The reason the shields use flickering, as well as many gba games using this as a replacement for sprite transparency is because layering a transparent sprite over another sprite will cause the sprite with the lower z value to be erased underneath the transparent sprite. The reason for this is that the transparent sprite does not look through the sprites when calculating the new color for the transparent pixel, and instead skips straight to the background to save precious cycles. You can observe this in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Gameboy Advance games that used sprite transparency overtop of sprites(like golden sun) did so by rendering the game first, and then drawing the transparent sprites in a single layer overtop. Also, despite appearances, Golden Sun did not layer transparent sprites over transparent sprites. All the particle effects were preanimated, much like the PS1 Final Fantasy games.
Sonic advance 2 was my first sonic game, I’ve 100% completed the game and I never knew you could attack during “boost mode” and still maintain your speed that legit shocked me. Wow this video makes me want to pick it up again. Great review Also I’m sure everyone hated that sky canyon boss That hand didn’t just slap sonic to death but it also slapped the batteries out my gameboy (first time experiencing that 1hit kill made me jump and the batteries fell out)
@@TackyRackyComixNEO I took the time and effort earlier this year to (sort of) %100. (The only thing I haven't done is the Chaos Emeralds with Amy but that's because there's no reward for that). I went for the Chaos Emeralds in all three Sonic Advance games all so I could experience the extra bosses in the three games. Getting them was quite a painful experience but it felt pretty rewarding to finally experience those bosses after owning these games for over a decade.
Lol, YES! Getting those special rings were indeed a pain! I had to resolve to watching TH-cam videos to figure out where each special ring was! Oh, and I always hated that camping Crab at Metropolis Zone! Gets me every time! XD
Still an awesome game! (IMO). It's like Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast) for the GBA but more focused on accion and plattforming than multiple style genres like SA2. Also this is my favorite of the trilogy, even if in Sonic Advance 3 you can play with two characters at the same time in any level.
As of right now, I would say Sonic Advance 2 remains my favorite game in the trilogy. Such an immensely playable game, and very easy to pick up and play to the final boss :)
I love this game. This was the first Sonic game I got my wife to play. We have so much fun with this little game. I will admit we've never obtained all the chaos emeralds. ☹
These games were pretty damn sweet. If anything new that was brought to the table in this game that I really enjoyed personally, it was the whole midair maneuver mechanic, where your character performs a little jump or dash in the air, most of their animations were really, really cool! I also really like Cream and her mom Vanilla.
It's funny I picked up Sonic Forces yesterday and found myself attempting to trick upwards, or forwards, to no avail. It really is a terrific mechanic.
I play this game without the chaos emeralds in mind, because I know I'll never be able to obtain them, and it's pretty damn fun. 100%ing something can be a curse
This is so nostalgic to me. I think this is the first sonic game I ever played and it was alot of fun.Cream was my favorite in here and I remember never unlocking the other characters even if I wanted to so badly,but I never knew how.1
God i love advance 2! Every time i see the strange, stylized leaf forest background and hear its music, i get WAY more nostalgia then seeing green hill a million times (although i liked in mania). And although i think alot of ppl dislike her, Cream was probably my favorite character since she was so adorable an fun to play as!
The problem of this game is the level design. It feels almost the same in every level. And if you watch a map of every level completly even if you take another route, it's basically the same but higher or lower. Besides having to collect all seven chaos emeralds with all characters, the special rings are an excuse to exploration. The level design isn't designed for exploration, but for running fast. And sometimes you only need to hold right and nothing else. It's cool the first times but then it becomes boring. Some bosses gives decent challenge though. That's why some people think "hold right to win" is what Sonic was designed for, but we know that's not true. At least in this game you earn the speed (when it's not earned automatically thanks to the level) and not like in the boost games where you only press one button to earn speed easily. This game is not bad but I can't say it's great. It's good enough for me.
Man I have so many memories with this game. This was my first Sonic game, I got this game the same day as getting Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island. I've put a lot of hours into the game and have so many memories of it. Yeah I'm biased towards the game but I will admit that the bosses, enemy and spike placement can be bad at times. The thing that suffers the most about the game is that I've never beaten the final boss, why? because fuck getting to special stages. Not gonna lie, I never bothered with it, I just don't think it's worth it and it's a shame you have to do it with all 4 characters to get Amy. But overall I love this game and it's my favorite game Dimps made for the sonic series and I'm glad you enjoyed the game as well, loved the review, can't wait for your next review!
My first sonic games were advance 1 and 2. I thought advance series in general just made it annoying to get to special stages. I didn't bother with advance2 and it does have spike issues bit i agree its a fine and great game which was an important step in sonic. Although i do prefer the original genesis as my favourite sonic game is sonic the hedgehog 2.
Firstly I love how you talk, there's no nonsense, no pauses or "urms" and you get straight to the point and explain everything very well. So will be watching :) However just wanted to say that the name "Implant Games" is kinda an off putting name especially for female viewers... as implants are widly known as either a common form of contraception that really mess with your body, or an artificial thing you insert into your body to change your features lol. Men also use them in the second instance, but not as often. Might be something to think about.
