Sonic Megathread

[BoysenBarry]

SA2 is probably the objectively "better" game. It's so much more polished, has more content, and has more involved level design and mechanics, as well as a story that, while still messy, is much more coherent and consistently entertaining.

However, I have such an incredible soft spot for Sonic Adventure 1 that regardless of any of its many, many flaws I have to say it's my favorite. Everything about the game is so cozy, from the hub worlds, the chao gardens, the different characters, the hokey cutscenes, everything. The game is so ambitious with what it tries to accomplish on new (at the time) hardware that even when it fumbles, I think that it does so in a way that adds to its character. It's a game that I've found myself going back to when I'm going through a rough time and just need something familiar and cozy. It's not perfect, not by any means, but to me it may as well be.

(some stats for reference of how often I keep coming back to the game lmao)

And as for versions I definitely prefer the Dreamcast versions of both, but the PC versions with the Dreamcast restoration mods are almost certainly more "definitive" versions of the games.

 

[cuttyflam]

SA1 because at least it doesn’t have that fucking godawful Security Hall level.

No way you think Big's stages are better lol

 

[Deleted member 560402]

No way you think Big's stages are better lol

i figured out how the rod works.

 

[Frickinfrik]

No way you think Big's stages are better lol

It’s like a pick your poison kind of situation. Either you go fishing or you get thrown into a level with an unreliable radar, randomized emerald locations, and a very strict time limit.

 

[Deleted member 58254]

There's not a single classic sonic stage I enjoy lol

 

[Deleted member 560402]

There's not a single classic sonic stage I enjoy lol

it's the physics. the jumps have a fixed arc like oldschool Castlevania. Even the spindash feels wrong.

 

[cuttyflam]

i figured out how the rod works.

I still don't completely understand that fuckass rod honestly. I probably never will.

It’s like a pick your poison kind of situation. Either you go fishing or you get thrown into a level with an unreliable radar, randomized emerald locations, and a very strict time limit.

Both are incredibly boring slogs but at least with the gem hunts you have a radar that lets you know you're close to an emerald, so while it's still incredibly bad (sometimes they took me up to 15 or 20 minutes, no lie), they at least have ways for you to get to your goal quicker. With Big's stages you're just thrown in there with the expectation that you don't check yourself into a padded room because of how god awful the controls are

 

[Rox00]

Both games are great in their own ways but Sonic Adventure 1 has the best Sonic theme so Adventure 1 is better.

 

[Scotty Scotty]

It’s like a pick your poison kind of situation. Either you go fishing or you get thrown into a level with an unreliable radar, randomized emerald locations, and a very strict time limit.

I'll take Big's fishing levels over ANY Emerald Hunting stage in SA2. At least you can beat those relatively fast.

 

[Lena CE]

Both are fantastic, its such a tough call. SA1 has a more enjoyable Sonic thanks to more open ended level design but I do appreciate the arcadey high score precision that SA2 demands. Whilst SA2 did downgrade the radar, I'd say the treasure hunting stages for Knuckles/Rouge are way more fun in SA2 than they were in 1. But then you get to play a traditional Tails in SA1 and he's awesome! Gamma and the mech stages in SA2 are kinda whatever for me, I don't hate them or love them. At least with SA1 the Gamma section is over in like half an hour and it doesn't have that ungodly ear piercing lock on ring that SA2 has.

Many people bash Amy and Big but I think both of the campaigns are short and ultimately solid, especially Amy's.

But when it comes to bonus content going for A ranks, playing alternate missions and delving into the Chao Garden is infinitely more fun in SA2 than in any version of SA1.

Musicwise both are peak, but I do appreciate SA1's greater variety in genre and style.

Whilst I conceptually like SA1 more as an overall package, the dealbreaker for me is that the overworld - while cool - just doesn't have enough going on to justify itself. Its small, there isn't much of anything to find and it just serves as tiny padding between actual levels. If there was just more to see and do I'd probably give it the edge, but thanks to SA2's pacing for a campaign playthrough being so damn strong I ultimately think I give it to that game. You may not have non-mech Tails or Amy, but everything else makes up for it.

 

[Deleted member 61046]

I respect your opinion, even if it's the wrong one

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

I haven't play any Sonic in 3d the once I played are classic Mega Drive and Master System Sonic.

 

[alpha_wolf24]

well thats a hard question to answer. do you mean as an overall package or just going off of Sonic gameplay? as an overall package Adventure 2 is better but i do admit the way Sonic controls in Adventure 1 is better imo. also Adventure 1 doesnt force the alternate gameplay styles on you so it has that over 2 also. but Adventure 2 has the better story and better overall feel to it imo. especially if were talking about the non Dreamcast versions

 

[sneakyguts]

SA 1

 

[dropsmegamega]

I prefer the slightly more open design of SA1 plus the levels themselves felt more creative imo. I feel like SA2 was already starting the "just go forward" 3D sonic level design.

 

[AnomalyHailstorm]

Sonic Adventure 1, I just don't like the treasure hunting stages in Sonic Adventure 2, those weren't really fun to play through while in comparison Sonic Adventure 1's treasure hunting stage I didn't find nearly as dreadful as the ones in Sonic Adventure 2.

 

[Leon]

SA2, 1's not terrible but i've never been able to get into it, 2 however i played from start to finish.

