HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a
platform video game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed by Sonic Team USA and published by
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
. It was the final ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...
'' game for the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
after Sega left the
home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable tha ...
market. It features two good-vs-evil stories:
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...
, Tails, and
Knuckles the Echidna is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he has the ability to punch enem ...
attempt to save the world, while
Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in '' Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only app ...
,
Doctor Eggman Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, ...
, and Rouge the Bat attempt to conquer it. The stories are divided into three gameplay styles: fast-paced platforming for Sonic and Shadow, multi-directional shooting for Tails and Eggman, and action-exploration for Knuckles and Rouge. Development began soon after the American release of ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the ...
'' in 1999 and lasted 18 months. ''Sonic Adventure 2'' was produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic'' series' tenth anniversary and was designed to be faster-paced and more action-oriented than the original. The development team also expanded upon the presence of the Chao creatures and other player characters. Its locations were influenced by American locations such as
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
and
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...
. Sega announced ''Sonic Adventure 2'' in October 1999 and exhibited it at E3 2000. It was released on June 19, 2001 in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, then worldwide on June 23, 2001. ''Sonic Adventure 2'' received generally positive reviews for its gameplay variety, visuals, and audio, though some criticized its camera, voice acting, and plot. An enhanced
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
for the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
, ''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'', was released in late 2001 in Japan and early 2002 in North America and Europe; it features improved textures and
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
options. Together, the Dreamcast and GameCube versions sold more than copies worldwide. ''Sonic Adventure 2'' was also released as a downloadable game for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
, and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...
in 2012.


Gameplay

''Sonic Adventure 2'' is a 3D
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
divided into two campaigns: Hero and Dark. In the Hero campaign, players control Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, who fight to save the world; in the Dark campaign, players control Shadow the Hedgehog, Doctor Eggman and Rouge the Bat, fighting to conquer it. Each campaign cycles through levels of its three characters, telling different sides of the story. Levels have a variety of themes (such as cities, jungles, desert pyramids and outer space), with some followed by
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...
fights. The two campaigns' stories occur in parallel; completing both campaigns unlocks a Last Story with all six characters, culminating in a final boss fight. Sonic and Shadow play fast-paced levels, emphasizing platforming. Their homing attack can lock onto robots created by Eggman and G.U.N., and they can
grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back ( ...
on rails. Tails' and Eggman's levels are slower and oriented towards multi-directional shooting; they are confined to mechs in which they can jump short heights, hover and shoot enemies. Knuckles' and Rouge's levels are open and feature
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
gameplay with treasure hunting; in each level, they must find three shards of the Master Emerald. Their search is guided by radar and
puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzl ...
-based clues from harmless robots. Knuckles and Rouge can glide, defeat enemies with punches and kicks, and scale walls, digging into them to find
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chose ...
s. ''Adventure 2'' has the
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...
system found in many other ''
Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain * Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities * Sonic Foundry, a computer software company wh ...
'' games. The player collects rings scattered throughout the levels; being hit by an enemy while holding rings causes the player to drop them all, while being hit without rings causes them to lose a
life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
. Tails and Eggman have health bars, which are slowly refilled by collecting rings. Dying with no lives results in a game over screen. The characters can obtain permanent upgrades that grant them new abilities; for example, one allows Sonic and Shadow to dash along a sequential trail of rings to reach distant platforms, one gives Tails and Eggman hover jets that slows your descent in order to cross large gaps, while another lets Knuckles and Rouge dig into the ground to uncover treasure and Master Emerald pieces. Separate from the main campaigns, the player can raise Chao as
virtual pets A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. Digital ...
. They have five attributes (Swim, Fly, Run, Power and Stamina) and a moral continuum from Hero to Dark. From the moment they hatch their stats can be increased with Chaos Drives or small animals, found in the main stages, which empower them to compete in
karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...
and racing
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than t ...
s. Their alignment gradually changes, based on their affection for the characters; for example, a Chao which likes Tails will gradually become more heroic. Playing with Chao increases affection, and when a Chao becomes fully Hero or Dark it assumes that form permanently. Although Chao eventually die, if they receive enough affection during their lives they reincarnate. ''Adventure 2'' has 180 emblems, earned for a variety of tasks. Each level has five missions; only the first is required to continue the campaign, and other missions include completing a harder version of a level and collecting 100 rings. The player earns emblems by completing missions and other tasks, many related to Chao raising. Collecting all the emblems unlocks a 3D version of the Green Hill Zone stage from the original ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...
''. The game has several two-player modes. Players may race on foot through new (or altered) levels, have shoot-'em-up battles in mechs, hunt for Master Emerald shards or race in
go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...
s. A few characters are playable in these modes, but not in the main game;
Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre- ...
and Chaos from the original ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the ...
'' are playable in the treasure-hunting game, as are
Amy Rose The '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Do ...
and Metal Sonic in the foot-racing levels and mechs piloted by Chao and
Big the Cat Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
(replaced by a Dark Chao in ''Battle'') in the shooting levels.