Lol as long as it isnt "Menopause Games" or something I think you can get away with it mate I get a lot of Implant videos searching you but probably because of my girlfriend using my account.
@@implantgames counter opinion: the channel name is perfectly fine and didn't cause any unpleasant associations for me. I wish i could afford lens implants for my eyes, that would be nice. Surgical enhancements, contraceptives? Not forced upon you, and as such considered desirable by many, in spite of known risks. As soon as they can implant little computers into your brains to make you better at tasks or help you remember things, i probably won't mind having one.
I nice completely fair review of sonic advance 2. I absolutely LOVED this game. It’s my personal favorite sonic game in the series. Even more than sonic mania. I wish 2d sonic games would try to sonic advance/sonic rush approach again. Just having “genesis styled games” is honestly extremely boring. Where’s the evolution in gameplay? Where’s literally anything that isn’t “classic” like cream and cheese? I hate the idea that sonic MUST be like the genesis games to be good when cases like this clearly shows that sonic can be so much more
I've heard so many reviews blasting this game for being "cheap" and "trial and error". While I'm not contesting that criticism, I'm sitting here scratching my head telling "Just give it a widescreen and zoomed out camera, bruh!". And just like that, boom, problem solved. Now you've got yourself a masterpiece. :)
I believe what he is saying is the limited resolution is holding the game back, and there is nothing inherently wrong with the game's design. If Sonic Advance 2 was ported over to Christian Whitehead's Retro Engine like Sonic 1, 2 & CD, Sonic Advance 2 might be better received.
People review and critique products for what they are, as they are released, not for what they have the potential to be. If that's the case, why bother reviewing anything at all?
I got this game when I was 16, right before we went on a vacation to spain for 4 weeks. I was so bored during that time that I 100 % completed it. Then I did the chao garden for another 2 weeks.
Went and purchased this game after watching your review. It was also a lifesaver since you talked about the trick system, which I would have never known about otherwise.
Glad to hear it :) Now that you mention it does the game even mention the trick system or teach the player of its existence? It's kind of a major deal.
I'm halfway through the game and so far it hasn't been mentioned or hinted at in any way. I appreciate your highlighting it in your review, as without knowing about it the game would be far more tedious
Kind of weird how I was looking through the comments only to see my own comment and realise I’ve seen the video already 😂 I still agree with the comment though haha
Thanks for presenting such a great review, I really enjoyed it. :) Throughout the review, you gave vaild points and responses to the game's aspects, whether they be positive or negative. You also showed respect to the developer's design choices and acknowledged the capabilities and restrictions of the system. Yes, this game does indeed have flaws, a number of which listed in this video I'd definitely agree with, such as the unlocking criterias being over the top. However these flaws are mostly minor and do not destroy the appeal of the game. I've really loved this game ever since I first played it back in 2011, relishing the creative and colorful level aesthetics, truly memorable music, emotion-filled character sprites, and great sense of speed. Plus I'd say this game offers a good challenge to be honest. Sure there are pitfalls and cheap enemy placements, but you'll be able to avoid them by learning the game's levels and techniques like you should with any other game. Overall I'd rank Sonic Advance 2 as my personal favourite Sonic game, with Advance 1 and 3 as close contenders.
I have to give Sonic credit here though. After he gave Knuckles the business over being duped by Robotnik again, when Knuckles reply to leave me alone Sonic just ran off. I think it takes some maturity to listen to someone who felt so much guilt and stupidity after being told to leave him alone instead of just harassing him more.
Not boost so much as acceleration. But I'm just glad that someone else remembers that post-classic era Sonic did have good 2D games, in the form of the Advanced series,
I bought Shadow the Hedgehog for PS2 on ebay eariler this week and is expected to come in the mail on Monday. And haven’t played it in 8 or 9 years. So I hope it’s fun. Where’s that damn 4th chaos emerald?
While smooth colour is possible on GBA e.g. with 8-bit tilemaps, but prone to run into memory limitations. In 4-bit mode, there's only 4 palettes to work with. There's no reason to avoid dithering either, GBA screens have fairly low contrast anyway making all colours blend together quite a bit - with exception of the GBA player and the rare late model backlit screen. I think the graphics are perfectly adequate.
The backgrounds can be a bit bland, but considering the size of the gba screen, this choice makes sense. Too much going on on that small dark screen would’ve made seeing sonic impossible. I also do like the aesthetic of techno seizure zone, once I got used to it. This game is everything I love about the series. The speed of sonic 2 and the adventure series with the style of the adventure games in 2d.
Considering the 240x160 resolution of the GBA, it really does make sense. You can only do so much with a limited pixel count. Got to say, the art direction does make the presentation stand out to me, anyway. I’m not talking about 2 specifically, more the three games combined.
