they will shatter the sound barrier and leave a trail of afterimages behind them. While in shattering the sound barrier, it is possible to run over water, and the attack used with the B button becomes more powerful. The delay before reaching shattering can be decreased somewhat by collecting rings. Certain objects in the level (red booster wheels, for instance) will instantly force the character into the state. This also shows that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy can run faster than the speed of sound, although this is mixed up and scrambled in later games.
At the beginning of the game, Sonic is the only playable character. By progressing through the game as Sonic and beating bosses, Tails, Cream and Knuckles will become playable. Amy is unlocked when all four characters have each collected the seven Chaos Emeralds. Unlike the previous game, Amy is able to perform spin attacks and spin dashes.
In each act, there are seven Special Rings. Collecting all seven of these and completing the Act, without dying, will take the player to a Special Stage, where a player can win a Chaos Emerald. These levels involve collecting enough rings within a time limit while avoiding ZERO, with consecutive ring collecting awarding multipliers. The stage accessed and emerald obtained both depend on which zone the player was in when they accessed the stage. Unlike Sonic Advance
Sonic Advance
is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps, published by Sega , by THQ and by Infogrames for Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan on December 20, 2001, in North America on February 4, 2002 and finally in Europe on March 23, 2002...
, emeralds are not shared between characters.
All the boss fights in this game, excluding the final boss at XX, are chase boss fights that feature a vehicle running away from the character at a high speed and occur on a horizontal wrapping
Wrapping (graphics)
In computer graphics, wrapping is the process of limiting a position to an area. A good example of wrapping is wallpaper, a single pattern repeated indefinitely over a wall...
area, like the Mushroom Hill Boss from Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994.As well as working as a standalone...
.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews, similar to its predecessorSonic Advance
is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps, published by Sega , by THQ and by Infogrames for Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan on December 20, 2001, in North America on February 4, 2002 and finally in Europe on March 23, 2002...
.
External links
- Official website
- Sonic Advance 2 at The GHZ