Sonic Adventure 2: Battle

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (ソニックアドベンチャー2 バトル) is the enhanced port of the Dreamcast video game Sonic Adventure 2. It was released on December 2001 in Japan and 2002 elsewhere for the Nintendo GameCube, making it the first Sonic game to be released for the said console (or any Nintendo console for that matter). This port includes a variety of exclusive new features and alongside with several changes.

New features

 * In place of the VMU game Chao Adventure 2, has been replaced by the Tiny Chao Garden, available via GBA connection. The Chao Karate has also been added to the Chao Stadium.
 * The A-Life system has also been slightly enhanced, with all-around more accessible options.
 * A Black Market has been added to the Chao Kindergarten. It was originally a limited feature of the website.

General

 * The way lights and shadows work differently between the two versions. The GameCube version removed most of the shadows that appeared in the Dreamcast version. This is because the shadows did not have any kind of fading, so they looked awkward in the cutscenes sometimes. The lighting, however, was changed for the worse. On the GameCube version, bright lights affect the characters, but do not affect any Level Up Items that they are wearing. Also, there are rays of light from specific sources that are missing in the GameCube version. On the Dreamcast, bright lights do affect character upgrades, and there are light rays where necessary.
 * All of the main character models were enhanced slightly for the GameCube release. Most notably, the Cyclone and Eggwalker have more details in the form of both additional polygons and sharper textures. For all characters, modifications were made to enhance shading.
 * All Big the Cat's cameos in the cutscenes on the Dreamcast version have been removed in the new version.
 * The Dreamcast version does not feature the short opening sequence with Sonic and Shadow at Radical Highway before the title screen. There is simply a small intro clip of the title of the game popping into view extravagantly in space. On top of that, the title screens are a bit different, albeit using the same music.
 * In the options menu, one of the options is very different between versions. On the Dreamcast, there is the sound test. On the GameCube version, the sound test was replaced with the ability to delete multiplayer records.
 * When the game is switched to Japanese text, the Dreamcast version does not translate the main menu or the "Now Loading" indicator into Japanese. This is all translated in the GameCube version.

Hero Story

 * In the cutscene when Sonic jumps off the helicopter, he wears his Hi-Speed Shoes. In the Dreamcast release, he is briefly seen with his original shoes before switching them off-screen. The angles and lens flare are also different.
 * In the GameCube version of the cutscene where Sonic and Shadow meet for the first time, the officers' voices are cut off short and overlap each other. In the Dreamcast version, the officers shout at Sonic in full sentences.
 * In the first encounter between Knuckles and Rouge, Rouge looks up at Eggman and screams just as the Master Emerald is broken, overlapping Eggman's quiet exclamation. She is then seem starring with her mouth open. In the Dreamcast version, Rouge has a different camera angle when she looks up at Eggman, and she screams after the Master Emerald is broken, while she is looking up.
 * In the cutscene where Rouge and Shadow meet up for the last time Rouge's theme in the background changes to Maria's theme. In the Dreamcast version, Rouge's theme is played through the whole cutscene
 * Some camera angles were altered slightly from the GameCube, ranging from more relevant shots to simple zoom-outs.
 * When both Sonic and Shadow meet for the second time, the air is clear. In the Dreamcast version, there was a vague, teal mist. The teal mist does not carry into the Green Forest level on the Dreamcast.
 * When Sonic and crew find Eggman's pyramid base, the sun shines undisturbed across the screen. In the Dreamcast version, there are lens flares created by the sun.
 * When Sonic and crew reach the locked door to the pyramid base's center, there are no illumination along the walls. In the Dreamcast version, the walls have neo lights in the shape of Eggman's logo. Also, in the final scene, Sonic is shown from an angel different from the Dreamcast version and is doing a different pose as well.
 * When Sonic, Tails and Amy first arrive on the ARK, the hallway they stand in has red stripes along the floor and walls that follows the rest of the patterns. In the Dreamcast version, the red stripes are missing.
 * When Sonic is about to insert the fake Chaos Emerald into the cannon, the other Chaos Emeralds can be seen in their slots behind a transparent screen. In the Dreamcast version, the slots are empty.
 * In the cutscene When Sonic tries giving Eggman the fake Chaos Emerald, Sonic can be seen reaching the middle of the circular area in the center of the room before he is encapsulated. In the Dreamcast version, Sonic is only show reaching the edge of the circular area before he is encapsulated. Sonic also moves his arms a little less on the Dreamcast version when captured to appear more alarmed.
 * When Eggman is holding Amy at gunpoint, his gun's eye is empty. In the Dreamcast version, there was a lens on Eggman's gun.

