Retronauts Episode 151: Sonic Adventure 2
Added 2018-05-09 20:29:55 +0000 UTCWhen Sega made their first true leap into polygonal gaming with the incredibly rushed Sonic Adventure, they delivered a fascinating and ambitious mess. Thankfully, the inevitable sequel saw Sonic Team working with more time, resources, and expertise, making it a much more polished game... but one that still has its share of problems. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Michal (@Miexriir on Twitter) as the crew digs into Sonic's sophomore stab into the world of 3D gaming.
Comments
I love it when you guys talk shit about sonic games
Kieran Lee
2018-05-16 11:30:02 +0000 UTCThe only reason I was able to play Green Hill is because the Dreamcast web browser allowed you to download game saves and GameFAQs hosted 100% completed save files for the Sonic Adventure 2.
Milton Allemand
2018-05-13 18:16:00 +0000 UTCThe problem for me is the slow parts in 2D Sonic (especially Labyrinth Zone) are just no fun.
Bob Mackey
2018-05-10 17:10:52 +0000 UTCFun factoid: Soap shoe ads were removed from modern SA2 releases because Soap was bought by another shoe company, and said company didn't want to continue the partnership. That didn't stop the Sonic X anime from giving Sonic Soap shoes for a few episodes long after the partnership ended.
Phazonmasher
2018-05-10 13:48:33 +0000 UTCEvery time I hear or read someone talking about how it was difficult to translate the speed of the 2D Sonic games into a 3D games I wonder if we played the same games. I played Sonics 1 and 2 and the Game Gear Sonics a ton in the early '90s and with the exception of the Green/Emerald Hill Zones I don't remember a lot of speed. Marble Zone was all about moving through confined spaces and that's the second zone in the first game. Ditto Labyrinth and Scrap Brain. Star Light and Spring Yard might've felt open, but they had obstacles that kept you from getting up to speed and there was a lot of vertical exploring rather than horizontal speeding. Same with the second game. Chemical Plant and Aquatic Ruin had some areas where you get up to speed, but everything from Casino Night on was vertical exploration with obstacles galore and very little getting up to speed unless you had Super Sonic. I never played the 3D games. I took one look at Sonic Adventure when my little brother got his Dreamcast and went back to my Final Fantasy 8. Having said that, I always wonder if people played past the first couple of zones in the original 2D games when the ding the 3D games for lack of speed. Sonic was always about exploration in the games and only about speed in the marketing materials.
daecrist
2018-05-10 12:54:45 +0000 UTCI think a lot of shows did this whole "turn gold and be more powerful" thing back then. One of the Gundam animes definitely. Heck, even that Disney Hercules movie did a similar thing :D
Haitani
2018-05-10 12:45:36 +0000 UTCGood discussion! Almost makes me want to go play that game for the first time. Almost.
Kormakur Gardarsson
2018-05-10 08:39:23 +0000 UTCThe City Escape song makes it all worthwhile.
Dave Caffrey
2018-05-10 01:05:45 +0000 UTCWow, I never saw the Dragon Ball Z overtones until hearing this. Bob, do you have connections that might verify with the creators whether this was deliberate or just a funny coincidence? Hilarious!
Travers Travers
2018-05-09 22:03:11 +0000 UTC
