Customer Reviews

Sonic Advance 3

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is by far the best Sonic GBA outing ever. Whereas SA1 felt too linear and cautious with the stage design, and SA2 concentrated almost entirely on an uneven mix of speed and exploration, SA3 feels a lot more like the old-school Sonic games on the Sega Genesis.

Clearly responding to negative feedback to the previous SA games, Sega have taken the insane 'superspeed', tricks and character animations from SA2 and the intricate level design from Sonic & Knuckles. The game is much longer than SA1 and 2, featuring 7 zones and 3 acts to each zone, as well as 'hub' levels, where you can select to play the acts in any order you wish (and also play/unlock minigames). Glitches like grinding in SA2 have been fixed, and special stages are much easier to reach.

A new element introduced is the 'partnership' system, where you play with a partner, either a friend or AI, enabling you to perform new 'combos': for example, with a Sonic/Cream combo Sonic can breathe underwater and use Cream's homing attack, while with a Knuckles/Amy combo Knuckles attacks with Amy's hammer. 20 combinations are available, each with their own advantages, although it is possible to complete the game by just leaving your partner behind (albeit harder).

The acts themselves feel much like the Genesis Sonics (taking out the massive ebdless pits from SA2), and feature many classic Sonic signatures, like popping bubbles for air, slippery waterways and bouncy flagpoles (and cheap deaths:P). Badnik design has improved, with some enemies who 'do the unexpected', like a piggybank that drains you of your rings. Thankfully, Sega have abandoned the 'running' boss battles of SA2 and returned to the 'static' bosses, each of whom need some getting used to. An improved version of the Phi robot from Sonic Battle also features, and as you fight him throughout the game he gains more attacks and becomes harder to beat. The game is far from easy, and the final acts (and the final boss) are really quite difficult, hard to get past without losing a life or two.

Sound is excellent, featuring the usual cheery tones of the Sonic games with a few twists (ie Sunset hill, with the remix of the original 'Green Hill' theme from Sonic 1). A new addition is the voice acting from Sonic battle, so deaths are no longer signalled by the "bong!" but with a "whoa!". Which is sometimes annoying, especially on the harder stages, but Eggman/Robotnik's "You're going to pay for this!" makes up for this.

Overall Summary:
Graphics 5/5: colourful stages, great character animations
Sound 4/5: cheerful music, voice acting can get on nerves
Gameplay 5/5: most of the level and boss designs are perfectly executed and timed
Lastability 4/5: many charcters and combos to try, gotta find all the Chao!
Overall 5/5: a return to roots for Sonic Team, with all the problems that plagued SA2 smoothed out. Welcome back Sonic!

Sonic Advance 3 is the long anticipated sequel of the already popuLar Sonic Advance series. Sonic Advance 2 was longer, funner and more challenging and Sonic Advance 3 takes the formula a little longer.

You select a partner to help you in this game, varying from partner to partner there is Speed, Fly and Power formations which are different to each set of partners. They all make the game harder, easier, funner or more challenging. ALso the character that you control, the char. you control varies between partners. It is quite fun to play with the different combos.

Ah yes, the game would be twice as more fun if you haven't played Sonic Advance 2 immensly like me and got a habit of using the R stunts; they're back but not compatible with every partner team.

If you love a game that takes a long time to beat and has replayability, this game is for you!

I think I speak for everyone is saying that Sonic is just plain better in 2-D. The speed and control was just meant for this medium. Since I'm awaiting for hopefully another sequel to the Sonic Adventure series, the GBA offers Sonic Advance 3. And a bit early too....I was excepting it out not until June 16th.

Anyway, I'm currently on Zone 3 of the game (I don't wanna ruin any of the names of the Zones of those who haven't played it yet) and the gameplay is beautiful. The nicely rendered backgrounds, the new duo mode allows you to mix-match different characters, and now you can play any Act you want to first. All these features should have a good replay value.

Strap on your running shoes and pick up another solid Sonic adventure!

Sonic Advance 3 is a cool game. It does seem to be improved in some areas where Sonic Advance 2 wasn't, but there are pluses and minuses to this game as well. This time, I will start by listing the positive:

1. Cool music and voices. That's right, this Advance game has voices! You have to love how the announcer guy says the title, the pairing, and "congratulations" at the end. There are also voices to all of the characters in the game. It's cool, but nothing big. You aren't going to be hearing them voice sentences, just simple single words. As for the music, it's really cool. I love the Sunset Hill music, as well as Toy Kingdom, and many other of the catchy tunes.

2. The characters from Sonic Advance 2 come back for an encore, but in a whole new style! This time rather than controlling one character by his or herself, you get a partner. You use this partner to enhance your own abilities, and perform two basic team moves (one arial, and one ground) basic team move. This is way too complex to go into detail for this review, but believe me, it's cool! You only get to play as Sonic and Tails at first, but you can bump into other characters with Sonic to play as them. You bump into a new character once every other area after the boss. Also, there are some comical pairings like Sonic and Amy (the "Lovely Couple"). You should see Sonic's face! He's like "What did I ever do to deserve this?" with this most bummed look! Plus when Amy is his partner, she has hearts all around her, runs differently, and gives him a constant adoring look. It's cute and funny.