Dark Story

 * When Eggman breaks into Prison Island, the background shows Eggman at the bend of an hallway. In the Dreamcast version, the background shows Eggman having just walked through a door. The red emergency lights are also stronger on the GameCube version.
 * When Eggman is watching the news report featuring Shadow in his base, the screen is slightly transparent to better fit with its border, but the glow from the screen is missing again. On the Dreamcast, the screen is fully opaque and gray before Eggman turns it on.
 * When Rouge breaks into Eggman's quarters and looks through his computer, the text from the transparent screen is overlayed over Rouge when looking at the computer on the new version to make it look more like the camera is behind the transparent screen. Again, the glow from the screen that hits Rouge is lost on the GameCube.
 * When Shadow announces the true power of the ARK to Eggman, there is a brilliant flash that comes from the screen at some point. This flash is missing on the new version, even though Shadow lights up just as he would if it were there.
 * When Amy mistakenly hugs Shadow, the lens flare and flashing from the lights in the background in the beginning are removed in the new version. Amy also did not turn her head as much when hugging Shadow as she did in the Dreamcast version.
 * When Shadow watches Tails fly past on Sky Mountain, the background for Sky Mountain is lower in the Dreamcast version than it is in the new version.
 * When Rouge looks through the computer on the ARK, completely different screens are shown to her between the versions.
 * On the Dreamcast, it looks as though she is actually looking through the computer and finding the info on Project Shadow, with windows popping up sequentially, complete with a picture of the prototype. Once Rouge decides to go get more pieces of the Master Emerald, a new window simply popped up saying that it was detecting energy from the Master Emerald, which is what prompted Rouge to leave, not seeing Sonic and his buddies like what the new version decided to illustrate.
 * On the new version, windows phase in and out of view in a more fictitious manner, and a WARNING message was added to go with Rouge's reaction, which remains the same between the versions. The view of the screen that comes right before Rouge decides to go get the remaining pieces of the Master Emerald shows the same WARNING message and a camera feed of Sonic and company, as if this is what prompted her to leave.
 * When Eggman discovered that Tails made a fake Chaos Emerald, the scene starts off with Eggman looking at a camera feed of Sonic and company. There is a small window in the upper left corner of the screen that Eggman soon enlarges. On the Dreamcast, it is an image of a map of the ARK, showing two Chaos Emerald readings. On the new version, this is the same video feed of Sonic and company that Eggman was already looking at.
 * In the Dreamcast version, when Shadow watches Sonic's capsule blow up, the Earth is in view. On the new version though, the Earth was removed completely. This was changed to prevent the scene from looking like the capsule hit Earth, when it really just exploded in space.

Last Story

 * When Rouge reads Gerald's regrets about creating the ultimate life form, there are a handful of minor alterations. Of note, there are vertical lights added on either side of the door in the new version. After Rouge finishes reading, the door of the room is still closed on the Dreamcast version, but on the new version it was mysteriously opened. And lastly, after Sonic does his pose, his head stays still on the Dreamcast, but moves slightly on the new to make him look more natural.
 * When Sonic and Knuckles encountered the Biolizard, the slightly transparent clip of Gerald that is made full screen for a moment was mistakenly put over the subtitles on the Dreamcast and were not very easy to see as a result. This was fixed on the new version.
 * When the credits begin, Sonic hands Rouge one of Shadow's gold rings. On the Dreamcast, the bracelet is half orange, half yellow. On the new version, it was made to be completely yellow. The ARK is also closer to Earth on the Dreamcast, and any glass reflections are lost again. Granted, there is a shot where the reflections are misplaced.
 * During the credits, the lines were rearranged, but keep most of the same elements.

