Sonic Adventure, ah the memories I have of you. Back on 9/9/99 you were the one game I looked forward too. I spent a good 6 months of my life to beat every last one of your minigames, earn everyone of your emblems, and raise as many Chao as possible. The fact that I have nostalgic memories of this game is more than a little obvious. The only question is whether this Dreamcast classic holds up 4 years later.

The begining movie looks as splashy as ever, and if I'm not mistaken there are some minor enhancements added as well (a bit more animation from Tails, and sharper coloring). However, once I got into the main game an unmistakable sinking feeling began to come about. While yes, the new 60fps is indescriblably beutiful, it also makes the slowdown even more obvious. The only real changes between this and the Dreamcast version of that of minor texture additions in the levels, and vastly enhanced character models. I realize that they were appealing to the hardcore base, by showing what they intended to pull off with the Dreamcast release, but that's the problem right there. Having witnessed Sonic Adventure 2 on Dreamcast, I'm of the opinion (although I'm no expert, and I'm quite possibly wrong) that these graphics could have easily been achieved on that system, given the right amount of experience and time. The graphics, to be honest, look quite pitiful on the gamecube. The main culprit is the pop up. Man, it's been a long time since I've even SEEN pop-up in game graphics, much less had to actually complain about them. So while the graphical touches are nice, they dissapoint in comparison to modern games.

Dolby Pro Logic is the big thing here. Having played on a friend's surround sound setup I can say... I can't really tell much of a difference. I don't notice any directional changes, however I can say that the sound quality itself is raised much higher on the Pro Logic track. Or maybe it was just the speakers. Regardless, the original mono and stereo tracks have this weird... fuzzy sound to it. Annoying as hell for someone who's grown spoiled on high quality DVD and game soundtracks. However, in terms of the quality on the sound itself, I'm still pleased. The english voice acting is so bad it earns points for being so funny (the japanese track saves the day). I love the music. Despite what many other critics say, the amount of re-mixes from previous games and wonderfully ambient tunes make it one of my personal favorite soundtracks. So I guess the only things I can complain about are the old sound tracks, and the complete lack of bass.

It hurts writing this section, it really does. Back when the game came out on Dreamcast, the overall speed and flow made it an experience you couldn't forget. On the gamecube however, I found alot of the game to be... boring. Maybe it was the fact that I had played the game 30 times already, but it just didn't have that special feel that it had on Dreamcast. Ya know what? I'll blame that one on me having played it so many times. So what's new on the gamecube version? There's a new mission mode that I find to be incredibly stupid (but... I dunno... I've enjoyed it occasionally), and... (drum role please) EVERY SINGLE SONIC GAME GEAR GAME is unlockable by earning emblems. This alone made re-playing the game worthwhile in my view. It's actually quite funny to be playing these games on the gamecube. As a plus, since the games aren't being played on a Game Gear, the graphics down blur all the time. So overal, it's nothing particularly special, but the unlockable items and speed gameplay still make for a fun time... for fans at least.

I can't quite think of anything to say about the controls. They work fine on the Gamecube, and the only real change occurs in the Chao Garden. Even that's a minor thing. The only real complaint comes from the original game, in that the camera (yes, even now) can be poopy at times. This creates some akward situations where you're not sure if holding the joystick up will make you go forward or backwards.

A classic Dreamcast game, that just doesn't hold over too well on Gamecube. I can't blame it too much though. If you were to take the once "amazing" bandicoot game from psx, and re-release it on Gamecube it'd be more akin to a pile of shit than a game. At least Sonic Adventure did better than that.

+ Game Gear Games as unlockable

+ Soundtrack

- Graphics still no good after enhancement

? Anybody else notice Cream the Rabbit flying around?

? I earned 1999 rings total on 9/9/03... 4 years post US DC release

Overall (not an average): 6.5/10
It hurts to say this, but only buy if you are a fan of Sonic