Sonic Advance 1 is way better than Sonic Advance 2 and 3 because in Sonic Advance 1, you don't have to worry about collecting 7 special rings and 10 Chao in order to enter a damn special stage. I would rather put up with the Special Springs in Sonic Advance 1 instead. The other worst Sonic game for the GBA is the GBA port of Sonic 1 for the Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive. That port was the worst. It had tons of bugs, screen crunches, glitches, remixed sound, remixed music and slow-downs in the gameplay. The 3 Sonic games for the GBA that I highly recommend are Sonic Advance 1, Sonic Pinball Party and Sonic Battle.
Another excellent Implant Games episode! While this game is my least favorite in the series solely for how unstimulating it is to 100%, the base game itself is some of the most fun I had in the series. It's just a shame that a Side Quest like that is too demanding on the player. What was wrong with S3&K's or Sonic Advance 1's way of going about it? Nothing (except Advance 1's Special Stages, of course).
Thanks for the comment! One thing that struck me while writing this review is how pointless the entire Chaos Emeralds are to the Sonic Universe. Other than Eggman "saying" he needs them to take over the world, he seems to do just fine without them, all they end up doing is giving the player busy work. In this regard I think Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 got it right. No pointless side quests to obtain them, no special stages of questionable quality.
It's pretty pointless going thru all the tedium and frustrations collecting them in the advance games when you can't even play as super sonic in the levels except for the true final boss. The Advance games are best enjoyed when playing to just make it to the end of stages.
I own the first 2 advance games.Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2 were my first GBA games.Sonic Advance 2 is always forcing you to go fast and Sonic Advance 1 doesn't do that.
idk, after i got the first set of emeralds with sonic i was able to do the other three in a very short time, most of them on my first try, but i can see what you mean, getting them is painful first time around
The boost mechanic was first introduced in sonic rush not advanced 2. What you're referring to is the after images of sonic and co. And that's a reward for maintaining the speed in the game. Requiring skill and knowledge of the level layout. Boost is literally press a button and go fast. And honestly it's not all that challenging especially when compared to the speed formula used in advanced 2.
Excuse me but what does "Page 7" refer to? Did you write an essay alongside this review? Your description included no such extra information. Nonetheless, I'm quite certain jermjerm610 is right in that what you are referring to as the "Boost Mechanic" is merely the highest attainable speed. In my experience, when people refer to Sonic's "Boost Mechanic", what they're referring to specifically is the ability to, upon pressing the designated button, attain immediate access to Sonic's top speed.
Page 7 of Sonic Advance 2's instruction manual calls it Boost Mode. Therefore I refer to it as Boost Mode in the review. While I appreciate the mechanic was altered/evolved (devolved?) in the DS games, per the creators of the game, Sonic Advance 2 has Boost Mode. If there is some sort of retcon where Sega changed the name of the mechanic in Sonic Advance 2, then please link me to this.
If that's what it says in the instruction manual then that's just something I'll have to accept. Like I said, whenever I see people refer to Sonic's "Boost", they're typically referring to the Boost feature seen in the DS games and beyond. It's not your fault that the instruction manual is using a term in a way that's different from current conventions however I still think you could've brought awareness to the shift before then going on to use the term in accordance with the definition presented in Sonic Advance 2's instruction manual. A minor nitpick admittedly but I do feel that this was misleading. Thanks for the explanation though. I appreciate the feedback.
Every critic ever says something like "the most original 2d sonic game since 1992" what do people have against sonic 3 and knuckles? It's my favorite classic title and I dont see anything wrong about it. How bout the guys in the comment section? What do you guys think?
Oooh boy, I’m sure I’m gonna get some flack for saying this: I honestly don’t care for Advance 2. For me, it doesn’t really improve upon the flaws of Advance 1 and instead makes them worse (not the goal for a sequel to accomplish). The Emeralds were the most annoying to get in the trilogy, the levels were either too easy, alright or hellish (Sky Canyon’s design will never get any appreciation from me), the fact that you gotta get all the Emeralds with ALL characters rather than just collect some as one character and get the rest as others (I know it’s only mandatory to get them as Sonic to unlock the true final boss, but it’s still a pain), the bosses had a unique idea but were sort of flawed in execution (Sky Canyon and Techno Base bosses were flat out crap), and I just don’t like it. If any of you enjoy it, then that’s a-okay. In fact, I’m glad others can enjoy something that I don’t. But after just recently completing Advance 2, that’s just how I feel.
I was going to defend some of the garish visuals as they may have looked different on the actual GBA screen, but then again your reviews are much more objective than that.
You are a great game reviewer, also,Izuka said that you're battling while running so you can keep the pace,after all this game's main focus is speed. I only collected all of those rings once, about a few days ago to,with Knuckles, I still failed at getting the Chaos Emerald though, I was VERY incapable of doing those special stages.
