Sonic Adventure

aka: Sonic Adventure International
Moby ID: 3530
Dreamcast Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 8/15 4:34 AM )

Description official descriptions

Yet again Sonic and friends find themselves wrapped up in the schemes of Dr. Robotnik. This time he plans to exploit the power of Chaos, a malevolent being that feeds upon the power of the Chaos Emeralds. In their own way, five heroes will do what they can to save Station Square and, perhaps, the entire world.

The player can select from which character to play after meeting them with Sonic, and each has its own unique version of each level. Sonic's levels involve racing through a level as quickly as possible, destroying any robots along the way. Tails can hover over distances, and his levels are similar to Sonic's except that he must beat an opponent to the finish line. Amy can't charge up ramps or run as quickly as Sonic and Tails, but she does have a giant hammer she can break obstacles with. The goal of her levels is to avoid being captured by a robot sent after her by Dr. Robotnik. E102 Gamma is a slow, difficult to maneuver robot, but it has guns and missiles that can lock on to several targets at once, chaining together attacks and earning a higher score and more time on the clock. The goal of its levels is to reach a boss enemy and destroy it before time runs out. The final character is Big the Cat, a fisherman searching for his lost frog. Big's levels are almost entirely devoid of action or fighting; he just fishes. Each character can find items that increase their abilities as the story progresses, such as a ring for Sonic that lets him home along lines of rings, or improved lures for Big. A final chapter wrapping up the story is unlocked after all other characters have been completed.

Additionally, each of the characters can visit the Chao garden where they can raise baby Chaos. By petting, feeding, and showing animals found in levels to the Chaos they can grow stronger, and optionally be put into races against other Chaos. As well each level in the game has additional objectives that can be completed to acquire extra emblems, although the emblems don't do anything in this version of the game. Finally, at one time it was possible to go online and download additional levels and bonuses in the game, such as a Christmas theme for Station Square and a level sponsored by AT&T, but since SegaNet shut down this is no longer possible.

Spellings

  • ソニック アドベンチャー - Japanese spelling
  • 索尼克大冒险 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Dreamcast version)

325 People (296 developers, 29 thanks) · View all

Producer
Director
Art Director
Main Programmer
Sound Director
Character Designer
Scenario Writer
CG Movie Producer
CG Movie Director
Producer
Assisting Producer
Web Development and Support
Executive Producer
Network Games Producer
Sr. Product Manager
Sr. Marketing Coordinator
English Translation (SEGA OF JAPAN)
In-Game Text Rewrite
Lead Tester
Assistant Lead Testers
Testers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 54 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 122 ratings with 8 reviews)

Simply an amazing "killer app".

The Good
This was Sega's attempt at a "killer app" for the Dreamcast, a platformer game starring the titular character on an adventure with his friends, who are also playable characters. It features state-of-the-art (for the time) graphics, as well as a catchy soundtrack produced exclusively for the game and stunningly good sound effects.

Not to be overlooked is the game's game-within-a-game, the "A-Life" artificial intelligence system that functions as the brains behind the baby "Chao" creatures found in one room of the main hotel in the beginning of the game, as well as select locations throughout the rest of the game. These "Chao" creatures can be raised by Sonic and the other characters, and provide an interesting sub-game when used in combination with the Dreamcast's Virtual Memory Unit.

The Bad
Characters not named 'Sonic' could've been explored more in-depth. In addition, Tails' missions are a bit of a letdown; they mostly revolve around racing Sonic throughout a given level, which can get boring at times. Big's missions are usually no more than glorified fishing simulations, and E-102's are just confusing most of the time.

The Bottom Line
If you've got a Dreamcast or have access to someone else's, this game is a must play, even in 2009. The storyline, graphics, and sound are simply amazing, and were well ahead of their time. I'd go so far as to say it's one of my favorite console games of all time.

Dreamcast · by A O (18) · 2010

The First Adventure ... Begins

The Good
The game is in fact okay for the Dreamcast but the GameCube version is much better! Who needs a Dreamcast these days? I found it a little good at the beginning of Sonic's story but I couldn't do it very well... But after one week or so I found so easy!

The Bad
It's got an interesting storyline. But the graphics are rubbish! Like, I said the GameCube version is a LOT better!

The Bottom Line
The storyline is cool. But the only good story is Sonic well that's my words. I discovered Tails, Knuckles, and Amy's adventures so easy. Gamma's story is okay but not as good. Big's story is really rock solid!.

The long storyline goes on in Sonic Adventure 2, then throughout Sonic Heroes.

Dreamcast · by Rouge (5) · 2007

A classical title, that I will always remember.

The Good
I will never forget the first time I saw the television trailer. As I watching it, I left that my eyes were going over to the television screen.

At first, I knew that Sonic would be the only playable character. After all, that's the character who I wanted to play. After watching the first part of Sonic's story, I knew that this video game would be part of my video gaming history collection.

The Bad
As for the graphics, they are so rubbish. The characters remind me of cute little dolls.

The video game also looks like it has been set in a night themed world. It's like there is no daylight at all.

The Bottom Line
The video game is very interesting. This video game will always be in memories of the good times. Even thought it's been made out for along time, now, I still play my Dreamcast console very now and again.

Dreamcast · by Kluke (7) · 2007

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
PS3 / Xbox 360 versions Freeman (65359) Apr 3, 2018

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Sonic Adventure appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Developement

Many, MANY scrapped ideas from previous Sonic games were put into this game. (eg The boulder, object interaction, etc...)

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Sonic Adventure 2
Released 2001 on Dreamcast, Xbox 360, 2012 on Windows
Sonic Forces
Released 2017 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Sonic Adventure DX (Director's Cut)
Released 2003 on GameCube, Windows
Sonic Advance
Released 2001 on Game Boy Advance, 2003 on N-Gage, 2011 on Android...
Sonic Frontiers
Released 2022 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Sonic Rush Adventure
Released 2007 on Nintendo DS
Sonic Heroes
Released 2003 on PlayStation 2, 2003 on Xbox, 2004 on Windows...
Sonic Riders
Released 2006 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows
Sonic Advance 2
Released 2002 on Game Boy Advance, 2016 on Wii U

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 3530
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Grant McLellan.

Xbox 360 added by Riemann80. PlayStation 3 added by Crawly.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, MegaMegaMan, ケヴィン, S Olafsson, joicrawu.

Game added April 2, 2001. Last modified June 10, 2024.