Sonic Adventure Turns 10
Tristan Oliver | December 23, 2008
Japanese Debut on December 23, 1998
The era of true 3D Sonic began in Japan 10 years ago today.
On December 23, 1998, Sonic Adventure was released for the Sega Dreamcast. While not a launch title in Japan, it would be in North America, as well as most of Europe, in 1999.
Sonic Adventure would be the hedeghog’s first foray into true 3D environments, from Emerald Coast to Final Egg. It would also be the first major expansion of Sonic’s troupe of friends as playable characters, with Amy Rose being playable for the first time, hammer in tow. New characters were also introduced. Big the Cat and E-102 Gamma made their debuts, and they would be the first rollouts in a major expansion of the Sonic Universe in the decade that has since passed.
Many fans young and old still consider Sonic Adventure to the best in the 3D era. Others put it and Sonic Adventure 2 on the same pedestal. Sega’s Japanese division, at least, still sees a sort of continuation of the “Adventure” franchise to this day, with Sonic Unleashed’s renaming to Sonic World Adventure in that country.
What are your memories of Sonic Adventure on this 10th anniversary? We welcome your comments below.
Filed Under Sonic Scene
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On topic, I love Sonic Adventure. Despite its many flaws (which would be excusable as it was the premier game for a new console at the time), it was enjoyable (apart from Big’s game) and was what a mainstream Sonic game should be.
Fixed that. Wow, I am not batting well this morning.
-T
One of the reasons SA1 is IMO the best one of the two Adventure games is becuase it had much more of the classic Sonic feeling then what SA2 had.
SA is fun, the history =D!! i love it
i really love the design of Sonic (green eyes, legs, shoes) this is the best
and Windy Valley *w* !!!! or Sky Deck wooo i love the music and Stage
but Sonic Unleashed have much more of the classic Sonic feeling
this is what I feel. for this Sonic Unleashed is the best sonic in 3D era
Faling through the floor alot.
Nyoro~n.
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already! This was my favorite 3D Sonic game until Sonic Heroes blew it away. Sure, Sonic Adventure strayed a bit much from Sonic’s roots with the shooting, hunting, and fishing, but I was more accepting of it because I thought Sonic Team would learn their lesson afterward. This was Sonic’s first 3D adventure game, so I am more forgiving of its flaws and to this day have fun replaying through the game. (I rarely touch Big’s stages, though) After owning it on the Dreamcast, I also got this on the GameCube, and I like that version the best. It keeps the charm of the original, but revamps the cosmetics and adds a few cherries on top. But I didn’t get rid of the original SA1! I’ve still got it right here with me and my Dreamcast.
It’s amazing…I was one of the first people to play the game(though, I wasn’t aware of the final result until much later). I was part of a research focus group where they asked for feedback on some new titles. One of them was a 3D Sonic platformer. Unfortunately, I was so young at the time that I’ve forgotten what the game was like when I played it. Was it even anywhere near the final product, or was it really early with beta levels? I think Sega purposefully chose little kids because we’re forgetful. I was only, what…13? It’s really too bad my Sonic love had worn down by that time.
I was a huge Sonic fan for all of the originals…but after the Saturn ignored Sonic, so did I. When I bought a Dreamcast, I never played SA. I was obsessed with the fighting and racing games that I played with my friends. Oddly, I never got back into Sonic until I decided to download a torrent of old Sonic comics for the nostalgia factor a couple years ago. That was class. Then I picked up Sonic Adventure DX for the Gamecube(for the heck of it) and loved it to pieces. I then proceeded to play every Sonic game in the span of a year and a half and regained my fanboyism. Sonic Adventure…without you, I’d never be a part of this community like I am today. I loved the originals, but I was so young that I didn’t appreciate them as much until I played them as an adult.
I got Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle out of a bargain bin from Wal-Mart a while back. If it wasn’t for the original Sonic Adventure, I wouldn’t be into Sonic. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was like…a cherry on top. Sonic Adventure is the only game where I got all the extras was well (The emblems).
…Even Big’s stages weren’t that bad. Maybe that’s because I was patient enough to reel in fish and a mutated frog and that I was new enough to the franchise not to question new additions? o________o;;
In all honesty, I played Sonic Adventure 2 before I played Sonic Adventure. My parents never did buy me the Sega consoles. Nope, the first one for me was the good ol’ N64. After that, though, the Sega consoles were already doomed, so we got the Gamecube not too long afterwards. I picked up Sonic Adventure 2 and loved that game to pieces. I bought Sonic Adventure DX about a year afterwards, and I really liked it too. It was really fast paced, really exciting, really shiny, and the mouths opened…really wide. Despite Sonic having pointy teeth, this game will always have a very special place in my heart. Sonic Adventure 2 will always be my favorite, but there’s no way that I’ll ever forget this. It was truly Sega’s love letter to its fans.
Meh…I don’t celebrate game birthdays. No matter how great they were.
I’ve…never played ‘Adventure’….yet everybody says it’s great…this is awkward for me.
I wouldn’t call it great, but, it’a pretty enjoyable. You can get it cheap on GC.
It was and still is ze best game ever. It was ze game zat got me into Sonic and serious gaming. I remember getting a SEGA Dreamcast in Christmas ’99 and SoulCalibur and a Trial of zis game. It was SPOCIOUS. And I would always go to my cousin’s house to play his copy before getting one myself. Ah, such good memories.
SONIC ADVENTURE FOREVER