Tbh, I wish I could come to the same conclusion you did with your review. I don't hate Advance 2 but I don't enjoy it as much. It's hard to explain why. Maybe because it emphasize too much on speed and momentum and forgot about the other two essential elements of Sonic design or perhaps it's just something I want from it but I know I can't get. My feelings are somewhat in the middle. I do admit to liking some parts of Advance 2 but then you have stuff like the boss design and that shit just made it worse for me. I tried honestly. I really tried to love the game but I end up just wanting to play Advance 1 or better yet, the classics. Hell, I take Advance 3 over 2. But yeah, overall I liked the video still even if I personally can't get into the game.
As a big Sonic fan, I first played these games last year. I had always heard 2 was the best for some reason and 3 was the worst. I found the opposite to be true. 2 was not very good and had so many design issues, while 3 is a top tier 2D Sonic game. 2 was the only one where I spent most of my time being pissed or annoyed at the game. 1 was great too, but 3 was most definitely the best one. I was never a fan of the DS Sonic games though. While 1 and 3 felt like well designed games, the DS titles felt WAAAYYY too reliant on boosting and grinding. Still, I really wish Sonic would re-release all the Sonic handheld offerings. It sucks they are stuck on their original systems.
I have to say, aero egg is one of the worst bosses in the trilogy. Just because those hills makes it WAY too unfair, in my first tries ever I died too much, means I have to do the WHOLE ZONE AGAIN. Just wait for sky canyon..I will never complete that zone again.
Hahaha,as soon as you said "cheesing bosses," I finally understood why Cheese was named
I wonder if that was the designers intent, or just a happy accident haha :)
The reason the shields use flickering, as well as many gba games using this as a replacement for sprite transparency is because layering a transparent sprite over another sprite will cause the sprite with the lower z value to be erased underneath the transparent sprite.
The reason for this is that the transparent sprite does not look through the sprites when calculating the new color for the transparent pixel, and instead skips straight to the background to save precious cycles. You can observe this in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
Gameboy Advance games that used sprite transparency overtop of sprites(like golden sun) did so by rendering the game first, and then drawing the transparent sprites in a single layer overtop. Also, despite appearances, Golden Sun did not layer transparent sprites over transparent sprites. All the particle effects were preanimated, much like the PS1 Final Fantasy games.
Good stuff, thanks!
Your voice is so amazing, it sounds like someone is reading me a bedtime story in the form of a review.
Cream: Please save my mom Mr. Sonic.
Sonic: AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!
These series of reviews are terribly underrated.
Sonic advance 2 was my first sonic game, I’ve 100% completed the game and I never knew you could attack during “boost mode” and still maintain your speed that legit shocked me. Wow this video makes me want to pick it up again.
Great review
Also I’m sure everyone hated that sky canyon boss
That hand didn’t just slap sonic to death but it also slapped the batteries out my gameboy (first time experiencing that 1hit kill made me jump and the batteries fell out)
Lmao, thank you for sharing your story :D
You 100% completed the game? Holy shit, you have some fucking stamina.
Yoknuckles2 but it’s original, but still.. the sky canyon boss is very unfair as you jump.
@@TackyRackyComixNEO I took the time and effort earlier this year to (sort of) %100. (The only thing I haven't done is the Chaos Emeralds with Amy but that's because there's no reward for that). I went for the Chaos Emeralds in all three Sonic Advance games all so I could experience the extra bosses in the three games. Getting them was quite a painful experience but it felt pretty rewarding to finally experience those bosses after owning these games for over a decade.
It makes me laugh the way Cream grinds along poles.
Sonic Advances the series forward
Lol, YES! Getting those special rings were indeed a pain! I had to resolve to watching TH-cam videos to figure out where each special ring was! Oh, and I always hated that camping Crab at Metropolis Zone! Gets me every time! XD
This is a great review! I loved it so much, I subbed. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
Nice to see a positive review of a good Sonic game to balance out the rotten taste of Sonic Forces. :)
Haha, I do what I can :)
FastTquick hey, at least it wasn't another 2006 or boom
Sonic Forces is good, in my opinion
Fun fact: The Sonic Advance trilogy plus Sonic Battle took place during the events of Sonic X! Also Tails is my favorite character
*adventure not advanced
"On-screen action"
Pictured: Cream happily waving at the player while moving at a snail's pace
Still an awesome game! (IMO). It's like Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast) for the GBA but more focused on accion and plattforming than multiple style genres like SA2. Also this is my favorite of the trilogy, even if in Sonic Advance 3 you can play with two characters at the same time in any level.
As of right now, I would say Sonic Advance 2 remains my favorite game in the trilogy. Such an immensely playable game, and very easy to pick up and play to the final boss :)
It's definitely easy to pick up n play from beginning to end. It's a sweet n thrilling adventure. Can't say the same for Advance 3 tho.
What...? Sonic Adventure 2 was awful and nothing like this.
thank you mister sonic
Cream is the best :D
@@implantgames I partially agree... In my opinion Tails is the best of them all!
