Welcome to the next level..remember that slogan? I didn’t think so, it was Sega back in the glory days of the Sega CD. Well now that Sega has ceased in making hardware their main focus has shifted to software only. So far this has been a great venture since they no longer have the stress of making excellent games as well as keeping up with the latest consoles. Giving them so much more time to develop some of the best games on the market. Now developing for other consoles outside of their own is a new step so for their first outing on the GCN they decided to bring their mascot over for a ride on Nintendo’s hardware. Who would have ever thought Mario and Sonic would share the same console??
First off the game on the DC was only decent, not keeping with the spirit of the first game Sonic Adventure 2 was more of a game combining the entire Sonic universe into one game. It forces you to play as Taile, Amy, Dr. Eggman, Shadow (who is cool as hell) and of course Sonic, along with a few new characters. Yeah this adds variety but it also takes away from what Sonic games have always been known for, speed. Sure Sonic and Shadows levels are fast and furious but other levels such as Eggman are slow and sometimes tedious. This takes away from the usually fast paced game play that made Sonic what he is today.
Enough complaining though since this is the first time Sonic has graced a non-Sega console we will try to stay positive. Giving credit where credit is due Sega did fix the slow-down and pop-up issues found in the DC version. The game now runs at full speed and looks glorious on a big screen television. Watching Sonic blister his way through the brightly colored and often times immensely detailed levels is awe inspiring.
Controlling Sonic is also now greatly improved with the help of Nintendo’s amazingly comfortable controller. Maneuvering Sonic through the levels is now a breeze with the much improved analog stick and well placed buttons of the Gamecube controller. The other character also benefit from the new controller and Knuckles levels do not seem as tedious with better control. The one complaint is that the camera still sucks immensely. It feels like you do not have control over it at all, you can move it, but it seems to jerk back to where it was 90% of the time.
With the addition of the two player modes as well as the updated fixes Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is a great addition to the slowly increasing GCN library. Hopefully Sega’s next outing will be of that original Sega flavor and not another port of a game that wasn’t the best of Sega to begin with. Perhaps a version of Toejam and Earl is a must for the GCN, we know it exists so give it to us!! If you own a Gamecube only then pick this title up, otherwise you may wanna rent it and beat the hell out of your friends in the 2-player battle mode!