 

[Graw]

It's a hard choice. Probably SA2 but I liked the first one as well. I don't really remember SA1 as well as I remember SA2. I remember disliking the cat stages in SA1. I don't really remember any of the sonic stages. I remember most of the Sonic stages in SA2 and I can't really think of any I didn't like. I remember disliking both of them for limiting Super Sonic to the final boss instead of use him in any stage after collecting the emeralds and 50 rings like in the older games.

 

[Michael Frank]

I've said it before, and i will keep saying it, SA1 was the first game i played as a kid, being 6 years old and watching that intro with Open Your Heart will be forever engraved on my brain, having said that, SA2 is my older brother's favorite games, for one reason, it was the game were his favorite sonic characer appeared...Shadow the Hedgehog, i'm more of a Knuckles/Jet/ Sonic fan, but him, nah, my older bro is a Shadow fan since day 1, Shadow Generations made him hype up in a way i haven't seen in a long time.

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

Eh? First time I heard of this. Usually Sonic R's soundtrack is considered the only good thing about the game... other than Tails doll haha

 

[Bonkers225]

Say what? It was the only good thing about the game. One of my top 3 Sonic soundtracks ever.

 

[Lena CE]

I've said it before, and i will keep saying it, SA1 was the first game i played as a kid, being 6 years old and watching that intro with Open Your Heart will be forever engraved on my brain, having said that, SA2 is my older brother's favorite games, for one reason, it was the game were his favorite sonic characer appeared...Shadow the Hedgehog, i'm more of a Knuckles/Jet/ Sonic fan, but him, nah, my older bro is a Shadow fan since day 1, Shadow Generations made him hype up in a way i haven't seen in a long time.

I legit remember seeing the SA1 intro on my dad's Dreamcast when I was just 5 years old and thinking nothing would ever look cooler than that. Going from my first video game experience with Sonic 2 just a year ago to witnessing Dreamcast-quality FMVs was something else.

Huge side tangent, but now I'm wondering if that's part of the reason that I'm fairly indifferent to graphical fidelity. My first game experiences were on 16 bit consoles, the first system I owned at my mom's house was a PS1 and whenever I visited my dad I'd play on his Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox. I was experiencing 3 different generations at the same time during my formative years depending on who I was staying with on that particular day and it never bothered me (cause what kid that young would possibly be bothered, games are games lol). Its anecdotal but I have friends a few years older that experienced the generations in a more typical "1 by 1" way and even if they still enjoy retro they tend to point out visual quirks/issues in older games. I truly wonder if experiencing so much all at once helps stop your brain from really caring so much.

 

[Michael Frank]

I legit remember seeing the SA1 intro on my dad's Dreamcast when I was just 5 years old and thinking nothing would ever look cooler than that. Going from my first video game experience with Sonic 2 just a year ago to witnessing Dreamcast-quality FMVs was something else.

Huge side tangent, but now I'm wondering if that's part of the reason that I'm fairly indifferent to graphical fidelity. My first game experiences were on 16 bit consoles, the first system I owned at my mom's house was a PS1 and whenever I visited my dad I'd play on his Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox. I was experiencing 3 different generations at the same time during my formative years depending on who I was staying with on that particular day and it never bothered me (cause what kid that young would possibly be bothered, games are games lol). Its anecdotal but I have friends a few years older that experienced the generations in a more typical "1 by 1" way and even if they still enjoy retro they tend to point out visual quirks/issues in older games. I truly wonder if experiencing so much all at once helps stop your brain from really caring so much.

For me it's the artstyle more than graphics at this point, i can play something like Baroque, Soul Reaver or MediEvil on the PS1 and go on and on in those corridors without giving a care, and you want to know why? Because the style of those games shows before my eyes that graphics never mattered in the first time, it's artstyle, music and gameplay the things that really form the base of the experience.

 

[FrootyLoopsSamurai]

I didn't play through Sonic Adventure 1 until a couple of years ago since I never had a Dreamcast when it came out and never got the Gamecube version. I was not expecting to like it that much, but it grew on me as I kept playing it. I'm an SA1 convert now. I like it more than SA2 except for the chao raising.

I thought Sonic would be my favorite character to play in SA1, but the others are honestly better except Big. It doesn't help that Sonic's later stages get kind of bad. I also like the changes between each story like they're all being told through a kind of flawed perspective. It's like everyone is their own protagonist, and dialogue and the way things play out are tweaked to make the character you're playing as look better. Some stories just seem to flat out contradict each other when it comes to the details. I think it also helps that each character's story aside from Sonic's is fairly short. Even Big wasn't that painful because it's over so quick. Gamma's story was easily the best story I've ever seen in any Sonic game. Amy's was probably the most fun to play, and I wanted more Amy stages by the time I finished her story.

I tried playing through Sonic Adventure 2 again after playing through the first game. I didn't even make it all the way through. This was in spite of having some nostalgia for the game. I think what really kills it for me are the search stages. Not all of them are that bad, but Rouge's levels in particular all kind of suck. I guess the evil path was supposed to be harder, so they made her levels more difficult to traverse or gave you a time limit. Rouge's space level is just the worst. The robot stages are also just kind of there. The Sonic/Shadow stages are generally really good. I would prefer SA2 if it was mostly Sonic/Shadow, but the other parts of the game really drag it down. There are too many lows and not enough highs for me to enjoy it like I did as a kid.

 

[petran79]

Sonic Adventure DX with mods