Gaming Target - Game Boy: Sonic Advance 2

Written by Tim McGrew on October 16, 2002

First Impressions: The blue bomber makes an all new appearance on the GBA and he's faster than ever!

Sonic has always been one of the top franchise characters in videogames. His lightning speed, witty attitude, and cast of support characters are second in popularity only to Mario and his crew. Although that's saying a lot already, it was expected that the stellar GBA title, after already selling over a million copies since its release, would receive a sequel on our little handhelds eventually and after a little bit of wait, it's finally on its way in the form of Sonic Advance 2.

Although details about the plot are very scarce, it is known that Sonic will return with Knuckles and Tails as well as an all new fourth female character, Cream the Rabbit who appears to be replacing Amy in this sequel. However, Sonic Team assures us that Cream will be playing a big role in the upcoming Sonic game so we should expect a laundry list of great things that she can do. How she controls in comparison to the other cast members is unknown at this time since no playable version of Sonic Advance 2 has been released with her available.

However, there are a few great improvements to this already promising title which will surely please Sonic fans and platform action genre fans alike. First off, the speed of the game has been significantly increased from the last version. The speed jump isn't noticeable at first, but once you barrel roll through the first set of loops and spins in the first seemingly classic level, you'll feel the increase as you pray your wits are as fast as your fingers. In fact, although the first few levels are classic, there are a host of all new ones that will definitely challenge gamers with an all new array of combinations that Sonic will employ as he jumps off ramps and springs off boards.

With the all new moves, Sonic will also be graced with a number of new animations that will increase the games amount of eye candy and push the GBA hardware even further than the first title did. With the increase in speed, the new animations, and the incredible level design, the GBA will be hard pressed to keep up with such a great looking title, but Sonic Team is up to the task and have already stabilized the framerate to a very high number so gamers can expect the same silky smooth Sonic that we have all come to know and love.

In addition to the seemingly classic Sonic game, players will be able to train Chao in the all new Chao mini garden on their GBA, which Cream will play host to, and transfer them over to the Sonic Adventure 2 Battle game on the Gamecube for an extra bit of fun. However, the list of features doesn't stop there as Sonic Team will also be incorporating some new multiplayer features that will utilize both the single game pak features and the multiple game pak features with the link cable much like the first Sonic Advance did.