I love this game. This was the first Sonic game I got my wife to play. We have so much fun with this little game. I will admit we've never obtained all the chaos emeralds. ☹
Hot Crater Zone, Act 1 is my favorite Sonic song of all time, right after that is the Infinite theme
I played sonic advance 2 growing up al the time and I never knew sonic had a homing attack, I feel awful lol
Every time I play Sonic 3D Blast I forgot about the homing attack... it happens.
These games were pretty damn sweet. If anything new that was brought to the table in this game that I really enjoyed personally, it was the whole midair maneuver mechanic, where your character performs a little jump or dash in the air, most of their animations were really, really cool! I also really like Cream and her mom Vanilla.
It's funny I picked up Sonic Forces yesterday and found myself attempting to trick upwards, or forwards, to no avail. It really is a terrific mechanic.
Man, your capture footage always looks so clean.
Thanks, I certainly try! This is S-Video oddly enough, I foolishly sold my Component cables thinking I wouldn't need them again...
"Speed is my name" was taken too seriously in SADV 2.
I play this game without the chaos emeralds in mind, because I know I'll never be able to obtain them, and it's pretty damn fun. 100%ing something can be a curse
This is so nostalgic to me.
I think this is the first sonic game I ever played and it was alot of fun.Cream was my favorite in here and I remember never unlocking the other characters even if I wanted to so badly,but I never knew how.1
SA2 is my favorite console game but SA2 has to be my favorite handheld
Uhh
Sonic Adventure 2 = SA2
Sonic Advance 2 = SA2
thats confusing
God i love advance 2! Every time i see the strange, stylized leaf forest background and hear its music, i get WAY more nostalgia then seeing green hill a million times (although i liked in mania). And although i think alot of ppl dislike her, Cream was probably my favorite character since she was so adorable an fun to play as!
Can't wait for that Sonic Forces review (regardless that you may depise it).
I'm thinking January, stay tuned!
Awesome!
+implantgames thats......kinda long
The problem of this game is the level design. It feels almost the same in every level. And if you watch a map of every level completly even if you take another route, it's basically the same but higher or lower. Besides having to collect all seven chaos emeralds with all characters, the special rings are an excuse to exploration. The level design isn't designed for exploration, but for running fast. And sometimes you only need to hold right and nothing else. It's cool the first times but then it becomes boring. Some bosses gives decent challenge though. That's why some people think "hold right to win" is what Sonic was designed for, but we know that's not true. At least in this game you earn the speed (when it's not earned automatically thanks to the level) and not like in the boost games where you only press one button to earn speed easily. This game is not bad but I can't say it's great. It's good enough for me.
Man I have so many memories with this game. This was my first Sonic game, I got this game the same day as getting Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island. I've put a lot of hours into the game and have so many memories of it. Yeah I'm biased towards the game but I will admit that the bosses, enemy and spike placement can be bad at times. The thing that suffers the most about the game is that I've never beaten the final boss, why? because fuck getting to special stages. Not gonna lie, I never bothered with it, I just don't think it's worth it and it's a shame you have to do it with all 4 characters to get Amy. But overall I love this game and it's my favorite game Dimps made for the sonic series and I'm glad you enjoyed the game as well, loved the review, can't wait for your next review!
Haha, if it wasn't for the TH-cam channel I wouldn't have bothered with the Emeralds either :D
My first sonic games were advance 1 and 2. I thought advance series in general just made it annoying to get to special stages. I didn't bother with advance2 and it does have spike issues bit i agree its a fine and great game which was an important step in sonic. Although i do prefer the original genesis as my favourite sonic game is sonic the hedgehog 2.
Definite the best dimps made
best game ever man, low barrier for entry and crazy high skill ceiling
That is kind of genius, thanks!
Firstly I love how you talk, there's no nonsense, no pauses or "urms" and you get straight to the point and explain everything very well. So will be watching :) However just wanted to say that the name "Implant Games" is kinda an off putting name especially for female viewers... as implants are widly known as either a common form of contraception that really mess with your body, or an artificial thing you insert into your body to change your features lol. Men also use them in the second instance, but not as often. Might be something to think about.
Glad you enjoyed the video. I'm sorta stuck with the channel name at this point though.
Lol as long as it isnt "Menopause Games" or something I think you can get away with it mate I get a lot of Implant videos searching you but probably because of my girlfriend using my account.
@@implantgames counter opinion: the channel name is perfectly fine and didn't cause any unpleasant associations for me. I wish i could afford lens implants for my eyes, that would be nice. Surgical enhancements, contraceptives? Not forced upon you, and as such considered desirable by many, in spite of known risks. As soon as they can implant little computers into your brains to make you better at tasks or help you remember things, i probably won't mind having one.
3:39 That is a Clarinet, not a flute >.>
My bad.
I nice completely fair review of sonic advance 2. I absolutely LOVED this game. It’s my personal favorite sonic game in the series. Even more than sonic mania. I wish 2d sonic games would try to sonic advance/sonic rush approach again. Just having “genesis styled games” is honestly extremely boring. Where’s the evolution in gameplay? Where’s literally anything that isn’t “classic” like cream and cheese? I hate the idea that sonic MUST be like the genesis games to be good when cases like this clearly shows that sonic can be so much more
19:55 I'd like to imagine that this is where the video game term "cheese" came from.