3. The levels are lovely. Either way, you will enjoy at least one of the levels graphic. Absolutely lovely.

4. The Special stages are fun. You are basically riding on top of a plane your partner is driving, and you are trying to collect enough rings to get the chaos emerald. You may maneuver your character left and right on the top, and when you move one direction far enough, the plane will move with you. Oh, and these stages are in 3D.

5. Omochao joins the series. You just pick him up for hints. This is good because he keeps you from being clueless in the game. He has no voice though.

Well that's the good about the game. The following I list are the flaws:

1. No Tiny chao garden. This is a first for the series, and it is actually rather disappointing.

2. Not much variety in the team moves, and maybe not enough characters. Unlike Sonic Heroes, another game that is team oriented, you can only use two team moves that require charging with the R button. Your team mate's biggest influence is the alterations on your own characters moves. Also, there are only 5 characters you can create teams with (unless you count a temporary one at the end. I would say more, but then it would become a spoiler). You can't make very many team combinations with just 5 characters.

3. Amy is sliding back into her old ways, and some combinations just stink! Whenever you team up with Amy, you should be admonished that you lose your normal jumping ability, and instead you get a jump that Amy had back in Sonic Advance. Which is not a good jump, so look out below. Otherwise, she is a good teammate. Also, the following team combinations stink, or have something that may be undesirable to you: Knuckles and Sonic (You lose Knuckles' ability to glide and climb. Instead you get a strange headbutt move), Cream and Sonic (Cheese loses his tracking ability), Tails and Knuckles (Just a warning that Tails loses his normal flight and swimming abilities. He gains gliding and breaststroke abilities, climbing not included)

4. Just a little thing Id like to mention, Tails can fly you underwater. That looks funny, as he shouldn't be able to move his tails like that at all underwater. I think it is a design flaw.

5. The special stages are hard to get into. First you have to find all of the chao, then you have to beat the final boss, then you have to find a key in one of the levels and survive while getting it out, then you have to find the special spring that will take you to the stage (which is not in the level). Oh, and the last Special stage is miserably hard like always. Good luck...

6. The characters could have been more expressive. I was hoping to see the feelings of what every couple thought of each other (you know, like Sonic and Amy). Sonic and Knuckles are "Fighting Buddies", Sonic and Tails have "An Unbreakable bond", and Amy and Cream become "Team Jubilee", but that is where it ends. Every other combo is just "OK". What does that mean, neutral? Anyway, I was hoping for more feedback from the characters.

That's about it. Before I close this review, here are some of the best team combinations you should try to make the game easier and more enjoyable: Knuckles and Tails, Cream and Knuckles, Knuckles and Amy (I have no clue, why Amy adds the extra moves), Tails and Amy, and Sonic and Amy (maybe that's not the best team, but you'll get a laugh out of it). One more thing, you have to beat the final boss, with the all of the chaos emeralds, while controlling Sonic, to get to the extra boss and see the extra ending. I recommend pairing up with Cream and borrowing her chao for the final boss. You will get a different teammate for the extra boss, but I am not telling you who... Want a cool adventure? Purchase this for your gameboy advance!

The title says it all. This game was addictive from the moment I put it in the system. With the new team based gameplay that was first featured in Sonic heroes, this game will have you stuck till the end. The story line is also one of the best I've ever seen from a 2d sonic port. This game is also very challenging, with some very complex boss battles. The new zone scheme is cool also, where you are able to play any of the zone's 3 acts in any way you wish, followed up by a boss battle. If you are looking for a truley great game to play, you can't go wrong with Sonic Advance 3.

Sonic Advance 3 is incredibly amazing! The characters have voices now and the music quality is really good. But what really blows me away is how many diffrent combinations of moves there are. Depending on who you are and who you team up with, will affect what you can do. For example, If you team up with Sonic, he gives you greater speed, Amy will give you a hammer, Knuckles will make your attacks more powerful and so on. Sonic Advance 3 is by far the hardest Sonic Advance game for the GBA,espically the last stage Chaos Angel. But this doesn't stop the game from being fun at all. Sonic Advance 3 is a must have for your Game Boy Advance.

Excellent graphics and is very entertaining! Exciting gameplay and cool levels. Fun for everyone! This game has good music and you can partner up with different Sonic characters- like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy. Although some bosses are difficult to defeat, it is a very good game overall.

I will not reveal how I got ahold of the game. So I will not reply to anything of that matter.
The game is reminisent of Knuckles Chaotix for the 32X. While it holds simularities, it is indeed different. HOlding the R button will cause your main Character to Grab hold of the secondary character, and charge some energy. Upon releasing (depending on the Character) will cause the main character to be boosted high into the air, given a speed boost, or able to use the secondary characters main ability, such as being able to hold onto Tails as he flys.
The levels are sectioned off into a smaller level area, where the player must go to the act itself in order to enter the levels. I find this much more fun, and free roaming than the past Sonic Advances in the past. My favorite area, and acts, are the second you go to. It reminences of Green Hill Zone, with pallette, and even a remix of the original score.
One thing I appreciate, and is worth mentioning is that no longer can you hold in right the whole time and finish the level. In many occasions the game has the characters moving in all directions.
All in all, The game is faster, smoother, and most of all more fun. It is my favorite among the Advances.