Plot

Learning of a secret weapon from the diary of his deceased grandfather,
Professor Gerald Robotnik The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Docto ...
, Eggman infiltrates a high-security G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) facility and revives it using a Chaos Emerald. The weapon – a black hedgehog and self-proclaimed "Ultimate Life Form" named Shadow – offers to help Eggman conquer the world, telling him to rendezvous at an abandoned space colony, ARK, with more Chaos Emeralds. Shadow goes to Central City, encountering G.U.N.'s forces after stealing an Emerald. Shadow has vowed to fulfill a promise to a girl, Maria, which he interprets as one of revenge. Shadow blasts through the military force and meets Sonic. After a brief confrontation, Shadow escapes and G.U.N. captures Sonic, whom they mistake for Shadow. Meanwhile, Knuckles encounters Rouge and Eggman, who try to steal the Master Emerald. He stops them by shattering the Emerald and searches for the scattered shards. Rouge, spying for the government, heads to Eggman's base and the ARK. There, Shadow shows Eggman the Eclipse Cannon, another superweapon created by Gerald, and discloses his plan: to charge the cannon with Chaos Emeralds and use it to take over the world. Rouge appears, offering them a Chaos Emerald to gain their trust. Tails and Amy infiltrate G.U.N.'s island base and rescue Sonic, while Eggman, Shadow and Rouge collect three Emeralds on the island. Eggman makes a global broadcast threatening to fire on the Earth in 24 hours if his demands are not met, demonstrating the cannon's power by using it to destroy half the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles use a Chaos Emerald in their possession to track down the other six. They infiltrate Eggman's base, boarding his shuttle shortly before it launches into space. Knuckles' Master Emerald shards are spilled along the way, and he leaves to collect them. He fights Rouge again, but when he saves her from falling into a lava pit, she relinquishes her shards and he restores the Master Emerald. On the ARK, Tails reveals he has made a counterfeit Chaos Emerald to destroy the Eclipse Cannon. As Sonic is about to use it, Eggman tells him that he has captured Tails and Amy, forcing him to return and rescue them. Sonic tries to trick Eggman with the fake Emerald, but Eggman sees through the plan and jettisons him in an escape pod rigged with explosives. Tails, thinking Sonic is dead, defeats Eggman. Sonic uses the power of the fake Emerald to escape; Shadow is sent to intercept him. Regardless of who wins the fight, Eggman sneaks away from Tails and Amy with the last Emerald and arms the Eclipse Cannon. The entire colony suddenly starts falling and a prerecorded message from Gerald is broadcast globally: he programmed the ARK to collide with Earth if the Emeralds were used, destroying it in revenge for the government condemning his research and killing his colleagues, including his granddaughter Maria. Everyone, but Shadow, works together to access the cannon's core and neutralize the ARK using the Master Emerald. Amy pleads for Shadow's help, allowing him to remember what Maria really requested of Shadow: for him to help mankind. Shadow catches up with Sonic and Knuckles in the core as they encounter the Biolizard, a prototype Ultimate Life Form. Shadow repels it, allowing Knuckles to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds with the Master Emerald. The Biolizard uses Chaos Control to fuse with the cannon, becoming the Finalhazard and continuing the ARK's collision course. Sonic and Shadow use the Emeralds to transform into their super forms, defeating the Finalhazard and using Chaos Control to teleport the ARK back into stable orbit. This depletes Shadow's energy and he plummets to Earth, content in fulfilling his promise to Maria. The people on Earth celebrate as the heroes return home and Sonic bids Shadow farewell.