I've heard so many reviews blasting this game for being "cheap" and "trial and error".
While I'm not contesting that criticism, I'm sitting here scratching my head telling "Just give it a widescreen and zoomed out camera, bruh!". And just like that, boom, problem solved. Now you've got yourself a masterpiece. :)
Marius Urucu how do you do that? use an emulator?
I believe what he is saying is the limited resolution is holding the game back, and there is nothing inherently wrong with the game's design. If Sonic Advance 2 was ported over to Christian Whitehead's Retro Engine like Sonic 1, 2 & CD, Sonic Advance 2 might be better received.
^Pretty much this. Thank you for noticing my comment. :)
People review and critique products for what they are, as they are released, not for what they have the potential to be. If that's the case, why bother reviewing anything at all?
I got this game when I was 16, right before we went on a vacation to spain for 4 weeks. I was so bored during that time that I 100 % completed it. Then I did the chao garden for another 2 weeks.
The boost in this is also present in Rush, which has a more modern variation of the boost as well.
In my opinion sonic advance 2 has the best moveset for sonic for 2D
I think I would agree.
Went and purchased this game after watching your review. It was also a lifesaver since you talked about the trick system, which I would have never known about otherwise.
Glad to hear it :) Now that you mention it does the game even mention the trick system or teach the player of its existence? It's kind of a major deal.
I'm halfway through the game and so far it hasn't been mentioned or hinted at in any way.
I appreciate your highlighting it in your review, as without knowing about it the game would be far more tedious
Another excellent review. Was excited to see this one after you were talking about it during your podcast
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it!
Remember when Cream used to be a badass before they decided to turn her into someone that needs protection? Haha
Kind of weird how I was looking through the comments only to see my own comment and realise I’ve seen the video already 😂 I still agree with the comment though haha
Thanks for presenting such a great review, I really enjoyed it. :)
Throughout the review, you gave vaild points and responses to the game's aspects, whether they be positive or negative. You also showed respect to the developer's design choices and acknowledged the capabilities and restrictions of the system. Yes, this game does indeed have flaws, a number of which listed in this video I'd definitely agree with, such as the unlocking criterias being over the top. However these flaws are mostly minor and do not destroy the appeal of the game.
I've really loved this game ever since I first played it back in 2011, relishing the creative and colorful level aesthetics, truly memorable music, emotion-filled character sprites, and great sense of speed. Plus I'd say this game offers a good challenge to be honest. Sure there are pitfalls and cheap enemy placements, but you'll be able to avoid them by learning the game's levels and techniques like you should with any other game. Overall I'd rank Sonic Advance 2 as my personal favourite Sonic game, with Advance 1 and 3 as close contenders.
Advance 2 definitely ranks among my favorites :) Glad you enjoyed the video!
I swear to god I could listen to your voice for hours.
This was first sonic game and trust me it was great this should be in the top 5 best sonic games
I have to give Sonic credit here though. After he gave Knuckles the business over being duped by Robotnik again, when Knuckles reply to leave me alone Sonic just ran off. I think it takes some maturity to listen to someone who felt so much guilt and stupidity after being told to leave him alone instead of just harassing him more.
I got this and my gameboy advance sp for Christmas in 2003, :)
ShinobiR3d Dude, same! :D
I used an action replay to get tiny chao garden because of that special stage nonsense. Great game none the less :)
Not boost so much as acceleration. But I'm just glad that someone else remembers that post-classic era Sonic did have good 2D games, in the form of the Advanced series,
I’m only going to get the Chaos Emeralds as Sonic only because I love this game, even though I hate the way to the special stages
Could you review shadow the hedgehog? I would like to hear your thoughts on the game. For me it’s a guilty pleasure it is flawed but still fun
I bought Shadow the Hedgehog for PS2 on ebay eariler this week and is expected to come in the mail on Monday. And haven’t played it in 8 or 9 years. So I hope it’s fun. Where’s that damn 4th chaos emerald?
I planned on reviewing Shadow but didn't realize the Xbox version had such a lousy frame-rate. I need to reacquire the Cube version.
@@corny5920 I hear the PS2 version is the least best.
Sonic Advance 2 is the one I like the most out of the three. It’s more straightforward then 1 And 3, so I never find it troubling.
Now that I've beaten all three, I feel confident saying 2 is the best designed of the bunch, and my favorite.
I unlocked Amy in this game and I feel badass for doing so
You are a badass :)
So fucking underrated, really high quality bro!
Sonic can also jump dash, if you jump and smash the desire arrow he'll perform a jump dash.
While smooth colour is possible on GBA e.g. with 8-bit tilemaps, but prone to run into memory limitations. In 4-bit mode, there's only 4 palettes to work with. There's no reason to avoid dithering either, GBA screens have fairly low contrast anyway making all colours blend together quite a bit - with exception of the GBA player and the rare late model backlit screen. I think the graphics are perfectly adequate.
