NOTE: I originally posted this review under the name Lufia4life at GameFAQs. This note is to show that I am Lufia4life at GameFAQs, as well as musicman2059 here at GamingMoz.
It looks like Sega finally got it right.
After two years of waiting for a great Sonic Game to come out on the GBA, vetrans of both the series and of the whole Nintendo community finally have it. Sega's first shot at creating a Sonic Game on the GBA just didn't have the feel to the others; It was too straightforward, and didn't seem to appeal to its fans much. The second one had some people complaining that it was too easy and still too straightforward to that classic feel. Now, Sega plops Sonic Advance 3 right onto our laps, and most of everyone I've talked to about it is just feeling it now; It's like Sonic 3 all over again! This game has tons of features and elements that will keep you busy forever and cure your rainy day blues. If you were disappointed with Sonic Advance 1 & 2, trust me. You will not be disappointed with this one.
Anyways... what do I have to say about it? Let's break it down.
Story (out of 15)
Let's face it; The overall story of the Sonic series hasn't changed. It's really just another, "Dr. Eggman is trying to take over the world again" plot, but this time he's just about halfway there. Using Chaos Control, he's divided the world into seven parts, (which make up the zones for this game) and plans to liberate them one by one. Sonic and Tails now set off to gather their friends, stop his evil plot, and return the world back to his normal state. However, Dr. Eggman has a new ally; a robot whose name is known to us as "G-Mel", or Gemerel, whose overwhelming power allows it to morph into the different machines that make up each of the Zone's bosses. (People who played Sonic Battle might also recognize the name)
So, all in all, the game ends up having the same storyline as usual, just with a whole new plot.
Score: 10/15
Same old plot, daring new twists.
Play Control (out of 15)
Simply enough: left/right to move, A to jump, B to attack if applicable, Down + A to spin dash (if applicable), up to look up, down to look down or spin, etc... Most of the controls that you might have learned from previous sonic games apply here, along with the addition of the R button for tag actions. (I'll get to that later) Most of the time, controls are fairly responsive, although some newbies may not be used to how long it takes a character to decelerate and stop when you're not holding onto the control pad. Otherwise, things are looking pretty good in the control department. It may take time to get used to the controls in special stages, though, seeing that when moving to the sides, it may seem sluggish at first because your character has to be on, say, the left tip of the airplane's wing before the airplane itself starts moving left, so you have to be fairly presice on side-movements in special stages.
Score: 15/15
Simple and responsive, although side movement in special stages might take some getting used to.
Graphics (out of 5)
Chances are that many people will just dig the graphics improvement in this game, from the intro to the ending credits. Playing some of the older-themed zones reminded me of some of the older Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2 graphics, but on a smaller screen with a higher resolution. Each zone pretty much has a different graphics style, too. Whereas the Sunset Hill Zone could be designed to be reminiscent of the good old days, the Toy Kingdom Zone has a cartoonish feel to it, and you'll be sure that your eyes will be bulging when you see the extensive detail put into the backgrounds of the Chaos Angel zone. All in all, character sprites look pretty much the same as they did in previous Sonic Advance games, except for all the new frames that may have needed to be added per character.
Score: 5/5
They must've used Dubya's Shock and Awe tactic to make these graphics. ;)
Gameplay (out of 35)
This is where Sonic Advance 3 REALLY starts to soar. What the first two Sonic Advances didn't have, Sonic Advance 3 has a lot of it!
First off, there's the character variety. By the end of the game, you should have all five characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy, unlocked. What happens is you choose one of these characters for your own, and then you choose another for your partner. The partner that you choose will influence what actions and abilities that you have. Not only that, but for the first time, we see the new Tag Action concept. To use a tag action, hold the R button down until your partner starts spinning in your character's arms, and when you're ready to use it, release. Much like Sonic Heroes, each character falls under one of three categories: Speed, Power, or Flight. The tag actions unleashed vary on your partner's category. For example, using Sonic as your partner would result in tag actions that send you dashing across the area, whereas using tails would throw you high up into the air, or allow him to carry you up.
Also, Sega has brought back the good ol' three act zones. The new Zone Map system also allows you to complete these three acts in any order that you choose. After you've completed all three acts, you'll gain access to the Boss Transporter, which sends you to the "Vs. Boss" stage, where you'll go up against Dr. Eggman and try to get to the next Zone. Also, a simplified "hub" area has been created, called Sonic Factory, where you can change your team or go to a different zone at your own free will.