After the fun SOnic Advance 2, the beloved franchise goes to new heights with the third SA entry in the series and man oh man is it fun or what?! But then again I've always said that about each SOnic Game when it came out. Other than that, this game doesn't necessarily break much new ground from previous games except for a new technique called "Tag action" which when using the R (button on the top right corner of the Game Boy Advance) will result in a new move altogether ranging from a superhigh jump to using Cheese the Chao yourself (When you're not playing Cream the Rabbit).

The story is almost the same as before. The world is once again in jeopardy when the evil nemesis Dr. Eggman splits the world by separate the chaos emeralds and plans to use them to create Eggmanland as well as work on a new contraption called Germil which was salvaged remains of Emeril from "Sonic Battle" and take over Mobius and create Eggmanland.

The game's music is awesome and even better than that of most of SA 2. My favorite music would be the Cyber Track zone before you enter the acts as well as the Toy Kingdom zones. A really cool suprise though is the Green Hill zone with revamped music from the original Green Hill Zone from the original 1991 Sonic The Hedgehog game.

The graphics are excellent and sharp. The colors of the Toy Kingdom act zones are beautiful and even the sometimes sickly sweet color scheme however is visually stimulating and lots of fun to play. The jack-in-the-box spring though is a major pain in the pullman though so be warned. I actually lost lives with them so be warned.

Some things though do cut both ways. This game no longer emphasizes on score anymore and thus how many rings you have is irrelevent here. Instead of collecting special rings in the act zones, you now have to collect all of the Chaos from each Zone Act in order to gain access to the special stages. While it may depende on the individual, I've found it much easier to find them than the Special Rings from the Second Sonic Advance Games.

Mind you though, the special stages which might be ridiculously easy at first can become almost impossible towards the end even for expert players but there is a major suprise at hand that you will not believe until you've managed to beat it. The seventh Special Stage is incredibly difficult and leaves no room for error so be warned. Prepared to be exasperated when playing it but you might be in for a major suprise when you manage to beat it.

While expert veteran Sonic players might have similar situtations that I did with the last "Special Stage" of this game, newcomers will find loads of fun with this game. Mind you, it's enormously difficult with the last special stage so be mindful and collect as many keys for it so you can return a lot more frequently.

Yet again, another Sonic Advance in which replay value is practically zero if your trying to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Other then that, it's a Sonic game your sure to come back to again and again.

This Sonic game is probably the best of all 3. All zones are hold some sort of appealing design to it, with a decent challenge, and the bosses have gotten even more interesting then the last game. This time Dr. Robotnick has his new fighting ultimate fighting mech Gemel to aid him in battle and fuse with Dr. R's ships. The game has a particularly neat partner system in which 2 characters get to tag team in a level (not 2 player mind you) and combine their abilities to proceed through the level, or to collect all 7 Chaos. The leader gets effected differently depending on the partner, while the partner remains a bot with extremely low A.I. Also, note that the game now holds a new map style, in which you are in a side scrolling map. You get to walk around, jump, etc. and go into these rings with a number on them, signifying an act. There are 3 acts in all, and there's a boss room as well.

Visuals are gorgeous and colorful, no complaints. There's a somewhat reminder of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles that this game presents that I can't quite put my finger on.

The Music is great, as well as the boss music. It's even particularly enjoyable to just sit down and listen to the music via sound test.

The storyline is more elaborate then the last 2 Sonic Advances. Instead of your usual "Dr. Robotnick has a plan to rule the world and he persues the Chaos Emeralds", it's more of a wholesome story. This time around Dr. Robotnick has his hands on a single Chaos Emerald. Using the power of Chaos on Angel Island he permeates Chaotic energy around the world, transforming sections of the world into a Robotnick empire. And this he has a new creation, Gemel... the ultimate fighting robot who bares a striking resemblence to Emeral from Sonic Battle. Sonic and company must stop Dr. Robotnick before he completely changes the entire world eventually becoming it's new ruler.

Now... last, but certainly not least, the Emerald hunt. Yet again, another annoying, and tedious task to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds, possibly more aggrivating than Sonic Advance 2, but that's up for debate. Your just this time is to find 3 lost chao in all 3 acts in order to unlock the ability to collect a key in an act, and unlock a segment of the map that brings you 2 a special stage. Slightly less annoying because if you fail, you can just get a key, and they're easy to find, but finding the chao is debatable.

Indeed, this can get quite frusterating, but there's something more appealing to it then collecting all 7 special rings like in the last game. It's challenging to say the least. The Special Stages are alright. This time your in a plane with either Sonic or Tails controlling it. You stand on it, and collect rings without getting hit. Sort of like Sonic The Hedgehog Triple Trouble. They're not too hard, except for the infamous SP 7. Now THAT was torture.

All in all this is a VERY good Sonic. And, like it's predessesor Sonic Advance 2, challenging. My suggestion, again, get a second copy, because this game doesn't have multiple files.

And now.... I am off to buy a second copy lol.