Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Review 2: Final Mix
New Review Date: 6/10/21
Introduction: I made the original SA2B review back when I was 15 years old. I desperately wanted to show everyone how awesome SA2B was while ignoring the legitimate criticism the game has. That being said, I am going to redo my review and look at it through a more impartial lens. Let's begin.
Graphics: 8
Another 8. The graphics are good however, there are some parts of the game that do not look as good as the Dreamcast version; mainly some particle effects. Overall though, The game looks great; especially for the GameCube.
Sound: 8
The music in this game is phenomenal. That much did not change from my original review. Crush 40 still rocks! Also, the other songs in the game were really good and fit each level very well. My favorites for each character being:
Sonic: Metal Harbor
Shadow: White Jungle
Knuckles: Meteor Herd
Rouge: Security Hall
Tails: Hidden Base
Eggman: Lost Colony
There is a legitimate complaint about the voice lines cutting each other off. That is a very real problem. However, it isn't enough to give the sound a low grade. The voice actors are still amazing. Ryan Drummond will ALWAYS be Sonic to me!
Addictive:10
I always love coming back to play this game. Mainly because of the massive amount of replay value this game has.
Story: 9
The story is really good. Also, Shadows backstory is canon! That's pretty cool. The story is about Sonic being mistaken for the prototype of the ultimate life form. That being Shadow. Actually there is a very interesting spoiler for the Last Story. Read at your own discretion. Basically,
Spoiler:
in the final boss fight against the Finalhazard, if you wait for a while, Shadow will say something along the lines of, "Sonic, I think the real ultimate life form is YOU."
Sonic has to find the imposter and take him down before he helps Eggman power the Eclipse Cannon; A weapon that can destroy an entire planet with all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles has to find the pieces of the Master Emerald. Tails, well...same thing as Sonic(go figure.) The game executes the story very well, and there are a ton of funny moments in it too.
Depth: 10
I am standing by my young self on this one. There is a TON of things to go back and do after completing the story! You can collect all 180 Emblems which unlocks
Spoiler:
A 3D version of Green Hill Zone!
, you can also play multiplayer mode. Also, and I am saving the best for last, you can raise what are probably the cutest things put into a video game. That's right...THE CHAO GARDEN! Oh man, do I love playing the Chao Garden! You basically raise a little creature called a Chao. By the way, Chaos from Sonic Adventure 1, IS A MUTATED CHAO! Anyways, there are a ton of ways to raise your Chao. You can raise one that specializes in Speed, maybe Power, so on and so forth. You also can put your Chao in Racing and Karate minigames(Karate being a new feature exclusive to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.) I could go into so much detail about the various aspects of Chao, but we would be here forever. TL;DR there is a lot to do in the game.
Difficulty: 6
The game is not really that difficult. There are a few levels that can be infuriating. I will give you one per character:
Sonic: Crazy Gadget(That room with all the gravity switches!)
Knuckles: Aquatic Mine(It's basically Sonic's answer to the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time! Music's great though.)
Tails: Hidden Base(THAT ONE STUPID FLYING ROBOT THAT SNIPES YOU IN MID AIR TRYING TO JUMP TO THE PLATFORM!!!)
Shadow: Final Chase(The gravity can be daunting at times. Especially when you go on the vertical columns.)
Rouge: Security Hall(FIVE MINUTES SHOULD BE PLENTY, HERE I GO!!! also an honorable mention to Egg Quarters(THAT STUPID BEETLE)).
Eggman: Lost Colony(There is acid EVERYWHERE!)
Overall though, the game is not very challenging. There are just a few hair pulling levels.
Overall Rating:8.5
So the game is not as perfect as I made it out to be. Nevertheless, it is still my favorite video game of ALL TIME, and it always will be. I cannot recommend this game enough. It's not perfect, but it is definitely worth trying. Have a blessed day guys!