Also, as with the past Sonic Advances, collecting all the chaos emeralds opens up the Extra Zone, where Super Sonic takes on an extra hard boss. Fortunately for you, there are only seven to collect this time. (They could've been really mean, and made it 7 emeralds for each of the 20 different combinations of characters, making up to 140 emeralds!) Getting to special stages isn't as easy as it is before, however. In every zone, there are ten hidden chao throughout the three acts and the zone map. You have to find all ten, and then collect a special key that is placed in obvious locations in each act. Then you have to find the recognizable special stage spring within the Zone Map to access the special stage and try to play for the chaos emerald! Just trying to get to each special stage will have many gamers playing for hours on end.
Of course, the time attack mode is still there, where you must try to complete an act as fast as you can using any combination of characters you like. It's always a pleaser to try to beat your best when you're starting to get bored with the main game.
Also, Sonic Advance 3 has a medal ranking system for each act. At the end of each act, instead of a signpost as most people would usually expect, there's a "goal medal." The act ends when you touch this medal, and you are awarded either a gold, silver, or bronze medal, based on how fast you got through the act. (You can also obtain medals through time attack, so if you find yourself posting faster times on TA, use it instead.) Getting gold medals on all the acts and boss stages will open up a new time attack mode.
And, finally, as with the first two, Sonic Advance 3 also boasts a multiplayer mode. However, after reading about it in the manual, it seems like both single-pak and multi-pak multiplayer modes don't seem to be as great as they were in the past. However, I still have yet to try it, so don't take it from me. Sonic games were meant to be single player after all though, right?
Score: 35/35
Absolutely perfect. Everything you'd want from Sega's biggest franchise hedgehog.
Sound (out of 10)
Generally, nothing has changed as in sound-effect wise, but Sonic Advance 3 boasts a new soundtrack, with a few remixes. Nostalgia will come back to veteran gamers when they hear the Green Hill Zone remixes, and a couple of strategically places Sonic Battle remixes might give you a few hints about Eggman's "new" robot. Otherwise, the music for each Zone fits well with the theme of it, and for once we start hearing sonic-style boss themes again. (In Sonic Advance, the boss theme sounded like something out of Star Wars) Personally, I found a lot of the music in this game enjoyable. Although I like how you start hearing character voices in this game, sometimes that in-game narrative voice can get annoying. Well, I can understand "Sonic Advance 3!" on the title screen, but it gets annoying after I select my ideal team, I hear "Amy... and Sonic!"
Score: 9/10 - No new sound effects, near perfect music, but somewhat annoying narrative voice.
Replayability (out of 20)
This game is the gift that keeps on giving! People that aren't so skilled in games of this type will probably spend a lot of time, and then want to play it over and over again, whereas veterans will probably blaze through it, and then keep playing it to see if they can get through acts and bosses faster, and faster, and faster, trying out a different path to get through an act, or maybe trying a different boss strategy, or seeing if they can collect every single ring in one of the special stages. There's so much to do in this game, why would you want to put it down?
Score: 20/20
Even after finishing this game, it'll keep you busy for ages.
Ups and downs - My Final Thoughts
Ups
Well, just about everything is up in this game. The return of two-person teams and finding the right combination, tag actions, increased difficulty, and improved level variety are only a few of the positives in this game. Otherwise, you'll be awestruck by the visual and audible presentation of this game, and you'll just get hooked on it.
Downs
The only downside to this game is that newbies to games of this genre, or those that aren't familiar with it, will probably have a hard time with bosses once they get about halfway through the game, where it takes a bit of thinking and some fast fingers in order to beat them. The final boss is about ten times harder than it is in Sonic Advance, (then again, the final boss in that game was so easy, it wasn't funny) and I can only guess that the extra boss is even harder. Make good note of where your skill is before getting this game, or you might just find yourself frustrated.
My Final Thoughts
Speaking of frustration, I was frustrated at this game, but only because it took a week from the release date for me to find this game out on the west coast, and when I found it, I didn't even think twice before buying it, and I'm sure glad that I made this purchase. This game had to be one of the best GBA investments I have ever made. I was kinda miffed and disappointed after playing through Sonic Advance only a few days earlier. After playing Sonic Advance 3, though, I'm assured that the STH series, mainly in the GBA department, is on the way to a strong comback. It's about time.
<b>Final Score</b>
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Story: 10/15
Play Control: 15/15
Graphics: 5/5
Gameplay: 35/35
Sound: 9/10
Replayability: 20/20
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FINAL SCORE: 94/100 - rounded to a GamingMoz score of 9.4/10
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