Gameplay

 * Big the Cat's cameos have been removed from the stages, oftentimes with a ring. He is also replaced by a Dark Chao in the multiplayer mode. However, he can still be seen in cutscenes, but only on Dark Side and Final Story.
 * Amy Rose, Chao Walker, Tikal, Metal Sonic, Dark Chao Walker and Chaos 0 are now available at the start of the multiplayer mode and have their own movesets. The characters were originally only selectable between "Hero" and "Dark", and bonus characters performed exactly like their 1P counterparts with no unique voices, aside from Amy who had reused voiced clips from the single player mode. The 2P Mode also has more stages and settings, and alternate costumes now give the character slightly different attributes.
 * The unlockable Outfits for Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge and Eggman have changed somewhat.
 * Tails and Eggman's lock-on power now utilizes a faster system able to lock-on every 8 frames which was previously every 12 frames on the Dreamcast.
 * The first frame of Knuckles' Spiral Upper attack, and Rouge's Screw Kick, has roughly double the reach on Dreamcast. This was removed in the GameCube version, leaving it with only the same reach as the rest of the move. Additionally, a few more objects were given immunity to those moves, most notably the safes around the perimeter of Security Hall.
 * Knuckles and Rouge can climb on and dig into walls underwater on the Dreamcast. This ability was taken out on the GameCube. This is likely because this ability was actually a glitch, seeing as the Dreamcast version never necessitates the use of it.
 * When Sonic completes a stage, while his pose is the same between versions, he does not directly look at the camera on the Dreamcast. On the GameCube, he looks directly into the camera.
 * On the Dreamcast version, when Eggman or Tails gets hit with an shield item is on, they lose health on top of losing the shield. On the GameCube, they only lose the shield.
 * All of the characters run faster on the Dreamcast version compared to the gamecube version.
 * Treasure hunting has an additional level of detection - an exclamation point in a red action bubble will appear above a character's head once they are right within reach of the emerald or key.
 * Some of the game's graphics have been tweaked. The main characters have minor enhancements, but secondary characters and enemy models have been slightly downgraded. Inexplicably, some of the writing on the mechs has vanished as well.
 * For example, in the Dreamcast version, many of the G.U.N. robots have blue fiery jets to keep them floating/moving; in the GameCube version, however, all that's left are the jet nozzles. In terms of side-characters, Amy's teeth are no longer prominent and Maria Robotnik's eyelashes were removed.
 * Also in levels where lighting would pulse down the screen like in Egg Quarters, when you encounter the Egg Beetles, and Iron Gate when a security sector has been breached, the lights no longer pulse. Lighting in general (as well as shading and textures) were also adjusted, with some areas receiving more clarity and others being simplified.
 * There are also some different visual effects altogether - for example, White Jungle did not originally have rain and instead had purple spores floating down. Graphical glitches were also reduced.
 * Some of the level layouts and ranking requirements were adjusted for better flow.
 * The intro is different showing the six main characters instead of just showing outer space with the game's logo.
 * The title screen and the main menu screen are different and reorganized.
 * Some posters in the stages have been changed or rearranged.
 * The Dreamcast version had the "Download Event" mode where the player could download various events, although to a far smaller scale than Sonic Adventure. Some features exclusive to the Dreamcast version include a Halloween and Christmas theme for the character outfits in 2P mode, as well as three additional race tracks. Features brought back to the GameCube release include a selectable Eggrobo racer and expanded character themes for the menus (which was noticeably missing Shadow).
 * The Knuckles segment of the final level, Cannon's Core, is made easier due to boxes being placed in the areas where he gets air bubbles. When Knuckles takes in an air bubble he sinks a few inches. In the original version, taking in air would make him sink and touch the hazardous ground and take damage or lose a life. Because of the boxes in the GameCube version, Knuckles can take in the air bubbles without getting hurt.
 * The song "Deeper" for the Death Chamber level removed the Sonic and Knuckles conversation lyrics and replaced it with a saxophone solo. The reason for this was most likely because Sonic says at the final lyric of the "conversation" "Ya damn right, Knuckles!"
 * Japanese language settings are set as the default in the Japanese region, which was not the case in the Dreamcast version (similar to Sonic Adventure International).
 * When a character uses a special move during a battle/race, they do not have a background on the Dreamcast. A background was added for every playable character on the GameCube version, and the secondary characters have their own moves to distinguish them from the main characters' ones in the GameCube version.
 * Each stage (excluding Route 101 and Route 280) has a maximum ring count, and upon completion of the stage, the game tells the player how many they got out of this maximum. These maximum ring scores are all changed between the Dreamcast and GameCube versions, with changes varying anywhere from one ring to more than 50. The only exception is Meteor Herd, where the score stayed at 215 in each version. The reason for the changes are unclear, especially the changes that give or take one measly ring.