Development

''Sonic Adventure 2'' was developed by Sonic Team USA, a former American division of
Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...
, and published by
Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
. It was directed and produced by longtime series contributors Takashi Iizuka and
Yuji Naka , credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game programmer, designer and producer. He is the former head of the Sega studio Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series on the Sega Mega ...
respectively. Development began shortly after the release of the American version of ''Sonic Adventure'' in September 1999, and lasted 18 months. It was designed to be more action-oriented than the slower, more story-based ''Adventure''. The development team ran the game at 60
frames per second A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...
with "tempo", giving Sonic a variety of actions rather than focusing on speed alone. Its levels facilitated this flow, making Sonic seem faster. All six playable characters have roughly equal gameplay time (unlike ''Adventure'', in which some characters had short stories). The levels and environments were inspired by
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, where Sonic Team had its office, and other American locations, such as
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...
(where the team vacationed) and the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...
. Compared to ''Adventure'', the sequel was intended to have "more of an American flavor". Although the level design prioritized the frame rate, it was more streamlined than ''Adventure'' because of the team's experience with Dreamcast hardware. Whereas Sonic Team had tried to include as much content as possible in ''Sonic Adventure'', for the sequel they only concentrated on the elements they deemed necessary. Naka said ''Sonic Adventure 2'' was also easier to develop, as Sonic Team could now "tap the full power of the console and deliver a much better experience". Iizuka described the Chao as a "relative neutral entity" in ''Sonic Adventure''. In the sequel, the developers expanded their presence, adding the ability to raise "Hero" and "Dark" Chao to reflect the conflict between good and evil. Chao have the ability to socialize, so they resemble a "real artificial life form". Sonic Team showcased ''Sonic Adventure 2'' with a trailer at E3 2000, and uploaded the trailer to its website on June 30. Sonic Team posted a trailer and a number of screenshots on May 30, 2001, with Sega promoting ''Sonic Adventure 2'' as the last ''Sonic'' game for the Dreamcast and as marking the series' 10th anniversary. Sega held a 10th-anniversary party for Sonic in June 2001, at which attendees could compete in a battle tournament; the winner played against Iizuka.


Music

As with ''Sonic Adventure'', Jun Senoue served as sound director and lead composer. Additional music was contributed by Fumie Kumatani,
Tomoya Ohtani is a Japanese composer and bassist. He has been playing music with a band since high school, and has also been involved in music and sound activities for theater companies before joining Sega in 1999. He is mainly in charge of music for the ''So ...
, and Kenichi Tokoi. The soundtrack is primarily
melodic rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
, with some hip hop and
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l tracks. As in ''Adventure'', each character has a musical theme. The game features performances by returning vocalists
Tony Harnell Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
,
Ted Poley Ted Poley (born January 5, 1964) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Danger Danger. Biography Poley joined New Jersey progressive rock band Prophet as a drummer. They released their first album ...
, Marlon Saunders, Nikki Gregoroff and Johnny Gioeli, and new vocalists Tabitha Fair, Todd Cooper,
Paul Shortino Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a ...
, Everett Bradley, Kaz Silver and Hunnid-P.
Crush 40 Crush 40 is a Japanese-American hard rock band. The group consists of guitarist and composer Jun Senoue and vocalist Johnny Gioeli, although Senoue has featured other lead vocalists on a Crush 40 album. Crush 40 is best known for their contri ...
(consisting of Senoue and Gioeli) debuted on the game's main theme, " Live and Learn". Production of the music lasted from April 2000 to February 2001; after this Senoue, along with others, created sound effects. The team wanted ''Sonic Adventure 2'' audio to stand out, rather than merely serving as background music. Senoue felt that some of ''Sonic Adventure'' tracks were not as memorable as others. He and the Wave Master musicians made a pact with them "to write songs that promoted the game's speed and situations while keeping the best tempo of the stage". Senoue wrote each track before producing a demo version, and mixed them with a Yamaha digital console and Mackie analog mixer. He edited tracks using a
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
. After Sonic Team approved the music, Senoue finished sequencing it and sent it to the musicians for production. Several soundtrack albums for the game were released. ''Sonic Adventure 2 Multi-Dimensional Original Soundtrack'' was released in Japan by
Marvelous Entertainment (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...
on September 5, 2001. ''Sonic Adventure 2 Vocals Collection: Cuts Unleashed'', an album with character theme tracks by Senoue and Tokoi, was released by MMV in Japan on August 21, 2001. For the 20th anniversary of the ''Sonic'' series, ''Sonic Adventure 2 Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition'' was released on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
on June 22, 2011. On October 29, 2014, a two-volume original soundtrack was released on iTunes. The soundtrack was also released as a vinyl LP by
Brave Wave Productions Brave Wave Productions is a Japanese-based record label founded in 2013. It specializes in video game music artists, often those who were active during the chiptune era of the 1980s and 1990s. One of the stated goals of the label is to bridge the ...
in January 2018, and includes interviews with Senoue and Iizuka.


