Format: Advance
Genre: 2d platformer
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega

Colorful, richly animated, and texturally detailed, the visuals in Sonic Advance 2 leave little to be desired. The framerate is consistantly smooth, which is important considering the speed at which this game moves. While reminiscing on the comparable graphics from Sonic's first GBA outing, you will notice that this adventure looks very much the same, which is certainly not a bad thing!

It would appear that Sonic Team has stuck with the same audio personnel that did the first Sonic Advance, though they did a slightly better job with Sonic Advance 2 than they did with the first title, primarily with regards to the music; most of the melodies found in this game are far less "cutesy", and have a more bassy, techno sound. The sound effects, however, are nearly unchanged from the first title.

The first thing you'll say during your maiden voyage into Sonic Advance 2 is, "YooooOOOwww!" The level design is, to put it mildly, fast! Remember "Speed Highway" from Sonic Adventure? Imagine that map in 2d-form, and you'll understand what this game's levels are like. Aside from the map changes, the controls and flow of the game are much like Sonic Advance's. Unlike Sonic Advance though, these levels are more enjoyable, and feature fewer "cheap" elements.

While the level design is certainly a step up from the first GBA title, there are a couple issues that keep this game from attaining a higher rating. The first is the fact that it's next to impossible to get all of the chaos emeralds; you need to find seven hidden medallions in one act of each zone, just to enter the bonus stage for that zone! Second, the game is too long to play in one sitting comfortably, hurting the replay value, which is a staple of the Sonic games. This is a very good game, but it's time for Yuji Naka to take this franchise in a new direction. Imagine how cool a 2d Sonic game that was more complex, like a 2d Sonic Adventure, would be?