Sonic Adventure 2 HD Review, 7.0 out of 10 based on 5 ratings

You can probably go right ahead and skip to the recommendation at the bottom of the page. No, really. Go for it. I know that most do already, because that is how many readers are. We look at the score first to see if it matches up with our perception of what the score should be. I do it all the time before I read a review–it’s a force of habit. But with a game such as this, a pure HD remake of an 11 year-old title, does the score really matter? Fans of Sonic Adventure 2 are already geared up for the HD treatment of the Dreamcast’s swan song, while the more cynical of us have already resigned to the fact that any Sonic game in a 3D space is a sad reminder of the failures of the franchise in recent times.

Even with a small string of hits like Colors and Generations to give our blue-furred friend a much needed confidence boost, many no doubt remain unconvinced that the glory days have long since passed Sega’s hedgehog by. Re-purchasing one of the most acclaimed 3D Sonic games ever made as a HD downloadable remake is really just up to the fans. It’s not that Sonic Adventure 2 is a downright bad game, it is flawed and the focus is very scattered, but it just feels like the same thought went into it that goes into every other HD remake out there; that the fans will pick it up no matter what, and that is all you need to justify a purchase.

For those who never played Sonic Adventure 2, it is the game that allowed you to play two separate storylines in a rather short campaign mode. The “Hero” team followed Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, while the “Dark” team let you play as Dr. Eggman, and newcomers Shadow and Rogue. Each character had a game design to their respected opposites; Sonic and Shadow were essentially the 3D speedster platformers and got easily the most fun aspects aspects of the main campaign such as jumping, gliding, and looping at breakneck speeds on a linear track with variant pathways. Tails and Eggman, for some odd reason, were put into giant mechas and shoot things in a 3D environment. Knuckles and Rogue easily got the shaft in this case, with their levels being essentially an obtuse scavenger hunt to collect three pieces of the level MacGuffin, with almost no real challenge to them either.

Because when we think of Sonic, we think of robot fighting with a fox and a fat scientist!

So right away, the differences in gameplay seems to give variety to each storyline, but the game is mostly Sonic-centric, giving Sonic and Shadow the lion’s share of the playtime. Other than completing the main storyline, a lot of the emphasis is on revisiting the levels and acting as a fanatical completionist: beating the game in hard mode, unlocking challenges, and achieving goals through rote repetition. This kind of gameplay is a favored approach to some, but also a gut-wrenching exercise of patience for others. It’s also a shame that the HD port didn’t fix any of the major problems with the original release, namely a very drunk camera that is so slipshod it causes more deaths than the enemies on screen, getting stuck in corners, and causing jump distances to be difficult to judge.

In fact, other than smoothing out the jagged graphical look of Sonic Adventure 2 and the addition of 720p for cutscenes, nothing else has really changed. The camera is still flawed, the jump mechanic is a bit slippery, and the challenges of achieving medals and beating score times are the major focus of the entire storyline. Even the Chao garden, the Tamagotchi-raising mini-game that is in many ways superior to the Sonic game proper, is left untouched, and what’s worse is the content from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, the Gamecube “director’s cut” if you will, has relegated all extra content, including six characters and 21 stages, to a $3.00 DLC bundle, making it optional for fans to purchase.

By far the most fun out of the game comes from the complex Chao raising mechanic. As stated earlier, it is a Tamagotchi clone where you can have the heroes and the villains raise a pet Chao, increase its baseline statistics, and have them compete in various competitions for extra rewards. The Chao’s also breed with each other, learn abilities in the Chao school, and can be customized based on how they are raised, turning quite literally light or dark depending on which side gives them the most love and care. But honestly, when the mini-game is more fun over the major portion of the gameplay, something is amiss in your game design.

Still, Sonic Adventure 2 HD is the perfect port if you ever wanted one. Everything has an old school vibe to it, right down the cheesy, guitar riff soundtrack and the incredibly hammy voice acting. It is almost endearing in a way to see the same game, warts and all, through a HD lens, even if that same game is sadly not aging with grace. If you are fan of Sonic Adventure 2, (as I said) you likely made your decision earlier, so the grade below is just here for formality sake. For the more hardcore readers looking for my opinion, the easy answer is to just avoid it entirely, because Sonic Adventure 2 HD is just another port of an old game mired in technical flaws that are absent from its modern iterations.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 6 hours. The title was played on Xbox 360, but is also available for PS3.

Sonic Adventure 2 HD Review

By Robert G.

It’s not that Sonic Adventure 2 is a downright bad game, it is flawed and the focus is very scattered, but it just feels like the same thought went into it that goes into every other HD remake out there; that the fans will pick it up no matter what, and that is all you need to justify a purchase.