Rereleases


''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle''

In January 2001, Sega departed the console business to be a software publisher. ''Sonic Adventure 2'' was ported to the
Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
as ''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'' on December 20, 2001. ''Battle'' has more detailed textures and additional geometry, and adds multiplayer options including new abilities, upgrades, and exclusive characters. Big the Cat is replaced by a Dark Chao in multiplayer mode. ''Battle'' also upgrades much of the Chao system, with a Chao's stats viewable within the game, and the option to transfer Chao from ''Sonic Adventure 2 Battle'' to the Tiny Chao Garden in '' Sonic Advance'', '' Sonic Advance 2'', and ''
Sonic Pinball Party is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It is a celebration of sorts for Sonic Team featuring many references to its previous games, mostly prominently ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', '' Nights into Dreams'', and ''Samba De Amigo''. T ...
'' with the
GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable The GameCube Game Boy Advance cable (DOL-011) is a cable used to connect the Game Boy Advance (GBA) to the GameCube (GCN). Depending on the games, the cable may facilitate unlocking additional content, turning the GBA into a second screen, turning ...
. If a
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
is connected without a game, a version of the Tiny Chao Garden can be copied temporarily into the Game Boy Advance memory. This version also introduces the Chao Karate feature. In Europe, ''Battle'' was marketed and distributed by
Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...
, following a deal to distribute Sega's games on the GameCube and GBA.


Downloadable versions

''Sonic Adventure 2'' was re-released in high definition on the
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...
in North America on October 2, 2012, in Europe on October 3, 2012 and in Japan on October 4, 2012. It was released worldwide on the
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
on October 5, 2012 and on
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...
via
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...
on November 19, 2012. The additional ''Battle'' content is available as
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
. On November 30, 2017, the Xbox 360 version was made backward compatible with the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and was later extended to the
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
.


Reception

''Sonic Adventure 2'' received "generally favorable" reviews. Critics appreciated the game's multiple playing styles. According to ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'' and reviewer Four-Eyed Dragon of ''
GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally ...
'', the core game's three styles and bonus features such as Chao gardens made the game engaging. Johnny Liu of ''
GameRevolution ''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshot ...
'' praised its replay value of multiple playing styles and 180 different goals. Anthony Chau of '' IGN'' called it one of the best ''Sonic'' games: "If this is the last ''Sonic'' game in these declining Dreamcast years, it's satisfying to know that the DC didn't go out with a bang, but with a sonic boom." In 2022, IGN would rank the title as one of the best Dreamcast games. The camera was largely panned. Shahed Ahmed of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' criticized the "cardinal sin" of 3D platform games: forcing players to jump to an out-of-frame platform. Although players can re-orient the camera with the trigger buttons, it reverts when the character moves. According to Chau and Liu, this made searching cramped sections of Knuckles' and Rouge's levels frustrating. ''Edge'' found camera problems permeating the game, with no significant improvement from ''Adventure''. The visuals received positive reviews. Liu called the graphics "sweet, sweet eye-crack." Four-Eyed Dragon wrote that the game "is simply jaw-dropping beautiful," citing its detailed backgrounds and scenery and the characters' extensive color palettes. According to Chau, the game had "some of the best textures ever seen" and was one of the most beautiful Dreamcast games. ''Edge'' was impressed by the texture detail and draw distance, and Chau, Liu and Ahmed praised its 60-frame-per-second rendering speed. Senoue's soundtrack garnered a positive reaction. According to Ahmed, the music was an improvement over ''Adventure'' "campy
glam-rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on divers ...
and
J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the ...
soundtrack," with less emphasis on lyrics, and Liu appreciated its more "understated" approach. Four-Eyed Dragon called the music "an eclectic mix of orchestrated masterpieces, guitar tunes, and melodic hip-hop voices" that "gracefully fill the game's ambiance to a perfect pitch." Reactions to the voice acting were divided; according to Ahmed, "the voice acting, and the lip-synching in particular, is executed quite well," and Liu and Chau thought the English voices were inferior to the Japanese ones. The plot was derided, although its presentation was well received. Ahmed wrote, "Throughout the game the plot becomes more and more scattered and lackluster," not focusing long enough on one element to execute it meaningfully. Although Liu agreed that despite the game's ambitious scope and themes it failed to advance the series' core plot beyond the
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
''Sonic'' games, ''Edge'' appreciated the story's presentation from both perspectives: hero and villain. Despite high review scores for the Dreamcast version, the GameCube version released six months later received mixed reviews: respective Metacritic and
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
scores of 73 percent and 72.33 percent. Critics generally felt that it was not significantly improved from the Dreamcast original. However, Shane Bettenhausen of
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the Ga ...
saw ''Battle'' as noticeably superior; in addition to its upgrades, its action was better suited to the GameCube's controller than the Dreamcast's.