You can just use the springs down below to reach the SP ring in Music Plant.
Sonic Advance 2 is the best Sonic game ever made. IMO. The extra zone is also legit.
The backgrounds can be a bit bland, but considering the size of the gba screen, this choice makes sense. Too much going on on that small dark screen would’ve made seeing sonic impossible. I also do like the aesthetic of techno seizure zone, once I got used to it. This game is everything I love about the series. The speed of sonic 2 and the adventure series with the style of the adventure games in 2d.
Considering the 240x160 resolution of the GBA, it really does make sense. You can only do so much with a limited pixel count. Got to say, the art direction does make the presentation stand out to me, anyway. I’m not talking about 2 specifically, more the three games combined.
Sonic Advance 1 is way better than Sonic Advance 2 and 3 because in Sonic Advance 1, you don't have to worry about collecting 7 special rings and 10 Chao in order to enter a damn special stage. I would rather put up with the Special Springs in Sonic Advance 1 instead. The other worst Sonic game for the GBA is the GBA port of Sonic 1 for the Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive. That port was the worst. It had tons of bugs, screen crunches, glitches, remixed sound, remixed music and slow-downs in the gameplay. The 3 Sonic games for the GBA that I highly recommend are Sonic Advance 1, Sonic Pinball Party and Sonic Battle.
But Advance 2 and 3 are still good.
Well now that’s a detailed and good review
Another excellent Implant Games episode! While this game is my least favorite in the series solely for how unstimulating it is to 100%, the base game itself is some of the most fun I had in the series. It's just a shame that a Side Quest like that is too demanding on the player. What was wrong with S3&K's or Sonic Advance 1's way of going about it? Nothing (except Advance 1's Special Stages, of course).
Thanks for the comment! One thing that struck me while writing this review is how pointless the entire Chaos Emeralds are to the Sonic Universe. Other than Eggman "saying" he needs them to take over the world, he seems to do just fine without them, all they end up doing is giving the player busy work. In this regard I think Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 got it right. No pointless side quests to obtain them, no special stages of questionable quality.
It's pretty pointless going thru all the tedium and frustrations collecting them in the advance games when you can't even play as super sonic in the levels except for the true final boss. The Advance games are best enjoyed when playing to just make it to the end of stages.
Why is it your my least favorite in the series?
Awesome video!The only advance games i like are 2 and 3.You can make a video called sonic spinball is still good?
I loved Advance 2 and 3.
in retrospect sonic advance 2's boost overall encourages better play, modern sonic's is just about going fast for no reason
I own the first 2 advance games.Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2 were my first GBA games.Sonic Advance 2 is always forcing you to go fast and Sonic Advance 1 doesn't do that.
I LOVE your videos keep up the good work!
Thanks, will do!
idk, after i got the first set of emeralds with sonic i was able to do the other three in a very short time, most of them on my first try, but i can see what you mean, getting them is painful first time around
The boost mechanic was first introduced in sonic rush not advanced 2. What you're referring to is the after images of sonic and co. And that's a reward for maintaining the speed in the game. Requiring skill and knowledge of the level layout.
Boost is literally press a button and go fast. And honestly it's not all that challenging especially when compared to the speed formula used in advanced 2.
Page 7.
Excuse me but what does "Page 7" refer to? Did you write an essay alongside this review? Your description included no such extra information.
Nonetheless, I'm quite certain jermjerm610 is right in that what you are referring to as the "Boost Mechanic" is merely the highest attainable speed. In my experience, when people refer to Sonic's "Boost Mechanic", what they're referring to specifically is the ability to, upon pressing the designated button, attain immediate access to Sonic's top speed.
Page 7 of Sonic Advance 2's instruction manual calls it Boost Mode. Therefore I refer to it as Boost Mode in the review. While I appreciate the mechanic was altered/evolved (devolved?) in the DS games, per the creators of the game, Sonic Advance 2 has Boost Mode. If there is some sort of retcon where Sega changed the name of the mechanic in Sonic Advance 2, then please link me to this.
If that's what it says in the instruction manual then that's just something I'll have to accept. Like I said, whenever I see people refer to Sonic's "Boost", they're typically referring to the Boost feature seen in the DS games and beyond. It's not your fault that the instruction manual is using a term in a way that's different from current conventions however I still think you could've brought awareness to the shift before then going on to use the term in accordance with the definition presented in Sonic Advance 2's instruction manual. A minor nitpick admittedly but I do feel that this was misleading.
Thanks for the explanation though. I appreciate the feedback.
Well I nitpicked the game so nitpicking the term "Boost Mode" seems like fair game to me :)
Can you review Sonic Rush?
"Has Sonic 2 held up after 15 years?" Fam, a lot of people have answered that already. The topic is SA2 m8
Every critic ever says something like "the most original 2d sonic game since 1992" what do people have against sonic 3 and knuckles? It's my favorite classic title and I dont see anything wrong about it. How bout the guys in the comment section? What do you guys think?
