Sonic Advance

"Sonic is back to save the world!"

- Tagline

Sonic Advance (ソニックアドバンス) is the first game in the trilogy on the Game Boy Advance, and one of the first few on a Nintendo console. Developed by Dimps (the same team who developed Sonic Pocket Adventure), the game is a return to Sonic's side-scrolling roots.

Gameplay
The game is the typical 2D side-scroller in the same vein as the Mega Drive/Genesis-era games in the series. The game mixes elements from the original Sonic games with that of the Sonic Adventure series, such as rails and Sonic's ability to somersault. The goal of the game is to get from the beginning of the stage to the end while dodging badniks, collecting rings, and finding the seven Chaos Emeralds. This game also introduces Mecha Knuckles as a boss, and features the first appearance of rails in a 2D game, although they can only be used by Sonic and Amy.

Playable Characters

 * Sonic - The titular character, Sonic runs the fastest. His attacks include his mid-air attack that expands his range for a split second, and a ground somersault. (It is possible to use the somersault to climb steep inclines). He can grind on rails to reach areas that Tails and Knuckles cannot reach. Sonic's game is the hardest due to lack of any shortcuts and special skills.
 * Tails - Sonic's sidekick, Tails, retains his ability to fly. If the player taps A several times after a jump,Tails will fly until he is exhausted. His attack move is his tail-swipe from Sonic Adventure, though it is fairly slow. Tails' game is the easiest because of his ability to fly.
 * Amy - Amy's moveset replaces standard spin-dashing and rolling jumps with some complex hammer moves. This eliminates the ability to attack enemies by jumping on them, as done with the other three characters. Instead of a spindash, she has a hop move as a form of quick momentum, making it easy to get up steep inclines. She also has the hardest time building up momentum but has the second highest speed when done so. Also as she jumps, she doesn't turn into a ball like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Amy's game is a unique challenge that varies based on the times in terms of difficulty but is generally easier then Sonic's due to her hammer moves.
 * Knuckles - Knuckles is once again able to glide for short distances and climb some walls. He can also tread the surface of water. His attack move is a 1-2-3 uppercut punch. Knuckles' game is a middle of the ground game because of his ability to glide and climb walls.

Zones

 * Neo Green Hill Zone - a basic opening level, taking place on a beach.
 * Secret Base Zone - a machine-themed level, containing steam vents and molten metal.
 * Casino Paradise Zone - a classic casino-themed level, completed with flippers, bumpers and flashing lights.
 * Ice Mountain Zone - an icy area. The deep snow inhibits movement and there are several underwater areas.
 * Angel Island Zone - a level themed around the ruins areas of previous Sonic games. It seems to take place in the ruins of Echidnaopolis, the early form of Marble Garden.
 * Egg Rocket Zone - a one-act zone with no boss, where the player must climb to the top of a segmenting rocket with only five minutes per section.
 * Cosmic Angel Zone - the other one-act zone has gravity flipping, conveyor belts and a fight against Dr. Eggman.
 * X-Zone - the last level for all characters except Sonic, Eggman is fought three times here. The first two fights mimic the first bosses from Sonic 1 and 2, respectively.
 * The Moon Zone - the game's final level, accessible only to Super Sonic, where the player must confront Eggman's final mecha.

Bosses

 * Egg Hammer Tank
 * Egg Press
 * Egg Ball
 * Egg Spider
 * Mecha Knuckles
 * Egg Snake
 * Eggmobile Hammer Ball
 * Eggmobile Drill Machine
 * Egg X
 * Super EggRobo

Chaos Emeralds
To collect Chaos Emeralds, the player must first find a Special Spring somewhere in a Zone. Jumping into it will take them to a tube-like stage filled with rings, a certain amount of which must be collected. Also featured are golden gates that the player does well-timed tricks through to get bonus rings, which is a necessity for the later stages. Collecting all 7 Emeralds and beating X Zone allows the player access to Moon Zone.

Tiny Chao Garden
When you first enter the Tiny Chao Garden, only a solitary egg will be found. Tapping A on it will hatch it into a Chao. Use rings collected in levels and minigames to buy fruits and items for your Chao to help them gain stats. Also, link between Sonic Advance and the Gamecube version of either Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure 2 to transfer your Chao to their gardens and to participate in races.

Minigames
Rock Paper Scissors: Select rock, paper, or scissors, and shoot down one of the coinciding cards to gain rings.

Card Matching: Flip over cards and match pairs for rings.

Similarities with Sonic Pocket Adventure
'Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure shares many similarities with this game:
 * The first zone in Sonic Advance is Neo Green Hill Zone, while the first zone in Sonic Pocket Adventure is Neo South Island.
 * The first bosses both are moving vehicles with large hammers; in fact, many boss concepts in this game and the sequel originated in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure.
 * The second zones in both games are "Secret industrial" zones. Sonic Advance has Secret Base, while Sonic Pocket Adventure has Secret Plant.
 * The third zones are both casinos. Sonic Advance has Casino Paradise, while Sonic Pocket Adventure has Cosmic Casino.
 * Both of the fourth zones have water and on the fifth zone of Sonic Advance, Mecha Knuckles is fought. Knuckles himself is fought on the fourth zone of Sonic Pocket Adventure. In addition to that, Mecha Sonic is fought in the 5th Zone of Sonic Pocket Adventure.
 * The "climax" zones, Egg Rocket Zone (Sonic Advance) & Aerobase (Sonic Pocket Adventure) are both one act zones that lead to Eggman's main space station (Sonic Advance) or in the case of Sonic Pocket Adventure, the Aerobase's interior.
 * The final zones in both games have the name "Angel" in it. Cosmic Angel is in Sonic Advance and Gigantic Angel is in Sonic Pocket Adventure.
 * In the normal ending for both games, space stations explode with red/gray chunks of metal flying and Tails rescues Sonic.
 * Finally, before the beginning of both of the Extra Zones, Eggman's space stations, seemingly, do not explode and apparently abandoned.

Cheat Code

 * There is a cheat code in the game that allows Sonic to be followed by Tails like in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. To activate the cheat code, press up, right, down, right, L, right, R, right and A in the character select screen. The cheat will work if a ring chime is heard afterwards.

External Link

 * Official Japanese site