Sales

The Dreamcast version of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' sold around 918,000 copies in the US, and 108,480 copies in Japan. ''Sonic Adventure 2 Battle'' for the GameCube sold almost 50,000 copies during its first week in Japan, where it went on to sell 192,186 units . In North America, it was the best-selling GameCube title between January and August 2002, with 465,000 copies sold during that period. By August 2002, ''Battle'' had sold more than copies worldwide. By July 2006, it had sold 1.2 million copies and earned $44 million in the United States. '' Next Generation'' ranked it as the 42nd highest-selling game launched for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...
,
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
or
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. It sold 1.44 million copies in the United States , making it one of the best-selling GameCube games and the best-selling third-party game for the system. ''Sonic Adventure 2 Battle'' also sold more than 100,000 units in the United Kingdom, for a total of over units sold worldwide for the GameCube. This adds up to a combined total of more than 2,758,666 units sold worldwide for both the Dreamcast and GameCube versions.


Accolades

''Sonic Adventure 2'' received several accolades, including the 2001 IGN's Editors' Choice Award.
ScrewAttack Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...
called it the fifth-best Dreamcast game, and
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Comput ...
rated it the tenth-greatest Dreamcast game out of 25: "Despite trailing off significantly in recent years, the 3D side of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise had a surprisingly stellar start with the ''Sonic Adventure'' entries, and the 2001 sequel really amped up the action." In February 2014, ''IGNs Luke Karmali called ''Battle'' his tenth-favorite game of all time. In a video interview with Takashi Iizuka, he says ''Sonic Adventure 2'' is his favourite Sonic game.


Legacy

Shadow and Rouge, who debuted in ''Adventure 2'', have become recurring characters in the ''Sonic'' franchise. Both appeared along with new character
E-123 Omega The '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doc ...
as "Team Dark," one of the playable character teams, in '' Sonic Heroes'' (2003), the follow-up to ''Adventure 2''. A Shadow spin-off, ''
Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in '' Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only app ...
'' (2005), expanded on the ''Adventure 2'' plot and featured a similar 3D platforming gameplay. With a few modifications, the plots of ''Adventure'' and ''Adventure 2'' were adapted into the second season of the anime '' Sonic X'' (2003–06). American licensing corporation
4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...
hired an entirely new voice cast for the English dub, but the Japanese cast from the games reprised their roles in the original version of the show. ''
Sonic Generations ''Sonic Generations'' is a 2011 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, and Nintendo 3DS. Produced in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, ...
'' (2011), released to mark the series' twentieth anniversary, contains gameplay elements and levels from various ''Sonic'' games. Elements from ''Sonic Adventure 2'' included a remake of the City Escape stage in the console versions and a remake of the Radical Highway stage in the
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...
version. Shadow also appears in a re-creation of his boss battle, and the Biolizard boss is re-created in the 3DS version.


Notes


References


External links

*
Sonic Adventure 2
' at Sega's Dreamcast Minisite *
Sonic Adventure 2
' at Sega.com

at SonicTeam.com {{Authority control 2001 video games 3D platform games Action-adventure games Dreamcast games Video games about impact events Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games Sega Studio USA games Sonic Team games Sonic the Hedgehog video games Terrorism in fiction Video game sequels Video games about genetic engineering Video games developed in the United States Video games produced by Yuji Naka Video games set in outer space Video games set on fictional islands Video games scored by Jun Senoue Video games scored by Fumie Kumatani Video games scored by Tomoya Ohtani Video games with alternative versions Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Video games scored by Kenichi Tokoi