"double spin attack"
didn't you mean insta-shield?
Page 9 of the instruction manual refers to it as the Double Spin Attack.
oh
okay, also nice video! actually all of your videos are nice!
Boost Mode should've been included in the 3D Games.
??? This game didn't introduce the boost mechanic?
it bums me out when everyone talks about mania saying its the best sonic game since the 3rd genesis game forgetting about this amazing trilogy
Oooh boy, I’m sure I’m gonna get some flack for saying this: I honestly don’t care for Advance 2. For me, it doesn’t really improve upon the flaws of Advance 1 and instead makes them worse (not the goal for a sequel to accomplish). The Emeralds were the most annoying to get in the trilogy, the levels were either too easy, alright or hellish (Sky Canyon’s design will never get any appreciation from me), the fact that you gotta get all the Emeralds with ALL characters rather than just collect some as one character and get the rest as others (I know it’s only mandatory to get them as Sonic to unlock the true final boss, but it’s still a pain), the bosses had a unique idea but were sort of flawed in execution (Sky Canyon and Techno Base bosses were flat out crap), and I just don’t like it. If any of you enjoy it, then that’s a-okay. In fact, I’m glad others can enjoy something that I don’t. But after just recently completing Advance 2, that’s just how I feel.
Remember kids if you can't beat a boss just play as cream
I was going to defend some of the garish visuals as they may have looked different on the actual GBA screen, but then again your reviews are much more objective than that.
Great video Kris!
Thank you Sir!
Special stages? I didnt know that... Lol
Oops wrong thing haha, where can I buy it other than the game boy advance? It’s out of stock
I believe these are on the Wii U.
implantgames amazing, I have a wii u so this is perfect, thanks so much!
If it counts Cream does have that ground pound attack.
R👇
You are a great game reviewer, also,Izuka said that you're battling while running so you can keep the pace,after all this game's main focus is speed.
I only collected all of those rings once, about a few days ago to,with Knuckles, I still failed at getting the Chaos Emerald though, I was VERY incapable of doing those special stages.
The final special stage took me many many tries... I found it ridiculously difficult to grab 300 rings. Thanks for the comment and the kind words :)
Take a shot every time he says “the name of the game”
I love your review.
Thanks mate.
Literally every positive review IGN dished out was a COMPLETE LIE
I feel like this game was a push forward to win game with no challenge
Double spin attack i think you mean the insta sheild
Page 9 of the instruction manual calls it a Double Spin Attack.
Wait what the fuck
"First original 2D game since sonic 2"
Did they just forget sonic 3K existed haha
Also loving your channel. Gonna subscribe soon after a few more great vids!
I hated sky canyon's boss.
Lucky for them that Sky Canyon is my favourite level.
Tbh, I wish I could come to the same conclusion you did with your review. I don't hate Advance 2 but I don't enjoy it as much. It's hard to explain why. Maybe because it emphasize too much on speed and momentum and forgot about the other two essential elements of Sonic design or perhaps it's just something I want from it but I know I can't get.
My feelings are somewhat in the middle. I do admit to liking some parts of Advance 2 but then you have stuff like the boss design and that shit just made it worse for me. I tried honestly. I really tried to love the game but I end up just wanting to play Advance 1 or better yet, the classics. Hell, I take Advance 3 over 2.
But yeah, overall I liked the video still even if I personally can't get into the game.
I have nothing much to add that I didn't mention on Twitter haha :) Thanks for the view and thanks for the comment!
15:47 Nickles and Tails?
The person who wrote that Gamespot review should get slap... Tryna to disrespect Sonic 3 and Knuckles... Even Sonic CD....
Note to self: Don't review S3K.
As a big Sonic fan, I first played these games last year. I had always heard 2 was the best for some reason and 3 was the worst. I found the opposite to be true. 2 was not very good and had so many design issues, while 3 is a top tier 2D Sonic game. 2 was the only one where I spent most of my time being pissed or annoyed at the game. 1 was great too, but 3 was most definitely the best one.
I was never a fan of the DS Sonic games though. While 1 and 3 felt like well designed games, the DS titles felt WAAAYYY too reliant on boosting and grinding.
Still, I really wish Sonic would re-release all the Sonic handheld offerings. It sucks they are stuck on their original systems.
Yeah Advance 2 requires you to git gud. It's the Lost Levels of Sonic. Only for Sonic veterans who are skilled.
You removed Amy Rose .... why?
this game is good,because it has cream in it
nah,just joking.i have yet to play it myself
not that anything in sonic is anatomically correct,but backwards ears...
Sonic Rush could've learned from this game's lack of story.
Some ball things
That is some fine writing lol ;)
Remember when IGN was good?
I have to say, aero egg is one of the worst bosses in the trilogy. Just because those hills makes it WAY too unfair, in my first tries ever I died too much, means I have to do the WHOLE ZONE AGAIN. Just wait for sky canyon..I will never complete that zone again.
fuck this game is fast