Chao Garden

 * The Hero and Dark Gardens were a little bit bigger in Dreamcast version. The Dark Garden in particular had a larger body of the blood-red water and the cave, as well as a ramp leading up to another tombstone in the original release.
 * Omochao no longer welcomes the player to Chao World.
 * There is more music in the GameCube version. For example, the Dreamcast's Chao World theme was moved to the new Chao cave selection, and in its place is the Chao Racing menu theme from Sonic Adventure.
 * On the Dreamcast, the player can still use attacks in the gardens like they can in any Action Stage. While they can still be selected on the action command, the attacks in the GameCube version are not automatically available so the players can not accidentally hit their Chao.
 * The fruit from the trees and on the ground resets on the Dreamcast version every time the garden is entered. The fruit does not reset on the GameCube version.
 * In the Dreamcast version, the neutral Chao Garden has a strange rock wall blocking the exit (though the player can still exit). The GameCube version turned this into a more natural cave exit.
 * On the Dreamcast, the only way to name a Chao and see its stats is to send it to Chao Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast's VMU. The GameCube remedied this by adding the Fortuneteller for names and letting the player see the Chao's stats when they pick up the Chao.
 * The way Chao stats work is different between the two versions. On the Dreamcast, Chao stats could reach 999 in each stat and it was as simple as that. On the GameCube, grades were added to Chao stats to make the system a little more interesting. The grades of the stats affected how high the stat could reach, and if the Chao was reincarnated, these grades would be enhanced based on the Chao that died.
 * Chao make more idle sounds in general on the GameCube version.
 * In the Chao Lobby, it is easier to prompt an exit from the center of the lobby in the GameCube version because the player snaps to the platform. It was noticeably more precise on the Dreamcast version.
 * There is no Chao Karate in the Dreamcast version. It was added solely for the GameCube release.
 * The Chao Lobby has different background music between the releases. In the Dreamcast version, it has what-will-be the song of the Chao Cave playing, and in the GameCube release, the Chao Race Lobby theme from Sonic Adventure was used instead.
 * On the Dreamcast, the Chao Race main menu uses the song of what-will-be the song used for the Chao Transporter on the GameCube. Similar to the lobby music, the GameCube version has a different song fill its place.
 * The menu for leaving the Chao World was redone for the GameCube release to look better.
 * The Chao Transporter is stylized in the Hero and Dark Gardens in the Dreamcast version, while in the GameCube version the same model for the transporter is used in all gardens.
 * In the Dark Garden, there is a large cliff with a cave hidden underneath. All of that was removed and replaced with a tree.
 * In the Hero Garden, there is a river and bridge in the Dreamcast version. These were taken out in the GameCube version, and the pond around the fountain was made bigger to compensate in this version.
 * The small clip of the player character walking up to or away from the Chao Kindergarten is skippable on the GameCube version when it was not on the Dreamcast version.
 * On Dreamcast, there is a small table in the middle of the kindergarten that serves no purpose except for decoration. This was removed on the GameCube version.
 * The main room of the kindergarten has slightly different color tones on the carpet, floor, walls, etc. between versions.
 * On the GameCube version, there is, from left to right of the entrance, the Black Market, bulletin board, the Classroom, the Principal, the Medical Center, and the Fortuneteller. On the Dreamcast version, the order from left to right is Medical Center, Classroom, bulletin board, and then the Principal. The rooms were rearranged, and as was already mentioned, the GameCube version had to make up for the Dreamcast features that it did not have, so there are additional rooms.
 * The Nurse Chao in the Medical Center on Dreamcast simply offers a comment about the specific Chao that was brought to him ("This Chao likes Sonic", "This Chao is not a good swimmer", etc). On the GameCube version, he does not really do this anymore, but the player can get a full report of their Chao.
 * The music in the Classroom changes to Chao singing in the GameCube version, whereas in the Dreamcast version, the music does not change at all.
 * The bulletin board offers to launch the player to an online Chao message board in the gameplay of the Dreamcast. Since the GameCube can not get on the Internet, it simply refers the player to the website with the URL.
 * There are captions that pop up in the upper left corner in both versions of the game when an entrance to something in the Kindergarten is approached. However, in the GameCube version there is a colored backing for it so that it is more noticeable.

Reception
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle received a score of 73/100 from Metacritic with generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the gameplay and graphics but criticized the camera movements and some of the characters' script. IGN motivated the "A blistering framerate, sharp and detailed textures, and even progressive scan support.", but had negative reviews on both voice acting and sound effects.

Despite all critics, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was the #1 selling title on Nintendo GameCube in its first week of availability.